His Redemption

His Human Half

"You're Daniel Fenton, aren't you?"

Danny froze at Robin's words, barely even breathing. They knew. They fucking knew. Knew how much of a freak he really was. Probably even how much of a loose cannon he truly was. They would take him back, despite Robin's promises. Shit!

"Of course he is, didn't you know?" Upon receiving a glare that would cause most to shiver in fear, Vlad realized the answer to that. "He didn't say?" He asked, eyebrows raised. Only then did Vlad notice the ghostly appearance of the teen. "Daniel, why aren't you in your human appearance? And how, for that matter?" A heavy sigh came from said half ghost, and, after a glance at the Titans, he finally answered.

"I haven't been able to transform for at least a year..." Danny practically whispered, seemingly ashamed. A combination of gasps and growls sounded from the group of heroic teenagers. Vlad, while furious at the awful treatment of the boy, was curious as to why this was. What could cause such a phenomenon? Danny spoke again, this time addressing the group of teenagers behind him.

"I guess I'll leave..." He mumbled warily, quickly heading towards the door. However, before he could make it past, a hand shot out to stop Danny.

"What are talking about?" Robin asked, still looking a bit irritated from the knowledge of Danny's transformation, or lack thereof.

"I'm leaving, before you take me back." He stated, seeming even more wary than before. This ripped another chorus of gasps and growls from the group, Vlad joining in this time.

"What are talking about?" Came the almost offended voice of Cyborg. Danny simply looked down, refusing to meet any of their gazes. In that exact moment, each and every person in the room realized just how broken the teen standing before them was.

"Danny," Robin said, pain in his voice, "You aren't going back there." Danny's head practically shot up at this. Confusion was clearly written on his face.

"But... But why? I'm half ghost, why would you want to be around me?" He asked, not understanding the Titans in the slightest.

"Dude, Star's an alien, I'm green, Cyborg has to recharge, and Robin never takes off his mask. Ghosts aren't exactly farfetched." Beast Boy said, ignoring Robin's cry of protest. Once again, Danny felt tears build behind his eyes, but this time he couldn't hold them back. Much to his humiliation, the others noticed. Danny just couldn't comprehend why. His entire life, he had been taught that ghosts were evil, that they should be tested on, studied. When he stepped out of that portal, he was terrified. Danny thought that no one, outside of Sam and Tucker, would ever be able to accept him, let alone give a damn about him. And these Titans saved him from that hell of a place with only an anonymous call to go off of. Why? Why? It didn't make any sense.

The combination of the stress and exhaustion finally caught up with him (as he had yet to have a full, uninterrupted night of sleep.) Danny saw the world spin, not noticing that he had fallen to his knees. After a few moments, blackness finally engulfed his vision.

~~~~~~~~~Line~Break~~~~~~~~~

Robin, despite the fact he had been the one to come to the conclusion, was still shocked by the discovery of the identity of Danny's human half. He heard Danny mutter about leaving, grabbing his arm before he could.

"What are you talking about?" Robin questioned, not noticing his irritated tone of voice. In truth, he was annoyed that Danny had hidden his human half from them, but he also understood. Robin had yet to tell any of the Titans of his true identity. Not to mention the knowledge of the issue the other teen had apparently been having was troubling. Robin hated not knowing these things!

"I'm leaving, before you take me back." He said, the caution clear in his voice. This caused a combination of gasps and growls to come from the group, even from the older occupant of the room. Cyborg spoke, asking what Danny was talking about, a sentiment shared by all the Titans.

"Danny, you aren't going back there." Robin said, not bothering to hide the pain he felt for the boy. Even after weeks of staying with them, he still thought they would turn him over to those bastards at the facility at the first sign of trouble.

"But... But why? I'm half ghost, why would you want to be around me?" Danny asked, his confusion painfully clear. Robin felt the urge to scoff at that. In a group of people like the Teen Titans, Danny was completely normal. Before Robin could voice his thoughts, Beast Boy spoke.

"Dude, Star's an alien, I'm green, Cyborg has to recharge, and Robin never takes off his mask. Ghosts aren't exactly farfetched." Robin couldn't help but shout an offended 'hey!' He looked back over at Danny just in time to see the first tear make is way down his cheek.

"Danny?" Robin asked, seeing the look of confusion and awe covering his face. Suddenly, Danny crumpled to the ground. Everyone, Vlad aside, ran towards the teen. Robin, being the fastest, barely caught him just before he hit the ground. He shook him slightly, but received no response. Seeing the deep bags under Danny's eyes did nothing to quell his growing concern. Making his decision, he stood, gently carrying Danny. The boy still didn't stir when Robin brought him up, causing a frown to mar the boy wonder's features.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a strange blue light. He looked back down at Danny, shocked when he saw that it was coming from him. The light traveled up and down Danny's unconscious form, leaving Danny Fenton in Robin's arms. And his human half, as the Titans had so recently discovered, looked even worse than Phantom. The bags under his eyes were darker and more prominent, even more scars littered his face and now visible arms, and he was far too skinny and pale to be healthy. Despite his shock, Robin made a snap decision.

"We need to head back to the Tower." He said, staring down at Danny. He barely acknowledged the murmurs of agreement from his team. He walked over to Raven, preparing to leave, when Vlad called him back.

"Titans!" He called, a serious look on his face. "When Daniel awakens, be sure to tell him that the state of things are far worse than Wulf said." The older man turned back towards his desk immediately after saying that. Robin, confused, walked back over to Raven and his team. He would think on those cryptic words later, when they were safely back at the tower.

When Robin laid Danny in his bed in the Medic Ward, he couldn't help but think about what had occurred earlier. What else was Danny hiding from them? And what did Vlad mean when he said 'things were worse than wolf said?' No matter how much he wanted to help the boy in the bed in front of him, he couldn't but feel a bit of concern. He couldn't help but frown when thinking of yet another troubling question. What did they really know about Danny? And, even more worrying, what more was he hiding?