Me: HA! I did it! *lifts up bloody arms* Check out all my bite marks!

Friend: Those tracking dragons sure did a number on you.

Me: I'm gonna have the coolest scars!

Friend: If you don't bleed to death first.

Me: Psh, I'll be fine. Oh, did someone have a question for me.

Friend: Yeah. They wanted to know if I was real.

Me:...

Friend: Well?

Me: I don't know! Reality and fantasy aren't different anymore! *sobs*

Friend: *halfhearted back pat*

Danny turned his eyes toward the man. He raised an unseen eyebrow, skeptical. "What part of 'my powers are virtually useless without sight' went over your head?"

"The way I understand it, your powers are extremely adaptable. With time and proper training, they will likely adapt and provide you with an alternative to sight, or even heal your eyes altogether."

Danny snorted, slightly bitter. "I doubt that."

"Humor me. Is it possible?"

"I... guess."

"Assuming that happens, you can easily get back to heroics. And even if it doesn't, we could always use extra help around here."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I want you to join the team."

-Line break-

Batman left the room, his cape flapping slightly. His face was blank, but his emotions were a hurricane. So that was Danny Phantom, one of the most underrated heroes in the world and an idol for almost every teen hero.

Batman had never met anyone so broken.

He hid it well, Batman had to give him that. But there were still cracks in that facade, and Batman saw them. The way he hesitated slightly at certain words, how his hands clenched and moved during their conversation. But what really gave it away was the voice. Although laced with sarcasm and inflections, there was a certain tone that Batman was familiar with, a certain deadness in the way you spoke that made everything you said sound hopeless. Batman couldn't imagine what they'd done to him to get this kind of result. He didn't have to. There were videos in the file.

-Line break-

Danny opened his eyes with some effort, slightly disoriented. It took him a moment to remember where he was, and his heart tightened.

When Batman had offered to take him in and train him, to become a hero again, Danny had wanted to say yes immediately. But a full year of paranoia and loneliness stopped him. His heart screamed that this was what he wanted, what he needed, but his head held him back. So, they had made an arrangement. Danny, after a few nights good rest and some proper meals, would meet this team Batman spoke of. Then, he would demand Danny's answer. That has been five days ago. Today was the day.

He sat up, the mass of blankets and sheets falling off as he did so. He paused, listening intently. It was very quiet, with only the occasional hum of a heater or creak of wood as the place settled. Frowning, he got out of bed once again. The air was much cooler than earlier, despite the almost constant heater hum. He guessed it was probably the middle of the night. He must have woken up the night before he was to meet them.

He took a step forward, stopping for a moment as his stomach clenched. No. He stubbornly told his brain. No more puking. He too several deep breaths, calming himself. After he was sure that he wouldn't throw up, Danny started forward, hands extended slightly in front of him. He eventually felt a wall, and he gratefully leaned against it. It was always nice to have a solid wall near you, even if you weren't blind.

He reached up and felt around his eyes, his fingers brushing the tightly wound bandage. He ran his fingers over it, sighing and glaring upward. "It to had to be me, huh?" He muttered. He sighed again, before standing up straight against the wall. He started to walk sideways against the wall, feeling around for a door of some kind. He felt a wave of relief that he found one, immensely grateful that he had picked the correct wall. He found the handle and turned it, pleasantly surprised that it wasn't locked. He was about to open it when he stopped, putting his ear to the door. Nothing. With a new sense of purpose, he pushed the door open.

A slight breeze blew in, carrying a slight chill. He lifted his face into it, letting it ruffle his hair slightly. How long has it been since he'd been able to do this, to just stand and think? Too long, that was for sure.

He stepped out, keeping one hand on the doorframe. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to wander around, but did he really need a reason? Not anymore he didn't. He let out a raspy breath and continued walking down the hall, fingertips brushing the wall ahead to guide him. The floor changed, the smooth hard surface turning to slightly plush carpet. Almost without thinking, he bent over and felt it with his fingers. Why had it been so long? Why had he gone through so much? His heart clenched, and he knelt down, feeling the carpet strands between his fingers.

The tears came all too easily for him. At first they were slow, burning his eyes as he tried to hold them in. He'd held them in so easily before, but now they spilled from his unseeing eyes in silvery streams. The bandages grew damp as he cried, but he didn't care. His sobs were silent, as they always were. He'd learned how to muffle them, how to hide the pain of loss in the dark of night. But you could only keep it inside so long before it spilled over. Before you broke down and realized that the cast around your heart had grown dark with sadness and grief. Realizing that everything you knew had been torn from you, and that no matter how much you tried to hide it, you still felt empty and cold.

Danny wasn't sure how long he cried. He wasn't sure how long he sat on the carpet, mourning the moments of life that he would never get back. He didn't know how long he wondered what people took for granted. Wondering how people could do so much and not even know it. But when he was done, he felt like his soul had been scraped out for all to see. Even though no one was there.

He got up slowly, feeling for the wall that had led him there. He felt it and gripped it like a lifeline, dragging himself back to reality. Out of the dark loneliness that he feared and dreaded. He felt completely drained. How had the feeling of carpet caused him to break down? Was he that out of touch with reality. He made his way back to the room, gently closing the door behind him. He flopped onto the bed, emotionally exhausted from his unplanned sobfest. He fell asleep after a few minutes, too tired to think about anything.

-Line break-

"Should we wake him up? It's almost noon."

"Batman said to let him wake up on his own."

"Well sure, but he looks kinda... dead."

"'Not moving' and 'Dead' aren't the same thing, Wally. Not everyone fights sharks in their sleep."

Danny heard these voices from afar, vaguely recognizing some of them. The group he'd escaped with? "Not...dead...yet..." He groaned, lifting up one arm for emphasis.

"Hey, he lives!" A boys voice happily exclaimed. "Welcome back, dude!"

Danny slowly say up, groaning as his back cracked several times. "Wow- I didn't move at all." He said, hoping to break the ice with an unfunny jibe at himself.

"Yeah. Wally here kept insisting you were dead."

Danny heard an annoyed huff. "Thanks for keeping my identity a secret, Artemis." A young man's voice grumbled.

"Oh please. You told M'gann literally two seconds after you met her."

"You weren't there, how would you know?"

Danny smirked. I ship it. He heard someone approach, but only just barely. The person walked like a cat, almost completely silent. He turned and cocked his head in their direction. "Who's the cat?" He asked quietly, forcing steadiness into his voice, despite nervousness invading his mind.

"Technically a bird." Came the response. "Names Robin." Danny stuck out his hand, missing the boys outstretched hand the first time but quickly correcting. The hand was smaller than he expected, but surprisingly strong, with thin, agile fingers. "Robin, huh? Batman's protege?"

There was a slight hint of pride in Robin's voice as he answered. "Yep. Heard of me?"

Danny smiled slightly. "Oh, definitely. You've been described as a 'human streetlight'." He chuckled, wincing at how weak it sounded. Danny could almost feel the boy's frown. "I'm Danny. But I guess Batman told you already?"

"We have been briefed on your circumstance and history, yes." Danny again turned his head. Man, his neck was getting a workout today. The voice was smooth and calm, but slightly stilted. Danny got the feeling that English was not this guys first language. "I am Aqualad."

Danny stuck his hand out again, managing to find his hand on the first try this time. This handshake was firm and strong, the kind of handshake that was to be expected from a leader. "Aqualad. Nice." He pulled back, feeling uncomfortable. "Um, how many of there are you?"

Aqualad responded, his voice not changing tone. "There's Robin, Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy. And myself, naturally."

"Okay..." Danny said, feeling nervous about his next words. "Who's who?" He rubbed his hands together, trying to keep his nerves steady. Why was he getting so riled up? They weren't going to attack him.

He heard a noticeable shift in the group, as if they all collectively looked at each other. Finally a young girls voice responded. "Well, I'm Miss Martian!" The voice was coming from slightly above his head, and Danny felt a tiny pang of jealousy as he realized that she was flying. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice-" Danny coughed slightly to clear his throat. "Nice to meet you to." Danny said, still caught up in her location. "Are you flying?"

The girl-Miss Martian, had to remember that- let out a nervous giggle. "Well, yeah. I kind of prefer flying over walking. I can come down if you want."

Danny smiled. "No, it's fine. Just... wondering."

There was a moment of awkward silence, then another girl broke the silence. "Well, I'm Artemis. Teams archer and-"

"And the most annoying nag in the group." The unnamed boy interrupted.

"And this would be Wally, the speedster with a mouth faster than his brain." Robin said, sounding amused.

"Hey! I'll have you know, my brain is much faster than my mouth!" The boy, now Kid Flash, retorted. "And it's faster than yours, I'll bet!"

"Anyway." Artemis said in a warning tone. "I'm Artemis, and the one who hasn't said anything is-"

"The ever-grumpy Superboy!"

"Wally, I swear, you interrupt me one more time and I will smack that arrogant little smirk clean off!"

Danny smiled slightly. He enjoyed playful banter, maybe a little too much. "Superboy, huh?"

"That's right." Despite himself, Danny's eyebrows shot up. The voice was deep and surly, reminding him a little of Dash. If Dash had been all the way through puberty and jacked up on steroids. "I'm not Superman's son."

"Good to know." Danny said, slightly on edge. This was a lot of new people...

"So-" It was Kid Flash again. The kid seemed to have quite the mouth, as Robin had said. "You joining the team, or what?"

Danny heard the distinct sound of a slap. "OW! Artemis, what the heck!?"

"Can it, Kid. We're trying NOT to pressure him, remember?"

"I know. I'm just saying, we get ice cream whenever we ask-" SMACK. "OW! Okay, that was a lie! Happy Artemis!?"

Danny laughed a little at their antics. "Well... I don't know yet. I'm still kind of adjusting." He crossed his legs and put his elbows on his knees, trying to disguise the fact that he was tight as a spring. "Do you think I could?"

-Line break-

Robin decided it was best if he jumped in. "Based on what Batman has told us, I think so. Even if it's not out in the field, we could always use help around Mt. Justice." Robin picked his words carefully. He was an expert on body language, and he could easily see how nervous Danny was.

Danny cocked his head at them. "Mt. Justice?"

Kid Flash, despite Artemis's repeated glares, decided to jump in again. "It's where we are now. Basically our headquarters. We have a fully stocked kitchen-Miss M is a great cook- a movie room, training equipment out the wazoo-" Artemis smacked him again. Wally glared at her. "I'm just giving him the rundown, jeez!"

Artemis glared. "Stop pressuring him!"

Robin saw Danny's slight smile grow, and he smiled as well. "Smack him again, Artemis. He needs to learn not to self advertise."

Artemis grinned evilly and lifted her hand. KF ducked and zipped to the other side of the bed. "I'm done being the dancing monkey! Find someone else to injure!"

Danny, looking slightly more comfortable, turned toward KF. "I'm sure there's a joke I could make, but I can't think of one right now."

Kid grinned, feeling relatively safe on the other side of the bed. "I like this kid- he's got his priorities straight."

Danny raised an eyebrow playfully, making the black caterpillar just visible above his bandages. "Kid? I'm fairly certain I'm older that you." Danny then started to yawn, but was able to successfully cut it off. Robin frowned, checking his watch.

"I call everyone Kid. Except for Supey. And Artemis. And Miss M. And Bats."

"KF, you never call anyone kid." Robin pointed out. He frowned, trying to think of a way to get the others out. Even though he was doing better, Danny still needed more rest.

"Besides the point. The point is I like you, Dan man. We should totally chill sometime." He made a casual gesture, despite being fully aware of Danny's blindness. "How about my place?"

"Team, report for mission." The voice came from the speaker above, making almost everyone jump. KF sighed. "The one time I don't want a mission." He playfully punched Danny's arm, not noticing the flinch that he caused. "See ya around, Dan man." He zipped out, followed closely by the others. M'gann turned around and smiled. "Feel better, okay?" Then she was gone too.

Robin waited until all the others had left, then turned toward Danny. "Look, I know this all must seem crazy to you. If I were you, I probably wouldn't trust us either." He took a deep breath, trying to phrase his words carefully. "But we really want to help. I know what it's like to lose your entire world. And I want to help. Please let me." He looked at Danny's passive face, sensing the uncertainty boiling beneath. "Just think about it, okay?" He walked away, closing the door gently behind him.

-Line break-

Danny heard Robin go, but he didn't bother turning his head to watch. He felt like if he moved at all, he might puke. That was more social interaction than he'd had in almost a year, and he if he was honest with himself, he was astounded at how well he'd taken it. Especially considering the complete breakdown he'd had the night before. Of course, that was probably a dream. It was all fuzzy in his mind.

He flopped back on his bed, rubbing his face with one hand. He had so many questions, so many things to think about. Before long, Batman would be back, demanding an answer. Well, probably not demanding, the man wasn't a jerk. But it still made Danny nervous to think about.

But why? These people had saved him. They had fed him, put a roof over his head, tried to be his friend. Why was he so afraid?

Because you don't want to lose them like everyone else.

Danny sighed, knowing that was right. How could he be close to anyone after what had happened? Everyone he'd ever cared about was dead or wanted nothing to do with him. He rolled onto his side, pulling his legs close to him. How could he ever get over this fear? It was a completely bogus fear, but he couldn't shake the feeling of self hatred that he felt.

The door opened, but Danny didn't bother turning. He had come to recognize the cat like walk of Batman, the one that Robin seemed to emulate. Batman stopped at the edge of his bed, silent for the moment. Finally, he said, "Batman? Do you ever feel..." He stopped, embarrassed.

"Go on." Came the quiet prompt.

Danny sighed. "Do you ever feel... Like all you do is put people in danger?"

The silence was deafening to Danny as he waited. He could feel the bed creaking beneath him, the only thing reminding him of the passage of time. Then, Batman said. "Nearly every day."

"How do you deal with it?"

Again, there was a moment of silence. Finally, he spoke. "Daniel, I have spent the better part off my life doing hero work, and I've encountered praise and hostility in equal measures. And I'm not going to pretend it was easy." A hand fell onto Danny's shoulder. "But I can say this. Knowing that you've helped even one person, even in a small way, makes it worth it."

"But there's no one like that!" Danny stood up and began pacing the room. "I can't think of a single person I've helped who wasn't harmed by me later, directly or indirectly!" He abruptly tripped over something and started to fall, but was caught by Batman before he could faceplant. Batman pulled him upright and place both hands on his shoulders. "Really? No one has benefited from your efforts?"

Danny sucked a breath in through his teeth, biting his tongue. He felt slightly embarrassed by his outburst, but try as he might, he couldn't shake this feeling. "No one I can name."

"Do names really matter?"

"Yes!" Danny blurted. "How can it matter if I don't even know them!?"

"You know it matters. That's why you continue with heroics."

Danny's mind slowed slightly, seeing through the fog of anger and sadness. He could see them now, all in his mind. The faces of those he had saved, some of which he'd never seen again. An old woman he'd hid from a ghost, the boy he'd shoved away from skulkers missiles, a girl who's self esteem had been restored after he defeated spectra, a little boy on Christmas Day. He sighed and he leaned forward, resting his head on Batman's chest. "Am I being... ungrateful?"

Strong arms went around him, and Danny felt tears prick his eyes. He couldn't cry, not now. How could he even have any tears left?

"Danny. It's okay to cry sometimes."

-Line break-

Batman felt Danny sag slightly at those words, the shock of black hair blending into the black of his suit. He was shaking slightly, and Batman he's him, knowing that saying anything more would be a mistake. He could remember doing this for Dick, when he would have nightmares about his parents death. He would simply sit and hold him, being the unmoving wall that Dick could lean on. He sensed now that Danny needed the same. He needed someone to lean on, to be there for him. And Bruce stepped up to the challenge readily.

As he held Danny, he could almost feel how taught the teen was. Ready to run or attack at any moment, like a deer constantly in the headlights. Danny shuddered slightly, and Bruce rubbed his back, supporting him with his arms. He knew he couldn't replace Danny's father, just as he couldn't replace Dick's. But he was sure going to try.

Danny lifted his head off, and Bruce saw that his bandages were damp. But there was a new look in his face, one of steely determination. Danny wiped his face with the back of his hand, then looked up at him. "I want to join."

Batman smiled. "I hoped you'd say that."

-Line break-

Robin was standing, face stoic as ever. Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "Will you relax, Rob? Imitating a statue isn't going to make you more appealing."

Robin didn't respond, his face a mask. In reality, he was thrashed. In the five days they'd been waiting to meet Danny, he'd eaten little, slept less, and basically driven himself crazy trying to figure out what to do. During the meeting he'd felt fine, but as soon as they left the room, the anxiety returned.

"Rob? Hey! HEY ROB!"

Robin turned his head toward KF, keeping the movement slow and controlled. His stress was his burden, and the team was only as good as the weakest link. No need to show how he felt. "What were you saying?"

Kid Flash gave him a truly concerned look. "I was saying that you should take a nap. You seriously need one."

Robin shook his head. "I'm fine."

Artemis, who had been sitting reading a magazine until that point, let out a snort. Aqualad spoke. "Robin, we don't want to say you look bad, but-"

"You look like death warmed up." Superboy called from the couch.

Kid Flash made a 'see?' gesture. "Come on Rob. Even Supey thinks you need rest."

Robin opened his mouth, planning on arguing that Superboys opinion was about as consistent as Utah's weather patterns, but at that moment, the side door opened and Batman walked in. Kid Flash immediately ran up to him. "Bats, could you please tell your bird to go to bed? He's driving us all crazy with his warbling."

Batman raised an eyebrow. "You all should be sleeping." He said in a slightly fatherly tone.

"We... we wanted to know..." Miss Martian stopped as Batman raised a hand. Batman smiled slightly. "I think he'll want to tell you himself."

Danny stepped out from behind Batman. He was wearing jeans with black black sneakers, and a red hoodie that was slightly too big for him. His eyes were uncovered, showing their clouded irises. He scuffed his foot on the floor, feeling much more nervous now that he was in front of everyone, actually standing and required to interact. "...Hi."

Flash was the first to speak, unsurprisingly. "Nice sneakers, bro."

"Thanks." Danny said quietly. He slipped his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He'd been told it was red. "So... What's it take to join your club?"

Me: Bleh, I hate writing batman!

Friend: You're still bleeding you know.

Me: I don't have time for bandages! I must complete my quest!

Friend: Quest?

Me: Don't interrupt! *sighs* My quest is to get reviews on how my writing is doing.

Friend: Hmm.

Me: Stop mocking me!