Sam doesn't worry when Danny doesn't show up the next day. He wasn't scheduled to anyway; training is optional every other day for him. Instead of wondering about her boyfriend, Sam throws herself into her studies, relaying all she had read to Zatanna and eagerly taking notes on her lesson for that day.

When that day's lesson was over and Sam had eaten lunch, again with Cassie, she accepted a tour of the WatchTower in order to kill time. The view of the Earth and the surrounding space took her breath away, and she found herself promising to show Danny later. Speaking of which… she now wondered where he was off to.

She didn't wonder long. He must have something with his parents today. When Cassie was pulled away again, Sam went to the training room for a run on the treadmill before settling into studying once more. The day had felt blissfully normal, almost, and Sam was feeling relaxed and content. She briefly wished Danny were there to celebrate her good mood with, but she quickly brushed it off, refusing to let her thoughts linger on a boy.

The next day Danny did show up for training, but Sam was off doing her own at that point so she didn't ask him why he hadn't been there the day before. Zatanna was now having Sam sense the energies within herself, seeing as she had surpassed the first level of merely identifying magicks. This was far more complicated and resulted in hours of meditation that yielded very little, much to Sam's frustration.

Zatanna had ended the lesson when Sam's frustration began interfering with her meditation, suggesting they take it up the next day. Sam had brought her food to her room, Danny trailing along behind her, and had spent the lunch raving to Danny about how frustrating her magic training was that day.

The angrier she got, the more she ranted, and the more topics she started ranting about, and suddenly she was sobbing in frustration and anger and despair. Danny, her best friend, her boyfriend, had pulled her into a tight hug and allowed her to cry into his shoulder, soothing her with a low voice and a gentle gloved hand in her hair. She couldn't help but revel in the safety he exuded, despite the small voice in her head that whispered at how cliche she was being.

She had eventually stopped crying and pretended to fall asleep to avoid anymore talking. Danny slipped her into the covers with his intangibility, tucking her in gently, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. She heard him take her dinner tray and leave, dimming the lights even more behind him.

I love him, Sam thought to herself. Of course, she had loved him since she was twelve, before she even knew what love was, but it was times like these that it really hit her. She whispered it out loud to herself, just to feel giddy, before rolling over and falling asleep, exhausted mentally from everything that had happened that day.

When Danny dropped off her dinner tray in the kitchen, Red Robin noticed the dried tears on Danny's neck and how he dropped off Sam's meal and filed the information away without a word.

The next few days took on a similar pattern. Danny would show up for practice while Sam meditated and worked on his fighting technique with Black Canary until his mental energy was exhausted. Then he would go to Sam or leave for Amity Park. Sam showed him the view of space from the WatchTower, and the ghost had incorporated stargazing into his daily routine without hesitation.

When it became obvious that the ghost was avoiding the members of the Team-Red Robin most of all-Nightwing set a new mandatory training for the ghost the following evening. Upon Red Robin's suggestion, the graduated Robin solicited Zatanna into offering Sam another magic training session, which the goth readily accepted. Red Robin's reasoning was that the ghost hero was so concerned over the goth's well-being that he went completely submissive in her presence. He wanted to see the other hero's interactions without her.

That next evening, Danny arrived for training fifteen minutes early to stop by Sam's room, which was empty. Sam had not alerted Danny to her change in schedule, so Danny's anxiety spiked.

Red Robin, however, had anticipated the ghost's intentions and conveniently walks by when the ghost leaves Sam's room. He sees Phantom's tense expression and informs him that "Zatanna took Sam for more training tonight."

The ghost's expression relaxes at this and he offers a small smile. "Oh, cool. Are you going to the training room?"

"Training's in the den tonight," Red Robin responds without stopping. The ghost floats behind him with a quizzical expression.

"What training are we doing there?"

"Trust building."

The ghost's expression becomes skeptical. "And this is mandatory?"

Red Robin doesn't dignify that with a response. Still, the ghost continues to follow him despite his now obvious reluctance.

"What are we going to do?"

Red Robin doesn't answer that one either. In truth, trust building exercises are largely unstructured. The senior members want to see them grow closer as people, not heroes. Still, with the new invitee, some of the more secretive members of the team had opted to stay masked rather than change into more casual civvies, including the Boy Wonder himself.

The pair arrive at the den and the Boy Wonder leads the more hesitant hero inside, where several other heroes were already chatting. Wondergirl, despite being part of the Outsiders, had opted to come and had sat with Thirteen, Halo, and Arrowette who were deep in conversation. Orphan and Spoiler were sitting quietly by themselves on a nearby couch while Beast Boy and Blue Beetle teamed up against Kid Flash in ping pong. Even though many heroes had joined the Outsiders, they still trained with the team under the instruction of the League.

When they entered, Red Robin beckoned the boys over. After Kid Flash scores one more point, the three join the majority on the couches. Phantom hesitantly settles down a safe distance from the two quiet heroes, warily watching the other heroes.

"For Phantom's benefit, I suggest we go through introductions." Red Robin's order is short and sweet, and he follows it with a nod to Thirteen.

"My name is Traci! I'm Thirteen-the number, not the age. I'm not thirteen years old. I work with bad luck magic."

Phantom nodded at the awkward girl, smiling in acknowledgement.

Next is Halo, who's introduction is similarly energetic. "I am Halo, but my human name is Violet. I am a MotherBox inside of a human body. I can speak to all MotherBoxes." She's polite, and energetic, but there's a certain hesitance around her that seems to be dampening her spirits.

"I'm Cass, but you already know me."

With that, it moved right along to Kid Flash, who waved at the ghost. "I'm Kid Flash, but you can call me Bart. Or KF, Kid, Red, Ginger, whatever you like. I'm the Flash's grandson from the future."

Phantom looked like he wanted to ask about that, but Blue Beetle jumped in before he could. "My name is Jaime. Hola."

The ghost began to become overwhelmed with names, but the next person went on anyway. This one is easily recognizable to the ghost, being a popular TV star that he and Tucker liked to watch at times. "You can call me Gar. Beast Boy."

At least Danny wouldn't have to remember that one. "I'm Spoiler! Sorry, but my real name's classified."

"Orphan." Is the final, blunt introduction.

Phantom chuckles, glancing at all of them as he rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, I may or may not remember any of those…" While it was true he could name most of the superheroes from seeing them around training, the real names were something different.

"It's fine," Cassie scoffs, smiling. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"I'm Phantom, as you all probably already know. I live-or rather don't live-in Amity Park, Illinois." He gets a few chuckles from the more flamboyant heroes and concerned frowns from the more reserved ones. "I don't really know what else you guys want to know beyond that though."

Apparently sensing an invitation from the ghost to ask questions, several of the heroes do just that, all except for Red Robin, Orphan, and Cass. Suddenly assaulted, Danny edges back in his seat, eyes darting from person to person. He got the gist of what they wanted to know: how he died, his history, his life before he became a ghost, what the Ghost Zone was like, and technicalities of powers and physiology. Basically everything he couldn't/didn't want to explain.

"Um- I- Am going to utilize my invisibility…"

With that awkward declaration, Danny did just that, disappearing from their vision.

Red Robin sighed silently, holding up a hand to get the heroes' attention. "Keep your questions to yourself. Phantom isn't comfortable answering most questions."

"Besides!" Cass interjects, grinning. "This isn't just about getting to know Phantom! He needs to get to know us, too. And I know just the solution!" Spreading her arms wide, Cass's expression turns notably more devious. "Who's up for a game of Truth or Dare?"

The reactions are diverse, ranging from confusion to enthusiasm to wariness, but Cass is not deterred, even when Beast Boy asks, "Is that the best idea, Cassie?"

"It's a great idea," Red Robin interjects, much to everyone else's surprise. "Some ground rules need to be set, for certain topics. No unmasking, no mission related stuff, so on. And dares can't interfere with the League or the Team's missions. Objections?" Everyone, shocked that Red Robin had agreed with his girlfriend to play a game of Truth or Dare, presumably with himself participating, were suddenly all on board for the game. "Great. Phantom, are you joining us?"

Danny sighs and flickers back into visibility, but he too is intrigued by the prospect of the game. He settles onto the couch more comfortably, soon joined by Red Robin. "Truth asked first, then the person decides to answer or choose an unknown dare. Newbie goes first."

When Red Robin juts his thumb to Danny, the ghost grins conspiratorially. "Red Robin," he chooses immediately, intent on turning the tables back on his frequent interrogator. "Most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you in the mask."

Red Robin frowns deeper, though not in anger. He contemplated choosing dare but decided to extend an olive branch and answer. "First week on patrol, Harley Quinn got the jump on me, to both our surprise. She knows as well as any other Gotham villain that kidnapping a Robin is a bad idea, especially-" He stops himself. "Anyway, instead of doing a ransom or beating me senseless, she just dressed me up in some ridiculous clown get up, makeup and all, and took a picture. Then she went underground. Didn't hear from her for another two months until we found the picture taped to the Batmobile with smiley face stickers."

Kid Flash, rather than chuckling like all the others, leans forward urgently. "Where is this picture?"

"Not your turn, but I'll answer anyway. You. Will. Never. Find. It."

"Somebody dare me to go find it!"

"No. Blue Beetle. Eighteen months ago. Mission. You came out of the shed with lipstick stains on your face, not your mask, and never explained what happened."

Jaime's face goes pale. "No, no, no, hermanes. I will never tell. Dare."

Red Robin smirks. "Take Cass's lipstick, put it on, and kiss Wonder Woman's hand."

His face goes bright red as the others laugh uproariously. "She'll kill me!" Red Robin only smirks smugly as Cass hands him the lipstick, which he immediately drops. "I'll answer!"

Red Robin shakes his head. "You chose dare. If you say the truth, I'll switch the person to Black Canary. Only deal."

Jaime looks for help, but everyone else looks completely on board. Finally, he steels his face. "Fine." Picking up the lipstick, he smears his lips with it. Then he sends a glare at the other hero. "I'm going to get you back for this."

Resolutely, he leaves the room. Red Robin, at the urging of both Cass and Kid Flash, pulls up the camera feeds. After he finds Wonder Woman in the observation rooms, Red Robin and the rest of the group watch the feed eagerly. Not two minutes later Blue Beetle flies in and lands in front of Wonder Woman, who offers him a greeting.

His face plate retracts and he says something that Wonder Woman looks confused by. She goes to ask something, but Jaime quickly seizes her hand and lands a kiss on the skin, leaving a smeared pink mark. Wonder Woman jerks her hand back, looking irritated and beginning to say something, but Jaime just shouts some apologies and tosses her a Klenex, leaving as fast as his wings will carry him.

The laughter hasn't died down by the time Jaime returns, red-faced and wiping at the lipstick with his shirt sleeve. "Okay, so I can never face Wonder Woman again." That only bolsters the laughter. Even Red Robin has an amused grin, though he doesn't laugh outright. "Alright amigos, get ready." He sits on the couch, eyeing everyone critically, searching for the next target. Finally, his gaze rests on Arrowette. "Let's make this simple, Arrowette. Who's your crush?"

Her smirk fades into a determined frown. "Dare."

"Ah, I now see you have something to hide. But fear not, chica, for I have the perfect dare." His grin turns wicked. "Give Batman a hug."

Her frown deepens as the crowd "oh"s at Jaime's dare. But without complaint, she rises from her seat and strides out of the room. Once again, Red Robin finds the appropriate cam to watch as Arrowette approaches Batman, exchanges words with him, and puts her arms around him in the most awkward hug Danny had ever seen. She pats his back twice, steps back and gives Batman a curt nod, and then returns.

"Cass, guilty pleasure."

Cass goes red, but decides to answer to avoid the promising evil gleam in Arrowette's eyes. "Sometimes I read… Fanfiction." This is not enough for anyone. They stare at her as she covers her face until she adds, "Mostly about me. And Red Robin. Only sometimes though." The last bit is muttered between her hands.

"What's it rated?" Orphan asks with little inflection.

Her brightening face is all the answer they need. She then takes her revenge on Spoiler, who bypasses the truth when Cass asks who she thought was the hottest guy on the Team and accepts a dare to take a picture of Nightwing's butt. Then she surprised everyone by revealing she not only already had one of Nightwing, but also the majority of the Batfamily.

From there the stakes fluctuated greatly. Some all but forced the hero to choose dare in order to maintain their dignity, while some were as simple as asking Orphan her favorite color.

Danny was asked for the most embarrassing moment involving his crush; Beast Boy had wanted to hear something about both him and Sam. Instead the ghost told them all about the time a ghost had cursed his other best friend and the two of them had an argument inside the hottest girl in school's body. Needless to say, Beast Boy had not been expecting that.

To his surprise, Danny found himself having a blast. Only twice did the questions get uncomfortable, and both times he'd taken the dare. They were slightly less ambitious against the League, as he was new, but they were far more interesting as they fully utilized his ghost powers. One had him take a surprise selfie with Martian Manhunter, and the other had him take something from a hero. Danny had asked for directions to the spare suit room and stole Red Robin's cape, which he wore hood up with pride.

The night wore on, but the heroes were reluctant to end their game and only made the dares shorter in order to squeeze in more turns.

"Most epic thing you've ever done that you never got credit for," Spoiler asks Danny, reaching for the bowl of chips. About half an hour ago Kid Flash had gone for a snack run (which involved stealing a food item from Flash's "secret" stash as his dare).

Danny, who had been putting a Chips Ahoy cookie in between an Oreo, considers this. "Hey Red Robin, can you bring up a picture of the Wright brothers? The one after they made the plane?"

With a curious look the ghost couldn't see beneath his domino mask, Red Robin does just that. Danny floats up to the screen, pointing at the empty space between Wilber and Oliver. "I'm right there," he announces. "Ya just can't see me cuz I was invisible."

After this astounding revelation, the ghost chomps on his thick cookie monstrosity in the face of the surprised faces of the heroes.

"You were there?" Red Robin clarifies, trying to find truth to the ghost's words in the picture, though of course there was none.

"Yep. Scout's honor." Then Danny moves the conversation along by asking Thirteen the worst thing she's done to someone with her power of bad luck.

The game only goes on for another fifteen minutes, as Red Robin announces that nightly patrols would start soon and training was still in the morning. Reluctantly, the heroes began to shuffle off, making plans for next Wednesday for their next team bonding activity, which they all agreed would be Uno.

Red Robin stays behind with Danny, stopping him with a raised hand when the ghost had prepared to go home. When they are the only ones left, Red Robin asks, "Did you have fun?"

The ghost grins at him. "Tons. I didn't realize other heroes could just be…" He looks thoughtful for a minute as he searches for the word. "Teenagers, I guess. I don't know, it makes me feel better that I'm not the only hero that likes to hang out with friends sometimes."

Red Robin gives him a small smile, which speaks volumes given who it's coming from. "I'm glad you came. See you at training."

The ghost hero nods, smiling, before he asks Traci to send him home. He doesn't even realize he hadn't gone to check on Sam, which he'd taken to doing religiously before he went home. However, Red Robin does, and he is immensely pleased with himself at the progress the ghost made. It was like Phantom couldn't comprehend the girl was safe and had to constantly check. Leaving without checking up on her is a step in the right direction.

Another one is made when Danny waves at Sam with a bright smile the next morning but doesn't go to hover over her until training starts. Instead, he joins Beast Boy and Kid Flash's conversation, which they welcome him into without hesitation.

Red Robin grins to himself. Progress feels good.

Unfortunately, Sam could not share that sentiment, as she tried for the hundredth time to utilize the magic inside her for the most basic opening spell on the box in front of her. All the excitement of having magic had managed to wear off, leaving Sam with nothing but frustration. She understood how this magic worked, went through countless exercises with Zatanna, and had witnessed and felt it being done a dozen times, and yet, her magic wouldn't do anything.

The intense frustration at accomplishing nothing yet again ruined her mood, and by extension, Danny's, when he joined her for lunch. Sam ignores his hurt expression when she snapped at him, justifying her behavior as frustration.

Besides, it's not like he'd take it personally.

Wow, look at me, back so soon! I got pretty excited when I saw the reviews so I took a break from this random other story I started writing (not a fanfiction, surprisingly) and cranked out another chapter with a little more fluff. I know this one is a bit more Danny centered, but I wanted to get him more integrated into the team. There will be a couple more Danny centered chapters, but the story is about Sam so don't worry about her being forgotten.

I want to clarify a couple of things that were mentioned in the reviews. Danny didn't get defeated in training. He was getting critiqued. I am not going to water down his powers at all, as I hate when fanfic writers make him a pansy. He does have weaknesses, however, and I've chosen to make anxiety his biggest one. His fighting technique is completely self-invented, with only a little inspiration from others. In training, the other heroes had a lot to correct him on, which made him feel like a failure. With anxiety, even the smallest comment or silence can result in hours of overthinking. When he's sitting beside Sam, who is unintentionally ignoring him, he has plenty of time to build everything up in his head until he explodes. Furthermore, he only snapped at Red Robin, who he was irritated at in the first place. I know not everyone here is a fan of angst, but I'm putting it in anyway. This is going to cause conflict between Danny and Sam that I want to work through.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading! I really enjoy getting feedback for my stories. I also want to promote my other story, Adventures of a Screwed Up Clone, in case any of you need a Quarantine Binge. I personally really liked that story, but it's a bit harder to find because it's under Batman X DP.

Until we meet again,

Starr