Batman fast walked through the hallways of Mount Justice, since Robin's call his worry had escalated to the amount so high he had left the league with not so much as a goodbye. He felt kinda bad for ducking out on the league when they needed him but Danny was much more important than some alien alliance something or other.

He neared the infirmary and saw Robin and Kid Flash sitting right outside the door that was most likely the halfa's. Robin had a sullen look on his face while Wally had a concerned frown. It was unlike the speedster to be not talking or moving in any way, but both were still, almost in mourning.

They looked up at his approach, Robin's eyes filled with relief but also pleading. Batman wasted a little time talking to them, only pointing to the door to make sure it was the right room. At his adoptive son's nod he swiftly but somehow slowly entered the room.

--0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

Danny shivered under the bed, his eyes all puffy and half lidded. He a had cried so much he was exhausted, he did have anymore tears to shed. The tear streaks on his cheeks were unnaturally cold, when he went to wipe them away his fingers brushed against little icicles that stung his skin. His body felt weak, as if the slightest breeze could blow him away into dust. His emotional state wasn't much better. He felt numb, the odd sensation of ants crawling over his skin covered his hands and face.

There was something in his chest, a burning, yet freezing, sensation that felt void and empty. His heart felt as if it were on the trapeze, twisting, flipping, flying, and falling. It felt akin to when the GIW messed with his heart, they poked and prodded, and right now it felt as if a huge knife was implanted in his heart.

It ached and longed for repreve, but the little boy had no idea how to deal with this kind of pain. Emotional pain is not one he had encountered before now, with the GIW he actually tried to suppress all his emotions so he wouldn't have to feel.

It was pain worse than any GIW experiment. It was frightening because he didnt know how to overcome it, he didn't think it would heal on its own. He needed something, he didnt know what, but he needed it.

The sound of heavy boots and the rattling of the door knob spooked Danny out of his thoughts. Was it Batman like Wally promised?

The Dark Knight entered the room.

Danny let out a small imperceptible sigh of relief, to his surprise the ache in his chest somewhat dulled. Batman in all his dark glory rushed in with a small 'whoosh', having his sights set on Danny. The halfa waited for the vigilanti go get closer before braking out of his curled form.

Batman lowered himself to Danny's level, hoping he wasn't back to square one with the child. As soon as his knees touched the hard floor Danny burst forth and flew to Batman. The Caped Crusader blinked for a moment, stunned. He gently hugged the halfa, the adolescent clinging onto his bulky form. His shoulders shook but no cries nor tears were shed. Batman could feel his little phantom's body radiating coldness, he frowned but pushed the thought aside for later contemplation.

"It's ok Danny, I'm here."  He said softly. Danny's thin arms just squeezed tighter, he didn't want him to leave ever again.

Upon contact with his surrogate father Danny's face grew wet, but not with tears, the icicles were melting. His body slowly regained its heat, although still cold as he was in his ghostly form. Batman held onto the half dead child, stroking his fluffy white hair and rubbing his back in circles, making shushing noises and rocking back and forth.

The swaying motion relaxed Danny, he finally felt safe. His tense muscles softened, his quick breathing became deeper. Bruce felt the ghost practically melt in his arms, he rearranged him so Danny's small form was cradled in one arm against his side. The child's face snuggled against the billionaire's chest, seeking the warmth and protection it provided.

Danny glanced at his core, a purple core mixed with streaks of blue. He had worried Batman, he had made him sad, Danny didn't want to make Batman sad. Batman lifted his free arm, not taking his eyes off Danny's curled form, and waved in Robin. Dick stood tentatively at the door, not sure weather to come in or not. At his mentor's gesture he walked in nervously, what was the plan?

"We're going to hash this out right now," Batman stated, the child in his arms looked up at his words and saw Robin. He recoiled into Bruce's arm, wanting nothing more than to hide. Robin looked forlorn and gloomy, his core was an odd color of dark purple. When the colors changed to a new color it usually meant a different emotion. Like how red with streaks of yellow means happy and mad but orange means confidence. What Robin looked like was miserable and disappointed in himself, he felt guilty.

"I can't have you two not tolerable with each other." Robin nodded dejectedly while Danny frowned in confusion. Did he have to be with Robin more? But he hurt him!

"I need you," he pointed a black gloved finger at his adoptive son, "to not feel guilty, what happened was not your fault and you did what you felt was right at the time. No one can blame you for doing your best." Robin looked taken back, he obviously was not expecting that. Batman turned his attention to the child in his other arm, "And I need you, to understand what happened."

Danny looked at him quizzically, what was there to understand? Robot, Robin, pain. It was simple.

"Robin, please close the door." Batman said, the boy wonder obediently went to secure the infirmary door. Wally stood outside, giving him a questioning glance, was everything ok? Robin picked up on his unasked question, shrugging and looking down at his shoes. Wally frowned in his direction as the door clicked shut.

The acrobat returned to his family and crossed his arms, waiting for something to happen.

"Sit," Robin sat criss cross on the floor across from Bruce and his little brother. Danny never looked at his older brother, only catching quick glimpses and never in his eyes. Batman took off his cowl, gesturing for Robin to do the same. Now it was Bruce and Dick in the room with Danny.

"Alright, let's clear this up. This isn't healthy for either of you." Bruce stated, the halfa sidled closer to the billionaire. Dick's head bowed, his crystal blue eyes were brimmed with tears but he refused to let them fall.  Bruce shook his head and moved Danny to sit on his lap, the child needed to learn. Danny frowned in confusion as he was moved, he wanted to be next to Bruce, he wanted the comfort of his fatherly arms.

Danny wanted to shrink away in his exposed state, his eyes shifting between Bruce's eyes and Dick's general direction. Bruce's heart shrunk at the sight, all trust between the two brothers was little to none. Dick was blaming himself and Danny was terrified of Dick, this could not continue.

"This," Bruce pointed between the two brothers, "is not ok. Danny what happened back there was a setup. The robot wasn't who the team thought it was. Yes the League does have robot members, but this robot was planted by the GIW. They wanted this to happen, do you know what you need to do?" Bruce asked the halfa, looking straight into his eyes, making sure he was listening to every word. It took a few moments for the information to sink in. The GIW did this, he shouldn't be surprised, but he was. Danny was at a loss, he had no idea what to do with this information.

"You need to not let them hurt you." Bruce said seriously, Danny's brows furrowed. He had no control over the GIW, if they wanted to hurt him, they would do it, there was nothing Danny could do about it. Bruce saw his confusion.

"What I mean is, don't let them ruin your trust in others when they aren't even around. You control your actions and how you respond to problems. Dick responded to the problem in the way he thought would do the least damage. Dick acted to eliminate the overall problem of the destruction of the mountain, he was unaware the robot was the problem. He was under the impression he had to save the robot and he would always save you, so he acted accordingly."

Danny was getting an information overload. Robin was trying to protect him by hurting him? This was incredibly confusing, first Robin protects and robots are good, then Robin hurts and robots are bad, THEN, Robin protects and robots are bad and good... why can't things be simple?

"Do you understand?" the viglianti asked, searching Danny's face for any signs of recognition or understanding. Danny opened his mouth but his confusion closed it, no he didnt understand. So, if what Bruce was saying was true, and it was(a quick check on Bruce's core said so), what was going to happen now?

"Let's try this. Dick, come here." Bruce said. Dick scooted forwards, but not too close because Danny took an unconscious flinch backwards. Dick's frown deepened, Bruce shook his head.

"Danny, you don't have to be afraid of Dick. He is your brother, he has already proved he would do anything to protect you. The GIW wants you to feel alone, they want you to not trust anyone, they want to keep you afraid. They want you afraid because they can control you if you are afraid. When you're not alone and lean on others it fills you with hope, and hope is stronger than fear."

Danny blinked, in his terror of the robot and Robin he forgot Dick was his brother. How had he forgotten that?! The ghost boy hung his head, he was afraid of his brother for no reason, but he couldn't just trust him on a whim again. He sniffed, tears were far gone but his nose was practically a waterfall.

"I'm s-sorry..." Danny mumbled, he was slowly understanding. He didnt want the GIW to win, he had to trust others if he wanted to overcome his trauma, no matter how many bumps came along the way.

Bruce nodded, Danny was catching on, he brought the halfa closer, enveloping him in another hug. Danny let his head rest on Bruce's chest, no tears were shed but his nose began to run again. That's why Dick was feeling guilty and sad, he was afraid Danny wouldn't trust him again. Danny felt so stupid! Why didn't he see it before?! Now it was Danny who was wracked with guilt.

Bruce saw it coming from a mile away, he nodded to Dick and the acrobat hesitated before coming closer. He couldn't mistake the pain in his chest, the same pain that plagued him after his parents death. The same pain Danny felt after Dick's 'betrayal'. Dick knew what it felt like, but it was different each time, there's never only one solution to depression.

Dick put his arms around his small family in a giant bear hug.

Danny tensed but then relaxed. This was his family, it may not be his old family but they loved him nonetheless.

Dick let the tears fall, if they weren't let out they would definitely come out later, and he didnt want it to happen in front of the team. They were silent tears, droplets of saltwater crawling down his face. Emotions ran high in the room, a room of sniffing and hot tears. They broke their hug, the sudden humidity of all the emotions were staggering and suffocating.

Danny sat back on his heels, running a arm across his liquidy nasal passages. Dick stood, quickly wiping the tears away, he was fine, yeah, he's good. Bruce didnt know weather to sit on his hanches or stand up, his legs were so cramped. He ended up standing, surveying his sons-er- adopted son and other child who might as well be another adopted son.

"So, what now?" Dick stated, this was always the part that was confusing for him. After the pain was addressed he wasn't really sure what was supposed to happen afterwards.

"Life goes on, I still have to go help the League. And you two still have to be here, braving new friends and dealing with new problems together." Bruce said, pulling at his cowl. Danny blinked, Bruce was leaving again?

"Wait." Danny said, suddenly very desperate to keep Bruce here. He got to his feet and grabbed at the Dark Knight's glove, eyes pleading with the vigilante's stoic face. Dang, that kid had some doe eyes. He shook his head, having to force himself to do so.

"I'm sorry Danny but I still have a job to do. You'll be here with Dick." Dick arched a fearful eyebrow in Danny's direction, Danny hasn't said he was ok with Dick. Danny too sent an apprehensive look in Dick's direction. He should trust him, but he didnt want to make the same mistake twice, but he was his brother. Ugh this was much too confusing for a nine year old.

Danny bit his lip and nodded slowly but didnt loosen his grip on Batman's glove. Dick felt his heart lift, the pressure was gone from his tormented mind. But at the hesitant nod he knew he did not have the same trust as he did before, he would have to gain his trust a bit more. But he was willing to give him a chance and that was all Dick needed.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

A scream tore through out the mountain.

Wally bolted upright, thinking they were under attack or something. He fumbled with his bed covers and speedily raced to the hallway. He opened the door with the sound of screams emanating from them, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Danny was thrashing in his sleep, aimlessly sending ecto beams in every directions, his yells were spontaneous and random. Wally stood, not sure how to proceed.

Suddenly Danny shot out of the bed, flying through the air with his eyes still closed. his face was one of pain, grimacing and fearful. He sped out the door, Wally jumping out of the way in the nick of time.

Wally stared after the ghost, what the heck had just happened? It reminded Wally of Dick's night terrors, when they first met he had them occasionally, he still had them, just much less often. Said friend appeared, looking rather disheveled, his clothes wrinkled and mask obviously hastily put on. The rest of the team also appeared from their respective doors.

Robin took note of the situation. KF was practically on the floor, having dodged something. The room was a mess, the bedding was all over and there were smoking holes in random places. Robin only sighed and rubbed his face.

"Where did he go?" Robin asked, Wally pointed down the hall.

"It looked like he was still asleep." The speedster informed, the boy wonder silently groaned. He knew this would be an issue, he just didn't have the energy to confront it.

"Alright, you guys can probably go back to sleep, its.." he looked down at his holo-glove that he snatched just before exiting his room, "2:38 a.m."  The other team members mostly nodded before returning to their rooms, all of them had questions about the kid but for fear of bringing up something they shouldn't they didnt ask.

"Can I help?" Wally asked. He knew how tired his friend could get, being Robin and Dick Grayson took a toll on the 13 year old, and having a new brother with severe trauma issues didnt help. Robin shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good, you can go back to bed Wally." Dick looked down the hall, "he doesn't do well with new places, and with yesterday's events I'm not surprised he has night terrors."

"Well... I guess it's a good thing you already know how to help with night terrors." Wally pointed out.

"Heh. Yeah, I guess." Robin huffed, he then went down the hall leaving his speedster friend.

Robin walked down the halls quietly, trying to find Danny by ear rather than blatantly running around yelling his name. Besides, if it was a night terror he wouldn't respond. He paused in the kitchen, hearing an echoey shuffle. He frowned, moving twards the stove. The sound came again, this time with a sniff added to it, maybe he got out of the terror by himself.

Dick zeroed in on the source, he wanted to laugh. Danny was in the vents.

"Well, if there was any doubt that he is my brother it should be gone now." Dick mused, reaching up to pull the vent cover off. He climbed in, not sure weather it was normal Danny he was going to meet or nightmare Danny. Dick did NOT want a repeat of their last encounter.

Dick shuffled through the vents, finally finding his little brother. Danny was curled against the aluminum wall, sniffing in boogers with his head in his arms. Dick guessed this was normal Danny, nightmare Danny was much more... explosive...

"Danny?" he whispered, not wanting to scare the already spooked child. Danny tensed and peaked over his arms, upon sight of Dick he became more placid but still on guard.

Dick sighed, yeah, Danny didnt trust him all the way yet, but maybe he could fix that right now.

"Hey buddy, did you have a nightmare?" The innocent question was asked with feeling that went beyond nightmares, this was someone who knew much worse than nightmares. Danny didnt respond but looked at him with shaky eyes.

"They're called night terrors, they're pretty scary aren't they?" his tone was a darker tone than he would have liked, but it's not like it wasn't a dark subject.

Again Danny didnt respond but was curious to know what had just happened. He had no idea what had happened, one second he was sleeping, the next he woke up in a cold sweat in the air vents of the mountain. His throat was raw, he didnt remember screaming, he only remembered indescribable fear before waking up.

"I've had a few, ok, more than a few. But I know what you're feeling, it's alright to be scared. Something bad happened to you, really bad, your brain for some reason decides to replay your worst memories in the form of a dream. The scary part is that you have no control when you wake up, it's like a coma of terror." Dick said. his delivery was so soft and sincere Danny couldn't help but listen.

"Bruce had to help me out, sometimes he did a great job, other times... not so great." Dick rubbed the back of his head, remembering times where Bruce confronted  him and times where Dick would refuse to go back to bed or leave the bed. There were times Bruce had to pull him out of the dangerous pits of despair and depression. Robin was doing much better now, but he knew the struggle.

"Wh-what did you d-dream ab-about?" Danny asked, wondering what would scar his brother so.

"Our parents death. You weren't there, but I saw them fall, I heard the crack. You probably suffered from something similar though right?"

Danny nodded numbly, he knew his real parents had died, but he didnt know Dick had watched.

"Sometimes talking about it helps, do you remember anything? Because sometimes we don't remember, and other times we remember with startling clarity." Dick said, he didnt like the times he couldn't remember, because he didnt know the cause so it was harder to find a solution.

Danny frowned in concentration, what did he remember?

"Th-there were bodies... l-lots of b-bodies..." Danny said eventually, finally getting snippets of dream like memories. Red flashed in his vision as the memory became clear.

Bodies.

So many bodies.

He squeezed his eyes shut, there was a reason he tried to not go 'nightmare' Danny. He hugged himself in an attempt to not get swept up in the horrid memory. Dick saw the struggle and knew it was going down the wrong path.

"Danny, Danny, stay here buddy." He said quickly, scooting over so he could hold him.

He was cold to the touch, Dick discarded the observation and focused on his little brother. He held Danny's small curled form in his lap, trying to warm him up in his arms. Danny only shivered, Dick started rocking back and forth, remembering how Danny calmed with the swaying motion of