His Redemption

Bridge Over Troubled Water

"Danny?" Came the voice of Maddie Fenton outside Danny's door. She was concerned for her son. He had been so distant lately, and he was worrying her. Always coming back after curfew, and immediately locking himself in his room. "Danny?" She asked again.

"Yeah mom?" Danny called through the door. In truth, Danny could barely speak at the moment. Skulker had been rougher than usual, and Danny was exhausted. Though, his right arm was probably worse off, as it had taken quite the blow from one of the ghost's many weapons. He was currently trying to wrap the wound.

"Can I come in?" She asked, concern lacing her voice. Danny panicked for a moment, shoving his first-aid kit under his bed. He then told her that the door was open. She walked in, immediately noticing something was wrong. Danny only ever rubbed the small scar on his right hand when he was hurting, be it physically or emotionally.

"Yeah mom?" He asked again, still rubbing his hand, though he didn't realise it.

"Are you okay?" She asked, growing even more concerned when Danny just looked down. Danny knew that he couldn't lie, not to Mom. Not when she was walking over, looking so worried, so he opted to just look down. He didn't even notice when tears made their way down his face. In a matter of moments Danny was sobbing. He let out all of the pain and frustration that he felt keeping this secret. The sadness for an unfixable hole in his relationship with his parents. The tears kept coming, they wouldn't stop.

Moments before the first tear fell, Maddie was sitting by her son, hugging him. She knew something was seriously wrong, but she also knew that Danny would tell them when he felt ready. She just had to be there to comfort him when it all became too much. Soon enough, she began singing a song that Danny recognised almost immediately. He hadn't heard it since he was little; she would always sing it when he was hurt or sad.

"When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down..."

Danny woke with a start, clutching his right hand. He slowly took in his surroundings, memories of his rescue from the GIW quickly coming back. Danny felt the hot tears fall from his eyes, bringing with them the pain he had, and still, refused to face for the past two years.

Though he didn't realise it, Danny had brought his knees to his chest, tears falling freely. He hummed the song his mother had sung to him whenever he was upset or in pain. He couldn't stop the tears, not that he tried.

~~~~~~~~~Line~Break~~~~~~~~~~

Robin was sitting on the couch in the living room, his thoughts consumed by a certain white haired, green eyed metahuman currently in the Medical Ward. He was brought out of his thoughts by Cyborg.

"Robin. He's awake." Was all he said, but that was all the boy wonder needed. Robin practically sprinted out of the living room.

Though he couldn't explain why, Robin felt a...connection to the boy. Robin had seen many awful things in his relatively short life. He'd seen men die by the hands of a deranged clown, he'd seen people tortured to the brink of insanity, and the list goes on, each worse than the one that came before. But despite all Robin had seen, the state Danny had been in caused him more pain than anything else. And it infuriated him not understanding why.

Robin was just outside the plain grey door when he heard it. 'It' being the sound of humming broken up by sobs. Robin could have sworn that he had heard that tune somewhere before, but decided to think about it later. With that in mind, Robin opened the door.

   What he found wasn't anything unexpected, but was still heart wrenching nonetheless. Danny sat on the bed closest to the window, still attached to several machines, sobbing. His eyes were hidden in his knees, the boy's entire form shaking with the force of his sobs. Danny was still humming, though; a broken melody.

   Only when he saw the other boy did Robin remember where he had heard that song before. It had only been a week after his parents had died, since Bruce Wayne had adopted him. He was in almost the exact same position as Danny was now, mourning his parents. Alfred had walked in, and saw the pitiful state of the boy. The old man had comforted him, singing an older song as a means.

   "Danny?" He asked quietly, trying not to startle the boy. It didn't work. Danny jumped, his head shooting up. He stared at Robin for a moment, looking at the mask. To Robin, it felt as if those toxic green eyes could see past the mask he always wore. Eventually, a spark of recognition passed over his features, and his tense body relaxed slightly. However, Danny made no move to shift from his defensive position.

   "Danny? I'm going to come closer." Robin said carefully, knowing that Danny still didn't trust him. Robin still didn't know much about the metahuman, despite hours of research from both him, Cyborg, and Raven. And to be honest, Robin didn't want to be killed for being too careless. He slowly walked forward, meeting Danny's eyes. Robin was barely an arms length away from the edge of the bed when Danny spoke.

   "W-why?" The frail boy asked, his hoarse voice barely above a whisper. Robin froze, not expecting the question.

   "What?" Robin asked, dumbstruck by the sudden question. Danny had barely spoken since telling the team his name.

   "Why did y-you save m-me?" Danny said, stumbling over his words. His question surprised the boy wonder even more. Of course they saved him. He was being tortured for gods sake!

   "We saved you because what they were doing to you was wrong." Robin said, carefully choosing his words. Danny's response shocked Robin to his core.

   "No, it wasn't." He whispered. "You saved a monster."

A/n: The song Maddie sings is Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel.
Hope you liked the chapter!