Chapter 2

A/N: Bear with me guys, the build up will be slow but I promise it's necessary.


The rest of the week Danny spent trying to think of ways to get out of his new assignment. When he couldn't, he contemplated disappearing altogether. He hadn't went invisible in three years but maybe he could make an exception.

When the weekend came and Frank told him he would actually have to move in with the Titans Danny was not happy at all.

"No. No way. I have my own apartment, why would I need to move in with them?"

Frank raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Titan's Tower is an hour away on the other side of town. I thought you knew that? Besides, anyone else would kill for the chance to live with the Teen Titans."

"Not me." Danny muttered though Frank didn't hear.

"Robin made it clear he doesn't want just anyone Fenton. You will go, and you will stay."

Danny opened his mouth to protest but stopped when Frank gave him a stern look leaving no room for argument. He sighed in defeat. Frank didn't know why he was so adamant about not going, but Danny couldn't tell him he didn't want to be around heroes simply because he used to be one and it's the entire reason why he swore off using his powers. It was true there were many detectives that would kill to be in his position. He knew he had to go, but that didn't make it any easier.

Danny groaned as he packed up his things. Tucker would take over his office until he got back, and he didn't know when. He wasn't allowed to look over the case because he was told Robin wanted to go over it with him himself. That meant it was a very confidential case, and for Robin to seek out private help made Danny all the more skeptical. In all honesty it made him a little uneasy about the entire situation.

Danny trained over the weekend. After resorting to being human for the rest of his life, he began training his hand to hand combat skills. They definitely paid off when he worked out in the field. He wanted to be prepared for anything now that he wasn't sure what exactly he was getting into. Tomorrow he would be moving in and meeting the team for the first time. It wasn't like he hadn't seen them before though, it wasn't uncommon for the Titans to walk into the police department as Danny was working. Although he was in a separate building he had to come up to the main office a lot to file reports and there were many times where he'd pass them. He had just never worked with them personally. He finally went to sleep feeling restless.

The next morning Danny was a little hesitant when he walked up to the doors of Titan's Tower, his suitcase in his hand. He always traveled light, just in case. It loomed over him and he looked up. He scowled and for a moment he thought about just walking away. Just as he convinced himself not to get involved, move away, and find another job the opened to revealing another teen much like himself. Same height, same build with a costume made with red, yellow, and green. He had a black a cape and he wore a domino mask that covered most of his facial features. His hair was black and spiked. Well there was no turning back now.

Robin was the first one to the door when it finally rang that morning. He told the team that Daniel was coming but he wanted to be the first one to great him. He opened the door, slightly shocked to see a teen much like himself. He had jet black hair that fell in front of his face. His feet were placed almost defensively, and he had a similar build. Lean but not lanky, around his height. His eyes were a piercing ice blue, and they were guarded. He looked much too young to be an expert detective. Robin grinned and reached out his hand,

"Daniel Fenton, nice to meet you. I'm Robin." He watched Danny eye him carefully and then take his hand.

"I would say it's a pleasure, but since I'm needed here it probably won't be."

Robin raised an eyebrow. At least he was honest.

He opened the door more widely to let Daniel in. He walked in as Robin's team began to gather around him. Robin watched as Daniel immediately scanned the room looking for potential exits, routes, and other significant items.

"Team this is Chief Detective Daniel Fenton." Robin stated and watched Daniel.

"Please, call me Danny. Or Fenton." Robin saw him grin wryly. His stance was still defensive, it was odd.

"It is most glorious to have your help friend Danny. I am Starfire." She greeted cheerfully. Danny nodded back in greeting.

"Alright man! I'm Cyborg, you play video games?" Cyborg walked towards the detective and Danny shook his head, his face slightly grim. Something seemed off.

"Unfortunately not as much as I used to."

"Dude we just got Mega Monkey's 5, it's so awesome!" Beast Boy yelled catching Danny's attention. Beast Boy grinned cheekily, and Danny frowned slightly. He looked much to young to be a Titan. 15 at the most.

"Mr. Fenton's here for work Beast Boy." Danny looked over to see a purple haired girl around his age. She wore a blue leotard with a cape that wrapped around her body. Her hood was up and he couldn't see her face clearly.

"Raven's right Beast Boy. When he has time off then he can do what he wants. I'll show you to your room, need any help with your things?" Robin asked Danny who looked down briefly at his suitcase. He shook his head,

"I have everything I need."

Robin nodded and led the way to the room. Danny could feel the eyes of the others as they watched him leave,

"Must be a pretty confidential case to not tell them yet. Do they even know why I'm here?"

Robin glanced back concealing his surprise. Danny was very perceptive, almost as observant as him.

"They know enough."

Robin stopped at a closed door and he put his palm up to the control scanner. It scanned and the door opened revealing a room. They walked in and Robin watched Danny studying him. It had a queen sized bed in the middle of the room against the wall with a simple black comforter. It also had beige walls, a desk for work, and a drawer. There was another door that led to the closet. Danny's attention was focused on the wall sized window that overlooked the other side of the bay. It was beautiful.

"Nice." Danny commented and he turned to finally see Robin studying him. He raised his eyebrow in question.

"I'll give you a few minutes to unpack. After that I want to brief everyone on the case all at once. I chose you to help for a reason."

"Why?"

Robin looked at him for a moment, expression unreadable.

"You have experience with meta-humans."

Robin watched Danny scowl and cross his arms in irritation.

"You read my file." Robin raised his eyebrows in response,

"Of course I did. Why would I let someone into my Tower much less work with them without any knowledge of their background?"

"How much do you know?" His eyes were carefully guarded revealing nothing. Robin looked at him for another moment before responding,

"I know enough." He answered and watched Danny try to hide the fear in his eyes.

"Meet us back in the common room when you're finished." Robin ordered and left without another word leaving Danny to his thoughts while he unpacked.

He knew immediately that Robin wasn't letting on about everything he knew, and based on his response he knew more than Danny cared to admit. Very few people knew about his past and although Sam and Tucker were the only people to know about his alter ego he wouldn't be surprised if Robin at least suspected. There was something so familiar about his face too but he couldn't place his finger on why. He figured it was just because he'd seen him before. They were the heroes of Jump City after all. Their faces were on just about everything. Posters, cups, advertisement boards. Danny always thought it was a little much. They seem like normal teenagers, just like him. Well, as normal as you can get with special abilities. Which brought him to his next thought. He would be working a case including meta-humans. That was about to make his situation even more complicated.

Eventually he finished and began his walk back to the common room, noticing he passed two other rooms along the way. Robin's and Raven's. The others must have been on another hallway. He made it back to see the team all huddled around Robin's laptop. They must've started without him already.

"Dude check it out!" Beast Boy yelled to him as he got closer. Curiously he looked over and he blanched. It was clear it was a meta-human. Hero or villain he wasn't sure. They were fighting off an un known source before suddenly disappearing. After that it was over. Danny studied the area around them, it was dark and looked to be in an alleyway. He noticed a faint green glow in the distance and his eyes widened slightly. It looked like ectoplasm. That couldn't be right, he sealed off the ghost portal a long time ago. He even worked with Clockwork to prevent any other natural portals from entering earth.

"Heroes and Villains alike are disappearing and we're not sure where they are. We have three total disappearances. Reports show the exact same footage. It's almost as if they're fighting an invisible source and then suddenly vanishing." Robin stated and Danny looked up to see the photos on the screen.

"Have there been any sightings of them at all after their recorded disappearance?" Danny asked and Robin shook his head.

"This is our top priority in between calls. The disappearances are each about a month apart. The last one was a week ago so we can expect the next one to in three weeks. Your job Danny is to help find out why this is happening, who is behind the disappearances, and who their next target is. Until someone else disappears we have no leads at the moment."

Danny put his hands to his temples already seeing the difficulty of the situation.

"Are there any eye witnesses? Any evidence gained from the scene?" He asked in hopes to gain information. He was only slightly surprised when Robin shook his head again. Danny regarded the team grimly.

"I'll see what I can do. I'll need time to research, and I need the files of the people that were supposedly taken." He told everyone and Robin nodded in affirmation already handing him the folders. Danny thanked him and took them. He would at least be able to look through the folders to see if there were any similarities between the people taken.

"Just keep me updated, and when we're not being called I'll help." Robin replied and Danny nodded. Although he wasn't used to having a partner to help research with he wasn't complaining. This would definitely be a tough case.

The next few days were strange as Danny tried to fit into the group dynamic at Titan's Tower. Everyone was more than welcome to help as he researched. Robin would usually help early in the morning and if there were no interruptions they would continue until about noon. Later he would help again in the evening. Danny had to admit he was impressed at Robin's detective skills, they matched his own.

The other teammates readily accepted Danny into their home and Cyborg and Beast Boy were pleased to say they actually got Danny to sit down with them and watch as they played Mega Monkey's 5. Of course Danny refused when he was offered to play but he was content to watch. Starfire watched from the kitchen as she baked whatever dish she decided to make that day, and Raven sat away from him in the corner reading. Robin sat next to him and a few times had even joined in to play with Cyborg and Beast Boy. That's when they began to ask him questions.

"So Danny what do you do for fun?" Cyborg asked as he raced Beast Boy on the screen. Robin observed from a distance,

"I tackle criminals to the ground, and sometimes I get to interrogate them." Was the answer and Cyborg paused the game to look at him in shock. Beast Boy also wore a similar expression when he turned back to see the seriousness in his face. Raven rolled her eyes and continued reading.

"You mean you don't do anything other than work?" Cyborg asked and Danny contemplated on how much he actually wanted to tell them.

"I…like to train." He told them and Robin perked up with interest.

"Oh yeah? What can you do?" He asked and Danny smirked. That was something he was comfortable talking about.

"I practice martial arts. Mostly Taekwondo and Tai Chi. A little bit of Kung Fu." Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other and smirked.

"Looks like you met your match Rob. I bet Fenton can kick your ass." Cyborg goaded Robin who was very tempted to challenge Danny to a match. However Danny intervened, not wanting to start anything.

"It's just basic techniques really. Just enough practice so I can defend myself." He lied and Robin saw right through his lie though he didn't call him out on it. Danny simply shrugged when he saw his look of skepticism.

"Got a girlfriend?" Beast Boy then asked Danny who narrowed his eyes slightly, not particularly liking where this conversation was going.

"Not at the moment." He answered and watched Beat Boy's smirk grow. He turned to look back at Raven mischievously.

"Hey Rae here that? Danny over here is single and ready to-" He yelped as Raven cut him off, picking up the nearest book and throwing it at him with her powers. It hit him dead on and knocked him over. Danny raised his eyebrow in response looking towards the empath who just shrugged. She pulled her hood up and continued to read. Robin watched Danny, who seemed just as uncomfortable.

"What about friends? Family?" Cyborg continued the conversation and everyone was surprised to see him stand up suddenly.

"That's enough talk about my personal life for today." He ignored the question and stomped out of the room. Robin silently watched him go as the others looked at him in shock.

"Remind me never to bring that up around him again." Cyborg muttered and everyone silently agreed. Something bad must have happened for him to have such an adverse reaction. Robin thought later to bring it back up but then he thought better of it. He would honestly probably have the same reaction if someone had asked him the same question. Then again he had an identity to protect, Danny didn't. So was there more to him than he had originally thought?

Danny on the other hand was beyond irritated. Being stuck here to work on some case he had no idea where to start, absolutely no leads, and not to mention he had to live with a bunch of meta-humans who already wanted to pry into his life. He slammed the door shut and began to pace the room knowing that everyone heard but he didn't care. Who were they to ask him personal questions? Sure they seemed pretty standard but didn't every hero know not to ask about family? Danny slowed his pace and slumped. He wasn't a hero, there was no way they could have known not to ask him about such a sensitive subject. He cursed, now he knew they would probably be suspicious.

He paused when he saw his laptop and then strode towards it. He would just focus on research, that way he could have an excuse to stay in his room and not talk to any of them if at least for a few hours. Spreading the three folders out he sat down to research. He could at least look through the profiles one more time to see if there were any connections at all. He looked at the watch on his wrist, it was 6:30. Good, he could work a few hours and then go to sleep not having to see anyone for the rest of the night.