Danny lay in silence, staring at the ceiling, the echo of his mother's footsteps fading down the hallway. The sunlight was brighter now, almost offensively so, highlighting the crumpled clothes, the empty glass on the nightstand, and Maddie still curled up beside him, hair messy, eyeliner slightly smudged, and completely unaware of the storm she'd just slept through.
She stirred.
"Mmm… what time is it?" she murmured, voice scratchy with sleep.
Danny rubbed his face. "Too early for judgment and too late to pretend last night didn't happen."
She lifted her head, blinking. "Wait did someone come in here?"
He gave her a sidelong look. "Yeah. That was my mom."
Maddie's eyes widened. "Your mom? Like Krista Rand? One of the best lawyers in the world?"
He winced. "The very one."
"Holy shit." She sat up quickly, dragging the blanket up with her. "Did she say anything?"
"Oh, you know… something between righteous fury and biblical disappointment." He let his head thump back against the pillow. "You've officially met the family. Congratulations."
She groaned and dropped her face into her hands. "God, I liked you more when I thought you were just a hot party boy with great shoulders."
Danny chuckled, then forced himself upright. "Come on. Let's get dressed before she comes back with a lecture and a PowerPoint."
They gathered their clothes, laughing quietly through the shared awkwardness as they got dressed. Danny found his shirt hanging from a lamp. Maddie slipped into her heels with a wince. The whole thing felt like sneaking out of a crime scene.
As they stepped out into the hallway, the mood shifted.
Waiting at the foot of the grand staircase, arms folded and expressions carved from stone, were Krista and Howard Rand his father. If Krista was ice, Howard was fire. Taller than Danny by a few inches, dressed in a crisp gray suit despite the early hour, Howard had the kind of presence that filled every room he entered. His eyes, sharp and calculating, locked onto his son with a mix of frustration and something more expectation.
Danny and Maddie froze.
"Morning," Danny said weakly, running a hand through his messy hair. "This is Maddie. Maddie, this is… everyone."
"Hi," Maddie squeaked, all the confidence she wore like armor the night before suddenly gone. She glanced at Danny. "I should probably call a car."
"I'll have the driver take you," Krista said, voice tight but polite. "You'll be downstairs in five."
Maddie nodded quickly and all but bolted down the stairs, disappearing into the kitchen hallway.
Danny exhaled. "Okay. Let's just get this over with."
Howard gestured toward the formal living room. "Sit."
Danny obeyed, settling onto the edge of the white leather couch like it might explode under him. His parents remained standing, looming over him like judges at a sentencing.
"This is not the first time we've had to talk about your behavior," Krista began, her voice calm and cutting.
"You're reckless," Howard added. "Irresponsible. And while I understand celebrating your graduation, this…" he waved a hand toward the upstairs, "this is not what's expected from the heir to Rand Industries."
Danny bristled. "I didn't ask to be the heir to anything."
Howard's jaw tightened. "You are the heir. Whether you asked or not. And it's time you started acting like it."
Krista stepped forward. "You think this company just runs on money? It runs on reputation. Discipline. Vision. You party your name into the headlines and it doesn't just affect you it affects every employee, every shareholder, every partner."
Danny stood, defiant. "So what, I'm not allowed to live my life? I graduated with honors. I've never gotten arrested. I'm eighteen. Sorry I don't want to be a corporate robot like you two."
There was a long pause. Then Krista said it, calm and absolute:
"You're going overseas."
Danny blinked. "What?"
Howard nodded. "We've arranged for you to spend a year in Tokyo. You'll live modestly. Work with our development teams. No penthouses. No parties. Just focus and responsibility."
"You're exiling me?" Danny scoffed, stunned. "What am I, a prince who embarrassed the royal court?"
"You're a young man who needs to understand what it takes to build something real," Krista said. "And you'll learn. One way or another."
Danny looked between them, anger rising, but buried beneath it, something else shame. Maybe even fear.
He didn't say anything. He just turned, grabbed his keys off the table, and walked toward the door.
"You don't get to run from this," Howard called after him.
"I'm not," Danny muttered. "Just walking it off."
The door slammed behind him.
The bell above the barbershop door jingled softly as Danny stepped inside, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. The scent of clove aftershave, old wood, and fresh haircuts hit him like nostalgia. It was quiet, peaceful except for the soft hum of a broom gliding across the tile.
"Place still standing?" Danny called out.
From behind one of the chairs, Luke Cage looked up, his massive frame hunched slightly as he swept up a pile of loose hair. His t-shirt clung to broad shoulders, and a rag was tucked behind his ear like a badge of honor. He didn't smile but the twitch in his jaw meant he wanted to.
"Barely. You been throwing wild-ass parties again or is the city just finally catching up to you?"
Danny chuckled and flopped down into one of the worn leather chairs. "Let's just say my mom walked in at the worst possible time… and my dad threatened to send me into exile like I'm the last airbender or something."
Luke raised a brow. "Exile?"
"Tokyo."
Luke leaned the broom against the wall and grabbed a clean towel from the counter. "Damn. That's cold."
"She said I need to learn 'discipline, responsibility, and vision,'" Danny mocked, making air quotes. "Guess waking up hungover with a half-naked girl in your bed makes your stock drop when you're the heir to Rand Industries."
Luke tossed the towel at his face. "You are kind of reckless, bro."
Danny caught it, groaning. "Not you too."
"I'm not saying I'd do it different," Luke admitted, walking over to the locker in the back. "I'm just saying… you've been coasting. No job, no hustle. You've got a mansion, money, and you still look like you sleep on park benches."
Danny threw the towel back with a grin. "That's the billionaire aesthetic."
Luke opened his locker and tossed a clean shirt over his shoulder. "That exile thing might not be the worst idea. You go out there, find out who you are without the name, without the privilege. Could change you."
Danny's smile faded a little. He leaned back in the chair, staring up at the buzzing light fixture. "I don't know who I am outside of all this. Without the family, the company… what's left?"
Luke didn't answer right away. Instead, he pulled on a button-down shirt, rolled up the sleeves, and walked to the old tube TV mounted in the corner. He turned the knob until it clicked to the local news.
"…In other news, the Justice League has successfully repelled yet another alien invasion but this time from an interdimensional threat known as the Xarn Collective. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter led the counterattack, which ended just outside of Metropolis. Officials confirm no civilian casualties, though several buildings were leveled in the conflict…"
Danny blinked at the screen, mouth slightly open. "You ever wonder what it'd be like to be one of them?"
Luke folded his arms and stared at the footage of Superman flying into a collapsing skyscraper to pull out civilians, the Flash zipping through falling debris, Green Lantern sealing a rupture in the sky with a glowing wall of willpower.
"Every damn day," Luke said. "But I don't have alien blood. I've got Harlem, two fists, and a broom."
Danny looked over at him, eyes narrowing slightly. "You ever think maybe we don't need to be them to do something that matters?"
Luke turned toward him. "You sayin' you wanna be a hero now?"
Danny shrugged. "I'm saying… maybe exile's not exile. Maybe it's could be fun I heard Japanese women are something else."
Luke grinned. "Now that sounds like the Danny I remember."
Danny stood and grabbed his jacket. "You coming with me?"
"To Tokyo?" Luke laughed. "Hell no. But you go figure your shit out. And when you're done, you come back with purpose."
"Deal."
As Danny walked to the door, Luke called out one last thing:
"Hey, if you run into Batman, tell him I said he owes me a haircut."
Danny flashed a grin over his shoulder. "If I run into Batman, I'm running the other way."
The hum of the private jet was steady, almost soothing if not for the silence brewing inside the cabin like a storm cloud waiting to burst.
Danny sat slouched in his seat, earbuds in but no music playing. Across from him, his mother tapped away at her tablet, eyes flicking across a glowing financial report. His dad was on a call, his voice clipped and cold as he discussed projections, stock buybacks, and restructuring in the Tokyo branch. The air was thick with unspoken words.
This was supposed to be a fresh start. Instead, it felt like exile wrapped in first-class leather.
Danny tore out his earbuds and leaned forward. "You know what's funny? You say this is about responsibility. But really, it's about control."
Krista didn't look up. "Lower your voice."
"No," Danny said, louder. "Let's not do the passive-aggressive thing again. Let's not pretend this is some loving parental intervention. You're not trying to help me you're just trying to mold me into your next investment."
Howard ended his call with a curt tap, setting his phone aside. "You want to have this conversation again? Fine. You're impulsive. Arrogant. You think the world owes you freedom without consequences."
Danny stood, jaw clenched. "And you think throwing money and power at every problem makes you wise. You think just because you built a company, you understand people. News flash you don't. You don't even understand me."
Krista finally looked at him, her eyes cold. "You're being dramatic."
"Dramatic?" Danny barked a laugh. "You're shipping me across the world like I'm defective cargo and I'm the dramatic one?"
Howard rose, voice calm but edged with steel. "Sit down, Danny."
"No! I'm done pretending like this is okay. I didn't ask for this life, or this name, or your stupid company. I hate it. I hate you. Both of you."
The silence that followed was immediate and suffocating.
Krista's face was unreadable. Howard's jaw flexed, the muscle ticking as he held his son's gaze.
Then suddenly the cabin lights flickered.
The plane jolted.
Danny stumbled slightly, gripping the seat. "What the hell—?"
The intercom crackled to life. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. We're experiencing a minor technical issue please remain seated."
Krista instinctively reached for her seatbelt. "Danny. Sit down."
But Danny was already peering out the window, eyes narrowing. Clouds churned violently outside, thick and unnatural. Another jolt hit the cabin, sharper this time metal groaning, overhead compartments rattling. The plane dipped, sudden and sharp.
"Brace positions now!" the pilot's voice yelled, this time panicked.
The oxygen masks dropped with a hiss. Alarms blared. The cabin lights went out.
Danny's breath caught in his throat as the plane lurched into a nosedive. The world turned sideways. His parents' voices became noise. His vision blurred.
Then everything went white.
And silence.