I'm sorry for the long awaited update. Read and Review (*puppy dog eyes* just one, pwease?!)

Warnings: language, self harm, attempted murder

"You're not alone, Daniel," Eric whimpered as he stared at his best friend lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

Daniel Corrigan may not have super powers, but everyone knew (and even Clay and Bud would admit it) that Daniel was anything but helpless. He was kind and brave and frighteningly intelligent with cleverness and problem solving to rival his hero, Sherlock Holmes's. The boy had saved them countless times and looking back on it, the Supers had never made up for it. Sure, they'd gotten him out of... erm... sticky situations, such as the fire or when he was about to get killed by Herman Plunkett almost a year ago. But, when Daniel needed them most, they weren't there and look where he is now.

"I thought I told you not to blame yourself," a voice rasped from beside Eric. Daniel's eyes had fluttered open and were staring at him intently, almost like a father's.

"I know, Daniel," Eric choked up and his friend looked at him curiously. "You know," Eric whispered, "when you weren't quite... with us, I guess... you mentioned a Christina. Rohan asked your parents and they told him, so he started searching for information. He wanted to know why you blamed yourself whenever something went wrong, so he searched your name and found some articles."

Daniel's eyes were nearly twice their original size as Eric showed him the packet, and he slumped against his pillow.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Eric whispered and Daniel winced at the amount of betrayal in every syllable. "Just tell me why, Daniel. We could've helped."

"No one can help me, Eric," Daniel murmured, tears filling his eyes.

Eric sat still for a moment before catching Daniel by suprise as he grabbed the younger boy's wrist and turned it, forearm up.

It was worse than he thought. Cuts and scars, the newest pry a week old, mingled in a horrid work of art upon his skin. The word, 'powerless', had been carved into the flesh.

"Danny," Eric muttered, the lump his throat preventing him from saying anything further.

He was shocked when the usually calm Daniel burst into tears.

"Chrissie used to called me that," he bawled and Eric understood. He wrapped his arms around his best friend and let him cry.

"I don't even know why I'm crying!" Daniel exclaimed. "It happened almost four years ago and here I am, bawling like a baby."

"Daniel, crying doesn't make you weak. A few years ago, right after you came along, Mollie sat me down and told me this: crying does not make you weak or pathetic. It just means you've been strong for far too long," Eric recalled and Daniel continued to sob. Crying for the first time in years.

"Mr. and Mrs. Corrigan, may I speak with you?" The doctor asked, gravely, and Mrs. Corrigan nodded before gently placing Georgie in Rohan's arms after he offered to watch him.

The parents and doctor strolled off into a more secluded area, and the doctor looked at the floor.

"I'm so sorry, but something's wrong with your son," he informed and the mother of father of the patient jolted.

"What's wrong with him?" Daniel's father demanded. "Other than the burns obviously."

The doctor sighed. "We're not entirely sure. The flames weakened his lungs and we most likely would've been able to reverse the damage, but excellerant was used in causing the fire. We're not sure on the type or the brand, but apparently the fumes that Daniel breathed in cased his lungs to be damned beyond repair. As time goes on, his lungs will begin to fill with water and blood. This is an unknown phenomenon; I've never heard of a case like this and we don't have a cure. I'm going to guess your son has about a month left."

For a moment, no one moved. No one spoke. No one even dared to breathe.

Sob. Mrs. Corrigan fell to her knees, her head in her hands as she cried, and her husband knelt down to comfort her.

"D-Danial's strong," the man whispered. "We have to hang onto hope... for us, for Georgie, for Daniel. Our son won't just let go that easily. He's changed since Philadelphia and he won't just abandon his friends. Hell fight through this."

Neither of them heard the fast pitter patter of feet racing away towards Daniel Corrigan's room.

"Eric!" Rohan panted as he arrived at the door to see his friend lying Daniel back on the bed, who was sleeping with tear tracks upon his pale face. "I need to talk to you."

The two walked back over to where the rest of the original Supers, including Michael and Simon, had gathered.

Rohan recanted what he'd heard the doctor share with the Corrigans.

Mollie was the first to react, falling into a chair and sobbing until she couldn't breathe. Louisa knelt to comfort Rose whilst crying silently herself. Simon's hands started sparking wildly. Michael turned, running out the door, where they saw him take off in a burst of wind. Eric walked outside and began picking up rocks and cracking them in half. Rohan just sat there; he didn't know what to do. How are you supposed to act when you're best friend is dying and you can't stop it?

He did the only thing he could do. He got up and strolled into Daniel's room.

Rohan halted in the doorway when he saw a man in a nurse's uniform with a white mask covering his face leaning over Daniel. The guy injected a needle into Daniel's arm, and the boy immediately started convulsing like he was having a very severe siesure.

"I'm sorry, kid," the guy mumbled. "You should'a kept your nose out of everyone's business."

The man turned and saw Rohan standing in the doorway, who quickly reached over and pounded a button on the nearby table to summon a real nurse.

"Who the hell are you?" Rohan demanded. "And what did you do to Daniel?"

"Move, kid," the guy growled, oblivious to Rohan hitting the button.

"Not until you tell me what you did," Rohan snarled.

The guy smirked, his face moving around the mask to suggest such movement. "He got a little to close to the truth for my boss's liking. This little injection will just ensure he doesn't get any closer and scare him into silence."

"What if it kills him?" Rohan gasped as Daniel began coughing in his sleep, his hacking sounding watery and choked like there was something in his throat.

The guy may have had a mask on, but his eyes were smiling creepily. "Bonus!"

The door swung open behind Rohan, who had closed it in order to trap the guy, and the doctor who had informed the Corrigans of the predicament stepped in.

"What on earth?" He whispered when he saw Daniel coughing wildly, now fully awake with panicked eyes; the man holding the needle and looking like a deer caught in headlights; and Rohan glaring harshly at the man. "Security!" He screamed, but the man was too quick.

The imposter kicked the doctor in the shins and shoved Rohan to the floor before making a break for it, blending in with the rest of the nurse's.

The doctor regained his footing and rushed over to Daniel, who was starting to hack up blood and water. Rohan knew what was happening; his lungs were filling with the substances.

"I need help in here!" The doctor yelled, doing everything he could to stop it. Adjusting machines, pricking Daniel with shots, listening to his lungs, but nothing worked.

More staff members bolted into the room, along with the Supers and the Corrigans.

"Get them out of here!" The original doctor shouted as he reached for a scalpel and an nurse ushered to hem into the hallway.

Rohan listened closely at the door.

All he heard, over all the commotion within the room, was:

Beep... Beep...Beeeeep.

I am going to give you guys a chance to vote on Daniel's fate. If no one votes, I choose, so now's your time to get your opinion in.

1. He dies and the murderer is found

2. He dies and the murderer is NOT found

3. He lives, but murderer is never found

4. He lives and murderer IS found

5. He technically survives, but is put into a coma (later on, you'll get to vote on whether or not he wakes up if this one wins)

THANK YOU ALL!