I moved down the sidewalk, keeping to the shadows. To the people around me, I was a strange teenager that should be avoided at all costs. To anyone who knew me, I was a tortured soul who had gone through horrors no human would be able to comprehend and live through.

It was too bad everyone I knew was gone.

And it was all because of me.

Storing those bad thoughts to another lone corner of my mind, I made my way to my apartment, pulling a key from my jacket.

"Daniel."

I winced, shaking my head. "You're not real."

"I am real, Daniel. I will always be real, whether you like it or not."

"No, you're not. You're a figment of my imagination made to haunt me."

"A figment, I am not, Daniel. I am real. I am you."

"No, you're not!" I slammed my fist into a nearby wall with immeasurable strength, leaving a large dent. A nearby couple stared in shock as I turned my head to glare at them. My eyes were glowing green, that I knew, and I knew that terrified them. They immediately hurried away.

"You're becoming more and more like me every day. You will not be able to control it. It will control you. It will overwhelm you, until I am finally free."

I slammed the door behind me, trying to control my rage. If I damaged the apartment again, Mrs. Kieran would kick me out.

"You can count that I will break free. You will become me. You will destroy everything you ever cared about."

"I can't destroy everything I care about if you already did so!"

Nothing answered.

He was gone.

For now.


Tony Stark felt as if he were watching a horror movie. Wherever he went, danger and fear followed. It was in the basement, in was around the corner, watching and waiting.

But it wasn't him who was the main character. It was the teenager on the screen.

His screams still echoed in his head. Fear and grief overwhelmed him, and he became angry at it, angry for feeling that should not be there.

He stared in shock as the video ended. Fury shut down the screen, his face impassive as if he hadn't felt a thing during the 'movie'.

"You have questions?"

Tony fumed. "Oh, no, I don't. I don't have anything to say at all." His voice was low and shaking with the effort of self-control. He began to pace the room, unidentifiable emotions roiling inside him. It was quiet until Fury spoke.

"Go on."

"Who was that? Why were you watching him? How did you get those videos? Is this even real? How do I know you're not just making this up?" He was breathing heavily now, eyes wide and mind whirring for answers.

Fury stared at him as if he were a speck of dust on his new eye-patch. "His name is Daniel James Fenton, aka 'Danny'. He is being watched by us. The video came from cameras that are S.H.I.E.L.D. property, so yes, we do have the right to watch and track his every move. If you want proof, go find a camera and dissect it."

"What does he have to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Why are you so interested in him?"

Fury stared at the billionaire, whose eyes widened even further and blazed threateningly.

"Don't lie, Fury. You're interested in him; I can see it in your working eye." Stark slowed his pacing, fixing his gaze on the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. "What does he have that caught the attention of the world's greatest spy? High-tech weaponry? Files containing secret information? Something Nicholas Fury doesn't want me to get my hands on?" Tony stopped near Fury, leaning towards him and staring unblinkingly, his gaze now holding a somewhat crazed look.

"That information is classified," Fury stated.

Stark's face became impassive, and he straightened. "What do you need me for?"

"He is currently here, in New York City. Everyone he ever knew is dead, as you saw in the video. He has nowhere to go, and he live alone in an apartment." Fury faced the billionaire. "We want you to find him, and bring him to us. He needs to be kept in custody."

"Why?" Stark's eyes blazed again.

"He is being hunted. He is accused of crimes he did not commit."

"And these crimes would be…?"

"The video.' Fury watched as the billionaire walked towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?"

Stark stopped. "Home."

"You are required to do this, Stark."

"I'll consider it." The billionaire was gone.

"Sir, are you just going to let him leave like that?" Agent Hill stared in the direction Stark had left.

"Who said I let him leave?"

With that, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. turned and continued to monitor the screens.