Chapter 19: What Doesn't Kill You-

The tang of blood filled his mouth as he grit his teeth together, cursing the fact that he had initially bit down on his tongue when he was shot. His grip on the young boy was probably going to leave some bruises too, but at least he hadn't dropped him as the bullet tore through his right leg.

He didn't dare look down, knowing he'd see blood coating his right leg and leaving a trail behind him as he limped towards the door. This kid, Sean, needed to be brought to safety, and seeing as he was the only available option, collapsing and curling up in a ball wasn't a choice. Danny blinked rapidly as tears blurred his vision, but continued to drag his feet forward one step at a time.

The Joker's laugh echoed around him, matching the ebb and flow that was beginning to overtake his vision. Reality was toying with him by moving the exit closer before yanking it miles away again, across a swaying sea of concrete floor.

Just a bit further, a little bit longer, a small voice encouraged. You can save him!

Danny looked out of the corner of his eye to where he thought the speaker would be standing and almost tripped out of shock. "Melody?" A part of him knew logically it couldn't be Ivy's wisher, she was dead dead dead and yet he swore by any and all gods that the ebony-haired girl was there in the warehouse with him.

Whatever further he wanted to say didn't matter: her image abruptly vanished as his current step sent him staggering into the brighter outside world. They were out.

Exhaustion settled over his shoulders as he conceded to himself that being out didn't mean Sean was safe yet. He started to trudge forward again, slowly scraping a path among the dirt and scarce grass that made up the empty lot surrounding the warehouse. None of it seemed familiar in his weariness, but maybe it explained why the Sirens hadn't come calling so quickly this time.

It was hard to tell how far he had made it before his legs gave out from under him and sent him and the little boy tumbling to the ground. He heard an anguished cry come from somewhere nearby, but it took him several heartbeats to realize the sound came from him. The pain in his leg had increased, probably due to him landing on a rock. He still tried to drag himself towards Sean's unconscious form, but he was too weak at this point. The ragged breaths he was taking alone left him tired.

He might've blacked out for a few seconds – or a few minutes, he didn't know anymore – but his eyes fluttered open as he felt himself being turned over. A blurry green and blue form appeared to be standing over him, and something was glinting metallically just out of sight.

"Is-" gasp- "Sean'kay?" He desperately asked, reaching out blindly and clenching the draped fabric his fingers brushed against.

"The child is fine, Johnson," a deep voice said. "Rest now."

With a relieved sigh, Danny didn't fight the darkness that enveloped him.

Wonder Woman caught his head as it dropped limply, keeping him from hitting it against the rocky surface beneath him. "He is very brave." She glanced up towards Selina, who nodded in agreement at the Amazon's words even though her eyes were trained on the enraged figures of the other Sirens as they yelled at Batman.

"-and you ain't the boss of me, Batsy!" Harley was shouting, pushing her index finger challengingly against Batman's chest. "I got more right than the rest've yah to beat the puddin' outta that clown!"

"And I told you, the Joker already left," he growled back. "You're more than welcome to leave your friend and chase after him."

"Danny wouldn't mind," Ivy hissed. "Come on, Harls."

As the pair stalked off to form their own little huddle, Selina turned her gaze back on Danny and crouched next to him. "Did Joker do anything other than shoot him?"

"It does not appear so." Martian Manhunter rumbled.

Wonder Woman's eyes narrowed in thought as she evaluated Danny's bloodied leg. "He has lost a lot of blood…" Setting his head on the ground, she was then free to reach out and rip the thigh of his pants apart, exposing the through and through wound. "That would explain it," she muttered grimly. "We should transport him to a hospital."

"No," the three glanced at Batman as he walked over to them. "We'll teleport him to the Watchtower. You and Manhunter get the kid to a hospital," he nodded at Wonder Woman.

Neither Leaguer argued, and after Wonder Woman had passed Danny's limp body to Batman, Manhunter telekinetically lifted Sean and the two heroes took off flying back into the city with the child.

" – and why exactly are they here again?"

Snort. "You try telling them no."

Danny hadn't opened his eyes yet and it was already too bright. He tried to pinch them shut tighter and ignore the hushed voices in the room, but a chuckle from one of the speakers let him know he was found out. With a sigh and a groan, Danny cracked one eye open. "Can't a guy get some beauty rest around here?"

"Not when you interrupt my supposed-to-be-boring night by getting kidnapped and shot," Jason retorted from where he was lounging against the doorframe.

Danny shrugged, but the movement made him jostle his right leg slightly and send an ache throughout it. In an attempt to distract himself from the pain, he finally looked around at the room he was in.

To his left was a glass window that opened up to a gray hallway (not much to be learned from there), and the door was next to it. Jason stood on the opposite side of the room from his bed, and a red haired man in a hoodie sat in a chair beside the vigilante. Around his bed were four more chairs: one was empty, but the three Sirens were fast asleep in the others. To his amusement, Selina's legs were stretched out so her feet could rest on Harley's lap, and Ivy's head was tipped over the back of her seat with her face tilted towards the ceiling. (Lord knows how she managed to sleep in such an uncomfortable position.)

"Batgirl hacked the system to let Ivy and Harley in here, and Selina came with you," the red-headed man snickered. "Set off quite a few alarms."

"What, because the hospital didn't expect them?"

Danny did not like the conspiratory glance his two visitors shared. "That's a good way to put it, Johnson," Jason smirked. Now he knew something was definitely up, but seeing as he felt too tired to deal with it, he put any suspicions on the back burner for later.

"How long have I been here?" He decided on asking. The IV pricking at his hand kept him from gesturing around them. "And who are you again?"

Jason gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "Have you really forgotten about me and our wonderful friendship? Oh, the cruelty of it al-"

Danny rolled his eyes while the other man jabbed Jason in the side. "I'd say 'A for effort,' but that was only worthy of a C+ at best." He turned back to face Danny and gave him a casual salute with two fingers. "I'm Roy, aka the best assassin for hire in all of Gotham –" he studiously ignored Jason's annoyed muttering at that statement "– and you've been out for about 13 hours. Of course, during that time the Sirens managed to round up quite the assembly of criminally-inclined and leave a very beaten Joker zip-tied to the Arkham gates. Hilarious, really. It's trending right now." Roy pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket and shook it gleefully.

Danny lay in stunned silence for a moment. They did all that for him?

"You're trending too, by the way," Jason added. Danny knew that Jason was just bringing this up to mess with him, and to his chagrin it was working. "'Hero citizen saves child from Joker,' all that jazz. Starting to call you a 'villain wrangler.' And your name's a hashtag now."

"Great. Thanks, Jason," he sarcastically drawled, sinking deeper into his pillow. Lovely. Now he was an internet celebrity. Hopefully he'd be quickly forgotten after his five seconds of fame.

"Hey, I could always raise my voice just enough to wake up the Sirens…"

Danny laughed finally at the blatant threat. "If you want to be on the receiving end of some very cranky and exhausted women, be my guest!"

"He'd still be better off than you: at least we're not the ones about to get told off by the big shots," Roy grinned, nodding his head toward the window. It took a minute for them to walk into Danny's line of sight, but Roy was right. The three founding members of the Justice League seem to have found out he was awake (goddamn heart monitor) and were paying him a visit.

This was something he did not want to deal with alone. "Ivy, Harley mixed hair dye into your natuRAL SHAMPOO AGAIN!"

(While very effective at waking up the Sirens, perhaps not the best method while in a cramped hospital room, unless one does not include the heart monitor that was collateral damage.)

Hopefully you'll appreciate this cliffhanger over the last one! (This isn't the end of the story don't worry). I think there will be one more chapter to wrap this up before Danny starts taking on new villains. Thanks for sticking around so long! Hope you enjoyed this one.