Danny and the Bats

1

Enjoy!

***

I float, eyes closed and oblivious to my surroundings, as I try to shut out the pain. Everyone is gone. Mum, dad, Jazz, Sam, Tucker all... gone. And then the GIW came. I'm lucky I escaped when I did, but now I'm here, floating in the ghost zone, trying to shut everything out. At first I had gone to clockwork for some answers, but the answers he gave were not what I wanted. Apparently I'm the ghost king now! As if everything else wasn't hard enough on me already.

"Danny..."

I ignore the call, not wanting to listen to what anyone here has to say.

"Danny."

The voice is closer now and I don't recognise it.

"Danny."

I let out a small groan as I blink my eyes open to a bright green sky and turn towards the voice. I stop in surprise when there's only a portal, black, purples and white swirling together to form it. I look around a little, turning in place so I don't aggravate my injuries, but no, it's just the portal.

"Hello?" I try, my voice rough from disuse and lack of water for weeks.

"Danny... this way," the portal whispers. Or maybe there's someone on the other side of the portal?

"Who-" I cough, my throat raw, before trying again, softer this time, barely a whisper. "Who are you?" No answer. Ok. "Why should I... go through?" I try, having to stop half way though to catch my breath.

"New life, second chance, be happy."

Which would all sound great if it didn't sound so much like a trap. But... what have I got to lose? I stare at the portal for what feels like hours, but I know are only minutes before I sag. Where else do I have to go? If it's a trap, then it's a trap, but if it's not? New life, second chance, be happy, the portal had said.

I fly through.

&&&

It feels like being sucked through a tight tube that you only just fit in to begin with, but that continues to get tighter and tighter, until with a pop, I'm falling. I manage to catch myself just before the ground since I'm still in my ghost form, but the sudden jolt has all my injuries flaring up in pain. I look down at myself with a hiss, which quickly turns into a squeak when I see my body. My tiny body, which I vividly remember being bigger. I lift a hand in front of my face and yup. That's a childs hand.

My whole body sags with my sigh, until I'm lying face down on the cold, hard ground. One of my knees landing in a puddle just has me sighing again, harder. Why does this shit always happen to me?

"Hey kid, you ok?"

The next sigh ends in a groan, as I roll onto my back to see... a man in skin tight spandex? It's black, except for the blue bit across his chest and why is he wearing a mask? The man jolts a little in surprise, probably because of my glowing green eyes. White hair is one thing, but glowing green eyes like mine? Not human. The man covers his surprise quickly, giving a small, kind smile.

"What are you doing out here alone?"

I narrow my eyes at him. Do I want to deal with this? A twinge of pain in my chest answers my question for me. I sink through the floor, ignoring the yelp I hear as I turn invisible and fly away.

&&&

I'm in another dimension, now a child, because of course I am.

This dimension does have heroes though, which is pretty cool and aliens which is even cooler. But there are also villains, that are actually not that different from a lot of the ghosts I've faced. Right now I'm in Gotham, which has a few vigilantes, Batman being the first and most famous, but there's also Robin, Red Robin (yummm!), Nightwing (the one who found me earlier), Bat Girl, Black Bat, Red Hood, etc. I found all this out snooping while invisible or in my human form, which I'm in now, trying to sleep in a cold dark alley. If I didn't have my ghost healing I wouldn't have been able to do any of that, as it is I'm now curled up in a ball paying for doing it at all.

"Kid?"

I flinch, letting out a little whine at the movement and look up. Red Robin is kneeling before me, a little frown on his face.

"Are you hurt?" he asks, and my body reacts on instinct, my feet scrambling to push me up and back into the wall behind me despite the pain, as I... hiss.

Is... is that a ghost thing? I've never done it before. At least works, the vigilante pulling his hand back to go up with the other in a placating gesture.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

I've stopped hissing, staying dead still, my eyes narrowed.

"I know a doct-"

My eyes narrow further. He sighs.

"Can I at least look over your injuries?"

I slowly shake my head so it doesn't spin and get ready to fall through the wall behind me if needed. His lips thin, but he nods, reaching for his belt, slowing when I tense. He pulls out a couple bottles and bandages and how the hell did those fit in there? I give his belt a suspicious look, eyes flying back to his face when he chuckles.

"Here, at least take these."

I stare at him for a long moment before I snatch the supplies, pulling them close to my chest.

"Do you know how to use them?"

I nod. His lips thin and he seems reluctant to leave, but a scream in the distance has us both tensing. He sighs.

"Look after yourself, ok?"

He doesn't give me a chance to reply before he's gone. I stare after him a few minutes to see if he'll come back, before turning to the medical supplies.

***

Thoughts? What do you want to happen next?