Chapter 15:

Third Person:

Danny was clenched his fists. He was still angry at Gear. She left the school. She hadn't been answering the phone the past week. There was no way for him to contact her because when he went to the house, she specifically told him that she was busy. What is keeping her so busy? I mean I get her work can do that, but this is getting ridiculous. Does she really not want to talk to me?

"Hey, are you like alright," Kitty asked as she walked up.

Danny sighed and rubbed his temples,

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine… Gear just isn't talking to me."

"Like did you do something?"

"No," Danny snapped and then sighed, "No, I didn't do anything. It's… Gear has a sort-of job that takes up a lot of her time and she loves inventing so she gets so invested in that… Just kind of hurts that she won't tell me what's going on sometimes."

He smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck,

"But I'm fine, really… So you going to the pool then?"

Kitty smiled and twirled slightly to show off her swimsuit. Danny, being the gentleman he was, didn't check her out- though the hormonal side of him let his eyes linger a bit.

"Like yeah, most of us are out there now. Wanna join?"

Danny shrugged,

"Sure, might as well… Be out there in a second."

Danny quickly went up to his room and changed into a swimsuit before he flew out the window. The mutants in the pool saw him in the air and cheered as he flew directly over the pool and did a cannonball into the pool.

"Dramatic entrance much," Rogue said dryly.

Danny smiled and laughed,

"Careful Rogue. I can splash you."

"Not if ya know what's good for ya."

Danny continued to laugh, his bad mood dropping instantly. He stayed in a good mood as he continued to swim, making a point to splash all the girls who were scared to get their hair wet. It was when he got out of the pool, however, that a problem began.

"Everyone, head in," Scott ordered, "Storm's coming in."

Danny looked up- sure enough, the dark clouds were quickly approaching, meaning the storm the news station was talking about was getting closer. He stepped out of the pool, shaking his head and eagerly taking a towel from Kurt to dry his hair and legs- oblivious to all the staring.

"Whoa, dude, what happened," Kurt asked.

"Like whoa," Kitty chimed, "That's…whoa…"

Danny looked around as he dried his hair,

"What?"

He thought for a second and then he looked at them horrified,

"Oh my god don't tell me- someone peed in the pool and no one told me!"

"Ya idiot," Rogue smacked him upside the head, "It's your scars."

"My…scars," Danny asked confused.

He looked down. He forgot. He actually forgot about the scars that lined his chest, the scars that haunted him, the scars that he barely remembered how he got them- he only remembered what he saw in nightmares and even that was iffy. He took a sharp intake of breath and tensed slightly. He used the towel to cover himself as he regained his senses,

"Yeah, and what about them?"

"Dude, where did you get those," Kurt asked softly, "I don't think those are the normal types of scars."

Danny stopped for a moment as he turned to look at Kurt, along with the others (Kitty, Rogue, and Scott were the only ones paying attention however).

"…I don't know," he whispered before he quickly disappeared, heading to his room.

They looked all over for Danny- mostly out of concern. They needed to see if Danny was alright- when he left he didn't seem that happy. He seemed pretty sad. They were all worried about him- even Storm and Professor X. The Professor did try to reach Danny mentally, but Danny refused to reply, leaving them in the dark.

"Don't worry," Xavier informed his students, "I am sure he is alright. Perhaps young Daniel just needed some time alone."

"Good for him- I've been lookin' for a quiet place since I got here," Rogue mumbled.

However, no matter how they searched, they would never find Danny. He thought hiding out in the old attic, invisible, was a pretty good plan. It worked, after all. He sat on the floor, criss-crossed, with his hands on his knees. He took a few deep breaths, desperately trying to calm down, trying to stop any on-coming memories or flashbacks.

A flash of lightening shown through the old window and he dropped his invisibility as a flashback hit him.

He stepped through a giant hole in the wall after zipping up the suit.

"Danny," Sam said worridly.

"Don't worry Sam," Danny waved it off, "I'll be fine- not like it's working."

"Besides Sam," Tucker threw in, "Weren't you the one who told me to go in the first place?"

"I didn't think he'd actually do it," Sam snapped.

Danny chuckled to himself as he continued walking inside the portal, one hand on the wall to keep his balance. This was it… It was so amazing, yet different… Then he tripped. His eyes widened as his hand hit something- a button.

The thing he remembered was a bright flash and screaming. So much screaming. So much pain.

"-anny! Danny, dude," Kurt repeated.

Danny's eyes finally snapped opened. His breathing was shallow and irregular. His fists were clenched tightly as he was hunched over. Kurt's hand was on his shoulder, causing him to yank back and fall on his butt. The color was drained from his face as he looked horrified at Kurt before he realized where he was. I…That memory…That was… I think that's where it all began…Where I began…

"Danny," Kurt asked.

Danny snapped back to reality,

"What? I… I'm fine. I'm fine."

He stood up shakily. Kurt helped him up,

"Good man, because we're under attack."

"Under attack? By who?"

"The Brotherhood."