Danny had no idea what this 'drawing' thing was, but it must be some sort of activity Dick wanted him to do. The acrobat released his hand and stood up, motioning for Danny to follow with a small smile. Danny wasn't sure, he liked it under the table if it meant no keepers, but then again these keepers were weird and nice and he didn't feel in much danger. So Danny slowly got to his feet, stepping out of the shadows of the table and into the light near Dick.

"Come on, there's paper in the office but the crayons are somewhere in my room I think. I also need to get dressed, so why don't you wait here for a minute?" Dick said to Danny before turning tail and walking out of the kitchen/table area at a pretty fast pace. Danny trailed behind with his hands together, shoulders a bit scrunched because he was confused and already missed the shadows under the table.

Also he had no clue what Dick just said.

So he just continued to follow, but Dick was walking fast and was headed for the stairs. The acrobat's core flashed light purple when he looked over his shoulder to find Danny behind him, in which the halfa squeaked and shrunk back, realizing he might have made a mistake by following.

Dick paused on the first step of the stairs, hand coming up to placate the boy in a kind gesture. "Hey it's okay, I'm just going to my room to get dressed, you can stay down here, I don't want you to hurt your leg again by going up all these stairs."

It took a few seconds of deciphering but Danny finally understood the order Dick was telling him. Stay here, yeah he could do that. He searched his face for anymore hidden messages, like WHERE exactly he should stay, by the wall? By the stairs? Right where he was in that exact moment? Could he sit down? Danny's hands fisted nervously and he kept his head lowered, deciding to stay exactly where he was until told otherwise.

He didn't see Dick's reaction, but he assumed it was the correct decision because Dick's feet thumped up the stairs.

Danny should stay completely still, but his nose was itchy, and besides, the sooner he moves after Dick leaves means more time to pretend he didn't move when he gets back. The small halfa quickly reached up to itch the side of his nose, looking up slightly just in case Dick came down unexpectedly. He did not. So Danny stayed still after the itch was scratched, eyes examining the floor and wondering how long exactly he was supposed to stay like this.

He was more relaxed than he'd been in awhile, just standing there, but he realized Alfred was still around, and he was in a very open area. Big open areas were for robot fights, being left alone was a precursor to the big voice in the sky saying 'Begin'. Danny resisted the urge to shuffle his feet, or flinch at every tiny sound. There was a ticking coming from somewhere and he could feel his anxiety rise as his face drained of blood. Ticking meant boom, and boom meant heat and pain, then his skin would be like the burnt bread.

The child's tense and stiff body was swayed by a sudden wind, making his acidic eyes go wide. Wind comes from movement, movement could mean a wide range of things... dangerous things. Danny slowly turned his head over his shoulder, not daring to blink.

He saw nothing.

Nothing was amiss, nothing was moving, nothing could have made that gust of wind.

Danny shuttered and shivered, eyes darting around the eerie hollow mansion.

The wind blew again, making him finally close his eyes as a certain smell rammed up his nose. He took an involuntary step back, shaking and watching the empty hallway with wet eyes.

His gaze settled on the table in the kitchen, the innocent mahogany table. It started to shake, or was that him?

Out of the ground rose a GIW agent, pale and transparent.

Danny's heart beat wildly and loudly in his chest as those shaded eyes landed on him. His skin became clammy and all the blood drained from his face. No no no! The GIW can't be here! His keepers said they were gone! He squeezed his eyes shut, maybe it was a nightmare, maybe it was all some twisted dream and it was finally taking its due course. When his eyes opened the agent was still there, in fact the agent started walking forwards through the table.

Danny keened and backed up to a wall, it was getting harder to breathe. Dick and Bruce said no more GIW! They lied! Tears pricked at his acidic eyes, years of abuse coming back to him all at once.

The agent sneered down at him, shifting more opaque with a click from some device on his wrist. His core writhed in blood red, roaring like the growl at the back of his throat as he raised his fist aimed at the child.

A soft blue glow hummed from the halfas left, but he barely paid it any attention, frozen in place in front of his abuser. His shivering got worse, a tiny wisp of fog slipping out of his parted lips as he stared up at the hand about to beat him down.

Danny closed his eyes and braced for impact, hoping to be knocked out with the first punch.

The hit never came.

He flinched when he heard the agent grunt, hunched with the slam of body meeting wood, and screwed his eyes tighter at some scuffling.

Then it was silent.

"Dear child." An old, whispery, voice said gently. "It is alright. You do not know me, and I do not expect you to trust me yet."

Danny practically hugged the wall, curling his shoulders in and whining away from the voice. He didn't know this person, this was neither a keeper or an agent.

"I am here to help, all I ask of you is to believe me."

For some reason Danny understood him perfectly, no spots were missing from his sentence and it all made sense in his head. He was sure he wasn't speaking English or Romanian. Danny's eyes cracked open, slowly managing to lift them up to whoever this new guy was.

His eyes grew wide and his breathing caught in his throat.

He was glowing. His clothes were like fabric Danny had never seen before, it was like he was wearing a blanket! It was purple, draped across his shoulders and even around his head. His skin... his skin was BLUE! It looked wrong, transparent, like he was pale or sickly. And on his sickly skin were cuts, cuts Danny recognized because he had the same scars all along his arms and torso.

Danny sucked in a breath. He bled the same toxic green Danny did. He must be like him! He's a ghost!

His eyes shot up to the ghosts eyes, they were pure red, the dark red like the agents raging core. Wait- wait a minute. He doesn't have a core! There's no core on this guy! Danny looked back at his face, once again scared, he didn't know what not having a core meant! One of the ghost's eyes had a wicked scar over it, his gloved hands held a staff to the ground and was leaning heavily on it. There were clocks on his wrists, there was even one on his chest! And- his feet! His feet were gone! He didn't have any legs!

The small child's Addams Apple bobbed as he managed to swallow his dry mouth. His chest was tightening and his throat was threatening to close, but even then a pitiful squeak escaped him when the ghost moved.

"Daniel," the being said, his red eyes not unkind but urgent. "I am, regrettably, on borrowed time and explaining everything would be useless in this present. But you must move quickly, balking from these kind people will be your undoing. It is exactly the opportunity the GIW are looking for, do not play into their hands. Now, Alfred Pennyworth is in danger downstairs, you have four minutes and seventeen seconds until the damage becomes permanent, I'm afraid he won't be able to hold his breath longer than that."

Danny was so confused, but the ghost had protected him from the agent and was saying Alfred was in trouble! The halfa stood up straighter, still wary but understanding the ghost was informing him, he was not a threat. Even so, he flinched when the ghost's form flickered, like electricity or something. His voice even glitched, sounding weird and displaced as his mouth and body strobed weirdly.

"I- Clo- -ork, -e -sa- -aniel -Gr- -son."

Danny stared as the being blinked out of existence, the air seeming to heat up with its lack of presence. The child stood frozen for a moment, shaking hands pushing himself upright from the wall as he struggled to reclaim his scattered thoughts and breathing.

The most prominent thought concerning Alfred.

"Danny! Danny are you okay?" The small experiment had barely heard Dick's thumping feet, but now the older boy was crouched in front of him with a hand on his shoulder and staring worriedly into his face. Danny was relieved to find Dick had his core, it was writhing in purple like Danny's own. If he had one, he wasn't sure. Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't, he didn't pay much attention to himself really.

The halfa blinked a few times and continued to regain his breath, finding he was gripping Dick's arm. Wait a second, he moved! He wasn't supposed to move! It was a simple order! Don't move! Danny whimpered and ducked his head apologetically, releasing his hold on the acrobat.

"It's alright Danny, you're okay." Dick's hand began to rub his shoulder, his head looking up and around. "Did something scare you?"

"Al-Alfred." Danny said after a second, eyes going wide again as he was reminded of what was really going on. Dick liked Alfred right? They wanted to keep each other alive? "D-dan-nger!" Danny stressed, eyes still glued to the floor, his fists clenching. It didn't matter that he hadn't stood still, at least not right now, Alfreds life was more important than standing still!

Right?

Dick's face fell though, and his core swirled blue. "No, Alfred isn't a danger to you, he's nice remember?"

Danny was already shaking his head, regretting the action as soon as it happened because did he just tell a keeper they were wrong? To hide his discomfort he shuffled his feet, then realizing he had to look up to appease these keepers. He did so many things wrong in the past few seconds alone, he was surprised his face wasn't acquainted with the floor yet. But even though he feared the worst, Danny continued to fight for Alfred. "Alfred are probleme!" (Alfred is in trouble!)

Dick reared back, his face made of stone while his core whirled with different colors. Surprise, fear, and anger were of the most saturated at the moment. Danny's shoulder scrunched at the display of anger, maybe fighting was a bad idea if he was getting this deep into trouble. First he used his powers, then he fled from his keepers (hiding under the table), and then he disobeyed a super simple command and now he was ARGUING with his keeper. How on earth was he NOT going to get in trouble after this?

Dick was standing upright now, reaching for his waist where a familiar yellow belt rested. Danny found himself instinctually clinging to the older boy for balance, surprised by the burning pain erupting in his leg. His fingers wrapped into the hem of Dick's shirt and part of his pant leg, his bad leg hurt a lot and he didn't understand why. His leg was really hurting, like REALLY hurting, he didn't even think he could walk on it.

"D-down... where R-Robin." Danny muttered as he looked painfully at the floor. He was caught between needing to stop fighting his keeper for his own safety and fighting for Alfred's life. He was already in a big hole, Dick and Bruce were probably going to lock him up in an electric chair for a whole week after this, but if he continued to defy his keepers and help Alfred maybe the old man would still be alive while he was getting punished instead of dead.

"I'll take care of it Danny, but you need to stay up here where it's safe, alright?" Dick interrupted his train of thought, messing with some thin black rectangle that lit up in his hands. Danny fisted the clothing in his grip but he made no acknowledging sound, the... clock guy said Alfred was suffocating and that they only had a few minuets, AND the GIW agents were here! But Dick gave him a new order, he really shouldn't fail again, but if he was alaready in so much trouble and Alfred wasn't even safe yet? Then it had to be worth it to disobey right?

Hold on.

Was Alfred worth it? Why did he want to risk it all for saving the old man who seemed really scary at first? Would Dick and Bruce be happy Alfred stayed alive or did they... did they WANT Alfred dead?

Danny was so confused, nothing was making sense and all he knew was that he was in big trouble and Alfred was dying. But like Dick had said many times, Alfred was nice, Alfred was nothing like the agent that bore the same name. They had fed him and gave him a room with windows and a bed to sleep on.

Danny whined and stuffed his face in Dick's pant leg, confused beyond all belief but knowing something bad was happening- not even sure who the target was anymore. "Danger!"

"Danny I need to be able to move to help, I can't hold you and you shouldn't be running on your bad leg. Besides, if there is danger you need to be far from it." The older boy argued, sounding annoyed and exasperated. Danny's heart palpitated in his chest, body tensing once more just in case Dick wanted to swat at him. Dick had every right to be mad at him and punish him, and his continued defiance would surely break this nice thing they kept insisting. Who would want to be nice to a disobedient scum of post human consciousness?

"Danger!" Danny repeated into Dick's pant leg, growing increasingly terrified of the warm he was starting to feel from his body. Warm means body and body means agent and agent means pain.

Danny had to get away from Dick.

Danny had to save Alfred.

"Nu este timp!" (There is no time!) The halfa shoved off the acrobat and attempted to run away, instead he limped heavily for all of two steps before he dropped to the floor with a cry. He couldn't stop the sniffling and quiet sobbing between heavy breaths, the pain was so intense he was starting to get dizzy. His eyes squeezed shut, the tears dripping down onto the rug. He couldn't even escape right.

"Danny wait!" Dick called after him, holding his phone with the caves camera feed in one hand while he reached with the other. He barely had to move to catch up to the wounded child and it hurt his heart to see Danny in such pain just trying to get away from him. Dick knelt at his side and attempted to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, thinking he could implement Bruce's hair ruffling calming agent at this moment. But the child started crawling away from him, gasping and silently crying out in pain as it disturbed his leg. "Danny stop, you'll hurt yourself!" Dick followed on his knees (Danny was going very slow) and hesitated to touch, he didn't want Danny to get the wrong idea.

He got a wounded, wordless cry in response, the child continuing to crawl and if anything, sped up.

"Danny I'm not mad at you, but you need to stop, I'll take care of Alfred, I'm sure he's fine. If something was wrong we would know Danny." Dick tried to reason, reaching again but not touching.

"No!" Danny pushed off from the ground, meaning to sprint, instead he careeened forwards into the ground. Then he gasped when his body never even met the floor.

The halfa soared from the fall, rising up into the air and shooting off like a bullet. Now he REALLY had to get away from Dick! It was an accident he swore! But he couldn't deny flying was very helpful at the moment, he was determined to find the downstairs and save Alfred! He could hear Dick running behind him, calling for him again and again. Danny paid him no hesitance, but he might have ran into a wall when he looked over his shoulder for a second and flinched at the acrobat's closeness. The ghost child scrambled to get away, barely able to push off the wall and grab a decorative hall light to quickly change directions. Finally, he made it to the place he heard Bruce call the 'office' and Dick was far behind (probably not for long though). The albino haired experiment found the clock they had exited before and was only reminded of the time ticking down to Alfreds doom— and the weird clock guy.

He ran into the clock, but he was bounced backwards onto the ground with a yelp. His face scrunched in determination and he lifted himself up to move the clock, ignoring his bad leg that almost buckled. He grabbed two sides of the wood and tried to heave it in whichever direction it was supposed to go. It wasnt going to work! Danny's leg wouldn't hold out much longer —but he had to get down there! Alfred was in trouble! The small halfa heard Dick behind him and his attempts grew frantic, moving to the side to shoulder slam the clock.

"Danny calm down!" Is what Dick said when he entered, Danny refused to look at him and instead redoubled his efforts to push the clock open, not seeing that Dick reached up to the clocks face.

Finally the clock started to move to the side and Danny pushed harder, digging his feet into the ground and grunting with the effort. Once the growing gap was big enough Danny dashed inside to the small up-down room, hoping the clock would close behind him, but to his horror it continued to open, allowing Dick to come through. Danny backed up until his back hit the wall and he slid to the corner, avoiding Dick as much as possible as the older boy entered the tiny space.

The acrobat did something to the wall and the clock closed, the ground shaking as they started to sink. Danny kept his wide eyes on him, shifting to alleviate the pain in his leg with a quiet whimper.

"Hey it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you I promise, you don't need to be scared." Dick spoke, slowly and softly, hands raised where Danny could see them and core writhing in sad and fearful colors. Pink was making a comeback. "Your leg is hurt, can you let me look at it?"

Danny seized up, shaking his head violently and trying to squish more into the corner.

"Hey that's okay, it's okay, I won't do anything." Dick promised quickly, his eyes making a weird shape that corresponded with the growing swirling dark blue. The pink was now slashing through the other colors like daggers. The older boy had his eyes on the black rectangle that appeared in his hand again, the fake smile he put up for Danny souring into a frown. The pink flared, swallowing everything, and Dick looked up anxiously at the elevator door.

The ride couldn't seem fast enough but finally the door opened and Dick turned to Danny. "Okay something is wrong," he admitted, "but you need to stay here where it's safe. I'll go ahead but until I come and get you, you need to stay here."

Dick was being serious and stern, this was definitely an order. Danny nodded without thinking, an automatic response to that tone and look, but the second Dick left the elevator Danny concentrated hard on floating up and out of the small room.

The ghost child went high, quiet and looking around frantically for both GIW agents and Dick, he was going to be in SO much trouble. It was colder the higher he went and it felt good on his overheating body, he didn't realize it until now but he was sweating.

Danny couldn't remember the last time he sweated— wait yes he can... the time the GIW decided to set him in a room with a large heater that got hotter and hotter until Danny felt absolutely cooked.

Anyway, he was looking down, trying to find where Alfred was. There was a number of ways to suffocate, underwater (he shuddered), choking, lack of oxygen in the air, or even some other compound in the air. What Danny found was a block of ice.

It was near the big screen and chair, and it wasn't an exact block of ice, but all flakey and splashy, like water was thrown and then frozen. Danny recognized this, it was one of the experimental guns tested on him, the ice one. It handnt worked too well on him for some reason, but they finally tweaked it enough to get it at temperatures Danny couldn't handle for long periods of time. Not to mention if they encased his head with the stuff—

Oh.

Danny hovered around the ice, it's cold aura feeling like a breath of fresh air over his hot body, almost stinging. He saw a dark form inside the ice and Danny's fears were confirmed, Alfred was stuck in the ice!

The small halfa lowered to the ground, wincing as his lad leg barely touched the floor and he ignored it in favor of getting closer to the ice. He pressed his hands along the smooth surface, biting his lip and trying to figure out how to help Alfred out. The agents had broken the ice to get him out, it had hurt a LOT though and he was unconscious for a long time. He refused to do that to Alfred, but he did have a tool now that he didn't have before; his powers. Specifically, intangibility.

How many times today was he going to use his powers without permission? Well too late, he had already used so many powers without permission and who knew how long had passed since the clock guy told him about Alfred. He needed to get Alfred out NOW.

Danny started taking in deep long breaths, his skin began to tingle and his hands started to fade. Not completely though, he could see his outline, he was just translucent.

His hands began to sink into the ice and Danny's eyes grew wide in success. He pushed forwards more, until it felt like he wasn't pushing against anything at all. He stepped in once he was more confident, hopping really— he angled his leg so it didn't touch the floor. Then he rushed face first into the ice.

It was all white and blue, which was weird but cool, he could sort of see the outside because it was so dark compared to the ice, but he was focused on the tall more defined black streak that was closer. It was disorienting to go through things, it was like going underwater without water. It put pressure in his ears and body, but there was no weight. He reached out and found Alfred's leg, he looked up and the Butler was frozen in a position of surprise. To Danny's surprise his core was NOT frozen, it whirled with panic- wait wait, is THAT what that pink stuff is? Panic?

Danny dismissed this as it became apparent he needed to move quicker, Alfred was still running out of time. Danny took a deep breath (not sure what air he was breathing in considering he was inside a solid object) and tried to grab the old man's leg, but his hands passed right through. He whimpered in distress, trying to grab it again and again. He let himself tingle less, his shade never turning, but the power outflow was clearly less. He honestly had no idea how he did this, but he bit back trying to use MORE power because then he might go through the floor.

This time his hand connected to Alfred, his face lighting up and his mouth turned upwards in victory. Then he remembered that was a human thing only and soured it into a worried frown. He yanked and tugged, the leg moved but not much else. Danny huffed indignantly and closed his eyes, holding the leg and trying to spread the tingly feeling to all of Alfred. It must have worked because Danny was startled when Alfred started moving on his own. The old man gasped and shuddered, doubling over instantly as he coughed and tried to take in as much air as possible.

"My goodness." He said breathlessly once he reclaimed enough air, turning his head to send a small smile at Danny after taking a look around. The old man gently put his hand on Danny's albino hair, causing a flinch from the child. "You're the one doing this aren't you."

It was not a question, Danny bit his lip nervously and nodded. He kept his gaze averted and tugged at the pant leg, taking a tiny step with his good leg. Alfred understood his tugging and walked forwards, but Danny had to keep his grip on Alfred or he'd get stuck again— also he really couldn't put any weight on his bad leg now.

The small experiment whimpered and clutched at the clothing, hopping forward jarringly with a deep frown etched into his face. Alfred was immediately concerned, shifting the hand that was on the child's hair to slip it to his forehead. He frowned at the intense heat he was met with, also taking into account the tear streaks on the child's cheeks. "Might I be able to carry you Master Danny?"

Whimpering again, Danny's knuckles grew white, stuffing his face yet again into the pants he was holding onto. Alfred waited for a moment, observing how the boy had his leg lifted and leaned heavily on the butler. He leaned down to pick the child up despite not getting a response. Danny's grip changed from pant leg to coat collar, latching onto anything he could get his hands on and crying gently onto the well-dressed shoulder.

Danny was in so much pain, the tears wouldn't stop and he didn't even attempt to, all his focus was in making sure they didn't go tangible again inside the ice. He wasn't even sure what was happening to his body anymore, his eyes were closed and his skin felt like it was being flayed.

Which had definitely happened before.

The second Danny felt the underwater-like pressure slip away he released the tingling, some of the pain in his leg curbing but it left Danny exhausted and dizzy.

"Please try to stay awake Master Danny, I'm not sure what is wrong with you at the moment but you need to stay awake." Alfred's voice punctured the fog drifting over Danny's mind, it ripped him away from the painless bliss of unconsciousness.

Then the pain came back full force.

He cried out and arched his back, attempting to physically get away from the feverous pain that was digging into him like claws. His back hit something solid and cold, the ground, and his skin felt on fire, igniting another scream from the back of his throat.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o-

Dick's feet pounded on the ground as he followed the screams, arms pumping at his sides and breathing a little harsher than he probably should have. He'd been running all over the bat cave trying to find the agents, he knew they were there, and they knew it too. He slipped on a mask at some point, he probably should hav enchanted, but he still had his belt and that's all he needed. The GIW agents were running from him, which was a good thing, but he also couldn't see them, he only saw one agent once near the batmobile. But with their lack of desire for a confrontation, Dick could only run in circles and hope to stumble upon them while visible. The cameras were picking up nothing, not thermal, not even astral. But then he heard Danny's scream and he cursed quietly and bolted to find the boy. He was an idiot, he knew he shouldn't have left the boy on his own, especially with the agents out and about unregulated. He was heading for the elevator but the screams weren't coming from there, they were coming from the main hub. Dick's mind whirled with fear and panic, his mind creating tons of horrid fictional situations in which he would find Danny in. As he came into the cavernous part of the cave he found Danny practically writhing on the floor and Alfred kneeling worriedly over him.

"Alfred! DANNY! What's wrong with him?!" Dick shouted, running closer until he stopped at Danny's head, kneeling like Alfred was and trying to spot the point of injury that was causing the boy pain. Danny jerked at his voice and cried out differently, it was more of a whine and he tried to sit up weakly. Dick gently caught his shoulders and placed him back down on the floor, eyes still searching the body. "The GIW agents are either invisible or gone, I found one near the Batmobile but he disappeared before I could get to him." Dick spoke quickly, informing the butler of their new stakes. The agents could strike them now while they were distracted with Danny, but Danny really did need their attention.

Alfred nodded to his words, "I suspect the open wound on his leg has caught an infection." Alfred's nimble hands took off one sleeve of Danny's pants and ghosted over the wrapping done over the massive gash on the child's thigh. Alfred unwrapped the gauze and scanned the wound, it looked exactly how it had when he wrapped it. The butler's frown deepened, all the other wounds on the child had shown progress of healing by now— if not already gone— but this wound looked exactly the same.

When the cold cave air hit the child's wound it sent the boy into a shivering fit. Danny thrashed on the floor, his good leg trying to kick at Alfred but it was too weak and uncoordinated for much concern. Dick tried to cradle the child's tossing head but his hands would reach up and try to shove away the acrobats attempts of contact like he was warding away an attacker. The boy was panting now, labored and heavy, and he was mumbling things in Romani but his broken English stood out the most.

"I-I'm sorry! I- sorry! Please! Please don't-!" The boy whimpered, his head almost stilling at the sudden ministrations to his head.

"Shh Danny, shh." Dick spoke softly, reaching again and pushing past the flailing limbs to run his fingers through Danny's sweat-soaked hair, eyes dancing upwards to check their surroundings for hidden agents. "It's alright, you're not in trouble. Something is wrong with your leg but we're going to fix it."

Alfred could not see infection, there was no puss or inflamed flesh, it was exactly as it had been when he cleaned and dressed the wound the first time. It was only slightly bloody, the red and green syrupy liquid unique to the boy pooling in the gash with bits of bright glowing green scabs in some places. Alfred gently brushed a thumb over one of the scabs, looking up when the child cried out and tried to recoil from the touch.

The old butlers eyes narrowed, it was not a scab.

"Master Dick, we need to operate on this leg," Alfred said, looking up at the acrobat. "It is not an infection, there are shards of shrapnel in his muscles I did not recognize before."

"Shrapnel?" Dick wondered, but then realized what Alfred was asking him to do. "Right." He nodded and shifted, digging his fingers under the small nine-year-old and lifting.

Danny continued to whimper and wine in pain, wetly crying in the arms of the older boy. His eyes cracked open for a few seconds, taking in the towering keeper holding him and the direction in which they were traveling. He got one glance at the table and grabbed onto Dick desperately, like he could use the boy to hide behind, as leverage to keep himself away from the table. It was useless though, Dick just held on tighter as they walked closer and Danny cried harder in terror as the table loomed closer and closer.

"Shh, it's okay Danny, it's okay. I know you probably have a lot of bad experiences on medical tables, but we need to fix your leg." Dick said from above. Danny tried to quiet himself, the only part his rushing ears could understood from his superiors sentence, but didn't try to stop the tears trailing down his cheeks. He deserved whatever punishment they were dealing to him on the table. Struggling anymore would worsen everything and it was already so bad.

He couldn't help the pitiful whine that rose from his throat at the feeling of being placed on the medical table, he wanted all of this to go away. He wanted to go back into the house, the rooms with big windows and dark walls, to where he wasn't in danger and the keepers were nice. He wanted to be good so bad! He wanted them to like him! He didn't want them to hurt him! Suddenly the heat of the younger keepers hands went away, that was nice, but the tell-tale sound of clinking metal made the air catch in his throat.

"Master Dick, fetch the anesthesia, he has no reason to be awake for this." Alfred said, the English butlers back to Dick and collecting supplies from drawers and cabinets onto a tray quickly.

Danny twitched in fear and agony as he waited, the tense air accented with gasping painful whines from the child. Then there was the granting of wheels on tile, the terrified halfa looked up for a moment, seeing the younger keeper wheel in a gas tank on a rolly cart specifically designed for it, with tubes and a familiar plastic mask. Danny began to panic, keening loudly and searching around frantically with his eyes for anything that could help him, looking at each keeper in hopes their kindness would miraculously come back in the last second. It took everything he hand not to launch himself from the table to run, he might have questioned the lack of restraints but he didn't want to anger these keepers more than he already has. Both of the older male's cores were swirling a violent pink, both set on their tasks, their plans to hurt Danny. And why shouldn't they? Danny had done so many things wrong! He was so sorry though! He was so sorry he couldn't be good enough for them to continue being kind to him. This was all a test and he failed! He was obviously given kindness to see if he would be more receptive but now it was over because he wasn't good enough!

"Danny it's okay, we're going to help you." Dick was saying, checking the functionality of the tubes and fumbling with the gas mask. Danny whined and shook his head, not understanding and panting as his heart beat accelerated astronomically.

Dick's stone hard face fell with the child's panicking, seeing the need for Danny to calm down but struggled to find something suitable that Danny would understand. Danny wasn't understanding, he couldn't comprehend that they were trying to help him. They needed to fix his leg right now and Danny's only form of "comfort" would be the last thing to happen in the middle of an operation. So screwing everything, Dick climbed onto the padded medical table with the writhing Danny, catching his small shoulders and forcing him to lie still. The boy only tried harder to move away, whining and grunting through clenched teeth. Dick only tightened his hold and lightly dragged the ailing child closer for a better grip. "It's going to be alright Danny, this is to help, you won't feel anymore pain. You're not in trouble." He sat back against the wall with the boy draped across his chest and lap, the child's hands gripping the arm restraining him with white knuckles.

"Sarry- sawry- awry sawry sawry-" Danny's mumblings reached Dick's ears and his heart broke just a little bit more. The acrobat's free hand went up to rub at the poor boy's head.

"No no, shh, it's okay." Dick said, heart aching at the blubbering mess Danny was and how terrified he must be. Danny's flailing started to fade, his efforts relenting to the firm grip and sealed fate. Then Danny's head craned upwards and looked straight at Dick. The young vigilante couldn't help but pause at the sight. His red rimmed acidic eyes were extremely wet and dull, they pleaded with Dick, terrified and looking for anything that could free him of this trauma.

"It's going to be okay." Dick said gently, rubbing once last time through the albino hair before reaching for the plastic gas mask. Danny's breathing grew faster, his good leg pathetically kicking once more, until his face morphed into a pure broken and lost look. His eyes closed and allowed the mask to be placed over his nose and mouth, finally giving up. "It's going to be okay."

Dick quickly turned the nozzle of the gas tank, hearing the faint hiss before returning the hand to the mask. He kept his hand there in case the child tried to toss it off, but the only movement from the frozen halfa was the pounding of his chest, the fast paced breathing fogging up the plastic again and again. Alfred was back with a tray full of tools and carted over a tall platform that allowed the tray to hover over the medical table. Alfred had medical gloves on, taking a tweezer-like tool first but pausing to look at the acrobat.

"Be sure to keep him on that, he woke up entirely too early last time and I do not wish form him to feel any of this." The butler said, Dick nodded seriously and tightened his grip over Danny's chest in an attempt of a hug. "Goodness knows he doesn't need another traumatizing experience on a medical table."

By the time Alfred's muttered words registered in the acrobat's head the boy's eyes were now limply shut. His vice-like grip on his arm was slowly fading and his breathing was finally slowing down and getting deeper, a miracle if Dick ever saw one.

Once the old butler was satisfied with how deep Danny was under, Alfred started his operation.

Dick tried not to watch, instead hugging with his one arm and scanning the rest of the boy's body for any indication of pain or awareness. Also their surroundings, considering they very well could be in danger from the loose agents. It was only two silent minuets later when a small 'tink' alerted Dick that whatever was inside Danny's wound was now on the tray. "What is it?" He found himself asking, tearing his gaze away from the cave to the tiny object of evil. Admittedly, it didn't look evil, it looked like a rock and it was glowing a similar toxic green as Danny's blood. The first thing that came to Dick's mind was kryptonite, which was somewhat evil.

"I'm not entirely sure, but it is inhibiting his healing process. We can assume it is some type of ghost kryptonite." Alfred said, focused again on the open wound. "And concerning that conversation you overheard, I would like to apologize for bringing it up at an inopportune time."

Dick was surprised at the sudden change in topic, having to gather his thoughts from that morning so he could answer. "No no, I just overreacted." He tried to say, but his argument died in his throat when Alfred rose an eyebrow at him even though he was still focused on the wound.

Alfred placed another shard of green rock on the tray. "It is understandable, and you are correct, the issue does require both of your and Master Bruce's input. But I hope you know I would never withhold information that concerned this family without cause, I was merely pointing out the issue to Master Bruce."

Dick took and breath and shrugged lightly as to not disturb the unconscious Danny. "I understand that now, I'm sorry." How is it that Alfred apologized first, but Dick was probably the only one who needed to? Alfred was smart like that, he knew everything and knew exactly when to use certain information on certain people for a certain reaction. It was kinda scary, he was essentially the Batman behind the Batman. But it didn't much matter because Dick trusted Alfred, sometimes more than Bruce. Alfred was a good friend, he deserved so much credit for so many things, of course Dick should apologize.

"Glad to hear it, but the issue remains." The old butler quieted as he used two steady hands on a larger shard, easing it out of the flesh it irritated. "Are you and Bruce ready to take on a child such as this? He needs a home, with lots of attention and care."

Dick looked down, rubbing a few fingers into the sleeping boy's scalp. "We can take care of him, we have been." Dick had to admit, he wasn't thinking much on the long term future, he was too focused on the here and now.

"The day is not over yet," Alfred warned, "the process of recovery for a victim such as this is long and hard. There will be many long days like this ahead of you, some maybe even worse. It is playing a game you don't know the rules to, and trying to figure it out as you play along. All it takes is one bad day, one bad anything, the damage might already be done and we could be too late."

"It's not too late." Was the first thing out of Dick's mouth, but he was still in deep thought about everything else the wise old man said.

"Batman and Robin have handled tasks that have included hours and hours of trust exercises, of walking around an active bomb, and solving a riddle without violence before." Another 'tink' and a fourth piece of green rock was extracted. "But can Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson? If one whispered word that a traumatized child lives here gets out, you and Master Bruce have to be prepared for the repercussions that I don't think either of you have realized yet. And that is not mentioning the unnatural appearance or nature of the boy that the public is sure to notice."

Dick was quiet, his throat had an uncomfortable lump. Alfred had a point, Alfred was good at that. Alfred was good at a lot of things. They've had Danny for barely a day, and how many times has the boy freaked out and cried and believed he would be harmed? Too many, much too many. It was taking too long, Batman and Robin would have this done in a cinch, adding Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne was just complicating the situation.

But Danny needed someone, more than a mask, more than a savior for a night. Danny needed help, real help. Danny needed a family.

Alfred was asking if that's really what he and Bruce wanted to be for the poor experimented boy.

Dick felt it was too early to tell, but he he couldn't deny he was starting to get attached. Danny was difficult though, it WAS like playing a game he didn't know the rules to. How many times would Dick and Bruce set the kid back by doing something wrong? How many times could Dick try to help, and only make it worse before Danny broke completely?

It was terrifying. It was worse than facing most of Gotham's villains, he'd even take The Joker over this. The Joker was somewhat predictable, he could expect violence and horrible ironic mastermind plans. He couldn't predict what Danny was scared of, what he was truly feeling, what was actually helping.

But.

It had to be worth it, Dick wanted to see the boy smile and relax, to lean into a hug, to meet every gaze, to speak freely in his native tongue and or English, to not flinch every time he was addressed or acknowledged.

Alfred still had a point, they didn't know what else Danny had issues with, and it was most likely everything. Did Danny even see them as people? Did he think they were GIW agents? How could they teach him if he was scared of everything? He barely even spoke at all, more than half the time he was apologizing because he feared them, because he didn't want to get hurt again. And even right now, here they were, trying to help, and Danny probably thought they were punishing him. Dick had said it so many times, Bruce had said it too, but it clearly wasn't clicking with the boy because he always thought he was in danger over the simplest things that really had no consequence at all.

But if not Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne, who would be willing to help this child? To be able to go through so many hoops, to try again and again after setbacks.

Who cared enough?

"We're the best chance he's got." Dick said eventually, still rubbing gently on the child's head. "This is their second attempt at taking Danny back, we can protect him."

Dick must have missed the remainder of the green rock extraction while he was thinking, because Alfred was wrapping Danny's leg now and eight pieces of various sizes laid in the tray. "And yet it was Master Danny who had to save me from suffocating in ice." He said pointedly while taping the bandage off.

The young vigilante blinked, Alfred was stuck in ice? "How did that happen?" And how on earth did Danny know?

"I am afraid I was caught unawares, I did not even see the agent behind me. The next thing I know is Master Danny holding onto my pants and I carried him out of the ice." Alfred said, stepping away to clean up the tools and safely store the green shards. Dick scowled at the tiny rocks, they caused Danny so much pain, and Bruce would probably keep them just in case Danny needed to be— Yeah he was going to stop that train of thought because he already knew the destination and didn't like it one bit. Alfred then came over and cut the flow of anesthesia, looking sadly over the unconscious boy.

"I am not saying he has no hope, I have full faith in you and Master Bruce." Alfred said, "I am simply asking if you are ready to commit more time, work, and energy into this one boy than you have your entire vigilante career."

Dick had his answer on the tip of his tongue, but then he was caught off guard. Would he have to miss school for Danny? Sleep? The occasional meal? And how about all the mental strain, it had barely been 24 hours and Dick was honestly exhausted. But hero work did the same thing to him, but now he would have to add 'hero work' to the list of activities deprived of his time and effort. Could he really give up being a hero to help Danny? He was just one kid, and there were plenty more that need his help, not to mention the team.

No. No no, Danny was worth it, he was going to help this child and he was going to do it no matter what. And it wasn't like he was doing this alone, he had Bruce and Alfred to help, and honestly most of the responsibilities should fall on the adults, but Dick was more than welcome to share the load.

The automatic answer that was already on his tongue was revamped, but then the child under his arms started to struggle.

Danny's closed eyes squeezed tighter, his loosely gripped hands tightening over Dick's arm. His body curled up, his legs drawing in as he squirmed on Dick's lap.

"Shh, shh, it's okay Danny." Dick said, quickly discarding the plastic mask that was still there and ran his fingers through the child's hair.

Danny's legs kicked out weakly, his breathing getting louder and shorter. His eyes burst open and so did a terrified cry of pain.

Dick switched languages, understanding now more than ever that that was probably the basis of their troubles. Danny didn't believe them half the time because he didn't know what they were saying. "Danny I'm going to tell you something okay? Something important." Dick said, trying to soothe the boy with the ministrations to his head of hair and a more hug-like tug of his arms.

Danny did calm down, or at least stilled his writhing body, but he stayed curled in Dick's lap. The child was looking at his bandaged leg, his grabby hands shifting towards his face where he seemed to sink as if to hide behind Dick's arm with just his large trepidatious eyes peaking out.

"Danny I want you to know that we want to help you, we're not going to abandon you to the GIW or anyone else. You're staying with me and Bruce, and it's going to be better than the GIW I can promise you that." Dick said solidly, giving an equally solid glance to the butler still standing next to him.

"...Promise?" Danny's tiny Romanian voice rose from hesitant lips, his frail body curling up a little bit more in the acrobat's lap.

Still speaking in Romani, Dick began to rock his torso gently from side to side, his fingers still buried in the boy's albino hair. "Yes, I promise. You can eat whatever you want, whenever you want. You can sleep when you're tired in your own room, or snuggle anywhere else if you want. You can talk all you want and you don't have to be afraid of using your powers. Granted we'd like to keep that on the down low, but you won't get in trouble if it happens. And if you want to try something new, or you have a question for me or Bruce, or even Alfred, you can ask and we'd never not answer. If you're scared of something tell us so we can understand and help you, we want you to be happy."

After a few beats of silence Danny's quiet voice wondered aloud carefully. "...Yellow?"

"If yellow means happy, then yes." Dick shrugged, not sure where Danny was getting this color thing, but rolling with it none the less.

"..." the small halfa went quiet, settled in the gently rocking arms of Dick Grayson. "What's this?" Danny asked carefully, the caution clear in his voice as he tested out the validity of Dick's claim. The little experiment released one hand from Dick's arm, using it to gentlypoke at the subject he questioned, which happened to be Dick's arm.

Dick paused his swaying, glancing up at Alfred before answering. "That's my arm."

Danny's head shook from side to side, squirming in discomfort. It took the halfa a second and a few scared squeaks later, but he finally spoke. "W-What's... warm trap?"

"This is a hug Danny," Dick explained sadly, some of it accidentally edging into his voice. "It's supposed to help you, hugs are one of the ways people show love."

"...Love?" Danny tried out the word cautiously, in both confusion and trepidation.

"Mhm," Dick hummed and nodded his head, "I care about you and it makes me sad and scared when you're not happy."

Dick was continually bewildered as he heard the child mumble "Blue, purple," under his breath.

Alfred walked around the duo back to the counter, he carefully picked up the Petri dish that housed the green rocks and walked back smoothly. "Master Danny, if you don't mind me interrupting." Being sure not to get too close, Alfred tilted the dish so the boy could see the glowing green rocks inside. "Do you possibly know what this is?"

Danny's reaction was instant, he whimpered and shied away, curling even more and seemingly trying to absorb into Dick, or perhaps through.

"Hey hey, it's alright, he's not going to do anything with it Danny." Dick soothed, grunting quietly when a scrambling foot caught his gut. "He's just asking what it is, we won't hurt you with it."

"Bad!" Danny whimpered as he continued to try to avoid the green rocks, burying his head into the crevice of Dick's arm that was still over his chest like a seat belt. "Hurts!"

Dick's eyes widened for a moment, quickly turning his head to the butler. "It is like Kryptonite, proximity matters." Alfred took the hint and made quick work of putting the rocks away, while Danny peaked out to watch where he placed it. "It's alright Danny, see it's gone now, you're being super brave. Do you know what it was? We want to know so we can help you stay away from it."

Danny was taking in loud, short, gasping breaths, holding Dick's arm practically in a death grip, but eventually the child stuttered out coherent words. "E-ect-ecto.. r-rain-um-raineium..." a shiver traveled through the boy, "bad... like blood plant."

Dick paused for a moment, "What's the blood plant?"

Danny keened and dug himself again into the crook of Dick's arm, shaking his head and trembling.

"Okay, okay, no more questions, it's okay." Dick said, re-initiating the rocking motion with a hug including both arms this time. "Does your leg feel better?"

Danny's trembling form fidgeted for a moment before his head peaked out and nodded slowly. His legs curled more, finding the need for more traction to get closer to the older boy. "I... sarry. I should not have disobeyed, w-what is punishment?"

Dick was already shaking his head, "No Danny, no punishments remember, you don't have to be sorry, you did nothing wrong."

"B-But powers, ghost... scum."

"You are not scum, you're a child, they never should have hurt you or said those things. They are bad people, don't listen to bad people." Dick said, tightening his hug almost angrily.

A small squeak emanated from Danny, "Then why...? Why red?"

"Red?" Dick asked, confused beyond belief and taking another glance at Alfred who started putting things away.

"Angry." Danny mumbled, ducking closer to hide from some unknown assailant.

Dick's confusion cleared up, but not his curiosity. Danny kept doing that, attaching emotions to colors, if he were to understand Danny maybe getting him drawing supplies is useful in more ways than one. "Oh, I'm angry at the bad guys Danny, not you, you have never made me mad."

"E-even when I-I r-run away and h-hide from k-keepers?" Danny asked, voice warbling with emotion. Dick nearly balked at the drop of the title 'keepers', but he mentally shook himself and answered the poor boy's scared question.

"Yeah, because it's not your fault, you're scared and trying to feel better, we want to help. We're not keepers, we're not keeping you from anything..." Dick trailed off, trying to find a way to explain themselves in terms the boy could understand. "We're more like guardians."

"Guardians are nice." Danny mumbled, almost like he was lost in thought, the first time Dick had ever heard a comment from him that wasn't directly tied to an emotional breakdown or apology or scared question.

Dick started rubbing the sides of Danny's arms, leaning down a little to the boy. "Hey Danny wanna try drawing? Maybe you can show me all your colors and what you think they mean."

He got a little nod in response, the child's small voice rising clearer and as fearless as Dick had ever heard. "...Okay."

9519 words

Whoops, I'll try to stay below 10,000