Danny opened his eyes, slightly confused before he remembered where he was. He sat up slowly and glanced around, taking in the cheap motel that he and Jazz were staying in. He looked at Jazz in the next bed, snoring lightly in a mountain of collage texts. She'd obviously fallen asleep while studying.

Danny felt guilt twinge in his stomach, thinking about what it must be like for her. Having to skip out on classes and pick him up, taking him to see Sam even though she clearly didn't have the money for it. How much harder was he making it for her?

He heard a faint chiming, and he glanced at where Jazz's computer lay. He quietly slipped out of bed and picked it up, tip toeing into the bathroom and flipping it open. He recognized the symbol in the corner, and with a few clicks, his friends faces appeared on screen. "Hi guys."

Sam smiled. "Hey Danny, glad you answered! We-"

Tucker interrupted, too excited to notice the death glare Sam gave him. "My theory was correct!"

"I'm half vampire?"

"Yep!"

Danny frowned. "I thought the blood sample I gave you would take days to test."

Tucker grinned. "Well, it would. But thanks to Lilly, I was able to do it in a matter of hours."

"Lilly is Tucker's newest machine." Sam explained.

Tucker looked aghast. "Lilly's not just a machine!" He ran backwards several steps, laying a comforting hand on a machine Danny hadn't noticed before. "Don't be upset, Sam's just jealous."

"Why do you have that?" Danny asked, eyes not leaving the analyzer.

Tucker grinned. "I bought Lilly off the web. I saw her, and I just couldn't resist."

"Yeah, but why?"

Tucker's smile faded a little. "Do I need a reason?"

Danny shrugged. "I guess not."

Tucker sent Sam a triumphant smile. "See? I told you he'd take my side."

Sam rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. Danny's eyebrows scrunched slightly. It seemed unlike her to be so accepting of Tucker's teasing. Maybe she was just in a good mood. Deciding to get back on topic, he said, "So, what does being half vampire mean exactly?"

Sam reached off screen and pulled a thick purple book into frame. "This should tell us."

Tucker looked up from creepily petting the analyzer. "And that is what exactly?"

Sam smirked at him. "It's a book I'm sure you've never heard of. And before you ask, yes, I'm sure that the information is sound."

Tucker humphed at her. "Oh yeah? Who wrote it?"

"Kent Nelson."

Tucker's face blanked, and Sam grinned. "See, I spend my money on-"

They both waited, but Sam's face remained frozen. Then her image disappeared altogether. "User left you channel." A robotic voice chirped, and Danny desperately pressed the mute button in an attempt to keep it quiet. Realizing he'd failed, he listened intently for his sisters footsteps, but he heard nothing. The computer gave a ding, and he quickly turned the sound back on.

Sam was scowling at the screen, the book open on her lap. "Sorry about that guys, the internet here is garbage." She started flipping through the book, violet eyes flicking from page to page. "Let's see, magicians, gouls, werewolves- here it is." She started to read aloud. "Vampires. Known for their speed, strength and cunning, vampires have existed since the early eighteenth century. Little is known about vampire origins, the only fact being that the first was sighted in Scotland. Since then, there have been numerous cases of vampires attacking humans. Although they may seem aggressive, vampires will rarely attack humans unless they are provoked or extremely hungry. The best way to avoid a starving vampire is to remain indoors during the night, especially in wooded areas. Because of their-"

"Um, Sam?" Sam looked up, seeing Danny giving her an apologetic look. "This is interesting and everything, but can we please find the section about half vampires?"

Sam's face reddened slightly. "Right, sorry." She flipped several more pages. "Here we go. What do we need to know?"

Danny felt a tiny flame if frustration light inside him, but he shoved it away. "How is this going to effect my life?"

Sam scanned the page for almost a minute, her expression unreadable. Finally, she looked up. "Apparently, you don't need to feed as often as a normal vampire, and you don't have an extreme craving for human blood. Unfortunately, that means when you get really hungry, you'll immediately start craving human blood."

"Well, I'll just never get hungry, I guess." Danny was not pleased with this new information.

"Yeah, about that." Tucker interjected. "How did you get blood when you were in the hospital?"

Danny paled slightly, an amazing feat considering his complexion. "Well... I sort of... got good at catching birds outside my window..." He looked away, not wanting to go into detail. Luckily, Sam jumped back in.

"So, you should be okay in finding blood." Danny nodded, and she glanced back at the book. "Well, you won't light on fire when in contact with the sun, although it says that normal sunscreen won't work for you, so you still need to stay out of the sun." She scanned for a moment, then added, "And because of your enhanced senses, you have to be careful where you go and what people you interact with. And just where you are in general."

"So..." Tucker said thoughtfully, "He has to become a recluse for his own safety?"

Sam glared at him. "If we weren't video chatting, I would hit you right now."

"No, it's fine." Danny said, although he felt a distinct punching sensation in his gut. "Look guys, I gotta go. Jazz is waking up." He clicked out before his friends could respond.

Danny shut the computer, eyes dull. He'd thought talking to his friends would help, but now? Now he didn't know how to feel.

-Line break-

Sam glared at Tucker but he didn't notice. He was frowning, deep in thought. "Do... do you think we should tell him?"

Sam sobered immediately. She bit her lip in uncertainty. "I don't know, Tucker. I don't want to burden him with this. He's been through a lot."

Tucker shrugged. "Wouldn't it be better to tell him now? Just get it over with?" He made a vague throwing gesture, trying to look like he was throwing a cat out of a bag and only half succeeding.

Sam was to uncertain to rebuke him for his uncaring manner toward imaginary cats. "No, I don't think so."

"Sam..." Tucker said. Sam looked at the camera, praying that the crappy hospital wifi would break their connection. Sadly, it didn't.

Tucker looked straight at the camera, hoping to get through to her. "Sam, this is probably the last time we'll see him-"

"Don't say that!" Sam snapped, allowing her anger to overcome the growing uncertainty in her heart.

Tucker held up a hand to silence her. "Sam, I don't like it either! Heck, I wish I wasn't smart enough to be thinking like this! But if we don't tell him now, it could be years before we have the chance."

"How do you know!?" Sam snarled. "He could hop on a plane and visit us any time he wants! What's stopping him?"

"Money, for one thing." Tucker interjected. "Not everyone is rolling in green like you are." Sam opened her mouth to protest, but he continued before she could. "And he's going into foster care. He's going to be moved around constantly. It'll be hard enough for him to adjust as it is!"

Sam opened and closed her mouth several times. Finally she managed to bluster, "Well, then my family will adopt him!"

"Sam, your parents hate Danny! He wouldn't feel welcome in your house!"

"I could change their minds!"

"SAM!" Tucker shouted, losing his cool. "Will you just listen for one second!?" Sam was silent, and he said, "We have to tell him."

Sam stubbornly stuck out her bottom lip, then sighed. "I guess your right. Can you link him back up?"

Tucker nodded and gave a sad smile, embarrassed that he'd lost his temper. He began to tap on his laptop, but stopped, frowning.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

Tucker looked up at her, face laced with worry. "His account's been deleted."

"What!? Why?"

Tucker shock his head. "I don't know. What I do know is that we've now lost our one way of communicating with him."

Sam paled slightly. "What does that mean?"

"It means Danny's going to find out for himself, in his own time."

"Oh no..." Sam whispered.

Tucker nodded somberly. "Oh no is right."

-Line break-

They were leaving today. At noon, to be exact. Danny knew he shouldn't have been surprised, and yet he was. Now they were in a Nasty Burger, the only one in Seattle as it happened. Danny was guessing she's taken him here to try and soften the blow of travel. It might have worked in other circumstances, but right now he would have preferred to just leave and get it over with. And how has he never noticed how nauseating the nasty sauce smelled? At least Jazz had gotten him his favorite.

"So Danny, when were you going to tell me you were a vampire?"

Danny almost snorted his burger up his nose. "Wha- what!? How-"

Jazz laughed. "I was eavesdropping outside the door. Don't worry bro-bro, I still love you."

I still love you. Such a simple statement. And yet Danny felt as though a planet had been lifted from his shoulders. He gave her a weak smile.

Just then, their slightly plump waiter came by. "How's everything?" She said it pleasantly, but Danny could smell her fatigue.

"Everything's great, thanks." Jazz said with a smile. She glanced at her watch and said, "Can we get some boxes?" The waiter nodded and left, once again leaving them alone.

"So... you really don't mind that I'm... this way?" Danny asked hesitantly. Gosh, that sounded so stupid when he said it aloud.

Jazz grinned again, putting a hand on his arm. "Danny, I will always love you."

"Will that be all for you?" Their waiter was back, stress emanating from her in waves. Danny unconsciously sniffed, trying to do it without drawing attention.

"Yes, thank you." Jazz boxed her unfinished lunch, glancing at her watch. Her eyes widened. "Come on Danny, we're gonna miss it!" She sped toward the door.

Danny got up slowly and followed her. Without thinking, he turned back to the waitress and said, "Take a week off. You deserve it." Then he left.

-Line break-

Danny sat with his eyes closed, hood up so it shaded his eyes. To anyone else on the plane, he looked asleep. But Danny's mind was too full of thoughts to even consider sleep. He was having second thoughts about deleting his account. Yes, he wanted to be alone, but had he been too drastic? No, he had done what was necessary. They were probably glad he was gone.

A tiny voice in his head told him that wasn't true, but it was lost in the cacophony of distractions that plagued him. He fiddled with the edge of on of his bandages, face blank and ears deaf to the world. Was there anyone who cared about him?

This time, the little voice managed to break through the fog of numbness in his mind, and he remembered how Jazz has fussed over him at the airport. She had insisted on checking his bags for him, despite having checked them earlier at the motel. Danny felt a small smile touch his mouth. If nothing else came from all this, at least he'd been able to spend time with his sister.

"Sir? Sir, are you alright?"

Danny became aware of the voice. He looked up into the face of a concerned flight attendant. "Um, what?" He said awkwardly.

"I asked if you were alright." She repeated, looking concerned. "You haven't moved in almost half an hour."

Danny squirmed. "Yes." He said quietly. "I'm fine."

The women nodded, obviously relieved that nothing was wrong. "Alright then, enjoy your flight." She walked away, leaving Danny even more dejected than before. Danny shut his eyes, once again trying to sleep.

Friend: CAUSE THIS IS FILLER, FILLER NIGHT!

Me: I know. I just needed to set up a few more things. I promise I'll get to the meaty stuff next chapter.

Friend: *keeps singing*

Me: *sighs* Anyway, regarding this stories universe. I was thinking about it, and I realized that Young Justice didn't really have the tone I wanted. So I'm changing the universe to spectacular spiderman. Don't worry, he'll still spend some time in young Justice, it just won't be the main focus.

Friend: That's lazy and-

Me: *falls asleep*

Friend: I told you not to stay up till 3:30 am.