The smell of cheap popcorn and peanuts floods the air around the circus grounds, giving it a sense of fun and cheerfulness. Kids and parents are scattered around, all heading towards the main event: The “Curiosities & Monstrosities” tent.

Dick had seen this new traveling circus begin advertising around Gotham. Being a former circus boy himself when he was little, he couldn’t help but check it out, curious as to what this one had to offer.

When he arrived at the field that held the circus, he knew immediately that this was one of those hoax-type gigs, false advertising, so they could make more money.

Well, he may as well make the best of it since he paid for his ticket already.

The rest of the circus outside of the main tent was generic games and some actors here and there interacting with the crowd. He stays away from the actors, getting a pretty bad vibe from them. None of them have the spark that comes with a circus—it’s sad, really.

And the food? Terrible. The popcorn he’d gotten was burnt, the cotton candy was more like a pile of spider webs on a stick, and the peanuts weren’t even peanuts. How can a circus be this bad?

Disappointed, Dick heads towards the main tent, where the so-called curiosities should be. He doesn’t have his hopes up anymore, and that’s confirmed when the first thing he sees is a horse with a horn taped to its head.

A unicorn. A fake one. And god, the Gothamites are eating it all up! He sometimes forgets how gullible this city is.

With a sigh, he heads deeper into the showcase room, going to find himself a seat for the main show to start. Other people begin to file in around him, and he’s suddenly thankful that he’s got a disguise on so he doesn’t get recognized. If anyone saw the Dick Grayson—the first son of Bruce Wayne—here, he’d be on Gotham Gazette’s front page with the headliner “Grayson Seen at Run-Down Circus”.

The lights dim down, and royalty-free circus music begins to pump out of the speakers. A man, presumably the ringleader, steps into the spotlight, beginning to ramble on about the different creatures they own.

The next thirty minutes or so consist of handlers taking out poorly treated animals, parading them around like they were commodities instead of living creatures. It makes Dick feel sick.

However, it was the last “creature” that made his stomach drop out from underneath him.

The man advertises it as dangerous and terrifying. A “monster the likes of which no one has ever seen before”. Dick assumes it's bullshit, probably some animal painted different colors. But he was quickly proven wrong when the handlers dragged out the next creature.

It’s small, and inhuman, with strange features mashed with human ones. But all Dick could see was the terrified face of a child.

Horror washes over him as the little hybrid is manhandled onto the stage. The rest of the show was like a blur to him, his internal Nightwing brain racing through how he’s going to save them from this hellhole.

By the end of it, he’s rushing out of the tent, calling the rest of his family to inform them of what he’d just seen. There’s no argument for the plan he’d come up with, despite initial legality protests from Bruce.

Dick returns to the circus grounds later that night, donning his Nightwing suit, and sneaks past the security guards patrolling around with ease.

He makes his way to the back of the main tent, where the animals are being kept. There he finds the terrible condition they’re being held in, and he makes it his goal to rescue the other animals after the hybrid is safe and sound.

After a bit of searching, he finds a small cage tucked near the back, holding the trembling, terrified hybrid inside.

Dick’s gaze softens, and he approaches quietly, crouching down in front of it, “Hey there…” He murmurs, getting their attention. He winces at the wariness in their eyes, knowing it’s going to be a process of gaining their trust.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” He adds, “Not like them.”

God, he really hopes the kid understands English. He didn’t think this through, did he?