It was almost one in the morning when I finally got home. After the movie, Selina had gotten a bit too excited and we ended up having a competition in who could chug a coke the fastest.

I had won but she insisted I somehow cheated so she demanded another round. Then another. And another.

In the end, we did twelve rounds before she finally admitted defeat.

~~~

The house was quiet when I closed the door behind me. Mom and dad had obviously already gone to sleep.

I went to the kitchen to find something to eat since I had missed dinner and found a sticky note on top of a container. It read: I saved some food for you hope you had fun with Selina 3

~~~

I had a YouTube video playing on my phone as I ate. Something about ballet shoes. It had been aggressively recommended for me for the past four days. Every time I'd opened the app it was there, so I just gave in and watched it.

Somehow, despite the amount of caffeine I'd ingested today, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.

When I finished my food I couldn't even bother to clean up. I just went to my room and crashed onto my bed, falling asleep almost right away.

~~~

The first thing I noticed was the weight of a cape on my back. Weird. I looked down at my clothes. It was my old costume. The one that looked like a traffic light.

I shrugged and left that alone. If I had my costume on then so be it. It wasn't really an issue.

I turned my attention to where I was instead.

I didn't recognize my surroundings. It seemed to be some sort of tent, but everything was stretched and distorted, and that, combined with the bright red and yellow colour scheme of the tent, made me dizzy and slightly uneasy.

There was a steady stream of people walking past me, but they were deformed. Where their faces should've been it was just a blurry mess, almost as if someone had used the smudge tool in Photoshop.

A shiver ran through my body. Faceless beings were apparently where I drew the line for what's too weird.

I tried to ignore them and focused on the rest of my surroundings.

I could hear voices somewhere close by, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Suddenly someone bumped into me from behind. I lost my balance and fell to the ground face first.

When I got back up the tent walls were gone. As we're the people. Instead, there was a gray trailer in the middle of an empty field. I could hear voices from inside. They sounded angry.

I walked closer, wanting to hear what they were talking-screaming-about.

As I came closer the voices changed, now identifiable. While Haly's voice gave me a small comfort Zucco's voice made my stomach twist.

I wanted to stop right there and leave, but my body moved of its own accord.

Step by step I moved forward until I reached the door to the trailer. It wasn't closed all the way so all I had to do was open it a few inches more to be able to see inside.

Zucco was towering over Haly, trying to intimidate him, but it wasn't working. Bless that man. He could probably be faced with the batglare and still stand his ground.

"I do not want to hear another word about this. I've told you no! Now leave me alone or I'll call the police" Haly shouted.

It was obviously not the first time Haly had asked Zucco to leave.

Zucco grabbed a fistful of Haly's jacket and pulled him closer (no not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter).

"If you know what's good for you you will reconsider my offer. After all, the safety of your performers should be your top priority" Zucco growled.

Haly slapped away Zucco's hand.

"Get out!"

Zucco looked like he wanted to punch Haly, but he just smoothened out his jacket and turned around to leave.

Then he saw me.

I felt as if my soul had left my body the moment his eyes locked onto mine.

I suddenly realized that it was just us two in the trailer. Haly had disappeared into nothing.

"How nice of you to join me, Richard," Zucco said smugly.

My real name coming out of his mouth felt wrong, almost violating.

As Zucco came closer and closer I was frozen to the ground, unable to move. Zucco was barely a foot away when my knees buckled beneath me and I crumbled to the ground. Well, I would've if not for the hand that was suddenly wrapped around my throat, holding up my entire weight.

"I think it's time I finished what I started. The last Flying Grayson will at last fall"

As the pressure on my throat increased I was hit with ineffable panic and terror. I clawed on Zucco's hand, but his grip only seemed to tighten.

"Just accept your fate, boy. You can't possibly think you will win this" Zucco mocked.

I was barely conscious by now, and all I could respond with was a weak hissing sound. Pathetic, I know.

A snap echoed through the whole area and it went dark.

~~~

I woke up in cold sweat and tears streaming down my face. My blanket was tightly wrapped around me and my pillows had somehow ended up on the floor.

I couldn't stop crying. I wiped away the tears only for them to be replaced a few seconds later. I had no idea what to do.

I couldn't go back to sleep in fear of the nightmare continuing, but staying awake in my current state wasn't any better.

In my mental rambling, I had subconsciously grabbed my phone, and now I realized with horror that I was calling Wally. Why? Why was he the first person my mind thought could help?

I was just about to hit the red button when he answered.

"H-hi, Robin. You know, it's-yawn-4am right now" he said.

"I'm so sorry for waking you up. I'll just go now" I tried to say between sobs.

Wally's mood immediately changed.

"Oh god, what's happened?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"D-don't worry about it. It's just...its just a stupid nightmare"

Wally obviously didn't believe that for even one second.

"Robin, you're calling me at four in the morning and you're literally crying. I can't not worry"

I broke. I told him everything, of course leaving out the stuff that could lead to my real identity, such as Haly's and Zucco's names.

While I told Wally about my nightmare I didn't even notice when I started to calm down. I only noticed when I finally said goodbye to Wally almost an hour later and I wasn't full-on sobbing anymore.

Wally, huh. Never imagined he'd be the one to help me with my nightmares.

I think I'm really glad it's him though.