10. Wounds
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Danielle awoke to the feel of soft fabric pressing against her cheek.
She rose to a sitting position.
The blanket that had been draped over her slid off.
Sweat cooled her unusually warm skin, and a pleasant hum of energy tingled in her veins.
Her attention was immediately drawn to the teacher who had housed her for the past couple of days.
The man was on his knees, wiping away at the white liquid that sat on the tiled floor.
Danielle attempted to speak up, but her dry throat made an unusual sound, preventing her from forming any coherent words.
She cleared her throat, capturing Lancer's attention in the process.
He glanced up from the mess she'd made and looked at her.
"Danielle?" He questioned as he steadily rose to his feet.
"Mr. Lancer," she cleared her throat again. "Can I have some water?"
The man jumped into action, rushing to the fridge and presenting her with a glass full of water.
She downed it quickly.
The liquid spilled into her mouth and ran down her throat, instantly refreshing her.
"So, it's really you?" Lancer queried.
Danielle put the glass down and looked at Lancer.
The man was staring at her with cynicism, uncertainty.
"Of course it's me." Danielle responded, befuddled by the man's expression. "Why would you-"
A strand of black hair fell into her line of vision.
She paused, realization hitting her.
The girl leapt out of the couch, nearly running over Lancer in the process.
"Danielle, wait-"
She dashed to her room and into the bathroom.
A face appeared in the mirror. A face she'd been hoping Lancer would never see.
The face of a dark-haired, clear-eyed human.
Danielle groaned. "Oh, no."
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Emergency Aid paraphernalia were scattered around the floor. The doors to the cabinets were still open.
Danny fumbled with the gauze. His teeth were clamped over one end of the white fabric in an effort to unroll it without the use of his injured arm. It was a nasty cut, starting at the bottom of his palm and stretching across his forearm. His unusual, red and green-flecked blood oozed from the gaping wound, which still burned from the cleansing it had recently undergone.
Danny wound the gauze around his right arm, once again using his teeth to tie it off.
He sighed and rested his head back against the wall, eyes momentarily fluttering closed.
The exhaustion was beginning to take its toll on him, and he was extremely tempted to allow himself to succumb to the much-needed sleep.
The sound of his own voice startled him out of his semi-consciousness. "You look like hell."
He grit his teeth and pried his eyes open.
The clone was looking directly at him, arms crossed and eyebrows cocked. A book rested on his lap.
Danny sighed. "I thought you were sleeping."
"I was until you came along and made that huge racket." The clone shrugged. "Figured I shouldn't allow you the luxury of sleeping, either."
Danny's eyes fluttered closed. A breath of air escaped his lips. "Fair enough."
"Isn't it ironic?" The clone smirked. "No matter how much I sleep, the exhaustion doesn't go away. You, on the other hand, are exhausted because you choose not to sleep. Now you look identically as shitty as I do."
"Yeah," Danny glared at him. "Hilarious."
"Don't get all pissy on me." The clone folded his arms across his chest. "You're the one who's abusing his perfectly good health. Ungrateful bastard. You do realize some people around here are dying and don't have the luxury of possessing a thriving body."
Danny glared at him. "Not that I owe you an explanation, but finding Danielle is my first priority. And if that means losing a few hours of sleep or skipping meals, then so be it." Danny straightened up, their identical glowing gazes meeting. "So, mind your own damn business."
The clone dropped his gaze and, when their eyes met again, the clone's eyes were filled with an emotion Danny couldn't quite figure out.
"Danielle." The clone paused, thoughtful. "She's your...clone, right?"
"Yes," Danny hissed out, feeling increasingly annoyed.
"Why do you care so much about her?"
"I don't know," Danny snapped back, sardonically. "Maybe because she's part of something called a family."
"But she's your clone," the teen reiterated, seeming genuinely confounded.
Danny's eyes widened. "Dude, you're a clone, too. What of it?"
The clone winced but quickly bounced back to the subject. "You're missing my point. My question is why do you care so much about some experiment gone wrong? I mean, you call her family but she is just a clone."
Danny felt the frustration ebb away as realization sunk in, and he felt stupid for not having realized it sooner.
His clone must've felt a certain empathy towards the young female clone he hadn't met yet. After all, they shared something in common: they were both Danny's clones and both results of what Vlad considered failed experiments, which meant Danielle was not just some hope for survival.
She was someone who was in the same situation as the clone. Someone who understood and could, quite possibly, become the clone's family.
"Danielle and I have a complicated relationship." Danny sighed. "But she's been more than just a clone to me."
Danny sighed and reminisced in his history with Danielle. "Dani and I connect in a strange way. Maybe it's because she was created from my DNA or something. I dunno. Whatever the case, I care about her more than anyone will ever know. That's why I have to find her, make sure Vlad doesn't try to kill her or worse. On top of that, I need to make sure neither of you two die on my watch." He paused, adding, "Which is actually what I should be doing now instead of sitting here, talking to you, and wasting precious time."
He rose to his feet.
The clone fell silent; his sight fell to the red stain seeping into Danny's gauze.
Danny tucked his arm out of the clone's view.
The clone gave him a look, but Danny ignored it, along with the dizzy spell that struck him.
He pushed against the floor, flew off, and fazed through the ceiling.
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Danielle emerged from the room to find Lancer sitting at the table, filling out a crossword puzzle and munching on some chips.
"I guess I owe you an explanation."
At the sound of her voice, Lancer's aqua eyes drew away from the crossword puzzle and settled on Danielle.
He sighed and set the pen down on the table.
"Danielle, you don't owe me anything. If you don't feel comfortable talking to me about this, then it's okay. You don't have to say anything."
"So...you're not curious?" Danielle's brow quirked upward.
"I am," Lancer admitted. "But, like I said, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Danielle nodded and allowed for a few moments of silence before speaking. "I'm half human."
Lancer gave her a look of surprise.
"That's why I can transform from human form to ghost form."
He nodded. "That explains a lot, I supposed." Lancer paused and pressed his lips together.
He seemed inquisitive but hesitant to ask.
"What?" Danielle demanded.
"I just..." Lancer paused. "Did the experiment...are the experiments what made you...half ghost?"
"No." Danielle sighed. "The experiment was to figure out how it was possible for me to be half-ghost and half-human. Vlad," she paused. "Wants to make more of me. He wants an army, I think. Or maybe just someone to call his own. I don't know, really."
Lancer furrowed his brows. "So, then...how did you become...a hybrid?"
Danielle fell silent.
"Sorry," Lancer responded. "None of my business."
Danielle looked down at her hands.
Curiosity prickled at her.
"What is it?" Lancer enquired.
"Vlad's experiments messed up my transformations and powers. But..." she paused. "I think I'm re-stabilizing."
She turned and walked towards the front door.
"Where are you going?"
Danielle looked at her hands again. "I'm gonna see if my powers work."
She swung open the door.
The fresh scent of the earth invaded her sense of smell, bringing a smile to her face.
Fresh green vegetation that surrounded Lancer's property seemed to be vibrant with life.
The sun was preparing to set, casting a beautiful golden glow over the land.
Trees whistled happily, their leaves ruffled by the singing wind.
The day was filled with promise, infusing Danielle with hope.
She glanced over her shoulder and noticed Lancer standing by the door, his eyes lit with intrigue.
"Stay back," she ordered. "Just in case."
Lancer nodded.
Danielle walked out into Lancer's large parking area, keeping as far away from his decrepit car as possible.
She stuck her hand through the floor, summoning and maintaining her intangibility.
Then she tried invisibility.
She quickly moved on to ecto-energy manifestations: energy balls, ghost rays, ghost shields, and more.
Every power she conjured worked magnificently, even though she was still in her human state.
The transformation to ghost form elated her when she found no pain or strain accompanied by it.
She grabbed her silver locks and admired them, then ran up to Lancer's car to find glowing green eyes reflected in the window.
Slowly, she lifted into the air, keeping in mind the sense of weightlessness.
She hovered a few inches from the ground, then moved up a few feet.
Confident, Danielle shot upward.
The wind pulled at her free hair, slapping it against her skin.
Normally, she'd keep on a low ponytail to keep her hair from whipping about, but she was so delighted she didn't mind the stinging effects her lashing locks.
Strangely, however, she could feel gravity's effect slowly becoming stronger.
Resisting against it proved to be mildly laborious.
She paused, glancing down below. The valley surrounding Lancer's house was breathtaking.
Colorful flowers freckled the green stretch of land. Each house was miles away from the other, providing residents with acres upon acres of earth to claim as their own.
Danielle could see why Lancer and his wife had chosen to live so far out in the country. The area was not only reserved but it was also quaint and beautiful with vivacious greenery to bring peace and security to its inhabitants.
Danielle hovered there for several long moments, drinking in the scenery until the pull of the ground became too arduous.
She slowly sunk down.
"Didn't think you'd be back," Lancer commented as she gently landed.
"My powers are back," Danielle confirmed, accompanying him back to his household. "But flying is too tiring. I guess I'm still sorta recovering. So, I need to rest. Besides, why wouldn't I come back? It's only one more night." She grinned. "And you'd miss me too much."
Lancer chuckled. "I would indeed." He sighed and sunk into the couch, wearily rubbing his eyes. "I've forgotten what it's like to have company."
He sighed and gave Danielle a sad smile. "You remind me of my daughter, you know. She was stubborn, too."
"Have you tried calling her?" Dani prodded, sinking into the seat across from him.
Lancer shook his head. "I said I'd wait until after you left. Besides, she wouldn't want to speak to me."
"So you haven't tried calling her?" Danielle raised an eyebrow, incredulous. "Sounds to me like keeping her at a distance is more your choice than hers."
Lancer blinked at her. "She wouldn't forgive me for what I've done to her mother. And she shouldn't have to."
"You both need to forgive you." Danielle bit back, suddenly angry. "And you both need to stop acting like idiots. You know, not everyone has a family or a home to return to. The closest thing I've got is Danny, and he's not even really my cou-"
She paused and swallowed. "He's all the family I have, and I can't even be with him. You have a chance to be a part of your daughter's life, and you're wasting it."
Lancer stared at her, silent and solemn.
He exhaled through his nose. "You're right Danielle."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her gaze to his.
"We'll find him," he assured her. "Tomorrow."
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