Page 108 of Lovesick Titan

Danny took the bait and dove forward.

Gulping for air as he always did when passing from the mirror world into the real one, he turned back, not trusting himself, and saw a perfect standing mirror erected in the lot of the power plant that Ludgate must have set up just for him.

This was the spot where everything changed. More than the night Rick died and Danny was so devastated he Awakened. That loss had been terrible. It wasn’t that the loss of his mother was worse than losing his best friend, but the loss of himself afterward was, leaving him desperate and furious and so tired. He’d done the unthinkable that night and become the monster he’d tried so hard to stop.

“Danny!” his father cried, and as Danny spun around, he was reminded how far he’d come since then. He was stronger now. He wasn’t alone like he’d felt all those months ago. He hadn’t been alone then, not truly. He never was. He had so many reasons to keep fighting, so many people who had believed in him until he was ready to believe in himself. He hadn’t been able to save his mother, but here, right now, was someone he could save, a reason to keep moving forward.

Any concern that this too was being broadcast and that his identity might be in jeopardy fell away in the relief he felt at seeing his father real and whole and safe only a few feet away. Now that he was inside the wreckage, he could better see the explosives, several dozen positioned all around them, but there didn’t appear to be a timer or any sort of triggering device. Ludgate had to have it on him.

Danny untied his father quickly and hugged him close the moment he had him free. John’s face was bruised and bloody but not as bad as his mirror image had appeared. He was okay. He’d be okay.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” John said, as though Danny was the one being rescued.

“It’s not over yet. Here.” He pulled up his mask enough to remove the communication device from inside, then handed it to his father before fitting his mask into place again.

John’s hair was mussed and damp with sweat, his shirt crumpled and his face worn. Looking down at the small earpiece and microphone, he stared like he didn’t understand what he was holding.

“Take it,” Danny said. “Hermes can get you out of here in seconds, Dad, and bring you somewhere safe. I have to go back in to look for Mal.” He turned to the mirror and walked toward it resolutely, but as he reached the glass, his father’s hand came down on his shoulder to spin him around.

“He’s toying with you, getting you to do exactly what he wants. You can’t give in.”

“I know. I won’t.”

“Danny, please—”

“Did you really think I’d make it this easy?” Ludgate spoke from behind Danny like a ghost out of the reflection, and Danny’s stomach flipped as he was pulled into the mirror world with a jolt.

The image of his father and the power plant shimmered in front of him like ripples in a pool. He tried to reach out to him but met the resistance of the glass.

“Now you get to know what it feels like,” Ludgate whispered beside his ear.

John rushed the mirror after Danny, but he couldn’t get through.

“Dad!”

There was a blur, indistinct movement, and a flash—bright light, red and yellow from the blast, from theflames. Suddenly, everything was on fire through the narrow rectangle of the mirror.

“D-Dad…”

“This time you get the pleasure ofwatching,” Ludgate said, “just like I did.”

Danny roared as he spun to face him, lashing out with both hands to grasp Ludgate tightly, but his fingers fell through the air with nothing to show for his agony. Ludgate wasn’t there, it was just another mirror.

No. Danny couldn’t lose somebody else, hecouldn’t, not so close to how his mother died. But as much as he felt the desire to let himself spiral, he sucked in a breath and steeled himself to remain level-headed. He had to see this through. He had to be better.

Dad got out, he told himself, thinking of the blur he’d seen before the explosion.Oz got to him in time. They got out.He had to believe that or risk tearing Ludgate into pieces.

It was time to focus on catching the man, but when Danny moved on shaking, heavy legs and peered around the maze to find him, he couldn’t deny that his resolve faltered when he saw Ludgate standing amongst the shards from earlier, holding Mal by the arm with a fragment of glass pressed to his neck.

Mal coughed, staining his lips in red just like those of his apparition, though Danny couldn’t see any wounds. Ludgate looked far worse at first glance, so much of his silver suit burnt away, leaving behind charred, flaking flesh, half his face and hair sticking out of theruined cowl. He had to be running on pure adrenaline to stare Danny down through so much pain.

“You really do ruin everything, you know that?” Ludgate said with a sneer on his melted face. “Evenhim,” he shook Mal, “who used to make this city quake almost as much as my father did, and now he’s going to diebeggingbecause he fell in love with your perfect image and tried his hand at playing hero.”

Clenching his fists before he’d fully formed a plan, Danny started to spark.

And then he remembered what Mal told him last night about his untapped potential.

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