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Chapter 11: Telling Truths

"Wow. That sure was weird last night…" Danny got up from his sleeping bag, blinking slowly. "I never knew that duplicates could do that. I guess there's a lot I still have to learn."

He got up and stretched, his shirt riding up and revealing his belt. Yawning, Danny pulled his shirt down and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was soon jolted awake by a sudden ripple throughout his body that electrified his muscles and sent his hair on edge.

"Ouch!" Danny snapped his hand away from his eyes, shaking off stray sparks. "Damn it…"

Never minding the fact that his language had deteriorated, Danny was more concerned with the appearance of his ecto-electricity in human form. But it was to be expected. Even his ice powers had done so after a certain amount of time (in fact, Sam still hadn't forgiven him for freezing her beloved fly-snapper or whatever it was called). It didn't mean he liked it, though.

'Don't worry about it now.' Danny took a deep breath to calm himself down. 'First things first: Tell the Titans. Then we can deal with this problem.'

This resolve fixed in his mind, Danny summoned his ghost half, bringing forth the rings. They had just separated when he remembered that his duplicate had "told" him about the cell phone number he had given Mr. Robinson. He canceled the transformation to rummage in his pockets; he brought his cell phone out a second later and flipped it open to see if it was active. To his great surprise, it was.

"I guess they still have AT&T here," Danny murmured, scrolling through his list of contacts. "And the phone numbers of my parents and friends are still in here…"

Guiltily, Danny realized that he had been gone long enough for everybody back in Amity Park to be extremely worried. 'I guess I better call them and let them know I'm all right. Sam first.'

His finger pressed the call button on Sam's number and he held the earpiece to his ear. It didn't ring. Instead an automated voice chimed in his ear.

"The number you have dialed is not available. If you feel that you have reached this message in error, please check the number and dial again."

'Say what?' Danny stared at his cell phone in disbelief. 'Not available? That makes no sense!'

Ignoring a tiny sense in his brain that said it did indeed make sense, Danny dialed his parents' number. The same message played in his ear. It played again for Jazz's number and Tucker's. Finally, desperate and refusing to believe the truth, he pressed Valerie's number. For one moment he thought for sure the message would play…until it rang once…and then twice.

'Thank God.'

Danny sent a tiny prayer of thanks just before the phone was picked up and an unfamiliar voice said, "Hello?"

His mouth dry, Danny asked, "Valerie?"

There was a pause. Then the female voice came again, apologetic this time. "I'm sorry. You must have dialed the wrong number. There is no Valerie in residence here."

Danny swallowed heavily, feeling numb. "Okay," he managed to say. "Thanks."

"No problem. Have a nice day."

"You, too," Danny whispered just as the phone disconnected. He flipped his cell phone close, his brain disengaged from the real world.

This wasn't real. It wasn't happening to him. How could it be that he couldn't reach anybody at all? All of their numbers were completely valid the last time he had checked. In fact, he had called Sam up just the day before, asking if she was open for a movie. It made no sense… No sense…

'But it does,' a small voice in Danny's head reminded him. 'We're not home anymore.'

The word suddenly had more of an importance to him. Home… He really wasn't home after all. He was…lost. Displaced in a world that he wasn't familiar with at all.

Numb and not caring that he would probably ruin the lamp that was sitting in a stray corner of the room if he lost control of his powers, Danny flumped down on the floor, his head in his hands. What was he going to do?

"Aaaaahhh." Cyborg gave a huge yawn, stretching his shoulders. "Good morning, everybody."

"Morning," almost everybody said. The one person who hadn't was Raven. She was reading a book.

"Is Beast Boy actually up before twelve?" Cyborg stared disbelievingly at the green Titan, who was frying himself a tofu breakfast.

Beast Boy whirled around, poking his steaming spatula in Cyborg's direction. "I'll have you know that I do get up before twelve. Besides, there's somebody else who isn't up yet either."

Cyborg looked around, confused for a moment. All the Titans were there and most of them were eating breakfast. Starfire was chugging down a large bottle of mustard with her scrambled eggs and Robin was looking rather green, simply nursing a glass of orange juice. Raven had nothing next to her except for what looked like an empty bowl of cereal. Nothing seemed to be missing…

"Danny isn't here," Raven finally said, enlightening Cyborg when Beast Boy did nothing.

"Oh. Right." Cyborg went to the fridge to get out a carton of milk. He turned around. "Do ghosts sleep?"

"Not according to this book," Raven said, holding up a heavy tome. "But they do like to nap for fun and rejuvenate themselves with ectoplasm. They eat, too."

Most of that flew over Cyborg's head; he was staring at the carton of milk. "This expired five months ago. What is this still doing in the fridge?"

"Oh!" Starfire perked up from her eggs, swallowing down a large mouthful. "I am growing something in there! I must have forgotten it in the recent excitement."

Cyborg immediately put it down and backed off several feet. "Do we have any orange juice? I just lost my taste for milk."

"It is nothing dangerous, Cyborg," Starfire assured him. "Simply an herb to use for cooking."

"A Tamaranean herb?" Raven asked, not even looking at the kitchen.

"An herb that grows best in cold climates and fertilizes in milk," Starfire said, looking at the container fondly. "It is from a package of seeds that I brought back from my home. It helps with hair growth and your muscles." She cracked it open. "It must be ready by now."

A rancid smell immediately filled the living room/kitchen area, turning Robin – who had partly recovered from his girlfriend's chugging down of mustard – green again. He ducked down under the counter. Five seconds later, retching could be heard. Beast Boy's white tofu promptly turned green, complimenting the chef – who was now gaping at his ruined breakfast. Raven simply held her cloak up to her nose, making a private note to get nose plugs for future escapades like this.

Cyborg, who was right next to Starfire, got the full blast of it along with the alien. Starfire was undisturbed by the smell, although the half-robot became a sickening shade of green. It was with great effort that he didn't throw up.

"That smells bad, Star," he managed to say.

"It smells delicious!" Starfire said happily, shocking everybody present. "I will make a dish with this herb for lunch!"

An awkward silence filled the air. Nobody knew how to tell Starfire that the herb she had grown so carefully – or not – for five months was inedible by the common population of Earth. Robin was just summoning his courage to tell his girlfriend that when the doors opened, distracting the Titans from the matter of the herb.

Danny Phantom came in, seeming rather pale despite his dark skin. His white hair was a blinding white in the early light of the morning; on top of that, his whole body radiated light that made him seem even more otherworldly. Several blinks later on the Titans' part and his hair was back to normal along with his body.

"Sorry," Danny apologized, ruffling his hair, which looked rather unkempt. "I wasn't thinking there."

"Was that your ghostly glow?" Beast Boy asked excitedly, leaning over the stove.

"Yeah." Danny walked down the steps. He stopped at the foot of them, furrowing his brow. "What's that smell?" He stared at Beast Boy's ruined and moldy tofu eggs. "And are those things…green?"

"You really don't want to know," Raven said before anybody else could. She closed her book, getting up from her sitting position. Her cereal bowl, surrounded by a black aura, levitated in the air next to her; it floated over to the sink and gently dropped down. She studied Danny, who was fidgeting rather nervously. "Are you all right?"

Danny jumped slightly, his hand reaching for his neck before he seemed to think better of it. He dropped it to his side. He swallowed, his eyes resting on the view beyond the windows for a moment before he scanned the room.

Robin watched him cautiously, trying to keep his paranoid nature under control. Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were all crowded around the boy wonder, being there because of Robin's unpredictable nature and because they were curious. Raven waited patiently for whatever Danny would say. She knew that he had had a lot to think about from yesterday and wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I've been thinking," Danny blurted. In his hands was a green spatula that he kept twirling anxiously. A largo logo was branded on it, although Raven couldn't read it because of how fast he was spinning it. "And…I have something to tell you guys."

'He really wants to tell all of us?' Raven thought, confused. 'And he was so worried yesterday.'

"I didn't tell you the entire truth about me," Danny continued, his green eyes on the cooking utensil in his hands.

"What do you mean?" Robin demanded, unable to stop himself. He instantly fell victim to four glares. "Sorry," he grumbled, quailing slightly.

Danny seemed oblivious, although the spatula was whirling faster now. "It took two years for my secret to be revealed back where I come from. It happened before then but I managed to reverse it – don't ask me for details 'cause it'll take too long. Alternate dimension…long story." He took a deep breath here, realizing he was rambling. "What I'm trying to say is that my secret is kind of delicate. Or at least it was where I'm from. It may not be here but I don't know because it's so different and all and—"

"Danny," Raven interrupted firmly. "You're rambling."

"Right. Sorry." Danny swallowed heavily. "I'm not full ghost," he suddenly blurted.

Everybody silently gaped at him. They hadn't expected that.

Danny hurriedly continued before he could change his mind. "I'm half ghost. I got into an accident with my parents' ghost portal when I was fourteen. I've been this way ever since."

Raven found her voice. "This way?" She gestured at Danny's ghostly form.

The spatula was a blur now. "N-no." Danny took a deep breath. "I mean this way."

Without any further warning, a bluish-white ring formed at his waist, splitting into two and moving apart. All of the Titans jumped at the sudden flash; Robin even reached for his belt. They realized there wasn't any danger when the rings moved slowly over Danny's body, changing his black and white jumpsuit into a red and white shirt, blue jeans, and red sneakers. His electric green eyes turned into a sky blue and his hair morphed into black. His skin, which had been a light brown, became whiter in color.

When the rings disappeared, the teenager that stood before them looked completely different from the ghostly hero of several seconds earlier. And yet, for Raven he looked completely familiar.

"Danny!" she exclaimed.

Beast Boy shook his head in amazement. "Yeah. Seriously, dude. That's just amazing."

Raven ignored him. "You're Danny. The boy who was helping Mr. Robinson. No wonder you looked so familiar; I just couldn't place you."

Danny smiled sheepishly, his hands still busy with the spatula. "I get that a lot."

"Why were you working there?"

He shrugged. "I needed a job since I was fresh out of money. That was the only place that would accept me."

Robin got up from his seat by the counter. "Why'd you lie?" His voice was cold.

Danny didn't meet his eyes. "I was scared. Wouldn't you be?"

"No."

Now Danny did meet his eyes. "I bet that Raven didn't tell you all her secrets right off the bat. And when she did, she did it reluctantly and only because she had to."

Robin looked like a lightning bolt had struck him.

"I bet the same thing happened with the rest of your friends," Danny went on, seeing that he had hit the right note. "And if you don't know how it feels, you probably haven't told them everything yet."

The others looked at Robin, who was dead silent, before looking back at Danny, who had stopped twirling the spatula.

"Half-ghosts in my world are uncommon. There are only two others than me. And once revealed, they are hunted down by ghost hunters, scientists, or the government because of how 'unstable' they're deemed to be. I was lucky because of the unique circumstances surrounding me." Danny shook his head, half-smiling. "I was so worried that my parents wouldn't accept me. But they did, along with the rest of the world. I now realize that my parents would always have accepted me for who I am, no matter what."

"I'm sorry, Danny," Starfire started, "but why do you say 'my world'? Are you from a different planet?"

Danny smiled wryly, plopping himself down on the steps. "Don't I wish. That'd make things a lot simpler."

"What do you mean?" Cyborg asked. "You're not from a different planet?"

"And you're not from here either?" Beast Boy inquired.

Danny shook his head, and then held it in his hands. "No. I tried ringing my friends and family up but their numbers are unavailable here."

"You didn't know before?" Raven asked gently.

"I think I did… I just didn't want to accept it. Those phone calls really brought it home."

There was a morbid silence then. Nobody knew how to break it. Even Robin was depressed. He just couldn't be mad at a teenager who looked human, sounded human, and certainly didn't act like a ghost anymore. On top of that, he was missing his friends and family. He would have to be one cold-hearted bastard before he could dress Danny down for lying.

Danny looked uncertainly up from the floor, not sure what his reception would be. His nervousness was returning. "So…are you guys good?"

"Good with what?" Robin asked, surprised at the question.

"Good with me being half-ghost," Danny said, confused. So they were really okay with it? Absolutely okay with it?

"I don't see why we wouldn't be okay with it," Robin replied, trying to be sensitive to Danny's feelings. "You're just…half-human."

Danny seemed slightly taken aback; the others were shaking their heads at Robin's tactlessness. Even when he tried to be sensitive it completely failed.

"So…you are okay with it?" Danny asked again, not sure whether or not Robin had actually meant it as an insult.

Before Robin could butcher his opportunity, Raven stepped in. "We are, Danny. You remember what I told you yesterday, right?"

Danny did. "None of us will judge you for whatever you're hiding."

He smiled. "Yes. I do."

"I bet that this has something to do with one of Raven's cryptic statements, huh?" Beast Boy asked suspiciously.

Danny shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"Are those all the secrets you're hiding?" Robin folded his arms.

"No," Danny replied bluntly, his hands gripping each other tightly. He stared ahead fixedly. "But I'm not prepared to tell you the rest of them yet."

In his mind, clips from his fight with his future self kept playing. The words that he'd tried so hard to put behind him echoed in his ears, taunting him. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to stop his mind from torturing him. It didn't help.

'Whatever this is, it has something to do with his uncontrollable power,' Raven thought, studying him. 'He's let go of one secret. How many more does he have?'

"Do you have work today?" Raven suddenly asked, surprising Danny and the others.

Danny's eyes met hers. "No. His store got trashed thanks to Ember. I don't know when I'll be able to work there again."

"How'd you manage to get away from him?" Her questions were confusing the rest of her friends. Question marks were dancing above their heads.

Danny smiled. "Secretly being a half-ghost for two years has given me some tricks I'd rather not reveal. Let's just say that all the times I spent lying to my parents and sister finally paid off." 'Even though I still managed to get Mr. Robinson suspicious.'

"So the ghost hunters who gave you all that stuff?" Robin gestured towards Danny's belt and the spatula lying next to him.

"My parents."

"Back up a second." Beast Boy held up his hands. "You're saying that your parents are ghost hunters? How did that work out?"

"It caused a lot of trouble at first," Danny admitted. "They really hated my ghost half because they thought he was a villain. I had to keep lying low until they didn't have any choice but to trust me. Then my sister told them who I was."

"Do you mind telling us the full story?" Cyborg asked. "It sounds like a good one."

'I don't really see the harm in it…' Danny half-considered it before discarding the idea. It wasn't a good idea considering he was still keeping some things secret. Maybe if he told them his other secrets he could begin considering it. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "I'm not ready for that yet."

"We understand, Danny," Starfire said, stepping up to him. "We will wait for you to be ready."

Danny blinked at her odd phrasing, nodding hesitatingly. "Thanks…"

"But in the meantime," Starfire continued brightly, "would you do me the honor of joining me for the grand art of shopping?"

"Huh?" was Danny's articulate reply.

Starfire beamed broadly. "Excellent! We will go immediately once you have eaten the breakfast!" She whizzed into the kitchen. "I will make a Tamaranean breakfast with my newly grown herb!"

Danny and the other Titans gulped.

'I really don't want to eat her food,' Danny thought, turning a faint shade of green upon remembering the meal she had made for him yesterday. Out of courtesy he'd eaten it and marveled over its excellent taste, but he'd had trouble keeping it down until Raven had left him in the room and he could throw it up.

He couldn't get her proud smile at his praise out of his head. Refusing this breakfast would be very hard…

'How did this happen? Oh right… Because she dragged me into here and started piling this stuff into my arms. Then she shoved me into a changing stall and ordered that I change.' Danny sighed. 'All right. I better do it before she blows a fuse.'

He tugged the high collar of the shirt he was wearing. It was itching him terribly. Now he knew how his father felt outside of his jumpsuit. After another adjustment of his tight black pants, which were far too tight for his comfort as they prevented leg movement, he unlocked the door and headed out of the men's changing rooms.

"Are you done yet?" Starfire asked immediately upon Danny's exit. She caught sight of Danny's outfit. "Oh!"

"It feels awful," Danny complained, pulling the collar again. "Plus, I don't think white's my color."

"You wear a white shirt," Beast Boy said from his seat at the side. He was hugging the back of the chair.

"Yeah but it has red in it. This is plain white…with buttons. I don't do formal."

"But you must!" Starfire said. "You never know when some grand occasion may arise. Even Robin has a tuxedo!"

"Don't remind me," he muttered, shuffling in embarrassment as he remembered that disastrous prom he had been forced to go. (Although, dancing with Starfire at the end had been nice.)

"I have to say," Raven said, "that it doesn't exactly suit you. Especially the pants. You don't do emo."

"Thank you!" Danny put his hands up, feeling a seam tear. He immediately brought his arms down, hoping no one had noticed. "Can I take this off now?"

After a moment's consideration, Starfire agreed. "White is not exactly your color. I shall return this to the rack. When I return, I hope to see you in the next outfit."

"Let me take it off first."

Danny went back to the changing stall, took off his shirt, pants, and chucked it over the door. Then, knowing that Starfire would return quickly, he put on the next shirt and pulled out a pair of comfortable looking jeans. Now these he would like wearing.

"Danny?"

He zipped the pants up. "Coming!"

Halfway out of the changing rooms he tripped over his feet and fell flat on his face, startling the rest of his…could he call them friends?

Danny sprang to his feet, embarrassed, only to step on something that made him fall sideways into the doorframe. Without thinking, he phased right through it until only his lower half was visible. There was a noticeable thunk!

None of the Titans knew how to respond. They were saved from worrying about Danny's well-being when his upper half emerged from the wall, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"I'm sorry about that," he apologized. "I didn't mean to turn intangible."

"Your ghost powers apply to you when human?" Raven asked curiously.

Danny shrugged. "Always. I assume that it's for all of my powers but I only use a select few in human form. I haven't had practice in using the others."

It was then that they noticed what he was wearing.

"Dude," Beast Boy said, "what is that?" He covered his eyes. "It hurts my eyes!"

"That has got to be the ugliest shade of yellow I have ever seen," Cyborg commented, staring at the gaudy yellow shirt that Danny was wearing.

"I think your pants are too big," Raven added helpfully.

"You tripped over them," Robin inserted graciously.

Danny just now saw that the pants were too big, extending for more than an inch below his feet. On top of that, the pants were a size too large, there being an inch of space between the pant and his waist.

"Does anybody have a belt I could use?" he asked, holding his pants up as he stood. He didn't want them slipping down and revealing his underwear.

"Belts are not cool," Beast Boy said before Starfire could.

"Hey!" Robin protested indignantly, turning red. His right hand gripped his own belt.

"Excluding Robin's," Beast Boy added hastily. "His belt is totally cool."

Robin glared at Beast Boy, allowing Starfire to finally comment on Danny's outfit.

"Yellow is not your color," she said, looking at the raven-haired teenager. "And those pants do not fit you. Try on something different," she commanded.

"I don't have anything else," Danny said, lifting a shoulder in half shrug. "And, er, may I ask as to why I need new clothes? I was fine with my old ones…"

"They've been tossed," Starfire said dismissively.

"What?" Danny looked horror struck. "Why'd you do that?"

"They smelled horribly and were torn up." Starfire turned and vanished to scour the shop for something else.

"I don't remember them being torn up…" Danny said to a nonexistent Starfire.

Cyborg sidled over to Danny and whispered into his ear. "Dude, I'd let her do what she wants to do. She can be pretty firm if she wants to be. Besides, you don't have any clothes left, do you?"

"No…" Danny sounded extremely reluctant to admit this fact.

"Then let her buy you something nice. It's her way of saying thank you."

Danny was confused now. "Thank you for what? I didn't do anything special for her."

"For helping us get rid of Ember," Beast Boy said, having heard Danny.

"That and the fact that you pushed her away from the fight," Raven said.

"Although you did electrocute her," Robin added casually.

Danny flushed. "I'm sorry about that. It was an accident."

"Don't tell me that. Tell her."

Starfire came back then with a small pile of clothes in her arms. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

'That was long?' Danny thought, bemused.

"But I had to ask them if they could do something to these clothes," Starfire continued.

"Do what?" Danny asked, hoping it wasn't anything elaborate.

"You will see once you put them on. You can give me those clothes"—she indicated the horrible yellow shirt and baggy pants Danny was wearing—"once you are done."

"Uh, Starfire?" Danny started hesitatingly as Starfire dumped the clothes in his arms. "I really appreciate what you're doing for me but I don't have any money to pay you back. I kind of left my wallet back home."

"There is no need to pay me back," Starfire reassured him. "I am doing this out of friendship. I bought clothes for every one of my friends after I first discovered the joy of shopping. But they just wanted copies of what they were already wearing."

The rest of the Titans shrugged shamelessly at Starfire's subtle accusation.

"For you, however, I get to pick out something new to wear!" Starfire continued happily. "It is my treat then, Danny."

Danny swallowed and said with a dry mouth, "But I hurt you."

Starfire laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "That was an accident. I know you did not mean to shock me. It was my fault for insisting on initiating contact."

Danny was slightly taken aback at the odd phrasing but nodded. "Thanks," he managed, his head whirling at Starfire's quick brushing off. 'Wow. No one I just met would do that so casually.'

Starfire smiled happily. "I will be waiting for you!" She turned Danny around and gave him a push into the changing rooms.

The pants nearly tripped him up again but Danny managed to stumble into the changing stall before any harm could befall him. Gladly discarding the horrible yellow shirt and the rude pants, he pulled on a loose pair of black pants that just went down over his ankles and a long-sleeved black shirt.

A look in the mirror surprised him. The black pants had chains looping through the belt buckles. These chains hung down low on one side of his hip. The shirt, much to his surprise, had his logo emblazoned on the chest. It fit him loosely but not too loose, just enough that it dropped over his pant and partly covered the chains. In fact, he realized that if he put the belt on that held all of his parents' inventions, the shirt would hide it from view.

'This actually looks good on me.' Danny caught sight of a black and white cap lying with some gloves. 'But that's just overkill.' He picked up the gloves. 'Black gloves?' The cap had the DP emblem on the front, white outlining the edges, and it was black for the rest. 'I don't even like caps! Or hats… Actually, anything on top of my head stinks.'

Sighing, Danny put the cap on his head, instantly hating the fact that it made his head feel trapped. The gloves went on next. Another look in the mirror revealed that the cap didn't look bad on him; the gloves were just a tad too much, though.

Knowing that Starfire would have the last say, Danny snapped on his ghost fighting belt, tucked it under the black shirt, and picked up the rejected outfit before leaving the stall for his inspection.

Absolute silence met him as he exited the changing rooms. He stood there nervously for a moment, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

"Well?" he finally asked. "How do I look?"

"You look good," Cyborg complimented, finding his voice. "Those clothes look a lot better on you than what you were wearing before."

"I liked what I was wearing before," Danny protested, stung.

"This looks much better on you!" Starfire said, barreling over Danny's protest.

"The gloves are a bit much," Danny said, holding up his hands, which were feeling hotter by the second.

"I have to agree," Raven said. "Other than that, you did a good job, Starfire."

"Those shoes don't match it," Robin criticized much to Danny's surprise. "They're too red."

"And what are you wearing?" Danny retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Your entire outfit is nothing but red and yellow!"

"Mine is in synch; yours isn't," Robin replied smoothly, almost daring Danny to say otherwise.

The ghost teen held his tongue, though, knowing that Robin would just bat aside anything he said. The Titan was too thick.

"You can leave the gloves," Starfire said, cutting into the broiling argument.

"What about the cap?" Danny took it off. "I hate the trouble you went to putting the emblem on and everything but I don't like wearing them."

"You never know when you might need one," Starfire said cryptically. "You do not have to wear it."

"Thanks," Danny said, relieved. He was still holding the yellow shirt and pants.

"But we do need to get you new shoes," Starfire observed, noting Danny's red shoes. They didn't match the rest of his black outfit at all.

Danny sighed, not looking forward to this at all.

And people wondered why he never went shopping…

They were sitting at the Titans' favorite pizza parlor, and currently debating which pizza to order. Beast Boy was for veggie, Cyborg for meat, and the others were neutral. Danny wasn't even paying attention, instead inspecting his new black shoes. They were sneakers, not dress shoes. He'd put his foot down on that one.

Starfire had even considered getting him boots but he'd gotten a nasty feeling that Skulker would have a laugh at that. So without telling her the details, Danny simply told her that boots weren't for him. She'd moved on to dress shoes then before Danny pointed out that his clothes weren't formal. After that, she couldn't decide what to get him. He had suggested that he keep his old sneakers but she'd promptly grabbed them and fried them with a starbolt, preventing him from wearing them again.

Danny shot her a glance. She was looking at the menu while Cyborg and Beast Boy argued about whether to order a meat or veggie pizza. A small shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the shoe frying incident. She had seemed particularly vicious when it came to his poor sneakers. Her only explanation had been that they were completely worn through.

She'd gotten him the hat, too. It was on the chains that were attached to his belt and was currently sitting on his hip.

"I'm telling you right now that we're going to order a veggie pizza!" Beast Boy said, jabbing his finger at one specific entry on his menu.

"No, we're going to order meat!" Cyborg countered. "You're the only one here that likes a veggie pizza!"

Danny sighed at the ongoing bickering, thinking about the similarities the two had with Sam and Tucker. It really was strange…

Their waitress, a pretty brunette, stopped by their table. "So have you guys decided yet what you're going to order?"

Beast Boy and Cyborg both turned on her. "No!"

She involuntarily took a step back. "O-okay," she said nervously. "I'll be back in a few minutes then."

"No, wait," Danny said, surprising the Titans and the waitress. "Do you guys make soy cheese?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied, wondering what he was going to do.

"We'll take a medium pizza with soy cheese, half of it covered with whatever you've got for meat and the other with veggies," Danny ordered. Then he rethought it. "And we'd also like large pizza with just plain cheese and pepperoni," he added, looking at the menu Robin was holding. It wouldn't do to isolate the others who probably didn't like veggies or meat.

"Of course," the waitress said, scribbling down what Danny was ordering. "I'll bring it as soon as it's ready." She left before Cyborg and Beast Boy could protest.

As it was, the two were speechless and gaping at Danny.

The half-ghost found himself under five pairs of eyes that were all astounded. "Was that too much?" he asked anxiously.

"That was good," Raven complimented, snapping Beast Boy's mouth shut. "In fact, I don't think Cyborg can complain."

Cyborg proved her wrong. "I don't like soy cheese," was all he said.

"It tastes just like regular cheese," Danny said. "Believe me, I've tried it. My girlfriend is a veggie like Beast Boy. She doesn't eat meat or anything made out of dairy."

"You have a girlfriend?" Starfire asked instantly, eager to know more about her new friend. "Is she pretty?"

"Insanely so," Danny said, smiling as he remembered Sam. "She only wears black and a teensy bit of purple because she's a Goth. In fact, you remind me a lot of her," he told Raven.

"I trust that's a good thing," Raven said.

"Very," Danny said, smiling wryly. "She's an animal rights activist and doesn't stand for anything that she deems unfair. You'd be amazed at some of the things she's pulled together."

"Do you miss her?" Robin asked.

"A lot. She's been there for me from the start – ever since I turned half-ghost."

"Man," Beast Boy said. "I wish I had somebody like that."

"You'll find somebody," Danny said, although he wasn't sure if this was true. "Kind of hard to not see you matching up with somebody."

"Yes!" Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air.

"So the green guy is able to get somebody while I'm left in the dust," Cyborg grumbled, leaning on his elbow which was on the table.

"You'll find somebody, too," Danny said. 'When did I become the guy who reassures others that they'll find somebody?'

"Robin and I have already done the matching up," Starfire said proudly, linking Robin's arm in hers.

Robin smiled at her. "That we have. I haven't regretted it one bit."

"There's nothing to regret," Raven said. "It was so obvious from the start that you two liked each other. I'm just surprised it took so long."

"Aye," Beast Boy and Cyborg chorused.

Danny smiled at his new friends – he could call them that now. They really were a nice bunch to get to know. Maybe a bit weird but nice.

"One large veggie-meat pizza with soy cheese and one medium pepperoni pizza!" Their waitress set their steaming pizzas down on the table. "Hope you enjoy!"

"Yes! Food!" Beast Boy immediately dug into his side of the pizza with enjoyment.

Cyborg took the other side a bit reluctantly, unsure of how it was going to taste. Raven, Robin, Starfire, and Danny helped themselves from the pepperoni pizza.

While his new friends started to eat, Danny held back, thinking about how the waitress had treated them all so familiarly. He understood that they were frequent customers to this place but it wasn't just here that they were treated like normal people. It was also everywhere else.

Starfire had easily been able to buy his new clothes and shoes without a problem. (The teenager at the cash register had gawked at her but instantly looked away once receiving Robin's glare.) Nobody in the mall had paid them another glance other than the initial one that most people gave, something that shocked Danny considering their status as Jump City's heroes.

He decided to ask them about it. "So I was wondering… Why does nobody rush and crowd you guys all at once when you get out into the city?"

Robin swallowed his mouthful. "What do you mean?"

"You guys are Jump City's protectors, right? You regularly save this place from bad guys. Doesn't that make you guys – I don't know – famous or something? From my experience, famous people normally get mobbed."

The five friends looked at each other for a moment, shrugging at once.

"It's always been that way," Robin said. "We don't think about it."

"Is it different for you?" Cyborg asked.

Danny set his slice down. "Completely. I can't go to school without a crowd of girls running after me with marriage proposals or demands for my autograph. And when I look at you guys, you can go shopping without people gawking at you. It must be nice."

"Where are you from again?" Robin took another bite.

"Amity Park, Illinois," Danny responded. "It's a small town that's famous for its ghost attacks."

"It's not very famous if you ask me because none of us have heard of it," Beast Boy said through a mouthful of pizza.

"I already told you that I'm not from here. In fact, I get the feeling I'm from a different dimension or something. Sorta like something out of Kingdom Hearts."

Raven snapped to attention. "Are you sure about that?"

Danny nodded, feeling rather morbid. "Absolutely. Remember when I said that those phone calls I tried confirmed my suspicion?"

"That stinks," Beast Boy muttered, stopping his manic chewing for a moment to reflect on that. "So you're completely alone here."

"You have us now," Starfire said, trying to comfort Danny. "We are your new friends."

"And I'm glad for that," Danny said, smiling at her. "But forgive me if I'm still rather awkward around you guys. I've never had a group of people accept me so quickly for who I am – other than my friends and family of course. I get the feeling that the rest of my world is more for my fame than anything else."

"That tends to be the case," Cyborg said wisely.

"We understand if you're still awkward around us," Raven said. "I'd feel awkward, too, and I'm a part of this team."

Danny smiled and took a bite of his pizza, feeling more at ease now. It looked like he had found a place he belonged to. Even more so than Amity Park. The thought made him feel slightly guilty.

He tried to push it to the back of his mind and enjoy what was right in front of him. Who knew how long he would have it for?

Thanks to Roses 'n Horses, Hyperpegasi, FantomoDrako, Copa-Phantom, Marie Ravenclaw, Waterdog, Shiva the Sarcastic, Meihua69, SpartanCommander, Kirby77DP77, musiclover9419, starr1095, NitPicker Nerd beginer, DGirl101, Elena Forest, buddybuddy96, and lachlal for reviewing the last chapter!

NitPicker Nerd beginer: Danny's secret isn't the main plot point of this story. It's just a tiny thing that needs to be taken care of. So the story still has a ways to go. Even with the chapters I have left.

DGirl101: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. :) This one is also rather "actionless"... It's too bad that you can't continue your story.