Naturally, Danny was confused. As far as he was concerned, he had no friends. The only person that could even come somewhat close to holding that title would have been his neighbor, Roach, back at the asylum. And he was pretty sure that the only reason Roach even talked to him was because the odd man claimed that Danny smelled like red apples. Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean, he still wasn't sure. Nor did he particularly care to find out.

Now, rather than asking questions, the boy continued following the two Leaguers down the hall which almost resembled a labyrinth with its various twists and turns. As agitation slowly crept under his skin, Danny was grateful when they finally reached what he perceived to be some sort of mess hall. Several tables and chairs lay scattered in a somewhat organized fashion, and as promised, they were not alone.

At one table sat three figures, all of whom Danny did not recognize. Of course.

Two of the people, an African-American man in a tight body suit accompanied with a woman that was inexplicably endowed with wings, immediately took notice of their arrival as they were sitting on the opposite side. The third and final man; however, sat with his back against him.

"Now that we're all here, we should get started," Wonder Woman stated thus announcing their arrival to the others.

The final man turned around to finally reveal his face.

The first thing Danny noticed was not his almost vampiric appearance, but the annoyance that was present in the crinkle around his eyes. Then, slowly, the annoyance melted away as ice blue met blood red. In its wake was a sort of sorrowful relief that Danny couldn't exactly comprehend.

As the man got up, an unnatural chill crawled up Danny's spine causing his stomach to clench in a shuddering, almost painful, manner. Seeing this, the man halted mid-step.

"Daniel...," he pleaded morosely, "... you really don't remember me, do you?"

Vlad had been warned beforehand that the child was under an amnesiac spell, and that it was unlikely he would be able to recognize him. No matter how well they had known each other before.

In the back of his mind though, Danny couldn't help but think that maybe he did know this man. That there was this familiarity about him. When nothing came up; however, the boy merely shook his head no.

The man stood to his full height, and raised his chin just slightly. In a resolved manner, he cleared his throat and extended a hand in greeting.

"My name is Vlad Plasmius and - ... what is that around your neck?" Vlad demanded suddenly, interrupting himself halfway through as he took notice of the metal collar embracing the boy's neck.

Danny was about to reply that he didn't know either, when Batman stepped forward and answered for him.

"We believe it is some sort of power suppressor, attached to his spine. We have a lab set up to remove it tonight as soon as we can," the vigilante explained, in a methodical -insufferable- manner. Vlad narrowed his eyes dangerously at this, clenching his fists tightly to ward off shaking from rage, the older Halfa finally exhaled slightly.

"I see. Perhaps now would be the best time then," he said calmly. He could not bear to see Daniel like this. A former shell of a human being rocking perilously on the brink of collapse; with no memory, no will, and something less than humanity.

Batman agreed, and as he begun meticulously explaining the safety precautions to Vlad, Wonder Woman turned to face Danny to explain the procedure.

He was barely paying attention though, only catching a few things about how there would be no pain due to the anesthesia (once again, he was being assured nothing would hurt him), but Danny kept glancing back at Vlad.

He felt bad he wasn't able to please this man, this man that he had virtually just met mere minutes ago. He never minded before if any of the doctors, or nurses, or patients, or anyone else trying to help got frustrated. But there was this pang of guilt that was making the boy sick, and he did not like it.

As the Leaguers began herding him away, to go through yet another set of winding halls and into a different room, Danny turned around and called out.

"Wait, Vlad!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and trained their eyes on him. The Green Lantern and Hawkwoman were about to give Vlad a tour of his new base, when he regarded the boy with a sort of hopeful curiosity.

"You'll... you'll be still be here when the surgery is over, right?" Danny asked, heart thudding, for some odd reason, in fear of rejection.

Vlad blinked a couple times in surprise. This sort of behavior was not at all expected, but certainly not unwelcome.

"Yes, of course I will," he promised earnestly.

With his mind put to ease, Danny nodded before unsurely turning back around to once again continue following Batman and Wonder Woman who were waiting for him.

The lab was set up like a standard surgical room found in any hospital. The team of doctors/nurses and telepath, whom were equipped with the best tools that money could buy, could only be found in that certain room.

After changing into a hospital gown, Danny was told to lie down on a metal table.

This caused him immediate panic and the heart monitor was going crazy with overwork. He did not like this situation at all.

Finally, a doctor in a surgical mask held a plastic mask over his mouth and administered the anesthesia.

As the world was slowly but sure fading out, the last thing that Danny saw was that pair of sorrowful glowing red eyes...

The place was covered in a thick blanket of black smoke. The smell of burning flesh was enough to make himself gag and stomach to churn. Everywhere around him people were screaming and crying. He had to get them. He had to save them.

He couldn't though, for his body refused obey his own commands. He felt as if someone was pulling his limbs, muscles, and nerves with a string. As if he was a puppet.

Somewhere in the background, a large ominous figure stalked up behind him. The presence came closer and closer until he could feel it breathing down his neck. The figure moved its arms as if to snatch the trapped puppet, and then-

And then the figure grabbed him by the shoulders and harshly threw him to the ground, and yet at the same time there was such a gentle care within the act. The figure covered him with his own body, in an attempt to protect the boy from harm. Next to his ear, he could hear the man breathing in short, hollow gasps.

Throwing some kind of protective bubble over the both of them, the crackling fire and suffocating smoke was warded off.

But the shouting and crying was not. Joining the cacophony came creaking as the structure of the building was becoming weak and unsafe. There would not be much time before the whole thing came crashing down. No sooner before he thought it - debris, wood, and bricks all came falling in a violent orchestra.

The crying had finally stopped.

Before passing out, the last thing Danny saw was a pair of teary, red eyes.

Danny woke up in a groggy haze. His head was still pleasantly humming as the numb-inducing gas had yet to completely wear off.

Vaguely, the boy registered an absence of weight around his neck. He was somewhat glad to feel his fingertips brush up against flesh rather than cold metal.

Remembering something with a start, Danny shot up out of bed and darted his eyes around the room. He couldn't help but feel relieved when he finally saw the man sitting right beside his bed, startled at the boy's haste and sudden activity.

"You're here," Danny stated.

"As I promised. I'll always be here."

"As you promised," Danny agreed. Then, thinking back to his dream, Danny realized that Vlad had always kept that promise. At least, as far as he knew anyway. The boy made a decision then and there that this man was someone worthy of his trust.

Danny had been staying at the Watchtower for just a few weeks now. He had his own room, daily meals, full access to a part of the spacious Tower, and was free to move about as he pleased.

He was told that he could go down to Earth anytime he wanted, and all he had to do was ask. So far, Danny had not taken up on this offer. He already had everything he needed and wanted, which wasn't much, up there.

Vlad visited him on a daily basis, everyday at four in the afternoon and stayed till eleven or whenever Danny went to bed. On his third visit, Vlad had introduced Danny to Phantom.

They were in a large arena-like room, complete with state-of-the-art training equipment. Standing face to face, Danny was about to ask what they were doing there.

"You and I, Daniel, have something very important in common. Surely you have noticed by now that my appearance is not the most human."

Of course Danny had noticed. He simply didn't think anything of it. To him, Vlad was no less normal then if he didn't have blue skin and red eyes. What one perceived to be "normal" was only what one was most accustomed to being exposed to. So far, Danny had only been exposed to legally insane lunatics, a bundle of doctors, and the Justice League.

So really, Vlad seemed perfectly normal to him.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with us having anything in common? I look nothing like you."

Vlad's lips curved upwards in a knowing smile.

"That's where you're wrong, Little Badger," the man replied and before Danny could blink a completely different person stood in his place. Realizing that this grey bearded man was still Vlad, the boy frowned.

"I don't understand, how did you do that?"

"You could, too. You've probably felt a bit cold every time you've seen me. Well I'd like you to close your eyes, search for this cold core, and grab it."

Danny realized that Vlad was speaking nonsense, but nevertheless decided to obey. In the end, he was glad he did.

The transformation itself only felt natural, and right. It felt like something he was almost meant to be. He found the sudden weightlessness and floating a sensation as familiar as stepping through that portal for the first time. Vlad then tried to show Danny how to use this form, only to find out that he was already well acquainted with it.

However, these new-found powers were the only things he were acquainted with. The few times Danny tried to bring up whatever his life was like before, Vlad had either ignored the question or diverted his attention elsewhere. Realizing that Vlad did not like talking about his past, Danny eventually let it go. He excused the older man for this, expecting that they will talk about it sooner or later. After all, it certainly wasn't as if Vlad had anything to hide from Danny.

AN: ... Just that he tried to kill him, his father and marry his mother on multiple occasions.

Well, shit. Looks like Strange has been transferred from Arkham to Belle Reeve. I knew I should have gone with Quincy Sharp for the fic. Ah well, I don't think that little fact matters too much.

One thing that did bother me about the new episode though was how they portrayed the Riddler. I mean, what the hell? He's one of Batman's most dangerous villains (and a personal favorite of mine) and they wrote him off as a complete hack. Show the guy some respect, he was the only person to ever find out Batman's real identity without either being told or mentally probing him. Ok, rant over.

The YJ-gang will be introduced in the next chapter. This time I'm sure of it. Please review, and thanks to everyone who has. It really means a lot.