What? Can you repeat that? How many words is this? o.O Have a look outside and make sure the sky isn't falling. ohmygoshthisstoryhasmorehitsthanWORDS(prior to this chap).

As for canon: I can't be bothered looking up what stages of development supermartian and spitfire are in at this point, so consider those relationships not yet in existence.

As for pairings: We might see some Supermartian later, otherwise none.

Again, if anyone has anything they would like to see in-fic, drop me a line and I'll see if it's workable c;

x.x

The last time Danny had seen these guys, they were attacking him with murderous intent. Kid Flash had thrown them both into the path of a bomb and Danny had exploded. It all begged the question of what he was doing here, alive, in front of his would-be killers, who were now slumped over and frankly looking a little pathetic.

Still, he wasn't comfortable with the way they were just lookin g at him.

Miss Martian ducked her head and rubbed the clear bench harder. Artemis rolled her eyes, and leaned over and poked Kid Flash. He sent her a dirty look, but at least he'd stopped staring at Danny.

"Hi," Artemis broke the silence. "I'm Artemis. I think you know the rest of these guys."

"Yeah-In a way," Danny scratched the back of his head.

Artemis wrapped her fingers against the countertop and examined her silent comrades. "Well… how about you come over here?"

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself."

The conversation lapsed. In moments, the silence became oppressive.

"Okay, what is going on here?" Danny demanded. "First you guys think I'm a hero, then you go trying to kill me, and now you're staring at me! Who were those guys back there and how do we get out of this dreamworld?"

"This isn't the dreamworld," Superboy said.

The couch was identical to the one in the dreamworld. The pot that Kid Flash had boiled eggs in – and Danny still hadn't eaten yet – sat next to the stove.

"It sure looks like the dreamworld to me," he admitted.

"That's because it was created with our minds," Miss Martian murmured.

Danny's face scrunched up - that didn't answer his question at all.

Kaldur pushed off the back of the couch. "Everything in the dreamworld was a product of our knowledge, so when we imagined our base we imagined this room inside it. Many things happened in there that were never meant to happen. This includes your creation. No-one could have guessed that you would be strong enough to transcend the dreamworld and enter the real world."

They were still stuck on him being some "creation"!

"B-"

"Haa…" Miss Martian choked on a breath. Danny glanced at her. The words he was about to speak vanished. There were tears gumming her eyelashes. Artemis grimaced at her. "I'll take her to her room," she said.

Miss Martian's arms trembled. "N-no. I'm alright." She made 'carry-on' gestures and wiped her eyes with the cloth.

"Are you sure?" Kid Flash asked, half-getting up from the couch and reaching for her, concern written all over his face. He looked worried.

"Yup," she croaked. He leaned back into the couch slowly, watching her carefully.

The concerned expression was oddly comforting. Danny relaxed and leaned into the wall.

"Anyway!" Kid Flash clapped. "I had a suggestion for how to get rid of you—"

"Get rid of me!" Danny protested.

"If we thought you up – then we can probably un-think you!"

He closed his eyes, struck a meditative pose, and began humming. Danny rolled his eyes. "That's not going to work."

"No it's not," Robin punched Kid Flash's shoulder. "Not unless we do it seriously. But it's a good idea."

"No it's not!"

"Danny," Kaldur interrupted. His eyes were sympathetic, but firm. "I apologise for my violent treatment of you in the dreamworld. I promise you that whatever we try, you will remain unharmed."

Danny's mouth popped open. "You've—got to be kidding me. That's your way of making this better?"

Then, before Danny's eyes, they began to talk about how to unthink him. Danny watched with increasing bemusement. If only Vlad had tried to unthink him! He chuckled to himself.

A low noise drew his attention.

All six of them had closed their eyes, and Kid Flash was humming again – meditation pose and all.

"Oh dear!" Danny moaned sarcastically, and flickered in and out of sight. "I seem to be disappearing!"

"It's working?" Miss Martian squeaked, her eyes flaring open. Danny flickered in and out a few more times for effect.

"No," he snapped. "I'm pulling your leg."

"He might be trying to trick us," Kid Flash put in. "Hiding the fact that he's really disappearing!"

"I'm not trying to trick you!" Danny cried, and pulled at his hair. He stormed over to Kid Flash. "What can I do to convince you that I'm real?" he demanded.

Kid Flash's brows drew together and he glowered down at Danny. "By definition, the anchor believes itself—"

Aqualad reached for Kid Flash's shoulder with a staying hand, and he jerked away.

"—to be real!"

Dread settled over Danny. Okay, so this is how it was. He'd rather be back in that white room than with these idiots. He turned on his heel.

"Miss Martian, aren't you going to hold him here?"

Danny fled.

One, two, three, four, five rooms flashed past him. A new room: empty without a door, just like the old cell. He stopped dead in the air and dropped in a puddle of limbs, phasing in at the last moment so he didn't disappear through the floor.

"Arug," rolling onto his back made things more comfy. He wiped his forehead with a swipe of his hand. The hairs on his arm were ruffled by a hot breeze. He put his hand to his mouth and felt his breath coming in and out quickly.

Come to that, his chest was heaving. But he'd just phased in, and all he'd done was collapse to the ground. There was no reason for him to pant.

Warm breaths.

He wasn't in ghost-mode.

Danny swallowed and got to his feet slowly, looking down at his very human, very warm body. It had been ages since he'd involuntarily turned human. Perhaps I was stress? Spectra, that villainous counsellor, was proof having a messed-up head could really mess you up.

Why had he followed Wulf in the first place? Oh, yeah, because he was a good friend! Wulf was gone now – dead, for all Danny knew – and he'd abandoned him in this crazy world.

His stomach gurgled, and Danny groaned. The homesickness in his belly wasn't stopping the hunger. He hadn't eaten in what – twenty-four hours now? What he wouldn't give to be eating cereal at his kitchen table. Even the strange glowy stuff at the bottom of the fridge was beginning to seem appealing.

He'd rushed here without much thought, so he couldn't say where the kitchen was from here. Even if he could walk straight there, he didn't want to walk into a room of people wishing he'd disappear. That is, if they were still there and not searching for him.

Danny leaned his forehead into the cool, hard wall and breathed out.

Something black caught his eye.

He stared up into the lens of a camera. "Huh?" he mumbled. His eyes shot wide. They could be spying on him this moment!

There was no use staying here any longer. They'd find him soon enough. "Going ghost!" he muttered. A flash of light rushed over him and he was back in ghost form.

"Heh." The transition was as easy as it always was, and with a smirk he dived through the wall.

The kitchen was empty of people, but fully stocked with all sorts of easy meals and extravagant leftovers. Danny left the roast chicken in the fridge, but munched on a muffin from the cupboard as he popped two slices of bread in the toaster.

It was a good muffin – home-made, definitely, though it didn't melt in his mouth like his mothers' did.

"Oi."

Danny glanced up. Robin darted past with a muffin. Danny's hand closed on thin air, muffinless, and Danny glared at Robin's hand. "What was that for?"

Robin frowned at the bites in the muffin. "You're stealing muffins!"

"I'm hungry," Danny snapped, "and I'm getting food."

"Our food."

Kid Flash popped by the door. Danny seethed and tensed. Kid Flash zipped next to Robin and plucked the muffin from his fingers, inspecting the bit marks.

"You ate it! You ate my favourite awesome muffin!"

"There are more in the cupboard," Danny observed.

"Yeah, but those'll be gone soon. Anyway, this one probably has germs on it."

The muffin sailed across the room towards the trash-can. Danny plucked it out of thin air. It was battered out of his hands before it could take another bite. Danny blinked, and Kid Flash was standing beside Robin looking pleased with himself and the trash-can's lid was flapping.

Danny swallowed at looked back at the toaster. It just figured that there'd be a Dash here too. And this one, he thought sardonically, really deserved the name.

He heard Robin say something quietly to Kid Flash, and turned in time to see him push the taller guy's arm. Kid Flash crossed his arms and Danny's toast popped.

Then, in a blur of red hair it was gone.

Danny glared at Kid Flash through gritted teeth. "Going ghost," he muttered, and shot out a burst of green light. Kid Flash ducked it, toast in hand and Robin darted out of the way.

It was chaos after that. Danny's wide skill set was useless. He couldn't catch either of his targets. Kid Flash was moving before he could think about attacking. Robin, at least, he could catch, but he quickly realised that Danny needed to be tangible to lay a hit on him.

And if Danny was tangible, the Robin could lay a hit on him.

Danny groaned and sat up, looking morosely at the piece of toast that had been trodden into the carpet during the fight. Kid Flash and Robin were looking far too pleased with themselves.

"Robin? Wally? Danny? What happened here?"

Miss Martian looked in from the door, surveying the upturned couch and the kettle lying the doorway.

"We're defending the muffins!" Kid Flash declared.

Miss Martian gave him a flat look and Kid Flash's grin wilted like lettuce in summer.

"Hey, Danny?" she asked. "Come with me?"

Danny almost phased through the floor right then, but Miss Martian seemed alright. He got up. Kid Flash followed him out the door with envious eyes.

"Here," Miss Martian pulled a bread roll from the shopping bag she carried. Danny bit into it thankfully.

"I'm sorry they did that," Miss Martian said. "I… They're my friends, but…"

"Your friends are jerks," Danny muttered.

Miss Martian looked miserable. Danny grimaced at her, feeling suddenly guiltily. That didn't mean it wasn't true, though. She wrung her hands. "They're not usually like that," she admitted.

"It's because they don't think I'm real," Danny snarled at the bread roll. It was all very well to hand him food - but he couldn't find it within himself to be thankful.

"I believe you're real."

"Yeah, a though given life is real in a way, I guess," Danny sniped.

Miss Martian shook her head. She stopped walking. He almost walked past her.

"I don't believe that."

Hope surged in Danny's heart.

Miss Martian swallowed.

"I... know you're real," she stressed, and paused. She grimaced. "I can't..." – a sigh – "I can't word this properly. But - you're a person. I know that."