The Ghost Brother

Chapter 37: Familiar Faces

Third Person POV

"Hey Rob, you plan on helping us anytime soon?" Cyborg said, tapping their leader on the shoulder.

Robin turned to his taller friend, worry evident on his face. He sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Sorry Cy," he said, ruffling his hair, "it's just I'm-"

Robin was cut off by Cyborg placing his large robotic hand on the raven haired boy's shoulder. "I get it man." He said, sympathetically. "But staring out what used to be our main window ain't gonna make him come back faster."

Robin sighed again. After Danny had finally composed himself, he shrugged off the Titans' comforting words and actions. At that time, he had had an oddly serious look on his face. The ghost boy knelt down, scooped up the elder halfa's body in his arms as if the man weighed no more than a feather and walked to the edge of the remains of Titans Tower. The white haired teen had stated a cold "Don't follow me" before flying away from the tower, leaving the other heroes behind in stunned silence.

"Hey Robin! Think fast!" Beast Boy shouted. Robin looked up quickly and saw a broom flying at him. He swiftly caught the cleaning item and stared annoyed at Beast Boy, who had a cheeky grin on his face. Starfire and Raven were busy moving the large pieces of rubble, and checking if anything had survived the destruction. They may be heroes but that didn't mean they were rich. 

Cyborg gave his friend one last pat on the back before returning to his own personal project, mourning over the loss of his beloved couch. Robin looked out one last time over the vast sea surrounding their tower, before he began sweeping up bits of rubble and broken glass. He was worried about Danny and desperately wanted to go out there and find him. The teen had been through so much that Robin still barely knew about, and now he just lost someone who was apparently really close to him. Robin overheard the last bits of their conversation before Vlad had died, about Danny never forgiving Vlad but he would never hate him.

The bond between the two halfa's was incredibly strong, it made Robin question his relationship with Danny. He almost started to regret entering Danny's life again. Maybe it would have been better if he had just lived with knowing that his brother was alive and happy, and moved on.

The other Titans quickly glanced at their leader every now and then and watched as he mindlessly sweeped the floor. They were worried about their ghostly teammate too. It had now been almost 5 hours since Danny had disappeared with Vlad's body and Robin's patience was wearing thin.

All of a sudden, Starfire noticed a small white dot in the distance. She squinted and her face immediately lit up with joy. "Friends look!" She cried happily, "The Danny Phantom is returning!"

Robin immediately dropped his broom and rushed to where the main window once was. The other Titans  immediately rushed to his side, awaiting their friend's return. Danny's form can into view and he was noticeably flying very slow. The teen no longer held Vlad's body, but there was something tucked tightly under his arm.

The Titans watched as Danny flew over their heads and landed behind them. The object under his arm quickly moved to the front of his chest and the teen hunched over and held it tightly, as if it would fly away if let it go for one second.

"Danny?" Robin tried, slowing walking up behind the teen. He reached out his hand to place it on Danny's shoulder, but the ghost boy shuffled away from the touch. Robin stared at his brother, hurt, as a million apologies ran through his head. 

I'm sorry for leaving you, I'm sorry for not taking you with me, I'm sorry for not keeping in touch, I'm sorry for re-entering your life and screwing everything up, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.