Please...

Someone help me...

I'm scared and in pain...

Someone save me from this Hell...

BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED

EPISODE:

NIGHTMARES

I rubbed my head as I woke up, groaning.

Yet another one of those nightmares.

I've been having these dreams every night since she died.

First the scene would replay in front of me from Inque's point of view, exactly how she described it happened.

Then it'd all go dark and I'd hear this distant voice, sounding like it was crying out for help.

I assume it's my mom calling for me to save her, but the voice was too young.

I don't see a need to dwell on who the voice might belong to, though.

What I do see a need for, however, is to get to the batcave and go on my first patrol of the day.

I ran down the stairs to the main room of the mansions, looking around.

The sight of it never got old.

First, of course, was the centuries-old clock leading to the batcave in the corner. Against the wall, next to the hallway leading to the large glass front doors, was a classic brick-and-logs fireplace with a large brownish-red leather couch against the opposite wall, next to the clock. A large diamond and emerald chandelier hung from the ceiling above the tiger-pattern carpet on the floor, complementing the beige walls.

I stared at the decor like usual, still amazed after ten years, that I live here.

It made me wonder why my dreams had to be of my dying mother and then the disturbing cries for help instead of being about Inque and I laying on the couch as Dick served us those fancy sandwiches like in those dream sequences on TV.

I shook my head and walked over to the clock, about to punch in the numbers to get into the cave, but Dick stepped in my way.

"Where are you going?" He asked with that tone that made me instantly know I wasn't going to be let out of the mansion.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"You're not patrolling today is what I mean. All that screaming I heard upstairs? You'll be too distracted with too much going on in your mind. You're not trained enough to hold back your emotions in combat."

I tried to peak up about how I can take it, but Grayson interrupted me.

"Don't argue. Go back to sleep and get yourself together. Inque will cover you for today."

Now, I know I was a bit tired, but I could swear I actually heard a hint of caring in his voice, as if he actually doesn't want me to be hurt.

So much for the whole act about him not caring.

"Are you sure I can't be of any help in the batcave?"

"No. Just go sleep."

I sighed and knew there was no point to arguing with him. I nodded and went back upstairs into my bed and fell asleep, not even bothering to cover up with a blanket.

The dream started again.

First, Inque knocking Mom off the cliff, then the voice calling out for help.

It sounded farther away this time.

Something about the voice was different this time, too..

At first it was disturbing, but now I felt so bad for the person crying out.

I wanted to reach out and find where in the darkness it was coming from, but my arms wouldn't move at all.

The sounds of crying continued.

It sounds like... she's afraid.

Afraid and...

Dying...

She's dying...

And I want to desperately help her.

But I can't see her or move at all.

Nothing but darkness and the same voice calling for help constantly.

Normally my dreams would end by the fifth cry, but it didn't end.

It kept going for what felt like hours before the dream shifted.

It didn't last long, but I managed a glimpse.

I saw...

Scales?

A greenish-brown pattern.

Large enough to block my view entirely.

That's when my dream ended.

I woke up, feeling myself drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.

Apparently I rolled around a lot in my sleep this time, as my sheets and pillows were all over the room.

I got out of bed, made the bed, took a shower, and headed back to the batcave, thoughts on wondering what my dream could be about constantly flowing through my head as I did so.

When I got to the batcave, I found Barbara and Inque at the computer this time with Dick no where to be seen, which is odd, since it's Dick that's usually on the batcomputer at this time and he never left the cave, except to stop me in my tracks. He even has a kitchen and bathroom built in the cave... With the bathroom being a completely separate room in the cave, of course.

"Where's Grayson?" I questioned as I went over to the two.

"He had to leave to settle a legal case." Barbara replied.

"This late at night? What could this possibly be about?"

"Apparently there's a new guy in tow using Wayne-Powers technology to create living dinosaurs. Dick needs to assure people that his share of the company has never even heard of this guy before, let alone is he working with him."

"Just his share? He can't vouch for the whole company?"

"No."

"Doesn't he own most of it?"

"Yes."

She sounded none-too-pleased about any of it, so I decided to venture off the topic of Dick and onto this dinosaur guy.

"So what's this about a new dino in town?"

"We know too little right now to be certain of anything aside from the fact he's using our tech to power his animatronics and he calls himself The Dino." Inque said as she typed away on her own monitor.

Why exactly didn't I get my own part of the computer if I've been here longer than Inque?

Such schwarbage.

"The Dino, huh? Stupid name."

"His call what he wants to be named. If he wants to pick a bad name, he can."

I nodded and sat down next to Inque and watched them both work their magic, leaning my head onto my hand, bored, until I noticed something in one of the very few photos they had of the guy.

"Wait." I said as I pointed to the picture. "Zoom in on that one."

Barbara obliged.

"What is that?" I asked as I strained my eyes at the faint blur in the upper left corner of the picture.

"I don't know." Barbs responded before zooming in further and clearing up the photo.

The it turned out to be a who.

She's a little girl.

Strapped and hooked up to some weird machine.

She looked to be in pain.

A girl's voice in pain and dying...

Greenish brown scales...

That's what made me realize it.

"She's the one that was crying out for help in my dreams."