A/N: Dedicated to PhoenixPhantom4106

Keep living, keep healing, keep helping.

Self Reliance

It was a rare event for Danny to show his human half to his teammates much less other people. It wasn't that he was ashamed really, it was just that being human made him feel so…vulnerable. There was also the fact that it was just easier as Phantom, he had better control over his powers and he was always prepared if he was ever needed to fight. It was just harder to be a Teen Titan as Fenton, so naturally he was more comfortable as Phantom, more confident and at ease.

Unfortunately the team had another run-in with Control Freak, and somehow Danny once again took the brunt of the attack. His new upgraded 'better than ever' remote managed to short out his powers so that left him human for the remainder of the week. It was a strange and foreign concept to be human for such a long time and it was definitely taking him awhile to get used to. Not to mention he was way clumsier as a human.

He walked into the kitchen and went to grab his cup from the shelf shoving down the urge to float. He grabbed the cup and turned on the sink trying to ignore the weird feeling of having warm flesh and no gloves. Starfire watched in curiosity and although Danny was aware he made no move to stop her, it was just as weird for his teammates to see him in his human form. He shuffled his feet and yelped when he stubbed his toe against one of the chairs. Starfire immediately reacted,

"Please friend, what is it that has hurt you?" She asked concern clearly covering her features. Danny sighed as he set his cup down on the table and moved to sit down,

"I'm fine Star, I was just surprised when I stubbed my toe. I don't feel as much pain when I'm in ghost form."

He watched as she merely nodded trying to understand his explanation. Robin snorted as he walked into the kitchen,

"Can't handle being a human Fenton?" He smirked as Danny scowled, not happy with the use of his last name.

"Not when your memories as a human are tolerable at best, Grayson." He retorted and Robin grinned knowing just how irritated the young halfa was. He decided to let the use of his own last name go and chose to observe Danny instead. It was clear he was uncomfortable as a human.

"Better to be a human than to be half demon." Raven called out nonchalantly walking into the room. She walked to the stove to put on a pot of tea.

"I beg to differ." Danny grumbled taking a sip of his water. Raven smirked in response,

"It's your own fault, you didn't have to jump in front of me to take the hit from Control Freak."

The mention of Control Freak made Danny scowl as he realized his predicament again,

"Next time he's all yours." Was the reply and Raven stifled her laughter. The three all watched as Danny got up and walked out of the kitchen barely managing not to stub another toe on the chair Robin now occupied.

"Stupid human half, can't fly, can't turn invisible, or intangible. I'm completely useless!" He whined as he walked down the corridor towards the bathroom. Opening the door he immediately turned on the light to see his own reflection in the mirror. Danny tore his eyes away at the sight of his human form and scowled. In this form he felt so weak and exposed.

"It's not so bad being human you know." Robin called out in faint amusement from behind him and Danny jumped in surprise. That was another thing, his senses weren't as sensitive as they usually were in his ghost form. Danny's scowl deepened and he crossed his arms in disapproval.

"Yeah it's not so bad when you're a natural born martial arts prodigy that doesn't need powers to fight bad guys. My human form on the other hand has to constantly avoid bullies and untied shoe laces."

Robin's soft laughter caused Danny's scowl to upturn into a boyish grin. Soon his laughter matched Robin's.

"Untied shoe laces? Really?" Robin teased the halfa and Danny's grin turned wry.

"You won't believe how many face plants have resulted from these converses." Robin continued to chuckle for a few moments before sobering slightly,

"I mean it though, being a human has its advantages."

"Oh yeah like what?" Danny asked disbelievingly. Robin simply smiled,

"We feel. Our emotions can build us up and make us stronger or break us down, it depends on how you react to them. The hope that I feel as a human makes me a stronger leader and a stronger fighter. You have the option to view your situation as an annoyance or you can use it to your advantage. It's our job as heroes to keep hoping, if not for us then for the people that we protect."

Robin left to walk into the common room leaving Danny in his own thoughts. Sure as a human made him more exposed but his ability to feel compassion allows him to fight as a hero. Feeling slightly better about being human he grinned as he made his way into the common room. He may feel vulnerable but he could rely on his teammates to help him until he got his powers back. Suddenly he was thankful for the reminder that he was part human and that it made him who he was as Phantom.

He made one step into the common room when he step on his laces and face planted on the floor. He lay there for a few seconds as he listened to his teammates laugh.

"Your shoe laces are untied." Raven bluntly pointed out stifling her small chuckles. The rest of the group laughed even harder.

"Gee thanks Raven, although it would have been nice if you had told me before I fell on my face from tripping over them." He replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he got up and decided that his shoes were better left off of his feet. He tossed them in the corner and got up to walk through the rest of the hallway. He didn't look as he ran straight into the wall and fell back down. The team continued to laugh,

"You're human, you can't go intangible." Raven added and smirked when Danny gave her a glare, too disoriented from the wall to give an intelligent reply.

"Wow Danny I didn't know being a human could be so dangerous." Beast Boy teased and narrowly avoided the ball Danny somehow managed to grab and throw at him while flipping him off at the same time.

His eyes then lit up as Beast Boy grabbed the ball and threw it out the opened four story high window. It was one of their favorite things to do, try and catch the ball in time before it hit the ground. Without a second thought Danny jumped out realizing his mistake too late. The team shouted in surprise and Robin sighed making his way out, grappling hook in tow to catch him before he fell.

"You can't fly either!" Raven shouted and the team laughed fully knowing that Danny wasn't in any danger and that Robin would catch him before he fell.

It took two more days of running into walls, tripping over everything, and falling into the ground before Danny was able to adapt to being human. It took the team another day to finally child proof the house so that Danny wouldn't accidentally hurt himself. They found out very quickly how clumsy he was after he took the entire team down in the common room. Needless to say the rest of the week continued to be very eventful, but no one minded because Danny was learning how to be human again. And if he learned anything that week it was that it was okay to be human, to have feelings, and it was okay to depend on his teammates. They were more than happy to help him in any way they could.