YALL MY BAD this typing thing on here can't handle different fonts I CANT EVEN USE AN EMOJI pretend I put an eye roll here. Anyway hey y'all it's been a while that fanfiction curse is no joke like y'all I went to court my dog died it's been wild anyway enjoy the chapter and if u go on A03 there's art of this chapter :3 enjoy!
I thought you were a Pro Hero, what's with the cheap car?" Danny said, eyeing the Nissan.
"It's low profile and I don't waste my time on flashy cars."
"You got another one to drive when you're off duty?"
"Just get in the car," Aizawa grumbled.
The car ride was silent from the hospital to the apartment. He stared outside the window watching cars drive by avoiding any eye contact with the Pro Hero. This brief period of silence gave Danny the chance to revisit the questions he was unable to process up until this very moment. For instance, why Japan? There were so many other countries, especially predominantly English speaking ones he could have gone to. Perhaps this was another one of Clockwork's forms of interfering without drawing attention to himself. It had been some time since he'd spoken to the ghost of time, not even receiving so much as a message. It angered the teen, knowing that his interventions never seemed to come when he really needed them. So much for a guardian, he thought.
Sometimes Danny wondered how set in stone fate really was. Originally he didn't believe in such a thing; fate or destiny, it didn't mean a thing to a teenage boy trying to survive highschool. Even before his untimely death Danny chalked up fate as to something unavoidable. Clockwork changed such a perspective, explaining the river of time flowing into multiple streams that could go in many directions, implying fate wasn't as solid as some would make it out to be. Yet at times it seemed as though going against fate was all a part of a process to follow the bigger picture fate had in mind. So if going against fate was a part of his destiny as the ghost child, a hero who walks the line between life and death, was he really going against fate? Or is such a concept only created in human mind's to cope with the uncontrollable variables in life that can't be explained? It was quite the paradox.
Danny tried to process the idea of fate, or at the very least the concept of his own destiny that was at one point laid out before him. The actions he took that led him to sitting in a car heading towards a professional hero's apartment. Was it all worth it? Could he have avoided it? Sure there were times that seemed as though it would lead another direction such as stealing to survive, or fleeing the country. But no matter how far Danny would think through these imaginary scenarios they all seemed to end him in either jail, on the run, or in this car. How can fate be so cruel? Putting a teenager into such a predicament; how important could one child be in the face of eternal damnation afterall?
Danny did wonder what he'd do if he managed to make it to America instead, but it's not like he could go back home, his family didn't exist here. Even if they did exist at some point in this universe, they would've been dead long ago.
Was there a "home" he could go back to in this universe?
The back of the car had begun to feel somewhat claustrophobic to the young teen as he became burdened with the knowledge that had been presented in front of him. He tried not to look at the pro hero who was driving.
Danny felt pity for the pro hero who had been somewhat forced to take custody of the boy, who knows how much time he'd have to spend around the man. On the bright side, this could finally be someone who understands the hardships of his situation, being a local hero and whatnot. Then again, what was the point in growing attached to things that weren't permanent? Danny chuckled to himself at the idea of him objectifying humans.
Aizawa would glance at the young hero every now and then through the rear view mirror, noticing how quiet the boy was. While Aizawa wasn't complaining about the noise, it did make the man feel somewhat uneasy. This boy had willingly followed the Pro Hero when he'd expected Danny to make a break for it. The fact the kid wasn't putting up a fight was a little odd. It came across as more hopelessness than trust.
Danny closed his eyes listening to the humming of his core for the rest of the car ride trying to put away the burning questions he wasn't in the mood to think about. The vibration was calming, therapeutic even. He was shaken out of it when the car came to a stop and the Pro Hero had pulled out the keys. Silently following Aizawa up the steps the man could barely tell the kid was even following him. It sounded like his feet weren't even touching the floor. Yet another thing to add on his mental list of unexplainable phenomenons surrounding the boy.
When Danny entered the apartment he noticed nothing much had changed since the last time he'd been here. Taking note of all the doors, vents, and windows, the boy wasn't even paying attention to Aizawa who was about to uncuff him. The Pro Hero was a little off put from how skittish the boy was acting, it was as if he was ready to bounce at a moment's notice.
As the man approached the teen, Danny flinched from the sudden movement. Trying to break the awkwardness of the situation, he gave a mischievous smile while holding his hands up.
"Oh no worries man, I've got this." Danny exclaimed as he used intangibility to drop the cuffs off of his wrists.
The man stood in silence for a brief moment trying to process what had just happened. It was made clear from the investigation that the boy could become intangible at will, but passing the trait onto other objects, much less a quirk dampener? What else is he capable of? If Aizawa wasn't careful, this boy could cause some serious harm, even if by accident.
"I shouldn't have to tell you this more than once, but now that you're here in Japan, you can't use your quirks. This includes any type of vigilantism you used to do, I don't care what reasoning you may have, you aren't doing it anymore."
"It's not like I wanted to," Danny mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, you've uh, got a nice place...really spacious" he said, changing the subject quickly.
"I don't like to hoard things if that's what you're implying."
"Oh cool, cool...you've uh got a bathroom?"
Danny said while feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Attempting to hide the initial shock he began fidgeting with his belt,
"Down the hall." Aizawa said, pointing in the direction Danny quickly walked away in. Even when he could see the kid walking, the Pro Hero was unable to hear it...how weird. Not to mention the unusual glow around the boy or the natural echo that came out everytime he spoke, Aizawa tried to put all of this at the back of his mind by trying to fill out paperwork for Danny's release while he waited for the kid to come out of the restroom.
Inside the mostly empty bathroom Danny sat on top of the counter trying to get a view of the wound on his chest. Wiping the excess ectoplasm Danny assessed the damage. The bandages appeared to be soaked in ectoplasm. He was lucky his suit didn't stain green from the outside, it would've been quite the awkward situation. Calling forth the cold feeling in his core, his hand felt a jolt of power he didn't expect.
Huh, must be more juiced up than usual, he thought not minding the sudden outburst. It had been a while since he'd had a full tank of energy, maybe this was a minor side effect. Not thinking too hard on the matter Danny created a thin layer of ice on the wound allowing him to feel a small sense of relief. It was a little weird that his scar still bled but considering the constant and erratic movements he's made since coming here it was bound to tear. Washing the ectoplasm off his gloves Danny tried not to look at himself in the mirror. I should hurry, that guy's probably waiting for me, he thought quickly leaving the bathroom.
Walking up to the man who was filling out paperwork, Danny nearly gave him a heart attack when the Pro Hero was tapped on the shoulder.
"What did I tell you about using your quirk?!"
"I-I'm not, I swear!"
Pinching the bridge between his nose, Aizawa sighed, "I'm not going to need to put a bell on you am I?"
"Well at least the TV know's I'm here" Danny said pointing to the TV which began spewing white noise.
"Just, try not to do that while I'm here."
"Yeah I mean I can try. But these things tend to happen around me whether I want them to or not" Danny rubbed the back of his neck. Aizawa turned back to the paperwork motioning for Danny to pay attention,
"I'm filling out your quirk information and I'm noticing the things you told that investigators aren't lining up with what I have right here. Are you going to explain this to me?"
"I don't know what you mean..."
The Pro Hero pulled out multiple photos from the crime scene a few nights back, placing them on the counter for Danny to see. A gun who's cartridge was frozen along with photos of ice at the recent crime scene Danny was found at were also visible on the counter.
"What am I uh supposed to be looking at here?"
"Don't play stupid with me kid, you've got some unregistered quirks that I need to know about if you're going to be living under my roof."
"What power? You've already seen what I can do, it's all right there." The teen exclaimed defensively, smacking the papers in defiance.
"Look kid, it's hard enough trying to convince the police department that you can handle yourself without restraints in my care after reports of the quirks you already appear to possess. Lying right now is not in your best interest so you better get your story straight."
"I already told that detective what powers I had. What more do you want from me?"
"What do I want from you?"Aizawa stated, pointing directly at the ice in the picture while raising his tone, "I want to know why you were at this crime scene following me days prior to the one police caught you at."
"It wasn't on purpose I swear. You would've been shot if I didn't help!" Danny said, shaking.
"So you admit that was your quirk? Why did you hide this from the investigator?"
"I-I mean it's not like it's even that important of a power, I didn't really even remember i had it?"
"You don't remember you have that kind of quirk?" Aizawa said getting furious,
"W-well yeah I mean... With the other powers I use I don't always use the same one and why bother remembering them unless I need to so I mean..."
"How many quirks do you have, Danny? I'm not going to ask you again."
"Well the ones I told the investigator are the main ones I use…" Danny said trying not to make eye contact with the Pro Hero,
"Main ones?"
"Well yeah, the other powers all stem from the main ones. It's easy for me to forget when the situation calls for different powers"
Most kids his age who had even a single quirk would never shut up about it and yet here was Danny forgetting a quirk people would kill to have. Nothing made sense with this teenager.
In Danny's defense, the boy never took the time to ever quantify his arsenal of weapons to begin with. Most powers were a form of adapting to simply survive, whether it was classified or the limits were tested, Danny didn't care. As long as he had access to an ability when it was needed the teen could care less.
"What powers are you referring to that 'stem' from your main powers Danny"
"Other than ice I really don't know how else to explain this to you since I doubt you'd understand the scientific principles of ectoplasm."
Aizawa was bewildered.
"You keep talking about this 'ectoplasm' so I would hope you would explain this to me and maybe it can clear up some misunderstandings that are in the police report and hospital files."
"I told you and that investigator already! Substance produced by non-living entities, its uses can vary of course but it's not manufactured or on the periodic table." He said in a robotic manner, emphasizing the word non-living.
The pro hero didn't know what to make of the situation, it was clearly getting more and more uncomfortable as the teenager was becoming riled up from the questioning. Unwilling to give up, Aizawa pushed further.
"So what? I'm supposed to believe you're dead, is that it?"
"Do you want me to spell it out for you?!" Danny shouted, his eyes glowing in anger.
"I'll admit I've seen some questionable things today, things that I can't explain but I'm not going to assume the worst, especially when you're right here in front of me."
"My heart doesn't beat! I don't have blood! I don't know what else to tell you! It's not my fault you can't understand that!"
"Let's get one thing straight Danny. I don't care what you choose to tell me about your situation, but whatever you do intend to tell me better be the truth. If I'm going to help you, I need the honest truth and nothing less do you understand?"
"I get it... I mean-" Danny tried to step away from the man before he was grabbed by the shoulder.
"Do. You. Understand?"
"Yes! Okay yeah I understand, I'm sorry I just...I'm not ready...to tell you certain things. I just can't." Danny said, pulling away from Aizawa his eyes staring at the man with a vibrant green glow.
Taking a minute to calm down, Aizawa stood in silence allowing Danny to collect his thoughts as well.
"Danny, I don't know what brought you here but it is my job, as a Pro Hero and as a teacher to help a kid when they clearly need it. Hiding key information isn't going to do any good in your situation."
"I get it, I'm sorry. You probably think I'm some delinquent"
"You want to know what I think of you? I think you're a kid who's in over his head that refuses to get help."
"Well it's not my fault the only welcome I've been given since coming here is threats of being arrested!"
"And the fact you don't understand the basic law of vigilantism in our country raises more questions for me than you can imagine, kid."
"So that's supposed to make me want to tell you every little thing about me? I've got secrets, you've probably got secrets can we just respect that?"
"Only if those 'secrets' you're keeping isn't a danger to yourself or the public"
"Yeah well vigilantism was my secret and I'm not doing it again."
"I'm glad we share an understanding on that," Aizawa said sarcastically.
"Can you just show me where I'm sleeping tonight? I think I've had enough interrogation for one day, possibly an after-life-time."
Aizawa grumbled as he walked the boy to the guest bedroom. Like most of the house it was fairly empty but the bed was more than enough for the teenager.
"We'll talk more in the morning."
"How exciting, I can't wait." Danny said sarcastically.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the young hero sat in silence. The whole week had been alot for him, especially the past few days. While he may have some downtime, there was no way he'd let his guard down now. Quickly observing every nook and cranny in the room Danny had come to the conclusion he was not in fact being spied on. The room only had a bed, nightstand, and small closet to store clothes that he didn't have. It was a little odd, considering the Pro Hero labeled him a vigilante. Was he underestimating him?
Taking a deep breath Danny ran his hand through his white hair. He'd been in his ghost form for who knows how long and it was getting tiring being on guard 24/7. He did say that we'd talk in the morning, and I don't think he's the type to barge in someone's room, Danny thought as he was about to take his glove off. However the thought was gone as soon as it came. No way in hell was he going to transform back. His secret identity was secret for a reason and blowing his cover already caused Danny enough trouble. But then again Aizawa was a Pro Hero too... it couldn't be too bad if Aizawa knew his secret identity right? Besides, Aizawa has been somewhat nice to him thus far, aside from his unrelenting interrogating. Why was it so difficult to believe he'd actually help him? It's like I have to convince myself it isn't all some elaborate trick. Danny's thoughts trailed off and he let out another sigh. His head was killing him. The room felt stuffy and there was a dull ache in his chest. Danny lied down on the bed sinking into the mattress. This definitely beats the couch. The thought of waking up screaming made his stomach churn but he didn't let that get to him. He was just tired, he was stressed out, and he was...wet?
Quickly rising up from the bed he noticed a significant amount of ectoplasm had seeped into the bed. That dude's gonna kill me. Having plenty of experience with the substance Danny knew there was no way he'd be able to clean up the mess without Aizawa noticing. Lifting up his shirt to assess the damage he realized the bandages needed to be changed, but that still left the problem with ectoplasm soaking the mattress more. That kind of substance couldn't go away even in the worst conditions. Blood would be a lot easier to clean up, Danny thought. But that would mean transforming back. Torn between the decision, he forced himself to change. A bright light formed at the waist, lighting up the entire room with a flash. As quickly as the intense light came it disappeared leaving a shaggy black haired boy in its place.
Leaning over, the boy began to cough violently. It'd been some time since he'd reverted and the transition of weight had hit the teen hard. It hurt Danny to stand, clutching his torso which had increased in pain by two-fold. Using the bed for support he tried not to hold tight onto his shirt avoiding any blood soaking.
As Danny was about to remove the gauze pads on his torso, he heard the sound of footsteps heading towards him. Quickly shifting back to his hero persona, the door opened revealing Aizawa holding a large blanket in his arms,
"I realized I forgot to get you a comforter so I grabbed a spare blanket in the closet-"
Danny froze, staring at the Pro Hero unsure how the man would react to the mess. The man stood silent for a moment, eyeing the teenager and the bed.
"We will talk in the morning..."
"Y-you're not mad...right?"
"We will TALK, in the morning", Eraser's head said, promptly shutting the door closed as quick as he'd entered the room.
Listening to the footsteps of the man walking away Danny waited before rushing to the bathroom. Using one of the towels Danny covered the empty space under the door to prevent light escaping. After making sure the area was proved the boy shifted to his human form. Throwing his shirt into the sink he washed as much blood as he could before leaving it to hang dry. Danny slowly tore the gaze pads off his wounds, cringing at the pain for a brief moment. Taking a second to catch his breath and compose himself, Danny turned the tap on. The cool liquid washed away the dried ectoplasm and blood making the wound sting slightly less.
Danny took a mental note as he watched the green goo go down the sink, I hope this guy has decent plumbing. The last thing the teen needed was a clogged sewage system.
Once satisfied the teenager carefully peeled the tape away from his torso and stared at the gash. The stitches towards the top of the scar looked fine but there was a big rip in the middle, almost as though something sharp had pierced him. The skin around it was also discolored. With a wince Danny gingerly touched the cut. It was sore and tender, like he'd moved too much. The wound was beginning to bleed more. Shaking the feeling out of his head Danny continued cleaning his wounds, but it was getting worse .
Soon the counter was covered in blood, and Danny's hands were shaking too hard to carefully wash the stitches without ripping them. In frustration he rinsed his hands, causing more blood to spill on the sink. Danny quickly grabbed toilet paper to soak up the spillage, but slipped on the water forcing him to turn in a jerking reaction. He tried to use his arms to catch himself from fall but they were shaky from cleaning. Before Danny knew it he was crashing face first into the tile floor. Wincing the boy struggled to push himself off the ground. After a few attempts he succeeded in sitting up using the counter for support. Slowly pulling himself up Danny took a moment to examine his injuries. The scar on his torso was bleeding more. Sighing Danny pulled up his pants, wincing as his knees popped. At least my jeans weren't too ruined from the blood stains. Danny sighed and began rummaging through the cabinets.
Hope he doesn't mind, Danny thought. The box he found had a picture of what looked like a medicine symbol. Opening it Danny inspected the items inside. I suppose these are all the essentials then. Taking out a roll of bandages he wrapped it around his abdomen, trying not to flinch when he accidentally pressed too hard on the wound. Unsure about what might be in the liquid bottles Danny settled for using water and towels to "clean" the wound. Satisfied that it would have to do for now, Danny threw the supplies back into their spot. The boy then thought about looking for some pain killers, but decided against doing so. He was already suffering due to the cut, and the last thing Danny needed was to take the wrong kind of medicine because he couldn't read a label. Besides, he needed to clean up the bathroom before the man found out.
Danny tried his best to clean up the bathroom, he really did. But at some point the toilet paper began to get soggy and create another problem in itself. He couldn't just throw everything in the trash can, the floor and counter were still wet. It was then an idea came to him. Hoping Aizawa was asleep, Danny gathered the pile of garbage, placing it in the sink for minimal damage. Using the tip of his finger he began to fire a small ecto-ray at the trash burning the evidence. The motion made some noise but not a significant amount to warrant waking up a tired Pro Hero. It didn't make sense to Danny why even using his powers to such a degree was "illegal". But then again it wasn't the first time being himself was illegal. Danny was snapped out of his train of thought when the ectobeam grew much stronger causing multiple towels to incinerate. Pulling back his arm he struggled to stop the ectoray, only able to grasp control after a large surge had caused the incineration of the entire medicine cabinet. The extra spark of power confused Danny especially since firing a small lazer was a basic ghost power. He'd never lost control before when it came to using his powers, the week must've really taken a toll on me I guess, Danny thought as he walked back to the guest room. Unbeknownst to him, a trail of thin ice footprints followed him to the room.
The young hero finally had settled on the bed after flipping the mattress over to hide the ectoplasm stain. He wanted to close his eyes, sleep forever, but the nightmares had a nasty habit of ruining the boy's sleep cycle. It didn't matter how comfy the blankets were, the guilt was enough to shake Danny to his core. He was well aware that getting quality sleep wouldn't come easy. So instead he focused on taking deep breaths. The steady humming in his chest that had once lulled him to sleep had begun to create a frost-like aura around him. While Danny had begun to feel more comfortable, the room was quickly dropping in temperature. Small bits of ice formed around the corners of the room, growing larger until they hit the ground. The window had begun to form icicles and sharp points where they touched. His eyes drifted shut for a moment as the tension left his body and his breathing evened out.
However the inescapable visions that haunted the boy had come once again.
Danny shuddered at the sensation surrounding him.
He wasn't sure where he was, the area had been destroyed to the point of being unrecognizable. There might have been a large facility, unfortunately the only evidence Danny had to go off of was the remains of debri. Smoke covered the sky, as the fire ravaged the worn down building. He didn't know why but something about this place made him uneasy.
The heat was nauseating yet energizing. Standing above a large pile of rubble he felt anxious, scared, no; these were not his thoughts, but the overwhelming aura flooding his ghost senses. There were no signs of life, yet he could feel their presence here, a lingering presence that only grew stronger where fear followed. Danny's stomach turned upon seeing remains of what appeared to be people caught in whatever crossfire had occurred.
Fire had burned most of the corpses, it was clear there were no survivors. It made it impossible to identify anything or anyone except those around him. The people were charred husks, bodies broken, bones crumbling like dust due to extreme heat. What remained of them reeked the smell of death.
Quickly realizing he was in his ghost persona he noticed damage done to his suit, parts of the fabric had been torn even burned. But the worst part was the blood that coated his white gloves.
He could feel someone touching him. He turned his head slightly and saw a hand grasping his boot tightly. He glanced down to see a wounded person lying on the cement, "Please. I don't want to be alone. Can you stay here?"
Grabbing the person with his hand, Danny tried to pull the man up, only to see half of the torso had been crushed, his inner organs drooping on the floor. With a gasp he released his hold jumping back. The man collapsed again but still remained conscious and continued his plea, "I-I need help. You're supposed to be a hero!" Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing. No matter how many times he had heard this before, it never failed to put him in shock. The world was against the weak and helpless. Yet the man still pleaded for him to remain by his side. Why? It was scary. A child shouldn't be forced into situations like this.
The tears flowed faster and his breath came out labored. "Please...just help me," he pleaded. A strange sense of calm washed over him as he spoke, "I can't feel my legs," The words tumbled from his mouth as he grasped tightly to the boy's hazmat suit.
Unable to see the man in pain for much longer, Danny numbed the man's pain using the ice in his core. Waving his hand over the man's eyes he closed them for the last time.
In the distance a figure was standing still on a piece of rubble, their back turned against Danny's location. They appeared to be wearing some kind of black suit though the smoke was limiting the ghost boy's vision. Danny attempted to approach the boy in a slow manner to make out any facial features of the figure. But as he got closer the figure picked up what looked like a survivor who was clearly struggling to get away.
Charging up an ectobeam Danny yelled, "Let him go!"
The orb traveled like lightning, instantaneously reaching the figure. However no sooner had Danny launched the ball of ectoplasm did the figure dismiss the ray with a ball of fire.. There was a long pause as the figure was deciding what to do with the survivor. A gun was quickly pulled on the boy, but before the survivor could fire the weapon their hand was snapped. A loud scream erupted from the victim thrashing in his grasp. Danny was speechless. The gun that fell to the floor was picked up by the mysterious person. Turning to the injured man, he fired multiple shots at the torso, while leaving vital points alone. The man tried to crawl away but his head was grabbed. The muffled screaming was drowned out as his face melted in ectoplasm. His body now limp, fell on the rubble with a loud thud.
The young hero tried to reach out but to no avail, the guilt tearing at him to the core.
The blood curdling scream forced his body to convulse in pain as he awoke in distress. Danny tried to focus on his breathing to calm down and keep himself from spiraling further out of control. The labored breaths weren't helping as he'd realized the room began to frost over even more. He'd been doing this for hours, and was beginning to feel the effects of it himself. He needed to stop. Danny felt like he wasn't in control anymore. It was like everything was being taken over by his anger. And it scared him more than anything ever could've. It was all he had left to hold onto.
Focus Fenton! It's only a matter of time before Eraserhead sees this mess, I'll never hear the end of it. Holding out his hand Danny began to channel the ice back into his core. The absorbing of the element however caused a sharp pain in his chest causing him to fall onto his knees. Every sense in his body had increased tenfold; the smells, sounds, and feeling of the room was nauseating. Tracing the scar on his chest he could feel a cold liquid oozing down the hazmat suit.
The light shining through the window seemed far too bright for how late it was, wait a minute, light?
It was morning. Shit.
His left hand grasped at the floor for any stability he could get. The ice was slippery but he managed to roll on his side while the right arm clutched his chest. His breathing was erratic. There were several small cracks of ice spreading out across his skin but he couldn't find it within himself to care about them at the moment. Danny could barely think with the overload on his senses. A sharp pain exploded behind his eyes, making his head feel like it was splitting open. He let out another cry of anguish as he curled in on himself. He couldn't even see straight, something was definitely wrong with his core. Why did it hurt so bad? It was like all the pain receptors had just shut off and now his brain was firing randomly. He'd always been able to tell when his core was acting up. Danny had been getting pains since the accident, but they had gone away for the most part since then. He supposed that meant that his ghostly senses were finally going haywire. Maybe it was something else. But whatever it was made his core shake violently as it attempted to dispel the ice in the room.
As his core continued to shake and pulse Danny heard footsteps approaching the door followed by rapid knocking. "Danny?" a low voice asked cautiously. Oh no, not this guy. This was the worst possible time for Aizawa to show up. Why, oh why? His day was already off to a horrible start, but having to deal with this? The knock grew louder as the man called his name,
"Danny, would you care to explain the ice on the floor?" a voice called out through the door.
Everything hurts.
He wanted nothing more than to collapse unconscious again. To sleep until his core got rid of the excruciating pain he felt, to ignore the voices shouting warnings at him. Everything hurt, and no matter what he did he couldn't seem to stop. His mind was screaming with the pressure building up inside it and he felt like he was going to explode if someone didn't help soon. But the last thing Danny needed was for Aizawa to see him like this.
"Kid, you better open the door right now." Oh yes. Of course he wouldn't leave him alone. This wasn't going anywhere good. Just great. Aizawa's voice was slowly drowned out by the white noise in his eardrums that Danny thought were going to explode at any given moment.
….
To say Aizawa woke up on the chilly side would be an understatement. For starters, he was abruptly woken up by what felt like an arctic tornado in his apartment. The window had frosted over, his breath could be seen as a puff of smoke, and the door to his bedroom was almost frozen shut. There was clearly no other explanation for this other than, Danny, that damned kid is going to give me a headache. The man huffed as he began walking towards the teen's room. The proof was in the pudding as frosted footsteps led to the boy's room, however the door wouldn't budge open when attempted by the adult hero. After knocking with no response the man was on edge.
"What's going on in there?" Aizawa shouted outside, pounding on the door. With no response, Aizawa grabbed his scarf using it to kick the door open.
By the time the pro hero had managed to burst through the door, the young teen had contained any trace of ice in the room, with the side effect of becoming a bit damp in the process.
A quick glance around the room showed nothing out of the ordinary, aside from a dripping wet teenager. Raising an eyebrow in suspicion the young teen could only rub the back of his neck out of habit,
"I uh, sweat a lot…at night"
"With the AC on?" the Pro Hero sarcastically asked.
"With the AC on."
Danny really needed to work on his truth-stretching skills.
"So did you uh, need something?"
"I told you, we would talk in the morning."
"Oh, great."
Aizawa watched as the boy walked out of the room, paying very close attention to the suspiciously normal bedroom before closing the door. He knew something had happened, but whatever it was, the teen must have a high form of control if it meant making it seem like nothing ever occurred.
The teen sat on a chair in the living room waiting quietly for the Pro Hero to interrogate him.
"My room seemed to be a lot colder than usual this morning." Aizawa said pausing very slowly between his words,
"You must have some AC I guess, might wanna get that checked out"
"I was almost locked inside my own room" the Pro Hero said bluntly.
Danny's face glowed green in embarrassment, "I'm sorry…It was an accident I swear"
"Are you hurt?"
Danny looked up surprised, "Hurt? Why would I be hurt?"
"Working in the hero industry for so long you tend to notice things kid, you don't look fine to me."
"I think anybody in my situation wouldn't look fine dude,"
Aizawa pushed further testing the waters, "Whatever quirks you have isn't the problem for me right now, but when you can't control them is when I need to step in. As a Pro Hero and Teacher I see these problems a lot, kid."
"I've been doing just fine on my own"
The Pro Hero had to give the boy credit where it was due, it was like talking to a wall. This kid clearly needed help, and the signs were there. But for the life of him there was no progress! Taking a deep breath Aizawa held eye contact with the young teen, getting angry wouldn't solve anything.
"I highly doubt that, but right now you're going to need help and it starts with your appearance."
Danny crossed his arms pretending he was more offended than he actually was,
"What's wrong with my outfit?"
"Thanks to the stunt you pulled, you should be in prison. Forget about being in public, if you're going to stay here, we're going to have to make some changes. You're a walking traffic light."
He makes a good point, Danny thought. Even if he was in another dimension, who knows what problems he caused revealing himself to the media like that. He doubted they would know, but another dimension does propose the question of who they are in this dimension. It would be risky using his persona for the time being. Until he can build some form of credibility, there would have to be some precaution taken.
"You're going to have to dye your hair, a haircut, and possible eye contacts-"
"I'm gonna have to politely refuse dude, that is not happening" Danny said, interrupting the man
"I don't think you understand what it means to be under witness protection"
"Look I get that, but I have a much better idea and it doesn't involve me getting a haircut"
Standing up Danny backed away from the table, putting distance between him and Aizawa. Holding tightly onto the power within his core that was buzzing to escape, he allowed himself to transform, rings of light blinding the Pro Hero in the process. Having to look away for a brief moment Aizawa collected himself, only to turn around and see an average looking teenager; black hair, blue eyes, on the malnourished side, but other than that he looked…alive.
Meanwhile Danny was holding in the feeling of wanting to crumble to the floor due to the excess power transfer onto his human half.
"Is there an explanation for this?"
"A magician never reveals his secret"
