This chapter has been a long time coming. Last year, I decided to go back to school, so I've been doing full time work and full time school. Along with work and sixteen credits this semester, I have social, church, and familial responsibilities and obligations - and so much housework. So much housework. Due to that, I make no promises of when the next chapter will be out, though it is partially outlined.

There is some violence in this chapter.

"Good morning little brother." Jazz smiled cheerily as Danny made his way into the kitchen, hair still mussed from sleeping. "Almost good afternoon."

"It's New Year's. You're supposed to sleep in." Danny poured himself a glass of juice and chugged it. Vlad never had the kind of juice that was more like punch. It was always the fancy, real, fresh squeezed stuff. He'd gotten used to it, over the past couple months since they'd moved in with Vlad, but it had definitely been a change.

"How late were you up? I didn't get home until after two, and you guys were still up."

Danny shrugged. "A while. I don't know."

"I do." Vlad came into the kitchen. "I finally drove your friend home around 5 A.M., after I got up to start the day. I don't know how his parents can be alright with their son being out until the early hours of the morning." He shook his head slightly.

Jace's parents probably hadn't known he'd left the house. Jace had been at a party before he'd come over, so he probably hadn't told his parents anything.

"In fact, Daniel, I'm a little surprised to see you up. I didn't expect to see you until well into the afternoon."

Danny shrugged. "I got almost seven hours of sleep." He moved out of Vlad's way as the man headed over to the fridge.

"Well, we have a lot of leftover Chinese from Friday night." The man began pulling out takeout boxes. "Unless you want to have cereal, Daniel."

"No, Chinese is good." Danny smoothed his hair slightly. It was almost noon. "Where's Mom?"

"She's on the phone with your Aunt Alicia."

Both Jazmine and Danny looked over at Vlad. "She is?"

Vlad paused, looking between the two of them. "Is that really so unusual?"

After a moment, Jazmine answered, "I guess not."

It wasn't unusual, but it wasn't really that common either. Mom talked with her sister only about once a month, and they'd spoken on Christmas.

Vlad started getting out plates and spoons to dish up the Chinese food. "She'll be down soon. When she comes in, we want to talk to the two of you about some plans."

"Yeah." Danny disregarded the statement as he started scooping beef and broccoli onto a plate. They probably wanted to go to dinner one last time before Jazz flew back to Harvard tomorrow. While Danny had the rest of the week off, Harvard started on Tuesday, January 3rd. The teen was glad he didn't have to worry about that because that early of a start time was dumb.

Mom didn't come in until the rest of them were nearly halfway finished with their meals. She beamed at Danny. "Hey, sweetheart. I haven't seen you all year."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Hi, Mom."

"Would you like some lunch, Maddie?" Vlad set aside his wine glass. "How was Alicia?"

Mom began serving herself. "She's good. Cynical as ever, though." She put the plate in the microwave and turned to survey the table with another wide smile. "Kids, I want to talk to you."

Danny shoved another forkful of ham fried rice into his mouth. "About Jazz leaving tomorrow?"

"Danny, please don't talk with your mouth full." Mom took her food out of the microwave and sat next to Vlad, exchanging another wide smile with him. "Last night, Vlad and I had a long discussion. Things are going well. Everyone is getting along well. Danny, your grades are better than they have been in a year. Vlad and I have really enjoyed each other's company." She smiled at Vlad. "He's asked me to marry him, and I've said yes, as long as you two are okay with it."

For a moment, Danny couldn't speak. He tried to swallow his rice, but it felt like there was something hard in his throat. Vlad had asked if Danny minded if the man asked Mom to marry him, but already? Wasn't it too soon? Dad had only died last summer. Wasn't this too fast?

"Of course, Mom. We just want you to be happy." Jazmine smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Did she feel the same way as Danny, that this was wrong?

Then the three of them were looking at Danny, waiting for what he was going to say. What was he going to say?

With effort, Danny swallowed his rice and forced a smile. "Yeah, it's okay."

At their words, Mom beamed, and Danny knew he'd said the right thing, even as the words had felt like the worst kind of betrayal. Was he being unfaithful to Dad and his memory? He didn't want Mom to be sad or give up on something because of Danny, but this just… hurt, somehow. It hurt.

"Vlad and I were deciding when the best time to get married would be, and we would like to do it this year. We aren't doing anything big, just an intimate celebration and ceremony. We want to plan it around your school breaks, Jazz, so we were thinking this summer." Mom smiled at Jazz, who hesitated.

"I hadn't mentioned it yet, but I think I'm going to be applying for a study abroad in London for the summer semester. It starts almost right after Spring semester ends, so there won't be much time between, since I'll need to fly to the UK and get settled in there before class starts."

"Oh." Mom looked surprised, but smiled. "That sounds like a great opportunity. I'm proud of you, honey. Is your Fall Break going to be the same time as it was this year, right before and after Thanksgiving?"

"It should be. I don't have many days around then, but I should have a lot more time during winter break."

Vlad frowned. "I don't think we should ask our guests to give up their family time around the holiday for the wedding. We might need to just do it over your Spring Break."

"Hold on," Danny broke in. "Isn't that way too soon? Don't you need longer than that to - to plan a wedding? And be engaged? Why can't you wait until next year?"

Mom and Vlad glanced at each other. "Well, Daniel, part of the reason we want to get married this year is for filing taxes next year, but if you aren't comfortable with it happening so soon -"

Danny shook his head at Vlad's words. "No, I mean, it's fine, but don't you just… need more time?" It wasn't fine.

"If we were younger, or wanted a big affair, yes, it would be too soon to plan," Mom agreed. "However, we're grown adults with a lot of experience in the world and with relationships. We know what we want in a partner, and we've spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing this. I know it seems sudden. We've had many, many conversations about this over the past few weeks, and we just feel like this is right for us right now. If you aren't alright with this, sweetheart, we don't have to do this. We can wait until you're ready." She smiled at him, but it didn't reach the disappointment Danny could see in her eyes. He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't make her unhappy when she tried so hard for him, to make him happy. He couldn't make her upset again.

"No, I was just asking." Danny turned his attention back to his plate. He wasn't very hungry anymore. "So, Spring Break. Is that April?"

"The end of March and beginning of April." Jazmine sounded slightly off, probably as thrown as Danny was, though she could hide it better.

"Will that work for you, honey?" Mom smiled at Jazz, and she smiled back faintly.

"Yes, it will."

Danny quietly took his plate to the sink. He wasn't hungry anymore.

Danny ended up at the cliffs around late afternoon. He'd played nice, smiling and agreeing with what Mom and Vlad said about the wedding, but his stomach had been churning ever since they'd broken the news. It just seemed too soon. Had Mom forgotten Dad already? Danny hadn't. While it didn't hurt all the time any more, Dad's absence still hurt and Danny thought about him every day. Did this mean that Mom hadn't loved Dad that much, since she could move on so quickly? Was Danny going to forget the man just as fast?

He flopped down onto the ground, staring out at the water and the chilly wind stung his face. How could Mom do this!? By the time March came, it would only be ten months. No, March was only nine months from June. Nine months! People waited longer on getting new dogs than Mom was on getting a new husband. He reached back to grab a handful of pebbles and chucked them out towards the water. This was stupid. How could she!?

He lay back, draping an arm over his face. How could she do this? She's said that she'd been talking with Vlad about this for weeks. How long had she been thinking about this?

How long had she been thinking about this?

Danny lowered his arm to watch the sky. He knew Mom was lonely. She didn't need a companion to live her life, but Danny had seen her sitting alone at the kitchen table at night, when they'd lived in the apartment, staring blankly at an empty planner. He'd heard her say things to air, alone in her room, after they'd argued about how it would be easier to handle if Dad had been there. He'd also seen how she had always been on the phone with Vlad after work back then, talking about her day and different scientific discoveries. She was so much happier now that they lived with Vlad. Was it right for him to be mad that she just wanted to be happy? He just wanted her to be happy too, just… not like this.

Despite the cold, Danny stayed laying there for what was probably almost an hour. His nose and ears were getting numb by the time he sat up. Jump City on a 'cold' day like this was still much warmer than Amity this time of year, but it was still brisk, and Danny was glad he had his jacket. He still didn't know what he was going to do. Suck it up, probably. It wasn't his choice of what Mom did. He still hated it though.

"Hey, Danny." Jace caught up to Danny before school the next Monday. "What's up?" The other boy looked subdued, like Danny felt.

Danny shrugged. "My mom's getting married."

Jace looked at him. "Didn't your dad die last summer?"

"Yep." He didn't bother to hide the bitterness in his tone. He'd put on a smile around Mom and Vlad, but that didn't mean he was going to pretend for everyone.

"That sucks, man. I'm sorry." Jace clapped Danny on the shoulder.

"Yeah. How was your weekend?"

Jace hesitated. "I don't think I'll be going to any more parties, man."

Eyebrows raised, Danny looked at the blond. "Wait, really? What did Amina say?"

"I don't know, I haven't told her." He shrugged slightly, looking into the school crowd.

"Well, she'll be happy that you won't be taking that pill anymore." Danny was glad too.

Jace didn't say anything.

"... You won't still be doing that, right?"

"They actually won't have the meta ability enhancers at parties anymore."

That was what they were calling them? Meta ability enhancers? It made the drugs sound so innocent, but Danny's gut told him they were anything but. "So?"

"They don't want them getting into the wrong hands. There's villains and stuff around, you know."

He was avoiding this. "Jace, come on. What's up?"

"I'm going to go to a meeting after school, like in the evening. It's about the enhancers. They're going to be more selective about who can use them, to make sure they aren't being misused, you know? And I guess they're kinda expensive too, so they won't just be giving them away."

"Dude, you're going to spend all your money on drugs?" Jace had to see the problem with this. He had to.

"They're not really drugs Danny, come on. You saw on New Year's Eve that it didn't do anything bad. Besides, they're not making anyone pay. They want to help the community. I think it'll be good." Jace gave a half smile. Danny didn't return it.

"And if it's the HIVE?"

"Oh great, now you sound like Mina." Jace rolled his eyes. "It's not. You're paranoid. Look, if you're so worried, come tonight. You'll see."

An immediate and emphatic no was Danny's gut reaction, but as he thought about Jace going to something like this alone, anxiety tightened his chest, pressing on his lungs and ribs. "Yeah, I guess." At his words, the feeling eased slightly. What the heck was that about?

"Wait, really? Dude, that's great. It'll be fine, you'll see." Jace stretched. "Then maybe you can help me show Mina that this is completely harmless."

"Maybe." Somehow, Danny doubted that was going to happen.

Before he could try and convince Jace of what a bad idea the whole thing was, the other teen turned the subject back to him. "About your mom…"

"Yeah?" Danny sighed.

"You gonna be okay, man?" Jace studied him. "That's some heavy stuff."

"Yeah, it's just…" Danny kicked at the ground. "It's stupid. That's what it is. Like, she can't even wait a year? I'm not surprised about Vlad, because he's been obsessed with her for forever, but Mom… it's messed up. It's so stupid. Who cares about taxes, what about Dad?" He kicked the ground again. He suddenly wished the Box Ghost was around and making trouble so he'd have a way to get his frustration out. "Did he not matter? Did she forget that they were married for twenty years?" School was suddenly the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't think he could sit in a classroom for eight hours with his chest hot and tight and his hands trembling, feeling like he wanted to hit something. "Did she not care?" He had to go, though. He'd skipped a couple weeks ago and Mom had been mad. If he skipped again, she'd probably know it had something to do with the engagement and call off the wedding.

That sounded like a great idea.

"You know what? Screw this."

"Like, your mom getting married, or school?" Jace leaned back, hands in his pockets, and Danny snorted.

"Both."

"Kay, I'm gonna say hi to Mina, and then we can go." The teen started forward and Danny blinked.

"Wait, you don't have to come. I don't want you to get in trouble, or kicked off your team."

Jace shook his head. "Nah, man, it's fine. I have a group presentation I really don't want to do, so sluffing sounds great. I'll be right back." He disappeared into the crowd of students in front of the school.

Maybe Danny shouldn't sluff. He didn't want Jace in trouble, and Jace was only sluffing because of him. As soon as the blond stepped out of the crowd, Danny opened his mouth. "Look, Jace, maybe we shouldn't-"

"Oh, come on, man. It's fine. Let's get out of here."

"But your project-"

"Dude, come on. It's the first day of school all year. It's her own fault for making it due today. Let's go before the bell rings and it gets really obvious that we're not gonna be going."

Danny gave a half smile at that. "Yeah, okay."

Jace led the way to the train station and the boys got on the train just about to leave, barely catching it. It was pretty full of commuters and Danny and Jace had to squeeze through to get to where they could hold onto the rail.

"So where's this one going?" Danny gripped the pole as the train started moving.

Jace grinned. "No idea. I didn't check."

"How were the movies?"

Danny's hands froze, seat belt halfway buckled. "What?"

Vlad accelerated out of the school parking lot, weaving between cars. His voice was light and casual. "How were the movies? That is where you were all morning, isn't it?" He accelerated again and Danny quickly finished buckling his seat belt.

"Today was a school day. I wasn't at the movies."

Vlad slammed on the brakes at a stop sign and Danny jerked forward, the seat belt locking across his shoulder and chest. He hissed in a breath and Vlad turned to look at him. "Don't lie to me, Daniel."

The man glanced down the road before accelerating, the car jumping forward.

"So what movie did you see?" He changed lanes without looking and Danny heard another car honk.

Swallowing dryly, Danny answered, "King Kong."

"How was it? I've heard good things about it." The car sped up again as the light up ahead turned yellow, before Vlad slammed on the breaks, Danny ramming into the seat belt again. He coughed slightly as Vlad continued, "Did you have fun?"

"Um," The teen cleared his throat. "Yeah. It was good. Were you following me?"

His answer was a scoff. "Please, Daniel, I have better things to do." The light turned green and Vlad jerked the wheel to the side as the car sped into motion, turning a sudden left from a straight lane.

Heart in his throat, Danny watched the other cars stop and honk to avoid them. "What are you doing!?"

"Heading home, of course. Why, did you want to go somewhere else? More pizza perhaps? I thought you wouldn't want any after going there for lunch." Vlad took a right sharply and Danny would swear the car slid a little. "You've already spent enough time where you shouldn't be, wouldn't you say?" The man accelerated more. "Did you want to visit San Francisco again, like in September? Or maybe LA this time."

Despite himself, Danny gripped the door, every muscle tense. "Look, it's not a big deal-"

"Not a big deal?" Vlad crossed into the oncoming lane in order to pass the car in front of them. "I disagree. School is very important. You really shouldn't be skipping it." It almost sounded like Vlad could be discussing the weather, and wasn't driving at close to 80 miles per hour on a semi-crowded city street.

"Okay, I won't do it again, I'm sorry." The words came out in a rush as a car barely missed clipping Vlad's bumper.

"Oh, excellent. That does solve that problem." Vlad whipped the car around a corner. "If your mother knew you were skipping school, she'd be very upset. I would hate that."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I wo-" Danny cut off as the seat belt stopped him from hitting the dashboard at another red light. He grunted as he shifted back into the seat. "I won't again, okay?"

"You won't."

"I promise, I won't."

For a moment, the older man didn't answer, watching the stoplight. Without even the radio to break the silence, the sound of Danny's quick, heavy breaths filled his own ears. They increased slightly as the quiet stretched on.

Finally, the light turned green and Danny braced himself. Nothing happened. He glanced at Vlad out the corner of his eye. The man was still watching the stoplight.

Then the car behind them honked and Vlad accelerated smoothly, the car joining the flow of traffic. "I excused your absence today. I told the school it was a follow up on your arm. I won't do it again, because you won't be skipping school again."

Palms sweaty, Danny nodded. "Okay." He wiped his hands on his jeans, swallowing. "I won't do that again."

"Excellent. What would you like for dinner? I was thinking pasta."

Numbly, the teen nodded. "Sure. Sounds good." He swallowed again, throat rough. "I like pasta."

"Perhaps after dinner, we can work more on your cloning. I think you nearly have it down."

"Sure." He looked out the window, shaking hands adjusting his backpack. "Let's do that." He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"And Daniel, I won't be having this conversation with you again. Do you understand?"

The word was hoarse, "Perfectly."

"Good. What do you think about your counselor?"

Danny adjusted his seat belt uncomfortably. "That wasn't today. I didn't skip it."

"I know. I never said that you had. I asked if you like Spectra."

Danny shrugged. That wasn't her name, but he didn't think Vlad would appreciate a correction right now. "I don't know."

"I thought you just enjoy her presence, as you choose to seek her out twice a week."

"I have to see her twice a week." Vlad was acting like this was a choice and not something Danny was forced to do.

"Who told you that?" Something in Vlad's voice had Danny looking at the older man. The halfa hadn't taken his eyes off the road.

"Dr. Spectre told me Mom wanted me to go twice a week, after San Francisco."

"Did she."

"What are you getting at?" Danny shifted in his seat, bracing himself in case Vlad took off again.

"Your mother is under the impression that you attend counseling twice a week because you want to." Vlad switched on the radio. "If I were you, I'd be very careful if what I say to a counselor that deliberately misled me."

"Wait, you're saying she lied?" Danny didn't know how to feel about that. He wasn't shocked, but he didn't expect this either.

"Not directly." Vlad changed the station, eyes still on the road.

"Then why do I have to go? Can I stop?"

"Daniel, if it were up to me, that… woman would be nowhere near you. My hands, however, are tied. All I can do is give you information. Knowledge gives you power. It is up to you to decide how to use it."

"Okay, so now what?" Anger laced the teen's voice, but Danny didn't care. "What am I supposed to do!? The principal said I have to see her! Am I supposed to walk in and say 'oh no, she's lying to me'? That'll be really effective."

"I'm aware."

Great, that was helpful. With a scowl, Danny glared out the window. He couldn't help the sarcasm-ridden "Thanks," that slipped out.

From the other side of the car, there was no reply.

Danny was fairly certain Vlad wasn't physically following him or having him followed. Earlier, Vlad had said Danny had gone for pizza, but he hadn't. He'd been at a burger place across from a pizza joint. It was close enough to being right that Danny was unsettled, but far enough that Danny was confident that the man wasn't tailing him. That still didn't tell the teen how Vlad had known where he was, but it gave him enough confidence in his privacy that he still snuck out to meet Jace. There was no way Danny was going to let him friend do something this stupid without backup.

That afternoon, the boys had arranged to meet up at Main station and take the train to the meeting. It wasn't too late, only around 9:45 when Danny got to the station. The meeting apparently started at 10, so they had plenty of time.

"You came!" Jace sounded a little surprised as he climbed onto the platform. "I thought you'd change your mind."

"No, I'm still coming. But I'm still not taking anything." Danny gave a half smile, and Jace grinned back.

"Yeah, okay. You're missing out."

They stood in silence for a moment, waiting for the train. Danny glanced around, almost paranoid.

"You okay?" Jace looked around.

Danny shook his head. "No, it's-Vlad knew I skipped today, when he picked me up. He was pissed. I don't even know how he found out."

"Yeah? Your mom ground you?"

Pausing, Danny shook his head. "I don't think he told her."

Jace looked at him. "That's weird."

"Kinda." Danny shrugged. There was a lot they didn't tell Mom.

"Hey, here it comes." Jace straightened and, once the train doors opened, led the way.

He didn't lead the way very well. It was almost 45 minutes past 10 when they finally reached what was supposedly the warehouse with the meeting. Danny wasn't complaining - although they'd wandered lost for the past half hour, maybe Jace had missed the meeting and the boy would give up. That would be the best option.

The side door to the warehouse opened quietly onto a set of fluorescent lit stairs. There was a landing and another door at the bottom, and no signs or any other hints to what the building could be. Jace hesitated, then started down. With a sigh, Danny followed.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Chill out, Danny, it's fine." Jace pulled open the door on the landing, revealing another long, nondescript hallway.

"Yep, totally fine. This isn't ominous or suspicious or anything like that." Danny rolled his eyes. "This whole secret warehouse thing is completely normal." Did the other boy seriously not get how weird this was?

"Not forcing you to stay, dude." Jace didn't look back as he reached the doors at the end of the hall and pushed them open. Danny scowled, but followed.

The room was huge, and full of glass walls. In each divided area was an adult with a clipboard, writing stuff down. There were groups of teens in each area, laughing, talking, and showing off abilities. Just in the partitioned spaces nearest Danny, there was a girl with electricity sparking at her fingers, a boy Danny knew - Tim from the basketball team - using what looked like telekinesis to move boxes, and another girl flickering in and out of invisibility. A tall, white haired woman strode between the dividers, looking over the activity with pursed lips.

"You're late." Mia was leaning on the wall beside the doorway. She straightened, giving them a smile. "Lucky for you, I'm patient." She stepped forward and Danny automatically stepped back. He didn't trust her anywhere close to him, not after what had happened last time.

"What is this?" Whatever Jace had been expecting, apparently this wasn't it. He stared around with wide eyes. Danny was less impressed. This seemed less cool than dangerous.

"Everyone is testing their meta abilities, just to see what everyone has. It's just for fun." She shrugged, and Danny seriously doubted that. If it were just for fun, nobody would be taking notes. "You want to join?" She held out a pair of capsules. Jace took one, but Danny didn't move.

"No thanks."

Mia frowned. "Oh come on, it's fun."

Danny folded his arms. "I'm good."

She paused, then lowered her hand. "Okay. Then you'll have to go. We don't want spectators making people feel like they're in a circus."

"Danny's not like that." Jace spoke up. Danny noticed the boy hadn't taken the capsule in his hand yet. Maybe if Mia kicked him out, they'd just leave. That would be great.

Mia replied, "I'm sorry but-"

"No." The older woman who'd been walking around the dividers approached them. "He can stay with his friend." Danny noticed she had oddly familiar blue eyes. Had he met her before?

Beside him, Mia frowned. "Are you - well, alright."

The woman gave a nod and turned away, moving back through the crowd.

Mia was still scowling. "You heard her. Come on in."

Jace grinned at Danny and popped the capsule in his mouth. "Come on, I'll show you what I can do."

"I'll take you to a sector with an opening." Mia led them to a glass partitioned area a little left of the middle and left them there. The teens already in the area were friendly, and greeted the duo, before Jace hopped into the air.

He'd clearly been practicing. There was no more wild rocketing up or down. He was steady, only going where it appeared he wanted to. He was pretty quick too, though nowhere as fast as Danny could be. The other teens were appropriately awed, but Danny was on edge. He kept feeling eyes on him, but when he looked around, no one was looking in his direction. It was almost creepier than someone staring outright. This pricked at his neck, keeping him from relaxing - not that he'd been planning on relaxing anyway.

"You want something to drink?" An older guy, probably 23, watched Danny, hands in his pockets. "You look pretty thirsty."

"I'm good." He was not going to let himself get drugged again. Been there, done that. While it had been helpful last time, fixing his healing, who knew what else it would do to him?

"You need a capsule, so you can do that?" The guy nodded at a kid a few partitions over who was climbing the wall like a gecko.

"I'm good." Danny shifted to angle his body slightly away from the guy. He thought Jazz had once told him that was how to get out of a conversation with someone he didn't want to be talking to, something about body language signals.

"You sure you don't want a drink?"

Before Danny could snap back that he said he was fine, Mia was there, next to the guy. "Lay off him, Rick. He can make his own choices."

That… was not what Danny had expected. He stared at her for a moment, before looking back to Jace as 'Rick' walked away. He wasn't going to let Mia throw him off his guard, if that's what she wanted to do. He just wanted to leave.

"Hey, Jace, it's getting pretty late. How late will the trains run out here?" Danny thought that they probably ran all night downtown, but he didn't think that would apply to the industrial area they were in.

"Man, I don't know." Jace dropped to his feet. "You wanna go?"

Danny gave a one shoulder shrug. "We probably should."

"You just got here." Mia frowned, reaching out to touch Danny's arm.

The teen jerked his arm away. "Yeah, like an hour ago. Other people are leaving too. Why aren't you trying to stop them?"

"I'm not trying to stop you." Mia stepped back. "I'm just disappointed. I guess I'll see you next time?"

Not likely.

"When is next time?"

Unless Jace was still making stupid decisions. Danny couldn't hold back the sigh at Jace's words. Everybody ignored it.

"Next Friday. This one's earlier, at 9:30. Are you coming?" She smiled.

"At night?"

"Jace has a basketball game." Danny shrugged like he was sorry. He really wasn't.

"That's Thursday, dude."

"I meant hockey."

"Nah, the season is basically over since we didn't make playoffs." Jace gave him an odd look. "Since when do you care about sports anyway? I've had games for months and this is the first time you've even brought it up."

Crap.

Before the teen could formulate an excuse, Jace had turned back to Mia. "Yeah, I'll be here. Same place?"

"Yes… Why don't you come at 9:15? That way I can catch you up on what you missed today." She smiled innocuously.

"I don't think-"

"Dude, no one's asking you to come. You wanna stay home, go ahead, but this is my choice." Jace looked at Mia. "I'll be here."

Crap.

"You missed our session yesterday, Danny. Is everything alright?"

Danny dropped his backpack on the floor, ignoring the breath that misted from his mouth every time he was in Dr. Spectre's room. It was way too cold in there. "I don't know, is there?" He dropped into his chair, locking eyes with Spectre. "I thought I only needed to come once a week."

"You must have been confused, or forgotten. After your little escapade to San Francisco, your mother requested you attend sessions twice a week." The counselor smiled serenely. Danny didn't smile back.

"You're lying. She thinks I want to come twice a week. You've been lying to me for months. What kind of counselor does that?" He leaned forward, immensely grateful Vlad had told him about this. He'd come in here furious, but somehow it had dulled since he'd sat down.

"You're mistaken." The redhead hadn't lost her smile, but it had left her eyes. "This is the best course of action-"

"Actually, I think that the best course of action is stopping sessions." Danny folded his arms. He was in the right here, undisputedly. She'd tricked him.

"That's not going to happen." She tilted her head. "Danny, this is good for you. I've only ever tried to help you. I'm sorry if you're having a difficult time seeing that."

Deliberately, Danny stood. "I'll tell the principal that you lied to see me more often. I bet he won't like that. You might get fired." This was playing dirty. He didn't like it, but he needed some sort of ammunition.

He wondered if he sounded like Vlad. That wasn't a comforting thought.

"Technically," he continued, "I've done twice what I should have so far, so that should cover the rest of the year. I can just leave today and not come again, and I won't tell anybody." He had to fight the urge to smile. He was going to win this one. There was no way she could argue.

"Alright, Danny, and who is going to believe you?" Dr. Spectre smiled, the sweetness in her voice gone. "The principal? Your mother? I'll just report that this was your plan, to voluntary double up on appointments to get out of counselling earlier. This was all thought up by you."

"That's stupid. They wouldn't believe I'd do that."

"Wouldn't they? After all, you have been skipping school and your grades are falling." Her eyes glinted. "I might be able to convince them you need to see me after school every day."

Danny scowled. She was right. He dropped back into the chair. "Vlad would believe me."

"Most likely," She smiled again, oddly joyful for the situation, "but would you really want to start that conflict between him and your mother?"

Danny hesitated. Mom had seemed really happy, as much as Danny had hated why. He'd love to see the engagement end and Mom and Vlad fighting, but what would that do to Mom?

Spectre leaned forward and continued, "We can just go back to once a week and you can continue to get the help you so desperately need, and you can prevent any conflict that would make your mother unhappy."

Everything inside Danny roiled. This was so unfair. This was so unfair and there was nothing he could do. He knew now, though, that he couldn't trust Dr. Spectre. He was glad Vlad had told him. "Fine."

She smiled widely. "Wonderful. Now, what would you like to talk about?"

He narrowed his eyes and stared at the wall. Like he was going to say anything else to her. Not happening.

"Or we can just sit here. It's up to you, Danny." She still had that stupid smile. She didn't lose it the entire rest of the appointment as they sat in the quiet, just would take a huge, drawn out breath every so often. It was really weird, and as soon as the clock hit 3:10, he was out of there.

Vlad's car was in it's usual parking spot and Danny hesitated. He was not ready to go home. He didn't want to think about the choice he'd made to not cause problems between Mom and Vlad, even if it was the 'right' thing to do - and he was still a little nervous after Monday's ride. Just because nothing had happened Tuesday didn't mean it wouldn't. He strode over and opened the door, but didn't get in.

"Hey, Vlad?"

"Is something wrong, Daniel?" Concern crossed the older man's face. "Did something happen?"

"No, I'm okay. I just - I think I'm gonna walk home. I wanna think about a few things." A realization hit Danny, and he grimaced. "Sorry you came all the way out here."

"It's alright. Be careful, and make sure you're home by dinner. Call me if you need anything."

"I will." It was weird to realize Danny meant it. "See you later."

"Enjoy your walk, and be careful." Vlad smiled at him. Danny closed the door and Vlad pulled away, out of the parking lot. He wasn't a bad driver normally, so Danny still wasn't sure what had happened Monday. That wasn't what he wanted to think about now, though. He had other things to deal with.

There was a motorcycle at the bottom of the hill that Danny hadn't seen before. It made him a little paranoid. He knew not every motorcycle had to do with Johnny 13, and this motorcycle was different from the ghost teen's, but still. He approached the top with more than a little wariness, and only relaxed as he crested the hill to see only Richard sitting there.

"Is that your motorcycle?" Danny sat beside the shorter teen, looking over the cliff and water.

"Yes, it is."

"I haven't seen it be-what the heck happened to you?" He'd finally caught a glimpse of Richard's face. The teen looked awful. Danny could only see half of his face, but what he saw was messed up. Richard's eye was swollen shut and he had a cut on his cheek. A bruise extended into the other boy's hairline.

"I got into a fight." Richard shrugged. "I wouldn't say I lost, but he got in some good hits."

"Dang, that's some fight." Richard looked how Danny felt sometimes after a ghost fight. It must have been serious.

"It was some opponent." Richard didn't smile. He looked as serious as Danny had ever seen him. "I got lucky. I didn't lose. I didn't win either."

"What happened?"

For a moment, Richard was silent and Danny wasn't sure if the teen would answer. "... I've told you that my friends and I try to keep our neighborhood safe and watch out for the people that live there, right?"

"Yeah." Richard had mentioned something about that.

"Did I tell you that someone had been causing us trouble?"

"I think so?" Danny vaguely remembered Richard mentioning something like that.

"We're still dealing with that." He made a noise of frustration. "Not that anyone believes that it's him."

"What do you mean?" The proof seemed pretty clearly written on Richard's face.

Richard hesitated. "The last time, I thought this man was involved, he wasn't - at least not directly. Someone was, but I can't prove it was him. There may have been a substance involved. Now my friends have me hooked up to all sorts of monitors, but there's nothing wrong. It's him this time, I know it." The teen rubbed his wrist, covered by his jacket. "I know the signs better than anyone."

"So what do they think is going on?" A substance? Did that mean drugs? Maybe, if Richard had dealt with that before, maybe he could give Danny some advice on how to help Jace.

"They think it's a new v- … problem. A new person causing problems. It's him though, I know it. He's used disguises for his own means before. This is no different." Richard's fists clenched.

"... You okay?" Whatever this was, it sounded really serious. "Do you need help?" While Danny didn't want to reveal his powers, he could help in other ways. And, if needed, he could find a way to help with his powers without giving up his secret.

Richard looked at him and smiled gratefully. It looked painful with his split lip. "Thanks Danny. No. But thanks." He looked back at the water. "What's on your mind?"

Danny wasn't sure he should give up on the topic totally yet, but he'd go with the subject change for now. He rolled his eyes. "My mom's engaged. They're getting married in freaking March." The frustration was still there, as much as Danny tried to ignore it.

"How long have they been engaged?"

"What day of the month is it?" Danny scowled out at the water.

"The eleventh-wait, really?" Richard's eyebrows had shot up. "This March?"

"This March. As in, two months away. Dad died seven months ago. And she's getting married in two months." Danny picked some pebbles from the ground. "It's stupid."

"That's… really fast. Were they… dating before?"

"No!" Danny's reply was quick and immediate. "They were just friends. And they hadn't even talked in, like, twenty years before their college reunion, and not at all since then. Until Dad died and Vlad came to the funeral."

Richard blew out a gust of air. "Wow."

"Yeah." And, of course, there was all that stuff with Jace. Maybe Richard could help Danny help Jace. "Richard-" Danny turned to face the shorter teen, but cut himself off as he caught sight of Titans Tower. Maybe this was the wrong place to mention it. He didn't know if there was any way the Titans could hear this conversation, but if there was he didn't want to get Jace in trouble. He closed his mouth.

"What is it?" The other boy was looking at Danny.

He had to say something now. He couldn't just stop like that. He could keep complaining about Vlad, or talk about Dr. Spectre and what crap that situation was, or "What do you know about the HIVE?" The words just slipped out. He hadn't meant to ask, not so close to the Tower, but there it was.

Richard stiffened, visibly tensing. "Does this have to do with your mom and her fiance?"

"No!" Danny quickly assured, "No, this is different." … Wait. No, it really wasn't, was it? He'd been thinking of Vlad working with the HIVE and Jace getting involved with the HIVE as two separate things, but it was the same HIVE. Was Vlad involved in anything with the drugs?

"They were a villain's training school, with students for hire, but all its members were frozen last year, with the Brotherhood of Evil. It's a defunct organization. Why do you ask? Have you heard something?" Richard's eyes were hard and focused, like Danny had only seen a few times before.

He found himself shaking his head. "Not really. Just rumors and stuff, you know." He shrugged casually.

"Are you sure?" Richard's eyes bored into him.

"Yeah, what's the big deal, dude? There's always rumors. Yesterday at lunch, my friend Ryan was saying he heard that Flash was hooking up with Batman."

The laugh that came out of Richard's mouth was loud and full bellied. It was almost more like a surprised guffaw than a laugh. "Really? That's what they're saying?" He started laughing again, "With Flash? Really?"

Danny didn't think it was that funny. Richard was laughing so hard, there were tears in the other teen's eyes. "Uh, yeah. Are you okay…?"

Richard was still laughing. "Yeah, I'm great. I - oh man. That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Hooking up with the Flash. I'd love to see his face..."

"Glad you think it's so funny?" Danny really didn't see it, but whatever. "I really probably should go home and actually do my homework for once."

"Danny, if you ever do hear about something with the HIVE, that's serious." Richard's tone was solemn again. "They hurt a lot of people before they were shut down. Be careful. Do you want my pager number?"

"I think you gave it to me at some point. Why would I need to page you?" Danny pushed himself to his feet and Richard matched the movement.

"Just in case. I have powerful friends, they can help if anything goes wrong."

Powerful like normal powerful, powerful like meta-powerful, or powerful like political? Danny wasn't really interested in finding out. He didn't know where Richard's pager number went, he had no idea how to work a pager, and he didn't plan on paging the other boy for anything to do with what was going on with Jace. He didn't want to get Jace in trouble. "Yeah, okay. Good luck with your stuff."

Richard sighed, looking tired. "Thanks. I'll need it."

Going to the potential HIVE meeting was stupid. It was getting Danny mixed up in crap he didn't need to be in. Maybe even the stuff that Vlad had made some sort of deal to keep Danny out of. Danny didn't want to be within a mile of that meeting.

All the same, at 9:15 on Friday, Danny was waiting across the street from the warehouse. He'd told Jace he wasn't coming, but he couldn't let Jace go alone. As soon as he saw the other teen, Danny stepped out from where he'd been waiting.

"Hey."

Jace jumped and swore, whirling to face Danny. "Dude, what was that for?"

Danny laughed a little. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Yeah, sure." Jace grinned. "You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing here? I thought you were staying home?"

"I changed my mind." Danny shrugged. "Unless you wanna go see a movie or something instead?"

The blond was already shaking his head before Danny finished his sentence. "No, dude, I'm going to this."

"Fine," the word was mostly a sigh. "Let's go." And get this over with.

"If you're sure." Jace opened the same side door as Monday, and led the way down the stairs, Danny close behind.

The hallway was just as blank and plain as they were before. The only difference was that this time, when they reached the doors at the end of the hall, they opened. Amina closed the door behind her, then froze as she locked eyes with Jace and Danny. Her eyes widened with shock, then her face creased with dismay.

"What are you doing here? You can't be here!" She glanced over her shoulder at the closed doors behind her. "Come on, you have to go."

"Wait- Amina, why are you here?" Jace's eyebrows drew together. "You said you had rugby tonight."

"I - I will explain later, please, just go. You have to go." Amina took Jace's arm and tried to pull him away from the double doors.

Jace shook his head, pulling away from her grip. "No way. Look, I know you don't like this, but it's seriously fine. They unlock your natural meta abilities. Don't be prejudiced!"

Amina looked for a minute as though she might laugh. "I'm not prejudiced. That isn't all that they are doing here, Jace. They-" She took a breath. "Jace, it's the HIVE. That's who's behind this."

Jace rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. This is the HIVE, Mia is the HIVE - you can't just accuse everything you don't like of being HIVE related."

"I'm not, this is the HIVE-"

"Yeah?" Jace folded his arms. "How do you know?"

"Because I'm HIVE too!" The words burst from her like a dam had broken. "That's how I know that Mia is crazy, and Rook isn't good, and all they want is-"

"Woah, stop. What do you mean, you're HIVE?" Jace stepped back, eyes wide. Danny realized that this must be a huge shock for the boy who, unlike Danny, hadn't suspected anything illicit about Amina.

"It is a long story, and I'll tell you once you're out of here." She looked around again, checking both entrances to the hall. "You have to go before anyone comes."

Jace was shaking his head. "You're making this up." He sounded as if he'd just figured out the solution to a puzzle. Stepping around her, he reached again for the doorknob. "Between school, me, and rugby, you wouldn't have time for the HIVE."

With amazingly quick reflexes, she grabbed his wrist. "Jace, there is no rugby! This is rugby! Don't go in there, please. This is rugby."

Now Jace looked less shocked and more betrayed. "So you've been lying to me this whole time?"

"I'm so sorry. It's… complicated." Amina worried her lip with her teeth, eyes wide and pleading. "You can't go in there. You'll get hurt if you do anything with them, I know it."

"Oh, I can't go in?" He shook off her grip. "Or what? They're gonna brainwash me? Convince me to lie to my best friend?"

"They might!" She shook her head. "They are dangerous, Jace. That's why I didn't want you taking those pills. This is the HIVE. You could get hurt!"

"Oh, so it's okay for you to be here though?"

Danny felt really awkward. While he wanted to know the same thing as Jace, listening to the two of them argue was really uncomfortable.

"If I had another choice, I wouldn't be!" Amina gestured wildly. "You think I want to help them?"

"Man, I don't even know if you're telling the truth. Either you've been lying to me for I don't even know how long, or you're lying to me now to get me to leave. How am I supposed to trust you?" Jace reached for the handle again.

"You go in there and we're over!" The ultimatum rang through the air, sharp and desperate.

Jace froze. "What?"

Amina took a shuddery breath. "If you walk in there, it's over between us." She shook her head, eyes glimmering. "They will use you and hurt you and I can't, I can't watch that. I can't. I don't want that for you."

"You're kidding me! You're breaking up with me over a little harmless fun?" The blond threw up his hands. Danny was actually on Amina's side with this. Jace didn't need to get involved with any of this junk.

"Harmless?" She gave a choked laugh, "Do you truly think this is harmless? Sean worked for them, Jace, and look where that got him!"

Bringing up Jace's older brother had been a mistake. Jace's face went blank and his hands curled into fists by his hips. "You know what? Fine. You wanna be over, we're over." The teen yanked open one of the doors and walked through.

For a moment, Danny hesitated. Should he say something to Amina, who was standing, eyes wide and looking stricken? Or should he follow Jace into the HIVE gathering and make sure nothing happened to him. He looked between the girl and the door, gave Amina an apologetic glance, and followed Jace inside. He didn't want anything to happen to his friend - and the chances of something going wrong seemed to be rising with every decision Jace made.

Great.

On the other side of the door, Mia was already talking to Jace. "- called the Health Initiative Via Equality. The goal is to make healthcare and health solutions accessible to everyone, not just the rich and powerful. We have a lot of brilliant people on our side, but we've had a lot of security issues too. One of the things we're asking is for help recovering stolen technology. If you're willing to, we'll put you in a team of five and you'll help with those efforts. In return, you'll receive a free supply of Rook, the meta ability enhancer. Interested?"

That wasn't sketchy at all.

"Yeah." Jace was still visibly agitated. "Sign me up."

Idiot.

"Wonderful." Mia turned to Danny. "Are you-"

"Nope." He cut her off. "I'm not helping."

Mia's mouth twisted, but she changed it to a smile as she turned back to Jace. "The first thing you can help us with is a disc of ours that was stolen. Could you help us recover it on Sunday night? You'll meet your team on Fredrickson Avenue and Bluebird Road at eleven. Is that going to work for you?"

"Jace, I really don't think this is a good idea." Danny broke in. "They have the police for stolen stuff."

Mia offered Jace a small bag with a few of the capsules in it, not acknowledging Danny's words. Jace took it without a look at Danny. "You can do what you want with your own life, but so can I. And I'm in." He popped a capsule in his mouth. "Anything else, Mia?"

"Not unless you want to hang around and see some of the other members." She smiled a winning smile at the two of them. Danny thought it looked stupid and way too smug. "Otherwise, you can go any time."

"Cool, can we go?" Danny didn't care if it was rude. He didn't care that they'd just gotten there. "Please, dude?"

Jace paused, then sighed. "Yeah, whatever. If you're going to be like this, I don't even know why you came." He looked at Mia. "I'll be there on Sunday."

"Great." She gave him a sweet smile and Danny hated it. "I'm looking forward to getting that technology back. We'll be able to help so many people."

No one was around on the walk back to the train station, so Jace flew most of the way. Aside from Danny trying to convince the other teen to walk, they didn't say much until they neared the train station.

"Look, Jace, about what happened back there…"

"I already told you, I'm doing it." Jace rolled his eyes, sounding annoyed.

"Fine. I think it's stupid, but fine. What about Amina? Are you sure you want to end it all over this?" Danny kind of thought she'd had the right idea in keeping Jace out of everything.

Jace paused and shook his head, jaw taught. "I wasn't the one who suggested breaking up. Sure, I was pissed she lied to me, but I wasn't going to break up with her over it."

"Then why did you?"

"Dude, you have to trust each other. She lied to me. We can work that out, but if she's throwing out ultimatums, that means it's already over. How can I trust that she's really with me if she's ready to break up that fast over me doing something she doesn't want me to?" His voice grew more agitated with each word.

Danny thought it was a little more complicated than Amina just not liking it, but he didn't argue. If Jace wouldn't listen to his girlfriend, there was no way he'd listen to Danny. "Let's just get to the station and go home."

"I bet I could fly home." Jace paused in the road. "I don't need the train."

"Dude, that's not a good idea."

"You have no idea how this feels, Danny. It's incredible. And it's deserted out here. When I get closer to downtown and where people are hanging out, I'll switch to the train. If you could fly, you'd get it."

That was great. "No, I wouldn't. Because there's going to be lots of people around who could see you. It's not even ten on a Friday." Where was Jace's sense of secrecy? "Someone is going to see you."

"Nobody is going to see me." Jace rolled his eyes. "You know, you and Amina could form a nice little club of people who want to run my life. Then you two can get together and complain whenever I actually live my own life. Amina can be club president."

Danny huffed. "You don't really believe all that stolen disk crap, do you?" There was no way any of it was true.

"Yeah, I do. What is your problem, huh? They're trying to do a good thing. Just because you're gonna have a rich stepdad that can buy you everything doesn't mean that other people don't need this kind of stuff! If Sean was part of it, they must have been doing something right!"

Danny ignored the mention of Vlad. "Didn't he die from a drug overdose? Maybe they gave it to him just like they gave you -"

"Shut up, okay!" Jace whirled to face Danny. "You don't know anything! If he was working for them, it wasn't for drugs! You heard them - health. They want to help people medically. And guess what? Sean's girlfriend had cancer. If he was helping, it was because he was trying to save her!"

"Jace-" Danny didn't know what to say.

"And if she'd never had cancer, he wouldn't have gotten on drugs! So if this is going to help people, so that good people like Emma don't die from cancer, then I'm gonna do everything I can to help. If you could make it so that nobody's dad ever died again, wouldn't you?" Jace was breathing hard. "So I'm sorry that you don't like this, but I'm going to do this. And if you have a problem with it, then that's your deal. So deal with it." The teen turned and launched himself in the air and away down the street.

"Crap," Danny muttered under his breath. He hadn't known any of that. He had to talk to Jace. Taking a step forward, he started to turn invisible so that he could fly after his friend undetected.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and wrenched him around, bringing him face to face with glowing, crimson eyes. He felt the blood drain from his face.

"What are-"

Vlad grabbed Danny's upper arm and half dragged him along behind him, heading farther away from the warehouse. Danny wanted to object or pull away, but his throat was tight and he didn't think he could speak again. He could feel his heartbeat in his head and his ribs seemed to squeeze his lungs so he couldn't get enough breath.

After a few minutes, Danny finally untangled his tongue. "What are you doing?" He tried to yank his arm away. "Let go of me."

Vlad tossed him into a side alley, shielded on three sides by buildings. Danny stumbled back, and straightened to face Vlad as the man advanced. "What do you think you're doing?" His voice was dark.

"Apparently being manhandled by some fruitloop-" He cut off as Vlad shoved him.

"Everything I've done to protect you is for nothing if you go to them willingly! You have no idea what I've done to keep you safe and you join them!?" The man swiped his hand through the air. "At this point, I don't know why I've bothered if you're going to involve yourself in their madness!"

"I wasn't going there to do anything for them! Maybe, if you actually waited to listen to me, you'd get that!" Danny's eyes were glowing and Vlad's matched them in intensity. The teen's fists and teeth clenched.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Vlad stepped closer, "You sneak out, you lie to me - you shouldn't be here at all!"

Danny pushed the older man away. He wasn't going to do this. "I'm done." He tried to stride past Vlad, but the older man grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.

"Don't walk away from me! You're grounded."

Danny whirled, newly furious. "You can't ground me!"

"You live under my roof, boy. That means you obey my rules. You are grounded for the rest of the weekend." Vlad tightened his grip on Danny's arm.

"You don't even know what I was doing there! This isn't fair!" All Danny had been trying to do was help his friend. He was sick of getting in trouble for trying to help people! This was just like when he'd been fighting ghosts back in Amity!

"I don't need to know. You shouldn't have been there at all."

"Fine." Danny yanked his arm away. "You wanna be a control freak, fine." Danny could just leave if he wanted anyway. Let Vlad think what he wanted.

"Watch your mouth, Daniel." Vlad caught the teen's arms as he turned away, gentle this time. His voice softened, "I'm not trying to run your life. I know these people are dangerous. It… Well, it scares me to think that you might get involved with them."

Danny hesitated. "You keep saying that, but you're involved. And every time I bring it up, you have some excuse to not talk about it."

Vlad let go, folding his arms with an exasperated sigh. "Daniel, we've been over-"

"No, don't say 'to protect us', I know that already. You've said that. Why do you know them at all?"

There was a long pause and then Vlad sighed. "I wasn't lying when I said a business deal went wrong. They sought me out after I'd made an agreement with someone apparently affiliated with them. They blackmailed me with those pictures you saw when you went through my desk last September. Now can we leave this area and go home?"

He'd thought about those pictures a lot, along with the papers he'd found that day. "Do they have to do with that Ryder paper too?"

"Daniel, please. Not everything is related to the HIVE. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to leave before something that is related to the HIVE happens." Vlad just sounded exasperated.

"Fine, whatever." Danny scowled. "Let's go."

"This doesn't change the fact that you're grounded, Daniel."

"That's not fair!" The teen glared at the older man, who raised an eyebrow. "Whatever." Vlad was a jerk, and he didn't care what the man said. On Sunday night, he was going to be at Fredrickson Avenue and Bluebird Road. Danny wouldn't help Jace steal, but there was no way he was letting his friend get hurt.

This fic has been a slow burn up to now, but things are about to pick up significantly, now that our big players have gotten involved. Well, involved to Danny's knowledge. They've always been active in the background, right from the beginning. Have you noticed any instances, looking back? It's nice to finally have them out in the open. I'm curious if anyone has figured out when the tracker was put in Danny? It happens 'on screen', so to speak, so it is mentioned in the chapter in which it happens - Danny just doesn't know it.

Next chapter, we'll get to see what happens on Sunday night, at Fredrickson Avenue and Bluebird Road.