"Danny, why do you love space?"
The question rolled around in his head as he lay on top of the Ops-Centre of his home, staring up into the dark sky they called space. The town was having a black-out, so the whole area was covered in darkness, with only natural lights shining on the houses, trees and other things.
"Why do you ask?"
People were always asking questions, be it about his situation, how he was feeling or his interests. The most questions he got were about how he was doing, though, curtesy of Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, who always asked the question a million times after a battle.
"Can't I just ask?"
People were so... interested in him. Like he was the most important thing in the world. He wasn't. He was just a kid who randomly got Ghost Powers due to a stupid accident. He shouldn't have gotten those. Someone else would've probably been better at saving everyone than he was. He was just... Danny Fenton. Geek, introvert and a bit of a fanboy.
"Because I like the stars."
Light in darkness that exploded into existence millions of years ago, and ginormous intergalactic fires that still shine on earth today. Though that could be a lie. They could have sizzled out long ago, making people unaware of their state. They could have exploded, made into a supernova, or two stars could've crashed into each other, creating a black hole. Funny, actually. How the brightest lights can become pits of darkness.
"Then what about the sun?"
The sun, officially a star, and the center of the galaxy. Earth and other planets circle around the giant orange flame-ball, and yet there's life on earth. The sun is one of the reasons life on earth is even possible, so Danny found himself grateful for the sun.
"It's nice."
"And the moon?"
The moon.
The moon had always fascinated Danny. How it hung around the earth while floating through space, moving at incredible speeds, and yet, it still had its own course through the blackness. It attracted water, and was the source of many fairytales. And though moon had no different shapes, it might seem like it did. The sun had influence on the moon, and the moon had influence on the earth.
"The moon pretty in its own way."
The moon and the stars were the only sources of light during the nights, casting a silver glow on everything they touched. Nobody had created fires for light that night, so no red, orange, or yellow interrupted with the cold blue as the clock struck 3 A.M. on a Saturday night.
"Are there other planets with life out there?"
He didn't know. There were other materials and elements out there, other planets they hadn't discovered, so the possibility of other life? It couldn't be that they were the only ones, but the chance of finding them were so small...
"We'll never know."
"But do you hope there is?"
He always hoped. Hoped things would turn out okay if he had messed up, hoped people would be alright when there was trouble, hoped things would be better eventually, even if it didn't look like they would. He hoped everything would turn out fine, he hoped better times would come, he hoped bad times would go away, and he hoped he'd be okay. Even if everything was looking dark and gloomy, with no chances of success or anything of the sort, he hoped light would be there to erase the darkness.
"There's no light without darkness, so I guess just hope won't do."
Of course there would be bad times, no matter what. But that would also mean that if darkness came, a light would follow to chase the voids away. Light always showed up at the most desperate times, and then, they would shine brighter than ever. Because even in the darkest times, lights were there.
"Then what else do you need?"
Besides hope? He didn't know. He almost always relied on hope. But maybe... Determination, passion, and desperation had always been his main drive. The desire to serve and protect was a great motivator to put you into gear 5 instead of 2.
"You have to want to save them. If there's no one else there, you're suddenly responsible for them. If they're in need, in danger or close to being harmed, you're the one that has to gear up and fight for them. Because if you don't, who will?"
"Who will..." Danny whispered as he stood up and stretched his sore arms. The aching was bothering him a bit, but he had had worse feelings in his limbs than sleeping muscles. He looked over the blue-looking town and frowned at the small hint of orange near the park. A bubble of black smoke seemed to grow out of the light, and Danny's eyes seemed to tire even more.
He looked at his hands and clenched his fists together in determination. He closed his eyes, sighed, and transformed. He opened his eyes again, willing himself to move. He shot into the air, towards the light.
"Who will..."
