Chapter Text
The first time it happens, Superman is enraged. It’s not the first life lost he’s seen or been around, but each one makes him angry and distraught that he couldn’t keep it from happening. The mangled body was caught under debris, half peeking out with eyes wide open. Still caught in surprise.
If Superman put extra force behind his punches, no one blamed him.
He watched the body be retrieved. The attempt at resuscitation (there would be no help, he could see the wound cutting into the boy’s neck and the red that spilled from his abdomen). The loading of the body into the back of a paramedic. One of the paramedics straddled the body, still desperately attempting CPR as they pulled the gurney up into the ambulance.
It was when Superman started asking the bystanders around to see if anyone knew him so he could apologize to the boy’s family when the ambulance screeched to a sudden stop. The woman who had been on the gurney with the boy (blood still soaked her from the wrists down) stumbled out of the van looking frantic.
“Did you see him!?” She asked desperately, voice bordering on a screech.
“What? Who?” Superman barely had the chance to get out before the woman interrupted him.
“The boy!” She shrieked hysterically. “He vanished!”
The city-wide search ended in no answers.
—
Batman was told about the incident and hoarded as much information on it as he could. There were no answers to be had, but he kept a lookout for any. Thoughts of it were out of his mind completely as his heart thudded in his chest and all he could think was that he had to get there in time. The Joker had taken a hostage. Black hair, blue eyes he looked so much like—
But he was too late. Joker stood cackling over a too still body, emptied needle in hand and held in the air. “Too late Batsy!” The monster crowed and kicked the body over with a foot. Black veins spread over the neck, fingers curled toward it as if trying to hold it off. Mouth open in a last gasp.
The Joker had a long stint in the hospital before he was taken back to Arkham.
Batman received a call days later. The boy’s body was gone from the morgue. No one knew what happened. No cameras caught who stole him. He had flashbacks to Jason. Dead then stolen.
He began a new case.
—
Soon, every super hero had a story about a black haired, blue eyed boy that would be killed and his body go missing. They searched every place they could for him, trying to get any answers they could. Blood or hair samples would vanish. The body would vanish. No one knew what was going on.
It got to the point where if they noticed a civilian casualty that matched the description, they would feel horror moments later when they realized they felt relieved that it was the boy. That he would be okay or come back again and that the death wasn’t permanent. Some had theories that he was a clone sent to spy on their battles and a new one would be made each time. Each time they were able to communicate with him, he always said something snappy or quick witted before unfortunately succumbing to whatever injury was fatal but not immediate enough for them to get a few words with him.
He never answers their questions on what was going on. But Martian Manhunter, the one time he came across him, managed to get the name ‘Danny’ as—
“After all, you’re my favorite.”
—
This was getting ridiculous.
To quote a show he’d started watching about a French heroine, “Utterly ridiculous.”
Danny did not expect that leaving Amity at all would lead to so many… incidents. Just because he couldn’t die did not mean the universe had to test this out. Especially not this often. Especially not while not having enough ectoplasm to really use ghost powers this far from the portal.
“Oh come on!” He got out before he was laid flat by a truck thrown by yet another supervillain. He was out for a while with that one. He was left basically a scrape on the ground. It took a while to reform but he got a decent nap out of it.
“Oh! I told you it was Danny!”
Danny looked up towards the voice as he pushed yet another morgue door open. He was in the Gotham morgue. Again.
“Just because there was a mass of meat trying to pull itself together did not mean it had to be Danny!” Another voice joined the first. He felt slightly embarrassed that they saw his… well… meat. Again.
“Who else would it have been? This is like the tenth time just for us! Dude attracts death like a magnet!”
Danny chuckled as he pulled himself out of the container? Metal bed? Compartment? Eh, whatever. The place bodies are kept. “Hi again.” He said.
Matt and Jessica were the two who handled bodies in one of the many Gotham mortuaries. It just so happened that this was the one his body was brought to the most in this city.
“Danny!” Matt exclaimed. “Got a coffee for you right here. And a snack. Well, half a snack. It took longer than we thought for you to pull yourself together.”
Jessica huffed. “Don’t act like you’re the one who thought that was Danny. I made the coffee and brought the snack. You ate half of it.”
She turned to Danny, holding out a white cloth. “I’ll go grab you some clothes, honey.” She turned and walked out of the room.
Matt rolled his eyes. “Want the deets this time?“ he asked.
Danny shook his head as he pulled the cloth around himself. It was a little chilly. “Saw the truck coming.”
“Damn dude, and you didn’t move out of the way?”
“You see if you can get out of the way of a giant truck being launched at you with super speed.” Danny said.
“Sure, if I could come back like you I would.” Matt replied, shaking his head. He grabbed the offered lukewarm coffee and held it out to Danny who took a sip.
He leaned a hip against one of the autopsy tables and crossed his arms. “They came poking around again.”
Danny paused in his enjoyment of the bitter, blessed bean juice. “The supers?”
“The Bats are really perturbed that the same person keeps getting killed over and over again. They think you’re cursed or trapped in a loop or something.”
Danny snorted. “Nah, just my unbelievably bad luck.”
“That’s what I told them!”
There came a sudden commotion from outside of the room and the door burst open.
“You can’t be in here! You need a warrant or- or at least call my boss! Wait!” Jessica shouted as the imposing form of Batman, followed closely by Nightwing, strode into the room.
They both froze seeing Danny up and wrapped in a single white cloth. He waved at them. “Sup?”