Fires consumed his body. Everywhere he looked was fire. Or maybe there never was a fire. It felt so hot. His body was burning. Suddenly the heat was moving. Tiny bodies wriggled in masses across him. Rats. He was covered in rats. Their large furry bodies were wriggling and moving together as one. The heat was unbearable. He could feel them start to dig into his chest. Their small bodies scratched at his chest, prying at it desperate to reach his insides. One of the rats crawled away from the rest. It slunk its way past the others towards his shoulder. He could feel its hot breath on his cheek and then his ear as it moved its large muzzle. It then whispered to him. Its voice was beautiful and ugly. Rough and gentle.

"You may have forgotten death, but she has not forgotten you. Drain thee of your woes as the end times approach. Death never held you nor has she let go. As long as your body is stuck between worlds, she cannot claim you. She will try though, my child, do not forget that. As much as you are alive you are dead. When the time comes you will give in, but until then we will feast. We are one and you are yet to be as us. Wake up now, my child, but remember our words. Sacrifice is not in vain. Death will reward you."

Danny awoke with a gasp. His head pounded and suddenly was relieved. He was still drowsy from his nap and need a minute to take in his surroundings. He soon realized he was still in the Ghost Zone and looked at his surroundings. Surprisingly he was still within walking distance to the portal.

Arriving back into his lab Danny quickly shut the portal. He wanted to know how long he was gone and began to head over to his computer when he heard voices. The fact that he heard voices didn't surprise him as the Titans were not the quietest speakers. He could easily hear Cyborg or Beast boy talking about the latest video game or argue about their meals on most days. But these were not the Titan's voices.

Upon realizing this Danny decided to investigate. He saw no reason that an intruder would be in the tower as it was easily one of the most secure buildings in the city, well, at least that's what Cyborg told him. With this thought in mind, he changed into his human form and made his way to the living quarters. Maybe Robin had brought some guests. He did have connections with other supers.

When he arrived, he was met with an odd sight. Three individuals who did not belong. Through their conversations, he deduced their names and watched them gorge on his teammate's belongings. Mammoth was eating their blue furry food. Eating each bite as if it was a delicious morsel. Gizmo was going through their music library. Deciding every disc was trash and quickly discarding it over his shoulder. Jinx was wearing Robin's Belt and Raven's cape. She commented on Raven's lack of variety in fashion and admired herself in a small mirror.

It took a moment before they noticed him. But when they did it was the giant who spoke first. "Who's the geek? I thought the Titans were the only ones in this place." Jinx responded "There was a sixth titan in the briefing. Maybe that's him?" Gizmo snorted "Yeah right. This dork doesn't look anything like those crudmunchers. He must be their intern or something"

As they spoke Danny found them more interesting. They must have beaten or tricked the other titans somehow. By the sounds of it, they were organized and briefed. He wondered what information they could have on him but seeing as they didn't even know his name. It must not be much.

As he thought this Mammoth approached him seemingly bored with the whole conversation. "Well, whoever he is. He's about to be thrown out the window." With this said he reached out to grab Danny and was surprised when Danny responded by holding his arm in place. "What the heck?" and with that Mammoth was thrown across the room.

Jinx and Gizmo looked where Mammoth had been thrown. Then to each other and finally back at Danny. This scrawny guy in a lab coat had just thrown the biggest guy they knew like he was a throw pillow. Before they could react, the alarms of the towers went off. Cyborg's arm leaped from a nearby chair and onto gizmo wrapping him in wire before launching him into the vents. A shadowy hand appeared from the ceiling and grabbed Jinx. Mammoth was just getting his bearings before being blasted into the hallways by a green blast.

Danny watched this all happen right in front of him and was confused about what to do next before hearing explosions above him. Concluding they were on the roof and he was still waking up from his nap he decided to take the elevator.

Upon arriving he found that the titans had just about beaten the intruders. The titans were huddled together around the three and were seeming to question them about someone names Slade. As Danny walked closer everyone immediately turned their attention to him.

"And where were you at this whole time!" Cyborg yelled, "We haven't seen you in over a week!"

This caught Danny off guard. He thought he'd been sleeping for a few hours, not days. Realizing this he immediately felt embarrassed, blushed, and rubbed the back of his head.

"I was asleep" he smiled

Jinx was amazed by this guy. He avoids them for days, shows up out of nowhere, throws Mammoth like nothing, and then says he spent the whole time sleeping. There was something off about him though. He gave her that same creepy feeling that the glowing wall had, but not as intense. She could tell that he wasn't telling his team everything. Not lying but leaving out something important. The team seemed used to his behavior though and left the subject as soon as he dismissed it.

While waiting for the authorities she got to observe the titans more closely. More importantly, she got to observe Danny.

He was different than the rest of the titans. He wasn't as proud and seemed to try to make himself as invisible as possible. While Raven was quiet Danny was nonexistent. He avoided the public and was rarely seen in the news. That much she knew from their intel. But when she got to see him in person he was just as elusive.

At one point between interrogation and transport, she got to speak to Raven. She asked her about Danny and wasn't expecting an answer. Much less the answer she got.

"You probably know more than us. Danny doesn't like talking about himself. Don't be fooled though he's powerful. Probably stronger than all of us"

With this information, Jinx's curiosity skyrocketed.

"Tell me about yourself"

Danny was surprised by the question. He was giving Jinx her food when she jumped the question on him. The Transport told the tower there would be a delay, so they were stuck with the three criminals in their holding cells. Danny was asked to deliver them each their food before bed and felt no need to argue. But he was not expecting to be asked anything personal by any of the prisoners.

"Why?" This was all Danny could think to respond with. She had no reason to be asking something like that unless she planned to use it against him.

"I'm curious about you. We were given intel and newspaper articles on all of you. We were briefed on your abilities, your weaknesses, and your attack strategies. But out of everyone, you were the one they had no information on." Jinx seemed to think for a moment before continuing "Come to think of it. You never even properly fought us. Yet nobody seems surprised by this except me"

Danny looked at the girl before him. She seemed genuinely curious. As much as he wanted her to be playing some ploy, she didn't seem to have any cruel intention. Just pure honesty.

Danny sighed "I don't see it necessary to always help the titans. They do well without me. Plus, I have projects here I like to focus on. Why should I waste time on some burglars when I can stay here and make progress?"

"But aren't you a hero? Sworn to protect the city and all that?"

Danny smiled "I'm no hero. People died because of me"

Without another food, he handed her food through the cell door and left. His last words furthered Jinx's curiosity. She didn't know if he had actually answered her or if she had gotten any answer at all.

That night Danny was restless. He tossed and turned feeling his room get hotter. Soon all he felt was the sweat drenching his body and lightheadedness that made him feel as though he were falling.

And then he was falling. Endlessly into a dark abyss that swallowed him up in an instant. He tried to get an idea of up and down but quickly found this impossible. He felt a soft surface on his back and noted that he was no longer falling but laying in a grassy meadow. He noticed a young girl sitting a few feet away from him.

He couldn't make out her features and when she spoke her voiced sounded reversed, yet she spoke clearly.

"Don't forget what you left. The present is only the making of the past. The suffering must be felt in the present or else the past becomes forgotten. Do you remember me?"

As she spoke, she crawled closer to him. Her form changed from that of a little girl to a figure made of maggots. The thing hovered just above his head before digging what would-be thumbs into his eyes.

He awoke, startled, sitting up quickly. The nightmare was beginning to fade as he made his way out of bed. By the time he had dressed the dream was forgotten completely and he made his way to the living room.

Through the window, Danny saw that the sun was just beginning to rise.