OH MY GOD! I'm soooo sorry for dropping off the map for like two months! I feel horrible for doing that to you guys! I just got so busy with golf practice and tournaments, work, homework, midterms, and normal tests. I am convinced that all my teachers are plotting against me because all my midterms were on the same freaking day! Taekwondo practice, teaching TKD classes, TDK testings, and one TDK tournament also stole my time. Then again, having my second degree black belt means that I practically live there as well as the golf course and school. That and wrote and rewrote this chapter like five times before it was some what acceptable. Then with all the said stuff above, I had no time to edit this chapter, or on the rare occasions that I did have time, I was too frazzled to just sit and type with out it turning out crappy. And I know a crappy chapter was not going to be something any of us want.

But I finally got it done. I was thinking about putting up an authors note to explain all of this, but I didn't want to get all you hopes up thinking there was a new chapter and it turned out to just be me saying why there was no chapter. That's not cool beans with me.

I can say for sure that I have started writing the next chapter, and school is out in two or three weeks, Thank the Lord! You will have a much shorter wait for that chapter, that is something I can guarantee.

But enough with my ranting, go read the next chapter, I know you all have been dying in anticipation waiting for this to come out. :D

Chapter 14

Raven POV

"So… Dani..." I started, gaining her attention as she turned back around to face me, smiling. This was going to be a very long and confusing discussion, and I'm sure there are secrets that will blow our minds even further.

Joy.

"Yes?" She answered, the large grin still plastered to her face. God she looked like Phantom's… uh, Danny's twin. Oh this won't get confusing. The silence in the room held for a few more seconds before Cyborg decided to break it.

"You said you know Phantom-" He started.

"Danny." She frowned, correcting us yet again.

"Phantom. Danny. It's the same person." She rolled her eyes with a scowl on her face as Cy continued, "You said he was your cousin, but honestly, you two look more closely related than that, like siblings. More like twins to be exact."

"Well... Yeah probably." She seemed to be in a fake form for thought, "But I've always gone with cousins because it's better than our actual relationship." She shuddered at the thought. I was wondering how it could be bad. "And way nicer than the actual term." She shuddered again.

"Term?" Beast Boy asked. I couldn't say I wasn't curious, and I'm positive the rest of the team was just as curious as me. She looked up at the changeling, her icy blue eyes meeting his forest green ones with a hateful glare.

"I'm not going to say it. I don't like being called something that shouldn't exist, though I guess, technically speaking, I don't and probably shouldn't exist either... Not like that really matters, I'm here now so..." She responded, her hate was filling the room at her vague statement. What could she possibly refer to that has this much hate behind it?

"Then, why refer to it if you don't want to say it?" I challenged her. Her glare moved over to mine, our eyes searching the others for a sign of weakness.

"Look, it doesn't matter at the current time. I just want to find my cousin, and hope that he's okay. Alive, preferably, even if I've already been to his gravestone." She mumbled the last part, looking down to the ground. Gravestone? He's dead? But wasn't he already dead?

"But, Phantom-" she glared back at Beast Boy, "Sorry, Danny. Isn't he already dead. I mean he is a ghost right. Doesn't that mean he's dead?"

"I'm a ghost, but I'm not dead. Just half dead, and so is he. Hopefully." She explained, crossing her arms.

"Wait, wait, wait! Your telling me that Phan- Danny, is a half ghost too?" She nodded, "Just like you?" Cy was confused, we all were. Okay, so not only she is this hybrid, but so is her cousin? This day couldn't get any weirder.

"Do you have a computer?" She asked out of nowhere as she sat up straighter on the couch, uncrossing her arms. That's not random at all...

"Yeah? Why?" Cy asked, baffled and probably thinking along the same lines as me.

"I just have to show you. You wouldn't believe me otherwise, as if your reactions to me are any indication." She said in a low voice as she stretched. Cy pointed to the main one in the room, and pulled out the keyboard for her. She got up off the couch and walked over to the screen, opening up the internet, typing in the name Danny Phantom.

"We already know what he looks like." Beast Boy said as she hit enter, pulling up images of Phantom. Or rather, very different pictures of Phantom. These showed a boy about fourteen, and in a black hazamat suit, fitted with white collar, gloves, boots, and belt. He also had a P inside of a white D symbol on his chest, the same emblem that the girl hybrid had on her outfit. He did have white hair, and toxic green eyes. Okay, if the Phantom we have met a few times isn't her brother, then this Phantom could be. Plus he looked to be around her age, fourteen, maybe fifteen. If there was one thing I could say for sure, it was that this fourteen year old Phantom and the one we have met a few times look very similar. Almost as if they were the same person...

"Yeah, but you need to see the side by side comparison of his human form and ghost form to understand." She explained, pulling up a different window and doing the same thing, only entering a different 'last' name. Danny Fenton. That's the kid that was "murdered" by Phantom. I was astonished as how similar the two boys looked. And while the Fenton kid had hair as black as oil and in the same shaggy hair style, along with his slim and lanky like frame, and the most stunning crystal blue eyes, Danny 'Phantom' was exactly the same, just with switched color schemes. I kept coming back to Fenton's eyes, I couldn't place it but I knew they were familiar and the answer was at the tip of my tongue.

Then, I understood.

Phantom and Fenton were the same person. Holy crap. Phantom never killed those kids. He couldn't. They were his family and friends. James was telling the truth, Phantom is being framed for those murders.

"No way. That's not possible." Cyborg whispered, as if the proof of the two pictures wasn't enough evidence. We were all shocked that Phantom was the hybrid she was talking about. He had to be a hybrid at the time of the murders, because he couldn't kill himself, come back as a ghost, kill the other three, and then kill himself again. The only way that story would have worked is if Fenton and Phantom were two separate people. And they're not. I looked more closely, I could see similarities between this fourteen year old kid and the mental image of the older looking Phantom we met the other month. Now that I think about it, I was beginning to suspect that the two Phantom's were the same person, just older.

"Told ya." She simply stated, backing away from the screen proudly while also interrupting my train of thought. I shook my head in annoyance before turning to Cyborg.

"Cyborg." I called.

"Huh?"

"Did you record our most recent meeting with... Danny." I corrected myself, earning an appreciative smile from Dani. Cy nodded, understanding what I was getting at and plugged in a memory chip containing that fight with the hunter ghost. We all watched as Cyborg pulled up his recorded video of the fight, and when Phantom appeared, the ghost hybrid in the room with us gasped while paling considerably at the sight of the hooded figure.

"What is troubling you, friend?" Starfire asked the scared ghost girl. Everyone had noticed her shaking frame. It couldn't be from the picture? But if it was... Why would she be afraid?

"That's. Not. Danny." She whispered, completely terrified at the video. As if she knew who he was. "That's… That's The R.O.G.U.E." Cyborg paused the video after she said his name, and we all turned to face her. Isn't that what the robotic hunter called him? I was now second guessing my thoughts on this figure in screen. But wait, the ghost hunter was only afraid of this Phantom after he found out that Phantom, or Danny, was R.O.G.U.E.

"Why is everyone afraid of him?" Beast Boy grumbled to himself, "His outfit looks bad ass my opinion..." As Beast Boy went on about his outfit yet again. He obviously didn't get it.

"Only ghosts fear him," her quivering voice cut him off, "and every ghost has heard the rumors about him. He's been around for a very long time. For thousands of years, and he is very powerful." She was still trembling as she finished speaking in a quiet mouse like tone.

"Okay, why does he call himself that?" Cyborg asked, not really believing her.

"It's an acronym." She whispered even quieter.

"What is an acronym?" Of course Beast Boy wouldn't know what it is. I practically rolled my eyes at his comment.

"It's when each letter in a word stands for something, for example ASAP or TGIF." I grouched.

"Oh, that's what those are. Cool!" He was thrilled with this new idea. Again, it went right over his head. Idiot.

I glared at him for a second then turning to Dani, "What does his name stand for?"

"It… It stands for… The Reaper Of Ghostly Undead Entities." She stuttered, struggling to get the words out. The word that caught my attention was reaper. He's a reaper. But only ghosts were afraid of him, so that means he only hunts ghosts. His own kind. Cy seemed to be listening, I turned back to him to see that he was busy with a facial scan. One with the hybrid ghost boy and this Reaper guy. When a 100% match popped up on the screen with a ding, my suspicion was confirmed. Dani was at the screen faster than lightning, while her face light up as she tried to take in what she was seeing.

"Okay. Now I'm confused." Beast Boy grumbled.

"Danny's… R.O.G.U.E.?" She was having a hard time processing the pictures, the confusion and then despair spreading through her, "So, he really is dead." You could easily hear the sad pain in her voice as she reached the conclusion, her face darkening as she spoke. The room's mood darkened at that statement, I could feel the heartbreak and despair from everyone, none of us could imagine what she was now going through. To have that small spark of hope of finding your only living family, that small flame of hope to just be stomped out the way hers was. It was cut short when Cy's arm beeped.

"What the hell is Robin-" We all looked over to Cyborg, confused as he started to play with it, only frowning at whatever was on it.

"What's wrong?" Beast Boy asked.

"James's heart rate just shot up along with his blood pressure and..." he trailed off as he continued to watch the screen on his arm, fiddling with it as he scanned through the different vital signs. However, as important as that was, it left all of us wondering what hell was going on. What could be going on that is causing all of this to occur? He wasn't in another episode right? No. No, Robin would have called us. I was easing myself out of that thought when Cyborg's eyes suddenly went wide as his arm beeped again.

"It. Just. Stopped." he raced out of the room dread seeping though him while we were left with nothing to go by other than something was wrong. Very wrong. What just stopped? I pondered this for a second before the truth sunk in. His heart stopped?! I knew the rest of the team realized this as well because we followed Cyborg urgently. Beast Boy was behind all of us as he dragged the ghost girl with him because, technically, we couldn't leave her alone in the tower, Robin would have all our heads for that. Everyone was filled with dread as we moved quickly along the small hallways to the med bay doors, the tension and fear building with each passing second.

"Danny?" We heard Robin though the slowly opening doors. Danny? Where is James? "Think about this, you don't want to do this." The doors opened to reveal a sight that was one that gave more questions than answers.

I scanned the room, looking over everything within a second. The empty bed, the frantic machines and their alarms going off, trying to alert us that there was a serious situation, and lastly the two figures in the room. Standing in front of Robin was James, but he was different from everything we thought we knew, he was in an aggressive stance, and a greenish type of energy was glowing in his hands, and one was aimed right at Robin's chest. I didn't have any time to ponder the green glow as he had fired, hitting its mark and causing Robin to fall to the ground. We all gasped, or in Starfire's case, a small scream. His head turned sharply to us. Because of the darkness room, I couldn't see his eyes, but I assumed that he was in an episode, which was why he attacked Robin. I was about to stepped forward and try to calm him down like I somehow managed to last time, only for him to surprise us even more. His eyes suddenly began to glow the same green that was in his hands. I was able to see that his eyes were completely normal, apart from their toxic glow, there was no dilation or contraction of the pupils. So, he's in control of his actions? That raised more red flags, but with no time to act as he raised the other energy charged hand which illuminated his face in the process, and fired at us. I didn't have time to think about putting up a shield as we were surrounded by a green dome. I'll have to thank this girl later. I glanced around at everyone under the shield, and realized that BB wasn't with us.

A small scuffle and strangled yelp sounded over the still blaring alarms. As the shield came down, we saw Beast Boy pinning James to the ground, and pushing him farther into the hard floor. He must have thought James was in another episode, which is why he attacked. Not that I could blame Beast Boy for his aggression, I mean James almost strangled him to death last time. But this wasn't like last time.

"No! Beast Boy, let him up! He didn't mean it!" Robin weakly shouted. That's when I heard Cy's sharp intake of air, and following his gaze, I too gasped at the sight. The once white gauze on James was starting to turn a crimson color underneath Beast Boy's elbow. And it was quickly spreading.

"Oh shit. He's bleeding." Cyborg spoke, he was worried about it too, but why, "Rob, we're going to need to change those again. Raven, you're going to have to help heal this." He finished, and I was struck with wonder as to why his back was such an issue. Sure we didn't know everything that they did to him, but apparently Cyborg and Robin did because they were both sporting a deep look of concern while pulling Beast Boy off the broken teen. Beast Boy, and the rest of us could only imagine what type of wound was hiding under the crimson soaked gauze. Robin and Cyborg were kneeling beside James, trying to figure out how to get him up to the bed.

"I'm not going crazy right? He was shooting green energy. Green! Since when could he do that?!"Beast Boy exclaimed suddenly, trying to understand what he saw and how it was even possible. I was also wondering the same thing; however, pieces were starting to fit together for me. I know I didn't have all of the facts, and definitely not enough to make a solid conclusion. But the coincidences were too similar, I will admit that.

"Robin, you are okay? Yes?" Starfire was concerned for Robin, that was obvious, but why ask now, why not when he was hit? Then again, this was Starfire, so I wasn't going to think on it too much. I was needed to help James, so that's what I'm going to do.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But he needs to help now." Blunt, but to the point was Robin's response. He was focused on James and his newly acquired injuries. There was something underneath the cover of his wrappings, and I could tell by his urgency to fix it, that it wasn't pretty. Robin seemed almost angry that this was reopened, and Cyborg was feeling the same way. What could be worse then the dissection he went through? The one we walked in on? I watched as they began to cut the gauze off, Cy yelled to Robin to grab the antiseptic. As the last of the bandages were removed, I expected to find few long gashes, but not this. I was mortified at the sight of his back.

I felt like gagging, not from the blood but rather from where the blood was coming from. It literally looked like someone had gone knife happy on his back from how tightly packed the welts and open sores that decorated his back. These gashes covered almost every inch of his back, and he has a long torso. I studied the hundreds of wounds only to understand that it was from a whip. Then another, more disheartening thought invaded my mind as the weapon that would have caused this type of strike, this type of wound.

And it suddenly clicked.

A whip. That's what caused this. All of these are from a whip. The thought of him being whipped like this... I couldn't process it. So I watched, unable to move for a few seconds, my rage bubbling to the surface as Cy and Robin dabbed rags in the antiseptic and placed it against his back. The smell of the hydrogen-peroxide filled the room quickly because of the amount the two boys needed to use. His intake of air hitched as the solution was rubbed against his raw back.

"How did he get- What did they-" I wasn't really able to get my question out, I was too distraught over the sight. How could anyone do this to someone? To a kid? It's no wonder he is insane?

"Gruesome, huh." Gruesome? Try inhuman! "I'll explain later, right now you need to use your magic and try to heal some of these up Raven. They haven't healed since he got here." Robin stated dejectedly. This hasn't healed? Meaning he has had these since he got them from that place?! That could have been weeks ago! They haven't healed!? I was so furious that I hadn't notice as the rest of the team and Dani moved closer to try and see what was on the other side of the bandages. They all struggled to find their breath as they looked upon the sight of his wounds, if you could call it a wound. James was shuddering as Cyborg and Robin continued cleaning the monstrous wound. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a green kitten leap over James and land in front of him, staring at him with his big and sad eyes. Beast Boy. He was obviously trying to apologize for hurting James, most likely from seeing what was hidden under the wrappings. I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath and summoned my healing magic to help James. I let the blue energy spread out along his back, slowing the bleeding to a stop and closing the sores. It took more energy that I had expected, but eventually the sores on his back were nothing more then ugly scratches and a few cuts. He would still have scars, that was a for sure deal, but I could at least make them less prominent. He was still going to be sore, but not in as much pain.

"Yo, BB? How are his stitches? None are ripped are they?" Cyborg asked the green kitten, making me jump. I completely forgot about those. I was wondering if he was going to need me to help with those as well, "Never mind, I'll just check them myself." The rhythmic thunks from his footsteps could be heard as he walked around the bed, eventually on the other side of the bed to examine James.

"Their fine. Robin, hand me the gauze. We need to re-wrap him now, and hope he doesn't get hurt again." Cy answered after he was done looking over his chest. That was good, he hadn't pulled the stitches out. If his healing process wasn't moving at his normal speedy pace, then he was going to need those stitches more than ever. He winced a few times as Cy wrapped the clean gauze around his torso, though I couldn't blame him. It had to be painful just to move, but to have someone press against the wound. I shuddered at the thought. I could tell Cyborg was taking his time, not wanting to aggravate the sore anymore than what it had already gone through.

The silence that was allowing me to think, had disappeared as everyone was now in an uproar, shouting their questions and opinions at Robin. Everyone was shouting about how Robin didn't tell us the full extent of his injuries, how he was able to shoot those green energy beams, why his eyes glowed that greenish color, but it was so loud that I couldn't really understand what everyone was saying, or who was saying what. I think Starfire was yelling in her native language at one point... We were all kind of yelling at him at the same time, or we were until a strangled growling type of groan escaped from James and everyone got real quiet, all of us turning to look at him. Concern then flooded the room, it radiated off of everyone as we all watched the teen in the bed wondering why or if there was something else that was bugging him. Cyborg carefully picked him up and moved him back to his original bed, and laid him against the raised mattress, so it looked as if he was sitting up. His eyes were open and staring at each of us curiously. His eyebrows knotted together as he looked us over again, and I realized that Dani was still in the room. I stole a quick glance in her direction, only it ended up being more of a stare because she was on the verge of tears as she locked eyes with James. I looked back over to James to see that he had a sign of recognition in his blue eyes. Blue eyes?

"Danielle?" His soft whispered was full of emotion, like he was seeing the sun for the first time in his life. She seemed stunned by that name, though it would make more sense now to see why she used the name Dani, but her eyes grew wide with recognition as she processed the name and that it had come out of his mouth.

Her lips moved as she silently mouthed something. She paused before she finally spoke up a little louder, "You're alive?" So they do know each other. We were all taken aback when she shouted, "Danny!"

She literally leaped onto the bed and buried her head into his shoulder. There was the soft sound of sobs signaling to us that she was crying. To say we were confused was an understatement. We were utterly flabbergasted and unable to comprehend what just happened, well everyone but Robin. For some reason he knew what was going on, and I think he just grimaced at the use of the name that she shouted. What was it… Danny. Wait, Danny? Did she just call out Danny? Isn't Danny the name of her cousin? So why would she… He had tensed up for a second, all of us following and me ready to remove her from him when he shocked us all and wrapped his arms around her and holding her in a tight embrace. His head nuzzled against hers, as if he was comforting her, while small amounts of tears leaked from his closed eyes. His normal hardened expression from all the pain and suffering he has endured melted away as he began to comfort her.

Things started to fit together...

"Danielle." He whispered again, "You're okay." He didn't release his hold, it was as if he thought she was going to disappear when his grip loosened. He continued to comfort her, whispering to her that it was alright and that she was safe now and other similar phrases. She pulled away suddenly and her icy blue eyes stared into his icy blue eyes.

No… Everything was fitting together now, He couldn't be…

I tried to deny it, to try and deny all the facts, to deny all the things we had learned about him, but I couldn't. They looked so similar, his name, why Robin was sweating bullets, the green energy that he used, his eyes glowing that same toxic green, it all fit. The pieces to the puzzle fell into place, showing me the big picture. The kid in front of us wasn't just James, he was Danny. He was Phantom. Then another thought hit me, one that made me boil over with rage. He lied! He lied to us about everything! He lied about who he was, what he could do, about his powers, about everything! I don't think I could have been angrier than I was at that moment. I glared at him, though it seemed to go unnoticed by everyone except Robin, who had walked over to me and tried to placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Raven, it's not-" He started, but I cut him off, spinning away from his touch.

"No, don't." I hissed, I could see both Robin and Danny flinch at my tone, but I didn't care, "Don't tell me this is not what it looks like. He lied, and you know it."

"You don't know the whole story." Robin explained. Normally I would agree, and if I was thinking straight, I would have sensed the wave of emotions that were rolling off of everyone in the room, and that Robin was showing great signs of grief and sorrow. But as of right now, I was in no mood to try and think rationally.

I.

We.

The team.

All of us worked so hard to help him, to protect him, we even rescued him from that place! And now, to find out we were lied to about everything… It made my blood boil at the nerve he had to do something like this, and to us! Grrr! I'm so going to kill him!

"I don't need to know the whole story to know that he lied to us. Straight to our faces." I countered. My little conversation with Robin wasn't going unnoticed either. Every head in the room was now craned towards our direction. I scanned them, everyone confused except for the teen we had rescued. He looked petrified and filled with fear. As well as he should be.

"Yo, Raven. What are you talking about?" Cyborg asked, scratching his head. None of them figured it out yet, or they were still trying to deny that it happened. Either way, Danny's act was up, and he knew it.

"Ask Danny," I hissed, pointing to the said teen, "I'm sure he would love to tell you all about it." And with that I stormed out of the room, not wanting to hear the pathetic lie he was going to cook up for us.

Robin POV

Well this is just great. Raven's pissed. I was hoping I could explain to her about what just happened, but she stormed out of the room. I knew she was going to come back and confront Danny later, and it wasn't going to be pretty. But for now I had to keep the rest of my team from attacking Danny.

"What is she so pissed off about?" BB grouched, obviously not understanding the current situation, or the fact that the new girl just called James, Danny… Then again, this is Beast Boy so that is a possibility. I needed to intervene now because I could see the fear in Danny's eyes as Raven stormed out, then glancing around at the others in the room as most of them started to put the pieces together.

"Please, why do you refer to friend James as Danny?" Starfire asked, her innocent little voice full of confusion and wonder at the same time. Dani, pulled her eyes away from her cousins and started at Starfire with a dumbfounded expression, before looking back at her cousin. She switched her gaze between the two a few more times before smacking Danny upside the head.

"Ow!" Danny whined, rubbing the side of his head that was just smacked. There was a loud gasp from the rest of the team as they attempted to grab Dani, only her yelling at Danny stopped them.

"You didn't tell them who you are? Are you insane?!" She scolded, ignoring the way he flinched when she called him insane, "Why the hell would you not tell them, other superheros, that you're a hero too! God, even I know that!" By now, everyone in the room was in shock from the exchange that was happening between the two. I guess they realized she was reprimanding him for being an idiot, seeing that Raven does it to BB all the time.

"Okay, Dani." They both looked at me, "Uh, Dani with an I. Now would be a very good time to stop talking, they," I motioned to the rest of my team, "Are not fully aware of the current situation."

"Well no duh! Mr. Genius over here decided to use his middle name as a cover." She huffed, "And I thought you hated your middle name?" she said, turning back at him as she said it before moving off the bed and standing next to me. Danny however, was looking like he was about to bolt, fear and panic in his eyes as he glanced in-between each of my teammates, all of which were now understanding the predicament, and glaring harshly at the poor teen. I stepped in front of the bed, guarding Danny from everyone else, while Danielle copied my actions.

"You guys need to hear out his side of the story, there is a reason that he didn't tell us the truth about himself. Trust me, I know. All those hours and days that I spent in my room," I was hinting at why I was always in their, "Yeah, it was me researching all of this stuff. Just give me a few more hours so I can put together some things and meet me in the main room for a briefing, or debriefing. I'll explain it all then. And until then, don't attack him for it, it will only make you feel worse when you do read all the information I'll give to you in the packets." I explained, the others still looked pissed as I spoke though.

"And why should we?!" Cyborg shouted, "What reason has he given us to respect that wish? Huh? He lied to us Robin! Lied! About everything! Why should we trust him after that!"

I could see Danny wince at each sentence, each time Cy shouted about him, and I could see that he was hurt by it. But Cyborg did have a good point from his side, Danny did lie, but what Cy didn't know what had caused him to lie in the first place. But I did, and I had to defend him, even if I didn't like it. Truthfully, I was hurt that he had lied, but I had to put my feeling as a friend away and look at if from a detective's point of view so could see why. When you are hurt and betrayed like he was, how could you ever learn to trust anyone? It was amazing that he had trusted us as much as he did. And for the few months that he had been with us, that in its self is a miracle.

"I will explain later, Cyborg, just give me a few hours." I answered, while he just snorted and looked away, still pissed off. The other two just gave disapproving looks before the three of them walked out of the room. Somehow with isn't going to go over well, and something tells me that Raven isn't going to be very forgiving about this. Awh crap! Raven! I completely forgot that she left before I could explain. I sighed as I now had to find her and give her the same speech as the others. I grimaced at the thought of that, knowing she was going to chew me out, as the best case scenario. I didn't even want to think about the worst case. I shuddered at that thought.

"Do you think that they'll forgive me?" Danny suddenly asked, worried about his actions and past lies. I turned to him with a not so positive expression. His instantly saddened, knowing that he had messed up.

"They will, eventually. Let me handle it. They will come around. I would be more worried about Raven if I were you." His eyes widened out of fear, and I didn't blame him. Raven isn't one to hand out trust so easily, and knowing that he had broken the little that he had gained, it was going to be damn near impossible to try and make up for that.

"What exactly did he do?" I heard his cousin ask, wondering about why everyone was pissed as they were, "I mean I get that he lied, but still..."

I sighed before I started to explain, "There are a series of lies that he had told us, and now that these lies are in the light, my friends are upset that he wasn't honest. They feel betrayed and hurt that they were lied to. They have a good reason too, we had a friend that turned on us before, so to them, its a repeat of that incident." I lightly explained. Dani could only stare at me, mouth agape as she tried to process this. She swallowed before finding her strength to ask another question.

"What were his lies?" she asked quietly, almost as if she was unsure that she wanted to know what they were.

"He… well… I can't explain. It's not easy…" I started to explain, only Danny interrupted.

"I lied about my powers, and who I was. And about my past." He started, staring at his hands , "I just couldn't trust them when I should have. Even after Clockwork told me I could. But after they attacked me and… and did…" Danny was getting choked up as he thought about his parents and what they did to him, "I said I had lost my powers due to the experiments, but it was a lie because I was also helping them with ghost issues in my ghost form at the same time…"

"Oh, Danny!" Dani whispered, hugging her abused cousin again, fighting to hold back her tears. I quietly left the room to give the family some bonding time, and to find Raven and try to get her to hold off interrogating Danny about his lies because she would do that. After I talked to her, I would get ready for the meeting with the rest of the team.

I walked down the familiar hallway as I made my way to the dreaded room and I could already tell how this conversation was going to end. Raven had stormed out of the room in so much anger that it was scary. I didn't realize that I was already at Ravens room, staring at the door that had already opened and a very pissed off empath looking back at me, only I realized she had said something, and was waiting for my answer.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Raven repeated. I shook my head and cleared my throat.

"Look, I know your upset," Her eyes narrowed, "ummm, but, uhhh" She raised an eyebrow, this is going to be harder than I thought, I gulped before trying to continue only she interrupted me.

"I don't really care. He lied, and betrayed our trust. Why should I care?" She countered, normally she would be on my side, but I could tell that she was hurt. Very hurt. She must be thinking that this is like Terra. While Terra did lie to us, this isn't the same thing. Not even close.

"Because of what happened to him. Because he has had to go though. You were their when we rescued him from that lab Raven, you have seen first hand what he's gone through. So why do you keep comparing him to Terra and her betrayal? Yes he did lie to us, but he has a logical and valid reason for not trusting us. Believe me, you will understand when you hear the report." I explained as I tried to keep my cool. She only snorted and slammed the door in my face, though I wasn't very surprised about that. "The meeting is in a few hours." I finished, walking away and back to my room to put everything together. I knew that this meeting wasn't going to sit well with my team.

Danny POV

Robin had left an hour ago, and me and Danielle had sat on my bed for the entire time. Not that I didn't mind the company, or that she was back and safe with me, and honesty I was beyond ecstatic about that. But no, I wasn't looking forward to the part in which I was going to have to literally beg for forgiveness and hope that they would forgive me for lying. Especially Raven. She looked so hurt by the truth, I could see it in her eyes, even if she was displaying rage.

"Danny?" My cousin asked, breaking the silence in the hospital room.

"Hmm."

"Why didn't you tell them who you really were? Why did you lie to them?" I closed my eyes as I took a breath, thinking of a way to answer that.

"It's complicated, Dani. I just wasn't able to at the time, I couldn't… Not after that…" I was so close to having a flashback, I knew I needed to stop there, and somehow she did too because I felt her warmish embrace as her arms tightened around my torso. I hugged her back, knowing that she was basically the only true family I had left. Well, who I considered family anyways.

"I think I can wait to hear what the traffic light dude has to say, I don't want you to be hurting anymore that you already are." She whispered into my chest, trying to lighten the mood with a joke. I couldn't help but chuckle at her comment about Robin's choice of colors for his outfit. He does look like a traffic light.

"So, are you going to go to that meeting thing Robin was talking about?" I asked, hoping she would go, I wanted her to go, so she could understand why I did what I did. But, at the same, time hoping she wouldn't because of what they did to me, I didn't want her to be scarred and/or scared by what she would hear and possibly see. I don't know which was worse for her, not knowing and not being able to help me, or knowing and fearing that it could happen to her as well. I held my breath as I awaited her reply, which was taking a while. I watched her face as she thought deeply about it. I knew I was going to be happy with either choice she made.

"I think… I'll go to the meeting. I want to hear the truth from you but, you don't seem like you can to talk about it, and you seemed to be scarred by whatever it is, and I feel like if I knew what was wrong I could help." She said in a soft tone, looking me in the eyes as she spoke, her eyes showing the honesty in her reply. I smiled, but now I knew that I was going to have to warn her about what she was going to see, and/or hear.

"Dani, just remember that no matter what you see and hear about me and about what happened to me, I will never let that happen to you. Ever. Understand. They will not hurt you, even if I have to die trying to keep you safe, I will not let you go through that. I promise." I spoke clearly, the determination of keeping that promise was already locked in my mind. I will never let her or anyone ever go through something like that! I could see the confusion in her eyes as I spoke, and then they widened with understanding. Hopefully it was that whatever happened to me wasn't going to happen to her.

"Danny, you're scaring me. What happened?" I could hear the worry in her voice, that she was scared about what had happened and why I wasn't going to let it, or whatever it was in her mind, happen to her.

"Look, just know that you are the only family I have left, and I won't let you get hurt by them. Ever. Okay?" I told her, while her eyes welling with tears started to spill over, "Shh, shh, it's okay." I comforted, reaching out to pull her back into another hug as she cried again, only I think they were tears of happiness. We sat there like that for another uncharted amount of time when she pulled away.

"I think I should head up to the other room now," she sniffled, running her hand across her nose, "and you probably need to rest."

I gave a sad smile as she got off the bed and started to walk to the door, "Remember Dani, were family, which means I always have you back. No matter what."

"I know," She whispered, "I'll come back in a few hours. So try to take it easy until then."

I chuckled, "Okay. I will try, but no guarantees." I watched as she left the room, the doors closing quietly and leaving me completely alone in the room. I scanned the room, trying to hold back the endless waves of memories as to why I hate hospitals and hospital related rooms. No wonder I'm messed up, I can't even tolerate a recovery room. One that is safely guarded by the good guys at that! I felt myself slowly slipping away, the anger and pain coming back to me as more memories tried to resurface. I fought the natural instinct of closing my eyes, all that would do is allow me to visualize those memories, and honestly, I didn't feel like taking a trip down memory lane at the moment.

"When your done, I would like to talk to you." And emotionless tone cut through the silence. I jumped in shock as Raven made herself visible from the corner of the room. I was so lost in thought that I hadn't heard or seen her enter the room.

"What are you… How did you…" I stuttered, trying to calm my heart rate. I didn't really need everyone rushing back into the room because I was freaking out again. But I noticed that Cyborg didn't reattach the vitals monitors to me, so I assumed I was in the clear for now. Don't know how long that will be for, seeing as Raven was looking very annoyed, and possible angry. Oh, who am I kidding, she wants to rip my head off. Though I can't blame her, I would want to kill me to if I was in her shoes.

"I've been sitting her for a few minutes waiting you to calm you emotions down so I could talk to you without being bombarded endlessly by them." She answered dryly, causing me to gulp loudly. This isn't going to end well, I thought to myself as dread washed through me.

"And I'm guessing that you already had that meeting?" I asked, not completely unsure, but I had a bad feeling that this was where it was heading.

"No, but I want answers, and I think it would be better if they were answered by you. Personally." She glared. Shit. Shit. Shit. I'm now on the verge of panicking while she walked closer to my bed. You know that feeling you get when you know your screwed no matter what you do to try and fix it? Yeah, that's me right now.

"Okay? And why would I want to answer the obvious?" Apparently I can't stop digging myself a bigger hole. I'm almost positive that if you were to measure how deep this hole is, it would be half way to the center of the earth, and I'm still digging. Her eyes narrowed as she got ready to attack.

"Now that you mention it, let's start with the obvious. For example, how you lied about practically everything about your life." She started off, growling slightly.

"Yeah well, I wasn't very keen on trusting people at the time. But I'm sure you know all about that." I shot back, I didn't like this feeling of being cornered, this feeling like there was nowhere to go, no exit. Just like a cornered dog, scared and ready to attack back. I knew this was going to end badly, and I think she did too because she narrowed her eyes as if they were throwing daggers at me.

"Don't even go there. Don't you dare lecture me about trust!" She growled, "I had a friend that turned on us and sided with our arch-rival, Slade. She gave him everything about us and we all almost died because of her, so don't even lecture-" During her little spiel, I was growing angrier and angrier, I don't have a right! I don't have the right to tell you about trust! I have every right in the world to lecture you on this topic!

"I have more of a right that you ever could! I turn to my parents for help and they tried to drag me out of the house!" I started while interrupting her, my furry boiling to the surface, and I was only getting started.

"While I do feel somewhat bad for you on that level, according to Robin, that's normal for most meta-humans to have their parents abandoning them, shunning them for being different." She scoffed, not seeing the point I was trying to make, and that sent me over the edge, unable to hold back the explosion of rage. She gasped as I let loose.

"I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN ABANDONED, OR BE DISOWNED BY MY FAMILY! BY MY PARENTS! THEY HAVE IT EASY! NO, WHAT I WENT THROUGH IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THAT!" I was shaking from all anger and hatred that I had been holding inside of me. I just had to let it loose, and I couldn't stop now that it had seen the surface.

"You need to calm down, you'll have another episode. You don't want that just as much as I don't." She was afraid, as well as she should be.

"Oh really!? And you think is just as easy as flipping a switch!? Because it's not! You have no idea what it takes to keep myself in control!" I wasn't calming down any time soon, too bad she didn't see that.

"Ja-Danny! Stop! Just trust me on this-" Oh no she didn't! She did not just tell me to trust her after she just tried to lecture to me about trust! That's when I really let her have it, not caring about anything anymore. I was out of my bed and three feet from her, closing distance fast. Within seconds I was more like three inches from her face, and towering over her as I began to scream at her again.

"TRUST!? TRUST!? YOU WANT ME TO TRUST YOU AFTER YOU JUST DECIDED TO GIVE ME A LECTURE ABOUT TRUST!? LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT TRUST! I TRUSTED THAT MY PARENTS WOULD HELP ME! I TRUSTED THAT I, THEIR OWN SON, COULD COUNT ON THEM FOR ANYTHING, THAT THEY WOULD HELP ME WHENEVER I NEEDED IT! YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!? THEY TURNED ON ME! THEY STABBED ME IN THE BACK BECAUSE I WAS HALF GHOST!" My outrage would have scared Pariah Dark, that's how enraged I was. Raven was staring at me wide eyed, like she had just let out a monster. And she did.

"But…" again I interrupted her, and there was no turning back now.

"THEY DESPISE ME, THEY LOATH MY VERY EXISTENCE! THEY ARE THE REASON THAT I AM THE WAY I AM! THEY ARE THE ONES THAT DID THIS TO ME!" I shouted at her, pointing to the scars that were hidden underneath the bandages. I watched as realization hit her face, but I wasn't done yet, even though I could see the fear, the shock, the regret in her eyes, I still continued, "WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PARENTS STRAPPED YOU DOWN TO AN EXAMINATION TABLE AND CARVED OPEN YOUR CHEST WITH A SCALPEL!? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THEY INJECTED YOU WITH GOD KNOWS WHAT, OR DECIDED TO FIGURE OUT HOW FAST YOUR HEALING PROCESS WORKED, OR HOW YOU BODY COULD RECOVER FROM THINGS THAT SHOULD KILL IT!? MY PARENTS DECIDED THAT I WAS THE PERFECT SPECIMEN FOR ALL THE NEW AGENTS TO PRACTICE ON! THEY SIGNED THE FORMS WITHOUT HESITATION SO THAT I COULD BE SUBJECTED TO THAT TORTURE! I WAS BEATEN, INJECTED, AND DISSECTED OVER AND OVER BY MY PARENTS JUST BECAUSE I WAS DIFFERENT! BECAUSE I TRUSTED THEM TO HELP ME!" I finished, panting from all the shouting while I heard the blood pounding in my ears from all the anger I unleashed. It was only after I practically told her everything that the memories came back, everything that they did to me. And it hit me full force, like slamming into a brick wall.

I closed my eyes as I turned away from her, clenching my fist tightly to my side, my knuckles probably turning white from the action though I didn't care. When I finally did open my eyes, I felt the release of tears flow down my cheeks as if the dams had been broken. I knew I shouldn't be crying about them, but sometimes I couldn't help but wonder what I ever did wrong, what actions and what I could have said that would have put me in this situation. What could have made them attack me the way they did, to torture me in that way? But it has been about three years since that incident, and I need to get over it, Vlad is the one that put me back together. Sure I used to hate him, but he did everything to try and make me stable again, even if I will never be completely stable. That's a depressing thought, but now that I think about it, I'm throwing away all of his hard work, all the nights he comforted me when I woke up screaming in the night, every time he calmed me down after an episode, all the times he put in trying to get me back to a normal, and I need to remind myself to pull myself together. Vlad was a real father, not them. Ravens voice broke me out of my trance, if you could call it that.

"Danny... I-I didn't know... I, I thought… I'm-" She stuttered, trying to put a sentence together.

"Don't." I said forcibly, turning to look at her. She instantly closed her mouth so I could continue, "Just don't. You have already done enough." I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath and turned to face her again.

"But... I-" she started, confused and worried about me.

I raised my hand to stop her from continuing, "Just stop." I fell silent after that, lowering my arm, the pain from my back and chest finally catching up with my earlier actions. The tension thickening from what had just conversed, as I could practically taste it. I wanted time to just think, to just wash away everything that had happened. And to do that I needed to be alone. I mentally deflated as I realized that, but it was a necessary thing.

"Danny, can I-" Raven started again, but like last time, I raised my hand and cut her off, ignoring the pain again.

"Just... Just leave me alone. I just need to be alone right now." The melancholy evident in my voice as I shut her down. Then I was staring at the floor, not really interested in anything other then figuring out how I could get a fresh start after everything that has happened. I turned and walked passed her as I exited the room, not sure where I was headed.

Raven POV

I was currently pacing around in my room, going over and over the events that took place just a few hours ago. I had been trying to work this out but I couldn't get though it.

When I had first gone into the room to get some answers from Danny, I had not expected the one's I had gotten. I didn't know anyone could be as cruel as his parents had been. My father, and I use that term loosely, may be Trigon the Terrible, but even I didn't have something like that happen to me when I was on Azarath. So when he had stated that he wanted to be alone, I could only stand there in shock, and possibly horrified, as Danny left the room.

It kept replaying in my mind, what he had said. I mean he was tortured by his parents. His own parents! The people that are supposed to protect you and are always supposed to be there for you, yet his turned on him. Everything was making sense now; of course he wasn't going to tell us everything about him. Of course he was going to lie about everything. If he couldn't even trust his parents, why would he even bother to ask us for help? The answer was easy, he wouldn't.

He told us that over and over, but did we listen to him?

No.

But we trusted him, gave him everything that he would have needed to get better, and didn't even tell us what was really wrong with him. Let's not even discuss that fact that he is just like his cousin, a half ghost.

How does that even work anyways? How can anyone be half dead?

I was still furious about that, only for the next thing to enter my mind. He played with my feelings. And after the whole Malichor thing, I don't think I could take another heartbreak. Not this soon. And with all the other things we have had to deal with, I knew I shouldn't even go there. I shouldn't even dwell on the subject, but I was already there so I began my internal rant on that as well. He kissed me. I mean he kissed me. Where the hell did that come from! It was unexpected!

But was it unwanted?

That made me pause. Just that one sentence was enough to stop the anger I was just feeling a few seconds ago and think deeply about that simple question. Was it? Was it unwanted?

No... Yes... Maybe? I stumbled though those answers and couldn't come to a definite conclusion about how I felt about that kiss. I know that my emoti-clones didn't really help in me after it happened, they were all just... Actually now that I think about it, they didn't really tell me how I should have felt about it.

What if it was just a lie to mess with me as well?

He's not the type to do something like that. Is he? No, he wouldn't.

But how do I know that for sure, I mean he lied about who he was.

He defended us when Beast Boy called me creepy, and he gave us the inspiration to defeat Malichor. And after that, he checked up on me because he was worried.

Now I was getting frustrated with the back and forth of defending him and accusing him, Gah! Why was this so hard? I'm furious with him. Why am I trying to defend him at the same time? What has given him the right to just have my forgiveness after something like this?

Nothing. He has to earn it. Right? Nothing is just given, one must earn it. That's how everything works. He has to earn my trust back. But not just that, he has to earn the right to talk to me.

This mental turmoil was going to blow up the tower, so I decided to meditate. Well, I tried to meditate, but my mind was too frazzled for that. Even when I tried to go into nevermore, it didn't help, so I was reduced to pacing again. I have never had this problem before. Why am I so emotionally distressed over this? Over him? What is going on that was preventing me from figuring this out? Why is this so hard? I was practically screaming at myself as I debated with this issue mentally. I could have been pulling my hair out and I wouldn't have noticed. I looked in my mirror, nope, it's all there. I sighed as I flopped on my bed, rubbing my temples. I was getting nowhere with this and I didn't know how to fix it.

The one thing that I knew for sure was that he didn't have the trust that he use to have. And he was going to have to work himself over the edge to gain it back.

Clockwork POV

I watched the screen, smiling to myself as I watched the worst of the storm pass. I knew she would come around eventually, she just needed some time. As the door behind me was busted down, I knew who it was without looking. He's finally here. I wonder why it took him so long? I laughed internally at the thought as I already knew the answer.

"Clockwork!" the eerie voice screeched. I calmly turned to look at him, noting the anger he was expressing was exactly as the viewing screens predicted. His red eyes hidden behind his black hood, they were shinning brightly from rage. The midnight darkness of his cloak almost made him just as frightening as it seemed to make him fade in and out of view as he moved. His dark skin blending with the darkness of his cloak. The black, silver, and red gauntlet, Soul Taker, sat menacingly on his left hand, the light glow from the red showed that the gauntlet was currently empty. I knew it was just for effect, trying to intimidate me.

"I was wondering when you would make your appearance. I'm guessing you have a break?" I asked, not worried about anything. I, of course, knew how this would end so I had no reason to fear him. I turned to face the unannounced figure in my tower, shifting from my middle aged from to my child form.

"You know exactly why I'm here!" He growled, "You let him go back! And didn't try to help him?! Do you know how hard it was for me to bring him back?! To fix the damage they have done to him?!" the hooded figure shouted, his eyes glowing a brighter red.

"Yes, I am well aware of Daniel's current situation, then again, when do I not know everything?" I responded in a calm tone, my form fast forwarding to its elderly appearance.

"Don't play your time games with me, Clockwork! It won't work. Not this time. How could you not help him? How could you just let him go back there! After what happened the first time!" he continued to rant, raising his gauntlet covered hand and pointing to the screen showing the young halfa's first experience in the hands of the agency. I knew he was furious, but then again, he was always a little protective of Daniel, especially when he found his name, the name of the legendary ghost that had defeated the Ghost King, Pariah Dark, on his list.

"I know how you must feel about this, but it was necessary. Whether or not you approve of my actions does not matter. He needs to be able to trust human's again, not just ghosts. This was a for sure way to get that through his stubbornness."

"But to force him to suffer through that torture again? How can you even think that he deserved that to learn a lesson? He might be under your watch, but he is also my student, as well as Frostbite's and Plasmius's. He is not just your pupil, Clockwork! I would have thought that you would have taken better care of him then this!" I could understand how he was feeling, but at the same time, Daniel had lost all trust in those that were living. I did not want to leave him in the facility, so I semi-influenced the judges to "approve" of the document the Titans had presented. They were following the protocol of the laws, so I found no harm done with that, knowing that it would have been approved of in all the time lines anyways, so I speed the process up.

"Please, old friend, you need to trust my actions, it did hurt me to have to watch Daniel be taken back there, but had I not allowed this to happen…" I motioned to a screen that had changed to the outcome of not going back to their facility. I watched his reactions with amusement as he studied the screen with thought and reason. I turned to the screen to see a later outcome, his mental state taking a turn for the worst causing him to dive off the deep end and loose himself to his insanity. And by this taking place, a new, more sadistic and insane version of Dan to emerge this mental break down. One without the combination of Plasmius's ghost half.

"I may see your point this time, but should there be another incident like this, I will have no second thoughts about intervening myself. Even if it does affect the time stream in a negative way." He threatened, though I knew he wouldn't. I was the reason he could get everywhere that he needed to be. I was the one that enchanted his and Daniels lists.

"It won't, this is what he needs. You know I only want what's best for him. Why else would I have him help you with that ghostly problem?"

"Because I recommended it. His obsession was breaking just as quickly has his sanity, and you know how dangerous that can be. But enough of this bickering, it will not help the fate of our ward." I nodded, this was not helping Daniel, "To more urgent of matters, what of Plasmius? What has become of him?"

"I am still unsure. He will take some more time before I can determine if he will be a beneficial factor in Daniel's life. I shall notify you once I am positive of his mentor, and father-like figure's status and his effect in the time stream." I said, turning back to examine the time streams once more.

There, done. I hoped it was worth the really long wait that I'm still really sorry for!

OMG! Thank you to all the people that reviewed during this agonizing two month wait! It was amazing! I was always so excited when I get new ones! It makes me feel great knowing that you all like my story! Even people that just follow or favorite the story makes me happy!

Okay, so I'm almost positive that I'll be changing the rating of this story from a M to a T, but still debating with myself on that... Anyways, I hope this chapter was up to par with the rest! So until next time!