A/N: TRIGGER WARNINGS: child murder, violence, murder, torture. This is not the same feel-good friendly content as the og Villain Wrangler fic!

This is the only time I will explicitly reference the OG Villain Wrangler tumblr post:

"...one kid DID. Get hurt, that is, by the villain they idolized. And all I can think is that the Villain Wrangler didn't call in the heroes. They didn't call in another heart-of-gold villain. No. The VW rolled up their sleeves and went after this person themselves... If they get the accolades for the successes, they must also shoulder the burden of the failures." (author unknown)

I've always toyed with this idea for Danny but I didn't want it in my main story because I'm aware many of y'all go to it for good feelings. This part of the prompt is... a lot darker. Please be aware of the implications of where this story will go before you read.

AU from Chapter 17 of The Villain Wrangler.

Of course they had put a bag over his head. Danny was starting to expect every stereotypical thing to happen to him at this point; he had been surprised it had taken this long to reach this point.

He was currently seated in one of those spinning office chairs, but at least his feet were on the ground to keep him from blindly swiveling around. The car ride to wherever he was had at least been in an actual seat as well (there was always the fear of being shoved into a trunk when kidnapped).

The scariest part of this encounter so far had been Selina and the Bat… family's (?) reaction. Batfamily, that's a good term. He had seen Dick and Barbara subtly restrain Jason by the wrists, and Bruce had forcefully had to grab Selina by the waist when he had emerged from the throng of guests to face the Joker. He was pretty sure that the kamikaze stiletto that had sailed over the Joker's head had been from her.

Danny had clapped as he approached the pale man. "Nice rendition, but unfortunately, I'm not Irish," he'd shrugged. "Maybe use 'Daniel' by Elton John next time?"

The Joker grinned, laughing lowly under his breath. "I'll keep that in mind."

He had tried to look calm as he walked out the main doors with the criminal, studiously ignoring the corner where the Batfamily was clustered and sending an encouraging smile to an old lady who looked close to fainting. This was probably already all over the internet, so hopefully Harley and Ivy would know what was happening. He assumed they had put a tracker on him somewhere – he hoped it could withstand this real-world test.

A low chuckle from his… host… regained Danny's attention. He tried to turn his head in the direction it had come from, but the cover was yanked from his head and he blinked quickly as he tried to adjust to the brighter light.

He was in another abandoned warehouse, that much was obvious. It wasn't surprising: with the amount Gotham had lining its port and industrial areas, every villain probably had their own reserved space for kidnappings and murders alike. The Joker stood before him, his sleeves rolled up and a chuckle on his lips. His purple jacket was in the arms of the stockier of the two mask-wearing henchmen clowns behind him.

"Danny, Danny, Danny," the Joker chastised disappointedly, shaking his head. "You seem to be making quite the rounds! Now, imagine how hurt my feelings were when I wasn't called about my very own fan!" He dramatically pressed a hand against his chest.

"Uh… this very situation is a valid argument of why I didn't."

Joker glared at him for a moment, raising his finger dramatically as if to scold him like a child. "I'll allow it," he grinned, pointing at Danny as if he was giving him a point in a game. He supposed this was some sort of game for him in the long run.

"So…" Danny looked around curiously. His life didn't seem immediately threatened, so he might as well try and figure out why his presence had been 'requested.'

"Envy's a cruel mistress, don't you think?" The Joker saved him from having to come up with a question on the spot. "A one 'Justine Miller' is having a hard time dealing with this… revelation."

Danny failed at keeping the shock off his face as his boss was wheeled out on an identical chair by one of the masked helpers. Nothing was the same about their situation, however. She was duct-taped to her chair around her wrists and chest, and her ankles had been zip-tied together. A bandana was wrapped around her mouth, keeping it shut, but her wide, teary eyes belayed the screams she couldn't vocalize.

"Why is she here?" Danny cautiously asked after a moment of tense silence had spread between all of them. He didn't see any other way forward.

The dramatic gasp that answered him made him infinitely more wary. "You mean you don't know?" Danny had to keep himself from rolling his chair backward as the Joker leaned close to his face to scrutinize him. He apparently found nothing of interest and moved over towards Justine instead. "She thought she should try and contact yours truly after a certain someone hung up on her." He pinched her cheek in a playful-esque manner; the desperate squirming of his victim, though, showed its true intentions.

Her reaction visibly annoyed the clown, and Danny tried to think of ways to get them out of there, but his mind was frustratingly drawing a blank. It didn't matter at this point as the Joker pulled the bandana down from her mouth, letting spill a tattered trail of please no please please I'm sorry's from his boss.

"Lighten up, sweetheart," Joker grinned, reaching up with his left hand to caress her face. Danny didn't miss him reaching into his pants pocket with his other hand, but before he could react, the Joker had pulled a flower from his pocket and sprayed it in her face. "Let's turn that frown upside down!"

Danny wasn't stupid: he was a Gotham resident, he knew what the Joker's laughing gas did to its victims. Seeing it happen firsthand to his boss was a whole other thing.

Her panicked scream cut off into a wet cough as she inadvertently inhaled the poison. The fear was still clearly present in her eyes as her terrified gaze landed on him, ensuring he could see the full effect. The coughs began to take on sound, melting into a low chuckle and gaining speed. The iconic grin that stretched across her face seemed to defy all anatomical possibilities as she laughed and laughed and laughed… torture didn't have to include beatings to make one wish for death, and by the limpness of her body, Justine was already ready to accept it.

The Joker had noticed it, too. "Kids these days. Shorter attention span, shorter torture span – I blame bad parenting and smartphones." He whistled and the tallest of the three masked clown henchmen handed him a pistol. Danny shut his eyes as the Joker emptied a shot into his boss' head.

He tried to ignore her lifeless form as he looked back at the Joker.

"What about the kid?" Danny flatly asked. This was not the time to focus on Justine; she was beyond saving. Hopefully, though… hopefully there was still a child he could bring home safely.

The Joker sighed. "And here I thought we were finally making some progress." He twirled the gun in his hand before aiming it at Danny and beckoning. "Well? Don't just sit there all day!" Danny grit his teeth at his following cackle but followed the order. He stood slowly, unsure if he would be stable, and steadily walked after Joker once he gained his footing. The clown men took up position behind him as they walked into the next room.

Danny hadn't been sure what he expected to find – maybe another broken body – but to his great relief, he could see the boy's breath from where he stood. He was actually still lying in his hospital bed (which, he supposed, made him easier to kidnap) and seemed to be asleep. Regardless of his safe appearance, Danny still flinched when the Joker moved over to stroke the boy's blond hair as if he were an interesting new pet.

"Little Sean here was diagnosed with schizophrenia," the clown explained with a dark chuckle underlying his words. "He thought I'd be the only one who'd understand what it was like to be misunderstood and seen as a monster!" He paused his movement, finally letting out a full laugh. "He asked for more than he could handle."

"What do you want from him?"

"With him?" The Joker echoed, an eerie grin once again settling on his face. "Nothing! In fact," he took a step back and spread his arms wide, "you can have him. Think of it as my gift to you."

Oh, this is most certainly a trap, Danny thought as he cautiously made his way over to the bed and bent to scoop Sean into his arms. Whatever the Joker had knocked him out with at least made the kid easier to carry, and for that, he was grateful. Dealing with a squirming, terrified child would've made this ordeal a whole lot scarier than it already was. Holding the boy bridal-style, he turned questioningly to the Joker, unsure if he was actually allowed to leave with the hostage.

"Go on!" His captor merely ordered, shooing them away with his hands.

Danny nodded his head respectfully – despite what the Joker had done, he was at least letting him leave with Sean and that was all that mattered at the moment. He began to stride back towards the main room, making sure not to jostle the kid in case it woke him up.

"Oh wait!" The Joker called out mockingly from behind him, his voice echoing in the empty warehouse. "I almost forgot my gift for him!"

Bang.

Of course I wasn't making it out of this unscathed, Danny cynically huffed as a searing pain shot through him.

He'd fallen on top of Sean. That was Danny's first thought as he came back to awareness, just a heartbeat before the blinding pain overwhelmed his senses. He couldn't get enough oxygen. Was that from the shock?

The ground was wet.

Weren't they inside?

Why was it wet?

His scattered thoughts urged him to check out of confused curiosity, but the moment he tried, he immediately curled in on himself and Sean in pain. It radiated out from the right side of his chest, increasing with every faint whoosh.

But he was breathing. That was– that was good. He made a split-second decision (it would hurt more if he dwelled on it) and pushed himself off of Sean. His weight was likely making it hard for the boy to breathe.

A twisted part of him was glad Sean was drugged unconscious. At least he wouldn't be scarred from the active memory of what had happened that night.

Danny should have done more to prevent this from happening. He shouldn't have assumed that a simple "no" would be enough to keep the Joker from entering his safe haven. He'd been lulled into a false sense of complacency, and now he was faced with the consequences.

Sean. That's right. He had to check on Sean.

The boy was still asleep. Danny was impressed he hadn't uttered a single sound. Whatever the Joker had dosed him with must've been strong.

Danny tried to push himself into a sitting position, but he shouted and dropped back to the ground as the movement sent a searing pain through his chest. Alright, he could at least turn onto his side…

The pain was more manageable as he put most of the weight on his hip. His right arm was pinned awkwardly now, but he could still reach out with his left to move Sean into a more comfortable… a more…

Oh.

Sean wasn't asleep.

No wonder the ground felt so wet.

It felt like hours later that he finally heard footsteps approaching at a fast pace.

It didn't matter. They could leave him for all he cared.

Joker had killed this child. Joker had killed Sean by shooting through Danny.

He let the rising voices fade out as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Danny…"

Maybe he really was dead, or hallucinating. His mind was working overdrive if it was able to conjure up such a seamless image of Wonder Woman seeming nervous. Nevertheless, he lolled his head toward the side so he could look at her more clearly through his tears.

"The others do not want to tell you, but I believe you deserve to know." Her voice was solemn and quiet, but every word seemed to stick to her lips with hesitation. "Joker left a phone on the ground next to you. It had a single unread message: 'I never said you could have him alive.'"

The anguish coursing through him was no longer from physical pain. Danny lived in Gotham. He'd known that the Joker was not someone to laugh at. The man murdered for the fun of it and without an ounce of remorse. He shouldn't have assumed ignoring the problem would mean that the problem wouldn't come rearing its head on its own accord.

Danny shut his eyes. Maybe he'd wake up and this would all be a bad dream.

It wasn't.

He knew it wasn't.

"Leave me with him," he slurred, arm reaching towards where he thought Sean lay despite his hand weighing it down like lead.

The Amazon's sigh was low, but not enough that he couldn't hear it. "We'll speak when you wake, Danny."

He was too tired to argue. He was too tired to do much of anything except drift off into unconsciousness.