4 years. 4 years of my life taken from me. 1460 charred dots decorate my arms and legs. I was 13 when they took me. They started cutting the second they had their hands on me. Ever since then it has been experiment after experiment. Dissection after dissection. Until today.
I was in my cell, healing from a new dissection. Then ringing pierce the silent room. I go as quickly as I could to the window on the door and look out to see an empty hallway. Then darkness. I pull on the door handle expecting it to be locked but it opened easily. I take off into the dark hallway and find a door that looks like an exit. I push the door open, once again to be locked but it wasn't. I take off in the forest and run until I couldn't run anymore and then I continued to walk because I wanted to be as far away as I could from them.
Once I was positive I was far Enoch away, I stopped to rest. But my rest was short lived, for I suddenly heard voices approaching. I looked around for a large tree as I begin to panic. I spotted a perfect tree and ran to it and cllimbed the large tree. I rested when the voices came into view.
"Hey Rob, did you just see what I think I just saw?" A boy says. He's wearing a yellow jumpsuit and mask,leaving his chin, mouth, cheeks, nose, and eyes uncovered. The entire suit was decorated with red. The other boy looked like a stop light in red, yellow, and green with a black cape on.
"If you mean a guy of black and silver, spotted with red running past here, then yes KF, I saw him too." They stopped walking right underneath me. I turn invisable as they both look up.
"Where did he go?" The kid in yellow says. Suddenly, the stop light kid kicks the tree, startling me and causing me to fall out the tree and drop my invisablity. They gasp.
"KF, go get the ship." The stop light kid said with authority. Then the yellow kid, KF, runs off and the boy left kneels down next to me. "My name is Robin, I'm here to help. What's your name?"
"D-Daniel. But y-you can c-call me D-Danny." I struggle to say as I cough up blood on my hand.
"How old are you Danny?"
"16." The kid'a face morphs into surprise.
"I'm very sorry but I have to give you something so you can sleep as KF and I take you back to our HQ. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise with my life." Robin says slowly as I feel a small pain in my arm. Then darkness consumes me.
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(Robin's POV)
As the younger boy passes out, I immedietly assess his wounds. I cautiously peel back his bloody and shreaded up shirt, revealing an 'X' scar across his front side along with a bloody 'Y' across his front side as well. There was also multiple stab wounds and bruises decorating the sides of his ribs and collar bone. I gently lift his underweight body to take a look at his back side. I am shocked to see slash marks I was all to familiar with and more knife wounds covering his back. I gently lay him on his back again as I notice Wally coming with the ship. Once in position, he lowers down ropes for me to grab on to and soon Danny and I were in the ship and headed to Mount Justice.
»»»»»»»»»»
"What happened to him?" Beast Boy asks as Wally and I enter Mount Justice, dragging an unconscious Daniel with us.
"Not sure. Where's Batman?" I ask as we come to a stop.
"Right here." A monotoned voice calls from one of the many halls and Batman enters the hanger we were in "Who's this?" He guesters to Danny.
"All I know is that his name is Daniel but he prefers Danny, and that he has been abused and tortured for quite a while now by the looks of his injuries." I say quietly, knowing my mentor would understand. He just nods at me and turns around.
"Bring him to the medical bay." He orders and Wally and I follow him, carrying Danny, and Beast Boy right behind us.
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(Danny's POV)
It was quiet. Too quiet. I opened my eyes and look around, finding Robin in a chair next to the bed, Kid Flash standing at the bottom of the bed next to a green teen, and an adult dressed in all black with a mask covering the top half of his face standing behind Robin.
"W-where am I?" I ask, starting to panic inside.
"Don't worry Danny. We brought you to our medical bay at HQ. We just arrived about twenty minutes agao. You're in good care." Robin says so calmly I can't help but believe him.
"What happened to you?" The green kid asks me.
"BB, don't. He just woke up." Robin says and turns to me again. "Sorry, that's Beast Boy, BB for short. Behind me is Batman, my mentor."
"H-hi." I shyly say. I struggled into a sitting position, wincing as I moved. Once I'm up, my white hair falls in my face and I am greatful that I managed to stay in my ghost form while I was out.
"If you don't mind me asking Danny, what are you? Scans clearly state that you aren't human." Robin asks, trying to understand the situation.
"H-half g-ghost." I pause at their shocked expressions. "Please. D-don't hurt me." I add and I feel myself shake as I hugged my legs to my chest, making me as small as I could get.
"Why would we. You're not the only one here with abilities, Danny. KF here has super human speed and BB can transform into any animal. Batman and I developed our abilities so we don't have any supernatural powers. Just skill." Robin says proudly.
"If you're half ghost, what's your other half?" Batman asks suddenly, with a curious tone to his voice.
"H-human." I mutter.
"That explains the slower heartbeat." Robin mutters to himself.
"What does your human half look like?" Batman questions further. But instead of replying, I just glance over to Kid Flash and Beast Boy, then to Batman. He nods in understanding. "Kid Flash, Beast Boy, please exit the room and make sure no one comes in here." He commands and they both leave without argument. "I think that the only fare way to do this is for both Robin and I to reveal ourselves, without our masks on, and share our real names. After we share our true selves to you, we expect for you to do the same. Does that seem fare?" I nod as he smiles kindly and takes off his mask. "Bruce Wayne." He looks to Robin and gives him a nod. I turn to him and find his mask off and was looking at me with ice blue eyes like my own.
"Richard Grayson-Wayne. But you can call me Dick." He smiles and looks at me for my turn. I concentrate on transforming back to my human self and am met with the familiar blue-white ring appears around my waist, spits in two, and travels at opposite directions along my body, reverting my shreaded suit into tattered jeans and ripped up white shirt with red-green stains on it from my blood. My dirty white hair changes into my once jet black hair now dull black and my sad yet vibrent ice blue eyes. Bruce gasps as he studies Robin and I's facial features. Then it clicks for Robin as he gasps. "Danny, where you ever adopted?" Dick asks me.
"Yes. The day I turned sixteen , my p-parents said they were glad I wasn't their biological son and that they saved my biological family from a world of hurt and betrayal." I mutter, remembering that day like it was yesturday.
"At what age were you adopted?" Bruce asks.
"Four. They said my biological parents were performers in the circus and that they died from a malfunction of the wires they were using." I noticed Dick's eyes water. Then it clicked and I saw what they saw. "Do you think.....is it possable.....are we....."
"Brothers? I think so. Do you want to run tests just to be sure?" Dick asks me with hope in his eyes.
"Ya. Just to be positive." Bruce then goes to one of the many cabinets and begins pulling out the needed materials for the DNA tests. My eyes widen at the sight of two very large needles and start to shake.
"Danny, it's okay. He's the best at this. Trust me, you won't feel a thing. Trust me. You're okay." Dick says and I find myself slowly calming down.
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(Robin's POV)
After hours of waiting, Bruce comes back with the results. But something was definetly off about him as he entered the medical bay.
"Dick, can you come out here for a second?" He asks seriously, hinting that he demanding me to come with him instead of asking me to come with him.
"What's wrong? Are we not brothers?" I quietly ask once the doors to the medical bay were closed.
"No, you two are indeed brothers, but, something was off about Danny's blood sample. His ghost cells were overtaking his human ones, meaning, he's destabilizing. By my calculations, he will most likely be a full ghost in about 3 weeks. As some would say..... Danny is dying." This can't be happening. I just got my brother back, I can't loose him again.
"No. We will find a way to save him. I'm not loosing my brother again." I pause, taking deep breaths as to not cause me to cry. Crying means weakness and I can't afford to be weak. Especially with Batman. "But for now, let's go tell him the good news." I say and enter the room with a smile. "We're brothers." I confirm and Danny smiles the brightest smile I've seen so far appear on his face. He tries getting up but falls to his knees with a far away look I his eyes.
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(Danny's POV)
As I wait for Bruce and Dick to come back in, I wonder about all the possible outcomes of the test results. If Dick was my brother, then I would have some family left who accepts me, both human and ghost parts. But if he wasn't, then I would have to run away again. Or join their team... Suddenly, the door opens up and Dick walks in with a smile.
"We're brothers." He says and I smile and get up from the bed. Bad idea. I immediately fall to my knees which triggers a flashback.
"I fall to my knees, holding my gut. But they didn't stop. They continued to shoot at me while I cowared in the corner.
"Please! Please stop! Stop! Stop! Please!" I pleaded and screamed as tears fell from my eyes unwillingly. But they didn't. They laughed as they continued to hurt me. "Please! Stop! I'm your son!" I screeched.
"You are no son of ours, FREAK!!"
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(Robin's POV)
"Stop! Please stop!" Danny yelled as he violently shook in my arms.
"Danny! Danny! Wake up! You're safe. You're okay." I say as his eyes snap open. "You're alright. You're safe." I say calmly as I pull him into my arms, still on the ground. The medical bay doors suddenly open and I look up to see Wally walking in dressed in regular clothes. He sees me on the floor with Danny on my arms and walks over towards us and sits down next to me.
"What happened?" He asked, guesturing to my shaking brother in my arms.
"I think he had a flashback of something horrible happening to him. Do you remember me mentioning about having a younger brother who dissaprered one night?" He nods. "Well, here he is." His face morphs into shock. "You can't tell anyone yet. Got it?" He nods in response and I lower my head to talk in Danny's ear so he could hear me clearly. "Danny, this is Wally West. Aka Kid Flash. You can trust him. I trust him like a twin." I say to my brother who hasn't calmed down completely. He looks to Wally and gives him a small, quick smile.
"What are you going to say to everyone?" Wally asks me.
"I'm not sure." I look down at my little brother still shaking slightly in my arms. "I'm planning on him meeting everyone one at a time instead of all at once. I don't want to give him any reason to not trust me or leave. What do you think Danny?"
"O-one at a t-time p-please. But n-not n-now." He quietly replies.
"Tomorrow then. You can sleep for tonight in my room. It's already 10:30." I look up at Wally. "Can you help me bring him to my room?" He nods and soon, my brother is fast asleep in my bed and I lay on the pull out couch next to the bed, watching over my frail brother.