Avoiding Past And Future

14

Instead one of his worst fears came back to him.

Danny had made the remote with the option to shut his collars down only because it would be necessary to do his guard dog duties in the worst case scenarios. Never had he actually thought it'd get to it. Belle Rêve is supposed to be inescapable and secured. Judging from the alarms going off and now the remote, he was fairly certain that there was an active prison break going off. He grabbed the remote, just one press of a button and he would get all his powers back.

Except he didn't want to.

In his time spent after the accident, he hated who he was. What he used to be. He wasn't a hero, he was a murderer. Not worthy of his emblem. Not worthy of being recognized. If anything, he should be feared. The mere existence of him is already a threat to the universe. Yet here he is. Having to activate the powers he worked so hard on to forget he ever had them. Except for the one time when Frostbite got here, which was completely involuntarily, he had not once transformed. He had feared the rush of power it gives. Knowing that with a flick of his hand he could blast right through the walls. How easy it would be to mess up again like before.

He was scared.

Scared of unleashing his power.

Scared of becoming him.

He had the remote, he could easily just shut down his collars and escape. He could go wherever he pleased. Do whatever he pleased. Become whatever he pleased.

And that scared him.

Having that control given back to him after desperately trying to get rid of it. Being happy without it.

What if he didn't want to give it up again?

What if that part of him decided to manifest right then and there and destroy everything?

Cujo had stopped wagging his tail as he noticed the inner turmoil the younger ghost was going through. He calmly approached the shaking teen, who had silent tears rolling down his cheeks. Much like little over a year ago, Cujo climbed into his lap and licked Danny's cheek. He wined as he softly headbutted the teen in the middle of his chest.

Right where his emblem would be.

Danny sighed as he wrapped his arms around the pup loosely. "I can't do it, Cujo. I just can't. What if I mess up? What if I do more harm than good?" Like last time floated in his mind, not daring to say it out loud. He owed it to all those people that lost their lives because of him. He owed it to them to not become that. To serve his time. Maybe, in about 14 years, when he would be sure that future wouldn't happen. Maybe then he would be able to leave.

Cujo headbutted his chest again. The pup got up and walked out in front of Danny's cell. Danny watched him go, confused. He looked so tiny out in the hallway. Sometimes it was easy to forget just how big the prison really is when he barely leaves his cell. Cujo sat in the middle of the hallway, whining softly as loud crashes and screaming would be heard in the distance.

Danny knew what he was trying to say. But he wasn't sure if he should listen. He left extremely selfish for not watching to go out there.

For being too scared.

What a shit excuse of a 'hero' he was.

Instead of helping the people he cared for, keeping his promise, he was sitting on the floor crying like a baby. Anybody else would have jumped at the opportunity. Hell, every fiber in his body is yelling at him, pleading to just do something, anything! He stared helplessly at the remote in his hands. Such a small thing, so much power.

Cujo had walked back into Danny's cell. He wasn't sure what else he would do to convince the teen. He couldn't force Danny to use his powers. If this is the end of a young hero with a bright future then that was not for him to change. He nudged Danny's arm as he gave him a pleading look. His position was clear, the rest was out of his paws.

Both their heads perked up as there was a sudden loud crash in the front of the hall. Danny rushed to the bars but could barely make out what was happening. The screaming of the guards mixed in horribly with the alarms. Those other prisoners had broken into the guards' bunker and a fight had broken out.

Cujo rushed out to the aid of the guards. Though he was in his hound form, he couldn't do much. One of the inmates had at one point been injected with Coba's hybrid venom. He was massive and was only slightly smaller that Cujo at full height.

Danny was frantically screaming for Cujo to come back. He couldn't handle it alone. Danny became more and more desperate to help his friend as he heard the cries with each hit he took. Danny punched and kicked at the bars but he was too weak to do anything. His friend was getting hurt and it's all his fault. He should be the one getting beaten up! He should be out there protecting him, not the other way around! Though a mixture of rage and fear fueled tears, he picked the remote up again and punished in the code.

The red lights on his colors shifted to green as they had been set to standby mode.

Danny felt the wave of power rush over him as he doubled over for a second. His eyes burned a toxic green as he allowed it to spread and take him over. Electricity sparked off of him as his abundance of energy tried to escape. He reached out to that oh so familiar cold feeling inside of him, pulling it to the surface for the first time in a long time. The energy burst out around him, freezing and burning parts of his cell. Flaming ice exploded out of his cell as Danny emerged from the small area. His orange prison suit had turned a brilliant blue as his undershirt had turned black. His hair had turned a snowy white while his eyes burned green.

The explosion of energy had caught the attention of the two inmates that had infiltrated the bunker. From the furthest cells they saw smoke coming out. Before either of them could comment, Danny had flown right at them. He punched the biggest one of them with the full momentum he had. The guy was sent flying through the wall from the sheer amount of force. Danny turned to the other one and in a blink of an eye he had him by the throat. "Don't you ever dare touch him again." He growled before he rammed his elbow into the guy's temple, effectively knocking him out as well.

Danny rushed over to Cujo's side. "I'm so sorry. I should have been there sooner, should have protected you. Are you hurt?" He rambled as Cujo excitedly licked his face again. He barked happily, although the sound of his hound form terrified the guards.

Danny turned and realized the guards were still there. "Ah, shit, um I'm sorry. Are you guys okay?" They seemed to be too scared to answer, not trusting their voice. The burlier one of the two shook his head no. The man looked like he only got a few cuts and bruises before Cujo had gotten there. The other one wasn't as lucky. The young man was clutching his arm that looked like it was slightly swelling up.

Danny tried to step forward, but the men fearfully tried to scurry away. He held up his hands and didn't move. "I don't want to hurt you, I promise. I just wanna have a look at it okay?" The young man looked over to his colleague who nodded at him. He turned back towards Danny and gave a short nod. Slowly he walked over and took a careful look at the arm. The young guard winced as he moved his arm around for the child to inspect, but at least it didn't seem broken.

"Would it be okay for me to touch your arm?"

He honestly rather asked before either of them thought he was attacking them.

Luckily the young guard nodded his head. Danny positioned the arm in a way that seemed comfortable enough. "Please don't freak out okay? It won't hurt." He didn't give the man much time to react as he let his eyes glow an icy blue. Being careful to not have it touch the skin, he created a cast and sling for the man's arm. "You should be safe here for now, but try to not move for a while. I'm not sure what the rest looks like so I prefer your chances here."

Danny got up as the guards thanked him. The younger guard looked up from his new icy cast as Danny retreated back to Cujo. "What's your name?" Danny looked back over his shoulder. "That isn't important, what is important is that we get this situation dealt with." He looked back at Cujo who seemed to have recovered from the hits he took earlier.

"Okay boy, take me to Miss Waller."