It all started with a loud bang. Danny had no idea what happened. One moment he was in the Fenton Works lab when an ear piercing beeping noise rang throughout the house. The portal's warning lights flashing an ungodly bright red. Now he is ungracefully sprawled out on the top of a car hood. Beneath him was a sizeable dent. Police, fire truck, and ambulance sirens blared in the background. He could hardly hear them over the obnoxious ringing in his ears. Danny tried to open his eyes only to find he didn't have the strength. The ringing slightly faded allowing him to make out the sound of people shouting, then everything shifted to black.
When Danny woke up he noticed how uncomfortable his bed is, the texture of cheap fabric under his hands, the unnatural lumpiness of his pillow. How strange, his bed was always cozy before. What changed? He cracked his eye open and was promptly blinded by bright florescent lights. When the spots dancing in his vision cleared he was able to properly see the room. It is the sterile white of a hospital room. A window is to the left of him allowing him to see the pink and orange of the sun set. An IV is hooked up to his arm, slowly dripping clear liquid substance into him. The events of what happened came rushing back to him.
Flash Back
It was a clear and sunny day in Amity Park, Ohio. He went to school like every other day, experienced his daily dose of bullying from Dash. Strangely enough no ghost attacks transpired. For the first time in a while he attended all of his classes and stayed until they ended. The day was oddly calm. The only thing wrong with day was the improved Fenton Thermos that he couldn't seem to get working.
"Why can't I get this damn thing to work?!" Danny growled in frustration, slamming his fists on the lab table in front of him. All of his calculation were accurate. He even double checked them, yet the device on the table refused to function. Danny sighed, swiftly flopping back down on to the black rolling chair, returning to scouring his notes for errors. Suddenly, a shrill beeping sound vibrated throughout the room. Danny shot up, startled by the unexpected noise, knocking the chair to the ground in the process. When he jerked around the blaring red warning lights for the ghost portal lit up.
"What the fuck!" He cursed, rushing over to its control panel. Danny franticly began mashing any buttons he could think of that would shut down the device. His parents and sister were sleeping up stairs. He had to stop the portal's melt down somehow. Every series of buttons he pressed failed to cease whatever was happening to the malfunctioning device. The scene in front of him faded to black when a bang shook the air.
His ears were ringing, blocking out any other sounds. Underneath him he could feel the cool metal he associated with the hood of a car. He has been thrown into them plenty of times so it is a familiar sensation. How did he get here? Is his family okay? Judging by the different types of sirens he could now make out the answer to the last question is no. Danny attempted to pry his eyes open but couldn't find the strength. All of a sudden the sounds seemed to fade as he passed out.
End of Flash Back
Danny is pulled out of his thoughts when the door to his room opens. "Oh, good. You're wake." A man dressed in a white coat says, his voice gruff sounding. A clipboard is tucked under this right arm and a stethoscope hung from his neck. "He must be a doctor." Danny thought as the man walked further into the room. The man pulled the clipboard out from under his arm and grabbed a pen out of his pocket. The doctor looked as though he is in his mid-thirties, his hair is short and blonde, skin a shade of chocolate brown. His eyes are an interesting sky blue color that oddly reminded Danny of a ghost. No name tag adorned his coat, leaving Danny clueless as to the man's identity.
"Now, I just need ask you a few question to make sure you're alright." For some reason the doctor held up two fingers. "Can you tell me how many fingers I am holding up?" the doctor inquired. Oh, so that is what he is doing. It is far better than getting jabbed with needles and being called a ghost/monster. Shouldn't they have discovered his secret by now? Surely after surviving an explosion they would have done some kind of test that would reveal his half ghost nature. "Two" Danny warily replied, narrowing his icy blue eyes at the doctor. Danny couldn't help but feel like his voice sounded a little different than usual. It seemed almost younger sounding, not as deep as his voice normally is. He shrugged it off as the magic of puberty. The doctor scribbled something on his clipboard.
"Okay, good." the doctor stated, looking directly at Danny. "Do you feel pain anywhere?" Despite surviving an explosion none of his muscles or bones hurt. Which is quite odd considering he remembers being pretty close to the cause of the explosion. "No." Danny answered truthfully, still finding his voice somewhat strange.
"Excellent. Now, do you remember what happened?" The doctor asked, a bit of a grim note seeping into his voice. Unfortunately, Danny did remember. He remembered failing to save his family. But maybe, just maybe, someone survived.
"There was an explosion. Is my family okay?" Danny inquired, nervously. The doctor didn't answer him for a while and merely stared at him with a look of pity in his eyes. Danny occasional shifted uncomfortable under his gaze.
"I'm sorry, kid. They didn't make it." the doctor said, voice laced with remorse. Kid?! Danny is not a kid. For the love of the Ancients, he is sixteen years old. Becoming a halfa did stunt his growth but Danny didn't think he was that small. His anger vanished quickly and was replaced by an immense sorrow. His family is dead. And he couldn't save them. That realization dealt a heavy blow to his core. "Hey, chin up, kid. Your father is going to come get you as soon as possible." the doctor said upon seeing the look on Danny's face.
"Wait… FATHER?!" Danny thought, eyes widening slightly. He would have shouted the words but he didn't want to make the entire hospital staff worry about his sanity. The doctor ignored the brief look of disbelief Danny sent his way. The doctor just confirmed Jack is dead. They couldn't be leaving him with Vlad. That man is a psychopath and a monster. The next thing the man said threw him through a loop. "It's a long trip from Gotham, but he should be here soon." Gotham? Where the hell is Gotham? Danny has never heard of such a place before and he memorized every country on the map. "My father?" Danny inquired, uncertainly.
"Yes, your biological father, Richard Grayson. Since he is your only living kin and has agreed to take care of you, you'll be living with him from now on. " the doctor replied, confusing Danny. Danny knew Jack was not his biological father, Vlad never seemed to figure that out. But it didn't make any sense. His biological father died a long time ago. In fact he perished shortly after Danny was born. And why was he being treated like a child?! Sure his grades didn't reflect how intelligent his really is but that did not call for this kind of treatment.