Danny Sinclair: Now You See Him... Now You Don’t 

*Some events were changed. Forgive me!  

“Danny! Wake up! You’re going to be late for school!” Lena Sinclair called up to her son. After being called two more times, Daniel (Danny) Sinclair woke up and got ready for school. He just knew it was going to be great because his birthday was the next day and he’d be thirteen years old. He was right too. All the guys greeted him with a smile and most of the girls flirted with him. People just went out of their way to be nice to him and that made the day just fly by.  

The turnout at his birthday party that afternoon after school was significant. Almost everyone in school was there, as was his family. It was the happiest time in Danny’s life, but it wasn’t to last. That night, Danny’s life would wind up becoming a living hell.  

The next morning, Danny woke up floating three feet above his bed! He thought he was just dreaming, though. He never suspected what was really going on. He would find out soon enough. He got to school and one of the jocks immediately got mad at him because his girlfriend was looking at Danny instead yesterday. He tried to hit Danny, but his fist never made contact. All the time the fist had been coming at him, Danny had been thinking disappear, disappear over and over again. To his surprise, that was exactly what happened—the guy just vanished! Then another one started in on him and Danny wished he’d go hang out somewhere else. A second later, the guy was found on top of a flagpole. The next one that went for him, Danny wished he’d just “get lost”. The next thing they knew, one of his friends got a call on his cell phone saying that the guy had appeared in Egypt only a second ago! Everyone was convinced that Danny did it. They all immediately started calling Danny names like “freak” and “weirdo”. Then one of the teachers came out and started asking what went wrong. When he found out what had happened, he started calling Danny names too. They started chasing him out of the school. Finally, Danny grabbed his books and ran for it. He went home and barricaded himself in his room until his parents came home from work.  

The next week, every day when his mother took him to school, he waited until she was out of sight, then left the school. Usually, he did things that he wanted to do, then went home to wait for his parents. He made sure that he wasn’t in the house before the bus got there, though, so his mother wouldn’t realize that he’d run away from school. At the end of the week, the principal got complaints from several of his teachers about him skipping classes and called his parents. That night, Lena Sinclair talked to her son about it and found out what the students and teacher had called Danny, as well as a selective version of what had happened at school. Danny naturally didn’t tell her about the kids vanishing so mysteriously or about some of the other magical things that had happened. About things Danny had wished for suddenly appearing, muggers and others on the street suddenly tripping when they tried to hurt him, and his ability to make objects float in midair. He was so worried that his parents would disown him or worse if they knew. So, he kept quiet about it, staying out of school for about six months. Just as it was coming to the end of the seventh month, though, Danny saw a flier for the show Search for the World’s Greatest Kid Magician and realized that with his abilities he could easily qualify for the show. He also hoped he wouldn’t feel so different among other magicians. He begged his mom to let him do it, and finally she consented. They signed Danny up for an audition and got a letter back the next week saying an amateur producer would be coming to his house to audition him to be on the show.  

The following week, a young girl came to his house with a camera guy named Cedric to audition Danny for the show. It turned out her name was Allyson Miller and Danny was her last hope for a candidate on the show. The minute Danny saw Allyson, he felt his heart beat faster, but he didn’t say anything for fear she’d reject him the way everyone else had. His trick didn’t go very well either. He popped the balloon, but nothing happened. He tried it several times, with the same result. Finally, Allyson and Cedric got up and left after Danny’s seventh failed attempt at the trick. When they tried to put their equipment in the back of the van, though, a whole flock of white doves flew out—appearing out of thin air! Allyson immediately shot a glance back at Danny, who was standing by his bedroom window, and she and Cedric both agreed they’d found a candidate for the show. They made arrangements to give Danny a week to pack and they’d come get him then to get on the bus to the Magic Mansion.  

A week later, Danny, Cedric, and Allyson were on the bus headed for the Magic Mansion where the show would take place. They met Brandon, Zoey, Hunter, and several others on the bus who were all very good magicians. They all started doing various simple magic tricks on the way there, including Danny, much to Allyson’s amazement. They finally arrived at the Magic Mansion, where they were greeted by Magic Max, the host of the show. When Max shook Danny’s hand, he looked at him funny for a brief second, but then moved on to greet Brandon and Zoey. He then magically made the keys to their rooms appear in their pockets. The next day, they started showing off their talent with various simple tricks and Danny’s luck ran true to form. Finally, after one particularly disastrous trick involving three objects—including a broom and a ball, wherein Danny had somehow conjured snow—he ran off the stage, and Allyson followed, suspecting something was wrong. She found Danny in the Mansion’s library and asked him to explain what had happened. So he told her all about what had happened in his past and she felt sorry for him. Then, she asked him why he was here, of all places.  

So Danny told her. He was researching the Mansion’s secrets and hadn’t found anything about the secret passages he’d heard so much about. Finally Allyson figured it out. Several of the books had the same symbol on them, so they found all of those. Then Allyson arranged the books until their spines formed a picture. They found the picture in the Mansion and started down a passage. They then found a riddle in Latin and figured out that they had to turn the knob with a book on it that was directly in front of them. They got into the secret room, but unfortunately Cedric touched something in there and they all tumbled out again into the library. They finally gave up for awhile and went back to their rooms.  

One day, though, Max asked Danny to meet him in a small room near the library. There, Max revealed that he knew all about Danny’s powers. He told him what was going on and helped him to practice. He even gave Danny a ring that was supposed to help him keep his powers in check. After Danny left, however, Max’s tone changed and Allyson—who’d been spying the whole time—made a tape of what Max said afterwards to Paul. He said that Danny was becoming too powerful and that the ring would give Max control of the boy’s powers. Then, Max would cause Danny’s powers to fail him on stage in a fatal accident that would give Max Danny’s powers forever. He also revealed that he had done the same thing to Antonio DeMilo—the founder of the Magic Mansion and Max’s mentor—many years before. Unfortunately, before Allyson could show the tape to Danny, Max destroyed it! Without that, Danny wouldn’t believe her, so Allyson left the mansion. In the meantime, though, she did some research on Antonio DeMilo and found out about the ring’s connection with the accident that caused his death. She realized Danny was in danger. She then examined the footage of the doves appearing from the back of their van and realized the doves had come from nothing. Danny wasn’t a magician, he was a wizard! She headed back to the mansion to show Danny what she’d found.  

At first Danny didn’t believe her. Then he saw the picture and believed it. Then they found something more astonishing—a list of DeMilo’s living relatives. The list included one Lena DeMilo, who was his great granddaughter. The article about her mentioned that she’d married one John Sinclair about thirteen years ago and that they’d had a son! They soon realized that Lena was Danny’s mother and he was the child mentioned. They called his mother to ask—after Allyson helped Danny take off the ring briefly, so Max couldn’t spy on them—and there could be no doubt. Danny was the great great grandson of Antonio DeMilo! After finding that out, Allyson decided to show Danny something she’d found in the secret room of the mansion awhile back. It was a protective amulet and had belonged to DeMilo. Since his blood flowed through Danny’s veins, Allyson reasoned that the amulet might protect him from Max. Danny immediately put it on and hid it beneath his shirt so Max wouldn’t find it. They knew if Max found out Danny was related to Antonio DeMilo, his life would be in even more danger. The last thing Max needed was relatives of DeMilo seeking revenge. So Danny kept his DeMilo blood a secret from Max so that Max wouldn’t try to kill him more quickly.  

Before they left to go back to the mansion, while the ring was still off of Danny’s finger, Allyson confessed a huge secret to Danny—she was in love with him! Needless to say, Danny was absolutely shocked by that. How could she love a freak like me? he thought. He then said as much to Allyson and she told him that she loved him because of the person he was, not because he was or wasn’t a wizard. He was brave, sweet, funny, cute, and nice, everything she could ever want in a boyfriend and so much more. Danny turned bright red at that. He’d never had anyone compliment him like that before and he had to admit it felt nice. It was the first time since turning thirteen that anyone hadn’t made him feel like a freak. He was fourteen now, but he still felt like he was weird except when he was around Allyson. When he was with her, he felt like he could be himself and no one would judge him. So he agreed to start up an unofficial relationship with her, but warned her that they’d have to be careful. If Max found out Danny and Allyson were in love, he’d use Allyson to get to Danny, and/or Allyson and Danny both might get kicked off the show. They headed back to the mansion and from that day on, Danny and Allyson spent time together whenever they could, usually cuddling together on his bed and kissing. Those were the best days of Danny’s life.  

Finally the day of the finale came, the day they would decide who was the world’s greatest kid magician. Brandon, Zoey, and Hunter’s tricks went off without a hitch, and soon it was down to Danny. He performed a trick that involved lifting a weight over his head with no visible means of support. Unfortunately for Danny, he was still wearing the ring, which meant Max was in control of his powers. At the moment the weight was right over Danny’s head, Max sent it crashing down. It almost hit Danny, but Allyson (who was hiding in a box that had been delivered earlier) warned him to move just in time. Danny knew Allyson was right at that moment—the ring WAS allowing Max to control his powers. He had to get it off, so he asked Allyson to help after she stepped out of the box. Fortunately, even though Max had stuck swords in the box to try to hurt Allyson and mess with Danny’s head, she was fine. She pulled the ring off his finger and Danny hid it. “what do you think you’re doing?” Max asked Danny. “Why, my final trick Max. Isn’t that what you’ve been wanting me to do?” Danny asked back. “It’s your choice, Danny. With or without the ring, your powers will soon be mine,” Max told him. “Never,” Danny replied. The audience then watched in amazement as Max sent Danny flying into the air high above the stage! Danny floundered about for several minutes before Allyson finally told him, “Danny, the ring. It’s the last piece of the puzzle. Use it against Max.” “Not my move, Max, Danny said. He then dove down and threw the ring at Max, which reappeared on Max’s finger. As Danny landed on the stage, Max disappeared in smoke. When the smoke cleared, there were Danny and Allyson on stage together. They both bowed to thunderous applause, but all the show tapes mysteriously disappeared, so no one knew who won.  

After the show, Allyson went to Danny’s room to see how he was doing. She found him packing, but found out he wasn’t leaving with his parents. She reminded him there wasn’t another way for him to get home, but Danny said he wasn’t going home. He knew Max was still out there and that as long as that was the case, he needed to practice his magic so he’d be strong enough to face Max one day. He gave Allyson a note to give to his parents and they kissed one last time. Then Danny departed for god only knew where. Allyson gave the note to Lena Sinclair, who wept bitterly at the loss of her child. Life went on for the Sinclairs and for Allyson, who came to visit and keep them company. She was able to give a lot of comfort to them as a woman who had loved their son. Danny would periodically bring her by magic to wherever he was and they’d spend time together cuddling and kissing. Then Danny would send her back home the same way. It hurt to keep saying goodbye, but they knew they had no choice. As long as Max was still around, Danny’s life was in great danger, as was his family and Allyson.  

Two years passed. Danny’s fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays came and went without him. His mother grew very depressed and his father and Allyson were her only comfort. Then one day, things got worse for the Sinclairs and Allyson. They were all in the Sinclair house missing Danny when suddenly Max swept in, back from where he’d disappeared to. “Where is Danny?” Max demanded as he strode into the room. “I don’t know where he is,” Allyson replied. Max began threatening Danny’s parents and Allyson to try to lure Danny there, which of course Danny felt because of his love for Allyson. Allyson tried to get Danny to stay away, with no luck. “For the last time, where is Danny?” Max asked. “Turn around, sunshine,” came Danny’s voice from behind Max. “Danny!” Allyson cried, extremely happy to see him. His parents were ecstatic that their son was home. “Leave them alone, Max. It’s me you want. Let them go,” Danny demanded. “Only if you face me yourself,” Max replied. “Fine by me,” Danny answered. Then the magical duel of the century broke out in the Sinclairs living room. Lena Sinclair watched in astonishment as the spells flew back and forth between Danny and Max. Finally, Danny shouted something, made a sharp gesture, and Max vanished.  

Once the battle was over, Allyson immediately ran to Danny and they embraced. Danny could see by the looks on his parents’ faces that he had a lot of explaining to do, so he immediately started to tell them what happened. John and Lena Sinclair were astonished to hear about all the disappearances and accidents, but were especially surprised to hear that Max was a wizard—and so was Danny. They didn’t believe him, though, so Danny did a few little tricks to show them he was telling the truth. To Danny’s surprise, his parents were willing to accept the fact that he was a wizard, and they allowed him to date Allyson. Eventually Danny and Allyson married and had three children—two daughters and a son. They named their son David and their two daughters Anna and Amy. All three children inherited their father’s powers, so Danny taught them all how to use them and control them from a very early age. This prevented them from having the same problems their father had in school. The only trouble came from people who’d known Danny, and there wasn’t much of that. Danny finally found happiness and he and Allyson lived happily ever after with their children.