Chapter Text
It was cold. He liked the cold. It was nice, comforting. It reminded him of someone. Who was that again? He didn’t know. It didn’t really matter. He liked it here, in the cold. Had he thought that already? He probably had. Sleep. Sleep was nice. That’s what he’d been doing, right? Sleep. He’d dreamt of a green world, and a man with a clock in his chest. How did he know what the color green was? Or a clock, for that matter.
It was getting warmer. Why did the cold have to go away? He liked it. He liked the snow. He liked Frostbite. Why did he like frostbite? Didn’t it cause people to lose their hands and feet? And noses?
He sighed, shifting to lay on his side.
Wait. He could move? He couldn’t remember doing that before. What else could he do?
Groaning, he opened his eyes.
Before him was a floor to ceiling window, looking out into the inky blackness of space, peppered with brilliant stars that were millions of light years away. It was mesmerizing. He could look at it forever. His hand reached out, or at least he tried to reach out. His arm moved, but not enough. He could hear something, something in his peripherals.
He ignored it.
His limbs didn’t work like he wanted them too, but that was okay. He could float. Wobbly, but it worked. He felt things pulling away from his arms and legs. He didn’t care. The noise behind him got louder.
He’d made it to the window. He let himself land on the floor, legs splayed beside him. He pressed his hand to the cool glass, starting out into the void. At least his arms were working now.
He felt content. This was better than the cold. Than sleeping.
A moment later, something touched his arm. He turned to look at it, or rather, who it was. It was a man with a blue mask over his eyes. A domino? The man had black hair which framed his angular face. He was wearing a black suit with a blue bird? Eagle? On his chest. The wings extended up to his shoulders before going down the arms to cover the three middle fingers in blue. The masked man was crouched on the floor next to him.
“Hey buddy. Can you understand me?” the man asked gently. He nodded.
“Do you - do you know who you are?” What a weird question. But no, he didn’t, so he shook his head.
“Okay. Do you wanna go back to bed? You have to be tired, right? You can barely move.”
“No.” He’d meant for it to be louder, but his voice was quiet. So quiet. He squinted in confusion, looking down, his arm coming up to touch his throat. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it.
“Well, you’re cold aren’t you? Let’s get you a blanket.” There was movement off to the side again. Legs of another person, they’d brought the first man a thick and fuzzy blanket.
“Here.” The blanket was soon wrapped around him, heavy yet comforting. He pulled it around him, it was like a little cloak.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Nightwing.” He nodded. That made sense. Night for the black outfit and wing for the bird on his chest. Would his name be related to what he was wearing? SpaceCape, maybe? BlandCape?
“You’re in space. We’re on the Watchtower, the Justice League’s secret base! Aren’t you a lucky bird?” He knew he was in space. That’s why he went towards the window. But. He wasn’t a bird. He was human.
“Not a bird.”
“No? What are you then?”
“A human.”
“Yeah. Yeah you are.”
The man fell silent after that. That was fine, that just meant he could look outside uninterrupted. Other people were in the room, behind him somewhere. They were talking, in hushed whispers. The man beside him didn’t move. Time passed, the intensity of light changing as the space station, which he now knew was called the Watchtower, orbited around something. Probably a planet? That’s where life existed, right? On planets.
If he didn’t exist before, how did he know things? He didn’t think he was a baby. He was too big. Did - Did he lose his memories? Was that why he didn’t have a name? He had one, but he couldn’t remember it. Reluctantly, he pulled his eyes away from the window.
“Am I someone?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t remember anything. But I know things I shouldn’t. I’m not a baby. I’m older than that.” he paused, keeping his eyes on the man’s face. “I was someone, right? I just lost my memories?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that.” whispered the man sadly.
“Will you tell me?”
“Sure. But not right now, okay? You need to eat and now that you’re awake, we need to do a wellness check. Can you stand?”
He looked down at his legs. He should be able to. Theoretically. His limbs hadn’t exactly been working like he’d expected them.
“Can you help me? They don’t move right.” The man frowned. He stood up, then offered his hand.
“Sure. We’ll need to scan them, see what’s wrong with them.” Nightwing remarked. He reached out, grabbing the offered hand. His legs protested, but he was standing. They wobbled dangerously. Nightwing wrapped his arms around him, helping him stand. His legs got steadier as they made their way back to the bed. Nightwing lifted him back up onto it, once they were close enough. He hadn’t realized he was so small. He felt like he should be bigger.
“What’s my name?” Nightwing winced.
“You don’t have one. Yet.” Yet?
“But. Doesn’t everyone have a name?”
Nightwing looked really uncomfortable at this point. A throat cleared from the end of the bed. His head to acknowledge the others. There was a man with a black cowl with two pointed ears. He had a bat outlined on his chest. Like Nightwing, his entire outfit was black. The only part that was not was the yellow tool belt around his waist. There was a man with a shiny red helmet on it. He had a brown jacket and holsters on his thighs. The third man had black hair, a domino on his face. His outfit was red with yellow strap things criss crossing his chest. There was a bird symbol on his chest. The final person was also a man, his outfit a mix of reds, greens, and muted yellows. An R was on his chest.
He looked down at himself. He was the only one not in a tight outfit, and he was pretty sure he didn’t have something on his face or head to cover his eyes. His outfit was light beige compared to their darker ones.
“How are you feeling?” asked the man with the bat.
“Okay, I think. I don’t know any different.” The bat man didn’t seem satisfied with his answer. He didn’t have any other though.
“Let’s get those health scans started.”
“B!” scolded Nightwing. “At least introduce yourself first!”
“I’m Batman.”
“Red Hood.”
“Red Robin.”
“Robin.”
The pattern of names matching outfits had continued. Once they got to Robin. That one didn’t make any sense.
“Hi” he stated, giving a little wave. “I’m… someone.” Batman’s lips twitched, but Red Hood and Red Robin laughed. Robin remained stoic, wary even.
“Well, someone, why don’t we start?”
The next hour? Couple hours? Were filled with all sorts of tests and machines. A green skinned woman with short red hair had floated in and examined his mind. She’d found a block of some sort, but it was not something done by ‘CADMUS’. He’d done it to himself apparently. It would break with time, probably.
They’d fed him after that. Spaghetti with meatballs. To his mortification, he’d spilled a lot, his coordination still not what it should be. He had an answer now. His muscles and nerves had never been used before. The neural pathways hadn’t developed yet in his brain. Miss Martian (the green lady) and Batman were confident it would only take a few days before those would develop. Until then, he had the coordination of a toddler. The warm food had been nice though.
Everything that had happened during the day (?) made him sleepy. He drifted off not long after finishing his food. Then. He began to dream.
***
“Bored, Danny?” asked Clockwork.
He rolled his eyes. Of course he was bored. He’d been bored for the last three thousand years. If he’d known that he’d become immortal when he’d walked into that portal, he never would have done it. Surviving long after everyone he knew and loved was long gone. After the wars had started. After all the humans were long gone and dead.
“Of course I am.” he snapped. “How do you stand it? Everyday is the same. It’s monotonous. I hate it.”
“Hmmm. I stand it because I not only watched the time stream of your dimension, but the time streams of all the others.”
“Is that why everything went to shit? You stopped watching the time stream of my dimension?”
“No. There wasn’t much I could do. I watch. Observe. Correct course when one person makes a drastic mistake. I am powerless when hundreds, if not thousands all make the same mistake.”
“You’re the Master of Time! I don’t believe your excuse!” Danny raged.
“Believe it or not. I merely want to offer you some entertainment. Something to soothe your aching and lonely heart.”
Danny remained silent, intrigued.
“Well. Are you going to offer it to me?”
“Watch the other dimensions with me. Then, pick one you like, and visit it. Live amongst humans once more.”
Ancients, that was tempting. He missed the living. He was the only one left, and he was only half alive.
“I accept.”
The dream changed, rippling until it showed Clockwork in front of a screen.
“Are you sure this is the one you want to visit?”
“Yes. I’m sure. I was a hero, back in the day. I want - I want to be around actual heroes. Batman. Superman. Wonder Woman. Captain Marvel - what?”
“There is a price, a price that must be paid if you wish to live among them. Is that what you truly want?”
“Yes. More than anything.” he replied.
“The world will shift to integrate you, placing you where your powers and abilities will make the most sense.”
“Okay?”
“Your memories of the past will be locked away. You can access them, eventually. Should you desire.”
“That’s it? That’s all I have to pay?”
“That’s it.”
“When can I leave?”
“NOW”
At that, Clockwork pushed him into the screen. He fell through it, light flashing all around him, then everything went black.
***
Danny woke up, panting. Sweat dripped down his face. Danny. That was his name. He looked around, once again. He’d… He’d traveled here, from a different dimension. Those people, they were heroes. Some of the heroes he’d wanted to meet.
“Little bird?”
He turned and looked at the door; Nightwing stood in the threshold.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“Yes. I think I did.” he answered.