Vlad had been unusually distant lately. He kept more to himself than Danny cared for him to do so and their visits/training sessions were becoming more and more infrequent. The older ghost had chalked this up to being busy with the League and his own company, but Danny suspected that there might have something else preoccupying his mentor's time. Not that he had asked about it. Besides, he never really got that chance to anyway.

In the meantime, Vlad had more or less put him on lock down, going as far to restrict the places he was allowed to go to. Until further notice, he was not allowed outside the Cave, the Watch Tower, or the Wisconsin Mansion. It wasn't like he ever ventured out too far from any of these places anyhow, but still. It was a drastic move that called a cause for concern. Danny hadn't asked his mentor to elaborate any further on this either, since the man was being quite uncooperative lately.

Besides, he didn't mind. He didn't.

Of course, it still sucked having to politely decline the Team's invitation to go out for a movie that night. Having come up with some excuse that he was sick, he assured the others that it was OK for them to go on without him.

"I'm fine you guys, seriously. It's just a headcold."

"Can ghosts even get sick?" Wally piped up. He was wearing a jacket that was about two sizes too big for the speedster which seemed to swallow him whole. It served its purpose though as Danny could hear the crinkling sound of plastic wrapped snacks hidden within the many folds. There was no way in Hell he was about to pay five dollars for just one box of candy.

"Umm... yes?" Danny replied with a shrug. M'gann bit her lip as she was still feeling a bit conflicted about leaving him behind. Sensing this, Danny flashed her a reassuring smile and reaffirmed once again that seriously, it was fine.

"Just save me some popcorn, all right?" he said in a tone that signaled the end of the conversation.

"If you say so," she finally gave up and followed the others out to the exit, leaving Danny behind in the large TV room by himself. It wasn't until he heard the computer announce their dismissal that he finally let out a sigh.

He didn't like having to lie to them, but he wasn't about to admit the real reason either. The others wouldn't understand why he would comply with such a request of him. It was demeaning and a bit controlling, but honestly Danny didn't understand why he was going along with it either. He just knew that going against Vlad's wishes was not something he had much intention of doing.

Not without good reason, anyway. And catching the new Wicked Scary in 3D just wasn't worth it. Surprisingly enough; however, - or perhaps not, you know how these things go - a good enough reason did present itself just moments after Danny had settled himself down on the couch, about to watch some drama about a cynical, handicapped doctor.

"Speedy, recognized," the computer's distinctly female voice read off, and Danny could hear someone mutter a light curse.

"That's not my name," he growled to no one in particular until his gaze landed on the newest member.

Danny remembered him from the first night here, the one who had sort of vouched for him. His mind supplied the name "Red Arrow" to go along with that face, and he wondered why the computer had called him "Speedy". They stared at each other for a moment, acknowledging the other's presence and Danny couldn't help but register an air of hostility coming from him. Red Arrow was no doubt coming up with maneuvers and tricks he could do in the unlikely chance that the ghost would try anything.

It wasn't like he had any lingering bordering on paranoia doubts about the boy. No, that was Batman's job. This was simply a sort of game that he played with everyone, whether or not they were aware of it.

He could always go for a direct frontal attack, but that would give the boy plenty of time to use that intangibility trick he's heard about while his hand is still positioning the arrow in his bow. No, he'd have to get to him before Danny was even aware he was being attacked.

One good blow to the head to knock him unconscious would work. Distract him with a couple cryogenic arrows and then just-

"It's Red Arrow, right?" the boy interrupted before he had a chance to finish that thought.

"Yeah. Phantom?"

"Just Danny."

Roy nodded mutely, debating on whether or not to give up his own name. In the end, he had gone against it. Danny didn't really seem to care, nor did he even really need to know. Besides, it seemed that some people -computer- were still having trouble adjusting to the new moniker. No need to add to the confusion.

"Where are the others? None of them are answering their communicators," he said casually whilst breaking eye contact.

Well of course they wouldn't be answering. After all, it's rude to talk or text during the movie. All electronic devices must be turned off.

"Out," Danny replied simply, then added, "but if you need to talk to them, they're still close by."

Roy's lips formed a tight frown as he processed this information. His reason for coming here was not too urgent, there was no need for him to drag the others from their excursions. Besides, their absence gave him the opportunity to personally evaluate this Phantom himself.

There wasn't much about him on the League's database, and any information that was of actual value was buried too deep for him to go snooping around without getting caught. While he wasn't suspicious about Phantom, he was still curious about him.

"No, it's fine. It's not that important... Actually," the archer said the last part with a bit of excitement as if a brilliant idea had struck him, "I need you for this. This seems like a situation right up your alley."

"Well, sure. I'd be glad to," there was uncertainty evident among his words, but Roy ignored this as it was justifiable. After all, he didn't plan on coming here with the intentions of bringing the new kid along with him. It was a win-win situation though. True to his words, the archer did believe that the ghost would be of specific use to him for this. Plus he would get to see him in action as a bonus.

"Good. Then unless you need anything, we should go now," Roy announced, already making his way towards the Zeta-Tubes. Danny had stood up to follow, but then halted in his steps.

"Go? Go where?"

"Gotham. Is that a problem?"

Indeed it was. Vlad wouldn't be too thrilled if he found out that he had breached the boundaries set up for him. Then again, it wasn't exactly like he was going out for fun. This was totally professional, a fellow crimefighter had asked him for help. It would be rude of him to turn down the plea. Vlad would understand. Wouldn't he?

"No, it isn't. Let's uhh, let's go," Danny said and began leading the way, trying to coolly play off his previous hesitation. Unfortunately, that would have gone a lot better if he hadn't been heading the wrong way.

"The Zeta-Tubes are this way," Roy pointed out, a bit bemused at the mistake. Danny had stopped abruptly and turned around only after a few seconds of a "Did I seriously just do that?" moment. Holding his hand to the back of his head in what was obviously an ashamed manner, he smiled embarrassedly.

"I knew that?" he chuckled offhanded-ly before clearing his throat and began walking the opposite way. Roy watched, inwardly scoffing. He hoped that Danny made up for his occasional cluelessness with his skills in battle.

Roy could never get used to the sensation of going through a portal. The feel of his body and essence being pulled from one place to another was not something he could easily shake off, despite the numerous times he had gone through them.

Danny, on the other hand, barely even noticed or acknowledged the uncomfortable feeling. He seemed rather accustomed to it, actually.

The portal lead to a back-alley phone box, far from their destination. Roy took to the rooftops while Danny had taken his ghost form and was flying closely behind him.

"I thought Gotham was Batman's territory," Danny remarked, raising his voice a bit beyond his comfort level in order to be heard. Red Arrow glanced over to where the boy was flying, curious over the fact of how his legs had morphed into a single tail-like appendage. Most likely a more preferable form for high-speed travel.

"It is. This thing isn't about territory though, it's a bit more personal than anything," he answered nonchalantly, using an arrow with a rope attached to the end of it that he had fired at a higher building to use as a leverage point to swing to a lower one. Danny hadn't asked for any elaboration, which is fine because Roy probably wouldn't have given up any.

So far, this was one thing that he liked about the boy. He knew when to not push it.

After a minute or two more of silently traveling, Roy deftly jumped off the last building which was close enough to the ground that he could make it without the risk of spraining an ankle. Danny floated down beside him and the archer pointed to a road that wound away from the main city.

"That's where we're going."

"Gotham Memorial Cemetery?" Danny questioned, reading a rusty plaque at the beginning of the path which declared the area. Red Arrow had already started walking towards it when he had asked.

"That's right. There's something going on there. It's probably nothing, but I figured it was at least worth looking into."

Danny began walking alongside him, matching every one of Red Arrow's steps with two of his own.

"Shouldn't the police be doing that?"

"The entire department has been preoccupied lately. What with Joker's escape from Arkham and all."

If Roy had noticed how Danny had visibly stiffened at the mention of Arkham, he did not say so. The rest of the half-mile walk had gone much like their arrival at the path, in silence. Which was of no bother to either of them considering they had nothing to say to each other.

When the cemetery finally came into view, Danny did not see any immediate disruptions. It just seemed like any other cemetery, complete with tombstones, angel statues, crucifixes, and dying flowers. It wasn't until they had neared it that Danny noticed why Red Arrow thought that something was going on.

The dirt of every grave was freshly packed, as if the inhabitants had just been recently buried the day before. Which was impossible considering that some tombstones had years dating back all they way to the early 1900's. Or perhaps it was just the 1960's. Danny couldn't tell since time had long ago eroded much of the legibility of the stoneprinted words.

Either way, under that six feet of dirt they would only find skeletal remains. Not fleshy bodies still fresh due to the embalming process. Meaning that the dirt should have been deep-set by now. Not freshly turned.

"You see? This wasn't done by any natural means or anything. Someone had to have done this," Red Arrow grit out. It was stupid getting angry over something so trivial. No harm was done, and most likely this was probably just some dumb prank.

Having grown up in a Navajo tribe though, Roy was raised to have nothing but respect for the dead. And digging up their graves was extremely disrespectful.

And while Danny agreed that this was somewhat troubling, he did not see how this situations was "right up his alley".

Just because it involved the dead, did not necessarily mean a ghost would be of any use. Danny was about to mention this, when he had noticed something that just may have changed the authenticity of his previous statement.

It was subtle, but it was there. And there. And there. It was everywhere, and the longer he stayed in that cemetery, the harder it was getting to stand it.

Danny could barely detect some residual ghost energy. He sensed it much of the same way he could always Vlad if he was nearby. Something in the genetic makeup of specters stood out to him, sending a chill up his back and out his mouth.

"We should... probably not be here," Danny finally said, a bit shaky.

"Why?"

"Because. A ghost did this, and I don't think this was harmless fun."

AN: I'm pretty sure I must have made up like three different words while writing this. Also, another Teen Titans reference. Think you could find it?