Chapter 14: Nightmare

"Come on Jay! You promised you would teach me!" Anni called out to me from the other platform.

"Okay! Grab onto the bar and just swing off when I say. I'll catch you." I instructed from my own platform. I was teaching her a Flying Graysons routine in a circus tent. "On three! One, two, THREE!" We pushed off together and swung towards each other. She jumped off her swing and I reached out to catch her only to find Spellbinder in her place. He laughed at me.

"AH!" I pulled my hands back in surprise. Spellbinder instantly turned back into Anni and she started falling to the ground below.

"I trusted you! Why were you there! You said you would always be there!" She shouted at me as she fell. I jumped after her although I knew it wouldn't do any good if we were both dead. She landed with that sickening crack while I somehow managed to land on my feet, unharmed.

"Anni!" I cried and rushed to her mangled body. I pulled her into my arms and wept.

"I called you my best friend. My sister. You said I could depend on you. Why weren't you there?" She whispered to me.

"You weren't you! You were Spellbinder! I was surprised and I just-"

"YOU'RE LYING! IF YOU CARED AT ALL YOU WOULD HAVE TRIED!" Anni shouted. She stood up, perfectly fine now. "If I can't depend on you, I'll go to the one person who always loved me." She said darkly. She turned towards the tent's entrance where I saw her father standing, with that dark look in his eyes and a gun in his hand.

"Anni stop! He's going to kill you!" I cried. I tried to follow her, but my feet refused to move.

"Like you care." She spat and walked away with her father.

The circus tent faded away and I was surrounded by darkness, unable to see anything beyond my hands.

"Look at the sad little girl who always fails to save the day." Spellbinder's voice came from the darkness.

"You!" I shouted.

"Me!" He said with a laugh. "You're daddy must be so disappointed in you. Can't even capture a simple villain. Who would've though the amazing Nightwing would have such a failure of a daughter?" He laughed again.

"I'm not a failure! He doesn't even want me to be a hero. I don't want to be a hero!" I argued. I looked around, trying to find him.

"Now we both know that isn't true. Why would you try to go after me with Batman if you didn't want to be a hero?"

"I thought it was a logical way to stop you. I just wasn't prepared. That's why you got the better of me." I explained, growing frustrated. Why couldn't I find him?

"Is unpreparedness also why this happened?" He asked, as the mangled figures of my grandparents and father appeared before me.

"The wire snapped! There's was nothing I could do!" I said in distress, unable to tear my eyes away from their bodies.

"Hasn't Batman taught you to always have contingency plan? There's always a way to prevent death of the innocent."

"I'm not his sidekick. I'm not taking lessons." I responded.

"Oh? Then what's you excuse for her?" Anni's body appeared next to the others.

"You tricked me! I would never let Anni fall! She's like my sister! That was your fault!"

"Blaming others isn't very heroic," He scolded. "Am I at fault for them too?" He asked. Ko, Max, Dana, Terry, and Bruce all appeared just as disfigured as the others on the ground.

"What? They never fell! How am I supposed stop something that never happened!" I shouted, horrified at the sight of my loved ones on the ground.

"Why don't you just admit that you're not good enough to be part of this. Batman doesn't need any help from you."

"I don't care about Batman! I just don't want to be lied to anymore! I'm going keep working with him until there's no more secrets!" I shouted.

"You're in denial. We both know you have other reasons. Super reasons." Spellbinder pressed.

"No! I don't! Why doesn't anyone believe that?" I asked in frustration.

"Because its a lie. Breaking that kid's arm in justice for Anni, creating those bolas, stopping that thief , the patrol bots, your strong sense of justice. You have all the traits of a hero my dear girl. And I can't wait to face you again just so I can watch you fall again!" Spellbinder laughed, appearing right in front of me.

He pushed me backwards into a hole that had opened in the cave floor. As I fell, the opening closed up, leaving me in total darkness. I hit the ground with that terrible crack that was becoming all too common in my dreams.

Jamie's subconscious is a bit twisted. The whole Spellbinder thing is clearly bothering her more than she's was willing to admit.

Fun Fact: So much foreshadowing in this chapter