Half Life

Watchful Eyes

Danny sat in the darkness for a long time not feeling, not thinking. He couldn't hear anything from outside the door. His head still ached, keeping his thoughts and emotions scrambled and dull. 

After a long time of inactivity, Danny finally examined his body for damage. He ran his fingers through his still sticky hair, feeling several small sores and incisions in his scalp. Two puncture wound scars dotted both sides of his neck. His breathing was still scratchy and painful, and he frequently had to swallow back the taste of blood. Fearful of what he would find, he gently traced his hands up and down each arm and leg. Numerous tender scars met his searching fingers. 

Danny shuddered in revulsion at the thought of what had been done to make these marks. He had to get out of here. He had to get his family and friends and escape. And he knew how to do it.

Danny closed his eyes in the semi darkness. For weeks he had been repressing his growing fear and tension. He had been afraid of discovery. Now he knew he had to harness that fear, use it to charge his body, to melt through these walls. Danny focused on his heart, willing it to pound faster. His breathing slowly quickened, a faint glow beginning to pulse across his skin. 

Come on. More. More! He willed himself. 

A rush of adrenaline flew through him, clearing his mind, pumping his heart ever faster. A radiant green glow lit the room as Danny got to his feet. 

But as soon as he began to move toward the door, the glow began to dim. 

"What?" Danny said aloud. 

He strained his muscles, trying to force the power back to his blood. But the more he struggled to access his abilities, the weaker he felt himself becoming. The room began to fuzz blurrily.  Danny sat down hard on his bed, the familiar ache returning to his head. 

The last remnants of his glowing skin flickered and died, leaving the room darker than ever.

"What's happening to me?" he whispered, staring at his hands. 

"Just a dose of sedative dear," a familiar voice chimed in helpfully. 

Danny's head snapped up. Spectra was standing outside his door, watching him with those unnerving eyes. 

"We didn't want you phasing through these walls again, now did we?" she asked, opening the door and sitting across from him in the single chair. "So any time you're feeling angry or overly excited, don't worry. We'll calm you right down."

Danny glowered at her, his hands clenching into fists. 

"Ah ah ah," she tutted, shaking a long clawed finger at him. "I had to work very hard to persuade General Walker to let you out of that tank. I would hate to see you put yourself right back where we started."

The new scars on Danny's body prickled at the thought.

"What do you want?" he growled.

Spectra smiled an innocent, yet predatory grin at him. 

"Well, I thought you knew by this point Daniel. Don't you remember what we were showing you in that tank?"

"You wanted a rundown of my childhood? Man, I wish I had known how much that seems to be worth. I could have made a fortune in autobiographies," Danny retorted. 

"It is more important than you know," Spectra replied. "Did you know that you may well be the most important piece of information Space Corps has had in years? You could help protect the galaxy against an incredible danger."

"Stop talking! I'm sick of talking!" Danny snarled. "You tell me you won't hurt me, then you dissect me. You use my family against me. You say you want to protect the galaxy when you're the ones destroying it!"

"Oh no no no!" Spectra gasped, shaking her head. 

"We're the watchful eye over all alien planets. We analyze threats and protect people from them."

Danny looked at Spectra. Her large eyes were trained on him. She looked composed, calm, in control. But her shoulders were tense. Her hands were fidgeting slightly. 

"You're afraid of me, aren't you?" Danny said, watching her closely. "You're afraid of me and what I am. And you were all afraid of Halpha. You couldn't control it, so it became a threat. And Space Corps deals with threats."

Spectra narrowed her eyes. 

"My my, what an imagination. To think that an organization built on diplomacy would use such brutal means to an end."

She stood up.

"We'll continue this conversation tomorrow. I'm still very interested in your past Daniel. Perhaps we could talk more about it."

She left the room, leaving Danny alone once again. He placed his head in his hands, one thought running on repeat through his exhausted mind. 

She didn't deny any of it