~Chapter 14~

Six more months passed. Lilith was beginning to answer questions with a 'yes' or a 'no'. She still called Danny 'doddy'. Junior stopped making baby sounds...for the most part. He was also starting to mimic his sister by answering questions correctly. This became much easier for everyone now that the twins could tell them what they wanted and what they didn't want. Now the two didn't spit out their food if they didn't like it. Junior, however, still had a habit of dumping his food onto his tray. And on Sam. It was for this reason that doddy got to feed them their dinner. Danny still helped out with the twins as much as he could, but ghost attacks had become frequent recently, and coupled with his schoolwork, hiding his human identity had become difficult. His periodic absences during school and his secretiveness at home had brought much trouble for him. Detention at school, lectures at home... It wasn't as easy anymore. Not that it had ever been easy, but now there were rough bumps everywhere.

Even Jazz, with the help of Sam and sometimes Tucker, had a harder time keeping his secret. Tucker usually covered for his friend at school, and often got in trouble for it. Detention was inevitable for the both of them. Because of all this, Jazz had tried many times to convince her younger brother to at least think about telling Maddie and Jack the truth, that way they wouldn't hunt him and his job could be made that much easier. But he felt like he couldn't trust his parents. He told everyone that there was also a chance his parents would want blood samples, skin samples, testings, observations, and perhaps even a bit of dissection. He was also afraid they might reject him simply because he was half ghost. And frankly, he had a good point. His parents were ghost hunters, and he was a ghost. It was a possibility that they could want to hunt him, maybe even thinking their son had been taken over or replaced by a ghost. They could seriously hurt Danny, and he knew it.

Danny sighed. "How about oatmeal? You want some oatmeal?"

Lilith struggled a bit in her high chair and grunted, "No!"

"Okay, what about pears?" he asked.

"No!"

"Apples?"

"No!"

"Cheese toast?"

"No!"

He ran a hand through his hair. Lilith had to be the pickiest eater in the world. "Chicken noodle soup?"

"No!"

"Crackers?"

"No!"

"Granola bar?"

She stopped struggling, which finally boosted Danny's hopes. "Yesh..."

The halfa smiled and sighed in relief as he went to get her the granola bar. He'd been starting to think it would be one of those nights where she wouldn't eat anything. Junior was already chowing down on his cheese toast. There were crumbs and chunks of cheese everywhere. Lilith, clean but fussy. Junior, undemanding but messy. At least both of them would eat tonight.

No sooner than he unwrapped the granola bar and set it on Lilith's tray, a chilling breath escaped his mouth.

"Oh no..." he groaned. "Here...? Now...?"

He quickly ran out of the kitchen, leaving Lilith and Junior to enjoy their meals. If it was the Box Ghost, that was one thing, but if it was a more powerful ghost, like Skulker, the twins could be in real danger. As the dad and the superpowered hero who was constantly being hunted by his parents, it was his responsibility to protect his family and keep them out of harm's way. If he could get away from the house, the ghost would follow; he would be able to fight it elsewhere.

He ran out the door, jumped into the air, and rapidly transformed into Danny Phantom. He flew away from the house, searching thoroughly for the ghost that had set off his ghost sense. There were buildings, dull and lifeless, all around him. A few lights were on, but during the night even the lights seemed to be lost in the darkness. The only sounds were a few nocturnal birds crying out in the night and the wind rushing past him. His ghost sense didn't go off again. Then again, it usually only went off once, unless there was more than one ghost near. Maybe the ghost had run; maybe it had merely been passing by.

He stopped and kept himself floating above the city, still keeping an eye out for any ghosts and still paying close attention to the temperature of his breath. Seemed like the ghost was gone. He couldn't find it anywhere, for as far as he could see. It was a possibility that the outlines of the buildings blending with the dark, star-flecked sky was hiding the ghost. He would need to listen closely in case it was Ember. Her choice weapon was sound waves. She also loved to make an entrance. It couldn't be the dragon; she was too big to be hidden by all this. Plus, she was destructive and would waste no time in tearing down a whole building within seconds after arrival.

After just a few seconds, he heard a high-pitched whine from behind him. He didn't have to time turn around before a sharp stabbing sensation pierced his shoulder. The third sense that was disrupted...his vision. He saw black spots that grew until they covered his sight entirely. He felt himself falling from what had to be at least a hundred or so feet in the air.

After about a minute, he could hear, see, and feel again. He opened his eyes to find himself bombarded with white. White light, white walls, whitewhitewhite. Everything was white! Not cream, not ivory, not marble, not off-white, just white. The color you would see in the material of a traditional wedding dress. Yes, it was just that white.

He quickly looked down at himself. Finally...something not white... His black shirt. He was still Phantom. He must've passed out, and he hadn't morphed when he did. That was good. Who knew where he was at...

He heard noises, voices. He could identify footsteps. They were heavy, like Sam's boots. But from what he could tell, they were being worn by someone much heavier than Sam. He couldn't find a door. In fact, he couldn't find anything but the...wait... He took another look at himself. He was wrapped up in a white rope. Great. More white. His best guess was that the next thing he would see would be white suits. Yup. Something told him he was being held in a chamber at the headquarters of the Guys In White. Or at least a base. They had to have a base in or near Amity Park to keep tracking him down. They must've used a ghost as bait to lure him out. And unfortunately, he failed to see the trap and walked...or, flew...right into it.

He sighed. Where they got the ghost, he didn't know. Right now, he didn't care. They may have gotten him, but Sam was still at home with the twins. She could be mad, possibly steaming, but he had to leave. And with his parents in the house at the time, he couldn't yell for her to watch the twins. He had to get back to them...somehow. He couldn't turn intangible and even if he could turn invisible, his form would keep the rope tight. All his ghost powers had been cancelled out, he could feel it. This had Guys In White written all over it, with the white everything and a rope that could shut down all his ghost powers.

The impossible-to-see door opened, and two agents of the Guys In White walked in.

"So," the first one said, "you're finally awake."

He frowned. "Finally? How long was I out?"

The second one casually shrugged. "About eight hours, not that it matters to you."

It did matter to him. If it had been a few minutes, that was one thing. He could go home and explain to Sam what happened and why he had to leave. Now she was probably worried sick and he didn't want her or Tucker to come after him. If they were caught trying to help him, they could be arrested. Lilith and Junior needed their mother, so Sam especially couldn't come find him. Tucker had never handled the Guys In White on his own before, and he hardly had the fighting experience to take them on. He also couldn't leap into the air and fly around to dodge their weapons. It was too dangerous.

Sooner he could get out of here, sooner he could get back home.

"What exactly do you plan on doing to me?" Danny asked. "I chase ghosts away from this town, I save innocent lives, I stop burglaries and put out fires. I'm one of the good guys here."

"You also cost the government thousands of dollars to repair all the damage you do. We've been ordered to keep an eye on you...and terminate you if necessary," the second one replied.

"But first, we're going to run a few tests. We know you can take on the form of a human," the first one added.

"And you want to find out which one," the halfa figured.

"Smart kid. Now hold still," the first commanded, pulling out a large needle.

Danny closed his eyes. This needle was much larger than the one the nurse used when he'd tried to donate blood to Sam. He tried to pretend he was doing the same. But considering their blood types couldn't mix, he focused more on the pain that was sure to come. The Guys In White would take his blood, run it through a DNA tester, and probably know what his human self looked like. But recalling how his blood had changed colors at the hospital, there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to find out. Ghost DNA masked his human DNA when he was Phantom, meaning they would actually be pulling out ectoplasm...and thus, the genetic signature particular to ghosts only. But he wasn't sure if the DNA itself remained the same no matter if he was Fenton or Phantom. Only time would tell.

He was expecting the prick to be in his arm or shoulder, but it was in his neck and it hurt worse than getting hit with one of Skulker's tranquilizing darts! He could feel the ectoplasm being sucked out of him. It was a weird feeling. And they were taking a lot. He wanted to move from pure instinct and pull away, but logic overcame that instinct and he held still, trying not to tense up.

Finally the needle had been filled. They pulled it out of his neck. They put a cotton ball over the needle mark and taped it down. He finally opened his eyes. Thick green fluid swirled around in the needle's tube as the first agent walked out the door. The second one came over to him and pulled him up by the rope, forcing him to stand.

Danny was pushed out the door. What do you know, more white walls.

"What now?" he spat. "You got what you wanted!"

"We said we would run a few tests, not just one. We want to find out how you work, Phantom. You're different," he answered.

They continued to walk through the hallway.

"You aren't the first one to tell me that," Danny remarked. "You're not the only ones who want me."

The man smiled. "Oh, we know. You're wanted in the ghost world as well." He pushed the halfa forward, making him pick up the pace. "You may be seen as a hero to Amity Park, but in the government's eyes, you're an invitation to disaster."

Danny scoffed. "What?! An invitation?! Ghosts are after me because I'm the one fighting them off! You never see them coming after you! I can do everything you can and more, all without the use of technology. Unlike you I don't have to recharge or plug in my weapons; they come built in. So when I'm more powerful than the government, you tell me how I'm an invitation!"

The halfa stopped, causing the man to bump into him.

"Besides..." Danny smirked as he looked over his shoulder. "I'm the only one here who has experience being dead. So I have experience fighting the dead. I've caught more ghosts than you ever will. And to think that when you die, I'll still have my whole afterlife to do my job. Who's the invitation now?"

The man wordlessly pushed him forward. He stumbled but regained his balance. Talking wasn't going to get anyone anywhere. If anything, he was just prolonging these next few tests.

He was brought into another room. Big. With machines everywhere. Tools were organized neatly on white trays. Scalpels. Tweezers. Scissors. Smaller scissors. A hook. A pick. What looked like a small spoon. Other sterilized metal things that he couldn't even recognize. On another tray, about twenty needles ranging from really big to really small. He hoped they would only use the smallest needle. He'd already had that enormous life-draining needle, he sure didn't need anymore.

He gulped at he was led to a big machine. There was a bed resting at one end of it and it looked like whoever was laying on it would be pushed through a tube.

"So...what's this thing again...?" He gulped.

"Here," the man said, patting the center of the bed. The white bed. "Lay on your back, close your eyes, and don't move."

Lay on his back, while he was tied up in a rope, unable to move. He wouldn't be able to get up if he laid down. Close his eyes, while there would be sounds and who-knows-what-else going on in there. Don't move, while something was obviously going to happen. What were they going to say next, don't scream in horror as your body is being mutilated?

Still, he complied. Seeing as there were sharp pointy things everywhere else, this bed seemed to be the safest place in the room right now. Besides, the better he cooperated, the easier things would be for everyone. But once they cut off this rope...time to rebel.

The man helped him onto the bed. Getting on it with no free hands was a little difficult. He was turned onto his back. He stayed perfectly still, making sure to keep his breathing even and in check. If there was one thing he wasn't going to do here, it was show fear. He closed his eyes and didn't open them even when he heard typing on a computer hooked up to this machine. A small beep was heard and the bed started moving into the tube. The was a slow flash of red that appeared several times. A scanner, he realized. They were trying to find out what was going on inside him. Probably what his powers derived from, if he had an extra organ, or maybe something like a transformation sequence.

Oh man. Transformation. Of course, that's what they wanted to know! They already knew he could 'take on human form'-which was completely wrong since he was actually taking on a ghost form-and they wanted to know how he did it. And to further prove that point, he'd been told by the man that they wanted to see 'how he worked'. They would try to figure out the source of his powers. They would want to know how he could freely turn invisible and force intangibility on himself. Normal ghost powers were obviously still a complete mystery to them. But they did say he was different... They were probably hoping to examine him and unlock the secrets of all ectoplasmic beings. Not all ghosts had the same powers, so they might be in for a bit of a disappointment.

"Doddy?" Lilith called out, for the millionth time that night. She couldn't go to sleep, no matter how many times Sam tried to rock her. Junior was already down and snoring...kinda like Danny, really. "Doddy?"

Sam hadn't been able to sleep either, and it wasn't just because Danny wasn't in bed with her. She hadn't seen him eight entire hours, a little longer now actually. Assuming this had something to do with his ghost powers, she had covered for him, saying he had gone over to Tucker's to have a study night. Thankfully everyone believed her and settled down. But she'd called Tucker, and he wasn't there. He hadn't seen Danny in the eight hours he was gone. It was like he up and vanished. Of course, he could turn himself invisible, but this time he had vanished vanished.

At first she had been broiling with anger, thinking he'd tried to sneak away to do something else. But then fifteen minutes passed, and she realized this wasn't like him. Then thirty minutes passed, and she was hoping the fight would be over soon. But then eight hours passed and she didn't know what to think anymore.

"Daddy's not here," Sam mumbled as she held her daughter. "He'll be back later."

Danny had to be the most stubborn boy she'd ever met. He would come back no matter what...unless something happened to him. Sam tried not to fear the worst, but it had been a very long time. The worst she wanted to believe was that he'd gone out to fight a ghost, chased it too far, and had gotten lost somewhere outside the city.

"He'll be back..." she repeated quietly to herself.

A/N

HA! YES! 3,030 words NOT including this A/N. Well, what do you think? Like it? I thought the story was getting a little too...I dunno, slow...? I can't really find the right word for it. Not boring but just not as actiony or something. You get the point. I thought I'd spice it up by having the Guys In White come in. Fight scenes have been left out as it is, but hopefully this caught your attention a little. :/ Those of you who have read FWB (I'm hoping that's all of you) know how bad I am at fight scenes, so if you see a crappy fight scene later on...just try to use your imagination to make it look better.

Most of you thought the story was getting kind of dull, kind of like the same routine with Danny being sweet and all, so I hope you see how your reviews affect what happens with the story. You tell me what you want. I make it happen. That's the connection between reviewers and authors (I'd say readers but most readers don't review so I can't tell what they're thinking). You guys told me you wanted something not-so-dull, so I added in a little suspense.

Okay, so now that you've seen me rant, I'll just get on with the review quota. Two hundred and two (202) reviews.

Review reply time:

Looka'sMagicHell- :) Yeah I thought so too! I dunno why it's epic but okay. A few action chappies, comin' up!

Harmony's Entropy- I know, right! :D

Lucifers . Angel . 93- Sorry about your name. :/ FF counts it as a website cuz of all the periods so I have to space it. I think I had the same problem in FWB. I decided on suspense, I hope that's okay. XD Oh, you are the only one to ask about Tuck's lady friend. Here I was starting to think no one cared. ;) TRUST ME, there will be quite a bit of...*mumbles*...going on soon enough thanks to his lady friend. I'm definitely looking forward to writing that chapter. It'll be coming up soon enough, so keep an eye out. 'Til then, enjoy. Oh, no, it wasn't pointless! :D I sincerely thank you for it. Gave me insight on what you want and how you feel. Very important. ;)

BrittneyluvsChrist- Merry Christmas! :D Don't worry, there's gonna be more romance and fluff. But for now, everyone's right...this story is toning down a little too much. It'll be pretty easy to lose interest if this keeps up and I don't want that. It sucks when you have high expectations of a story and suddenly it bombs on you. I know, I've been there. -_- Not fun. So I'll make sure not to keep it this low. But still, rest assured, there'll be more romance/fluff/and... ;) maybe even little surprises thrown in there.

Zinnia99- Thanks. :)

Sammi- lol I'm glad you do. :) I had fun writing it.

TheNinjaKitty13- Yeah, I had to look it up. Thanks! :)

Inuyuke- I'm glad someone notices the character development. I was beginning to think I'd done all that for nothing and that I should turn back to the original "developments". Thanks! :D Yeah, I wanted to show everyone that Danny's no longer the same boy he used to be. He's still a teenager though-he's seventeen now. You'll be able to tell if you keep up with the time skips I sometimes post. I have no choice but to portray them that way! :D They're so cute! There'll be more romance, believe you me, but for now I need to crank it up a little.

AwesomeMan327- Aw, thanks. :) No, he won't. In the epilogue of FWB, I stated specifically that he wouldn't appear again. He'd be mentioned, but he'd never make another appearance and I stated why: he brought up too much angst and this story isn't about angst anymore, even though there'll be some in it. It has no specific genre since it shows Danny and Sam's (and everyone else's) future together. Danny almost kills him in the epilogue.

HeroAce- Thanks. :) In a somewhat passive way, they're getting what was coming to them. They're DESPERATE for information and as you can see, not being able to get it is driving them crazy. Hm...I've completely forgotten about Dash. :/ Darn it. I'll put him in, but not right now. Well, that's not true. I'm terrible at fight scenes, so I never write them out very often, but I've stated at least three times that he's been fighting ghosts just like he usually does. I think I only mention it in Sam's perspective, I'm not entirely sure. -_- But I guess that's what you get for writing all these chapters (for two stories).

Thunber- Hey, review away, my friend! I love reading reviews! lol Yeah, seriously, the ONE argument Danny wins. No, Sam only told Maddie. Maddie promised not to tell anyone else. So only she knows about it (aside from Danny and Tucker of course). Trust me, I have twists galore coming up, but not yet. Funny thing about twists, even though they seem unexpected, you have to time it right so they seem unexpected. :P Makes no sense unless you're a twister writer. I honestly don't know what you mean by "change between the right moments". I say this out of pure curiosity, but could you explain what you mean by that?

kollen- Ah, so many questions. Heh, the girl Tucker likes will be the girl you LEAST expect, maybe even an OC. It'll be the biggest twist in this story! ;) Sorry but...the other questions I can't really answer. I'm not one for spoilers. Thank you. And you're welcome. :D

SkyeoftheNight- Hm...I think I remember you from FWB... I will, in time. I can't tell who Tuck likes right now, but it'll be revealed in time. And when it is...wo-ho-ho! ;D

PlasticPencils- Yeah, I read it. It was good, and you already have fans. :) And the challenge...it'll be interesting. lol I know what you mean...I think. We don't always think alike, you're just crazy. XD

Sunshine-Midnight123- :D Hey! Long time no see! He's always super sweet with her. :3 I wuv them as a couple.

ChristinCC- It's fine. :) I don't know how I chose 'dove' for Sam, of all people, but I got in my head and I couldn't get it out. The original idea was for Danny to eventually stop calling her that, but I chose to dump that idea and keep the name. A little reminder of crazy Danny is much needed in the sequel. XD I figured after everything they've been through and after all the time they've spent together, everything was all set for a more physical relationship.

DXSGirl123- I HAD to do that. I hate Paulina, thought it was time she left poor Sam alone and get told off by the boy who became one of the hottest guys in the school. XD

sammansonrepilica- Thanks. :D

AJ- Bookmarks...follows or favorites? And thanks. :) I'm not always good at humor but I'll see what I can do.

While I have the chance, do you wanna know the real reason Lilith calls Danny 'doddy'? It's because when I was little I called my dad 'doddy'. :)