A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the wait *cringes* There were many necessary changes that needed to made to the chapter (that's my fault). Alas we finally deemed it ready to publish and I am beyond excited.

If you aren't aware, Lux, my partner in crime, truly transforms every piece. Gah their skills never ceases to astound me. So thank Lux! Read their note at the bottom, and enjoy the chapter! Oh and please, please, please review. You guys have no idea the influence you have on us as readers.

Chapter 9

Robin was concerned.

From the moment they'd stepped off the T-Ship, Danny seemed off. It was in the way his eyes clouded over, like he wasn't entirely sure what was real and what wasn't. He moved forward as though dreaming, taking in the sights and sounds distantly.

In the time spent throughout this case, Danny had always been anything but unfocused. In fact, his dedication seemed to match Robin's own. It was strange seeing his behavior mirrored in someone else. He could almost understand why the other Titans were so dead-set on making him leave the Tower every so often if that was how he acted.

Robin wasn't sure what had happened in Amity to cause Danny to leave, but it must've been something awful. Was coming here worth the pain?

The walk to the Nasty Burger was filled with an awkward silence. Despite his worry, Robin used the time to take in the sights. Amity Park was a small town. At first sight, it looked positively average.

If one looked closely, however…

Well, most towns didn't have ghost-hunting weapons on display in the windows of electronic stores.

"Dude!" Beast Boy yelled, pointing at a vandalized statue in the town square.

"Who is that?" asked Cyborg, frowning as he tried to get a closer look.

It had clearly meant to be celebratory. The figure depicted had a triumphant smile on his face and looked like it was supposed to be holding something - the earth, maybe? There was a broken sphere on the ground next to it. The hero's shirt bore a strange symbol. DP?

"The only word I can make out is Phantom." frowned Raven, looking closely at the scratched out plaque.

"Please, friends, why has it been destroyed?" Starfire questioned. She was near tears as she floated up to trace the statue's broken nose with her hand.

Robin frowned, "I'm not sure, Star, but we're going to find out." With this, he made to leave, sending the monument one last look before he moved away. There was something about its face that seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place his finger on why.

Nevermind. He had a person of interest to interview.

The so-called "Nasty Burger" was very close to the town center. A large restaurant with a Drive-Through window, it was bustling with activity. The line nearly went out the door. Underneath the typical smell of grease was a strong, spicy scent.

Robin's stomach grumbled.

Before he could get any closer, though, Danny stiffened. The air around him seemed strange, electric. The hair on the back of Robin's neck stood on end. Something was very, very wrong.

Danny looked afraid and far away. Unsure of what to do, Robin relied on impulse.

Reaching his hand out, Robin was met with the smell of smoke, the taste of ash, and a feeling of raw, desperate terror. He couldn't breathe. It was hot, too hot, his body stung. Pain in his leg, blood trickling down his ears, time stopping.

He had to get to them, had to find them, had to save them…

Danny tore his shoulder away.

Robin felt cold. The skin underneath his glove tingled.

That wasn't normal.

What was going on?

...

Valerie Gray stared at him in awe.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, voice uncharacteristically gentle. It was strange to see her look so delicate in costume, so raw. When she was the Red Huntress, she roared like a fire. Now, she was all soft curves and sunkissed skin.

This was exactly what Danny had been avoiding.

She'd changed since high school. She was a little taller, a little more sure of herself. Her hair, which had previously gone down to her waist in tight brown ringlets, was now cropped short. There was a sort of melancholy that Danny felt when he thought about Valerie Gray. She'd been so many things - his enemy, his friend, his first glimpse of puppy love…

He barked out a short laugh and shoved his hands into his jean pockets, "We're investigating a case back in Jump. Trust me, we wouldn't be here at all if it were up to me."

Valerie's eyes flashed with hurt, but Danny couldn't bring himself to care. The scar from where she'd shot at him from behind as he made his way home after a particularly nasty round with Skulker in the eleventh grade still tingled when things touched it, turning the surrounding area on his side numb. He had missed three days of school because of how deep the injury had been, and even after it healed, it had taken him the better part of the year to feel comfortable with his back to anyone.

"We?" She questioned, glancing at the Titans. Her hand fidgeted at her side, clenching and unclenching near where her ecto-gun sat.

Robin stepped forward, "Ms. Gray, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Robin. This is my team. We're the Teen Titans. Detective Fenton is partnering with us to work on a very special case. We're hoping that you can provide us with some information." Upon hearing the title of "detective" attached to Danny's name, she raised her eyebrows. Then, she returned the handshake.

"Red Huntress at your service. I can tell you everything you need to know about ghosts, spirits, and anything related to 'em." she smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes before continuing, "I'm guessing that y'all aren't at the Nasty Burger for the scenery. It's a long trip from here to Jump. Come on, we can talk more inside."

While the citizens of Amity Park were accustomed to ghosts and their hunters, the same could not be said for world-famous superheroes. An unnatural hush fell in the typically noisy place as everyone looked up from their meals and stared upon their entrance. Danny felt his stomach twist into knots.

Then the whispers began.

"Is that the Fenton boy?"

"It is!"

"Why, I thought he was long gone. Y'know, after…"

Keeping his eyes forward, he stepped purposefully, immediately positioning himself in his old booth - apparently the place hadn't completely been destroyed yet. The worn red faux leather still bore the scorch marks from when he hadn't quite had control over his ecto-energy and had gotten heated over a homework assignment that he was sure had been added to the syllabus specifically to spite him.

Maybe, if the circumstances had been different, he would've felt nostalgic. As it was, he just felt sick.

Once everyone was settled into the booth at the corner of the busy restaurant and conversation had resumed semi-normally aside from some uncomfortable glances now and then, the group quickly began to bond, starting with introductions. Slowly, Valerie began to relax around the group, laughing at their various stories and telling ones of her own.

Danny couldn't help but notice that the happiness plastered to her face never quite stuck.

Valerie Gray had never been a particularly cheerful person. Even among the A-listers, her smiles had been more contrived than not. When her mother died while they were in middle school after a long battle with cancer, she'd thrown herself into everything she did with fervor. She'd constantly been in and out of school for martial arts tournaments, and when she'd quit martial arts and turned to ghost-fighting, she'd only become more serious.

He hadn't been the only one affected by his family's death. The town had somehow seemed less alive without their bright jumpsuits and the alarming sound of their RV roaming the streets during patrols. And, because they'd been the only ghost-hunters aside from Valerie herself and Danny Phantom, her burden only increased when they'd died and he'd disappeared.

Every so often, her eyes would catch his and she'd look at him as though he'd disappear if she ignored him for too long. When she'd taken her helmet off, so many different expressions had crossed her face: shock, sadness, a glimpse of elation, and a spark of guilt. Did she have something to hide?

Danny let his thoughts wander awhile as he mulled over the idea. Their history was… incredibly complex. Between past romance and her own personal vendetta against his ghost half, it was hard to for him to reconcile the two sides of her as the same person. In high school, he had to separate them the same way that he had to separate his parents from their identities as ghost hunters from their identities as parents.

He wouldn't have been able to trust them otherwise.

"We need information on ghosts, specifically dark spirits." Robin stated. At this, Danny blinked, tuning back into the conversation. Had he missed anything important?

Valerie sobered, furrowing her brows and leaning closer as she braced her arm against the table's cheap linoleum surface, "What do you need to know?"

Danny couldn't resist, "These spirits are being controlled by something or someone. They're being used to kidnap very powerful and knowledgeable metas." He winced internally when she looked at him appraisingly.

"The only person I can think of who was able to control ghosts was Freakshow, and he had that crystal ball staff." Valerie replied, eyes narrowed.

Danny barely suppressed a shiver, fingers twitching slightly from underneath the countertop. He could still remember that desperate feeling as he clawed himself out from under the man's control, holding onto Sam's voice like a lifeline.

Years later, the sound of clicking tongues still made him tense.

"So someone got their hands on a very powerful artifact." Cyborg chewed on his burger thoughtfully.

"It's a possibility. Dark spirits usually don't follow orders unless forced to." Raven added, voice low. Everyone stared at her in surprise; it wasn't often that she spoke to people she didn't know.

"But how did Freakshow use his staff to control the ghosts?" Robin was in leader mode; his own food lay abandoned atop its wrapper.

"Hypnosis." Valerie replied.

"Is there any way that we can get more information about ghosts in general?"

"There's a lot of scientific research back at Fenton Works. We can go there as soon as we're all done here if you want."

Danny stiffened, "Fenton Works was destroyed." The temperature dropped a few degrees.

Valerie shook her head tentatively, looking almost apologetic, "Vlad had it rebuilt, and then gave the rights to the building over to my dad. We continue research there. I thought Vlad told you."

Danny's brow furrowed. No, Vlad hadn't. But that wasn't the problem. The fact that Vlad felt that he had the right to make the decision to rebuild the building in the first place without even informing him was the issue here.

If anyone had asked him, he would've told them to leave it be. It wasn't worth anything, not anymore.

He forced himself to take a deep, calming breath, unclenching his fingers. The room was warmer now, and the entire group seemed to have relaxed somewhat. Much better.

The conversation was directed elsewhere. Danny tuned it out.

A few minutes later, something caught his eye— a flash of silver and green. Standing on the sidewalk was a child. He was around the age of four, walking next to his mother with his hand in hers. He held a small plush tightly in his other hand. Danny blinked when he recognized what it was.

Valerie had apparently been watching him, following his gaze to the plush in the child's hand. He was now hugging it closer to his chest. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "I can't believe kids still look up to him."

Danny ignored her. A strange, foreign feeling had begun to spread throughout his body. Was it nostalgia? Rage? Or something else entirely?

"Who?" Robin asked cautiously.

"Phantom." She practically spat, as if even saying the name put an awful, bitter taste in her mouth.

That was enough. "You only hate him because you're still holding a grudge over something that was out of his control."

Valerie turned to him with fire in her eyes, "Are you seriously going to defend him?" He met her gaze steadily, swallowing the regret he felt for bringing it up to begin with.

"Why not? He didn't do anything wrong." He couldn't stop the bitterness in his tone, like poison on his tongue.

Valerie's expression turned into one of disgust.

"He killed your family, Danny! Or did you forget that like you forgot everything else?!"

Valerie shut her mouth quickly as she realized her mistake. The Titans may have suspected what happened to his family, but now they knew. Starfire gasped. Cyborg dropped his burger, and Beast Boy's eyes opened in shock. Robin frowned, turning to Danny.

It was though he'd had a bucket of ice dumped on him - his limbs were numb and heavy, and time seemed to stop. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Is that why his statue was vandalized?" he asked, voice deceptively calm as he shot up from his seat. He now towered over her by a good eight inches, but she didn't flinch. In his peripheral vision, the Titans looked at each other in alarm.

"He was spotted not far from the scene when the bomb went off. That can't be a coincidence."

"You don't know anything about what happened, Valerie. You weren't there. You don't get to just assume that he was a murderer!" He practically shouted. Silence fell in the restaurant.

"I don't understand why you're arguing with me over this." Valerie told him softly, her eyes pitying. The sincerity in her voice didn't deter his growing frustration.

"He didn't kill them."

"Tell me anyone else that would have."

It'd been a long time since he'd felt the urge to turn invisible.

Danny clenched his jaw. He could name any number of ghosts that would have fought over that opportunity, but he couldn't tell her that. As far as she knew, he'd never hunted a ghost in his life.

"I know he didn't." he choked out, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Phantom is a malevolent ghost, and your parents were ghost hunters. It makes sense." Danny's anger flared at the matter-of-fact way that she said it. As though she had authority over him. As though she'd done anything but be a thorn in his—Phantom'sside for years. As though there weren't still scars on his body caused by her quest for revenge.

"Malevolent? He saved the world!" The icy feeling was growing. He could taste the emotions in the air, could sense everyone's auras interacting and intermingling. They only made his stronger.

"That doesn't excuse murder."

He couldn't do this. He grabbed his wallet from off of the table. She was in front of him faster than he could process. The hand on his shoulder burned.

"It's okay to be upset, Danny. You have the right to, they were your family."

She'd never understand. She'd always have this bias, this hatred. It'd never end.

He tore his shoulder away, careful to not cause her injury with his enhanced strength, and made a beeline for the door, ignoring the shouts of dismay behind him.

A/N: Hi y'all! It's your co-author Lux. I just wanted to apologize for how late this update is coming. I've been really busy and stressed out the last few weeks. Sephora7 had this chapter ready weeks ago, but I've been pretty unavailable! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this. Please tell us your thoughts!