Third Person POV

At some point Danny had fallen asleep. His dreams had been turned to nightmares as his subconscious absorbed what Vlad's letter had detailed. Visions of him by Vlad's side, his family not truly wanting him, and a voice constantly asking him the same thing over and over again.

"Who are you?"

The teen was ripped out of his dreams by the sound of his beeping alarm clock. He slammed his hand on the snooze button and groggily sat up. Shaking off the last bit of his now fading dreams he realized that in his hand, he still held the picture of Vlad and Danielle. The two people who are supposed to be his biological parents. No, it couldn't be true. It was just another one of Vlad's tricks. There was no possible way that any part of what Vlad had said in his letter was real. It just couldn't be... Right?

The letter, Vlad's will, and the birth documents still rested at the edge of the young halfa's bed. He stared angrily at them, his anger growing the more he glared at them and the information they held. Danny threw the picture of Vlad and Danielle at the papers. The picture just slid across the top of the papers and fell onto the floor, though it did expose the photo of just Danielle. Danny growled low in his throat and lunged at the papers, causing them to all fly off his bed. He stared at the papers like they were diseased. After a while, he couldn't even stand to be in the room with them anymore. So, he left the papers and pictures on the floor and exited his room. Vlad's words had permanently planted themselves in Danny's mind, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was, in fact, some truth to his words.

'There is a lot Jack and Maddie never told you.'

Squaring his jaw, Danny decided that he wasn't going to be afraid of Vlad's words. He knew that the man was a liar and that his current parents were his real parents. He was going to confront them and learn the truth, finally putting his horrible memories of the elder halfa to rest. Before heading downstairs, Danny walked into the bathroom to give himself a quick once over. He had slept in his clothes so they were all wrinkled and his raven locks were messy and matted. His blue eyes were slightly bloodshot from crying and there were faint tear tracks running down his cheeks. The teen ran his fingers through his hair, splashed a little water on his face and left the bathroom, walking downstairs.

Jazz was in the living room on the couch, reading one of her psychology books. When Danny entered the living room, she flashed her brother a smile which he halfheartedly returned. The older girl's brow furrowed and she stood up, walking over to the teen. Danny shook his head. "Not right now." He told her, his voice small. Jazz frowned but backed off, though Danny could visibly tell she wasn't doing it happily. She returned to her seat on the couch and continued to read her book. Danny walked into the kitchen where his mom and dad (or Jack and Maddie?) were sitting at the table, discussing the events that had occurred over the past few days.

"Mom? Dad?" Danny said. Their attention was instantly drawn to the young halfa. Worried looks appeared on their faces as they noticed the teen's appearance and Maddie removed her hood. "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked, concern etched in her voice.

Danny sat down at the table across from his parents. He didn't know how to say it. There wasn't an easy way to ask this question. No way to ease into it, or just casually bring it up. Just had to get it over with. Like ripping off a bandage. Quick, easy, painless. Well, mostly.

"What's wrong son?" Jack asked. Danny flinched at the word son. The young halfa inhaled deeply, calming his racing heart. The more he delayed asking the question the worse he felt. Why was he so afraid to ask? He knew that Vlad was lying, Jack and Maddie were his real parents and that was the truth. And yet...

Danny locked eyes with his parents. "Am I adopted?" He asked plainly. Looks of surprise appeared on their faces.

Maddie chuckled, reaching for his hand. "Sweetie, are you feeling okay?" Danny felt his mouth dry up and he pulled his hand away from Maddie's reach. His parents were avoiding the question. This wasn't a good sign.

Danny repeated his question, slightly louder this time. "Am I adopted?"

Jack and Maddie shared a look. Maddie stood up and slowly walked towards the teen. "Danny-boy, what would make you think something like that?" Jack asked. Maddie continued to slowly move towards the young halfa.

Danny's eyes flashed a dangerous green. "Am. I. Adopted?" He growled, making sure to accent every word. Maddie immediately halted in her tracks when she saw the boy's eyes change from their beautiful blue to a toxic green. Her breaths were small and short as she went back over to her husband and whispered in his ear. The elder Fenton's began to whisper to each other furiously. Danny allowed them some privacy and did his best to not listen in on their conversation, despite his enhanced hearing. Though he did wish they wouldn't take so long.

The longer they took, the more his concern grew. Why weren't they just saying no? Why wouldn't they just say, "Of course not Danny." Why would they drag this out. Questions raced through Danny's mind and he felt beads of sweat form on his brow.

The two adults finished their whispering and Maddie stood, walking over to Danny and gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Danny, why don't we go into the living room?" She suggested. Confused, Danny stood up and walked into the living room with the two elder Fenton's following after him. He couldn't help but feel a sense of dread in his heart. "It's nothing." He assured himself. "They're going to tell you that you're being silly and then this nightmare will be over for good." They each took a seat on the couch, with Danny sitting beside Jazz and Jack and Maddie sitting beside Danny.

The cheery teen looked from her little brother to her parents, noticing the uneasy expressions they all had. "Should I go?" Jazz asked as she closed her book and started to stand.

Maddie motioned for her to sit down. "No princess. You should be here for this too," Jack told her. Danny noticed that Jack and Maddie were holding hands, a rare sign of affection from them. The feeling of dread in his heart increased. Jazz noticed this too as she sat back down beside her brother and put a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. The teen smiled at the gesture before turning his attention fully onto the people who he was beginning to worry, weren't his real parents.

After sharing a look, both Jack and Maddie sighed. "You both know that science has been a major part of our lives," Maddie said, gesturing to both her and her husband, "so much so, that we devoted the majority of our lives to it." Tears began to well in Maddie's violet eyes. She sniffed and continued. "After Jasmine was born, I kept having miscarriages. The doctors had multiple assumptions on why it kept happening, ranging from my line of work to my genetics." She hiccuped. "It was torture to keep learning that each time I thought I was going to have another baby, I lost it. Eventually, we decided to just adopt a child." Maddie finished. Tears were freely streaming down her face now and Danny saw her grip her husband's hand tighter. She looked at Danny sadly, "That child was you." Shock overcame Danny.

It was true. He was adopted. The Fenton's weren't his real family. Jack and Maddie weren't his biological parents, Jazz wasn't his biological big sister. Tears welled in his eyes. But that still didn't mean Vlad was his father. He sniffed and blinked away his tears. Jazz's arms wrapped around him in a hug and she rested her chin on his shoulder. This was news to her as well. It never even occurred to her that Danny could have been adopted. And why would she have thought that? Danny's adoptive mother and father joined in the hug, with Jack's arms wrapping around all of them, pulling them close together. Tears finally fell from the young halfa's eyes.

After a few moments of just silence and hugging, the family separated and Maddie cupped Danny's cheeks in her hands, wiping away his tears with her thumbs as tears spilled from her eyes. "We wanted to tell you, honestly, but we didn't know how. We didn't know how you would take it and we were scared about how you would react. We were wrong to do that. You deserved to know." She sniffed and closed her eyes. Danny moved closer to her and pulled her into a hug. After a moment of shock, Maddie sniffed and wrapped her arms around her adoptive son, gently running a hand through his hair. "No matter what anyone thinks or says, you're a Fenton Danny. You're part of this family. You'll always be my baby boy."

Maddie and Danny separated and Jazz wrapped her arm around Danny's shoulder, pulling him close to her. "And you'll always be my little brother. Nothing is going to change that." She added, placing a light kiss on his head.

Tears spilled from Danny's eyes. He took the hand that Jazz had resting on his shoulder, and gently removed it. He stood up from the couch and turned to his adoptive family. "I think I need some time alone right now."

Maddie moved to stop him, but Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. Maddie turned to him, but Jack's eyes were on Danny. "Of course son." He said, understanding in his eyes. Danny let the corners of his lips turn upwards in a small smile. Jack may be a bit of a goof sometimes, but he was a very understanding and kind man.

Danny let the cool white rings wash over, transforming him into his ghostly alter ego. He was about to take off when his phone buzzed in his pocket. The teen took it out and saw a text message from Sam flashing on the screen.

'We still on for lunch today? Tucker wants to hang out too. Apparently being Mayor is a lot more work than he expected and he wants some to spend some time with 'old friends'. Can you believe him? Talk to you soon Ghost Boy ;)
-Sam'

Danny sighed and placed his phone on the coffee table. Turning intangible, he flew up through the roof as his family watched. Maddie leaned into Jack, who squeezed her hand on comfort. Jazz was sitting there wondering why Danny would suddenly ask this question. It wasn't something that came up in a normal conversation. Her eyes drifted towards the stairs and she stood, one destination in her mind.

Meanwhile, the teen halfa flew above the city looking over buildings, feeling the rush of air against his face and blowing through his hair. Tears stung his eyes as he flew farther and farther away from Fenton Works. He couldn't believe it was true. He really was adopted. Vlad had been telling the truth. Danny felt his breaths come quicker as he continued to fly through the midday air. He knew he needed to calm down before he went into a panic attack. The young halfa slowed his breathing, taking deep measured breaths, and he repeated to himself the same phrase.

"Just because I'm adopted, doesn't make me Vlad's son."

Once he'd calmed down, Danny began to put his thoughts in order. He now knew that he was adopted, and Vlad had been the one to tell him. How could Vlad know unless...

No. Vlad has his ways, he could have easily hacked into his personal files and found the information that revolved around him being adopted. And for all he knew, Danielle Ryder could just a made up woman that Vlad had created to sell his lie. He could have easily photo-shopped a random woman off the internet into his pictures. And it wouldn't take much for him to fake a birth document. The man had the resources.Vlad was a liar and liked to play mind games. None of what had happened meant that Vlad was Danny's real father. But Danny couldn't help but wonder who his real parents were.

Who were they? Why didn't they want him? Were they still around? Would they know who he is? So many questions swirled in his mind and Danny clutched his head in pain, halting his flight and closing his eyes. He needed to know the answers, and he knew one place that could give him the truth. Despite him never wanting to go anywhere near that place again, the teen knew it was his only option. Sure there were other ways, but this was the only one he could think of and though every part of him was screaming at him to not do it, he knew he had to. 

Opening his eyes, Danny changed direction and started flying at high speeds to the one place where he knew he could get the answers he so desperately needed.

And he wasn't going to stop until he got there.