It's been 36 hours since the incident. So far, they had tried to run every test they could, anything at all.

Every test, every retest came back the same.

This was him. This was Danny, their Danny. Not some clone, it couldn't be. The DNA sequences matched Dick's, but they always had as they were identical twins. No, they knew it wasn't a clone because Danny's energy signature had always been different than Dick's. This one, this one matched the one in Danny's file. Nobody knew about their secret so there was no way this would be a clone with the exact same mystical energy signature. Those things weren't possible to clone, they checked that years ago.

It really was him.

It's been three years since they last saw him. Three years since Dick's other half got taken from them. And now? Now he was suddenly back and so close to death they weren't sure he'd make it.

Dr. Thompkins had stopped by the soonest she could but she had no idea what was going on. She heavily empathized that he needed more calories so they were running a double speedster IV on him. It seemed to help a little. His wounds didn't seem to spontaneously start bleeding again like before but he was in no shape to be placed in the pod, much less be moved.

They were fully aware that Danny's powers had always been stronger than Dick's. Danny needed to de-charge way more often even with him using up quite some energy during patrols. At least, so long as he was still with them. Now those same powers were worsening his condition. The accelerated healing got a boost from the extra nutrients but so did his energy levels. Both helping him heal, and tearing him down harder as the access energy ate through his muscles as a way to be released.

Dick had refused to leave Danny's side, even for food or sleep. He demanded another cot to be pushed up to Danny's so he could be next to him as he was medically assisted into sleeping for a few hours. His stubbornness was rivalling Bruce's when it came to putting others before his own health.

It was early morning when Wally's phone started blowing up again. He had promised to not answer any more calls but no such promises were made for texts. It's not like there were read receipts on Wayne Tech so unless they knew how to turn that secret feature on, nobody would know Wally checked anything. An unknown number was spam messaging him, each text more frantic than the last.

THEY'RE COMING

HIDE

PLEASE WALLY

GET ROBIN AND RUN

The second Bruce saw the messages, he checked his League communicator. Just like Barry had warned, the Justice League had issued a warrant for their arrest. He had received a courtesy request to surrender all three of the boys and himself to stand on trial for attacking the team and interfering with League investigations.

A trial that was undoubtedly going to be biassed since they don't have all sides of the story. Yet, somehow, they decided that they have enough substantial evidence to warrant the arrests of the most influential people in the hero community. Pushing through seething fury, Bruce ordered everybody to the bunker. For his own safety, Alfred was given tickets to go on an impromptu vacation back to England. That should do enough to separate the butler from the hero activities and keep him safe from senseless prosecution.

With a lot of care and a few prayers, they slowly moved Danny's equipment down to the lower ends of the Batcave. Most of the main area was on the upper levels. With these being a natural cave system, there were bound to be more chambers in other areas. In one of such chambers, Bruce had long since built a supers-proof bunker. Mostly designed to keep Superman out, with the lead lined walls and Kryptonite slivers throughout the structure. But it would do to keep others out as well.

The bunker itself was quite an impressive structure. It had its own medbay area as well as sleeping quarters and a mini Batcomputer. Basic necessities were all accommodated with enough space to not feel cramped. Danny's cot had been placed in the medbay with all the equipment they had to drag down from the main one up above. Dick had utterly refused to leave Danny's side and decided to stay curled up at the foot of the bed instead of getting in his own.

It only took a few hours until the warning signals in the bunker altered them of intruders. Wally and Dick were woken up from their naps as Bruce checked over the security and locks. Just as he finished triple checking the door was fully closed, a heavy knock reverberated through the walls.

"Batman, I know you're in there. I can hear your heartbeats."

Much like they expected, they had sent Superman to come collect them. If Dick had enough energy in his body, his glare would probably have been strong enough to melt through. Instead, his usual baby blue eyes were a toxic green. Despite his clearly visible anger, his rapid breathing and the slight tremble in his hands gave away just how scared he also was. Wally tried to keep Dick grounded by holding his hand. He didn't want to stress any of them out, but he had a bad feeling about this. He wasn't sure if they would send uncle Barry after them too. Had they planned enough to have materials Flash couldn't vibrate through? What about Manhunter and his density shifting?

Right now, they were just sitting ducks.

"Old friend, please do not make this harder than it already is."

This time it was Wonder Woman who spoke. So they did bring more than just the boy scout. Still, Bruce stood firm in his own Batglare™ as he kept ignoring their attempts to lure them out. It seemed like they were quickly getting frustrated as either of the two superabled punched the wall. It hadn't left any visible issues and the structural integrity hadn't been affected so it was quite hard to tell which one of them had lost their temper.

"Batman, this is your last official warning to surrender. Hand over the boys and we'll promise no harm will be done to them."

'No harm' his Kevlar clad ass. They were already causing more harm by being here and threatening their freedom. Dick seemed to be getting closer to a nervous break every time a noise interrupted the silence. Silence that became more and more nonexistent as the heroes outside were losing patience more and more. There hadn't been any more voices so it was safe to say they thought coming together as leaders would be the best option.

Not

Not when they decided that placing a warrant for his sons' arrests was a good idea before ever coming to speak to them. None of them were flight risks. Not before this stunt at least.

"Why won't they just leave us alone?" Dick mumbled to himself, voice cracking which how tensed up he was. He had somewhat moved himself to be closer to the head of the bed. With every call out or hit that came in, he leaned further over Danny's body and had slightly begun levitating ever so slightly. There wasn't anything to physically shield the unconscious boy from but Dick still felt the need to protect him. The agonizingly slow beeps of the heart monitor driving that instinct even further in his brain. He refused to let anything hurt his brother, not when he just got him back.

It hadn't looked like they would manage to do anything until there was a little break in the hits. Sensors around the bunker showed two blips retreating a few feet back. It appeared like they had given up until an incredibly hard hit smashed into the door, bending the metal inward slightly. Had Clark thrown Diana to reach that level? Had they figured out about the kryptonite lining?

Either way, whatever they were doing, it was starting to work. More and more alarms started blaring as the structure started to weaken. They seemed to have found the electrical wiring as the main system shut down. Except for a few alarms and the emergency lights the machinery started to power down.

Including the equipment attached to Danny.

Dick started freaking out, easily visible with the neon light his eyes emitted. Shakingly, he crawled up and cradled Danny. "Please," he begged, "please, you have to wake up. Explain we did nothing wrong. Please, please, please," He kept repeating as a mantra, hoping it would have any effect.

Unfortunately for everybody, the boy didn't move outside of the slight jostling Dick's tremors were causing. Wally rushed over at normal speed to Dick's side, holding the panicking boy from the back. Little sparks were starting to fly off of the younger as with every ring of the warning alarm, more color drained from his hair once more. At this rate they would easily have a panic induced repeat of the sleepover incident. Batman had also walked closer, knowing there isn't much for him to do at the control center. He stood protectively in front of the cots. If they did manage to break through, they'd have to face him before reaching the boys.

Every hit weakened the bunker as a solid crack started to form where they kept hitting. Over and over, each hit made the crack bigger until it actually started to form somewhat of a breach. A few more solid hits and they'd be able to pry open the crack by hand.

But they never got the chance to.

As Diana head back over to Clark to prepare for what seemed to be the killing blow, the impact never reached them.

Complete silence filled the air as everything appeared to be frozen in time. Even the alarms and emergency lights stopped. No more beeps from the machines attached to Danny, even though he was definitely still alive. Batman took a few steps back, closer towards the cot, as a strange teal clock hand materialized out of thin air. Batman pulled out some batarangs as the clock hand started moving. Around in a circle it went, speeding up with every repetition until it went so fast it turned into a teal circle.

Batman braced for battle as something started to make its way through the teal circle.

Glowing icy blue horns emerged, followed by the rest of the gargantuan beast. White fur with what seemed to be blue and golden garments and accessories, along with an arm made from the same material as the beast's horns. Finally a tail with some spikes at the end that also seemed to be the same as the horns and see through arm. There was an unnatural light blue glow around it that was only visible once it stepped a bit away from the clock hand portal. Once fully inside the room, the beast hunched over slightly so it would actually fit within the confines of the bunker. Even compared to Batman, this entity was gigantic.

The temperature in the room dropped significantly as Danny's breath came out in visible puffs. They could all feel that whatever this thing was, it was powerful enough to manipulate time and temperature. The beast looked directly over to the boys, glowing yellow eyes zeroing in on Danny's unconscious body. "Oh goodness." It spoke, a deep rumbling voice and somewhat surprisingly in clear English. "He really does not look good." It tried to take a step closer towards the boys but Batman sidestepped to block its path.

"What are you?" Dick spoke, knowing his mentor was never too fond of properly communicating with possible threats. But there was something about this being that felt...familiar. Some kind of sense that made him feel at ease. "Who, not what." The being smiled warmly at Dick as it attempted to bow, which just looked awkward with its already bent posture. "My apologies, young one. I am Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen. We are expert doctors and an acquaintance requested I tend to you youngins. Are you their caretaker?" It-Frostbite looked over to Batman, holding out its icy arm. Batman, of course, did not reciprocate the greeting. Gripping harder onto the batarangs he was holding.

"He is." Dick answered for him. Frostbite seemed to have an air of authority to him, much like what you would expect from a self-proclaimed leader. But he also seemed to not force said authority onto others, setting himself under the apparent superiority of Batman as their guardian. The aura of the being was easing him enough to relax out of his protective stance over Danny as the sparks around him seemed to stop as well. He slightly leaned into Wally's embrace, accepting the comfort the redhead was trying to give him. "Thank you, young one." Frostbite smiled at Dick again before looking at Batman once again. "Sir, may I be allowed to treat your child? While my acquaintance did request I do so, he is still under your care and as such you are his medical guardian."

Batman didn't respond outside of intensifying the Batglare™, the grip on his batarangs still knuckle whitening but no further indications that he agreed or disagreed. Wally, too, stayed silent. The young speedster wasn't sure if it really was his place to say anything as this seemed more like a bat thing. But Dick seemed to trust the being and his judgement was usually spot on. Taking a slow, steading breath, Wally spoke out for the first time since they entered the bunker.

"Batman?"

The man in question shifted a tiny bit, not breaking eye contact with Frostbite but giving a miniscule sign he was listening.

"Let him. Please?"

Batman waited a bit, probably running all the pro's and cons in his head before he stepped to the side to let Frostbite pass. The leader attempted another bow before he carefully made his way over to the cots. He paused a bit, giving Wally the time to slowly lift Dick off the cots so the being could work on Danny. Carefully, Frostbite hovered his crystalline claw over Danny's body, making sure his movements weren't too abrupt for Batman's liking. Frostbite frowned as he found something. He half turned so he could look at Batman as he spoke. "The youngin's temperature is too high, I will need to lower it for his wellbeing. Do I have your permission for this?"

Batman walked over himself to check Danny's temperature himself. None of their equipment showed any signs of a fever and the transportation shouldn't have caused a sudden spike.. "He feels normal." The man grunted out, not particularly amused by the idea. Though, if he really thought about it. It was quite odd that Danny showed no signs of a fever even with the numerous amounts of wounds and infections all over his body Frostbite smiled broadly, like he was happy he got to explain something. "Ah, I fear there might be a misunderstanding, Man of Bats. The youngin's physiology isn't quite like that of a mortal. Our core temperatures are usually quite lower than that what would be considered normal for you. Such, his current temperature is quite genuinely what you would call a 'fever', I believe." Batman glared at the being, not fully believing what the so called medical expert was saying.

Dick on the other hand, was utterly fascinated by the bones visible in Frostbite's clawed arm. "Mr. Frostbite, sir?" He said as he slowly reached an arm towards the claw, stopping a few inches away from touching the being. Frostbite saw the fascination in his eye and bellowed a laugh. "It's alright, young one." Frostbite extended his arm towards Dick, palm facing up so the boy would be aware of where his claws were. With just a little bit of hesitation, waiting for the final approval of Batman, Dick finally did reach out to touch the offered claw. The second he touched the crystal, a small shudder ran down his spine. "It's so cold." He reached over with a second arm to move around Frostbite's for a better look and inspection.

Frostbite laughed again as Dick lost himself at studying the arm. "That is because it is made of ice, young one. That is what my tribe specializes in." Wally spoke up before Batman could, equally fascinated as skeptical at what he was seeing. "I thought your specialization was medicine?" Frostbite took no insult to the question as he let some of his power shine by making a small ice crystal for Dick. "That we are. But we are not called the Far Frozen for nothing. Our climate is quite extreme and so we had to adapt to it. Ice is a natural part of our being, medicine is simply one of the doctrines we happened to excel at outside of our natural abilities. Now, Man of Bat, this might be a bit more intrusive so I would like specific permission for that so you are aware of what you're consenting to."

Batman stared at Frostbite for a bit, glancing over to the two boys on the other side of the cots. A firm nod from Dick and a softer one from Wally was enough for Batman to take a step back again. With no further questions and Dick truly fascinated by the small crystal he was given, Frostbite took this as permission to start. The light blue glow around Frostbite's body surrounded Danny's as well as the being used whatever power he had to lower the boy's temperature. As he became fully encased in the blue glow, Danny seemed to relax a bit. Small tensions all over his body relaxing out as it seemed to work.

Frostbite's smile faltered after a few seconds however, the glow around Danny's body. Immediately, Dick panicked and tried to climb up onto the cot. He would have been successful if it wasn't for Wally holding him back from doing so. "What's wrong? Why did it do that?" Frostbite put on a well-practiced warm smile, the one you can tell is a front to make people not panic. "No need to worry young one. If you will, can you softly press that crystal right here?" He pointed an icy claw right in the center of Danny's chest. With a bit of skepticism, Dick fully climbed onto the bed to he could hold the crystal over Danny's heart.

"Like this?"

Frostbite smiled encouragingly. "Yes, perfect." He turned around to face Batman. "Man of Bat, may I speak with you separately?" Batman eyed Dick who was staring at him worriedly. A silent message to Wally to keep Dick comforted as he stepped off towards the control panel to speak with Frostbite. Batman positioned them so he would both be able to look at Frostbite and the boys over on the other side of the room.

"My apologies for pulling you away from your kin. I did not wish to discuss this in front of the youngins." Batman eyed him suspiciously, knowing this is the precursor to bad news. "As I was cooling down the youngin, I noticed that something doesn't feel right about his core-ah. Perhaps the word you use is heart, yes?" Frostbite corrected himself when he could tell Batman didn't understand. "His heart, if you will, seems to not function as it should."

"Can you fix it?"

"I most certainly will need to run more tests before I can conclusively answer that. But, I do not have the ability to do those tests here as your equipment is severely lacking." Batman felt his eye twitch ever so lightly. As if he hasn't spent millions to get the best medbay equipment he could get his hands on. "My apologies, Man of Bat. I did not mean any disrespect. What I meant is that these tests require specialized equipment that I cannot move to this realm."

"So you want to take him to your realm, is that it?"

Thanks to a lot of training and the fact he saw the speedster walk up to them, Batman didn't flinch. Much to the other's credit, neither did Frostbite. The beast turned to smile at the redhead, opening up a space for him to join their circle as he started walking back towards the cots. As Wally joined, might as well include Dick too. It's his brothers medical care they're talking about, he has every right to know what is going on as well, despite prejudice against his age. "I- yes, that would be what I was trying to explain, clever one. But rest assured, you are all free to come as well as it wouldn't be smart to separate you. He will need his kin to recover safely." Something about the way Frostbite invited them with seemed suspicious. Clearly, he was leaving out quite some information but it didn't set off any warning bells.

Dick looked beyond the group of people as he softly stroke some of Danny's matted hair to keep his hands busy. "It's not like we got much choice, do we?" For the first time since arriving, Frostbite turned to look at the bunker door where the two supers had been attacking. From the crack in the plating he could vaguely see Wonder Woman just a foot or two away from crashing into the severely damaged structure. Had it not been for the paused time, they would have surely broken in long ago. "No," he mumbled hesitantly, "I do not suppose you do. Still, it is not my place to force you to allow the transport to another realm."

The three hero's looked at each other, silently debating on what to do. Unsurprisingly, it was Dick who spoke up as he tightened his grip on the crystal over Danny's heart. "Interdimensional road trip?" He shrugged awkwardly. Not having much footing to object to it, the other two agreed and started packing some simple essentials they brought down to the bunker, including spare clothes for all of them. Dick still refused the leave the cot, doctor's orders and all, so Wally stayed by his side to make sure everything was packed in the right places.

"Have you finished preparations?" Frostbite asked, looking over the little group.

"With all due respect, how exactly will we fit all of this through that?" Wally asked as he pointed to the relatively small portal the beast had somehow climbed through. "Fear not, clever one. My acquaintance will adjust it to the size we require for safe passage. If you so with, you may all rest upon the bedding." While Wally took up the offer to sit next to Dick, Batman stubbornly stayed grounded. "As you with, Man of Bat. I must request to remain quiet as we will be arriving directly in our medical facilities. It would be unkind to other patients to disrupt their recovery." The boys nodded in agreement, Batman stared blankly. "Alright, with your permission, Man of Bat, I shall assist in the transportation of the bedding."

"What?"

Wally barely got to utter a word before the icy blue glow of Frostbite surrounded the cots and levitated it into the air as if it weighed nothing. While Wally tightened his grip around Dick, the younger one was absolutely in awe. The feeling running through his body felt nearly identical to when he used to fly around with Danny. He knew something was familiar about Frostbite and this just proved his intuition was right. Perhaps Frostbite can help him learn more about how to manage his abilities too and how to improve the decharge pod.

With Batman in the lead, the teal portal grew in size as they approached. Once all of them had safely crossed over, the portal closed behind them, leaving no trace it was ever there.

Unbeknownst to them, the moment the portal disappeared, time had resumed in the bunker. Diana crashed into the door with her fist. Now with a big enough hole, she and Clarke ripped it open until they could fit through. Only to be met with an empty bunker and a suspiciously empty medical bay.

"What the fuck?"