Danny lay on his back, head resting on his hands, staring at the ceiling. Tucker decided to spend the night in Danny's room on the floor. Jake wanted to join the techno-geek but decided to stay with Spud to stop the teen annoying the young heroes too much, in particular Artemis. Danny wasn't tired. He felt the most rested and refreshed he had felt in a long time. The shower was fantastic. Over a week stuck in a cell and then getting shot meant he felt disgustingly dirty. He even resorted to changing into his ghost form and showering again to make sure he was completely clean.

Now, three hours later at four in the morning, Danny was wide awake. He guessed it might have been because of the power build up or the period of time he was captive messing up his internal clock. In the cell, time was nothing. He slept whenever staying awake was too difficult. Which, due to the situation, was regularly. Not that he had the best sleep patterns before he was kidnapped though. But now that he wasn't being exhausted by the collar, he could focus on his thoughts. For the first time in a long time, he was able to contemplate why he was kidnapped. He had always suspected it was to harvest his energy. But Spud and Tucker made excellent points. Why kidnap him when ghosts are so much easier? So for the first time Danny considered why anyone would want to kidnap him specifically.

There were a lot of reasons. The first being because he was half-ghost. The next being because of who his parents are. He was a world hero, it was possible that people might consider he was rich. He wasn't, he didn't get any payment for fighting rampaging ghosts. There were perks. Like grateful shopkeepers giving him things, restaurants making his reservations priority and so on. But he wasn't paid. Fenton Works was doing better from increased sales but that was it. But these people hadn't even tried to send a ransom note. So it wasn't to do with cash. But these people were criminals. Danny had seen their handiwork before when they kidnapped Rose and used her to rob the Guys in White and to attempt… attempt to get him to go with her! This must be linked still! What happened around last Hallowe'en was linked to what was happening now. Danny frowned in concern. Why did they take Rose all those months ago? Why did they want him back then? These questions were never answered. Rose hardly remembered her time while under the Light's control.

Danny sighed softly. Tucker was a heavy sleeper. He wouldn't notice if Danny went for a night-time flight. But Danny was wary of using his powers just yet. His ghost energy had been through a lot and there was no telling how it had been affected. But he did always think better while flying… and before that star-gazing. Something about the night sky always relaxed him and enabled him to think clearly. He sat up and glanced at Tucker.

The techno-geek was happily sleeping in his sleeping bag, cuddling his PDA. Danny smirked. Any thoughts of taking a picture for later teasing instantly dismissed by the hours of exhausting loneliness in the cell. He had feared never escaping or being found. He feared that the process of harvesting his energy might have gradually weakened him to the point that he died. Seeing his friend after that terrible time was a comfort. When he first got home, he was so distracted by the building energy in his body that he couldn't even enjoy the feeling of returning. Then after waking up alone in the wrecked ghost cell in the lab, he had feared the worst. He knew the amount of energy he released and he had been terrified that he'd killed Danielle and Robin, if not the others in the house. So walking into the living room and seeing them all was a relief.

Danny swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rubbed his face wearily. He didn't feel tired but he did feel like he had been through a traumatic experience. While lying on the bed, in darkness, in silence… it was far too easy to remember the feeling of the collar on his neck. He shuddered at the memory of his kidnapping. Those cuffs had been horrible. Feeling his powers there but unable to be used while struggling against black clad men following Cheshire down a narrow corridor. But the collar was worse. Being shoved against the car and having cold metal wound around his throat, a sharp agonising pain in his neck as the needle was driven through his skin. As a ghost, his organs weren't as vital to his existence so the needle wasn't dangerous as long as he stayed ghost. He had screamed and thrashed frantically as the bag was forced over his head and he was pushed into the car. Cheshire had slipped in beside him and held her hand over his mouth to stop him screaming for help.

He shook his head, instinctively being wary of the needle no longer in his neck. He pushed himself to his feet and quietly walked out of the bedroom and took the old rickety ladder up to the Ops Centre. It had been years since he had used it. Flight and intangibility were used most often to get there since getting his powers and the futuristic elevator in his parent's room before that. But he didn't want to disturb anyone. They'd had a hard time while he had been captive too. He scanned the room in the gloom cast by the moon and orange streetlights. There were twelve sleeping forms scattered around the room. Sam had opted to stay in the Ops Centre to make sure nothing happened overnight from buttons being pressed or anything. However she had wanted to stay in Danny's room but since they started going out it had been deemed inappropriate for them to have sleepovers in the same room. Especially by Sam's parents. Despite having accepted Danny and being proud that their daughter was dating such an influential and impressive figure, they maintained that Danny, despite having the best intentions, was a bad influence. So they set in place rules that Sam and Danny were meant to follow. Danny was more willing to follow them than Sam usually. He wanted to prove himself to Sam's parents that he wasn't the bad influence they believed him to be.

Danny quickly found the metal rungs on the wall that led to the top of the Ops Centre. Fenton Works was one of the tallest buildings in Amity Park, especially in the suburbs. Which meant the roof was fairly dark. The park was better as it was a large green space free of artificial lighting. But Danny didn't want to leave the house. Especially without telling anyone and he didn't want to wake anyone. As quietly as possible, Danny climbed the rungs outside, his bare feet padding softly on the cold metal. He took a deep breath of fresh, cool night air and smiled. Nothing smelled better than fresh night air. The still coolness, dotted with refreshing damp dew. He loved it. And he had definitely missed it during his time in that cell. He looked out over his hometown. Calm, as it should be, he noted happily. He blinked when he heard soft murmuring below him in the street. He looked down and gasped as he saw a number of self-standing tents dotted around the house, a few even spilled out on to the street itself making it nearly impossible to drive in front of the house. He squinted and saw a few signs lying on the ground, only one legible from so far away.

"Come back home Danny Phantom".

He was speechless. His kidnapping had brought people out of their homes to camp outside his house for who knows how long on the hope that they'd see him return. It was times like these that he realised just how powerful Danny Phantom was. Not because he was a ghost. But because he was a symbol. A sign for hope, protection, safety. Danny gasped. Criminals might want to erase that icon from the public eye. Danny staggered back a step as the realisation hit him. He was kidnapped because he was Danny Phantom.

It sounded absurd when he thought that. But that was the reason. He was taken because of what he stood for. Not because of who or what he was. And if those people wanted ecto-energy, the best possible way was to remove the obstacle for ghosts entering the Real World, Phantom! Danny gasped again as the thought occurred to him. They controlled Rose. What if they had been able to control him too? Rose had been a strong tool, expert fighter with connections to the magical world. Danny didn't know if that second part had been known. But Phantom was way more powerful. He had seen for himself that his future self had been powerful enough to bring the world to its knees. It hadn't occurred to him before but that meant he would have been able to stop heroes such as Batman, Superman, Martian Manhunter and so many more. The teens sleeping in the Ops Centre below him. Danny blinked. Jake and the other magical protectors wouldn't have stood by either. In that future, he would have defeated Jake. Danny didn't dare think about what defeated meant. But having seen how ruthless and uncaring that version of himself was, he doubted that that creature would have let anyone survive.

Danny gulped fearfully. That was a frightening thought. He sat down on the roof of the Ops Centre with a gentle thud. Despite the revelations he had just had, he didn't know why those criminals wanted ghost energy. He knew it was a dangerous thing for them to have. He understood that it was powerful and so desirable. However he sensed that those criminals had a deeper reason, a plan, for that energy. Danny licked his lips worriedly as he recalled that Jimmy had built them a better power unit to contain that energy for them. If he had known that rescue would arrive so soon after the distress signal was sent, he would have told Jimmy to keep stalling. But he knew, in his heart, that the best option in that situation was to complete the unit to resume draining his energy.

"Danny? What's wrong?" he heard Sam mutter worriedly behind him as the access hatch softly clicked shut. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Sorry if I woke you," he whispered apologetically. Sam shook her head and settled beside him, suppressing a shiver in the chilled night air. Danny sighed and pulled his girlfriend close and rubbed her arm comfortingly to warm her up. He didn't feel the cold anymore.

"So, gonna tell me what's on your mind?" Sam pressed. Danny flashed her a small sad smile.

"I think I figured out why those people kidnapped me," Danny mumbled. Sam gasped. Danny glanced at her expectant face and sighed again.

"Remember when we met Clockwork?" Danny asked carefully.

"Yeah, he was warning you of your jerky future self," Sam instantly recalled.

"Ever wonder what happened to the heroes in that time? Batman, Superman, Robin, Kid Flash. What about Jake and Kim?" Danny continued softly. Sam frowned in concern.

"Remember how they controlled Rose? Sam… what if they had tried to control me?" Danny revealed despairingly. Sam blinked and frowned in thought.

"Danny they didn't. So why are you stressing about it?" Sam offered. Danny shook his head.

"Sam, I'm worried that that's why they took me. To control me and turn me into their weapon," Danny corrected.

"Danny, listen to me. That's a what if. Not a plan they tried to put into motion. What they did… was sick. They treated you like-like a cow and milked you of your energy. How would that let them control you?" Sam countered, anger at the injustice of the situation spilling into her voice. Danny nodded.

"I know. But what if that was step one Sam. Like Spud said, a bonus and a way to keep me captive. Sam I think they kidnapped me to get me out of the way long enough to get better access to full ghosts, maybe to dishearten people too. Phantom has become a symbol for so much good stuff. What if… when they got enough energy together from me and ghosts they planned to catch, they would have used that energy to power a machine to control me, turning me into their weapon?" Danny explained worriedly. Sam bit her lip as she understood how possible that plan had been. She could see why he was worried.

"Danny, it doesn't matter anymore. You're safe now," Sam decided. Danny hummed softly in agreement unconvincingly.

"Why don't we go back inside and get some sleep?" Sam suggested.

"I'm not tired Sam. Go ahead though. I'm not gonna go anywhere. I just wanted to come up here and star-gaze rather than staring at my ceiling all night," Danny replied. Sam snuggled closer to her boyfriend.

"Alright. I'll stay with you. I don't want to leave you alone for a second. Not after the last ten days," Sam murmured, closing her eyes. Danny smirked and glanced at his girlfriend, who despite her slight shivering was falling back to sleep. He shook his head fondly and gently pulled away and unbuttoned his pyjama top, draping it around her bare shoulders like a jacket. She quickly relaxed back into his side and he looked up at the stars, tracing his favourite constellations with his eyes.

So Danny thinks he knows why he and Jimmy were kidnapped. But is he right?

What do you think?

Let me know your thoughts and theories on the story so far.

Until the next chapter.