Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danny had met Lady Luck once before, not long after the Accident.

It was one of the first times he had been in the Ghost Zone, after some ghost had attacked, he wasn’t completely sure. It was a blur, but that moment was clear for him. Maybe she messed with his memories, he would never really know.

She was sitting on the edge of a floating island, staring off into the vast green of the Zone. Danny at first was planning to avoid her, flying around the island, but her gaze locked onto him.

For Danny, she reminded him of, at the time he didn’t know, Clockwork. It wasn’t like she changed forms, changing how old she looked at any given moment. No, it was more of the fact that no matter how he looked at her, her appearance would change. One moment she looked like Jazz, tall and redheaded, bright blue eyes staring. Next, it was like looking at Sam, with dark hair and eyes.

“Do you ever wonder, little hero, what life would have been like had you not been born?” her soft voice drew him in. Sam would have compared her to a siren, Jazz would say she was using persuasion. “Would you wonder if you had been born in another place, you would have a different fate?”

Danny floated in front of her, staring. “What?”

She looked back into the green, slight smile as her eyes changed from vibrant blue to a cloudy green. “There is someone you will meet if all goes to Fate, but you will understand my words then.” That smile seemed to change, someone else’s face appearing. “Humans have a saying, Fate is set in stone. For one, I am no statue. Fate can go many ways, little half-ghost. For one, you have more than one fate.”

Danny didn’t understand what she meant, and the second he wanted to ask, just like her sudden changes she was gone.

For him, he brushed off the encounter. He didn’t even tell his friends after the fact, choosing to pay it no mind.

He wished he had.

Thinking back to it, as he sat prompt against the green-stained brick wall, Danny wondered what Lady Fate meant by if he had been born a different person. Or did she mean as in a different version of himself?

The chains rattled as he tried to wipe the leaking blood from his nose. Clockwork had told him once that, even a butterfly could completely change the time stream. Danny wondered if the old time himself was looking at him now, wondering where in the time stream this could have happened. . or if this was meant to happen.

He could hear talking outside his cell, making his head pound at how loud they were. It was hard to understand them through the thick walls, he was only able to get bits and pisces. Most of the time, he knew whatever they were talking about revolved around him.

What experiments they were planning, what bone they wanted to remove, and what a pisces of ectoplasmic scum he was. That one had grown old at this point.

For him, the only thing that helped keep track of time was the one time of day they brought him food. Sometimes it was a skinny man, sneering at him before dropping the slop they called food to the floor. Other times it was a heavy-set woman, one who looked like she could snap him like a twig. She was the more gentle of the two, considering she didn’t even seem to realize he was there. She would place the food at the entrance of his cell and didn’t make any sign she cared about anything other than getting through the day.

For him, that was the nicest thing she could ever do for him, all things considered.

However, most of the time, it was the actual scientist he was interacting with. What with them sending in the large brutes in white coming in, dragging him out while he is quietly asking them not to? He had given up screaming months beforehand, not worth the energy anymore.

Not for what always came after.

The sound of footsteps took Danny from his thoughts, his wheezing breath being overtaken by the sound. It was most likely the scientist, coming for another experiment or some test they wanted, he reasoned as he prepared to get dragged once again.

Maybe it was Lady Luck’s doing, laughing at him from the Zone. Danny liked to think she was on that island, drinking some ectoplasmic smoothie or something. The phantom pain that raced around his chest made that idea hurt even more.

But the footsteps sounded off, lighter almost. Not as heavy as Agents O or K. Maybe it was a new guy, Danny had to reason. He wondered how they could morally do the job.

The door opened suddenly, blinding him. The dark room was flooded with light, hurting his eyes. Blinking back at the sudden change, Danny was confused.

Standing in front of him, was an oddly brightly dressed teen. There was a mask on his eyes, making him look like he had white eyes. All Danny could process after that was he wore red, green, and yellow. Traffic light colors.

Amity had like two traffic lights, his brain supplied.

The door closed just as quickly, with the teen slipping into his cell. “Hey, we’re gonna get you out of here, ok?” he was kneeling next to him before Danny could react, eyeing the collar that sat around his neck. “What’s your name?”

Trying to speak, his voice came out in a whispery kind of rasp. Not really words, more air than anything. “Da-” a raspy cough came out, curling in on himself.

A hand was on his shoulder, trying to get him upright. “It’s ok, don’t overstress yourself. I’m Robin,” came his voice. Looking up, there was a worried look on the teen’s face. “Think you can stand?”

Giving a small nod, he let the teen lift him. It was surprising how strong the teen was, given when he was on his feet, Danny was a good head or so taller than the traffic light cosplayer.

Why was this kid there again?

Before his slush of a brain could come back to that though, the door was opening and a redheaded girl was staring down at them.

“Jazz-” his voice broke again, going back into a coughing fit. She reminds him of her sister, the redhead part at least. Besides that, she had green skin and freckles. His sister was skinny and pale like him, with no freckles anywhere on her face.

Between the two, very oddly dressed, teens, it looked like a silent conversion went between them before they were on the move. “Come on,” Robin said, helping him hobble down the title

For Danny, it was odd. For once, he wasn’t going kicking and begging for the Guys in White to let him go. This time, he was willing to let someone else help him down the white halls. Very odd change of pace, a very well-welcomed one at that.

It took a while of seemingly endless halls, but after a while, the two of them had brought him to what seemed like elevator doors. Was the place they were in nothing but a basement? Or were they taking him somewhere else, like a roof?

The redhead girl - was she a Martian? That would be cool- turned to him, frowning. “Our team is dealing with the people who have been keeping you here, but we need to go through where they are fighting,” she began. “Are you going to be ok with that? We can try and go another way, but it might not be as safe.”

His mind still felt like someone had shoved in a blender to think about it. Danny could only nod, his voice still felt like it was taken by an evil sea witch.

The two costumed teens got the elevator opened, and they were all shoved inside. It was a little claustrophobic. But it was at least better than the cell.

After a few moments, the elevator dinged.

Danny expected to be greeted with more empty white halls, nothing but endless white. If he had to see more white after that night, it would be too soon. But what greeted the three of them was a firefight.

There were gunshots fired across the rooftop, lighting up in the darkness of the night. There were streaks of red, followed by people in white suits getting knocked unconscious.

Robin made them duck while the redhead Martian went off to help the fighting. It hurt to go down so fast, crouching had his joints creaking like an old door. The teen led him into the shadow, trying to keep out of sight of the Idiots in White.

Someone grabbed at the back of his ratted shirt, pulling him back. With an arm around his neck and a gun to his temple, Danny wondered if this was all worth it, getting freed at least. He could only weakly struggle, there was barely any energy left in him at that point.

“You are interfering with government-stationed experiments!” the agent holding him yelled, making the whole fight come to a halt. “You will leave, leaving specimen P14D with us.”

There was a pause as the group, who Danny realized, were all teenagers. He was being rescued by a group of superpowered teenagers. Even how old he was, it surprised him considering he didn’t think about other young heroes. But here they were, trying to help him. Most likely not even knowing who he was.
There was a teen in a red tank top, holding what looked like boomerangs in both hands as the agents held the teens at gunpoint. “You are violating meta laws. Release him.”

The agent laughed. “Ghosts do not classify under your meta laws,” the man sneered, which had Danny shuttering. There was a click and the collar around his neck zapped, causing him to scream and fall to the floor.

It was a blur after that for Danny, at moments agents were falling or gunshots going off. When the electricity faded, he could see someone getting punched in the face. And someone had kneeled next to him, trying to get the collar off of him.

When he was fully able to comprehend the world around him again, he was no longer on that battlefield of a roof. Danny could only guess that he had passed out at some point. He was lying on some hospital bed, probably the most comfortable thing he had felt in…

How long was he in that cell?

Shaking his head, Danny tried to get a look around. Usually, when it came to hospitals, it was a shade of white. This place was dark and gloomy, no place that screamed healing. He was just glad it wasn’t the blinding white that he was used to.

There was a soft beeping sound to his side, causing him to glancing around him. A normal, semi dark, hospital room. He was able to push himself up to be able to sit up and Danny almost fell out of the bed out of fright.

Standing in the corner of the room, staring him down, was the freaking Batman.

Lady Luck was truly laughing at him.

Chapter Text

Batman was fucking scary.

The two of them stared each other down. Danny was terrified, and the bat seemed not very reactive. Danny had always wondered if the World’s Greatest Detective had some sort of mind-reading ability. Perhaps he was using it now, trying to dig into his mind and learn everything about him.

“What’s your name?” Batman’s voice was gravelly, as if the man had swallowed a handful of rocks and now had to speak.

Danny shifted on his bed. “What if I don't want to answer that?” Batman just stared him down. “I go by Danny,” he said after some hesitation. It was Batman, he would figure it out eventually, he reasoned. The teen glanced around the medic area, before down at himself. The sleeves of the sweatshirt he was in were rolled up, and wires were in his arms. Some he recognized as an IV line, most likely giving his body hydration. Looking up at the heart rate monitor, he stilled. His heartbeat was still as slow as ever, but to someone like Batman, it was far from normal. “Where am I?”

The hero moved from his corner, coming to stand by the other side of the bed, facing the heart rate monitor. “For now, you are in a secure medical facility that the Justice League has access to. You were brought here after your rescue.”

“Those teens who found me, they brought me here?” All he got was a nod. “Are they all ok?”

“From what I have heard, they are more worried for you, considering your state and the number of wounds they had to stabilize before they could get you here,” his gaze found Danny. “Do you remember how long you were in the hands of the Ghost Investigation Ward?”

He froze. Danny had to think about that, considering he had lost track of time after all of it. “What year is it?”

“2024, September to be exact.” Shit.

Danny felt like he deflated, coming to rest back against the pillows, staring up at the tiled roof; mind racing as he tried to reconnect the timeline. “Um, it was 2022, I think it was near spring? It was almost the end of the school year, that much I can remember.” He could feel Batman’s eyes on him. “I joked at the beginning that it got me out of finals before I realized it was a lot harder to get out than normal.”

“You dealt with the group before?”

A laugh escaped him, making his chest hurt as he almost doubled over from coughing. “They've been a pain in my side for years, they just got the upper hand this time.”

Batman then went on to ask a bunch of mundane questions after that, his age, where he was from, that shit. It took a minute before he gave concrete answers, but he gave in at the end. The hero took a second before asking a question Danny didn’t want to answer.

“You are aware your heartbeat is slow,” the teen gave a small nod. “Are you aware you run cold? As in fifty degrees below normal?” He fiddled with his thumbs. Danny honestly was kind of hoping to be able to slip out before any of those questions could be asked. He could only curse his luck. “Look Daniel-” he flinched at that “-the Ghost Investigation Ward broke laws doing what they have to you for the last two years. I assure you, they will go down.”

“They didn’t break any laws though,” he mumbled, crossing his arms as he looked at the slow beating of the heart monitor. “There's no law against what they did. About who I am.”

Batman just stared at him, not talking, not asking any questions. If Danny had to guess, he had to wager that the vigilante was trying to read his mind again, if he could.

“There is no scientific name for me, other than ghost. But I am also still alive.” he picked at his fingernails. “There is a law called the Anti-Ecto Law, which states that the GIW have full authority in capturing, experimentation, and extermination of ghosts in their custody. That means that what they did was legal.”

There was a long moment of silence. Danny was starting to think perhaps this lull of safety was able to come to a close. That the GIW was about to storm in, and Batman would let them take him. Perhaps Batman worked with them, that this was nothing more than a test by the white suits.

If Danny hadn’t been paying attention to Batman, he would not have heard the small sign that escaped him. Glancing up, he watched as the vigilante came to stand by him. There was still no expression on his face, no hint of what he was thinking.

“Danny,” the bat started, making him flinch again. It still felt so weird hearing his own name after so long. “The GIW broke laws and worked outside government sanction. We will bring them down.”

He stared at Batman, trying to wrap his mind around his words. “But the Anti-Ecto Laws-”

“Don’t exist.”

“What?”

Batman took a seat on the rolling stool by the heart rate monitor, the soft beeping still echoing in the gray medical room. For a man who strikes fear into his enemies, for a moment the Dark Knight almost seemed human. Not as frightening as he was in the stories he heard: the news reports, and word of mouth. “There has been no law called Anti-Ecto or anything similar passed in the last decade. Whatever you have been told is a lie. You can fall into the category of a meta, which means you are protected. I promise.”

Danny wanted to cry. It has been a long time since someone said they would protect him, not him protecting them. The last person was Jazz, and he had no clue if she was even safe anymore. “Okay. . . Okay,” he said after a moment.

“I’m going to let you rest, and let the team know you are well,” Batman acknowledged, standing up and walking towards the door, opening the door. “Someone will be around shortly with some food. I will talk with the League and we’ll go from there.”

He nodded, laying back down on the bed. It was far more comfortable than the cold concert floor of the Lab, and it was easy to fall asleep, suddenly overcome with the exhaustion that swept over him.

~~~

Mount Justice, Happy Harbor. September 21, 2024

“Your quick thinking got the captive out,” Batman started, standing in front of the team. The briefing room was quiet as he glanced over the team of six teens. He glanced at the holo screen behind him, pushing holograms away with file after file. “With these files, we can go after Ghost Investigation Ward, however the League will take it from here. This is much higher than this team.”

Robin crossed his arms, eyes locked on the screen before jumping to the image of the teen. It was an image that one of the JL trusted nurses took a few hours ago after the team was told of the strange teenager waking from his short three-day coma. “What’s going to happen to him?”

“For now,” Black Canary said, “he will be staying in the mountain along with Superboy and Miss Martian until the GIW has been dealt with and we can contact his family. Batman believes the hacker who gave us the lab’s location has a connection with Daniel. We will try and contact Pharaoh, seeing as they are the ones who tipped us off.”

That put the team slightly at ease. Batman dismissed them, and the two adult heroes left without much fanfare. The group of teenagers made their way to the common room, crashing on the couch.

There was a moment of silence before Kid Flash raised his hand. “Anyone wanna go meet the kid?”

A chorus of agreement went out. Artemis nodded before frowning. “We probably don’t want to overwhelm him, maybe we go in small groups? Like two or three at a time.”

“Maybe Robin and Miss Martian should meet with him first,” Aqualad suggested after a moment. “It would be reasonable since they were the ones who found him back in that lab.”

There was an agreement, and they started working out who would go after the two.

Chapter Text

Danny was bored out of his mind.

One of the nurses had said he would be able to leave the medical ward soon, which should have been great. That meant that he could go and, hopefully, find his sister and friends. He was out of his mind with worry.

That didn’t stop Batman from putting him on hold until they could find a proper place for them to house Danny.

He had heard a couple of the nurses talking, something about how perhaps he would go stay with the team of heroes who found him. Or maybe one of the Justice League members would house him for a while. And while the chance to maybe get some training from a JL member didn’t make him excited, it was the waiting that threatened to kill him again.

Not long ago, a couple of members of that hero team stopped by to see how he was doing. It was amazing getting to talk to people his age again. A breath of fresh air compared to all the adults asking questions.

For one, one of the teens who came by was a Martian! He has asked Miss Martian so many questions, ranging from what life was like or how it was like transitioning to living on earth; to if the atmosphere or the gravity was harder to get used to. She seemed interested in answering, even joining him on his rants about things, adding stuff that even he didn’t know quite yet.

The other teen who came with her the first time was Robin, who just stood by one of the medical devices he was still strapped to, watching his ever-so-slow heartbeat. He has asked his questions about his health, the normal “Are you sure this is a safe level” yada yada that Danny was used to.

When the doctors told the two that they had to leave so Danny could rest, he almost begged the doctor to let him keep talking with them. He didn’t want to be alone with just his thoughts and the beeping of the heart monitor. Luckily, Miss Martian promised to visit as soon as she could, most likely with other members of their team.

So far, it's been a few days since the visit; bordering on a week at this rate. He was starting to think that maybe she had forgotten or maybe it was some hero business that had popped up.

However, when he was starting to lose hope, there was a knock at his door.
Miss Martian stood at the door with a grin, her arms had a small box held to her chest while another teen was holding the door open. “Danny!” she floated over towards his bedside, placing the box beside the table. “I made you cookies, and Aqualad and Superboy came with me this time!”

He smiled back at her, before turning to the two teens; one of which was now just walking through the door. The first boy looked like your typical football player, bulky; there was a Superman logo on his shirt. The second teen had bleached blond hair that stood out, along with the gills on his neck.
“Nice to meet you two.”

The one that had to be Aqualad nodded his head at him, and a tiny smile graced his features. “We are glad to see you are well.”

There was only a silent nod from Superboy. He stood closest to the door, shifting slightly. Danny could only guess he was not the biggest fan of doctors either.

Miss Martian opened the box of cookies, showing slightly burnt chocolate chip cookies. “I think I have finally made good cookies, and they are not burnt this time!” Only slightly, went unsaid. Danny only smiled and took one, taking a bite. Probably one of the best cookies Danny has had in a while, all things considered. “Do you like them? I can make a different kind for you soon if you don't like chocolate chips.”

As Danny was finishing his bite, a thought crossed his mind. When was the last time he had a cookie, or even chocolate for that matter? Was it at one of his friend’s houses? Or maybe at school? There was no way it was his mother’s baking, she hadn’t baked since he was in elementary school.

He must have been in his head for too long because when he refused, there was a sad look on Miss Martian's face. “Sorry, just. . . realized this is the first cookie I’ve had in years.”

That caused the room to quiet. There was a somber look in all three of the hero’s eyes, and Danny just scratched at his neck. He didn’t like the atmosphere in the room.

Aqualad looked at him after a moment. “From what we’ve been told, your injuries have healed up.”

“Oh, yeah that!” Danny shrugged. “When I have a reliable food source, my healing factor can kick in. Handy with the cuts and burns.” He didn’t want to tell them he still had the scars. No amount of healing would rid him of those.

The three of them (Superboy was quiet) talked for a while longer before they had to go, as it was getting late.

It was a few hours later that Batman showed up. Since Danny had woken up in the medical ward, the Bat stopped by at least once every couple of days to ask about his condition and ask for updated versions of his medical records. (Not that the idea that Batman was just giving the GIW those records didn’t scare him, but that was the little voice in his head speaking at this rate.)

“I have found someone who can take you in for the time being, if you are ok with the idea.” Right to the punch like always. “He is a trusted ally of the League and has experience with fostering children.”

He quirked a brow. “Who?”

“Bruce Wayne.”

Oh, Lady Luck had to be laughing at him now. “Like the billionaire, the Gotham one? That Bruce Wayne?”

“Yes, but I need to see if you are alright with the arrangement before I have the paperwork filled for you to be his foster.”

Would Danny be ok living with a billionaire? He wasn’t sure. The few interactions Danny had with billionaires were few, and usually not great. There was the Manson’s, who belligerently tolerated him whenever Sam invited him over, even accepting him at their dinner table a few times.

Then there was his godfather, Vlad. There were no nice words even to describe that man.

But from what Sam had told him years ago, Bruce Wayne was a good man. Put a lot of money into the welfare of his city, paid his employees well, and even had a house of adopted and foster children. From all points of view, he seemed like the best option for Danny in the long run.

There was the downside of how dangerous Gotham was, but Danny used to fight ghosts every day, what's a bit of fear gas?

Danny sighed, resigning him to this fate. “I think I could live with that.”

“Then I need to tell you something.” No matter the case, Batman was already scary, and being told that was scarier. There was a small clicking sound as the door to his room locked, leaving the Bat and Danny together with no nurses or doctors coming in. Batman came to stand by his side, eyes on the box of cookies Miss Martian had left. If Danny hadn’t been paying attention, he would not have heard the small resolved sigh that came from the Dark Knight.

Before he could ask what the hero was doing, the cowl he wore was pushed off his head. Danny could only blink in shock as he tried to wrap his mind around what his eyes were telling him. Standing right where Batman was, was the face of Bruce Wayne.

“Why?” was all Danny could muster as Batman pulled the cowl back over his head. He knew there had to be a reason for the Dark Knight to tell.

“Because it would be better if you knew now than to find out later on.” It was sound logic, but couldn’t the man at least warn him he was about to be let out on one of the biggest secrets on the East Coast? “I will go get the foster paperwork done, you should be able to get out of here in the next day or so.”

Yay, soon to no longer be bedbound and on his way to Gotham. What more could he ask for?

~~~~
Deep within a world of glowing green, red eyes stared out over different ticking clocks. Watching different timelines flicker in his vision. He shifted from an old man to that of a child to an adult. A smile on his face.

“Everything is just as it should be.”