by Danny
Danny Hearn:
I'm in our dressing room. I'm surrounded by the rest of our... "team." I'm sitting silently. Hal, however, is far from silent.
This is freaking me out, Danny. There's tension between Euro and Naecken here. Even I can feel it, and I don't have a body.
"Shut up, Hal." The others look at me, startled by my sudden and inexplicable comment. "Sorry..." I quietly mumble to them. Sometimes I forget that only I can hear Hal. Only hearing my end of our conversations must seem strange to outside observers.
"The city is in danger. Of this I am certain," Naecken says to the assembled team.
"We just can't risk going out there! The government is still after us," Euro replies, frustrated.
"Are you sure this isn't more to do with tracking down your... 'son'?" Naecken says.
Eurostar is silent for a moment.
See, Dan?! Tension! You could cut it with a knife! Go get me a knife, Dan!
"Shut... up," I say quietly, inaudible to anyone but me and Hal.
"I'm not going to lie and say that it has nothing to do with him," Euro begins. "But it's about more than that. Our safety will be at risk if we expose ourselves in the city." M'xy nods.
Everyone is silent for a moment. Then another moment. A third moment passes without sound. The moments seem to pile upon themselves into a veritable era of silence.
"If Naecken says there's something here... and the city needs our help... I'm inclined to believe him. He seems to know what he's talking about," Tobias hesitantly adds.
"Thunder City is practically our headquarters! Has been for years! We should head there!" Nowhereman exclaims.
"I have no idea what you're talking about... but I appreciate your support, Nowhereman," Euro says.
"Daniel?" Naecken says, turning to me. The entire team looks at me. I suddenly feel like I'm under a huge spotlight. On a stage. Or under a lamp in a police interrogation room.
"Uh... I'm not sure. But... if we stick with the circus routine... we'll be using our powers on a daily basis. Eventually, someone's bound to notice that what we can do is more than mere circus tricks. If we stick around here... we don't have to use our powers until it's absolutely necessary... and we really should be here. In case Naecken's right, and there's something here... threatening the city. We gotta be here. To protect the people. Not on the road, showing our powers to anyone and everyone who shows up." I suddenly realize that I'm rambling.
Shut up, Dan, Hal says. I quickly do as Hal advises. The group is looking at me. Euro seems to be glaring slightly. Although it could just be my imagination.
...GAH...
Pain. Pain blasts me. My skull seems to split in two down the middle as a headache strikes. I press a hand against my temple, and wince.
"Dan, you okay?" Tobias asks.
"Uh... I think so. Just a headache. I'll see you in the morning, guys. You've heard my two cents. Hopefully we'll have all decided what we're gonna do," I say to them. I quickly get up and leave, heading over to my trailer. I stumble across the yard, one hand clamped against my right temple.
DANNY! What the hell is going on?! Hal yells. How he manages to yell without vocal chords is beyond me, but he's certainly louder than usual.
I climb up the steps into my trailer, missing the last step and collapsing forward against the doorway. I stumble into the trailer, and fall against the dresser. I slam a closed fist into the mirror, and shatter it. My fist is covered in blood. And I don't care.
Blood. Who cares? Blood makes us live. Without blood we die. Blood is a beautiful thing...
I scream. I have no idea what I'm doing. I have no idea who I am. Who I was. Who I am becoming.
The headache subsides somewhat, and things suddenly become clearer.
Destroy.
Destroy what?
Destroy all that is good. Make way for my master.
Havoc and chaos and anarchy and destruction and evil...
Yes.
Kill.
Kill?
Kill.
DANNY!
Kill the team. My friends. What friends? I have no friends. My friends haven't been born yet. They won't be born for decades. This team of freaks.
Kill them all.
DANNY!
A voice in my head why is there a voice in my head who's there?
Kill them.
DANNY! Get a hold of yourself, man! The voice of Hal snaps me back to reality.
I look up toward the shattered mirror in front of me. One eye is reflected in a vertical shard. Another eye is reflected in an adjoining shard. My eyes are black. A deep, obsidian black.
"...Wha'...?"
Calm down, man. Breathe. Get a grip.
Get with it, Dan. Hal's right. Calm down. Breathe. Breathe. You don't want to kill anyone. Breathe.
I look up again. My eyes have been returned to their normal white, blue, and black pupils. My headache is almost gone. What the hell just happened?
"Hal, what the hell just happened?"
I have no idea.
"I swear, if this is anything to do with you, or that shit Feldman did to me..."
I don't think it is, man. Almost felt like something else was in here with me...
Great. Just what I need. Another presence in my head.
Eurostar suddenly appears in my doorway. He looks at my hand, and at the broken mirror. He must have heard me scream. "Dan, what happened?!" he asks, concerned.
"Nothing... never mind," I tell him. "I just tripped... fell against the mirror. I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, sure. I'm just gonna bandage this up and get some sleep. See you in the morning, mate," I say.
"'Night," Eurostar replies, and he leaves.
I bandage up my hand with the aid of the small first aid kit I found in a drawer next to the tiny bed. I try to fall asleep. I try really hard to fall asleep. It takes a long time, and proves to be more difficult than one might expect. I'm plagued by thoughts of what just happened.
What was up with that? What happened to my eyes? What would I have done if Hal hadn't been there to calm me down?
I don't sleep well.