Here we are! 5/11/2023! Really getting into the meat here.

POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING: Gore. Scene at the end gets fairly gruesome.

Disclaimer: As usual, I DO NOT own DP!

Chapter 13: Agony

A few hours later there was a knock on Danny's bedroom door. He set down his book and went to open the door, finding Sam on the other side. Her eyes were brimmed with tears, telling him she had seen the video from earlier.

She sniffed, taking a deep breath. She didn't want him to think that what she was feeling was pity, as she knew that would set off his temper. In a small voice, she said, "I'm sorry."

He turned from the door, a silent invitation. "Don't be. It made me stronger."

Sam stepped in and shut the door before tilting her head. "I know it did; I can see that. But I'm still sorry."

"I don't need your pity," he said sharply, opening his curtain to let in more light.

She sighed, a little annoyed she'd failed in conveying the right emotion. "It's not pity that I feel, Danny."

At this, the young man turned and held her gaze. All he saw was sadness. "No, I suppose it's not," he said more softly.

She gingerly sat on the end of the bed. "I know it made you stronger. But that doesn't mean you deserved any of it."

The young halfa fiddled with the book on the desk before he let out a heavy sigh and joined Sam on the end of the bed. He sat next to her, body mere inches from hers. He could feel her warmth and part of him wanted to reach out and be enveloped by it.

He mentally shook himself. He shouldn't be thinking things like that.

He sat there, bent forward, arms on his knees. "It doesn't matter now," he started. "It's over and done with. I am who I am."

She couldn't help it, and reached out, hand running down the back of his head to his neck where she kept it for now. "And who are you?"

"A monster," he replied without hesitation.

Her breath hitched before she began rubbing circles along the back of his neck. "That's not true. No matter what you've done, it's not true."

Danny tried to stifle his anger, but he knew she could hear it in his voice. "You don't even know me anymore."

Her hand stopped its movement and she pulled it away at the rejection, heart clenching. "No, I don't. But you won't let me."

"You don't need to."

"Why?"

His voice got small. "What if I hurt you?"

Her head tilted again, confusion on her face. "Why would you ever hurt me?"

A memory popped up, unbidden. Her eyes…her dead eyes. He clenched his own eyes shut against it. "You would never understand."

"Of course I won't. Not if you don't tell me." she reasoned.

The room grew colder as Danny's mood darkened. "You will never know."

His tone and the temperature change told Sam that there was no room for discussion. She sighed in frustration, but didn't continue. She stood, walking to the door. As she opened it, she turned back to Danny and said, "You know, I see the pain that you hide behind the smile on your face…and not a day goes by where I don't think I feel the same." With that, she left and shut the door, leaving a defeated halfa on his bed.

Several hours later, Danny was back in the lab in the chair. Vlad sat on the stool getting the machine up and running. "Are you up for this, Daniel?" He asked. "It's not too soon?"

"As I said before, I'll never be up for it. But I will let you know if it's taking too much of a toll on me," Danny answered.

Vlad nodded before placing the mask over Danny's face.

Danny looked at his reflection in the mirror of his small bathroom. He could barely recognize himself. If he had to guess, he believed he was taken 5 weeks ago, and it had been a very hard 5 weeks. He had dark circles under his eyes, bruises along his neck where the collar was, scratches and cuts all over his face and arms, and there was a subtle shake in his limbs he couldn't stop.

The Headmaster had thrown everything at him, from hand to hand combat, to ghost training, to flight practice. She had even made him fight against a tank of all things. He had barely survived that fight. His fear of hurting anyone inside the tank had held him back. It wasn't until he realized it was unmanned that he was able to take it out.

More than once he had woken up in Dr. Tanning's office. Each time the doctor had told him it had been a very close call. The good Doctor tried his best to patch him up, often giving him pain killers which were a godsend. From what he understood, the doctor could get in a lot of trouble if the Headmaster found out he was given pain killers.

They weren't letting him sleep much, but they wanted him strong, so he was at least eating well. And these days, from all the training, he was ravenous.

He did notice some muscles beginning to appear. For the first time in his life, he was starting to show a six pack, and he did feel stronger, if not in constant pain from the fights.

He had no idea what they would throw at him next, but training was in a few minutes, so he would soon find out.

On that thought, he heard the heavy door open. He sighed, leaving the bathroom to find Slender Man waiting for him.

"Slender M-", Danny screamed as his collar lit up, falling hard to his knees. He gripped the offending contraption but it was steadfast. Then, all at once, it stopped, leaving him breathless.

"I told you to stop calling me that, you bastard," Banner glared, finger still hovering over the button for Danny's collar.

The hybrid panted for breath, shaking his head. The collar always left an odd numbing sensation in his head afterward, and often left him with a mental fog as well.

Banner waited a few moments as Danny stood, glare returning to a more disinterested look. "You ready?" he said.

Danny shrugged, wincing at the soreness from his neck. "Not really, but you guys don't really seem to care about that," he answered hoarsely.

"Not really." Banner responded, jerking his head towards the door.

Several minutes later they were back in the large white training room. This time, there was nothing in the room with him. This had happened a few times before when he was expected to go ghost and shoot at targets that came from the walls. This time, however, was far different.

He was startled when the ceiling started to move. It split down the middle, the left and right sides retracting showing a clear blue sky. Then Danny heard the rhythmic sound of helicopter blades. 'Oh no…' he thought.

Sure enough, one of the Blackhawks he had seen in the hanger his first day came flying in through the ceiling. There was limited room, but the chopper was agile, and the pilot had no issues maneuvering it in the large room.

'Pilot…' Danny's mind stopped. Sure enough, he could see through the glass that there was indeed a live pilot in the cockpit. 'I can't do this…'

He went numb realizing he was probably going to die. There was no way he would attack something with an actual person in it.

He wasn't given the time to think about what to do. Before he knew it, the machine guns on the chopper started up. Danny ducked and rolled to the side, instantly calling his ghost form. Since his collar didn't engage, that meant he was free to use this form.

He shot up into the air, the bullets following him. He tried to get around behind the chopper, but the pilot was adept and nimbly moved the chopper around the room, keeping his sights on his quarry. Danny cursed in his head, now trying to duck down below it.

This worked, the chopper being unable to shift around in time. Danny already knew from previous training that if he tried to go invisible, the collar would engage. So he came up under the chopper and tried for the door on the side.

The pilot saw what Danny was doing, and quickly swung the chopper in a circle, forcing the halfa to lose his grip on the door. This maneuver also brought the machine in line with Danny again, who quickly tried to duck back under it.

The pilot moved quicker this time, unloading several missiles right at the young teen. Danny yelped and evaded, only to find these were ghost seeking missiles. He flew around the room, both the machine gun and missiles following him. As he came close to a corner of the room, he abruptly turned, the missiles hitting the wall and blowing a hole through it, showing the hallway on the other side.

Then he had an idea. Maybe, just maybe, he could get the missiles to blow up the bleachers at the other end? It was open beyond them. He could be free!

As more missiles were sent his way, he headed towards the end of the room with the bleachers. He pulled off the same move, but the missiles exploded before they hit the glass and the glass stopped the bullets. He cursed again. Of course they would have fail-safes to protect the Headmaster.

He needed a new plan. What about above? There was a wide open sky…

Danny went for it, shooting straight up. The chopper lifted with him, but was slower. Danny managed to get just above the ceiling line before his collar went off. He screamed, hands involuntarily grabbing at the offending piece. He hadn't realized he had stopped until the chopper was right under him. The noise from the blades prompted him to move, but the collar was still on, and he could feel the electricity coursing through him, setting his nerves on fire.

He lowered himself, still screaming, below the ceiling, and it stopped. His throat was raw from screaming and he was shaking from the power of the collar. He didn't realize the chopper was nearly on him until it was almost too late.

Breathing heavily from pain, he darted to the right, getting back around to the side of the chopper. Once again he attempted to open the door and get inside, and once again the pilot was faster. Danny knew he was much slower now that the collar had drained his energy. He could feel that he was dangerously close to losing his ghost form and at that point, he wouldn't stand a chance. He had to do something, but what?

As he contemplated, the chopper came around, firing another round of missiles. Danny knew he was too slow to outrun them now. An idea popped into his head. He knew it was dangerous, but he had to try.

He flew away from the missile, the projectile slowly catching up to him. Just as it reached him, Danny flew abruptly to the side and grabbed the missile. He thanked every God he could think of that it didn't explode. With the missile in his arms, he flew around and as he got near the tail of the chopper, he let it go with the hopes it would incapacitate the machine.

The missile, despite trying to correct its path, hit true and the tail of the chopper exploded, debris and shrapnel flying in all directions. The pilot lost control without the tail rotor and the chopper began a death spin. Danny realized the pilot had no way to steer the large machine and the spinning blades were coming straight at him. As he was nearly against the wall, he ducked, trying to get under the chopper to the other side. He didn't anticipate the chopper rolling over.

As Danny made it to the other side of the failing chopper, it rolled, spinning blades slicing through Danny's back, tearing through muscle. Pain erupted in Danny's brain, his back now in tatters. The chopper continued rolling before it hit the ground and exploded.

Danny was blown clear of the blast and landed hard, losing his ghost form, but it didn't register. He knew only pain and agony as his shredded back bled profusely. Pain radiated through his body, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. He couldn't even form a single thought through the torment. He wasn't even sure he was breathing, all he knew was that he wished he was dead.

Danny awoke suddenly, breaths coming in great heaves, sweat dripping down his face. He gasped and wretched, trying to get air, but he felt like he was drowning. Then he felt a sharp pain in the crook of his elbow before it slowly started getting easier to breathe. After a minute, his mind was fogged, but he was breathing now and starting to settle.

His eyes landed on Vlad and he registered the lab. "What…what was that?" he asked, head tilting towards his arm.

Vlad was holding his fingers to Danny's neck, keeping track of his heart rate. "It was a very large dose of Xanax. I had to pull you out, you were having a panic attack. I don't think there was much left to see anyway."

Danny nodded, the Xanax keeping him calm despite the fact that he felt he should be panicking over the memory. "I…I've tried so hard to block that out."

Vlad pulled his hand from Danny's neck, satisfied that his heart rate was under control, and sat on his stool. "I can imagine why, my boy. That…that was awful to watch. I can't imagine going through it."

The younger man got a faraway look in his eyes, his mind back in time. He swallowed thickly. "I had never meant to kill that man."

Vlad watched the emotions flicker across Danny's face sadly. "Taking a life isn't easy, even when it's an accident."

The younger halfa sighed. "I threw myself into the training after that; anything I could to keep my mind occupied."

They sat there in silence for a moment before Danny spoke again. "I feel like I should be really freaked out right now."

Vlad gave a half-hearted smile. "That would be the Xanax. It'll be in your system for several hours and should help keep you calm through the worst of it."

Danny nodded, accepting the explanation. Vlad stood and removed the restraints, standing back to allow the younger halfa to stand. Danny wobbled a bit when he got to his feet, but was able to steady himself. After a moment, "I don't want them to see this one."

Vlad nodded. "I had a feeling you would say that. You have my word."

Danny's eyes met Vlads. "I have a feeling I can trust your word."

Vlad was taken aback by the frank statement. Danny was showing him a great deal of trust, and he felt humbled by it. He would not break Danny's confidence. "You can," he affirmed.

Danny patted Vlad's shoulder and turned to leave the lab. As he walked away, he heard a shy voice behind him.

"Can I see them?" Vlad asked.

Danny paused, turning his head. "See what?"

Vlad shifted a little, almost nervously. "It was hard to tell from the video, as it shows the memory through your eyes, but you were hit by the chopper, were you not? You must have scars."

The young man scoffed half-heartedly. "Why? You want to satisfy your morbid curiosity?"

Vlad shook his head. "No, my boy. I simply can't believe anyone could have survived that. I know I saw the memory, and you are here but…" he trailed off. It was obvious this memory was affecting the older man deeply.

Danny stood there, hands clenching and unclenching with indecision. While the effects of the Xanax were strong, the question did clear him up a little. Finally, with a slight nod, he lifted his shirt, back still to Vlad.

The older halfa couldn't stop his sharp intake of breath. There they were: 5 neat scars sliced across his back from side to side, each one just a little lower than the one before it from the rolling of the chopper. They were massive, and it was obvious there were skin grafts.

"I'm…I'm so sorry, Daniel," Vlad said, unable to keep the emotion from his voice.

Danny lowered his shirt and finally turned back to face Vlad. The emotion clearly evident in the older man's voice surprised Danny. He had never seen this man so much as sad, let alone on the verge of crying. But he could see the evidence in Vlad's tear brimmed eyes. The man was devastated for Danny.

The younger man wasn't sure how to react. Vlad was only newly not his enemy and with the meds coursing through him, he felt jumbled and out of place. He wasn't even sure what was appropriate here.

Vlad waved his hands. "It's alright, Daniel. You don't need to say anything. You go on and have a good evening."

Danny stayed for a moment before nodding, turning around and heading out of the lab.

Vlad was in his study reading a book before he turned in, when he heard a light knock on the door frame. He looked up to see Jazz, Tucker and Sam all standing there looking anxious, DJ dutifully next to Sam. The older man sighed, setting his book down. "If you are here to fish for answers, I already promised Daniel my silence."

They walked into the study, each taking a chair around the coffee table. A warm fire was lit in the fireplace, giving an ethereal glow to the room. DJ laid down in front of it.

Jazz spoke up first. "You really can't tell us anything?"

Vlad reached for his cup of tea on the side table, taking a small sip before answering. "If Daniel wishes you to know, he will tell you. Daniel is trusting me with this, and I will not break his trust."

Sam glared, but kept silent. Tucker looked resigned, and Jazz sighed. "If he told you he trusted you with this, I know you won't break it. It's a privilege to have his trust these days," Jazz responded.

The older man took a deep breath. "After all I've done to him, it's the least I could do. I am sorry, but I will not show you anything he asks me not to. You can ask him to tell you, perhaps, but I will not say a thing."

As they got up to leave, Vlad grabbed Sam's arm, stopping her from following Jazz and Tucker. She leaned down as he said softly, "He's going to need you now more than ever. Be there for him. The memories are getting harder to deal with."

Her gaze swapped between his two eyes, seeing the sincerity there, and nodded. He retracted his hand and let her go, his thoughts on just how messed up Danny had been after the most recent session.

At the next session, Danny sat stoically, nervous over what memory might reveal itself next. With a nod to Vlad, he was put under.

Danny had messed up badly. He'd once again let his mouth run away with itself in front of the Headmaster and now he was strapped to a metal table, said table raised so he was leaning back, but almost vertical. His arms were restrained above his head, legs at the bottom of the table. He was clad in only pants, his torso left bare.

He cursed his mouth and his inability to shut up.

He was in Dr. Tanning's office, the Doctor looking at him with pity and sympathy.

"Do you know what they're gonna do?" Danny asked.

The balding man shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I only know I've been instructed to wait for the Headmaster."

The hybrid sighed, looking around to try and distract himself from his runaway thoughts on what might happen. At least he knew the doctor was a good man and that gave him some comfort.

What didn't give him comfort was the fact that they'd injected the serum that deactivated his ghost half. He was stuck human, whether he liked it or not. It also meant he was not going to be able to tap his core for relief if what they had planned involved pain.

After several minutes the door opened, revealing Banner and the Headmaster. The former had a smirk on his face, the latter looking disinterested as usual.

The blue-eyed woman wasted no time and walked up to Danny, who shrunk back a little from her hard gaze. There was something missing from her eyes that always irked the halfa, as if there was no soul behind them.

She sighed. "You're getting quite tiresome. If you weren't the most powerful being on this planet, I would've disposed of you by now."

Danny wisely kept quiet.

The Headmaster shook her head. "Why must you insist on being taught painful lessons? Why do you make me do this?"

The hybrid watched her, unsure if she was really asking him, or if it was rhetorical. He chose silence as the safest route.

She turned and walked a few feet away, opening a cabinet. "I had the highest hopes for you; I still do. You are capable of great things. You just need to know your place." She reached in and grabbed several items, inspecting them before taking them over to a little metal stand to the right of Danny.

The look of fear that crossed Dr. Tanning's face did not go unnoticed by the half ghost.

The woman placed each item down neatly and primly, before giving a nod in satisfaction and turning back to Danny, hands clasped in front of her. "It seems I must force obedience into you," she said before turning her attention to the doctor. "Dr. Tanning, if you would be so kind."

The short man shook his head. "Ma'am, I can't…he's just a boy."

Her face gained a hard edge. "Yes. You have one about his age, correct?"

The horror in the doctor's eyes was unmistakable.

"You see," she started, fully turning towards the balding man. "Danny should survive this. Your boy would not. So, I'll be generous and give you two choices," she raised a brow. "You can either do what I am asking, or your son can trade places with Danny, and you'll do it on him instead."

Danny could see the tears trailing down the doctor's face. The man was shaking now and he clenched his eyes closed for a moment.

The hybrid was absolutely terrified. But he couldn't stand the thought of someone else getting tortured because of him. Though he doubted the doctor would actually torture his own son, Danny knew this decision was not only going to be hard on Dr. Tanning, but also haunt him.

"It's okay."

Dr. Tanning opened his eyes, staring at Danny with a confused expression.

The young man smiled. "I know you won't hurt your son, and I don't want you to. Do it to me, it's okay."

The doctor's eyes got wide as Banner whistled. "Impressive," he said.

The Headmaster nodded, clearly pleased. "Well done, my pet."

Danny fought the urge to glare at her and instead focused on the shocked doctor who was shaking his head in disbelief. "You want me to…?" the balding man asked.

Danny gave him another reassuring smile. "Do I want this? Of course not. But if it's between me and your son, choose me. And don't feel guilty about it. I can handle it."

Dr. Tanning walked up to him then, a look of anguish marring his face. "Do you realize what you're consenting to?"

The hybrid glanced at the small stand to see several wicked looking instruments, as well as a few bottles with clear substances in them. His gaze went back to the doctor's. "Not entirely, but I don't really have a choice. I won't let your son get hurt because of me."

"I suggest you start, lest you incur my anger," the Headmaster said, patience running thin.

The doctor glanced back at her before resigning himself. He went to the stand and reached for an instrument, only to be stopped by the Headmaster. "Try this one first," she pointed to a bottle.

Dr. Tanning swallowed hard, grabbing the bottle and turning back to Danny in trepidation. He pushed a button that tilted the table back, leveling Danny flat.

The hybrid could feel his heart speed up, adrenaline coursing through him. It didn't help when the doctor said, "I'm so sorry."

Dr. Tanning reached up, uncapping the bottle, and poised his hand above Danny's chest. Danny's breaths sped up and it seemed as though time slowed down as he watched the bottle slowly tip, the liquid moving agonizingly slow. He watched as it reached the lip of the bottle, before finally spilling over.

He screamed. He couldn't help it. His eyes wrenched shut and he let out quite possibly the most agonizing scream he'd ever done. He was sure that if he was in ghost form, he would've let out the most powerful ghostly wail yet.

The liquid burned his flesh, a sickening sizzle accompanying it. He could actually smell his skin burning and if he wasn't screaming, he'd be gagging on the smell.

The doctor stopped, apologizing profusely, but the liquid continued to burn. Danny pulled hard on his restraints, trying to get away from the pain, but there was no escaping it.

"Please, let me neutralize it!" Dr. Tanning begged, but the Headmaster shook her head.

The caustic fluid burned through his skin and was now eating away at the muscle underneath, smoke rising. Danny's muscles were spasming now causing him to twitch uncontrollably.

"If we don't neutralize it now, it'll reach his sternum and ribs. You'll kill him!" Dr. Tanning cried.

Finally, blessedly, the Headmaster nodded her affirmation and the doctor quickly grabbed the neutralizing liquid and poured the entire contents over Danny's chest.

The agony lessened significantly. The halfa was still in considerable pain, but now that the liquid had stopped its morbid trail of destruction, he was no longer screaming. His breaths were ragged and hitched, sweat trailing down his body.

He could hear Dr. Tanning crying softly, so he forced himself to open his bleary eyes and look at the man. "It…" he started, coughing. "It's okay."

The short man shook his head. "This isn't okay. None of this is okay."

"Not your fault," the halfa replied, voice hoarse.

They heard a scoff before the Headmaster pushed the doctor aside. She picked up a scalpel and inspected it in the light before turning a wicked grin on Danny. "My turn."

Danny didn't even have a chance to process this new information before she started cutting into his chest, making sure to hit the still healthy areas. He screamed again, body rising off the table, which only drove the blade deeper. Blood seeped from the wounds, trailing down his sides and pooling on the table. He thrashed and writhed as much as he could to try and get away from the offending blade, but it cut deeper still.

The Headmaster had a sadistic look on her face, an evil grin that said she was enjoying this.

Danny could barely breathe as the blade then went after the wound already there, cutting the already tender and searing muscle. Then the blade hit his sternum and he shouted again, he–

Vlad slammed the button on the machine, unable to witness more. He had already given Danny Xanax as the memory had started to come through and he was thrashing about. It had worked at first, but at this renewed pain, he once again began flailing.

As soon as the machine powered down, the younger hybrid pulled out of it, almost violently. A shout tore from him as he awoke, and he pulled on his restraints to try and reach his chest. Vlad ignored the risk of possibly being hit and unlatched the restraints, allowing Danny the freedom to move.

The halfa made a choking sound, hands coming to grab at his chest, before he tried to stand, coming forward and hitting his knees. Vlad took the opportunity to grab more Xanax.

"Come, my boy. I need your arm," he coaxed, surprised that Danny seemed to be at least somewhat aware when he reached out an arm.

The billionaire quickly injected the drug, relief washing over him when Danny started to calm almost instantly. He set the syringe on the stand and knelt down, running his hand over the young man's back. "There now, little badger."

Danny felt the phantom pain start to ebb away, his limbs now shaking from the adrenaline. He took deep breaths to try and calm his nerves. "Don't….please…" he tried, but couldn't get it out.

Vlad nodded. "I will not show them this, I promise," he said, understanding Danny's unspoken plea.

Okay…so…it's May 30, 2024…a whole year! Ugh. I've had some health issues, which included surgery in November. I also graduated with my BA in Web Design in December, so no more school! Now the delay is mostly writer's block and I've also been working on my novel. I'm writing a fantasy novel that I might one day hopefully publish.

8/14/2024: I came back to this chapter and added the last session to not only make this chapter longer, but to also fill in a little more of Danny's past. There's 4 years there, so I can't write a ton of scenes, but I wanted to show Danny's mindset changing a bit more.

On to the next!