Dick Grayson in workout garb began to sweat and his arms shook with the strain of keeping himself in the air. He scowled in concentration as a bead of sweat dripped of his face. His mind was a hornet's nest of anger and worry, he couldn't focus on anything.

Danny has been missing for nearly a week.

That meant nearly a week, and counting, of being subject to the GIW and their horrible tests. Dick had hacked into Batman's files on what he found on Danny, Dick didn't get past one page without feeling the urge to hit something, hard.

He flipped off the rings, landing in a handstand that he continued into a backflip. He stumbled backwards and his back hit a wall, he turned in his anger and threw a fist at it, sending spiderweb cracks in the cement.

He stood there for a moment, breathing heavily as he tried to calm his loathing mind. Batman had used every ounce of knowledge he had to find Danny, every GIW building had been searched, but without giving away their true intentions to the world they could do little in the public eye.

They soon began 'illegal' searches, covert missions that actually stayed covert. The team had not been on any but Robin had been in nearly all of them. To the league it was difficult to try and search for the halfa under the nose of the public but Batman and Robin had been doing it for a while so to them it was quite easy.

The team was getting restless, their encounter with Clayface said so. Aqualad being distracted was enough to get the whole team down, along with Robin refusing to do anything other than look for Danny. Batman had forced him into going to the Clayface mission, Robin had been fidgety and obviously did not want to be at the mountain for longer than he had to. Wally had tried to cheer him up but it only got on the boy wonder's nerves. Couldn't he just forget about the team for a few days? Couldn't he just focus on the one task that actually mattered then once done with that one he could face the rest.

Dick looked up from his thoughts as the door to the training room in the Batcave opened, revealing Alfred in its threshold.

"Master Dick, Master Bruce wishes to see you, he is at the computer." The butler informed.

"Is it about Danny?" Dick had to ask, it was a question he asked nearly every time Bruce wanted to talk.

"He did not say." He responded.

Dick nodded and grabbed his water bottle, the Brit moved so he could get past and he set off to find his mentor who hopefully found something about Danny. He came to the Batcomputer and found his surrogate father typing away with his cowl down.

"Yeah Bruce? Is it something about Danny?"

"Roy believes he has found a lead." His mentor nodded, Dick instantly perked up. "In his search he found a signature that's similar to Danny's, albit faint and not in anyplace we think there is a GIW laboratory, but we have been wrong before." Batman informed.

"Where?"

"A town called Amity Park, Illinois."

"huh." Dick said in wonder, that would not have been a place he would have thought a GIW building to be. "How soon can we leave?"

"Tomorrow," Dick groaned as Batman continued, "It's late and we both know you're off your game."

the raven haired child hung his head in acknowledgment, it was true, he was off his game. He was off his game with the team's attempt with Clayface, though Aqualad was also distracted he was sure it was not because of Danny. Dick had been sleeping fitfully, he might have been a bit snippy with Wally the other day but he felt it was justified as the speedster was being obnoxious. Generally, Dick was acting very unlike himself, and it was obvious to everyone but him.

"But what if-" Dick tried, there was no one more desperate to find Danny other than Dick. He felt responsible not only as his guardian but as his brother as well. He should have been able to protect Danny, he should have done SOMETHING to keep the GIW away. Just thinking about Danny back in that state of panic and submission made Dick angry.

"End of discussion, Red Arrow said he would investigate and inform us if he found anything substantial, he didn't sound too hopeful." Batman said.

"But there is a chance."

"Yes, there is a chance it could be Danny. That is why we are going tomorrow."

The young vigilante sighed, "Fine... first thing tomorrow right?"

"No later than 9."

"8"

"8:30"

"fine."

Dick walked back to the elevator, his mind reeling with newfound hope but also with loathing directed at the GIW. No one would have guessed it but Batman was just as angry as his younger partner. He could tell Bruce was angry with himself for letting his younger brother get taken, not that it showed to anyone else though.

Dick trudged past the kitchen, not hungry for the dinner Alfred had saved him, wishing he could see Danny sitting at the table poking at his food as usual. He frowned at the thought, and made his resolve even stronger.

He would get his brother back, no matter what.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

The red archer sped his way past a welcome sign, the sign itself being those typical 'Welcome to this town! its great!' a pun was probably thrown in but Roy didn't care. He had his eyes on the road, his mind going almost as fast as his motorcycle.

Roy wasn't affected by Danny's kidnapping as much as Dick and Bruce, Wally also being noticeably sadder, but it still got under his skin. It was wrong, on so many levels, to torture a kid for more than a few years and when he finally gets a glimpse of hope, smash it all down with more torture. He felt bad for the kid, along with how Robin was acting recently, completely snapping at his best friend when he was trying to cheer him up, was unsettling for the archer. Something about Danny's predicament made him sympathetic, maybe it was the GIW or the fact that Danny was half dead, it could have been he might have brotherly feelings for the little ghost...

Anyways, it didn't matter in Roy's mind, he was wholly focused on the little green dot on his screen that became steadily closer as he drove. Batman had found a way to track the ghostly signature ectoplasm gives out, thinking he could use it to find Danny. While it helped narrow the field it also opened up an array of questions. On its first use millions of green dots erupted onto the map, as they fine-tuned the machine the number diminished.

It was a great invention for ghost hunters, each dot being a ghost, but it did little to separate regular ghosts from Danny. There were collections of ghosts in some places, Wisconsin being one along with a few other places. Amity Park itself was known as a ghost ridden town, but strangely enough there were no single dots but one collective haze over the town. Like the town itself was a ghost.

Roy was close by when he saw a single ghost on the map, it was far brighter than the others so with his curiosity peaked he went to check it out. He radioed Batman just to inform him of his finding, he doubted it was Danny himself but maybe it could answer some questions.

The archer raced along the road, ignoring speed limits and honking car horns. He weaved between buildings and slowed to a stop in front of a run down house.

It was skinny and connected to the other buildings like an apartment complex, but the similarities ended there. It's shutters were hanging and the gutters were sagging, windows were broken and the door was lop sided as if broken. A huge sign laid on the sidewalk, something like 'Fe-t-n W-o-' in neon tubes who were dim and had long been broken. Large bolts were in the building where the sign used to be attached. As he continued to look the building got even stranger. A large saucer looking thing was connected to the roof, also having bolts on it that might have connected to the sign. It was very abnormal, in all honesty it looked like a haunted house. A joke in which Roy did not appreciate.

He checked his map that was connected to his motorcycle, seeing the bright green light still there where it looked to be in the building. He evaluated the building once more, it did not look like a place the GIW would set up a lab, though it's eerie feel to it might have made the perfect cover for an organisation doing illegal things.

He put up the kickstand and grabbed his bow, his masked eyes glaring at the building as if daring it to attack him. He approached and kicked the door in, drawing his bow just in case, after a few seconds of scanning he found nothing threatening. He released his stance but kept his guard up, he wouldn't put it past an evil organization to set a trap, though the idea was unlikely.

He looked around the house, finding dust everywhere and most furniture destroyed. Roy jumped as a few rats scuttled past his feet, he grumbled to himself and continued his search. He came upon a kitchen, it seemed relatively intact, the table was in splinters but the cupboards seemed fine. Roy clicked on a flashlight that was connected to his bow, shining a light over what looked to be dust and mold on the wood. The fridge was dented and after a quick look and a gag he shut it and silently declared never to open it again. It smelled of rotted flesh and expired milk, adding to the 'lovely' smells and sights a raccoon had built a nest of sorts inside.

He looked around once more and found a thick metal door near the kitchen ajgar. He poked his head around the corner, looking down a dark stairwell. This was the point in the movie where the character goes stupidly into the dark right into the monsters awaiting claws. Roy was no stupid character but a green glow caught his attention.

He turned off the flashlight as to not alert potential enemies to his arrival and crept down the stairs. As he got closer the glow brightened, sending off colored shadows onto the ground and giving the place an even more eerie feel. Roy checked the corner again, seeing no one.

He stepped out into the open with his bow half drawn, he didn't like this place one bit. A chill traveled up his spine and his hair stood on end, he scowled more and checked his surroundings. Again, no one was there but an unseen presence weighed down the atmosphere. Roy's attention was diverted to a giant hole, looking like the Zeta Tubes but smaller and more solid.

The portal looking thing writhed the luminescent green, a soft hum of electricity and something like bubbling sounds came from it. Roy inched closer, acutely aware he was not alone and had his eyes darting about as he went to investigate the portal.

He saw a soft glow of white flash behind him, he turned with an arrow pointed at the offender's throat. Roy stood unabashed by the ghost's sudden appearance, looking at the specter with hard eyes that had no intention of mercy.

The ghost had large hands up in surrender, gloved white, a blue skinned face in an almost complacent frown. His hair moved on it's own, looking like a silvery fire that rested on the ghost's head. He was large and extremely muscled, wearing a skin tight black and white suit with a small DP symbol on his chest. His blood red eyes stared, almost bored but with the same coolness Roy greeted him with.

"Who are you?" Roy asked, not taking his eyes off the potential threat, nor moving his arrow from the ghost's throat. The glow from the portal threw strange shadows across the ghost's features, turning the white into green and giving the black a soft reflective glow. It was interesting because the ghost himself glowed, a white aura surrounding his being, countering the portal's suffocating tint.

"Dan, but you're not here for me." The ghost said, his voice deep and a little echo-y, again he sounded bored with the situation. "you can put that bow down, it's useless against me."

Roy slowly lowered his bow, but kept his steely glare pinned on the ghost. This ghost was obviously powerful if his mannerisms were anything to go by.

"You're here to find a halfa." Dan stated.

"What, do you know where to find one?" Roy asked, if he was surprised at the ghost's knowledge he didn't show it.

"Oh you won't find one here, they're all gone, but that doesn't mean they're not reachable." Dan said with a glance to the burbling portal behind the archer.

"In there?" Roy wasn't sure about this ghost, something about him seemed familiar but there were too many throw offs. He narrowed his eyes as the ghost smiled maliciously, revealing pointed fangs.

"There are many monsters, not all of them are ghosts. Not all of them aren't, but some are both." Dan said cryptically with another creepy smile.

"Will I find Danny in there?" Roy asked, calling the ghost's bluff.

"It's a large place, you'll figure it out, by the time you get out you should be sick of the color green." Dan said, as if finishing the conversation.

"Wha-" Roy was cut off as the ghost tackled him.

He felt himself hit the green portal, falling through it like goop that didn't stick. He yelled in alarm as he felt himself being pulled in another direction as his ups and downs became irrelevant.

His body stilled and he opened his eyes, finding himself suspended in a space like atmosphere with thick green curls of unidentified mist hung in the air. He hesitated to breathe, not sure if it was exactly like space as it was definitely cold. He noticed his feet were not touching any form of ground and the black and white ghost was gone.

He frowned and noticed there were floating doors, some a vibrant purple but most a dimed, disgruntled, lavender. He saw no ground in sight but a presence made itself evident in his mind.

'Red Arrow, we must act quickly.'

Roy's face scrunched up in confusion, 'Martian Manhunter?' he asked telepathically. The Martian had been on a secret mission no one was told about, of course Batman knew but that was it. Out of all the things he expected to find in this space-like place a fellow Justice League member was not one of them.

'Yes, how did you enter the Ghost Zone? Myself and a few others are lost and we have wounded. You are barely in my telepathic range.'

'What is the Ghost Zone?'

'The home of all ghosts, but it is expansive and difficult to navigate, and I fear the situation has become worse.' The Martian relayed, Roy frowned as his gears started turning.

'I was pushed through a green portal, is Danny with you?' He asked, maybe his job was nearly done.

'No, that is what I fear, I sense Daniel's mind elsewhere, close and afraid.' Martian Manhunter said morbidly.

Roy muttered a cuss, 'How do I move around?'

'From what my new friend tells me it is like humans are the ghosts in the ghost zone, so you should be able to fly. Stay where you are, I will find you.'

'Got it.' Roy replied, that Dan fellow was right, on multiple accounts.

Roy took this time to test out the 'ghost powers' he apparently had here. He leaned forward but ended up making himself spin, he scowled in frustration and struggled to righten himself. He quickly became dizzy as there was no up or down, simply space and it's floatiness.

His arms windmilled as he struggled for stability, closing his semi panicked eyes to concentrate. He focused and willed his muscles into one position, cracking an eye open to find himself steadily floating in one spot, no longer spinning.

He quickly lost it and was flipped over, he grinded his teeth in an effort to keep from yelling out in panic. A few struggled breathes did escape him though, sounding like nervous grunts. He focused again and his world became still.

Well this sucks, I have to concentrate 24/7 just to stay still. The archer thought, then remembering Martian Manhunter could probably hear him. He opened his eyes again and saw he had drifted from the weird glowy portal.

His mind wandered elsewhere as he realized he should tell Batman of his findings. He put a hand to his ear but got static, he frowned and lowered his hand. Communications didn't work here, at least, they didn't work when in different 'zones' or something like that.

He heard a shout and his head snapped in the direction of the sound, seeing an odd trio of people. One was obviously Martian Manhunter, another obviously a ghost, and the last one a child.

"Red Arrow, this is Tucker Foley and his ghost friend Technus." The Martian introduced. The dark skinned boy gave a half salute but realized he still had to hold his friend so it was quickly aborted.

"Where'd you find them?" Roy asked, genuinely curious as the boy looked alive and the ghost looked, well, dead.

"A GIW prison not too far from here, I was gathering intel but my position was found. I was prisoner for a few days until Clockwork, the ghost of time, came to bust us out. Tucker was here to free the ghosts as well, we managed to escape although Clockwork didn't make it out." the Martian said. "Their weapons worked on me as well, for a while I could not use my martian abilities."

"How long have you been wandering around?" Roy asked.

"A few days, time is different here, there is not exactly day and night." he replied.

"So what's the plan now?" Tucker asked, still half holding his unconscious ghost friend.

"You said Danny is in that prison now?"

Martian Manhunter nodded.

"Then we go and get him, I would wait to radio Batman but I already tried, stupid ghost zone does not transmit very well."Roy said decidedly.

"What about me?" Tucker said, he just got out, it's not like he would be useful for anything either.

Roy looked to the boy with a half contained glare, "You used that portal before?" He asked with a point to the green vortex. Tucker nodded. "Then use it again, maybe help your friend or something."

Tucker nodded again with a thoughtful frown, then floated his way over to the portal. "Good luck!" He called after the two leaguers before throwing him and his ghost friend into the green portal.

Roy focused back on the Martian, glad to have that random kid off so he could do some real damage. "So where is Danny?"

"This way." Manhunter said with a wave of his hand. He floated off but paused when Roy couldn't follow.

"It's harder than it looks ok?" Roy said defensively, his attempts to fly were not getting him anywhere. Roy sighed as the Martian came back and grabbed onto him before flying away deeper into the ghost zone.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

Red Arrow breathed out as he let his arrow fly, hitting his target dead on and causing a massive explosion that seemed to shake the world. The explosive arrow took out a good chunk in the wall, exposing the ghost zone to its bright white lights.

Martian Manhunter carried Roy to the hole, off to the side so he could survey the damage and see any incoming GIW agents. He began to fire arrow after arrow into the throng, hitting expensive looking machinery and blowing them up.

Martian Manhunter had his eyes closed trying to find Danny while Roy battled off a few agents. His red eyes snapped open and he called to the archer to follow him.

They raced through the throng of fires, Manhunter having to skirt around them, and Roy placed explosives as he went. A few agents laid fire upon them, Roy ducked and returned fire, hitting his targets dead on.

Roy got back to his feet and ran with renewed vigor as he saw a small crumpled form that looked suspiciously like Danny. He slid to a stop beside the little ghost, taking stock of the situation. Danny's eyes were closed tightly, but his body completely limp in unconsciousness. There was green blood all over his shirt, along with some on his lower legs, Roy grimaced at the sight.

He took the boy's shoulder and gently shook it, asking the ghost to wake up.

"Common Danny, give me some sign you're ok. Well... ok is a relative term, just don't be dead." He then remembered who exactly he was talking to, "I mean more dead than you already are."

He looked up to see Manhunter throwing some agents to the side, Roy's face contorted in rage. How could they do this to a child?! Roy picked Danny's limp form up, carrying him in a fashion that would least agitate his wounds.

"Let's go, Danny needs medical attention quickly." Roy said to the Martian. He nodded but looked hesitant, Roy ignored it as he surged forward back to the hole they had made.

Roy's attention was diverted for a moment as weak arms latched onto his middle. Roy looked down and saw the halfa stirring, "Danny! Hold on just a little longer, we're almost out." He said to comfort the confused child, he looked concerned as well as frightened.

Roy heard a little "w-wait..." come from the child, but Roy would not wait, he wouldn't let Danny be here a second longer. But he slowed all the same, the panic in the child's voice was undeniable, as well as his pained face.

"o-other h-half... n-need.." Danny said but began to cough, Roy looked at him with worry as Martian Manhunter came closer.

"He is right, this is not all of Danny." The Martian said, he looked worried as well.

Roy gave him a confused look, "Not all of him?"

He was silenced by a distant yell, someone calling for 'phantom'. Roy squinted through the fires and smoke to see a tiny figure that looked like Danny waving at them. "Is that...?"

"H-half.." Danny said again weakly, another cough rattling his fragile body.

"Common." Roy said as a scowl ran across his face. What did they do to Danny?

They ran across a large room twards the second Danny, Roy having to jump over some fires while Manhunter flew over them. Roy ducked as a green laser grazed his shoulder, he stumbled but remained upright, noticing the fresh wound was beginning to sting.

He knelt down in the cover of a large machine, Danny, the human looking one, raced over. He looked worried at the sight of his doppleganger, Roy noticing his eyes rolling up but occasionally came back down.

"What happened? How are you... like this?" Roy asked the human side of Danny, Manhunter began to fend off any incoming projectiles.

"They split us in two, human and ghost, they hurt ghost badly." He said sending a worried glance down at his other half.

"Ok, how do we put you back together?" They needed to leave, quickly, ghost Danny was not doing well at all.

"Same thing they split us," He pointed to the machine next to them, it looked like a dream catcher but glowing green and lowered to the ground. "in different side."

"Alright, how do I help?"

Danny looked down in thought, then waved him over as he went to the other side of the ghostly dream catcher. He looked to Roy and let his arms out in a silent gesture, Roy frowned but let the ghost down into his other's arms.

"So you just walk through?"

Danny nodded and half dragged his other half with him as he went through the dream catcher.

There was a bright flash, when it died down Danny was one Danny now. He looked better now that he was in one piece but his wounds still showed how badly he was actually feeling. Roy walked forward but turned to fire a few arrows into the throng of chaos he had created, keeping the GIW busy as well as burning the place.

"You good?" Roy asked, not exactly sure about anything in this place except that it needed to be burned.

At Danny's nod he turned to secure a route to the exit, he was again distracted as Danny tugged on his arm. He looked and saw Danny pointing to his neck with wide eyes, Roy noticed a thin black collar that was tightening around the halfa's throat. He scowled and swiftly removed the collar, his outrage only intensified by the damage already done to the boy's neck.

"Don't worry Danny, we'll get out of here soon enough and you'll be cracking jokes with Robin in no time." Roy said, he stood and motioned the halfa forward, both with determined frowns.

The three raced down the hallways, shooting the occasional agent and avoiding fires. They made it to the edge of a huge hole in the building, Roy meeting the huge black sky again.

Manhunter froze some lasers that were shot from behind them and grabbed Roy in something like a side hug. He flew backwards, carrying Roy with him and Danny leaped off the broken building flying over to his friends. 

They sped away, Roy firing arrow after arrow behind them, Danny's legs colliding to form a ghostly tail. Roy saw the GIW come after them in little pod like vehicles, weapons coming out to shoot at them. They lost them for a few seconds, Roy took this time to look over Danny. He seemed to be flying alright, though he wavered and looked strained as he used all of his energy for the action. Manhunter led them to a green portal, akin to the one the GIW made Danny go through but much dimmer and controlled.

Roy saw the agents come on them again, but his vision was enveloped by green. All three heroes went through the portal at the same time, landing a bit harshly on a rocky surface.

Roy tumbled to the ground, finding himself back in the room where he met the ghost Dan. He heard shuffling and grunts, he picked himself up and saw the others do the same. He turned when he heard a hissing noise, his eyes widened as he saw a giant missile fly through the portal. It hit some the wall of the underground lab and exploded.

Roy had enough time to cover his face as a sudden heat suffocated the room.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

Batman walked through the manor, his lips set in a grim line. Alfred would have his hide when he saw Bruce in batgear in the manor, the one rule of no 'Batman'ing' in the house. But this was important, Roy's communicator had been missing for nearly 7 hours, as well as a giant explosion happening at the site of his search.

He would leave immediately, at the time of 4:58 am, and bring Robin with him. There was no way Dick would ever forgive him if he left him out of this mission.

He knocked on his ward's door, not surprised to have to enter the room to wake him up. He opened the door to a dark room, seeing just a tuft of black hair and rising and falling covers to signify his sleeping.

"Dick." Batman said, coming closer, he heard an annoyed groan.

"Dick, you might want to be awake for this." He said, "Roy is in trouble."

Dick's head popped up, one eye open halfly in sleep, "Is it Danny?" he asked.

"I don't know but Roy isn't responding and there was a massive explosion where he was looking. We're going to go check it out." Batman said.

"We?"

"Yes, suit up. We leave in thirty minutes."

Dick threw his covers off and ran to the door, Batman would have smiled at his ward's energy but his mind was laden with worry.

It took Dick twenty minutes to get into uniform and get in the batwing. Batman climbed in and started the engine, a rather nervously excited Robin fidgeting in his seat next to him.

"So it just exploded?" Robin asked after a while.

"Yes, it's still fresh so we should see it before we get there. I don't know if he found Danny because Roy's communicator went missing for a few hours."

"Like... off world?"

"Don't know yet, we'll ask when we get there."

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

Sam gasped awake as her room shook and a loud rumble that sounded like a roar entered her room. She threw off the covers and went to the window, seeing a giant mushroom cloud a few blocks away from her house.

It was dark, only 4 in the morning, she pressed her hands up against the glass as she tried to get a better look of the explosion. Her lavender eyes widened at the bulbous pillar of hot, red, fire, to her eyes it could have been lava.

She didn't know what came over her but something was pulling her twards the wreckage. She felt an odd desire to be there, to look for something. She dashed away to find her day clothes and shuffled out of the room while putting on her boots.

She raced down the stairs, not caring if she woke her grandma, something exciting was happening! She threw open her door and ran down the street, she could feel the heat from where she was, only one block away from the initial explosion.

As she was now closer she had her eyes glued to the explosion. She sucked in a breath as something white caught her vision. Something vaguely human shaped was flying out of the way of the incoming heat, but debris from the building hit it, it fell and Sam lost sight of it in the rubble.

She had to wait an hour before it was safe to get any closer, the burning in her chest left but her curiosity drove her on. She squeaked as she found a little blue light floating next to her.

The blue orb glowed softly, Sam felt somewhat comforted by its presence, like it would protect her. She saw it float gently forward, Sam followed in somewhat of a trance. What was that blue orb? Why did she feel safe around it? And what was that really faint ticking noise?

It was as if time had sped up, the smoke quickly cleared into the atmosphere and the red hot ground cooled. Ash began to fall like snow, coating the damaged ground in a thin layer of gilded joy. Sam had her eyes peeled, following the blue orb but also having her head turning about, looking for some unseen thing. It was eerily quiet, the only sound the mournful wind blowing through the debris.

The orb floated to the top of a rather tallish mountain of rubble Sam followed without hesitation. Once she got to the top the orb dissipated into the air with a flourish of blue, Sam waited a second more in confusion before looking down to examine the rubble the orb had led her too. She grabbed the sides of the rock on top, rather small but to her it was a bolder, using her shoulders to push it off the top.

The rock fell, sending striking sounds ringing across the desolate battlefield. She looked tentatively over the lip of the hole, sunlight filtering through to let her see an ashen face with dirty white hair.

Sam held in a gasp and got to work to moving the rest of the rocks out of the way. After lots of huffing and close calls she managed to make a little hole where she could enter, and hopefully exit, the little dome of rubble. She walked inside, realizing she should have brought a flashlight, but the hole she made at the top gave her enough light to see the weird white haired boy.

She got closer and noticed he was bleeding red, a puddle of the slick substance near his legs. Sam pushed some of the rocks off the body, dusting off the ash lightly, she blanched when she saw his leg.

She found the puddle's origin, nearly the entire left leg was gone, Sam didn't want to find the rest of it. A large bolder sat next to him, right where the leg was severed, Sam put a hand over her mouth, averting her eyes to push down the feeling of her returning dinner. Blood was everywhere, she just now noticed the green splotches were blood too.

She grimaced but knew she had to help this boy, he didn't look any older than she did. She could help, who else was going to? Sam blew out a sigh of contemplation, then dug her hands under the cold boy so she could drag him away from the unsightly wreckage.

Sam got out of the little alcove with the one-legged boy in tow, literally, she had towed him out. She set him on the ground again as she noticed he was leaving a trail of greenish/red blood. She frowned then unraveled her dark scarf from her neck, he needed it more than she did. She hesitantly approached the severed leg, not wanting to look at the painful mass of blood and bone she would more than likely see. She bit her lip and got to work.

She wrapped the scarf around the stump, going over and under his leg to secure it. She tied it in a little knot and stood back to survey her makeshift bandage. She muttered an 'ew' as she found the sticky green and red blood on her hands, wondering what exactly she had saved.

She then dragged the odd boy all the way to her house, only having to stop so she could reclaim her breath a few times. She opened her door and gently laid the boy on the ground so she could close the door and turn on the lights.

As she reached for the door the lights flicked on, Sam spun with wide eyes, meeting the gaze of her grandma hunched over her cane. Grandma Ida wasn't much taller than Sam, a testament of her age though she had a childlike mischief about her.

"Sam dear, what are you doing up at this hour?" She asked, Sam gulped and gave a half glance to the boy on the floor. He wouldn't be in her line of sight until she moved forward, Sam shut the front door and fumbled with her excuse.

"Well, there was an explosion... I wanted to go check it out." Sam said nervously, how would her grandma react to the weird boy?

Grandma Ida gave a wrinkly smile and had a little twinkle in her cobalt blue eyes as she shuffled forward and pointed to the obvious boy on the floor. "I think you've already done that." Ida bent over her cane to assess the boy. Sam went with her, moving around to the boy's head while her grandma stood near his feet,-er, foot.

"I found him in the rubble, a blue glowy thingie showed me! I want to help him!" Sam declared, now latching onto the idea of helping this boy without hesitation. Ida raised a thin eyebrow and looked the boy over with a stern face.

"He's hurt all right, he'd be better at a hospital," She said, Sam deflated, "But I doubt they know how to fix ghosts!" She chuckled, Sam's head snapped up with a confused face.

"Ghost?"

Ida pointed with her cane, "Yes, green blood, white hair yet young body, he's a young ghost, youngest I've seen." Sam's eyes got really big.

"Do you think that explosion killed him then he became a ghost? How come he bleeds red too? Where do ghosts come from? How many ghosts have you seen? How do you know so much about ghosts?" Sam asked rather speedily, Ida chuckled again and set her cane back on the ground.

"When you've been around as long as I have you see things. Common," she turned and waved with a happy little chirp, "we can't have him rest in the hallway now can we?"

Sam gave a happy little squeal, rushing to grab the unconscious ghost. They were going to help this ghost until he would be all better, Sam was sure of it.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

Robin jumped out of the Batwing before it landed, his adrenaline spiking with the sad sight of complete and utter destruction. The place was ash, a few piles of rubble here and there. He found a few large boulders as far as the street, it had to have been something like a nuke to get them that far away, and to have completely demolished the house. It wasn't even recognisable as a house, just ashes and rocks.

Robin ran around, checking behind rubble and searching near the black site, knowing where it was because of the black ground and lack of rubble in a twelve foot radius. Robin felt his heart sink, for the first time he hoped Danny was not here, it would be horrible to find his burnt body.

Batman seemed to materialize next to him and set a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"We're here to find Red Arrow, Danny may not be here." He reminded his partner. Robin sullenly nodded, letting his eyes drop from the sad scene.

The two turned when they heard a rumble, some rocks moving on their own. Batman narrowed his eyes while it took all of Robin's will not to surge forward to see if it was his little brother.

A grunt was heard, and a bare hand stuck out from the pile, moving some rocks out of the way. Dusty red hair appeared and Robin's will broke as he ran forward to help the archer.

"Roy!" Robin yelled, the head turned and masked eyes widened with surprise.

"Robin." He greeted, his voice sounded grungy and he coughed.

"Roy are you ok?" He asked as he got closer, aware his mentor close behind.

"Not really..." Roy muttered, wincing as something caused him pain that Robin couldn't see.

"Here, lemme help you up." Robin grabbed Roy's free hand and lifted him up, finding the rest of Roy's body come out of the rubble. He set Roy on the ground after the archer nearly fell trying to stand on his own.

He grunted and hissed as he tentatively cradled his side. "Manhunter is still under." He said after regaining his breath. Batman turned to the rubble as Robin stayed.

"Manhunter? He's here? Did you find Danny?" Robin asked.

Roy nodded, "Yes, to both, went through a green portal, ended up in some Ghost Zone somethin' or other." Robin's eyes got wide, his brother was here!

"Where is Danny?!" Robin asked franticly, interrupting the injured archer.

Roy looked around, seeing the rather unpleasant appearance of the area. "Did they send a nuke after us?" He mumbled to himself. "He should be here somewhere. We just came out of the portal when the GIW sent a missile at us, obviously we didn't get away in time."

Batman returned with a half conscious Martian, supporting the alien with his shoulder.

"How did you survive the blast? An explosion of this magnitude should have vaporised you on the spot." Batman said gruffly.

Roy frowned in thought, "Something blue... I don't know. How ever we survived we barely did, Danny was farther away though."

"Danny?" Batman asked, giving a quick look to his ward. Robin nodded quickly, his eyes already scanning the wreckage for any white or black haired boys.

"Go, I'll stay with Red Arrow." Batman decided, seeing how ancy the boy wonder became. Robin gave him a quick nod in thanks and scampered off.

Batman set the Martian down as well, Roy laid down as a twinge in his side shot up his body.

"How did you come across Danny?"

Roy sighed, not really up to talking about what happened, his ribs hurt like hades. "There was a portal in the basement, went through it and met Manhunter, he knew where Danny was so we went there and busted him out. Odd thing is we found half of him before all of him." Roy was beginning to nod off, his words becoming more slurred as his eyes rolled around in his head.

"Half?" Batman prompted, he knew the archer was tired but he needed answers quickly.

"GIW split 'im in half, ghost and human. He got back together then we flew out of there, then we came here and everyth'ng blwup..." Roy's eyes rolled to the back of his head and Batman let out a sigh.

"Batman!" Robin cried, his voice etched with worry. Batman swiftly followed the sound of his protege's voice.

Robin stood on some rubble to get a better view of the place, and found some disturbing sights. He could only stare at the hardened green and red blood that stained the ashen ground. The pile of rocks off to the side was disturbed and the trail of blood came from it.

"...Danny...?" Robin breathed, frozen to the spot, a stray wind tugged at his cape. He had no idea if he would find his brother's body in the cave or if he was alive somewhere else, the blood everywhere was not whelming.

Batman surveyed the scene with a frown. He ghosted past his partner and went inside the cave, finding nothing but rocks and more blood. He exited and Robin deflated again, Batman set his eyes on the blood and trails.

"He is not here anymore, whoever took him is small, footprints and the dragging say so. He was in there, but was dragged out, wounded on his leg I suspect. They dragged him away in that direction." Batman said, going around the trails of footprints and blood to point to the rest of the city. "We just missed him, this trail is only a few hours old."

"GIW?" Robin asked.

"Not likely, whoever has him covered his wound."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I don't know."

This was a disaster, heavy on the dis.