A/N: * First thing's first. I have to give FULL credit where it's due, to my beta reader: Astrovagant *

I cannot thank you enough for everything that you've done to truly transform this piece. It's honestly so much better. With that being said, guys if you ever need a beta reader, astrovagant is the person you want to go to. Hands down the best editor I've met.

Also sorry for the delay, there's been a lot going on and also writer's block. However I'm back with a renewed vigor! I'm so excited for you guys to read this chapter.

Don't forget to read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans nor Danny Phantom.


Chapter 7

Danny paced the room erratically, thoughts racing. Someone knew. They knew. He raked a shaky hand through his hair in distress before grabbing the photographs from where he'd discarded them on his desk. They depicted moments where he'd let down his guard and allowed himself to simply relax in ghost form. It had been years since he'd been seen in his ghost form as Phantom in public. Someone had been keeping tabs on him for years without him having a clue. He shuddered.

His initial thought was that Vlad had been the one threatening him, but upon further contemplation he was sure he couldn't have been involved. They had ended their terms with a truce, and although their relationship was strained at best he was confident that Vlad wouldn't threaten to reveal his alter ego. After all, their secrets were entwined.

He had no idea who else would know his secret, let alone threaten it. Whoever it was had intended to scare him, and, in all honesty, they'd been successful. He hadn't told anyone other than his family, and Sam and Tucker had been with him during the accident.

This train of thought led him to another troubling predicament—should he tell the Titans?

He wasn't sure how they would react to his alter ego. The fact that he'd kept it a secret, no matter what the reason, would be more than enough to make the Titans wary of him. Would it make any difference if he came clean and told them himself? There was a lot of controversy as to whether or not Phantom was truly a hero and he wasn't a fool to think that all of the articles about him wouldn't come up. Did they even know about Phantom? Jump City was halfway across the country from Amity. Surely, his exploits hadn't reached so far, had they?

And above all, how did his secret tie into the case? Why would someone who watched him so closely choose to let him know now? Obviously they'd spent a lot of time accumulating this much evidence. How did all of this relate to his ghost half? Spirits were involved—that much Danny knew, but there was absolutely no one he could think of that could have access to so many personal photos and send them to his human half as Fenton. It wasn't a coincidence. It had to be someone who was knowledgeable about ghosts and the supernatural, along with metas and other superheroes and villains. But who?

Danny groaned in frustration. It didn't make sense. He knew he couldn't just drop the case, especially now since someone was making such a great effort to keep him away, but was he willing to risk his secret for it? In all honesty, it wouldn't really make much of a difference as to whether he continued the case or not. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't use his secret against him even if he did drop it. They could use it against him at any other moment in his life. Letting them use it to scare him off now would only delay the inevitable.

A sharp rap against the door made Danny jump, jerking him out of his thoughts violently. He quickly shoved the photos in his drawer before releasing a deep breath. He had to tell the Titans about his past. They would ask questions and they deserved answers, and honestly Danny wasn't confident he could handle the situation by himself.

He walked to open the door, hesitating a moment before turning the handle. Robin peered at him through his domino mask, lips pursed with concern. His stance was tense with barely composed apprehension as Danny schooled his expression into a neutral one.

Robin wasted no time in asking the dreaded question, "What's wrong?"

Danny tightened his lips in a straight line, contemplating his next words, "I'm not sure…" he trailed off before meeting the leader's eyes, "The card, it's a threat…to drop the case."

He was careful not to mention the photographs, at least for now. This wasn't the time for impulsive decisions. He needed more time to decide what he really wanted to do.

Robin regarded him in a serious manner, not unlike how he dealt his team before battle or the press afterwards. He didn't take threats lightly, and this was clearly a big deal for it to have affected Danny so negatively. He was silent for a moment before he spoke coming to a decision, "If you want to drop the case I won't stop you. I only hired you to find answers. We can pick up where you left off, I'm not going to risk putting your life in danger by forcing you to continue."

Danny looked at him in surprise, shocked by his concern.

Quickly, he shook his head, "No. I can't just drop it, not when I don't know where the threat came from. Besides, I can hold my own."

He smiled a rueful smile, which Robin mirrored with a smirk, "No doubt about that, but I still don't want to take that chance. As long as the 'Shadow Case' is open, I want you to keep a communicator with you at all times. And if you need to go out to the city… take one of us with you."

Danny scowled when he realized that this was an order. He crossed his arms defensively, "I'm not a child that needs to be looked after at all times, you know."

Robin wasn't deterred, "I know that, but we're dealing with spirits. You're only human, and we're not sure what they can do yet."

Danny closed his mouth, not willing to argue any further lest he get suspicious. Robin didn't know just how capable he really was and Danny really didn't want to give him any ideas.

"Fine." He allowed, if only to appease the leader. He could always sneak out whenever he wanted. Robin leaned in closer, giving Danny a stern look that somehow showed from behind his mask. Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "I mean it, Danny."

"Look Robin. I appreciate the concern, but you don't have to worry about me. You hired me as a detective, and as a detective I'll be fine."

Danny winced internally, realizing that what he'd said probably came off as cold. He still wasn't comfortable with seeing the Titans as friends, and it showed.

Robin sighed, "It's more than that, Danny. As a leader and a Titan it's my job to protect, and that includes protecting you."

Robin took a moment to look at Danny and was able to see the hesitation in his eyes under his cold and indifferent attitude. He reached out a hand to his shoulder in an attempt to bring some form of comfort. He was glad when Danny allowed it.

"You can't protect everyone Robin." Danny told him, looking at him with skepticism. He knew Robin would do everything that he could to solve the case, however Danny knew better. The case would be difficult, and there was a high chance that they wouldn't even succeed in solving it.

"We'll get to the bottom of this." Robin promised, reaching out a hand to his shoulder in an attempt to bring some measure of comfort. Danny forced a smile, wishing that he could believe the Titan. Unfortunately, he knew it was a promise that Robin couldn't keep. It was never that easy.


Danny sat at his desk, scouring over files, photographs, and other evidence. It was dark besides the soft glow of the lamp beside him and the moonlight streaming in from the large window. He glanced at the clock on the wall before grimacing. It was 2 AM. How had it gotten so late? As if to wipe away the exhaustion that weighed them down, he rubbed at his eyes. He'd started working sometime this evening after dinner with the Titans. Time must have run away from him. The threat from earlier loomed over him. He didn't want to stop.

Robin had joined him before heading to bed. He vaguely remembered him telling him he should also get some sleep but Danny quickly waved him off with a promise to go to sleep soon. He turned his head when he heard the soft knock on his door. It was open of course, and more often than not Starfire and Beast Boy would take advantage of it, but Raven always respected his privacy. He made one last mark on the sheet of notes before him, setting it down and closing the folder. He shut his eyes for a moment before waving her in, allowing her in his room.

Raven treaded quietly. It was hard to to hear her footsteps and once or twice she had even surprised him with her presence. One would think she just floated everywhere she went, but that was not true. Danny had learned from her that she actually preferred to walk and floating required more energy than what was worth.

She approached and was silent for a moment as Danny leaned back in his chair.

"It's late." She said pointedly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm about to go to bed." Danny grumbled, barely sparing her a sideways glance.

Raven pursed her lips slightly in disbelief. His eyebrows furrowed. Since when had she been able to read him so easily?

"You should sleep while you can. We are all leaving tomorrow morning on a mission, Robin wants you to come with us."

This got his attention. She watched him carefully as his mouth turned downwards in a scowl. He crossed his arms and rolled his chair to face her fully, "And when was he planning on telling me this?"

Raven smirked, "An hour before departure, so you couldn't come up with a viable excuse to back out. Now get some rest, Danny, you're going to need it. This mission isn't going to be easy."

"What do you mean?" He asked, his voice laced with wariness. It was already enough that Robin hadn't even told him about the mission and now Raven was admitting that it was going to be hard?

Raven shook her head and retracted her arm allowing her cape to close around her body,

"I'll let him explain. For now just get some sleep." She leveled him a stare and Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes for the hundredth time that night alone. There was something about living with a bunch of heroes that was so frustrating, and a lot of times when Raven was involved she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Raven continued to watch as Danny begrudgingly got up from his chair, gave her a pointed glare, and then walked over to his drawer where he knew he could find a clean t-shirt. When he grabbed it and realized Raven still hadn't left, he turned to her in question, letting an easy grin on his lips, "Are you just gonna stand there and watch or take your own advice and get some sleep yourself?" He asked, tugging at the hem of his shirt to pull it off.

Only then did Raven finally turn away swiftly with a scowl and maybe even a faint blush. Danny grinned in satisfaction. "Goodnight, Fenton." She told him, her words short as she left, her cape fluttering behind her as she walked out with graceful steps. Only when he heard the door close shut did he allow his grin to fade. From the sound of it, this mission wasn't going to be any fun at all.

Danny sighed, slithered into bed, and slowly fell into a fitful sleep, thoughts of the case still swirling through his troubled mind.


"No way. I'm not going."

Robin sighed in frustration. This was the exact reason why he waited last minute to tell Danny where they were going.

"This is the best time to go while the crime rate is low. You know more information about Amity than any of us."

Danny scowled at his logic. Just because it made sense for him to go didn't mean he wanted to go back home.

"There's no way I'm going back there." Danny told him with a finality that made Robin pause from his preparations to look at him seriously,

"You know Amity better than anyone here, Danny. We need you with us."

Danny's scowl deepened, "I haven't been there in years. How do you know we'll find any useful information there anyway?" He tried his best to keep the creeping apprehension out of his voice, but he wasn't sure whether it worked.

"We won't know anything if we don't go. There are a few people I want you to help me interview while we're down there, and Amity is the best place in the country to find research on spirits."

Robin had clearly been prepared for Danny's lack of willingness to go, his arguments were too reasonable for him to argue with. Danny groaned as Starfire walked past with his suitcase along with Raven's in her hands to pack into the T-Plane.

"Robin you don't understand. I can't go back there." the desperation was obvious now, but it was his only option.

Robin looked back up when he heard the pleading in Danny's voice. His eyes were wide and they were filled with barely contained fear. Robin set down the clipboard in his hand and turned towards the detective, "Danny what's going on? What aren't you telling me?" he asked.

His brows furrowed at the expression in the teen's face. One of Danny's fists tightened slightly. His hands shook.

"I…" Danny trailed off and averted his eyes before they steeled and met Robin's masked face, "It's nothing." He monotoned, suddenly composed once more.

Robin looked at him for a moment before sighing, "It's our best option at this point." Robin told him. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but if Danny wasn't going to say anything then there was nothing he could do.

Danny sighed and looked down. From a detective's perspective, this was a good plan. But personally… Danny didn't want to go. Going meant facing the memories he tried so hard to ignore.

Amity was probably the only place he could think of that could help them with the case. And if they didn't solve the case soon more metas would be kidnapped. There was no telling what the shadows had planned, and it was even more dangerous now that someone involved knew so much about his personal life.

"Fine." Danny finally grumbled, pushing his way passed their leader. Robin regarded him silently, making a mental note to keep an eye on him before picking his clipboard back up.

"Alright, Titans, get ready to leave in ten minutes. The sooner we leave the sooner we can get back." before he could forget, he added, "And can someone wake up Beast Boy?" Already in action, his team all set their eyes on him.

Cyborg raised his hand, "On it." Robin nodded. Knowing Beast Boy, it would take a few tries to wake him up.

Danny ignored them all and got into the plane, closing his eyes as he sank into his chair, mentally prepare himself for the emotions he knew he'd feel when he got back home. Back where he used to have a wonderful life with family and friends. Back to where all of the fighting had been worth it if it meant seeing his loved ones when he got home. Back to where he used to have passions and big dreams. He wasn't sure if he was ready to go back and see the remnants of the place he used to call home.

But then again, would he ever be?


A/N: Again, full thanks to Astrovagant.

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