I own nothing. no no no.

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Pale fingers gripped the hard, sweat soaked rails. Machines wailed as wires twisted and tugged.

Dark bangs stuck to his forehead and to his pillow as fevered eyes darted around the room. Danny twisted his and bucked his body, leather restraints anchoring him down. It was only a matter of minutes for the nurses to scrabble in. And less time for the clear liquids to sink into his skin.

Danny's sight blurred in and out of focus as the nurses frantically check his vitals, the medicine making it hard to keep focus on more than one thing.

A numbing chill swept over his sweat-soaked skin and left a tingling in his fingers, making his head buzz and swim.

He caught little conversations through his haze as the hospital workers switched his sheets and rewired his monitors.

"...-anic attack…

"...sedative...no..mor-.."

"..call...uncle…"

That's all that reached his ears as the medicine did its job and his body went numb. Back into a void.

…

The worst thing had to be the fake sympathy. The smiles, and fake tears, the glances over papers sent his way. He was sick of it.

They've offered him pictures, belongings that miraculously survived the ill-fated event. No. He wouldn't even speak of the accident. Wouldn't speak of his family, his friends, his life. He'd been this way ever since arriving. Only speaking when spoken too. Never more than a sentence, at least.

They say its shock. They say that he's denial. They say that he needs to be fixed. They say a lot of things, things which Danny choses to ignore. Because listening would mean remembering, something that he couldn't do. Because it was in the past. Forever in the past.

It was all supposed to be okay. Clockwork would step in - he always did!- he would fix the day - always!- he would make everything right.

He didn't.

And Danny learned on that fateful day that time can go both ways. Forwards and backwards. But, Clockwork chose to go forwards.

And never reverse.

So, Danny chose him to receive the end of his anger. His ex-mentor was now a traitor. He was a betrayer. He was a murderer.

It was unfair for Danny to keep quiet, he knew this. He was just afraid that when he opened his mouth he would cry, he would break. And heros don't break, they don't show a crack. So he kept still, and let life whisk him in every direction. They've cuffed his arms to the bed, they say it's not right to pull the wires out, that it's not right to up and leave when he chose.

So he's tied to the all too white bed, in the too white room that's all too small. A chair sits beside his bed, cold and empty. The only person to visit had been Vlad, who else did he have? Who else cared?

His 'uncle' of his was the one to prepare his search and rescue. Because he ran. When the building blew up and his loved one's screams cut off, he ran.

They found him three days later, sitting on his couch in the living room. Vlad had been the one to usher him out into the car and to the hospital, and had been the one to leave him there. He'd hear his voice once in a while, mostly when they'd knock him out. They claimed he was too unstable for visitors, but Vlad was stronger than that, right? He always got what he wanted.

Then, why doesn't he want to see me?

That runs through his head every morning and every night. Once week. That's how long they've kept him here. The nurses would check on him, reprimand him, and leave him. Lost in his own thoughts. Of course, he could have phased through the bonds, flew away, far away.

Don't you think he's tried that?

Powers were out of the questions, and for that he was a bit thankful. Energy would occasionally spark between his fingers and crawl underneath his skin, but that was on good days. Days filled with concentration and determination. Something he's been lacking for quite some time now.

Turning his head he could see the city's lights fogged in the cold air. The blurry image was enough for him to see the stars, bright against the cloudless night and haloed with energy. Oh how he wished he could be up in the december sky right then.

A nurse strolled into the room with the clipboard held up blocking her face. She worked quickly and efficiently, checking to make sure he won't check-out late at night. He loose bun bounced as she headed out the door and as she turned his way.

"Get some sleep," she said in a light tone and walked out the door.

Danny huffed and turned back to the window, letting the city lights lull him into a dreamless sleep.

…

He felt the sun before he saw it, glaring down on his skin. He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar sight. Gold and green furniture littered the huge room, with more rooms than two rooms put together.

He brushed his - now too long- hair out of his eyes, and slowly sat up. The large bed easily swallowed his form, enough pillows to hide him for days. That thought strangely comforted him.

Silk pants dragged behind him, a buttons shirt falling off his shoulders. He hissed as his feet met cold tiles as he entered the bathroom, the only door in the room open. After some adjusting and guessing he managed to get a decent shower running, and he quickly stripped.

Danny had to admit, Vlad had a nice house. He wondered what guest room he was in one the many the man owned. And, Danny knew, Vlad's place beat hospital building by a long shot. He could use a decent shower.

He made the mistake of turning around and found himself face to face with his reflection. Dull eyes and waxy hair stared back at him. He knew he looked bad, but seeing it and hearing were two very different things. He stood there until the mirror fogged up and he was forced into the shower.

The warm shower had woken him up, a plus, but he still held onto the last strings of sleep. He looked longingly at the fluffed bed on the other side of the room. He pulled on a few clothes folded on the dresser, a long blue t-shirt and sweat pants. He was grateful that the fabric hadn't irritated any cuts on his skin, the only injuries on the outside.

Hesitantly he opened the room's door, remembering instructions to the dining hall. Standing in the hall he was faced with two options, left or right. Mentally cursing himself for not paying attention when Vlad was speaking he turned left, down the red carpeted hall.

A few amis turns and a lot of guessing later he found Vlad at the dining hall, on the end of a very expensive looking table.

A newspaper rested on his lap as he stirred a cup of tea. The man looked up as he entered the room and nodded to a chair next to him. Danny took a seat a few chairs away from him and pulled his set dish over. Guessing from the grilled cheese on his plate he slept through breakfast. Again.

"Nice to see you awake Daniel," Vlad said, a hint of amusement in his voice. Danny just hummed around his food.

Vlad took a glance at the small teen and picked up his paper. The words were lost to him as he watched the boy next to him. Day one of housing Daniel, the start of what he hoped would be a successful journey. Taking in the boy seemed like a no-brainer. Whom else would take the distraught teen? Just imagining the boy in a house of strangers, stuck in the system for what could be years. No. There was no questioning his decision. He made the right choice in helping Daniel.

Maybe if he could keep repeating that it would sound more true.

Vlad was shaken out of his thoughts by his buzzing phone, and quickly excused himself.

Danny stared at the man's empty seat, a half cup of tea still steaming on the table. Looking at his half eaten lunch he suddenly decided he was no longer hungry, rather he was nauseous.

Quietly exiting the dining room he suddenly felt daring enough to explore. It wasn't like he'd never been to the man's house before. True, mostly because he was fighting for his life, or some else's, but he'd been there.

Sparing on last look at the door Vlad exited Danny started a brisk walk down the hall, passing valuable pictures and vase without a second glance. He didn't quite know where he was going, not all that new, but he knew he wanted somewhere where he could breathe. Someplace where he could take a little break from it all.

It was just luck that he found himself a balcony looking out over the large backyard. He grinned as the glass doors swung open and the chilled air hit his face. Thick grey clouds gathered overhead, he wondered if it would snow.

The crisp air enveloped the boy in a hug of sorts, relaxing tense muscles. His warm breath fogging up from chapped lips.

He lost track of how long he spent outside but judging from the goosebumps it was long enough. He sighed and ventured inside, a voice in the back of his mind wondering if Vlad noticed he left.

One again wandering down the halls he spotted Vlad's mobile sitting on a small oak table. Curious Danny pushed open the next door, wondering where the man was without his phone.

Vlad sat in one of his many couches in the living area, legs crossed tightly with, once again, another mug of tea clasped in his hands. Vlad sat so that Danny was behind him, blocking his face from Danny's view. He wondered if he noticed his presence yet. He didn't have time to debate leaving when Vlad spoke up.

"Daniel, come over here," he demanded lightly. Shifting foot to foot Danny made his way around his couch, sitting in a rather large armchair across from him.

"I'm afraid you're not as stealthy as you might believe, Little Badger." Vlad chuckled. Danny just ducked his head.

"Vlad…" The boy said, tone so light Vlad almost didn't catch it. "How...how do you handle it? Doesn't it hurt you too?"

The pain in the boy's voice made Vlad cringe. He knew exactly what he was talking about, and it did hurt him. A lot in fact.

"Little Badger. Know that this pains me too. But, but you mustn't let it get to you this way." He thought for a moment, trying to pick the right words. "I do not expect you to bounce back quickly, but I do expect you to play your part. A hero does not simply give up, Daniel. And it is you who chose that title, and it is you who has to live up to it. Just because they're gone does-"

"How do you know they're gone?" Danny interrupted. Vlad was slightly shocked at the amount the boy was willing to speak, the most progress in weeks. "How do you know they're not...you know," he hesitated as his eyes burned. "..ghosts?"

Vlad was silent. There was no way of knowing where their spirits went and what they choose. It was fruitless to search the ghost zone for ghost who may not even exist.

"I-I do not know," he admitted.

Danny was silent and Vlad saw him clench and unclench his faces, head still ducked down. Tears were threatening to spill but he held back, the last of his pride would not be wasted on Vlad. That much Danny was sure of.

"Then...what does happen when we...die…?"

The billionaire was slightly taken back at this question and found himself struggling to answer, something that does not happen often.

"You know I can't answer that one, Daniel." Danny slowly looked up at the man, with a face that nearly sent Vlad over the edge. Vlad stared right back into the shattered blue orbs as he opened his mouth.

"Tell me Vlad," he breathed. "...will it hurt?"

A/N: Whoooop~ Okay, I kind of gave up on this story because it totally lost it's plot. I had no idea where I was going, totally a mess. So! I remade it! Taadaa...ok.

I'm just getting myself into trouble, huh? I was really unhappy with this, so I hope you enjoy a little clean up. I put chapter 1 and 2 together.. did I fail? Yeah..do't answer that. The plot is the same, just some..tweaks.

Currently working on three story updates! Keep posted, Loves. Review please~!

~Champ3