AN: Oh boy. Not gonna lie, I'm a little intimidated by how well that went. Super stoked, but still intimidated. I hope the story lives up to everyone's expectations.

Keep telling me what you think about the whole parent thing. I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do now, but I like to hear your thoughts and ideas on the subject. It's nice to see that other people put as much thought into these types of things as I do.

Anyway, here. This chapter is a little dialougy, but you know what? People are chatty. They talk. That is how they exchange information! So…

I don't know. I'm nervous about this story and I want it to go well. XO Everyone who reviewed, thanks so much. It is really what gives me the confidence to keep going.

Disclaimer: The most expensive thing I own is my cello. So, not two widely popular TV shows.

Aqualad waited in the hallway. He appeared as collected as always on the outside, but inwardly he was disturbed.

He had not gotten a good view of their mysterious meta, but what he had seen had been enough. The entire team was thrown off balance by the realization of what had happened to the boy. When he left them, Megan and Artemis had been huddled together, looking pale. Wally had grabbed a large plate of nachos, but for the first time since Kadur had met him, he wasn't eating. Connor had disappeared as soon as the bioship landed, presumably to blow off some steam.

Kaldur sighed. He knew that he should be with the rest of the team, helping them come to terms with what they had found, but instead he was loitering in the hallway outside of the infirmary. To be honest, he wasn't sure he would be much help in this case. He was barely able to hold himself together without trying to balance the needs of five teenage superheroes.

Kaldur had heard stories of such things happening before. Relations between Atlantis and the surface world were good now, but they hadn't always been. When he was a child, stories were whispered late at night, stories of Atlanteans trapped on the surface who were subjected to terrible tortures and experiments. Nothing of the kind had happened in years, but Kaldur would be lying if he didn't admit that the stories had scared him when he was young.

Only it wasn't a story now. It had actually happened, to the boy laying behind the doors to the infirmary. Kaldur felt a pang of sorrow go through him. This wasn't supposed to happen. The world was supposed to be better than this.

A sudden memory of Connor, trapped underground in a stasis tube, assaulted him. Of course the world wasn't better. He knew that. It was the reason he was hero, so that no one would have to go through what that boy had.

Kaldur shook off his sadness and replaced it with determination. They may have been too late for the boy in the infirmary, but that wouldn't stop them. They would find the men who done this, and they would make sure that no one else ever suffered at their hands.

Kaldur was pulled back to the present when the door to the infirmary opened. Robin exited, looking tired. He didn't seem surprised to see Kaldur standing there.

"How is he?" Kaldur asked the Boy Wonder.

Robin sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"He'll be alright, we think. Red Tornado is staying with him, to make sure nothing happens. The main problem is that we aren't sure what his 'normal' is. His heart rate and body temperature are both dangerously low, but he isn't reacting the way he should to them. We can only hope that his baseline is just different from a normal human's."

Kaldur tilted his head, considering. "So, he isn't fully human?"

Robin chuckled.

"Like that was ever in question." he said with a smirk. Robin began walking back toward the main hanger, and Kaldur fell into step alongside him.

"Yeah, he's definitely a meta." Robin continued. "We took a blood sample and he's got something in it that we don't recognize. I ran it through the League database, and got nothing. So whatever he is, it's nothing we've ever seen before."

Kaldur nodded, frowning. That was worrisome for multiple reasons. First of all, it would be very hard to help the boy without knowing more about him. They may end up doing more harm than good. Then there was also a safety issue. Kaldur didn't really believe the boy would attack them, but having an unknown person with uncertain abilities hanging around was always dangerous, especially when the person in question was injured.

"I spoke with Batman." Kaldur said.

Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Really? What did he say? He probably wasn't too happy we brought an unknown meta human into the Cave without permission."

Kaldur hesitated. "I'm… not entirely sure how he felt about the situation. He didn't seem any…"

Robin snorted. "Grimmer than usual?"

Kaldur grimaced. "I don't mean to offend, but he is impossible to read."

Robin laughed outright this time. "Yeah, I guess. Even I have a hard time with him at times. Answer me this: did he commend you on your quick thinking?"

"Yes, actually." Kaldur said cautiously. "Why?"

Robin merely snickered, increasing his speed. Kaldur stared after him, a little lost.

"Robin? Was that a good thing? Robin!"

Robin laughed quietly to himself as he left Kaldur behind. One of his favorite things to do was freak out various heros by implying he knew something they didn't, especially when it came to Batman. It was ridiculously easy to convince them. Sometimes Batman's reputation as the World's Greatest Detective came in handy.

Robin entered his room in the Cave, still chuckling. He had really needed a laugh.

The smile slid off his face as he remembered why. Patching up the kid had been… draining. There had been so many injuries. Robin had to assume that the kid had some kind of advanced healing, or he would be dead.

Robin shook his. No need to dwell on negatives. The boy was stable now. He would recover.

Robin stretched, finally taking note of his own body. The fight had been brutal, and he was definitely feeling it. He peeled off his uniform, grimacing at the burn on his right arm. He had forgotten about that.

Robin jumped into the shower, washing off the sweat and dirt of the fight. Once he was clean, he tended to the burn, putting some ointment on it and wrapping it up. He'd have Alfred take a closer look when he got home, but it was good enough for now.

He had just finished getting dressed in civies when his phone rang. Robin glanced at the caller ID before answering.

"Sup Bruce?"

The long sigh on the other end of the line was almost worth the trouble he'd get into for breaking protocol.

"Robin." Batman said, sounding more exasperated than angry. "We've talked about this."

"I know. Keep talking, we'll see how it goes. So, what can I do for you?"

Another long sigh was his reward for being difficult. Robin mentally patted himself on the back.

His self congratulation ended abruptly when Batman's voice came down the line again.

"That bad?"

Batman's voice was too soft. Robin grit his teeth, angry at how easily the Bat had read him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he spat, filled with sudden rage.

"Robin. I'm not the one you're mad at."

Robin took a deep breath. It was true. He was rattled by what he had seen, and his method of dealing with it was to be more annoying than usual. He needed to pull himself together. Acting out wasn't going to help anything, and it was a little more juvenile than he liked to admit.

"Sorry," he muttered. "It's just… this kid saved my life, Bruce. And when I saw him all cut up, I just…"

"I know."

Silence fell between the two. Robin knew Batman was giving him time to compose himself, and while he appreciated the gesture, he kind of wanted this conversation to be over.

"Seriously though, what do you need? You wouldn't have called just to talk about this."

Batman sighed again, but Robin wasn't happy about this one. He recognized that sigh.

"No." he said before Batman could speak.

"Robin, we don't know anything about him."

"I know that!" Robin yelled. "I'm not an idiot. But he saved my life! I'm not going to let you come down here and treat him like a common criminal! You'll freak him out! You freak everyone out! That's your thing!"

"My 'thing'" Batman said sardonically, "is justice. And no matter what, we need to know who this boy is and what happened to him."

Robin growled. "Fine! Then I'll talk to him. He's more likely to talk to someone his own age anyway."

There was a long pause, before Batman finally agreed.

"But be careful." he added. "He may lash out without thinking. Keep your guard up."

Robin rolled his eyes. One would think he was a complete novice the way Batman went on.

"Bye, Bruce." he snarked, before hanging up.

Robin strode out of his room, heading back to the infirmary. When he entered, Red Tornado was still there, looking over the boy's chart.

"I've got it. You should go check on the rest of the team." he said brusquely, still annoyed by his conversation with Batman.

He'd expected Red Tornado to object, or at least ask questions, but the android didn't. He merely set down the medical chart and left the room.

Robin collapsed into a chair as soon as Red Tornado was gone. He glanced at the boy's vitals, but they were the same as they were when he left. Robin sighed, before getting comfortable. He wasn't moving until the boy woke up.

When Danny was little, he woke slowly, blinking into awareness calmly and cheerfully. That had ended after the accident. Being attacked at all times of the day tended to create a light sleeper. All it took was a slight sound, soft touch, or of course, his ghostly sense, to send him from complete sleep to full wakefulness in the matter of seconds. Sleep became even more elusive in the lab. It was no longer a time to recharge and gain strength, it was a time of vulnerability. Sleep was no longer Danny's friend.

For that reason, when Danny awoke in a place that smelled distinctly of disinfectant, he panicked.

He jerked upright, desperate to get away. He vaguely noticed the strange lack of restraints, but he didn't dwell on the fact. All he cared about was getting away.

He leapt off the bed, only to crumple to the ground. He groaned, curling in on himself, agony spiking through him. It was so intense that all other sensation was whited out for a moment.

"-okay?"

The voice was the first thing to break through the pain. Danny cracked his eyes open to find a teenager crouched in front of him, close enough to help if needed, but far enough away to not appear threatening.

Danny squinted. He could have sworn he had seen the guy before. Wasn't that…

"Robin?" he croaked. The teen grinned.

"The one and only! How about we get you back on the bed, k? I'd hate for you to tear your stitches after I spent so much time putting them in."

Danny nodded vaguely, confused. He allowed himself to be pulled up and placed back on the bed. He didn't know where he was, but that wasn't anything new. At least no one was hurting him, so he would take it.

He watched warily as Robin settled himself back into his chair. It was surreal to see the Boy Wonder in normal clothes. Danny knew that Robin had a civilian identity, but seeing evidence of it was strange.

"Alright then! Introductions are in order. I'm Robin, as you already know. What should I call you?"

Danny tilted his head, brow furrowing. It wasn't lost on him that Robin had asked, what can I call you, and not what's your name. He had to admit, it was nice to have a choice. If he lied, he was sure Robin wouldn't call him on it. And he knew that Robin would know if he lied. He was the sidekick of the Batman. Danny could barely fool his parents. There was no way he was pulling one over on the Boy Wonder.

"Danny." he said finally, looking away.

Robin's grin got even brighter.

"Excellent! Now I can stop calling you 'kid' in my head."

"Excuse me?" Danny spluttered. "I'm pretty sure I'm old than you."

"Oh really?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "How old are you then?"

Danny opened his mouth to respond, only to stop abruptly.

"I- I'm not sure. What's the date?"

Robin's smile faded. "Second of April."

Danny let out a shuddery breath. "Sixteen. I'm sixteen."

Eight months. He couldn't believe it. He hadn't thought it had been that long.

Robin cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.

"I really hate to ask, but who did this to you?"

Danny closed his eyes, curling in on himself. He knew this was coming. How could it not? Evidence of his misuse was written all over his body. Of course the heros would want to bring the monsters who did it to justice. But in the end, there was nothing anyone could do for him.

"It doesn't matter." he whispered, hopeless.

Robin scowled. "Yes it does! I know you're scared, but we need to know. The people who hurt you are dangerous, and they need to be put away."

Danny smiled bitterly. "I agree that the men responsible deserve to rot in hell, but it still doesn't matter. Nothing they did to me was illegal."

Robin sat back, taken aback by Danny's words. "Is that what they told you? Because they were lying. There are laws protecting metahumans from experimentation."

Danny leaned back, settling into the bed.

"I know that, trust me I know. The problem is, I'm not classified as a metahuman."

Robin frowned, trying to understand what Danny was saying. "You're not classified as meta? Are you an alien? Cause there are laws protecting them too."

"No, not alien." Danny sighed. "No, according to the government, I'm not considered sentient."

Danny couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice, the rage at the unfairness of the situation.

Robin spluttered. "What? How is that possible? Someone would only have to spend like, a minute with you to know that you had feelings."

"Yeah, well no lawmaker has ever met one of my kind. They just take biased scientists' word for it." Danny muttered spitefully.

"You're kind?"

Danny froze. He hadn't meant to say that. What would Robin think when he found out what Danny was? People already hated ghosts, without throwing contradictions to the natural order into the mess. An abomination like him would never find acceptance.

Robin seemed to be able to telling what Danny was thinking, for he leaned forward, an earnest expression on his face.

"Hey, look at me." Robin waited until Danny met his gaze. He made sure to maintain eye contact as he spoke.

"I do not care what you are. I am friends with all kinds of people. Aliens, Atlanteans, metahumans, demons, magicians, androids, you name it. It doesn't matter. You're a good person Danny. You saved my life, putting your own at risk. That is all I need to know about you."

Danny swallowed. He desperately wanted to believe it. He wanted somewhere where he could fit in, where a freak like him could belong. Dare he hope that this could be the place?

Danny steeled himself before raising a hand. He charged it with energy, causing it to light up green.

Robin watched curiously, not saying anything. Danny clenched his free hand nervously.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked softly, not looking at Robin. Robin shook his head, still silent.

"It's ectoplasm." Danny paused, before taking the plunge. "It's what ghost's are made of."

Robin's eyes shot back to Danny's. Or at least, he thought they did. It was hard to tell with the sunglasses. Danny cringed, waiting for Robin to yell, to call him crazy, or a liar.

"I didn't know ghosts were real. Can't wait to tell Batman. He'll be so mad that I learned about a new species before he did."

Danny's mouth fell open. That was not the reaction he'd been expecting.

"You believe me?" he asked, completely shocked.

Robin snorted. "You did hear the list of people I just spouted off, right? If all of that exists, why not ghosts?"

"Oh." Danny said, nonplussed. He wasn't sure where to go from here. He wasn't used to people actually believing him when he said things.

Robin came to his rescue. "So tell me more about ghosts."

"Well," Danny started, "There's a lot I could tell you, but I guess I'll stick with the basics. Ghosts are from the Ghost Zone, a parallel dimension. Ectoplasm floats free form there, and that is what ghosts are made off. Ghosts are created in a variety of ways, but basically some strong emotion or belief from Earth becomes imprinted on a collection of ectoplasm, and a ghost forms."

Danny paused, before clarifying. "It's important to know that these aren't lost souls or anything like that. They are completely separate from the life force that spawned them. Ghosts are more of a different species than they are a continuation of humans. Honestly, the term ghost is a bit misleading, but we're kinda stuck with it at this point."

Robin nodded his understanding, and Danny continued.

"The problem is that since ghosts are born of strong emotion, they tend to… feel… strongly."

Danny winced at how lame that sounded. Robin smirked, before motioning for Danny to continue.

"Ah, right. Um, so ghosts have strong feelings about things. Which is bad when they feel strongly about, I don't know, taking over the world or something. Some ghosts are even more obsessive. They have one thing they care about, and they can't move past it. They often get violent when people get in the way of their obsession."

Danny huffed, frustration leaking into his tone. "But most ghosts aren't like that. A lot of ghosts are formed more naturally, or from really positive emotions. They just want to hang out in the Ghost Zone and live their lives. Hardly any of them have obsessions. In fact, I would bet that Batman is more obsessive than most ghosts."

Robin choked, trying to hold back his laughter. Danny gave him a wry look, making it obvious he hadn't succeeded.

Once Robin had himself back under control, he frowned.

"Wait, if most ghosts are peaceful, than why would there be laws classifying them as non- sentient. What you just described sounds pretty dang sentient to me."

Danny's face darkened. "Because peaceful ghosts don't leave the Ghost Zone. Only the most violent, obsessive ones do. And when people only ever see violent ghosts…"

"They assume they're all violent." Robin finished, his own face darkening.

Danny nodded tiredly. "As for the non sentient business, that has to do with current scientific consensus. Paranormal scientists believe that ghosts can't exist without an obsession, which is nonsense. They say that ghosts can't feel emotion, or pain, and that all they care about is death and destruction. None of which is true. Even the most evil of ghosts can feel pain."

Danny's face tightened. "The day they passed the anti-ecto act was the worst day of my life. Now, anyone can shoot down a ghost and do literally anything they want to them with absolutely no repercussions. Animals have more rights than we do."

Robin twitched, looking at Danny strangely. Danny looked back uneasily.

"What?"

"You said we," Robin said slowly. "So you consider yourself a ghost? But you aren't one. I mean, you clearly have ectoplasm in your system," here he gestured at the energy still filling Danny's hand, "but you aren't made of it. You have blood and bones, just like a regular human."

Danny hesitated, unwilling to make the final admission.

"Hey, none of that," Robin scolded gently. "It doesn't matter, remember?"

Danny looked into Robin's steady face, before finally saying the words.

"I'm a hybrid. Half ghost, half human."

"How?" Robin's voice was even, no discernable emotion.

Danny looked away. "It was an accident." he muttered.

Robin didn't push, choosing to move on instead.

"Well, if you're half human, than surely we could argue that you fall under the protection of the metahuman act. Especially if you started out human and than became half ghost. I mean, there is precedence."

Danny felt a strange warmth, one he hadn't felt in almost a year. Robin was trying to protect him. It had been a long time since he had anyone looking out for him.

"I appreciate the idea," he said sincerely, "but it won't work. The wording of the anti-ecto act is very specific. It says that anything that produces ectoplasm naturally is considered a ghost, and therefore non-sentient. And I well…"

Danny trailed off, looking at his glowing hand."

Robin frowned. "I can't believe that anyone could look at you and think that you couldn't feel emotions or pain."

"Oh, they know I can." Danny said absently.

"What?" Robin was once again thrown off by Danny's words.

"The men who had me? They knew. They just didn't care. I'm pretty sure that they pushed for that specific wording in the act so they could take me legally. Makes sense considering I was kidnapped the week after it passed."

Robin stared at Danny in undisguised horror, but Danny was too caught up in memories to notice.

"They justify it. They say that ghosts are a menace and that they need to be able to act without restraint to curb the threat, but honestly I think they're just sadists. I mean, you can't operate on a screaming teenager for months without remorse if you have any kind of conscience."

Danny finally noticed the look on Robin's face.

"Don't look at me like that." he said defensively. "It's not my fault people are crazy."

Robin swallowed, wiping all expression off his face.

"I promise you Danny, we are going to change the law. You will be safe."

Danny huffed in disbelief. Robin smirked.

"Oh ye of little faith. You are severely underestimating the political power of the Justice League. Not counting certain… avenues of action that Batman can take."

Danny raised an eyebrow at that, but decided not to ask. He pulled his blanket up more, deciding he was done with the conversation.

"You have fun with that." he mumbled. "I'm going to take a nap."

"You do that." Robin said cheerfully, standing up to leave. Danny rolled his eyes, snuggling deeper into his blanket. He had forgotten how good a bed felt.

Robin paused at the door to the room.

"Why did you tell me all this? After what you've been through, I would have thought you'd have a harder time trusting."

Danny was silent for a moment, trying to figure it out himself. Finally he spoke.

"I guess I have to believe that there are still good people in the world. I have to believe that, or what's the point? And if I can't trust a literal superhero, who can I trust?"

Robin looked at Danny, a serious look on his face.

"You can trust me Danny. I promise."

Danny didn't say anything. He turned away and closed his eyes. He waited until he heard the door to the room open and close.

Only after he was sure he was alone did he speak.

"I know."

AN: Yeehaw! Check it, another chapter! A long one too! I guess chapters for this story are just going to be longer. Hm.

Yeah, so all that crap about how ghosts work is my personal headcannon. I mean, there are some ghosts in the show that don't really seem to have an obsession. Also, the fact that Box Lunch is born implies that not all ghosts are created from dead humans so…

Okay, for real this time, I'm prolly not gonna update for a little while. I just had these first two chapters planned out pretty well in my head, but it gets a bit more vague from this point out. Still trying to decide the chronology of certain things, and how much to reveal when and all that jazz. So just be happy with this early chapter.

Bye bye for now! :)