It was a long night of research. Daniel hadn't shown up on any of the results because he was legally dead. The official statement was that his body had turned to ash in the explosion there was not even a logged DNA sample for comparison. The remains of Daniel's family, however, had been recovered and were even identifiable. It was an inconsistency but one that had been overlooked and pushed under the rug. Daniel's 'death' was another infuriating mystery that aggravated Batman. The detective had done also more research on the rest of the Fentons. They had been an eccentric family obsessed with ghosts, sometimes even reckless in their pursuit of them. The explosion originated from what was an apparently portal created to observe and study ghosts. The Fenton's connection to Vlad was through this portal, he had helped create it back when they were all in college and he apparently maintained a friendship with the Fentons that ultimately led to their demise.

A hero that will never be forgotten.

Ghost.

Amity Park.

It didn't take much detective work to lead him to an old Amity Park Daily article with the headline, 'GHOST BOY: HERO OR VILLAIN?' There was Daniel again, wearing a confident grin that took up most of a black and white photo though this time his hair was white and he was wearing tights. They had called him Invis-o-Bill. Batman spent the next hour reading through newspaper articles and old blogs detailing Invis-o-Bill's short career as a superhero.

A thorny, writhing mass began to grow in the Bat's chest and it weighed him down as he read. This kid wanted to do good. He wanted to save people. He wanted everyone in his small city to be safe. He wanted to be a hero. Batman couldn't help but feel the guilt grow inside him. There was no doubt in the Bat's mind that the League had inspired this kid. Daniel was just barely figured out his powers before he was snatched away and torn apart because of them. Batman never knew of him, the League never knew him. Daniel might of been an ally or even a future Leaguer if Batman had played closer attention to a small city on the other side of the country. The guilt writhed in his chest but it only made him more determined to find justice for Daniel Fenton.

Batman had maintained a calm demeanor when he sent the team off on their mission but his thoughts were divided between his young ward and Daniel. It wasn't long before he was back on the watchtower and striding toward's the med bay. Halfway there he saw Daniel's cheery doctor strolling down the opposite hall with a bounce in each step. She was now wearing a strange black lab coat, as Batman approached her a cheshire like grin began to spread across her face. Then the Bat noticed her scrubs. They were all black with his bat symbol in a horrific yellow and dark grey littered across the garmet.

"Good evening!"

Batman stood in silence, unable to return the greeting, staring at the doctor is disbelief. She stifled a laugh as she turned and slipped into the medbay. Batman followed shortly after and reached Daniel's room a moment after the doctor. But, even as she was explaining Daniel's condition, the Bat could't help but stare at the gaudy scrubs. He found it hard to believe companies even made scrubs like that and he found himself wondering what sort of profit they would see from utilizing the Leauge's symbols like that. Was there a Green Lantern one? That had the corps insignia? Would they even know where that symbol came from? What it meant?

Batman swept the thoughts from his mind and turned his attention back to Daniel. He was awake, blank eyes staring off in a random direction. Despite all that had happened to the kid, he had fought the good fight, no matter how short his time in the battle was. Daniel deserved to be treated like a hero, he deserved a secret identity. Batman turned to the doctor,

"Please, leave us alone for a minute."

There was a moment of surprised silence from the doctor and she fidgeted, clearly trying to come up with a excuse to say no, but she didn't find one. The doctor left the room without a fuss and Batman approached the teen and quietly took a seat at his bedside. Batman had found a hospital in Switzerland where Daniel would be comfortable for the rest of his life if need be. Daniel would be hidden, far away from the people who did this to him. Awkwardly Batman placed a hand on the far too thin and far too pale wrist of the teen, wondering if the kid would even understand if he told him where he was going and if he did how would Daniel feel about being sent halfway around the world? All Batman knew was that if the same thing happened to Robin his young ward would want to stay, he would want to fight, but Batman didn't know Daniel. There was no one who would be able to take care of him in the League either, even if he did wake up there was no one who knew anything about his ghost powers. Briefly Batman thought about Vlad, wondering if the billionaire would even be willing to take Daniel in. The man was clearly no longer a threat, but if Vlad saw the state Daniel was in... Batman couldn't be sure that this wouldn't give the man the drive to return to his nefarious plans.

Batman hoped it wouldn't come to that. If Daniel could wake up now he wouldn't have to be sent away. Depending on his condition he might even be able to join the team and maybe even seek justice for himself. With careful movements Batman leaned a bit closer to Daniel's face and spoke as softly and as gently as he could,

"Daniel?"

Daniel blinked. A breath of anticipation caught in Batman's throat,

"Daniel...it's alright, you're safe now. No one is going to hurt you here."

The words may of come out a bit too fast but they were clear and calm. But...nothing happened, Daniel's pulse and breathing remained indifferent to Batman knowing his name. There was no movement, no spark of life in his eyes. That blink was just a blink. Defeated, Batman leaned back in his chair, he had hoped that just by hearing his name, just by hearing something familiar that he would be able to return to the living.

"I'm going to take you to a hospital, far away from here, where no one can hurt you. Somewhere...somewhere where you'll be safe."

Batman spoke quietly, almost muttering to himself rather than trying to explain things to the broken teenager. There was nothing but silence as Batman sat with the teen, letting the minutes slip past until the door opened and the doctor stepped through. He quietly stood up and escorted her back out into the hallway, suddenly desperate to leave the silent room. It took Batman another minute before he cleared his throat and turned to the doctor,

"I've arranged for him to be transferred to a hospital."

"So soon?"

"You said yourself that being on the watchtower is hindering his recovery."

The doctor nodded and looked out the window, enraptured by the stars,

"I guess I thought we'd be able to stay a bit longer...it's beautiful up here."

Batman glanced out the window into the cold, empty black and nodded in agreement.

It took the both of them a half hour to get Daniel ready for zeta beam transport with Batman constantly checking his various gadgets for news on the Team's progress during the entire process. It was a challenge moving both Daniel and the numerous machines he was still hooked up to. The various monitors and devices had been carefully strapped onto the wheelchair the teen was in. They had made it as far as the main room before the Doctor suddenly rushed off to retrieve one last item from another room, begging Batman to wait just a few minutes longer. It was quiet again, even with the steady beeps and hisses of the machines monitoring Daniel's every heartbeat and breath. Batman found himself looking out the window once again, seeking comfort in the countless twinkling lights. Ever since he met Daniel he had found himself staring at the stars and admiring them. Suddenly something in his mind clicked and a barely remembered drunk mutter flooded his mind.

"...loved the stars..."

Batman glanced down at Daniel again.

Maybe.

Batman wheeled the teen over to face one of the enormous windows before kneeling down and watching for any sign that Daniel was still in there somewhere.

Nothing. Only the stars were reflected in his empty eyes.

Batman sighed, turning away from the teen. Daniel would live a comfortable life, it was the least Batman could do. No matter how hard the Bat tried to convince himself that he was doing all that he could to help the poor kid it still didn't feel like enough. Batman sighed before dialing Alfred who would be able to direct his call to the Hospital in Switzerland. As it was ringing out the doctor walked in before freezing before a look of pure astonishment grew on her face

Then several things happened at once:

There was a crash behind Batman.

There was a dull shatter as the doctor dropped whatever it was she had been holding.

Alfred picked up the phone.

Batman turned slowly with his head leading and his body following after. The doctor sprinted forward, bounding like a frightened rabbit, it couldn't of been a second before she was by Daniel's side. Daniel was sprawled out on the floor, wheelchair rolling back lazily. Batman approached slowly keeping his eyes trained on the teen.

"Sir...?"

Alfred sounded worried, but his voice somehow failed to reach Batman who was still slowly walking up to the teenager. Batman stared at the child, who now had his forehead pressed up against the glass, fervently staring out at the stars. As Batman approached the child he noticed the tears now drowning out the dull blue eyes. The tears streaked down his young, scarred face and his hands reached up to tremble against the window, almost as if he were trying to reach out and touch the stars. There was an overjoyed yet frail smile flickering across the teen's face.

"Sir...are you alright?"

Alfred's calm yet worried voice snapped him out of his amazed stupor.

"Yes Alfred. Please connect me to..."

Batman trailed off as he looked down at Daniel and the doctor who was silent and now wrapping a blanket around his thin shoulders.

"Please connect me to Vladimir Masters."