A Chance

-9-

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."