Richard should’ve known that something was wrong before the two of you entered that warehouse. It was quiet, too quiet for a villain’s hideout. He should’ve realized that it was a trap, Robin is supposed to be smart like that, but he didn’t, not until it was too late.

One moment, he was walking down a quiet but eerie hallway with you by his side, the next he was getting shoved out of the way as you take a hit from the Scarecrow that was aimed for him. He watched, helpless, as the fear toxin was injected into your bloodstream.

He’s not sure where Scarecrow went after that. He must’ve slipped away in the chaos. Richard was a little too busy dodging blows from his big sibling to focus on anything else at that moment. This was all his fault. He should’ve known that something was wrong.

“Please,” he says, putting his hands out in what he knows is just a fruitless effort to placate you. “I don’t know what you’re seeing right now, but it’s me!” He shouldn’t have spoken, though. It just got him distracted. And in this line of business, distraction could be fatal.

It was luck, pure luck, that it wasn’t worse. Still, he catches a kick to his ribs, and it makes him stumble back against the wall. Richard grimaces, already able to tell that something was broken. It’s okay, he tells himself. He knows that you didn’t mean to, you just can’t tell who he is. It doesn’t make him any less scared, though.

“It’s me,” he says again, his voice weaker than before. He’s your little brother, he has to be able to get you to remember him. If anyone can break you out of this state of fear, it has to be him. Richard needs to help you. It’s his fault in the first place. He should’ve been more careful, you shouldn’t have had to take a hit for him. Especially not a hit of fear toxin. “You’re hallucinating. I promise I won’t hurt you.”