I'm aware I say this a lot, but I just want to thank everyone again for all of the incredible reviews on this story. I've been beaming over them for the past two days and it's a huge inspiration to hear that people enjoy my work. Anyway, I'm getting back on schedule and until further notice the updates will be posted on Mondays as usual. Enjoy the chapter.

"5125, there is a problem," the head scientist told him in hushed tones as Bill led Daniel into the Assessment Center.

"What?"

"They are changing tactics. I am afraid that their plan is sound," the head scientist said as it led Daniel slowly over to the assessment pod, being sure to turn its head from the other scientists in the room.

"What plan? What are you talking about?"

"They have concluded that pain is not producing any results. They plan to use a toxin that will induce fear and paranoia."

Daniel's heart stopped, hardly believing his terrible luck. Could this day possibly get any worse? "Shit..." he muttered under his breath. "What do I do?"

"There is nothing you can do," the scientist said in dismay. "And there is nothing I can do, either. I have no alternatives to offer them. They are anxious to produce results in order that you may be prepared for training this evening."

"Oh, crap... Okay... okay... is there anything I can do to... to fight?"

The scientist frowned. "You can attempt to resist, but I do not believe you will succeed."

"Thanks for the confidence," Daniel grumbled sarcastically as he stepped nervously into the pod and allowed the scientists to restrain him. The scientists then began prepping the pod. Daniel watched with rising anxiety, eyes flicking around the room as he tried to find a means of escape. He couldn't let this happen. He was tired and doubted he would have the strength to battle whatever they planned to do to him. He saw on the glass that the lights that displayed his heart rate were steadily increasing in speed, advertising to the scientists nearby just how frightened he was.

The lead scientist walked up to the pod, its eyes glancing at Daniel's heart rate before dropping away quickly and looking at the keyboard. Its fingers hesitated over the highlighted circles on the glass, turning its head just slightly to look around, but appeared distressed to find that other scientists were watching the head Talent Scout scientist with anticipation. Sighing in resignation, the head scientist pressed several buttons on the glass and back away, looking up at Daniel once before pulling up more of Daniel's medical information on the glass.

Daniel's heart sank to his stomach as he felt a needle press into the skin of his arm and into a vein, depositing an uncomfortably thick, hot substance into his bloodstream. He winced as the heavy substance moved slowly up and down his arm, working its way through the rest of his body.

The world spun in Daniel's vision, every sound distinctly clear and grating. He was slowly starting to shake as his body tried to fight off the effects. He thought the shadows of the room were starting to grow, so he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus his thoughts that were rapidly growing frantic and paranoid.

"It's just the drug, it's just the drugs, it's just the drugs, it's just the drugs," he chanted under his breath.

"Is it?"

Daniel gasped, eyes shooting open as he raised his head to look around the room. The shadows were getting longer, darker, and were slowly crawling up the room towards his pod. Black, twisted claws reached out from within, leaving long, heavy scratches along every surface they touched.

"It's not real," he told himself, watching with wide eyes as the shadows approached, but his reassurances were weak.

"Are you sure?" something whispered into his ear.

He whirled his head, letting out a shuddering, frightened breath when he realized that nothing was there. He shook his head vigorously, trying desperately to free himself of his panic.

Movement drew his attention to the other side of the room as something huge and dark passed swiftly across the room, only to disappear into the shadows. Hyperventilating now as sounds and growls and screams resounded in his ears and grated on his mind, Daniel turned to the Talent Scouts, hoping that perhaps they had noticed there that was something in the room, but paled as his eyes landed on the faces of the aliens.

Their eyes were gone. Black holes that were slowly spreading to the rest of the skin on their faces like veins filled with tar. The head scientist turned its eyeless face to him and opened its mouth, revealing several rows of razor sharp teeth as it released a guttural screech. He looked up, discovering to his horror that all of the Talent Scouts in the room were staring at him through empty eyes, opening their mouths impossibly wide as they all screeched at him.

Daniel screamed and shrieked and began thrashing in his restraints with all he was worth, eyes wild with terror and despair. The lead scientist suddenly launched itself at his pod, slamming against the glass and scraping its claws on it.

"No!" he yelped, turning his head away and twisting his wrists as he tried to pry his hands free of the cuffs restraining him. "No, no, no, no!"

"What'sss the matter, boy?" another bodiless voice asked tauntingly.

"Over here!"

"We're going to get you, boy…"

Laughter circled his head, high pitched and mocking.

"Leave me alone!" Daniel cried as the Talent Scouts continued to slam against the glass and hiss at him, teeth dripping with long strands of saliva. The noises and sights began to close in on him, trapping him until he was shaking his head and wheezing from the constricted feeling that came over his chest and lungs.

Then all at once, everything stopped. The room became deathly silent and that Daniel could hear was his own frenzied heart beat and choked breathing. He momentarily stopped his struggling, but refused to open his eyes yet, terrified of what he might see.

After several long, agonizing minutes of silence, Daniel finally chanced a peek, looking out through the thin line of his eyelids. Nothing was there. No shadows. No claws. No Talent Scouts. The room was empty.

Except for him.

Daniel stared confusedly, trying to understand how he could be in two places at once. Or was he not himself?

He was in the pod and he was also on the other side of the room; just standing, head drooped down to his shoulder as though his neck could no longer support it.

"H-h-hello?" he stammered, still shivering.

The other him turned his head, still lolling against his shoulder, to look at him.

"No... n-no!" he sobbed in anguish, tears falling down his face. "No, please, p-please no!"

The other him stared at him through blood-red eyes. He looked sick; his skin pale and thin, his face gaunt and bony. His head jerked to the side and began to convulse on the axis of his neck, like only his head was having a seizure. Then he let out a blood curdling, piercing shriek.

"NO!"

"I exist."

"Please, don't, please, please, please," he begged, openly crying as the other him began to walk towards him, occasionally twitching out of existence before reappearing even closer. "No, this... t-this isn't real!"

"Isn't it?"

Daniel gagged as a large hand wrapped around his neck, cutting off his access to air. His terror-filled eyes lifted to look at the monster, who smiled cruelly down at him with a fanged grin. "I told you… I'm inevitable."

The drugs slowly began to fade, but they had taken their toll. By the time the scientists had freed him from the pod, he was shaking so badly that he was unable to stand and simply collapsed into a spluttering, sobbing mess. He didn't know if he'd turned or not and he didn't care. He was still fighting away the visions and paranoia, as the drugs had not completely left him. At each touch from the scientists, he would flinch violently away.

"5125?" the lead scientist asked with concern as he knelt over the boy, who was cowering in front of the pod where he had fallen and not bothered to get up. It reached out a hand to pat his back, but Daniel twitched away from him.

"NO!" he cried in fear and alarm, but quickly reminded himself that it was not the monster trying to hurt him. He was still in the room somewhere, although Daniel had lost sight of him at some point. "Don't! D-d-don't... don't touch me. Jus... just..." he faded off into tired breathing and whimpers.

To Daniel's surprise, the lead scientist retracted its hand. "5125, I am afraid that the drugs have not worn off yet."

"No, shit!" Daniel snapped, trying to pick himself up on unsteady limbs. He put his hands down on the floor to press up, but shrieked when the shadows of his arms shivered and tried to take form, causing him to shriek and throw himself back into a sitting position. He cried in alarm again when he thought he'd placed his hands into something sticky, but looked to find nothing. He sighed heavily in the midst of his panting and looked up at the lead scientist carefully, "When is this going to stop?"

"The effects should cease after a half hour or so," the Talent Scout replied.

"W-w-w-what? An hour? Wait, no, you said... uhm..." he stammered, trying to get his racing thoughts together. "Can't you- what was that?" His head snapped to the side, eye twitching at the sound of screaming birds. "No, that can't..."

"I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do to help you. Take comfort in that you did not transform," it said under its breath so that only Daniel could hear.

Daniel was shaking his head and blinking his eyes heavily and repeatedly, barely able to come out of his stupor enough to comprehend what the Talent Scout was saying to him. "I didn't?"

The Talent Scout looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before saying, again in hushed tones, "You were very brave, 5125."

"I did? When? Ah! Where's my... oh, there it is..." Daniel said with relief once he'd realized that he still had a face. "Daniel. I'm Daniel. It's me. I'm me."

The Talent Scout gave him a small, sympathetic smile before turning to the other scientists still in the room. "Call for some Wardens to escort him to the Training Center."

With some coaxing from the Wardens, Daniel was picked up and taken, with several delays, to the entrance of training center, where his friends and the group from that morning were waiting for him.

"Holy shit you look like... well... shit," Wally observed as Daniel was half-dragged towards them.

Daniel looked the group over warily, feeling certain that the monster was hiding amongst them and asked fearfully. Their eyes kept flickering red and the shadows around them seemed to be trying to claw into them. Daniel shook his head vigorously, panic lacing his thoughts as he tried to determine what was real, his thoughts spinning in circles as his mind argued with itself. When he saw the monster standing amongst his friends, he jerked back in alarm, shouting in alarm. "Aaah! No, stay away from me! Get away!" he cried, clutching his head.

Wally's brow furrowed. "Whoa... are you okay?"

"What happened to you?" Dick asked.

"Dude, are you alright?" Garfield asked concernedly.

Victor stepped forward to check on his friend, but stopped when Daniel recoiled from him.

"Dude, it's us," Garfield said, looking at his friend with a rising sense of worry.

Daniel stared at all of them, watching the group fearfully. What if the monster was one of them? He knew he was around somewhere; had been following him in the shadows and disappeared at some point. Where better to hide than amongst his friends? Or in one of his friends? After all, their eyes had been turning red. The monster could have easily been all of them. His grip on his his head and he squeezed his eyes shut. "It's not real. Gah! It's not, it's not," he chanted under his breath to himself, hardly aware that everyone in the group could hear him.

"Daniel..." Victor muttered helplessly.

"Stay away, stay back! Don't... just let me think..." Daniel said, tears prickling his vision. He needed help but he didn't know that he could trust them. The monster could be with them. Was there a monster, or was that the drugs? Had there actually been any drugs at all or had that been a ploy of the monster's to trick him and make him question himself. He opened his eyes only to find that he was standing in a puddle of his own blood. "Aaah! No! Stop! It's not real!" he shouted, closing his eyes again to block out the image. He was hyperventilating from panic; wanting desperately for all of it to go away.

"Daniel. Look at me."

Daniel opened his eyes and met Raven's, the purple, intense orbs capturing his attention. She stood like the one clear, real thing in the world and Daniel could hardly tear his eyes away. She was a beacon; the shadows could not touch her and the monster dared not approach her. Although his mind offered him no logically reasons as to why, he knew that she was untouchable; a safe haven amidst the terrors that tormented him. He let out a shuddering breath in relief, whispering, "Raven... Help me..."

"I can't help you. You have to help yourself."

"I can't," Daniel said in frustration, tightening his fists over the locks of his hair.

"Yes, you can," she said, her voice strong and confident. "Give me your hands."

"I can't, Raven," he pleaded, tucking his hands into his chest. He didn't dare touch her. He didn't want to give the monster a way to get to her. "Please, Raven, no..."

She didn't make the request again, but held her hands out to him expectantly.

Releasing a shuddering, fearful breath, he placed his hands in hers and she gripped them with a comfortingly strong grip. "Take a breath and repeat after me."

He did as she asked and waited for more instructions.

"I am in control."

"I... I am in c-control."

"Again."

She had him repeat it; over and over and over, ignoring the others' trying to tell them that training would soon begin. She would not let him focus on anything but those four words until she was certain that he believed it. So when Daniel saw the monster pass by with a group of students heading in to begin their training, he was afraid, but knew that what he was seeing was a lie. As soon as the realization entered his mind, the monster disappeared.

"Can you manage?" she asked.

He nodded, looked at her from beneath his brow, "Thank you."

"Did... did you fix him?" Garfield asked hesitantly.

"No. I just helped him keep control of himself," Raven told them.

"Vhat happened to him?" Svetlana asked.

"Looks like they gave him some sort of drug. Probably to induce fear, right? To make you turn?" Peter speculated, directing his question/statement to Daniel.

Daniel nodded tiredly, then suddenly all of the events of the day hit him like a wave. His legs wobbled and he started to fall, but not before Victor, Dick, and Raven could reach out and catch him.

"Damn, what are we going to do?" Victor asked. "He's not in any condition to be doing training."

"I think that's the point," Dick said.

"I've got it," Daniel said, giving all three of them thankful nods before firmly placing his feet on the ground and standing on his own. "I can do this. I can. I'm just... not going to be at my best."

"We don't have time to discuss this," Conner said quickly, "we need to get in there."

"Daniel, all you're going to do is stay out of the way. Wally's got you covered. The rest of us will handle the exercise," Dick told him.

"I can-"

"No, you can't," Dick told him severely, silencing any attempts Daniel made to be part of the plan, "and you won't."

"He's right, Daniel," Victor said to his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder. "These guys we're going up against are bigger and badder than you, even on your best day."

Daniel frowned, but didn't have the strength to argue. He didn't want to be dead weight, but he was tired and still under the influence of the drugs, although it was becoming easier to ward off their effects.

"Alright, Danny, let's go," Wally said, patting Daniel on the back in a companionable manner, pulling away awkwardly at the violent flinch he caused Daniel.

Garfield scrunched his nose in upset. "Hey, how come he can give you a nickname and I can't?"

"I don't know," Daniel answered honestly, shrugging his shoulders, "That one doesn't really bother me."

"Or maybe it's just that I have more charm," Wally said with a cocky smirk as he walked past the group and into the Training Center.

Daniel did his best to ignore the enormous spider webs that blocked the doorway, waving his shaking hands in front of him to shoo away the hallucination and trying not to think about how crazy he must look to everyone around him. Raven walked beside him either ignoring or pretending to not notice that he was still seeing things. He didn't care either way. All he cared about was that she was a beacon of light that was dispelling the dark shadows that would have otherwise stolen him away.

They entered the doors into the newly refurbished and reconstructed Training Center, which had been changed from the thousand single domes that the students were used to to thirty-four huge domes, each containing a different kind of "habitat." Daniel's group had been assigned a Australian outback setting. There were high rock walls that made the otherwise flat landscape look like a maze.

"Hey, Dick, do they have an equipment panel?" Conner asked as Dick walked up to the dome to examine the environment more closely. The other boy nodded the affirmative and then accessed a panel on the outside of the dome. Immediately, a holographic image of the Director.

"Greetings, students. You have all done well and have each grown strong and powerful. But now you must further test your power and utilize the skills you have been taught in order to graduate. Training today will consist of one simple goal; take out the drone."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Garfield commented hopefully.

"However..."

"Aw man." Garfield's ears fell with his frown.

"You will be facing a second team who has the same goal. Victory can only go to the team that successfully destroys the drone. Each team is permitted to use whatever means necessary to be the winner. So be warned. The first team to defeat the drone shall be special privileges—up to and including personalized meals, shorter work days, and an hour each day for recreation and socializing. Good luck "The Director's face disappeared and was replaced with a continue button. "Press continue to review the designated team captain, student rankings, and desired equipment selections."

Dick clicked continue and the screen showed each of the students on their team (who, at this point, had all gathered around the dome) and the team captain.

"Hey, nice, it's you, Dick," Peter observed with a smile.

Dick's usually sullen face tightened in a concentrated look as he accepted his role with the utmost seriousness. He scanned over the rankings of his team critically before turning to address the students gathered behind him. "Whoever needs equipment, come and get it," he said, moving away to make room for other students to access the panel.

"Did it offer the rankings of the other team?" Peter asked.

Dick shook his head.

"Damn. That could have been useful to know."

"Does it give their numbers?" Victor asked.

Peter looked. "Yeah."

"Read them to me," Victor said, lifting his cybernetic arm and hovering his human fingers over where he had a small, hidden computer that he had been able to use to access some of the Talent Scout's main computer. He used it only on information that was not as protected, so as not to alert the Talent Scout's of his ability to access it.

Peter read them one by one.

"I've got it," Victor said, "There's Julian Keller. He's a 2. Anybody know what he can do?"

"He has the pod next to mine in training," Conner said, "He's a telekinetic."

Victor nodded, moving on to the next. "Laurie Collins. She's a 1," he said, then paused to see if anyone knew her. No one did. "Santo Vaccarro. I dueled him a while back. He's a 3. He's got granite skin. Makes him super tough. Victor Borkowski. He's a 5."

"He iz a lizard," Svetlana offerd.

"Cessily Kincaid. Shit. Another 1. Anybody heard of her?"

"She's some sort of metal. The problem with her is that she isn't really organic, so not a lot hurts her," Dick said.

One after another, Victor read out the names, ranks, and abilities of the other team. Four students were unknown to any of them, but the other five they managed to identify. Megan Gwynn, another 5, was apparently capable of flight and could deal out hallucinogenic dust (which was just the cherry on top of the crappiest cake ever for Daniel), Nathaniel Richards, a 4 with a highly sophisticated metal suit, Yo-Yo Rodriguez, a 2 who was capable of super-speed (although Wally insisted that Yo-Yo was not the fastest), Cassandra Cain, a 2 who was apparently a prodigy in martial arts (at her name, Dick's expression rose in surprise, but he said nothing).

"Damn. They've got a lot of high-rollers," Victor said.

"What do we have?" Garfield asked.

"We have two 7's, 4's and a 3."

"I vill not be of much use. Zhe heat vill be too much for me," Svetlana admitted.

"That's five that will need to be carried," Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully. "If we all carry one each, we can probably swing it."

"Piece of cake," Conner said with a confident nod.

"Hey, dipshits, I don't need to be carried, okay? That ranking was bullshit," one of the students in the group of twenty protested angrily. Daniel recognized him from his first day; he had tried to pick a fight during Task allocation and Dick had stepped in to keep him from hurting another student.

"You're barely a 4, Tommy," Dick said emotionlessly, "You're not going to be able to hack it on your own. So you need a partner."

"Fuck that, man. And you know what? Fuck you, you're not my leader. I'll get that motherfucking drone by myself. You guys do whatever the fuck you want."

Dick rolled his eyes and glanced again at Conner, who seemed to gather the hidden implication and nodded again. "Okay, gather around."

There are a lot of characters that I've mentioned in this chapter and will go over again in the next and I want to apologize now in case I misrepresent any of them. There also might be timeline discrepancies as far as these other new characters I've picked out from the Marvel/DC universes, but I can only do so much research before it becomes just too burdensome and I end up winging it. So if some people are outside of the timelines they're supposed to be, I apologize for that, but I really couldn't care less at this point. XP There are a few characters on Daniel's team and the opposing team that are OC's and they will be mentioned in the upcoming chapter.

As for the characters I have mentioned thus far, I will provide their hero names in case their real names are unfamiliar to you:

Cessily Kincaid: Mercury

Santo Vaccaro: Rockslide

Julian Keller: Hellion

Laurie Collins: Wallflower

Victor Borkowski: Anole

Benjamin Hammil: Match

Cassandra Cain: Batgirl

Yo-Yo Rodriguez: Slingshot

Nathaniel Richards: Iron Lad

Megan Gwynn: Pixie

More characters and their hero names will be provided in the upcoming chapter as they are introduced. See you then.