Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They had no clue what to think about the mission they found themselves on. They'd been tracking a group that were moving mass amounts of tech, not too unusual for a science group,,but the not so abandoned abandoned building the group was taking the tech too was. Miles was complaining about having a bad feeling, and Peter found himself agreeing and wishing They had the rest of the team eith them that night.
A lab accident had benched Harry and Anya, and Grady of course still didn't know. Gwen had offered to come, but she'd pulled three all nighters working on a new packing material for Mr Stark, so Peter had refused to bring her with. That left him and Miles, who were currently hiding in the rafters.
Below them weren't the scientists and engineers they'd been following. Instead, there were over a hundred cultists chanting both in and around the most intricate circle design Peter had ever seen.
"I feel like we shouldn't be here." Miles whispered.
Peter was about to answer, but was stopped by a voice he hadn't expected. "You're right." Both he and Miles flinched. Peter almost Cursed. Why hadn't their spider senses gone off?
"Dr. Strange?!" Peter scream whispered. "What are you- never mind. What's going on?"
"Something we're too late to stop. Whatever you do, don't go down there."
"Why, what's happening?" Miles took the words out of his mouth.
Strange then muttered his own chant, and both spiders found themselves bound to beams by magical, sparking rope. "Hey!" Peter protested.
"Its for your own safety. If we get any closer, we'll be marked as payment as well."
"Payment for what?"
"The king." Strange whispered, his eyes glued below them.
That's when the space grew cold. Peter looked from the doctor to the circle, finding that a single man had entered and taken place in the center. Around Him the 50 or so cultists in the circle lit candles that they held in their hands, filling the room with an iron scent that made Peter's stomach lurch.
"Pete, we should, somethings wrong."
"I, I know."
"Im sorry boys, I've been given 2 jobs today, and the first is keeping you both right here."
"Jobs? From who-" Peter was cut off by a scream. Below them, the man in the middle was now alight with Green fire. Pete saw his flesh burn up instantly, his bones followed quickly after. It shouldn't have been possible, for his body to be completely eviscerated so fast, and yet the sight of the mans burning body would remain with him forever, along with the scream that still echoed.
He had questions, but they all failed in his mouth. He'd seen death before, held it in his arms even, but this was different. This was instant and violent and other. The flames continues to burn even when the ads of the man was gone.
"What just-" Miles words drifted off.
"Close your eyes," Dr Strange held an arm in front of his heart. "You don't need to see this."
Just as Pete thought he'd Found his voice, more screams broke out below. Every cultist in the circle has been lit ablaze just like the man in the center, the green fire consuming the people and their candles, then pulling beams of green and white from the flames into the center. The bands of light swirled around, with the cultists outside the circle still chanting in fervor.
He wanted to leave. He wanted to go down there and pull everyone away. He wanted to have never been there. The echoes of the dead thrummed against his ears. He glanced to Miles, who pulled against his magical restraints. Guilt wracked him, he hadn't even tried to escape.
A visible wave of power pulsated from the bands of light, hitting the remaining cultists, violently pushing them back into the walls of the warehouse and each other. Before they had a chance to do anything, their bodies were pulled into the circle. Green fire began to consume them the moment they passed into the circle. More bands of white and green light joined the center. The swirling light began sparking, with random justs of fire lashing out, as if searching for more victims.
"What's happening?" Miles asked.
"They paid for the king," Dr Strange shook his head, "they chose to pay with lives, but underestimated how much He cost."
"The King?" Peter choked. Their lives weren't enough?"
"It seems they thought only those inside would be sacrificed, and for any other summons they'd be right."
The three of them continued to watch as the fire stopped searching. The light condensed in on itself, before exploding forward with a large bang that threatened to knock Peter out. As they blinked away the light, there was a new occupant in the center of the circle.
Dr Strange released them, and they all made their ways down to the ground. Peter hung back on the edge of the circle with Miles, both of them unsure of if it were safe to get closer. The sorcerer hovered over the summoned king, who looked the furthest from royalty.
"He, doesn't look like a King to me." Miles retorted nervously.
Strange muttered some spell, his glowing archs of power filling the drawn lines of the circle, pulling the drawing up out of the floor. It condensed and hovered above the boys body, before Strange pushed it downwards. The Spell split into three bands that wrapped around the boy's wrists and neck. Judging by the screaming, this was not a painless procedure.
"Hey!" Peter called. With the circle now gone, he and Miles ran forward. In the few seconds it took them to get there, strange had finished his spell. "What did you do?" Before he could get his answer, he gasped at the state of the summoned one.
The boy wore thin, blood soaked clothes with odd green stains that centered around his chest. His hair was matted and stuck to his head in disorderly clumps. Various tubes exited his body at his shoulders, legs, and back, their clear plastic stained red. An iv was stuck in his arm, a once open line that now had the boy bleeding out from it. Strange clamly reached down and clicked a clamp on the iv, cutting the flow of blood but leaving the tube inside. The red gold bands of magic settled around his body, turning into solid metal. the boy was breathing heavily, his green eyes open but unseeing.
Gently, strange bent down and picked him up, ignoring the two spiders. "Hush now, your highness. You're safe."
The boy tried to answer, but instead coughed and spat out blood mixed with a green substance. For a moment his eyes locked with Peter's, then closed. The boys body went limp in Dr. Stranges arms.
"He's, just a kid." Miles gawked.
"He, needs a doctor, we need-"
"-I am a doctor. And this is my next job." A portal opened in front of him, and he floated up from the ground. "Go home, boys." With that, the sorcerer was gone, his portal closing behind him.
"I, we're totally not going home, right?"
"Of course not," Peter shook his head, unable to rid his eyes of what they'd just seen. "We still haven't figured out what all the tech was for."
"Evil scientists and evil cultists, not cool." Miles voice shook.
Peter had a feeling this was going to turn into a much longer mission than they'd first thought.

Chapter Text

"Stark!" Dr. Strange called, portaling into the lab with a severely injured boy in his arms. "I need your help with this."
Tony had been working on new updates to his suit, and was far from expecting the visit nor the request. He stood, and looked over the boy Strange had brought. He frowned. "This isnt a hospital."
Before the sorcerer could answer, the boy in his arms flinched, sending a pulse of energy through the room that knocked Tony back several feet. While he scrambled to get up, strange answered. "His highness here would endanger the other patients in this state."
"Jarvis, call Helen."

Between Dr. Cho working on tbe boy, Strange reinforcing and reapplying spells to keep whatever power it was in check, and Tony constantly having to fix the medical equipment, the boys treatment took twice as long as any of them had expected.
Tony couldn't get the picture of the child's injuries out of his mind. The tubes had been concerning enough, but the y shaped opening across his abdomen had been down right terrifying. It was as if someone had cut him up just to play with his organs. On top of all that, a green substance oozed from tbe kids veins right along with his blood. He had Cho take a sample and had Jarvis analys it while they worked.
By the time Dr. Cho had finished, the boy had enough sedatives in him to knock out a whole zoo. Even then, he was fitful in his sleep. The Spells strange cast on him sparked against his unknown power, restraining it only barely. Dr. Cho retired, leaving him and strange with the child.
"What the hell did you bring me?" Tony sighed.
"This, is the King of the Infinite Realms." stranges Voice was haggard, and Tony feared the kid was stronger than the sorcerer. "I was asked by a very powerful entity to intervene."
"King of Infinite Realms sounds powerful to me."
"He is," Strange shook his head and slid into his chair, exhausted. "The being I spoke to was an ancient known as Clockwork. He watches over the time lines of all worlds, every reality."
"What the fuck have you gotten us into?"
"I'm not sure. Clockwork is usually a nonplayer. He rarely interferes with time and almost exclusively does so indirectly. To have him come and make requests personally," he shook his head, "I've no idea what it could mean for our reality."
"I don't suppose you know what the hell happened to his highness over there?" As of to emphasize the question, another pulse of energy clashed against Stranges spells, snapping one.
Strange sighed and recast his spell, adding even more magic around the child. New seals and sigils spun around the boy's body. Once he was done, strange sat back down and detailed what had happened. Apparently it had taken over 100 souls to summon the boy. That sounded harsh enough, but what twisted his heart was hearing that Peter and Miles had both witnessed the scene.
He groaned at the end of the tale. "Do you think this, kid, king, whatever, is going to pose a threat to us once he wakes up?"
Strange sighed. "I can't say. The last King had been sealed away for thousands of years. Days after his release, someone defeated him and later ascended the throne. The change in ruler was all I knew of the situation. With years of nothing, it seemed there was no reason to investigate the new king."
"So this kid beat some interdimensional Hotshot?" Strange nodded. "He's like 12."
"My understanding is that he is a ghost. He could be thousands of years old for as far as my knowledge goes."
Tony didn't like the lack of info the sorcerer had on the matter. "We just had our hands full patching the kid up, not very ghostly to me." Despite his words, what they'd found inside the boy's body cavity was not something any normal person could still be alive from.
Strange shrugged. "Infinite Realms, Stark. He could be from anywhere, any reality, any time. Perhaps in his world Ghosts are a much different entity than what we think of."
He scoffed, annoyed with the answer but still accepting it. "Now what? That Clock guy give you any other instructions for the kid?"
"Only to keep the spiders from being taken as payment and to bring him here for treatment. After that, I believe it is up to us to decide what to do."
He groaned. "Excuse me sir," Jarvis chimed into the conversation. "I've completed analysis on the substance from the patient."
"Have at it Jar"
"It matches with a substance known as ectoplasm-"
"-Seriously?" He chuckled nervously. "You mean that ghost shits real?"
"The substance is a form of energy, found very rarely at supposed haunted sites."
"If it's something his body bleeds, he's certainly lost a lot of it." Strange noted.
"Jarvis, see if we can get our hands on more of that or replicate it on our own."
"Yes sir."
Strange nodded his approval, As if Tony needed it. "I'm going to search the sanctum for anything I can find on the King."
"How long do you think your wizardry will keep the kid from wrecking my shit?"
"At best, that last one should hold for a couple days."
"Great Great. So you're gonna leave me to baby sit his injured highness."
"Call me if anything happens with him. I'm not a fan of having so little knowledge on a powerful being like this."
"You and me both wizard."

Chapter Text

"Are you guys okay?" Anya asked when he and Miles returned to WEB. Her arm had graduated from its cast to a cloth sling.
Peter shook his head as he took of his mask and slid into his chair, resting his head on his desk.
"Was it that bad?" Harry asked, dropping his project and standing, still favoring his right leg.
"Yeah, it was." Miles put the thumb drive they'd taken on his desk and sat in his own chair, pulling his legs close to him.
"Pete?" Harry limped over.
He couldn't answer. Instead, he held his head and resisted crying. Harry patted his shoulder. Anya's voice moved from behind him to next to where Miles sat. "What happened? I thought this was just supposed to be some suspicious tech?"
It took them a while to be able to answer their friends. Peter wanted to smash his ears, even though he knew that wouldn't stop him from remembering the screams. He bit his lip, a bit too hard.
"We couldn't save them." He whispered.
"There weren't even bodies left." Miles added.
It took them a good ten minutes to fully compose themselves. Harry and Anya voiced their concern but let the two spiders take their time in processing. When they were able to tell what had happened, Peter took the lead in reporting the night's events, sitting up and readying himself for the tale. Harry and Anya didn't interrupt as he spoke.
"That King, he was just this kid, bleeding on the floor." Miles took over, his voice more hoarse than it had been. His mask was still on. "He was covered in blood and this green, stuff, I don't know how he was still alive. He had all these tubes coming out of his skin, like, like he'd been summoned from some experiment being done on him."
"Dr. Strange said he was on a job," Peter held his arms close to him. "That his next job was the kid, getting him help I think."
"I doubt that he just took this King character to a hospital," Anya mused. "With all this magic at play he had to have gone somewhere else."
"Maybe to the sanctum?" Harry offered. "Pretty magical there?"
"Who knows," Peter shook his head. "We need to see what was on their hard drives. The tech has to be connected to the summoning, and tech is something I know how to handle."
"Agreed," Miles finally took his mask off. No one commented on the tear stains by his eyes. "Tech makes way more sense than this."

They worked on the files off of the thumb drive, but were very quickly overwhelmed. They'd brought a special 10T one to compliment all of the information, and it was nearly full. As much as he wanted the distraction from processing the evenings events, it became apparent this was not going to be a one night endeavor, even with most of the team working on it.
A call from Aunt May came as a much welcome interruption. She was met with a chorus of hellos as soon as Peter answered his phone. "Hi everyone." Her voice held the same quiet and sing-song tone it always did when she was worried. "Hey, Pete, can you do me a favor?"
"Sure Aunt May," a knot formed in his stomach.
"Could you pick up some cold medicine, the kind for soothing a sore throat. Also some honey," then, he voice pulled away from the phone, "do you have any allergies dear?"
"Aunt May, who've you got?"
"Oh, I'll tell you more about it when you get back, I think me being on the phone is freaking him out."
"Aunt May?"
"I've got to go Pete, oh, maybe bring some of that vegetable broth too."
"I," Peter blinked, "sure thing Aunt May, I'll be home soon." They said hurried goodbyes and hung up.
"Oh, is that our queue to call it for tonight?" Harry asked, stretching his arms high above his head.
"Weird for Aunt May to have guests so late." Peter hummed.
"Sounds like they're sick, make sure to get the natural brand of honey, not one with any preservatives."
"Huh, honey doesn't need any preservatives."
"I know," Anya rolled her eyes. "Tried calling the company about it but they hung up on me!"
Miles laughed. "I recommend the one with the blue label, best there is."
"Don't suppose you know the name?"
Miles shrugged. "Nope. Blue label, next to the bear. You'll know it when you see it."
"And if he runs into two blue labels?" Harry asked, crossing his arms in mock anger. He couldn't hold the joke for long though and quickly chuckled as he broke the act. "You guys should get some rest. Tomorrow we can start more on this. Fresh eyes right?"
They all agreed and began meandering out of their building. Peter made sure his spare set of clothes were tucked neatly back in their cubby, though he did switch out his blue goodies for the red one, it was thinner.
Anya left first, after sternly telling them all to contact her if they needed anything. Miles opted to sleep in his lab, and Peter didn’t question his choice not to come home. Harry offered to take him to the store, but Peter declined. He wanted a bit of time to think before he had to interact with Aunt May's guest.
Harry refused to leave until he'd promised he'd call if he needed him at least three times. He gave a small smile as he waved goodbye. He walked to the store, thankfully for the monotony of picking up such simple items. After the night he'd had, something less eventful was more than welcome. He didn't even get dragged into any Spider-man business.
Right up until he was walking up to his house.
He answered the phone, the knot still in his stomach tightening. "Mr Stark?"
"Hey pajamas," Peter made it to the porch and waited, not wanting to be rude and bring his call in front of guests, "about that thing you and spy-d saw with Strange?"
"Oh, yeah, uh," the smell of the candles caught in his mind. "Anything with that kid?"
"Yeah," Mr. Starks usual bravado wasn't carried in his voice and Peter wondered if he'd had a ruff night too. "He woke up and gave us the slip, literally disappeared. The footage is corrupted but I'll send it over anyway. If you guys could keep an eye out for our Hudini king that'd be great."
"Will do Mr. Stark."
"Oh, and Pajamas," Mr. Stark said, his voice still stiff with concern, "you doin okay?"
"I'll, be alright," he didn't know if that was a lie yet or not, "Thank you sir." They hung up after Peter promised to fill the team in on the missing kid.
"Aunt May," he called more gently than he normally would, unsure if whatever guest also had a headache. "I've got the-" his voice caught in his throat.
He could see Aunt May at the table, comb in one hand and clump of matted black hair in the other. Their guest, who currently was wearing one of his shirts, sat with his legs hugged tightly to his chest, some left over pizza in his right hand and a crumpled bag I'm his left. He'd have to tell Mr. Stark he knew where the king was.
"Peter, oh great you're back. Did you get the stuff I asked for?"
"Yes, honey and medicine, should be perfect for a sore throat." He spoke cautiously, not wanting to alert Aunt May that the kid might be dangerous, while also not wanting to spook the kid. At the moment, as nothing was activating his spidysense he decided the kid was probably safe. For now at least.
"Good, good. You mind starting the tea, tea is okay right?" She directed the question to the kid, who barely moved his head in a nod. "Alright, I'm gonna fill my boy Pete in on what's going on, alright? He's a good guy, I promise." Another small movement.
Peter took to the kitchen and began making the tea, quickly sending a text to Mr. Stark while he was at it.

P- Found him, making him tea

TS- What?

P- He's at my house, call you soon

TS- You better

He pocketed his phone and double checked the tea to make sure he was grabbing the right one. Still combing the King's hair, Aunt May began speaking, "Found him outside, poor thing is starving but he's got a horrible sore throat. I got a glimpse of it, and I've gotta say Pete it looks pretty rough. Oh, I hope you don't mind I put him in some of your clothes, what he had on was so thin, the wind was blowing right through him."
He finished stirring in a few spoonfuls of honey into the tea, then slowly brought it over. He made sure to speak as he got close, not wanting to startle the kid. "Of course not, I'm just sorry they seem to be a bit too big." He sat the tea down in front of the boy.
Blue eyes met his own, looking as if they were seeing past him. Peter could have sworn that his eyes had been green before, but perhaps That had been a side effect of the summons. The boy had a tight grip on a bag that, now that he was closer, Peter recognized as an IV bag. Inside it were the dregs of a translucent green fluid. The boy nibbled at the pizza, which it'd seemed he'd only taken two bites of so far.
"Hey kiddo, why don't you try some of the tea, maybe it'll help your throat." Aunt May reached down the kid's arm, guiding his hand to set the pizza down. Peter picked up the tea again and waited till the boy had a good grip of it. He caught a glimpse of the red gold bangles from under the shirt sleeves, ridding any doubt that the kid might have been someone else.
"We'll take a break with this." May sat down the comb and took a seat next to The boy. Peter slowly took one as well, unsure of what to think of the situation.
"Uh, my names Peter, though I'm sure Aunt May must've said that already."
The boy turned his gaze to the corner of the room, before slowly looking to him. His heart dropped, something about the look of defeat reminded him of the night he'd lost Uncle Ben.
"He hasn't spoken a word since I found him. He tried, I think it's his throat bothering him. He let me get a peek in, I just hope the medicine helps."
Peter handed her the bottle he'd brought, and she skimmed the directions before nodding her approval. "Hey kid, do you have any allergies to any medicines?" With no discernible answer from the boy, Aunt May took that as a ‘no’ and poured a proper dose of the medicine in the provided cap. “Here, it doesn’t taste the best but it should help.”
She offered the small cup to him. He carefully put the tea in the same hand as the IV bag, then took the medicine from her. He gave it a sniff before taking the dose. His brows furled slightly but otherwise he had no reaction. The boy handed the medicine cup back, then drank the rest of his tea. He kept his eyes low, occasionally glancing back to the corner.
“I also picked up some caramels and cough drops, while the medicine in the cough drop should help, the caramels have a similar effect,” Peter gave his best friendly smile, “with the added benefit of tasting way better.”
The boy put a hand to his throat, then tried to speak. Unfortunately, all that came out were some pained squeaks. Both he and Aunt May frowned. “Hey now, it's alright,” May cooed, “here, I've got an idea, Pete, you stay with him for a moment.”
“Sure thing,” he nodded, watching her briefly as made her way to her room. He turned back to the boy, who was now hesitantly eating his pizza. Peter briefly considered asking how he’d gotten away from Mr. Stark, but thought better of it. Instead, he said, “Do you want any more tea?” Slowly, the boy shook his head no. He nodded his acknowledgement of the answer. “I’ve got to text my friends real quick.” The boy made no attempt to respond.
He made sure to open the SPIDER group chat, triple checking it was the right one.

Spider-man - Hey, so the King kid is at my house.

Spy-D - What?!

Hobs(H) - Seriously?

Spy-D - Need backup?

Spidergirl - Wasn’t he with Strange?

Ghost - What’s going on?

Sipdergirl - Did he walk all the way there?

He tried not to groan at how quickly everyone was responding. He typed out his message while Harry and Miles filled Gwen in.

Spider-man - No, everythings fine right now. I already told Iron Man. So far he seems pretty freaked out, likes May though

Hobs(H) - Of course he likes May, everyone likes May

Spy-D - Even weird culty Kings

Ghost - Have his injuries been treated?

Spider-man - Iron Man had him before, I haven't gotten a good look but the tubes are gone so I think so. Gtg, will update later

He didn’t look to see what the others said, pocketing his phone just as Aunt May got back, saving Peter from having to figure out more of what to do while alone with the kid. She brought a notepad and a pen. “This should help,” she sat back down, “you probably shouldn't be trying to talk right now anyway.”
The boy eyes the notepad. Having finished his pizza, he took the IV bag and put in into his left hand, taking the pen when offered. For a moment, he just stared at it.
“How about your name?” It would be nice to be able to stop calling him kid or King.
With a slow, seemingly unsure hand, the boy wrote Danny. It was far from the most kingly sounding name, especially for one that had been summoned with the deaths of over a hundred people.
“Its nice to meet you, Danny.” Aunt May smiled. “Is there anyone we can call for you?” Danny wrote a very simple No. “Thats okay. Anywhere you’d like us to take you?” A moment of hesitation before another no.
Peter took a turn asking a question, “Do you know where you are?” That got him a sharp look. He tried not to let the surprise show on his face. Then, Danny wrote his answer. No. Peter wasn’t surprised by that.
“Oh sweety,” Aunt May bit at her lip. “I’m sorry, we don’t mean to be asking too much, but please bear with us just a bit longer, okay?” Danny nodded. “Are you in any danger right now?”
Danny held the pen tightly, and Peter instantly knew the answer before the boy had written anything. What he did end up writing did surprise him a bit, ‘Do you know about the Guys in White?’
Peter pulled his phone out and searched the term. Aunt May shook her head, then looked to him waiting for his answer. After finding no searches that seemed relevant, as he doubted Danny was talking about a simple fashion choice, he shot the SPIDER chat as well as Mr. Stark a quick text asking them about it as well. Very quickly a brunch of nos filtered in.
“No, I asked the team and they didn’t know either. Neither did Mr.Stark-”
“-You asked Tony about this?”
“Just utilizing my resources.” Peter defended.
Danny wrote another question. ‘Stark?’
Aunt May interpreted the question differently than he did, saying, “Oh, Pete here owns a tech business backed by Mr. Stark.” Even with the situation, Peter smiled hearing the pride in her voice.
Still, he got the feeling that Danny had know clue who the man was. He wondered if wherever he’d been summoned from had been a place where they didn’t know about the hero. Something seemed to shift in Danny, like he’d relaxed the smallest bit since being found by Aunt May. Peter gave her a look before asking the boy, “Whoever these guys are, I’m sure they won't be able to get to you here. You can stay here for a while, right Aunt May?” He prayed the boy would agree, he had a feeling that the only way they’d be keeping Danny in their sights was if the boy agreed to himself.
“Of course, we can set you up, get you feeling better.”
Danny hovered the pen above the page, his eyes looking from the paper, to him, to Aunt May, to the corner again. When he finally wrote, it was simply the words, ‘Yes please.’

Chapter Text

Danny listened quietly as the older boy, Peter, rambled about the random science stuff in his room as he moved things around to make space for a cott that he insisted he would be using himself. He had offered his own bed instantly upon Danny’s acceptance of their offer to stay. He had been mentally preparing to sleep outside when he was digging through the trash, and had decided that the however old pizza crust was as good a meal as he could get. When Aunt May had come out to coax him into the house, he’d initially wanted to run away, but the quiet spirit of a man had promised him his living family would do him no harm.
He’d trusted the ghost instantly, feeling in his core that he meant what he said. He wondered if it was just the man that gave off such reassuring feelings, or if his new position as king let him know if he was being lied to by ghosts of any kind. At present, he was too tired to care. He didn’t listen to Peter as he spoke mindlessly, now setting up the cott. Instead, he listened to Ben.
“My boy Pete here, he has a secret identity, Spiderman, he calls it. He works really hard to be a hero, saving people all the time. You’re in good hands with him, Danny boy. I promise you, my nephew is a good man, already I’m sure he’s trying to figure out what to do for you.”
Danny took in the new information. He pulled the blanket around him closer. He was sitting cross legged on the bed as he watched Peter put some extra bedding on the cott. He still held the IV bag of the not quite right ectoplasm. He wished there was still more in it, he’d drunk it all while wandering the city. His walk to the suburbs was still a bit hazy, he only barely remembered waking in a room he’d never seen before with his powers restrained in a manner they’d never had before. He was able to sneak out, and he hadn’t dared to stay to find out why there were no ghost shields preventing his escape.
“I’m not trying to pressure you, Danny boy, just wanting to let you know that if you tell Pete what's going on, I know he’ll do his best to help you out.”
As if sensing the ghost’s assurances, Peter said, “So, Danny. Is there anything else you need?”
Danny considered the offer. He took the notepad and drew the symbol he remembered seeing on the building he’d escaped from with a question mark next to it. When he turned the book around to show Peter, the boy nodded with a serious look on his face, before standing and closing his bedroom door. Normally, this wouldn't have put him so on edge, but normally it was easier to phase through the walls.
"Sorry," Peter said quietly, "she shouldn't be able to hear, but, she'll think it's weird that you don't know about the Avengers Tower."
Danny scribbled on the notepad. 'Why?'
Peter nodded to the question, "Because everyone knows about the Avengers, Earth's mightiest heroes you know.” Danny looked at him flatley. Obviously he didn't know about them. “Right, right.” He listened as Peter explained all the various heros, the many names blurring together, getting lost along with the explanation.
He thought of what to ask while Peter explained a hero named Miss Marvel. The way he talked, and with the ghost telling him that Peter was also one of these heros, Danny figured he wasn't on his Earth. He wasn't sure if he should be scared of that or grateful. On one hand, the GIW shouldn't be able to get him in a different dimension, but on the other he had no idea what to do. He wrote his question, wanting to test the boy himself and not just go off the assurances of a notably biased ghost.
‘And you?’
Peter narrowed his eyes at the question. “What about me?” The nervous pitch in his voice was enough to tell Danny that Peter knew exactly what he was talking about.
‘How'd you become Spiderman?’
It wasn't the nicest thing, for him to be so untrusting of the people being so kind to him, brushing his hair and lending him a bed, but he wanted to see how Peter would react. The ghost leaned against the wall, a bemused smile on his face.
Peter was far less entertained by the question. His face stilled in an obvious attempt to try and keep his composure. “I, uh, why do you, I'm not.” Danny shook his head and tapped at the question again. Peter's flustered rambles deflated out of him with a sigh. “Lab accident.”
Danny nodded. ‘Same’ he wrote.
Peter took his time analyzing the response. “Is that why you were, so, messed up?” He asked quietly. Danny hadn't expected this. He quickly wrote in the book, asking for an explanation. “When you were summoned, you were all, it was really bad.”
A flash of memory, being suddenly much colder and being held by a stranger. He remembered seeing a person in a strange red and white mask. He held his head and shook it no.
“Do, you not remember being summoned?”
Danny didn't like how the conversation was going. Not so much because of the actual words, but because it hovered just above what he desperately didn't want to talk about. He wrote, ‘No. Tell me about it, please.’
Peter nodded. Something akin to relief flitted across his face. Danny listened carefully and by the end of the tale he worried he'd lose the first meal he'd had in months. A pit formed in his stomach, one that felt heavier than his injuries. Why was there so much death around him? He knew the answer, so he dared not actually ask it.
Slowly, he wrote a response, ‘I'm sorry. I didn't know people could even do that.’ Peter read his words and nodded. Before he could respond, Danny wrote again, ‘You knew the whole time, didn't you?’
“Sort of.” Peter shrugged. “Really, all I know is you're some sort of king. Other than that, I don't really have much to go on.”
Danny nodded. He didn't like only being known as a king, especially one that was summoned via the deaths of many. He wrote again, and pulled the red gold metal bangle out from under the shirt he wore. ‘Half ghost, powers are sealed.’ Mostly, he thought.
Peter's eyes again widened, as they seemed to be doing often during the conversation. “Dr. Strange cast that Spell, I didn't get a chance to ask him what that was about but- oh man I don't have his number. Maybe I could call Mr. Stark-” he stopped, reading the next question
‘Who is Dr. Strange?’
Danny listened closely To the explanation of the sorcerer Supreme, as well as to his role in keeping Peter and Spy-D out of range of the summoning. Peter clearly thought very highly of the man, and as he detailed how it seemed that he had taken him to Mr. Stark, Ironman, and there he had received treatment. He rubbed at his neck while he thought of how to respond. The plastic from the not-ectoplasm IV stabbed at his skin just a bit.
“Danny?”
He scribbled his response. ‘Can you contact him?’ As he was showing the question, a yawn escaped him and he flinched at the pain.
Peter nodded. “Why don’t I take you back to the Avengers tower tomorrow?” Danny frowned, and Peter took that as a cue to continue. “Mr. Stark is a good man, I promise he’d be able to do something to help.”
Even without the insistence from the ghost, he knew he had to accept the help from all the strangers. He held a hand protectively above his sternum. Whoever had treated his wounds had known, or figured out, that he needed ectoplasm. The tubes had all been removed and the holes bandaged carefully. The large opening across his abdomen had been sewn shut, and not just the top layer. Everywhere the GIW had messed around inside him had been carefully stitched. He could feel the dregs of the pain medication still in his blood, he reluctantly took comfort in the sensation.
Still, with his power also having been sealed, he was hesitant to trust that these people weren’t a threat. It wasn't unusual for there to be no ghost deterintes outside of Amitty or a GIW facility, but why then keep him from using his powers? Perhaps this world’s ghost hunting methods were far different than anything he was used too, but he got the feeling that they were either incredibly lacking or nonexistent. He brought his hand up to the band around his neck and pulled at it, giving up quickly as a red spark flared from where his fingers had grabbed it.
Peter jumped back, started, “Woah, Danny,” he caught that the boy was in a half ready position, as if unsure if he should prepare for a fight. “What are you doing?”
He sighed slowly before writing, ‘I don’t like feeling helpless.’
Peter nodded carefully after reading the message. His body relaxed and he layed in the cot he had finished setting up. “I understand. I’d be pretty freaked if someone was able to take my powers too.” Danny laid himself down, hissing at the feeling of his flesh and muscles resisting both the movement and the stitches. “You okay?” Peter asked.
He held a weak thumbs ups before writing another message, ‘Will the Avenger guys turn me in?’ He dangled the notebook over the edge of the bed, staring at the ceiling, too tired to try and see Peter’s reaction.
“I, don’t think there’s even anyone to turn you in too.” He heard Peter hum, “I know we only just met and everything, but I promise I’ll do my best to help you out.”

Chapter Text

Peter waited till the breathing of their small, royal guest steadied and fell into a regular rhythm. It didn’t take long, two minutes max. Once he was sure Danny was asleep, he put a single earbud in and pulled out his phone, looking at the photage Mr. Stark had sent him. The video began with Danny laying in a hospital bed under several white blankets. The video Danny woke with a start, quickly sitting up and hugging his arms and legs to his chest. The feed began to blur in pulsing waves, making it harder to see what was happening. Peter could just make out what he guessed was Danny ripping the IV out of his arm. He noticed that the bag itself was still half full in the video. Peter frowned as he saw both the recording Danny and the green filled IV bag disappear. Despite the glitches affecting the footage, there was nothing to suggest that the camera had missed how Danny had disappeared entirely. There was also no clear path of escape, aside from the door that never opened.
Maybe this is part of his ghost powers, he wondered. Peter was familiar with invisibility as a power, but not as something that would allow someone to vanish and escape detection from a place as fortified as the Avengers Tower. He sighed. There was so little information to go off of, and he had a feeling that not much of it would be something he could solve with wit and tech. There were some things only time could help. He recalled that look he’d seen in Danny’s eyes, the one that had reminded him of how he felt after losing Uncle Ben.
Danny had been through something, and being summoned didn’t seem to be very high on his list of problems. He felt the knot in his stomach again. A part of him wanted to know what happened, but another part knew he couldn’t ask. Peter was sure that the slightest overreach, the smallest misstep, and Danny would be gone. If he wanted to know what had happened, he’d have to piece it together himself or wait for Danny to tell him.
He jolted up, his spider sense alerting him to an intense danger. His eyes instantly went to Danny, who had grown fitful in his sleep. Peter bolted up, his senses still freaking out but unable to identify what exactly was dangerous. He rushed over to Danny, who was whimpering horsley and clutching at his chest, empty IV bag still in his hand. Red sparks flew from the bangles made by Dr. Strange.
A pulse of energy hit him in his chest, almost knocking him off his feet. There it is, he thought as he grabbed the side of his bed to steady himself. “Danny!”
Danny’s eyes shot open, green and glowing. The room chilled around them. Peter felt the air catch in his lungs. Red trailed out of Danny’s mouth. The boy tried to speak, but no sounds escaped his lips.
“Hey, just breathe, its okay.” Blood was never a good sign. “Danny, hey, look, its me Peter. You’re in my room, remember?” He gave a nervous smile when Danny’s eyes focused on his, “Its alright, see? You’re okay, its just me and you in here. You’re okay.” He didn’t know what he should say, but anything felt better than nothing. “No one is going to hurt you, it’s going to be okay.”
With a strained and choppy voice, barely even audible, Danny said, “Pro, promise?”
Some green mixed in with the blood that had gathered at the corner of his mouth. “I promise, I’ll protect you.” Danny’s eyes flashed brighter for a second before the glow faded away. Then the green also faded and once again his eyes were blue. Peter felt something stir within him, the promise he’d just made echoing in his mind. The bands around Danny sparked again, and he wondered how difficult it would be to keep him safe.
Danny moved his arms more securely around his chest, and Peter bit his tongue. Through the shirt he could see multiple blots of blood. Calmly he reached his own hand up, “Danny, I need to take a look at you, is that okay?” Danny shut his eyes tightly and brought his hands up to his eyes, his fingers curled as if he were prepared to claw them out. The IV bag was lost amongst the blanket. Peter gently pulled back the blanket. “I’m just gonna lift your shirt, we’ll figure out what to do from there.”
He carefully pulled aside the fabric, seeing that Danny’s torso was entirely wrapped in bandages. Dark red blood painted the cloths red in an unsettling ‘Y’ shape. Some of the blood was bordered by the same green substance. He forced himself to not frown. “Okay,” he said more to himself than to Danny. “We definitely need to get that looked at. I’m gonna call Mr. Stark, you remember us talking about him right?” With no anwer, he continued, “We’re gonna get you taken care of.”
Peter grabbed his phone and dialed Mr. Stark. It was 1:30 in the morning, but he had a hunch his benefactor was still up. The call connected and he heard, “Kid?”
“Hey Mr. Stark, it's about the kid. Danny, he's bleeding through his bandages.”
He heard Mr. Stark groan. “I'll send, no, it's probably better if I just come myself.”
“He's also, uh, bleeding green stuff? Do you know-”
“-Ectoplasm. I made some replica stuff but it was a rush job, was actually trying to refine it when you called.”
“Okay, I'm gonna try and get him downstairs.”
“Be careful with him, whoever played around with the kids guts did a hell of a job messing him up.” Peter felt like he was going to lose his dinner. “Carry him flat.”
“Yes sir.” They hung up with Mr. Stark giving him an eta of 15 minutes. Peter looked to Danny, then to the cott. He dialed another number. The lab was only five minutes away, two if one were to swing instead of drive.
After a couple rings, Miles answered. “Pete?” His voice was groggy, but that was alright.
“Hey, I need your help.” He detailed the situation.
“On my way.”
“Thank you.” Miles hung up and Peter let out a sigh, thankful for the help. “Alright,” he looked over Danny again, “I called my buddy over, he's gonna help me carry you to the car when Mr. Stark gets here.”
Danny mumbled something that sounded like an attempt at an ‘okay.’ Peter got to work clearing the floor space. He continued mumbling half thought assurances as he worked. After a couple of minutes he heard the attic window slide up. Seconds later Miles opened his door, dressed in jeans and a hoodie that he knew were hiding his suit.
Both boys’ spider sense went off as another pulse of energy wracked through the room, knocking several things off the walls and pushing both spiders back. “Hey!” Miles yelped.
“Its okay!” Peter went back to Danny’s side. “Its alright, Miles is gonna help me carry you, don’t worry.” Danny’s hands pressed harder into his eyes, and Peter worried he really would try to claw them out. He turned to Miles who stood hesitantly by the door. “Mr. Stark said to keep him flat, if we use the cott..”
Miles nodded and came over. “Use the bottom sheet to help lift him.” They tossed the remaining bedding to the side, and Peter gently slid the pillow out from Danny’s head. They rolled the edges of the fitted sheet, then prepared to lift.
“Wait,” Peter guided Danny’s hands away from his eyes, which were wet, puffy, and smashed shut. “Don’t hurt your eyes, its alright, we’ve got you.” He nodded to Miles. “This is going to hurt, just bear with it, on three.” They counted then lifted the sheet, keeping the fabric taught to support the boy’s frail form. Danny hissed as they moved him to the cot, but thankfully didn’t produce another energy wave.
They took a moment to check that the cot was stable enough to use as a gurney, both spiders deciding to web the connecting joints. Miles winced and shot his hand back, “Owch.”
“What happened?”
Miles looked at his hand and then back at the part of the cot it had been resting on, “For a second there, it was like my whole hand was covered in ice.”
Peter frowned. “He said earlier that his powers were sealed, I guess right now he doesn’t have the best control over them.”
“The King has ice powers, cool.”
“His name is Danny.” Together the spiders carried him down the stairs, then gently sat him down just out of the way from the front door.
“Pete? Miles?” Peter resisted cursing. Aunt May came down the stairs, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she looked between them all “What happened?”
Miles scratched at his head nervously. Peter held a hand, claiming the role of answering. “He’s got something weird going on, mutant style.” May raised an eye so he added, “ I’ve got some help on the way.”
Clearly relieved to have something to go off of, Miles continues, “I’m helping Pete carry him, he weighs like nothing but we gotta keep him steady you know?”
May joined them by the door, kneeling down and brushing some of Danny’s black hair away from his eyes. Peter saw how his aunt glanced at the blood on the shirt before lifting the shirt and peeking at the bandages. She held her face still, and Peter knew that she had already known about the injuries. She ran her fingers through Danny’s hair, the same way she used too when Peter had been sick as a child. “Alright, sweet thing, let’s get you sorted out.” She turned back to look at Peter, “What’s the plan?”
The best way to tell a lie is to hide it in the truth. “Avenger’s Tower. They’re the best equipped to handle him.” Peter looked at her, determination filling his chest. He’d made a promise, he was going to keep it.
Aunt May gave him a short nod. He heard a car outside and peeked out the window to see a black car pulling up in front of the house. “He’s here.”
“I’ll get the door,” Aunt May said as she stepped around them and waited. Miles took his spot at Danny’s feet, and Peter by his head.
“Alright, moving again,” he warned Danny. He and Miles picked him up again, and Aunt May let them outside. Mr. Stark was waiting for them, having the back door of the car already open.
While he and Miles slowly got Danny into the car, the backseat having been laid down in order to keep their patient as flat as possible, Mr. Stark and Aunt May spoke.
“Good to see you again Mrs. Parker, wish it wasn’t for such a serious matter.”
“Oh, please call me May,” she said dismissively. “Thank you for helping.”
“I should be the one thanking you, we were trying to patch him up earlier, but the kid’s so scared of everything he gave us the slip first chance he got.”
Peter kept listening as he positioned himself next to Danny to hold him still for the drive. Was it the most legal way to ride in a vehicle? No. Outside, Aunt May said, “I was wondering who had treated him.”
Miles leaned out of the car, “We got him set up.” He then shrunk back in, making his intentions of coming with clear.
Mr. Stark didn’t protest. “I guess I’ve got your boys, May.”
“You better take care of them Mr. Stark.” Aunt May hugged her shawl closer to her as Mr. Stark took his spot in the driver's seat.
“Please, call me Tony.” Mr. Stark waved as he pulled out.
Peter frowned. “Sir, please don’t flirt with my Aunt.”
Despite not being in a position to see, Peter could feel the smirk on Mr. Stark's face.

By the time they got to Avenger’s tower, Danny had fallen back into a fitful sleep. They were met in the garage by a doctor Peter didn’t know, who had a hospital bed waiting for them. Again he and Miles moved Danny, placing him in the bed so he could be wheeled much safer through the tower.
“Jarvis, any word on the wizard?”
“Dr. Strange is still off world.” They entered an elevator as Mr. Stark scoffed. “Shall I try him again sir?”
“I want you to leave at least a hundred voicemails for him.” Peter scooted closer to the bed as Mr Stark grumbled, “Call me my ass.”
“Uh, Mr Ironman sir?” Miles raised his hand as if they were in class, “Do you have any idea how to keep him from, knocling us all over?”
Mr. Stark shrugged. “Not really.”
They filed out and were led to a room by the doctor, who positioned the bed next to a bunch of equipment, which included a prepped IV stand with more green liquid, ectoplasm, that was darker than what had been in the bag Danny had been carrying.
“You guys keep an eye on the equipment,” she ordered.
“Yes ma’am,” he and Miles chimed.
Mr. Stark bent down and sat next to a heart monitor. “Those energy pulses can fry our stuff. Pajamas, he seemed calmer around you, you’re on comfort duty.
Peter nodded and took his spot next to Danny’s head, not exactly sure how to go about his job. He watched as Dr. Cho, he finally caught her nametag, cut his shirt off Danny. She then cut the bandages off, flipping them to the side. The knot in his gut twisted.
Danny’s chest had a deep y shaped incision, starting at the front of each of his shoulders and going down past his navel. Underneath this, trailing around his heart and over his torso was a dark lightning scar. Dr. Cho quickly and skilfully administered several syringes of morphine. He looked at the dose, “Was, was that 300mg of..?”
Dr Cho didn't look at him as she got to work sanitizing the wound and restitching it. “Morphine, yes. Normally a dose like that would kill him, but” she didn’t finish the sentence as she continued fixing the stitches.
“His highness over here already had like three times that when we first were working on him. Kid’s a beast.” Mr. Stark said, at the ready to fix anything with Miles.
Despite the massive dose in his system, Danny’s eyes opened, glowing green and panicked. Peter quickly leaned over him, “Hey, its alright. Look at me,” Danny did, “We’re at the Avenger’s Tower, Dr. Cho is working to get you fixed back up, I’m right here okay?” Danny’s hand moved and without thinking Peter took it. Danny’s grip was weak, but he seemed to calm just a bit. “Its alright, you’re doing good, just keep still okay?”
Danny’s eyes were stuck wide open, so Peter held his other hand to block him from potentially seeing his chest being stitched back together. Thankfully, Dr. Cho worked quickly and Peter was able to keep him calm enough to not unleash another pulse of energy. As Dr. Cho was transitioning to bandaging, Danny suddenly squeezed his hand tight and began to choke on attempted words. Just as Peter was about to speak, his spider sense went off and his eyes darted towards the center of the room.
Miles jumped into a defensive position between them and the room. As he readied himself for whatever was happening, red and gold sparked in the space, forming a familiar circular portal. Dr Strange stepped though, loudly announcing, “I brought guests.”
Peter continued to hover over Danny, feeling ice spread over his hand as he watched the portal. Miles continues his defensive position, Mr. Stark standing next to him with a hand hovering over his watch. Dr. Cho stood next to him, a disinterested look on her face. Danny squeezed his hand tighter as they watched a giant, 15ft tall, white fur covered beast follow behind Dr. Strange.
“What the hell is with the furry brigade Merlin?” Mr. Stark asked as four more similar creatures stepped through the portal, bringing intense cold and a large, green filled machine with them. The four holding the machine bright it over to the side and began setting it up. The more ornately dressed one with ice covered bone for an arm, stepped forward and eyes the group.
The creature knelt down and held a fist to his chest. Even on his knees he towered over them all. “I am Frostbite, leader of the FarFrozen. This mortal defender has sought our aide in healing The Great One.”
“Uh, hi Mr. Frostbite sir.” Miles flickered invisible for a moment. The yeti didn’t seem to notice or care.
Frostbite looked at each of them, his eyes settling on Danny, who stared at him while still squeezing Peter’s hand. “Great One, we’ve come to assist in healing your wounds.” The yeti then spoke some words in a language Peter didn’t recognize. Whatever he said seemed to relax Danny, whose breathing calmed. He then addressed Miles and Mr. Stark, “May I please examine him?”
Miles glanced to Mr. Stark, who nodded. They both stepped out of the way. Dr. Cho also stepped back. Peter, however, stayed. Frostbite nodded to him, then carefully eyed the fresh stitches. He frowned, and pulled a jar from a thick bag on his side. He popped the cap and began gently spreading a light blue salv across the wound, resulting in a sharp hiss from Danny that led to a coughing fit. Peter was surprised at how careful a creature so large could be.
“What is that?” He asked, his voice firmer than he intended.
“Medicine that helps with ectoplasm absorption.” Frostbite answered. “His human half has been treated very well,” he nodded to Dr. Cho, who seemed more surprised than appreciative to be complimented by the yeti. “Now we must treat his ghost half, restore the balance between the two.”
“What does that mean?”
Frostbite pulled out a small pen light and sat the jar of salv on the bed. “His highness is a Halfa, stuck between life and death, both and neither at the same time. His flesh has sustained lethal damage, though is unable to die. Were his flesh to sustain any further injury, his ghost half would become too dominant, destabilizing him, likely causing him to melt.” Peter felt Danny’s hand tighten again, and he squeezed it back, hoping that the action was reassuring. “Great One, I must look into your throat now.”
Danny slowly opened his mouth, and Frostbite used the near comically small light to examine inside his throat. Peter glanced as well, seeing that Danny’s throat was red and raw, with blood blisters and angry green spots dotting it all over. No wonder he couldn’t talk. Peter looked away, choosing to instead focus on Frostbite.
Frostbite sensed his question before he asked it. “Blood blossoms.” He said the words like they would curse him. “My king,” he sighed. The yeti took a glob of the salv and pressed it inside Danny’s throat, his finger drifting through the flesh as if clipping through reality. When he removed his finger the medicine was gone. Danny coughed. He looked to Peter again, “Young Knight, will you allow me to take his highness, I must place him in the vatt.”
Peter looked to Danny, whose eyes caught his. Why are you asking me? “I’ll be close,” he promised, sliding his hand out of Danny’s. Frostbite reached his hands under the table, then lifted them up through the bed, passing the frame and bedding as if they weren't there and catching Danny easily. Peter followed as he took the Halfa to the green vat the others had finished setting up. One of them affixed a mask to Danny before Frostbite phased Danny through the glass and deposited him in the vat of green.
Danny floated in the green, hugging at his chest while red gold sparks fizzled around the bands. The salve over the incision site glowed brightly green, and the glass near the top and bottom began to frost over. Frostbite examined a screen at the bottom of the vat, checking symbols Peter couldn’t make sense of on the spot. “Strange One, if you could release the bindings now.”
Strange undid his spells, and the bands around Danny sparked one last time before dissolving as if they’d never been there. The moment they were gone another pulse of energy was released, this one cold and freezing the room as it did. Peter watched as Dany screamed silently. His hair turned white, and his lightning scar shown green. After the change, his body slumped, unconsciousness finally taking him.
Frostbite placed his icy hand on Peter’s shoulder, sending litterall chills through him. “The Great One has found a trustworthy knight in you, young one. Take these,” he pulled a large book from his bag, placing it in his arms. The book was 6 inches thick, a foot long, and heavier than he felt it ought to be. He then handed him a smaller bag that clinked as he passed it over. Peter peeked in and saw five more jars of the blue salve. “Both these will aide you in caring for the King.”
“Thank you.” He held the objects as if they might disappear any second. “Uh, Frostbite sir,” he looked up, feeling rather short, “why do you keep calling me a knight?”
Frostbite smiled with large pointed teeth, “Were you unaware young knight? You bear the mark of one who has made a vow to the king.” He knelt down again, “As long as you stay loyal to your words, you are bound to The Great One, and through this bond he may lend you his strength. Do well not to break it.” Frostbite stood, “Leave him soaking in the ectoplasm for the night, then have him consume as much of it as he can.” He turned to Mr. Stark, “Are you the one who made that unrefined ectoplasm?”
“Its a work in progress.”
“It will serve as a fine substitute. Have him drink it when he is able, it will help reverse the damage the blood Blossoms have caused.” Finally, he turned to Dr Strange. “It is time for us to return.”
“Thank you for your help,” he addressed his thanks to all of the gathered yeti.
“We've long been loyal to the Great One.” Dr. Strange portaled them away, chilling The room once again.
For a moment, they all just took in the events. Then, Mr Stark clapped His hands. “So, Peter, what kind of deal did you make with our interdimensional King Here?”
He blinked. “I, promised to protect him.”

Chapter Text

Peter sat cross legged in front of the vat. He was flipping through the book Frostbite had given him. Dr. Cho had long since left them, retiring for some well earned rest. Mr. Stark had gone back to work on the substitute ectoplasm, and Miles had fallen asleep in a chair he’d snagged from another room. This left Peter the only one awake, and he didn’t feel the least bit drowsy.
He flopped the book onto the floor, letting the pages fall and loose his place. There was arguably too much information on ghosts within the pages. He’d skimmed the first 20 pages, finding a not at all compacted explanation of shades. There was no index of any sort, leaving him to have to find the relevant details himself. The book wasn’t even in alphabetical order, or any apparent order.
“I wonder what those blood blossoms were…” He let his voice trail off. He felt a twinge in his chest, not like his spider sense but still comparable. He felt a pull to the book that hadn’t been there before. Following the thoughts as they came, he said again, “Blood blossoms.”
The pages began flipping on their own, landing on one titled ‘Dangerous Plants.’ He skipped the others on the page, finding the flower Frostbite had been so disturbed by. As he read he could feel his blood drain from his face. Realization paired with all the blood and death he’d seen that day lurched within him. He ran to the trashcan in the corner, next to where Miles was sleeping, and threw up.
Bile burned his mouth as he lost all of his food. The noise of it woke Miles, who quickly rushed to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder as he knelt, “Whoa, dude, what happened?”
Peter made to answer, but decided to spit out the remaining bile in his mouth. He spat a few more times to try to ease the taste left by the vomit. He held a hand above his chest, feeling it burn just like his mouth did. “They, they tortured him.”
“Danny?” Miles kept his voice low, peeking at the unconscious boy floating in the vat. “I thought, I kinda figured…”
Peter shook his head. “Its more than that. I, found the entry on Blood blossoms.”
“That thing that yeti guy mentioned?”
He nodded. “Its perfectly safe for humans, edible even.”
“But for ghosts?”
“The book described it as one of the most painful things any ghost can experience. It can even kill them.”
“Kill a ghost? That, thats a thing?”
Peter spat one last time in the trashcan before leaning back. “Frostbite mentioned that Danny could have melted, and the book said something about ‘Second Death.’ I guess, after that its really over.”
Miles looked to be in a similar state to hw Peter felt. “So, his throat, whoever did this,” Miles looked at Danny again. “They forced him to eat those things.” Peter nodded. “That’s, man.”
“I just, why? He’s so small, he’s just a kid.” He clutched his chest tighter.
“Pete, what’s wrong?”Miles motioned to how he was still clutching over his heart.
The pain got worse the more he focused on it. “It burns,” he answered. He bit his lip as he pulled his hoodie and shirt off. Across his left breast he found a green, radial six pointed flower design with little eclectic bolts eminiating from it. It glowed softly. He tried to whip it away, even though he knew it wasn’t simple ink.
“Since when did you get a tattoo?” Miles quipped, though his eyes held concern.
“Mark of the vow.” Peter whispered. Across the room, the book again flipped its pages. He and Miles ran to it.
Miles read the words, voicing the main points, “Vow to the king, loyal to their promise, lend power, has influence on core evolution- what?”
“Core.” He asked the book. It responded and took them to the page they needed.
“Thats creepy.”
Peter gave him a curt look. “We’ve seen creepier.” He then looked to the page, skimming it. “Basically the soul. Contains the essence of the ghost, their memories, their powers, their essence-”
“-Do humans have a core?” Miles asked.
Peter read further, “Doesn’t sound like it.”
“What about that shared powers thing?” Peter expected the book to react to Miles, but when it didn’t he realised that he must have already been utalizing the shared powers part of the vow.
“Ghost powers.” The book stoped on a page with far too many notes. An idea hit him, “Danny.” Nothing. “Ghost King?”
The book answered, with a list of former kings. He ignored all of them, skipping to the end were he found Danny’s name bolded. “Danny Phantom.” (roll credits lol) Once at the correct page, they were greeted by a list of achievements that were probably impressive if they knew who or what any of the opponents mentioned were. Peter flipped past the accomplishments, past a prophecy marked as fulfilled, and to a list of powers.
This time Miles read them aloud, “Flight, intangibility, invisibility, spirit sensing, overshadowing, ghost ray, duplication, forcefield, telekinesis, power absorption, cryokinesis, ghostly wail, energy share, command, and call.”
“Thats impressive,” Peter looked at the list, which notably had some blank space after it. He found a blurb, “Powers are influenced by the ghosts experiences, evolutionary path, actions taken in life, and instance of death.”
“He’s dead and alive, does that, did he have a death?”
Peter looked up towards Danny, who finally had some semblance of peace across his face. “He said it was a lab accident.”
Miles crossed his arms dramatically in a way that told him he was trying to lighten the mood. “You better not get invisibility from that list, thats my thing.”
Peter rolled his eyes, “And his apparently.”
“Yeah, well, he’s cheating.”

It would be a couple hours before Mr. Stark joined them, wheeling in multiple gallon tankards of what could only be his further refined ectoplasm substitute. Miles was lazy flipping through the ghost book, and Peter had been sitting in front of the vat, diligently guarding it, occasionally munching on a beagle Miles had brought him from the cafeteria. The mark of the vow occasionally burned, not as intently as it had when he’d first realised the extent of Danny’s torture. He felt the sensation become more and more familiar as the time passed, less foreign and more an extension of himself. He’d yet to fully understand what that feeling meant, but for the moment it was fine.
“Did you sleep at all kid?” Mr. Stark asked him.
Miles looked up, clearly interested in his answer. He shrugged. “Wasn’t tired.”
Mr. Stark gave him a suspicious look but didn’t press the question. Instead, he grabbed something off the cart holding the tankards and tossed it to him. He caught it easily, finding it to be a bag with clothes in it. “For the boy. Any updates with the book?” They quickly filled him in on what they’d figured out. Mr. Stark’s face hardened when they described the blood blossoms, and Peter remembered why he became Ironman in the first place. After they finished, he sighed and rubbed his temples. “What the fuck.” Mr. Stark whispered.
Peter rubbed at the mark, another burning twinge pestering him. He looked to Danny, who's hair had reverted back to black. He saw his eyes open, and Peter waved. Danny waved back. “Morning.”
Danny placed a hand on the glass and looked around. Peter went to the vat and circled it, looking for the way to open it. Not finding anything on the bottom, he crawled up to the top, and again found nothing. His heart thrummed as he realized he had no clue how they were going to get him out safely. “Uh, guys. There's no door.”
“What?” Miles joined him, repeating his circling and climbing same as him. “There aren't even any hinges.”
Mr. Stark walked over and bent to look at the panel. “What language even- are you sure it doesn't just pop off?”
The two spiders tried, and failed, to remove the lid. When their efforts to open the vatt failed, they reexamined the top. There was an opening with a filter leading to the breathing mask Danny wore, but otherwise The top was solid metal. He couldn't even tell how it connected to the glass.
“Do you think we're gonna need to ask the book again?” Miles knocked on the metal.
“Maybe,” he wished he had thought to ask Frostbite about how they were supposed to get Danny out of there.
“Hey, boys,” Mr. Stark called.
“You got anything?” Miles asked.
Peter ran his hands along the metal, trying to feel any seems he may not be able to see. He frowned and crossed his arms, glaring at the metal as of that were the answer. “Theres no way its supposed to be this hard.”
“Agreed, we've got to just be missing-”
“-Boys.”
“Yes Mr Sta-” Peter's words were cut off by the sight of Danny, wearing the deep purple tye dye shirt that had been in the bag, throwing the bagel he'd been eating at him. He caught it, and found that a large chunk had been torn off it. “Oh.”
The spiders hopped down from the vat, nursing their embarrassment at their unnecessary panic. “How did you?” Miles asked.
Danny grinned. He walked back over the vat and stuck his arm right through the glass, waving his arm through the ectoplasm to emphasize the action. When he removed his arm, a horse laugh escaped his lips, and he clutched at his gut.
“You shouldn't laugh so hard,” Peter scolded, “you'll tear your stitches again.” As if to prove his point, Danny coughed.
“Hey Pipsqueak, let's take a look at you, then get you something more than a half eaten bagel in you.” Mr. Stark said, pointing to the hospital bed.
Danny looked at the bed, then took a step away from it. Peter caught his eye, “How are you feeling?”
Danny held a thump up. Mr. Stark frowned. “Nice try.” He crossed his arms. Then, surprising Peter, he lifted his shirt, showing the arch reactor. “You're not the only one who's got problems, pipsqueek.”
Danny looked at Mr. Stark, his eyes flashing green. He sighed, then lifted his shirt. They took a look at the incision site, and Peter sighed in relief. In some places the flesh had already scabbed together and didn't seem to be solely relying on the stitches to keep the skin together. The wound didn't look angry, and wasn't bleeding.
Mr. Stark also seemed impressed. “That yeti said to have you drink the ectoplasm I made, is that what you did with the iv when you ran off?”
Danny nodded. Peter pulled out his phone and unlocked it. “Can we check on your throat too?” Once he received a nod of approval, Peter turned on the phones flashlight and peeked in Danny's mouth. The sores were still red and raw, but the green had subsided. There were many scabs dotting their way throughout his mouth, but none were actively bleeding. It was a decent improvement. “Well that's certainly looking better.”
“Far from good though,” Mr. Stark said. He led them to the containers, filling a cup with the substitute from a spout. “Try this.”
Danny took the cup and sniffed it suspiciously. He then chugged the liquid, making a disgusted face when he was done. “Than” He either wasn't able to or didn't care to finish the rest of the word.
“So, we hitting up the cafeteria?” Miles asked.
When Danny took a step back from the door, Peter said, “Maybe, somewhere with fewer people?”
“I've got a spot.” Mr. Stark gave a nod as he led them out the door.

Chapter Text

Danny didn't like the place the group had taken to him. It was a fancy living space, clearly belonging to this Stark guy. It wasn't that it had that extravagant rich person feel to it that reminded him of Vlad, nor was it that the high windows all appeared to be able to open, which he felt had to be a safety hazard. It was the view that he hated.
From high up in the tower the city below looked normal. He hadn't been to that many cities before, but even with his limited experience he could see the differences. When hed been wandering before, he could feel that something had been off. The cars were all small and sleek. There were billboards, some were even giant televisions. These on their own weren't that surprising, he'd been away from the world for at least five years, some advancements were natural after all. Then, he got a look at the phones people were carrying with them. They were so thin he couldn't wrap his head around how they worked. He saw a hologram of a dancing man come out of someone's watch. He saw multiple humanoid figures flying overhead, none of whom were ghosts.
So many things priced together that it hadn't been that big of a shock to learn he wasn't in his universe. He still didn't know how To feel about that. Was this place safe? The man had gone through something similar to him, so that wasn't a point in this worlds safety evaluation. Still, there was a dark sort of comfort in someone understanding what he'd been through. The man didn't give him the same concerned look that the others gave him when they thought he couldn't see.
He took a bite out of his pudding. Banana flavored. It was cold and felt nice on his sores. Peter sat next to him, and Miles next to Peter. Behind them was Stark, who sat on a black leather couch with his feet on the coffee table. He was probably leaving a weird Impression, choosing to sit on the floor and look out the window, but from what Peter had told him of his summoning, he didn't have the best entrance into this world. He took another bite.
“So, what now?” Miles broke the silence that had bloomed. “Like, there's the cult group, the data, the other world,” Miles shrugged. “Where do we even start?”
“That's a good question,” the man mused. “What do you think Danny? You got any thoughts on all this?”
He'd been given another notepad and pen, which he used to write, ‘This reality is weird.’
That got a chuckle from the man, an offended scoff from Miles, and a concerned look from Peter, who said, “Do you know how to go back?”
Danny hovered the pen above the paper. He hadn't thought about going back. Did he want to? Was Amity okay? When he took too long to answer, Miles asked, “Do you want to go back?”
He gave up on figuring the answer out. ‘I don't know.’ He wrote. ‘Not much to really go back to.’
He frowned as no one said anything, and went back to watching the world out the window. The longer he looked, the more foreign it felt. He ate more of the pudding. He grabbed the pen, prompting Peter to lean over his shoulder as he wrote, ‘What year is it here?’
“2021.” Peter answered.
Danny almost choked on his last bite of pudding. The action made his chest hurt, and he held it as he took a moment to recover. He counted on his fingers, 2004 when everything started, 2006 when it ended, then the five years, he wrote, ‘2011?’
“2011?” Peter repeated. He shrugged in response. “Time difference?”
“Could be, different reality right?” Miles leaned in closer. Danny leaned against the glass.
“Sir, Thor is approaching the door, demanding an audience with you.” A voice called from above. Danny clocked the speaker and narrowed his eyes. He vaguely recognized the voice.
The man groaned, loudly and with a level of exaggeration that Danny suspected was more for show than for the upcoming and clearly unwanted visit. “What does he want?”
Before the voice could answer, a loud thud called their attention to the door. The noise was quickly followed by the door being knocked off its hinges. A large, muscle covered man with short blond hair, a white band t and thick denim jeans, walked over the door. “Stark!” He called.
Stark stood and waved his hands at the mess. “Really? You come planet side and the first thing you do is fuck up my door?!”
“Holy shit thats actually Thor,” Miles whispered as he and Peter leapt to their feet. Danny joined them, though at a much slower pace.
“Do you not sense the danger you've got here? Powers that are not of this world-” Thor locked eyes with him, and pointed an accusatory finger, “-it has taken the form of a child!”
Danny narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. He was bad at sensing power from beings that weren't, well, dead, and judging by Thor's casual decimation of doors, he figured he was some sort of big shot. One that could, apparently, feel his presence. That wasn't comforting. He put the banana pudding spoon in his mouth, wishing it didn't hurt so much to talk.
“No shit,” Stark Shook his head. “Do you really think I didn't know what I've brought into my home?” Thor made to answer but was interrupted, “Don't answer that.”
Danny snorted. Thor's eyes seemed to flare with agitation. “Why in the nine Realms have you brought the King of The Infinite Realms into your home?!”
“Be happier to talk you if you didn't break down my fucking door.” Stark waved an arm at the destruction, which prompted Thor to pick up the door and place it back in place, as if that would fix it. He puffed his chest, clearly proud. Stark shook his head.
“How are there nine Realms and infinite at the same time?” Miles voiced Danny's question.
“Different type of realms,” Thor crossed his arms, as if his explanation made perfect sense. Danny didn't really find this helpful, but when were magical explanations ever satisfactory?
Danny held his chest as he slowly bent down to retrieve his current method of communication, prompting protests from Thor that he ignored. He wrote his message and turned it for Thor to see. ‘Shut up.’
Was it the best message to write? No. Did it make Thor's eyes bulge and Starks widen? Yes. Was it funny? To Danny it was.
“You will not command me you undead Beast!”
Danny bent down again, taking a jar from the bag Peter had brought with them. He put the notebook under his arm and took the spoon out of his mouth, popping the lid and shoveling some of the medicine in his mouth. The group watched him, and he noticed Peter was standing in front of him, between him and Thor. For some reason, it felt comforting.
After swallowing several spoonfuls of the salve, he weakly said, “My name is Danny.” His voice sounded different from the last time he'd used it, more hollow, or perhaps more haunting.
Thor narrowed his eyes. “Are you not Pariah Dark, King of the Infinite Realms?”
Danny felt his eyes flash green. He took another spoonful of medicine. “I am Danny.” His attempt to emphasize his name caused him to cough. When he finished, he recompiled himself and ignored the iron taste in his mouth. Eyes still green, he switched to a language that he got the feeling Thor would still understand. “I am the new king.”
Thor's face pinched together, and he lazily pushed past Stark before kneeling down and bowing his head. In perfect ghost speak he said, “My apologies, your majesty. I mistook you for someone you are not. I was and am merely concerned for the safety of my friends.”
Danny sighed. He was tired of standing, and sat back down with his legs crossed. He shoveled more salve into his mouth before answering, “I didn't come here to hurt anyone.” Then, he switched back to writing, and slid the Notebook in front of Thor. ‘You don't need to bow. It hurts for me to talk, but do you believe me?’
Thor read the words and nodded. “Yes, young Danny.”
Stark sighed and sat back down. “When you're done you're fixing my door.”
Danny listened as Stark and the starry eyed boys gave Thor the rundown of what had happened. He noticed that Stark had introduced Peter and Miles as owners of a tech company he backed, and had glossed over why they were helping. The dancing around a secret identity nearly made him chuckle, and probably would if the memories it brought back weren't shrouded in sorrow now. When the explanation finished, Peter asked, “Why'd you change your mind about him after you guys spoke, what was that anyway?”
“One cannot lie in the language of the dead.” Thor answered with a nod. Danny gave a thumbs up.
He wrote, ‘Why do you know ghost speak?’
“I am Thor Odinson, an asgardian. Allspeak allows my people to understand and use all tongues.”
‘Cool.’
Thors demeanor darkened as he leaned forward. “After hearing your tale, I am now more concerned with how a powerful being like yourself was brought to such a state. What manner of being could have done so much damage to you?”
Danny held at his chest. He didn't want to think about what had happened. He knew these people wanted answers, but despite their help he wasn't ready to give them. A twinge of guilt sparked inside him, and he realized he also didn't want to leave them worrying about a terrifying power that could threaten their world.
He took the pen and wrote a single word. ‘Humans.’
He watched as the group analyzed his response. Only Stark seemed unsurprised. Danny sat the pen back down and wrapped his arms around him, pulling his knees to his chest. He rested his head on the side of his arm. Don't ask more questions, he begged mentally.
“Mortals often prove themselves to be terrifying advisories.” Thor stated, the tone of his voice firm and final.
The conversation continued, though Danny was no longer listening. He stayed curled up, right on the floor where he'd decided to sit. Why hadn't he sat on the couch? As words faded and the sound of banging replaced them, he felt himself drift off. He nearly resisted the pull of sleep, but decided that, at least for now, it was safe.

He woke to find himself being carried on Peter's back. The air was still, with the distant sounds of the city telling him they were no longer near the tower. The sun was gone, the cool winds of night blanketing the parts of his flesh that were uncovered. He didn't move as he was brought into the house he'd found himself in yesterday.
“Aunt May, we're back,” Peter called somewhat quietly.
“We've got him some medicine, stuff works great,” Miles called as well.
He felt a warm hand on his head. “His color looks better, you boys did good.” May removed her hand. “How long has he been out?”
“Basically the whole day. We got some pudding in him this morning.” Peter answered.
May hummed. “Why don't you set him up on the couch for now. I'll make something easy for dinner.”
Danny still didn't let it be known that he was awake. Peter laid him down gently on the couch, propping his head on a pillow and covering him with a soft blanket. “There ya go,” he heard him whisper.
He listened to the sounds of the house. Peter and Miles helped May with preparing dinner, talking casually as they did. They discussed a current project involving some sort of transport company, and of college applications. There was some hesitancy about whether or not the boys would be going, but there was a lot of excitement in hearing that someone named MJ was doing well where shed gone. He heard snippets of other names, friends that apparently were being given updates on him.
Eventually, a savory scent drifted his way. Before being summoned to this world, when had been the last time he'd actually eaten? Not for an experiment, not from stolen scraps, but actually ate?
It had to have been his last night with Vlad, after the funeral, just before the argument. They had take out, triple meat pizza with cheese that the Dairy King had told him was poor quality. They hadn't been in the mood for good food. They had eaten in silence, neither really ready for the new life they were in. Then, Danny had told Vlad he was going home. He had to, if he stayed nothing would change from the timeline Clockwork had shown him. They fought, not as ghosts but as humans, yelling at each other. He knew he'd hurt Vlad, but it was to prevent a worse future for both of them, wasn't it?
He wondered if Vlad was able to evade the GIW.
Soft figures brushed his hair out of his eyes, which he opened in alarm. Smiling gently at him was May, “Sorry, didn't mean to startle you.”
He sat up slowly, his body feeling heavy. He held on to the blanket, not quite ready to not have its warmth. As if she knew, May wrapped it around his shoulders. “There,” she said, “now, let's get some more food into you.”
She guided him to the table, where he was sat in the same chair as before. He pulled his legs onto the chair with him, she didn't seem to mind. Everyone else was already set up, with a bowl of steaming stew in front of them. Peter and Miles both greeted him, and he gave them a small nod. May scooped him some food, and he cradled the bowl as if someone would take it from him.
He took a bite after seeing that Miles was already scooping his own food. Peter and May watched him, their spoons hovering over their bowls. The food was warm and soft, with a savory taste that melted across his tongue.
“Do you like it?” May asked.
He nodded. “Than, you.” It still hurt to talk. Ghost speak was easier to use with a sore throat, but he was sure the only person there that could understand it was Ben, who had taken the same spot as before, watching the meal from the corner with a content look on his face. He took another bite.
They continued chatting about nothing really. His notebook was sat on the table in case he had anything to say. At the start of the meal he thought the two large pots may be excessive, but after Peter had 5 bowls, Miles 6, May 2 and himself 4, he understood that much food was a necessity.
After they'd all finished, there weren't any leftovers. Miles took the pot to the kitchen, and Peter followed saying, “I'll do the dishes.”
May stood, and Danny wondered if he were going to be left alone. As he was wondering what to do, she patted his head, “Mind if I tackle the rest of that mat you've got there?”
Again she was brushing his hair, gently picking apart the mat it had become during his years of torment. He hadn't realized how bad it had gotten, not even the day prior when she'd decided to work on it. He had been in a daze, in part to having been summoned and in part of having who knows how many drugs in his system. Now that he was rested, fed, and sober, he could feel how most of his hair had become horrifically entangled. It was as if he were wearing a hat he'd grown himself.
As she worked, she hummed contently to herself, as if detangling a stranger's hair had been her number one choice of activity. When she finished a chunk he felt her braid it together. His hair was long enough to braid? It shouldn't have been a surprise, he knew it'd been years. When May freed and braided another section by his face, he grabbed it. Judging by the braids length his hair was definitely past his shoulder.
“This isn't hurting is it?”
“No,” he dropped the braid and put a hand on his throat as he spoke. “I didn't know, it was this long.”
She hummed again. “Its all been hiding in this mess.” She used the back of the comb to separate more of the mat. “Is it alright if I ask when the last time you brushed it was?”
He considered the question. How long had it been? “I think, five.” He counted on his fingers, trying to recall each time he heard someone mention their yearly reviews. “Five years.” He answered.
For a second May stopped working on his hair. He wondered what she pictured, she probably thought he'd been much younger when it all started. In part, she wouldn't be wrong. He was younger then, just not physically. She continued working. “Well, I'm sure it will feel nice to not have this mess.”
He realized Miles and Peter had stopped talking. Then he realized that it didn't bother him that they were listening. Maybe because they, like May, had been nothing but kind to him. She finished several more braids, having managed to free a quarter of his hair. Danny grabbed the hair, pulling on it slightly, just to see how it felt.
“Boys, could one of you bring me a spray bottle with some warm water?” She called. “This bit here is giving me some trouble, think you can handle some water?”
“Okay.”
“Here you go Aunt May,” he heard Peter hand her the bottle.
Danny covered his ears and shut his eyes tightly. “Its just water, here,” May voiced each time she used the spray bottle. The warm water quickly chilled his scalp, but seemed to have the desired effect. May told him it was over and went back to tending his hair.
“You're good at that Aunt May,” Miles chimed from somewhere behind them. “How're you that fast with it?”
“His hair’s been cooperating with me, it probably doesn't want to be all matted either.”
Now with an unapologetic audience, he sat quietly while May finished his hair. She'd worked on it for a couple hours the day before, and after what felt like a couple more, she undid the braids and ran the brush through his hair freely. “There, that must feel better.”
Danny ran his fingers through it. It needed to be washed, and probably smelled bad. “Thank you.”
Aunt May gently patted his head. “Anytime kiddo.”
Peter walked in front of him and knelt down a bit. “How're you feeling?”
Danny caught a slight glow to Peter's eyes he knew hadn't been there before. Maybe it was an affect of being in close contact with ectoplasm, but it faded so fast he wasn't even sure he'd actually seen it. “Tired,” he answered.
“I bet.”

Chapter Text

Once again, Peter was not tired. The mark on his chest still burned, though now the feeling was more akin to a moderate warmth than an actual burn. Like his skin was hovering next to a fire just a touch too close. He'd experimented with it while they were at the Avengers tower. The further he was from Danny, the more aware of the mark he felt. The more distress he or Danny was in, the hotter it became.
When Thor had spoken to Danny in ghost speak, Peter had felt emotions flow into him from the mark. He'd felt Danny's anger at being mistaken for the previous king, his annoyance at being bowed to, and his guilt, though Peter couldn't place where that had come from. He was surprised how easily he'd understood that these emotions hadn't been from him, and at how natural it felt to feel what another was feeling.
He wondered if it worked both ways, if Danny could feel his emotions as well. He tried to keep a hold of himself, to keep his feelings peaceful or neutral. It proved to be far easier to do than he'd first thought. Probably because I'm always one step away from loosing it, he thought to himself as he worked on his computer. He'd finished his prep work for the new shock absorbent material he'd been working on before they'd stumbled into the ghost summoning cult. If he were at the lab, he could start making the prototype to see how well his calculations held up.
As he was not in the lab and instead in his room, he took to trying to find information on the cult instead. Surely a group large enough to have over 100 members With a following dedicated enough to sacrifice their lives, there would be some sort of information on them. Even supernatural groups had to have at least a Facebook page right?
After an hour of nothing, he pushed his laptop aside. He needed to go back to the warehouse, search it again. He and Miles had been so stunned they could have easily missed something. Maybe he'd ask the others to go with him. He spun in his chair to face Danny, who was asleep in his bed. Peter hadn't bothered to set up the cott. He wondered if he'd ever need to sleep again.
The mark grew slightly hotter, and Peter rubbed at it. He stood and made his was over to the halfa, finding him becoming fitful again. From the mark he felt fear. “Hey, Danny.” He tried to keep his voice calm and firm. “Hey, man, wake up.” He reached a hesitant hand out, wanting to wake him but knowing that it was currently dangerous to touch him. “Danny.” He called a bit louder.
The halfa, still unconscious, began breathing heavily as he curled in on himself, cradling his head. Cold air radiated from him, and Peter felt his spider sense activate. He jumped back just in time to dodge a spike of ice. He found himself dangling from the ceiling, watching as the ice disintegrated, not even leaving a puddle as evidence it had been there. The mark on his chest burned hotter, and he gritted his teeth. He shot a web at his door, just in case aunt may woke up and decided to see what the noise was about. Miles would have to use the window if he wanted to get in.
“Uh, Danny, dude, wake up please.” He raised his voice, still not shouting. He could feel Danny’s panic mix with his own adrenaline from the situation. He crawled along the ceiling till he was directly over the bed. “Okay, please don’t ice me.” Danny’s body was now covered in frost. The halfa shivered, but Peter knew it wasn’t from the cold. He lowered himself down with some web, and when he was just within arms reach he gave Danny’s shoulder a small shove, quickly retreating back to the ceiling as another spike of ice raced after him. It only folwed for a couple of feet before disapearing like the one before it.
“Danny?” He called again.
Below him he saw bright, glowing green eyes that, despite being open, weren’t looking at anything. Feeling it was safer, Peter returned to the floor. Danny’s green eyes locked on to his movement, though he knew it wasn’t him he was seeing. The frost krept up his face, and Peter was reminded of the previous night when he was worried Danny would try to claw his eyes out.
“Danny, its alright,” he spoke as calmly as he could.
“She said,” his voice sounded far away. “She said.”
“What’d she say Danny?” He’d be happier he was talking if he was more lucid.
“No, not today. She said,” he grabbed at his ears, “Not today.”
“Hey, hey, hey, its alright,” he lied, “Not today. Okay, not today.” His gut twisted. He didn’t know what to do. He had to ground him, but how did you ground an interdimensional ghost child? He knew giving something cold was a good option, but that probably wouldn’t work for someone who could emit ice. “Danny, its alright. Can you hear me?” Talking seemed to be his only option.
He slowly reached his hand back out, and nearly yelleped as Danny’s darted out and grabbed his wrist. Fiery green eyes bore into him, and the mark flared hot. “Who are you?” Danny’s voice sounded deeper and more threatening.
“Peter.”
“P?”
“Ter.” He tried to keep his face gentle. “Peter.”
“Peter,” Danny repeated, “The, spider kid.”
“Spiderman,” he corrected with a smile, “And I think I’m older than you.”
“Thats not, I don’t,” Danny blinked, his eyes loosing the green glow and returning to blue. “I have no idea how old I am.”
Okay, Peter, just keep him talking. “I don’t know, at least 12.”
The frost retreated off of Danny’s face. “No, at least 14.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the correction. “What, happened?”
Peter sighed. “You were having a nightmare. You okay?”
Danny let go of his wrist, not seeming to have even realised he was holding it. He sat up and looked around the room. Hi chest was still heaving with each breath, and Peter could still feel the burning panic from the mark. “Right, I’m not, she’s not here.”
“Who is?”
“Project, manager.” Danny’s eyes seemed to glaze back over, and Peter wasn’t sure he was still with him. “She, she said not today. I was, she said, it was, they weren’t, not today.”
Peter was scared to ask, but curiosity escaped his mouth before he could restrain it, “What’s not today?”
Whatever answer he’d been expecting, laughter hadn’t been it. Peter didn't need an other-worldly mark on his chest to know that this was not an action brought on by humor. Danny gripped at his chest. The laughter turned into coughing, which faded into sobs. Peter sat on the bed, not facing the boy but not facing away either. He held out his hand, and felt a small, cold hand grab it.
“I've got you, Danny.” He promised again, "they can't get you here.”
Peter didn't know how long they sat like that. The mark burned and his stomach twisted. He wanted to be able to fix the problem, to get rid of the fear and the hurt, but he knew that nothing he did would make it go away. There were some things that couldn't be fixed, only helped. He didn't know if his current choice of actions were right, but for now, it was enough. The kid was safe, fed, and healing. As much as he wanted to do more, all that he could was be there.
Long after the sobbing stopped, a quite voice said, “You remind me of my sister.”
Peter made a note of this new detail about Danny. “How so?”
“You're smart.”
“Thank you.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Danny was looking out the window. Peter leaned his back against the wall, still looking at the wall across from him.
“She was always changing her mind, wanting to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a professor.” Peter kept listening, glad for the halfa to be focusing on something other than his torment. “She'd get stressed out everytime she changed her mind, but I wasn't supposed to know that. But, you're some kind of tech guy right?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“I guess you'd be kinda like Tucker then. He'd have loved it in this place.”
“This reality?”
“Yeah, he was a tech geek. Always after the latest thing, even if he couldn't afford It. The phones you guys have, he'd have lost his mind.”
Peter chuckled, trying not to focus on how both these people were referred to in past tense. “I know a lot of people like that, always ready to see what the next advancement is gonna be.”
“Are you an inventor?”
“Sometimes.” Danny fell silent, and Peter, worried he'd fall back into thinking of that Project manager, asked, “You know ant inventors in your world?”
After a long pause, Danny said, “My parents.”
“Oh yeah?” Peter considered how to best word his question in a way that didn't prompt negativity. “What kind of inventions?”
Danny gave a humorless snort. “Ghost hunting equipment.”
“Oh.” Mission failed.
“Worked pretty good.” Shit. Danny gave a real laugh, a small and careful thing. “I stole so much of it. They thought the ghost boy was breaking into the lab all the time.”
“What?” Peter turned to him, finding That Danny was looking up through the window. “Ah come on, you've got to explain that one.”
Danny chuckled mischievously, his eyes still trained skyward. “They didn't know, that I'm half ghost. So, it was really easy to just, take what I needed. They never thought anything of me going into the lab.” Danny closed his eyes, and Peter felt a surge of power roll off of him. His hair again turned white, but this time that wasn't the only major difference. His ears pointed, a bit like an elf's, and he saw two small fangs, almost like a vampire’s. After a moment, the ends of his hair flickered and waved as if made of white flame. The clothes he'd been wearing shifted in color as well, the purple tie dye turning green and the blue sweats black. Peter felt the burning mark calm, as if he'd finally stepped away from the fire.
Danny gave a relieved sigh. “So, you'd have the stuff and they thought that, ghost you, had stolen it?”
Danny smiled, his green eyes finally seeming calm. “That part was always funny. Maybe in a dark sort of way.” Peter didn't respond, letting the halfa continue. “This one kid, Wes, he figured out my secret identity. It wasn't really that hard, at least I don't think. Even like this I still went by Danny. Everyone made fun of him for it.”
“What about you?”
Danny chuckled again. “I was the worst about it. Whenever I got bored I'd just, flash green eyes at him, watch him loose his shit over it.” His smile faded. “I should probably apologize to him if I get the chance.”
Peter felt a twinge of relief hearing him refer to someone as still being around. He smiled. “I bet it was hilarious.”
Danny fell silent, even more so than he had the last time. Peter realized that was in part because it didn't seem like Danny was breathing in this form. He watched the flickering of Danny's hair, and nearly startled when the boy said, “The stars look about right.”
“Do they?” He turned to look, as of he'd be able to compare them to the ones from Danny's world.
“Not the right part of the world, but right for here. The light pollution kinda sucks though.”
“Its better at the park, not like if you were to go out further though.” He shrugged. “When you're a bit better, we should go.” When he didn't receive a response, he added, “If you want.”
Danny shrugged again, then his body lost its ghostly features, flowing back into the far more ordinary human form. “I feel like I'm healing too fast.”
“What do you mean?”
Danny ran his hand over his throat. “I, knoda have a good sense of how long it takes for things to go back to normal.” He pulled up his shirt, showing that the incision site was now fully scabbed over, with new flesh areas forming underneath, the edges of the scab peeling already. “This is too fast.”
Peter blinked. “Can I, see your throat again?” Danny nodded, and he grabbed his phone and turned its light on. He examined Danny's throat. The angry red and Green blisters were gone, leaving behind dark spots that, while still looking painful, were far from the open sores that had been there. He turned the light off and stood back. “Thats amazing.” Danny shrugged. “Do you think it's from that medicine? Frostbite said that was to help with absorbing ectoplasm.”
Danny shook his head. “No way, even after two months in ectoplasm all this wouldn't have been healed.”
“So what…” an idea sparked in his mind. “Do you think it could be from the mark of the vow? That Book said something about power transfer, maybe it goes both ways?”
“The what?”
Peter blinked at him. “The mark, because I made a vow to the king?”
Danny stared at him. “I, what? You did what?”
It was his turn to laugh. He pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing the top most chunk of the mark. “You gave me a free tattoo.” He chuckled, finding the situation somewhat humorous despite the concern emanating to him from the mark. He shook his head and began explaining what he knew of it, leaving out the detail about it burning. After he finished, he added, “Also, I can feel you worrying, so stop that.”
“I, what,” Danny shook his head, “I dont remember, how?”
“You weren’t exactly what I would call lucid, so I’m not surprised.” Peter sighed, “I promised to protect you. Not long after this showed up.”
“I, I’m sorry, I didn’t know-”
“-Hey man, I’m not worried about it.” He smiled, “Plus, how cool does it sound to be the knight for an interdimensional ghost king?”
Danny’s eyes narrowed. “You should be more concerned with weird things like this. What if I was evil?” Peter laughed again. “I was being serious!”
“I know its just,” he tried to restrain his laughing, “you’re just not.” With a big grin on his face, he added, “Not much weirder than getting powers from a spiderbite.”
Unamused, Danny looked away, and Peter caught a green tint to his cheeks that almost made him laugh harder. “That doesn’t explain why I’m healing so fast.”
“Oh, right.” Peter finally recomposed himself. “That power sharing thing, its just a guess but it might work both ways.” After receiving a skeptical look from Danny, he continued, “I’ve got accelerated healing, so, maybe this mark lets you use some of my abilities too.”
Danny seemed to think for a moment, the wave of worry fading from the mark. He rubbed at his chest again. “Thank you.”
Peter pulled his feet under him so that he was sitting cross legged. “Yeah, no problem kid.” He checkled, then added in an exaggerated tone, “Tis an honor to serve his interdimentionlyness.”
“Oh fuck off,” Danny laughed and looked back out the window. Resting his head against the glass, he whispered, “I haven’t talked this much in years.”
Peter wasn’t sure what to say to that. “It must have been hard.”
“Yeah.” Danny sighed, then turned around and took up a pose similar to Peter’s, leaning his back against the wall. “I have no idea what I should do now.”
“Well,” Peter thought about it. From the little he knew, Danny was alone. He spoke of his family in the past tense and he’d yet to mention anyone he could go back too. He hadn’t even mentioned trying to go back to his own world, and Peter got the sense that Danny wasn’t even sure he wanted to. After what had happened, he could understand. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” Danny looked at him, and Peter felt guilt emanate through the mark. “What would you do?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, if you were pulled into another dimension, what would you do?”
Peter scratched his head. “Well, I’ve got May and everyone here, so I’d try to get back here, I think.” He knew exactly where this was going.
“But what if you didn’t? If everyone was gone, would you still go back?”
Peter sighed. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, you can stay here.”
“Would you?”
“Danny,” Peter shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I’d do. What do you want to do? You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to.”
“I,” Danny grabbed his head. “Does that make me a bad person?”
He said it so quietly, so sincerely, that Peter couldn’t tell if the pain in his chest was from the mark or his heart. “Of course it doesn’t.”

When morning came, Peter left the sleeping Danny in his room to go make some breakfast. Eggs were probably fine, right? He wanted more of last nights soup, but with three of them with larger than typical appetites that was a statistical impossibility.
Aunt May joined him briefly in the kitchen, “Peter, what are you doing up so early?”
“Your plates over there,” he pointed to the counter, “I know you’ve got an early morning today.”
“You couldn’t sleep, could you?” She thanked him as she took her food.
“No, but I’m alright.”
She shook her head. She took a bite out of her toast. “I forgot to ask yesterday if you’d keep an eye on Danny today.”
He smiled. “I was planning too anyway. If he’s up for it I was gonna take him to get some more clothes.”
She frowned. “You really think he’s going to be ready for that?” Her tone held a warning.
“Physically, yeah. That medicine has been doing him some good,” it wasn’t a lie, it just wasn’t the whole truth. “Mentally, no clue. That’ll be up to him.”
Aunt May gave him a nod. “Don’t be pushing that kid.” She lowered her voice, “he’s in a very delicate state right now. I know you know but, don’t forget it, Pete.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
After she finished her food, he took her plate and waived her off. A few minutes later, he felt a warm pull from the mark. He looked around, half expecting his spidey sense to go off. As if to answer his suspicions, Miles called from the top of the stairs, “Hey Pete!”
He leaned his head into the hall, seeing Miles dressed with a panicked look on his face. “Yeah?”
“Where’s Danny?”
“He’s not in the room?”
“Oh yeah why didn’t I- no he’s not in the room.” He crossed his arms. “What do you take me for?”
Peter frowned as they went back into the kitchen. “He’s around.” He pointed to his chest.
“Oh yeah, I forgot you said you could feel him with that.” Miles looked around suspiciously.
Peter watched his friend back up towards the counter. Just before Miles's back hit the countertop, Danny became visible in his ghostly form, sitting with his legs crossed and his arms wrapped around his abdomen, loosely this time. “Hi.”
Miles yelped as he jumped back, briefly turning invisible as he did. While Peter chuckled, Danny laughed hard, the flames of his hair flickering as he did.
Miles glared, “Well good morning to you too your highness.”
Danny grinned, the action sending chills down Peter's spine. Nothing about the smile was wrong, not even the small fangs, there was just something haunting about the boy. Ghost, Peter reminded himself dumbly. “You can turn invisible?”
“Yeah,” Miles readjusted himself and puffed his chest. Peter knew how he secretly enjoyed being the only spider with that power. “I also have bio electrokinesis.”
Danny raised his arms and had them crossed more casually as opposed to wrapped around him. He made a face and Peter felt a twinge of fear flow from the mark. “So you're a human taser?”
“Spy-D.” Miles countered.
“Did you also get your powers from a spider bite?”
“Yeah, not the same one as Pete though.”
“Gimmick thieves, all of you.” Peter handed plates of eggs to both boys. Miles leaned against the opposite counter and mowed his food down quickly. Danny cradled the plate as if it were going to be taken away.
“Thank you.” Danny reverted to his human form before scarfing down the food.
“So, you seem to be feeling better.” Miles commented. Danny held a thumbs up as he ate.
Peter took a few bites of his own before saying, “We think the mark lets him have some of my abilities too. He's already looking way better.”
“Thats awesome. Doesn't make any sense, but still awesome.”
“Says the guy who lives in a world that just has, people with powers? Like, there's just, Ive seen multiple people flying around. And that Thor guy, and Stark has that thing in his chest,” He shook His head. “You guys' reality is weird.”
“Says the interdimensional king kid.” Miles dished himself more food.
Danny waved a hand. “You got me there.”
“How's that work anyway?” Peter asked. If Danny was in the mood for talking, he wanted to know more.
The halfa shrugged. “I accidently met the requirements.”
“You accidentally became a king?” Miles asked skeptically.
Danny nodded, and Peter noticed he had a tight grip On the now empty plate. “I beat the former king right, and his knight, and somehow I got the acknowledgement of a bunch of the ancients, most of whom I've never met so I don't even know how I did that.” He shook his head. “Then all of a sudden I'm the new Ghost King.”
“I have no idea what most of that means.”
“Same.” Danny shrugged.
Peter snorted. “I don't know why but you becoming king by accident somehow makes perfect sense.”
Danny narrowed his eyes. “I feel like that's supposed to be an insult.”
“No way, Pete can do better than that for an insult. What he's bad at are compliments.”
“Hey!”
The banter continued, and Peter managed to coax the plate from Danny in order to fill it again. As he watched Danny and Miles mess with eachother, a comfortable warmth filled him. Peter smiled as his own hope mixed with the hope that emanate from the mark. It felt small and careful, delicate like a leaf waiting to fall to the ground. It was a start.

Chapter Text

A hurdle Peter had not expected was finding pants that fit Danny. He’d been prepared for some level of apprehension at going shopping, and had even expected to need to take breaks in their endeavors to find clothing. Now, as he sifted through more pant sizes at their third store, he looked at Danny, “How are you so tiny?”
Danny looked at the label of a pair of jeans. “I am a small emaciated corpse.”
Miles scoffed. “That is not funny.”
“My trauma, my jokes.”
Peter rolled his eyes and tossed the smallest pair he could find in the stack to Danny. “Go try these.” The boy left with a thumbs up, leaving the two spiders to continue to be baffled at how one could fall between pant sizes so perfectly.
“We might just have to get a slightly bigger pair and trailer it.” Miles suggested.
“Its a good thing we all know how to sew.”
“What if we get him a belt and he grows into the pants?”
Peter frowned. “I don't think he grows.”
“Don't think who grows?” Peter turned to see Harry, a plastic bag slung over his shoulder and a smirk on his face.
“Hey Harry.” Peter said. “Don't suppose you've got any tips on finding pants for a small child.”
“Well, for starters, this is the teens section.” Harry rolled his eyes. Then he raised his brows, “That, king kid, you guys aren't-”
“-His names Danny.” Peter and Miles said at the same time.
“Right, and where is he?”
Peter pointed to the dressing room. The attendant gave him a sympathetic look, knowing full well how difficult they were finding their endeavor. A moment later, Danny appeared and gave the pants he'd folded to the attendant. Peter waved him over, and watched as the boy stared Harry down the whole way.
“Danny, this is my friend Harry.” Harry gave a small wave.
Danny nodded then glanced between him and Miles. Peter added quietly, “He knows, it's okay.”
“I'm one of the ones whose been getting updates on you. Glad to see you up and moving around.” Harry smiled in his most non-threatening way. Peter could tell that he was worried about leaving a bad impression.
Danny nodded. Miles looked at the stack of pants. “I hate to say it, but we might have to go to the children's section.”
Green blush bloomed across the halfas cheeks. Harry looked around the store, then said, “Or, we could go get him sized.”
“You want us to go to a tailers?” Peter scratched his head. He hadn't thought to take the kid to any sort of high end place. He wasn't used to having the money for that to be an option, even several years into owning WEB.
“I know a good one my dad used to take me to,” there was a note of apprehension that was always present when Harry spoke about his dad. “They've got plenty of sizes,” he offered.
Peter looked to Danny. “Well, you want to try it?”
Danny shrugged, but Peter could feel the unease coming from the mark. They paid for the couple of shirts they'd found, then followed Harry, who took them to the parking garage behind the stores. Miles sat next to Danny in the back, and Peter took shotgun. He looked back to check on Danny, who'd buckled himself but had his arms under the belt, keeping it from touching him.
They mildly complained to Harry as he drove them through the traffic, but he welcomed the break from walking. It had been clear that the trip was exhausting for the halfa. Finding pants was not supposed to take so long.
When they arrived they were greeted as if they were all high end customers, and not a bunch of young adults carting around a teenager. Harry waved to the woman who was leading them inside, “Hey there Bianca.” He pointed a thumb to Danny, “Hope you guys have some pants for this kid.”
Bianca readjusted her glasses as she looked Danny up and down. She gave a gentle smile, even as Danny stepped behind Peter. She turned back to Harry, “Jeans, slacks, anything special?”
Harry looked to Danny, “Yes to the jeans, and at least one set of slacks, just in case.”
She led the group to a slightly raised pedestal, she gestured to it, “Can I get you to stand here for me?” Danny didn't move. Bianca nodded. She bent down, squatting and resting herself on her heels. “Are you nervous?” Danny nodded. Bianca took out her tape measure, the kind that could wind itself back up. It was in the shape of a small bear, and she opened it up some, showing it to him. “I just need a few measurements. Is it okay if I do them, or would you like to help me?”
Danny reached out and grabbed the tape measure. Peter caught a nervous glance from Harry. He shrugged in response. This was about what he'd expected. He was just thankful that Bianca was so quick to read what the teen needed.
“Okay, first I need around your waist,” Bianca stood up and mined where she needed Danny to measure. He did as she instructed, showing her the tape after each measurement. She made no indication that it was odd for the boy to be so against being near the stranger, nor how he had decided not to speak.
While she worked with Danny, Peter hung back with Harry and Miles.
“Not what you'd expect from a king, right?” Harry whispered.
Peter smiled. “Apparently that was an accident.”
This got a snort out of him. “Reminds me of someone else I know.”
“She's really good at this,” Miles noted. “Like, shes got this down.”
“Biancas the best,” Harry crossed his arms, pleased with himself. “She's been in the business for 20 years now. She's seen it all.”
“Not gonna lie, I was worried he'd freak out.” Miles chimed.
“Yeah, it's hit or miss right now on what gets to him.”
Harry hummed. “Well, the kids been through a lot. It'll probably be a while before he settles.”
Peter watched as Bianca thanked Danny then trotted off to another room. For a moment, he saw the halfas gaze linger on the door, no, near it. Then he returned to the group. “Still feeling okay?” He asked.
“Tired.” Danny stated. Then, while Scratching at his collar bone, he said, “And hungry.”
“Lunch after?” Peter asked the group.
Miles grinned and stretched his arms, “You know it.”

Bianca returned with a large rack of pants for Danny to sift through. After trying a few on, Harry pushed past Peter and paid for the garments, which Bianca bagged carefully, giving a smile to Danny as she handed him the bags. They thanked her, even Danny giving her a nod, then Peter made sure to thank Harry as they went back to the car.
When they left, Danny curled up against the door and promptly fell asleep. Peter hoped being in a moving vehicle with others talking around him would help him not have another nightmare, especially one that had him attacking in his sleep.
“So, what are you guys thinking about this kid so far?”
“What?” Peter blanked. He looked back to Danny, whose hand was partially phased through the seat.
“Do you think he's, well, safe?”
“Harry,” Peter warned. He knew that his friend often struggled trusting people, but he couldn't fault him for it.
“Hey, don't give me that, it's a reasonable question. Kid is some interdimensional big shot, that both Strange and Thor were up in arms about. And now he's, just,”
“Sleeping in your car?” Miles offered.
“Yeah.”
Peter sighed. “I think he's a good kid.” He glanced at Harry, who had a stern grip on the wheel.
“I think you're biased. You've got that mark thing-”
“-Oh he might be biased,” Miles interrupted, “but I don't think he's wrong. Just give him some time to open up to you, listen to him talk and you'll get it.”
“At least someone here understands my point.” Harry turned and Peter saw they were heading towards the lab. Harry caught his side eye and said, “Stark dropped off these things and Gwen asked for help getting them out of the way.”
A bit later they were parked in front of WEB. With Danny still unconscious they decided to leave him in the car with the windows down. Peter kept rubbing at the mark, nervous that any moment it would alert him to something being wrong. At present, he felt nothing emanating from it.
Inside the lab, in the main room, he found 20 metal barrels, each with their own drink spouts, stacked up on a pallet. Peter sighed.
Gwen crossed her arms. “Care to explain what all this is?” She asked him accusingly.
Peter held his hands defensively. “Why is it my fault?”
Grady poked his head above the barrels, “Because it's always something to do with you.” He held up a large canteen in an over the shoulder sling. “So, whose Pipsqueak?”
Peter looked to Miles. They hadn't thought of making a story for Danny yet. Gwen grabbed a paper that had been on top of one of the containers, “These, ingredients, are definitely not safe for human consumption.”
Peter grabbed the paper, frowning. It was a basic list of materials used with a note scribbled at the bottom. “Don't forget to water the Pipsqueak.”
“I feel like we shouldn't let anyone drink something that glows, even if its Ironman providing the, stuff?” Grady had set the bottle back down and now had a small beaker he'd filled with some of the liquid.
Peter felt his spider sense go off, and judging by the reactions of Miles and Gwen he wasn't the only one. Gwen snatched the beaker from Grady and placed it away from them. “Let's, not be near that,” she said.
The liquid began smoking, quickly evaporating as if it'd never been there. Peter quickly turned on the overhead, the one that tucked up fumes and blew them outside.
Grady shook his hand as of the green would return and bite at him. “Tony Stark wants someone to drink that?”
Peter walked over and looked at the beaker, noting that his senses were now calm. “Its medicine for a mutant.” Sort of.
“That, cannot be safe.” Harry looked at the barrels skeptically.
“I mean, its probably not,” Peter looked over the barrels as if some new revelation would be gained. “For us anyway.”
Anya entered the main lab from her own, leaning against the door frame. “So, you're going to get these out of the way right?” She gestured at the mess with her good arm.
Moving the barrels was allocated to Miles, Gwen, and himself. Harry was still sore on his leg, so despite offering to help was quickly scolded by the group. Grady also tried to help, even with being scared. However, the barrels were just a bit too heavy for him, so he took it upon himself to hold the doors open instead. After a few minutes, three spiders were slumped over tired and Peter's lab was filled with ectoplasm.
He sighed, “And there goes my floor space.”
Harry patted his back. “You'll be fine.”
While he pretended to mourn his work space, he felt a twinge from the mark. He rubbed at it, not feeling any emotions flow from it. “Hey, I'm gonna go check on-” His words stopped as he peeked out the window, seeing a notable lack of a child in the car.
Anya caught his gaze and smiled. “If you're looking for the kid he's up there,” she pointed to the top of the main shelf, where Danny was sleeping soundly.
“I, when did?” Grady shook his head. “That can't be comfy.”
“He did say he was tired,” Harry looked at the shelf, then to the door, then back to the shelf.
“Sneaky little,” Gwen shook her head. “Anyone else not see him get in here?”
They all shook their heads. “Yeah, Danny's good at that.” Peter scratched at his head.
At the mention of his name, Danny partially rolled so that his head was looking down at them. Soft green eyes peeked at the group, “Mmm?”
“You wanna get off the shelf?” Peter asked.
“No.” Danny closed his eyes.
Miles hummed. “Well, now what?”
Grady sat in his chair and looked up at the teen. “We could get the ladder?”
“Or we could leave him.” Peter glanced at Harry, who held his hands defensively, “Isn't he still injured? If we try to get him down we could aggravate his injuries.”
“We can't just leave a kid up there, if he falls that'll hurt him worse than us carrying him, don't you think?” Gwen scolded.
“We could try bribing him,” Anya offered. “If he comes back down on his own that'd be better.”
“That could work,” Peter mused. “We could try food.”

After some discussion, Harry and Grady both left to go pick up lunch, burgers this time. Peter again rubbed at the mark. “Why'd he have to pick there to sleep?”
“If you guys hadn't left a kid in the car we wouldn't have this problem.” Anya crossed her good arm over her chest.
“We left the windows down.” Miles defended.
“Danny,” Peter called, “Could you please come down from there?” Instead of receiving a response from the halfa, the mark began to heat up. He frowned. “Somethings wrong.”
With only spiders present, Peter leapt up to the ceiling, using the new vantage point to see Danny holding his chest. Along his cheeks and arms green spots bubbled. The mark burned more.
“Shit shit shit shit,” he muttered as he leapt from the ceiling and ran to the barrels. He found the bottle And quickly filled it. By the time he got back Miles was on the edge of the wall looking over Danny and Anya was standing back.
Peter lept back up and crawled over. “Danny, Danny wake up real quick.” He reached down with one hand and gently shook the halfa. “Danny!”
The halfa opened his eyes, and the green goo retreated back into his flesh. “Mmm?”
“Drink this, now.” He helped the boy sit up, and awkward action since he was still upside down. Once upright, Danny obediently drank the ectoplasm, his blue eyes flashing green as he did.
The burning sensation left the mark, and Peter sighed. He rightened himself, deciding to sit on the shelf as well. Miles also relaxed and returned to the floor.
Anya looked unimpressed. “What just happened?”
Peter shook his head, “I don't know, it was like he was leaking ectoplasm.”
“That doesn't sound good.”
Danny kept drinking, looking around the room, his eyes clearly confused. After a moment, he stopped and asked, “Where am I?”

Chapter Text

Danny was not a fan of waking up on top of a shelf in a room he didn't know being watched by people he didn't know. Peter and Miles had been on the ceiling and wall respectfully, neither of which were places he'd expected humans to be. The ectoplasm they'd insisted he drink still tasted bad, not as gross as the last batch, but kind of stale. It was tolerable.
“Where am I?” He asked again.
“You don't remember getting up there?” One of the girls he didn't recognize asked him. Her arm was in a sling. Peter and Miles, who he had already deemed acceptable, seemed to trust these two, but he had no basis for them. Where was he? Why was he there? How had he gotten there? Why did he feel, goopy?
He didn't answer the girl. “Danny,” Peter regained his attention, “how do you feel, you were, it was like you were leaking.”
Danny took another drink of the stale ectoplasm. Had he been melting? That wasn't good. Physically he'd been healing at a higher rate than he'd ever experienced, but was he stabilizing? He'd always thought that the healthier he was the more stable, but maybe that wasn't entirely the case. He closed his eyes, ignoring the concerning gazes. How much ectoplasm did he have? He couldn't tell. Had he been low for so long he'd forgotten what it felt like to have enough?
He opened his eyes, looking to the two strangers then to Peter. The knight nodded, “They're good, same team.”
“I'm Anya,” the girl with the hurt arm waved. He waved back.
“And I'm Gwen,” the blond girl gave him a nod, “you should probably get down from there.”
Danny nodded and held the bottle close to him. He didn't particularly have the energy for flight, so instead chose to turn invisible, then intangible. He allowed himself to slowly fall through the shelf, then walked a couple steps away from it before returning to normal. Gwen and Anya both jumped a little at this, while Miles and Peter had already gotten used to it.
He eyed the girls suspiciously, and they did the same to him. Peter and Miles landed gracefully, and Danny wondered how often it was that they did that.
“So,” Anya waved her arm towards him and the shelf, “what was that about?”
He didn't like the eyes on him. Danny took another drink, then found that he'd already finished it. He looked at the shelf, then out the window where he'd expected to see the car he'd been in, but it was gone.
“I don’t know.”
Gwen sighed, “I don't suppose you have the ghost book?”
“If you mean I have it with me and not under my bed, then no.” Peter chuckled nervously.
“Can I have more?” Danny asked the group.
They nodded, and Peter led him to another room, a lab similar to the one they'd just been in but with only one workspace as opposed to the six in the one they'd been in. It hadn't been that long since he was in a lab, but this one was different enough from the GIW ones that he didn't feel uncomfortable in it. The collection of unidentifiable gadgets in various stages of construction more so reminded him of home.
Peter took the bottle and filled it again. It was a large hydro flask in a purple sports sling, the heavy duty kind supposedly for hiking but not entirely practical for it. The knight quickly capped the drink and handed it to him.
Danny nodded his thanks and went back to drinking the ectoplasm. The group had followed him.
“Feeling better?” Miles asked.
Danny shrugged. “I feel, gooy.”
Gwen crossed her arms. “That's not a very specific answer.”
“Mmhmm.” He drank more. Was he supposed to know what was going on?
“Give him a break, Gwen,” Anya rolled her eyes, “you can't expect every kid to know how to describe their symptoms in proper terms.” He wasn't sure he liked any of the new people he met that day.
He held up his hand, finding part of the palm partially melted into an ectoplasmic goo. “Gooy.” He said firmly.
He felt a strong surge of panic that he didn't feel was his own. He turned, seeing Peter with his hands on his head. “Ahh what do we do? Should we try Strange? Maybe he could get that Frostbite guy-”
Danny flashed green eyes at Peter, then focused hard on his hand. It returned to normal, and he showed it to his knight for proof. Then, he sat on the floor. His legs were tired.
“Okay, you seem familiar with this, can you tell us what it means?” Anya asked, bending down to squat at his level.
Danny nodded, chugged more ectoplasm, then answered. “Its only happened,” he mentally counted, “a few times. Ecto levels are low. Balance is off, ghost half isn't stable.” He rubbed at his head.
“But, you've barely used your power, how could-” Peter smacked his head. “The mark.”
“What about it?” Gwen looked to Peter. She gave a bit of a commanding energy, though Danny didn't think she was the one in charge.
“I, just before he showed up on the shelf, I felt it react somehow.” Danny saw Peter rub at where the mark was, “it was like, I don't know, but right after I felt it I wanted to check on him, then he was there.”
“You think the connection might have brought him into the lab?” Anya asked.
“Its just a guess, but maybe?”
“Thats not much of a hypothesis, especially since we cant test it in his current state.” Gwen shook her head.
“It kind of makes sense,” Miles hummed. “So far, we know that the mark created a connection between them, sharing their powers, right? We also know that Petes got the responsibility of protecting him, so maybe his worry triggered it, causing Danny to use too much power unintentionally.”
Danny considered the explanation. He shrugged. “Never teleported before.”
“You might have just, sleep floated in?” Miles offered.
“Thats so little to go off of.” Gwen sighed. She directed her next question to him, “Do you know what to do about this?”
He held up the bottle before chugging more of it. “This sorta works.”
“Is that what you did to fix it last time?”
He stared ahead. He hadn't caught Who had asked the question, nore did it really matter. He clawed at his arms where the tubes had been. The constant flow of pure ectoplasm into his veins, the draining of his human blood, the cycle between being filled and drained. He felt his arm turn to liquid and had to hold it to check if it was real or the memory. He couldn't tell.
“Danny?” A voice called to him. He grabbed his head. There weren't any people who would care to use his name. He brought his knees closer to his chest and pressed his forehead against his knees. He wasn't tied down, he could escape if only he had the strength to transform.
“Danny!”
There was more talking around him, multiple voices. There were footsteps around him, rushed ones. He prayed they weren't getting more shields. He didn't want to be in a box again.
Suddenly his body was wrapped in a soft cloth, one that was smooth and heavy. Then, something warm was pushed into his hands, forcing him to let go of his head. He looked at it, finding the heat to be a small heating pad filled with rice. He stared at it, trying to process why it would be there.
“Danny?” He didn't look at the voice. It was familiar, and felt safe, but he couldn't place it. “Danny, can you hear me?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled. Why was he able to speak?
“Do you know where you are right now?”
“Lab 42,” he smelled the dry rice from the heating pad. It didn't make sense. Why was it there?
“No, no that's not where you are.”
“Try telling us what you feel, what are you holding?” A different, less familiar voice asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to answer her. “What are you holding Danny?”
“A, heating pad.” He pressed his head against it, feeling the slight heat permeate through his skull.
“Good, good. What about it? How does it feel?”
“Warm,” he answered her.
“Okay, and what about the smell? Can you smell the rice?”
“Mhmm.”
“Danny, can you look at us?” He looked up, his heart beating unusually often in his chest. It hurt as it pushed against his stitches. In front of him he saw four people, all sitting on the floor with him. As he looked at them he began to recognize who they were. Peter was closest, then Gwen. To his sides were Miles and Anya. “Do you remember us?” Peter's face seemed pale.
He nodded. He squeezed the heating pad, feeling the grains escape through his fingers only to fall deeper into the cloth bag. He still had his fingers. That was always good.
Gwen was smiling. It wasn't a happy smile, more so one of restrained relief. “Do you see where you are now?”
“I,” he looked down. “I don't, I don't actually know where this is.”
Peter answered his unasked question. “This is our lab, WEB, this is where we work. Mr. Stark dropped off the ectoplasm here for you.”
He nodded. “I was, we were talking.” What had happened? His mind felt foggy and incoherent, like he both knew exactly what had transpired yet could not comprehend any of it. He pressed his head back into the heating pad. They had been talking, he'd been drinking the ectoplasm. They had been worried about his being unstable, then, “I started to freak out.”
“Its okay. You're alright now.” Peter spoke with a reassuring confidence, and Danny felt the assurance flow into him. It seemed more and more like the mark worked both ways. “We've got you.”
“Im sorry.” He didn't look at them. His heart still struggled against the stitches throughout his body. Even with how much he had healed, he felt as though the threads were the only things keeping him together. “Im sorry.”
Ever since he'd been summoned into this world he'd been nothing but trouble for everyone. The wizard guy was wary of him, treading delicately around him in all of their interactions. Stark had put a lot of work into making him a replacement ectoplasm. The doctor had put his body back together twice. Peter had accidently become his knight, and had been watching over him constantly. May had fed him and brushed his hair.
These people had done nothing but help him, and here he was confusing them and worrying them. Why did they even care? What was the point with bothering with a dead child like him?
“You don't have to apologize for something like that, Danny,” Anya said next to him. “We understand you've been through a lot, too much it seems. We're sorry for freaking you out.”
“Yeah man,” Miles continued, “You don't have to be sorry for needing help.”
He pulled the blanket tighter around him. “Thank you.” He couldn't meet any of their eyes. Danny sat like that for a moment, feeling his cheeks fill with embarrassment as the fear subsided. When was the last time he’d been comforted? He couldn’t remember.
A warm, greesy scent filled his nose and pulled his and everyone else's gaze to the door. Harry and Grady had returned, their arms filled with bags that they held like trophies. Harry was in the lead, a concerned smile on his face. “Lunch, anyone?”

Danny didn’t care that everyone watched him as he ate. Harry and Grady had brought burgers, fries, and chicken nuggets. There was enough for everyone to have at least two of everything, and Danny at his portion greedily. Gwen and Grady both offered him their second burgers, and he’d taken them gratefully. They were all still sat on the floor, with the exception of Harry who had brought a chair. Danny noticed he was limping a bit more than he had been earlier.
When he’d finished he hurriedly drank the rest of his fake ectoplasm. He held onto the bottle and the wrappers tightly, with the now cold heating pad still in his lap. The others finished shortly afterwards, gathering the trash into the bags and chatting idle as they’d been. Peter offered the bag to Danny, who felt himself hesitate to give away the trash. Logically, he knew it was just garbage, but a part of him was reluctant to let the proof of the meal go. Peter, as seemingly always, was patient with him, waiting for him to part with the crumpled wrappers on his own. The others looked but didn’t say anything.
The group dispersed slowly, each person telling him goodbye as they went back to their busy. Anya went back to working in her own lab, rolling her eyes when she was told by Miles to be careful. Grady left to get new materials, warning Danny not to sleep on any more shelves. He made no promises. Gwen asked Miles to show her ‘the place,’ giving a wink to Peter that he gave a short nod too. Danny didn't know what that was about, but his curiosity kept the interaction lingering in his mind.
That left Peter, Harry, and himself still in the ectoplasm filled lab. Peter excused himself to run a program on his desktop in the corner.
Harry stayed seated, looking Danny up and down. The distrust was mutual. “So, kid, the food help?”
He nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”
They stared at each other. Peter hummed and mumbled to himself in the corner. Danny wondered why, of the current group, Harry was the only one outwardly showing suspicion. A part of him was relieved by it. The others acted as if it wasn't weird that he was some ghost child from a different world.
“You're a confusing kid.” Harry stated.
He shrugged. “Not technically a kid.” He counted on his fingers, ignoring Harry's raised brow. “I gotta be like, 21 at this point.”
Harry scoffed, “That would put you a year older than us.” He leaned to the side in his chair, “Ya here that, Pete. Kids older.”
“Yeah, yeah, one second,” His knight very clearly wasn't actually listening.
Harry shrugged. “Ignored.” He made a dramatic show of being dejected. Danny chuckled. “Oh,” Harry snapped back, “have I amused his highness?”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Ugh, again with that.” He flashed his eyes green. “Yes, peasant.” Then he returned back to normal. He crossed his arms in mock disapproval. “You all are so hung up on that part, it's like you've never met a ghost king before.”
Harry narrowed his eyes. “Are there a lot of them?”
Danny waved his hand, “Nah, its a one at a time deal.”
“I feel like it's weirder you're not hung up on that part.”
He shrugged. “You get used to it.” He readjusted so that he could rest his chin on his hand. “Fun fact, the title doesn't actually mean I rule the Realms or anything.”
Harry leaned forward, a touch of his earlier suspicion fading. Danny noted that it seemed information was the way to win him. “Oh yeah? What does it mean?”
“Still figuring that out. So far it just brings trouble.”
“Like getting summoned to another world?”
Danny grinned. “Something like that.”
Peter slid next to Harry, gliding across the floor in a wheeled office chair. “I got a question.”
“Yeah?” Danny asked.
“I was looking over the memo report from Jarvis-”
“-Was that sent to you or did you hack it?” Harry crossed his arms.
“Wha- I wouldn't never hack into our benefactors stuff, what,” Danny was unconvinced by the lie. “Anyway, in it there's someone by the name Clockwork, do you-”
He didn't mean it, but he couldn't help it. Anger and hurt spilled out of him, the energy he'd just barely regained causing the lights and various electronics to flicker as if the power was going in and out. He pressed a hand to his chest, exhaling slowly and feeling his breath pull against the stitches. He couldn't afford to be consumed by his anger. Anger was the missing piece, and he'd made a promise.
The lights returned to normal, and Danny waited a moment. He didn't look up, but he knew that both boys had leapt back from him. Guilt mixed with the anger he still felt.
“What,” his voice sounded more hollow than it had before and he tried to relax it. “What do you know about Clockwork?”
“What was that?” Harry snapped.
“That,” Peter answered, “was a lot of anger, all at once.” Danny looked up and saw his knight rubbing where the mark was. Peter's eyes glowed green from the aftereffects of the energy surge.
“Ancients help me next time I see that ghost I'm punching him in his stupid face.” He pulled his arms tight around him, the blanket his makeshift shield against the world.
“Okay, so, like, do we have to worry about him?” Harry asked.
“Not really.” How did he explain? Did he even want to? “What do you guys know about him?” When Peter didn't answer, he added, “Let's me know where to start.”
“"Right,” Peter began, “all it says Is that he contacted Strange and told him to keep me and Miles from being taken as payment, and to bring you to Stark.”
He thought on those instructions. A dry chuckle escaped him, and he wasn't in the mood to care for the affect it had on his audience. “He knew. That bastard knew.”
“What?” Harry asked. Peter remained silent.
Danny pulled up his shirt, showing the still stitched scar, currently glowing green. He dropped the fabric. He saw something in Harry's eyes shift, but he couldn't place it. “He knew. He knew.”
Silence took the room. Danny looked back to the floor. How? How did this all lead to a better future? His anger faded to hurt, the same hurt he felt when he saw everyone die again. The pain in Sam and Tucker's eyes that he still wasn't sure how to put into words. They had known what was coming, and he failed to stop it.
“Clockwork oversees time. All of it, all realities. He, showed me my future once. It, wasn't good.” He didn't feel like voicing what had happened. “Because of him, it's like, like I don't have a choice, in anything.”
“What do you mean?” Peter asked.
“He forced my future to change, showed it to me and dangled the hope of preventing it in front of me. He wants me to be the correct version.” He sighed, noticing his breath had become shaky. “If, he made a request here, then that means he knew. How is this better? They're still all dead so how does me getting cut to pieces help with that?!”
He couldn't help it, the tears started to flow. He was thankful the door was shut, it was bad enough his first incident was witnessed by so many, by comparison two wasn't so bad. Unlike when he was panicking, this time they let him cry. Peter sat next to him on the floor, tears of his own drawing lines on his cheeks. Harry joined them, going slow and nursing his leg.
Danny recalled the last time he had cried like this, surrounded by people who didn't know what to do or say. It had been Sam and Tucker, on a night after a particularly intense fight with his parents. They'd nearly gotten him that time, came just a bit too close on making good on their promise to direct the ghost boy molecule by molecule. His friends hadn't been able to say anything. What would there have been to say? Instead, they had sat with him as he cried. Afterwards, they didn't bring it up again.
Now, Peter and Harry sat with him. He wondered what he was even crying about at this point. Was it the loss of his family? His friends? The years of torment? The summoning? His unwilling ascension? That he was forever 14? Maybe it was all of it, or perhaps none of it. He was tired.
“Why do you guys even care?”
It was Harry that answered him, ruffing up his hair before speaking. “Because we do, idiot.”
“Harry!” Peter scolded.
Danny looked at him. “Miles was right, you're a good kid.”
He wiped his face on the inside of his shirt. “I thought we figured out I was older.” His protest was ignored.
“There doesn't need to be a reason to want to help someone.” Peter smiled.
“Your reality is weird.”
“Oh yeah? Is it really that weird to care?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Its weird to care about ghosts.”
Both boys shrugged at that. “I'd rather be weird then, huh Petey.”
Peter jokingly shoved Harry. “Don't call me that in front of his highness.”
“Oh come on,” Danny complained. He sighed and leaned against the barrels of ectoplasm. “You guys mind if I do something, odd?”
“Uh, sure?”
He made himself intangible and let himself fall through the metal. He felt the ectoplasm flow into him through his skin. He made a conscious effort to absorb as much as he could. He wished he had thought to try this back at the tower, with the true and pure ectoplasm, but this would do. This stuff, while harder to manipulate, did feel more potent, like it had been refined. If he were to liken ectoplasm to water, the natural stuff he was used to would be like spring water while this was like electrolyte infused water.
When his flesh burned with energy, he sat back up. He then filled his bottle back up and drank while staring at Harry and Peter, who watched him curiously.
“How do you not fall through the floor?” Harry asked.
“Practice.”
“You used to fall through?” Peter asked, his voice stuck between amused and concerned.
“Oh yeah, all the time. Took like,” He thought a moment, “a month? Before I got the hang of it.”
“Wait wait wait, so you would just, be going about business, then fall through the floor?” Harry had lost his visual concern and was now restraining laughter.
“All the time. Got banned from all delicate school property too.” He let the bottle phase through his hands as an example as to why. “37 beakers.”
Now they were all laughing, “It took that many before they banned you?” Harry shook his head.
“I, just, I can see that at three, maybe five, but 37?” Peter held his sides as he laughed.
“If you need any beakers take Petes and leave mine out of it,” Harry shook his head.
They chatted and exchanged stories of various superpower influenced accidents. Danny laughed particularly hard as Peter recounted how many times he had swung himself into a building while learning how to swing on his webs. He ignored the strain on his chest. He could feel that the conversation was intended to center him, to keep him calm and in the present, and he wondered if his knight could feel his hesitation to relax.
As they spoke, Danny rested his arm through another container and allowed the ectoplasm to seap into him on its own. Harry's eyes kept drifting to his arm, while Peter didn't seem to even notice he was doing it. Physically, Danny wasn't sure how he felt. The gooy sensation had faded, leaving him how he'd been before the shelf incident, sore and empty. It'd been so long since he'd been both healthy and stable, he no longer knew how much ectoplasm he even needed. Later, he'd have to test out his powers and see how draining they felt.
Harry was telling a story of a younger Peter experimenting with a baking soda volcano, then being utterly confused when the chemical reaction didn't go off like it was supposed too. “Truly it was our first hint that Pete needed glasses.”
“Table salt, the first of my enemies.”
The mood was interrupted by a loud beeping coming from both of their pockets. Danny watched as they both pulled out their phones, their faces palling. On a hunch, Danny refilled his bottle again, throwing the shoulder strap on.
Peter leapt to his feet, and helped Harry get to his. Outside the room, Danny heard yelling. He stood just in time to see Anya throw open the door. “He's gone!” She held her phone in her hand as well. “His tracker isn't even-”
Peter threw off his shirt and hoodie, revealing a somewhat familiar red suit on underneath. “Let's go.”
“Hold on.” Anya pushed her way into the room with her good arm. “Peter you can't go, if Danny-”
“-Oh, I'm coming too.” He flashed his eyes green and put a little of his energy into his voice.

Chapter Text

Peter was not enthused by the arrangement. Anya had promised that her arm was fine, and that she was only still in the sling to hide her unnatural healing. Harry, however, was still injured but had made a show of moving without the limp Peter knew he still had. As he and Anya swung from building to building, Harry had taken the lead on his glider.
It was Danny that gave him the most concern. Through his mark he could feel that he was nearby, but the halfa had gone invisible since after he'd declared he was coming with. Despite their speed, wherever he was he was keeping up.
As they approached the warehouse, a chill ripples through his whole body, nearly causing him to miss his next web hold.
“Spider-man!” Harry called and veered his glider closer. “What was that?”
“I'm fine!” The chill didn't go away, only settling in his chest, like a warning his body was holding on too.
When they neared the warehouse, he and Anya landed while Harry flew lower and behind them. Purple light spilled out from the warehouse's entrance, and the impending danger pinged around in his head. They ran quickly, but Peter stopped as a warm, pressing sensation went over him.
“Does any one else feel-”
“-Shit!”
A loud smack sounded behind him, and Peter turned to see Harry nearly fall off his glider, and Danny, who had evidently been secretly riding as well, fall onto the ground as if he'd just smacked into a wall. Harry righted himself easily, and Peter ran to Danny.
The halfa was in his ghost form, laying on his back with wide, green, eyes trained on the evening sky. “Danny!”
Grunting, Danny reverted to his human form. “I,” he shook his head, “wasn't expecting a ghost shield.”
“A what?” Harry hovered above them, looking Between them and the door. Anya did the same.
Danny walked forward with his arm outstretched Like he was trying not to walk into a wall in the dark. A few steps later He returned to his ghostly form, his white fiery hair flicking about his shoulders. “Ghost shield, keeps ghosts out.”
“Or in, I'm guessing,” Anya pointed to the glowing purple.
“Yeah, that's not good.” Danny hovered above the ground. They took off back to the door, Danny now flying behind him as he ran.
Was an open side door the best entrance for them to go through with something that could cause them to disappear entirely? No, but it was the quickest. They ran in, and Peter almost threw up in his mask.
The smell of iron hung thick in the air, along with a burnt static smell. He recognized the later to be the after affects of Miles using his ability a lot, though it didn't seem to have done any good. They found Gwen fighting an armored knight with flaming purple hair. She had a green, glowing sword webbed to her back, and was playing an elaborate game of keep away.
“Ancients kill me now,” he heard Danny mutter as they all rushed to Gwen. Peter got there first, and attempted to land a kick to the knights shoulder, only to pass through. He corrected his path and landed, skidding back a few feet.
Harry buzzed the knights head, while Anya swung to Gwen, taking the sword from her and becoming the new target for the knight. Peter tried to throw webs at the knight, only for them to again pass through him. Above them, a black alicorn flew, weighing as if encouraging the battle.
It was Danny who was able to land a hit, blasting green energy that enveloped his hand. The attach hit the knight in his helmet, the sounding thud echoing louder than it should. “Fright Knight,” Danny called, his voice projecting with a power Peter hadn’t heard from him before, “care to explain what the hell you think your doing?”
“Well if it isn’t the whelp,” Fright Knight turned towards Danny, the rest of them seemingly forgotten by ghost. While he was distracted, Peter took the chance to regroup with the others, who had taken refuge on the wall. Gwen was breathing hard, but otherwise okay, at least physically. “Or are you wanting me to call you Highness?” The ghost spat the word.
Danny’s eyes flashed fully green, the whites disappearing in the glow. “Give back my friend.”
“You have no command over me, my allegiance is with the true king,” Fright Knight pulled at a silver chain around his neck, “and this, for the time being.”
Danny smirked, “You serve the defeated king, and now you're bound to a human.” He laughed as if this was some joke that was particularly funny.
“What’s the situation?” He whispered to the others.
“He slashed Miles with the sword, then he was just, gone.” Gwen said.
“Danny said something about needing a pumpkin,” Harry hovered in front of the spiders protectively. “Said it didn’t have to be real.”
“Where are we gonna find a pumpkin in this-” Anya started but was cut off by a loud blast.
Peter looked back to the ground, finding Fright Knight now atop his alicorn, his hand glowing green from the afteraffects of the blast that, evidently, danny had dodged. “Incolent welp,” the ghost yelled. “You are unworthy of the title. You are the absent king! The bleeding king!”
“That’s what people are calling me?” Danny flew around the room, his path following a summoning circle on the ground. It looked less intricate than the one he’d seen summon Danny. Peter recognized some of the markings along its outer layer from the machine brought by Frostbite. He wondered what they said. “Also, Pariah was sealed for like, 10,000 years. If anything he’s the absent king.”
“You dare-” The knight was cut off by another blast from Danny. Peter felt a pull rom his chest.
“He can’t keep this up,” Peter said as he clutched at the mark. “We need to get that pumpkin.”
“What are we gonna use,” Gwen’s head perked up, “Webs. Spider-man, Spidergirl, I’m low, but-”
“On it.” He and Anya combined their webs, creating a webball that they then sculpted into a passible pumpkin shape.
“Danny!” Peter called, taking their creation and swinging back into the action, dodging green blasts but not trying to fight back. Anya followed him, the green sword still in her fist.
Danny met them, flying in front of them with both his fists glowing green. Peter could feel the energy draining from the halfa. “Don’t let him get those, I’ve got an idea.”
“Danny, what-”
Danny landed on the ground and produced a large green shield, protecting the three of them from another, stronger blast. When it ended, Dany dropped the shield and flexed his hand. A small blade of ice formed. The halfa held it up to his palm.
“What do you think you’re-” The knight took a step back. “You wouldn’t.”
From his view, Peter caught the slight grin across Danny’s face. The halfa slid the blade across his hand, then held the wound above the ground. It bled, large green globs with red swirling within falling to the ground. When the blood hit, the summoning circle absorbed it, causing the pattern to glow green. The chain around Fright Knight’s neck also glowed, the metal shifting from a dark gray to a bright green.
“You said it yourself, I am the Bleeding King.” Danny sounded pleased with himself, but Peter felt the uncertainty flow into him from the mark. “Now, I’ll give you two options, do as I say or I seal you away again.” Danny flexed his hand again, and the pumpkin Peter was carrying was enveloped in the green light. He let go and it floated away towards Danny. The sword Anya held did the same, coming to rest in Danny’s hand, the ice blade gone.
The Fright Knight straightened, and his alicorn flew behind him, landing with an indigent neigh. The ghost pulled at the chain, only for it to zap him like a shock collar. “Damn whelp. You are the Absent! The bleeding! The living! You are undeserving of the title King!”
Peter felt a quiet rage emanate from the boy. “And yet, its mine.” His white fire hair whipped about as if in a strong wind. “Give me back my friend, now.”
The ghost made no discernable movement to comply, but a voice called from across the room, “Dad! Wait!” Miles was on the ground, hands outstretched. Gwen and Harry rushed to him, while he and Anya stayed by Danny.
“I’ve done as you asked, now release me so that I may unleash terror on this realm!”
“Uh, no. Why would I do that?” Danny shook his head. “I want you to tell me what you know of your summing.”
“What are you doing,” Anya whispered. Danny held a thumbs up behind his back.
“You are but a weak child who makes a mockery of the-”
“-Enough.” The room chilled and Peter began to shiver. He wasn’t the only one, it seemed only the ghosts were unaffected. Peter felt as if he were being crushed, and his knees failed him. “I don’t care if you recognize me as king or not. I don’t need the approval of a disloyal and failed knight.” The comment rang in Peter’s head.
“You only defeated my lord with help, your power couldn’t even keep you from being summoned into this stale world.”
Danny scoffed. “I was summoned on the brink of my second death, you were summoned at full strength. Not only that, but you were unable to resist being controlled by a human.” Danny raised the sword. “Answer me now, or on the Ancients I’ll have your core.”
At this the Fright Knight took a knee and bowed. “I know nothing of who summoned me.”
“What were you tasked with?”
“Delay the spiders while the humans escaped, then locate the king.”
“What language is that?” Anya asked, an unease in her voice that didn’t match her ready position.
“Ghost speak, that way I know he’s not lying.” Danny answered.
“Wait, then why can I understand you?” Peter recalled that previously he had been unable to understand the language when he’d heard Danny and Thor speak it.
“You’ve chosen this human as your knight?” Fright Knight scoffed.
“Hey,” Peter protested, “I think I’m pretty cool.”
“Did you expect to still hold that position?” Danny frowned. “If you know nothing than I have no reason to keep you here.”
“I’ve done as you asked!” The ghost protested.
“Tell me,” Danny’s voice was much quiter, “Have you come across any of the Fentons? Jack, Maddie, Jazz?” The knight shook his head. “Sam Manson. Tucker Foely?” Another no.
“Danny,” Peter warned, he could feel that the boy was reaching his limit.
“I’ll make a deal with you, kingless knight,” Danny rested the sword against his shoulder. “Seek out the Fentons, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Do NOT harm them. Tell them to seek the king.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“I won’t seal you this time, and I’ll release you from the human’s hold.”
Fright Knight bowed deeply, his arm crossed over his chest. “I agree to these terms.”
“Promise on your core. You will not hurt my family nor my friends.”
“I promise.” At this, a green sigil similar to but more simple than the pattern on Peter’s chest engraved itself on the armor of the ghost. Danny flexed his bloody hand, and the chain around Fright Knight’s neck snapped, the metal dissolving in the air as it fell. It was completely gone before it could hit the floor.
Danny threw the sword, and the Fright Knight held up his hand. The sword returned to him. The ghost mounted his alicorn, then pointed the sword at Danny. “This does not make us allies, whelp.”
“Just go.”
Peter felt an overwhelming surge of wrongness as he saw the knight mount his steed. The ghost waved his sword in front of him, as if slashing the air. Before him and the horse, the air rippled like disturbed fabric. Then, a cut appeared, as if the knight had cut through reality itself. The cut grew into a slit, green swirling energy held just beyond it. Peter was reminded of the portal to Venom's planet, only this felt far more powerful. Even without his connection to Danny, Peter could feel the endless power emanating from the portal.
The alicorn gave a loud winey, rearing and raising its wings as it ran off into the portal, leaving their reality without a second glance.
Danny stood in front of the slit, pumpkin forgotten at his feet. He stood at the ready, as if expecting something else to emerge. Peter straightened and began walking over, but stopped when Danny raised a hand. “Wait.”
They all stood there, watching the slit. After a few seconds, the edges of the cut began to knit themselves together, leaving behind no visual proof of the hole that had been there. Peter could still feel the energy from it, but even as he blinked he knew it was already dissipating. The cold in his chest finally subsided.
They all made their way to Danny, who seemed frozen there. Questions bubbled on Peter's tongue, but he held them back. He turned to Miles, who still looked shaken but was otherwise up and walking on his own.
“What was,” Gwen began but shook her head, “What was the pumpkin even for?”
“He's, a Halloween spirit, to seal him, you recite the spell and stab the sword into a pumpkin.” Danny clutched at his abdomen.
“Then why didn't you use it? Why send him off?”
“It was a bluff,” Danny shook his head. “I don't, remember, the-” Danny's body slumped like a marionette that had its strings cut all at once. Peter darted forward and barely caught the halfa before he hit the ground.
“What the hell,” Harry whispered, “I, what?” He waved his arms, gesturing to the room, “Our attacks didn't even touch that guy, and his whole plan was to, hope he didn't call his bluff?”
“What other choice did he have?” Peter knew Harry wasn't actually mad at Danny, just stressed. “It worked, Fight Knights gone and Spy-D is back,” Peter turned to Miles, “How you holding?”
“I, I'll be fine.” Miles shook his head. “It was like, I was in another dimension? I was back home, and Dad was there…” He shivered. “It was like a nightmare.”
Anya bent down and looked at Danny. She grabbed his hand, now bleeding more red than green, and examined it. Gwen joined them, producing a roll of bandages and a spray that she then used to treat the cut.
“We'll have to wait till he's better for more information on all of this.” Anya looked around the room.
“We tried to put a tracker on the group of surviving cultists, but it went right through them.” Gwen said.
“Yeah, it was like they weren't actually there.”
“So that means,” Peter felt his blood chill.
“There's another ghost.” Harry finished.

Chapter Text

Danny could feel the circulation of his blood through the ports. Blood went in, ectoplasm out, then reverse and repeat. What even was the point of this experiment? What insight were the GIW even trying to gain from this? His eyes opened lazily, finding his own beating heart on a display in front of him.
How many days had it been like this? His own power being forcibly extracted, only to be funneled right back in. Hunger constantly ate at his insides, but he was fearful of meal time. His throat burned from the last time he was forced to eat, the wounds in his mouth still open but unable to bleed. A part of him knew why this was happening. Some nearly forgotten memory of an overheard explanation drifted within his mind, but he couldn't place what had been said.
He watched, helpless, as the doctor entered the room. This time, it was a man with gray streaks in auburn hair. Danny didn't know if he'd seen him before. One would think it'd be hard to forget the faces of the people that kept taking him apart, but they'd all begun to blend together. Even as the man began placing Danny's heart back into his chest, his features shifted. One moment his hair was black, then blond, then he was young, then a woman, then she had grey hair, then brunette.
Silent, powerless screams escaped Danny. His pain was ignored, as it always was. Once the ever shifting entity of the doctors had finished placing his organs back inside his body cavity, his shirt was pulled down, covering his open flesh. There was no reason to close his wound, he knew they would only have to cut him open again the next day.
His core ached. It had done so for years now. He wondered how much longer he could hold out before his body melted. What would they do with his core? Whatever they tried he was sure they'd end up breaking it. As more ectoplasm filled him again, he wasn't sure the thought of not existing even scared him anymore.
Then, he felt his whole body lurch. Bright light surrounded him, and he could hear the sound of metal crashing to the ground. Was this second death? Next Danny knew he was laying on concrete, gasping raggidly. The air was dusty and stale, filled with the stench of burning blood. Again he screamed, hot bands of power wrapping themselves around him. Then, everything was still.
An older man in blue robes with a red cloak spoke to him, gently picking him up. It hurt, and he couldn't understand what he was saying, but he was so tired. He saw another man, smaller and younger, in a red suit that covered him entirely. Then there was darkness.
“Danny!” A voice called to him. He knew this voice, trusted it even. “Danny, it's okay, wake up.”
Was the darkness simply sleep? Had he been so ready for the end he'd forgotten what it was like to sleep? The voice called to him again, and he opened his eyes. He recognized the room. It was where he had received treatment, real treatment. Where he'd finally been stitched back together. He hugged his chest, feeling how it was still closed. He found an IV, a familiar green liquid flowing into his arm.
Frost covered him and the blanket he'd been under. A hand grabbed his, and he finally saw Peter, in his suit with the mask off. His mortal knight's eyes glowed green. “Hey man, it's okay.”
For a moment, Danny just held Peter's hand. “A dream.” He whispered.
“Yeah, just a dream.” Peter confirmed. “You're in the Avengers tower, Mr. Stark and Dr. Cho have been watching over you.”
“And, Miles?” He rubbed at his head. Something had happened to Miles, but he couldn't place what it was.
“He's alright. He's at the lab right now, safe just like everyone else.”
“Fright Knight.” Danny remembered. “Gwen had Soul Slasher, and I couldn't remember, so-”
“-its okay. Your bluff worked. He left.” Peter nodded. “You did it.”
Danny sighed. He took his hand from Peter and pulled his knees to his chest. From closed curtains small beams of light poured. How long had he been unconscious? Did he even care? He gave a small chuckle. “You guys need ghost weapons.”

Apparently, he had been out for three days. Dr. Cho had stopped by after Peter informed Jarvis that he'd woken up. Reluctantly, Danny had let her examine him. The air stung his chest, though he couldn't tell if it was from the incision or his old scar. She had scolded him for being reckless with his body. She had then scolded him for joking about already being dead. His jokes were wasted.
She had him test how his ghost half felt, taking notes as he explained. Peter stayed to the side, mask on, and Danny got the sense he was also taking notes. As the conversation continued, Stark joined them, hanging back and eating popcorn.
Danny really wanted some.
“So, in order to stabilize your body, you need large quantities of ectoplasm, but our reality seems to be lacking in that, am I correct in that regard?”
He nodded. “Theres like, none in the air here.” He groaned dramatically. “No wonder all your ghosts are so,” he waved his arms, unsure how to explain, “delicate?”
She gave him a look. “How many ghosts have you seen here?”
He counted. “Like, five?” He shook his head. “Its impressive they were even able to form here. There's like, no ectoplasm.”
“Which is an energy found in the, ghost zone, and is both consumed and produced by ghosts?”
“Yes Ma'am.”
“And how much do you think you'll need to become stable again?”
He hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. He saw his audience lean forward, just as curious for the answer but far less profetional than Dr. Cho. “I, don't actually know.” Just like his onlookers he was also disappointed by his answer. “It used to only take a couple days, but, Amity had tons of ectoplasm, and I wasn't king then. Also,” he didn't need to voice his torment.
Dr. Cho nodded. “So, your status as ghost king has changed how much you need.” He nodded. She wrote more notes then turned to Stark. “You got all that, sir?”
“Yup. I've got another batch in the works already.”
She turned back to him. “I suggest you hold off on using your powers till you've stabilized. I get the feeling you're going to ignore me though.” There was a bite to her words.
He felt his cheeks heat up. “Yes, no, sorry ma'am.”
She didn't scold him further, only wishing him well and taking her leave. He caught her shooting a glare at Stark, what it was about he didn't know. Peter invited himself onto the hospital bed, sitting next to him and kicking his feet as Stark walked over.
“So, his royal Pipsqueak bluffed his way right back here?”
“I'm not even that short,” he grumpwd. Beside him Peter laughed.
“Right, right,” the man rolled his eyes as he took another bite of popcorn. Danny still wanted some, but he didn't ask. “So, not to rush you, well, yeah that's exactly what I'm doing-”
“-You want to know how to fight ghosts.” Danny interrupted.
“Yeah, that.”
“There haven't been any sightings since Fright Knight,” Peter started, “But we know there's at least one more ghost out there.” Danny listened as his knight explained how the others tried and failed to place a tracker on the escaping cultists. “We'd also like to know as much as you can about ghosts.”
It'd been a long time since he had a mystery like this. Part of it was refreshing, to have something that felt normal to distract him. There was the not so minor problem of everyone around him having little to no ghost knowledge. There was also the matter of weaponry, though he suspected they'd be fine with a bit of direction. He still wished he had access to his stash of Fenton weapons. He had some in the keep, but with no portal and with his being so weak those weren't an accessible option.
“The king, a knight, and an unknown,” he mused. He tried not to focus on the smell of Starks popcorn. “Fright Knights summoning Circle, it wasn't his specific summuning.”
“Explain,” Stark tossed more popcorn in his mouth. Danny gave in and motioned for some. the man nodded and tilted the bowl towards him.
He took a handful and finished it before continuing. “The writing in it said something about, one who's made a vow to the king. Currently, that'd be Spider-man over here.” He pointed to Peter.
“Wait, they were trying to summon me?”
He nodded. “But, the summoning failed. You're not a ghost, but the circle was otherwise perfect. So, they got the next best thing, the former knight.”
“So, purple head was Pajamas predecessor?” Stark asked.
Danny shrugged. “Sort of? He was Pariah's knight, not mine.” He turned to Peter, who gave him a reassuring nod. He looked down. “Whoever these guys are, they've got ways to control and contain ghosts. That shield around the place was well made, I've never seen one be invisible like that. The control spell is the bigger problem. If it can work on someone like him, it can probably work on any of the ghosts they summon.”
“Even you?” Peter asked.
Danny reached for another handful of popcorn. Stark granted him the treat. He ate it slower than the first. “I hope not.”
After that, the mood darkened. This was not helped when Stark revealed that he wanted him to write everything he knew down. The man handed him a glass and metal device, similar to the phones he'd seen everyone carry. He held it skeptically.
“Everything you know about ghosts, preferably before tonight.”
He held the device. “What the hell is this?”
Stark raised an eye. Then groaned and pulled down on his face. “Ugh, we don't have time to give grandpa here a tech lesson.” Peter took the tablet.
Danny puffed his chest, a pointless attempt to look bigger. “Oh sure, now I'm not a kid. Not my fault I'm from a different world.”
“Yeah, whatever ya isekai wannabe.” Stark waved his hand dismissively as he turned to leave. “Pajamas, I'll send up a notebook, get the Pipsqueak ready.”
“Yes sir.”
When the door closed, Peter began turning on the device and tapping away at the screen. He unfolded part of it'd case, pulling out a keyboard and turning it Into the smallest computer Danny had ever seen.
“Everything?” Danny asked, partially deflated.
Peter shrugged. “It would help. Powers, weaknesses, potential enemies, any more weird Pumpkin things.As much as you can get for the meeting tonight.”
“Ew, that sounds like work.”
Peter laughed. “I'm actually excited. It's a cross meeting with a bunch of the Avengers and WEB.”
“That's probably cooler if you know who those people are.”
“Hey, I told you about them before.”
“And I wasn't listening, thank you.” Even under the mask Danny knew his knight was giving him the biggest eye roll he could.
There was a knock at the door and Peter hopped off the bed and ran to answer it. Danny poked at the tiny computer screen, finding the open document reacting to his touch. He flinched away from the unexpected movement, promising himself to beg Peter to show him more of how it worked later. He looked up to see his knight thanking a stranger, a notebook and pencil bag in his hands.
When he returned, presenting the items to Danny, he said, “We'd better get started.”

They worked for a few hours, Danny explaining ghosts as he knew them and drawing examples. They discussed many things, from Box Ghost to Pariah. Peter wrote down what he said, typing and organizing it into notes. Danny explained what he knew of combating ghosts from a human perspective, ei what little he knew of how the weapons were made. He mentioned his unease at the thought of Technus making his way to this world. From the look Peter gave him when he explained the ghost, Danny got the feeling this was a new concern for his knight as well.
At some point during their session, another stranger brought them burgers. Danny accidentally ate some of the paper wrapper on his, prompting a mixture of concern and laughter from his knight. He rolled his eyes and phased his hand through his stomach to grab the offending paper.
“Should you really be using your powers right now?”
“Little stuff is fine.” He assured. He could feel he was not believed. “No blasts for a while though.”
Peter pointed at him. “You're reckless.”
“Says the spider.”
“Hey! I didn't jump into a fight knowing I was on the verge of melting!”
“Hey, I'm dead what's your excuse?”
“What?”
“I've heard some of the stunts you've pulled. You get in over your head and just keep going. And now you've managed to become the knight to the ghost king.” He held up his hands to emphasize his point. “And you don't even seem bothered by that.”
Peter took his mask off and gave him a serious look. “Are you bothered by it?”
“What?” Danny had not expected this turn in conversation.
“Does me being your knight bother you? Do you think I can't protect you?”
He wasn't prepared for the serious tone in Peter's voice. “No, that's not, that's not it.”
“Then what is it? You keep going back to that, what's the problem with me protecting you? Do you not trust me?”
Those words hurt more than he thought they would. He sighed and looked away. He let his transformation pass over him. “Becoming like this was one of the worst things that ever happened to me.” He whispered. “Accidentally using my powers as king on someone, it feels like I've done the same thing to you.” He pushed the notebook to the side and hug his legs. “It makes me feel like I've done something awful to you.”
Peter sighed and pushed on his shoulder. “Do you trust me?”
“Yeah,” Danny admitted. “Right now, you're the only person I can trust fully.”
“Why's that?”
He tapped on his chest, where he knew the mark would be on Peter. “Because, right now, you're the only person in all the realms I know can't hurt me.”
Peter pushed him again. “I don't need some ghost mark to not wanna hurt you, but if it helps you feel better then I'm glad it's there.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, stop worrying about that and let's finish this up.” Peter handed him the notebook again.
He groaned. “Putting the dead to work.” He chuckled at his own joke. “So mean.”

Chapter Text

Danny was not excited for the meeting. When he voiced his protests to Stark, he had been successfully bribed with more popcorn. He then, promptly, turned himself invisible. If he were going to have to meet a bunch of people, he would do so when he chose to. This, of course, left his knight promising that he was still nearby. As Peter used a fancy looking printer to scan his drawings into the computer to prepare, Danny ate his bribe.
“So, why are you on my head?”
“You are a strong and noble stead.” He tossed more popcorn in his mouth. “And I don't feel like walking.”
“Can I at least get some?” Peter reached his hand up, and Danny placed a small handful of his treat into the spiders palm. “Thanks.”
“Where did you get popcorn?” An unfamiliar girls voice asked.
Peter, and subsequently Danny, turned to see a young woman in a blue dress with gold designs, as well as red sleeves, leggings, and scarf, holding some packets. Danny didn't think her small blue mask did much to hide her face, but what did he know of this world's heros? “Ms. Marvel, how's it going? It's been a while, hasn't it?”
She rolled her eyes. “An understatement.” Her tone shifted to a more serious one, with an edge of concern. “You fought that thing, right? The one that no one's attacks would work on?”
“Fight is a strong word.” His knight laughed. “I was there, but I didn't really do much.”
“Cryptic as always.”
“Hey, not fair. We're gonna go over it all in the meeting.”
Danny munched on his snack, quietly amused by the woman. “Always something with you, isn't it Spider-man?”
“Isn't that the same for everyone here?”
“Good point.” Ms. Marvel said her goodbyes and left to continue whatever preparations she needed to finish before the meeting. She mentioned seeking out the popcorn. Danny held his mouth to keep from laughing and blowing his cover.
“That search for popcorn is going to drive her crazy.” Peter mused.
Danny let out a small, quiet laugh. “Nice.”
“You're a bit of a prankster aren't you?”
“Wha- nah what would give you that idea?”
Once Peter finished his task of uploading the pictures, and confirming with Jarvis, who Danny still hadn't figured out, that they were ready, they finally entered the meeting room. It was a large space with a wide oval table. The walls were all windows, the city below illuminated by the evening sun. Unlike the windows in Starks penthouse that could open, these didn't appear to have that capability.
Peter pulled up the bottom half of his mask, letting his lower face be visible. Danny spotted the others he'd met at WEB, noting that Miles and Gwen had also pulled up their masks partially.
He leaned down and whispered, “Why'd you guys only have half your masks?”
Peter looked around, then whispered back. “Hawkeyes supposed to be here, he reads lips, so, ya know.”
“Ah, gotcha.” Curiosity satisfied, he readjusted his pose to better snack. He had about half of his bowl left.
From his perch, Danny watched as people filtered in. Other than the spider team, he recognized Stark and Strange, the latter more vaguely. There seemed to be a divide amongst the attendees, the older members showing up in more casual, or rather more normal clothing. A blond man in a spotless white shirt, a woman in all black with short red hair, a man in a dark blue plaid shirt, another in a pressed button up. A fidgety man in a blue collar shirt came in and darted eyes towards Peter, though Danny felt like he somehow knew he was there. Then the man looked away, and he wondered if he'd been mistaken.
The younger attendees, WEB included, all seemed to be in their hero attire. From the meeting at the printer, he recognized Ms. Marvel. There was another young woman, this one in a full metal suit with pinkish red, gold, and black coloring. Danny felt particularly surprised by a young man who was entirely green, and shirtless.
As the people began taking their seats, a final man showed up. His most notable trait was a metal arm that Danny found entirely too impressive. It was nothing like the prosthetics he'd seen in his reality. He got the feeling it was somehow special even in this reality. He took his seat next to the blond man.
Once the group was all present and seated, save for Stark, Danny counted 17 people including his knight. Other than being in the few stores while clothes shopping, Danny hadn't been around so many people at once in a long time. Or, if he had, he hadn't been lucid for it. This was not something he felt prepared for. He almost regretted accepting his bribe, which was nearly empty now. Why couldn't they just take the information and leave him be? Why did he have to be present?
“You're alright,” Peter whispered. From across the table, the plaid shirt man looked at them. Danny saw a small wire by the mans ear, and he wondered if he was the Hawkeye guy Peter had mentioned. Peter gave a nod of acknowledgement. The man did the same.
“Alright, I think that's everyone for this,” Stark tapped on a tablet and made a swiping motion, causing whatever display that had been on the screen to turn into a holographic depiction in the center of the table, floating above it by about a foot.
Those gathered were presented with a life size rendition of the Fright Knight on Nightmare. Danny watched the concerned expressions from the strangers, then turned to see the more hesitant looks on those who had met the ghost in person.
“So, good news, we don't have to deal with this guy it seems.”
“And the bad?” The clean pressed blond asked. Danny thought he looked like an idealized soldier.
The image changed to a box with 2d images on each face, spinning so that everyone gathered would see the four scenes pictured. The first was an aerial view of the Fright Knights summoning circle, then the warehouse, an accumulation of technical components, and finally a somewhat blurred image of a group of people in gray blue robes. Danny particularly didn't like the last image, part of his guts twisting in protest at the sight of them.
“That, Cap, would be that there are likely going to be more guys like him popping up.”
Danny only half listened to the summary of the summoning, the cult, the yet unknown purpose of the stolen tech, and their inability to combat the ghosts. There were some protests at the existence of ghosts, mostly from the curly haired fidgety man. After assurances from Strange, Thor, and the spider team, he sat back wide eyed. Danny could almost feel the different thoughts swirling in his head.
He started to pay more attention when the meeting progressed to the information he'd given to Peter. They talked about how mostly ghosts weren't malicious, but the cult trying to control them was bound to bring them conflict. There was some confusion on the note that hevily insisted on the not destroying a ghosts core, though this lessened when Peter explained that cores were like souls made physical. There was a general agreement that destroying a soul was a bit more severe than killing a living person.
When they got to the different ghosts he'd drawn, an overall concern of Technus spread throughout the room. A reasonable fear considering this reality’s technology being a feverdream made real for the ghost.
Then, from the man in the pressed button up, a question. “Who drew these?” Murmurs of agreement to the question.
“I believe our contact did, Scott,” Strange answered, his careful wording appreciated by Danny.
“And who is that? So far you've dumped all this information on us with nothing to back it up,” the red haired woman, whose name he still hadn't caught, added.
“I believe him to be trustworthy,” Thor added, crossing his arms and smiling, clearly pleased.
“You've met him?” The one he suspected to be Hawkeye asked. “Whoever this ‘him’ is?”
“Actually, everyone on our team has met him,” Miles added. “He's a good guy.” He motioned for support.
“So far, I can see why Spider-man likes him.” Harry, in his helmetless goblin suit, agreed.
“If all this information is coming from this guy, shouldn't he be here?” The blond man, whose name Danny was sure wasn't actually Cap, asked.
“Pajamas? Where's the Pipsqueak?”
“He's around,” Peter answered. Danny wondered if he could feel the hesitation he felt.
“Pipsqueak, care to introduce yourself?”
Unamused with being called to attention, and feeling as if his pictures were being judged, Danny waited. After a few moments of his noncompliance, and a few expectant looks from the various strangers, he decided to plop his now empty popcorn bowl onto the table. Everyone, save for his knight, Stark, and the red haired woman jumped at the sudden appearance of the empty bowl.
“What the-” the curly haired man stood and eyed the bowl as if it would bite him.
Stark sighed. “Fine.” He pulled a bag that had been in his chair onto the table.
“Uh, Tony?” Cap asked.
Stark ignored him, unzipping the bag and pulling out a large pudding cup and a plastic spoon. “Consider this a new bribe.”
Danny, still invisible, flew off of his perch, sat on the table next to the bag, and returned to being visible. He quickly took his bribe and tore it open, shoving spoonfuls of the pudding into his mouth. It was banana flavored again.
If the bowl had startled them, his appearance had genuinely spooked them. He waved as he ate his snack and watched the minute of caos. Most people other than the spider team leapt back, multiple chairs falling over. Thor, Strange, and the man with the metal arm were the only ones that remained seating amongst those not in WEB. He ate his pudding.
“Who is that?” Ms Marvel pointed at him from across the table. She was one of the farthest ones from him.
“That,” Peter leaned forward, “is Danny.”
He waved again, openly amused as the group hesitantly settled themselves. “What's with the kid?” The red-haired woman asked.
“He's like, 10.” Scott, sat between Strange and Thor, gestured to him.
“I am not 10!” He protested between spoonfuls. “I'm at least 14, physically.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” The curly haired man asked.
“I dunno, I think I'm like, 21, maybe? I don't know, death math is weird.”
“That makes even less sense.” The young woman in the armor added.
He shrugged. “Ghost,” he finished his pudding and looked to Stark, who motioned to the bag. He took another cup, chocolate, and placed his garbage in front of him. “Age is weird when you're dead.”
“Wait, you're a dead child.” The curly haired man said. “Tony, we're enlisting the help of a dead child?”
Stark sighed. “He's our only lead right now, Banner.”
“He is also King of the Infinite Realms, a being of considerable power.” Thor said, beaming still.
“A, what?” Ms. Marvel shook her head, as if both surprised and not at the same time.
“Yeah, uh,” he ate another bite of his pudding, “I’m Danny. I was summoned here too? Kinda confused on that but,” he shrugged.
“You seem fairly unconcerned with that,” The green guy said.
“Yeah, well, I had bigger problems, this is fine.”
“Problems related to that IV in your arm?” The girl in the armor asked.
Danny looked down, having completely forgotten about the line still in his arm. They had left it so that after the meeting he could continue to have a direct stream of ectoplasm into his body. He pulled his sleeve down over it and shot a glare at her. “Don’t, don’t ask about that.”
There was a moment of tension where he could feel that the strangers definitely wanted to ask about it. Looks were shared between everyone. He read concern and apprehension from the group. Daggered eyes from the WEB team, even through the masks, were shared around the table. His knight looked the most defensive, as if he were prepared to actually fight. Danny tightened his grip on his snack, cruising the plastic just enough to be noticeable.
It was Scott who finally spoke, an edge of concern in his voice that reminded him of how his mom sounded whenever she found the stray bruise on him, “Wait, if you’re dead, I’m lost. Why would you need medical treatment? Are, are you okay?”
Danny didn’t answer him, instead letting his transformation pass over him, returning to his human form. “Half ghost, half human. I’m alive and dead, both and neither. Its kinda a shitty deal, don’t recommend.” He held his spoon in his mouth for an extended moment before continuing, “I’m pretty weak right now actually.”
“How does one become half ghost?” Cap asked, leaning forward with a pressed look on his face Danny couldn’t quite read.
He looked away from him. “Its rude to ask a ghost how they died.”
“But, are you dead or not, I don’t get it.” Hawkeye asked, his voice hesitant.
“Yes and no, both and neither. Like I said, it sucks.” He finished his second pudding, and investigated the bag to find a third, this one strawberry flavored. “The official term is called a halfa. Halfa ghost, halfa not.” He sighed. “Don’t worry about that, it happened a long time ago.”
“Wait, where does the king part come in?” Scott asked, still sounding like an investigating parent.
He shrugged, shoveling the next pudding cup into his mouth as if it would be taken away from him. “Met the requirements, became the ghost king, stuff happened, now I’m here.”
“That isn’t exactly a lot to go on.” The red haired woman gave him a curt look.
“Its all I’ve got. I wasn’t exactly summoned with a bunch of recommendations or anything.” Something about her unnerved Danny.
“Do my and the wizard’s words mean nothing?” Thor crossed his arms and glared at her.
She rolled her eyes, “You are a rather trusting person, Thor.”
“I, however, am not.” Strange held his hand as he interjected. “I believe we are going to require the help of his highness-”
“-Danny.” He corrected.
“Danny,” Strange said carefully. “The overseer of time himself intervened in our world on his behalf.” Danny bit the inside of his cheek to keep his emotions in check while Strange explained his encounter with Clockwork. He could feel Peter and Harry watching him. He wondered if they had told anyone else his dislike of the ghost. It didn’t seem like they had.
“Whatever is to come in our future, it is as if time itself has told us we will need this boy.”
“He has already provided us with all this knowledge on ghosts, Nat,” the suspected Hawkeye sitting next to her said, “So far he seems like a good kid.” Danny chose not to correct him on being called kid.
“Okay, well, now what?” Banner asked.
“Well, Pipsqueak here has given us our starting point,” Stark pointed at the hologram, currently depicting his drawings of Technus, Box Ghost, Ember and Walker. He then waved his hand, and the projection turned off. “Next up we figure out some ghost weapons, he eats all my food, we call it good.”
“You know how to make ghost weapons?” The green guy asked.
“Nope. I know how they work, thats it.” He finished his third pudding but continue to hold the cup. “Fuel whatever with ectoplasm, and it should work on ghosts. Back in my reality-”
“-You’re from a different reality?” The armor girl asked, curiosity thick in her voice.
“Yeah,” he thought the whole being summoned part explained that but he guessed they’d never really said that. “Would be easier if we could just get some from my stash but,” he shook his head, “Interdimensional travel is kinda not my strong suit.”
“Wait,” Miles interjected, “Dr. Strange, didn’t you do that? You brought those yeti guys-”
Strange held his hand, cutting off the spider. “The infinite realms are vast and difficult to navigate. It took me weeks to find the Far Frozen.”
“Weeks?” Peter asked. “But, it couldn’t have been more than a few hours.”
“Oh I know this one,” Danny said. “Time flows differently in the ghost zone. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Just kinda depends where you are and how long you stay there.”
“Is there anything consistent about ghosts?” Anya asked, “So far it seems like there are a lot of things that don't flow together. Like, power varies wildly from ghost to ghost, with no clear indication of why or how.” She waved her hand to emphasize her words.
He thought on her question. “Aside from basic ghost powers… There's a Christmas truce everyone takes very seriously.” That was about the only true consistency he could think of.
“Really?” Gwen sighed. “That's the one constant?”
He shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, I just deal with them.” The man with the metal arm next to Cap gave a small smile, his first notable reaction since the start of the meeting. Danny got the sense that he also didn’t want to be there.
“Infinite Realms, infinite possibilities,” Thor said. Danny appreciated that answer
“Segwaying from that a bit,” Gwen interjected, “How was this group even able to summon Danny? I've been looking for days and haven't found any information on him, so why would this group know who he is?”
“Could they have been trying to summon the previous guy?” Banner asked.
Danny didn’t like that. Strange shook his head, “Unlikely. Summoning circles can be incredibly specific. While they have the same position, the summoning circle for the former ghost king wouldn't default to the new. This circle was specific, it was for Danny.”
He liked that even less.
“Pipsqueak,” Tony handed him a small bag of crackers. Danny relinquished the empty pudding cup and took the new snack. “His tinniness here has given us quite the mission.”
“I am not that little!” He grumped between bites.
“You kinda are,” Peter chuckled.
“Anyway,” Stark rolled his eyes, “basically, I'm thinking we do this in 3 groups. One for making ghost countermeasures, one for investigation, and the third keeping an eye on the kid.”
“Why me?” Danny asked as he nervously ate another cracker. He resisted a yawn, but it escaped him anyway. He was sure he had failed to leave a strong kingly impression, but wasn't too upset by it.
“Probably because this group is after you,” the red headed Nat said.
“Oh yeah,” he finished his crackers and stuffed the wrapper in his stack of pudding cups, “Forgot about that.”
Danny dug around in the bag, finding that he'd consumed all the provided bribes. While discussion had moved on to who would be in what group, he returned to being invisible, transformed, then went back to sitting on his knights head.
“Hey,” Peter protested.
“Where'd he go?” Gwen asked.
“My shoulders.” Peter whispered.
The nearby members of the spider team, Harry and Gwen, chuckled quietly. From across the table, Danny saw metal-arm guy and Hawkeye clock in on the whispered conversation.
“Uh, where'd the kid go?” Banner asked, motioning towards the remains of the snack pile.
“Back into hiding,” the metal arm guy grinned, “The tin can ran out of food.”
“He gets it,” Danny whispered to Peter. His stead shook his head, and a feeling of amusement filled him.

Chapter Text

Peter smiled after getting off the phone with Aunt May. She had called everyday to check on him and Danny, even with Miles returning home and giving her updates. He was scrolling through the files from the warehouse, now under the Avengers watch. No one had returned to it again after Fright Knight, but it was still best to keep tabs on it.
He was getting closer to understanding some of the files, mainly ones pertaining to an energy source that the provided figures for didn't match anything he recognized. He had a hunch it probably had to do with ectoplasm, but he'd have to test that out later.
“Peter, your assistance is requested in training room 5 by Miles and Amadeus,” Jarvis called to him overhead.
He leaned back in his chair and groaned dramatically as he spun it. “Did they lose him again?”
“Evidently he said, ‘Bet you can’t find me,” Jarvis said. “Danny would also like to inform you that if you help, that's cheating.”
It had been a week that they'd been holed up in the tower. Peter could feel Danny's desire for movement through the mark. He closed his eyes and pictured the halfa, following the pull of the mark to guide his thoughts to the right spot. Training room 5 was about 8 floors down from his current location, an office space near Danny's medical room. Following the mark, he could feel Danny was about 7 floors from him, likely hiding in between floors to evade the other members of the guard team.
“Do I have to?” Hide n seek wasn't as fun when you had a direct link to the person hiding.
Instead of Jarvis's voice overhead, Amadeus’s rang out in his com, a bit too loud for Peter's liking. “Do you know where his shortness is?”
Through the com, he heard a more distant, “Cheaters!” He could almost see Danny popping through the ceiling to shout at them for calling for help.
He tapped his Com to switch channels, finding the one that was just his and Danny’s. It wasn't a guarantee that the channel was private, considering the many people with hacking capabilities in the facility, but it was something.
“I thought we agreed you'd keep the shenanigans to a minimum.” He rolled his eyes, already feeling the giddiness coming from the mark.
“I don't remember promising that,” Danny's voice was a touch staticy in his ear, not bad enough to be a problem, just a minor annoyance. “I'm pretty sure I said maybe.”
“You keep shaking them off Dr. Cho is gonna yell at you.”
“Nah uh, all I'm doing is a little bit of ghost stuff, I'm not even using any right now-”
“-You're in the vents aren't you?”
“I'm not answering that.”
Peter sighed and got out of the chair. He wasn't in his costume, so right now he was Peter Parker, WEB owner and current caretaker of one mutant named Danny. Quite a few of the heros knew his secret identity, but the rest of the staff at the tower didn't.
A man in a slightly disheveled suit waved to him, “Lost again?”
He shrugged. “Anywhere but resting it seems.”
The man laughed. “Good luck.”
Danny had picked up a pension for giving everyone the slip. From the mark, Peter could feel that the halfa was incredibly antsy, wanting movement, entertainment, and most notably, distraction. Danny didn't want to think about what had happened or where he was, but it was all everyone else could think about.
Peter knew he was guilty of this as well. His own heart would lurch every time he felt distress from the mark. It was almost ever present, like all the hurt just hovered at the surface of Danny's emotions. Multiple times that week his fear had spilled over, taking the form of panic attacks that, like the one back at WEB, Peter could feel directly.
So, why stop him when he's having fun? Even if its at the expense of Miles and Amadeus's patience.
He made his way into an elevator, picking the floor the other members of the guard team were on. Two floors in, a woman entered.
“He run off again?” She asked. Peter didn't know her, but he had quickly gotten a reputation of being the go to for finding Danny. While the mark was secret, his connection to the supposed mutant wasn't.
“Yup, he's giving Spy-D and totally awesome hulk the run around.”
The woman chuckled, then sighed. “Its refreshing, having some harmless chaos around here.” He must have given her a look, because she continued, “The Avengers and Spiders all got it so ruff, you know? It's nice to see them have a bit of fun.”
He smiled at her. “Even heroes need something to laugh about sometimes.”
Peter waved her off on the next floor, holding his smile till the doors closed again. It was known that Danny was there for treatment in regards to a mutant power that required an energy currently only produced by Mr. Stark. It was not known that he had been tortured and near death. Second Death, Peter thought.
As he reached the floor he needed, a pang of worry shot through him, it didn't belong to him.
“Danny?” He asked over the com.
“I'm okay,” calm returned to the mark, “Almost got found.”
“You're a horrible cheat at this, you know that right?” Peter left the elevator and began making his way to the training room. He found Miles and Amadeus in the hall, looking up and at the walls as if they'd come to life and spook them. A reasonable worry considering.
“Peter!” Miles called. “Where the heck did he go?”
Amadeus lifted a large printer and looked under it as if he were bug hunting after picking up a small stone. “Kid's way too sneaky.”
“Am not.” Danny said, appearing behind Amadeus, hovering in his ghost form. His hair had recently been cut, adding bangs and a small under shave that was barely noticeable. He'd pulled it into a low ponytail, the end a flickering white flame. He wore a color shifted NASA shirt, a once gray currently black sweater, and bright, icy teal sneakers that had been red when he was in his human form. Danny also still had an iv in his arm, a bag of ectoplasm hung on his shoulder like a backpack. As long as he was carful with it and kept the bag higher than his arm, Dr. Cho had agreed he was stable enough to roam around.
Amadeus made a show of trying to grab the halfa, only for Danny to go intangible. Peter rolled his eyes as his friend struggled to catch the ghost boy. “Horrible cheat.” He said again.
“Agreed,” Miles crossed his arms, “We need to set out some rules so this game is actually fair.”
“Yeah,” Danny flew over and sat on Peters shoulders, resting his arms atop his head. Peter wondered why it was so amusing to him to be appointed a mode of transportation. Perhaps it was just Danny’s amusement filling him. “Like no tattling to Peter.”
Miles pointed at the ghost, “How bout no hiding in the walls.”
“And the floors, and ceilings.” Amadeus added.
“Completely unreasonable.” Danny rested his arms atop Peter's head.
“And no invisibility,” Amadeus nodded.
“Hey,” Miles protested, “not fair.”
Peter shook his head, uncaring for his ghostly hat's disapproval of the movement. “You guys need to figure out this game or play something else.” He wondered if this was what it was like to babysit children. “How about no intangibility, keep it to one floor of the tower at a time, and only use invisibility if you guys all get some heat sensors or something?”
The trio thought on the rules he provided. Judging from the nods from the heroes, his proposition was accepted. “Last one to the tech labs a rotten egg,” Danny laughed as he flew off his shoulders and through the floor.
“Hey!” Miles ran towards the stairs.
Amadeus gave him a nod, “Thanks Pete!” He called as he followed the spider.
He sighed and turned back to the elevator. As his finger hovered over the button for the floor he'd been working on, he instead found himself hitting one of the upper floors, the one he knew Stark was working on the ectoplasm. Maybe it was time he took a sample to compare to the readings in the file.
Once at the floor, he began walking to the ecto-lab, as dubbed by Danny. However, his steps slowed as he approached the door. Neither his spider sense nor his mark of the vow were giving him any reason to not go in, but still he hesitated. The door was partially open, just enough to slip through. On the wall next to it was a piece of paper, tapped just at eye level.
He quietly read the paper, unsettled by more than just what was written on it.

You have five minutes, your time starts now.

As soon as he finished reading the note, he felt a surge of energy. Peter nearly gasped at the sudden sensation, clamping his hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet. When he did, he found that he had been unable to see his hands. He looked down, his eyes confirming that he had indeed become invisible. Peter forced the questions bubbling in his head to calm. Five minutes, he thought. He slipped through the door.
Inside he found a very not sober Mr. Stark pacing in front of multiple pallets of the artificial ectoplasm he’d made, a drink in one hand and bottle in the other. Mr. Rogers was there too, looking incredibly concerned. Peter felt his gut tighten. He was seriously sneaking in on two Avengers using a power he was very aware was not his. Probably not Danny’s either he thought.
“It’s not like you to be this worked up Tony, you’ve got to-”
“-I don’t have to do shit, Rogers!” Mr. Stark slammed the bottle down on the counter closest to the pallets and chugged the rest of his drink.
Mr. Rogers sighed. “This isn't helping.”
Peter stayed by the door, eyeing a clock on the wall. Five minutes, he reminded himself. Mr. Stark stopped pacing and instead marched up the the captain and pointed up at him. “You don't fucking get it!”
“Then tell me!” Mr. Rogers puffed his chest and stood taller, a tactic that would have worked to intimidate Peter, considering the size and strength of the super soldier, but it failed to phase Ironman. “All I know is what you've told me, which isn't much to go on.”
“I've told you what you need to know. Why don't you just fuck off and get back to trying to figure out who the hell wants this kid and what the fuck for.”
At least I know who they're talking about now, Peter thought as he watched the scene. “I am. We're all working on it-”
“-Well work,” Mr. Stark waved his arms, finishing his sentence with the motion instead of words.
“I am also worried about you.” At this the man of iron laughed, which was not appreciated by Mr. Rogers. Peter held his hand over his mouth, one eye on the scene and the other the clock. “What aren't you telling us?”
“Why can't you-”
“-You know why.”
Mr. Stark pressed his empty glass against the solders chest and shouted, “His fucking heart wasn't connected to his body, Steve!”
“What?”
“That's it! That's what this is about.” Mr. Stark turned and walked back to the counter, putting the glass down and smacking his palms. Peter bit his lip, the clock forgotten. “Someone cut his heart out of him. He had multiple organs just, not attached. When Strange brought him he had tubes coming out from him, and you know what I figured out?” Mr. Rogers didn't answer, staying quietly horrified, just like Peter. “I only just barely noticed it, but the kid emits energy as he heals. According to Parker,” Peter flinched at his name, “He's probably been in that state for five years.” He laughed again, humorless and broken.
“I, don't understand.” Mr. Rogers said slowly. “What are you getting at?”
Mr. Stark poured himself another drink. “Whoever did that to him was using him as a fucking battery.”
Silence filled the room, the ticking of the clock seeming to slow at the revelation. Peter felt his heart beat heavy, and he clutched at his chest.
“Tony,” Steve said gently, “he's safe now. We can all keep him safe now.”
“You don't get it!” Mr. Stark slapped the counter. “I know what that's like! To be tortured, to be cut into! To be scared!” He leaned forward and held his head. “Its not enough to be safe.” Mr. Stark was whispering now. “That doesn't leave you. A part of me is still in that cave, and I know a part of him is still there. This isn't something you just get over.”
Peter didn't hear what Mr. Rogers said. He slipped back out through the door and walked blindly. His heart raged within him, beating too hard and too fast. His breath hurt his lungs, feeling as if he had too much air and not enough at the same time. Shaking legs caused him to lean against the wall for support, barely managing to carry him into another room, a storage space it seemed.
Inside were tables stacked on top of each other, chairs strewn about, cabinets and totes lining the walls, and various other supplies occupying the space. Peter found himself sitting between a filing cabinet and a fax machine. He held his chest. The words he'd just heard played on repeat along with the injuries he'd seen on Danny.
He had seen the incision, but hadn't known the extent of what had happened. His heart wasn't attached? Had someone simply cut up his organs and tossed them into his body cavity? He recalled the wide green eyes he'd seen immediately after the summoning.
He felt his head swirl. Peter felt that he had failed, not just as a ghost knight but as a hero, as Spider-man. It was his job to save people, but he hadn't been there to save Danny. Somewhere in his mind he knew he couldn't have been, but that didn't matter. They cut out his heart.
A sharp cold brought him out of his thoughts and back to the room. Peter looked up and saw the focus of his worries kneeling in front of him, ghostly white hair flickering in non-existent wind.
“Peter.” Danny grabbed his shoulders. “Breathe.”

Chapter Text

Danny found it to be pretty entertaining to drive the super heros crazy. Most of them were incredibly easy for him to startle, at least the first couple of times. He didn't dare try and pull anything on Natasha, but everyone else was fair game. It'd become his new routine to hide from the heros in the tower, and most times he didn't reveal himself till he was summoned, verbally not ritualistically, by his knight.
He'd been spending most of his time in his ghost form, as it was more comfortable to float and fly than it was to walk. He couldn't tell how much he was still hurting physically, as he was positive the ectoplasm IV Dr. Cho insisted he use was laced with painkillers. While this normally should have caused him to be at least a little bit drowsy, the steady flow of ectoplasm from the line and the bottle he kept on him kept him feeling wired.
Pairing all that with his new ability to move around freely, he found it incredibly difficult to keep still. His assigned security detail, Miles and Amadeus most days, did a great job of keeping up with him even without the ability to phase through walls. The tech team was having trouble making ghost sensors, a side effect of only having artificial ectoplasm to work with. He'd offered to get the stuff out of the vat given to them by Frostbite, but that was rejected firmly by Peter and Stark. Currently, this meant that there was no way for anyone other than his knight to find him. It was a refreshing feeling.
He looked at the two heros through the heat sensing goggles. Miles looked about how he would expect someone to look through thermal imaging. Amadeus, however, appeared much hotter.
The young hulk put his own goggles on and pointed to him, “You're freezing.” He wasn't sure if that was an accusation or an observation.
“I am a sentient corpse.” He looked around the room, disappointed that the goggles reach wasn't strong enough to go through the walls. Miles probably set that up on purpose to keep the game going.
“Would you stop it with the dead kid jokes?” The spider complained as he affixed his own goggles. They looked weird over his suit.
“Absolutely not.” He chuckled. He never got the chance to make those kinds of jokes before. Sam and Tucker could never handle them, understandably so. Sam felt responsible for his death and Tuck had been his friend forever so making fun of the situation was kind of insensitive. Jazz didn't like them either. She never appreciated him joking about her little brother being dead, even if he was said little brother. That left Vlad, who would turn the jokes into a pity party trying to one up his trauma. It was irritating, especially since the older halfa was still mortal.
“How's it look when you go normal?” Amadeous asked.
“Human, not normal.” Danny corrected. He shifted, sitting on the table he'd been hovering above.
“Still cold,” Miles confirmed.
Danny shrugged. “Still dead.”
“And still on it with the same dead jokes,” Amadeus shook his head. “You got to get some variety in them. The punchline is always the same.”
“Hey, that's a good punchline.” He defended. A smile crossed his face, “I'll figure out a different punchline when you guys stop making the same face every time.”
“He's got us there,” Miles crossed his arms, “Though, to be fair it's hard to have a different reaction when you keep joking about a dead child.”
“Which is me,” he shook his head, “I might be used to it but I feel like joking about being dead isn't that big a deal.”
“Of course joking about death is a big deal.” Miles sounded exasperated.
“No no no,” Danny waved his arms. “"I joke about being dead, not about death. Big difference.”
“Care to elaborate?” Amadeus motioned for him to continue.
“Being dead is fine, it's natural, it's how most everything will end up,” he explained. “Death, is not fine. That's when life ends, and that's not funny. So, I don't joke about that, cuz that's serious.”
“But being dead isn't?” Miles asked.
“You got it.” He returned to his ghost form.
“That's natural?” Amadeus shook his head. “Aren't you both? Alive and dead, both and neither, isn't that how you explained it?”
“Oh no, I'm a man-made horror,” Danny held up his hands and clawed at the air, mimicking a monster.
“You were murdered?” Miles gasped.
Danny groaned. He shouldn't have made that last joke. He pulled the goggles off, resting them in his lap. “No, it was just an accident.” He waved away the statement. “I vote we play on floor 15.”
His forceful change of topic was accepted, though his proposal wasn't. “You want to hide in freezers to throw off the heat sensors.” Amadeus scolded him.
“What, no, why would I-” Danny stopped, his mischievous plans leaving him. He clutched his chest, a wave of panic and regret filling him. Instantly, he knew it wasn't his own.
“Little dude?” Amadeus asked.
His knight needed him.
“Danny?” Miles asked hesitantly.
“I’ll be back.” He went invisible before flying out of the tower. He looked up, feeling that Peter was near one of the upper floors. He flew straight to where he could sense his knight, as if pulled there by his core. He found him instantly, hiding in a storage room and clutching at his chest. Peter’s eyes were wide and darting around, looking at everything and nothing at once.
He expelled some of his ice powers, chilling the room, announcing his presence and getting him his knight's attention. “Peter.” He grabbed Peter's shoulders, holding him firm. “Breathe.”
“I, they, I heard-”
“Breathe.” He put power into his voice, knowing that the ghostly energy would resonate through Peter. He knelt down, releasing his hold but keeping his gaze. Peter was still clutching at his chest, but was now breathing slowly, counting under his breath. Danny watched for a moment. “Better?” Peter nodded. Tears threatening at the corner of his eyes. “Okay.” He bit his lip, “what happened?”
Peter took a moment to answer, and Danny dared not rush him. When he did speak, it was quiet and slow. “I overheard, Mr. Stark was talking and,” hesitation stole the spiders words.
“What did you hear?”
“I heard what they did to you.”
Danny nodded. He hadn't told anyone what the GIW had done to him, but he knew that the evidence was there. Dr. Cho, Stark and Strange knew the extent of his injuries, and he was aware that they hadn't spoken much, if anything, about it to anyone else. Everyone knew hints of what he'd gone through, and he was thankful that no one had dared to ask.
However, now his knight knew some of what had been done to him. His core ached, and he held his own chest. He nodded. “Okay.” Danny closed his eyes and steadied his own mind. “What did you hear, exactly?” When Peter hesitated to answer, he said, “Its okay. I'm okay.”
“Your heart.” Peter's eyes lingered on his chest, and Danny felt as if the hero could see right to his core. “It wasn't attached, when you were summoned, it and your other organs, they'd been cut out of you.” Peter's face was pale, and Danny really hoped that he didn't throw up.
“Its back in now,” he offered, “everythings back where Its supposed to be.”
“But it wasn't.”
He sighed. He motioned for Peter to scoot over, and once there was room he also sat in the corner. “You think it'd be better if you knew?”
He could feel the curiosity and concern flow into him. “I don't want you to tell me if you don't want to say it.”
Danny considered this. He decided To tell his knight some of the story, there was no need to go into detail, but he wanted to see if he was even able to talk about it. “Back in my dimension, there's this government agency called the Guys in White,” he began his tale. He explained the organization and it's previously ridiculous roots. He didn't explain how he'd gotten captured, only that he had. He wondered if Peter could feel that he didn't want to talk about that part.
He kept his story heavily censored, partly for the sake of his knight and partly to keep himself from dwelling on the memories. He found himself pretending he was also listening to the story, and not the one telling it. “At first it was experiments, trying to figure out how and why I work.” He shrugged. “I'd say they could have asked, but I wouldn't have told them anyway.” He chuckled dryly.
His attempt to lighten the mood having failed, he continued, carefully monitoring how both he and his knight felt. “They took me apart,” a pang of hurt and anger passed through him. He grabbed his chest, as if making sure he was still whole. “And one day, they stopped putting me together.”
Danny could feel Peter's eyes on him, but he couldn't bring himself to look. He didn't want to see the concern, the disgust, the helplessness. He closed his eyes. Then, Peter said, “You're leaving a lot out.”
“I am,” he confirmed. “I can't remember some of it, and some I can't, some of it I just can't.”
Peter adjusted his position next to him, pulling his legs closer similar to how Danny was sitting. “How are you,” Peter's voice was so small, “how can you even, how are you still going?”
Danny hugged his legs close to him. “I don't know. I, I think I was about to disappear that day,” he didn't need to verbalize that he was referring to the day he got summoned, “I was kinda okay with it.” He felt horror emanate from Peter. “Then I was here, in this world. It's weird, and so many things are different from home. But,” he wondered how to explain. “Its nice.”
“You think?”
“Yeah,” he smiled, “I kinda like it.”
Peter sighed before groaning dramatically. “I thought I was supposed to be the one taking care of you,” his knight complained.
“Hey,” Danny crossed his arms, matching the theatrics. “A king shouldn't leave his knight crying in a storage room.”
“I wasn't crying,” Peter lied to him, turning and whipping tears Danny definitely didn't see.
“C'mon,” He stood and reached for Peter's hand. The spider motioned that it was okay and stood on his own. “Let's go ignore my problems and mess with Miles and Amadeus some more.”
“You are such a brat, you know that?”
He puffed his chest with pride, “Damn right I am.”

A new rule was added to the hide n seek game; Peter was not allowed to seek Danny. Heat sensing goggles were one thing, but being able to locate him from anywhere? It was almost as unfair as being told intangibility was off the table.
Despite these limitations, Danny remained undefeated in his hiding skills. Mostly, the others only found him when he decided to reveal himself. Currently, he was resting in a vent, one that was blowing chilled air that made him shiver slightly. It was technically still within the boundaries of the floor. He could feel Peter was hiding several rooms away from him, likely on the ground somewhere as without his spider suit he limited his powers. He'd seen Miles climb through a ceiling panel.
That left Amadeus seeking. Danny had quickly learned that despite his aloofness, the oddly green guy was not to be taken lightly. Only moments into the new round he'd found Miles. His knight was found a couple minutes after. Danny chuckled to himself, his mouth buried in his hands.
“Oh come on, I didn't even know he could do that!” Amadeus complained, evidently having found one of the ice decos Danny had hidden throughout their playing field.
“C'mon Pete, just a little hint?” He had to resist the urge to laugh at Mile’s attempt at rule breaking.
He also had to resist screeching when he felt a tap on his foot. Ignoring the restriction on intangibility, he flew through the side of the vent. He then flew back, peeking his head through the vent. Just barely within the light from the vent was a man he recognized. He sighed and returned to being visible, almost making the sneaky Avenger jump. Danny laid back in the vent.
“What are you doing?” He whispered, being sure to face the man so his lips could easily be read. He didn't think about it being quite dark in the vent.
“Came to say hi,” Hawkeye spoke quietly.
“Why in the vent?” Danny looked at him suspiciously. “Kind of a weird place for a hero right?”
The man grinned, “Weird place for a king.”
“Tuché.” Danny scooted backwards, unease filling him. He didn't know this man well, just like he didn't know this world well. However, meeting in a place like this made him feel vulnerable, even with the ability to leave through the walls. It was dark, and cold, and-
Oh shit.
He flashed his eyes green at the man, stern and threatening. A red glow reflected from Hawkeye's eyes, his warning met with another threat. “Its been a long time, Danny.”
Shit. Forgetting about their game, he flew from his spot, out into the room he had crawled into the vent from.
“Danny?” Peter's voice came over through his Com.
Before he could answer, the overshadowed Hawkeye passed through the vent and entered the room, hovering a moment before landing, a small smile on his face.
Amadeus entered the room, pointing to him and loudly announcing, “Found you!”
Danny didn't look to him, “Doesn't count,” he returned his attention to Hawkeye, who seemed to be waiting patiently. “Who are you?”
“Uh, dude, that's Hawkeye, remember? He was at the meeting, and the other day you tried to sneak up on him but-”
“-Who. Are. You.” He filled his voice with power, causing the lights to flicker.
Hawkeye crossed his arms, delicately and a bit lower than one would have expected. “I see you still get worked up so quickly.” He shook his head and sighed. “Did you know, I've never been summoned by the living before, it was quite the ordeal.”
“Answer me now.” He demanded in ghost-speech. He filled his hand with the start of an ectoblast. Though still weak, he was sure he could fire off at least a few if need be.
“Danny,” his knight called, appearing beside him in his spider suit. “What's wrong with Hawkeye?”
“Overshadowed,” he answered, narrowing his eyes.
Amadeus mumbled something into his own com, and a loud alarm sounded throughout the tower.
The possessed Hawkeye sighed. “I'm sorry, young King, I cannot return home till I fulfill my duty here.”
He didn't like that whoever was overshadowing the Avenger didn't react to him empowering his words. It was harder for him to sense a ghost's strength when they were overshadowing a person, but just by them resisting his command he knew they were powerful.
Hawkeye launched forward, though was quickly restrained by webs from a previously invisible Miles, who had snuck behind the Avenger. Peter added his own webs, and Amadeus crossed his arms. “So, ghost boy, how do we fix him?”
Danny took a long drink from his bottle of artificial ectoplasm. “We could hit him, but,” he floated up to the man, grabbing his shoulder in one hand and thrusting the other in his chest. He ignored the shouts of concern as he felt for the ghost within. He grabbed them and pulled with all the might he could muster.
The ghost broke free, momentum carrying them from their host towards the back wall. Before landing, they fired an ecto blast that Danny couldn't dodge for fear of it hitting the now dazed Hawkeye.
He hissed and turned, seeing the ghost he'd just pulled from the Avenger rightening herself, smoothing out her blue dress from under crimson chains that wrapped around her body. The heros around him stood at the ready, Miles checking on Hawkeye while Peter and Amadeus prepared for a fight.
“Oh, hey Dora.”
“Hey Danny.” The princess waved.
“Okay, I'm lost. Is she an enemy? A friend? What's going on here?” Peter looked between him and Dora.
“I don't remember her being in the briefing,” Amadeus mentioned, a slight scolding to his voice.
“Yes,” Danny motioned to her, “This is Princess Dorathea, she's a friend, but…”
Dora pulled at her chains, “But my will is currently not my own,” she bowed politely, “My apologies, young king.” She then shot another blast at him. He blocked it with a shield.
“Can you do that thing you did last time?” Miles asked, joining the group and leaving Hawkeye bound and on the floor.
“Not without her summoning circle.” Danny shook his head. He yawned. “Dora, can we call it a tie? I'm tired.”
The princess hummed. “I would like to return home, but I was given no time limit on my mission.”
“Which is?” Amadeus asked.
“Retrieve the king.” She motioned to Danny.
“You know why they want me?” Danny threw up another shield as a fire blast flew from Dorathea.
“I do not, the group seems quite secretive.” She hummed again. “You always end up in the most absurd of situations.”
“Are you guys, just having a conversation while fighting each other?” Miles shook his head.
“Nah, this isn't real fighting.” Danny blocked another attack, a simple ectoblast.
“What is it then?” Peter looked between him and the princess.
Before anyone could respond, two more Avengers joined the room, one in his normal attire though he now had a circular shield attached to his arm, the other in a full metal suit. Danny put up a shield to prevent them from entering further.
“Don't hurt her,” he put more power in his voice than he intended too, the lights flickering again as he spoke. He turned back to Dora, ignoring the group of heros. “I know you wanna go home and everything, but could you hold off for, I don't know, at least a week?”
Dorathea held part of the chains in her hands, “I'm worried for my people, Danny.”
He sighed, “I know, I know.” He took a drink, the little bit of energy it gave him did little to ease his growing exhaustion. “One week, that's all I'm asking. Aragons amulet is still locked away, right?”
“Yes, this is true…” She looked at the chains still in her hands. After a moment she looked back to him, “You must work on your proposals, my king. You speak with none of the elegance I tried to teach you.”
“Not fair, Dora,” he defended. “I haven't had any practice for like, years now.”
She shook her head. “I will give you your week. Then, I will do what I must to return to my kingdom.” She went invisible and promptly disappeared.
“Uh, Pipsqueak,” the suit of armor said, “what the fuck was that about?”
“I still don't see how that wasn't fighting,” Miles shook his head.
“And I still would like to know how I got here?” Hawkeye spoke.
Danny groaned and took another drink of his fake ectoplasm. He tried to answer but yawned instead. “We've got a week before she comes back,” he ignored Miles and Hawkeyes questions, choosing to answer Starks. He landed on the floor, not realizing he had still been floating. Unintentionally he lost his ghostly form. He stumbled but was caught by his knight.
“You good?” Peter asked him.
He nodded. Stark stepped forward, the metal of his mask removing itself so he could see his face. “Friend of yours?”
A week probably wasn't going to be enough.

Chapter Text

Tony sighed as more lights flickered on the room. “Oi, short and royal, stop that.” His words were met with the most clique teenage groan possible.
“It burns!” The ghost kid complained. Danny was attempting to ampt up his refueling of his ectoplasm supply, against Dr. Cho's recommendations. This involved him forcibly absorbing the artificial ecto, AE, a process he described as both difficult and painful. It had only been 2 days, but the kid had already managed to absorb an Olympic pool's worth of the AE. Despite this, the boy still reported being weak, and using certain abilities exhausted him to the point of passing out.
“Maybe next time, ask for longer than a week.” While the kid worked, he was making adjustments to the ghost shields he'd made to go into his suit. He wasn't the only one, most everyone was either affirming ghost hunting equipment to their gear or having someone else add it for them. The king's loyal spider was running some tests of his own inbetween flipping through the ghost book Frostbite had given him.
“I didn't think she'd agree to any longer than that,” the lights flickered again, Tony pretended not to notice, “this sucks.”
Tony agreed. The rest of the Avengers, Steve especially, were on his ass about the ghost situation. They were preparing for a problem that only the spider team, and Hawkeye, had encountered. Sure, no one liked the idea of an enemy they couldn't touch, but not having seen or dealt with one in person unnerved them more.
The sight of Dorathea bothered him, but not because of her. He kept comparing her to the kid. A full ghost felt different to be around than the weakened halfa, it was like he was staring at a corpse. Now, when he looked at Danny, he wondered if his paleness was because he was still weak, or if it was an effect of being a ghost. Seeing the princess reminded him that the kid was stuck between life and death, and the knot that had formed in his chest twisted each time he thought of it.
He put on the new bracer and hit a button, producing a small ghost shield that was just enough to cover him. “Pipsqueak, come tell me if this works.”
Danny floated over, green energy radiating off of him. It might’ve been intimidating if the kid didn't look so damn tired. The halfa half heartedly punched the shield, which had a faint green tint to it. “Yup, that's a ghost shield.”
“Cmon sleepy, can I get a real test?”
The boy smirked, pulled back his fist and smashed it into the shield. It held, but the energy strain was more than Tony was comfortable with. “There. I punched it.” A red tint crept into the boy's eyes.
Tiny narrowed his own eyes. “You need a break.”
“I need to not be so damn weak.”
Tony rubbed his temples. He was not built for baby sitting, but he had been the one to insist that the boy stay at the tower for some recovery. So much for thinking his place was safe. Thankfully, he was almost done ghost proofing the tower. Next time the undead wanted in, they'd need permission first. He made sure to include a scanner to allow Danny in though. He wouldn't want to accidentally lock out his tiny ghost king.
“You've got 4 days left.” He removed the bracer and began checking it's internal wiring. “And a team,” it felt weird for him to be the one to try and encourage teamwork, but he really didn't want to see the kid in pieces again.
Danny floated to his desk and sat down, pulling out the jar of medicine the yeti had given him. He had mentioned wanting to save them in case of more injuries, but as it helped with absorption the boy had decided it was okay to use one. Apparently, it tasted rather bland. “Had a team before, too.” He mumbled.
Tony sighed. “Let me guess, didn't end well?”
The boy ate more of the medicine, leaving the spoon to dangle out of his mouth as he spoke, “Nope.” The red tint was fading, along with the green aura around him.
He sighed and sat down the bracer, whose internals looked fine. “You've been through some real shit, haven't you kid?”
Danny laughed, “What gave it away?” He put the spoon down and leaned back against the window. “You have too.”
He nodded and picked up his screwdriver, twirling it in his hands. Outside the window, rain began to fall. Dark clouds made the day look like night. “Three months.”
“Huh?”
“Three months, in a cave.” He tapped his arch reactor, “Got blown up, this keeps the shrapnel from entering my heart.” The boy looked at him, mind whirling. Tony could see the questions. It was odd, speaking to someone who didn't know. The few aliens he'd met didn't even question it, or somehow already knew. “Standard gig, you know. Bad guys wanted my weapons, I built the first Ironman suit instead.”
“I heard you used to be a weapons manufacturer,” Danny spoke calmly, “But something happened and you became a superhero instead.”
“I wanted to leave a better legacy, to save instead of kill,” he laughed, “Never pictured myself to be the hero type, but here we are.”
“A better legacy,” Danny repeated softly. “Sounds nice.”
“Yeah,” Tony agreed. He picked up the bracer again. “Take five or something.” Danny made a face at him. “Go on then, fuck off with your spooky ass.”
The boy held up his hands and clawed the air. “Super spooky.”
Tony rolled his eyes. He watched the kid left, probably off to annoy his staff. He groaned and went back to work, moving on to the other arm. “Jarvis, you caught that right?”
“I've recorded all energy outputs in the Baby Ghost file.”
“You get a read on his eyes?”
“Yes sir, the color fluctuation has also been added.” He nodded. “Would you like to review the image?”
He leaned back in his chair, project still in hand. “Turn it off before the kid comes back.”
Jarvis pulled up a hologram of Danny on the desk in front of him. He waved for the image to zoom in on his eyes, and he frowned. The green of his irises were bordered by a red ring that flowed into the color. It reminded him of how the kids blood had green dots in it, the colors blending but not entirely mixing. “Pull up the power readings for the last five minutes.”
He looked at the chart. It played over the footage, which he sped up. Spikes of energy corresponded to whenever the ghost kid got annoyed, the biggest being when he punched the shield. Tony stared at the reading, wanting an answer to a question he hadn't figured out yet.
“He did say ghosts were emotional beings.” He waved the file away.
A voice spoke from behind him, “Worried about the kid?”
“Pepper.” He twisted his chair around.
“Tony.” Pepper walked in, wearing her business attire, which had Tony’s eyes lingering just a touch longer than they should have.
She walked in and handed him a tablet with some documents he knew needed his signature. He absently scrolled through and approved or denied the various expenses. “I'm not worried, I don't worry.”
“Right, right.” He could feel her eyes rolling without needing to look. “Just like how you never worried about Peter.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Sure, sure.” She leaned against the desk. “He's sticking all the office pens in the ceiling.”
“He's poking holes in my ceilings?”
“No, just,” she minmed the action of poking a pen into the ceiling, “phasing them partway through I think.”
He shook his head. “Kid has an odd way of entertaining himself.”
“Casually inconveniencing the staff, messing with the Avengers, hiding from everyone,” Pepper laughed, a sound he not so secretly treasured, “tell me, who does that remind you of?”
“Nobody, I don't think I know someone like that.” He handed her the tablet back. “If you find them, maybe we should have a drink with them.”
Pepper took the tablet and held it close to her chest. “Maybe with dinner tonight. I'm thinking something simple, you?”
“I forgot about food.”
She shook her head, “Good thing I'm here then.” After a kiss to his head, which he leaned into, she straightened and started to the door, “Don't work too hard.”
“Never do.” He grinned and turned back to his work.
A head popped up through his desk. “Is she your girlfriend?”
Tony pushed Danny's head back through the table, an action that prompted laughter. The kid floated back up and resumed his position of sitting on the desk and eating the medicine. “Wife, actually.”
“Cool.” Danny leaned back against the window. Tony knew that the glass would hold, and that if the boy decided to phase out he could fly, but something in him didn't like the child using the window as a back rest. Logically, he knew it wasn't dangerous. The boy pulled out an energy drink from his jacket pocket, cracked it open and downed a good half of the can in one go.
“Where'd you find that?”
“Kevin traded it to get his pen back.”
“How many pens are in my ceiling?”
“I was supposed to count?”
“Damnit kid.” He moved on to his next project, upgrading the efficiency of the ectoplasm output for both his shield and blasters. “Jarvis, do a pen count.”
“437, 12 of which were from the last few minutes.”
Had he been taking a drink, Tony was sure he'd have choked on it. He looked over to Danny, who was no longer visible. He got the feeling he was still in the same spot, just hiding. “You stuck over 400 pens in the ceiling?!”
Danny returned to being visible, in the same spot as Tony had expected. Instead of the boy answering, Jarvis added, “And 12 staplers, 53 erasers, 132 cups, and 27 chairs are partially phased through the floor, preventing them from being used properly.”
Danny looked towards the speaker. “Snitch.”
“Should I also mention the desk on floor 17?
Tony groaned. “Danny,” he shook his head.
“All I did was phase everything on the desk partially through, so that it looks normal but you can't pick anything up. All the important looking stuff I left.”
“Why?”
“Because, I don't want to actually mess with someone's job-”
“-No, why that desk? Why the pens?” He rubbed at Hos temples.
“Charen called me Daniel, even though I told her not too, so no pens for her.” Tony made a mental note of the apparent rule of not calling Danny Daniel. “Everything else is cuz I got bored.”
“But Kyle got his back?”
Danny held up his drink like a prized trophy. “I was properly bribed.”
“If I get you more of those will you get all that shit out of my ceilings?”
“Maybe.” The boy finished his drink. “Can't garentee more won't end up back there.”
“You're a little shit, you know that?”
The teen shrugged. “I get that a-” A bright flash briefly filled the room, followed by the crack of lightning and the booming roar of thunder. Instantly, the boy had his hands pressed tightly against his ears and his head buried in his knees. The boy sank through the desk, and Tony had to bend down to see that the kid was now hiding under it.
Over the coms, Peter's voice called, “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Danny whispered, green tinting his cheeks in clear embarrassment. Tony noticed a slight shake to the boys shoulders.
The lightning scar across the boys chest, under the incision, floated into Tony's mind. The incision site had been far more pressing at the time, so he hadn't devoted the time to analyzing how large the scar was. It was obvious now, how it trailed from one arm across his chest, a heavy focus near his heart. He also recalled how Peter had mentioned that Danny had explained his halfa condition as being the result of a lab accident. He was electrocuted.
“Jarvis, pull the blinds. Pajamas, bring us some sound counseling headphones.”
“Yes sir,” Both his robot and spider said. The windows in the room became dark, and thick blue curtains descended from the ceiling.
“I'm fine.” Danny protested.
“Of course,” Tony rightened himself and added more AE to a capsule. He'd use it like a spare battery to power the ecto weapons. It was inconvenient to not have everything be powered by his arc reactor. “What gave it away?”
“Shut up.” Another crack had Danny again burying his head in his knees. “Its not usually this bad.” The boy said quietly.
Tony sighed. Any number of things could be making the storm worse for the boy. His exhaustion, his trauma, his current close proximity to the towers lightning rod. It seemed like despite everyone's efforts, they couldn't keep the kid from freaking out. He understood, everything could be perfectly fine, and then suddenly the smell of dust and blood takes over, even though it can't actually be there. The inconvenient thing about trauma was that it's not something that can be fixed, only helped.
Peter, in normal clothes, ran in with a bag slung over his shoulder. He pulled out a pair of headphones and offered them to the king. From the look in his eyes, Tony knew he'd figured out the same thing he had.
“Want music or just the headphones?” Peter asked.
Danny looked up, a calm Tony was minorly jealous of creeping into his eyes. They'd explained the mark to him, as much as they currently knew about it. Though an accident, he was sure that having someone linked to him was a big help.
“How do they play music? The cords gone.” Tony turned away, a small grin on his face. The kid was a lot like Steve when it came to tech. The things that surprised him about it ranged wildly. Somehow, the Ironman suit didn't shock him, but how thin phones were did. He'd have to try some of his old pranks that no longer worked on Steve on Danny. He wondered if the kid would fall for believing that an app could turn his table into a computer. All he'd done to sell the lie was project a keyboard onto the table, a functioning one for his demonstration, then just an image for when he had Steve try.
As Peter explained Bluetooth to the small ghost, Tony finished his adjustments to his new ghost suit. The assembled pieces folded themselves into black bands around his wrists. He was still playing with the nano technology, but was confident in it's capabilities.
When he looked back, Danny had the headphones on and was tapping on them, evidently playing with the noise canceling feature. The boy eyed the nano tech on his wrists, but seemed more impressed with the Bluetooth. Another crack of lightning rang from outside, and though visibly uncomfortable, Danny's reaction was far less prominent than the last time the lightning struck.
They stayed like that for a while, with Peter showing Danny videos on his phone and Tony absently sifting through his other projects. He didn't dare actually work on anything important. If his resident ghost began to freak out like he had back when he'd first met him he wanted to be prepared to act. He also didn't want to risk breaking anything.
After about an hour, Tony sighed. “What now, Pipsqueak, Pajamas?” He asked. “We calling it till the storm passes?” While he wasn't ready to slow down, he had finished what he wanted to do for the day, plus he hadn't been doing much while Peter kept the halfa distracted. If not for the new development, he was going to run more tests on the new ghost fighting equipment functionality, but there was still time.
“Actually, sir,” Jarvis interjected, “Mrs. Parker just arrived and is downstairs. It seems she's here to visit them.”
“Aunt Mays here?” Peter looked just as excited as he was hesitant. “At the tower?”
Tony couldn't help but think that May Parker was an awesome woman. During the venom invasion she had managed to not only fight back, but round up and inspire the people not taken over. As the spider team grew into its own, fully fledged hero team, he'd found himself running into her from time to time. From their interactions, he didn't have to wonder why, of everyone, Danny had trusted her first. The Parkers were good people, and he regretted not having been able to meet Ben.
“You boys go say hi.” They both gave him a look, their eyes drifting towards the AE. “I'd rather not his shortness over here knocking out my power again for a bit, so go hang out with May and let the grownups do the worrying.”
“I'm not a kid anymore,” Peter protested.
“Me too.”
“You're both kids to me, now scram.”
“He's got us there,” Peter muttered as they took their leave. Another crack of lightning echoed, likely having hit the rod directly above them. He saw Danny flinch and flash invisible, just like Miles sometimes did. With his spider turned knight by his side, the boy recovered quickly and the pair continued on.
He idly wondered what it would be like to be a father himself. Maybe once all this ghost business was handled, he'd have that conversation again with Pepper, to see what she thought about it. Tony sighed. Something about that little ghost boy being around both filled him with worry and with calm. On one hand, the idle chaos was refreshing, but on the other the dangers and trauma were frightening. An overseer of time had specifically wanted his help in caring for the King, and Tony wanted to know why. Why was he chosen? Was it his resources? Was it because he could relate to the boy? Was it his connection to Peter?
“Jarvis, call the wizard.”

Chapter Text

Danny hadn't seen Aunt May since Peter and Miles had taken him to the tower after the incident with Fright Knight. He knew she'd been asking about him, and despite his excitement to see her again, he found himself feeling very nervous. Peter had told him that they were pretending he was something called a mutant, which from his understanding just meant a human with powers. From what he remembered, there was quite a bit of discrimination against mutants. There was an ever growing movement to be more accepting, with most younger generations on board with treating mutants better. Teams like the Avengers and X-men had helped the public image of mutants, even if many of them weren't actually mutants themselves.
Aunt May, as assured to him by all of the spider team, wouldn't treat him ant differently for being a mutant. He appreciated their concern, but he already knew how kind she was. After all, she had been the first living person he'd trusted in this world.
Still, now that he was about to see her again, he wondered what to say to her. Obviously he was going to thank her and show off his new haircut, but afterwards? He didn't know. Would she start asking questions? Would she freak out? He wondered if the offer to stay with them still stood. Danny scratched at his chest, hoping it did.
“Stop worrying,” Peter ruffled his bangs. “I told you it's fine.”
Danny kicked his shoe as they rode down in the elevator, then readjusted his ecto IV bag. “Being a mutant, what powers does she think I have?”
His knight hummed. “We didn't really talk about that.” He shrugged. “As far as that goes all she knows is that you need the AE that Mr. Stark made, and that it's been helping you a lot.”
He didn't like not having much of a basis for what he should and shouldn't be showing to May. It was easier to not use all his powers if he knew which ones he could use. Pretending to have no powers was easier than pretending to have some.“I haven't done the secret identity thing in a long time you know.” He grumped.
Peter laughed, and part of Danny was annoyed that the spider could feel his embarrassment. “Just don't worry about it. I doubt she'll even ask.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah man, it's considered super personal to ask a mutant their power, that's something they can tell themselves if they want too.” Peter paused, “Here anyway. Don't go telling people you're a mutant in like, smaller towns or anything.”
Danny felt his face pinch. “Your reality is weird.”
Peter shrugged, “Says the ghost king.”
“Shut it.”
“Nah,” his knight drew out the word. “Seriously though, she's just gonna be happy to see you're okay.”
I'm not used to that anymore, he complained mentally. He no longer knew how to handle people. Driving them crazy, dodging questions, explaining ghosts, that was all well and good, but actually talking to them? It was hard. Things were easier with Peter around, like the young hero was helping hold some of the weight. He'd gotten better at talking to some of them, Miles and Amadeous were fun to be around, especially since they didn't ask why he wanted to play around. Then there was Tony, who was easy to speak with. The man could relate to his experience, and he valued that more than he thought he would. A twinge of guilt pulled his core. Was that what Vlad had wanted?
“You good?”
“I'm fine.” He stepped behind his knight as the elevator door opened. The first floor of the tower was open to the public. It was filled with people, lots of groups looking at replica Avenger garb and the latest Stark tech, not that Danny knew what any of it was or did. The floor smelled of the rain, and judging by the numerous people with wet shoulers, a good portion of the tower’s visitors had come only to seek shelter. There was a coffee shop and a gift shop along one wall, filled with very obvious tourists. There were more people on this floor than i n all of Amity. Probably.
He followed closely behind his knight, his hands gripped tightly around the straps to his water bottle and his IV bag. A few people gave him odd looks, probably because he had an active IV in his arm. Some people gave him more space, though he got the sense it wasn't out of kindness. It suited him fine. Outside, he noticed the rain had stoped.
They found May waiting in the Cafe. She wore a short sleeved brown cardigan that Danny recalled seeing her in their first meeting. He realized this was his first time seeing her without Ben's spirit hanging out behind her. The man's haunt was definitely the home, but he could feel the lingering effects of his presence on May. It was faint, but he could feel a protective aura around her. There was one around Peter too, and while it wasn't strong enough to do much, but it did let other ghosts know that there was someone looking out for them.
“There you boys are,” she waved to them as she walked over, abandoning her spot. She gave Peter a quick hug, then looked to him, “Well, someone's looking better.”
He smiled. “Getting there.”
“Oh you can speak now!” May laughed happily, “that’s wonderful, I was so worried. Pete said you were doing better but, oh you know.” She bent down and ruffled his bangs, not unlike how his knight had just done. “And you've got a new haircut, it looks great.”
“Thank you,” Danny ran his fingers through his hair, fixing the impromptu restyling from the Parkers.
“Cmon, let's blow this place for a little bit,” May said followed by a mischievous wink. “Don’t worry, I think the storm has ended already.” Danny hoped she was right, it couldn’t have been that long but he was already tired of the lightning.
They didn't go far, only to a nearby park, which while still busy was better than being in the tower’s lobby. The outside air was nice, warm with an intermittent breeze that felt good in his hair. The dark clouds were beginning to pull away, and the rain left a fresh scent in the air. They snagged a damp bench under a tree and Peter left to get them some hotdogs from a vender. Danny pulled his legs close to him. Logically he knew that wouldn't actually protect him, but it had become his go to comfort whenever he was sitting.
May leaned close to him for a moment, “Enjoying the tower?”
He shrugged. “Theres a lot of super heros in there.”
She laughed. “Its the place to find them, that's for sure.” She leaned back. “I hear you've become quite the prankster.”
He smiled. “No idea what you're talking about.”
“Something about 400 pens?” She mock scolded him.
“437, last I heard.” His knight returned, a small tower of paper baskets with hot dogs in his arms.
Danny grinned. “438. Snuck one in the elevator.”
Thankfully, May found his affinity for pen hiding amusing. They laughed about his antics at the tower while they ate. He could tell she was analyzing his condition as they spoke, mentally checking his improvement. Danny didn't mind it, but still felt odd with her carefully concerned gaze. She reminded him of his mom, half expecting her to gently grab his face and turn him about to check on him before patting his head and sending him on his way. He lowered his legs, sitting normally as he relaxed into the conversation.
As Peter was telling a story about some security robot Miles had made back in highschool, a large, wet dog bounded over to them, evidently having escaped the grip of their owner. The dog had a happy, wrinkly face with a big smile. While Peter and May leaned back from the dog, not out of fear, just surprise, Danny reached out and pet her.
He laughed, excited to be able to pet a dog again after so many years. “Hi there.”
The Parkers got over their surprise and also took the opportunity to pet the pooch. They all looked around for the missing owner, finding them instantly.
Peter chuckled and waved as a very frantic Grady ran to them, quickly grabbing the leash as if it would disappear. “Margret! You can't just run off like that!” He wore a green raincoat and boots, though his hair and pants were still soaked form the strom.
“Hi Grady,” May smiled. “When did you get a dog?”
“I thought your apartment had a no pet policy,” Peter added.
“It does.” The young man took a moment to catch his breath. Danny continued to pet Margret, who tried to lick his hands, but due to some sneaky intangibility was unable to. “She's my moms. She asked me to pet-sit for her while she goes and visits my grandma.” Grady explained.
Danny pulled his hotdog basket trash away from Margret's face. “No, no trash for you.” This got him an excited woof as the dog tried to get to his scraps, only to stop and sniff at his IV. He pulled his sleeve cuff over it, not that it would stop the dog from sniffing him. “Its okay.” He patted her head.
“You like dogs kid?”
He continued to pet the dog while she sniffed at his arm. “Some of them. She a mastiff?” He asked.
“Yeah, a couple years old.” Grady answered.
Margret stopped sniffing at his arm and moved on to his chest, her nose gently sniffing around his abdomen. He tried to push her away, only for her to nudge his hand away and continue her sniffing. Peter and May, who both knew of his injuries, grew nervous faces. “Yeah, I know, girl,” he rubbed her ears.
Grady tried, and failed, to get Margret to stop. “Sorry, I'm not the best with dogs.”
“She's okay,” he couldn't help but smile. “She reminds me of Cujo, I'm pretty sure he was a mastiff too.”
“You had a dog?” Peter asked.
“Sorta,” he smiled as Margret finally decided to stop sniffing him, choosing now to lick at his shirt. He pushed her face away and pulled his legs back up to his chest. “He's not technically mine but, he follows me…” His voice trailed off as he realized that he'd just spoken the ghost dog's name allowed.
No, he wouldn't hear me this far, right?
May ruffled his bangs again. “It looks like someone's trying to help.” She reached down and patted the dog, who was still intently focused on trying to lick Danny's chest. He wondered if this would be what Cujo would do if he found him like this, still healing. He'd never dared call for the ghost pup during his torment, for the same reason he never called for Wulf. The risk of them getting caught was too high. It was bad enough to go through all that himself, but for his ghostly friends to receive similar torment? The very thought hurt his core.
Peter put a hand on his shoulder, refocusing him back to the present. He nodded and listened as Grady spoke about his mothers trip and his struggles with petsitting. Margrett was a high energy pup with an affinity for choosing what she wanted to do and when. For Grady, this meant he was constantly chasing her and struggling to keep her from knocking things over. Danny laughed along with the stories, enjoying their similarities. He told about the time Cujo wrecked his friend’s dad's work, all to try and get his long lost squeak toy. He of course left out the ghostly aspect of the tale, but thinking about it filled him with nostalgia.
He missed the eternal pup.
After a while, Grady said his goodbyes and managed to, just barely, get Margret to leave by distracting her with a small treat he'd pulled from his pocket. When they'd finished waving them off, May sighed softly. Then, she said, “Tony says you should be good to leave the tower soon.”
After we get Dora sorted, he thought. “Yeah,” he said hesitantly.
“Pete and I have been talking, and we wanted to make sure you knew it was still okay for you to stay with us if you want.”
Danny looked at her. Those had been the exact words he'd wanted to hear, but he had no idea how to respond. He hugged his chest. It wasn't the safest thing, living with a Halfa, especially one that had managed to become the ghost king. It would be better for everyone in this odd reality if he were to leave after regaining his strength. Still, he didn't want to.
“We'll keep you safe, you know,” his knight offered. “Me, and Miles, and everyone.”
“I'm included in that, you know.” May said with mock offense in her voice. “Of course, if there's somewhere you'd like us to take you-”
“-No.” He looked down and considered his words. “I, I'd like to stay.”
Again, she ruffled his hair. “Well alright then.”
Their outing drew to a close when his IV began to run low. His insistence he was fine was ignored, and Peter asked if he were trying to drive Dr. Cho crazy. Reluctantly, he went back to the tower. It wasn't that he didn't like the tower, he just wasn't ready to go back inside. May guided him through the crowd, a soft hand on his shoulder. His knight was on his other side, helping form a human barrier between him and the crowd. It felt nice.
Inside, his mood darkened, not just because he wasn't ready to go back, but because his latest nemesis interjected their path to the elevator.
“Daniel! I saw what you did to my desk!”
His knight spoke at the same time he did, “Charon.”
The woman, somewhere in her mid thirties with her curly hair pulled into a neat bun that Danny thought was too tight, perched her hands on her hips. She wore a simple pair of slacks and a light pink blouse, with a pen tucked into her pocket. I missed one, Danny frowned.
“What happened?” May asked. She seemed to be teetering over which side she should be on, to defend or scold.
“I thought I told you to stop calling me that.” He flashed green eyes at her, which prompted a glare from the woman.
“So you sabotage my work?” Her arms moved from her hips to crossed in front of her chest.
Next to him, May made a sound that to him came across as her not believing the woman. He glared back at Charon. “Actually, I left all your work alone.”
“Daniel-”
“-Danny,” he corrected. He repeated his name again, slowly enunciating it. “Dan, ny, Danny. Not Daniel. Stop calling me Daniel.”
He could see the surprised looks from the Parkers’ out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn’t really care. “I suggest you return my things to the way they were before I contact your mother-”
Danny’s laughter cut her off. It wasn’t that it was funny, just that she thought her baseless threat would work on him. Beside him, Peter whispered, “Let’s just go.”
He stopped laughing and returned to glaring at the woman. “She’s dead.”
It seemed even Charon had her limits, her face growing red with embarrassment. “Uh, your father then,” with a tilt of his head she figured out that that wasn’t going to be possible either. “Well, who is your guardian then?”
“I believe that might be me,” May stepped between them. “How about this, you stop calling him something he doesn’t want to called, and he’ll put your things back the way they were,” May said the last part firmly with a nod to him, letting him know she wasn’t giving him an option in the matter.
Charon puffed her chest a moment before sticking her hand out to him. “Fine, if this will get me my desk back. I will call you Danny.”
He accepted the handshake. “I’ll hold you too that.”
She scoffed, “I assume my office supplies are in danger if I forget?”
“Naturally.”
“Danny,” May warned.
He shrugged, “She started it.”
“Well, its over now, so why don’t we get back to our business, shall we?” his knight offered, a pleading tone in his voice.
Charon nodded. “My lunch will be over in an hour, if you could have my things back to normal by then, I’d appreciate it, Danny.” From her lack of looking directly at him, Danny figured this act was more for May’s sake than his own.
After a nudge from May, he agreed, “Alright, alright.”
With that, the woman nodded and took her leave. After she disappeared into the crowd, heading towards the direction of the cafe, May leaned close to him and asked, “What did you do to her stuff?”
He grinned. “Nothing major.” He promised.
Peter shook his head, “A menace.” He used a tone that sounded like a bad impersonation of someone. While he didn’t know who it was, the joke got a chuckle from May. “C’mon, lets go see Dr. Cho for a refill. We’ll stop by Charon’s on the way.”
“Alright,” may put a hand on Danny’s shoulder, “You listen to her, okay? There’s a lot we have to do once you get back, okay?” He nodded, not sure what she meant but happy at the idea of going back to the Parker house. She smiled and ruffled his bangs more before brushing them back into place with her fingers. “You focus on getting better now.”
“I’ll try.”
After they said their goodbyes, they parted ways and the boys took a private elevator back up the tower. His knight, after they were alone, nudged his arm, “Told you it’d be fine.”
Danny leaned against the wall. He wouldn’t admit it outloud, but he had needed that visit. He felt calmer and more at peace. There was still the stress of the upcoming mission, but somehow having a plan for after made it feel like it was going to be easier than everyone thought it was going to be. “Oh, yeah. Grady gave me an idea.’
“For?”
“Sending Dora home.” He sighed. “I don’t know if he’ll get here in time, but I could try calling him-”
“-Woah there, care to fill me in on the details first?”
Danny groaned, more for the drama than anything. “Cujo. He can teleport to the gost zone.”
“Cujo’s a ghost?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s why I’m not so sure what kind of dog he is.”
“You have a ghost dog?”
“Dead dog for a dead kid.”
“You have got to stop making those jokes.” His knight shook his head.
“Sure, over my dead body.” He laughed, transforming and taking his spot on Peter’s shoulders. His knight’s annoyance at his brand of comedy fueling him more than if the spider had actually found them funny.

Chapter Text

Tony leaned against his desk, still in the workspace filled with containers of AE, some of which were empty and stacked in the corner. Thankfully, his magically inclined ally returned his call and portalled into the room not long enough after the boys left.
He nodded towards the man, who said, “I was a little busy, Stark.”
“I need your thoughts on something.” Strange raised an eye, not arguing but not asking either. “Jarvis, pull up the pic again.”
“The one of the boy's eyes?”
“That'd be the one.” Again the hologram of Danny with red creeping into his eyes pulled up. Strange examined the still, his face pinched together in a slightly more serious way than usual. “Somethings up with the kid.”
“As I can see…” Strange hummed as he folded his arms. “What happened before this?” Tony explained Danny's efforts to replenish his strength, making sure to add his discomfort and frustration with the process. Strange took in the information he gave him. “I find it odd that replenishing his strength would cause him so much distress.”
“Echoing my thoughts there,” Tony groaned. “Kids hiding something.”
“I imagine his highness is hiding a fair amount from everyone.” Tony scoffed. “As for this matter, perhaps it would be best to ask the boy directly.”
“I don't know what ghost king you've been seeing,” Tony said, “But the one I've been babysitting doesn't take questions well.”
“You have a point, Stark.” The wizard sighed. “From the little I've found there could be several reasons his eyes did that.”
“I'll take whatever you think fits.”
“You're aware that ghosts are emotional creatures?”
He rolled his eyes. “So I've heard.”
“This could be his anger and frustration manifesting, however,” he motioned for Strange to continue, “With what we've priced together about him I get the feeling that this is more serious than it appears.”
“Incredibly helpful.”
“Let me put it this way,” Strange narrowed his eyes, “Would you want a being with the potential for unfathomable power, a king who's reach is infinite, to be fuelled by anger?”
Tony froze. “That's, a good point.”
“From what we know, he's never been at full power as king, and he's been in a traumatic state for many years. Perhaps, my words at our last meeting weren't entirely correct.”
“How so?”
“Perhaps it is not our world that needs Danny, but Danny that needs our world.” Strange’s expression softened. “It is entirely possible that we are all just tools to keep the new king from becoming something truly terrible.”
Tony shook his head. “If that's the case, why the hell would that time guy let that boy go through all that shit?” He waved his arm about as he spoke, “If he wants the kid to keep it together, he's done a real great job of setting him up for failure.”
“Perhaps,” Strange mused, “but we only have the present and knowledge of the past. Clockwork is working with the past, present, and future, of all reality. There are things I'm afraid only he can know. We will have to work with the pieces of this puzzle as we get them.”
“Ugh, patience,” Tony sighed. “So, basically all we can do is keep an eye on it.”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Strange leaned closer to the hologram, inspecting it before straightening and stepping back. “I suggest you dismiss this image, it seems its subject approaches.”
Tony nodded and waved away the hologram. “Well then, you going to stick around and say hi to our angry small one?”
Strange nodded. “If his highness allows me, I'd like to observe his process of absorbing the energy, perhaps I can find some way to assist.”
“Hopefully the kid agrees,” he chuckled, “maybe you should grab some pudding just in case.”
“Bribing the boy with his insecurities is low,” Strange scolded him.
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “Go ahead, try it your way.” He smirked, having a strong suspicion of how this was going to go. He kicked his bag of bribes further under the table he was working at. “You figure out anything to do about that ghost princess once we figure out how to free her or whatever?”
“Opening a portal to her realm should be easy enough, as for actually getting her where she needs to be-”
“-I've got an idea for that!” Strange was interrupted by one ghostly Danny, floating through the door, which was immediately opened by Peter. The young halfa was looking not only more relaxed, but Tony would even dare to say cheerful.
He caught Peter's eyes, and gave him a questioning look. The spider grinned and nodded, to which Tony took to mean that the break went well. With the storm having passed and May having visited, it seemed the spirit’s spirits were lifted.
“Yes, Danny?” Strange asked carefully. Tony wondered if the wizard had the right idea being so cautious around him, or if it were better to act more casual. It was easy enough to see that Danny preferred the latter.
“We could ask Cujo!”
“We could ask a who?” Tony asked.
Danny spun in the air and lifted his arms, a fresh bag of AE slung from his shoulder. “Cujo,” he smiled, “He's sorta like my dog, I could try and call him some more and-”
“-This dog, you believe he can hear you from another dimension?” Tony asked, unsure if he should be scared or impressed.
“We'll,” Danny folded his arms and sat crossed legged in the air, “it wouldn't be the first time.” Tony motioned for him to continue, “Cujo can teleport in and out of the ghost zone.”
Surprising Tony, Strange crossed his arms and adopted a scolding tone. “You don't plan to use this dog's ability to enter the Infinite Realms yourself in your current state, do you?”
This, less surprisingly, angered the boy. Tony watched, a bit annoyed with the lights again flickering. “I'm not stupid, you know.”
“Just checking.” Strange nodded. The wizard shot him a pleading look, but he pretended not to notice. Go on, dig yourself out of this hole.
Peter, however, chose not to let Strange figure out the interaction on his own. “Dr Strange sir,” Peter raised his hand as if he were still in school as he stepped between The wizard and the ghost, “Could you open a small portal to the ghost zone?”
“What for?”
“To make sure Cujo can for sure hear me,” Danny answered, still not pleased at the apparent jab at his judgment. Tony didn't blame him, though he was struggling not to laugh.
Strange narrowed his eyes. “I will, on one condition.” Tony smiled. It wasn't exactly a bribe, more so a trade, but the speed at which Strange had changed his methods if interacting with the boy amused him. He crossed his arms, watching the interaction. “I understand you are having some, frustrations, with your attempts at replenishing your strength.”
Danny swiveled midair as if in an office chair and pointed at him, “Hey!”
He shrugged, “Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted to get stronger.”
“Snitch.”
“Danny,” Peter rolled his eyes. Tony had already figured out that part of gaging Danny's mood involved checking the appointed knights reactions. Now that Peter was more casual, Danny's anger was now just an act. Tony chose to keep these observations to himself. “Its not exactly a secret.”
Strange made a noise to regain their attention. “I'd like to observe and, if I'm capable, Aid in your energy absorption.”
Danny held still for a moment, the only movement being the flickering of his white flame hair. “Cujo first.”
“You have a deal, your highness.”
“Danny”
“Danny.”
Tony stood back with Peter and watched as Strange opened a small portal. The last time he did this, Tony had been a bit too preoccupied to get a good look at it. Like all of Stange’s portals, this one was circular with a ring of sparking gold around it. Green swirled beyond it, and an unease filled him at the sight of it. He tried to subtly cross his arms tighter, wanting to rub around his heart as if that'd lessen the affects but not wanting anyone to see him visually disturbed.
Strange cared far less for the portal, standing beside it as if this was a perfectly normal Tuesday activity. Peter, however, stood at the ready, prepared to defend against anything that might try and come through it. It was Danny that had the most complex reaction to it. Tony had seen him almost reach for it, but flinched away when he got close. It was as if he both longed to be in that odd, green world, while also being afraid of it. The king was too weak to be in the world he ruled.
Under all their watchful eyes, the halfa leaned forward and, with an unnaturally loud voice, called, “Cujo!!!” Even though he was behind him, Tony felt as if the sound shook the room. As he grabbed The table to keep his balance, Peter ran forward to grab Danny, who had returned to his human form and was unsteady on his feet. The boy gave a thumbs up to Strange, who nodded and closed the portal.
Tony stepped forward, “You think just once will work?”
The boy yawned, “Probably.” He shrugged, “Also don't really wanna risk someone else hearing me.”
“I swear if you just summoned some evil shit here,” Tony shook his head.
“Nah, it's fine.” Danny said dismissively.
Unconvinced but accepting there wasn't anything to be done about it now, Tony gestured to the stacks of artificial ectoplasm. “Shall we?”

It took 3 puddings, 2 energy drinks, and 4 packets of crackers before Danny agreed to wear the sensors Tony had requested. Then, after obvious hesitation, the halfa allowed Strange to apply several spells to him. At the end, he looked none too pleased, with the small sticker dots on his temples and the sparking bands of magic around him.
“This is dumb,” the boy mumbled.
Ignoring him, Tony said, “Jarvis, pull up my screens.”
“Yes sir.”
Tony looked at the current readings. He got basic vitals, all of which were too low for a typical person but not what he didn't expect for the halfa. He also got the current energy readings. Looking at the numbers, he narrowed his eyes. With a swipe of his hand he compared them to similar, though admittedly less accurate, readings of Danny's ectoplasmic energy from a few days prior. The newer levels were more than 20x higher. Even with all the struggling, the small ghost boy was on his way to becoming a sentient arc reactor.
“I'm set over here, Sherlock you good?”
Tony didn't need to look at Strange to know he had rolled his eyes. “I'm ready whenever Danny is.”
From his vantage point, Tony couldn't see the boy's face, but if there was another evil eye incident he was sure he'd know. Peter sat close by, his own ghostly contraption in the works in his lap. The spider fiddled with it intermittently, his mind clearly more focused on the King.
When Danny began, Stark watched the readings steadily fluctuate. As the energy levels began to rise, Danny's heartbeat quickened. Tony took note of the scans he was getting, mentally noting that even if he wasn't showing it visually, the boy was in distress.
The spells Strange had placed sparked like they had the night they'd worked with Dr. Cho to put him back together. Still, this go of trying to absorb the AE was extending longer than previous attempts. Be it his break, audience, or his knight being near, Danny was able to steadily absorb energy for nearly 10 minutes.
Then, the lights flickered and the halfa recoiled from the vats, holding his hand protectively.
“Fuck this!”
“Danny!” Peter called.
Tony chose to focus on the readings, finding nothing spiking but the kid's adrenaline. There it is, he thought.
“It burns!”
“No, it doesn't,” Strange said calmly. “Perhaps now is a good time to stop, and talk about our findings?” He nodded to him.
Tony shrugged, “I think I know what's going on too.”
Danny eyes, notably still green, met his. A pair of normally not glowing eyes from Peter also looked at him. “You're freaking yourself out. Physically, everything checks out.”
“Danny,” Strange said carefully, “It appears that the main reason you're struggling to gain your strength is phycological.”
The boy narrowed his eyes, “Shut up.”
Strange, as expected, sighed and took a step back from the halfa, waving his arms and releasing his spells with a chant Tony didn't bother to listen to. Peter stood, project forgotten, and readied himself for whatever action might be needed of him.
Tony, however, crossed his arms and coughed to get everyone's attention. “Kid,” he shook his head. He knew how it felt to try and push oneself when the wounds were still fresh. He remembered how much trying to fix what he'd done consumed him when he first escaped the cave. Tony hadn't wanted help then, and the boy didn't want help now. “Take a moment, and be honest.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Danny's eyes flashed a brighter green than they did before.
Tony tapped on his arc reactor, “You don't want to think about how whatever it was messed you up, and your process here keeps reminding you-”
“-Shut up!” Tony narrowed his eyes, but otherwise made no move to react to the outburst.
“Danny,” Peter spoke carefully, stepping in front of the halfa and holding his hand out. Unlike when Tony or Strange spoke, it seemed like the boy actually listened to Peter. Accidently becoming the boy's knight was incredibly convenient to not having the kid completely lose it. It also alienated the worry that the boy would disappear again. At least, if he did, Tony knew he'd be back.
“I am not some traumatized child that everyone needs to babysit!”
You kind of are, Tony thought, but elected not to say. He watched as Peter straightened and waved his arms as he spoke, “Stop pretending like nothing happened!” Strange made to interrupt, but Tony shot him a look. He wanted to see where Peter was going. “Acting like nothings wrong isn't going to help anyone, least of all you!”
While Tony expected the halfa to yell and protest, instead he floated to the ground and transformed back into his human form, his eyes lingering green a moment longer before fading to blue. “Stop that,” he mumbled, “I can feel that one too.”
“Good!” Peter waved his arms before crossing them. “I'm not the only one that feels that way!” He sighed, “Look, I know how it feels to want to fix everything yourself, and I also know how hard it is to rely on others. Especially people you don't know well.”
Tony was once again grateful that Peter had oopsied himself into being a knight. Danny hugged his chest. “Fine.”
Peter put his hand on the boys shoulder, then turned to him and Strange, “Dr. Strange, Mr. Stark, any ideas that aren't therapy appointments?”
“Therapy isn't a bad idea,” Strange mused.
“I do not want to talk about it.” Danny said, crossing his arms both protectively and defiantly.
“Mr. Toughguy's trauma aside,” Tony interjected, “Strange, you said main reason back there. Care to share with the class your thoughts?” He wasn't a fan of not knowing a solution, but at least he was able to Segway away from inducing another panic attack in the boy. He peeked over at Danny, noticing his cheeks tinting green.
“This is only a guess on my part, but the, emotional turmoil,” Strange spoke with poorly guarded hesitancy, “could be a side affect of absorbing artificial ectoplasm as opposed to-”
“-I don't remember putting rage juice in there.” Tony quipped.
“That might actually be the problem.” Strange narrowed his eyes, displeased with the interruption. “As we've all come to know, ghosts are emotional creatures by nature-”
“-Hey.”
Tony stifled a laugh while Strange ignored the halfas interruption. “That both consume and produce ectoplasm. To some degree, every bit of natural ectoplasm in existence has some semblance of emotion.”
“How the hell do I fake emotions into an energy source?” Tony complained, mostly to himself.
“If the AE doesn't have any emotions, it could be that Danny's are projecting onto it, which would create a loop of him absorbing his own negativity.” Peter mused.
“Ew, like eating my own spit.”
Tony chuckled at the comparison. Peter smiled, “That's what happens when you eat lollypops.”
“What, no, wait, ew.” Danny protested.
Tony turned to the wizard, letting the boys discus the intricacies of consuming flavored saliva. “If we make the AE, happy, you think that'll fix our little rage problem here?”
Strange nodded, “I think it's possible.”
“How the hell do I do that?” He groaned. “Should I fill it with dopamine and serotonin?”
“No, no,” Strange frowned, “As far as I can tell, the AE functions almost exactly like that natural ectoplasm. If you put some in an environment where people will be in good moods, it should take on those emotions.”
“I ever mention how much I hate it when science and magic mix,” Tony did not appreciate the crossovers between the two.
“I wouldn't say I'm a fan of the mixture either,” Strange gave the smallest of smiles, “But, a few years back Spy-D taught me that science can be used alongside magic. That the two can work together.”
Tony scoffed and shook his head. “Those kids.”
For a breath they watched the boys, who had moved on from discussing sweets to adjusting the device Peter had been working on onto Danny's wrist. Then, Strange said, “Where is Miles, anyway? Weren't he and Amadeus watching his highness?”
“I heard that! Minus 2 points for that!” Danny called out, his voice sounding to be in a much better mood.
Strange made no move to correct himself, so Tony joked, “Oof, a whole 2 points. Harsh.” He leaned against one of the labels, “Those two needed a break. Pipsqueak's boredom led him to locking them in a room, one broken door and an impending argument later, Peter made them separate.”
Strange hummed. “It seems every time something happens at the tower, there's always at least one door breaking.”
“Tell me about it,” Tony rolled his eyes as he recalled Thor busting his front door down on Danny's first day there. “Always with the doors.”
As if to prove his point, and ectoblast hit the door, singeing the corner of it. Tony turned, seeing Danny holding his hand out, the bracer Peter had been fiddling with on his arm with an attachment over his palm that made the device similar to his flight stabilizers. A green glow faded from the device, and Tony felt a scowl cross over his face. “Seriously?”
Danny went invisible, leaving poor Peter facing the not all that serious scolding on his own. “Uh, oops.”
Always with the doors, Tony thought again.

Chapter Text

Peter hated the plan. He couldn't tell if he was against it as Spider-man or as Danny's knight, but either way he was against it. Part of him was grateful he hadn't been the only one to not be on board with the idea. Hawkeye, Antman, and Dr. Banner were all against using Danny as bait. Danny, unsurprisingly, was not only the one to propose the idea, but insist upon it.
“Its fine,” he mocked as he dodged flaming dragon breath, “it's just Dora, there's nothing to worry about.”
“I said,” Danny fired a blast from the bracers he'd thrown together for him, “As long as she didn't get mad!”
Peter dodged more flame, swinging out of range while looking for an opening. Their team ended up being smaller than originally planned. The prison had a massive breach, with numerous dangerous villains getting out. Most of the Avengers left to deal with that. Miles and Gwen went to help as well, while Harry was at WEB working more on the files they'd copied from the tech back at the first ghost summoning.
“Why,” Anya leapt out of range of a large, blue scaled swipe. She let loose some webs and hitched a ride from Ironman, using his fly by to launch herself up and behind the dragon, “Is she so mad in the first place?!”
Ironman let loose a blast at her wing, prompting a roar from Dorathea, who turned, letting loose more flaming breath, scorching the walls of the warehouse they were in. “Care to enlighten us, your highness.” Sass dripped from his benefactor's voice.
Danny flew up, evading a sweep of the dragon princesses tail, his eyes darting around the room as he did. “Because!” He fired another blast from the bracers, pulling Doratheas attention back from Ironman. “They can't send her back!”
Peter darted forward to the four captive cultists he and Anya had webbed up when they'd first arrived to the dragon fight. He grabbed the bundle of people and pulled Them up and out of the way of another tail swipe. One of them tried to mumble something that sounded like a protest, but Peter had webbed closed their mouths when they'd kept calling orders to Dorathea. It had been too late, as they'd already ordered her to fight. Peter placed them further from the fight.
“I thought we already knew that?” Anya hung from a web on one of the ceiling beams. As he looked to her, Peter noticed what he guessed was what Danny had been looking for.
“We did,” Danny threw up a shield.
“They lied!” Dorathea cried out before loosing more flames around them. Everyone but Danny scattered to avoid the fire. Peter glanced back, nearly sighing in relief that the cultists were out of range.
He swung up and stuck to a support beam, upside down as per his usual spider tactics. From this perspective, he could see the circle easily. “Hey, Danny!” He called. “Come hang with me!”
“What?” Danny turned, looking up to him. A smirk let him know that his message had been received.
Everyone else also took notice of what He'd found. “Cool. Do we break that or-?”
“-No!” Danny cut off Anya. It didn't matter though, because Dorathea flew up, and with only one beat of her wings smashed her body into the roof, sending cracks through the summoning circle.
“Was that our only option?” IronMan asked.
Danny looked so done with the fight, were it not for the giant blue dragon, and the new instability to the buildings roof, Peter might have laughed. “Just, get the necklace off of her.” The halfa fired some ice at the ceiling cracks. Peter wondered how much reinforcement ghostly ice would provide a concrete ceiling.
“Spiderman- legs and wings with me. Ironman, distraction.” Anya called.
“On it!” He responded, swinging down and using their new ecto webs to tie up Dorathea with Anya.
“Good plan.” Ironman flew around, using a few blasts to direct Doratheas attention away from him and Anya. After a few rounds around the dragon, they leapt back. As Dorathea struggled against the ecto webs, attempting to phase through them but failing, Ironman shouted, “Shortstack! Necklace!”
“On it!” Danny called as he flew up and shot a blast at the necklace clasp, causing it to fall towards the ground. The ghost princess let out a roar, that faded to a cry as her body shrank and returned to the ghostly form she had been in previously. The ecto webs fell around her, leaving a green circle around her.
“I want to go home!” She cried, falling to her knees and burying her face in her hands. Peter watched as Danny made it to her first, kneeling down to comfort the ghost.
“Spiders, there could be other guys hiding around the place. Furys sending over some agents to take in these guys,” Ironman jerked a thumb to the four they'd already caught.
Peter nodded. “I'll take this side,” he told Anya as they each tool opposite sides of the warehouse. There were only a few rooms. While the main battle had been in the actual warehouse area, Mr. Stark was right that there could be more to find in the rooms.
Peter quickly cleared 2 rooms before finding two more cultists, a couple of teenagers in the same robes as everyone else they'd seen. They made to run but Peter quickly had them webbed to the wall. “Ope, no you don't.” He caught a glimpse of the necklaces the pair were wearing, a pair of emerald colored wings. Over the coms, and over the cultists protests, he called, “Got two-”
“-I found something.” Anya interrupted.
“Whatcha got, Spidergirl?”
“Not sure, it's red and glowing, not really very safe looking if you ask me.”
“On my way.” Peter waved to the two he'd trapped, “Don't worry, we won't leave you hanging for long.”
“A pun, seriously?” One asked, her feet dangling underneath her.
He chuckled at his own joke as he made his way to where he'd seen Anya head off too. On the way, he saw that Ironman was now talking to a more composed Dorathea, her corpse like face raw with fresh tears. Danny hovered nearby. Towards the main entrance, SHEILD agents began pouring in.
He found his teammate in the third room he checked. “Oh, yeah that looks, bad?”
“Right?” Anya said as she circled around the object. It was an orb, red and glowing as described. “I'm not getting anything from my Spider Sense, are you?”
“No, I'm,” Peter stopped after stepping closer. The disheveled desks and equipment had been hurriedly pushed to the side, making way for the pedestal for the orb. As Peter looked at the slowly swirling specks within it, the mark on his chest burned. He put a hand to it, “Nevermind, something weird with that.”
“Obviously,” Anya agreed, tilting her head in concern. “What is it?”
“The mark,” he explained, “it's almost like another spidersense, just, for ghost things.” He shook his head. “We should keep that away from Danny and Dora.”
“Keep what away from me-” Shit, Peter thought. He had been so focused on the orb he hadn't been paying attention to where the halfa was. Peter watched red poor into Danny's eyes, starting with his irises but speaking to the whites of them as well. The halfa king floated in the air, frozen in place where he had been. The only movement from him was the flickering of his white fire hair.
Peter made to speak, to ask what was going on, but found himself unable to move. Just like Danny, he was frozen in place. The mark was still hot on his chest, the fire he pictured with it near and angry. He wanted to move, to get them out of that room and away from whatever the orb was, but all he could do was wait.
“Uh, guys?” Anya asked. Peter watched as she circled them both. She gently pushed Danny, who merely floated along with her touch, like an old balloon. She did the same to him, and Peter found his body stepping along with the push. “Okay, that's not good.” She tapped her com, “Ironman-” she stopped, turning quickly a.d firing off some webs.
Peter could feel his spidersense going off, and mentally cursed at his inability to act. He was, however, able to turn his head to see what was going on, a reflex more than a conscious action. A hidden cultist had lunged for the orb, but had been webbed to the ground by Anya. The short action caused the pedestal To topple, and the orb rolled across the floor. The cultist reached her hand towards it, only for Anya to web her up further, preventing her from coming into contact with the object.
Anya quickly grabbed the orb, likely to keep it safe from any other potential sneak attacks. “Oh no you don't.” Peter felt his focus shift. He couldn't keep his eyes off of the orb, following it as Anya moved. She noticed. “Spiderman? Danny?”
“What?” Danny asked, his voice cold and almost cruel.
“What's with you guys?” It was clear Danny's shift in his usual demeanor Unnerved her, as she stepped back and hugged the orb closer. From seeing her in action for multiple years now, Peter knew she was preparing to dart out the room at the slightest provocation.
“How should I know?” Danny asked.
Before Anya could say more, Mr. Stark arrived at the entrance to the room, his suit gone. He scanned the scene, his gaze lingering on Danny. Then, he addressed Anya, “Im guessing the glowing crystal ball has our ghostlings acting weird?” The man tilted his head towards the orb.
“Yeah, as soon as Danny saw it they both started acting weird.”
Mr Stark hummed as he turned to them. “Spiderman? Pipsqueak?” After no response, he sighed. “Let's get that thing away from them. Furys here, let's make it his problem.” He jerked his thumb towards the door. Peter and Danny both followed the orb as Anya darted out of the room with it.
Seconds after it was out of view, Peter found he was able to move again. Evidently so did Danny, who floated unsteady back to the ground, flopping onto his butt and transforming back to his human self. Peter quickly made his way over, “Danny?” He asked.
“What, what happened?” The halfa held his head, and Peter could feel the confusion and aggravation from the mark, not that he needed a direct connection to know how the boy felt about the situation.
Peter quickly detailed what had happened, to both Danny and Mr. Stark. His face pinched and he turned to the cultist woman, still imbole from the webbing. “Looks to me like you know what that's about.” Mr. Starks voice was stern and dark.
“The king is alive,” the woman whispered, her dusty blue eyes wide and locked onto Danny.
Shit. Peter stood defensively between them. “Interesting,” Mr. Stark said, “you guys summoned some ghost you knew nothing about. Care to share with the class what you know about that?”
The woman ignored him and spoke to Danny, “Its you, isn't it? The king of the Infinite, snow white hair, and glowing green eyes. How, how are you alive?”
Peter turned to see Danny rising to his feet. The halfa made his way in front of him, kneeling in front of the woman. “Who said I was the king?”
“You are, I can feel it.” The woman's eyes glossed over as tears threatened to spill from them. “My brother, he was amongst those who were supposed to witness your summoning. He wasn't supposed to be payment,” she choked on her words.
Peter saw Danny's shoulders tighten. Then, he transformed back to his ghost form. “Leave this group. You already know it isn't safe.”
“Where is he? Where is my brother?!”
Danny stood, and the woman was just barely able to lift her head enough to see him. “Don't ask me questions you already know the answer to.” His gaze shifted behind her, then looked back down. “Tell what you know, then leave. Under your brother's bed is a safe box, the password is your cat's name numberized.”
“What, how do you,” the woman gasped, short and small, “Theodore.”
Danny turned, his gaze locking onto Peter, “Can we, can we go?”
“Yeah, sure.” Peter looked to Mr. Stark, “What're we gonna do with her?”
Mr. Stark shrugged. “Interrogate her, figure out what she knows. Go from there.” He groaned, “This is going to be another big headache, huh?”
“Always is.” Peter nodded and he and Danny left the room. Down the hall SHEILD agents were filling in. He waved to them, but was ignored. Danny yawned, once again turning back into a human. “You good?”
Danny looked to him, his cheeks green with embarrassment. “Yeah, just, tired.”
Peter knew he was lying, but chose not to press it. He could feel the lingering emotions regarding the orb, and the fresh stress from the conversation with the cultist. He could also feel the apprehension towards what was to come.
“Cmon, I bet they've gotten that thing way away from here.” He offered.
They went back to the warehouse space, finding the agents had already collected the captured cultists. Dorathea stood near the center, talking with Nick Fury. Peter noticed her necklace was back in place around her neck. They joined them, Danny not so subtly keeping close and eyeing all the agents.
“Hey Dora,” Danny waved.
“Phantom,” Dorathea gave a short bow, which prompted the halfa to roll his eyes and the princess to giggle. “This is quite the interesting world we've found ourselves in. Sir Fury here was telling me of the many heroes of this world.”
Danny eyed Fury suspiciously, to which the man pulled something out of his coat. “My name is Nick Fury, Director of SHEILD. Stark tells me you appreciate snacks.”
Peter tried not to laugh at the situation. He almost failed when Danny took it and asked, “Is this, baby pudding?”
“Do you not want it?”
“I didn't say that.” Danny gripped the snack tightly, pulling it away from Fury as if he would take it back.
The man nodded and looked to him. Peter stiffened, unsure of how to interact with him. “I hear you're the one in charge of him?”
Peter chuckled nervously. “I think, technically He's in charge of me?” He directed the last part to Danny, who was already eating the pudding from its little squeeze packet. Despite his question, the halfa was not paying attention, still eyeing the agents working around them.
Instead, Dora answered. “To a degree, yes. Sir Spiderman here has become the kings knight, vowing to protect him. As long as you stay true to your word, you are bound to him.”
“Sounds important.” Fury commented.
“It is,” Dorathea nodded. “It is especially unique that the king's knight is a living mortal. Just like our halfa king, this is a first for the ghost zone. I imagine there are many who are upset by the arrangement, but I find it rather fitting.”
“Am I,” Peter shook his head, “Am I making ghost enemies without even trying?”
“That seems to be an occupational hazard for you, Spiderman.” Fury said while Dorathea laughed.
Peter laughed nervously, though he was sure most of that wasn't actually from him. Then, he felt his whole body cry out to him, both his spider sense and mark alike. His head swiveled around looking for the danger before his body decided for him. He grabbed Danny and pulled him from where he was standing, leaping back from Fury and Dorathea just in time for a larger, green mass to appear on the floor.
While Dora nearly stepped back, Fury launched himself away and had his gun out and trained on the floor faster than Peter could properly register. Within the same moment a large, glowing green being leapt from the apparent portal with a thunderous bark.
“Cujo!” Danny called. “Don't shoot that's Cujo!” He transformed and went intangible through Peter's grip.
While he wanted to believe that the ghost dog meant no harm, the intense growling and snarling didn't make for a very friendly looking 10 foot something monster. Still, Peter found himself motioning for Fury and the other SHEILD agents to lower their weapons. “Woah woah, cool it everyone.”
“What is that!” Fury called, angry and commanding.
“My puppy!” Danny answered while holding his arms out in front of the dog.
“You never told me your dog was a pallet swapped Clifford,” Peter joked, trying to force away the tension.
Unsurprisingly, he was ignored. “Cujo! It's me, hey buddy, its okay look,” Danny floated closer to the monster mutts face. “Cmon, I wasn't gone that long, was I?”
Thankfully, despite none of the gathered agents standing down, Cujos growling stopped. Just as the last dog he'd seen interact with Danny, Peter watched as Cujo intently sniffed his chest. After multiple long and deep sniffs from Cujo, the green dog began whining as he shrank to a more appropriate size for a puppy.
“Okay that's cute,” Peter said as he watched Cujo whine frantically, somewhere between being excited to be reunited with Danny and devastated by how hurt he was.
As the crying pup became more distressed, Danny sat down and scooped him up. He pressed the small ghost dog close to him, the crying and sniffing of the pup easing up as Danny rocked back and forth. “I missed you too.”
Peter smiled, feeling through the mark the relief and comfort provided by the pup. He nodded to Fury, who reholstered his weapon and signaled to his men to do the same.
Fury rubbed his brow, “And now there's a ghost dog?”
Peter shrugged. “We were actually expecting that one. Just didn't know how long it would take one pup to travel interdimensionally,” he laughed, but Fury didn't. Ignoring the awkward air, he turned to Dorathea, “Thats actually our plan for getting you home, but…” He let his words trail off.
“Oh, I don't mind waiting a bit longer in this case. Poor Cujo has been waiting for this moment for many years now. You should have seen him when Danny first,” she seemed to catch herself and, with a flustered face, skipped over what she had been about to say, “It was all anyone could do to keep him in the ghost zone. Pointdexter even tried taking him beyond the Far Frozen in an attempt to distract the pup. I believe Wulf had to go bring him back to the Ghost Zone several times.”
Peter took note of these names, storing them in his mind for later. “Sounds like a good boy.”
Dorathea nodded. “He's always been quite fond of Danny. Even back when the pooch first formed, he took to him almost instantly.”
Peter smiled. It was nice, hearing something positive about Danny’s past for a change. As he listened to her tell more of how much the pup had been trying to escape everyone's watchful eyes in an attempt to get to Danny, Peter began to wonder more of how bad the situation had been. Danny had told him some of what had been done to him, though both from his injuries and from his own admission, Peter knew much of the story had been excluded. Even the heavily cencored details of the multiple sessions of vivisection Danny had described were horrific enough to imagine that Peter was secretly thankful to not need to sleep for the time being. He considered again the blood blossoms, his mind recalling the bloodied sores he’d seen. The unnaturally loud voice Danny had used to call for Cujo, who was currently doing an exaggerated whine as if he was telling the halfa off for boeing gone, echoed throughout his head. He realised that Danny’s inability to talk was entirely intentional, presumably to prevent him from using a power he’d yet to show them. Peter, however, knew exactly which one it was thanks to a certain ghost book.
This lingered in his mind as Mr. Stark returned to the main warehouse space, no longer in his suit and followed by a couple of SHEILD agents. One of them was escorting the woman that Anya had prevented from using the red orb. Her head hung low and her arms were cuffed behind her back. She caught him watching her, but her solemn expression didn’t change.
Dorathea gave a small curtsey to Mr. Stark as he returned. “You must be the metal one.” She smiled, “You look far kinder without your suit.”
Mr Stark gave her his famous flirtatious smile as he said, “I could say the same about you and your dragon form.” He then jerks a thumb towards Danny and Cujo, “Is that the teleporting pup we’ve been waiting on?”
Danny looked up, still clutching Cujo close to him. Cujos whining turned into a deep growl, one louder and more powerful than it looked he should be capable of. “Hey no, that's Stark he's cool.” Danny gently scolded. Cujo stopped growling, but kept a suspicious eye on Mr. Stark. “He made it,” Danny said with a smile. No one commented on his puffy eyes.
“That, pup, about gave everyone here a damn heart attack.” Fury crossed his arms and scolded as if this had all been Mr. Starks fault.
Mr. Stark looked between Cujo and Fury, then raised a brow as he looked to Peter. “Did I miss something?”
“You missed the grand entrance of Cujo, the big green dog.” Peter shrugged dramatically. “Truly a sight to see, one 10 foot glowing green dog, turned to this,” he gestured to the now tiny dog. Danny instantly played along, lifting Cujo up as if to showcase the transformation.
Mr. Stark snorted, “I'm sure the wizard will be glad to know that the dimension hopping dog made it in 4 days.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “So, your guys got that creepy glowing thing taken care of?”
Fury made a scrunched face, as if talking to Mr. Stark was the lowest on the list if things he wanted to do that day. “Spidergirl is giving our team the run down of what happened and is escorting the object to a high security vault.”
Danny made a face. “I say smash it and burry the prices,” the halfa grumped. Cujo yipped as in agreement. “I didn't think you guys would have one of those here.”
Fury narrowed his eyes, or rather just the one eye, and Peter felt that he'd soon be playing intermediary again. “So you've encountered this before?”
Danny, visibly annoyed, floated up as to be eye to eye with Fury. Peter felt his stomach drop as irritation flowed out from the mark. “Oh, I'm sorry, should I tell every person I meet my biggest weaknesses?” Cujo, for the first time since his arrival, was silent.
“All these new ghost incidents and none of them are matching to the reports you provided the Avengers.” Fury didn't seem the least bit intimidated by Danny, which was fair, but Peter still felt that taking an accusatory tone with the halfa was a bad plan.
“You guys didn't know shit till I told you.”
“And yet you're leaving so much out, makes it hard to know if we can actually trust you.”
Oddly enough, Peter got the sense that Danny was relieved by not being trusted. He'd have to ask about that later. “I told you guys how to make ghost weapons.” Danny plopped Cujo onto his shoulder, holding the pup like a parrot. “What do you want from me?”
“I want to know if you're a danger to the people of this world.” Fury stayed confident and firm.
“Are you a danger to me?” Danny's question didn't really surprise Peter, but the undertone of a threat did. He caught Mr. Stark basking in the argument, clearly unsurprised and enjoying the scene. Dorathea had stepped back, her face calm and disinterested, as if she had been expecting this though hadn't been looking forward to it.
“And if I am?” Furys question was met with Danny's eyes becoming fully green.
Peter decided it was time for him to step in. “Okay, no one's threatening anyone, right? Right.” He put a hand on Danny's non occupied shoulder. “Furys not gonna do anything to you, he's just a worry wart.”
“Excuse me, Spiderman?”
He pointed dramatically, “You heard me. Worry wart. A wart full of worries.” He shrugged as he fully inserted himself between the pair. “On one side you've got SHEILD, tasked with protecting the world, who are totally freaked by,” he pretended to check a notebook he didn't actually have, “one interdimensional ghost king,” he looked to Danny as if just now noticing him, then looked to the fake notebook again before looking back to Fury, “I don't know, seems pretty small to me.”
“Hey!” Danny complained.
“Spiderman, would it kill you to take this seriously?”
“Yes, yes it would.” He looked back to his fake notebook, “Now on the other side, we've got Danny, at least 14,” he checked the halfa, “Pretty sure that's supposed to say 10-”
“-Hey!”
“Summoned to a different dimension, against his will.” He nodded to Fury, “Provided much needed information on ghosts despite Being one himself. Knows very little about, anyone, here, yet is still willing to help.” Peter dramatically closed the non existent notebook. “I say we've got a classic case of distrust on our hands, don't you think Ironman?”
Mr Stark shook his head. “I think you need to chill with the theatrics.” He crossed his arms and addressed Fury, “See what I told you?”
He nodded. “Your report tracks. Spiderman basically functions as his babysitter.”
“I am not a baby!”
“I am not his babysitter.”
They were ignored. “For now, I'll take your word on the matter, Stark. But I want to be updated on any more ghost activity.” He turned to Danny. “My apologies for testing you like that, just wanted To confirm that Starks summary of you was accurate.” He took out another baby pudding and tossed it to the halfa.
Danny took it and eyed both the man and the snack suspiciously. “More baby food?”
“Do you not want it?”
“Stop trying to take my snacks,” Danny pulled his hand Back as if the pudding was actually in danger of being taken away.
Fury shook his head before turning to address him, “As for you Spiderman, I understand that your team isn't a part of the Avengers, but I'll be looking to you if he pulls anything.”
Peter shrugged. “I've got nothing if he goes after your pens.”
“What?”
Mr Stark shook his head As he patted Furys shoulder and began to lead him away. Peter caught The words, bribe, and energy drinks from their conversation. He was glad that his benefactor had decided this meeting had gone on long enough.
“You always have the most interesting problems,” Dorathea shook her head.
“Hey,” Danny protested, “I didn't even do anything that time!”
Cujo yipped, far happier sounding this time. Peter shook his head. Whatever was to come next, he got the feeling it was going to be weird.

Chapter Text

Danny paced back and forth in the room, the same one he'd been treated in multiple times now. It had only been a couple days, but he still felt drained from the fight. He had to keep his ice on the ceiling long enough for everyone to finish their investigation and clear out. Only once he'd been given the go ahead did he release it, and moments later the roof caved in. Even he hadn't realized the extent of the damage from Dorathea smashing into the ceiling, but he shrugged It off as if he had been aware his ice had been the only thing holding the building together. That said, Peter figured out from his surprise that he hadn't known, but he chose not to say anything.
For the first time since he’d gotten to the Avenger’s tower, he was purposefully unattended. His knight was only a few floors away, working with Stark on more AE as well as various other projects they’d had since before his summoning. Miles, Anya, and Gwen were all back at WEB working with Grady on their more normal projects. Harry was handling some business at Oscorp, not that anyone had told Danny what that was. Finally Amadeus was doing some sort of hero work elsewhere. This left him no one to properly mess with.
There had been another meeting, after a much needed play session with Cujo before he took Dora home. He had detailed what little he remembered of the incident with Freakshow, much to some of the more serious members of the Avenger’s annoyance. He was still a bit touchy about Nat getting on him for how much he didn’t actually know about what had happened. He did, however, appreciate how she hadn’t pressed him when he’d told of how he'd broken out of the control only once he’d had the staff himself and his friend was in danger. He didn't want to elaborate on how he'd managed to save Sam then, only to fail to save her later.
He wanted to know if the investigation teams had found anything, but he'd quickly figured out he was being excluded from these proceedings. Peter, having felt his frustration, promised him this was to give him time to heal and recuperate. He'd protested, but eventually had to concede when Dr. Cho threatened to tell May that he was giving her trouble.
He was supposed to be taking it easy, chilling in the room watching some movie he could have sworn had a different cast, but he couldn't. A crumpled note in his fist was the current object of his worries.
Come home, little badger
It had been tucked in Cujos collar, tied carefully as to not be easily seen or knocked off. He'd found it right after the pup had appeared, and had slipped it into his pocket. He wanted Cujo to come back, but he prayed that he came back alone. Stark had asked him if Cujo would return immediately after completing his task, or if he'd wander around now that he knew Danny's whereabouts. Danny couldn't begin to answer that, as the ghost dog had always more or less come and go as he pleased. No one had liked that answer, but that had become pretty ordinary for him.
What would he do if Vlad came? There was no way he could return with him, or all his initial efforts would have been for nothing. He couldn't risk becoming that evil version of himself, the very thought of it pulled at his core. He pocketed the note.
“You good?” Peter's voice came from the speaker overhead. His knight was nosy.
“I'm bored,” Danny complained. It wasn't his main problem, but it carried the message that he didn't want to talk about what he was actually thinking.
“Leave the pens alone.” Stark's voice warned.
He smiled. “No.” Against Dr. Cho’s orders, he transformed into his ghostly self and promptly went invisible. He didn't actually have any intentions of messing with pens, this time, but he did leave the room as if that were his intention. He walked around, wandering through the tower unseen, using the slow monotony of work to get his mind off of Vlad. It wasn't working, but at least he wasn't pacing in the room anymore.
After a few random elevator rides, he didn't feel like phasing through the walls, Danny found something that seemed mildly entertaining. Steve Rogers, a so called Captain America, was struggling with a vending machine. He snuck closer, seeing that the man was trying to find where to insert the change for his drink, but was failing. With a glance he figured out why. Grinning, Danny flew up to the top of the machine, sitting himself comfortably with his legs crossed.
A small, displeased grunt left Steve's mouth just before Danny revealed himself. “Ah! You!” Steve dropped multiple coins before he recomposed himself and pointed at Danny.
“Me.” Danny laughed. He leaned forward and pointed at the card reader, “It doesn't take coins, by the way.” He smirked.
Steve frowned. “Tony would put one like that here.” As he picked up his coins, he asked, “What are you doing up there?”
“Watching you.”
“Been there the whole time?”
“No, did I miss something funny?”
That got him a smile from the man. “Just me struggling with this.” He sighed. “You said card only?”
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “What kind of vending machine doesn't take coins?”
“These weird future ones.” Steve put his coins back into a much and pulled out a wallet from which he produced a card. “Can't go looking for lost coins to get a treat anymore.”
“Aw man, that sucks.” Danny complained before humming. “I heard you were from the past or something?”
Steve gave an awkward laugh as he filled with the card reader. “1945, was frozen for 66 years.”
“Yikes.” He held his chest, hoping it was subtle. “I bet these weird things got you more than they did me.”
“Oh yeah?” The man gave him a look. “Was your world not like this?”
He shook his head. “I think it was only 2011 when I left, but I hadn't really been in the world since 2006.”
The man pondered his words as he pressed the buttons to select his drink. “Still a culture shock, I'm sure.” He smiled. “Did the helicarrier surprise you too?”
“The heli what now?” Steve got a smirk on his face as he briefly detailed the SHEILD carrier, and how not only was it massive, but also able to completely conceal itself as it flew. When he said it was nearby, Danny gawked. “I have got to see that.” He debated going to look for it right then, but he knew Peter would be mad at him.
Two thunks sounded as Steve's order fell. He retrieved them, one Coke and one energy drink. He passed the later to him, “I hear you like these.”
“Thank you.” He took it and drank it happily. Ever since Kevin had given him one he had decided that energy drinks were great. “I like the way they make my heart feel.”
“Kids aren't supposed to have a lot of those.”
“I'm not a kid,” he grinned, “I'm a corpse.”
Steve shook his head. “Your jokes are dark, kid.”
“No one here appreciates my humor.” He waved his arms, as if gesturing to the whole world.
“Did they laugh back in your world?”
He slumped, holding the drink. “Nah, they hated them.” He smiled, a more sad one this time. “The one time I made one in front of Jazz she hit me for it.”
“Oh?”
Danny realized he had accidently turned the conversation in an unpleasant direction. He overcompensating for the downward mood by puffing his chest and forcing a laugh that ended up a bit too loud. “I deserved it.”
Steve gave him a suspicious look as he drank his soda. “What was the joke?”
This time his laugh was genuine. “I called her mean for not coming to my funeral.” He paraphrased the joke.
“I can see why she hit you.”
“Hey!”
Steve motioned for him to get off the vending machine and follow him. Danny complied. “Did you actually have a funeral for her to even miss?”
“Yup. Was super nice, flowers and everything.” He finished his drink and tossed the can in the first line of trashcans they passed. “The grave was kinda thrown together though, my friends got me a little headstone and buried a jar with some of my hair under it.”
“Did you, attend your own funeral?”
“Of course.” He stopped walking and began floating as to be closer to Steve's head. “I joke but that was actually really important to me.” He shrugged. “Helped kinda come to terms with the whole, half dead thing.”
“I see.” He directed Danny to one of the training rooms, this one fitted with numerous targets at varying heights. “Has Dr. Cho cleared you for more combat?”
He considered lying, but got the feeling that the man would be able to tell instantly. “Not really. Technically she doesn't even want me doing this,” he gestured to his current floating, “But it's comfier like this.” He wasn't sure how much others knew of his condition. Dr. Cho had waited outside of the meeting room to catch him right after it ended, and had openly scolded him for pushing himself. His protests that he had mostly used the devices Spiderman had made him were ignored.
“That doesn't surprise me.” He gave him a nod, “Want to stick around while I work on this?” Steve picked up a circular shield with red, white and blue paint around it and a white star in its center.
Danny shrugged. “Whatcha doing?”
“This.” Steve flung the shield like a frisbee, bouncing it off of four of the shields, each changing the trajectory till the last one sent it right back to his arm.
Danny cheered excitedly, “How'd you do that?!”
Steve laughed as he explained vibranium and the properties it added to the shield, as well as telling him that the rest was all practice. Danny listened and watched more demonstrations as Steve practiced. He was glad he'd left the room, finding this far more entertaining than the movie he'd been watching.
After the shield sliced through a number of the targets, Steve sat his shield down and set about taking down the broken ones. Danny tried helping, but was brushed off. “You shouldn't be exerting yourself.”
Danny grumped. He wished Dr. Cho hadn't caught him right in front of everyone. “I'm not that injured.” He was mostly healed anyway, Sort of.
Steve gave him a skeptical look as he let one of the targets drop to the floor, with a much louder and more solid sound than he'd been expecting. “That's not what I heard.”
Danny frowned and stopped floating, landing on the floor. There was a darkness To the mans voice he hadn't been expecting, and he figured he knew exactly why it was there. “You know, don't you?”
Steve nodded and pointed to a bench along one side of the wall. Danny sighed and followed, sitting next to Steve in a new, strange air he hadn't been prepared for. Danny hugged his knees to his chest, taking comfort in the position, even if he knew it wouldn't actually help.
“How many of you guys know?” He didn't mean to sound harsh, but he didn't want everyone knowing of his torment. It was one thing for them to know he was weak and injured, it was another for them to know the extent and the why.
“Other than Tony and the doctors, I think it's just me.” Steve sighed, “Though I wouldn't be surprised if the others figure it out.”
Danny groaned. “You didn't act like you knew.”
The man shrugged. “You hadn't told me.” Then he sighed. “You're a tough kid.”
He laughed, small and humorless. “If I were just a kid I wouldn't have made it.”
“Doesn't change that you're tough.” Steve looked at him, respect drawn across his face. “You're doing good, thank you.”
Danny tilted his head, “I, don't,” he shook his head, “I don't know what I did.”
That got a real laugh from the soldier. “After all that, you've been helping us. Giving us information, aiding in battle, giving Charon some greif.”
“She deserved it.” Danny hugged his legs tighter. “I've barely done anything. Its everyone else that's helping me so much. From putting me back together to giving me the artificial ectoplasm, It's a lot.”
Steve nodded. “It was a lot for me too.” Danny waited, open to hearing the story but not willing to ask for it. After some silence, Steve began his tale. Danny listened quietly, staying silent as he learned of how and why Steve had been frozen in the ice for so long, and what happened when he was thawed out. “They had a game playing on the radio, and that was my tell that something was wrong. I had actually been to that exact game, so I knew I was being lied to. I fled, then found myself in the future, from my perspective anyway.” He concluded his story with his difficulties in adapting, but his gratitude for all the help he received.
They stayed silent for a moment. Then, Danny said, “I ran off too.” When Steve gave him a look, he added, “From here.”
“Was this back when you first got here?”
“You say that like it's been so long,” Danny chuckled. “Yeah, I don't remember most of it. I was disoriented and drugged to hell and back.” He didn't look at Steve as he spoke, he didn't really look at anything. “For the first time in years, I wasn't restrained. Strange had sealed most of my power, but even with that I could still use some of it. I couldn't transform, but I could still use invisibility and intangibility.”
“I've heard Dr. Strange struggled with your power, even with your condition.”
“Perks of being the king, I guess.” He sighed. “Everythings so different here. I knew I wasn't home, but I didn't really expect to be anyway. I secretly hitched rides from several different vehicles, I didn't really know where I was going.
I went away from all the taller buildings, and I found myself at Peter's. May found me, and I don't know, she was nice.”
“I doubt she knows it, but May Parker is something of a legend amongst the Avengers.” Danny raised a brow, prompting Steve to continue. “A few years back there was an alien invasion, and she gathered and led those who hadn't been taken over by the symbiotes.” He shuddered a bit as he spoke, but Danny didn't ask about it.
“You're reality is weird.”
“Ah, what, yours hasn't ever been invaded by aliens?” Steve laughed. “Aliens, gods, robots, magic, it feels like the world just keeps getting weirder and weirder, but you know, it kind of grows on you.”
Danny smiled. “I've noticed.” He was going to say something more when a yawn escaped him.
“Have I bored you already?”
“No,” he protested. “Its just,” he tried to shake off his sleepiness. “I get tired, randomly and quickly.”
“Have you told this to Dr. Cho?” Steve's smile faded to a pinched look of concern.
He shrugged. “Haven't really told anyone, but it's not like it's a secret.” His sleeping multiple days straight and passing out randomly had been clue enough that this was happening. “I don't think it's my human half that's the problem anymore, everythings about as normal as it can get,” the scar tissue was probably an issue, but he chose not to vocalize it, “So I think the problem is with my ghost half.”
“I've noticed that you've halted your efforts to replenish your strength.” It wasn't entirely true, he was still drinking ectoplasm as of it were water, but he wasn't actively absorbing energy as he had been in preparation for dealing with Dora.
Danny thought on his response. “They've got me drinking the AE that was stored at WEB, since it's had time to absorb some emotions,” he briefly detailed the problem he'd been having, “Starks got more for me, but we're waiting for it to, not be blank?” He shook his head. “It'll probably be fine.”
“You aren't worried about the cult group? Or more ghosts?”
Danny smiled, “Not really.” He rocked slightly as he held his knees, “Bigger problems, remember?”
Steve tousled his hair, much like May had done. “You're a good kid.”
He made a show of fixing his bangs. He thought about arguing, about telling him he wasn't all that good, or that he wasn't a kid. It seemed like no one in this world thought of him as a monster, or as dangerous. Well, Harry had been wary of him, and Fury was concerned as well, but it felt like no one was as skeptical as they should be. He was the ghost king, he was an unknown from another world, surely that had to be enough of a reason to be cautious? The more he learned of this world, however, the more he realized none of the heros were unaccustomed to the unusual. Even with everything, they still viewed him as a child.
So, instead of his usual jokes or defenses, he said, “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

Danny frowned at the forms. Name? Age? Address? “These questions are impossible.”
Peter crossed his arms as he leaned against the table. “Danny, 14, and just put our house.”
“He needs a last name.” Tony rolled his eyes. He and Peter looked expectantly at him.
Danny sat the pen down, frowning. “I'm just, Danny.” He pushed the papers closer to Peter. He didn't want to fill them out.
“Sure, sure.” Tony shrugged. “You're a shit liar.” Danny disagreed. “Pajamas, what'd May say?”
At this his ears perked. Danny was itching to be out of the tower, but there had been some finalizing things keeping him tied. Mostly refining adding emotions into the ectoplasm, and Dr. Cho trying to figure out the cause of his exhaustion. He had an idea, but he wasn't going to voice it. There wasn't anything anyone could do about it if his suspicions were right.
“Yeah, about that.” Peter hesitated, glancing down at Danny. “She's totally fine with it, even the whole cover story.”
Now it was Peter's turn to receive a look. “Just say it,” he instructed his knight.
“I think this is a terrible idea.” He waved his arms. Frankly, Danny agreed. It was incredibly dangerous for a halfa to be anywhere, much less a school. How many times had Casper High been attacked because of him? Tony motioned for Peter to continue, and he did, “This is too dangerous. That cult is still out there, we barely know any more than we did last time, and if he goes to school I can't-”
“-Cool it pj's.” Tony shook his head. “Were not tossing him into school with no thought behind it.”
They had asked his thoughts on this, and he had told them it was a terrible plan. He still believed that. He wasn't in the best state, mentally or physically, to be going to school. No one even cared that he'd already been to high-school, not that he'd finished but that wasn't the point.
It had been Dr. Strange, oddly, that had convinced him this would be beneficial. He could learn the differences between the historis of the two worlds, as well as feed off more emotions. Danny had to admit, it was an appealing idea.
“This feels so rushed. Also,” he pointed to his arm, once again equipped with an IV, “Won't this be a problem too?”
Tony rolled his eyes. “No, it won't.” He scoffed, like their concerns were trivial. “The plan is simple, he starts off going once a week, Saturday school,” despite being the subject of the conversation, Tony addressed Peter. Danny sat quietly, like a child listening to their parents plan something they were going to have no say in. It was odd, though, considering he was very capable of telling them no. “Then, as he improves and adjusts more, hopefully enough by the actual start of school, he can attend more and more, eventually going on a normal schedule.”
He yawned. “Dr. Cho wants me to keep this in till I stop passing out after using my ice.” He again gestured to the IV. It wasn't just his ice, anything that took too much energy caused him trouble. The ice just happened to be the most taxing after his wail, which he didn't dare use yet. Even when he was actually trying to take it easy, it seemed he'd fall asleep. That couldn't be good in a learning environment.
“Easy, medicine for a mutant, remember?” Tony winked.
“Its green,” Peter protested.
“Yes.” Tony stood firm.
“What even are my powers supposed to be?” He groaned.
“Legally, you don't have to tell people that. So, do with that what you will.” Tony, like Peter, crossed his arms.
Danny let his head fall on the table. For theatrics more than anything. He picked himself up and looked at the two heros. “Why did I agree to this?”
“Boredom, I think.” Tony shrugged, then motioned for Peter.
He nodded. “Are you okay with Parker? For a last name? Either way, we can tell everyone you're my cousin.”
Danny blinked. He could tell the offer meant a lot to his knight, and he felt a twinge of guilt at not having cared more for choosing a last name. It wasn't that he didn't like his, or no longer identified with it, but he just wasn't ready to hear it again. Sure, it had been years, but the hurt from the loss still thrummed through his core, like an echo that would never fade.
He took the form back, writing out ‘Danny Parker.’ It looked odd, foreign And not yet him. “Thank you.”
Peter leaned over and ruffled his bangs, as it seemed everyone loved to do. “Fair warning, not all of the teachers like me.”
Danny snorted. “Oh, sure, now you tell me.”
The forms were basic information, things that you'd need for an identity. Then there were permission forms, things like was he allowed to be photographed and can he go on field trips. May had already signed them. He figured this was what she had in the works. he came to a blank space, where he could put any medical history the school might need to know.
Once again he pushed the form to Peter, who took it this time. “Yeah, pretty Sure this is going in the 504.” He scribbled a note on there.
“I'm not telling an admin what happened.” Danny hugged his chest, trying to be subtle about it but knowing that he wasn't. “And the ghost deal is secret too.”
“I wasn't born yesterday, Pipsqueak,” Tony shook his head. “We already worked it out with the school and SHEILD. The school knows you're injured, they know you're in treatment, and they don't need to know more.”
Peter flipped through the forms, stopping on the outline of his proposed schedule. “Saturday school with, Ms. Marconi?” Peter smiled. “That's kinda perfect.”
Tony took the paper and looked at the name. “She's been doing supervision for another student in Saturday school, she's already certified by SHEILD.”
“What’s that mean?” Danny asked, not following any of what was said.
“It means we can trust her.” Tony sat the forms back down.
“I could have told you that,” Peter smirked. “Anna Maria's great, you'll like her.”
Danny gave his knight a suspicious look, “I don't know, your judgment is questionable.” Peter fainned being insulted, and he continued his joke, “You are way too comfortable being tied to the ghost king after all.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “What? You gonna turn evil on us?”
“I could,” he protested, as if the insinuation that he couldn't was actually insulting instead of his dream, “You don't know.”
“Sure yeah whatever kid.” He caught a look from Tony, one that Danny filed under definitely hiding something. Maybe he was wrong, and at least one more hero was healthily wary of him. That was a good thing, and it served to ease his concerns a touch.
Peter looked at his phone, “May says she's ready whenever we are.”
Danny's nerves took him again. “Is it time to go?”
Tony shrugged. “You've got your stuff?”
Peter answered for him, “I got it all packed up this morning.” He wondered if his knight ever slept. Peter pointed to the bag that had once held the medicine from Frostbite. Having finished the medicine, it now held some of the clothes he'd been given, as well as both a writing and drawing notebook, and some pens he had been given. As for the ecto bracers, Danny wore those as bracelets. When they weren't active, they looked like black watch bands.
“So, just.” Danny stood, taking a drink of his AE that he may or may not have mixed with a couple of energy drinks. “School? Like, as if I'm a normal kid?”
Tony put the forms into a tan folder and lightly bonked him on the head with it before giving it to Peter. “Yes. And we will handle the cult.” The began making their way to the door. “You focus on recovery.”
He groaned. “That's all I've been doing.”
“Liar.” Both his knight and Tony said. He rolled his eyes. Peter took the bag of Danny's things and shouldered it, not allowing him even the chance to carry it himself. He felt like they were sheltering him, like they'd gotten what they needed from him and now viewed him only as the injured boy that, despite his protests, needed their help.
It wasn't an inaccurate thing for him to think. Technically he had given them everything they needed to fight ghosts. They had what they needed, and they were giving him what he needed, not what he wanted. He wanted to feel like himself again, to feel like he could handle his own, like he could contribute more to the battle than bluffs and minimal support. Suddenly being sidebarred felt jarring. Preparing for Dorathea had given him a distraction that, while not perfect, had helped him progress closer to being his normal self.
He hugged his chest. That's not true, he thought. He'd never be what he considered normal again.
Peter ruffled his hair. “It'll be fine.” He didn't believe his knight.
They met May and Dr. Cho in the lobby, which was mostly empty save for a few people at the Cafe. Nay smiled and waved them over. “Hey boys!” She called.
Danny waved back silently, and Peter darted over, cheery and excited. Tony gave him a small nudge. He hadn't realized he'd slowed.
“Its good to see you again, May.”
“Same to you Tony.” She turned to him, “Helen was telling me some of how you've been.”
He eyed Dr. Cho suspiciously, to which she said, “I was updating her on your progress. You've come a long way but still have a ways to go before you're fully recovered. We were discussing your frequent exhaustion and what she might expect going forward.” There was a slight edge to her tone that let him know that she hadn't revealed too much.
“The naps, they call to me.” He feigned a yawn.
Peter rolled his eyes. May grinned, “Are you ready?”
No. “Yeah.”
The goodbyes were pleasant, probably. Danny's mind felt disconnected. There were jokes about pens, warnings about overexertion, excitement to be leaving the tower. He wanted to leave the tower. He wanted to go back to May's house. He had agreed to go to school. Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine. Probably.
“Danny?” His eyes snapped forward. They were walking outside, and were waiting on the sidewalk, though not at a crosswalk. May waved her phone as she spoke, “Have you ever taken an Uber before?”
“That sounds like slang for drugs.” His knight Face palmed.
May chuckled as she shook her head. “No, it's like a taxi.” On cue, a dark van that was very much not a taxi pulled up to them and lowered the passenger side window. “May Parker?” A man asked.
“That's me.” May checked her phone screen before eying the vehicle. She then nodded, and Peter opened the backseat passenger door, then waited for May to crawl in, before gesturing for him to do the same.
Unsure but trusting the Parkers, he slid in and took the middle seat. While the lack of space would have made it an undesirable spot, Danny was thankful that his belt didn't go across the chest. He caught a look from the driver, who eyed his green IV bag that he sat in his lap. He held eye contact till the man looked away. After his knight entered, the Man spoke again. “Midown?”
“Yes please.” Then, May leaned to him, “You doing okay?”
He nodded, his voice leaving him. It had been easier in the Tower, he realized. There he had cracked jokes, talked to strangers, pulled pranks. All, however, in his ghost form. Now as a human everything was too much. The eyes, the movement, the pain. He was sore, even healed the scar tissue left a memory of all he had felt and it lingered in his body. He hugged his chest.
May and Peter talked, while he and the driver remained quiet. Danny listened as his knight told stories of his brief stint at the tower, how he worked on a few of their joint tech projects while waiting for the treatment to take hold. He spared the technical details, and left out the ghost hunting and Avengers business.
There were far more cars here than in Amity. He was surprised everything kept going with the amount of cars on the road. The only time he'd seen so many people driving at once back home was whenever there was an event, like the Humpty Dumpty concert, and everyone in town decided to drive to it. It made him feel small, somehow.
Soon their ride was over, and they thanked the driver as they got out in front of a brickwork building that was larger than he had anticipated for a school. Had he not seen a real castle before he would have likened the building to one. He readjusted the iv bag on his shoulder, glad that Dr. Cho had agreed to keep letting him wear it that way, even if he didn't want to wear it at all.
“We won't be too long, we just need to drop the forms off at the office, and if Anna Maria is still in, maybe we can see her for a minute.” May spoke as if this were a normal activity. Was this normal?
Peter patted his shoulder, his phone in hand. “Her student left a few minutes ago, but she's still hanging around waiting for us.”
“I didn't know you had her number.” May commented as they entered, then waited to be let into the office.
“Of course.” Peter shrugged.
May spoke to the woman who had buzzed them in, explaining what they were here to do. Danny bit the inside of his lip in lue of holding his chest. They nodded their thanks to the woman who took the forms from Peter. She smiled, “it's good to meet you, Danny.”
He nodded. “Its good to meet you too.” He hadn't caught her name.
The school was nearly empty. Not a living soul could be seen, but the sound of shoes running in a gym echoed through the halls. From his understanding, school had yet to start in full, but some activities and programs were already going. As Peter led them through the building, Danny pretended to be looking around.
He was actually just looking at the various ghosts.
The ghosts of this world felt fragile to be around, like they might disappear entirely at a moment's notice. They lacked the ability to manipulate ectoplasm, and had very little power. So little, he wasn't sure they had any power at all. The ghosts he'd seen had Been few and far between, but not at Midtown High. Here, numerous young ghosts lined the halls. The school was clearly a popular haunt, and his arrival was not unnoticed by them.
“Whos he?”
“He can see us?”
“Of course he can”
“That's the king”
“Theres a king?”
“The king is a child?”
“Whats he doing with Parker?”
“Do you think he knows?”
“Him or Parker?”
“We have a king?”
Their gossip swirled around him, and he did his best to pretend not to hear it. An older ghost in a janitorial uniform shooed the others away when they began to approach. “Scram now, all of you. Can't you see these guys are busy?” The older ghost turned and gave him a wink.
He flashed his eyes green and gave what he hoped was a subtle nod of thanks. With a wave the ghost left, and the rest of their trek ti was done with far more subtle ghostly gossip.
They made it to a door that was propped open.
Peter, still in the lead, knocked on the open door. “Anna Maria?”
“Hey Peter.” Danny followed along with May as his knight assured them into the room. Anna Maria, evidently, welcomed them into the science classroom with a warm smile, stern eyes, and a suspicious air that Danny couldn't place. She had dwarfism, making her the first person shorter than Danny that he'd met since being summoned. She said her hellos to May before looking him up and down. “And you must be Danny. I'm Anna Maria Macroni.”
She reached out her hand and he took it, surprised a bit by her firm handshake. “Hi.”
May ruffled his hair. “Thank you again, Anna Maria. I'm sure this arrangement will make school far more manageable.”
“Of course.” Danny tried not to eye the ghost behind her, who crossed his arms and gave him a curt look. Anna Maria continued, “It'll be nice to have another student.” She turned to him, “You'll have just the one classmate for now, but you both will be working on different things. For the time being, you and I are going to figure out where to place you, that sound good?” He nodded.
“He's kinda shy,” Peter joked, “But he gets over it pretty quickly.”
“Hey.” He protested. The ghost rolled his eyes.
“Its perfectly natural to be uncomfortable in a new situation,” Anna Maria made her way to her desk and pulled out some files. She flipped through them as she spoke, “It takes time for everyone to adjust, especially when where They were before wasn't the easiest.” Her comment was purposefully vague, intended to convey that she was aware of his past but wouldn't ask about it. Danny bit his lip harder. Peter patted his shoulder.
“And, it's perfectly okay for him to take everything at his own pace?” May said, her tone more so letting him know this comment was for him as opposed to a real question.
Anna Maria answered, also knowing that this wasn't something May was curious about. “Yes, we'll go at whatever pace you're comfortable with, there's no need to rush things.”
“Thats good to-” Mays phone began to ring, she apologized and checked it, her face gaining a mildly shocked look. “Oh, that's Miles, I'd better take this. I'm so sorry, I'll just be outside a minute.” May answered the call and stepped out of the classroom. As her voice quieted, Danny realized the atmosphere in the room had changed.
He looked again to the teacher, then to his knight. Anna Maria crossed her arms and gave Peter a stern look. “Your cousin, Peter?”
“Hey, it's a perfectly good cover story.” Peter raised his arms in mock protest.
“Not when SHEILD has their own file of him.” She pulled out another file from under the papers she'd been looking through. “My clearance barely even let's me know this exists.” She opened and turned the file to them, showing a sheet that was almost entirely censored. The only things that weren't were Danny's name, just his first, a description of his human form, and a note about being bonded to Peter Parker. While he wasn't happy about the existence of the document, he was glad they had the sense not to tell everyone who he was. “What is going on here, really?”
Danny decided Peter was right, he did like her. He looked to his knight, who gave a short nod. Oh. He thought. She knows.
He flashed his eyes green to her, pulling a small gasp from her. “I'm from a different universe.”
Peter ruffled his hair, and Danny wondered if this would be his new go to whenever he freaked people out. As annoying as if was getting, it did well to diffuse concern. “Basically some group summoned him here, oh he's half ghost by the way, and now he's living with us.”
Anna Maria stared at them as her face began to shift from disbelief to annoyance. “Later, I'd appreciate the full story.”
Danny shrugged. “Same.”
“Why school? Why Midtown?”
“I don't know this world.” He admitted. “And I'm bored.” He tried to say that part as a joke, but she didn't laugh.
“Were in this district, it's a good school, and there's SHEILD certified teachers here.” Peter gestured to Both Anna Maria and the space they were in.
“What does that mean anyway?”
“It means I'm allowed to know the bare minimum of SHEILD related business if it involves one of my students.” She folded the file back up and put it and most of what she'd been going through back into her drawer. “Which, as you can see, wasn't much at all.” She opened a drawer and pulled out another folder, this one a plastic green with enough paper that it looked about to burst. She looked back to him, “Half ghost?”
He shrugged. “Half human, half ghost. Alive and dead, both and neither.” He ignored the way the other ghost’s face pinched at his explanation. “Its, complicated.”
She considered his words. She looked to Peter, who gave her a nod with a reassuring smile. “Alright then.” She accepted. She then handed the folder to Danny. It was heavy. “Your, complicated, situation aside for a moment, this is a grade assessment packet. Just in case it starts from elementary and goes through to the 12th grade. If somethings too easy toss it, though maybe not for the history portions.”
“I did some high school, before.” He defended, as if the packet was an insinuation that he was entirely uneducated.
“And we'll see how much that'll help you in this world.” She grinned, her eyes trained to the door. “We're about set here. I've given him an assessment packet for him to work through.”
Danny turned to see May pocketing her phone. “Oh that's wonderful.” She then addressed all of them, “Are we set to go, then?”
“Actually,” he looked to the ghost before looking between Peter and Anne Maria, “Where's the bathroom?”

He followed the instructions he'd been given, leaving everyone in the classroom while he made his way to the bathroom, followed by one stern faced ghost. Once inside, and after a quick check that they were alone, Danny turned to the ghost.
“Well?”
“What on Earth is the ghost king doing hanging around Peter Parker?” The ghost spoke with an accusatory tone. “And why do I know you are the ghost king?”
He flashed his eyes, and the ghost flinched but recovered quickly, puffing his chest as if preparing to face a threat. “You know because you're a ghost.” He crossed his arms, then readjusted when the IV made the position uncomfortable. “And hes become my knight.”
“I don't understand it, but I can feel that you are an incredibly dangerous entity.” Danny didn't like being accused of being dangerous, even if it were true. “I would like to know for myself what your intentions are regarding Peter and May Parker.”
Danny eyed the ghost. He was short, a little over 5ft which was just barely taller than himself. Still, he held himself with a confidence that Danny would have envied if it were genuine. He'd noticed that the ghosts of this world didn’t undergo the same color shifting that all the other ghosts he was used to had. As such, this ghost's hair was the same brown it had likely been in life. He had a blue t-shirt over a brown long sleeve, dark jeans and sturdy shoes. He looked to be the same age Peter was now, though he couldn't be sure how long ago he had died. “I don't have any intentions. I mean,” he didn't know how to answer the ghost. “I didn't mean to be here, then May found me, and Peter, and…” He hugged his chest. It hurt.
“Perhaps, I should rephrase.” The ghost looked him up and down, though no longer with the eyes of someone assessing a potential danger. “You do not intend to harm them, correct?”
“Of course not.”
“You said Parker had become your knight, would you elaborate?”
“He,” Danny felt his cheeks flush with a twinge of embarrassment. “He promised to protect me.” He was the king. He was supposed to be strong, he was supposed to be the one protecting.
“And that made him your knight?” Danny answered with a nod. The ghost sighed. “The more I look at you, the more I realize that you are, how should I say,” he held his chin, “Fragile? Weakend?” His eyes lingered on the IV. Danny twisted a touch so his arm was further away, even though it did nothing to hide it.
“I know.” He saw the curiosity and his nerves riled against it. “I don't want to talk about it.
“I imagine not.” The ghost hummed. “I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Parker protecting an, injured child, ghost king or not, is just the sort of thing that makes him a good hero.” Danny stayed quiet, and the ghost continued, “You should return, any longer and they might grow suspicious.”
He nodded, and washed his hands as though he had actually used the toilet. Before he made to leave, he asked, “Who are you?” Before the ghost answered, he added, “And who were you to Peter?”
“Otto Octavious, and I was,” he thought a moment, “his friend.” A Touch flustered, Otto shook his head. “I like to think I still am. Now, go, Daniel?”
“Danny.”
“Danny.” Otto smiled at him as he left.

They didn't take another Uber back from the school, instead they walked. Danny vaguely recalled seeing some of the area before, but it was all still basically new to him. May and Peter talked idly as they walked, letting Danny silently watch the scenery as they went. A few times he stumbled, but each time Peter caught him, played his embarrassment off with a joke, and continued on. May kept a close eye on him the entire venture, asking if he was sure he was up for it.
The offer to be carried tempted him more than he'd dare admit.
Miles met them at the house with a big wave and an even bigger smile. “How'd the meeting go?”
Danny shrugged. “She gave me homework.”
Miles laughed while bouncing on his feet, excitement rolling off him. “Maybe you won't be so bored.” They laughed, and Danny made a mental note to try and jump scare Miles again in the near future.
May and Miles nodded to each other, then to Peter. Danny froze by his knight. For a second they stood in the entryway. Then, May gently patted his shoulder. “We never really got the chance to show you around, so we're gonna give you a little tour, okay?”
“Okay.” He gave Peter a glance. His apprehension was met with a knowing grin. He looked to Ben, who stood silent in the living room beyond them. The ghost smiled and motioned as if zipping his lips. When no one was looking, he mouthed ‘traitor,’ to the ghost, who shrugged in return.
They led him around the house, noting places he'd been before, but this time giving him more details, like where the dishes were in the kitchen and where the toilet paper was stored in the bathroom. There was a new shower caddy for him. Then they led him upstairs, where May pointed out her room and informed him that should he need anything he was welcome to enter. He knew where Peter's room was, and it was obvious that the Open entrance to the attic was for Miles.
“You can go in, if you knock.” Miles crossed his arms, pretending to be mad.
He chuckled and flashed his eyes green when May looked away. Peter shook his head.
“Now, over here,” May led them to another room, a closed door he had previously thought to be where Miles' room was, before he knew his room was in the attic, but had learned was instead Ben's old office. “We put together this.”
May opened the door, revealing a simple bedroom. A twin size bed with light blue bedding, a black dresser with an old lamp atop it, and a sturdy, wooden desk with a few organizational things on top. In the corner was a stack of metal barrels he knew held artificial ectoplasm.
He looked around the space, then looked to everyone. They were waiting for his response. His core thrumed with a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. “You guys, made me a room?”
“It was Aunt May's idea,” Peter grinned.
“And I moved all the furniture.” Miles puffed his chest, proud of his work.
“This was my husband's office.” May said warmly. “When Miles came to live with us, we offered it to him then, but ultimately he chose the attic for his room.”
Miles shrugged. “Sorry shorty, I get the biggest room.”
Peter crossed his arms. “You just like the novelty of it.” His knight laughed. “With some time you can decorate it and make it how you like, but for a start, what do you think?”
It had been years since he'd had his own room. A real room. He pictured his old room, but struggled to recall the specifics. He'd had posters, space ones, but what did they look like? He had some pictures, a photo album, but he couldn't remember how they were arranged. Five years shouldn't have been long enough for him to forget his old room, but then again he was sure his brain had been cut into at one point.
It was a perfectly normal, simple room. Danny whipped some tears away from his face. He tried to answer, but couldn't really. Instead, he turned and hugged May. She gently hugged him back, petting his hair the same way his mom used too. Peter and Miles each patted his shoulders, their touch soft and carefully restrained.
“Hey now,” May whispered, “Its alright now.”
“Thank you.” He whispered back. “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

“How many alien invasions can one planet have?!” Danny expected to struggle with the history portions, but it had quickly become a game of comparison.
“Ah, what, you never had an invasion drill at your school?” Miles sat on the corner most of the desk. Occasionally he'd lean over to read Danny's answers, his face scrunching in a tell that let Danny know he'd gotten an answer wrong.
“No?” He sat the paper to the side, in a pile he'd deemed ‘Don't know' which he was annoyed with how large it was growing. “Never had any aliens.” He skimmed the next one, 9th grade English. “We started having ghost drills halfway through my freshman year though.”
“What do you do in a ghost drill?” Peter was sat on his bed, working to improve some component that looked like it was to his suit, though Danny wasn't sure. May was downstairs, so he figured whatever the device was wasn't too obvious or secret revealing.
Ben was also downstairs, having spent half the night promising that it was okay for him to be using the room.
“I don't know, leave I think.” He flipped the paper he was on, then decided he didn't want to do the spelling portion yet and sat it in another pile, one of stuff he knows but wasn't done with yet. Before moving on he scratched his head, trying to remember how the drills went. “It was kinda like a fire drill, except instead of a fire there was Mr. Lancer with a cardboard cutout of a ghost, yelling with a megaphone.”
The spiders laughed. “Did he chase you guys with it?” Miles picked up the page he'd just sorted, skimming his answers carefully despite the conversation.
“Yep.” He smiled at the memory. At the time, it had been so stupid, so pointless. The drills didn't prepare anyone for anything, but it had been a genuine effort to keep the students safe and measure them. He wished he had appreciated the care more, rather than be annoyed at the inconvenience of the activity. “One time the football team helped out. Just once though.”
“They break the cutouts or something?” Miles returned the half finished sheet to its proper pile.
“Nah, Dash shoved me in a locker and broke the lock, that part was an accident though, but he did it in Poindexters old locker, which summoned his ghost, so then it wasn't a drill anymore, and yeah, no more footballers helping out with the ghost drills after that.”
He heard Peter stop fiddling with his project. “poindexter? Dora mentioned him.”
“Oh, yeah,” Danny hummed, absently filling out a science question about energy. “I forgot those two were friends.” Miles leaned a bit too close, and Danny waved him away. He put his hands up in a dramatic surrender before continuing his efforts to read over his shoulder, albeit at a more comfortable distance.
“He went to your school?”
He nodded and moved on to the next section of the worksheet. The Segway into biology was abrupt, but so were all the topic transitions in the packet. “Sidney Poindexter, died sometime in the 1950s, famously the most bullied kid at Casper High.” He filled in a diagram of the different parts of an animal cell. “He has this thing for bullying the bullies, tried giving Dash a taste of his own medicine once, accidentally got caught by Poindexter, took forever to convince him I wasn't bullying Dash.”
“Whatd you do to Dash?”
“I,” he paused. “I don't,” he rubbed at his head. “I don't remember.” This was becoming an increasingly annoying phenomenon. His memories would be fine, and then he'd loose a detail. Some fragment of what he had known would slip away from him just before he could picture what it was. Several papers in the don't know pile were victims of this, though he didn't care about forgetting parabolas nearly as much as he cared about forgetting entire pieces of his life.
“Shout out to that time Pete was running off of half an hour of sleep and accidentally ripped the fridge door off.” Miles laughed. Danny appreciated how quick he was able to steer the conversation away from his troubles. It seemed like a practiced skill.
“One time!” Danny looked back to see his knight with his arms crossed. “What about when you tried the cinnamon challenge and coughed so hard you went invisible?”
“I wanted to know if my healing factor would cancel out the effects of the cinnamaldehyde.” Miles defended.
“Thats not how that would even work,” Peter mumbled.
“That sounds like a made up word.” Danny finished his worksheet and went to the next one, a basic anatomy diagram. He was to label the various organs. He rubbed his head, trying to rub away his familiarity with how his own organs actually looked. He quickly filled out the answers, tossing the sheet into the done pile. A glance at the next the next sheet made him wish he had taken his time. This one was of a frog, it's body sliced open for the dissection.
He put the page in the don't know pile, swallowed, then forced a chuckle. “Same.” Neither hero commented, though Miles did make a frown at the page. Danny tried to focus on the next page, but try as he might the letters just, didn't look like letters. Was he even looking at English? He tried to pick apart the words, sift through the letters, peel apart the layers to find the answers. He remembered the smell of iodine, how it bit at the inside of his nose but he couldn't scratch it away, couldn't bury his nose to hide from it.
“Danny.” Miles waved his hand in front of his eyes. He blinked, finding his piles, including the one he'd been working on, pushed to the back of the desk space.
A hand patted his shoulder. “You're covered in ice dude,” Peter whispered.
“No I'm not.” He brushed his fingers over his arms, flicking away the ice that was definitely not there. He rubbed his head in lieu of hugging his chest again.
“What do you want to do, Danny?” Miles asked gently.
He slumped his head on the desk and groaned. “I don't want to relate to a frog corpse.”
A knock at the door sounded the entrance of May, who opened and peaked in, “You boys want to lick the bowls? I'm making cookies.”

As he scrapped cookie batter into his mouth, Danny decided that Peter definitely got his heroic timing from May. There were three bowls of mix for the different cookies she was making, which Danny had uncontested dibs to the chocolate chip batter. May and the spiders chatted in between scoops of chocolate and lemon cookie batter, talking about the bake sale the treats were for. Danny couldn't tell if May was a part of our club having a large sale, or 3 clubs having 3 smaller sales. He grinned as he listened.
The conversation had turned from the cookies' reasoning to everyone's favorite treates. May claimed to not to have one, while Peter pointed at Miles and him with his spoon, “Aunt Mays cherry pie.”
Miles pointed back, “How dare you make me want pie when there is cookie batter to be enjoyed.”
He and May laughed. She tilted her head towards him, “What about you, Danny? Any favorite treats?”
He thought for a moment before shrugging. “I just like food.” Then, the memory of a taste floated in his mind, “Its not technically a desert, but there was this place, it had the greasiest fries ever, the kind that gave you a stomach ache everytime.”
“Why would you eat them if they made you sick?” Miles raised a brow. Danny sniffled a laugh at the bit of lemon dough stuck to his lip.
“I'll take no questions from the one who thought he could beat the cinnamon challenge.”
“Hey! It was one time!”
May furrowed her brow, “I'm pretty sure I told you that was a bad idea.” She then shook her head at Miles overly deflated reaction, “See, I prefer chubby bunny.”
They laughed as they light heartedly argued over who would win the challenge of stuffing marshmallows into their mouths. The two spiders were both insinuating that their powers would give them an advantage, Though of course they kept saying things like “I got in shape first” or “Well I work out more than you” were it not for Danny knowing the pair were superheros, he wouldn't have caught on that they were comparing powers. May claimed that her experience would give her an advantage, one she promised To use the next time they got marshmallows. Danny's claim to having fit 11 jumbo ones in his mouth was not believed.
Through some subtle intangibility with his spoon, he cleaned his mixing bowl to the point it didn't look like it had even been used. May noticed this and gave him a surprised look that he pretended not to notice. His knight saw as well, but having been around him for a few weeks ????he wasn't bothered by his more casual Application of his powers.
Miles caught on to what the others were looking at and chuckled, “If we ever enter an eating contest I've got dibs on Danny.”
Peter scoffed, “You'll get accused of cheating.”
“Bet, either way I get food.” Danny sat his spoon down in his empty bowl, not yet relinquishing it fully.
“You'll have plenty of food here,” May voiced, “Everythings fair game unless it's labeled for something.”
“Thank you.” Danny appreciated the reassurance that he was allowed to eat. Logically, it would be weird to take someone in, specifically a child, and not feed them. He'd been fed at the tower, having been provided with meals and snacks alike, but it still felt nice to be told he could eat. There was no bribe to this food, no ulterior motive tied to it. It wasn't that he resented being bribed, it was just nice to not be.
He hadn't expected that to calm his core. He lingered on the feeling. If his suspicions were correct, he would have a physical need for interactions like this. Peaceful moments eating a treat with people who were treating him like family, he'd already known his heart needed this. It wouldn't be a surprise if his soul did as well.
Danny rubbed at his chest, though mentally he focused on his core. It used to dwell more near his center, but for fear of it being damaged, he'd long since moved it. If he tried, he could put it back, but he dared not move it. His soul was delicate, even more so than his mind. He had to treat it with care.
“Danny?” May pulled his attention, her voice tinted with concern. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I'm good.” For the first time in years, he wasn't outright lying. There were many things that were as far from good as they could be, but at that moment? Sitting there, a bowl in his lap, his knight beside Him, his friend near, and his hero before him? It felt good.
He wished time would let them stay like this.
Time, as it always did, had other plans.
Peter and Miles both looked at their phones and shared a frown. Hero business, Danny thought.
“Trouble at the lab?” May nodded. She didn't sound annoyed or upset in any way. This was clearly a commonplace occurrence.
“Reading us like a book Aunt May,” Miles shook his head.
“Danny, are you-”
“-I'm good.” He cut off his knight.
“I raised you I'm pretty sure I can handle him,” May rolled her eyes.
“Aunt May that's not what I-” Peter shook his head at her grin. “Okay, okay. We've got to go, call us if you need anything?”
They waved off the heros, who both rushed out the door with a few somewhat subtle glances between them. Danny wondered if this was how he looked everytime he ran off to go fight a ghost, rushed and random.
“I'm surprised they didn't go through The windows this time.” May mused.
“What?” Danny blinked at her.
“Those boys are always rushing off, they love to sneak out their windows and go about their business.” She shook her head as she collected the two bowls, forgotten by the heros, “they think I don't know they do that.” She winked at him. It hadn't occurred to Danny that a nok ghost hero would need to actually sneak out, apparently via window, in order to do their heroics. Intangibility and invisibility were incredibly well suited to hiding a secret identity, provided one wasn't faced with anti ghost weaponry.
May reached a hand for his bowl, gesturing for it. He took a moment before giving It to her. “Thank you.”
She smiled at him. “Those will be ready in a little while, and I do think I'll be needing a taste tester. got to make sure my product is ready for the market.”
He laughed and gave her a mini salute. “Heck yeah.”
“So, Danny,” May put her hands on her hips and a mischievous look in her eyes, “You like video games?”

Danny could not win a single round of anything they played. May was a fierce competitor in her games, and he was incredibly out of practice. They played a racing game with characters he didn't recognize, a platform game with bubble levels that he swore were impossible, And a fighting game which was the only one he'd come close to winning, but alas May remained undefeated.
Despite his losses, Danny was enjoying his time with May. Her competitiveness brought about an excitement that rolled Off her in waves, which he was not the only ghost to enjoy the good mood. Ben sat on the edge of the couch beside his widow, cheering over enthusiastically in time with every victory, while also shouting encouragements to both of them.
With a blast attack that made him wince as if he could feel his little red characters pain May won another round. As she was suggesting different move sets for him to try a ding sounded the completion of the cookies baking time.
“I suppose this is a good spot for a break.” She patted Her legs as she got up, leaving the victory screen in lue of pausing. Their characters danced or pouted in exaggerated fashion. Danny say his controller on the coffee table next to Mays, and followed her back to the kitchen.
May held a hand to tell him to keep back from the oven as she put on some mitts and pulled the cookie sheets out, examining each before setting them on the counter to cool.
“Those smell good.”
“Hopefully they sell well.” May took off her mits and dug in a drawer for a spatula that she sat near the trays. “After they cool a bit we can try them.” She gave him another wink. Danny nodded, a smile stuck on his face. “I'm thinking it's about time to start us some dinner, you ever have SOS?”
Before he could think through the possible repercussions of cursing infrastructure of May, he blurted, “Shit On a shingle?” He then realized that perhaps there was a reason she'd used the dishes acronym as opposed to the linger name. He covered his mouth and felt his cheeks flush.
Thankfully, she laughed at him. “I'll take that as a yes.” He felt his cheeks heat further and he hoped she wouldn't notice that his ectoplasmic blood would make his Cheeks green.
“Y-yeah.”
“Mind keeping me company while I get started?”
“I can help.” He offered.
She gave him a nod that he didn't understand. “If you're wanting work, why don't you bring down some of that packet and work on that while I make the gravy.”
Thus, he set to working on more homework, the English section he'd skipped earlier, while May began dinner. They chatted a bit more, with her asking him how he felt his packet was going. She seemed pleasantly surprised that he was getting through most of the high school portion fine, and despite not admitting that he'd gone for most of a couple years. He was honestly surprised how much he actually remembered of it, even if he was still frustrated by the frequent gaps in his memory.
The smell of the meat and gravy filled the space along side the cooling cookies. Danny rested his pencil a moment, taking in the feel of the home. Ben hung around out of the way near the dining area, looking quietly content with the state of his haunt. The home was comfortable, trusting, and full of love.
“Do you like your bread soft or toasted?” May asked.
“Toasted.” He gathered his papers into one pile, pushing them to the side.
“Could you plug it in for me?” May pointed to the toaster on the counter as she got some plates out of a cabinet. He mad his way there and began plugging it in as May continued, “We'll eat and leave plates out for the boys, they usually get back late whenever-”
He yelped as pain traveled from his fingertips up his arm, following a path that was burned into his flesh just as it was his memory. This time, the electric current only made it to his shoulder. The stiff numbness lingered in him, just as it had on that day. He could almost hear the voices of his friends, scared because he was scared. He remembered the thin ripple, the nothing between the two worlds, it was quiet and loud, dark and bright, life and death. It was not where anyone should have been, yet it was where he had died.
“Danny, Danny?!” May called to him. She was in front of him, her hands on his shoulders. Frost trailed up her cardigan, fractal patterns of thin ice that melted into nothing even as he blinked. “Breathe, Danny, you need to breathe for me.” He couldn't. He was frozen there, paused almost perfectly. He didn't breathe, didn't blink, his heart didn't even beat.
May gripped his shoulders with a touch more force, and then blew on his face. Such a simple action shattered the spell over him, and he gasped for air. He grabbed his arm, looking down to see that his death scar had been glowing ethereal green. He willed it to fade as his breathing pulled at his internal scars.
“Danny,” May spoke with the same, gentle soothing voice she'd first used with him, “You're alright now. Just keep on breathing.”
He nodded. “I'm sorry.” He whispered.
“Oh sweety,” she pulled him into a hug. He let her. “You don't have to apologize.” She ran her fingers across his hair and rocked him back and forth. He listened to her heartbeat, it was rhythmic, ordinary, Alive.
He felt a cool hand pat his back gently. “Relax, Danny boy.” Ben spoke, calm and smooth. “We've got you.”
He released a shaky breath into May's chest. He leaned into her hug. She continued to speak to him, assuring him he was safe. Ben stayed near, his ghostly presence just as much a reassurance as his widow's. Danny felt his body and core both relax.
“I'm, I'm okay.” Reluctantly, he pulled away. “I'm okay.”
May nodded to him. “Yes, yes you are.” Her eyes searched about him, lingering on his hand. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” it wasn't the physical pain that was the problem.
Her face held hesitation, like she didn't believe him. Then, she straightened herself and set about fixing his bangs. “Are you.still up for eating?”
“Yes please.” He said, just a bit too fast.

Despite May offering to get the toast, Danny elected to just have soft bread instead. She handed him a plate that she pilled his SOS on, taking his cues for how much he wanted and then directed him to the table. Shortly she joined him, and they began the meal in silence. Once again she was watching him eat, as if trying to will him health through her food. Her SOS was different than his mom's. The gravy was a touch thicker, and the bread was a kind he hadn't had before, giving it a somewhat sweet taste.
“Its good.” He said. “Thank you.”
May smiled. “Thank you. I'm glad you.like it.”
As quiet began to settle over them again, a thought trickled through him. “You saw it, didn't you?” He looked down at his plate as he asked.
“Saw what?” Her voice was careful, but he could tell she knew what he was referring to.
He sat his fork on the side of his plate and rubbed at his wrist as if the shock was still residing in his muscles. She sighed. “Yeah, I did.”
“Aren't you going to ask about it?”
“Do you want me to?”
“I don't know.” He wondered if she knew how similar her and her nephew were. Danny splayed His arm out towards her and pulled the side of his shirt sleeve up to show more of the arching trail of his death scar. He made sure not to pull the sleeve away enough to show his other scar. “I got a bad shock, a long time ago.”
May sat, her eyes following the faint lines up his arm. He could almost see her picking out how they got more pronounced near his shoulder. When covered, even just with a short sleeve, the scars trailing up from his hand were faint enough that it was easy for them to go unnoticed. One could follow these faint lines all the way to his heart, we're the scars were far more pronounced and violent.
He could feel the concern and curiosity from May, so he elected to add just a hit more information. “The glowing, is something else, but, yeah.”
She took a moment, and Danny waited for her to sort her words. “Are you alright?”
He nodded. “Yeah, just, reminded me of it.”
Her face twisted, and he could tell that she was trying to restrain her emotions. Jazz had often made the same face after she learned the truth, not that he'd known it at the time. “Can I, ask about the frost?”
“Are you okay?” His eyes shot up. He was sure his power hadn't hurt her, but what if it had? Were she frightened of it? Would she be upset? Would Peter?
“I am, I am.” She assured him. “Just curious, is all.”
He thought on his answer. From what he knew, May believed him to be a mutant, but no one had bothered to elaborate on what powers or abilities be had. He'd pieced together that being a mutant came with a lot of problems, once that ranged wildly based on where you were and who you happened to meet. There had been numerous laws made to protect mutants, and that had been tell enough how mutants were treated. He'd yet to see enougb of the world to confirm it, but he got the feeling that younger generations would be far less bothered than the older. He wondered what May though of it.
“Its something I can do,” he admitted. “When I get scared, it's harder to control.” He held a hand out over the table, and summoned his ice, forming a rudimentary flower. It wasn't very detailed, but it was at least recognizable. When he was better, he'd have to practice being more precise with it. “Dr. Cho doesn't want me using it yet.” He willed the flower away.
After a moment where he fretted over how she would react, she gave him a smile. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”
Some guilt settled near his core. He was keeping so much from her. Everyone was hiding secrets from her. She had to know that, didn't she? Did it upset her? He almost apologized, but instead said, “Thank you for caring for me.”
“Always,” she gave him a cheesy wink, “You're part of our family, you know.”
He couldn't tell what feeling swirled in his core. There was warmth, relief, hesitancy, guilt, fear, and, most notably, longing. May had made light of her words, trying to keep the mood from souring no doubt, but they danced within Danny. Did he truly have a family again? Was it okay? Did he deserve that? After what hed done to his family, would it really be okay for him to live with the Parkers like one of their own? Was it okay that he wanted that?
He smiled and ate more of his dinner, savoring the memory more than the taste. “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

May Parker knew her boys, all three now, were keeping secrets from her. They always had been, well, at least Peter and Miles had. Peter had only really started keeping things from her after Ben died, having mostly told everything to his uncle. He started staying out later, coming and going through his window like she wouldn't notice him gone, and, most hurtful of all, he started lying to her. He'd spin her stories of school and internships, projects and emergencies with friends. While her nephew excelled at coming up with feasible reasons for his increase in outings, he came up short in selling them. He never could get rid of that higher pitch his voice would take when he was hurriedly spinning her a tale to explain away her concern.
Miles was an even worse liar. He would stutter over himself and often relied on Peter to come up with a story first. She often found herself wondering if they knew she was aware that something was up with them, and they were all pretending nothing was odd, or if her boys genuinely thought she believed their stories.
Still, she continued to act as if they weren't constantly keeping something from her. Peter and Miles were both fine boys, successful and thriving. WEB was doing so well they'd both offered to take over the house bills so she could retire, but she had continuously turned them down. At first because they were still children and as such she thought they should get to enjoy their warnings. Later it was because she wasn't ready to slow down. Now, however, she wondered if she should tale them up on that offer so she could have more time to help her newest.
She wasn't afraid of her eldest children’s secrets. Whatever they were up to didn't stop them from turning into the fine young men they had become. Of course she worried and wonderer, but that was her job, wasn't it? It had been four years of them continuously hiding things, but they were well rounded and adjusted for kids just entering their twenties.
Then there was Danny.
May deeply feared for what the boy was keeping to himself. Other than telling her of his being electrocuted some time ago, he'd said next to nothing on his past. He hadn't been in her home much, hadn't been around her enough that she'd feel hurt by him not telling her what happened, but she knew it was bad. She had seen his bandages, relatively fresh ones that, at the time, had covered his entire torso and much of his arms. He had winced and flinched away when she had helped him into some old clothes. Then she'd seen into his mouth, and it had taken everything in her to not startle the boy. His poor throat had been a mess of lesions, more wounds than flesh from the little bit she'd been able to see. Despite that, he had still been scarfing down pizza crust from her trash can. How hungry had he been to have eaten when mouth was in such a state?

Now, a few weeks later, he was bandage free, and his wounds were practically healed. She'd yet to see his chest, but on his arms she'd noticed small round scars that were all perfect circles. At first her mind went to cigarette burns, but these weren't burns. She tried not to let it show on her face, she was sure the boy had plenty on his plate without being analyzed by her, but she couldn't get those injuries out of her mind.
Now she sat on the couch, an unconscious Danny laying beside her curled in on himself. She'd placed a blanket over him, and he nearly disappeared under it. They had been watching a movie, winding down after dinner. Danny had spent the meal explaining what he knew of his ice powers, soul ice as he called it. The ability exhausted him, and it only seemed to be getting worse. May was far from an expert on mutants, but she didn't need to be to know that wasn't a good sign.
May had her suspicions of the child, or more so of his story. A long time ago, before Peter was born, she'd seen the aftermath of a mass mutant rescue operation. She'd been drawn to the scene by the crowd, pulled in by curiosity same as everyone else. It was the end of the operation, media swirling around heros of old, scared children being escorted away, ambulances carrying away children who had been tormented by their kidnappers. Those all blurred together, the main focus of Mays memory took the form of one small child. may had only just seen a glimpse of her before a sheet was pulled over her. The heros hadn't made it in time to save her.
They made it in time for Danny, though. She had to remind herself.
She watched him sleep, the movie forgotten and serving now only as background to her thoughts. Black hair covered his face, a small tuft from his bangs being disturbed ever so slightly with each small breath. May felt the child was like a fallen leaf, one that even the most gentle of touches could crumple. It was of some blessing that the boys had taken to each other, a proper support system always helpful. She wondered when, or if, he had had friends. Try as she might, she couldn't picture him laughing as a normal child. Her imagination only kept bringing her to that night she'd found him outside. That dull, defeated look in his eyes, like he didn't care that he was alive.
She knew Peter and Miles were also struggling to cope with Danny. Both had grown protective of him, even if Miles claimed that the child drove him crazy. Those two were doing their best to help, and she hoped they knew that their efforts were working. In only a few short weeks the frail child they'd brought in was healing.
A chilled air brushed against her arm, and she saw frost creeping on Danny's cheeks. Carefully, she brushed it away, “None of that, Danny. You're okay.” The frost retreated. Other than the remaining chill, the boy appeared to be in no distress. “See? It's alright.”
Perhaps it was meant to be that Miles had taken the attic when his father had disappeared. It was of some comfort that Danny's room was so close to hers. She'd only be a door away if he needed her. He had made it through one night fine, but May was not one to believe that every night would be the same. The child's mental wounds went just as if not deeper than his physical ones. She had suggested to Peter that they look into finding someone professional for the boy to talk to, but that idea had been vehemently denied. Another hurried story, another secret kept from her.
The door opened and she turned to see her boys shuffle in quietly. Their shoulders were tense, hair a touch disheveled, and eyes a bit darker than before they left.
“Hey Aunt May.” Peter waved.
She pointed. “Not too loud boys.” Then, with a grin, “Dinners on the counter.”
They thanked her and dished their meals. Wolfing down the food with barely a moment for thanks and compliments. May pretended to watch the end of the movie, though her mind stayed on the answers she feared, both of what they might be and that she may never know.
Peter and Miles joined her. Miles snapped a picture of the sleeping Danny before plopping into an arm chair and sinking down into it with a loud groan. “I'm so tired.” He sighed.
Peter poorly faked a yawn, prompting a real one from Miles. He nodded to her and then to Danny. “Looks like you're not the only one.”
May pulled the edge of the blanket further up Danny's shoulder. “Everything go alright here?”
She gave him a knowing wink. “Yes, everything was just fine.” A glint of concerned seeped through her nephew's eyes. Seeing this, she added, “We had a small incident with the toaster.”
After some explaining, both boys having been intently listening and pulling details from her, she somewhat regretted admitting anything had happened. Miles lost his tiredness and leaned forward, frowning at each bit of the tale she gave them.
Peter seemed unsurprised, though still upset. “Are you alright?” He asked, his voice firmer than she thought necessary. May tried to search his face to figure out what he was thinking. Peter held his features firm. She didn't know even his emotions could be kept secret.
“I am.” She shook her head. “You should have seen how worried he was when he realized. When he thought he had hurt me,” she sighed, the memory fresh and the sadness of a hurt child weighed on her heart, “I thought he might cry.”
“The ice, did it like, reach out to you?” Miles asked. His eyes had softened with an understanding that told her he'd experienced it as well.
“It was like,” she thought about it. The frost had only traveled up her arms when she'd grabbed the boy. It hadn't hurt, ang given the circumstance she had almost missed that it had even been there. “Like it wanted me to stay.”
Miles nodded at her answer. Peter, however, grew bewildered. “Reach out?” He asked Miles.
“Yeah,” the boy, young man, May had to remind herself, confirmed. “It was that night we took him to the tower. I freaked a bit cuz I hadn't been expecting it, but when I think back on it, it was like the ice was reaching for me.”
“So, for both of you, the ice was okay?”
May and Miles both agreed that Danny's ice powers had posed them no real trouble.”You sound like you had a different encounter, Peter.” May prodded gently, not wanting her words to sound accusatory. “Did something happen?”
Peter sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You always see through me Aunt May.” Her nephew took a moment as his eyes lingered on Danny, who was still sleeping soundly. “It was that same night. He was having a nightmare, and it was like the ice was trying to fight against whatever he was dreaming about.” Peter hummed. “For you guys, though, he wasn't asleep.” He nodded to Miles, “fully, anyway.”
Miles hummed. “Don't sneak up on him while he's sleeping, noted.”
“While he's dreaming more like. “ Peter corrected.
May brushed the hair away from Danny's face again. It never seemed to want to cooperate in terms of staying where it was put. “I'm sure it would crush his soul if he accidently hurt any of us.” She looked up to see a spark flash in Peter's eyes. It was the look of someone on the verge of solving some puzzle.
“How long has he been asleep? Want me to take him to bed?” Peter asked.
“Oh,” May thought on it. The child looked so peaceful, she almost wanted to tell Peter no. Even so, it would be better for him to be in his room for the night, if anything happened it would be easier for her to hear that way. So, rather than let the boy rest as he was, she leaned down, “Danny, Danny boy.” The boy groaned at her attempts to wake him, the kind of noise that could only come from a partially conscious teenager. “Come on now, it's time to go to bed.”
Danny mumbled something she couldn't understand, but Miles chuckled. “Who took your what?”
She helped guide the not quite awake Danny to an upright position. His eyes were hardly open, barely even slits. Peter helped the boy to his feet, smiling as he directed him towards the stairs. As they started, she caught Danny muttering, “Sam stole my pillow.”
“Okay dude, we got more.” Her nephew said dismissively as he led Danny to his room.
Miles let out an exaggerated yawn, stretching as he stood. “I think I'm gonna follow Danny's lead, I'm tired.”
She nodded, “You boys all look exhausted. Go on and get some rest.” After Miles said his goodnights to her, Peter returned and did the same. May took a moment, sitting with the air her boys had left her. It felt heavy, tense with whatever had been on all their minds. She sighed, worried for her children.
Focus on the positives, she reminded herself. Miles was doing well with his projects, that robot thing he'd worked on had been a success. Peter had seemed like he had made some breakthrough in whatever had been stumping him. Danny was healing. There was plenty to be thankful for.
Still, she couldn't stop herself from being concerned. Peter and Miles had been more flustered than normal, like whatever they'd been doing hadn't gone well. She also wondered who that Sam’ Danny had sleep mentioned was. Were they a sibling? A friend? Was this Sam person alright, or had they been in the same place where Danny had gotten hurt?
May stood, shaking her head as if to dislodge the train of thought. There was nothing to be dome about it now. Plus, if there were more children in the position Danny had been in, she was sure he'd have said something about it. If not to her at least to the Avengers, he'd stayed with them for a while after all. She began refolding the throw blanket she had put on Danny, reading herself for rest as well.
A bit of paper caught her attention.
It fell from the blanket, caught on a loose thread where it began dangling like an ornament. She took it, unfolding the small paper to find a short note, written in tight letters.

Come home, little badger.

May's boys were keeping secrets from her.

Chapter Text

Danny's brain swirled. Normalcy was not something he was accustomed to. Family meals, video games, even a bake sale. Since leaving the tower he'd been entirely sidelined. His powers and knowledge hadn't been needed with no further ghost incidents after Dorathea so he hadn't been out with the heroes. Though, with his increasing fatigue, he doubted his knight would allow him to help. He wondered if he had over done it when he’d used his ice on the ceiling of the warehouse. Why was it always a warehouse?
“Danny, you still with us?” Ms. Marconi waved to him.
“It was something about…”
“The Symbiote invasion.” His sole classmate rolled her eyes.
‘Studying seems to be far from the king's mind.’ Otto, audible only to him, scolded.
He frowned and rubbed his chest, a touch above his heart. The action stung, and he flinched his hand away.
Pretending it didn't happen, he scrolled through the powerpoint slides on the laptop he was using. Symbiote invasion, 20--. Space Administration. Horizon High. Max Model. Nothing on the aliens' actual origin. No info on the planet or really anything else. He sighed. “Why are there so many, weird, ugh.” He groaned. His studies had almost exclusively been history, and would continue to be for the foreseeable future. Anna Marie had made the elective decision to have them work backwards, a choice that he saw confuse his classmate, but one he understood. By working in reverse, he'd get more relevant context faster, which would help ease his transition into this world. It was a kindness he hadn't expected, but was grateful regardless.
“Its New York, there's always something going on, and it's never normal.” The girl put her pen down, placed her paper she'd been working on neatly in a folder before removing another. She then tapped away on her own computer, switching tasks.
Danny wasn't sure how he felt about her. She looked about 16, and was rather tall. She was hispanic american, and wore a green tunic style dress with a cream undershirt. The girl was strong, with clearly powerful muscles that, paired with her confidence, made her an interesting topic for Danny's wandering mind. There was something about her that nagged at his mind, and it jumbled alongside his other thoughts.
“Switching to that language assignment, Ava?” Ms. Marconi asked.
“Not yet, thought I'd do the math first.” She tapped about more on her computer, evidently now working through math problems even as she spoke. “I remember watching the invasion on the news, well, before the station got taken over.” She hummed. “It was pretty jarring, seeing so many heroes be taken over by the symbiotes.”
Danny nodded as he flipped through the slide show more. Mass destruction. A Venom dragon. The Seed. He frowned. “Horizon got destroyed?” Didn’t he hear that that had been Peter and the other spiders’ highschool?
“That it did,” Ms. Marconi confirmed. “Horizon hadn’t been unfamiliar to dangerous incidents that threatened the students. It was a place filled with bright students and teachers, all of whom worked on incredible projects. To be honest I wasn’t a fan of the school, but the same reasons that made it a good environment for people like your cousin are the same reasons it attracted trouble. The school’s destruction served as the final nail in its coffin, and it was never able to recover.” Danny resisted the urge to make a death pun.
“I heard the students were all split up and sent to various surrounding schools.” Ava mentioned, though she seemed to be paying more attention to her assignment.
“Most of the Horizon kids ended up in Osborne Academy.”
“Harry has a school?” Danny immediately regretted asking. While Ms Marconi didn’t question his lack of basic knowledge, Ava certainly did.
Her fingers stopped typing and she seemed to physically pause, like she was trying to figure out what he had just said. Thankfully, their teacher continued, “His father created it to be a rival for Horizon after an incident here at Midtown, actually.” He listened as she filled him in on the relative context regarding the school. Ava returned to typing, but Danny noted it was much slower than before.
At the end of the story, a knock sounded at the door. The newcomer’s green eyes lingered on Danny, who found himself resisting the urge to flash his own eyes at him. He felt the bow was sizing him up, so he did the same. Like Ava, this boy was also hispanic, though thats where the similarities ended. His black hair was short and messy, his clothes a touch baggy, and his build lacking the muscles his classmate had. However, there was an assuredness that rolled off of him that didn’t quite match the slender teen Danny was looking at. Danny watched the boy’s eyes trail across him, stopping at the new IV, courtesy of a visit from Dr. Cho, before snapping to Ava.
“F-, uh, the boss wants you.”
“Me?” Ava’s voice was suspicious, but she put her materials away into her bag regardless. “Or all of us?”
“Ugh, fine, all of us.” The boy rolled his eyes. The boy shrugged, then looked towards Ms Marconi, “Sorry, ma’am, work called us.”
Ms. Marconi nodded. “That's alright, Sam.” She then gave the teen a grin, before glancing at Danny and giving him a wink that he didn’t understand.
Danny shot a look to Otto, but was met with crossed arms and a smirk. ‘I suggest you focus more on your studies than on other people’s secrets.”
So you admit there's a secret? Danny thought.
Ava apologized and said her goodbyes to Ms. Marconi, then looked to him. “It was nice meeting you, Danny. I'll see you next time.”
“Bye, Danny!” The Sam boy waved enthusiastically. He waved back, far more relaxed.
“So,” Ms Marconi took back his attention, “Other than your history, so far it's looking like we can put you around a sophomore or junior level.”
Normalcy felt weird. “Just barely made it through my sophomore year.”
“Really?” She gave him a look, “You don't look-”
“-Half ghost,” he shrugged. “Eternally 14.”
“I see…” She seemed to consider this. “You mind if I ask you a question, Danny?”
“Depends on the question.”
“Fair enough.” She flipped through his assessment package, as she'd been doing through their history lesson. She stopped and pushed the papers away. “Peter tells me you're in recovery, don't worry I'm not going to ask you why,” he gave her a small chuckle, “What I'm curious about is why you agreed to attend school.”
Otto's curiosity was also clearly pulled by her question. The ghost gave him a questioning look. Danny hummed, thinking on his answer. Why had he agreed? Sure there were the obvious reasons, learning of the world, feeding on some emotions, and some entertainment, but was any of that really why he had agreed?
“I think,” he paused. “I think I just wanted to have something to do.” She gave him a look and he decided to relent a little. His knight trusted this teacher, and from what little he knew of Otto, which amounted to barely more than they had been close and Otto had left Peter a school fund, it was easy to say he trusted him. “I was kinda, in the same room for like, five years.”
‘Related to your weakened state, I presume?’ Otto asked. Danny didn’t answer him.
He didn’t let Ms Marconi respond yet. He pushed aside the laptop and started absently phasing a pencil up and down through the desk. “It was bad, for a lot of reasons, but it was also, is it weird to say it was also boring?”
“Its your experience, Danny, describe it however you see fit.” She had also set what she was working on aside.
“I,” he thought on what to say. “Like, on top of everything, there was nothing. So, it was like there was nothing but the bad, you know?”
“Can’t say that I do,” Ms Marconi sighed, then looked up as she pondered her words. “So, during everything, there was nothing for you to use as a distraction, or even as just a break from what was happening?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” He was glad to be understood. He left the pencil standing within the desk and looked around for another utensil to add to it. He found a ballpoint and decided to phase it through the top of the pencil, creating a visually impossibly stacked tower. He motioned to it, mildly pleased with it. Ms Marconi regarded it with unfiltered interest, her eyes wide and inquisitive just like his parents had always been when they were going over their findings. “So, now that I’m here, and I guess now that everyone else has what they need to handle any more ghosts from my world, if not for school there isn’t really anything for me to do.”
She grinned at him and tossed him an expo marker that he promptly added to his tower. “Don’t think I’m trying to convince you not to go or anything. Eternally 14 or not its good to be getting an education.” Her voice was full of mock scolding.
‘I concur, it would be beneficial for you to continue your schooling.’ Otto nodded his approval.
“Oh, come on,” he laughed, “Worried I won’t be able to get a job in the future?”
“Are you implying you can’t?”
He shrugged. “My world the minimum age to work was technically 16,” he added a highlighter to the tower. Sure there had been some exceptions, but those typically required parent permission, which he couldn't really get. He caught a concerned look from her, so he added. “It’s okay though, I sort of have a job. Don’t know what to do about it though.”
“You are an interesting child, Danny.” Ms Marconi shook her head. “A job?”
“Ghost King. King of the Infinet.” He looked carefully to assess his new teacher’s reaction.
She seemed stuck between unimpressed and unsure. “You don’t strike me as royalty.”
He shrugged. “Yeah well I only had a week's worth of lessons, and no one’s told me what I’m supposed to do.” He waved his arms dramatically as he spoke.
“What did the previous ruler do? Any clues from them?”
Danny disassembled his tower. “Spread terror, got sealed away. Got released, like, 10,000 years later. Tried to spread more terror, we all teamed up to beat him, then he got sealed again.”
Ms Marconi rolled her eyes. “You also don't strike me as one who wants to go about spreading terror.”
“I stuck over 400 pens in the ceilings at the Avengers tower.”
“I stand corrected.”
A thought struck him and he began laughing. “Oh my god!” He shook his head. “Technically, I was sealed away too!” He shook his head as his own laughter pulled at his scars.
“Must be a ghost king thing.” Ms. Marconi left her desk and handed him a new folder. “Try not to make a habit of it.”
He took a moment to quell his amusement at the realization. Then, he picked up the folder and flipped through it. “For next week?”
She nodded. “Some homework for the King.” Ms Marconi gave him a wink.
“Gross.” He smiled, hoping she'd see that he wasn't actually upset with the homework. Then, he yawned.
“Don't pass out on me, I still have you for another hour.”
He groaned, though chuckled afterwards. “Fiiiine.”

Despite his feigned reluctance, The rest of his time with the teacher was pleasant. It was easier without his classmate, solely on the account that Ms. Marconi knew he was half ghost and he could use his intangibility for mild entertainment throughout the history lesson, still the symbiote invasion. Ms Marconi took a casual fascination in the power, as did Otto. He did his best to retain the information, but his thoughts kept wondering. He thought of the Parker house, the Avengers tower, the tailor’s shop Harry had taken him. He wondered how the capture of the escaped villains was going, then he wondered what living villains were like. In a world of super heroes, what must the supervillains be like? Did the symbiotes count as villains, invaders, or the worst mishap of Modell’s life?
Wait, was Thor an alien? Had he met an alien already?
As Ms Marconi finished detailing what she wanted from his homework, another knock sounded the arrival of his knight. Peter leaned against the door frame with a wide grin and disheveled, slightly flattened hair. He took a drink from a bottle of water before asking, “You guys have fun?”
“I'd say it went well, how bout you Danny?”
“You fought an alien?”
“You fight ghosts.” Peter shrugged.
“We were going over the symbiote invasion, working our ways backwards in history to get this king caught up.”
“Makes sense.” Peter nodded. He entered the room and motioned to Danny's computer, a school laptop that was assigned to him, “All set for the next week?”
Danny began packing the device and folder of homework into his backpack May had gotten him. It was purple, per his only request for his school supplies. He also put the iv of ae into the bag, in its own large pocket, and positioned the tube so that it was held securely by either end of the zipper. He shouldered the bag, being sure to keep his arm down as previously promised to Dr Cho.

“He's got several papers to review, mostly history, and a few on some of the things he could use some refreshers on.” Ms Marconi also began packing her things, her work being done. “Next time I'll send anything he may need a refresher on.”

They said their goodbyes as the three of them left the classroom, Ms. MarconI parting for her office while Danny and Peter left for the exit. The halls were filled with ghosts, still gossiping about them. The souls still didn't know if Peter knew that he was the ghost king, which Danny found to be kind of funny and kind of annoying.
When they exited the school, Peter asked, “Can we talk about something important?”
Danny's decent mood soured. “What kind of important?”
“Well, the other night, Aunt May said something that got me thinking, so I read more from that book Frostbite gave me.” He frowned. Peter continued, “and I was wondering if there was a way to check to see if your core is-”
“-Its fine.” He blurted. Just a bit too loud. Just a bit too harsh. They stopped walking. Danny hung his head. “Its fine.” He said, much quieter, more pleading. He wanted it to be fine.
“I see.” He knew his knight knew he was lying.
“I'm sorry.” He hadn't meant to snap at him. “Could we, talk about this at the house?”
“Sure, we can do that.”

May and Miles weren't home, and Ben had elected to give them space for the conversation. They both sat on Danny's bed, him at the head and Peter at the foot. Danny sat with his legs pulled up tightly to his chest. Peter's face was stuck in a serious expression.
Danny didn't like the ghost book.
“Have you,” he hugged his knees, “have you told anyone what you, about-”
“-No, I haven't mentioned my being worried for your core to anyone.”
He nodded. Then, he waited. Partly to give him some more time to think of what he wanted to say, partly because he didn't want to say it. Eventually, he sighed. “I've been scared to look.”
“At your core?”
He nodded. “Its, even under normal circumstances it's weird to look at your own soul.” Peter murdered understanding. “Thats, it's, everything. It's all of me, all that I am. It's me.” He took an arm and rubbed his forehead. “I, how much do you know, about cores?”
Peter crossed his arms to think. “They're like the soul made physical, sort of. They can become damaged in extreme circumstances, not that the book said-”
“-I think what I went through counts as extreme.”
“Oh, yeah definitely.” Peter agreed. “It also said the only known ways to fix it were large quantities of ectoplasm and peace.”
“Figures.”
“So,” Peter hesitated, “why are you scared? Do you think, your soul might be damaged?”
Danny held still for a moment. The thought had crossed his mind many times before, but he had always dismissed it. What was there really to do about it if it were true? There wasn't any medicine that could fix a soul, not even that yeti doctor would have anything. If his suspicions were correct, how would his knight treat him then? And the others? They already teetering around him, giving him concerned gazes and doctored words as if he'd shatter with one wrong move. Perhaps they weren't wrong, but he wasn't ready to acknowledge that.
“When, everything,” despite having done so before, Danny found he wasn't able to voice his torment again, “they wanted my core. No, they wanted to know if I had one.” He lowered his legs and put a hand to his center, the lower but of his sternum. “It's supposed to be here, but, when, before they, I figured out what they wanted and I,” his voice left him.
“Danny,” Peter spoke carefully, his eyes dark. “What did you do to your core?”
He moved his hand, placing it over his right shoulder. “I hid it.” He clutched the sleeve of his shirt. “They didn't look in there. They thought it'd be in my heart.”
He could see the horror on Peter's face filtered through a practiced stillness. Many emotions rolled off his knight, anger, guilt, helplessness. Dany knew that the details of what had been done to him were enough to hurt others, but he didn't know what to do about it. He had tried to act like nothing had been wrong, but his knight, being direct witness to all the times he was distinctly not fine, had been adamant he not pretend like that. Still, it was hard.
“How do you,” Peter spoke slowly, clearly training to keep a hold on his emotions, “how do you check to see if its okay?”
“I, I don’t want…” He felt so small. Dorathea and Peter had both joked that he was in charge, technically not just of Peter. He was the king of the infinite realms, he was king of the ghosts. He was supposed to be powerful and brave, the kind of person that was able to help others and fight to protect. He couldn’t even keep himself safe.
“You don’t have to show me, but I want you to look. Please, if somethings wrong its better to know now.”
“What would we even do about it?”
“Lots of ectoplasm and peace,” Peter sighed. “And looking into what we can find.”
“I don’t want others to know!” Danny blurted. “Everyones already treating me like I’m made of glass, I don’t want them all to be even more worried!”
“They’re going to worry anyway!” Peter barked, then looked guilty at the outburst and sighed. “We don’t have to tell anyone, yet.” His knight relented. “If your core is damaged, it'll be our secret, and we can figure it out together.”
Danny sat, resistant to agreeing. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe him, he did, but agreeing so quickly felt like admitting it was true before even looking. He didn’t want any of it to be true. Not his years of torture, being taken apart over and over again till the hassle of putting him back together became too much of a bother. Not the lifeless corpses of everyone he held dear. His sister’s blood. His dad’s charred body. His mother’s scream. His friends’ eyes. Not his anger. Not his time as a king candidate. Not when he became king. He didn’t want any of it to be real.
“Okay.”

Danny stood, shirtless in front of the bathroom mirror. Just like everything about him, he had been avoiding himself. He didn’t look as he dressed, and he didn’t look as he bathed. Now, he looked at himself. He was preparing to look at his soul, the least he could do was look at his body.
He’d long since become accustomed to his lightning scar, a token of both his death and his survival. It was plain, compared to everything else. Something familiar and basic. The other scars, less so.
The circles along his arms were faint and fading, but even if they were to disappear entirely he would always remember how it felt when the ports cycled his blood and his ectoplasm. In. Out. In. Out. A regular and constant rhythm of his power being taken from him only to be rushed back in. What was the purpose? Why do that? He could almost hear the words of the project manager, but what had she said? Did it even matter now?

The incision on his torso was the worst of it. His eyes couldn’t slide across them like they could the other scars. There was no way for him to ignore it, no common explanation he could hide it behind. This was his symbol of what had been done to him, a permanent representation of the years his body wasn’t whole. The flesh was connected again, held together by a thick scar that pulled at him when he moved. He could always feel it, every twist and every step the scar tugged about his skin, its internal counterparts doing just the same. He knew time wouldn’t touch this one. He’d carry it with him forever.
He sighed, bit his lips, and put a hand to his shoulder. He willed the flesh and bone transparent.
His core had once been a blue that shone near white, emanating energy and youth and power. Tears wet his cheeks as he looked at it now. It was no longer bright, the orb that was everything he was was dim, barely even glowing. It swirled in shades of blue, each seeming trying to become that shine that it once produced, pulsing with a weak beat of repeated failure. His soul was tired. Weak. Damaged. He turned it, finding his fears manifest in the form of a dark fissure, curving across the surface with hairline cracks splitting from it. The wound leaked ectoplasm, his energy bleeding from it and staining the breaks green. His core was broken.

He was broken

Chapter Text

Ava stood in the helicarrier with her team. Despite her duty to SHIELD, she wished she had been able to stay for the rest of her allotted time in Saturday school. Her new classmate hovered in her mind. There was something unsettling about him, and it wasn’t just the improperly affixed IV of green, whatever, that he had. The boy claimed it was medicine, but since when did medicine glow like that? In addition, he looked frail, like he was recovering from a major illness. Perhaps he was, not that he had said, but it made the most sense. She hadn’t asked. Ms. Marconi had given her a warning nod, and she didn’t want to freak the guy out. He was clearly struggling, no doubt whatever he’d been going through put him behind in school. She so badly wanted to know more, but knew it wasn’t her place to ask.

Sam, however, wouldn’t stop asking. All on their way to the helicarrier he had pestered her for details that she simply didn’t have. She knew he was Danny Parker. She also knew he knew the head of Oscorps but somehow didn’t know about his academy, the one his father had made especially for him. It seemed an odd thing to be unaware of. Then there were the things that surprised him about the invasion. Sure, the boy would have been about 10 when it happened, but the way he listened and would get confused at the oddest of parts gave the impression he had never heard of it.

They found the others in a meeting room, set up more like a classroom with tiered seating that had enough room for 50 people. Like most places in the helicarrier, it was spacious and well equipped. An expensive looking screen for presentations, sometimes videos other times holograms, was at the front of the room. A less expensive looking retro screen saver took up the screen, different colored pipes dancing about as it waited for input from the computer.

Danny, the one she knew who was a blond boy with the hero name Iron Fist, sat with their other teammate, Lucas, who had recently decided his hero name would be Powerman. The pair nodded to them as they entered, and Ava sat herself next to Danny. Sam sat behind them all, probably so he could be taller. None of them were in their hero gear, which felt a touch odd considering they were defiantly meeting for SHEILD related business.

Fury entered accompanied by a young man that nearly gave her whiplash. She had literally just been thinking about him.

Fury called their attention and they all straightened in response. “I am giving you two indefinite assignments.” Beside him the man began typing on the computer. The screen saver didn't go away. “Fist, all four of you shall be attending Midtown High-”

“-I thought that was Ava's thing.” Sam gripped.

“Yeah, why do the rest if us have to go?” Lucas agreed.

Ava rolled her eyes but kept quiet. Fury continued. “You will all be attending as normal students. You will go to class, make friends, and be regular teenagers provided we don't call you for a mission.”

“While I can see the benefit for a more regular activity,” Danny began, “I find it hard to believe that's the only reason you want us to attend Midtown.”

“Exactly. You all will be keeping an eye on Danny Parker.” That gave Ava a start. “You will watch him, see if anyone else is watching him. You are to protect him.”

“Someone's after Parker?” Ava couldn't help herself. She had already been intrigued by him, and this new knowledge was not something she had been expecting. Perhaps There was a bigger reason he seemed unaware about the most recent alien invasion. A chill ran through her that settled against her spine.

“A group we are investigating may try to target him. Your job will to make sure that this group doesn't get their hands on him.”

“Why's someone targeting a sick kid like him?” Sam asked.

“You two know him?” Lucas turned, giving both her and Sam a look.

“I just met him today. He's attending Saturday school with me, catching up with his schooling, I think anyway.”

“What are your thoughts on him?” Danny asked.

Ava noticed that the man, who had finished setting up whatever he needed and was waiting by the computer, locked in on her. She got the feeling he was interested in her answer. “He's confusing.” Ava chose honesty in her assessment of Danny Parker. “He's frail, with strange medicine running through an IV that he isn't wearing properly. He gets frustrated and tired easily, and his lack of knowledge on world events is, weird.”

“You're missing that his ‘medicine' was green and glowing.” Sam added. “Never seen anything like that.”

“I don't see how being sick and out of the loop is confusing,” Lucas crossed his arms, then added, “The green meds are weird though.”

Now she felt a bit embarrassed, realizing that the small, sickly teen was the same person she was unsettled by. “There's something off about him,” Ava admitted. “Its like his presence is bigger than it should be.”

Sam saved her from the odd looks she was receiving. “Oh yeah, that guy is hiding some serious power.”

“Explain.” Fury ordered.

Sam shrugged. “Whoever this guy is I can tell he's strong, or was, considering. Call it experience from my time with the Guardians, but Parkers no normal kid.”

“Anything to say to that?” Fury turned to their guest, who stepped forward when addressed.

“Danny's my best friend and business partner's cousin. He's a mutant who had to flee his home because of the group that's targeting him.” The man nodded to her, “He can be a bit creepy, at first, but don't let him freak you out. Give him a chance and once he's comfortable around you he turns into a total goof.”

“Who are these guys that are after him?” Lucas asked.

“Classified. You four are to worry about his safety at school. We have other teams investigating this case and detailing his protection outside of school property.”

Ava frowned. Her desire for more details had only worsened with this assignment.

“As for your other assignment, you will be keeping your eyes out for any ghosts. Osborne here will be explaining what he and the Web warriors have discovered about them-”

“-Ghosts, seriously?” Lucas scoffed. “You want us to keep our Eyes out for the boogie man too?”

Harry Osborn laughed, and answered in Fury's stead. “It sounds weird, I know, but the ones were concerned about are both real and potentially dangerous.”

“Potentially?” Danny asked.

They all listened as Harry began detailing what his team had learned about the ghosts. He turned on the screen and scrolled through images, some real photos and others drawings. The powers and strength levels all varied wildly, but the so called basic abilities inherently possessed by ghosts were troublesome. Invisibility, intangibility, flight? That all sounded like a nightmare to deal with.

Osborne began covering the different properties of ectoplasm, detailing the various applications he'd seen it be used. Then, after spending several minutes going over the vast range of energy even the artificial ectoplasm was capable of, he accidentally double tapped the screen and went one slide further than he'd meant to.

The new image was of a young boy who was eerily pale, with white hair, green eyes, pointed ears, and sharp fangs. His hair seemed to float and become white fire behind him. His eyes glowed and looked mischievous.

The picture seemed to bring a chill to the room.

Ava found herself looking at the background of the photo, finding a meeting room she recognized.

“Oops,” Harry shook his head. “Oh well, that was about all for ectoplasm anyway.”

“Is that the Avengers tower?” Ava asked.

“Is that kid a ghost?” Lucas asked. She caught some unease in his voice.

“That, is Phantom.” Fury nodded to them. Harry took a step back, letting their boss take over the presentation. “If you encounter him you are to treat him as a non threat.” Ava was a touch annoyed that her question had been ignored.

“Interesting wording there.” Lucas frowned.

“I'll rephrase. You are not to try and engage with Phantom. If he becomes hostile, you are to call it in and evacuate any civilians. If he remains as he is, you are not to act against him.”

“With orders like that it's unclear what we should be thinking about this Phantom,” Danny mused. “Are we to assume that he is dangerous?”

“He is.” Fury answered, curt and firm as always. “That being said, do not piss him off. So far he has not acted against us and I will not have you four giving him a reason to.”

“Who is this freak?” Sam asked.

“That freak,” Fury emphasized the word in such a way that it was clear he didn't want it to be said again, “is Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms. He is the Ghost King, a being whose capabilities we have yet to fully assess, but according to multiple Avengers he may be one of the most powerful beings in existence.”

“One of the most powerful beings, is a kid?” Ava asked, more so out of disbelief than curiosity.

“He is not just a kid,” Fury shook his head. “He is a ghost, one that by his own words died a long time ago.”

“Death will come no matter the age,” Danny mused.

“I can't tell if that all sounds incredibly dangerous or incredibly ridiculous.” Sam scoffed. “Are we wanting him on our side or something?”

“We are wanting him to remain friendly.” Fury barked. “He is in a weakened state right now due to reasons that are none of your concern. In addition, he has become bonded to Spiderman. If you see them together, take your cues on how to act from him.”
“Spidermans involved in this?” Lucas asked.

“How do you think our team got so much information on ghosts?” Harry gave a proud and confident grin. “Spiderman and Spy D encountered Phantom on a mission a while back. Overall, Phantom has done his best to be helpful despite the condition he's in. I was pretty wary of him in the beginning, and while I don't think he's going to do anything, I also don't think it'd be a bad idea to have a plan, just in case something does happen.”

“Do you have any recommendations on what we should do if we do encounter him?” Danny asked.

“Snacks.” Harry laughed.

Fury pulled put a baggie of gummies and displayed it in front of him. “I've begun keeping a few in my pockets in case I run into him again. I was falsely informed that he liked toddler to go snacks best. He does not.”
Before she could register the humor in the idea of Fury offering a toddler snack to the Ghost King, the bag of gummies disappeared. Fury sighed and shook his head. The rest of them, minus Harry were all far more startled. Ava and her team all jumped up prepared to fight, right as the alarm started to sound.

The quiet of their meeting was replaced by the intruder alert alarm and the racing of boots, before Fury tapped his com and simple said, “Its just the kid.” Then, as if it had never happened, all went silent again. The flashing red of the alarm stopped, and Fury sighed. “Phantom.”

Ava yelped as a voice sounded behind her, one that was definitely not Sam. “Who told you I like - stop yelling - baby food?”

“It was a toddler to go snack.” Fury's brows furrowed.

“There was a baby on the package!” Phantom sat cross legged on one of the desks, wearing a black NASA hoodie whose logo colors were inaccurate. His hair flickered behind him freely, not bound by a hair tie like it was in the picture still on the screen. He tore the bag of gummy bears open and tossed half of them in his mouth. While he chewed, he waved to them, then to Harry.

“You still ate them.” Fury crossed his arms.

“Free food.” Phantom shrugged before disappearing.

Ava could see her boss's irritation growing, much like it did when they got too cocky in their training or messed up on a mission and got hurt. She wondered if Fury had already developed a softness for the boy, even despite the warnings.
“For you information, Phantom,” Fury's eyes scanned about the room, as did hers and everyone else's, “It was Stark who gave me the recommendation.”

“Huh,” the ghost reappeared sitting on Harry Osbornes shoulders, “gonna have to get him back for that.”

Harry, completely unbothered, simply pulled out his phone and gave a grin, “Spider-Man's wondering if any of us have seen you.” Ava watched in disbelief as the Harry Osborne held out his phone to take a selfie with the ghost king smiling and eating gummy bears atop his head. She sat back down. There was no need to be ready for a fight that clearly wasn't happening.

“What are you doing here, Phantom?” Fury shook his head.

“Eavesdropping, duh.” After another famous Fury scowl, Phantom added, “Also getting hit in the head with a helicarrier. That hurt, by the way.”

“You got hit by the helicarrier?!” Sam blurted.

As Fury rubbed his brows, no doubt going over how hitting a potential enemy with the helicarrier would go against keeping friendly relations With the ghost king, Phantom repeated his disappearing act. He reappeared in front of Sam, sitting in the air over the desk. “Yesh!” He waved his arms as he spoke, “So I'm just flying right, minding my business. Then bam,” he clapped his hands together, then winced. Ava wondered from what. “I mean, I know Steve said that it was invisible, but I wasn't expecting it to be that invisible.”

“What did you think invisible meant?” Sam asked.

Ava was not at all surprised when Phantom disappeared, said, “This.” Then reappeared back on Harry's shoulders. “He say anything back yet?”

“Yeah, he's worried, jealous, and we need to get you your own phone.”

“Why so you guys can tease me for not understanding it?” the ghost king crossed his arms.

“There are other benefits.”

As Harry and Phantom rattled on about phones, Ava caught Fury's eyes and motioned to them. He shook his head. She turned to her team. The four of them looked to each other, and she could feel they were all in agreement that this situation felt ridiculous. That was the ghost king? The one they were not to anger, to keep friendly and to not engage if he became hostile? This, dork? Sure, Phantom was creepy and she wouldn't want to have to deal with his powerset in a fight, but was he really one of the most powerful beings in existence as the Avengers said? And which Avengers had given that assessment?

“Is this guy for real?” Lucas asked, eyeing the ghost who was now tapping away at Harry's phone. “He's like, a powered up iPad kid.”

Ava had to agree. Phantom had gained the same glossed eyed Look that a child being pacified with a cocomelon video would get. Though, if she were to make a guess he was likely texting Spiderman. From the comment about baby food, the ghost might take offense if they were to try to pacify him using a cartoon meant for young children.

Wait, what did being bonded to Spiderman mean, anyway?

“I feel we should reserve our judgment till we've seen more of him,” Danny suggested. “I sense he is too complicated a case to gain an accurate assessment of with just one meeting.”

“Dude is all over the place, literally,” Sam shook his head.

“He appears to be experiencing some turmoil,” Danny glanced over. Ava did too, a bit relieved to see Phantom texting away at Harry's phone, though he was now floating beside the Osborne and not atop his shoulders.

“Yeah, dude doesn't look like he's doing to good.” Lucas added.

“Think that's cuz he's dead, or because he got hit by the helicarrier?” Ava suggested.

She was sure she could see what Lucas was talking about. Phantom spoke fast, and his arms shook slightly when he lifted them. For supposedly being incredibly powerful, the longer she looked at him the more evidence of his weakened state she could see. He was thin, with discolored bags under his eyes that had a bit of salt stuck to their edges. It almost looked as if he'd been crying but had whipped his face before showing himself. His face had patches of green, a shade that almost glowed beneath his skin. While the Phantom in the picture was nothing but smiles, the one before them looked like the wind would blow him away. She also caught what looked like frost on his hoodie, his for hair not affecting it at all.
“Hey, Phantom!” Sam called, pulling the ghosts attention from the phone. “You really some sort of ghost King?”

“Really? That's what you're asking?” Lucas shook his head.

“What? He doesn't seem very kingly to me.” Sam defended his question.

Ava wasn't sure they were doing a good job of not pissing him off. Phantom frowned, looking Sam up and down. He then silently handed Harry his phone back and crossed his arms. “Why is everyone so hung up on what a ghost king should look like?” Then, turning away from them and looking to Fury, he asked, “Who are these kids anyway. Are they like, baby Avengers or something?”

“Babies?” Lucas balked.

“Hey!” Sam looked just as offended as Phantom had.

“Aren't we older than you?” She asked.

“No,” Phantom didn't look at them.

“These kids are future heroes in training.” Fury didn't appear bothered by the ghost calling the team babies. He didn't seem overly bothered by Phantom, only mildly annoyed at best. For all his warnings, it was like he didn't see the boy as a big deal.
“So baby heroes, got it.” Phantom nodded. He turned to Harry. “Did he say anything about if this world has chicken nuggets?”

Harry laughed as he looked at his phone. “He's already picked some up. Maybe you should head home, so you can make sure you get them while they're hot.”

“You're just trying to get me to leave,” Phantom said defiantly. “Its working though, I'm hungry.” He again looked to Fury. “You got any more snacks?”

Fury, unsurprisingly, did. He pulled out a second bag of gummies and tossed it to Phantom, who only barely caught it. “Go haunt your own place.”

Phantom held a thumbs up. “Mess with you guys later.” He waved and then vanished.

Harry shook his head. “Hide your pens.”

Fury grumped. “Tell Spider-Man to keep a tighter leash on him.”

“Yeah, I'm not going to be doing that.” Harry shrugged. “Might tell the kid to pick a different altitude though. Definitely not going to be telling him not to prank anyone though.”

“And why is that?” She asked.

“Because then he's gonna mess With me instead.” Harry laughed.

The rest of the meeting was boring. Their questions about Phantom were denied. They were to protect Danny, and keep an eye out for ghosts. They were given a third assignment, after Phantom left Fury made it clear that they were to not make an enemy of him. Ava left with even more questions than she had entered with. Who was after Parker? Where did the ghosts come from? Phantom had implied that he was from a different world, was that true? Why weren't they allowed to know any important details about any of these cases?

It was frustrating, and she knew she wasn't the only one to feel that way. Sam kept grumbling, not fond of being called a baby or being left out of the loop. Lucas was also not pleased with the way things went, having gone to do more training while grumbling about the ‘spooky little shit.’

Danny, however, left her with another question. He spent the last bit of the meeting deep in thought, and when she asked about it all he had said to her was that he was going to look into something. As he left, she caught him mumbling to himself, which he usually didn't do. She hadn't heard much, but what she did catch left her wondering who Pariah was.

Ava got the feeling that they were going to be even busier than they had been before.

Chapter Text

Peter was tired. Mentally. Physically he still felt like he could keep swinging around the city, even though it was 4 am and he hadn't slept for multiple weeks now. He'd done so much. All of his work projects? Completed so far ahead of schedule he was withholding them to not raise suspicion. He was pretty proud of how well he had hidden his lack of rest in terms of his work at WEB. Peter Parker was definitely a normal guy who was resting at regular intervals. Totally.

Spiderman? Less so.

Criminals had definitely taken notice of his more frequent appearance. He'd caught a couple of robbers complaining about how he'd gone from being nearly completely absent, when Danny was stuck at the tower, to almost being ever present, when Danny came home. After he'd properly webbed them up, one commented that it was like he was always around.

His job as the kings knight had a strained affect on his job as Spiderman. He could feel every time the kid freaked out, which was often. It made sense, considering, but having a direct link to feel it made focusing on hero work difficult. The mark pulled at him, wanting him to constantly be by the kid's side. He wasn't entirely against the idea, taking care of a scared and hurt child fell well within his responsibilities as Spiderman, but he still had to go out. Others also needed him. From normal occurrences like robberies, muggings, car crashes, giving directions, to more time consuming matters like the cult and the escaped villains, he needed to keep working as Spiderman.

He was glad for his team, without them all of it would be too much.

Said team, however, was upset with him. He'd botched a mission at a storage facility that belonged to Harry. It was an old one that his father had apparently gone to a lot of trouble to hide. People in familiar blue gray robes had broken in, gathered some tech, and were in the process of drawing another summoning circle by the time the team had gotten there.

Overall it should have been a simple mission. Catch the cultists, recover the tech, ask questions that wouldn't get answered, then figure it out themselves. He had been swinging, ready to catch a member running with a small box of tech in their arms.

Then the mark burned violently, and he missed the cultist. He smacked into a wall, hard, and if not for Gwen stepping in the person would have gotten away with Oscorp tech. Tech that they discovered had a bunch of encrypted data on them that, even a week later, they still hadn't decoded.

They had scolded him them, and had been cold since. Well, Miles hadn't, but he knew more of his issues with Danny than the others did. They were just worried, of course, but worrying didn't make the mark stop burning.

Presently, he was in his room, flipping through the ghost book page by page in an attempt to find more on how to fix a core. After the kid had described the damage to him, he didn't dare ask the book directly. If there was even a chance the book was drawing on Danny's power through him he wouldn't even try. He also deeply worried that if he felt too concerned he would accidently summon the halfa again.

When did it get damaged like that? Had it been that way when he was summoned, or did it worsen since he'd been there? They hadn't talked about it much, it was all he could do to pry the details of the problem from Danny. There was so little to go off of, and no way to test any theories he might have.

Peter mentally went through the timeline from the summoning to then, trying to find a point where Danny's condition hinted at his injured core. Soul ice was his biggest clue. It was one of his powers that they knew put a heavy strain on his body. First it reached for Miles, then there was the ice blade during the encounter with Fright Knight, neither of which felt like good reference points. After some treatment, and a vast increase in his AE consumption, Danny had begun using ice decoys when playing hide n seek in the Tower, which hadn't seemed to affect him that much. Then there was the fight with Dorathea.

Peter grabbed his head, “I'm an idiot.” He groaned.

Danny had used enough ice to hold up the ceiling to the warehouse for over an hour. The moment he had released it, it collapsed. Then, any time he used his ice he would grow in fatigue before passing out. Weather or not Danny's core had been injured before then, that was when it had become worse. Dr. Cho, unsurprisingly, had been right. He needed to not use his powers.

Peter sighed, there was no way he was going to be able to get the kid to not use them. Though the kid never admitted it, he knew he was in less pain when he was in his ghost form. He wondered if Danny, who was stuck eternally as he was, would ever not be in pain again.

Peter wouldn't let that happen if he could help it.

He tried to return to reading the book, only to find the page blocked by a note with a familiar handwriting.

Your answer waits with an ally yet met.

Peter picked up the note. The last time he had encountered one with that same handwriting, he had turned invisible and gotten disturbing, yet crucial, information about Danny. He had also become closer to the kid. A new trust had formed between them, one that went beyond their accidental vow to the king arrangement. Without this incident, he doubted Danny would have trusted him enough to tell him his core was broken.

“Who are you, and how are you doing this?”

The note arrived without anything triggering his spider sense or alerting the mark. There was no evidence of how it had gotten there, appearing into existence abruptly.

While he didn't get an answer to his questions, he did get a response. The note changed, becoming a different message entirely within the blink of an eye.

Burn the book.

Peter frowned. Whoever this entity was, it was evident that they valued Danny. Or maybe they valued the King. He had kept his mouth shut about the first note, figuring there was enough to worry about without the unknown being that could infiltrate the tower, and his room, without raising any alarms. As far as he could tell, this entity had only left notes, perhaps only to him. Could he trust them? Should he trust them? Should he tell the others about the notes? Should he tell Danny?

“That's a big ask from someone I know nothing about.” He crossed his arms, eyes firm on the note. No change.

“Why should I?” No change.

“Who's this ally? When will I meet them?” No change.

“I'm just gonna ask Da-” Finally. He read the new message, then read it again.

He will not accept my help, but you need it. Time will bring you what you seek.

Then, without him even having blinked, the note changed again.

Burn the book. You have 3 days.

“And if I don't?” He didn't like paper telling him what to do.

Buy a phone.

Then, the paper was gone.

Peter sighed. He closed the book. If only he could sleep on it, look at the problem with fresh eyes. According to the entity, Danny didn't trust them. As his knight, that should be reason enough for him to not trust them either. But was it? The first note had led to him finally knowing more, and had been integral to building trust. He was glad to know of Danny's core, to be trusted with the knowledge not just of how fragile the boy's soul was, but where it was. He had hidden it for years, but had told him where he had put it. Would listening to this entity, and keeping it secret, betray that trust?

They had said that there was someone who had the answer he wanted.

Peter needed that to be true. He didn't have to be the one to fix Danny's core. If there was someone out there who knew a way to do it and could help that would be enough. Even so, the book held so much information that helped him understand ghost physiology. The knowledge had been given to him specifically to help the king.

He needed an outside perspective, someone who wouldn’t outright tell him he needs to ignore this entity, but would work with him to find the answer. Miles had grown close to Danny, he’d be far too protective and distrustful of the unknown. It wouldn’t be an unreasonable reaction, but Peter needed someone who could be in the middle about it. Gwen was also excluded as an option, as she was still mad at him for fudging the mission, even if it turned out fine in the end. Anya was also out, as he realized not only would she scold him, but she would tell Danny.

He needed Harry.

Harry had been his best friend for years, and while he would be mad at him for saying nothing about the situation, he would listen to why and work with him to figure out the best approach. Harry didn’t have the best confidence in himself when it came to knowing who to trust, but that's exactly what Peter needed.

Peter grabbed a notebook and began writing all the notes he’d received from the entity verbatim. It would be a few more hours till Harry woke up, likely a few more after that before they could meet.

Just as he was wondering how he should occupy himself till then, the mark burned with warning. Fear and desperation spilled from it. Peter sighed as he left his room. The nightmares had been worse in the few days since they'd learned of the condition of Danny's core. As he approached Danny's room, he found the hall already cold with frost seeping from the room.

He knocked before entering and softly said, “Danny? It's me, Peter.”

He found the halfa still on the bed, chunks of ice covering his body. Like always, the boys arms were wrapped tightly around his chest. He kept talking as he neared the bed. “Hey man, it's alright.” He cycled through various assurances. The ice retreated, melting into nothingness. A layer of frost remained on Danny's cheeks. “There ya go.”

He sat on the edge of the bed. Was he doing this right? He kept talking, telling the halfa how he was safe and home and how none of them were going to let anything more happen to him. These words had become a mantra that he'd repeated the several times he'd come into Danny's room to soothe his nightmares.

“You've gotten good at this, you know?”

“Aunt May.” Peter smiled. “I didn't mean to wake you.”

“You didn't,” she smiled and leaned against the door frame, “he really trusts you.”

He hoped that despite his secrecy regarding the notes, that wouldn't change. “He trusted you first, Aunt May.” Peter looked to Danny, who nearly looked peaceful now. “How'd you do it?”

She sighed. “I don't know, Pete. I don't know.” She gestured behind her. “Join me for an early morning snack?”

They sat at the table, fresh coffee smell filling the space. It was a cool morning, not just because Danny's dream had chilled the upstairs. Peter relaxed into the feeling of the warm cup on his fingers. May added some more sugar to hers, stirring in such a way that her spoon didn't clink against her mug.

“You haven't been sleeping,” May sighed. “Don't give me that look. I notice more than you give me credit for.”

Despite having kept his Spiderman identity secret for four years now, Peter instantly worried that's what she meant. What did she notice? Had she heard them mention anything about their work as heroes? About Ghosts? About Danny?

“What are you talking about?” He asked hesitantly.

May took a drawn out sip of her coffee before answering. “You've never been good about hiding how stressed you get, Peter.” She set the cup down and leaned forward. “You haven't been sleeping well for weeks now, and I can tell you're constantly worrying about Danny.” Peter resisted the urge to sigh in relief. This was normal familial concern, not hero related.

“Its hard not to worry about him.”

“I know.” She gave him a small grin. “We can all worry about that boy together.”

“Sure thing, Aunt May.”

“Tell me, Peter,” there was a darker tone to her voice that reminded him of the way she had talked after Ben died, “He told you what happened, didn't he?”

“Aunt May, I-”

“-I'm not going to ask what it was, if he did, it's just, I get the feeling that's part of why you're so, intense, when it comes to carrying for that child.”

“Intense?”

She gave him a look. “I hope you don't think it was a secret that you're always trying to think of ways to fix him.” There was a certain irony in how her metaphor was far more literal than she intended. “But I'm worried, you know? There are some things only time can fix, Pete. Our job is to just be there.”

Time.

“Thanks, Aunt May.” He eyed his cup. For the first time in a while, he felt a gap between them. When had he come to terms with keeping secrets from her? He'd never told her about his hero identity. There were too many reasons not to. It wasn't safe for her to know, he had too many enemies that weren't above hurting her to get to him. She would also worry, and he didn't want her to have to deal with knowing he regularly faced incredible danger. What would it be like if she knew? She'd probably tell him to stop being Spiderman. It wasn't safe, and he could get seriously hurt. He had, but she didn't need to know that part.

Peter realized he had been silent for a touch too long. So, he answered her original question. “He did. Tell me, that is.” May bit her lip and nodded. “He left out a lot, and he censored what he did tell, but,” he sighed, “I don't know how he can still…” How he could still laugh, joke, play, care, breathe, “Anything.”

May reached out and grabbed his hand gently. “I may not know as much as you do, Pete, but I know enough to know it's bad.” She gave him a small reassuring squeeze. “But he's here now, all of us can keep him safe, and we can be there when he needs us. I know it's hard, but please, don't make yourself sick trying to care for that boy. You won't be able to help anyone if you collapse from exhaustion you know.”

He grabbed her hand back, “I know, Aunt May, I know.” He smiled. Her words brought back the memories from when Otto had exhausted him in order to steal his body through the neural cortex. It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, but it led to a friendship he'd never expected. He'd gotten to see Otto turn from a bitter and sour villain to one of the greatest heroes he had the honor of knowing. He hoped he was living up to his expectations. He wished he'd had more time with him.

Time.

Always time.

“Go get some rest, Pete. At least a nap,” May winked at him.

“I'll try.” If only he could.

Chapter Text

Harry looked at the transcribed notes Peter had given him. Pete shuffled about anxiously, and he could tell that his friend was already aware of how he felt about the development.

“Why didn't you say anything?” His voice came out harsher than he intended.

“I don't know it just,” Peter groaned and took a disgruntled sip from his smoothie, “Didn't seem like something we could actually do anything about.”

“This, thing, was able to get into not only your room, but the Avengers tower, completely undetected. Leave you notes, turn you invisible, and lead you to crucial information about his creepiness?” He sighed and rubbed his temple. It was easier running Oscorp than it was trying to figure Pete out. “And you thought, stupidly, that you shouldn't say anything about it?”

“We had a lot going on!” Pete defended himself. “Please Harry, I know I should have said something sooner but, I don't know. Gwen is mad at me still, Anya will tell on me, Miles can't keep a secret, and I don't know, whoever or whatever this is says Danny doesn't trust them.”

“Gwen isn't still mad, and you're not a child, but fair point on Miles. He is exceedingly bad at coming up with excuses.” They both waited a moment before continuing. It was unlikely, but it wasn't impossible for Miles to be eavesdropping on them. After a moment where he half expected Miles to reveal himself to tell them off, Harry continued, “What do you think?”

“I don't know,” Pete swayed bis arms dramatically, “Its so sketchy, and creepy and weird but, but-”

“-But it didn't alert your spider sense or the mark.” Harry rolled his eyes. Notes aside, that was what threw him the most about it all. Pete had always been a decently perceptive person, and his powers, both new and old, only strengthened that. The only way anything should have gotten past him was if there wasn't a threat.

But this was sketchy.

“Well, to start,” he grinned, though he wasn't actually all that happy with the situation, “we were already talking about getting a phone.”

It was an excuse more than a real suggestion. He needed time to think over the situation. As they browsed the phones, not really sure what type they should get for the halfa, Harry's mind was cycling through what they knew. The entity didn't alert Pete or anyone else's spider sense. Neither the mark nor Danny reacted to it.

“I feel like we should get something with tons of memory.” Pete mused as he eyed the display phones.

“Kids gonna go wild over it, I'm sure.” Harry chuckled. He wasn't over being hesitant about the boy, the stuff he was capable of even weakened was reason enough to keep an eye on him. There was something about how Danny seemed to relax whenever someone showed him any sign of distrust that settled funny in his mind. It was like the kid wanted others to be cautious of him.

“If he discovers TikTok we’re all doomed.” Peter looked exhausted, like he hadn't been sleeping well. From what he'd heard from Miles, he wasn't surprised. Pete was always the first to go and calm Danny's dreams, or rather nightmares. Harry was sure the mark was waking him. He didn't see any bags or anything under Pete's eyes, and he was keeping up with work and hero business well enough, but he couldn't help but be concerned. Was he getting enough sleep?

“Placing my bet now, he's gonna make a prank channel.” Harry pointed to a model he thought might be a good choice. Lots of memory, a decent camera, and a touch on the small side that he thought might be good for the halfa. Not that he would dare tell him that he picked the phone based on the size of his hands.

As Pete inspected it, Harry mentally ran through the notes again.

Five minutes.

An ally yet met.

Time will bring you what you seek.

Three days.

As they moved on to looking at cases, Pete having chosen the phone he'd suggested, he found himself wondering how much all of this was truly messing with his friend. Surely if he had been properly rested he would have put the pieces together himself by now? Harry found a red case that matched the phone, and he held it up to Pete. “This one has those holes for phone charms.”

Peter gave him a look, “You think he’d like phone charms?”

Harry smiled, “He’s from the early 2000’s, right? He’ll love ‘em.” He already had an idea for what charms they should get the halfa.

When he told his plan to Pete, his friend got a mischievous look to his eyes. “We are so doing that.”

Having figured out the puzzle Pete had presented him, not that he knew what to do with the answer, Harry allowed himself to enjoy the rest of the outing. They finished setting the phone up, adding everyone on the Spider team and May, grabbing a popsocket, and picking out the perfect charms. Sure, the ‘entity’ had told them to get it, but after Danny’s unplanned visit to the helicarrier they had already decided they needed to get him one. Unlike Peter, the rest of them weren’t able to get a hold of the boy through some weird magical tattoo. It was some relief, to him at least, that the rest of them would be able to get in contact with the kid now.

Harry shook his head at the thought. It felt weird, like he was trying to spoil his nephew or younger brother or something. He still firmly believed that they needed to be prepared in case something happened with him, like if whatever spell the cultists were using was cast on him, but he couldn’t help liking the kid. Sure, he was severely traumatized and it often felt like walking on glass around him, but he was also fun. He was a brat that liked to annoy them all for a laugh. A kid that shied behind them when a stranger got too close. He’d scarf down food faster than all of the superheroes he’d met. Harry couldn’t help that the kid grew on him.

Danny was hanging out with the team at the lab, no doubt asking about everyone’s projects and trying to get them to forget that he still had homework. He knew Gwen wouldn’t fall for it, so he wasn’t worried about it. He still found it an odd choice to send him to school. Wasn’t that still too dangerous? What if the cult found him, or a ghost attacked at school, or if he had a panic attack that froze a classroom? With SHEILD being so secretive of the boy, upon Danny’s own request, he was sure someone from Xavier’s school would show up trying to get Danny to go with them. He imagined the halfa probably wouldn't like the idea.

“Should we head over to the lab? Give him the phone?” Pete asked as they left the store.

“Nah, Oscorp first.” He gave him a wink. Peter gave a half relieved sigh. Harry wondered how much of the stress was getting to him. He wasn’t sure what he had to say would be of any help in that regard.

They stopped to grab some more smoothies before slinking back to Oscorp. Harry used to hold a great deal of pride in the company, but now whenever he thought of it all he saw were the crimes it had aided in. Even years after taking it over, he was still dealing with the fallout of all that his father had done. He was trying to turn the business into something he could hold pride in again, but it was hard to see anything but the betrayal he still felt from his father.

Once in his office, which only had just started to feel like his own, Harry leaned against his desk, sat his smoothie down, and crossed his arms. He gave Pete a half scolding look. “Pretty sure your pen pal is Clockwork.”

“What?” Pete blanked at him, and began rumbling on about what little they new about Clockwork, his thoughts escaping his mouth faster than they could properly form.

“Pete chill it for a sec.” Harry shook his head. “You're right, it's technically just a guess, but an educated one.” Pete took a disheartened drink while Harry continued. “We know Clockwork has knowledge of the future, or futures I guess. We also know that Danny is important to him. From what he said, this guy has a plan for him already, and each part is somehow important, right?”

“Yes.” Peter narrowed his eyes. Harry could almost see him filling in the gaps. “Why does that plan involve years of torture?”

Harry froze. He'd known of this, everyone did to varying degrees. He'd seen the scar, but Pete had seen the injury. He hadn't tried to figure out what Clockwork's plan might be, having been mostly focused on why his friend hadn't figured out the entity's identity himself.

Peter's face was dark, angry, and dangerous. It was the kind of look that reminded Harry that his best friend was also constantly on the verge of loosing it. Pete was the kind of guy that always pulled his punches, even while being beaten nearly to death. Over and over again. Harry knew he'd never admit it, and he'd never bring it up, but it wasn't hidden from him that Pete was secretly hoping for a villain that could take a proper hit from him.

A ghost might be the perfect contender for this, and Clockwork, whatever his reasoning had been, had knowingly let Danny be vivisected.

“We only know a few things,” he only half tried to redirect Pete, more so wanting voice his own thinking, “We know that Clockwork prevented one timeline in which Danny loses everyone and becomes evil. We know that after that, Danny has still lost everyone, has been through even more hell, and is now here. Clockwork interfered in the summoning ritual to prevent you and Miles from being taken, and then he had Dr. Strange get Danny treatment. Now, he's leaving you notes.” He sighed, “All of which seem to be with the intent to help Danny.”

“He will not accept my help, but you need it.” Peter recited.

“So far, we know the first note helped you.” He took a long drink from his smoothie. He didn't trust Clockwork. There wasn't any scenario he could think of where the best case involved torturing the poor kid. That wasn't something he could overlook in his evaluation, but was it the part he should be focusing on? The request to Strange and the notes both seemed like the kind of acts that someone who cared about Danny would take.

“If this really is Clockwork,” Pete held his drink like he was going to take a sip but didn't, “then what happens in three days?”

“I don't know.” Harry considered all they knew. A sense of familiarity nagged at him. After a moment, he realized where it came from. “Remember when you first started being Spiderman, and the way things happened it was like Spiderman was trying to destroy my life?”

“I said I was sorry!” Peter raised his hands in rushed defense.

“I'm not mad, and that's not the point.” He laughed, only briefly before the weight of their conversation fell back on him. “You had nothing but good intentions, but things still went wrong, and there was only so much you could do about it."

“Yeah?”

“What if Clockwork is the same way?” He watched Peter's face twist as he considered this idea. “Strange said he works with all timelines, of all realities. He talks about him almost like he's a god or something, but what if he's not?”

“What if he's trying to prevent a mistake? He already prevented a timeline for Danny, what if there's an even worse outcome he's trying to keep from happening?”

“Or what if he's already made a mistake, and all this is him trying to fix it?”

“But can't he time travel? If he made a mistake, couldn't help go back to fix it?”

“Maybe he already has, and that's what the notes are for.” He shook his head. “Now we're just speculating. The more pressing concern is what to do about the book.”

“You're right.” Pete sighed and finally took a drink. “We've got 3 days, well, closer to two, to make a decision.”

“Till then,” he grinned, “There wasn't anything telling us not to get everything we can out of it.”

Peter finally smiled, the dark look fading from his eyes. Harry felt himself relax as it did. “Mind joining me for a study session?”

Harry stood and went to pat Peter's shoulder. “Just like old times.” They hadn't figured out what to do, but Harry was feeling better about the situation. They had some ideas about what might be going on, and something to do while they debated their choices.
It wasn't much progress, but it was enough to make him feel like he was useful. With the rest of the team, and all the other heroes, there were times when Harry felt as if his best bud didn't need him anymore. When Peter had come to him specifically, wanting his perspective and ideas, he wanted to live up to his friends expectations. Even with the uncertainty, Harry was at least partly confident that they were on the right track to figuring it all out.

Chapter Text

Danny liked the lab a lot better before Gwen made him do his homework. It seemed like everyone he was meeting in this new world was some sort of genius. Everyone at WEB had been students at Horizon High before it got destroyed for the final time. This put him in the position where he was surrounded by incredibly smart people that all wanted him to take school seriously. It was almost like being parented by a bunch of versions of Jazz.

As Grady helped him with his chemistry, doing a very thorough job of explaining the different types of reactions, Danny's mind wandered to the last time Jazz had helped with his homework. It was a longer assignment, something he had a long time to work on but hadn't had the chance to. She had scolded him for putting it off, lectured him on balancing his ghost fighting with his regular life,then sat him down and helped him complete it. He couldn't remember what they did, he couldn't even remember what class the project was for. He did, however, remember feeling grateful and relieved when she agreed to help.
He realized that had been the last time Jazz had helped him with his homework. A couple weeks after that was when she had been killed.

“Hey man, if you need a break we can take one, we've made enough progress I'm sure Gwen won't mind.”

When had Gwen become in charge of him?

“Yeah, a break sounds good.” He brushed some stray frost off his sleeve. If he didn't acknowledge it then it wasn't there, right? Right.

Grady misinterpreted the action. “Is your iv bothering you?” He tilted his head. “How often does that need changed, anyway?”

Danny looked over the line. Dr. Cho had made a couple of visits, checking the iv and redoing his line of AE. The last visit was a few days ago, where she had shown him how to do it himself, and had given him some supplies. “I'm supposed to change it every week, and she said it'd be good to change arms too.”

Grady nodded. “Is this the same mixture you're drinking or?” The young man let the question trail off.

“I don't think Dr. Cho filled the bag with energy drinks.”
“If those ingredients of your new stuff is anything like what I read on the first batch, then you absolutely should not be mixing that with anything.”

Danny chuckled. “Its fine.” He was already dead after all. Not that Grady knew that.

Their break came at a good time, as Peter and Harry arrived back at the lab. Harry seemed to be in good spirits, his face a touch brighter than normmal and his limp nearly gone. His knight, however, had a darker mood he was hiding behind a practiced simile. Danny could feel the stress though, some unknown problem he was sure wouldn’t be shared with him.

“Hey guys!” Danny smiled and prettended not to notice the stress Peter was trying so hard to hide.

“We got something for you,” Peter held up a bag with a box in it.

“Now you don’t have to steal the rest of ours.” Harry grinned, a meschivious thing that was contagious.

“Is that what I think it is?” Miles slid out from his office, evidently having kicked his rolling chair to propel himself into the common area.

“Could you let that boy get his present before you swarm on it?” Anya joined them, rolling her eyes and pushing Miles back into his own lab via chair.

Peter came over and deposited the bag in his lap. “Here you go gramps, now everyone else will be able to get a hold of you too.”

He gave his knight a suspicious look as he pulled the box out of the bag. It only took him a moment to realize what they had gotten him. “Is that a phone?”

Even with all the tech he had seen since coming to this world, there was something about going through and learning to use his own phone that felt even more futuristic than exploring the helicarrier. The device felt incredibly delicate, as he quickly learned all smartphones were. That was why everyone had a case to protect it, as well as some sort of stick on bit to make holding it easier. His case was a bright red with a black ‘pop socket.’

“Before you get to setting it up,” Harry tossed him a small baggie, “we found these too.”

Danny took the bag, finding 3 small charms dangling from a short cord. The first was a simple cartoon ghost, the second a yellow crown, and the third was a black spider. He smiled and attached the charms through the small holes on the bottom of his phone case. He held it up, rolled his eyes, and laughed. “They're cute.”

Chuckles were shared as everyone got the visual joke, save for Grady, who laughed along but clearly didn't understand what was so funny. Danny found a fair bit of amusement in the small charm being his first, or rather his only, crown. He'd have to tell the others later. Or not, he thought. They might find it too funny.

He'd decide later.

After being sure to thank Peter and Harry for the phone, he was then guided in how to set up and use it by Anya. Everyone had been giving him inout but she had shooed them off and scolded them for all trying to talk at once. She walked him through the set up, showed what apps were, how to get them, and how to pick safe ones. She gave a very detailed explanation of modern internet safety.

Apparently posting even a single picture could be enough to give out his location to the world.

The rest of his time at WEB was spent playing with the phone. Gwen, once finished with her work, came out and gave him a warning about not forgetting to finish his homework later. She shouldered a bag that Danny had come to learn held her spider suit. Evidently she was heading out to do her hero rounds. Living heros fighting living villains was still something that fascinated him. Once he was a bit better he was definitely going to spy on all of them to see what that was actually like.

Grady bid his farewells, and Danny hollard his thanks for helping him with his homework. With the only non super hero gone, Danny transformed and took up his perch on Peter's shoulders. He then bent down and showed his knight what the stansormation did to the phone. “Its blue now.”

Peter waved him away and kept typing and sifting through whatever files he was working on. “Thats teal.”

Danny straightened and looked over the changes. His ghost was now black with tiny white eyes. The crown was indigo, less entertaining than the original yellow. The spider was now white, which reminded him of Gwen's spider suit. His popsocket took after his hair, going from white to black. He sent Miles a selfie, mostly just to see if it still worked in his ghost form. After a moment his friend responded with his own selfie of him in a welding mask with his latest robot in the works before him.

“Oh, later ask Miles to put the hero protocol on your phone.” Peter said, not taking his eyes off his work.

“What's that do?”

“Extra security, helps keep secret identities secret, hides your conversations better, as long as you have it active your texts can't be retrieved by the phone companies, things like that.” Peter hummed. “Its probably not legal.”

“Ooh crime,” Danny taunted.

“Oh like your hero work didn't envolve any crime.”

“Fair.” He then disappeared and left his knight. He peeked his head into Miles lab, only to dart out as fast as he could when the bright light of his welding flashed his eyes. It was his own fault, he knew what he was doing. As he rubbed his eyes, only mildly uncomfortable, he chose to peek at Anya. She was also pouring over files. Whatever she was working on looked just like what his knight was doing, and it looked incredibly boring.

He poked his head back into Peter's lab, now featuring one Harry Ozborn holding a ghost book.

This also looked boring. “How long till Aunt May gets off work?”

“We’ve got a few hours, then she has yoga but she said she might cancel.” Peter answered.

“I’m gonna go exploing.” Danny announced. His knight frowned but didn’t verbalize his obvious objections.

Harry shook his head. “You are so bad at resting.”

“Am not!” He ducked out before he could hear Harry and Peter tell him otherwise.

Back in Amity, there had been plenty of good spots to fly to and hide away from the world. In New York, however, if felt like no matter where he went there was always someone. If he went high up there seemed to always be a taller building where people could see him. If he went too low he’d run into other flying heroes like the girl in armor he still had yet to catch her name. If he went back to the Parker’s there was Ben, who while being incredibly kind and willing to give him space if he wanted it, would still be aware of his activities within the home. This didn’t constitute much for privacy.

With all this, he had tried to fly up high into the clouds the other night after seeing the state his core. He had hoped being high above all the buildings would be far enough away from anyone who could fly. He’d stayed invisible and had let himself cry.

Then he had gotten hit by the helicarrier. He had told the baby heros that the reason that had happened was because of its invisibility capabilities. In truth he should have still heard it coming, but had been sobbing pretty intensely. It was scary, the prospect of being so close to not existing.

Presently, he was actively searching for the vessel. He hadn’t been back since, but figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to find. Sure, it was invisible, but it wasn’t intangible. He was sure if he tried he’d be able to find it again.

After absently flying around the sky, he finally got his clue. He heard the whirring of an engine. He followed the sound, staying invisible as he searched. The sound got louder, and his excitement grew.

Then he flew into the helicarrier.

It hurt.

Again.

He was glad he was invisible.

Having located his target, and acquired a bruise on his shoulder, Danny flew into the craft, determined to see more of it than he had the last time. Previously, he had barely gotten to look around it before running into the meeting room with Harry, Furry, and the baby heroes. He wanted to know more about it all. Ava and that Sam kid were a part of the training program. Were their identites secret, or was heroing a regular enough profesion that they didn't need to keep that sort of secret? He had been surounded by heros since being summoned, but given the circumstances he didn't think his experience was a good referance point for what was normal for this world.

His first step in his idle investigation to the baby heros was to see as much of the helicarrier before Fur found him and tattled to Peter. He kept invisible, and flew around without direction. The place was definetly militeristic, all metal and no appeal. As high tech as everything was, it was also all practical. There weren't any decorations or anything on the walls, which kind of made the place feel lonely even with all the people within.

There were many different types of people wondering about. Danny saw a lot of scietists in white coats, whom he elected to avoid. Buff men and women in heavy armor and weapondry trotted about, running in what he guessed to be an exorsize. There were also some people in more plain clothes with no desernable job they were actively doing. These people were dotted throughout the metal maze of the helicarrier, and try as he might Danny couldn't figure out what they were doing.

He found a cafeteria, where he found the highest concentration of plain clothed people. This led him to the boring conclusion that the people not in some type of uniform were simply employees on their breaks.

Dissatisfied with that answer but accepting it anyway, he floated around the cafeteria, looking for any interesting topics for him to spy on, and or any easy to snag snacks.

Danny discovered both of these in a teenager wearing an odd suit and holding a big bag of cheese puffs. The suit was black with yellow circle decals and yellow accents. Even through the amour like garment he could tell the boy was thin, though he knew from experience that did not mean he was weak. The strangest thing about this boy’s getup was his helmet, which was yellow with a large red peice that curved above his eyes, the top of his head, and pointed down towards his nose. It almost covered his full face, leaving just his lower face uncovered.

He flew down and sat on the table in front of the boy, watching him eat his cheese puffs while he decided what he actually wanted to do. Surely this kid was a hero, right? Was he one of the ones he'd met in the meeting room? If that were the case than it had to be the Sam boy, as he wasn't tall enough to be the blonde boy, nor was he dark enough to be the other guy. He also defiently wasn’t Ava. Danny really had figure out everyone's names.

Would it be a bad idea for him to steal some of Probably Sam Boy's cheese puffs?

Danny reached out his hand and snagged the small handful the teen was about to toss into his mouth, facing the treat through his hand before tossing it into his own mouth.

“Wha- hey!” The boy stood and looked around, bag of puffs in one fist and the other raised and ready for a fight. “Who did- Phantom!”

Danny decided not to reveal himself. He wanted to see what else Probably Sam would do. The teen clutched the bag close to him, then pulled out his phone, which had a dark blue case with no popsocket or anything similar on the back. He watched as the baby hero dialed and grumbled impatiently.

When whoever answered, Danny was presented with a show that made it hard not to laugh. “Phantoms in the cafeteria and he’s stealing my food!”

As close as Danny was, he was able to hear the person on the other end. “You’re not supposed to be in the cafeteria in the first place No-”

“-Got to go!” The teen hung up. He glared at nothing, and Danny covered his mouth to not laugh. “Where are you you spooky little shit?”

Instead of answering verbally, Danny elected to reach his hand through the bag and steal more cheese puffs. The boy felt this and lifted the bag over his head as if that would prevent him from getting his hands on the snack.
“Stop taking my puffs!”

“No.” Danny revealed himself after snagging a handful through the bottom of the bag again. He laughed as he floated above him and tossed the puffs into his mouth. He then stopped laughing as the teen began to float as well.

“You little!”

Danny yelped, out of surprise not fear, but quickly recovered. “Betcha can’t catch me!” The pair of them had become a spectacle for the other people in the cafeteria. Danny didn’t care for the scientists watching him. Their eyes were just a bit too intrigued. So, he flew off, taunting the flying teen as he did.

“Get back here!”

He couldn’t help but laugh. The boy was fast, easy to provoke, and a lot of fun. While his pursuer was limited by the walls and other obstacles, like people, Danny was not. Multiple times throughout the chase he flew through the walls in order to circle back behind him and change the course of the game.

After a few minutes, it was clear that the boy had far more stanimina than himself. He began to lose speed, and was nearly caught a couple of times before Danny decided to spend a moment invisible.

“Thats cheating!” The boy called.

Danny chuckled as he flew more lazily about while the teen searched for him. He hadn’t tried to fly that fast since the fight with Dorathea, notably before he thought his condition worsened. He felt sore. His internal scars pulled at him, begging for rest like they often did in his human form. He ignored his discomfort, taking too much enjoyment from the chase.

He reappeared next to the boy’s head, upside down. “Hey how come you can fly too?” He went intangible as the boy swiped at him. “You’re not dead, and it doesn’t look like your suits making you fly,” the boy kept trying to grab him, and kept failing,

“Why,” the boy barked in frustration, “won’t you, ahh!”

“Dude chill, I only took a few.”

“Why is the ghost king stealing my snacks!”

“Because its funny!” He matched the boy’s volume. Their voices echoed out through the hall they were in, an empty one that he had no clue where they were. Not that he knew where anything actually was in the craft. With no one around the space felt creepy. Danny wanted to bring an end to this game.

“What are you even doing?” The teen crossed his arms, angry and scolding.

Danny crossed his legs as if he was sitting in the air, he rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. “I don't know, messing with you I guess.”

“But why?” Despite the powers and the suit, the boy sounded pretty childish then. Danny wondered if this was what YoungBlood found so amusing, though he was starting to get annoyed. He wasn't sure why, as he was the one who had started this, but something about the tone in the teen's voice aggravated him.

He had wanted to keep taunting him, but instead Danny found himself blurting, “Because nobody will let me do anything!” He crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest, feeling his cheeks heat up at his outburst.

“Are, are you okay?” Now the Probably Sam boy sounded confused, like he was trying to decide if this change in attitude was part of the game or not.

Danny wished it was. He turned his head away. “I'm fine.”

He wasn't believed. “Oh sure, I can tell by all the snack stealing and running around the damn helicarrier.”

“Oh whatever. Its your own fault for being so fun to mess with.”

“And whats that supposed to mean?”

A new voice, one Danny knew well, sounded behind them, “It means both of you are in trouble.”

They both spun in the air, finding Dr. Cho standing with her arms crossed and a stern, disappointed look on her face. “Nova, your physical was supposed to be 15 minutes ago. And Phantom,” she shook her head, “I think you know this does not fall under ‘resting.” She gestured to the space.
Danny landed and hung his head. Beside him Nova, who was still probably Sam, did land as well. He looked more embarrassed to be scolded than dejected like Danny, but was still quiet.

“Sorry ma'am,” Nova said.

“It was just a bit of flying,” Danny defended.

“And invisibility, and intangibility.” If his cheeks weren't flushed with his green ectoplasmic blood before, they were now. “Neither of you were subtle in this stupid game of tag.” She pointed behind her, “The both of you are coming with me. You still need to do your physical, and you-”

“-Do I have to?” His head shot up. He didn't want Nova to hear any of what was wrong with him.

“Its that or I call your guardian.” His doctor was crafty. She won this round.

They both followed her as she led them to what Danny guessed was a medical bay. It was basically an entire hospital in the sky. Danny hadn't been to a proper hospital since his summoning, still hadn't if one were to exclude this one as it wasn't technically a hospital at all. There were doctors and nurses going about their business. In all honesty there weren’t that many of them, but Danny didn't like seeing them. Their scrubs reminded him of the doctors that had taken him apart. He felt small, and he knew frost was growing on his clothes.

His phone buzzed. He looked as they walked.

Peter - Is everything alright? What are you doing?

Danny - Dr Cho is mad at me

Peter - Were you over doing it?

Danny - No

Peter - Sure sure

He pocketed his phone, not interested in his knight telling him off as well. He knew they’d talk about it later, so what was the point in talking about it now? Beside him, Nova leaned over and whispered, “Why do you listen to her? Can't you just leave?”

He could. Technically. He wouldn't though, and it wasn't just because she would tell May. Despite his protest and skirting around her instructions, he cared about Dr. Cho. He respected her, more than he had respected anyone in his life. She had put him back together.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because she was one of his heros. “I like Dr. Cho.”

He didn't care that Nova was giving him a look. Sure, the teen might be even more confused by him than before, but he didn't really care about that. Nova made a noise akin to a grunt, “Well, you're still not very kingly to me.”

He scoffed. “Says the baby hero.”

Before Nova could respond, Dr. Cho pointed them to a bench set outside a room with a closed door. there wasn't really anything Danny saw to indicate that the room was medical in nature, save for a nameplate on the door that read ‘Helen Cho.’ She pointed to it, “Nova, you sit there.” Her voice was firm and final.

Nova did as instructed, giving Danny a shrug as Dr. Cho led him inside. Despite all the metal, it looked like a relatively normal doctors office. She gestured to the bed with a long sheet of paper over it, and he floated up and sat on it. She brought over a blood pressure cuff.

“I don't have a pulse.”

“Human form, please.” He did as she asked. She affixed the cuff and clipped a heart monitor on his finger. While she collected the readings, she gave him a look over. Danny didn't watch as she had him lift his shirt to see the incision site. “You boys were saying Spidermans healing factor is also helping you?”

He nodded. “I probably wouldn't even be able to move yet without it.”

“Not probably,” she shook her head as she removed the devices. Then she picked up a clipboard, he guessed with some of her notes from the last time. “Tell me about the problems with the ice.”

He looked at his shoes. “Same as before, I pass out after using it.”

She hummed to herself. “But you haven't had another Melting incident?”

“No…”

She nodded. “And the scars?”

He shrugged. “They're there.” She gave him a curt look so he continued. “They hurt.” another look. “Constantly.”

She sighed. “Are the meds in the ivs helping?”

“A little.”

She sat the clipboard down. “What happened?”

“What?”

“You haven't made a single dismissive joke about this. So, again, what happened?”

Before being summoned, or rather before losing everyone, there had been exactly two people he had spoken to about his core. Sam and Tuck had been witness to his death, they'd seen his confusion at his cores formation. Sam had been the one to figure it out, to have him focus on his core for the first time. He'd told them what it felt like, for his entire perception of self to be shifted. they'd asked him questions, and he had answered what he could.

He never showed them.

He hadn't shown Peter.

He wouldn't show her.

“I just,” Danny looked away from her, “figured something out, about my ghost half.” Dr. Cho didn't respond. He knew she was waiting For him to continue, but he wasn't sure what to say. Then, after a moment, the words fell from his mouth like tears from his eyes, “I found out how close I was to not existing anymore.”

Dr Cho placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She didn't know it, but she'd chosen the spot he'd hidden His core. Her touch was comforting, to a degree he hadn't expected. She was his doctor, the one who had directly seen which of his organs had been removed and the one who had put them back where they belonged. Of the few people who knew the true extent of what he'd been through, she knew the most. Tony and Strange had been there for his surgery, but they hadn't been the ones to perform it.

“Danny,” her voice was softer than before, “you're not going to disappear. You may have come close, but it didn't happen. It won't happen.”

Her words sounded more hopeful than reassuring, like she wanted to convince herself more than him. She'd seen his older scars, the cuts that had been made to his heart, for all that had been done she knew better than anyone that it shouldn't be able to beat.

Danny knew she was still at a loss for his ghost half. It was understandable, as treating the dead was not something any living doctor would be accustomed too. She had asked about his core, and he hadn't been able to answer. He hoped she didn't ask again, as he wouldn't be able to lie and silence could spill his secrets for him.

“I know.”

His phone buzzed. He pulled it out, finding another message from his knight.

Peter - Mays making dinner

“Give me that for a moment.” Dr Cho took his phone and began typing. He got worried that she was tattling to Peter about his antics but before he could beg her not to tell him she returned the device to him. It was open on the contacts. “Now you can reach me if anything happens.”

“Oh,” relief filled him. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “Keep drinking the AE, and changing your IV as necessary.” He repeated her previous instructions to her, showing that he remembered what he was supposed to do. “Also, no bullying the trainees.”

“Just a little?” He pinched the air.

“No.” She smiled and instructed him to send Nova in, but to wait outside the office. She didn't answer his question of why, so he reluctantly did as he was asked.

In the fifteen minutes Nova’s physical took, Danny discovered the joys of having a smartphone to occupy oneself with. He messaged Peter, who told him he had him covered for why he was late for food. Impromptu doctors visit wasn't far from the truth, it just wasn't all of it. He scrolled through the apps they'd installed, finding most of his waiting time spent figuring out TikTok. It seemed appealing.

When Nova came back out it wasn't with Dr. Cho. He looked at him, and the trainee said, “She said for us to wait- shit.”

“Nova, Phantom.” A man Danny wasn't particularly in the mood for announced himself. Nova stood at attention like a soldier, Danny crossed his arms. He held his head high and defiant. Fury frowned. “Why were the two of you flying around my ship like a pair of damn hooligans?”

“Phantom stole my snacks!”

“Did you seriously use the word hooligan?”

Fury sighed. “Nova, you let the smallest bit of provocation distract you. See that it doesn't happen again.”

“Yes sir!” Nova responded, waves of discomfort rolling off of him despite his strong voice.

“Phantom.”

Danny grinned. “Nope. Snack toll first.” Fury produced a small bag of fruit gummies and tossed it to him. Danny caught it and tore it open, nodding. “Thanks.”

“Stop distracting my trainees.”

“Mmmm, no.” He floated up as to be eye to eye to Fury. Still smiling, he narrowed his eyes. “Don't forget you're not the boss of me baldy.”

“You're on my ship,” Fury stood firm, “I expect my guests to behave themselves, especially when they weren't invited.”

“That a threat?”

“Stop trying to antagonize me, Phantom.”

“Stop being fun to antagonize.” Behind him he could feel Novas anxiety rise. Truthfully Fury was not the kind of person he wanted as an enemy. He had resources that not only included various hero teams and a flying fortress, but also the orb that could control him. Danny wasn't fond of not knowing where that particular artifact was.

Even so, none of that was why he had decided to mess with the man. Fury would be a formidable apponent if they were to ever actually fight, and he wanted him to keep his guard up. Just in case history tried to repeat itself, he wanted this man in particular to be prepaired. Also, his stoic nature was a fun contrast to Danny's own joyful mask.

“Aren't you late for something?”

“You trying to get rid of me?”

“Yes.”

Danny laughed. He tossed the rest of the gummies in his mouth and flew around Nova's head. The teen tried to swat him away as if he were a fly, his hand passing uselessly through him. “You were fun, haunt ya later!”

He dove through the floor, flying out through the bottom of the helicarrier. His adventure was short, but it left him in a good mood. It also gave him a new, albeit short term, goal. He wanted to know more of these baby heros. Nova, definitely Sam, was loud, arrogant, and a bit childish. Some of his movements reminded Danny of his first few months as a hero back in Amiy. Nova was headstrong and confident, maybe overly so. Being confronted with something he didn't immediately know how to handle through the boy through a loop. Danny knew first hand how all these things could lead to dangerous situations, so knowing that the boy was in a training program provided him with a bit of relief.

As he flew back, he hoped the food hadn't gone cold.

Chapter Text

Peter had been acting strange for the past couple of days. Harry as well, and Danny knew he wasn't the only one to notice it.

“Shouldn't you be the one to be obsessed with that book?” Miles asked after swinging on top of a light post. Danny was permitted to accompany him on his patrols, but wasn't allowed to help. So, in between the occasional robbery and near car crash, they chatted about their observations.

“Why? Think I don't know enough about ghosts?” He kept invisible so as to not accidentally become a new, active member of the web warriors. He had no experience real fighting the living, and his vulnerable state was not the time to practice.

“Shouldn't a king want to know more about his people?” Miles swung to a new perch a couple blocks away. Danny followed, still amazed by the stamina exhibited by the spiders.

“I know plenty.” Miles couldn't see it, but Danny crossed his arms. “And Peter does too, so I don't get why he's been so absorbed by that stupid book.”

“You think?” Miles rescued a cyclist who would have been hit by a car that took a turn without looking. He placed the woman down, gave her back her bike, and warned the driver to pay more attention before swinging away. “Seems like there's a lot to cover.”

“You don't need to know everything to be able to handle ghosts. You guys know how to fight them, what to expect from them, and we haven't even seen anyone else since Dora so like,” he shrugged, not that Miles could see.

“Yeah, I wonder what their deal is.” Miles pointed up and made his way to the top of a building, where he sat with his legs dangling. Danny sat next to him, not dropping his invisibility. “What do you think they're doing?”

The only thing that Danny could think of was that his knight was trying to find a way to heal his core, but he already knew that the answer wouldn't be in that book. He had told Peter as much. There was also the factor of Harry studying the book with him. He trusted Peter to have not told about his condition, but that was the only thing he could think of for why he had become so invested in the book. His knight had taken to bringing it with him everywhere, presently at the lab. The situation felt like a puzzle that he only had half of the pieces for.

“Well, technically, they're reading.”

“That is so helpful, can't believe I didn't think about it.” Miles snapped.

“I know, aren't you a professional genius or something?” Danny followed as Miles took off again, repositioning to a new rooftop.

“Seriously kid.” Miles shook his head. “They're freaking me out. Like, do they know something we don't?”

“Probably.” Danny groaned. “Wish we knew what.”

“Yeah, that's the problem.” Miles also groaned. “We can't even spy on them, Pete's too perceptive and can feel you coming.”

“What? You're not sneaky enough even with your invisibility?”

“Hey. Don't be underestimating Spiderman like that.”

“I wasn't-” He paused. He felt as if he had tripped, but that wasn't possible as he was currently floating. His core burned within him and he felt his energy draining from him. He landed, loosing his invisibility as he sat.

Miles noticed. “Woah, dude, what-”

His body lurched again, but he held on to the brick ledge with a grip that cracked the stone. The sensation felt familiar, but he couldn't place it. Miles was talking, confused and rushed, but he couldn't hear him. Danny had a feeling if he lost focus for even a moment something terrible would happen. Something dripped onto his pants. He didn't look at it, even as the static metal taste if his blood filled his mouth he didn't move. The roof. The air. The brick.

“Danny!”

His knight.

“P-” his focus broke. The world changed. The cool wind of the city was gone, replaced by a still darkness only lit by a long row of candles encircling him. The air was damp and smelled of metal and stone.

Whispers sounded around him, and he found about a dozen people in dark robes kneeling down with their heads bowed and their hands outstretched.

Shit, he thought.

Danny floated up and looked about, his eyes adjusting to the darkness quickly, just as they always did. He found what he feared, a summoning circle. A faint green glow began to emanate from the markings that had called him. Anger swelled inside him, drowning his confusion and fear. Forgetting his limitations, as well as the ecto bracers still on his wrists, he shot an ecto blast hard enough that it created a creator in the floor. The aftershock of his attack knocked a spry of water off the ceiling and knocked over a good third of the candles. The cultists, he could only assume, gasped and backed away from the circle, still sitting, still bowing their heads.

“Where. The. Fuck. Am. I.” He put power into his words, which echoed around the space. He sounded bigger than he was. He hoped it sounded intimidating.

Movement from one of the cultists caused him to whip around in the air so as to face them. A young man, maybe a few years older than Peter, removed his hood, revealing dusty brown hair that fell into his eyes. He had dark bags under his eyes made darker by the flickering candlelight. A bruise discolored his cheek. “Your highness, we are sorry to interrupt-”

Danny elected to use his invisibility while he darted over to the man. He formed an ice blade and had it to the cultists throat before he reappeared. Wisely, he stopped talking and didn't move. “No. No flattery, no worshiping, no binding. You answer my questions, and I don't cut your life short.” He didn't know if he was bluffing or not. “Now, where am I?”

“A deserted island in the tropics.” To his credit, the man kept his voice even, though there was a slight tremble to his hands, which were clasped in front of him as if in prayer.

“On Earth?”

“Yes, your highness.”

“Which Earth?” He really hoped they weren't in yet another world. Or back in his own.

“I don't-”

“-Is this the Earth with the Avengers?”

“Yes, your highness.” That was one relief. At least he was in the same world. He was sure his knight would find him, though it would definitely take time. Till then, he needed to ensure his own safety.

Danny pressed the knife closer to the man's throat. “Stop calling me that.” He didn't get a response, So he continued. “Why did you summon me?”

“We, We were exiled We-”

“-I don't care. Don't give me your life story.”

“Your highness, please-”

Faster than he meant to he was behind the speaker, his ice blade now against her neck instead. “I wasn't talking to you.” He whispered in her ear. When she didn't respond, another wise division, he renewed his question. “Since you want to talk so bad, why don't you tell me why I was summoned?” His words felt like fire in his mouth. He sounded evil. He felt evil. He wanted them to be scared of him, too scared to be able to hurt him.

“We wanted to prove we were right.” Her hand tried to grip his arm, but she passed right through him. No one here was allowed to touch him. “The others, they insisted the toll had to be paid with lives.”

“What did you use?”

“Gold. A hundred and thirteen pieces, each marked with our blood.” She a answered.

There was some comfort in knowing that more people hadn’t died to bring him there. There was also a bit of dread in knowing he was so easily summoned with a bit of gold. He pressed the flat of his blade against the woman’s neck. She gasped and he could feel her tense.

“One last thing,” he kept his voice low and threatening, “What do you want me for?”

“Summoning you is one of the steps we must take to fulfill the Emerald One's wishes.”

New questions filled him, but he didn't want these people to think he was entirely clueless. If they figured out that he was entirely in the dark, what would they do? Did they have other ways of binding his will aside from the circle he'd destroyed? What would they try if they found out how weak he actually was?

How much time did he have before he reached his limit?

As he contemplated his next move, the man he'd been questioning before spoke up, “If you'll-” Danny wasted no time in going back across the circle and brandishing the ice blade at the man. This time he knelt in front of him, and had the tip of the knife just a hair from his Adam's apple. For most people, such a position would be vulnerable to counters. If the man were fast enough, and if Danny were entirely human, he could bat away the knife and lunge at him. However, as he wasn't just human, the position was fine. If anyone tried to touch him in that moment, they would simply pass through him.

The man raised his hands in a slow surrender. “If you'll allow me, I'll explain all we know. I'm sorry, we weren't trying to anger you.”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “You tried to bind my will, to control me.”

“We were taught it was necessary, that you would attack otherwise.”

Danny bit his tongue to try and keep his face steady. Why wouldn't he fight? They'd torn him from where he was, no warning, no asking, just expectations and sacrifice. Still, there was the dark thought that had he not been summoned the first time he was sure he'd have experienced his second death by now.

“You better drop that accusatory tone in your voice.” He could see beads of sweat gather on the young man's brow. Was he doing a good job at being scary? As long as they were afraid, they wouldn't try and cut him open, right? Frost trailed up his arm from his blade, but he didn't relent. He couldn't lose consciousness yet. “If you were so scared of me attacking,” which he realized he had so far given them all the reason to be, “then why summon me at all?”

“The Emerald One, he said you would be injured and scared. That you would not trust easily. So we must bind you before we can save you.”

Danny took in this statement and what it meant. Whoever the Emerald One was had known what kind of state he was in. Was this all a genuine effort to rescue him, or did they want to take advantage of his condition to gain power? If someone was after the throne, having him be as weak as he was would give them an easier time meeting the requirements. His position, as unwanted as it had been, was now vulnerable. If he were to lose it before his core was healed, he was sure the shock of it would shatter him.

“What do you get out of saving me?”

“If we follow the Emerald One and save you, then we will be granted protection after we die.” The man's voice lost some of its originality as he seemingly recited the answer.

So that's what drives you, Danny thought. Fear of the afterlife. The unknown. Not death, but whatever comes next for them. If it was a ghost that had started all this, it would be easy for them to manipulate their fear with the ferocity of the ghost zone. If they were able to enter and exit at well it was possible that the followers had even been shown the ghost zone. He remembered the first time he'd seen it, the endless expanse of the infinite. Ethereal green and floating terrain that was all so different from what he had always known that it had rattled him to his core. He'd long since become accustomed to it, but it wasn't fair for ordinary people to be shown that.

He allowed his knife to dissipate as he stood, relaxing his shoulders just a touch but not entirely dropping his guard. “You're all idiots.” He declared. He was running out of time. He went invisible while he looked around for an exit.

“Your hi- wait!” The man called for him just as he found a tunnel with an upward slant. Danny wasted no time in leaving. The only part of the man's words he caught was, “We can't-”

He didn't care. He didn't have time to care. He shouldn't have used so much energy in that blast to take out the circle. He shouldn't have used his ice.

Outside the tunnel he found a dark world, the sky now blocked not by the ceiling of a cave, but by heavy fauna that made the air crisp. He flew up, high and fast. His body felt heavy, like it would him back to the ground like an anchor falling through the water. His heart, usually still in his ghostly form, thrummed in his chest. In the overcast sky, he could tell that the cultists claims of them being on a tropical island was true. It was small, encircled by a blank beach. The sand looked to be the only thing separating the ocean and the forest. Near the cave he saw a simple building that he guessed to be where the exiled cultists were living. As his eyes drooped, he found a bigger problem.

A faint green dome covered the island, its edge ending about a hundred yards from the beach in the ocean. He began to lose altitude, and realized he didn't have the luxury to figure out how to deal with the ghost shield then. He flew away from the building, quickly falling below the trees and stumbling on the ground. He fell, lost his transformation as his body tumbled down the brush. Foliage that he didn't quite recognize, thorny vines and colorful fauna pulled at his clothes and skin. A branch caught in his hair, stabbing him and cutting his forehead.

When his fall ended, he was at the base of a palm tree. The leaves parted just enough for him to see the gathering clouds darken. He coughed and spat out some of his static blood. “Its gonna rain,” he whispered. He needed to find shelter, some place for him to hide not just from the weather but from the cultists. Peter would be able to find him, right? His knight would find him and bring him home, right?

May would be worried. They were supposed to have chili dogs that night. Miles was going to pick up the hot dogs and buns after his patrols. Harry was coming over, probably to keep studying the ghost book with Peter. Grady had promised to help him with his Early Avengers history assignment. It was a precursor to the mutant protection law unit he was about to start with Ms. Marconi.

Danny couldn't keep his eyes open. As unconsciousness began to take him, he heard someone, or something, approach. “Don't, bury me.” He couldn't manage more. Danny passed out, stuck on an island far from his new home. Nightmares of his body being sliced into plagued his unwanted sleep. At some point the ever shifting being that was the amalgamation of all who had vivisected him dawned a blue gray robe.

His knight was not there to pull him from the dream.

Chapter Text

The pages of the book had become crinkled as he aggressively searched through them. After Danny disappeared, it stopped responding to his questions. He wanted to know more of why he couldn't find him. He couldn't feel him. The mark didn't even burn anymore.

The mark had burned his chest more than it had even when Danny was having a panic attack. He'd raced to him, not having even spent a moment to tell Harry what was happening. He'd made it just in time to see Danny, nose and mouth bleeding green, vanish. It wasn't like his usual disappearing trick. He was gone. Peter tried to feel his location through the mark, but there was nothing. It was as if it were simply a tattoo on his chest.

Was this what Clockwork had meant by three days? Had that not been related to the book at all?

Out of frustration more than anything, he slammed the book shut. Then he sat down, lifted his mask a touch and grabbed a juice pouch from his bag.

“Nothing?” Harry asked.

He shook his head. “I didn't realize how used to the mark I had gotten.” He rubbed his chest, trying to will the heat to return so he could find Danny.

Tony burst into the room. “No reports of another mass of people going missing.”

Multiple Avengers were gathered for the search. Dr. Strange tried, and failed, to find him with magic. That left the regular missing persons tactics. SHIELD resources, as extensive as they may be, had yet to find the halfa. He hadn’t shown up on any cameras, no credible sightings, no strange phenomena, and no leads. They didn’t even know if he was still in their world.

It had been three days.

They were on the helicarrier, something Peter would have found much cooler if he wasn't so thoroughly stressed. The heros not on his team currently helping included Ironman, Black widow, Thor, and some newbies that were in the revised training program SHIELD had made. It wasn't that more couldn't help, but that there were other missions that they were already on and at least some heros had to be on standby for emergencies.

Miles and Gwen were handling Aunt May, who was understandably upset. Their story was that Danny had an incident with his powers and was in mostly isolated care till he got a handle on them. According to the lie, Peter was staying to help with that. Gwen had come up with it, and it was all that he could hope that Miles didn't blow it. Four years in and he was still a terrible liar.

“Dr Strange said that 'they’ had chosen to pay in lives…” Peter mused. He eyed the book again. “Some summonings don't require payment at all, but the ones that do never specify what you have to use.”

“Great, for all we know he can be summoned with a bag of doritos.” Mr. Stark grumped as he paced around the space, eating the same chips he had mentioned.

“I mean, if there's nothing saying what you have to pay with…” Harry mused. “Though, we don't know how to summon him, even with the pictures of the original circle.”

“There's also a chance summoning him could drain his energy…” Something popped into his head, and he jerked towards Harry. “Do you remember when we took him pants shopping?”

“Oh, yes, because his pants are totally relevant- no wait I know what you're talking about.”

Mr Stark crossed his arms. “His pants?”

“No, not his pants-”

“-Why are we talking about pants?” The bucket headed kid asked as he entered the room.

“I am not trying to talk about pants!” Peter waved his arms dramatically. “I was trying to talk about the time when Phantom appeared in our lab suddenly.”

“Isn't appearing suddenly his thing?” Bucket Head, Nova, asked.

“No, yes, agh,” Peter shook his head and waved his arms. “He'd been sleeping in the car, I got worried about him and next thing we know he's asleep on the shelf.”

“You sure he didn't just, sleep float there?” Mr Stark asked as he ate more doritos.

“Pretty sure he didn't.” He explained how he'd felt a reaction from the mark before it happened. “Thinking back, it was like I had somehow called him there.”

Nova grunted, “Well then why haven't you done that?”

“If I knew how, don't you think I would have?” Peter was not a fan of this Nova.

“What good is being connected to that guy if you can't even figure out how to find him?”

“Oh no, here they go again.” Harry shook his head and went over towards Mr Stark. The pair of them shared chips and just watched the argument.

“I've been trying!”

“Really? Cuz it looks to me like you've been doing nothing but reading,” Nova floated and leaned in to his face. It reminded Peter of something Danny would do. “You're so worried but while the rest of us are going around looking for him, you're in here reading a fucking book.”

Burn the book.

Peter was pissed that Novas ranting had given him the answer he'd been missing. Still, he wasn't quite done with the argument. “I've been looking for a way to find him.”

“And so far, what? You figured out that you can but oh wait you actually can't summon him yourself?”

“You try using a power that literally isn't even yours! Even reading about it I barely know anything!”

“Then stop reading!” Nova made an exaggerated motion, clearly rolling his eyes under that bucket of a helmet he was wearing.

“That's the plan, actually.” He straightened. He was still annoyed, but he had bigger problems than Nova pretending he knew better. Even if he had a valid point. He turned to Harry. “It's time we grab a match.”

Harry didn't explain anything as they gathered materials to burn the book. Mr Stark questioned them, figured out they're plan, then began protesting it without telling Nova what they were doing. They found a metal trash can that would serve well enough as a burn barrel, a well ventilated training room that was designed to handle combat involving fire, and some matches. During this, they were joined by the other younger heros, who Peter was not familiar with yet.

The girl in the white bodysuit with some black stripes, like Mr Stark, had figured out what they were doing. “Are you serious? Isn't that your only source of ghost info without Phantom?”

The beefier of the newbies crossed his arms. “Maybe they just got fed up with it.” Peter knew this one was Powerman, he remembered his hero name. Apparently he'd taken inspiration from his own hero name. Peter decided he liked that kid. He at least had good taste.

“Perhaps there is a reasoning that Spiderman and Mr Osborn have yet to impart. I find it hard to believe that they would burn such an important artifact out of irritation.” The blonde, overly wise one said.

“They'd better.” Mr Stark had given up arguing after Harry had given him a nod. The kind of look that held the important message of ‘shut up and let this happen.’

Peter took the matches from Harry. He placed the book into the barrel. “That stupid Clock guy had better be right about this.” He lit the match and placed it on the ghost book.

The orange flame of the match was quickly consumed by an otherworldly green that burst to life in an extravagant blaze that almost roared with its ferocity. Ectoplasmic energy rolled out from the fire just as it had from the portals he'd witnessed before. There was power within the book that with each second burnt away into nothing but dissipating ash. Peter watched as the fire fizzled out, leaving behind little evidence of the book that had once been.

The mark burned faintly.

He grabbed it, trying to feel more. There were no emotions that weren't his, no warnings of danger, nor any pull that would tell him where Danny was. Just a small heat that was already cooling.

“Well, now what web head?” Nova asked.

“Pajamas you had better got something good for us.” Mr Stark scolded.

He had felt the mark react. His connection to Danny was still intact. Peter realised he should have known as much as he had still yet to need sleep. Had the mark reacted to the energy released from the book?

That was it.

“Mr Stark, you found that Phantom releases energy when he heals, right?”

“Its minute, but yes.”

“I still don't understand what's going on here.” Powerman said.

“If we can track that energy, make a sensor sensitive enough and with enough reach-”

“-Wait, doesn't that only work if he's injured?” White Tiger, he finally recalled, asked.

Peter blinked. Did these kids not know how bad it all was?

Harry answered before he could. “Oh, he's injured. Weakened state, remember?”

“He was flying around just fine the other day.” Nova whined.

“I promise you he wasn't fine.” Harry shook his head.

Peter didn't have time for this. “He was vivisected. For five years.”

Danny probably wouldn't appreciate this information being shared with these kids, and Peter wasn't sure they were going to be okay with it. Confusion, disgust, horror, their faces held it all. However, there wasn't any good that would come out of sugar coating that particular truth.

“But, he was,” Nova sounded much smaller than he had before. “Fuck.”

“The mark allows power sharing, and if my end isn't working, than his might not either. Meaning he's out there without the help of my healing factor.” He turned to Mr Stark and Harry, “Let's go make that tracker.”

Chapter Text

Before the scalpel could cut past his flesh again, Danny woke with a strained scream. His breathing was heavy and labored, each involuntary movement fighting his scars. They pulled within him, feeling like a hot wire wrapped throughout his organs. The pain wasn't dull and bearable as it had become before, instead being sharp and excruciating. It almost felt like he hadn't healed at all. 

He pulled his arms tight around him, not entirely believing he was still whole. Was he? Through the drumming of his heart he felt that his chest was still intact. That was good, right? No one had cut him back open. He pulled his knees closer to him and buried his head into the blanket.

Wait. 

Danny froze. Where was he? He had to still be on the island, as he couldn't feel his knight, and he vaguely remembered hearing something before he'd passed out under a tree. Had it been footsteps? Had the cultists found him? 

Did they know who he was? 

Still struggling from the pain, he cautiously looked around. The place was a simple hut made of standing logs, large grasses, and packed mud. It's construction made the room circular and small, with the only light coming from the partially open door, tied with a strip of cloth. Several spots in the wall appeared to have been recently repaired, as the clay mud used between the logs had yet to dry in full like the rest of the hut. 

The furnishings within the room did not match its natural construction. A desk by the door was toppled to the side, it's chair in a similar state a few feet away. The bed he was on was more of a folding cot, it's thin mattress was stained with red and green. 

Danny took another look around, and seeing there was no one present, transformed into his ghost self. The relief was instant. Even though the pain still lingered, it was far from the intensity it had been before. He sighed, thankful for the easement of the pain. He hadn't realized how much he was relying on the pain meds in his IV and the healing powers of his knight. Without either, there was nothing to dull the feeling of his body struggling against what had been done to it. 

Nothing but death. 

Slowly, he eased himself off the bed. His feet hit the sandy floor, which felt warm and somewhat comforting. A familiar plastic sheen caught his eye. On the ground near the desk, atop a worn notebook, was his IV bag, empty. He checked his arm, finding the needle had been removed. There was a strip of cloth tied around his arm, holding some gauze down. 

Where was his water bottle? 

Danny looked down, finding his remaining belongings, the bottle and his shoes, partially under the cot. He sat in the sand, picking up his drink. There was still some of his AE mixed with redbull, just enough to keep him from feeling like he was going to melt. The AE felt like it had been the first thing he'd drank in days. Maybe it had. He pulled his phone from his pocket. Dead. 

The sound of falling sand danced near his ears. His eyes locked onto the door, but no one came. He decided to try his voice, “Who's there?” 

Unlike when he'd been threatening the exiled cultists, he didn't sound powerful and evil. Instead, he sounded like the injured child he was. The rustling of sand sounded behind him, and he jerked his head in time to see a teenage boy in a green striped shirt. There hadn't been a way for him to have hidden in the room, and he certainly wasn't a ghost. Danny didn't have the energy to fight. He didn't even want to stand. All he managed was to flash his eyes brighter. Even to the living, it would serve as a warning.  

The boy lifted his hands hesitantly. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” He sounded older than he should. 

“Who are you?” Danny didn't move, but didn't relax either.

“My name is Flint, Flint Marko, I'm not with those guys in the cloaks. They're looking for you, though.” 

He appreciated the info, even if he wasn't ready to trust it. “What happened?” 

“You fell from the sky. Asked me not to bury you so I didn't. You, stopped breathing a lot. I thought you were dead, wasn't sure what to do, but then you started having nightmares, broke a few holes in my house.”

That explained the fresh clay. “Sorry.”

“Don't worry about it.” Flint pointed to the ground near him, “May I?”

“Its your house.” 

Flint sat, a fair distance away from him. Danny wasn't sure this was out of respect for his discomfort or fear of his abilities. “I'm surprised you're still alive.”

He couldn't help it, he chuckled. “I'm not.” The concern and confusion of that joke never quite got old. “You saw, didn't you?” He returned to his human form. “This.”

“Yeah. I saw that.”

He reverted back to his more comfortable ghost form. “Half ghost. Both dead and alive.” He assessed Flints reaction. There didn't seem to be any surprise from him, just blatant curiosity. “What about you?”

“Me?” 

Danny smiled lazily. “You're different too.” He sighed and leaned his head back against the bed. It was exhausting, existing. “This world is full of people who are different.” 

“It's, kind of a weird story.” 

“You don't have to tell it, if you don't want too.” He drank more of his AE. Flint didn't sound eager to tell his tale, a feeling Danny understood well. “Are you a mutant?”

“Something like that.” Flint sighed. “I was in an accident, my daughter and I, we both got turned into sand.”

Danny paused. Daughter? Sand? How old was this guy? Lazily, he rolled his head to look. Flint didn't look any older than 16. He was broadly built, but his muscles lacked definition that would have made him look strong. His light brown hair was messy, with some sand trailing out of it. There was something else, too. A lingering sense of familiarity. On a hunch, he put just a touch more power into his eyes, focusing on Flint. He saw the faintest glow of death. 

“You're a Revenant.” He'd heard of them before, but had never been able to recognize one.

“What?”

“You died, but came back.” Was it his position as kind that he was now able to see that someone had returned before? And did Revenants fall under his rule? 

“That's, how do you know?” 

“I can see it.” He closed his eyes, just longer than a blink. “I'm guessing you don't know a way off the island?” 

“No. I was dumped here about four years ago. It was just me here till those guys in the cloaks were dumped here too. They freaked me out a bit, didn't like the way they were acting. The group they were with, bunch a guys dressed like 'em, they set up that glowing thing around the island.” 

“How long have they been here?” 

“About 3 weeks.” That made sense. “Can I ask, kid, how'd you get here? You fly all this way or something?”

That gave him some pause. “You said those guys were looking for me, they didn't say who I was?”

“No, I just overheard them while they were out searching.” Flint looked a bit hesitant before he continued, “I didn't think your name was Highness, though.”

“Its Phantom, Danny Phantom.” He remembered choosing that name. He'd been so happy, thinking himself clever. Fenton, Phantom, it had been too perfect. Now, ghosts all over knew him before they knew his name. It was weird. “Phantom in front of people, Danny any time else.” 

“Alright, Danny,” Flint sounded more comfortable now that he had a name. “I guess, it's nice to meet you. Sorry it's on an island in the Middle of nowhere though.” 

He shrugged, a painful gesture that pulled his flesh too much. After a moment, he decided to answer Flints question. “Those guys summoned me. I was, hanging out with my friend, then next I know I'm in a cave, I think.” He pulled his legs closer to him. “They said they wanted to save me.” 

“Save you?” 

that's what I said, Danny thought. “Not sure how they planned to help here. They just wanted to prove they were right.” 

“Your, green medicine, it ran out on the first day. That had stuff for pain in it, didn't it.” 

“Perceptive.” He probably shouldn't be snappy with Flint. Obviously he'd taken care of him while he slept, doing so even as his nightmares broke holes in the home. It was hard, though, to be nice. He was tired, sore, and angry. He wanted to be back in New York. He wanted to go back to Mays house. 

“Kid, Danny, be honest with me for a moment.” Danny looked at him. For a teenager, Flints voice had the type of authoritative tone only a parent would have. He did say he had a daughter, Danny remembered. “How bad off are you, and what happened?” 

He didn't want to be honest. Still, he lowered his legs and sat up straighter. Slowly, he lifted his shirt, nearly taking it completely off so that his full y shaped scar could be seen. Confident Flint now knew enough, he let the fabric fall back down. Flint's face was filled with disgust and anger. It also held the same helplessness he'd seen in everyone who saw what happened. 

“- weeks ago, I was summoned for the first time. Dr Strange took me to the Avengers tower, and Dr Cho put me back together.” He ignored the horror on Flints face. “I need to get back to them, if I don't my body will become too unstable and I could melt.”

Flint nodded, then asked, “I'm assuming you're too weak to fly away from this island.” 

Danny missed the days he could easily fly to the edge of the atmosphere. “Even if I wasn't, that ‘glowing thing’ is a ghost shield. I can't fly though it.” If he were stronger, he could fly to the edge, transform, swim through, then transform again. He was almost tempted to try, but the thought of swimming in his current state nearly brought tears back to his eyes. 

“So, we gotta break that, then still figure out a boat or something…” 

“No, the moment that shield is gone my knight will come for me.” He grinned. “You know, all the ghost shields I know of are powered by ectoplasm.” 

“You got a plan?” 

Ectoplasm would be wonderful. It seemed everywhere in this superhero filled world there was so little of the stuff, it was like he was thirsty in the desert. For a ghost shield to be covering an entire island, even a small one, surely it had to have a lot of the stuff powering it. Was it natural? His mouth nearly watered just thinking about it. “I'm going to eat its battery.” 

Danny's plan had to wait for his body to agree to move. Flint decided this meant that he needed food, which he brought in the form of unfamiliar but sweet fruit. He ate these in his human form, doing his best to ignore the pain. 

Flint distracted him by telling his story. Danny listened to how the man, or when he was a man, had once worked for a mafia boss. After numerous bad decisions, both he and his then teenage daughter were caught in an accident that left the both of them as sand people. Keemia, his daughter, was angry with him, blaming her father entirely for what had happened. Flint didn't refute the claim, and Danny got the sense that he blamed himself more than his daughter did. 

His tale came to a close after Keemia tried to kill him, which resulted in him being unable to retain his larger, adult form. Unable to fully defeat her father, Keemia had him dumped on the island. Flint spoke solemnly, and almost as these events had happened to someone else. 

The similarities to his own story chilled him. If not for his friends, he might have become angry at his parents too. If he were entirely honest with himself, he had been. Why had they made the portal? Why had they put the on button in such a bad spot? Why had it been so easy for it to kill him?

“You must think I'm a terrible father, I wouldn't blame you, kid, I didn't really do a good job.” 

“No,” he shook his head, “You kinda remind me of my parents.” Flint gave him a quizzical look. “They, made a lot of mistakes too. The kind that can't really be fixed. I was mad at them, for a long time, but, now, I just miss them.” 

“Are they..?”

He nodded. “They're dead.” He put down the core of the apple like food he'd been eating. 

“You've been through a lot, kid.”

“So have you, kid.” He grinned. 

“Hey, I'm older than you.” 

“Oh whatever, I'm like, 21 I think.” He couldn't remember.

“And I'm 48. I know.”

“Show off, knowing how old you are.” Danny transformed. Slowly he stood. It took more effort than he'd care to admit, but he'd have to move anyway. 

“You're going to find the battery?” Flint spoke with some sadness to his voice. 

Danny nodded. “I need to get rid of that shield, that way my knight can come and find us.”

“You planning on taking me too?” 

Danny shrugged. “I mean, if you want to stay on an abandoned island with no Wi-Fi, I won't stop you.” 

Flint laughed at him and shook his head. “You remind me of someone.” He stood, sand trailing off him as he did. “Pretty sure he doesn't eat batteries though.”

“Hey, this is a great plan. Probably.” 

Danny didn't expect Flint to come with him, but he was thankful for the company. He could feel himself teetering on the edge of his sanity. He was angry, an emotion he tried so desperately to avoid. The pain didn't make it easier. The distraction provided by the sandy Revenant did, just enough that he wasn't worried about losing it whilst trapped on the island. The pair of them trekked through the jungle, Danny floating low and Flint occasionally slithering along in a trail of sentient sand. As odd as it was, who was he to judge? 

They were headed towards the center of the island, where the upper most of the ghost shield dome was above. There was some comfort in the shield being a familiar green than the clear one at the warehouse with Fright Knight. It felt like it would be something he could handle. All he had to do was dismantle the shield, snag some of the ectoplasm, and then not melt before Peter could get there. He didn't bother worrying about how his knight would get to the island, the hero had plenty of connections that he was confident someone would be able to get him there. 

There was also the matter of the cultists. He was far less confident in his ability to handle them. During their last interaction, he had used his ice far too quickly, and relied on their innate fear of him far too much. Would he be able to pull something like that off again? If they tried to bind him, did he have enough strength to prevent it? 

When they came to a clearing, marked by trees that were clearly cut with some hasty ectoblasts, Danny knew he'd have his answer soon. The exiled cultists were there, thirteen of them, all sitting around a complicated device incased within a metal cage. 

“Looks like they knew you'd come,” Flint whispered. 

It made sense. They knew he wanted off the island, and such knew what was keeping him there. Near the cage, on the far side of the clearing, were a few tents with holes poorly patched with large stitches. It didn't seem like the group was faring very well on the island. 

“Last time I had to deal with guys like these, they could tell who I was instantly, even though none of them had seen me before.”

“Yeah?”

Danny's eyes searched the ground for any hidden circles that may be used to control him. “I don’t know if sneaking past them will work, but…” His voice trailed. 

“I don't think they'd try and hurt you, while you were out, they were calling for you lot. Before that though, I spied on them a bit. They were talking of how best to treat ‘the king.’ Sounded genuine to me.”

“As much as I want to believe they were just trying to help,” Danny whispered, “It doesn't look like they're able to do anything.” It all still felt like a threat to his throne. “If their group did have anything, I don't think they'd leave it on an island with the people they kicked out.

“Then why the ghost shield?”

Danny had already thought of this on their way over here. It was a cruel and dark conclusion he came to. “So that they can't escape, even in death.”

Flint nodded slowly. “So, what's the plan?”

“Well, I think I'm just going to go over there and fuck with the shield. If they try and get in my way,” he felt his eyes flash, even though he hadn't meant them too, “I'll try and scare them into letting me do what I need too.” 

“Scare them?”

He knew he didn't look intimidating. He grinned. “Its not hard to be scary when you can rip someone's heart out pretty easily.” 

“Fuck kid.”

“Chill, it's just a threat.” He scanned the group again. “I wouldn't hurt someone like that, that's fucked.” 

“But you would hurt someone?” 

Danny considered answering with a joke, but then he caught the look in Flints eyes. A twinge of guilt pulled his core. It was one thing to scare the cultists, it was another to scare someone who was helping him. He almost said he wouldn't, but he didn't want to lie to Flint. He dropped the mischief from his face and pointed to his chest. “One, one person on purpose.” Had it been? He remembered the scream, the blood, the fear. Did he regret what he'd done? 

“I, see.” 

Danny looked away. He'd worry about how Flint felt about him later. He needed his knight. “Wait here.” He faded from view, and slowly floated through the clearing. The gathered people made no notice as he passed. Again he checked for anything that might be used against him, but found nothing. All of them were simply sitting, chatting idly about nothing. He saw no weapons, no seals, no spells, no indication that they had anything of use on them. 

He easily floated through the bars protecting the device. Up close, he could feel the ectoplasm, evidently contained within four large cylinders, each about four inches in diameter. They were dark, and when he tried to phase through the metal he was unable. He'd have to take the longer method of properly disabling the device. As he situated himself comfortably on the ground, a chilled breath escaped him. 

He sighed. As he examined the make up of the device, he realized he didn't have any tools on him. The last time he'd done this, he had accidentally triggered one of the more unstable models his parents had made. The diameter of the shield kept shifting, making it difficult to approach. In the end, he had to take it apart as Fenton, which wouldn't have been a problem if he hadn't been actively hiding from Valery. He'd only barely managed to convince her thar Phantom had escaped after she, rudely, broke into the basement. 

“Don't suppose any of you have a screwdriver?” The yelps of surprise brought a small chuckle from him. He didn't take his eyes of the device, having found where he needed to begin dismantling but had yet to figure out a proper tool.

“Your, my king, you-” He recognized the bruised faced man he'd threatened. 

“Phantom. And I'm not your king.” He tried pressing his thumb into the screw, but it was too tight for that to work. With no tools, he was tempted to use his ice, but that was absolutely not an option. “I'm the ghost king, king of the Infinite Realms. You are living, which puts you outside of my rule.” 

It was odd, for everything he knew of being king it felt like there were a thousand more things he didn't know. He knew his subjects included ghosts, obviously, and any residents of the zone, but he had no idea what his role actually meant. 

“Phantom, I…” the man began but hesitated before continuing. The screw was starting to piss him off. Or maybe it was the man. Or the pain. “We wish to serve you. To aid in your recovery.” 

“So you summoned me to an island, in the middle of nowhere, with no resources to do what you keep saying you want to do.” He chuckled dryly. “Great plan.”

“Phantom,” the voice of a young woman, not the one he had threatened, spoke from his side, “perhaps if you try your sweaters zipper?” 

He looked to her, a dark woman with darker, tired eyes. Her blue grey cloak was held shut by a clasp made of a green pair of wings. One edge was broken off. She moved to point at his clothes, and he saw a deep bruise on her wrist. “It might help.” She offered. 

He took her suggestion. It wasn't the best fit, and would strip the metal of both the screw and his zipper, but it worked well enough that he was able to remove it. He began to work on the others, trying to go fast enough to not run out of energy and slow enough to not anger his wounds. “Thank you.” 

“Sir, Phantom,” a new voice, male, “What are you doing?” 

What does it look like I'm doing? “Breaking this.”

“Yes, but, surely you aren't well enough to leave on your own.” 

He looked up, finding the man to be covered in more bruises than the others. They weren't fresh, but they covered his face like paint. “If you think I'm that weak,” he was, “then why summon me here?”

“Why do you reject us?!” Another woman shouted. “We gave everything, did all that the Emerald One said, we worked hard for the day that you would come, we-” 

“-Shut up.” He hadn't meant to put power in his voice. He refused to look at her, choosing to reposition to better get the remaining screws out of his way. 

“I'm only going to ask this one. More. Time.” He removed a panel of metal from the device with an ugly crack of stubborn metal. “How did you plan to help me here, when you don't even have the resources to help yourselves?”

“I, we…” The woman that had yelled at him sputtered quietly.

“He's right.” An older voice answered. “We did this to prove ourselves right, not to save our king.”

Not yours , he thought. The wiring wasn't anything he didn't expect from the shield. It was a basic ghost shield, nothing fancy about its construction. He'd seen these be built time and time again. The organization of the wires, the circuit boards, and the directed ectoplasm were all entirely familiar to him. Too familiar. 

“Ancients,” he cursed under his breath. The one bright side to his discovery was that he now knew exactly how to turn off the shield, and wasn't just figuring it out as he went. 

“What is wrong, my ki- Phantom?” The kind girl that had suggested he used his zipper asked. 

“What's wrong, is I hurt. A lot. I'm tired, I'm sore, I'm stuck on this stupid island without any damn pain meds, and whoever the fuck your ‘Emerald One’ stole this design from my fucking parents!” He snapped. 

He ripped several of the components out, freeing the seal on the ectoplasm but not yet turning it off. Now that he was able to phase through it, he began chugging the ectoplasm from the tube, phasing part of his face through in leu of trying to open it. It was natural. It tasted amazing. 

“I don't, I don't understand.” The man, who he suspected to be their leader, whispered. 

Danny tore another tube off, drained it, then discarded it on the ground. He wondered if Sam would have scolded him for littering. He pulled more parts from the device. To anyone else, it probably looked like he was doing so randomly, but he knew exactly which ones to remove in order to shut it down, as opposed to shrink it's size. 

With one last pull from him, the device made a loud whirring pop, and he looked up to see the shield dissolving away. 

Immediately he could feel his knight. Panic, desperation, anger, it all mixed with his own. Peter wasn't close, he was incredibly far away. A new emotion, one he wasn't sure who it belonged to, filled him. Relief. 

“You should all take cover.” He announced as he ripped the last tubes off. He was still mad, his voice dripping with the agitation he felt, but even so he couldn't just allow them all to be hurt. Ectoplasm in tow, he phased through the cage and looked towards the sea. The waves didn't change. They kept their rhythm, lolling about the sandy shores in the same repetitive motion. To him, however, he could feel what was coming. 

He pointed behind him, “All of you need to head that way, now!” He looked to where Flint was hiding, finding a partially formed head peeking from a pile of sand. “You too! Run!” 

 The first bit of its body burst from the sea, just past the edge of where the shield had been. Only then did the ocean alert of its existence, cascades of water crashing below as it fell from the luminescent arm. 

Fling appeared next to him. “What is that?”

“A ghost.” Danny didn't turn away from it. “One that is not happy I'm here.” He downed the last of the ectoplasm and threw the containers. Would it be enough? Could he last in a real fight till his knight arrived? Would he shatter if he pushed himself too far? 

“But, aren't you the king?” Flint asked him.

“Put on a crown and see if a fish listens to you.” He turned and pointed again. This time, he purposefully put more power into his voice. “All of you, run now!” He flew up and closer to the ghost, not bothering to see if they'd listened. 

More of the ghosts form burst from the water. Tentacles, like those of an octopus. Was it supposed to be a kraken? It didn't matter. The ghost would arrive long before his knight. “Hurry, Peter.”

Chapter Text

Peter listened to Black Widow give her report as he finished the last few adjustments on the latest tracker he and Mr Stark had made. She had gone undercover, infiltrated the cult, and despite being a newer member was able to obtain enough relevant information to help give them a direction of where to start looking.    

 “Just over a month ago, a group of thirteen members were exiled for questioning the method used for summoning Phantom.” Black Widow's face was projected on a large screen in front of the room. The trainees sat and listened to the report, under Fury's watchful eye. Mr. Stark was back at the tower, fixing the other trackers that they had made the previous night so that they would specifically sync to Danny. He continued to work while Black Widow continued, “They believed that it wasn't necessary to pay the toll with lives, and were insisting that they try the ritual again. With the recent losses sustained from the last summoning, tensions ran high and the group was sentenced to eternal exile on an island.”   

 “Does that mean these guys are all dead?” White Tiger asked.    

 “Unlikely. They were left on the island a few weeks ago. One of their core beliefs is that there is no true barrier between life and death. It is more likely that they put in place something to ensure that their exile continued even after their deaths.”

 Peter hated the sound of that. He began putting the components of the latest tracker back together, almost done upgrading its capabilities. “If they really did summon him using something else, those guys just became way more dangerous than the rest of them.” 

 “I agree. The ability to summon Phantom is a huge problem.” Black Widow glanced out Of the corner of her eye and hung up the call without saying goodbye. There was no need for her to explain why, her cover was more important than formalities.

 “Are you nearly done, Spiderman?” Fury asked him. 

 “Just about.” Peter tapped away at the small screen. He increased its sensitivity. Then, he nodded to Fury. Fury returned the gesture, giving him the go ahead to plug it into a control panel beneath the screen they'd been watching. After tapping away at it, Peter brought up a globe map. After a tense breath, small green dots began filling it. All over, both land and sea, were various concentrations of ectoplasmic energy. One of them, he knew, was Danny.

 “Oh well that narrows it down to, what, everywhere?” Nova, snarky as always. 

 “To be fair, with what Black Widow just told us, he's probably on an island. 

 Peter kept working, not yet done setting it up. “That, is all the ectoplasmic hotspots on Earth, our Earth, anyway.” 

 “And this is helpful, because?” White Tiger asked. 

 “Its not.” One finally button and most of the green dots began fading out. “But this,” he smirked, not that anyone could see it under his mask, “is.”

 It only took a few seconds for the dots to completely fade, leaving just two on the globe. One, on a tropical island far away from their location. The other - “Is that, here?” White Tiger asked. 

 “So it appears.” Fury said. Peter heard the underlying question. 

 “I think that's, me.” He rubbed at the mark, as had become habit. “I'm not a ghost,” he ignored Nova's snarky joke, “so I don't produce any ectoplasm. This is synced up to Danny's energy, so he must be over there,” he pointed to the island, “so, yeah I think that this ones me.”

 “As his knight, his energy must still be linking the two of you.” Iron Fist added. “Whatever is preventing the full connection, clearly hasn't severed it.”

 He found himself appreciating the kid's words. It had been odd, at first, having a direct link to another person. Over the weeks he'd gotten used to the sensation. Fear, anger, longing, guilt, anything that Danny felt he could feel as well. It had become his way of checking on him, his notice for when things were wrong. The halfa was constantly in a delicate state, just a few steps away from losing it. He didn't feel the physical pain, but the burning from the mark paired with the emotional agony would tell him when the child was hurting. At times it felt like too much, like it was far too intimate to know the hurt held behind the lie of ‘Im fine.’ 

 Then, abruptly, it was all gone. After so long, it felt wrong to not be able to feel Danny’s emotions. Everything he'd grown accustomed to, even the ever present heat that would regularly sear his flesh, vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. All that had been left was the tattoo he'd kept carefully hidden. In a way it was lonely. Peter kept catching himself trying to feel from the mark, trying to follow the pull that had been there before that would tell him where he was. 

 It had been five days. 

 Fury tapped to his com and began giving orders, calling for Thor to head towards the island, as well as telling the helicarrier to prepare to leave. Peter announced that he was going to check on the AE supply. Making the tracker hadn't been the only thing he'd worked on in the near week that that halfa was missing. The helicarrier had been filled with extra AE, the latest batch that had been stored where it could absorb emotions. They'd also brought the vat that Frostbite had given them. They had also constructed a second vat, this one filled with AE and a deadly amount of medications. For anyone else, the concoction they had made would be a death sentence. For Danny, it would serve as some pain relief and some antibiotics. 

 “I hear you've found him,” he turned, seeing Dr Cho enter the room. She gave him a nod, “You're not the only one making sure everythings ready.”

 “We'll be leaving here in a few minutes, but then it will still be a few hours before we reach him.” He didn't mean to rush his words, but he couldn't help it. It had been difficult to make the tracker, taking him far longer than he had hoped. He couldn't even be proud that he had succeded. 

 “And when we get to him, my team and I will be ready for any treatment he may need.” She sighed. “I'm worried about him too.”

 “He makes it really easy to worry,” Peter forced a chuckle, then let it fizzle out. “It scares me, what he's been through.”

 “You and me both, kid.” She shook her head. “To be honest, his injures haunt me.” Peter agreed, but didn't say so. Of all of them, she knew the most about how bad it all truly was. “I'm confident in my skills, having treated the Avengers for years. I've seen horrible wounds that by all rights should have taken my patients out before they even got to me. Then,” she paused, a forced calm on her face, “It wasn't any of my skill or experience that saved him. The only reason I was able to stitch him back together was because of his ghost half.” 

 “If he weren't a halfa, he wouldn't have made it, but he also wouldn't have been in that situation.” Or, at the very least, it would have killed him the first time. 

 “Horrifyingly ironic.” They waited in silence for a moment. Peter wondered how much Danny affected the doctor. Having seen it all, having held it all, he was sure the memory would follow her into her nightmares. 

 “Thank you, for still helping him.”

 She gave him a smile, small and careful. “He has a way of winning over those around him.”

 Peter laughed, genuinely this time. “Charismatic little shit.” They parted ways and Peter returned to a control room. 

 All around him people were working. System checks, flight checks, weapons checks, and any other type of check being performed by numerous people. Any other rescue mission, it wouln't be the entire helicarrier that left. As Danny was the ghost king, Fury had decided it was best to keep him close and keep him safe. He knew this wasn't purely out of desire to save him. If that had been the case, a much smaller ship could have been sent. No, this response was born from the risk Danny posed. His power set aside, what kind of reach did the King of the Infinite Realms have? What dangers did that alone bring to the world?

 Peter was too preoccupied worrying to care. 

 “Thor is en route to the island as we speak.” Fury announced behind him. “He should reach it in one hour, the rest of us in three.” Peter resisted asking if they could go faster. SHIELD was helping, he had to remind himself that. 

 As the ship's engines roared and rumbled with the change in direction and speed, a searing fire burned into his flesh. Peter yelped and fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Panic, anger, anticipation, guilt, worry, and fear flowed through him from the mark. The heat subsided but didn't completely fade. Finally, after five days, he could feel the mark working. 

 “Spiderman?!” Multiple voices, some belonging to the young heros, others from nearby agents, called to him.

 He forced his breath to steady, then stood while still keeping a hand over the mark. “Its working again.” He explained. 

“Does, it always hurt like that?” Powerman asked. 

 He shrugged. It did. As long as Danny was struggling, he would feel it. “Only when he needs me.” He looked at the screen. Three hours. Thor in one. “Hang on, Danny. We're coming.” 

Chapter Text

 The fight against the ghostly kraken was difficult. He'd met it at the shore, using the blasters his knight had made him to try and conceive what little of his barely existent strength he had. As mad as he was at having been summoned, he was worried about the exiled cultists. He could imagine Jazz telling him to be more empathetic. Cults were known to prey on the vulnerable, providing a sense of purpose and belonging to lonely people that might not have anyone to support them. That, and he was sure at least one of them, a portly man with red hair, had a broken leg. 

 Keeping the kraken on one side of the island was the easy part. It was mad that he had invaded its haunt. He didn't know if the ghost considered the whole of the ocean to be its territory, or if it just happened to lay claim to the area he had been called too. It didn't really matter. It lashed out at him with tentacles as thick as buses. He dodged and weaved through the mess of arms, firing small blasts just ment t piss it off. As long as it was focused on him, he could keep it away from everyone else.

 There was a certain nostalgia to the fight. After he had left Vlad's, he’d experienced numerous similar fights in the Ghost Zone. The sea beat's attack patterns were similar to a vined ghost he'd encountered that he later learned was named undergrowth. At the time, he hadn't had use of his ice, though looking back it probably would have made fighting the overgrown plant much easier. Were it not so tiring, it would probably be effective against the kraken as well. Still, he was able to at least implement a tactic he had learned.

 Danny fired a blast from the braces, managing to blow a chunk off of the arm that had been swinging for him. While the kraken flinched and recoiled the injured appendage away, he raced to the detached piece that was already dissapaiting. Still flying and dodging, he began biting into the ghost's flesh, eating it as fast as he could. In the realms, this technique served to give him a power boost while weakening his opponents. Here, it allowed him to keep continuous. 

 Danny didn't have the energy to taunt the ghost. He didn't have the heart to make jokes. With every turn his body screamed at him to stop. His scars seared and stabbed at him, hurting more than any of the hits the kraken was able to land. Below him angry waves beat the shore, and the ghost screamed. Anger. Pain. Danny could relate. 

 He tried to use the blasters again to ward off a side swipe from his left, only for them to sputter with an insultingly pitiful spit of power. “Shi-” the attack landed, the new pain of being hit mixing with the pain of his old injuries. Danny’s body was hurled over the beach, past the sandy shore and smacking head first into a tree. The rest of him followed his head as he slammed against the bark. Spots of black danced around his eyes. Carefully, he pulled himself to his feet.

 Who was he fighting? Was it Undergrowth? No, that couldn't be right. The sky was blue, and he was by the ocean. He wasn't in the Ghost Zone. Why wasn’t he restrained? Why was he whole? Where was his… who was his knight?

 “Wh-” His words were taken from him in a gasp. The ethereal green oceanic arm of the kraken stabbed him through his chest. A scream radiated from him as he used a half form shield to slice off the offending tentacle. He tore it from his body, finding a hole through his sternum, bleeding green and red. His agony became laughter. Danny used his fangs to tear off chunks of the arm that had just injured him. Somewhere in his mind, he knew eating the ghost was his only way to keep himself fighting. However, his conscious self was in tatters. For him, in that moment, the pain was funny. 

 There are many important bones and organs in the chest. The sternum, the costal cartilage, the ribs, the lungs, the heart, the blood vessels. He remembered how much he'd bled the first time his lungs had been removed. The sound of his ribs being broken and removed played in his ears as his teeth tore into the ghostly meat of his opponent. He couldn’t taste the octopus, his mind filled with the floral poison of blood blossoms. 

 The fight continued with Danny tearing into the ghost teeth first like a feral beast. Occasionally he’d fire a blast or throw up a shield, but mostly he'd take a bite, then fly off to avoid taking another hit from the powerful arms. At first, he was barely stealing enough ectoplasm to keep himself from passing out from the gaping hole in his chest.

 Then he started to make real progress. The more he stole from the octopus, the less energy it had to maintain its massive body. As it tried to recover whilst attack him, it's body began to shrink. In his delirium, all he could do was laugh. Green blood, most belonging to the kraken, dripped from him. It was thick, holding on to its existence far longer than he'd expect in the desert Earth. The beach became a green tinted landscape, thick with the smell of static blood. It smelled terrible, almost as bad as the iodine that used to burn his nose. 

 Danny launched a blast towards the ghost's main body. It cried from its beak, its broken tentacles flailing. Once incomparably large, it was now barely larger than a school bus. He shot it again, and it began to retreat back into the water. He laughed, the hole through his body shaking with the movement. 

 “What? Done already!?” He hollered after it. He scooped up a handful of its blood, a jelly-like consistency now, and began eating it. His fight wasn’t over. He couldn't keep himself from giggling. What was so funny? He turned, floating in the air and covered in blood. 

 “King Phantom-” He didn't let the newcomer finish. He didn't care who it was. More ectoplasm. More fighting. More laughter. More pain. Danny wasn't even aware of what he was doing. Sometimes he was fighting ghosts, other times it was the scientists. The project manager. The man in blue. His evil alternate self. Was he even actually fighting? What was he laughing about? Was he crying? Danny didn't know.

 He tried bitting his new opponent, his body phasing through the attempts to dislodge him. His teeth met skin, and his mouth filled with the iron taste of blood. He spat it out, mad that there wasn't any ectoplasm for him to steal from them. They grabbed his head, managing to toss him into the sand. He stood. He was vaguely aware that he was exhausted. Danny tired to step back towards his fight, only for his foot to be caught. Looking down, he found his foot incased in sand. He phased out of the strange trap, and floated above the beach. 

 “Now!” Someone called out. Energy swelled around him. He tried to fly away from it, only for his body to smack into an invisible wall. It wasn't like a normal ghost shield, it was entirely clear, and he couldn't tell where it all extended to. 

 He punched at it, screaming, “Let me out!” He became aware of more people around him. Most were wearing blue grey robes that he hated the look of. He cried angrily, pain radiating from his fist through his whole being as he continued to beat the barrier. It didn't matter that it wasn't working. He needed out. Being captured was worse than fighting. It was dangerous. It led to the most pain. “Let me out let me out let me out let me out let me-

 “Danny!” 

 A new voice, one that he knew. But why did he know it? Why did he trust it? That was suspicious. Who did he have left to trust? Everyone was dead. He'd seen them die. Failed to save them. Saw them buried. Who was left? He screamed, not knowing if he was just yelling or yelling words. He continued to beat against the barrier. 

 “Its okay!” Something wrapped around him, restraining him in such a way that he couldn't escape. He cried out, power fueling his voice. “We're here! We're here Danny!” Arms wrapped around him. It hurt. “I'm here, Danny! I'm here!”

 “Peter?”

Chapter Text

None of them were prepared for the sight that met them on the island. The beach had been covered in green ectoplasm. Half of the shoreline was dotted by smashed trees. Thor's ship, borrowed from SHIELD, was abandoned away from the carnage. Even still in the helicarrier, he could see Thor was fighting. The green tint of the ghost weapons Stark had made the god of thunder contrasted the red that flowed from a large wound on his arm. Peter boarded the smaller carrier before the others. Inside were himself and the new heroes intraining. 

“What is he doing?” Powerman asked.

White Tiger flew them away from the helicarrier, with Nova flying outside alongside them. Iron Fist placed a hand on his shoulder. The younger hero gave him a supportive nod, before saying, “It appears Phantom is not in his right mind.”

That much was obvious to Peter. This wasn't the first time Danny had been consumed by his trauma and unable to identify what was going on around him. “He's terrified.” Peter held a hand protectively in front of the mark.

They began to land, closer to the fray than Thor's ship but far enough away as to be able to land safely. Nova stayed near them, flying while the rest of them sprinted along the shore, just out of the sand. “Hey Web Head, your ghost has a new piercing.” Nova called. 

Were he not so annoyed, he would have joked about needing to be 18 to get a piercing. However, he saw what the bucket boy was talking about. As he ran harder, swinging whenever he could, he assessed the sight. Danny was injured, a fist sized hole going completely through his chest. Peter didn't need the mark to be functioning to see that he was panicking. A group of people were encircling him, the exiled cultists no doubt, kneeling and chanting. Whatever they were doing had trapped Danny, which while preventing him from continuing to attack Thor did nothing to calm him. 

Peter could feel his desires as a hero mix with those of his as a knight. He ran faster, partially fueled by a power that was not his own. He saw Danny beating against the barrier desperately, the flesh on his fingers peeling from the force. 

“Let me out let me out let me out let me out let me-” 

“Danny!” He called out when he arrived. The cultists had drawn a new circle using raised sand. Nearby, Thor stood winded and wounded. His ghost weapons, a green veil that wrapped his hammer and a large shield, were active but fading. 

“Young Spider, he does not recognize us.” 

Red eyes met his own. He ran into the circle; Danny raised a green clad hand. “Its okay!” He fired his AE coated webs, trapping the halfa. He saw him struggle, but he didn't have time to be relieved that he couldn't break free. Danny screamed, loud and powerful. It hurt, both physically and emotionally. Guilt wracked through his body. This is what Danny had become without him there. Scared and violent. What did he see? What horrors did he think he was fighting against? 

“We're here! We're here Danny!” He hugged him, holding him tighter than he should considering his injuries. The electric, metallic scent of Danny's blood filled him, blocking out even the salt of the ocean beside them. Danny stopped screaming, his voice hitching in his throat. “I'm here, Danny! I'm here!”

“Peter?”

It was a small, quiet voice that he could barely hear. To Peter, it was the sound of confused hope. Danny relaxed into him, his head falling limply onto his shoulder. Peter sat them down in the sand. 

“That's right, its me.” He needed to assess his injuries, get him back to the helicarrier, but he stayed still and held him. “You're okay now.”

The chanting around them stopped, and the people that had helped restrain him gathered and backed up. Thor came and knelt beside him while the younger heros began tending to the exiled people, who all seemed to be injured as well. 

“When I arrived he had just defeated a great sea beast,” Thor explained, “whatever happened in that battle caused him to become lost in his mind.”

“Are you okay?” Peter asked.

“I am,” Thor nodded. “It was difficult, keeping the king at bay without worsening his wounds.”

“Thank you, Thor. Thank you.” 

Thor patted his back far gentler than he thought the man capable. “There is much we must all discuss, but none of it now. Take him to the doctor, we will handle the others here.” 

Peter nodded. He stood, balancing Danny on his feet while he removed the webs. “It's going to be alright now.” The red was fading from Danny's eyes. “I'll carry you.” He directed the halfa onto his back.

“I, where?” Danny’s head rested against him. Peter could feel the wet tears soak into the fabric of his suit, along with the blood. “What did I do?”

“I don't know.” Peter answered honestly. “We can ask the others later. You need to rest.”

“No,” small fists grabbed his shoulders. “If I sleep, it'll get worse.”

“Okay,” he motioned for White Tiger to come with him. He wouldn't be able to fly and hold on to him. She nodded her understanding, and ran past him to ready their ride. “Tell me what you remember then. Don't worry about what you don't, just keep talking.”

“I, there was an octopus.” He listened as Danny gave jumbled details while they loaded back onto the ship. He didn't sit them down, despite that probably being safer. Instead, he knelt, hunkering down and making sure he could stay stable for the short trip back to the helicarrier.  He gave White Tiger the go ahead, just as he heard Danny say, “I met, he was made of sand.”

“Sandman's alive?”

“Revenant,” came Danny's tired response. 

They took off, and despite his efforts the lurch from the ship sent pain throughout the small king. Danny yelped and clutched onto him tighter. Peter looked at his hands, seeing that the skin on all of the fingers was shredded from his efforts to leave the barrier made by the cultists. “Sorry,” Tiger called back to them. “Just a few moments and then we can get you some pain meds.”

Peter tried piecing together the bits of the story Danny had mumbled. Something about invading another ghost's haunt, and threatening someone else with a knife. What he said was not in any sort of order, making the picture of what had led to his condition mostly speculation. He'd worry about getting the proper timeline of events later. What mattered was that they had him, and they could help. 

“Where'd,” confusion filled him from the mark, “Where'd Jazz go?”

Peter recognized the name. Jazz Fenton, one of the people Danny had tasked FightKnight with finding. He figured that was his sister, from the context of the conversation. He knew she was dead from how Danny talked about her. He didn't know what had happened, but knew now was not the time to be reminding Danny that she was gone. 

“She's not here right now, don't worry though, I've got you.” He could feel White Tiger listening. How much did these trainees know? How much would they figure out?

“She was, I had homework.”

“That's alright, we can do it later.” Peter hoped that once they delt with the hole, the boy coud get some rest. Maybe after some sleep his memories wouldn't be as scrambled. “Hey, tell me something.”

“What?” 

Peter tightend his grip while Tiger brought their smaller craft inside the hellicarrier. “When a ghost has a hole through them, how do you fix it?”

“Lots of ectoplasm. Fill the hole with it, then they'll be okay.”

“Keep him talking, Spiderman,” White Tiger said quietly, “The land might hurt.”

“What about a halfa?” He asked, while nodding to Tiger through the reflection in the frontmost window.

“Same thing. Maybe some blood too, just,” Danny repositioned his head, hiding his face more. “No, don't transform. I can't transform. I have to, stay awake.”

They landed with another lurch, and the door opened. They were met with multiple armed agents, as well as Dr Cho and Fury. “Don't worry, we brought plenty of AE.” After he left the small craft, Fury and some of the agents boarded. He heard the man begin to give orders, but he didn't care. 

He ignored the bed that had been brought, and began walking with Dr Cho towards where the ecto vats were stored. “Spiderman, tell me what we're dealing with.” Dr. Cho said.

He detailed the hole through Danny, then continued, “He can’t sleep until that's healed. If we fill it with the AE, it should close on its own.” 

“Good to know.” She began directing the agents, ordering them to begin prepping to receive the other patients. “The ground team says we have 14 injured en route, ready the teams.”  She directed her attention back to him, “After I get him set up, I'll need to help with the others. I'll leave him in your care.”

“Thank you.” 

When they made it to the vats, Peter pointed to the one they had prepared with the AE and pain meds, and Dr Cho helped him take the barely lucid Danny off his back. She pulled out some scissors and cut Danny's jacket and shirt off of him. His death scar glowed weakly beneath the green blood flowing from the wound. Peter held him steady, saying whatever soothing words he could think of to keep his attention on him. He knew Danny hated to be without a shirt. 

Dr Cho put in an IV line with a speed brought about from experience. In a typical medical setting, such a job would have been done by a nurse, but this was SHIELD. It was important for the medical personnel to be well rounded and flexible. Dr Cho spoke as she worked, telling Danny what she was doing as she was doing it. She quickly affixed him with an IV of AE, as well as some blood. Then, she put a mask over his face. “Now, Spidermans going to help me put you in the AE, its warm, but might still feel cold at first.”

Peter gently scooped him up and climbed a small step ladder to reach the top of the vat. The lid was already open, making it relatively easy to lower him in. Danny gasped at the liquid, power surging through him making his eyes glow a brighter green than usual. “It's okay, you're okay.”  His heart hurt as Danny's hand grabbed tightly onto his own, even as the rest of him became submerged in the mixture. He held it firmly as he positioned the tubes from the IVs and the oxygen mask into their proper spots where they wouldn't interfere with the lid. 

He heard the sound of a ship landing in the carrier again. He looked over to Dr Cho, nodding. “I've got him.”

“Call me if things change. I'll be back.” She left, ready for her next wave of patients. 

Peter gave Danny’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I'm not leaving, I'll be right here.” Slowly, injured fingers let go of his own and descended into the mixture. He adjusted the lid, being carful not to pinch any of the tubes coming out of it. After descending the step ladder, he adjusted the IVs, making sure they were secure and ready for the flight back home. Then, he faced Danny.

Wide, green eyes locked on to him. He tried his best to look reasuring, to not let him see or feel the worry that filled him. The hole tinted the already green AE with brighter, more luminescent ectoplasm with tints of red trailing throughout. As he watched, the hole filled and slowly began to solidify. Peter, in the back of his mind, heard himself speak reasurances even though he wasn't sure he could be heard. The edges of the wound began to expand and knit themselves back together. He saw green stained organs and blood vessels grow back in their proper places before being once again covered by skin. A part of him was disheartened that the scars reformed as well. 

After he was well and sure that the wound was closed, he nodded to Danny. “You can rest now.” 

Danny held an already healed hand to his chest, then returned the nod. He closed his eyes, falling asleep instantly. The white faded from his hair, returning to its darker human color. His pointed ears became more rounded, and though he couldn't see it, Peter knew that the fangs were gone too. Under the gentle roar of the helicarier he heard soft, rythmic breaths that were nearly drowned out by the oxygen machine. Calm settled over him. They got him back.

Peter pulled out his phone and texted the Spider Chat. 

We got him

He pocketed his device. Everyone would want to know how their little ghost boy was doing, but he'd fill them in later. Right now, he was content. Peter pulled a thick curtain around the vat, giving its unconscious occupant some privacy and some darkness. As he sat himself on the floor, using the vat as a backrest, a knock sounded before the door cracked open. 

“Spiderman?” White Tiger called out. 

“Yeah?” He asked, his tone conveying that she could come in. She did so, standing a bit awkwardly. “Are you okay?” 

“Emotionally exhausted.” Peter gave a thumbs up. “Physically fine.” 

“That's a pretty concise answer.” She shook her head disapprovingly. “And Phantom?”

“Resting, the hole in his chest closed up, so now he needs to sleep.” She gave him a look, a slight tilt to her head and a pinched brow that even her mask couldn't hide. “Something on your mind?” 

“A few things, but first,” she sighed, “Fury asked me to fill you in. Of the 13 exiled cultists, all have been identified and are being treated for injuries sustained before Phantom arrived. Thor's wound has also been treated, and despite appearances it's not serious. A total of 14 civilians have been rescued from the island, all of whom are being kept separate from each other and under close watch.” 

“Sandmans really alive?” 

She nodded. “He is the only one that hasn't gotten hurt somehow.” Tigers pose relaxed a bit, “He's pretty eager to talk to you, but said he would wait till ‘the kid was better.” 

“Thank you, White Tiger.” 

“We have a meeting to discuss events in a few hours, Fury says you can video in to it if you'd like to stay in here.” 

“That sounds like a good idea, if he has a nightmare in this state I'd rather be close by.” She nodded. Peter stretched his arms, using the motion to release some built up tension he'd been holding on to. “And the other stuff?” 

Despite saying so herself, being asked about what she wanted seemed to make her uncomfortable. “I, wanted to ask about how you were connected to Phantom, and” she hesitated. The question clearly weighed on her. Peter got the sense she was worried about upsetting him. He hadn't exactly been the easiest person to talk to the past few days. “What is a halfa?”

He considered the ask. Then, he considered the answer. “Back when he first got here, I made a promise, to Phantom.” He pointed at the covered vat. “I didn't know he was the ghost king, its not like he would have been able to tell me anyway, but after that, a mark appeared on my chest. It connects us, lets us share powers and stuff.”

“What did you promise?”

He smiled. “To protect him.” It wasn't a good memory. The image of Danny freshly hurt and terrified. He hadn't known at the time the full extent of how bad it all was, but the pleading eyes of a scared child was all Peter needed to want to help. In the weeks that followed, his desire to protect Danny had only grown. Part of him wondered if it was the influence of the mark that caused this, but he liked to think it was that he'd begun to see Danny as his little brother. Even if he was technically older than him. 

“And that, tied the two of you?”

He shrugged. “The King needed a knight, and I'm glad to be the one he chose, even if it was an accident.” He tried to keep his voice playful, but he got the sense that White Tiger was able to see through him. Despite his efforts to relax, he was still shaken from not having been able to prevent what had happened. What if they had taken longer to find him? What if Thor hadn't been there? Would Danny have turned on the exiled cultists? How would he have felt, if he had killed someone in that state? 

Would it have shattered him?

“I can't think of anyone better suited, especially seeing how he relaxed when you got there.”

  “Thank you.” He appreciated her words. He sighed, then rubbed at his head. “As for your other question, I don't know, if I can explain what a halfa is.”

“Is it complicated?”

“Well, yeah, but more so its classified.” Disappointment was evident on her face, but Danny had been clear. He got to tell others he was a halfa, no one else. 

“A lot of things are classified, both with him, and with Parker.” A message was hidden in her voice, whatever she was implying it was clear she knew something. “I'll see you at the meeting, Spiderman.” 

Okay but which Parker are you referring to ? He thought.

As he sat with the message, regularly peeking behind the curtain to make sure Danny was still doing okay, he wondered if he should worry about Tiger’s suspicion. If she figured out that her classmate Danny Parker was also Danny Phantom, she'd easily figure out the rest of the WEB team's identities as well. With most of the villains still loose from the prison break, basically all of their enemies were out there, and they hadn't exactly been on good terms. With the whole, defeating them and putting them in prison thing. 

Then again, she was training with SHIELD. She understood, or at least she should understand, the importance of a secret identity. If she found out, would anything really happen? Regardless, that was a problem for future-Peter.

Present - Peter had a different problem. “Who's there?” 

A larger man in a blue grey hood entered the room, having been hiding just behind the door. He lowered his hood, and Peter was greeted with a red haired man he hadn't seen in several years. Confusion and hurt filled him, turning into questions that he wanted to ask all at once. How? Why? When? Was this why he'd been gone for so long? Was this why none of them had heard anything since after Horizon was destroyed? 

For all he wanted to say, all that came out was, “Max?”

“Hello, Peter.” 

Chapter Text

“Its, been a while. I see your team works with SHIELD now too? That's really-”

“-Max!” Peter interrupted. “What the hell are you doing?” A look of shame passed across Max's face, one Peter had seen before many times during the final moments of the Symbiote battle. “A cult? Really?”

“I know, I -”

“-Oh my god Max you could have died! What if you were part of the original summoning? I saw that, everyone there died, there weren't even ashes left of them! That could have been you!” The scent of burning blood consumed him and nearly made him vomit.

“I know, I know.” He couldn't tell if Modell was trying to be comforting or not. The image of his former mentor consumed in the ghostly green flames pulled at him. “Please, Peter, listen to me. I was just barely lucky enough to be allowed to speak with you.”

He sighed, then stood and pulled a folding chair away from the wall. Modell would need to sit. “Here,” he held his emotions back as he helped the man sit down, taking care not to aggravate his freshly casted leg. As he took Modell's crutches from him, propping them up on a nearby table, he sighed. “How did you get roped into all this, Max?”

Modell sighed as he rubbed his leg. “I could ask you the same question, you know.” He shook his head. “After all I've done, I'm sure you must be disappointed in me now,” he gave a small, nervous chuckle.

“No, no Max, I'm not disappointed.” Peter shook his head. He decided to pull himself out a chair, sitting himself between Max and the vat. Why had he sat on the floor in the first place? “Its, just,” he rubbed at the mark, from the calm he figured Danny was still asleep. “I saw over a hundred people die that night, and there wasn't anything I could do to save them. And now, now I know you could have been with them, and I wouldn't even have known.”

“My, group and I, we had objected that summoning method. We wouldn't have been allowed to participate even if we had wanted too.” Modell clasped his hands. “We started as a support group, after Venom.” Max Modell began his story, detailing how his small group, all the members that had been on the island, had eventually been absorbed into a larger network that later became the cult, The Emerald Wings. “At first, it was just a nice community to be a part of, but pretty soon The Emerald One, I've never met him, began shaping it to fit his needs.”

“Why'd you stay?” His heart hurt. How close had he come to completely loosing Modell? “You saw what was happening, didn't you?”

“I did, yes.” Modell nodded. “And I, we, almost left. But,” he clasped his hands, as if steading against the memory. “We were all gathered, made to walk through this, I don't know, it was almost like the portal to Venom's planet. I knew then that I had to learn more, find out what was really going on.”

He felt a twinge from the mark. He sighed, knowing that their conversation was no longer private. “The Emerald One wanted the Ghost King, I, had my doubts about his existence but the more I learned the more concerned I grew.”

“What did they want him for?”

“We were told he was in incredible danger, that he was sealed away in some place that was torturing him every day. If we, The Emerald Wings, could successfully summon him and save the king, then the Emerald One would grant our souls protection should we form as ghosts.” He gave a tired sigh as he rubbed above his injury. “I grew worried for this king, I became genuinely invested in getting the plan to work. I did things I shouldn't have, but when the time came, I presented my thoughts on the ceremony, asked for more time to complete the set up for our idea, but in the end, we were rejected and thrown away on the island.”

“I see.” He sat with what he'd been told. Curiosity had always gotten the better of Modell, but he could see how he had gotten pulled in. 

“Peter, please, can I ask how you got pulled into all of this? How did you become connected to the Ghost King?” 

He chuckled. His status of knight was a popular topic that day. “C'mon Max, you know how I am. I found someone who needed my help.” A look of exasperation came over his former mentor's face. He groaned, then decided to summarize the events. “He got treatment at the tower, after the summoning. When he woke up, he ran off. Somehow made it all the way to my place. He's been staying with us since, its almost like having a little brother around.” Was he allowed to feel that way? 

“Phantom, he was, quite terrifying when we summoned him.” He listened as he detailed how Danny had formed a small blade of ice and threatened to slit two of the members throats with it while he asked questions. “He was bleeding from his nose and mouth, then he just, called us idiots and left.” 

“Can't say that surprises me.” 

“He- agh!” Modell gave a short yelp, his eyes locked on to a spot behind him.

Lazily, he looked behind him, seeing Danny's head partially phased through the lid. He had just enough of him through that his eyes were looking out, starring Modell down with a distrust that Peter couldn't really blame him for. He crossed his arms. “You're supposed to be resting.” 

Danny poked his head out further, as well as an arm in order to pull off his oxygen mask. “You know this guy?”

“This is Max Modell, he's-”

“-Isn't that your old principal?”

Modell, as nervous as he was, gave out a laugh. “Of everything I've done, I'm glad that's the one to be known by.”

Danny narrowed his eyes, then glanced back over to Peter. He nodded. “I trust him.” 

Still hesitant, Danny nodded. “Sorry for calling you an idiot. Even though that was totally stupid.” 

Now Modell laughed for real. “You're not wrong, but thank you.” He gave a pleased sounding huff before asking, “Are you doing better?”

“I'm pretty sure I'm on, so many pain meds right now.” 

Peter laughed, “Enough to kill at least twelve elephants, you tiny little freak.” 

“That's mean!” He sunk back lower into the vat, pouting for the theatrics oof it.

“Go back to sleep.”

“I can't.”

“Why?”

Green flushed Danny's cheeks, embarrassment emanating from the mark. “I'm hungry.” 

“Okay, want me to get you something?” Modell sat quietly, letting king and knight discuss food.

“I wanna go with but…” He sunk lower. 

Peter knew the problem. “I'll go get you a new shirt.  Put the mask back on and marinate a bit more, then we'll go raid the cafeteria?” 

Danny nodded and slunk back into the vat, reaching a hand out to retrieve the mask before vanishing. Peter stood and replaced his chair, then grabbed Modell's crunches. “You should rest too, we can talk more later.” 

Modell nodded, his eyes lingering on the vat. “He, he is a ghost, right?”

Peter smiled. “Yup.”

“But, he eats?”

“That's so rude, Max. You can't just be surprised that someone eats.”

“Peter, I, you-”

“-I'm messing with you. Yes, he does. A lot actually.” He helped open doors for him, delivering him to an armed agent that had been waiting for him outside. Peter waved to them, but the gesture wasn't returned. No matter, they were working anyway.

He said his goodbyes, then went to find a shirt. He decided he should check in with Dr Cho as well, have her check him out before they went scavenging for food. It felt like such a normal activety for how heavy the conversation he had weighed on him. Much had happened, and there was much that still needed to be figured out. Everything was alright, but that was just for now. He couldn't get rid of the feeling that things would only continue to escalate. 

A burning calm from the mark told him his absence, though approved, wasn’t enjoyed. He walked a bit faster.

Chapter Text

 Danny threw food in his mouth as if he was worried it would be taken away. He knew it wouldn't, logically. They'd come all this way to rescue him, it wouldn't make any sense for people to take his spaghetti. It was his. It was okay. 

“Hey Phan-” 

He startled and grabbed the bowl. Peter sighed, then shook his head. “Hey, Tiger.” His knight was also eating, cereal. He got the feeling he only grabbed something because Danny had. “Gonna eat before the meeting too?”

“Yeah, well, I already did. Saw you guys and thought I'd ask Phantom how he was doing…” 

He felt his face flush. “I'm okay.” 

“Oh sure, I can tell.” Even without looking he could hear the eye roll in her voice. “Is it some sort of boy thing to pretend everythings alright?” 

Danny got an idea to get the unwanted lecture to stop. He caught a subtle tilt of Peter's head, Which he took as a silent request to not. 

Request denied. 

“No, it's a dead thing.” He looked at her, and instantly felt guilty. Even through her mask, her exhaustion was evident. The proud posture he'd seen her hold was gone, an unfamiliar tension in her shoulders. He sighed. “My heads still, messed up. I think, it got hit pretty hard.” 

“I see…” White Tiger shook her head. “Anyway, I'll see you both at the meeting.” She departed, unease evident in her steps. 

“How hard did you get hit?” Peter asked. 

Danny shrugged. “Hard enough I couldn't recognize Thor, so, yeah.” Peter had summarized what had happened. Shame and guilt filled him, settling alongside the anger he still felt at being summoned. Neither of them had said it, but he also was having a hard time staying in the present. That was going to make their meeting difficult. 

He was right. Sometimes, he really hated being right. 

After eating, Danny decided that he would attend invisibly until he felt otherwise. He didn't sit on his knights shoulders this time though, choosing instead to walk silently next to him. He ignored the looks his knight expertly shrugged off. Everyone kept asking Where he was, or if he were okay. Peter kept repeating the same, ‘he's around’ and ‘could be betters’ over and over. Danny kept bitting his tongue.

It was just a meeting. They were going to talk about what happened. He would apologize to Thor. It was okay. 

Once in the room, Danny found they were the last to arrive. A disapproving huff from Fury told him that they had held up proceedings, though not for long. Also inside were the baby heros, Flint, Thor, two of the exiled cultists, and several masked agents. He hated it already. 

“Where is Phantom?” Fury asked. “It was my understanding he felt well enough to attend.” 

“He's here,” Peter held up his hands. “We can start, it's all good.” 

Annoyed seemed to be Furys default emotion. “Fine.” He addressed the room. “As a reminder, our purpose here is to go over a timeline of events on the island. You four,” he nodded to the baby heros, “are to watch and listen. I will take your reports later.”

The babies grumbled but didn't disobey. He nodded to Modell and the other man, “I believe we should start with you two first. Tell us how you came to the island, and why and how you summoned Phantom.” 

Danny, still invisible, ignored the chair meant for him and sat in the middle of the table. Legs crossed, head resting on his arm without the iv, currently not hooked up to anything, and staring at the two men. From the way the one he had threatened spoke, his voice fluctuating between too quiet and too loud, he wondered if he knew he was there. 

Silently, he listened to their tale of being exiled. The group had been tried, beaten, then abandoned. The shield had been left to keep them trapped even in death. The more he heard, the more annoyed it made him. 

Modell took over for the man, explaining how despite their stated intentions of wanting to help, they had mostly gone through with the summoning to prove themselves right. 

The man didn't agree with his comrades words. “That isn't why!” He snapped. Around him the tension rose, the armed agents ready to remove him, the heros ready to act, and Danny, almost ready to speak. 

Behind him, Fury held up a hand. The agents stepped back, but didn't stand down. Modell put a hand on the mans shoulder, “Adam, we talked about this. The king was right, we-”

“-We were only trying to help! The Emerald One said he was injured and after, after everyone died he was gone!” 

Danny chose that moment to reveal himself. He was about 2 feet from Adam, who yelped and lost some of the passion he had. He ignored the startled occupants of the room, several of whom weren't used to his invisibility. He looked at Adam, his eyes boring into the man with all the aggravation he felt. “So, you're the one who led this?” He kept his voice even and calm, despite what was actually going through his mind. 

“I, your highness, I-” 

“-I already told you. I am not your king.” He sat up, readjusting so he wasn't resting on his hand and was instead leaning forward. “You are not one of my subjects. You are not part of my rule.” 

“I, yes, Phantom.” 

He smirked “Better.” Then, he dropped his grin and continued to stare at Adam. “Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was?” 

Someone behind him made to speak, but either decided against interrupting or were ordered not to. When Adam didn't respond, Danny continued. “Say you guys were wrong, and your methods didn't work. Everyone of you would have died and still accomplished nothing.” Both Adam and Modell shrunk under his words. “You bet not just your own life but the lives of your group, even knowing what happened the last time. 

Then, another thing you didn't consider, what if what came through decided to kill you?” He ignored Adam's grab for his throat, no doubt remembering how close the blade had been to him. “Don't think I'm talking about my stunt, if I’d chosen, you would have died that day.”

“I, were you really going to kill me?”

He shrugged. “Who's to say?” He let that sit for a few seconds before he finished his lecture. “The Infinite Realms are home to endless dangers that the living aren't meant to see. Mess up your summoning and you could have brought upon yourselves something far more dangerous than me.” He glared. “You'd better thank Thor,” he jerked his thumb behind him, “because had he not gotten there when he did, things could have gone very differently.” 

He turned to Thor. His arm was bandaged, and the site of it hurt. He wanted to apologize, to tell him he didn't mean it, that it was an accident and had he been able to recognize him he wouldn't have attacked. Instead, what left his mouth was, “Thank you.”

Thor nodded. “It was an honor to have sparred with you.” 

Danny smiled before turning Back to the cultists. “Never try that again. Take it from the dead, luck will only get you so far.” His message in the air, he let himself fade from view. He was done with that conversation. Hopefully, his point had been conveyed well enough. 

He went back to his knight, still sitting on the table but in front of his spot. Peter leaned forward, “Is that why you're so upset?”

No. “Part of it.” He crossed his arms. “That was so stupid.” 

Fury motioned for Adam and Modell to continue. Danny listened as they described his actions after the summoning. He almost laughed when they told how he'd called them idiots and left, but he hadn't realised how much of an impression he had left. Both men looked frightened as they spoke, describing not only what he did but how he looked. He hadn't remembered bleeding that much. They then told of how they figured that when they couldn't find him he would eventually show up at the device, so they had waited for him there. 

That was when Flint raised his hand, “I suppose this is where I should step in?” He was given nods of approval. Danny listened as Flint explained how he had been nearly killed by his own daughter, who had him dumped on the island after failing to kill him. Danny idly wondered if it were that incident that had caused him to become a Revenant, or if it was the same one that had turned him into sand. Flint explained how he found Danny, took him to the home he had built, and watched over him while he was out for four days.

Wait. 

It had been that long? He thought he'd only been out for a day, two at most. He'd been gone for that long? What did Aunt May think? 

“The kid, poor boy had nightmares pretty bad. It was almost a relief when he finally woke up, I mean, it still was but then,” Flint shook his head. “I saw how much pain he was in, and there wasn't anything I could do to help.” 

Once again, Danny revealed himself. “You took care of me, thank you.” 

Flint nodded. “You doing better now?” 

He smiled, “I'm on so many drugs right now.” He chuckled as he went back into hiding. 

Flint also smiled, “Wait I didn't get to ask about the batteries!” 

“What?” Peter asked. 

“Yeah, kid wakes up, we talk and eat some, then he gets this creepy look on his face and says he's going to go eat the sheilds batteries.” 

Danny elected that it would be more entertaining to wait to explain his actions there. Unfortunately his amusement was cut short with Modell explaining, “If I had to guess I'd say he needed the energy source for himself.” 

 “Makes sense, the sheild was powered by Ectoplasm, after four days without any I'm sure he was pretty desprate for some.” Peter confirmed. 

 Modell made a small nod of agreement. “From what little we actually know, ectoplasm is integral for his healing.” 

 “If we could,” Fury interjected. “We are aware of what Phantom needs to recover. What we'd like to know is what happened on that damn island.” Danny knew what was truly bothering the man, and he couldn't blame him. He had lost himself, and had attacked one of the Avengers. Even if Thor wasn't upset with him, even if it was clear Thor had held back, he had still injured on of their heros. 

 “Yes, of course.” Modell began detailing what transpired just a bit ago. The attack of the ghost kraken, his loss of sanity, the arrival of Thor. He and Adam spoke of how they had offered their assistance in restraining him. Flint joined in the story, explaining how he had used his sand body to create the sealing circle at the direction of the cultists. The thought of a self repairing circle scared Danny almost as much as the thought of being so cheaply summoned. Flint had suddenly become someone Danny felt he had to far more cautious of than he had originally thought. 

 When they finished, Fury motioned to the agents. “Thank you. I ask you keep cooperating with our investigation moving forward.” The way he spoke, it was clear that this was more so an order than it was a request. He dismissed Modell, Adam, and Flint, having them be escorted out and back to their respective medical rooms. Once they were gone, and the doors properly shut, Fury crossed his arms. “Now,” he looked to Thor, “your turn.”

 Thor grunted. “When I arrived, I found King Phantom finishing his battle with the green sea beast.” Danny held his chest. How long had it been since he had fought a ghost? “When I approached him, he was not of his right mind. He could not recognize me, and called me many names, none my own.” 

 His last proper ghost fight had been in the zone, right after he'd become a candidate. Who had that been against? Was that when he had fought Undergrowth, or (dream ghost dude)? When he'd realised, he had stopped loosing himself in fights, only to be caught and lost in his own torment. Perhaps it would have been better if he had never left the Ghost Zone, and had simply continued fighting till his pain faded. 

 “He said two names in particular more than any others,” Thor continued, “Plasmius and Dan.”

 The lights flickered. Frost trailed across the table. Danny held himself tighter. Behind him, Peter whispered, “It's alright.” 

 “Phantom?” Fury spoke with a caution he wasn't used to hearing. Not that the man wasn't cautions, just that usually he didn't sound it. 

 Danny dropped his invisibility. “Plasmius is my godfather.” He didn't look at anyone. He wasn't going to tell the whole story, but he felt it would be best to give them all at least some of it. “We fought often, back home. We, sorta hated each other. He started it.”

 “Is this, Plasmius, a ghost as well?” Fury asked.

 “Yeah,” he confirmed. It wasn't a complete lie. “He died a while ago.”

 “How do you have beef with your Godfather like that?” Nova whisper asked, probably having meant to ask that of himself. 

 Danny's eyes snapped to him. “Shut up bucket breath.” He shot a look to Peter, who had reached out a hand to comfort him. His message was received. He didn't want to be touched. He looked back to Thor. “And Dan is the one who killed my family.”

 Thor looked solemn. “That explains why you fought so fiercely. It was all I could do to prevent you from wounding yourself further.”

 “Neither of these ghosts were in your previous reports.” Fury said. “Are these potential enemies we will need to prepare for?” 

 Danny glared. “I don't report to you. I gave you what you needed, and I told you about some of the ghosts I know. I'm not about to tell you about everyone I've ever met or fought.” 

 They both stared at each other. “All I want to know is if these will be problems for us later.” Fury matched his challenge. 

 “How should I know?” He narrowed his eyes. “The Ghost Zone is huge, literally infinite. Cujo took days to make it here when I called, and hasn't been back since. I have no idea how far this world is from everything else. For all I know it could take years to travel from there to here, and Cujo only happened to be nearby.” He pulled his arms tighter around him. “On top of that, traveling into this world isn't exactly easy. Your world is so damn void of ectoplasm that natural portals aren't possible, and the few ghosts that can make their own have nothing to gain by traveling so far.”

 Thor stood, “This is not the time to be distrustful of each other.” He was thankful for the interruption. Had he spoken any more, his fears were sure to have escaped his lips and revealed his lie. Both individuals he mentioned did have something they'd want from this world- him. “We should be celebrating. We have secured the king, rescued the man of sand, made many discoveries about the Emerald Wings. Now is not the time to let fear keep us from our goals.”

 “Maybe we should wrap this up?” Peter offered. “Its been so stressful and he's still recovering.”

 “We are not ending this discussion here,” Fury declared, “But I do agree that, for now, we should put that matter aside and finish what we need to do here.” 

 Danny considered this. “Alright.” There was one more thing he wanted to be known from this as well.

 “What is left? Didn't we get the timeline already?” White Tiger asked. 

 Fury shot her a look that was lecture enough on her interruption. Then he looked back, “I believe Phantom, you already know the last piece we need to discuss.”

 He nodded. “The ghost shield.”

 “That shield had to be why I couldn't feel you through the mark.” Peter said.

 “That's not all.” Danny relaxed a bit, feeling less on the spot about his past. “That design was a direct copy of my parents’.” 

 “Your parents, Phantom?” Thor asked.

 “Yes, both my parents were ghost hunters. Whoever this ‘Emerald One’ is, they stole that design from them.”

 “Are you sure?”

 “Positive.” He nodded to Fury. “The biggest problem of that means that whoever started all this is from my world.” 

“I don't understand,” the baby heros had clearly forgotten they weren't supposed to participate. “What's the big deal about them being from your world?” Powerman asked. 

“A few things.” He sighed. “The first, biggest, is that they have a way to get from there to here.” He doubted they had a permanent portal. The ectoplasm in this world was so thin, there was no way they could have made a stable one without use of AE, and judging by the natural exto powering the shield, he didn't think they had figured out any of that. “It also means they've gotten a hold of my parents' tech. Which means they've got access to a shit ton of ghost weapons they could have at their disposal.”

“Isn't that mostly a you problem?” Nova asked. 

“No, this is indeed concerning.” Thor answered. “While the weapons are intended to be effective against the dead, that does not make them safe for the living.” 

“Exactly,” Fury agreed. “I don't suppose you have any ideas on who this ‘Emerald One’ could be?” 

Danny hadn't had the time to think about it, so he took a moment to consider the possibilities. Thoughts of all the battles he's had, of all the enemies he's made, raced through Him, but all kept running into the same problem. Why bring him to a different world? What was the benefit of bringing him to this ectoplasmless, desert of a world? Unless, could that have been the point? If this were all a ploy for the throne, did they choose this world with the intention of keeping him weak? 

“I don't.” He answered. “The followers all keep saying that they want to help me, but this all feels like someone's after my throne.” He stared ahead, not quite looking at anyone. He hadn't wanted the throne, had panicked when he became a candidate, had screamed when he became King. After meeting the final requirement, he remembered the feeling. It had burned into his flesh alongside the air stinging his open body cavity. It was a slow transformation, but not one that went unnoticed by the GIW. He'd felt the trickle of power change within him, though he was too weak to understand what that change actually did. It was as if he had felt every part of him surge with energy, only for it to be stolen from him before it could be of any use. In. Out. Blood. 

His coronation had been a lonely event, only attended by his organs on a rack and the ones who had hung them there. 

“I imagine there are many in the Realms that would want the throne for themselves,” Thor mused, “but a victory with you in such a state as you were is no victory at all.”

He chuckled, dry and humorless. “The realms don't care about how you win, just that you do.” In. Out. Blood. Ectoplasm. “Becoming the ghost king has many steps, one of which is defeating the current king. When I fought Pariah, you could say I didn't fight ‘fair,” The suit may have been an advantage, or maybe it had evened the match. It didn't matter. At the time, he just had to win, because if he lost, everyone would have died. The only option was to win, and even if it was cheating, the ghost zone clearly still counted it. 

In. Out. Red. Green. 

“So they summon you, beat up your barely continuous form, then still have a bunch of other stuff to do to get the throne?” Peter asked.

“Unless they've already completed the other steps.” It wasn't impossible. He knew there were other candidates, could feel that they existed. There were many, actually, scattered about the realms. But the Infinite chose who would graduate from candidate to king, and after he had met the final prerequisite, it had chosen him. He hated it, but it was his. He would not give it up. “If they really are after my crown-”

“-You have a crown?” Powerman asked.

“Then they'll come for me eventually. If they have access to my parents tech, then they already have a chance at beating me.”

“You believe their weaponry strong enough to defeat you?” Thor asked. 

“Wouldn't be the first time it was used to take down a ghost king.” A little bit of nostalgic pride thrummed through his core. The looks of bafflement and apprehension at his parents abilities reminded Him of how he'd felt about their work. They were smart and terrifying. Even if their methods were ridiculous, his parents were the top of their field for a reason. Then he remembered a flash of green, his own cries, and the threats from people who'd always loved him. It stung that their tech was used against him even after they were gone. 

The cycle of blood and ectoplasm. In. Out. 

“So we can expect an attack at some point in the future.” Fury surmised. 

“Mhmm.” Danny held his arm, covering a faint circle where a tube had once been. The feeling of being drained of his blood over and over and over and over- 

“-What happens if they beat you?” The blond baby hero asked. “Will this individual ascend the throne immediately?” 

“They won't beat me.” Even with his core cracked and his power unstable, he had no intentions of loosing. He hated his throne. In. Out. The cycle he'd been put through for years. The incident that led to his assertion. He could still hear the gurgle of blood. He could tell them, that if he lost that wouldn't necessarily take away his position, but he had no intention of loosing a fight. He had fought many powerful entities, anyone looking to fight his damaged self would regret it. 

He tired to shake the thoughts of his past, to numb the feeling of the cycle. Bile threatened His mouth at the recollection of the flowers that had shredded his throat. He looked to Fury, “Do you still have snacks?” 

Wordlessly, the man produced a baggie of Graham crackers. Danny nodded his thanks. He tried to focus on the new taste, but the memory of the blood blossoms held strong. He knew his arms were covered in frost, knew that he had done a poor job of controlling himself, and knew that everyone could see him struggling. Could they see the cycle? Smell the blood blossoms? 

“Phantom,” a strong, kind voice called him. He turned, not sure who would be using such a tone with him. “Its time to go.” 

He nodded, and allowed this person to guide him out of the room. People were watching him. People were always watching him. No, he thought. They used to watch him. This had been a recent change, that why he was able to move around. That's why his body was whole. He wasn't still in that room. 

He'd been on an island. He'd felt threatened, in a different way than what he'd become accustomed too. Someone had been coming to help him, and now they were guiding him back to a room he knew he'd been in before. 

I'm so tired. He thought. 

“Cmon, let's get you set back up, then you can rest more.” 

“Why can I talk?” Wait, no he knew the answer. “Peter, my head hurts.”

“I know, I know.” His knight reattached his two IVs. Blood and ectoplasm. In, but not out. “Do you remember where we are?”

The helicarrier. The island. The room. “Yeah.” 

Even through the mask, Danny knew Peter was frowning. “Were on the helicarrier. In a med room that's been fitted for you. We just had that meeting, going over what happened on the island.”

“I threatened to kill a man with a knife.” He remembered. Why was Peter going over what just happened. 

“And I'm sure it was terrifying. Mask.” He affixed an oxygen mask to his face. Then, began guiding Danny into the top of a vat. “Go to bed.” 

The past and present kept colliding within his mind, weaving themselves into an ever changing dream that he was too tired to stir from. He did homework with Jazz, then with Miles, then the pages turned into the corpse of a frog. The frog morphed, it's joints popping with the same sound his ribs had made when they were removed. As the frogs corpse shifted to that of a hooded figure with a winged clasp, the voice of his knight erased the image. Muffled through the vat, he heard Peter call him little brother. 

It'd been a long time since he'd been anyone's little brother. 

Chapter Text

Ava was not a hacker. Neither was anyone on her team. They were working on their teamwork, Their strength, and their situational awareness. None of that included any tips on getting into secure SHIELD files. She wanted to get her hands on the answers she knew were just some login away. Every computer she passed when on the helicarrier felt like a personal insult to her capabilities. 

She did, however, have some faith in her observational skills. The artificial ectoplasm she'd helped carry on board had looked entirely too familiar. When she talked to Spiderman and saw it inside an IV bag, her suspicion was confirmed. Danny Parker had ectoplasm in that iv of his. 

She glanced over to him, finding him groaning about his new assignments. It had been a week since she last saw him, and in that time not much has changed about him, save for some bags under his eyes and a new cover for his IV. He still wore it improperly, though now kept it in his backpack that he only took off to retrieve his schoolwork. It was when he had grabbed his folder that she'd noticed the new IV cover. Without knowing it was there the line would be hard to notice under his NASA hoodie. Occasionally the green of his medicine just barely illuminated the base of his neck. 

Parker and Phantom shared many similarities that nagged at her mind as she absently did her school work. They both had IVs with the AE in them, had a group that was after them, and had classified files. Through her conversation with Spiderman, she'd learned a few things, though she couldn't be sure how many applied to Parker. 

Their bond was formed by accident, through a promise of protection. This allowed them to share abilities, the extent of which she wasn't entirely sure. She had seen a faint green glow from his eyes, hidden under his mask as they were. They'd been brightest when the mark had started working again, a flash of otherworldly energy that had quickly faded from his face. This led her to her next train of thought. 

Had Parker made a vow to the king as well?

She didn't have much to go on to confirm or deny that theory. Phantom had mentioned multiple times now that he was from a different world, and she couldn't place when Parker would have been able to make a vow with him since the summoning. Was it possible he'd made a vow to a different ghost? She didn't even know if that was something that could be done, but the thought had her mad that Spiderman had burned the ghost book. 

Then there was the matter of figuring out what a halfa was. She had strained her ears pretty hard trying to hear what Spiderman and the barely conscious Phantom were saying about it. Best she got though was that it involved blood. Phantom had a line of blood during his creepily quick recovery. Why would a ghost need blood? 

Whatever it was, Phantom had to be one. 

Which, despite this, still left her with no answers. 

“Something on your mind?” Ms Marconi asked her. 

“Hm?” Ava looked away from her assignment, finding Parker gone and their teacher giving her a worried look. “Oh, nothing, just-” 

“-Its about Danny, isn't it?” Ava must have made a face, cuz she grinned. “Curious kid, isn't he?”

“That's an understatement.” The boys books were still on his desk, so while she was stuck in her own thoughts he must have left for the bathroom. Ms. Marconi was SHIELD certified, could she know something? “Do you-”

“-Oh no you don't.” She winked at her. “Part of my job is keeping secrets. If you want to know so bad, ask him yourself.” She grumbled and complained, even if she knew she was right. “If you want my opinion on it, I'd relax.” 

“He's just, so confusing!” She blurted. “How is he working at the same grade level as me, but knows zero history? Why is literally everything about him classified? Why does nothing make any sense?” It was childish, but her frustration had only been growing since seeing Spiderman interact with Phantom. She knew Parker was involved in all this, she just didn't know how.

“You've been trying to figure this all out for a while now, huh?”

“Yeah, with no success at all.” She pouted. 

“Have you tried talking to him?” Her teacher got that look in her eyes, the one that said she held the exact answers, but wasn't going to give them. It was the teacher side eye for the lesson is you figuring it out yourself. It wouldn't be a problem if she had anything to work with. “There's no guarantee he's gonna answer you, but you don't know till you try. Also,” ms marconi smiled, “usually when you're trying to get to know someone you have to talk to them.” 

That, made sense. If she wanted to know more about the situation, about the subjects of two of her indefinite assignments, the most logical thing to do would be to talk to them. She doubted Phantom would tell her what she wanted to know outright. She'd only just learned the cause of his “weakened state” from an outburst from Spiderman. If she were honest, she had a nightmare about it the night after they'd gotten Phantom back. The hole through his chest and his torn up hands had healed in less than an hour, but he was still hurt from being vivisected? Over those five years, what had been done to him? Sure, he was a ghost, some kid that had died long ago, but he still felt pain. What kind of hell had he been put through? Why? That small piece of information made her blood run cold at the thought. 

Which, brought her back to Parker. He was involved in all this, she had no doubts about that. If she followed the timeline, Phantoms torment must have happened in his own world, so Parker wouldn't have been involved in that, right? Whatever his condition was, surely it didn't involve something so horrifying. 

“Who we talking about?” she almost jumper when Parker returned to the room.

Ava forced her curiosity to still. “You, actually.” she smiled, trying to look and sound friendly, and not like someone who was trying to pry. Even if that was what she was doing. “Are you going to be starting regular classes when school starts?” 

Parker sat back down, crossing his arms and looking to be deep in thought. It was a good act, but even in their few interactions she had already caught on that he did things for the theatrics of it. “Classes, with lots of people, and I'm guessing a lot of work too,” he sighed, “or just Saturday school, where I've only got one classmate?” He hummed as if he was weighing the options. 

She rolled her eyes. “You should join the drama club.” 

“You wound me.” He laughed. 

“You'd fit right in.” ms marconi rolled her eyes. “Maybe it'd be a good outlet for you, and you could stop bullying your poor cousin.” 

“I don't bully him!” He defended. “I bully Miles, thank you. Its way funnier.”

Ms Marconi shook her head, though was clearly entertained by the conversation. Ava half expected her to tell them to get back to work, but it was near the end of their time so what did being a little side tracked hurt, really? 

She was lying to herself, she wanted to make the most of her time, and Parker talking about something other than school was the perfect chance to get to know more. She clung to his words, as if the answers would be hidden behind any of them. “Who's Miles?”

 Parker smiled. “He lives with us, and works with Peter. His reactions are the best.”

She gave the boy a mock scolding frown. “So how are you bullying him?” 

His blue eyes seemed brighter at the thought of mischief, “Sneak up on him, and he freaks. A while back, I got him really good at breakfast.” He laughed, and Ava was reminded of the chill she'd felt before Phantom had appeared. Why did her mind keep going back to him when she was talking to Parker? It was frustrating, and wasn't helping her figure anything out. 

“You're going to give those boys grey hairs.” Ms marconi chuckled as she gathered some papers, presumably Parker's work for the next week. 

While she had several programs she was working her way through, Parker did whatever Mr Marconi assigned. Ava had noticed during their first class together that his curriculum was completely tailored to him, with a heavy focus on history, some attention on English, and a strange avoidance of biology. Again, she felt like she was holding enough pieces of the puzzle, but couldn't figure out where each bit went to complete the picture. 

Parker looked to his side, as if glancing at the desk next to him. He made a face, a restrained laugh that he failed to hide. This was another quirk she had yet to figure out. Often the boy would look at and react to things that were not there. Maybe part of his condition involved hallucinations? Ava knew better than to ask. At least for now. 

Parker pulled out his phone. “Do you guys know where, the hot dog place with the blue sign is?” 

“Philly’s?” Ava asked. 

“I don't know, I guess everyone's at the lab and May wanted to know if it was okay if she covered for-”

“-You sure you're up for walking home yourself?” Ms Marconi asked, a stern look in her eyes. Ava was glad to not be on the receiving end of that look. 

“Absolutely not.” Parker matched their teacher's serious look. “I shall die on the way there.” 

Ms Marconi held his eyes for a breath longer, and just when Ava thought he was in for another scolding, she sighed and shook her head, a grin growing on her face. “Just be careful.”

Parker matched her again. “Never.” 

Ava couldn't help but laugh. Despite how creepy Danny Parker felt to be around, she found that his presence quickly grew on her. At first, being near him somehow felt like standing at the edge of a cliff. He was somehow the embodiment of that feeling of being just a step away from danger. The longer she was around him, the less intimidating the cliff became. It wasn't that it felt safer, just more familiar. The danger didn't subside, but it faded from her mind more and more with each joke he told. 

 At first he was quiet around her, like he was deciding if she was okay to be around or not. As much as she was trying to figure him out, she knew he was doing the same. It almost seemed like a game, each of them trying to learn something about the other without admitting that's what they were doing. Ava saw her opportunity to get further in this game, and put on her friendliest smile. “So your plan is to get hot dogs after this?”

Parker gave a small start, then an awkward chuckle that didn't hide his suspicious gaze from her. Come on, she thought, take the bait. “Miles suggested it, but he didn't tell me where it was, just what it looks like.” Parker shrugged. “I think he forgets I'm not from here.” 

“If he's talking about Phillys it's only a couple blocks away. I could show you?” 

Both her classmate and teacher gave her knowing looks. Ava knows it wasn't the most subtle of tactics, but she was desperate for more information. If Parker agreed, she could start learning more about him. Even if it took some time, as she doubted ‘Hey how are you involved with the ghost king?’ Was something she could ask yet, it would still be a step closer. 

Parker visibly considered her offer. After a moment where Ava was sure he'd say no, he answered, “I walk slow.” 

“That's alright.” 

Ava did not expect hot dogs to lead to hiding behind an overturned pickup. The attack had been incredibly fast, a giant lizard with the tattered remnants of jeans and a white sleeve had burst from the sewers. Almost as quickly Spiderman, Spidergirl, and Ghost Spider were on the scene. There was little to do in way of evacuating civilians, as most people had booked it the moment the sewer grate had banged open. This was New York after all, the people weren't strangers to avoiding villain attacks. 

That left her and Parker hunkered down behind a pickup that the lizard had thrown at Ghost Spider early on in the fight. It was a decent distance away, being at the edge of the intersection that had become the fight arena. She peaked over the truck just in time to see the three spiders jumping and spinning around the lizard, covering him with more and more webs. Their efforts to contain him kept being negated whenever sharp claws shredded their webs. Ava wanted to help, to look for an opportunity to slip away and activate her amulet, but-

“Don’t.” Parker grabbed her arm and pulled her back behind their cover. He took another bite of his hotdog, not once since the lizard appeared had he stopped eating. He lazily looked behind him, swallowed, then continued, “There's three of them working on it now. Anymore would just get in the way, too many cooks in the kitchen, ya know?” He stuffed the rest of his food in his mouth.

Ava hated that he was right, but as she ducked back behind that was not what bothered her most about what Parker had said. “Do you-” she cut herself off. Did he know she was White Tiger? How? She bit her tongue. His wording was just vague enough that she couldn't ask without outing herself. It didn't make any sense. She was mistaken, right? Surely he didn't know, right? Or did he think she was just an ordinary girl who, for some reason thought she could fight a big, bloody, seward lizard? 

Wait, when did the lizard get hurt?

“Time to move.” He grabbed her again and led them from their nook to the corner of the building about fifteen feet away. She followed, looking back to see the lizard smash into the truck before recovering and launching it at the Spiders.

 “Dr Connors! Think of the insurance claim!” Spiderman quipped. 

“Actually I hear most plans have good coverage for villain attacks,” Ava heard Spidergirl before she launched herself into a full body kick to the lizard, Dr Connors, side. 

“Always something in New York, right?” Parker joked. 

“How'd you know we needed to move?” 

He grinned, not at all phased by the fight beside them. “I am very skilled at not getting hit by giant reptiles.” He seemed far too excited by his own answer.

“Really? Had lots of practice?” She looked around the corner, once again Connors had broken out of another web net. Why were they taking so long to finish the fight?

“Yup, once fought an army of like, fifty lizard guys? Oh but before that I fought this one dragon guy, total dick.” He hummed, “Okay mostly his sister fought him, but still.”

She frowned at him. “Sure, sure.” At this, Parker made a face, a slight frown that grew into the biggest smile she'd seen on him. She looked back, deciding to ignore Parker's ill timed joke to see what the Spiders were doing. They'd finally gotten their webs to pin down his arms, Spiderman and Ghost Spider were each holding the webbed up lizard man whilst Spidergirl had disappeared from sight. “What are they doing?”

“They're trying to keep him from hurting himself.” Parker nodded, like this was the easiest thing to deduce. “See his side? Its all torn up, like he's been slashed and stabbed a bunch. Thats why all of their attacks have been to his left, not his right.”

Ava grunted. She'd been too focused on trying to join the fray she hadn't noticed something so obvious. “Meaning, something else got to him first.” 

Parker’s eyes looked at her with a bit of pride, like she'd said exactly what he wanted her to. “Follow me.” 

This fucking kid. She thought to herself. She thought her situational awareness was good, but at every point in this Parker had outdone her. He'd been the one to pull them to their safe spot, had pointed out that more heros were not needed, had gotten them out of harms way, and now had noticed why the spiders were taking so long with a fight they by all means were overmatched for. Now, she found herself following him up a fire escape, faster than she expected from the sickly teen. She wanted to help fight, but the spiders didn't need her help. There was nothing for her to do, save for keep an eye on the subject of her mission, even if they weren't at the school. 

“What are we doing?”

After they made it to the roof, Parker trotted over to the edge and sat down, pointing to the fight below. Ava joined him, more than a little uncomfortable with how comfortable the boy she'd seen nearly pass out walking to his own desk seemed at the edge of a building. She mentally readied herself to grab him, like a glass placed too close to the edge of a table that she had to wait to push back to a better spot. 

Below them Connors had escaped, but the spiders had webbed up any escape routes he could take, and were keeping him distracted. The intersection was now a circle thick webbing that turned the space into a glorified lizard tank. Spidergirl was still nowhere to be seen. 

“Its, a good spot to watch?” Was this what Parker got up to outside of school? Watching hero fights like he wasn't on the brink of death with ectoplasm constantly flowing into his veins?

“Yeah, makes it easier to see what they're doing. Looks like they've got a cornered, injured animal type situation. Whatever got him cut his bicep tendon, see how his arm is just flopping around?”

Connors arm was covered in blood, with a thick layer of webbing over the top half of it. Had the spider team stopped the bleeding, while fighting him? Ava sucked in a breath, impressed. “If they can’t keep him restrained, it won't be long before he exhausts himself.”

“Yup,” Parker popped the last bit of the word. “Whoever this lizard dude is, I'm betting the plan is to knock him out, patch him up, and during or after that figure out what was able to do that to him.” He kicked his feet absently. “Must be pretty strong. Scaley down there threw that truck like it was nothing.” 

Ava was not found of a potential sewer monster, that was beating up other sewer monsters. She'd have to report all this to Fury, even if it was a Spider mission. Please don't make us search the sewers please dont please- 

“And there's Spidergirl.” Parker pointed. The hero was swinging, a large bag flung across her back. She stuck to the top of the traffic lights, pulled something out of the bag and began putting whatever it was into a syringe. “Betcha thats something to knock him out.”

“I'm not betting against that.” 

Spidergirl stayed on her perch, waiting for her teammates to repin Connors. The opening came when Spiderman and Ghost Spider were able to trip him and web his non injured limbs. Spidergirl leapt off the lights and seemed to fly to them. She quickly stabbed whatever concoction she had prepared into Connors scaley neck. One final, mangled roar later, the lizard fell limp on the ground. They watched as his lizardteen body lost its scaley features and shrunk to a more appropriate size for a human. 

“Ah man, I was hoping he was a full on lizard.” Parker pouted. Then, he hummed. “Bicep tendon, vastus lateralis, a few ribs, that one cut looks like it might be deep enough to reach his lungs, no, a bit low, probably his diaphragm.” His eyes seemed to glaze over as he muttered about Connors injuries. Spidergirl was rushing some first aid using materials from the bag she'd brought back, while Spiderman and Ghost Spider were using a spray to dissolve their web trap. Ava frowned. Not once had she seen Parker go over anatomy, so she hadn't expected him to identify specific muscles while analyzing the injuries. Even as she watched the cleanup of the aftermath, with civilians trickling back to continue on their way, Parker was still muttering about the injuries, speculating which veins were damaged. The glossy look over his eyes told Ava that he wasn't fully there for his analysis, which felt wrong.

“Hey, Parker?” He stopped talking, but didn't look at her. “You okay?” 

Suddenly she was met with a smile and a shrug. “That dudes in for a bitch of a recovery.” He stood, slowly and more unsure than he'd been before. Ava couldn't help reaching a hand out just in case he fell. 

“You need to be careful!” She blurted. 

That gave the boy pause. He looked at her, then her hand, then to the ledge, as of noticing them all for the first time. Thankfully for her nerves, he took a few steps back. She stood and joined him, though kept her concerned scolding face. 

He raised his hands in surrender. “My bad, my bad.” 

“We're getting off the roof, now, before your sick butt falls off it.” 

Parker smiled, “Aw, c'mon I'm not that-”

“-Down. Now.” Thankfully, the boy listened to her. Once back on the ground, they watched as Dr Connors was loaded into an ambulance. 

“How many surgeons do you think he's gonna need?” Parker asked, his eyes teetering as of trying not to get pulled by whatever force had glazed them over before. “I'm thinking 4, just a guess though.” 

“3.” Ava wasn't sure why she was entertaining the question. Something about Parker's detailing of the injuries left a sour taste in her mouth. It felt like a new, horribly dark puzzle piece she hadn't realized she was missing. “Seems to be a good amount of cooks in the kitchen.”

He laughed. “Depends on the job.” Parker produced another hotdog from his hoodie pocket, this one wrapped in a protective bundle of napkins. He removed them just enough to get to the food, and took his bite with a satisfied smile. 

“That's, your fifth one.” 

“Yup.” He pointed behind him, “And I'm gonna go eat more back at the house. Thanks for showing me where the stand was.” 

“No, problem.” 

They parted ways, Ava left more baffled than she had been before. She'd thought she was close to the answer, to why Danny Parker was so strange. It was as if she'd just realised she'd misread the puzzle box, the picture being 1000 pieces instead of 100. Still, if she could build a relation with him, she'd be able to learn more in time. Perhaps the incident with Dr Connors was a blessing in disguise, even if it did have the potential to put her and the team in the sewers. She prayed that the Spiders wouldn't need their backup for that. The smell would be unbearable.

She sighed. There was too much to think about, and too much she didn't know. Her phone beeped, a familiar pattern that told her it was time to return to SHIELD. She'd figure out Parker later. 

Chapter Text

He was grounded. Being unexpectedly gone for a week had, understandably, scared Aunt May. Everyone had done their best to cover, but past her relief at him being home was a look that told him she knew they weren't telling her the full truth. His grounding didn't entail much, other than May was watching him more closely than before. Danny hadn't thought that possible. 

Technically, it wasn't a lie that one of his powers was to blame, as was their story for his absence. Supposedly, according to Peter and Harry, if he were at full strength he would be able to resist a summoning. He'd tried, he really had, but it just didn't work. So, the exiled cultists were being kept in SHIELD custody, some taking witness protection deals, some being closely monitored, some were not allowed to leave the facilities. As long as they didn't spread that he could be summoned so easily, Danny didn't care. 

“Danny boy,” Ben whispered to him. He didn't need to, as only he could hear his voice, but he still did. It was like he enjoyed pretending to have to sneak around. A small game that only the two of them could play. 

He raised a brow, checking that May was still in the kitchen. They were the only ones downstairs, Peter and Miles were both up in their rooms, Peter's most likely. They were arguing over the upcoming sewer investigation. Miles absolutely did not want to go. Peter did not want to go by himself. Danny was not allowed to, not that anyone would be able to stop him. “Yeah?” He breathed, his voice barely audible even to him.

“I know what you're planning, and it's not that I'm trying to stop you, I just don't think you should be doing something so reckless.” 

He sighed and shook his head. “I'm not planning to fight, I just wanna know.” 

Ben gave him a half hearted scoff. “Things don't always go according to plan, Danny boy.” He was speaking more normally now, though Danny would have to keep up the whisper act. “Please, just be careful. They were all so worried, and still are.” 

“I'll be fine.” He was not believed.

“You keep acting like you aren't fragile. There's no shame in taking things easy.” Ben patted his head gently. Danny could barely feel the touch and it did not disrupt his hair at all. He didn't think he'd ever get used to how the ghosts of this world were. “I thought of something the other day.” His voice was full of pride and care.

“Oh, yeah?” 

“You're like a Prince Rupert Drop.” 

“The little glass things?” He felt his face scrunch. This was going to turn into a warning, he knew as much, but what did the glass beads have to do with it?

“Yes, exactly.” Ben smiled softly. “Pete told me about them once. Those little bits of glass are pretty strong, but shatter with just a bit of force to their tails.” He frowned at the older man but younger ghost. “You're so strong, Danny boy, you really are. But I'm worried just one more thing could be too much for you.” 

Danny glanced back over to May. She was on the phone with one of her friends, rattling on about everything and nothing. She would be leaving to meet them soon, and Danny idly wondered if they'd have anything left to talk about. He looked back, finding Ben with a soft expression. Danny had told him much about ghosts as he knew them. They'd compared physiology, finding numerous differences that all pointed to ghosts like Ben essentially being malnourished. Ben had a core, but with hardly any ectoplasm it was a quiet thing that barely had the power to mark May and Peter as being his. He'd confided that his own core was damaged, witch Ben had already assumed but hadn't asked. 

After returning from the island, Ben kept a closer watch on him. Aside from Peter, he was the only one around who could feel just how damaged he actually was. It was almost annoying, but the genuine care and kindness that flowed from the ghost filled his heart and prevented him from dismissing his feelings. 

“I know, I know.” He tried to give a reassuring smile, “I won't shatter, I promise.” The concern didn't leave Ben's face, so he added, “As soon as I'm strong enough, I want to try and go to the Ghost Zone again, just for a little bit. I won't be able to fix my core, but I will be able to absorb more ectoplasm, and that will help.” 

He'd had so much AE, literally absorbed pools of the stuff, and yet he was no closer to being better. His broken core leaked his energy, and his scarred body consumed much of the little he had. If he were in the realms, he could fill his reserves for the first time in years. There, even with a leaking core he'd be able to consume an endless supply. The thought had to remain just that though, as he was far from able to protect himself in his own kingdom. That fact left a bitter feeling in his heart. 

“You worry me, boy.” Ben sighed, but accepted his answer. 

“Just making sure your hair stays grey.” It was hard not to laugh at his own joke. 

A knock sounded, ending their conversation. May began rushing goodbyes with her friend, so Danny left his seat at the table and announced, “I'll get it.” 

He opened the door, blinked, then closed it. 

“Danny?” May questioned. 

He opened the door again. The man, now clearly flustered, gave him a confused smile. “Oh, uh, hello. I was hoping to talk to Peter, does he still?” His voice trailed off. Danny didn't like his eyes examining him, and was relieved when they snapped above him. “Mrs Parker, it's been too long.” 

“Max!” May beamed. “Come in, come in.” Danny slipped away, retreating upstairs with a nod of permission from May. “Sorry, that was Danny, he's rather shy.” He heard her apologize. 

On the stairs, he passed Peter, who looked as shocked as he felt about Modell coming to the house. Danny went to his room, closed the door, transformed, then went back to spy on them. Invisibly, he sat on the stairs. He barely caught an indent in the carpet. Quietly, he whispered, “You too?” 

Miles, also invisible, shushed him. “What's he doing here?” 

He was tempted to make a joke, but he didn't like that Modell had appeared so suddenly. As much as everyone at WEB adored him, he was still part of the group that had summoned him. It wasn't great for a first impression. 

They watched as May, Peter, and Modell drank some coffee together. May gave an explanation about him, dutifully telling him that he was a cousin that had come to stay with them. She then asked about his injuries, to which Modell dutifully lied and told her it was a lab accident and he would recover just fine given a month or so. Peter was relatively silent, no doubt his mind swirling from the unexpectedness of the visit. 

The conversation was boring till May excused herself to keep her appointment with her friend. A moment after she closed the door, Model turned to Peter and asked, “Your cousin, Peter? Really?”

 With no need for secrecy anymore, Peter sighed. “Cmon, it's a good cover story.” 

“For anyone else, sure. But for you?” Model shook his head. 

“I'm gonna go grab some fruit snacks, want some?” He leaned over to Miles, who hadn't moved from his perch on the stairs. 

“Gonna pull the same stunt like at the Avengers meeting?” 

“Thinking bout it.” After Miles turned down his offer for snacks, Danny silently flew into the kitchen. There, he phased his hand through the cupboard that he knew held the gummies. He took a couple packets before taking a moment to consider where he wanted to sit. He grinned, deciding on the perfect spot.

He arrived just in time to hear Model finish telling his knight that the cousin story only works when people don't already know their family tree. 

“One genealogy assignment and suddenly I’m not allowed to have cousins?” Peter laughed, though there was an edge to it, like he wasn’t comfortable. On that, Danny could agree. Model kept shifting in his chair, his eyes darting around and his hand kept pulling at his pants. HIs knight sighed, “So, what’s going on?” 

Oh serious time, Danny thought from atop his perch. 

“I, uh, this is rather difficult to admit.” Guilt seeped into the space. “I told you, before, how I did things I shouldn’t have?” 

Peter sighed. “Is this something you’ve kept from SHIELD?” With a regretful nod from Model, who despite being a fully grown man looked like the embodiment of a child confessing to breaking a vase. Danny recalled that he was directly involved in the symbiote invasion, to a degree that some of the blame had been placed on him. Most of what Danny had learned of that didn’t go too far into detail about the how and why, but he did know that at some point the alien Venom had taken over Model’s body. Being overshadowed by a living being had to be worse than getting overshadowed by a ghost. 

 “I wanted to come to you about it first…” His voice trailed off. Danny was becoming impatient, and briefly debated leaving his spot to go back and make bets with Miles about what it was going to be. “First, you said you were present for the first summoning?”

 King and knight both tensed. Neither of them had a good experience with that. Admittedly, Danny only had vague memories about it. He’d been disoriented, cold, and in so much pain. He thought he remembered being held, but wasn’t sure. Peter, as well as Miles, had seen the whole thing. They’d seen over a hundred people die in such a manner that not even their bodies were left behind. He knew what it was like to be unable to save people and knew the kind of regret that the two heroes were feeling. 

 Peter nodded, “Yes.” His voice was a bit harsher than Danny had expected, but he couldn’t blame him for it. So far Model had showed up unannounced, hinted at something bad, then brought up something Peter still couldn’t, or wouldn’t, go into detail about. 

 Model, to his credit, noticed the distress the memory caused Peter. “Sorry, its just, do you remember the man in the middle?” Peter nodded, keeping silent. The regret and pain emanating from his knight was far too strong. Ben backed away, his underdeveloped core likely feeling the emotions far stronger than Danny was. He gave a sympathetic glance. The poor man’s haunt had been so peaceful just a few minutes ago.

 “The original plan was for his body to become the host for the king. My, group, we had been working on creating a vessel. The idea was that if we created a body, one with no sentience of its own, then no one would have to be sacrificed to become the host.”

 Peter stiffened. “You, made a body?” 

 Model scratched at his hair. “Yes.” He sighed. “We were given a DNA sample, and from that we started an advanced cloning process. There were many abnormalities in the sample, ones that were causing odd mutations in the specimen. We requested more time in order to figure out the problem, only to be denied. Our project was to be scrapped, but by that time what we created was already a fully functioning body. Part of why we were so, severely punished, was because we didn’t disband the project when we were told. It wasn’t till the body was aged into adolescence that I realised the reason for the abnormalities.” 

 “Max,” Peter’s voice was full of warning, “whose DNA did you use?”

 Model looked away, his face seemed far older than it had a moment ago. When he met Peter’s eyes again, he said, “Yours, Peter. We made a clone of you.”

 “Max!” Peter stood, his hands on the table. “Why would you do that?!” 

 “I didn’t know who the DNA had come from!” The man defended. “He was supposed to be blank, a shell that the king could possess while he healed. He wasn’t meant to, be conscious.” 

He felt the rage bubble from his knight. “Just like the V 52 wasn't supposed to be conscious?” Model flinched as if Peter had hit him. Danny looked down to see his knights fists were clenched tight, his knuckles paling from the restricted bloodflow. 

Danny decided it was time for him to interfere. 

He revealed himself, which created a rather interesting noise from Model, who was now both startled and emotionally hurt. He curled himself tighter around Peter's head, and though he couldn't see his face he knew his actions were annoying him. “You need to breath before you break something.” 

“I wasn't-” 

“-Calm down.” He commanded in ghost speak. He didn't put any power in his voice, there was no need to. All he needed was for Peter to take a moment before he snapped further in anger, and the use of the ghostly language would be enough to confuse him. 

He did not, however, expect him to respond in ghost speak, “I'm allowed to be mad.” His knight spat. 

Danny straightened and ruffled Peter's hair, payback for all the times it had been done to him. Peter protested far more childishly than he thought he would, swatting away his hands while grumblibling about his curls. Thankfully, his knights near murderous intent had faded. “We'll figure out more on that later.” He smiled cheerfully. “So, you accidently on purpose cloned Peter?”

“Yes?” Model tilted his head. “How long have you been there? What language-”

“-Whole time and don't worry about it.” He left his perch, opting to sit on the table instead. He got the distinct sense that he'd be in trouble for his seating choice if May were here, but he buried that thought. “Let me guess,” he leaned forward, “This not so blank clone escaped?”

Model nodded. “He did.” Miles took his turn to reveal himself, earning his own surprised gasp from the former principal. “How long have you-”

“-Whole time. Glad you're not dead by the way.” He looked to Peter. “You thinking what I'm thinking?”

His knight nodded. “Its a sure possibility.” 

Danny leaned towards Model, who flinched away. He raised a brow, confused. Then he remembered how he had intentionally scared all of the exiled cultists. He elected to ignore that. “Think they're gonna tell us or are we supposed to guess?” 

Model shuffled to recompose himself. “I imagine they already have figured something out?” No shit Sherlock, Danny thought. 

“Whatever beat up Dr Conners, it had to have enhanced strength.”

“Radioactive spider bite style strength. Would definitely account for how he was able to get so hurt even in his lizard form.” Peter said. 

“Oh so he's in the sewers then.” Danny crossed his arms. “Dudes gonna need a bath.” 

“Dude, try and be a little more serious? We have no idea how dangerous this guy could be.” Miles pleaded. 

“Its true,” Model agreed, “Someone with Peter's strength, who has no knowledge of this world and no where to go, it's an incredibly dangerous situation.” 

“Which is why you should have told us earlier.” Peter sighed. “Do you know anything else that could help us find him?” 

Model thought. “Before he escaped, I saw him cut himself behind his ear.” He motioned where, nearly dropping a crutch in the process. “That was where we had implanted a tracker. He'd never been awake before, he shouldn't have been able to know it was there.” Model folded his hands, “Im truly sorry, he really was ment to be just an empty shell.

Danny groaned. “What did you expect? You created life, obviously he'd have a soul.” Everyone looked to him, so he shrugged. “What? Think just cuz he wasn't born normally he wouldn't get one?” 

“You, realise you just casually have answers for incredibly philosophical things, like who gets souls.” Miles pointed at him. “Like, does that mean it's possible to just, make a soul?” 

Danny rolled his eyes. “Souls are born from life, duh. Some souls kinda poof into existence, others are pulled from souls that have already passed on.” 

“He just, confirms reincarnation like it's not a big deal.” Peter said, not overly amused. 

“Because it's not!” He defended. “What is a big deal is we've got Peter Number Two running around in the sewers.” 

“Multiple things can be a big deal at once, Danny!” Miles gawked. “Oh my god does this mean you know what happens when we die? Do you literally just, have the answers?”

He groaned, loud and dramatic. “You've been living with a ghost for how long now and now you think to ask that?” 

“Danny's right, we need to-” 

“-Search the sewers.”

“-Befriend the clone.”

Model and Peter looked at him. He smiled defiantly, knowing that none of them were on the same page as him. “Danny, what?” His knight asked him. 

“I, he's incredibly dangerous-”

“-So am I.” He dropped the smile and glared at Model, as well as his spiders. “This guy, you didn't think he was awake, but he was. He's smart enough to not want the guys making him to be a sacrifice to find him, and strong enough to fuck up lizard doctors.” 

“Okay…?” Peter asked. 

“The only thing he knows about the world is that he's not safe. So, he hides. Stumbles upon some lizard guy, ends up beating the shit out of him.” 

“He's scared.” Miles voiced his thought. 

“That, makes sense.” Peter agreed. 

“Yup, which is why I've got dibs.” Danny declared. 

“What? You can't call dibs on Peter Number Two!” Miles protested. 

“I can and I did.” He smirked. “Its a great idea. If he gets violent he can just tire himself out trying to get me.” To emphasize his point, he phased his handss through the table and swished them around as if playing in a pool of water. 

Peter frowned at him. “You’re just bored.”

He pouted, using his most pittiful expressinon. “I’m dying of bordom.” 

“Dude,” Miles shook his head, “you need a new joke.” 

Model looked entirely lost. “For as terrifing as mmy first encounter with you was,” He waved his hand, dissmising his own words. “You remind me of my students.” 

“You better be talking about Pete, I am so not as creepy as his little highness.”

“Hey!” Miles had just forfitted his shoelace privilages. He huffed. 

His knight, the traitorous fiend, laughed along with the formoer principal. He felt his cheeks flush, which only prompted more laughter. “Can you imagine the things he’d have gotten up to in horizon.” Peter’s eyes twinkled. “I bet we’d have a race to see who could make the best ghost defenses for the school.”

“I bet Danny would have pulled the worst pranks.” Miles accusted. “All of our tools would be in the ceiling I’m sure of it.”

Danny wasn’t sure how to react to this turn in conversation. They had gone from discussing the clone situation to casualy imaginng him as having been their classmate. Horizon High had been a school for science geiniousus. Everyone there, student and staff alike, were incredibly bright individuals who regularly made massive scienticif contrabutions like it wasn’t a big deal. When he first heard about it, he’d been amazed that the WEB team had been able to be both hero and student. 

Even before the accident, Danny had never been school orientated. There was always somethingg more fun to do, be it playing video games or running around with Tucker at the mall. The only time school was interesting was when they were talking about space. It was like the stars called out to him, wanting him to know them as much as he wanted to learn. Those were the only assignments he excelled at, and yet these scarily smart people were talking about him being their peer like they didn’t think he’d be any where else. Something about that soothed his ever aching core.

 “Its kind of hard to accept that youre the same king we summoned back on the island.” Model chuckled. “You were downright terrifing.” 

He shrugged. “Its pretty easy to scare the living.” A wicked grin bloomed on his face, one that he allowed to be a little less than human. He displayed his fangs, put a touch of energy in his eyes so that they’d glow, and allowed his laugh to echo unnaturally about the room. The affect on Model was instant. He froze, his hands gripping his pants tightly, and his jaw clentching. 

His amusment was cut off by Peter grabbing his face with a wide palm and llightly pushing him back. “Maybe instead of bullying Max we could get back to figuring out what to do about finding the clone in the sewers.” 

Miles leaned over to Model while Danny over exagerated the effort needed to remove Peter’s hand from his face. “You get used to it.” 

“I don’t suppose you have anything that might help us find this guy?”

Model, back to being uncomfortable, answered, “Yes, actually. there is a second tracker implpanted in his body.” He motioned to his sternum. “This one he won’t be able to remove, as it was implanted behind the bone.”

Danny frowned. “Gross.” It wasn’t lost on him that Peter Number Two’s body had been ibtended to host him. Those trackers were ment to keep tabs on him, and now had stripped someone else of thier privacy. 

“I agree. I didn’t approve of either device, nor did I have any say on where they were implanted.” He grabbed at his hair again. “I don’t have the device capable of connecting to the remainng traacker.”

“It shouldn’t be hard to reverse engenier one,” Miles mused, “If I take one of my one from the old spider slayers,” Danny made a mental note to ask about that later, “give me ten minutes, tops.”

Before anyone could reply, Miles was already off to his room. Danny considered what else they would need. Food and first aid would probably be a good bet. He could fit both of those in his backpack if he were to dump his school work out. With May gone they had a good few hours to search, possibly more if the boys covered for him. Maybe he could arange his bed to look like he was sleeping? 

All that on his mind, there was one more thing he needed to know. Danny pointed to Model, “Last thing, why the fuck would I need a vessle?” 

Model was clearly expecting the question and answered easily, albeit slowely. “We can't treat the wounds of the dead, so if we bind you to a body that is alive, we can treat that. Honestly I never thought that made any sense, but everyone's expectations were that the wounds would be made physical.” 

Silence took the room. Despite his efforts, the temperature dropped. His knight, ever the attentive one, asked, “Danny?”

He answered by turning back into his human half. “The wounds were always physical.” He didn’t look to the man nor his knight. There was no need to see the same look of horror, pity and confusion he was growing accustomed too. Instead, he spoke softly. “Now I’m even more confused on who that stupid ‘Emerald One’ is. If they’re a ghost they should have known about this.” 

Peter placed a hand on his shoulder, just over his core. Danny took comfort in it, feeling safe in the idea that no matter what, Peter would protect him. “We’ll figure that all out later.” He said calmly. After a gentle squeeze, he turned his attention to Model. “Looks like we’re still going to have a lot to talk about.” 

“I, will never stop being amazed.” Model breathed. “I thought before that was just a disguise.”

Danny frowned. “Not a word of this to anyone.” 

“Of course not.” 

“I still don’t trust you.”

“Danny-”

“-I don’t have the history that they do. Most of what I know is second hand, and what little I’ve seen of you hasn’t been good.” 

Model nodded, motioning to Peter to not defend him. Former mentor or not, Danny wasn’t about to let this man think everything was cool between them after one conversation and showing him his human form. “I don’t expect you to trust me, nor am I upset by it, not after what I’ve done. My team and I have done nothing but cause you pain and distress. Even now I’m still causing you trouble.”

“Peter and the others still think highly of you, don't abuse their faith in you by being stupid.” 

Model nodded, a hand over his heart. “I'll be sure of it.” 

Danny held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. “I'll keep you to that.” He plopped his hand over Peter's face. “Payback!” He blurted as he transformed and vaded frim veiw. 

He laughed and flew off, only reappearing once he was floating by the stairs. “Cmon, we got a clone to find.” 

Chapter Text

“You're gonna want to take the next left.” Miles told him over the com in his ear. 

“Absolutely not.” He looked at the tunnel. He held his nose. “There's a really gross mass of gunk in there and I am not going near it.” 

“If you're facing it, phase through the wall at 2 o'clock.” Peter added.

“That'll put you in the next group of tunnels, you should be getting close.” 

He stuck his arm out and made the motions like a clock, mentally picturing the one above Mr. Lancers head. 12, 1, 2, that way. He floated through the pipes, making sure to keep going straight. Metal, gunk, dirt, concrete, nothing but darkness. He’d never admit it, but the sensation of moving through the unknown in complete darkness still unnerved him. A small, secret part of him was fearful that if he wasn’t careful he’d be stuck in the nothing forever. It was easy to remind himself that this wasn’t Nothing, as he could feel the different textures his body was phasing through. The slight fear remained though, carefully buried within his thoughts. 

When he exited into a new tunnel, he gagged. Underneath the horrid stench of water and waste was the unmistakable iron of blood. He looked around, finding torn cloth and scratch marks littering the tunnel. Large splatters on the walls turned into rushed drops, with a distinctly not human footprint partially captured in one of the larger blood pools. Danny covered his nose, and started in the opposite direction of where the blood was running from. 

“Found where Conners got beat up.” He kept his eyes peeled, and kept himself intangible. Once he stopped focusing on the blood, he was able to see that this tunnel was old, made of stone that was eroding from years of water. Large chunks of the walls were missing, some looked to have been clawed off, others more like they'd been punched. 

“He's pinging close by, about 100 yards from you.” Miles informed him. 

“Okay, quiet time.” He muted his com, allowing his spiders to hear him but he couldn't hear them. Slowly he followed along the tunnel, the destruction becoming more prominent as he progressed. There were more slashes, more crumbled stone. Just from looking at it, he figured Dr Connor had stumbled upon Peter Number Two, and had been violently chased away. Abruptly, the stone returned to normal, appearing old and worn, but intact. 

The tunnel was cramped, being about 6ft tall and just about as wide. Despite being one of the larger tunnels he'd encountered, it still managed to give a sense of claustrophobia. Somehow, it reminded him of a time Jazz had caught him in the thermos. Dark, cold, uncomfortable, and now nostalgic. Just replace the smell with chicken noodle and it'd be just as he remembered it. 

As uncomfortable as the space was, he could understand the appeal it must have to Peter Number Two. It was unused, the mostly dry rock indicating that somewhere it was closed off from the rest of the system, or maybe somewhere was so clogged it'd created a plug that protected this space. It was also hard to get to, which being someone who had a tracker installed in their body, must have given it some major points in the impromptu housing department. From what Model had told them, this guy had only been up and moving around for a little over 3 weeks, escaping just a few days before his group had been banished. 

He found a change ahead of him and stopped. A pile of stone, stacked neatly around an opening he knew wouldn't be on any map Miles was looking at. Dirt was smashed down on the base of it, and there was a plastic wrapper discarded atop what he guessed to be a makeshift barrier. The set up itself didn't make him nervous, but the return of the scent of blood did. 

He flew faster, arriving to find a boy that looked around his age laying in the dugout room. His body was barely illuminated by a flashlight shoved into the dirt ceiling, its light dim and flickering. It definitely was running out of batteries. The boy’s arms and chest were covered in blood, and his lungs ate at the stale air greedily. The boy looked up, that same wide eyed startled look he'd seen every time someone's spider sense activated. A rock sailed through him, crashing on the other side of the tunnel behind them. 

“I know you're there.” Despite his youth, the boy's voice was deeper than he'd expected. It was also thin, like there wasn't any strength in him but he was trying to sound like he could still win in a fight. It was a sentiment he could relate to. 

Danny didn't show himself, visibly anyway. “Can I help?” 

“Where are you?” Number Two barked. 

“Right in front of you, hiding though. I've got a first aid kit with me-”

“-I don't know what that is.” 

That didn't surprise him. It was wonder enough the boy could speak, he was still essentially a baby. “Its some stuff that's meant to help treat injuries.”

“Why are you here?” 

He had to tread carefully. Outright saying he was there for him and had used a tracker inside of him was not the best for building trust. Lying was also a bad plan. “Long story, something to do with a lizard doctor getting beat up.”

“That's not a real answer.”

“I'll give you one later. Let me help first, then we can talk.” 

“I don't trust you.” Now Number Twos voice sounded much weaker. 

“That's okay. Just don't hit me.” 

He took Peter Number Two's silence as his go ahead, and dropped his invisibility. He lowered himself, sitting cross legged next to boy, he bit his lip as he took in what he was working with. 

The blood on his arms had clearly come from the wound on his chest, which had become a mess of slashes and claw marks, all of which were centered around his sternum. He knew exactly what the boy had been trying to do. “You did this, didn't you?”

“I can't get it out.” He whispered. 

Danny took a moment to look at his face. The boy looked just like Peter, just, younger and with shorter hair. He'd seen a picture of Peter and Harry getting smoothies their freshman year, and this boy looked almost exactly how his knight had then. There was no denying who his DNA had come from. 

Danny unshouldered his bag, and pulled out the kit he'd taken from the house. He clicked the box open, and pulled out some gauze. Then he frowned. “I'm not gonna have enough to clean it…” 

“What are you doing?” The boy quietly barked. 

“The bleeding isn't bad, anymore anyway. Step one we need to clean the wound, it's so gross down here all those germs will make you sick.” The boy groaned. “I'm gonna cheat a bit, same deal don't hit me.” 

He poured some disinfectant on a square of gauze, then began to wipe at the edges of the wound. It quickly became full of blood, so he held it over the ground and made it intangible, letting the blood phase out of the gauze, but keeping the disinfectant. It was a trick he'd learned to get Cujo's slobber off of him, far from something he expected to be using to stretch out some first aid. 

He repeated the trick a few times till he was at least a little more confident the wound wouldn't get infected. The possibility remained, especially if he couldn't convince the kid to leave the sewers, but it was at least fine for now. The added benefit was he could see how deep the cuts were. 

“This bit right here is your hypodermis, it connects to your fascia, just a bit further and you'd have hit bone.” It was a good thing Peter Number Two had Peter's healing factor, otherwise he'd have bled out long before they'd found him. “You haven't been eating well, have you?” He got a huff in response. “That paired with your blood loss could have killed you. Don't do anything so stupid ever again.” He warned. 

While he thought on how best to handle the injuries, the boy asked, “Why do you care?” 

“I'm not a fan of people dying.” 

“What are you?” 

He smiled. Carefully, he placed more gauze and taped over the injury. It probably needed stitches, but in addition to not having anything to do that with, he was confident the wound would close quickly. “Better question, what are you?” Another rock flew through him. “I said don't hit me.” 

A wicked smirk crossed the boy's face. “I didn't.” 

Danny shook his head. “No more rocks either.” 

“So, demanding.” He put a hand on his chest, gently feeling Danny's work on this injury. “You didn't answer my question.” 

“You didn't answer mine either.” He crossed his arms. “Do me a favor, drink this and then we can talk.” He pulled out a bottle of water. 

He helped the boy lift himself into a partially sitting position, getting glared at the whole time. The anger and fear emanating from the boy made it pretty clear why, and Danny didn't blame him for it at all. 

Even with the evident mistrust, the boy drank at the water greedily. After half the bottle was gone, Danny pulled out another and sat it by him. “Why are you here?” He asked again. 

Danny held his hands up in surrender. “Honestly? I came looking for you.” 

As expected, the boy didn't like that answer. His fists clenched, “Why?” 

“Because it's not good to leave children by themselves in the sewer.” 

“You're a child.” 

“Older than you.” 

The boys frown deepened. It was a weird sight, his knight's face full of youth and hate. “How'd you know I was here?”

“First, because something had to beat up that lizard dude.” Number Two's eyes narrowed. “My guess is he stumbled on your hideout?” 

“He didn't start as a lizard.” He finished the water before continuing. “He wouldn't leave me alone. Kept bothering me, giving me food ‘n stuff.” 

Dr Connors won some points. He hadn't gotten the chance To ask about him yet, but from how the WEB team reacted he figured there was some history there. “Sounds like he was being nice, what happened?”

“He turned into that thing, so I chased him off.” Number Two grabbed the other bottle. “What else? You said first.” 

Danny sighed. “To be completely honest here, I know what you are and what you're doing.” When the boy tensed, he leaned back, resting his back against the dirt wall. “I'm not with the guys who made you, they're kind of a problem for me, actually.” 

“So? You help me out just to take me for yourself?” The boy spat. 

“Far from it.” He scoffed. “I help you out cuz I feel like it.”

“That doesn't make sense.” 

He shrugged. “Who said it has to?” He could relate. He still didn't understand why everyone was helping him. He sighed, and pulled out his com. He turned it off and pocketed it. “Lots of people have been helping me too, and I have no idea why. They all keep going way out of their way, and it feels like I’m causing them nothing but trouble.”

The boy eyed him, scanning him up and down. “What’s wrong with you?” 

Danny thought a moment, then grinned. “If I tell you, you gotta promise not to freak out on me.” 

“I don’t have to promise you shit.”

“I like you.” He laughed. Peter might be this guy’s genetic base, but he certainly didn’t act the same. Danny hadn’t expected him to, not only was he far younger than his knight, but he also had a very different life. 

His amusement at Peter Number Two’s assertion dropped as he bit his lip in preparation. Quietly, he lifted his shirt, showing his vivisection scar, currently glowing faintly right alongside his death wound. He peeked at the boy’s face, finding him staring wide eyed and pale. He dropped his shirt. He let the space fill with silence as he dug through his bag. He pulled out some granola bars, placing them by the boy's leg. 

Number Two’s shock faded to suspicion. “Why show me that?”

“To prove that I know what its like for people to mess around with you like you’re not a person.” 

The boy nodded, hesitantly scanning him. “They put a tracker in my chest.”

“I know.” He motioned to his sternum. “Its under your bone, you’re not going to be able to claw it out like that.” 

“How come you know that?” The boy hissed.

“I told you, I know what you are.” He shrugged. “One of the guys that made you, he came to my buddy to tell him about you- don’t move you’ll fuck up your chest.”

“You’ve come to take me back! You’re working with them!”

“No, I’m not.” He let his voice be deep and threatening. It echoed around him, and the flickering light aided in the effect it caused. When the boy stopped moving, he continued, using his normal voice. “The guy you’re made from, he’s who this guy came for. He was pretty mad, not at you, almost lost it on the guy.” Danny was making sure to avoid names. He didn’t want Number Two to get any vengeful ideas. 

“You used the tracker to find me.” 

“Yeah, I did.” The boy immediately made a grab for the gauze. Danny grabbed his wrist and held it firm. “I told you not to move.”

“I need to get that stupid thing out!”

“And I can help you with that but you need to listen to me.” 

“What do you want from me?” His voice sounded so much like his knight, it almost hurt to hear so much anger directed at him.

“To come with me, so we can find you a better place than this hole you’ve dug yourself.”

“I don’t want to go with you.” He spat.
“With me out of here, not to stay with me.” He rolled his eyes. “I know some people that can help keep you safe. Not that I really want to owe them any more than I already do, but I’m betting they’ll have some hideouts that smell better than here.” 

“What's wrong with here?”

Danny frowned. “Everything. Its a terrible spot.”

The boy scoffed. “I don’t think whoever these people you’re talking about would be able to keep me safe, Mr I know everything.” He laughed. “You know, they made me to be the new body for this guy who’s supposed to be super powerful, I heard one of them call him god like.”

It was Danny’s turn to laugh. “I am a King, not a god.”

“You?”

“Me.”

The boy made to move again, and Danny pushed him back. “Stop trying to make it worse, I already told you I’m not with them!”

“You’re lying! They said you’d need a new body, and you’re here to take mine! That's why you’re trying to fix me!”

“I never needed a new body!” Now he needed to use both hands to keep him still. If it weren’t for the blood loss, he’d have no chance at keeping him there. “They made all these assumptions about me, about what I am, thinking that I needed a body in order to make my wounds easier for them to heal. Those creeps keep talking to me acting like all they want is to help, but all they’ve done is hurt people!” He was so tired of the Emerald Wings. How many people had died to summon him here? How many were now suffering, not even having a body to bury? Then there  was this boy, created in order to be a vessel for him, one that he never even needed in the first place. Who would do all this? Anyone that came to mind didn’t quite fit, as everyone who would have any benefit in his being brought here would know he was a halfa. 

The boy stopped struggling, if only from exhaustion. “So, you’re saying after all that, I was made for nothing?”

He sighed, releasing his grip but staying close. “That just puts you in the same boat as everyone else. People aren’t born to fulfill some purpose, that’s something you have to figure out for yourself, just like the rest of us.” 

“You, don’t need me?”

“I don’t need your body, wouldn’t mind hanging out with you though.” Danny hovered his hand over his chest, before phasing it into his own body. It was odd, feeling his organs inside him. “This is how I can take the tracker out. Let me do that and let me get you to people that can keep you away from those creepy cult fucks.”

“They never shut up about you. Said you were hurt, that you needed help.” He glared, his voice full of accusation. 

“That might be the only things they were right about.” He crossed his arms, holding them tight against his chest. The smell of blood wasn't as strong here as it had been back in that room, but he still hated it. He wanted this boy to trust him, even if just enough to get him out of there. “Can I take it out?” 

“Do what you want.” 

He grinned. “Don't move.” Carefully, he phased his hand into the boys chest. He felt the device quickly, a small bit of tech that was barely bigger than a dime. He pulled it through, then showed the proof to the boy. He held out his hand, and Danny gave the tracker to him. 

the boy squeezed his fist, turning the tracker into nothing more than a bunch of broken bits. As they watched it fall from his hands, a satisfied look spread across the boy's face. Danny wondered how liberating that must feel, to have that last piece trapping him be gone so quickly. 

“There, now they can't find you.” 

“Now no one can.” Danny nodded at the correction. “I still don't want to go with you.” 

He grinned. “I didn't think you would.” Danny pulled out a bag, filled with the rest of the snacks he'd brought. He put the ones he'd already given to the boy in it, as well as the second water bottle. “Hold this.” 

“I don't need your help.” 

“Says the guy who almost bled to death. Look, you even dug your own grave.” He sighed. “I told you, I'm not a fan of people dying. Stay here and you won't make it. It must've been hard, escaping that place. Did you really get away so that you can die alone in all this filth?” 

The boy glared before giving him a smirk. “No, I didn't.” 

Chapter Text

“I can't believe you just let him go.” Miles crossed his arms. 

Danny shrugged, lazily floating above them in the lab. The team was back to working on the files that they'd taken from the Emerald Ones after the first summoning. The conversation they were currently having had been repeated several times in the days that followed. 

He positioned himself so that he was upside down and looking at Miles, who tried to push him away like a balloon. His hand waved uselessly through him. Danny laughed. Then he reached a hand down to block Miles view of his computer. “Hey!”

“I told you, if we tried to force him to go he'd have fought.” 

“He was injured!” Miles defended, still trying uselessly to get him out of the way of his screen. 

“Oh no, why didn't I think of that?” 

“Would you guys give it a rest?” Anya left her work to cross her arms and glare at them. “We've all heard it a thousand times already.” 

“No, I think it was eight.” Danny smiled, knowing that all the spiders were currently upset with him. It was fine. 

“You of all people should know how reckless that was. Angry or not, Miles is right.” She scolded. 

“He's fine.” Danny righted himself, being sure to continue to block the screen. “Geez, it's like you guys have never seen a superhuman baby run loose in the big city before.” 

Anyas frown deepened. “This isn't funny, Danny. Not only could he be in serious danger, but he could be dangerous to others. You saw what he did to Dr. Connors.” 

“How is that guy anyway?” 

“Nice forced topic change,” Miles grumbled. 

“Still in a medically induced coma. They have to keep him sedated while he heals to prevent him from transforming and rampaging through the hospital.” 

“And that lizard cure deal?” 

“Gwen is still working on it, she took Grady with her to go pick up some more supplies.” Anya sighed. “I still don't understand why you would just leave him alone.” 

He hadn't, but it was fun pretending he did. “Mhmmm, pretty sure I answered that already.” 

“Danny “ Anya scolded. 

“Oh, would you look at the time.” He checked his wrist, knowing full well he didn't have a watch. “I've got to go abandon more children, bye!” He laughed as he disappeared from view, flying up and through the roof. 

Even outside he could hear Miles shout, “Cheater!” 

Some jokes never got old. 

He took a drink from his bottle, currently filled with artificial ectoplasm, medicine, and three random flavors of redbull. The taste was mostly covered by the AE, but the caffeine still thrummed through his heart. With his slow pulse, the effect made him feel nice, almost like he had a normal heartbeat. 

t. His phone rang, and he answered it after only glancing at the caller ID.

“It wasn't me unless it was funny.” 

“Danny,” Peter sighed. “Why is the chat complaining again?”

“Because no one trusts my fantastic judgment.” 

“Danny.” Peter, having access to his emotions through the mark, and having spent the most time with him, was the only one who wasn't outright upset with him. 

“I told you all already. He just needs some time. He's gonna be okay.” 

“Its going to get cold soon.” Peter complained. 

“What a great motivator for accepting help.” 

“You're going to go see him again, aren't you?” 

“Who said I know where he is?”

“Your sudden request for an allowance and your purchase history exclusively being clothes and food.” 

He froze, “you can see that?” 

The laughter on the other end of the line was almost insulting, even if there was no malice behind it. “The card is connected to my account. I can see what you buy but you can't see what I buy.” 

“Okay that's gotta be cheating.” 

“Tell him I say hi and invite him for dinner.” 

“Betcha he says no.” 

“Offer anyway.” 

“Yes mooooom.” 

“See you later.” They hung up, his knight likely back to swinging around the city looking for people that needed help. 

Danny faded from the visible world, and started his flight to where he'd last been updated about the boy, who had graduated from being called Peter Number Two to Itsy Bitsy. They'd discussed the issue of names, but Isty Bitsy made it very clear that he'd figure out a name when he was ready for one. That suited him just fine, as calling him Itsy Bitsy annoyed the boy even before he explained the nursery rhyme origin of the nickname. 

Unlike his unwilling DNA donor, Itsy Bitsy was not a fan of joking around. This, naturally, only made it more entertaining. When Danny made it to the overpass near the house, he found his target sitting up on top of the thin walkway near the ceiling. Itsy Bitsy had his nose pressed into a book, his face scrunched in near permanent irritation. Danny floated near him, hovering by his shoulder and leaning over to see what he was reading.

“Spooky little fucker.” Itsy Bitsy growled at him. 

Laughing, Danny revealed himself. “Whatcha reading?” He stretched out his words, enjoying the slight twitch from Itsy Bitsy’s eye.

“I don’t know yet.” He grumbled. “Haven’t figured it out.” 

“Lemme see.” Itsy Bitsy handed him the book. It was a thick workbook, one that started with the alphabet and made its way to small words before ending with some basic sentence structure. “We need to get you a pencil.”

“Why?”

“This is a workbook, you’re supposed to practice your letters in it.”

“How am I supposed to know that if I don’t know how to read?”

“You’re supposed to do it with someone, so they can teach you.”

Itsy Bitsy hummed, “Is that why the lady at the soup kitchen asked if there was anyone that could help me with this?” 

“Yes, my child.” He chuckled. That was Itsy Bitsy’s least favorite joke. 

“I am not your damn kid!”

“Aw, but you're my little Itsy Bitsy Spider.” He went intangible just in time for a workbook to attempt to smack him in the face. Between laughing, Danny smiled, “How many times are you gonna try that?” 

“As many as it takes.” He glared. “What do you want anyway?” 

“Making sure you didn't die in a ditch somewhere. Also, you wanna come to dinner tonight?” 

“No.” 

“Pleaaaaaase?”

“No.” 

“Aw come on, it'll be way more fun than hiding under here all the time. Plus Aunt May's cooking is to die for.” He dramatically flopped in the air, as if he had passed from not eating.

“If a ghost freak is saying that it must be good.” Itsy Bitsy shook his head as he put his workbook into a simple gray backpack. He paused a breath, before looking back at him, “You said May?” 

A hint of recognition in Itsy Bitsys eyes caught Danny off guard. “Yeah.” 

“May Parker?”

“That's her.” 

Itsy Bitsy huffed. “She's the one who gave me the book.” 

Danny hummed as he sat himself on the ledge. “Oh yeah!” He grinned. “That's what the bake sale was for!” He recalled ‘helping’ May, he just followed her around the whole time, with the sale. “It was a fundraiser to help kids get school supplies.” 

After explaining bake sales, fundraisers, and school to Itsy Bitsy, he grumped and shouldered his bag. “She's alright.” This was high praise from the boy, and it falling to May seemed perfect. The boy began walking down the side of the overpass, an interesting sight for someone not wearing a spider suit. Danny followed, pretending to walk down as well, even though he was really just flying. “She asked me what my name was today.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Told her I didn't have one.” They both made it to the ground, and Danny transformed into his human self, doing exaggerated jazz hands while Itsy Bitsy rolled his eyes. “Gave me one.” 

Danny started walking, his soon to be named spider following begrudgingly behind. “Ah, so is it time for our deal?” He started walking backwards, just for the small stretch where there was nothing but flat ground. 

“I suppose it is, ghost freak.” Itsy Bitsy grinned. 

“You first.” The deal had been that he'd introduce himself once the boy had gotten his own name. That hadn't stopped him from telling the boy about himself when appropriate. His baby spider knew that he was a halfa, that that was a secret, that he was from another world, and that he really, really, wasn't going to leave him completely to his own devices. No matter how many times he tried relocating in the three days since getting the boy out of the sewer. 

“She said I can be Ben, Ben Reilly.” 

“Nice to meet you Ben, call me Danny.” He stuck his hand out. Ben took it, an expression akin to pleased on his face. “Danny Parker when I'm like this, Phantom as a ghost.”

“Ah, his majesty has different names for his two halves?”

“Old habits die hard.” 

“Your jokes suck.” He laughed as Ben shook his head. 

Danny led them to the hot dog stand, Philly's, that Ava had taken him to. Ben did the talking, and Danny paid. The young spider had made a point the first few times to inform him that someone as important as the ghost king shouldn't have a problem speaking to strangers or being in crowds. He couldn't help it though. As Phantom, he was mostly fine, but as Danny? His stomach would swirl whenever he tried to talk to strangers for too long. The effect would lessen the more he talked to someone, and wasn't nearly as bad as when he'd first arrived in this world, but there was something about people that made them more difficult than they'd been before. 

After acquiring food, they found a good spot in a nearby park. It was under a tree just shy of the center of the park. As they ate, Ben eyed him. It was almost a suspicious look, but one that Danny had come to learn as curiosity. 

“Hm?” He asked, his mouth full of chili dog. 

“Why do you eat like someone's gonna take it from you?” 

He frowned, swallowed, then pointed to his chest. “Side effect.” 

Ben huffed his nose, a face that looked like resolved anger. Thankfully, he didn't say more on it. Instead, Ben pointed, “How long is that guy gonna stare at us?” 

Danny followed his finger, finding a familiar face in some probably expensive but hideous sunglasses. It had been a while since he'd last seen the man, and despite still owing him a prank Danny felt a smile grow on his face. 

“Till we notice.” He waved, big and dramatic, prompting him to start his walk over.

“Dude!” Ben whispered yelled at him. 

“Its fine, this guy’s cool.”

“Hey, Pipsqueak. Whatcha got there?”

He slightly lifted his food, “A chili dog.” 

Tony frowned. “Very funny.” Then, he looked to Ben. “Why are you short?”

Ben, unsurprisingly, scrunched his nose. “Excuse me?”

“He knows Peter.” Danny explained. “This is Ben.”

Before Tony could respond, Ben grumped, “And who's Peter?”

Tony took off his shades and stared at them, his eyes going between both of them slowly. Then, his gaze settling on Danny, Tony asked, “What did you do?” 

“Why do you think I did it?!” Danny grumped. Tony was now due for two pranks. 

Ignoring him, Tony turned to Ben. “Ben?” Ben glared, not answering while he finished his food. “Please tell me you aren't the result of more interdimensional bullshit.” 

“Inter, dim, what?” Ben asked while he was chewing. 

“Different world,” Danny clarified for Ben. “This is tower talk.” He told Tony, pointing at the youngest spider. 

“Hm.” Tony nodded, taking a sip from what he guessed was coffee. “Enjoy your trip?” 

“No.” It was Danny's turn to grump. “The batteries tasted good, though.” 

“Did Thor?” Tony laughed, not showing if he cared at the guilt he'd just dragged from Danny. 

“Whatcha doing?” He asked. Danny glanced at Ben, finding his face pinched and irritable. The poor child was so lost. 

“Came to find you.” Tony's eyes drifted to Ben for a moment. “I need your shortness to come test something, figured I'd swing by and snag ya for a bit. Didn't think you'd have acquired this mini pj's over here.” 

“Tower buisness?” 

“You buisness.” Danny raised a brow, before lifting his AE filled bottle, properly slung around his shoulder like it was most days. Tony nodded. 

Danny smiled. “Ben! You wanna see something cool?” 

Ben huffed. “You can't just drag me around everywhere.” 

“Pleeeeeeeease?” He repeated his exaggerated plea from earlier. 

“First you want me to come for dinner, now you want me to go with strangers?” Ben crossed his arms. “You make a terrible guardian, you know that right?” 

Danny fake gasped and turned to Tony, who was utterly lost but knew enough to recognize the incoming joke. “Such a rebellious child. Where did I go wrong?” 

“Pipsqueak,” Tony sighed. 

“You didn't raise me you creepy asshole!” Ben barked at him. Danny just laughed. 

“If it makes you feel any better, Shorty, he's always like this.” Tony offered. 

“My names Ben.” 

“Sure thing, Shorty.” 

Danny fell asleep in the car. He hadn't meant to, really, but something about the movement and the padded seat pulled him from consciousness easily. He had been sat in the back with Ben, but woke to find them in the parking garage. Tony was carrying him piggyback, with Ben trotting alongside them. 

“What's this place called?” 

“The Avengers Tower.” 

“No,” He heard Ben huff. “This place. With the cars. Not the whole building.” 

“This is a parking garage. My private one.” 

“Private?” 

“Means it's just for me, and anyone I bring.” Danny could feel the irritation building in Tony, but the man kept stuffing it down. Danny wondered if they'd been playing this question game the whole ride. It was a high possibility, considering Ben was still so new to the world. 

“Why do you get your own parking garage?”

“Because I own the building.” 

“Why?”

“Bought it, designed it, rebuilt it a few times.”

“Why?” 

“Felt like it.” 

“Why?”

“Ask me a better question, or I'm done answering Shorty.” 

Ben grumped and was silent for a moment. Danny debated falling back asleep. Tony was a strong man with thick muscles that made a good shelf for him to be propped on. The rhythmic pattern of his steps almost felt like he was being gently rocked back and forth, or rather side to side. It almost reminded him of being carried by his dad, although Tony wasn't as big.

 When was the last time that had happened? Maybe it was when he'd sprained his ankle back in middle school. He'd slid on a patch of ice, his body landing on his leg as he twisted down the hill of a sidewalk. His dad had carried him. At the time he was too hurt and embarrassed to fully appreciate it. His dad had carried him all the way from the school to the hospital, not the longest of walks considering the small town but still a good distance considering the severity of the injury. Later, his mom had scolded him for not calling her and driving them, but his dad had insisted it was safer to walk. Danny had agreed, his parents were terrible drivers. Walking shouldn't have been much better, but his normally clumsy father had moved so carefully that nothing aggravated his injury the whole way to the hospital. 

“Why does Danny trust you?”

Oh. Danny would stay awake for this.

“You'd have to ask him.” The air shifted, losing some of the concrete smell and coolness. They'd entered the elevator. “We have some things in common, talk a bit, worked together some.”

“Do you trust him?” 

Tony paused, and something in Danny twisted. He wanted to be trusted, but he also didn't. If the heros were suspicious of him, they'd be ready in case something happened. If he wasn't able to prevent himself from becoming Dan, as long as the heros didn't have complete faith in him it would all be fine. Still, the hesitation hurt. Tony had been there, helped save him. Tony was the reason he wasn't starved of ectoplasm in this desert version of Earth. As much as he wanted the heroes of this world to be ready, he also wanted to be accepted. 

“Not with my pens.” Then, Tony's head leaned back so it was partially squishing Danny's. “Pipsqueak I know you're up back there.” 

“No I'm not.”He mumbled into Tony's back. “5 more minutes.” 

“How come he sleeps like that?” Ben asked. 

“Because he's still injured. Healing is exhausting.” 

“Why?”

“God damn it kid.” Despite the return of the ‘why’ game, Tony explained how the body requires energy to heal. He went into the science of it, then began listing various things that aid with healing. “All that, of course, means that his royal shortness needs to rest more.” 

“He sucks at that.” 

“Yeah, it's a reoccurring problem.” 

“Hey, my human half is mostly better.” 

“Internal scar tissue says otherwise.” The elevator opened and Tony carried him out. Danny looked up, blinking away the last dregs of sleep from his eyes. They were on their way to the workspace where Tony had been making the ecto weapons, and Peter had made the bracers that Danny still kept on at all times. He tapped Tony's back, and the hero slowly lowered him down. 

“Thank you,” He yawned. 

Above them, Jarvis’s voice announced, “Sir, you have a call from Pajamas.” 

Ben gave them a questioning look, one that Danny answered by giving a thumbs up. 

“Put him on.” 

“Mr. Stark, you’ve got Danny right?”

Before Tony could anwer, Danny said, “No.”

“Texted you already, snagged him to test out some new AE.”

“Yeah, I know, but he’s not answering and I need to know if he asked that kid to dinner or not.”

“You called Jarvis to ask that?” Tony sounded tired.

“I was asleep.” Danny groaned. “And he’s not a kid, he’s a baby.”

“I am not a baby!” Ben barked.

“Yes you are.” Danny rolled his eyes. Tony motioned them into the lab, which looked messier than the last time Danny saw it. New parts were strewn about, as were different beakers and vials. “He’s coming.”

“I didn’t agree to go!” Ben protested. 

“But you didn’t say no.” Danny pointed out before transforming and going to sit on a crate supporting some barrels of AE. 

“He doesn’t have to go if he doesn’t want to,” Peter’s tone was scolding. 

Ben huffed and crossed his arms. “Didn’t say I wouldn’t go either.”

“Is that a yes on the kid?” 

“Sure.” Ben grumbled. 

“Cool, I'll see you three soon.” 

“Pajamas?” Tony asked.

“Swinging-by-cuz-I-wanna-see-too-see-you-bye!!!” Peter hung up, his voice rushed. 

Tony sighed. “No one even asks anymore.” 

“Danny, do you know anyone normal?” Ben sighed.

“You know you're not normal too, right?” He turned to Tony. “Who do you think counts as the most ‘normal?” Danny mixed air quotes around the word. “I'm guessing Hawkeye.” 

“I'm not playing that game.” Tony made his way to a pile of things and picked up a small bottle. He tossed it to Danny. It rattled when he caught it. Turning it over, Danny found it to be an unmarked pill bottle. 

“Condensed AE in pill form. One pill should have the same energy as five IVs.” 

“You show this to Dr Cho?”

Tony nodded, crossing his arms. “She says if you're up to it, one a day. Depending how you feel she said you can take them with or without having the IVs in.” Tony gave him a pointed look. “Aren't you supposed to have one in now?” 

Danny rolled up his sleeve, showing the line. He didn't have anything attached to it. “Finished one earlier.” 

“What's an IV?” Ben asked. He'd taken to leaning against the crates of AE. 

“Stands for Intravenous therapy. It allows medicine or fluids to enter the body through their veins.” Tony explained. He then had to define veins. Once Ben's curiosity had been satisfied, at least for the time being, Tony turned his attention back to the pills. “Try one and let me know how you feel.” 

Danny nodded. He shifted to his human form, then used his energy drink mixed AE to take a pill. He felt his face scrunch. “Its bitter.” The energy from the pill burnt a bit, almost like he'd eaten something spicy. Compared to when he purposefully absorbed the AE, it was hardly any energy, but being as condensed as it was was a sensation that he had no bases for. Bitter, and spicy. It was gross. 

“Your eyes are green.”

“They do that.” He tried blinking it away, though the displeased look on Tony's face said he wasn't successful in returning them to blue. 

“You don't have any white in them.” Ben clarified. “Just. All green.” He waved his hands in front, emphasizing the point. 

Danny hummed as he focused on absorbing the dense power. He just needed it to recede from his eyes. After a moment, he gave them a questioning look. 

“Better.” Tony confirmed. “Jarvis, watch his output.” 

“Yes sir.” 

Ben's eyes trained on a speaker. “Where is he?”

“Jarvis is a program I made. He's in my system.”

“System?” 

Tony raised an eye. “Pipsqueak, what is the deal with Shorty?”

“He didn't tell you?” 

Ben smirked. “You told me not to tell strangers.” 

“Ah, caos. Got it.” Danny nodded. Clearly, Ben had been enjoying the confusion he caused. Danny realised he might be a bad influence on him. Oh well. 

Danny smiled, ready for some idle chaos of his own. Tony and Ben both caught the mischief on his face. “Pipsqueak.” Tony warned. 

Danny disappeared, laughing a moment before he went ghost and flew down. He didn't have much planned, but as Jarvis hadn't snitched on his knight's arrival yet, he might as well take the opportunity to mess with them. He'd pulled enough stunts that he could now easily trick them just by pretending that he was up to something. It was his reward for having pulled enough pranks. 

He quickly made it to his knight, who was already in the elevator. He happily sat himself on Peter's shoulders, using his head as a sort of pillow. 

“You make a strange hat,” Peter chuckled. 

“I'm the best damn hat.” 

“Whats he like?” Peter asked. 

“You, but grumpier.” He hummed. “Also, he's started asking questions, about literally everything.” They finished the trip back to the room with Danny detailing the myriad of questions Ben had been asking, all without telling him his name. He would have Ben do that. It was important for children to learn to introduce themselves. 

When they rejoined the room, Ben was busy asking about everything strewn about. Tony looked to the door as soon as they entered. “Pajamas!” Danny could hear the ‘make him shut up’ in Tony's voice. “Why are there two of you?” 

Tonys queston wasn't answered. Peter and Ben stared at each other. From on his knights shoulders, Danny had a good veiw of Ben's reaction. His face was still, his body statuesc. It was as if the sight of Peter had frozen him in place. Danny wondered if this was how he looked when he first saw Dan. Sure, Peter wasn't an alternate future evil version of Ben, but he was an older version of him. Additionally, Peter was the original. That was something Danny was familiar with as well. He was a rewrite of Dan, and Ben was a copy of Peter. He rememberd how much that hurt, to see that he had been a do-over. Ben wasn't created as a replacement though, and he had known he wasn't the original the entire time. For him, this was something he knew and was expecting. Danny couldn't help but feel a little jelous of that.

“Hi.” Peter said, his voice a little quieter than normal. Though he couldn't see his face, Danny knew Peter was struggling with how to feel about this. His trusted mentor had taken his DNA and created a clone of him. It didn't matter that Model hadn't known who the DNA had come from, his attempting to create a shell of a human was a breech of trust that he knew his knight was still reeling from. Knowing that sonething had been done was far different than seeing it, so for Peter this was the meeting that finalized the reality of what had been done. 

“I thought you'd look cooler.” Ben smirked. “Good to know I look better than the original. I'd hate to be stuck with that face.” 

“Hey!” Peter sputtered. “Danny what have you been teaching this kid?” 

He revealed himself, though no one was in the mood to react. Danny couldn't blame them. “I’m not a teacher. I'm a dead teenager.”

“I thought you were a king?” Ben asked.

“Yes?” Danny laughed.

“Okay,” Tony patted his legs as he pushed himslf off the table hed been leaning on. He pointed to Peter and Ben. “Clone?”

“Yeah.” Peter confirmed. He turned back to Ben. “I'm Peter. Peter Parker.”

Ben gave both him and Peter a suscisois look. “Like May Parker?”

“You know Aunt May?” 

Ben huffed. “Danny.” He shot him an annoyed glare. 

He laughed and vanished, reapearring next to Tony. “They always act like I don't know what I'm doing.”

“Damn it Pipsqueak.” Tony sighed. “What the hell did you do now?”

“I would also like to know.” Peter crossed his arms, but his scolding tone didn't quite reach his face.

Danny smiled, proud of his set up. “I just didn't tell MiniPete that I live with Peter.” 

“You take far too much enjoyment in this.” Tony shook his head. “So, what happened?” 

Danny flopped dramatically as Peter began explaining how they learned about Ben's existence. Ben and Tony listened carefully, while Danny hummed along, sipping from his bottle of AE. Ben gave his side of the story as well, telling how he was aware for an unknown amount of time before he was able to fully wake up and move. Danny paid more attention to this, as it was the first time he'd relented information about what had happened.

Most of the tale was what he had expected. He oerheard the intentions for him, and booked it first chance he got. Ben didn't go into detail, his brows kept pinching together slong with the negative memoriies. His time in the sewers had been dotted by Dr Connors continuously bringing him food and clothes. 

Ben's story ended with his agreeing to follow Danny, which prompted him to rejoin the conversafion.

“After patching up Mr Grumpy,” he ignored Ben's protest, “I found him a hideout in a basement unit that's currently unoccupied, but still has power.” His set up for Ben had been far from the nothing that the WEB team feared. 

“How'd you know about a place like that?” His knight asked. 

Danny grinned. “The previous owner told me about it.” 

Peter sighed. “Ghost?”

“Duh.” He chuckled. “I figured out that the ghosts of this world form quickly, which is probably why they're so underdeveloped. Mr. Lee passed not too long ago, and while his place is empty, the power company can't turn it off since his unit shared power with another. That tenant is on vacation overseas, and isn't supposed to be back for a couple more weeks.” 

It had been the perfect spot for the distrustful spiderling. It was safe, warm, and there weren't many eyes to hide from. Plus, with Mr. Lee's help, Ben had been supervised at all times. Any problems would have been reported to him immediately. So, while Ben thought he'd been left alone, he was really being monitored by one incredibly helpful deceased janitor. 

Peter sighed. “So, this whole time-”

“-I didn't leave the baby alone and in a ditch.”

“I am not a-” Ben paused. “You were watching me?”

“I was keeping tabs on you. Mr. Lee agreed to let me know if anything happened.”

While Ben processed that he'd been being watched by a ghost the whole time, and his knight was clearly confused as to why Danny hadn't just told them that, Tony crossed his arms and asked, “So why the hell are we hiding mini over there in a basement?” He sounded offended. 

“He's a runner.” Danny answered. Ben made like he was going to argue, but stopped. Peter goaned. Danny shrugged. 

Tony pointed to Ben, who stiffened like he was expecting a fight. “You need a better spot than a haunted baseement, a doctors appointment, and a fucking shower.”

“I took a shower!” Ben defended. 

“Not a good enough one.” Tony then directed his attention back to Peter. “Make sure he gets back here tomorrow. I'm gonna call Banner so we can make sure Model and his cult ass team didn't screw this kid over.”

Ben huffed. “Who said I have to do what you guys say?”

Danny flew over, circling around him before plopping back onto his knight's shoulers. “They do this to me too, and I'm not even a baby.”

Peter made to swat at him like a fly. Instead of going intangible, Danny lazily dodged. “I mean, you’re what, a month old? That would make you a baby.” Peter laughed while Ben protested this. Tony looked like he was getting a headache. “There’s three of them.” 

After failing to convince Peter that he wasn't a baby, Ben huffed and gave a restrained grin. “Also, my name isn't Mini or Grumpy or whatever. May gave me one, and its Ben. Ben Riley.” 

Danny's knight nodded and stuck out his hand. Ben took it. “Nice to meet you, Ben.” 

Danny leaned over and ruffled Ben's short curls. “Hey!”

“Initiation.” 

Danny carefully stored this moment in his mind. Despite Tony's exhasberation with them, Ben's hesitance, and Peter's concern, the overall mood was positive. There was a lot that had just happened that gently thrummed through Danny's core. Tony had made him a new medicine that could possibly allow him to go without the IV. Ben had made progress in learning to trust people. Peter had accepted not just the existence of his clone, but also his presence. Even with all that was still wrong, at least right then, in that messy work space, all was well. 

Chapter Text

The Parker house was possibly one of the strangest places Ben had seen so far. Granted, his first few spots weren't anything to brag about. The laboratory at the Emerald Wings was a mostly vague memory. When he'd still been in development, he had only been able to listen. If no one had spoken about where the trackers were, he wouldn't have known they were there. Even when he'd clawed out the one behind his ear, he had only been convinced it was there after he was holding it in his hand. As for his escape, it was all too overwhelming. He'd never opened his eyes before. There wasn't time to adjust and take in the different sights. He'd run till his legs stung. Thinking back, it didn't seem like anyone had been chasing him. 

After, he found himself hiding underground in the sewers. As smelly as it was there, it was far less overwhelming than the world he'd ran from. There, he'd met Connors. The man didn't leave him alone, constantly bringing him supplies. The man had made an odd face at him, every time he saw him. He'd come to learn that expression as recognition. Connors probably knew Peter, not that it mattered now. His first helper had unexpectedly turned into something terrifying. Connors had begun heaving in pained breaths. His body creaked and shifted as scales grew around him. In the flickering light, Ben had barely been able to see what was happening. They'd fought, and he decided it was time to take care of the other tracker. 

Apparently he'd been too late, as by then Danny, with the help of the other ‘spiders’ had already used it to find him. That was how he'd come to live in his first proper space. The basement unit was mostly empty, furnished with an old bed, a worn-in sofa, and a sad looking welcome mat. Danny had explained a lot to him, helping him to identify many things that normal people should be able to recognize. Things like furniture, foods, rooms, basic nouns that he would need to know. When the halfa king wasn't there, it was a quiet place to be. Ben got the feeling he wouldn't be going back. 

Unlike the quiet of the sewer or the basement unit, there was so much noise at the Parker house. He hadn't figured out what he thought about Danny not only knowing his genetic base, but living with him. It was also something he'd need to wrap his head around that the kind woman that gave him his name was also his unwitting DNA donor's aunt. Did that make her his aunt too? Also, what was an aunt?

He'd have to ask Danny later.

“Ben, you want some more?” Miles asked, offering a hand to take his plate. 

“Yes, please.” 

Miles was another aspect of the Parker house he had not expected. Apparently he was a close friend that had been living with them since highschool, another thing he'd have to ask about. He also figured out that Miles was like him, or like Peter? According to Danny, there were four people with spider based powers. Miles was an outlier amongst them, having additional abilities that the others didn't. Ben didn’t really care about that. What he cared about was how awkward the boy was when interacting with him. It was like he was trying to tell May he was hiding something. 

As they ate, Mays eyes kept going between him and Danny. At first, he thought she had figured out their connection and would scold them for hiding in that basement. The others they'd met certainly seemed upset by it. However, as the meal continued, he figured out that she was concerned about them. Each bite they took seemed to relax her just a touch. He was full, but one more helping to ease the worry of the woman that named him was something he could manage. 

Peter and Miles both had insane appetites. They each had four helpings, Danny three, May and himself two. He thought himself full enough, but was he? His base had eaten so much more than him. Was he supposed to eat that much? 

Danny leaned over to him, not so subtly whispering in his ear, cupping his hand to hide his mouth. “You should ask to spend the night.” While not trying to hide the interaction, Danny did speak quietly. For some reason, his voice sent a chill through him. Every now and then the halfa would creep him out, even if he wasn't actually doing anything. Ben elected not to ask about that, though. 

“Why?” He didn't try to whisper, everyone was watching them anyway. May was openly amused. 

Danny leaned back, rolled his eyes, and took a bite before answering. Ben had figured out that Danny liked to drag on the things that amused him. It was similar to how he held on to his food. He always held it close to him, and would hold the trash or the plate for an extra moment before cleaning it up. It was like he wanted to keep proof that it had been there. This translated to his “jokes” by being drawn out longer than necessary. Then, after the joke was complete, he'd parade around with a satisfied look even long after, like he was mentally holding the evidence. 

“Because it'd be fun.” 

Ben narrowed his eyes. “You're planning something.” 

“He usually is.” Miles nodded. He pointed his fork at Danny, accusatory. “ Speaking of, where did you put my shoelaces?”

Danny put on an impressively convincing innocent face. If Ben didn't currently have a bag of shoelaces in his backpack, he might believe that Danny didn't take them. “What are you talking about?” 

“C'mon man, I went to put on my sneakers and my laces were just, gone!” Miles pouted. Ben didn't think he looked all that upset by the prank, but he probably expected them to be returned soon. 

“That's really weird.” Danny turned to Peter. “You see them around anywhere?” 

Peter answered with a bemused sigh. May looked to Danny, unconvinced by his performance. “Danny.” Her voice was kind, but firm. It almost made Ben want to confess and return the laces. Would they be mad at him for his participation? They didn't seem that mad at Danny about it. Annoyed, sure, but not mad. 

Danny gave her a wide grin. “His shoelace privileges have been revoked. He is allowed one set.” 

“Why?” May asked. 

“He called me creepy.” Now the supposed ghost king was pouting, far more than the situation seemed to need. 

“Miles!” May gapped. It wasn't overly scolding, but it was more than Miles had expected. Ben certainly hadn't expected this either. There was a glint of betrayal and confusion in Miles's eyes. Ben was lost as well. Why was he now the one in trouble? 

He caught Danny's gaze. The halfa gave him a careful nod, mischief flashing through his blue eyes. “But Aunt May! He was being creepy!” Miles pleaded. From the whine it was hard to see him as a young man, and not a child like Danny, as much as the halfa claimed otherwise. Ben wasn't the most familiar with what constitutes an adult or a child, but he figured that Danny was definitely a child. 

The antics and demeanor of the halfa were far more aloof than any of the other people Ben had met. He was also smaller, not just in height but in build. May was for sure an adult, as were The other people he'd met at the shelter that handed out food and supplies. There had been some children there too, they acted similarly to Danny. 

He wondered where he fit in that child to adult scale. He was technically only old enough to be a baby, but he certainly didn't look like those tiny, squishy potato faced people. He also didn't look like the adults he'd seen either. Ben dismissed the thought. This was something he'd have to figure out later.

“Honestly, you boys.” May shook her head. “Sorry about them, Ben.”

He didn't know how to respond to her sympathetic, yet joyful smile. Emotions were something else he'd need to ask about, but probably not from Danny. Feeling he was taking too long to respond, he decided to shrug. Shrugging seemed to work a lot.

Danny leaned back to him. “Do ittttttt.” He whispered, not as quiet before. 

“No.” Ben gave the halfa a curt look. “Its your idea, you do it.”

Danny's protests and pleas were ignored as Ben took the oppertunity presented by Miles taking the remaining dishes to the kitchen to leave the table. “I'm gonna start the dishes!” Miles announced.

“What does that mean?”

“It means I'm going to clean them Mini Pete.” Miles laughed. 

“My names Ben.”

“I know.” He rolled his eyes. Ben wasn't sure people did know his name, they kept calling him many different things. That Tony guy didn't seem to call anybody their name at all. What did that mean? He filed that with his list of questions he had to ask later. Miles handed him a small, tiny towel. “I wash, you dry.” 

“Okay?”

“I'm putting Ben to work!” Miles called back. May scolded him, but the young man just laughed. Ben shrugged. Shrugging worked.

Miles showed him how dishes were done, casually explaining things like sponges, dish soap, and the drying rack. His job was to lightly dry off the dishes with the wash cloth, which was not called a tiny towel. From May's reaction, Ben guessed this was not something a guest was supposed to be doing, but he couldn't help but be fascinated. He wanted to know how to live like a person, a real person not just a hollow copy, and Miles was teaching him something. 

Ben's curriosity escaped him for the second time that day. He began asking everything that came to mind. What was the soap made out of? Why was soap important? Why use hot water? Why dry the dishes before putting them in the rack? What was mildew? What were germs? 

Miles answerd all his questions. The answers came to him easily, unlike when he's started asking Tony things. Tony would answer, but his voice made him sound like he'd rather be somewhere else, but still he had indulged him. Miles didn't seem the least bit upset. Rather, it was like he was happy to be explaining everything. 

The chore ended quickly. When they left the kitchen, it was to find that the others had dispersed. May had gone upstairs, leaving Peter and Danny in the living room. Peter was leaning over him, pointing at a piece of paper. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be good, as Danny's face scrunched at it. 

“What are they doing?” He asked Miles. 

“Homework.” He blinked at him. “Right, sorry. It's from school, most classes will send you something to work on outside of school, hence the name. For Danny, he has a bunch of reading he's supposed to do that he's been putting off.” 

“No I haven't!” 

“Yes you have.” Both Peter and Miles say in unison. 

Ben remembers his workbook. He trotted over to where his bag had been left, near the door, and pulled it out. He brought it over to Miles and showed him. “How do you learn to read?” 

Miles pointed to the table, now clear of any evidence of the meal they'd just shared. “Go sit over there and I'll show you. I'm gonna grab some things that'll help.” He then left upstairs. 

May returned before Miles. She surveyed them all, her eyes going across all of them before settling on him. She smiled, and joined him back at the table. “How're you doing, Ben?” 

He shrugged. It truly was the most useful gesture. He couldn't tell her he was excited, because if he did Danny would win whatever game he'd constructed in his head. Even if these games continuously benefited him, Ben wasn't about to play along and give the halfa what he wanted so easily. “Miles is gonna help me with the book.” 

She nodded. “What time do you need to go back?” 

Shrugging seemed insufficient for this question. “It doesn't matter.” It wasn't like the basement unit would be any less empty just because he got back later. 

May visible thought on his answer. Ben wondered what about it would give her pause. “Danny really wants you to spend the night,” her voice trailed off. 

“That means sleeping here, right?” 

She nodded. “Would you like to?” 

This is where Ben ran into some trouble. He wasn't opposed to staying for a night. He wanted to see what a night looked like in a home with multiple people in it, and he didn't feel like walking all the way back to the basement unit. Even so, he didn't want to agree too easily. If he did, Danny would win. The halfa took too much enjoyment in his schemes working, so Ben felt the need to make him work for them. 

Then he caught the concern in Mays eyes, and he forgot about his desire to thwart Danny's plans. “Sure.” 

“Ben, is there anyone you need to ask? To make sure it's okay for you to be here?” 

He shook his head. He'd forgotten he'd lied to here about having a guardian. At the soup kitchen, she'd asked about ‘parents' and he said they weren't around, but would be soon. Guilt filled his chest. “I, uh, no. It's, just me. Sorry.” 

“Alright, thank you for telling me.” She reached out her hand, motioning for him to give her his. He did, and she gently cradled it. It was, nice. Ben didn't know why. “Just like before, I don't want you to think you're in trouble or anything, I just need to ask you some important things, okay?” 

He looked around, this sounded like the type.of thing Danny would he far too interested in. He and Peter had been on the couch, but when he looked, they had left. Had they gotten up as soon as May had started talking to him? why? 

He looked back to her, unsure. She was kind, he'd decided that on his own. Surely, whatever this was about, it would be alright. “Okay.” 

May nodded. “Are you safe?” 

Danny had said she wouldn't know about the Emerald Wings. Peter had said not to tell her anything. Plus, the ghost king never needed to take over his body in the first place. The cult had no need for him anymore, and he'd destroyed the tracker. “I think so, yeah.” He should be fine. 

“Promise?” When he gave her a nod, she squeezed his hand. “Okay.” She patted his hand as she let go. “I'm going to gather some blankets, do you have pajamas?” 

“In my bag.” 

“Okay. When you change, let me see your clothes and I'll put them in the wash for you.” 

Ben wondered if she was telling him he stunk. “Thank you.” After she left, he smelled his shirt. It seemed fine, but he did spend the first bit of his life in the sewer so maybe he wasn't the best judge. 

Miles returned with a whiteboard. Danny and Peter also came back, the former now dressed in some fuzzy pants with stars and a short sleeve splattered with purple dots. He noticed faint scars trailing up the halfa's arm, growing more prominent just under the fabric of the sleeve. Ben knew that the scar went over his heart, a mess of branching lines that were now overshadowed by the large surgical scar. The halfa now had something connected to his IV, a bag of green liquid that he knew was dangerous. 

He forced his attention back to Miles, who gave him a big smile. “Ready?”

He almost felt bad for helping steal his laces. “Of course.” 

Ben found himself exhausted when it was finally time to go to bed. The alphabet was something he'd definitely need more practice with, though he was confident it wouldn't take him too long. They watched a movie, something about humanoid rats trying to save their rat society hidden in the sewers. Danny had pointed to the main rat, a pet that was not found of the change in environment, and claimed that one to be him. He'd glared, and later picked one of the slugs to be Danny. 

Miles and Peter had stayed through most of the movie, though left part way to do something for ‘work.’ Ben wasn't sure what they were really doing, but from the slight change in pitch in Peter's voice and the sudden aversion to eye contact from Miles he guessed it wasn't actually their job they were going to. May and Danny didn't seem to mind the lie, so he didn't question it. For now. 

As the movie was ending, Ben looked to see Danny asleep with one of his legs dangling from the edge of the couch and his head just barely touching Mays leg. His chest rose and fell steadily, but it was just slow enough to look concerning. 

May caught his gaze. “We need to figure out where you're sleeping.” She looked to the sleeping halfa and sighed. There was a fondness in her eyes that flared an unfamiliar emotion in Ben's chest. 

“He passes out a lot.” 

“That's because he's hurt.”

“I know.” She gave him a look, pulling an answer from him even though she hadn't asked anything. “He told me about it.” 

May nodded. “I'm wondering if I should have you sleep out here in the living room, instead of in the room with him.” It didn't seem like a big decision, but May sounded like she was debating something important. Her face knit itself together, concern covering the soft expression he'd just seen. 

“Why?” 

“Well, he has nightmares.” 

“What are those?” He regretted asking immediately. From the looks May gave him, this was one of those things he was supposed to know about. He hated his gaps in knowledge. Ben didn't think of himself as dumb, but each time he missed a piece of information that everyone else had he felt like he was. Danny had told him that he'd learn in time, that being aged up as he was meant that he had skipped a lot of experiences everyone else that looked his age would have had. 

“You know, like a bad dream?” 

Oh well, at this point May already knew he was different. “No?” 

She gave him a look he didn't recognize. “Well, in this case, I'm talking about when you're asleep, and your mind experiences things, images, scenery, different things like that?” May described, clearly expecting him to recall the word as she went on. When he didn't she seemingly resigned herself to the fact that he genuinely didn't know what she was talking about. 

“Nightmares, those are bad dreams. Dreams that can scare us, make us feel like we're in danger. For our little Danny here,” she gently ran her fingers through his hair, “When he has those dreams, he sometimes tried to fight them. It's, not the safest of things.” 

“That's why you think I should sleep out here, in case he tries to fight me?” 

“Yeah,” she nodded. “He hasn't been as bad, but still…” her voice trailed off. 

“I think it'll be okay.” Curiosity filled him again, though not in the same way it usually did. He wanted to know more about these dreams, these nightmares, but he didn't want to witness them. It sounded like they were distressing, and Ben didn't want to see Danny like that. He knew that his, friend? Could he call him a friend? He knew he wasn't okay, but hed thought he was getting better. The both of them were far away from their respective dangers, so why was Danny having nightmares? 

“Ben, sweetheart I know you're a strong kid, and I know how weak he looks, but, well, he…” May sighed. “He's a mutant, and he looses control of his powers when he's scared.” 

Ben remembered this lesson. “I know that too.” He held up his arm, flexing to allow his stinger to extend. Danny had told him this wasn't something Peter had. His stingers were his own weapons, separate from his base and unique amongst the other spiders. He had to keep the spiders secret from May, but as this was just him, it was okay. Right? 

He took in her reaction. Hed startled her, but only just. Her face somehow grew more concerned, though now it was mostly directed towards him. 

“Ben, that doesn't change that I don't want either of you getting hurt.” She gave him a small laugh.

He relaxed and retracted his stinger. “I think itll be okay. He's, taken a few naps around me.” 

She sighed. “Fine, but if anything happens, you come get me.” 

After promising he would, and listening to her warnings about not startling Danny when he was asleep, May helped them get ready. The first step was moving the unconscious ghost king to his bed. They were only able to wake him enough to have him walk, with May holding his arm, to the bed. 

As May layed Danny down, he mumbled something that Ben found to be entirely confusing. “Where did Tuck put my thermos?” 

His barely open eyes locked on to May. 

“Dont worry about it dear, well figure it out tomorrow.” May directed him to lay down, while Ben examined the room. What was a thermos? Was there one in here?

“But we gotta let Johny out.” May pulled the blanket around the halfa before brushing some hair away from his eyes. “Kitty will be mad if I dont.” 

She kissed his forehead, and that same, unknown feeling bubbled within Ben again. Did he want someone to treat him like that? Was that it? “I'll talk to her. You just go back to sleep.” 

Danny didnt answer, already having done what she'd said. As Ben finished unfolding the blankets he'd chosen from the stack May had brought in, he asked, “What's he talking about?” 

“I don't know.” A sad smile. “Im not sure he does either.” 

May made sure he was comfortable. She asked him a lot of questions, like if he was thirsty, did he see where the cups were, did he need anything. Only when she seemed sure he was alright and comfortable did she leave, though not before gently patting his shoulder. When she turned off the light, and left the door cracked, Ben let himself drift, his mind lingering on the kindness he'd seen from her. 

He woke to his senses screaming at him. His eyes shot open, finding glowing green ones above him. Ben didnt move. Chunks of ice were covering his blankets, though none were touching him directly. It made for a very cold awakening. 

Above him, Danny was breathing heavily and kept looking between him and the door.It reminded Ben of the few times he'd tried running off. 

“Danny?” 

The halfa flinched at his voice, crawling away from the edge of the bed and nearly smashing himself in the corner. More ice began to grow, so Ben pushed it away, having to use more strength than he expected to free himself. He backed away from the bed, positioning himself by the door. Should he get May? Was the danger emanating from Danny the result of a nightmare? 

“Hey, Danny. You, you doing okay?” 

Ice began growing on the boys arms, like it was shielding him. 

 His voice came out a whisper that sent a deep chill through Ben's spine. “Who’re you?” 

Okay, hes not awake. Ben thought. “Ben.” When Danny didnt react, he added. “You know, Itsy Bitsy?” 

Some of the ice retreated. “The baby spider.” 

“I'm not a baby.” We're they seriously having this argument again? 

“So, I'm not,” Danny looked around the same way he did when he first entered the place. It was like the boy didnt know where he was. “But where is… I don't.” Danny held his head. “Wheres Jazz?” 

“I, don't know who that is.” Wait, that's not how May handled this. She had acted like she knew exactly what Danny was talking about. Was he supposed to do that too? Was it too late to try? 

More ice retreated, vanishing as if it had never been there at all. Now it was only on Danny. “She's, my sister. She should be, wait. No, that's…” The glowing green faded, giving Danny back the whites of his eyes and returning them to their blue color. 

“What's a sister?” 

“I, we have the same parents. She was born before me, but, she's gone now.” Danny sighed. All the ice was now gone, leaving the room slightly chilled but otherwise back to normal. “I'm, sorry.” 

Ben wasnt sure what he was apologizing for. “Are you awake now?” 

“I am. Sorry.” Danny sighed. “I didn't mean, I thought-”

“-Hey, it's okay. Nothing happened.” 

“My their, it didnt-”

“-It didnt do anything. You worry to much.” Ben huffed, pretending to be more annoyed than he was. “Go back to bed you spooky little shit.” 

Danny smiled. “You shouldn't talk to your elders like that.” 

“Visually I'm older than you.” 

“Technically you're a baby.” 

“Technically you're a teenager.” 

“Technically I'm a corpse.” 

“Go back to bed.” 

“You promise you're okay?” Danny's voice lost the playful tone it just had. 

“I'll have you know your highness,” he accentuated the word, using the title as a slight insult. “That I can handle myself fine.” 

The halfa sighed, then layed back down. “Alright, Sewer Rat.” 

“Slug.” 

They returned to bed, Ben thinking on all that had happened that night. He fell asleep after decided that he had been right; the Parker house was the strangest place he'd been so far. 

Chapter Text

Tony sat on his couch, a drink in his hand. He hadn't had any of it yet, the condensation was cooling his fingers and ensuring he had to pay attention to how he held it, lest the glass fall and spill over the carpet. Pepper's carpet. 

He needed to talk to her. 

He was so scared to talk to her. 

This was all the Pipsqueaks fault. Ever since the kid was summoned, Tony had been feeling weird. He was feeling protective and concerned constantly. It was annoying. He kept looking at everything, thinking of what dangers could be hiding that could threaten the younger members of the Avengers and SHIELD. 

The appearance of Ben had made this worse. The kid barely knew anything, lacking basic experiences that made it obvious to anyone that there was something off about him. After he and Banner had run their tests on the kid, a new knot of sorrow settled within him. Physically, Ben was better than fine. The kid was strong, on par with Peter. His accelerated healing proved to exceed that of his genetic base, if Danny's all too detailed explanation of Ben's attempt to remove the tracker under his sternum was accurate. There wasn't even a scar to show something had even happened. 

The problem? His life expectancy. Ben was, physically, about 15 years old. By all expectations the boy would grow up and age normally now. That left the kid missing 15 years of life. Ben would only have 5 years before he would be considered an adult. Mentally, the boy would be. But how was that fair? What kind of childhood was that? The boy's first steps weren’t the uncertain, wobbly steps of a toddler. They were the fearful ones of a teenager desperately fleeing whatever cult facility he'd been created in. 

Ben had been staying with him and Pepper for three days. 

That made the conversation he wanted to have harder. How did he bring it up? This wasn't a machine he could tinker with. He couldn't throw tests at the problem till something worked. This was an entire person. Even if Pepper agreed, would Ben? What were his wishes in all this? He wanted the boy to be prepared for the world, but he had years to catch up on, more than the little time he'd have before the rest of the world would expect him to be an adult. 

“You gonna drink that?” Pepper, in her soft pink fuzzy pajama pants and a plain t-shirt, came into the living room, a tight smile on her face and something in her pants pocket. 

“No.” He sat it down on the coffee table. 

She joined him. “You're thinking about Ben.” 

It wasn't a question, but he answered anyway. “What is it with kids and worrying me?” 

She laughed. A precious, small thing that tickled his ears as she leaned against him, using his shoulder as a pillow. “They've gotten really good at it. I bet they're sharing their tricks with each other.”

He sighed. “He’s missed so much. He only just started to learn to read.”

“Between all of us he'll catch up. He's a smart kid, he'll get the hang of things.” She sounded so confident, like there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Ben would be alright. “Besides, he's got you worried about him.” 

“I.” I want to keep him, can we? How hard of a question was that to ask? He should probably phrase it better, Ben wasn't a dog. He was a child, a human child. A parentless, homeless child. Fuck, he thougnt. 

“You know, if you want to adopt Ben you'll have to ask him too.” 

“I-” she could always read him. Sometimes it was jaring how on point she was, getting into his head like that. “Do you think, we could, us?”

“I hope so.” She pulled out whatever she had in her pocket, holding it in just a way that he couldn't tell what It was. She sat up, the plastic of a zip lock bag crinkling in her hands. “Do you think, I could be a good mother?” 

“Of course.” Pepper was amazing. He'd never made things easy for her, back before they were together. She was smart, strong, and capable. If anyone could handle raising this spider clone, it would be her. 

“Tony.” Her voice was quiet, shaking just a bit. He reached over and pulled her towards him. She leaned back into him, and he pet her hair gently. “There's, something you should see.” She held up the zip lock, and he stopped playing with her hair to grab it. 

Was that? 

“I, I wanted to wait to tell you. Maybe plan something special but, but,” Pepper started crying. Shaking beside him. He sat the test down, next to the still full drink. He turned, so he could better pull her close to him. Pepper. His Pepper. “I'm scared, Tony. Can I even do this?” 

“I mean, physically yeah. You've got all the required parts, you're in great health-”

“-Tony!” 

He squeezed her tighter and pressed his head into hers. “You'll do great.” 

They stayed like that. A quiet embrace, holding each other, taking comfort in the other. Was this really happening? 

Fuck, he thought. He had so much to get done. He'd have to redo all the windows. No more flying into his living room. What about curtains? Were curtains safe? He eyed the coffee table. Those corners, those wouldn't do. He'd have to move his alcohol. 

“Pep?” He asked after she'd relaxed in his arms. 

“Hm?” She didn't break the hug. 

“I don't know how to change a diaper.” 

She laughed, shaking her head and pulling away, her tear stained face bearing the biggest smile he'd seen on her in a while. “We'll figure it out.” 

“God. We're going to be parents.” 

“Of two.” She held her hands close to her. “If Ben agrees.” 

“A spider and a baby?” He picked up the test, mind still not wrapping around the positive result. He didn't know how to be a father. He'd thought about it, but he had been thinking about how to be one for Ben. Ben already knew how to walk, talk, dress, hell the boy was already learning how to read. Sure he was, what, a month old? But he was physically a teenager and a genius at that. A baby? How did one raise a baby? 

“We can do this, right?” He asked. 

“I think so.” Pepper leaned back on him. “We should, talk to the kid.” 

“Think he's still up?” It was late, maybe midnight. Ben seemed to be able to sleep like it was nothing. It was like the moment he decided he was done for the day he was out. It made it easy to see how he'd be able to rest in a dug out hole in the sewers. 

“We could wait till the morning?” 

Tony really didn't want to. He wanted to do something. Talk to Ben, fix the windows, buy a new table. Did they need baby locks? When did babies start trying to unlock things? Why did they do that? How did he change a diaper? How did he hold a baby? How did he talk to Ben? 

He had to move, to prepare, to hold Pepper, to order a new table. Were the chairs too heavy? What kind of crib should they get? 

Would Ben still want to be a part of their family? 

He gently patted Peppers arm, signaling that he was going to stand up. He didn't want his drink anymore, and he obviously couldn't offer it to her, so he took it and poured it out. Part of him hoped his anxiety would swirl down the drain with it. 

He turned back to his Pepper. His wife. “I'm really going to be a father?”

She joined him in the kitchen, wrapping herself back around him and burying her head under his chin. He kissed the top of her head. “Yes, Tony.” She sighed. “We're having a baby.” 

Chapter Text

Parker.” A voice he didn't know called. “Parker?” More concerned. What did he care? They weren't talking to him, so why did it- “Danny Parker?!”

He lifted his head, eyes wide and locking onto the teacher. He'd forgotten about his name change. Oops. “Sorry sir.” The teacher frowned at him. Danny bit his lip. Maybe school really was a bad idea. He should have stuck to Saturday class. 

“You're not in trouble, Parker.” He sighed. “You sleep like you're dead and it scared me a bit.” He laughed, a nervous kind thing. “I just thought you might like to go to your next class.” Danny looked around, finding the other students filing out of the room. 

“I didn't mean to fall asleep.” He stood, readjusting his bag on his back. It had his AE in it, so he hadn't bothered to take it off. 

“I didn't think you did.” He received a gentle smile. “Don't worry, you didn't miss anything important. I'll be at that meeting to discuss your IEP, and we'll figure out whatever works best for you.” 

This was a new experience. All of the teachers he'd met that day were casually cautious of him, like they wanted to make sure he was alright before making sure he was learning. Sure, it wasn't the first time he'd had teachers worry about him, but it was the first time he'd fallen asleep and not gotten in trouble for it. Sure, he had accommodations now, and his medical issues were known to thw school, but it still felt like a culture shock. Somehow, he'd managed to fall asleep in all of his classes. Only one had assigned any homework, English, but that was a short about me essay he could knock out later. 

“Thank you, Mr Salerno.” So far, Danny liked him best. He was an older man, with grey hair and soft eyes and a kind air about him that made him feel comfortable to be around. 

“Of course, Parker.” Another small laugh. “My, I wasn't expecting to be having that name in my class again.” 

This was another thing he'd been experiencing, in addition to being lulled to sleep. All the teachers and staff knew Peter. His first class joked that he'd better not follow in his cousins shoes and bounce between schools. Another asked if he was going to be a science geek. One took a look at her attendance, and literally asked him if he also had a time management problem. 

It was a bit like when he'd first started at Casper High. Everyone then had compared him to Jazz, expecting him to be a bright and school oriented child. He might have been, if not for his constant ghostly activities. Well, probably not, but he could have at least gotten better grades. Now he was getting a chance to try again, and he couldn't even stay awake for it. 

“Peter sure did leave an impression here, didn't he?” He laughed, though less genuine than his teacher. 

“Of course he did.” Mr. Salerno nodded. “Not that you should let that affect your time here, mind you.” He led him to the door, “I'll be seeing you later, Parker.” He said his goodbyes and left for his next class.

He had to triple check his schedule to see if that was right. He frowned, following the map whilst keeping to the edges of the halls, trying to avoid students and ghosts alike. Thankfully, most of the ghosts haunting the school retreated from the halls during transition periods. Danny bet they weren't fond of so many people walking through them. 

Some, however, kept trying to talk to him. Annoyingly, this was currently Ottos way of entertaining himself. 

“I don't see the benefit in coming to school if you are not capable of staying awake long enough to participate.” 

with so many people walking and Talking in the hall, Danny risked looking like a freak to answer. “Lots of emotions here, good for my health.” 

“Yes, you've mentioned that before. How do you absorb emotions, anyway?” 

“Like breathing. Most of the time its automatic and you don't notice it unless there's a problem.” 

“Would being in an emotionless environment negatively effect you?” 

“Probably.” 

“Hey, Danny!” 

“Oh, look, you've been spotted again.” 

Again? He turned, finding Sam and another baby hero rushing towards him.

“Don't tell me you've got gym too?” Sam asked. 

“I do, but I don't think I'll be participating.” He lifted the bit of his IV tube that ran from his bag through his shirt collar. “Not exactly healthy enough to run laps.” 

“At most you'll probably be walking.” Sam shrugged. “Oh, and this is Lucas.”

Danny already knew that. The baby heros all seemed to be in his classes. Ava was in his first and second. Danny, that was going to be confusing, in his third, and now both Sam and Lucas in his fourth. 

This felt like Furys doing. 

“Danny.” He nodded. Introducing himself to someone hed already met, albeit as his ghost self. 

“Well, that's going to get confusing.” Lucas laughed as he pointed to the blond haired baby hero that shared his name. “We've got Danny and Danny.” 

Said second Danny joined them. “I don't believe it will be that difficult to keep us apart. Our similarities end at our name.” 

“Agreed. I'm cooler.” That earned him a laugh from Sam and Lucas. Then, a disapproving huff from his side. He turned. “Oh, hi Ava.” 

“They've got you in gym, Parker?” 

“I hope I get a free nap class.” 

“I do believe you slept in your previous class.” The other Danny, that was getting old quick, commented. 

“Any class is a nap class if you're chronically ill enough.” Being half dead counted as a chronic condition, right? Not that that was causing his fatigue, but the baby heros didn't need to know that. 

They made their way to the gym along with about twenty other students. The class felt a bit too big, but what did he know? The space was a standard set up, basketball hoops, bleachers to the side, water fountains, and doors that led to locker rooms. No one went to change, most choosing to huddle near the bleachers while a few ran around chasing each other. 

He wanted to go back to his room. Or the lab. Despite having slept repetitively, he was still exhausted. Had he been relying too much on his ghost half to get around? His human form was weak, incredibly so. Hed known this, but experiencing his attempt at a regular day showed him just how far hed come. Would he always be like this? Dr. Cho had mentioned he may need to have surgery to remove some scar tissue in the future, but would he ever feel like he did before? 

“Alright! Everyone gather up!” Their teacher called. He was a black man with short hair and a purple athletic shirt. He introduced himself as Kyle Jacoby. Danny only half listened to the plan for the day. They'd be getting their gym uniforms, a list of what kind of shoes were okay, and a general syllabus. Mr. Jacoby went over rules for the class, normal things like don't throw things at people who weren't looking and don’t climb the ropes. It was all standard things before he dismissed them to the locker rooms to collect their uniforms and change. 

Then he called out to him. “Parker!” He was going to have to get used to that. He made his way over. “I know we haven't had a chance to talk yet, and we for sure will more at our meeting, but I wanted to get your thoughts on the plan.” He nodded. “I understand you're not up to regular activities yet, from what I hear you're having a hard enough time without trying to exercise yet.” 

“Yes sir.” This was why he didn't understand why he was in a gym class. 

“I've got some health assignments for you, things like food documentaries and videos on different sports. Until you're able to move around better, I'm gonna have you watch those and write me a blurb about whatever you watched. It doesn't have to be too much, just something to show you watched the video.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

Mr. Jacoby sent him to the bleachers. There was no reason for him to change as he wouldn't be participating with everyone else for the foreseeable future. He pulled out his laptop, checking his assignments to find a short, 10 minute video about healthy eating already there for him. He put in an earbud and started it while the rest of his class filtered out of the locker rooms. The uniforms were simple, dark shorts and blue shirts with orange stripes down the short sleeves. He was mildly glad not to have to change, even with how much he stood out. He knew there'd be places he could change in private, but the risk of someone seeing his scars was too much for him then. 

Before everyone could get started, a boy walked up to him. “How come you're over here?” 

Danny eyed the boy. Most of his classmates appeared older than him, as he was placed as a sophomore but was still physically 14. This boy, however, looked younger. If he was 15-16 like the rest of their peers, then puberty had forgotten to start for him. Not that Danny could really say anything about that. 

He rolled his sleeve up, showing the IV line. “I'm not well enough for this class.” He wished he could have fully transitioned to the pills Tony made, but they only provided AE and not any pain relief. 

“Why’s your medicine green?” This boy had been the first to ask that. It was a bit refreshing, as the couple of others had shown it to, a pair of kids that were teasing him for sleeping, had only looked horrified and avoided discussing it further. 

He remembered Tony's nonchalant answer for the AEs appearance. “Its some weird mutant medicine.” 

“You're a mutant?” 

“No, I'm a corpse and this keeps me from decaying.” 

“Ah, so you're an ass.” The boy nodded. 

“And you're supposed to be over there,” he pointed to the gathering group. Mr Jacoby having not yet called for everyone but clearly expecting the students to come near. The boy ran off, leaving Danny to finish his video. 

His next interruption came during a name game everyone was playing. They were passing a ball around, shouting their names and something else. 

“He needs to say one too!” A girl cried. She was joined with several other students, but Danny was too busy writing out his blurb about the video to notice they were talking about him. 

“Parker!” Dannys eyes snapped forward. Mr Jacoby caught a foam ball from someone, then mimed tossing it to him. “Can you catch?” He nodded, then caught the gently tossed ball. “Your name, then anser whatever your thukb landed on.” 

The ball was marked with sharpie, divided into small blurbs with different prompts. “Uh, Im Danny and,” he looked at his prompt. A cool fact about him? He immediately forgot everything about himself. What was cool about him? Did it have to be cool? “A cool fact about me, is, um…” He caught the sight of Mr Lee, his spirit absently wondering the school. The ghost sensed his gaze, giving him a wave he didn't return. “I, uh, I see dead people.” Shit. That was stupid. 

“Nice reference Parker.” Mr Javoby saved him. He tossed the ball back, the game continuing without him. Relieved, though still embarrassed, he quickly finished his assignment. With nothing now but time and an English assignment he didn't want to do, he decided to nap purposefully. First, he checked the line for his IV. Empty. He clamped and disconnected it, trying to subtly pull the tube from his hoodie sleeve. Once that was tucked away in his bag, Danny situated himself somewhat comfortably between the bleachers. Using his hood as a pillow and his bag as a shield atop his chest, he quickly fell asleep to the sound of thudding sneakers. 

“Is that kid fucking dead?” A voice he didn't know asked, loud, angry, and a bit hesitant. Danny opened his eyes, just barely enough to see a man in a discount purple iron man suit floating above the gym, a hand pointed accusatory to him. 

What would be the consequences of pretending to be a proper corpse? 

Wait, better question. What was happening? 

“You!” Temu IronSuit shouted. “Wake him up!” 

Some scrambling later and frantic hands were grabbing at his shoulders. Despite suddenly being far more awake, he forced himself to keep still. Peeking as subtle as he could, he found the boy from before. “Parker, Parker dude were fucked.” 

He looked from the boy, still keeping his eyes mostly closed, then to the still floating man, then to the class huddled in the corner. The baby heros had eyes darting around. Danny recognized that they were looking for an opportunity to slip away. It was nostalgic, in a way. He wondered how hard it would have been to do hero work if he had to actually change into his suit. 

Danny really didn't want to deal with a supervillain. He wasn't an active hero, not having the strength nor the experience to fight the living. Technically he could do it, but he couldn't risk the strain on his core. He still had the bracers Peter made him, but those weren't meant for use against the living. 

This train of thought led him to the most convenient solution - he would let the baby heros handle it. All they needed was a chance to get away, right? Well, a random dead teenager could be distracting.

Also traumatizing, but it was too late. He had to commit to the bit. 

“Parker?” The kid was much quieter now. “Hes not waking up.” 

Someone ran to them, and Temu shouted, “What are you doing?” 

“Hes my friend!” Ava shouted. “Hes sick let me see him!” 

He'd have to apologize to her later. When she reached them, the boy whimpered, “Hes not, I dont think hes…” 

“Go back to the group.” Ava commanded. For whatever reason, the villain allowed this. He felt her press two fingers deep into his neck. A pang of guilt shot through his cracked core has he heard the small gasp from her. Her voice hitched as she called out, “He doesn't have a pulse!” 

That seemed to stun the villain enough to allow a bit of chaos. Whatever had been his plan, it clearly didn't involve anyone dying. Another person ran up to him, the other Danny. Fuck it, your name is Rand now. If everyone else was gonna use his last name, he was gonna use his to solve the Danny Danny problem. 

Rand took his own turn checking his pulse, burying his fingers much deeper into his neck than Ava had. He also held them for much longer, so Danny let his heart beat just a bit. This plan wouldn’t work if they decided he needed cpr. 

“He does, its just incredibly weak.” Rand confirmed. “We need to get him to the nurse.” 

Ah, yes, because an icepack and some water would fix this. Danny really had to stop. He knew that there was more a nurse could do, and heroes in training or not these were still children. He couldn't help but be annoyed though. They were taking so long to use the opportunity he’d given them. Hurry up, he thought. 

Finally, Rand picked him up bridal style. In a firm voice, he called, “We're taking him to the nurse.” 

Temus voice boomed despite the uncertainty it held. “Only you shall go, the girl stays here.” 

Rand didn't waste time arguing. One hero was better than no hero. He let his body flop about in his grip despite the discomfort it caused. In only a few seconds, they were out of the gym. 

Danny was going to speak, to tell the young hero he was okay and that he should ‘go get help’ when instead Rand said, “So, youre awake, arent you?” 

He opened his eyes and Rand helped him to his feet. “Howd you figure it out?” 

Rand shrugged. “Call it a hunch.”

“Alright, well, you can probably run better than me so-” 

“-I shall go get help, yes.” Rand nodded. “Go hide, other villains are patrolling classes.”  

Danny grinned. “See ya around, Danny Rand.” 

“Same to you, Danny Parker.” 

Chapter Text

The school was an absolute mess. It took only one villain encounter after Danny went invisible to figure out that there were likely four intruders. A bald man in vaguely tactical gear announced himself as Trapster of the Frightful Four. He was ushering students into the cafeteria, pointing some sort of scanner at each of the students and staff as they passed. The device had a familiar green glow that made Danny frown. 

After confirming that the people being herded into the cafeteria were alright, physically at least, he made his way back to the gym. He found that in the maybe two minutes since he’d pretended to be a corpse, the situation had devolved into utter chaos. 

An intense 4 v 1 was going on, with Temu Ironman clearly outmatched power wise but holding his own as the baby heroes kept getting in each other's way. Powers were clashing into each other, no one's strengths were being used properly, and worse of all there were still civilians hiding in the corner. He watched, his anxiety eating at him. 

Temu launched multiple metal disks about the room, causing people and bleachers to float. The sight would have been comical, if not for the four teenage superheroes displaying an impressive degree of incompetence. Was he that bad when he first started? 

Nevermind, don't answer that.

“Damn it Shein, I said to stop launching those at me!” Tiger shouted, clawing off a disk that had landed on her. Gravity returned to her and she gracefully landed with a role that she turned into a sprint. 

“And I've told you, child, that I am the Wizard.” More disks. To the heroes credit, they were doing a halfway decent job of keeping the students affected by the gravity tech from severe injury. Nova kept rounding them up, ripping the devices off of them only to toss them, still intact, to the side. This kept them in use for Wizard, which Danny thought a dumb name. The villain merely summoned his tools back to him, only to fling them at new targets seconds later. 

IronFist made a move, using floating bleachers in order to get a decent hit in. Unfortunately this also came with the side effect of launching one of the bleachers towards the cowering students. Powerman caught it, thankfully, and somehow managed to wait till after his teammate was out of the way before throwing it at Wizard, who dodged rather easily. 

It was when Wizard switched from his gravity disks to a purple energy beam that things devolved further. White Tiger had been leaping towards him, unable to dodge mid air. She took the hit, hard. Her teammates were rushing towards her, but they weren’t fast enough. 

Danny flew across the gym, his care screaming at the sudden increase in power. He caught her, lowering her onto the floor gently. He revealed himself, crouching in front of her. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine!” She snapped, her breath heavy. Then, quieter, “I, I'm fine.” 

He nodded. 

“Well, well.” His attention snapped to Temu, Wizard. The other three heroes were all still, likely shocked by the injury they almost witnessed. “Looks like those freaks were right. The king does appear when a school is attacked.” 

Danny felt anger flare within him. Power flooded through him, making his eyes shine brighter and fully green. Baring his teeth, Danny allowed his voice to echo around them. “What did you say?” 

Wizard laughed at him. “Theres a bounty on your head, Undead King.” 

Oh, this did not help his mood at all. 

Forgetting his weakness, forgetting his bracers, forgetting his inability to be an active hero, Danny fired off an ectoblast, knocking the man into a wall and out of the air. Wizard failed to dodge, and fell to the floor. Whatever his half helmet was made of didn't keep him from being stunned. 

He took the opportunity to address the baby heroes. “There are four villains in the school, and four of you. Ancients sake SPLIT UP.”  

“Phantom-”

“-Now.”

 Nova didn't protest further. The three boys took their leave of the gym. Danny walked over to the man, who was attempting to right himself. He flinched at his approach, and Danny did his best t9 ignore a trickle of blood running down the mans face from under his helmet. 

“Tell me more about this bounty.” 

Wizard answered by firing another blast. Unfortunately for him Danny wasn't so rusty that he was unable to produce a shield, one that ricocheted the attack back towards Wizard. Admittedly that was an accident, but after the mans own attack landed next to his face, Danny decided to pretend he’d meant to do that. 

“My name, is Phantom.” He stood tall, even though he was hovering in the air so he was face to face and not shorter then the villain. “I am not the ‘Undead King,’ I am the King of the Infinite Realms. The Ghost King. My subjects include the dead,” he let green energy envelope his fists, “If you want to die and become one of mine, then go ahead. Try that again.” 

Wisely, Wizard held his hands up in surrender. Danny gave a small smile to show his approval. 

“The Emerald Wings.” Wizard answered his question. “There's a reward if we bring you to them.”

“And they said I'd appear if you attacked a school?” 

“We were told it was a habit of yours.”

He floated closer, holding his greed clad hand near Wizards face. “They say anything else about me?”

“N-no.” Danny glared, daring the man to lie to him. “Honest!” 

He grabbed the metal caller of the man's suit, squeezing enough to dent the metal. He turned to look at White Tiger, who was now standing and still posed to fight. He tossed the man to her, sliding him along the floor like he weighed nothing. His scars burned. He hadnt meant to use as much power as he had, and as he hadn't put another IV in he was burning through the pain meds in his system. 

“You deal with him.” 

“You, you were here the whole time?!” She shouted. He couldn't tell if her tone was accusatory or just stressed. 

He flew over, anger from what Wizard had said still thick in his veins. “I am not a part of your damn training team!” He barked. “You're the hero here, do something!” With that, he let his invisibility take him. He'd have to talk with all of them later, maybe scold Fury for how his training was going. Ava could have gotten seriously hurt in a fight any of them could have handled much better. 

He left the gym, seeing how the others were doing. As he thought, once they’d stopped trying to fight all at once with no coordination, they made quick work of the remaining villains. Powerman subdued a woman named Thundra. Ironfist had taken out Trapster, while Nova had caught someone going by Claw, likely after his clawed hand. Creative. 

Maybe he shouldn't be so judgmental of the names, afterall he was a ghost going by Phantom. 

SHIELD agents began entering the school, and Danny felt the situation was finally over. He sighed. He had known going to school would have been dangerous, it was just like at Casper High. All hed done was trade ghosts for villains. He had know idea how to fight the living, and was positive hed gone too far with Wizard. He could already hear the scoldings he was going to receive. 

It was time Danny take the stupid cult seriously. He knew he wasn't in any shape to deal with them on his own, but he couldn't be sidelined anymore. The Avengers, SHIELD, and the WEB team had all tried to keep him from the investigation. Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't be able to stop him now. 

He wanted to take a moment, to digest and go over everything he knew, but that would have to wait. 

The familiar ghost of Otto found him and got his attention. “Danny? Danny?”

“Hm?”

“When you're done projecting your anger everywhere, it might be wise for you to make an appearance.” 

“I don't want to talk to SHIELD.” He snapped.

Otto huffed and crossed his arms. “I was referring to the fact that May and Peter are here, looking for you.” 

“Oh.” 

“Also, your young hero friends are quite upset. Your corpse act has thoroughly shaken them.” It seemed his scolding he was expecting had come early. 

He sighed. There was so much to do, and all he wanted was a nap. “I should have stuck with just Saturday school.” 

“If you had that Tiger girl would have likely cracked her skull after taking that attack.” 

“Oh,” they began walking towards the gym where Danny had left his backpack, “you saw that?” 

Otto shrugged. “It was hard not to. May I ask why you didn't intervene sooner?” 

“They need experience.” Also he didn't want to handle it. “They aren't going to get better at this if my busted butt tries to help every time.” He didn't mean to be so angry about how the young heroes, but they had been so reckless it was a wonder they were mostly unharmed. 

Around them students were filling back to classes, though it was clear school wasn't continuing. Parents fitted about, checking on their kids who, in true teenage fashion, were more often than not grumbling about being fine. 

“Oh? And the king is experienced in such things?” Otto sounded like he was somehow teasing him, scolding him, and interrogating him all at once. 

Danny huffed. “I didn't start out as the king, you know.” They found his stuff in a crumpled pile of broken bleachers once they reached the gym. Danny stayed invisible as he inspected his stuff, decently pleased that nothing within it had broke. He found his water bottle nearby, unfortunately empty of AE. “At first, I was my town's hero.” 

Otto openly analyzed him. “Is that why you're so interested in these young trainees?” 

“I don't know, maybe?” Why was Otto so chatty today? “There weren't really any other heroes in my world. No mutants, no powers, no flying suits, well, minus Skulker but he was also a ghost so like,” he shrugged. “Honestly, there weren't even many ghosts before…” 

He paused. He hadn't told Otto anything about his death. Should he? He didn't have to go into detail, but why were they even having this conversation? 

“Danny?”

“Its nothing.” He couldn't do it. “Point is, it was my fault that all the ghosts were there, and I was the only one there that could really fight them.” He hadn't thought about that in so long. Despite knowing he needed to go find Pete and May, he sat on the floor. 

Otto, sensing the weight of his thoughts, sat in front of him on the busted bleacher. “Are you alright?” 

“Its, just.” What? What was the problem? It seemed like all his anger had left him, being replaced by an emptiness. Memories from when hed first used his powers to protect people swirled in his mind. “I wasn't the only one fighting…” He admitted. “I did, like, almost all of it but still. Sam and Tucker helped, and so did Jazz. Then Val started too, she mostly just wanted to kill me but she helped a lot anyway.” He'd add his parents to that list but they were mostly an obstacle and a danger rather than any help. 

“I miss them.” 

They sat with that for a moment, two ghosts silently contemplating death. 

“I,” Otto began hesitantly, “I was aware that you weren’t from this world. I was also aware that you had likely lost everyone somehow, as you've made no indication of wanting to go back.” Danny held his tongue, curious as to where he was going with this “I had not, however, considered how your many, traumas, would play into how you settled into this world. Perhaps, your anger with these trainees stems from your concern that they may face similar situations as yourself.” 

Danny sighed. “You don't have to psychoanalyze me like that.” Still, it brought the smallest of smiles to his face.  

“I never had much practice, with emotions. As a scientist, analyzing comes much easier.” Otto defended. 

“Nerd.” He laughed, genuinely. Otto began muttering various academic and scientific accomplishments that he insisted didn't make him a nerd, and Danny's laughter only grew. As Otto sputtered more defensives, Danny waved his hand in front of him. “Thank you.” 

“What?” 

“I, I needed that. So, thanks.” 

Blush from his bloodless form gave shape to the embarrassment emanating from the ghost. “Oh, well, you're welcome, Danny.” Then, abruptly, he stood. “Ah, Peter has found you.” Otto nodded his goodbye, then left. If he were to guess, he was going back to haunt Ms Marconi. 

“Danny?” 

He turned, finding his knight surveying the destroyed gymnasium, his gaze always returning to where he sat. Peter looked a bit frazzled, his hair a bit flattened and his expression stiff. 

He faded to his human form as he faded back into visibility. “Hey.”

“Are you okay?” His voice held that ever present worry Danny had come to trust. He knew Peter had felt his burst of anger, and had probably pieced together most of what had happened. 

“Yeah, just, not looking forward to what comes next.” He shouldered his bag and bottle. The quizzical look on Peter's face gave away that his knight hadn't yet learned everything, which was fine by him. “I'm going to deal with the cult.”

“Do you really think thats a good idea?” Peter scolded, crossing his arms before grabbing the handle of Danny's backpack and sliding it off his arms with far too much precision. Shouldering the bag himself, he continued, “We've been having you stay out of it for a reason, you know.”

He rolled his eyes. “Theres a bounty for the king.” Peter frowned. “I imagine Fury is going to be having a meeting about it.”

Peter sighed. “We can figure all that out later.” He directed them out of the gym. With his knight's next words, guilt filled him. “First, go prove you're not dead to May and Mr Jacoby.”

He flipped through his mini notebook. The first couple of pages was just him writing down and crossing off various enemies and allies. It seemed no matter who he thought of there was always something that didn't fit with them being the Emerald One. Whoever they were knew he was the king, but somehow didn't know he was a halfa. They had access to his parents' technology, as well as knowledge of his time in Amity. Somehow, this person seemed to know almost everything about him. 

Except that he was a halfa.

Which was the detail that ruined everything. 

Committing himself to not yet figuring it out from his current notes, he closed his book and put it back in his front hoodie pocket. He'd missed most of the meeting from the baby heroes, having had to spend a significant amount of time proving to May he was alright. Back at the school, some of his classmates had acted as if they'd seen a ghost when he'd made his appearance. He didn't get a chance to enjoy the irony of it before being all but tackled by May. He hadn't meant for his distraction to have had such an effect on everyone around him. It was stupid of him, truely. He knew how devastating the sight of a body was, he'd just forgotten that people could see his body as something to be worried about. 

At present, he was supposed to be resting in his bed. One pillow decoy and some ghost powers later, however, and he was back in the helicarrier spying on the tail end of Fury ripping into the baby heroes. 

The man had clearly done a thorough job of going over everything the team had done wrong. From arguing with each other, to poor coordination, to endangering civilians, by the time Fury was done Danny figured there wasn't much left for them to get in trouble for. He found himself to be wrong when Nova decided to dig himself a deeper hole. 

“We got everything handled didn't we?”

Oh, you idiot. Danny held his mouth so as to not laugh and give himself away. 

“You only began to make progress after Phantom intervened! You shouldn't have needed an outsider to get you to work right!” Fury's voice boomed. Danny flinched, almost forgetting that he wasn't the one in trouble. “Additionally, I ordered you not to piss him off.” 

“We didn't do-”

“-Did you forget who he is just because he appears as a child?!” To be fair to the babies, Danny also forgot his position often. “Do. Not. Piss. Off. The. King.” Fury let each word sear into the teens. Danny watched as they shrank further. 

By all accounts, Fury was an intimidating person. He was built like he could win any fight thrown at him, spoke with a clear and commanding voice, and held a confidence that seemed to never waver. The eye patch didn't lessen the man's strong presence, instead of coming across as a weakness it came off as a challenge. It felt like it was daring anyone to even try to harm him. The question seemed to be ‘what happened to the other guy?’ It was a clear, intentional impression that Fury wore well. 

As impressed as Danny was, he was starting to feel bad for the scolding the teens were receiving. So, to serve as an unspoken apology for pretending to be dead, fully anyway, he decided to intervene again. He sat himself on the table beside Fury, made himself visible, and reached a hand in front of him expectantly. 

Ever the jumpy one, Fury launched himself back and had a gun Danny hadn't seen on him pointed at his face. Just as quickly, however, the weapon was gone and the man was pinching his brow. With a deep sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a snack. After placing it in his hand, he asked, “Phantom, what are you doing?” 

A wide grin spread across his face as he accepted his baggie of graham crackers. “Eavesdropping.” 

“What do you want?” Despite his stern warnings to the team, the man spoke to him with all the energy of a father who was in dire need of a break. 

Pocketing his crackers and losing his grin, Danny shrugged. “Couple things. Can I see that scanner that Trapster had?” 

“Its in evidence at the moment.” 

“I wanna take it apart.” 

Fury looked at him with an empty expression. “I would prefer you didn't.” 

He frowned. He had every intention of inspecting the device himself, he just really didn't feel like searching the whole carrier for it. It would be much faster if Fury relented and just let him see it. “How long till you get whatever you need from it?” 

Fury, no doubt sensing his intentions, narrowed his eyes and squared his shoulders. “Phantom, our teams are fully capable of handling the Emerald Wings. We will handle the bounty.” 

He laughed. “You think that's what I'm worried about?” He held his chest as he shook his head. “This isn't the first time I've had a bounty on me, a human one or a ghost one. Or, wait, does a warrant count as a kind of bounty? Nevermind not the point-” he shook away the line of thought. Did he ever take care of that warrant? Not the time Danny, he instantly reminded himself. He motioned towards the trainees. “They could have gotten hurt.” 

Fury's frown deepened. “Despite their lackluster performance,” the man shot a glare at them, “They are capable.” It was almost amusing how they shied a bit at the look. Usually they were so overly full of bravado, but now they were silent and withdrawn. They seemed to revel in the small compliment, though didn't dare speak up. 

“Its not just them.” He huffed. “Thor, those exiled cultits, Dorathea, FrightKnight, the however many fucking people that died to get me here!” Why was it so hard to understand that he needed to get involved? To actually do something and not just be a bystander to all the trouble his existence caused. “Too many people have been hurt before I could even do anything about it. I need to do something.” 

Fury held his look, not backing down and not giving him what he wanted. Before he could speak, Lucas, Powerman, asked, “Wait how many people died to what?” 

Danny blanked. He looked from the young hero, then back to Fury, raising an eye. The man relented just a bit. “They are not a part of the investigation. The details don't concern them.” 

“Oh so you just didn't tell them shit.” He shook his head. “Whatever. I still need to look at that device. Need to talk to Strange too…” He had to ask about what his summoning circle looked like. He could ask Peter and Miles, but he didn't want to bring up the incident with them. “I also need to see that data the Spiders took… Oh, and I heard Black Widow was still undercover?” 

Fury didn't answer that. Instead, he crossed his arms. “If I say no, what are you going to do?”

“Go on an angry power spree and steal all your spoons.” Thankfully, he got some chuckles from the teens. 

“Is the scanner the only thing that you’re after?” Fury ignored the joke.

“I want to know anything you’ve figured out about the cult.” 

Fury visibly pondered this. Danny knew he was putting him in a weird position. Fury couldn’t just hand him over whatever he wanted. He was an outsider, one with the potential to be incredibly dangerous. Danny knew the only reason SHIELD tolerated his antics was the threat they believed he posed. Dr Strange and Thor had both insisted that he was a powerful entity that was not to be made into an enemy. Fury was toeing a line between his responsibilities and keeping Danny ‘friendly.’ 

For Danny, he was trying to balance an act of camaraderie and one of intimidation. As much as he needed SHIELD to work with him and not against him, he also needed someone to still see him as a threat. The Avengers, even the ones that knew what his position as king meant, all saw him as a child that they cared for. The WEB team was worse in that they had accepted him as a new part of their lives. He wasn’t sure Peter could even picture him as evil at this point. This left Fury. He needed to give him just enough reason to be suspicious of him in case he was unable to prevent himself from becoming Dan. 

Fury addressed the trainees. “You four are cleaning the toilets after drills. Dismissed.” 

The teens protested their apparent punishment as they departed the room, their shoulders still heavy with disappointment and regret. Danny wished they would have stayed. It was easier to mess with Fury in front of them. He enjoyed contrasting him in front of the young team. 

Fury walked over to the door, closing it just slow enough to feel unnecessarily dramatic. Danny crossed his arms. “What are you doing?”

Fury turned back to him. “What do you plan to do about the cult?”

Danny straightened, pretending that made him look more sure of himself. “That depends on whoever their leader is, and their intentions.” Fury remained silent, allowing him to continue. “At this point, all I know is that Emeral One makes no sense. I thought they were from my world, but if they were they should know I’m a halfa. But if they’re not, then they’d have to be a ghost I don’t know about, and would still know I’m a halfa. All I’m sure of is they have access to my parents’ tech and know about the events in Amity. I still don’t even know if they actually want to help me or if they want to go for my throne.”

“Does the bounty they placed on you not make you think they’re more likely an enemy?” Fury questioned.

“Not really.” Danny took out the graham crackers and popped a few in his mouth. Honey flavored. “If they really are wanting to help me, and were willing to sacrifice people to do it, a bounty to get me back makes sense.”

Fury nodded. “I see.” Danny wondered how he was able to always sound serious. Sure, they were talking about something important, but Fury kept an even and strong tone. He imagined if someone like him had become king no one would question it. If he learned to talk like Fury, would he come across as strong too? Probably not, considering his permanent partially pubescent physique. “I can get you a copy of relevant information to go over, to see if you can figure out anyone that might fit the bill for this damn Emerald One.”

“Thank you.”

“As for the scanner, that’s going to have to wait.” He frowned. “You may have forgotten, but we are still a government organization. The devices have been confiscated and are in evidence. They’ve already been examined, the report should be finished by tomorrow.”

Danny hummed. “Fine.” 

“One last thing, Phantom.” The tone shift was subtle, but enough to make him wary of whatever Fury was about to say. “What are you hiding?” 

Oh, I don’t like this. “What?”

“You are intentionally trying to breed distrust with me. I want to know why.” 

He smiled, not happily, but it somehow felt appropriate. “You’re a dangerous man, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.”

He considered his options. If he denied, Fury’s suspicion would be confirmed and he may no longer allow him the unopposed free reign he’s had amongst the facility he was technically trespassing in. However, if he told the truth, there was the chance that Fury would act against him. It wouldn’t be an unreasonable response to get rid of him if it meant that this world wouldn’t have to deal with Dan.

“If I tell you this secret, can I still haunt this place and get snacks?” 

“That depends.”

That was the closest he was going to get to a yes. He had a feeling the man had a soft side, and he was really hoping his explanation would appeal to it. If all went well, he’d have gotten the assurance that the one entity he for sure wanted to be prepared for Dan would be. If it went poorly, well, it wouldn’t be the only mistake he had made that day. 

“Do you remember when you wanted to know if I was a danger to this world?” 

“I do recall that, yes.” 

“I didn’t answer on purpose.” He sighed. “Its about Dan.”

“The one who killed your family.”

“Yeah.” He confirmed. “Just, listen to the whole thing, okay?” 

Danny began his tale. He explained how he learned of the first timeline. It was a difficult story to recount, especially since he hadn’t been intending to tell it at all. He explained the first time he had defeated Dan and saved everyone. A heavy emphasis was put on that he and Dan were now separate entities, despite the latter's insistence. His timeline had already differed from that of the original Danny, yet Dan persisted. 

Danny didn’t go into detail of the second half of the story. He hadn’t told anyone the specifics of how everyone died, not yet ready to vocalise what had happened to them. So, he simply said, “He came back not even a year later. I wasn’t able to stop him in time.”

“Did you defeat him?” Fury’s voice remained even, still sounding strong and resolute. Danny appreciated him not pitying him. He didn’t want it. Not then.

“Eventually.” He continued, explaining how the fear he had felt at the prospect of becoming Dan mixed with his grief and led to his capture. “I refuse to become him.” 

“And you want us to be able to stop you if you do.” He nodded. “Is there a chance he will seek you out again?”

He shrugged, a far too casual motion for how nervous he was about the conversation. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, but elected to ignore it. “I don’t know. He got what he wanted, all of them are dead. As far as he’s concerned, its mostly just a matter of time before I become him.”

“Mostly?”

Shit. That was a stupid slip up. He didn’t want to tell all his secrets, it was bad enough he ended up telling as much as he did. They were talking about things he hadn’t even told Peter, who he definitely trusted more than Fury. It felt as if he’d tripped in the balancing act of a conversation they were having. He didn’t want to reveal the part about Vlad. He’d tried to keep the other halfa’s existence a secret the last time he became relevant to events. Danny wasn’t entirely sure why. Their pact of mutual destruction no longer stood, as his parents were gone. Perhaps he saw it as honoring the wishes of the only being who could understand his condition to any degree. 

He procrastinated answering by eating more of his snack. How did he get around this without making a complete enemy of Fury? “Figure of speech?”

Fury half scoffed half chuckled as he shook his head. “All you kids are terrible liars.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“You’re 14.”

“You’re 14,” Danny mocked, trying to mimic Fury’s voice. “Look, it doesn’t matter because Dan’s wrong and I won’t become him. We already both exist as different people, he’s just stupid and cruel.”

Fury moved from his spot he’d been standing to the wall next to him, leaning far more casually. “Spiderman know about this?”

“Not yet.” He looked away, shame filling him. There wasn’t really a reason he hadn’t told Peter. He hadn’t wanted to tell anyone. Explaining this to Fury was his way of both thanking him for the information he’d demanded, as well as attempting to manipulate him into being prepared for the worst case scenario. “I, don’t like talking about it.”

He could see Fury nod out the side of his eye. “And you think you can trust me with this? Don’t think I’ll lock you up to keep you from turning on us?”

“You didn’t do anything after I attacked Thor, and…” He kicked his feet a bit, entirely uncomfortable with how his outing had gone. “You came to save me, you and the others.”

“Let's make a deal.” Danny looked up and back to him. “I’ll make sure we’re ready for Dan, and the next time my team is in trouble, you let me finish reprimanding them before pulling your ghost shit.”

He blanked. “That's it?”

Fury stood, pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to Danny. “I know what you did today. That fall could have killed White Tiger.”

Danny held his new bag of sour gummies. “I, uh…” 

“Thank you for looking out for my students.” He  patted his shoulder, unknowingly near his core. Danny wasn’t sure how he felt about it, other than he was grateful the man was gentle in the gesture. “Get your mopy ass back home. I’ll get the files to you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Fury.” He smiled. “That shit about Dan is a secret though.” 

Fury rolled his eye. “Get off my ship.” 

Grinning, Danny flew off the table. “And if I don’t?”

“Phantom.” 

The flat warning only made him laugh harder. He flew off, invisibly flying through the ship walls and actually leaving like he was asked. He checked his phone as he began to idly float, wishing the night wasn’t so cloudy. 

  Peter - For a ghost your sneaking out skills need some work

That was just what he needed. Had May found his pillow decoy? He quickly texted his knight back.

  Danny - Am I in trouble?

  Peter - TBD

He groaned. It was a fitting end to a terrible first day of school. He’d strained his body and his core, revealed his existence to a bunch of people without even thinking, beat up a living person, and ended up telling Fury more than he had ever intended. Worst of all, he still hadn’t made any progress on figuring out who the Emerald One was. 

But you did save Ava, a small voice in his head reminded him. It was a hopeful, happy thing that didn’t sound like him anymore. It sounded like his past self, the version of him that had been a hero. It was as if his former self was reminding him that even on the bad days, he was still capable of doing something good. It wasn’t the peaceful school day he had wanted, but at least he had been able to do one thing right. 

For now, that was enough.

Chapter Text

Cujo was an incredibly unreliable beast. The eternal pup, despite years of training from Daniel and more from himself, would always quickly fall back to his free spirited antics. He recalled the effort it took them all to keep the mutt away from the GIW. As corewrenching as the sight of the pup desperately trying to rescue the boy was, it was also infuriating. How could that dog not understand that they were trying to save him as well? Was it not obvious that if they could have whisked Daniel away they would have by now? 

So, it was with a heavy sigh that Vlad stood to greet the pup. Fate had clearly determined it his turn to keep the dog from capture. Perhaps he would toss him into Poindexrers lair and have him deal with it. He was sore today, his muscles whining at the barest of movement. Quiet, he wanted to tell them. If his body would listen, he'd demand proper cooperation. There was no time to be weak, not when he knew what horror was befalling his godson. 

Cuju ran to him, excitedly yipping and spinning circles around his legs. Vlad much prefered cats, their calm, self sustaining nature was far more appealing compaired to the ball of energy that was Cujo. Still, he could see why Danny liked the pup. Young, wild, and free. How long had it been since the pair had played fetch on the hill? 

Cujo barked joyfully, his small tail going so fast it was but a blur. This gave him some pause. The pup held no desperation, no anxiety. Had the dog forsaken his boy? Surely not. It had been years, but even still Cujo had never stopped trying to get to Daniel. 

Vlad slowly lowered himself, trying to kneel on the floor. Were his hands shaking? Why? He pet the squirming mutt, his fingers habitually sliding along the collar to check for his note. In all these years, it had never fallen out. His silent plea, made before his godson's capture, had remained safely hidden by Cujo. Vlad bit his lip. 

His note was gone. 

It, couldn't be. It had been years. They'd worked so hard, day after day. Politics, battles, reformation, searching. And planning. So much planning. Vlad picked up the mutt, holding him so as to be face to face. Tears threatened at his eyes, but he would not let a lost bit of paper fill him with something as intangible as hope. 

“You found him, didnt you?” 

Cujo barked and squirmed in his arms. Had he ever seen such joy on the pup's face? Not without Daniel, he thought.

Vlad had heard of Daniel being free before. He had stupidly gotten his hopes up, racing across the realms only to find nothing. A lie, one that could only fool the weak. Vlad hated himself, for falling for such a stupid farce, even if only for a moment. He wouldn’t do so again.

He wouldn’t. 

Not again.

Still, Cujo had never looked at him with so much glee. This, at the very least, required investigating. 

Yes.

That was all he was doing. He wasn’t going to be excited, to allow himself the thought of seeing Daniel. This was just an investigation, nothing more.

He sat Cujo back down, giving him a firm point. “Stay.”

A small, echoing bark of agreement. 

He pulled out his phone, his fingers sliding across the screen. He was answered instantly. “Masters?” 

Always the worrier. She never lost that edge of panic to her tone. “Calm, child. Calm.” He never could decide if her concern warmed him or unnerved him. He was Plasmius, the first halfa. He was not someone who others needed to fret over. “The mutt has returned again. He, is strangely happy.”

“Cujo? Happy?” Hope laced her voice. Foolish child, only pain came from such an emotion. 

“Yes,” he elected not to scold her. It had been so long since there had been any developments, even one as small as a tail wag from a melancholic pup. “I’m going to the realms. I will see if there, if there.” Blast. Her childish hope was not contagious. He was not going to expect anything from this. 

“Do you think it could be related to Fright Knight’s recent change?” 

Vlad huffed. There had been a time when that ghost had been loyal to him. However brief it was, it had been nice having a powerful pawn. Then, after Vlad's pitiful display of weakness, and the rise of a certain king's candidate, the knight had left to again guard the coffin of forever sleep, now housed in a castle his first master no longer owned. That stubborn, useless fool was no help in their efforts to rescue Daniel. 

Lately, there had been word of Fright Knight venturing through the Infinite Realms. Vlad wasn't naive enough to think his former pawn had a change of heart and had decided to be of use. No, the knight was up to something. Vlad could care less. It didn't involve getting his godson back, so he wouldn't bother with it. “I do not see how his actions could relate to, improving Cujo's mood.” 

The silence on the other end of the line was scolding. Oh, how he missed the time when the child revered him. Now, her penchant for snapping and lecturing had grown to include him. “Masters, there's been talk.” Her tone was firm. He knew she wanted to tell him off for being dismissive, but was holding her tongue for something more important. 

“I have heard as well.” Vlad would not fall for another lie. “The princess’s words are unfounded.” 

“I dont think so.” Stubborn children. Why was he always surrounded by such unmovable people? “Princess Dorathea isn't easily fooled. She's not the kind of person to fall for something like an imposter.”

“Without any proof all she has is a story. A feeble one at that, an entire universe without any natural portals? The notion-”

“-Its not just her word.” 

What? 

Cujo yipped, excitedly bringing him that stupid pink squeaker. Vlad retrieved it and gave it a toss. 

“We checked out the facility.” Vlad felt his core quiver and his heart beat harder. “The lights were off.”

“Why am I only hearing this now?!” He barked, more pleading than angry. 

“Because we're still there Fruitloop.” As loath as he was to that name, what he wouldn't give to hear Daniel call him it again. Just once more. “Security is still up, but no lights. No people. All the systems are running, but I don’t think anyones here.” 

“The tracker, have you-”

“-Its still pinging him, but not as strong.” 

His legs failed him, dropping his form unceremoniously to the floor. No, he would not dare to hope. The note was gone, Dorathea had claimed the boy free, and now the blasted facility was dark? No, he wouldn't hope. He would investigate. If Daniel was truly summoned to a world with no portals, why would he not have fled with the dog? Surely, if the boy was free and that was why Cujo was happy again, it was him who had found the note. And with the signal having weakend…

Vlad took a steading breath. He refused to believe anything without confirming himself. The signal had been weakening. Daniel's power had been declining steadily over these long years. That was not reason enough to get excited. The facility being empty was odd, but not odd enough to warrant them to leave it alone. 

He'd argue that the device pinging him at all confirmed that the boy was still trapped, but he knew better. Daniel had been bled there for years, his signature would linger for months even if he was free. 

“I'm going. I will see for myself if the princess was accurate in her claims.” 

“If the world isn't capable of natural portals, how will you get there?” 

A worthy concern. It would be of no consequence to create a portal, but if the place in question had no ectoplasm there would be no sustaining it. If Daniel had truly found himself in an ectoplasmic desert, then Vlad would be unable to simply create a new ghost portal. 

Luckily, that wasn’t a problem. “I shall take the mutt with me.”

He heard an unamused huff. “You think he can do it?” 

Vlad hummed, considering his words. “I have reason to suspect he might already have.” 

He heard her sigh. It was a heavy, strained thing. Long ago, she and Daniel had been something of friends. He recalled they briefly were romantically inclined, and though that didn't work out for them she had kept a soft spot for the boy. It hadn’t been easy for the girl to learn of the fate that had befallen Daniel. 

He remembered the tears they shared. The both of them refused to be seen as vulnerable, but there was some comfort to be had in grieving with someone instead of alone. They both were frustrated. They'd known where he was, he wasn't even far away. So close, they were always so close to him. Daniel may have been on another planet for all they were able to do about it. His proximity was but salt in their wounds. A bitter reminder of their ineptitude. So, they’d cried. They’d screamed. They'd fought. 

But they always kept trying. 

“Masters, maybe you should look for Wulf or- or yeah maybe just ask him.”

 Vlad held his chest. He would not hope. Vlad Masters would not be fooled again. “No.” Cujo returned, and he relinquished a hand to again throw the toy. “The pup would know the way. If, if he truly has been summoned, then I will go see.” 

Silence. Apprehension. The weight of years of failure. How much pain had his godson endured? It was no secret what was being done to him. Vlad bit his lip. Every moment Daniel spent in that place was a wrong Vlad had committed not just against the child, but against his beloved Maddie. He had failed her memory by not protecting her legacy. If only he had been able to keep him from leaving. If only he had been a better godfather. If they hadn't begun as enemies, if he hadn't tried so hard to get Daniel to renounce his father, their killer. If only he had been kinder to him, then perhaps this could have been avoided. 

“Don't get your hopes up, Vlad.” 

“Miss Gray-”

“-You're right. All we have is a story, but pairing it with what we know now, its worth looking into. We’ll keep at it on our end. You go look. According to Poindexter, it took about 3 weeks for Dora to get back home. If he is there, then hes been there for a few months now.”

“A few months,” Vlad considered. Briefly, he allowed himself to picture Daniel being free for that long. His wounds would be extensive, and incredibly painful. If he had been summoned, if whoever had him had any semblance of a heart they'd do their best to keep him sedated as he healed. It would be its own sort of torture to be consious as his body slowly pulled its seams back together. Daniel deserved rest. 

Then, Vlad forced himself to ignore his musings. “I will prepare my cruiser.” 

Chapter Text

Peter held the note he’d found in Danny’s room. It had been partially under the bed, barely sticking out as if it had ended up there by accident. He searched his mind for when the kid could have received it. 

Come home, little badger

A message from someone from Danny’s original world. How would he have gotten it though? Why had he hidden it? He disregarded that thought. Even without the full story, he knew why Danny hadn’t told him about the note. He was always secretive, and not just out of a general distrust. Peter knew those memories were painful for him, he didn’t share because it hurt to do so. As much as he wanted to know more, Peter could respect that. 

Still, they needed to have a talk. Pretending to be dead at school? Revealing his ghost half in front of people? Even before school, when he hadn’t told them how he had made sure Ben was safe. Well, he had, but he’d purposefully made them believe he wasn’t being truthful with them. As well as it all worked out in the end, Peter hadn’t enjoyed placating everyone while Danny purposefully messed with them.

At least the shoelace thing was entertaining. 

He pocketed the note, being sure to keep it from wrinkling. Why had he taken it in the first place? 

They were at WEB, having a sort of intervention for one halfa who was ignoring them all in favor of spinning on one of the swivel chairs. Peter had told them all it wasn’t going to go well, but they had been right that it was time for a conversation with him. He sighed. He had been banned from participating. 

His middle man antics had been deemed unnecessary. So, despite knowing the reason why Danny was acting immature, he couldn't explain. Peter decided to take a page from Danny's book and let them all figure it out on their own. If they made themselves look like assholes, that was their problem. He’d tried. 

Maybe the halfa was a bad influence on him. He was certainly a bad influence on Ben, last Peter heard the youngest spider was giving everyone in the tower headaches with all the questions he was asking. Apparently if he was ignored, people's pens would go missing. It was not a mystery who he'd learned that one from.

Danny kept spinning lazily in the chair. Despite his casually bored outward appearance, Peter could feel the guilt he held within. They probably didn't even need to talk about his recent actions, ir at least not scold him for it. A reminder to not play dead and to explain himself better, sure, but a full intervention? 

“Would it kill you to take this seriously?” Anya crossed her arms. 

Danny stopped the chair, transformed into his ghost half then went back to spinning. The ‘yes’ was implied. 

“I don't know what I expected.” Anya huffed. 

Harry stifled a chuckle, whicj earned him a glare from Gwen. “This isnt funny.” 

“To you.” Danny countered. “So, are you guys gonna start in on me or are we going to be here all day?” 

“Where do we even start?” Miles frowned. He was of the sentiment that they needed to remind Danny that not everyone could read his emotions and therefore couldn’t understand him as well as Peter. It was a sound argument, though Peter didn’t think Danny was that hard to understand. He could admit he was entirely biased though.

“How about when this trouble started.” Gwen suggested. 

“So when I was born? That seems a bit too far back.” Danny started spinning faster. 

“Danny!” Gwen scoffed. 

“Did you know I was a preemie? Four whole pounds of itty bitty me.” 

“I was talking about when you pulled that stunt with Ben.” 

Peter wished he was allowed to explain, though not on Danny’s behalf this time. He knew that one they were mostly upset that they hadn’t been able to find the boy themselves. There was also the conflicting feelings about Model’s involvement. Peter was also still struggling with that. He still trusted his former mentor, but it hurt that he had done something so shady, especially after everything that happened with Venom and Horizon. 

The rest of them, save for Miles, hadn’t even gotten to speak with the man, which no doubt stung. His friends might be projecting that anger onto Danny a bit, but they would never admit it. 

“You could have just told us he was okay.” Anya said. “Without all the damn laughing and playing it off as a joke.”

“To be fair,” Danny flung his legs out to slow his spinning, “I did tell you he was okay.”

“He tried to claw his skin off!” Gwen protested. 

That actually got the halfa to stop spinning, an impressive feat if Peter were to say. “Actually he succeeded. Kid’s healing factor is insane though. After I cleaned it up and got him to leave, he was already healing. There’s not even a scar.” Danny shrugged. 

“That’s not the point.”

“I know.” 

Gwen groaned and looked to him. Peter held his hands up in surrender. “I was strictly told I was not to participate.”

“Fine. Ben’s fine, healthy and living in the Avengers’ Tower. Your scheme worked, even though it could have done without the stressing us all out part.” Miles held his hands up, signalling that it was time to move on from that topic. “Better topic, what the hell happened at the school?”

Peter wasn’t surprised when the kid didn’t answer. More questions were thrown at him, but the halfa remained silent. Just as tensions were beginning to rise further, Peter sighed and stood. Just because he wasn’t allowed to help didn’t mean he had to let things get out of hand. He walked over to Danny, took out a bag of gummies from his pocket, and handed them over. 

Danny took the snack and groaned. “Fine.” He complained. 

“Thank you.” He returned to his spot. If a smug look crossed his face while his friends glared at him, well who could blame him? 

“Danny, please. What even was that?” 

“I didn’t mean to freak everyone out.” Now, Danny sounded as guilty as Peter knew he felt. 

“You pretended to be a corpse.” Anya reminded him.

“I know.”

“What were you thinking?” Gwen asked him.

“I wasn’t, okay?” He looked down, kicking his feet lazily. “I just wanted those baby heroes to handle it. I thought if I freaked everyone out, they’d get a chance to sneak off.”

“So you pretended to die?” Miles sounded as if this whole thing was giving him a headache.

 “It wasn’t my best move.”

“You scared your classmates. Did you even think about how scary that must have been for them?” Peter recoiled at Anya’s comment. 

“I know what it’s like to see a corpse!” Danny snapped.

Not missing a beat, Gwen added, “Then you should have known that was terrible thing to do.”

“I forgot okay!”

“You forgot?” Miles asked.

“Yes!” Danny nearly growled. “I forgot people could be worried about me dying.” 

That certainly got everyone to back off. Just as Peter had expected of the interaction, everyone had gone from justifiably annoyed to shamefully stunned. Danny took advantage in the lull in questions to continue. “I forgot that the sight of my body could freak people out. I’m both dead and immortal. So, I just, forgot, okay?”

“God we need to get you a therapist.” Gwen shook her head.

“Nah, the last mental help profesional I saw turned out to be evil and was farming all the student’s misery to make herself more powerful. I’ll stick to concerning jokes, thank you.”

“What in the actual-”

“-We’re getting off topic.” Anya interrupted Miles. “Okay, so no more corpse stunts. And apologize to that girl.” 

“That was the plan.” Danny pulled his legs up onto the chair. “Oh, is that discount Ironman Wizard guy okay?”

“Broken caller bone, concussion, and some whiplash.” Harry answered. “He’ll be okay.”

Danny nodded. Peter figured that was at least one concern lifted off the halfa’s shoulders. 

The releif was visible, Dannys shpulders relaxed and the sigh that left him was steady. 

Miles groaned. “Okay, so no more corpse tricks, and next time youre hiding a clone please just let us actually know theyre okay, none of that making it a big joke stuff?” Miles asked. 

“Fine, next time someone gets cloned Ill make sure to tell the truth- oh wait I did that already.” Peter coughed, sending a stern look the halfas way. “Fiiiine.” Danny crossed his arms over the backrest of the chair and laid his head down. “Ill take it a little more seriously.” 

“Thank you.” Gwen nodded. 

“Next problem, now everyone knows Phantom can be found at Midtown.” 

“Weirdly no leaked security footage though.” Miles gave him and Danny a look. 

Peter smiled, though not because Danny's ghost self being seen in the public wasn't a problem. No. He just could feel the impending joke. Or, at least the amusement from Danny emanating from the mark.

“If ghosts showed up that easily on camera then messing with ghost hunters wouldn't be so fun.” To emphasize his point, Danny flickered invisible a few times before cackling. 

“You are so immature.” Anya complained. 

“You're just noticing that now?” Miles shook his head. 

Danny began spinning in the chair again. “Immature, childish, behaviorally challenged, difficult to work with, has trouble following directions, struggles with classwork.” Peter sighed. He wondered if he was allowed to contribute yet. The team had covered what they wanted, mostly, surely they could move on and try and try to be productive. 

“What?” Miles asked.

“I spent a looooooot of time in detention.” He laughed. It was kind of hard to understand him as he kept twirling the chair. “Then Mr. Lancer would look away and I'd be gone.” He cackled. 

While most of the team grumbled about the return of Danny's antics, Peter heard a chuckle from Harry. 

He gave his friend a quizzical look. Harry stopped trying to stifle his laughter and took a moment before answering Peter's unasked question. “Its just funny to see it instead of read it, you know?” 

Danny stopped, the chair facing Harry. Distrust flowed off of him in waves. Peter wondered if he should step in. “What?” 

Harry gave a wide grin, one that Pete knew from experience meant he'd been waiting for whatever was to come. “Oh, nothing nothing. Just remembering something I read.” 

Peter frowned along with the halfa. This had the potential to go wrong. Danny glared, while Peter and the others watched. “Harry.” Danny warned. 

Maybe he should stop this.

“Did you forget that Petes not the only one who read that ghost book?” 

The wide eyed look on the halfas face was almost worth the discomfort from the mark. Peter hoped the cameras caught the face he was making. If they did he was totally saving it. It'd be the perfect profile picture. 

“Did you guys know ghosts have a sort of life cycle?”

“Harry! Don't you dare!” 

Harry kept smiling, basking in the discomfort he was brewing. Maybe Danny was a bad influence on all of them. “What? Worried about your reputation Mr Older than us?” 

“No, no, no Harry c’mon.” Danny pleaded. Peter knew that only part of it was sincere. The request for his friend to stop was genuine, but the begging was for the show of it. Peter wondered how the scene looked to the others.

“Harry just spit it out already.” Gwen scolded. 

“Harry don't spit it out already!” Danny countered. 

“All I'm saying is that you're a bit of a hypocrite calling Ben and the training team babies.” 

“Nooooooo.” Danny deflated, his arms and head slumping over the chair and his legs dangling. Peter couldn’t resist. He took out his phone and took a picture. Danny snapped his attention to him, adding a comedic blur to the photo. “Hey!”

“He’s a baby?” 

Harry waved his hand in a so-so motion. “For the first few hundred years or so a ghost, regardless of age of death, is considered a juvenile. Newly formed ghosts are basically like newborns, till they get their fangs. If their form has them.” 

Danny bared said fangs before declaring, “I’m not a baby! I’m literally perpetually, eternally, 14!” 

“And also a baby ghost.” Harry smirked. 

“See it just sounds sad when you say it like that.” Danny waved his hand. “C’mon, just cuz some stupid book-”

“-How much does being an infantile ghost affect your psyche?” Anya asked, blatant curiosity drawn across her face. 

Peter could feel that the conversation was hovering over a darker subject. His musings of if he should put a stop to it were cut off by the realization that if Danny didn’t want to deal with the team he could just leave. The fact that he hadn’t spoke to how much he cared. Even knowing they were upset with him, Danny had made the choice to let them get their feelings out instead of brushing them off or fighting them on it. He’d done it all while throwing in jokes to both entertain himself and annoy the others. Peter felt some pride well inside him. 

Peter was also curious about this. He wondered what Danny was like before his half death. It was a thought that he often had when bringing the boy out of his nightmares. Before, everything, what was he like? Did he have fun, hang out with his friends, did he pull pranks like he did now? Did he get to watch the stars? Peter hoped that for his short life, the boy he’d come to see as a little brother had been happy. 

Danny groaned even more dramatically than before. “After…” Danny tucked his feet under him and didn’t speak what he was clearly referring too. “It got harder to control my emotions. A lot of things, felt like too much. Like,” he huffed. Peter could feel the aggravation, but had no words to offer to help. “You know how like, a baby, a human baby, like, they need to learn everything? Like, where they start and end, how to move, how to regulate themselves? Things like that?” After everyone, Peter included, confirmed their understanding, Danny continued. “Kinda like that. Theres a lot to learn, and everything, felt different. Breathing especially. Breathings weird.”

“Breathing?” Gwen asked. 

“I both do and don’t need to breathe. First time I forgot to breathe Sam punched me and told me I wasn’t allowed to ‘finish dying.” He threw up air quotes around it. 

Peter laughed. “I’m sure you deserved it.”

“I mean. Yeah but. Rude.” 

“Are juvenile ghosts comparable cognitively to that of juvenile humans?” Anya mused. “If you combine the influences of adolescence with that of infancy…” She hummed. “Teenagers typically strive for independence while babies need constant attention and support.”

“You are way too into this.” Danny scolded. 

“Careful, Anya. He might go after your shoelaces.” Miles warned.

“No I won’t. That is a special treat just for you.” 

“God damn it Danny.” Miles grumped. 

Peter hoped that his little brother’s life was like this, before. Not full of a cult with questionable motives after him, no, but full of laughter. Mischief and jokes, arguments that faded into pleasant conversations. Teasing loved ones. Of course, this silent hope of a good past life was soured by reality. The Danny he knew was broken, his soul on the edge of shattering. An existence barely held together. Peter’s heart hurt seeing how anyone could still laugh in such a state. 

“I wonder how the conflicting need for self sufficiency would interfere with that of paternal stability?” Anya thought aloud. Peter could practically see the thoughts racing through her mind. Danny was right - she was way too into it. 

“Do juvenile ghosts even require a guardian figure?” Gwen asked. 

“Require is a strong word.” Danny shrugged before taking a long sip of his AE that smelled suspiciously like cherry redbull. “More like ‘would have been nice.” Peter watched as his brother’s face dropped while thick guilt burned him from the mark. 

“You okay?” He asked. 

“Yeah, just, figured something out.” Silence for a tense breath. “It doesn’t matter now.” He slapped the chair lightly with the palms of his hands. “Can I see the files you guys got from that night?”

“Nice abrupt change of topic.” Gwen rolled her eyes.

“Thank you, I've been planning it the whole time.” 

The sort of intervention was deemed over, though Peter wasn't sure if it was a success or not. They began going through what they knew of the files they'd taken the night Danny got summoned. Some they'd already decoded, like the various calculations regarding ectoplasm. They also found some incredibly well encrypted blueprints that they were still figuring out. They'd managed to get a few of them converted into their picture form, and as they scrolled through it became very clear that Danny recognized all of them.

“Are these all?” 

He nodded.

“Well that doesn't sound good.” Gwen said. 

Danny kept scrolling. “Ecto converter, boo merang, hell even the ops center. Its all my parents work.” 

As many questions as that raised, Peter elected to pull up another of the files that theud yet to convert to anything usable. While he pulled up the ones he was most suspicious about, Miles showed him then one hed been working on. 

“What about this set? It was encrypted using a different method to the rest…” A strong pulse of disgust emanated from the mark. Peter rubbed at it, taking a moment to see what had caused such a strong reaction. When Danny just kept frowning at the files, Miles added, “Some of them look like they do the same things as the others, just with different methods and construction…” 

“Vladco.” Came the answer. “Those are Plasmius’s designs.” 

“Your godfather?” Peter asked. “But, I thought you said he died a while ago?”

“So did I.” Peter desperately wanted the timeline. He knew his teammates did as well, but after their hounding Danny he was sure they weren't about to ask. “Back when my parents were in college, they researched ghosts with Vlad Masters, my godfather… They… had a falling out. My parents didn't know it, but Vlad never stopped studying ghosts. He stole a lot of my parents' stuff. They were better at coming up with ideas, he was better at using them to fuck me over.” 

“Dude… what even was your life?” Miles looked pale.

“I am a ghost in a family of ghost hunters.” He huffed. “Use your imagination.” 

“What about this one?” Peter handed Danny his tablet. “These for sure aren't blueprints. I managed to get them converted from binary into actual words, but now they're in broken mandarin. I'm pretty sure a translation software was used, but it doesn't make sense.”

“Mandarin?” Danny's head perked up. He quickly scrolled through the tablet, then handed it back to him. “Try translating it into spanish.” 

“Okay?” Peter began converting the files. 

“Then French, Turkish, back to French, that step is important, you can't leave it at the first French.” Peter kept converting as he was told. “Then Japanese, then Polish, Dutch, then back to English.” 

“What kind of pattern is that?” Gwen leaned over Peter's shoulder, watching as with each translation the documents inched closer to clarity. 

Once it finished loading, Peter was met with what could only be a classification of ghosts. Names, power sets, last known locations. Any past or current deals. Haunt locations. It was reminiscent of the descriptions Danny had given them during that first Avengers meeting. He handed the tablet back. 

Danny scanned it. “Aaaaand these would be mine.” He frowned. Still scrolling, they all listened as the halfa continued, “These are literally from my computer.” 

“What are they?”

“Records of all the ghosts I had to deal with. Tucker said it'd be good to stay organized.”

“And the translations?” Anya asked.

“Its a pattern based on our names.” Danny hummed. “Saw it in a movie or something once. Someone just used a translator to hide what their thing said. So we just, made a pattern using our initials.” 

“Then encrypted it further?” Peter asked. 

Danny nodded. “Tucker did something, I don't know what it was but he said it was good to have as much security as possible. Didn't want my parents or anyone to get these.” He sighed. “If the cult has these… I already knew they had access to their tech but I didn't think they'd have gotten everything.” 

“Is there a file on you?” Miles asked. 

“There was but I deleted it….” Danny handed the device back to him, “Is there a way to search through it faster?” Peter nodded. “Try Phantom.” 

Peter did, then scrolled through the few instances his brothers ghost name showed up. Most were just lines that said ‘Relation with Phantom -’ then listed positive, neutral, or negative. After sifting through the results, Peter confirmed that there was no file on him. Danny hummed. “Well, whoever took this had to have taken it after my family died. That's when I deleted my file.” 

“Why'd you do that?” Anya asked. “And why just yours?

The boy grumped. “I was worried someone would find it, so I got rid of it. Didn't want the GIW to know all of my secrets.” Anger, fear, regret. Peter frowned. “So much for that.” After a moment, he added. “And because everyone else was fine. It was easier for them to hide from them, but, not me so… yeah.” 

Again, everything seemed to hover just above something horrible. Peter knew more than the rest of them the extent of Dannys torture, even with the story being as censored as it had been. The capture, the summoning, the cult. What were the intentions? Peter found himself leaning towards something nefarious. Model and the other cultists, former and present, that he'd spoken to all insisted that they wanted to protect the king. Peter wasn't too sure though. All the things that they had, it just all felt off. Even going back to the orders that had been given to Dorathea. ‘Retrieve the king.’ Not rescue, but retrieve, as if he were simply lost and not gravely injured. 

Then there was the detail that ruined everything. Why did the Emerald One not know Danny was a halfa? If they were after the throne, based on the requirements then they'd have to be a ghost. But if they were a ghost, why did they think he needed a vessel? The contradiction didn't make sense. The next logical assumption would be that the Emerald One wasn't a ghost, but that raised even more questions. If they were human, why bring him to another world? What was the benefit? 

The cult had that red orb that could control ghosts. Peter recalled how unnerving it had felt to be entirely aware of himself but have zero control. He was only affected through his connection to Danny, an unintended consequence of the mark of the vow. Why use an item like that on someone they wanted to help? According to Model, they had been instructed to bind Danny's will to prevent them from attacking, but he had only felt the need to attack, or threaten to, because they were trying to bind his will. It was possible it was to keep the followers safe, but what if that was just the cover for the Emerald Ones true intentions? 

Harry put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” 

He nodded. “It just sucks that we're months into this and it feels like we know less and less about everything.” 

Mumbles of agreement. Then, “Well, at least it feels like we’re getting closer.” When everyone just stared, Miles added, “What? Doesn't it feel like we’re about there? The Emerald Wings put a bounty on Danny, they still want to find him. Black Widow is almost done with her reconnaissance, and the Frightful Four got the info of the bounty from somewhere.” 

Peter blinked. “That's… a good point.” 

“I wonder if I should ask the ghosts around town if they've seen anything.” Peter and the others all looked at the teen. “What?”

“Why are you just thinking of this now?” Harry asked what they were all thinking. 

“In my defence.” Danny grumped, “A lot has happened.” 

“That's fair, that's fair.” Anya shook her head. 

Peter smiled and made to say something, to throw in a joke to lighten the mood and maybe transition to figuring out what their next steps were going to be. Instead, he felt himself fill with a defensiveness he couldn't place. It wasn't coming from Danny, though it was connected to the mark. It almost felt like his spider sense, but it wasn't a warning of immediate danger. Instead, it felt like there was a threat, somewhere. He stood, looking around. Whatever it was, it wasn't close. 

His eyes snapped to Danny, who clearly felt it too. There was a still expression on his face, one that looked a bit too passive for the anger Peter knew he was feeling. It looked as if the boy was ready to snap someone in half. 

“What is that?” 

Danny stood, facing towards the wall as if he could tell exactly where the threat was. The others were asking what was happening, but Peter had no answer for them. He felt like he needed to fight, but why? The stolen note in his pocket suddenly felt much heavier. 

“A King's Candidate is invading my haunt.”

Chapter Text

Danny had felt the instinctual urge to fight other ghosts before. Most of the time, it was a kind of neutral feeling, one that he could continuously choose to act on or not. It was comparable to deciding to greet a stranger or not. The urge to nod a hello to a passerby was therefore, but it was ultimately up to him whether he wanted to or not. A passive thing. Something that was a part of him, but that he had control over. 

That, of course, was before he was king. 

This feeling was different. He had never been so near another candidate before, even before he had graduated. He’d felt them, knew they were out there, but that was another neutral feeling. It was inconsequential. They’d never bothered him and he had no reason to bother them. Until now that is. 

He could feel them, like a burn across his core. They were far from the lab, but still within his territory. Danny hadn’t even realised he’d established a territory, but the moment it was invaded he knew that his haunt spanned over a good chunk of the city. Truthfully, he hadn’t meant to do that. He hadn’t wanted to claim a new haunt, especially since he was living in a home that was already another ghost’s territory. Still, now that there was a ghostly threat, he understood that he had become a sort of overreaching guardian. His haunt included the haunts of other’s. It was an odd sensation, feeling ownership over territories he respected as not belonging to him. It was like the other ghosts still had their own rooms, but the house was his. 

The trespasser was in the Avengers tower. 

He flew invisibly, the spiders and one Hobgoblin following behind. They followed Peter, who could tell where he was. They all quickly realized where they were going. He ignored the discussion of who the candidate could be. All he cared about was getting to them. They hadn’t been invited. They were a threat. He needed to fight them. 

He flew faster.

As much as every part of him screamed at him to fight the intruder, Danny found himself worried about if he would even be able to. It had only been a couple of days since the incident at the school and he could still feel the strain he had put on his core. A single shield and a single ecto blast, and days later he was still feeling the effects? His condition was getting worse. Had the crack in his core gotten worse? If it did, it would have had to have happened during or soon after his fight with the kraken. The old sea ghost had been strong, but it was far from the strength he would expect from a candidate. 

Before leaving the lab, he’d chugged the rest of his AE and also took two of the pills Tony had made for him. He’d also made sure the bracers Peter had made him were ready. He had to remember to actually use them. As natural as it was to use his own power instead, he was becoming scared that doing so would shatter him.

He arrived at the tower well before his knight and the rest of the team. Peter would probably scold him for going so far ahead on his own, but he’d deal with that later. He flew into the building, right into Tony’s home. Now that he was closer, it was harder to tell exactly where the ghost was, but as his ghost sense went off, he knew they were near. 

Before he could reveal himself and ask Jarvis where Tony, Pepper, or Ben was, the AI announced, “Sir, there appears to be a malfunction in my Pipsqueak detection program.”

Tony entered the living room, sleep evident on his face. Now that Danny looked, it seemed the man had been up for quite a while before abruptly passing out. He wore wrinkled clothes with grease stains, and had heavy stress lines drawn on his face. Around the living room were various boxes and partially assembled furniture. It looked like they’d decided to completely redesign the space. 

“What?”

“There appears to be two of them in the tower.”

Danny abruptly appeared, which didn’t surprise Tony at all. “What?!” 

“Its probably just Peter. He reads as-”

“-He’s not here!” Danny interrupted. No. This wasn’t happening. Dan was here? How had he escaped again? That couldn’t be, no, he wasn’t ready to fight him! He didn’t have a chance of being able to protect anyone like he was now. He couldn’t lose everyone again. 

Tony frowned and began adjusting his wrist bands Danny knew held one of his Ironman suits. “What’s going on?” 

“Wheres the other ghost?!” He screamed. 

“One floor down, Ben went to-”

“-Fuck!”

Danny flew through the floor, leaving Tony. Having one floor to search was a hell of a lot less area to cover than the whole tower. This floor was still part of Tony’s home, with large open spaces and that extravagant rich person vibe Danny was never fond of. There were some rooms, an area that looked like a space for entertaining guests, and another kitchen, for some reason. 

He found Ben in one of the rooms. “Sewer Rat!” He cried.

“Slug?” Confusion, concern, anxiety. Danny could cry. Ben was okay. “What’s wrong?” 

Then he saw the young spider’s eyes widen. Danny whipped around, throwing up a ghost shield just in time to block an ecto blast. Panic surged through him. 

No no no no not again not again not again not again - 

“So you’re Danny.” His own voice asked him. 

Wait. 

Danny forced himself to hold back his fear. Before him was a human, more accurately a ghost in human form. His form. His face, his voice, his blue eyes, but not his height. This ghost was shorter than him. It wasn’t by a lot, but it was enough for him to put together that they weren’t Dan. As he still stood defensively between Ben and the candidate, he took in more of the ghost, who was giving him a dangerous smirk.

They wore their hair in a high ponytail unlike his, and admittedly Dan’s, low ones. They had a blue hoodie under an oversized black leather jacket. Baggy red shorts that suspiciously looked like an old pair of his, a red beanie with several buttons in it, and tennis shoes that looked like they’d seen better days. On their waist was a belt with a distinctly familiar claw sheathed like a knife. 

“Where did you get that?” His voice came out angry and distorted. 

The smirk on the candidate's face fell. “What-” Their question was cut off by them screeching, startled by Tony appearing behind them, half of his suit formed around his arm. 

Tony pointed his hand towards the candidate, green AE prepared to fire at any moment. “What the hell is happening here?”

Danny held a hand up, hoping he conveyed that he didn’t want Tony to interfere yet. “Where did you get that?” 

The candidate’s smirk returned as they grabbed the claw. “This?” There was something about hearing a voice that sounded so much like his own teasing him that really grated on his nerves. “Beat me and I’ll tell you.” 

“Pipsqueak,” Tony warned. 

“Deal.” 

“Wait!” Tony shouted. No one moved. Danny was ready to fight the moment, the slightest shift and he was going to pounce. This wasn’t Dan, he could do this. The more he analyzed his opponent, the more he felt that they weren’t that powerful. They weren’t as strong as the kraken, but given his limited abilities, it was possible they still had a chance against him. “Can you please do this somewhere else?”

“Not a chance!” They yelled, transforming into a ghostly form very reminiscent of his own. White hair, green eyes, and fresh fangs. In this form, it was clear that they were a girl. Looking at her was like looking at a gender swapped photo of himself. Not much was all that different, but the ghost before him definitely had a girl’s soul. If he could stop seeing his own face, he supposed she did look the part. Not that appearances mattered. It was only an observation. Her suit was similar to his old one, though with more of an asymmetrical theme and instead of a safety suit it was regular pants and a crop top. 

She flew towards him, and he phased a hand through her head, managing to catch her hair. He threw her against the far wall. She hit hard, her head cracking against the stone. He frowned. He really was getting weaker. 

“Ben!” Tony called, running and grabbing the young spider. Danny stayed between them and the candidate. 

“Fuck you!” 

“You started it!” 

She charged at him again, this time fast enough her fist made contact to his jaw. Just like that they were both throwing punches and kicks. They clawed at each other and whenever a hit pushed one of them back it was a good opportunity for a blast. Danny stuck to the blasters Peter made him, only using his own power to throw up the occasional shield when he wasn’t able to dodge. He tried not to focus on the ache in his core. 

Their fight migrated from the room they were in to the more open and less furnished entertainment space. The space looked as if it had been more decorated recently, but now most of its contents were gone, likely within a stack of boxes that Danny found himself kicked into. His chest felt like fire, his scars tight within his body. Why was Tony changing everything in his house? Not important right now. Danny mentally scolded himself.

The candidate sunk her teeth into his shoulder as she brought down a green clad fist on his head. Grunting, he went intangible to free himself before headbutting her nose. Blood trickled down his face and into his eye. Matching green blood began flowing from her nose, red speckles within it just like his own. 

“Stop biting me!” 

“That hurt!”

“It was supposed to!” 

As they continued to fight, Danny noticed a few things about the girl. The first was that she was barely using any ghost powers. Save the occasional ecto blast, the only other power she used was flight. While he was purposefully limiting his arsonal to protect his broken core, it was like she didn’t have anything else to work with. She didn’t even use a shield. 

The second, equally odd thing, was that she was weaker than him. Normally, that wouldn’t be that much of a surprise. He’d always been a decently powerful ghost, one that had only kept getting stronger. Thinking back, it made sense how he had become a King’s Candidate with as strong as he kept getting. It was an accident, truely. However, after his years of torment and now his cracked soul, he was now weaker than he’d been when he first stepped out of the portal. 

This girl was somehow weaker than him at his weakest. She had his face, his voice, and he was sure those had been his shorts. Something about her felt wrong. He couldn’t place it and with every cut and bite he cared a bit less. She was still a King’s Candidate, one that had trespassed into his haunt and directly challenged him.

 The Realm’s hadn’t cared that he was weaker than Pariah, they wouldn’t care that this girl was weaker than him. 

A lull in the fight, the both of them standing glaring at each other with heavy breaths. They were both bleeding mostly green from cuts and bites going up and down their whole bodies. The girl’s mouth was hanging open, her fangs dripping with both of their blood. Her nose was still bleeding, and he had gotten a good cut in on her cheek. She had gotten him several times in the head. He whipped some of the blood away from his eye. Bruises were blanketing his arms and legs, and he suspected her’s were the same way. 

She made to step towards him, but her foot partially phased through the floor causing her to stumble a bit before catching herself. She remained standing, but didn’t try to step closer again. As they continued to glare, her feet began to goop under her. As if she didn’t notice she was actively melting, green energy again swirled around her fists. 

He pointed to her feet. “You gonna do something about that?”

She looked down and screeched. He wasn’t sure what she had been trying to do, but she picked up one of her partially melted feet before promptly falling onto her butt. A scared whine escaped her as she frantically tried to mold the ectoplasm back into her feet. 

Slowly, he walked over. Her panic only worsened as he got closer, but she wasn’t able to do anything about it. The melting had spread to her knees, the green puddle around her only growing by the second. He knelt down. 

“Get away from me!” 

“Focus on your body.”

“What?!” She cried. 

He pointed to his chest where his core was supposed to be. “Normally, you focus on your core right? To use your powers?” She didn’t answer, panicked sobs hitching in her throat. “Don’t do that. Focus on your body. Your knees, how they feel. The bones, the skin, how they bend. Your leg, your ankles. Toes. Your physical body. What its like to move, for them to be warm or cold.” 

The girl nodded, closing her eyes and following his words. As he spoke, the spread of her dissolvement stopped. “You have to remember what if feels like to have them there, not the feeling of them being gone. Try wiggling your toes.”

“But they’re not-”

“Don’t think about that. You don’t have to mentally go over how to move your body, do you? You just do. So, keep your eyes closed and wiggle your toes.”

She nodded. Then, as realization hit her, she opened her eyes. Danny smiled at the relief that spread across her face. “It worked!” She shook a foot triumphantly. 

“I’m calling this my win.” 

“Hey, that’s not-”

He held up a hand, a blast ready to hit her point blank in the face. “-Your choice.” She frowned, but didn’t move to continue the fight. Now that he had defeated the invading candidate, Danny felt calm. All the anger and eagerness to fight and defend his throne left him. He sat down on the floor, crossing his legs and trying to ignore how much his chest hurt. The girl pinched her nose and tilted her head back. “Lean forward not back, stupid.” 

She did as he said, grumbling, “I’m not stupid.” 

“You’re sure acting stupid. Why the fuck would you challenge me when you’re destabalizing like that?” She didn’t answer. 

He whipped his face with the bottom of his hoodie. His knight was near, in the tower and if he were to guess almost to them. His eyes found Tony, standing guard near the stairs, his arm still in the partially formed suit. He held a thumbs up. Understandably pissed, the man marched over. “What the fuck was that about?”

Danny shrugged, failing to hide his wince at the action. “She’s a King’s Candidate.” 

“What?” Tony looked at the girl, who simply shrugged. 

“She trespassed into my haunt.”

“You’re- this is my house!”

“And I’m haunting it.”

“Your stupid highness’s haunt covers like half the damn city.” The girl sounded unreasonably mad at the size of his haunt. 

“Big talk from someone who doesn’t know how to use their damn powers.”

“You didn’t do much better!”

“I was tortured for years, what’s your excuse?!”

“I don’t have to tell you anything!”

He flashed angry green eyes at her. “Yes you do.” She visibly shrunk under his gaze. 

From across the room, he heard Ben call out,”Tony! There’s a bunch of people here!”

While Tony groaned and pinched his nose, Peter’s voice sounded, “Damn it kid move!” 

The three of them looked up, finding the WEB warriors pushing past Ben. Relief, confusion, and concern flitted through him from his knight. Peter ran towards them, kneeling next to him. As he went over his injuries, the others followed suit. While tense, it was clear that they were relieved that the situation had already ended. 

“Why are there so many people in onesies here?” The girl asked.

While Peter ignored her comment, Miles didn’t. “Onesies?!” 

Danny laughed. Tony sighed. “Are you friends with everyone you fight?”

“Actually, I don’t know her.” The candidate flipped him off. He returned the gesture. “Bitch.” 

“Dick.”

“Puddle.”

“Hey!”

“Ben,” Tony looked to the young spider, “Go grab the big first aid kit.” Tony’s weaponized arm sleeve reformed back into a simple band. 

As Ben left, someone else entered. Anger rolled off the woman in waves. “Why does my whole house smell like blood?!”

Both he and the girl flinched and filled with guilt. “Sorry Pepper.” He said shamefully.

“Sorry ma’am.” The girl said.

“I have been sick all day, I finally get some rest and I wake up to two Danny- Danny why are there two of you- no. Nevermind. I’m going out, and when I get back there better not be any more injuries.” She walked out, “And get rid of that smell!” 

“Oops.” Danny looked to Tony. Then, he looked back to the girl. “So, who the hell are you anyway?”

She huffed. “Guess.” 

He glared. “You’re a halfa.” 

Her voice was muffled as she held her nose tighter, rolled her eyes and said, “Wow, I would have never noticed.” 

He groaned. He had his suspicions, but why couldn’t she just say it? 

Before he could question him further, Peter began taking products from the first aid kit, tossing some to Gwen. The pair of them began dabbing away ectoplasmic blood from them, Peter tending to him and Gwen to the girl. Miles and Harry, clearly feeling the need to be helpful in the home they had barged into, were picking up boxes and grabbing things to clean the ghostly blood from the walls. 

The girl flinched away from Gwen, who sighed and asked gently, “Can I please help?”

Suspicion thick in her eyes, the girl eyed the Ghost Spider. “Maybe a little.” She relented. 

On his end, Peter was examining the bite on his shoulder. “Should we try the vat again?” 

To answer, he shifted to his human form, cementing the injuries further. The change caused them to bleed and ache more, but the pain in his core lightened. Danny realized that he'd been unbalanced. His human half was healthier than his ghost half, even if his cracked core existed within both. Breifly he considered constantly injuring himself to ease the burden on his ghost half, but quickly dismissed the idea. Hed talk abojt it with Peter later. 

He had a lot to talk to his knight about later. 

“No, sometimes its better to just, heal.” 

Peter sighed, pressing some guaze onto the bite. “Fine.” 

The two halfas had to wait to continue their questioning while the spiders, under the supervision of Tony and Ben, patched them up. At some point the girl also returned to her human form, allowing Danny to confirm that the shorts she had really were an old pair of his. They had the same faded blue stain on the bottom hem where he'd once whipped some pen ink, not realizing it wouldn't come out. 

Danny was tired. This was not what he had planned for today. He wanted to go over the information about the Emerald Wings, to figure out as much as he could before even trying to think of what to do. So far all he'd done was add more questions to his ever growing list. Why did they have all of their stuff? It was as if someone had just taken all the information they had relating to ghosts from his parents, Vlad, and himself. Which, fine, he could understand why someone would want all that, but why bring it here? Without a source of ectoplasm, most of the weapons wouldn't work, let alone a portal. None of it made sense, and now he had yet another thing to be stressed about. 

“So,” Ben spoke up as Gwen and Peter finished covering them with bandages of varying sizes and types, “Are you his clone?” 

“Aw come on!” The girl complained. “I was gonna pretend I was his cousin and see how long it took!” 

Danny gave an unamused chuckle. “One, I don't have a cousin, and two, even if I did the chances of them being a halfa are basically zero.” 

“Ooh, what do you think, statistically, the chances of someone being a halfa are?” Miles called from the corner. 

“Uh, I'm not the best at math but…” the girl crossed her arms, “There's only three in all of the realms so like… low?” 

“Three?” Tony would latch on to that. 

The girl, his clone, looked at the man, genuine surprise in her blue eyes. Then she snapped back to him. “They don't know?” He matched her accusatory tone with a flat glare. “You didn't mention him once?!”

“What's it to you?” 

“He spends years trying to save you and you don't even mention him?!” The girl began to stand but was pushed down by Gwen. “After everything, and you act like he doesn't even exist!”

“Shut up!” The light flickered. It's been a long time since hed done that. “Don't act like you know anything!” 

“I know he spent every night trying to figure out new ways to save you! All those years not a moment went by where he wasn't thinking of you,” she all but spat at him. “He cared so much, loved you so much, and your weird friends don't even know?!!!”

He gritted his teeth. Aside from a hand from his knight on his arm, he forgot about everyone else in the room. “Don't talk like you know everything about him. All this time, I bet he never told you about all the things he did to me.” 

“Just because you guys used to fight-”

“-Blood blossoms!” He cut her off. “He tried to kill me with those stupid flowers! Trapped me in a circle of them, let their pollen burn off my flesh!” That got the girl to shut up. Of all the things Vlad had done, that one was the worst. Even so, he couldn't completely hate the man. He was all that was left, truly left, of his life before. 

“He, he wouldn't.” 

“He did.” He confirmed in ghost speak. “He tried to use those flowers to destroy my core, so sorry if I'm not singing his praises.” 

“But, he loves you.” He ignored her weak protest. For this girl, he was sure her perception of reality was shattered. Her picture of Vlad was of someone who desperately wanted to save him, but she didn't know the history of it all. 

“Danny?” Peter asked hesitantly. “Who are you guys talking about?”

The girl answered, “My father, Vlad Masters.” 

As much as everyone wanted to stay and figure out more on the new clone and halfa revelations, there was no need for such a large group if heros then. So, most of WEB left to go patrol or to work more on the files. There was one particularly large one from his parents’ stuff that Danny was reasonably sure was the design to the portal. 

That left him, Peter, Tony, Ben, and one stubborn clone girl. 

After the space was tidied from the fight, Tony took them down to the very familiar med room Danny had been when he’d first arrived. The vat from Frostbite and the one made of AE were both still on the helicarrier, but the room was still equipped with some containers of AE. 

Danny and the girl both drank the AE, while the others looked at them expectantly. After the revelation that Vlad, it was weird for him to think of the man as a father, had done more than just fight him, the girl had gone mostly silent. That left him with everyone's questions. 

“Why is it always something with you?” Tony crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. Danny thought he looked entirely too tired, like he'd been working on his apparent house redecorating for days nonstop. He'd have to ask Ben if he knew anything about that, he got the feeling there was something interesting hidden in Tony's motives.

“You realise you're a superhero that lives in a tower with other heros.”

Tony frowned. “And you're a half ghost, half pain in my ass.”

“Aw, love you too.”

“Damn it kid.” 

He smiled, pleased with the bit of annoyance he had caused. Then, his knight looked at him, and guilt filled him. Why hadn't he told Peter about Vlad? Worse yet, why hadn't he told him about Dan? “Danny?”

“I guess we start with Vlad?” The girl seemed to withdraw into herself further. 

“Who?” Ben asked. 

“My god father.”

“Plasmius?” Tony asked. He shouldn't be surprised that that news had made it to the man, but it still felt a little jarring on what the heros did and did not share with each other. 

“Vlad Masters, Vlad Plasmius. Same person.” He groaned. “Old college friend of my parents, they worked on ghost inventions together.”

“Until their… falling out?” Peter asked. 

He nodded. “Vlad's half death.” He didn't want to describe it. It was too similar to his own death, and he didn't want to talk about that. So, he simplified, “An accident with one of their projects, mostly caused by my dad, turned him into the first halfa. The first being between life and death. He used his powers to help him get money and power, influence style. He was obsessed with my mom, wanted to steal her away from my dad, named a cat after her.”

“Maddie the cat died.” The girl added. “Old age.”

Danny frowned. “Oh.” As much as he had made fun of Vlad for the cat, he did like her. In the short time he had stayed with Vlad, he had spent a lot of time pettjng the fluffy creature. She wasnt as excitable as Cujo, but her calm, snuggly nature had been a large comfort. He'd held her tight before he left, her soft purr as he contemplated his decision to leave for the realms served as a sort of goodbye. “She was a good cat.” 

The girl nodded. “She was.”

Ben, ever the curious one, “What's a cat?”

The girl blinked at him. “What?”

“A cat is a type of animal, here,” Peter pulled out his phone and searched up a picture, “they look like this.”

Ben took the device and began scrolling through cat pictures. The girl gawked. “You don't know what a cat is? What, were you born yesterday?” 

Ben was ignoring her. Tony answered. “About a month ago, actually.”

Peter pointed to Ben while looking at her, “He's a clone of me, actually.” 

“What? Your guys’ world has clones?!” That seemed to bring her mood up significantly. 

“Just the one that we know of.” Tony huffed.

Ben held up the phone, a picture of a bobcat on it. “B- o- little b?” Peter took his phone back, looking over.

“And whats that spell?” His knight asked.

“B… B…” Ben huffed. “Bohb?”

The girl snorted. Danny flashed green eyes at her. “Be nice. He's just a baby.”

Peter continued helping Ben read, reminding him of the different sounds the letter ‘o’ could make. Tony seemed to bristle at the girl teasing the young spider. 

“Whatever,” the girl brushed them off. 

Tony sighed. “Ben, pajamas, reading time in a bit, okay?”

“It says Bob!” Ben announced. 

“Good job, Shorty.” Danny smiled at the pride shown on both Tony and Ben's faces. He hadn't expected Tony to take to the boy so well, but was glad that he had. “Now, tiny ghost kids-”

“-Hey!” They both protested. 

“Finish explaining.” When nither of them continued, he added, “Now.”

Danny pulled his legs close to him, knowing good and well the action did nothing to protect him. “After, my accident…” Don't ask he mentally prayed. “We ended up fighting. It was about a lot of things. Sometimes because he wouldn't lay off about my mom, sometimes because he wanted me to leave my dad and be his son instead? Sometimes it was territory spats when he kept coming into my haunt.” 

“You can't just claim all of Amity-”

“-I can and I did.” He dissmissed her. “We had a pact. We both knew each other's secret, and had to keep it from my parents. He wouldn't tell them about me, I wouldn't tell them about him. Mutual destruction and all that.” 

“He wanted to be your mentor.” The girl looked down at her feet, kicking them slightly as she spoke. “Wanted to talk to you about what its like to be a halfa, have someone to share that with?” She asked. 

He nodded. “He did, but…” He looked away from them all. “Vlad never got it. He always…” Peter sat next to him, a reasuring hand gently on his shoulder, right over his core. “Vlad isn't immortal. He ages, he grew up. He's still a halfa, but for him its different. He still, he still got to have a life. A mortal one.”

“He tried to relate to me too.” The girl cut off the silence that threatened to bloom. “But, I was never born. I never died. I've only ever been a halfa, I don't know what its like to be anything else. He thought I might understand, but, how could I?” 

“Why, not to sound mean or anything,” Peter hesitated, “but why did he make you?”

At this, the girl scoffed. “Because he missed Danny. Couldn't get to the original, so why not make another? Not that he ever stopped trying to save you,” she stared at him, “night after night, all those years, all he ever cared about was getting to you. I was a side project, a distraction from his grief. It wasn't long before he lost interest in me. No matter what I did, I was never enough. I could never be you.”

Danny tensed. That sounded like what he would expect from Vlad. “I'm sorry.”

“That's the worst part,” she laughed, though it sounded more like she wanted to cry, “You never even did anything.” 

Danny hugged his legs tighter. He wasn't surprised she had been made to feel that way, nor was he really surprised that Vlad had been trying to rescue him. Still, it left an odd feeling in his core. Was he relieved that someone had been trying to save him? Was he hurt that it hadn’t worked? Maybe he was just content knowing he wasn't forgotten. Or maybe he was angry that he'd been there for so long. 

He didn't know. 

“Wulf gave you that claw, didn't he?” Danny asked after a moment. 

She held up the claw, unsheathing it and revealing it to have some cloth wrapped around a green tinted base. It looked as if Wulf had torn the claw off himself. “He did.” She confirmed. “After Dora came back, she was telling everyone that you were summoned to a world with no portals. I guess, after the last false alarm, no one wanted to believe her.” 

Her words hit Danny harder than any of her punches. No one knew he was free? What about the yetis? Frostbite? He wasn't surprised FrightKnight hadn't said anything, but surely someone would have noticed the emblem drawn across his armour? Wouldn't that be clue enough he wasn't still trapped? Did his kingdom still believe him to be suffering as he had been? 

“No one believed Dora?”

“False alarm?” His knight was focused on a different part of the girl's sentence. 

She looked to Tony. “Do they always talk over each other?” 

“You get used to it Shark Tank.” 

“Wha- hey!” She grumped. “My names Dani - with an ‘i’ Danielle Masters.” Dani crossed her arms. 

“Great so there really are two Dannys.” Tony shook his head. 

Danny thought about joking about all the pranks that they could pull off with that, but he was too hurt to know that Vlad had cloned him and literally named the clone after him. If Dani had been close enough to him, would Vlad have abandoned the idea of rescuing him? Did it even matter? 

“Nope, I'm calling you Chompers.” Danny declared. 

“My name is Dani!” Chompers protested.

He shook his head, laughing a bit as he uncurled from himself. “No. My name is Danny. You shall be Chompers.” Her aggravation only furthered the amusement he got from the interaction. 

“Alright, Shark Tank, Pipsqueak, Pajamas, Shorty.” Tony never used anyones actual name. “One- what do we do about SharkTank?” Before any of them could answer, he held up a hand, silencing them. “Two,” he gave a stern look to Chompers, “What are you planning to do here?” From his tone, it was clear he wanted the second question answered first. 

Chompers shrugged. “To see if he really was free.” 

“Then why fight him?” Ben asked. 

The young halfa looked down, a bit shamefully. “That… wasn't my original plan, but… When I got here I was already in his haunt and, you know…” 

Danny sighed. “Fighting is a ghost thing. Made worse by me being the king and her being a candidate.” 

“Whys fighting a ghost thing?” Ben asked. 

“Later, Shorty. Different questions rigjt now.” Ben frowned at Tony. Danny appreciated the shut down of the question game. He really wasn't in the mood for that right then. 

“Well, I guess I could head back. Let the others know you’re-”

“-Did Vlad ever do anything to stabilize you?” Her dejected face was answer enough. He turned to Tony. “She needs help. If she stays like this she’ll melt.” 

There were many problems with figuring out how to keep her from turning to goop. This world wasn't suited for treating ghosts like them, lacking both knowledge and experience. The ghost book mightve had something, but since Peter had burned it it wasn't exactly an option. They could ask Strange to get Frostbite again, but Danny had a suspicion that the yeti wouldn't have a solution for them. 

Tony hummed, mumbling about what sprt of tests they’d need to run to figure out why she was unstable. Peter’s face scrunched as he interjected that they didn't even know what part of her was the problem. Was her ghost half too weak? Her human half too underdeveloped? Was it her relation to Danny? Her confusion position as candidate? Unfortunately, Chompers had no answers for them, and was a bit preoccupied looking lost at all the concern directed her way. 

Danny yawned. “How do you even figure out how to fix a melting clone?” 

“Hey, Slug.” Danny looked to Ben, finding him with a stern expression and a clenched fist. “I know a guy.”

Chapter Text

May’s day began with a headache. It had been a long night of convincing herself everything was okay, but for the life of her she couldn't ease her worries. She remembered the first time Horizon High was attacked. She knew her boy was a smart and capable child, not that it had helped with her fear then, but she had been confident that despite the danger Peter would be okay. Then the attacks kept happening, escalating till the school was destroyed in the wake of the Symbiote Invasion. 

She'd never admit it to Peter, but a part of her had been relieved that Horizon was never rebuilt. As wonderful as the opportunity was, the danger that seemed to follow the students kept her up more nights than she cared to count. Midtown had been safer, even if it also had experienced its share of villain attacks. That seemed to be the norm for their world now. She was just thankful that neither Horizon nor Midtown had an incident like at Bilderberg Academy. She couldn't imagine how much it must have shook poor Grady to have been exploited by his own school in a plot to steal powers from the Avengers. The few times she’d spoken with him, she got the feeling that he had yet to fully recover from that ordeal. 

Midtown was safer. 

Wasn't it? 

Danny had been doing so well after his power flair up that she knew the boys were lying about. Out of nowhere he was gone for five days, with Peter sticking close to him and Miles nervously checking his phone for updates. They'd told her his powers had become unstable and he was being isolated for his and everyone else's safety. Unfortunately for Peter and Miles, May wasn't so dense as to not notice the lie. They had stumbled around telling her where he was, leading her to the natural conclusion that for some reason, her boys didnt know. 

Then, just as suddenly, Danny was back. Peter and Miles relaxed and it was almost as if nothing had been wrong in the first place. Almost. 

Danny’s fatigue grew. He slept more and more, passing out at the table the moment his food was gone on several occasions. When she asked how he was feeling, her youngest would simple yawn and say he was tired. Once again May was left wondering what they were hiding. 

When Danny insisted that despite his condition he was ready to go to school, May found herself relieved. The dull eyes she'd seen in him were fading. Little by little it was like the child was learning to live again. So, even as he had yawned and wondered his way into the school, she had been happy. Maybe he would make some friends? Sure, it was clear he enjoyed hanging out with Peter and Miles, but they were six years older than him. The boy could benefit from being around more kids his age. He'd been so cheerful around Ben, after all. 

Then the school got attacked.

More villains, after some poor white haired boy with powers. New, younger heros stepped up and did their best to handle the situation. It was the usual tale, the ever shifting struggle of power for both greed and protection. Only this time, when she got there she was met with pale faces and whispers of a dead child.

Then she heard that dead child was Danny, and it was like the world stopped around her. When her Ben had been killed, it was like the world had vanished beneath her feet. She’d felt like she was falling, desperately reaching for a hand she knew wasn't there anymore. If not for Peter, she wasn't sure she'd have ever stopped falling. 

Peter had nodded firmly at the news, placed a hand on her shoulder, and promised her that the boy was okay. When she looked into her nephews eyes, there wasnt any fear in them. Peter hadnt been concerned about the news of Danny being dead, because somehow, he had known he wasnt. Peter walked off with a confident and calm stride, returning only a few minutes later with a guilty faced Danny. 

She crumpled around the boy, pulling him close and holding him as if a hug could keep him safe forever. Despite knowing it would hurt him, she had pressed him close and felt his heart. Slow, not quite right, but alive. Her youngest was okay. No new injuries, no sign that anything had been wrong. 

Beneath her relief, May felt herself grow suspicious. Peter had come with her to the school as soon as theyd heard about the attack. He had the same knowledge as she did, so why, when students told them that Danny hadnt had a pulse, was her nephew so calm? She knew Pete was attached to the boy. May had watched as the pair grew close, becoming brothers bit by bit. Peter had instantly told her the boy was okay, then had gone and found him when no one else could.

Was this because of their growing bond, or was there more to it? 

She sighed as she stretched out some lingering soreness from her bowling session. She was still considering cutting her schedule down, though every time she brought it up the boys all told her she should do whatever she wanted. Glancing at the time, she figured everyone should be home soon. Miles was upstairs, the occasional clink of whatever robot he was working on drifted down to the rest of the house. 

It was a quiet, relaxed sort of evening. The kind where despite her concerns she could almost push them aside to enjoy the peace. Almost. Her headache had persisted through the day, a subtle soreness she attributed to stress. She sighed. 

Chili sounded good for dinner. 

As she set about making dinner, starting early so as to make enough for everyone's questionably large appetites, May found her mind contemplating the lies she had been told. Or more accurately, the omitted truths she knew her three were hiding.

Her headache nawed at her as she made food, her mind wanting answers to questions she was scared to ask. 

When the food was nearly done, only needing to sit a bit longer, the door opened. Her ladt two boys trudged in for dinner. She turned to them, then nearly dropped the spoon she was holding. 

“Danny?!” 

She rushed over, once again pulling the small teen close to her to turn him about and search his injuries. Bruises, cuts, bite marks? Were those burns? His arms were littered with them, and his face was swollen where multiple hits had obviously landed. 

“What happened!” She blurted more than asked. “Did you fight a flaming raccoon or something?!” 

While Danny snickered, her gaze shot to Peter, “You were supposed to be watching him!” Then back to Danny, “You were supposed to stay with Peter!” 

“Uh…” Danny looked to Peter. It was the same silent, obvious plee she’d seen Miles give her nephew time and time again. 

Peter ran his fingers through his hair nervously. “He…” He sighed, defeated yet resolved. “He got into a fight.”

May blanked. Then, she turned back to Danny, still turning him about and looking at all his injuries. They'd all been treated, bandages with green speckled red blood seeping through coated her youngest. She stopped her investigation and gently brushed hair out of the boy's eyes. 

“Danny, what happened?” 

He looked away from her shyly, taking a long moment before answering. “I, um…” She could almost feel the unspoken conversation. It was clear that whatever happened, they'd forgotten to get their excuse ready before returning home. 

Danny sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit. “I got into a fight with this girl that's like me… It was, like… When we saw each other we just…” He looked back to Peter. 

“It was almost on sight. They saw each other, she challenged him, then suddenly we’ve got two teens with powers beating the sh-- fighting.” Peter shook his head. “I think they're friends now?” 

Danny looked at her, eyes brighter and, green? Okay. Whatever. “Her name is Dani with an ‘i’ so Im calling her Chompers now and she hates it.” He chuckled. 

May sighed. “Danny…” What did she even say to the boy? “I, still don't understand. You ran into another mutant girl and she decided to beat you up?” 

“What? No?” Danny tilted his head, continuing before Peter's warning glance could register. “She challenged me and I won.” 

“You won?” She again took in the state of her boy. His skin was covered in wounds. These were the injuries of the victor? 

Danny seemed to register her new line of worry. “She's okay!” He blurted. “Gwen helped patch her up and she's alright now.” 

Peter seemed to catch her line of thought. “We already handled it all. No one’s in trouble for the fight.”

She sighed, directing the boys to the table. “Do you have her family's contact information?” Another shared look. “Did no one talk to her parents or guardian?” With a pause, and more hesitant faces, May felt her gut tighten. “Did she have anyone to contact?”

“Uh, she has a dad, but…” Danny began. 

“She's staying with a program right now, I guess relations with her dad are pretty tense right now. We already talked to the people who're watching her. Turns out getting into fights has been a pretty normal thing for her.” 

More lies and hidden truths. She sighed. “If you see them again, please give them my phone number, just if they want to talk about it or if it happens again.” May frowned at Danny. “No more accepting challenges.” 

Danny gave her a proud, toothy grin. “Is that a challenge?”

Her little fight happy boy fell asleep the moment his chili was gone, the bowl still clutched in his hands as if even unconscious he was worried the food would be taken away. May had tried to pry details of the fight, but all she really got was Danny commenting that he was worried that her powers were too much for her body. Not that anyone told them what her powers were, which normally she wouldn't even care.Though that was before the kids got into a fight. Peter kept promising that she was fine, but was that true? Danny's soul ice was too much for him to handle, and yet the boy was concerned about Dani's powers. The thought left a bad feeling lingering in along with her headache. 

Peter stood, “I'll get the dishes.” He eyed Danny's bowl. “Most of them.” He joked. May smiled. She gently brushed the sleeping teen’s hair, assessing how asleep he was. With no reaction, she carefully uncurled his fingers from the dish, giving it to her nephew with a sly grin. “Or all of them.” 

“Impressive,” Miles nodded his approval. 

“This is not my first go around with kids, you know.” She winked. 

She hoped her doubt didn't reach her voice. Danny was a different situation than her other two. 

 Peter had been so young when his parents died. He had only been five, and it had been difficult to help both her husband and her nephew with their grief. As much as she loved raising Peter, she often found herself wondering what their loves would have been like. If they had been late to the airport, missed one turn or took just a bit longer to find a parking spot. How easy it would have been to have not been on time. Any number of small decisions and Peter would have still had his parents. 

It took a long time for all of them to heal from that loss. She still remembered the first time Pete's face had gotten that small spark of wonder back. They were at the museum, visiting a children’s day event. While other kids had been wowed by the large bubbles they could stand in and the floating balls in the air current, her little Peter had taken to a large scale periodic table. It was built in such a way that it could be stood on, and she'd watched as he became enamored by the different elements. Her and Ben had done their best to explain each one, but quickly were unable to answer all the questions bubbling out of their nephew. 

Science had brought life back to her nephew.

Miles was also a different story. His father had vanished. Abruptly he had no one there to support him. His last family member was gone. She remembered the weeks of investigators and lawyers and such coming to her house, all interrogating the poor boy about his father. Where was he? Did he have any enemies? Has he been in contact? The same questions over and over. 

Miles never had any answers for them. May would catch the subtle relief on his face whenever one of them left. He once confided in her that he was scared he'd never see his dad again. It was a different kind of hurt than she had seen before. It was the grief of loss but with no certainty to it. Was his father okay? Was he alive? Would he come back? Could he? If so, why hadn't he? As the days turned to weeks, months, years, Miles had stopped talking about his dad. He settled into her home with a broken heart that he buried under smiles and engineering. 

Both Miles and Peter were good boys. They hadn’t necessarily been easy to care for, but they weren't too difficult either. There had been ups and downs of course, but she had never found herself as scared for them as she was for Danny. 

Those sad eyes looking at her, pizza crust in his hand, bandages covering his body. 

Shed never had to navigate the needs of a child who had suffered physical trauma like this. This wasnt the stray injury that would heal and become a funny story down the line. This child had been tortured. Hed been starved. He had reached the point where it was clear he didnt care that he was still breathing. 

Was she doing enough? 

There was so mucb that went into carring for the boy. Randomly, hed forget he was allowed to eat. The other day shed found a stash of snack wrappers tucked into his pillow. Shed waited for both Peter and Miles to be gone before asking him about it. The answer nearly broke her heart all ovwr again. 

Danny had kept them so he could prove to himself that he had eaten. 

The boy took comfort in the evidence that he had food. It was why he held so tightly to his bowl even in his sleep, or would wait till the last possible moment to throw away a wrapper. The image of him reaching a hand into his pillow case just to confirm that he had food nearly made her break in front of the child. 

She felt so bad for telling him he needed to throw them away, but she didnt want him to attract anything to his room. Instead, he now had a spoon in his pillow. A less pest attracting momento of proof. 

How long had Danny been starved that a full stomach wasn't enough to convince him he had food?

Then there was the nightmares. Most nights Peter made it to his room before her. It was like her nephew had a sense for when the boy would have them. There werr still plenty of nights where May was the one to soothe Danny. Shed speak to him, calmly reasuring him that he was safe. She had thought the ice would be a bigger problem for her, having never experienced comforting a scarwd mutant child before, but the ice rarely attacked anymore. Instead, it would cover everything, like an extra shield against the memories. 

What did make calming the nightmares harder though wrrw the times Danny spoke in his sleep. Cries of no and dont touch me still rang in her ears. Half lucid snippets of his history untold gave May many questions she filled away as things she couldn't ask about. 

On one night, instead of only waking up enougj to see he wasnt where his dream had taken him, Danny had woken up more fully. It was with a tear soaked voice that had asked her, “You think I'm still human, right?” 

Of course she did. She reassured him, hugged him, rocked him back and forth till he drifted back to sleep. When she had returned to her room that night, she cried. 

Miles interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. “Is everything all right?” 

She smiled. Her boys were so kind. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

Miles’s face pinched together. “You sure? You look like you could use a nap or something.” 

She laughed. A nap didn't sound so bad. “I just have a bit of a headache, nothing serious.” She relented just a bit. May wasn't about to share the stress that had caused her headache, but if she didn't tell the boy something she knew he’d fret. 

From the look he was giving her, he was unconvinced she was fine. Miles opened his mouth to continue, but suddenly he straightened and began looking about the room with a panicked expression. Before May could ask, the sound of glass shattering called their attention to the kitchen. 

Peter waa standing, his gaze fixated on the table, no, on Danny. The remnants of a broken plate in his hands, as if it had exploded while he held it. Just as quickly as it had broken, her nephew was in front of her and Miles. A pulse of energy hit them, but both boys were able to steady her to keep her from falling. 

Peter searched her for injuries. “Are you okay?” His voice was firm, quick, and panicked. 

She nodded. 

That was all her boys needed. Peter rushed to Danny, while Miles stood defensively between her and them. “Peter?” 

She wasn't answered. Peter gently touched Danny's shoulder, then retracted his hand. It was as if he'd accidentally touched the burner of the stove. Peter looked to Miles, “He's burning!” May caught a redness to his hands that hadn't been there before. 

“I’ll call Dr. Cho.” May pulled out her phone. She was ready to dial, but was prevented from unlocking her cell. There was a green sticky note on her screen, one she had definitely not put there herself. She took the paper, her mind feeling a bit numb from the strangeness and rapidness of events. 

Do not move him. Call 1-######

“We should lay him down,” Miles suggested. 

“No!” May blurted, unsure of why she was so ready to take the advice of the note. She pulled it off her phone, hesitating only a moment before calling the unknown number. 

From her hand, Miles took the note. He frowned at it, but said nothing. She listened to the ringing, her stomach tangling. 

What was even happening? 

The call connected, and a stern, though confused voice answered. “Who is this and how did you get this number?” 

Were Peter and Miles not freaking out about Danny, and May not rattled by the uncertainty of what happened, she'd be more upset by the rude voice. “Sorry, this is May Parker…” Why had she called? Because a strange note that definitely wasn't in her pocket before told her to? 

“Pete, isn't this number?” Miles showed Peter the note. 

Pete's eyes widened and he locked on to her. “Aunt May! Put him on speaker!”

“Ah, okay.” She fumbled with the screen, “Uh, okay you’re on speaker now?” 

“What? Mrs Parker how did-”

“-Strange!” Peter called. Peter knew this man? “We need you here now!” 

“Where are you?” 

“At home!”

“Peter, I don't know where-” May interrupted to give the stranger (heh) her address. Abruptly, the call ended. Just as she was about to ask what any of this was about, red and gold sparked within her kitchen, forming a circle that was very clearly a portal of some sort. She caught a glimpse of books and intricate artwork before a man stepped through, the portal closing behind him. 

He wore a blue tunic and a red cape, his greying hair styled neatly. May gasped, recognizing the avenger instantly. 

“Dr Strange! Somethings wrong with Danny!” Miles blurted. 

The man nodded, making his way with decisive steps. An avenger, in her house. Sure, Tony had been there before, but not in her house, not so suddenly. 

All she could do now was watch and worry, biting back the questions that swirled within her. 

“He’s burning, like, literally.” Peter held out his hand as proof. “And his power went wild again, like it did that first night.” 

Dr Strange was involved with her little Danny? Not one, but two Avengers had taken care of the boy? She knew that Tony had cared for him, and she had been curious about that. She did ask, back after Danny had first appeared, but was told the investigation was classified. At the time, she was fine with that answer. Now? She was wondering how the Wizard Supreme was connected to it all. 

Dr Strange frowned after looking at Danny. He held out his hands and muttered some spell May didn't have any hope of understanding. Red gold bands appeared and encircled Danny, who woke with a shriek. 

Miles held both her and Peter back from him. 

Danny’s eyes locked onto Strange, but they weren't his normal eyes. They were a luminescent green with no whites or pupils. Just, glowing green that gave the child a sort of angry look to him. 

Then he spoke, a distorted voice that cracked almost like TV static in a distant room. He spoke in a language May had never heard before. She didn't know Danny knew another language. Then again, it was apparent there was a lot she didn't know. More so than she had originally expected.

 Dr Strange finished his spell, still frowning. “Unfortunately, Danny, I am not able to understand your words.” Danny glared, again speaking in that unknown tongue. “S-” Dr Strange paused, cutting himself off. “Peter.” 

“Danny,” the boy's eyes snapped to Peter. “We called him here, something is wrong.” More words. Somehow the static voice also rememinded May of cracking ice. “Well, for one, you're not speaking English. And two, your skin is so hot its literally burning.” Peter tapped his chest, “Let him work.” 

The anger left Danny, replaced by a worried expression and glances between them and Dr Strange. His gaze landed on the floor. Saying nothing, the child nodded his compliance. 

Dr Strange muttered more spells, causing more rings to light up around Danny. With each ring, he flinched and groaned. May bit her tongue. What was happening? Why? What had changed? 

Danny yelped as one of the rings tightened around him, sparking and snapping the moment it touched him. He held his shoulder. Dr Strange dismissed his spells. For a moment, his eyes widened and his lip curled in. Then his face pinched, and he spoke with a voice full of anger that May recognized was more concern than it was rage. “Did you know about this?” 

While Danny didn't answer, Miles asked, “What? What is it?” 

Strange didn't answer. Instead, he snapped at Peter, “Did you know about this?!” 

May wanted to defend her boys, but no words came to her. She was frozen, stuck looking at them all like she was only a witness and not a guardian. She felt useless and unprepared and entirely lost. 

Peter's face grew a stern, angry look while his fists balled at his sides. “Can you do something about it?” From the glare her nephew wore, it was clear that he didn't believe the wizard had a solution for whatever was going on. 

“Not much.” He crossed his arms. “Do you two have any idea how serious this is? How you both though keeping quiet was a good idea-”

“-What is it?!” May blurted. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed to know what was wrong. “What is going on?”

Danny spoke, still in that language she didnt know. Miles shook his head. “Still not in English, dude.” Danny pouted, looking towards Peter with a pleading expression beneath glowing eyes. 

Why did Peter know this language? 

There was a pause in which May prayed someone would tell her anything. When no one did, only sharing looks with eachother, she adressed Dr Strange. “Tell me now. Please.” She had wanted to sound firm, to demand she be included, but her voice cracked into something pleading. She felt herself shake a bit. Why couldn't anyone just tell her? 

“Danny. Peter.” Dr Strange’s warning wemt unworded and unanswered. Peter and Danny stared at each other, the both of them looking like they'd been caught. “Fine.” Dr Strange turned to her, his voice softening while his expression remained the same. “Danny's soul is damaged. It is on the verge of shattering entirely, and if it does, he won't just die. He will cease to exist.” 

“What?” 

She felt her legs weaken. May was barely able to drop herself on the back of the couch, sitting just enough that she wouldn't fall. What did that even mean? How did something like that even happen? What did they do about it? 

Now there was shouting. Miles, about being left out of this secret. Peter about it not being his to share. Dr Strange about how foolish it was for them to have let this go on without saying anything. Danny, still not in English though presumably defending their choices. 

“Enough!” She snapped and all fell silent. “Can you do something?” 

Dr Strange nodded. “It won't fix the problem, only keep it from getting worse.” He rubbed his brow. “To be honest, I'm not even sure it will be enough.” He moved to adress Danny. “I can create a shield to go around your core, think of it like wrapping a wound. I can also make it so that should your core be about to incur further damage, your body will manifest injury instead.”

Danny said something, his off voice quiet and not looking. Peter spoke, “He says he thinks thats already been happening.”

Dr Strange sighed. “That's so much worse.”

May held her arms close, a position somewhere between a hug and a prayer. “After, after that, what do we do? How do we fix this?” She still didn't understand. His soul? His core? May had already known she was out of the loop, but to be so far removed that she didnt, couldnt, know that her youngest was in danger of his soul being destroyed? The how’s and why’s pounded with her heart in her ears. 

“What we’ve been doing. Medicine and peace. Comfort, support, those kinds of things.” May shouldn't even be surprised at this point that her nephew had knowledge regarding healing a soul. 

“I will search for more. Until then, “ he gave a pointed look to Danny, “Limit your abilities.” Danny huffed, though didn't protest further. For a breath, May's mind stalled further. He was already limiting his powers, wasn't he? He had told her himself that he could barely use his soul ice-

The nightmares. 

Every night, the blankets of frost, the shields of ice, the cold air. She should have known those were not helping. Each time he unconsciously fought in his sleep, had he been unknowingly chipping away at his soul? Then there was his fight from earlier that day… that couldn't have helped either. 

“I suggest we make space,” Dr Strange interrupted her thoughts, “this spell will require room, and I'd rather not damage your home.” 

May couldn't care less about her home at that moment, but she appreciated that her other two boys now had something else to do than panic. 

May walked over to Danny, his glowing eyes following her. It was hard to read his expression, but the rest of his body gave away his thoughts. He held his left arm across his chest, his hand gripping his right shoulder. His right arm pressed the left further into him. Sweat gathered in beads around his brow and his breath labored slightly. She reached out a hand to him, and he flinched away from her, protesting in that confusing, cracking language. 

She didn't need to understand his words to hear the fear and concern. Peter translated anyway. “He doesnt want to hurt you.” 

“And he wont.” She gave her best reasuring smile. She took the edge of her shawl and wrapped her hand. Then, she gently wiped the sweat off her youngests face. As lost as she felt, as scared as she was, there was one thing she could do. 

The heat was uncomfortable even in the makeshift guard she had made. Danny had always been cold and his power, or at least one of them from what she could infer from the conversations, was ice based. Him having a fever, one of such strength that it had burned Peter, couldn't be good. How high must his temperature be? How was he still awake in such a condition? 

Danny shifted so as to hold a hand to his throat. Slowly, he managed some words in English. “I’m… Sor…” His voice was splintered and difficult to understand.

She shushed him. “Hush now, my sweet soul.” She whipped slick hair out of his eyes. “We’ll get this all figured out, you’ll be alright.” She hoped she wasn't lying. 

No, she knew she wasn't. Peter already had knowledge of this. Dr Strange would work on it as well. Miles would contribute any way he could, just as he always did. 

A hand cupped her shoulder. “Mrs Parker, its time.” Dr Strange guided her away from Danny. She hoped her expression was reassuring. She could be reassuring, right?

May’s day had begun with a headache, but was ending with a heartache.

She wished her Ben was there.

 After Dr Strange completed his spell, assuring them that he would search for a way to fix this problem, she looked to her two conscious boys. Miles avoided her gaze, while Peter held it. 

“Aunt May…” Her nephew sounded so tired. “I know you want answers, and you deserve them, but…” he sighed. “Can you wait for them? Please?” 

Could she? “You want me… to act like this didn't happen, don't you?” 

“Not forever, just…” Peter groaned. “Just not yet. Just, can you trust me on this, Aunt May?” 

She looked into her Peters eyes. Sometimes she still saw the little boy fascinated by sciences she didn't understand. Other times she saw the young boy mourning his parents, or the young teen mourning his uncle. Right then? She saw a young man resolute. Her Pete had grown into a fine adult, a responsible one who not only was capable of taking care of himself, but others as well. 

“I trust you.” She always would. 

Chapter Text

Danny didn't like this. One moment he was sleeping relatively peacefully, the next he was surrounded by magic. He hated how it felt around him. It was constricting, like walls threatening to close in on him. Magic of the living wasn't like that of the dead. It was confusing and painful.

It was also a snitch.

Why couldn't anything go the way he wanted? He was supposed to be working on getting to the bottom of the Emerald Wings. Then that got interrupted and he was supposed to be helping find Model to help get Dani stabilized. Now that had been interrupted by needing to return home, but the plan was to wait to see if anything turned up amd continue searching tomorrow. 

Then he woke up surrounded by magic that very quickly told his secrets to the wizard. It just got worse from there. It was so hot, his body was covered in sweat. His shoulder hurt, no- his core. It felt like he was splintering. Apparently ignoring the pain from earlier had been the wrong choice. What else could he have done though? He had to defeat the king's candidate, protect his haunt from the then intruder.

 He really was a weak and pathetic king. 

Dr Strange directed him to sit in the center of the space, the furniture all smooshed to the walls giving them a wide berth. He tried to stand, but his feet failed him. The pain in him worsened with the movement, stealing his energy and causing him to gasp. 

He was caught in a swirl of fabric. Spots of darkness danced across his vision. He felt himself caring less about what was going on. Somewhere he felt guilt of the concern he had caused, but what had even happened? 

Oh, right. He was breaking. 

“Danny,” Strange stood over him, the fabric that had caught him floating above him a moment before returning to the wizard's shoulders. Huh. Danny thought. He didn't know the cape could do that. “I apologize, but for this to work I need to know where your core is.” 

Did he trust Strange? He should. The man helped Dr Cho put him back together. But this was his core. His core that was breaking. Peter had placed his trust in the wizard. Should Danny? Did he even have a choice? 

Hidden behind Dr Strange, Danny pointed to his shoulder. He didn't watch as Dr Stranges face failed to hide the concern. If anyone in this world were to know of how serious moving his soul was, it would be him. 

“Why?” 

Danny didn't try to answer verbally, not trusting his words to be English. Why was he stuck in ghost speak anyway? He didn’t like all the questions he'd have to face later. Ignoring the future, he pointed to his chest. Strange knew of the scar that hid under his shirt. 

“I see.” Strange stood and held his hands in front of him. “This will probably hurt.” Danny didn't have a chance to prepare for the pain. 

Hot bands of magic encircled him, ancient words in languages he didn't know carved themselves in gold around his body. The bands melted and wove themselves into fabric while Dr Strange chanted. The fabric continued to form as it funneled itself into his body, wrapping around his core. 

He screamed, and the world faded away. 

Pain was normal. It had been for a long time now. He didn't know for exactly how long, but his best guess was five years. Before that, the pain wasn't physical. The grief of loss had filled him entirely. Everyone had been stolen from him, in less than a day. Their eyes flashed in his mind. He was the last thing all of them saw. They had watched him fail to save them. 

“Think of a time before your soul fractured. Something peaceful, calm, safe.” Who was talking to him? 

What was safe? 

His mind brought him to a place he knew well. He ran in sock clad feet, pounding on the door, his little hands just shy of reaching the handle. 

‘Jazz! Jazz! Jazz!’ If she didn't wake up soon he was already planning to get a chair. ‘Wake up wake up wake up!!!’ He pounded his little fists harder. 

Lazily, the door opened. Jazz had her hair braided behind her. She wore fuzzy pajama pants and a flannel top. An eye mask was pushed up like it was a headband. Blearily, she blinked at him. 

‘Danny?’ 

He couldn't hold his excitement. He bounced, his feet squishing into the carpet with each movement. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the entrance to the ops center. They weren't allowed in without their parents, but Danny didn't care. 

‘Cmon!’ Thankfully, his sister was too tired to protest. It was always easier to get her to do what he wanted when she was sleepy. His favorite hobby being one best enjoyed at night just worked out perfect with that. 

They made it to the top, where the telescope was neatly placed. All that remained between him and his key to seeing the stars was one more door handle he just couldn't reach yet on his own. 

‘Jazz! Jazz! Jazz!’ He was too eager to even try to ask her to get the door. She was smart. She’d figure out what he wanted. 

‘Quiet you little- wait. Danny.’ She scolded, more awake than she had been.

He frowned and put on his saddest face. The poutiest eyes a not quite four year old could muster. ‘No, Danny. Its late, we’re supposed to be in bed.’

He sniffled, all fake and entirely intended to manipulate his sister. ‘I just wanna see the stars!’ He complained. 

Jazz huffed, putting her hands on her hips and leaning a bit forward. It was a bad impression of their mother, and it almost made him laugh. He couldn't laugh though, it would ruin his pouting. ‘Daniel James Fenton. You know we are not supposed to be up here this late.’

He blinked sadly at her. When she didn't falter, he decided to ditch his attempt to sway her using his fake tears for something he only saved for important moments. 

The stars were important. 

‘If we get caught we’ll both be in trouble.’ He grinned. Jazz was such a rule follower. The kind of kid to tattle on themselves when they did wrong. It made conspiring harder, but it also gave him what he needed to get her to do what he wanted. Read- open the door. 

‘Why would I be in trouble?’ Jazz held firm, but Danny knew he would win.

‘Mom told you not to open doors for me, and you did that, uh, 3 times!’ He declared proudly. 

Jazz frowned, taking her hands off her hips. She held up her fingers. “This is three. You're holding up two.’ 

He fixed his mistake without acknowledging it. ‘The stars, Jazz! The stars!’ Didn't she know he needed to see them?

‘Quiet!’ But it was too late. Suddenly the both of them were lifted high into the air. Jazz shrieked with a scared yelp, while Danny laughed and wiggled his short legs. 

‘Caught you!’ His dad announced. Danny howled with laughter as he squirmed in his fathers arms. They were in trouble, he knew, but it wasn't the sort of trouble they’d get a time out for. No, just an amused scolding. 

Jazz didn't know that though. She looked far less happy dangling in their mothers grip. Maddie sighed as she shook her head, rajusting so as to hold her daughter more comfortably. Jazz looked like she was about to pass out right there. 

Danny had managed to get himself upside down. He wriggled and kicked, unconcerned. His dad wouldn't drop him. ‘Stars! Stars!’ He called, reaching his tiny hands towards the door. 

‘Not tonight, Danno.’ His dad lifted him in the air, tossing and catching him in a better grip but leaving him upside down. Danny screeched before again being consumed by laughter. It was so much fun, being upside down as he was carried back down into the house proper. They went to Jazz’s room first, where their mom had already tucked her back into bed. 

‘Say sorry to your sister.’ His mom told him.

‘Sorry Jazz!’ Danny didn’t know what he was sorry for. Jazz was already asleep.

He was carried into his own room, where his dad gently threw him onto the bed. He yelped, but as soon as he landed Danny scrambled back to his dad. ‘Again!’ He cried. 

His dad threw him, and Danny flew. It was only scary for a moment, just for that first second that gravity remembered him. Then there was no time to keep being scared before the bed caught him and he was filled with the joy of flying. 

‘Again!’ 

This time, instead of the bed, his mom caught him. He laughed and squirmed against her, but she was better at keeping a hold on him than his dad. Somehow, his mother was always able to keep a good grip on him.

‘Danny,’ she cooed. She ruffled his hair and he batted away her hand. ‘Settle down now, its past your bedtime.’ 

‘But the stars!’ He protested. ‘The stars are up!’ 

‘Not tonight, Danno.’ His dad pulled back the curtain to his window. His mom brought him over, pointing where his dad had already directed. To Danny's dismay, the stars weren't there. ‘Its cloudy, you won't be able to see the stars tonight.’ 

Now Danny cried. Why couldn't he see the stars? The stars were his friends, didn't they like him anymore? ‘Stars!’ 

‘Danny, Danny boy come on now.’ His mother hushed him, arranging his crying form into a cradle hold. ‘Jack, could you?’

‘Of course, Maddie dear.’ 

His room got dark, and for a moment Danny cried harder. He wasn't scared of the dark. He was scared of the Nothing. In his not quite four year old form, he hadn’t been there yet. The memory of it permeated this happy moment, mixing with his old cries to not be in the dark. About ten years from this moment, he would die in a place that didn't quite exist. Danny bawled, not understanding any of it. 

‘Danno, look.’ 

Sniffling, Danny did. His cries were taken by the sight before him. Bright spots of light covered his walls and ceiling, decorating the room in a mimicry of the night sky. 

‘Stars!’

His parents tucked him into his bed, but with his protests stayed and watched the stars with him. His bed was too small to fit all three of them, but he was able to convince his mom to curl around him for a snuggle. His dad knelt beside the bed, his bulking form a shield against the Nothing.

His mother brushed her fingers through his hair, and his father ran his thumb across his shoulder. His parents were strong, and he was so small. The fake stars shone around him. All was quiet and calm. 

Safe.

This was safe. 

This also wasn’t real. 

Danny curled closer to his mom, and grabbed his dads hand. He could feel them. They were soft and warm and alive. Tears gathered in his young eyes. 

‘Danno?’ His dad asked. 

‘You guys are gonna die.’ They already had. 

‘One day, Danny, one day.’ His mother hushed him in his ear. Her voice tickled.

‘One day, hopefully when you’re much, much bigger.’ His dad kissed his forehead. ‘You’ll be alright, Danno.’ This hadn't been what they talked about. He had asked them to tell him stories about the stars, and he had fallen asleep listening to quiet stories about constellations. 

Still, Danny wanted to bury himself in the memory. It was a comfortable place to be, in a past that existed before everything went wrong. Before he died. Before his friends died. Before his family died. Before he became king. Nothing but the love of his family and a yearning for the stars. 

Unfortunately, all dreams end. 

Danny woke in his bed, his real one at the Parker house. His hand was clutched tightly around the spoon May had given him, and his face was crusted with dry tears. 

“Hey, Danny.” His knight, ever loyal, spoke softly. “You’ve been out for a few hours. Miles is out, May is in her room.” 

“Is she?” Danny tried to sit up, but his body felt too heavy. Despite only lifting himself a couple of inches, he fell to the bed with a hard flop. He groaned, complaining into the mattress. 

Peter chuckled, though Danny caught no real amusement from him. “Strange said your powers should all still work, might even be easier. But you should really limit them.” Danny lazily held up a thumbs up. “I'm serious, Danny.” 

He shifted his head. Peter’s face was thin with stress lines highlighting his features. He looked so tired, and for a moment Danny wondered if he had ever seen the young man sleep. “Is May okay?” 

Peter sighed. “Way to ignore your own problems.” He shook his head. “She's worried. The whole thing freaked her out a bunch, but she’s alright.” 

Danny bit his lip, hesitating. “Did… did you?” 

“I didn't tell her. No one told her.” Peter rubbed his forehead. “We don't have to tell her yet, I asked her to trust me and, and she said she would, but, but…” It was Peter's turn to groan his complaint. “I feel like, at some point I'm gonna have to tell her everything, and I just. I'm not ready for her to know.” 

Danny again pushed himself up. His body felt heavy, the weight of the spell around his core noticable and uncomfortable. He managed, however, and figured he would just need to get used to it. Once situated, his eyes stared at the spoon he still held while he spoke. “We could tell her about me. Leave out your part.” 

“No, you don't have to do that. We-”

“-We could. Just, some of it. So that maybe, when she does learn everything, its not as big of a shock?” 

Peter moved from his spot to sit next to him on the bed. “You don't have to. Not if you don't want to.” 

“Like how you don't want to?” 

Peter huffed. “You know, I thought about telling her, back when this all started.” 

“Why didn't you?” 

Peter sighed. “Guilt, at first.” Danny didn't prompt him. This was something that was clearly deeply ingrained within Peter's heart. The guilt he spoke of rolled off him in thick coils.

 The quiet ghost of Ben Parker, presumably noticing the change in emotions, entered the room and watched with a concerned gaze. Danny noted how similar they looked. It would almost make more sense if Ben had been Peter’s dad rather than his uncle. 

‘Its my fault Uncle Ben died.’ He said it with such sincerity, that Danny couldn't argue that there was no way that was true. 

Ben also wanted to protest. ‘No, no it wasn't his fault.’ But only Danny could hear him.

“The man that shot him, I had met him earlier that day. He was fleeing some security guards at this wrestling place I was at… All I had to do was trip him or bump into him, anything really.” 

Innaction. That was why Peter saw himself as the reason his uncle died. 

“Not helping, when I could have, when I should have, thats what led to Uncle Ben dying.” Peter sighed. “I didn't react well to it. After… I was so angry. I hunted the man down. I was still new to my super strength, controlling it wasn’t easy, especially when I was emotional, but, I didn't care. I was going to kill that man.” 

Ben had stopped protesting his nephew's innocence in favor of listening. Danny wondered what Peter would think of him if he knew what he had done. It was a different scenario, a different kind of emotional, but where Peter hadn’t crossed that line he had. Guilt of his own curled around him. 

“When I saw that it was the man from earlier, that shocked me out of it. He got away from me, but not the cops. Twenty five to life. Twenty one now…” Peter ran his fingers through his hair, holding his head a moment before straightening. “For a while, thats why I didn't tell May. I couldn't tell her that it was my fault.” 

Danny wanted to tell him otherwise, that he wasn't the one that shot Ben, but when he tried to speak he couldn’t. He realised hed be a hypocrite to say that. After all, he wasn't the one that killed everyone, but they were still dead because of him. So, instead, he said, “I can understand that.” 

Peter ruffled his hair, and Danny didn't bother to fix it. Ben sat next to his nephew, impreseptively. Danny felt for the ghost. It was hard, confronting ones own death. Made harder by disagreeing with how the living perceived it. 

“Ben’s why I became Spiderman.” Peter continued. “I decided, I couldn't make that mistake again. Uncle Ben told me, ‘With great power comes great responsibility,” his knight laughed. “I said that to myself so many times over the years, its almost annoying now.” Peter shook his head, discarding his laughter. “I don't think I realised how dangerous it would all get. I went from being a normal highschooler to having enemies that could, and would, hurt others just to get to me. So, I still haven't told her.” 

“To keep her safe.” Danny nodded. 

“Yeah, exactly.” Peter sighed. “Was it like that for you?” 

Danny hummed. “I wanted to tell them, right when it first happened, but, when I tried my mouth wouldn't move.” It had been a long time since his half death. Parts of it felt blurred. He had to focus harder than he expected to pull the right details for his story. “A month later, I tried again, but got cut off before I could say it. I think I might’ve tried a couple times after that, but it waa just too hard to. When other ghosts started attacking, things got worse. The ghosts, they could all feel I was different. They knew who I was the moment they saw me, but my parents? They never recognized the ghost boy as their son.” For emphasis, he briefly transformed into his ghost self. The change felt slower than usual, but otherwise it seemed unaffected by Strange’s spell. 

“Your enemies all knew?” He nodded. “And they never used that against you?” 

“Well, Vlad almost did, but he couldn't because if he outed me I'd just out him back.” He shrugged. “But, yeah, most of them knew. It was just the humans that didn't.” 

Humans. Danny mused. He was human, if only half, but he also wasn't. A contradictory existence. He wondered if it was okay to still think of himself as a human, even if he knew that wasn't the most accurate descriptor anymore. 

“Why?” Peter looked entirely baffled. “None of them, none of them used that against you?” 

Danny realised that this was an aspect where the two of them were entirely different. He hummed, not sure how to explain. After collecting his thoughts, he began. “My parents were ghost hunters. A lot of the fights were ghosts having themselves a hay day in the living realm, the living were either just collateral or pawns, not many actually cared.

“Amity became my haunt, and I think, even back then I was more territorial than normal ghosts. Because of that, I guess most ghosts just saw it as normal fighting, same as in the ghost zone.” He sighed. “They had no reason to tell my parents. That, and, a few times all of us had to escape them together. Maybe they felt bad for me.”

“The ghost that lived with ghost hunters.” Peter surmised. “That must've been hard.” 

Danny laughed. “Sometimes.” He nudged Peter, pushing him a bit. “Sounds like your deal is hard.” 

Peter huffed. “Sometimes.” 

They sat with that, an active hero, a former hero, and a solemn ghost. Ben was the first to depart, wordlessly taking his leave. Danny wanted to ask if he was okay, but he got the feeling the man needed a moment alone. That left Peter and Danny alone, though the former had already thought that to be the case. 

Peters phone buzzed, and he pulled it out with a frown. 

“Looks like Electro has made her appearance.” Peter sighed. 

“One of the villains from the breakout?” 

“Yup.” Danny was mildly pleased at having guessed correctly. “I should…” 

He laughed. “Nah, let's start a super important talk right now so its 10 times more awkward when you run off.” He shook his head. “I’m okay. Really.” He tucked his emotional support spoon back into his pillowcase, as if that would somehow prove that he was alright. “Go. Do hero shit, and be careful.” 

Peter laughed. “Me? Never.” 

His knight left, and for a moment Danny was alone. It was late, but he was sure May was still up. In the quiet of the house, he could hear the occasional footsteps. Likely it was May pacing. He’d seen her do that a few times. It was a casual act, one that could be mistaken for an absent wander if not for her tight shoulders and pressed lips. 

He wanted to talk to her. He stood, ready to go to knock on her door, but found himself at the desk instead. Maybe it was best to wait a moment before speaking with her. Itd give him a chance to decide what he wanted to say. 

A pencil found its way to his hand and a paper before him. It was the back of an old assignment from his assessment package, from a grade level he skipped. He had a drawing notebook, it wasn't even far, but for his wandering mind this paper fated for the recycling seemed fine enough. 

When was the last time he drew? Not when he was at the Avenger’s tower, no. When was the last time he drew while in Amity? It waa one of his more relaxed hobbies, something that didn't quite fit in with the rest of the things he loved. It was quiet and small, far from the loud and boisterous activities like his video games or ghost fighting. He remembered doodling on the sides of his schoolwork in favor of actually doing it. Did that count? Drawing stars in the margins of a lesson he had been too tired to pay attention too? 

His picture formed with more care than he intended. 

Danny took the drawing with him to talk to May, never having decided what he was going to say. 

At her door, he didn't get a chance to speak after knocking. May threw open her door and wrapped him in a tight hug. He yelped, partly because it hurt and partly because she startled him. May was warm. Unlike him, her heart beat steadily, a comforting drum that was loud with his head pressed so close. 

She broke the hug. Brushing some hair out of his face, she said, “Never scare me like that again.” 

“Sorry, May.” 

“Are you okay?” He hummed yes, though he wasn't actually sure. 

Her fingers trailed about his head and shoulders, searching around the injuries she already knew about as if she were suspicious he had managed to get more in his sleep. When she found none, a bit of relief escaped her in a sigh. “Peter already talked to me. I, won't ask. I want to, don't think I don't, but I won't. You don't have to feel like you have to tell me anything.” 

Danny hesitated. Then he shook his head, ridding himself of the idea to not say anything. “I, think I want to tell you about, some of it.” 

May nodded. She directed him into her room, where they sat on her bed. It was just like how he and Peter had been talking just a bit before. 

Danny looked at his picture, knowing May was doing the same. He didn't acknowledge it, yet. “Am I allowed to ask questions, or would you just like me to listen?” 

He shrugged. “You can ask.” 

“Okay.” May rubbed his back reassuringly. “Are you okay?” She repeated.

“Yeah.” He didn't know yet. He sighed. “Um… To start…” Damn it Danny, you already made up your mind. “I'm not a mutant.” 

He waited for her to ask the obvious ‘What are you?’ But when she didn't, he curled into his legs, hugging them while being careful not to crinkle his picture. “Im, or maybe I was, still a human. Just, not entirely anymore. I, don't want to go into that.” Did he even still really think of himself as human? Both and neither, wasn’t it? Maybe Spectra was right, all those years ago. Maybe he was just a creepy little boy with creepy little powers. 

“That's okay, Danny.” How was May always so understanding? 

“I, what I am, its why my soul is more physical than everyone else's, its called a core, I don't know if anyone said that or not. It’s, think of it like an extra organ, but instead of keeping my body going, its basically just me. Like how you are your brain? I am my core.” 

May nodded, a slight hum coming from her as she processed what he told her. “After, Dr Strange's spell, is your core going to be okay now?” 

“I don't know.” He hadn’t meant to say that. “I, its probably been broken for years now. Until you took me in, I wasn't really in a place where I could even try to fix it.”

“I… Can I ask how it broke?” 

The memory of scalpels across his flesh. Blood draining from his body. Ectoplasm filling him. In. Out. Echoes of screams from nightmares ringing in his ears as he lay unable to cry out himself. The eyes of everyone he loved, dull from death. 

He handed May the picture. “I don't really know, but it was probably when they died.” 

He had drawn them, all his closest people that had been cruelly taken from him. 

He drew his father with his arm casually around his mothers shoulders, the way he would pose with her when taking a picture. He didn't have his moms hood and goggles on, favoring drawing her face instead. It was hard to give them smiles, with their scared eyes haunting his thoughts, but he did. The dream of them was fresh in his mind. It Was better to depict them happy. For the most part, they had been a happy family. A tragic end couldn't erase that. Danny didn't want to let it. 

Jazz he drew sitting cross legged with a thick book in her lap. She had cycled back to psychology for what she wanted to study at college. She wanted to be a grief counselor, to help people process loss. Danny suspected he had something to do with that choice, his half death influencing her chosen field. When she told them about it, she had made a guilty face at him when she said it, like he’d be upset by it. Maybe because, despite his death, she hadn’t grieved him. How could she though, when he was also still alive?

 Tucker he put playing a video game. He took care with his classic hat, remembering to add the little square patch where he'd repaired it after a part if it melted in the crossfire from a fight with Ember. Tuck had decided that was his own personal momento, still a fan of her band even with the close call. 

For Sam, he put her sitting in her favorite spot at her little gothic themed cafe. He didn't put much detail into the scene, just enough that it was clear she was sitting at a table drinking a vegan boba she wouldn't share with him. They'd gone together a couple of times, just the pair of them. It was their first date spot. He’d ordered a milkshake that ended up tasting gross, but Sam had teased him and pointedly not given him a sip of her drink. She did order him one of his own, after getting her fill of his pouty face. He wished they had gotten to go more. 

 They deserved better paper. They deserved better than him. 

Danny pointed to each person as he introduced them. “This is Jack, my dad. Maddie, my mom. Jazz, shes my sister. Then there's Tuck, Tucker. He was my best friend since we were in diapers. And that's Sam. She was also my best friend, and we had just started dating not long before… before all of them.” 

May placed an arm around him, gently holding him. Grounding him. He waited for her to ask, but again she didn't. Whipping some frosted tears from his face, he continued. “I lost all of them, in less than a day. I think, I think that's what started my core cracking.” 

“Oh, my sweet soul.” He leaned into her. He didn't know if it felt good to admit some of his truth to her or not. “I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how much that hurts.” He hugged her arm, unable to try to continue. Tears were staining her sleeve, but he knew she didn't mind. 

May carefully set his picture down, freeing her other arm to run circles through his hair. Danny really had been a sorry excuse for a king that day. Not only had he struggled against Dani, which he still hoped she hadn't noticed, but he had pushed himself to the point of nearly shattering. He had been pushing himself, he knew, but till that fight hadn't realised the full effect of it. Even before, when he'd used some power against Wizard, his core had ached with the strain. 

Then, he had to be rescued again. How many times has he been saved now? It was hard to keep count, but each time a bit of resentment filled him. Not towards his rescuers, never, but towards himself. He was supposed to be powerful. He used to be powerful. He used to be the one doing the rescuing. It felt wrong to need so much help, even with having spent years praying for it. 

Once calmed, he let go of May. She gave him a gentle pat. “Do you feel better?” 

He nodded. “A bit.” He sighed. “Its been a long day.” 

May laughed. She ruffled his hair. It seemed everyone loved to do that. He made a dramatic show of fixing it, a smile growing on his face. Mays fingers brushed against one of his cuts, one hidden within his hair. It was small, and didn't really hurt. Danny didn't really react, but May frowned. “You sure you're the one that won that fight?”

He huffed. “Of course I am.” He crossed his arms, as if offended. “Im a pretty good fighter, you know.” 

He meant it as a joke, but it was clear May didn't find it very funny. She gave him a pointed look that softened into something more thoughtful. “Earlier, when you said that girl was like you, shes not a mutant either, is she?”

He blinked at her. May was smart, and far more observant than any of them gave her credit for. Part of him wanted to ask what all she did know about everything, but one misplaced question could spill secrets he wasn't ready to tell. For his answer, he'd have to tread carefully.

“No, she’s not.” He hummed, looking away from her and adopting a more relaxed pose, keeping his arms close to his chest. “It's kinda complicated.” 

“I won't press.” She reminded him. 

“I know.” He believed her. “There’s others who are, sorta like me. Her included. We can get a bit, I don’t know, violent with each other. I may or may not be kinda worse about it.” 

She gave him a corkscrew look, not hiding at all that she was having trouble thinking of him as violent. “Why?” 

“I’m territorial.” He shrugged. May rolled her eyes. “I am!”

“I thought you said she challenged you.” 

“She did!” Why did he care about this? If anything it was better if May didn’t think he was some dangerous, fight happy gremlin. “She trespassed into my territory then challenged me to a fight!”

May hummed. “Alright mister, and just what counts as your territory anyway.” 

“Most of New York.” He answered too fast. Danny felt his cheeks flush and he hurriedly looked away as May laughed at him. 

“Ambitious.” She wasn’t wrong. His new haunt was several times the size of Amity and he was far too weak to actually protect his claim on it. May shook her head and stood. “Cake?”

“We have cake?!”

They munched on the treat downstairs. Apparently, May had stress baked it after the incident. Danny again felt bad for it all, made worse by not being ready to tell her more. If anyone in this world deserved answers it was her, but even with as much as he trusted her he didn't want her to know. She already knew enough to know his past was a complicated mess of misery. He didn't want her to know the full extent of how bad it all was. 

The time would come when she found out more anyway. The longer he spent as Danny Parker the more difficult his secrets would be to keep. His half dead status would become evident at some point when he didn't grow. May was observant, it wouldn't be something she missed. His parents had started voicing their concerns about his growth a year in, so he figured he maybe had that long before she noticed that aspect of him. 

As they ate, they traded stories. He told her of some of the less ghost centric stories with his friends and family. May told him tales of Ben. Ben kept his distance, still shaken from the conversation with Peter. For as intense as the evening had been, that moment was peaceful. 

Danny clung to that feeling while wondering how long he could stay at the Parker house. After all, he was immortal and they were not. This couldnt last forever.

Chapter Text

“Okay, so that one’s named after a bird?” 

“I guess? Hawkeye, cuz he’s got the eyes of a hawk? I saw him practice a while back, scary accuracy.” 

“And he’s okay?” 

“Yeah, but don't think he’ll be easy to sneak up on just cuz he can't hear well, actually I don't know how much hearing he has- anyway. Dudes crazy perceptive too.” 

“And the woman next to him?” 

“That's Black Widow. She’s the one that infiltrated that cult. She just got back like, an hour ago. This meeting is where she's gonna talk about her findings.” 

Dani nodded, taking in the information.

 The two halfas were floating lazily by the ceiling, far enough away to not be heard as long as they weren’t too loud. A section of the ceiling had been claimed by a bee neither of them wanted to mess with. It seemed to not notice them, but Danny made sure to give it space. 

Sometimes animals could sense ghosts, and Danny didn't want the insect to blow their cover.

They kept themselves invisible, waiting for a fun moment to mess with the heros that didn't yet know about Danny’s recently acquired clone. 

After the scare with his core, Danny had hoped to get back to trying to figure out who the Emerald One was. That morning, he’d looked over the stuff Fury sent him only to find none of it helpful. Try as he might he found no clues about who might be behind everything. Even the notes about the scanner Trapper was using was a bust. Part of him still wanted to see it for himself. It would be nice to know if it was simply able to detect ghosts in general, or if it was synced to him specifically like the boomerang was. It was all so frustrating. 

“Is she okay?” 

He grinned, not that Dani could see it. “Oh, yeah, definitely.” 

He heard her huff. “No, that's sus.” She pushed his arm, annoyed. “You're way too excited at that.” 

He was. “No, no, by all means go ahead and mess with her. It'll be funny.” 

“For you.” 

“Exactly.” 

They were waiting for Fury to arrive. It was a smaller meeting, one that they probably could have done over the phone, but with the increase in activity it was decided that they'd try and form a plan after Black Widow gave her report. Danny felt restless. He wanted to be done with this stupid cult. 

“What about Banner?” 

“You already met him.” He’d collected some DNA samples from her in both her forms to see if he could find anything that might be causing her instability. Not even a full day later there were no updates, but his clone wasn't melting so for now that was fine. 

“Yeah, but is he prankable?” 

“Actually, no. I was expressly told not to piss him off.” It was one of the few things Peter had actually insisted he didn't do. “Apparently, he turns into this big green guy called the Hulk. I met this other dude, Amadeus, who is similar, but I guess Dr. Banners is like, a way bigger deal.”

“That sounds fun.” 

“No.” He thwaped the back of her head. “The Hulk can level buildings without even trying. We do not piss off Banner.”

“Ugh, fine.” Danny did not think she agreed with him. 

Part of him wished for another large joint meeting like when he first got to this world. Not because he wanted to be surrounded by all the heroes, no, but it would be funny to see their reactions to Dani. As far as he knew, other than the spiders and Tony, Dr. Banner and Fury were the only ones who knew about her. For today, that gave them Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Ant Man. He wasn't sure where everyone else was, save for Thor. 

He’d seen him in the tower struggling with a phone. It was clear the other line was the one that had connection problems, and it was giving Thor a hard time. Danny didn't stick around long enough to figure out what that was about, choosing instead to go and find Dani before the meeting. He did catch the Asgardian yelling about a ‘rabbit’ though. 

“And him?” 

“Ant Man, I haven't seen him much, not gonna lie I really hope he can turn into an ant,” they both chuckled, “I heard he has a kid, so we should be good.” 

“Damn, he might be experienced.” Dani pointed out. 

“I doubt his kid can turn invisible.” 

“Oooh, right.” 

Their analysis of which of the heroes present were or were not okay to mess with ended at a good time. Fury walked in, greeting everyone with a stern nod and an aggravation that Danny suspected didn't have anything to do with them. 

Immediately, Fury pulled something out of his pocket. “Phantom.” 

Danny pushed Dani back, launching himself towards the snack before she could get the idea to steal it. Gummy worms this time.

He didn’t reveal himself though, which prompted Fury to sigh. Peter laughed, “Everytime.” 

Danny took his perch back on Peter’s shoulders. He had a seat, always did, but the vantage point and silliness of it was entertaining. Sure, it was childish, but sometimes that was okay, right? 

In the seat meant for him, Dani appeared just as they'd planned. To sell the prank they'd put her in a black hoodie to hide her crop top she had in her ghost form. Without it, it’d be an instant give away that she wasn't him. Not only did she look more feminine, which for some reason only Danny could see, she also didn't have his rather distinctive scars. 

Like with every time he did his appearing act around those who weren’t used to it, attention was immediately on ‘him.’ 

Scott flinched and put a hand to his chest. “Dang it kid!” He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” 

“Good, then it'll keep being funny.” They didn't discuss any way for her to particularly impersonate him, just that they wanted to see how long it would take. From the narrowed eyes from Black Widow, Danny guessed they were already found out by at least one of them. He saw her glance to Fury, who gave a slight shake of his head. She seemed to relax, but kept an eye on Dani regardless. 

Chompers didn't seem to notice, and Danny wasn't gonna try to warn her. 

While Hawkeye didn't seem to catch on, he did notice Black Widow’s - Danny realised he forgot her name - reaction. He watched a silent conversation between the pair. Oh well, he thought, we still can get Scott. 

“What happened to you, kid?” Scott asked, pointing at his own face where a bandage was on Dani’s. 

“Got into a fight.” 

“With who?” 

“Nunya.” 

“Who- hey!” He grumped, crossing his arms dramatically. Dani laughed and Danny had to bite his sleeve to stifle his. 

“Right.” Fury looked at Dani. He didn’t really make a face, but there was still the air of annoyance. Danny smiled, tapping Peter’s shoulder in a silent ‘did you see that?’ His knight expertly ignored him. “Black Widow.” He didn’t elaborate, but he didn’t really need to. 

“Yes sir.” She nodded. “The Emerald Wings are beginning preparations to summon Danny again.” 

He forgot his amusement from their ruse and curled tighter around Peter’s head. Being summoned sucked. It was uncomfortable and wrong. When he had been fighting the sensation, it had been like he was trying not to fall, even though he had been flying at first. When he had lost his focus at resisting the summoning, it had been like reality itself had shifted. He couldn’t even liken it to going through the ghost portal. With that, there was still the act of moving through it, like stepping through a door. With the summoning? It was like skipping the door, and walking, and moving. It was too weird, even for him. 

“Are they going to be using the same method as the first time?” Peter asked hesitantly. 

She shook her head. “No. Word of the Island Summoning has gotten back to them.” It was his knight’s turn to be tense. SHIELD was keeping track of the exiled cultists, and only one of them was unaccounted for. They couldn’t find Model, and someone had to have told the cult about the island. 

“Do we have a timeline?” 

“Not quite. They already have everything they need, they could summon him at any moment.”

“What's stopping them then?” 

“The Emerald One.” She waited for the corus of ‘whats’ to die down, thankfully not commenting on Dani’s ill timed ‘who,’ before continuing. “The Emerald One exhibits conflicting behaviors. When addressing his followers, he goes from insisting they rescue the king as fast as they can to warning them of the danger he poses. He flips from concerned to wrathful, and is often seen mumbling to himself. The cult will not act without his orders, right now they are simply waiting for their leader to stop arguing with himself.” 

“Were you able to get any clues about who this guy might be?” Peter asked. 

“No one I could recognize through his mask. That said, he is approximately 160 pounds, 5ft 11. He wears a similar robe as his followers, only darker and with a green and silver mask covering his face. He has a scar on the left side of his neck that he covers with makeup. From the way he carries himself, he is in poor health, underweight, and sporting old injuries I suspect have gone untreated for at least a couple of years.” 

“You were able to figure all of that out?” Scott asked, his face showing that he was impressed but his emotions revealing a bit of fear. 

“Its part of my job to be able to accurately identify my targets.” Black Widow narrowed her eyes at Dani.

The youngest halfa squirmed under her gaze, chewing on her sweater sleeve nervously. She looked at Peter pleadingly, likely wanting anything to get the woman's eyes off her. Danny understood completely. 

There was just something about her that oozed danger. At full strength, Danny was sure he would be stronger, but somehow that wasn't all that reassuring. Black Widow wasnt mean, even if she wasn't nice either. Blunt seemed a fitting word. Of course, that wasn't what made Danny, and clearly Dani, uncomfortable around her. Now that Danny was doing marginally better, he was able to place it.

Her aura was intimately intertwined with death. 

Peter placed a hand on the young halfa’s shoulder. “You're alright.” He whispered. 

Hawkeye leaned over to her, “You're scaring the kid, Nat.” 

That's her name! Danny felt bad about forgetting, especially since she was here warning him about the Emerald Wings plans. 

Natasha didn't respond, save for looking from Dani to Peter and back to Fury. Oh come on, just a little longer. 

“I’m not scared!” Dani puffed her chest definitely. Green blood flushed her cheeks as her brows furrowed. 

Did he look that childish every time he was embarrassed? 

Definitely not. 

“Woah, kid, its alright.” Scott held his hand up placantenly. “He didn't mean like actually scared, just uncomfortable is all.” 

“I'm not uncomfortable either!” Dani huffed and crossed her arms. Danny had to hold his mouth to keep from laughing. 

“Sure, sure,” Scott said defensively. The man turned to Peter, “Spiderman? Little help?” 

Peter laughed. “With what? I thought you were supposed to be good with kids.” 

Scott grumped. Hawkeye patted his shoulder. “You become a parent and suddenly you're supposed to be an expert on kids.” 

“Could we get back on track here?” Fury sighed. 

Danny saw his chance. “Yeah, we gotta get back on track.” He said as he revealed himself. 

As expected, Nat didn't react. Hawkeye jumped a bit, the movement just barely there. Fury just shook his head. 

Scott, however, yelped loudly. “Since when have there been two of you?!” 

Danny cocked his head, “Always? Why?” 

“No, no there was only one- I, what?” 

Danny looked to Dani. “Did he seriously forget there were two of us?”

She put on the most heartbroken face. “You forgot about me?” 

“What- no- what? You two are messing with me.” 

“Isn't duplication a ghost power?” Hawkeye asked. 

“You think I'm a duplicate?” Dani cried. 

He gasped. “You really think my twin is a copy? How could you guys?” 

While Scott floundered trying to navigate apparently forgetting the existence of an entire person, Hawkeye and Natasha were far less flustered. Theyd relaxed back into their seats, though Hawkeye did look confused. Could they count that as a win? 

“Guys, as funny as this is, maybe we wait to gaslight Ant Man till after the meeting?” Peter interjected. 

“Gaslight? Me?” Danny gently thunked his knight's head. He opened his gummy worms and before eating one shrugged, “Eh, fine. Whatever. Chompers, introduce yourself.” 

“My name is Dani!” Chompers complained. She crossed her arms. “With an ‘i’ D - A - N - I. Dani.” 

“No. I'm Danny, with a ‘y.’ You're spelling it wrong.” He corrected through a mouthful of what might've been green apple. He pointed lazily. “This is Chompers. Apparently my godfather cloned me. She's a little shit.” 

“Hey!”

“She?” Scott asked. 

Both halfas stared at him blankly. “She.” They said in unison. 

“But, if she's a clone… And you're…” 

“You have one chance to drop it, Ant.” Danny warned. 

“Message received.” He nodded. 

Dani looked at him. “You're a dick.” 

It was his turn to be baffled. “Hey!?”

She held up her fingers as she spoke, “One - that's a normal thing to be confused by. Two - you haven't shared any gummies with me.” 

“Fuck off and get your own.” He held the bag tighter and away from her, even though she wasn't trying to get them. “And it might be normal for you. But I dont wanna talk about it.” 

“And you don't have too.” Peter shook his head. “C’mon now, you two got to play your prank on Ant Man, there's no need to fight again.” 

“Oh, so that's where all the new injuries came from,” Hawkeye shook his head. “Is this a ‘there can only be one’ type situation?” 

“What? No?” Danny blinked at him. Did they actually think he fought her because she was too much like him or something? 

“Oh totally,” Dani shrugged. She pouted, amusement rolling off her. “Here I am, seeing if Dora was right and he really is free, and this is the welcome I get?” 

Danny threw an empty gummy bag at her, the last worms in his other hand “You challenged me and lost.” He shoved the last gummies in his mouth and talked through them. “How’re you able to tell so quickly?” He asked Nat. 

“Would you like the short answer or everything I noticed?” 

“Everything, this sounds fun.” 

“Shouldn't we be talking about that emerald whatever?” Dani was ignored.

“For starters, despite the injuries she looks far healthier than you. She’s nearly half an inch shorter, doesn't have that little undershave you've got going on, and when self soothing she chews on things, her sweater, her inner cheek, her lip, while you hold your chest.”

“Damn.” He huffed. 

“The biggest give away was her remaining visible and actually sitting in the chair. You rarely do so, and even when the topic involves you, if you're not speaking you have a tendency to hide.” 

“Well this is no longer fun.” Danny pouted. He crossed his arms over his chest, then froze and looked at his arms. Damn. 

“Shes got you all figured out.” Dani noted. 

“Yeah whatever.” He pointedly ignored the chuckles that got from Peter and Scott. He sighed. “So basically Im getting summoned again?” 

“Yes.” He appreciated that Nat went back to their actual topic so easily. With the joke over, it was time to worry about the cult again. 

“Think this ‘Emerald One’ actually wants to help?” 

“Its hard to say. At times his concern is genuine, but at others he talks as if you're a loose threat that they unleashed.” 

“Hm.” He pointed to Dani. “Pop quiz. The Emerald One - ghost or human.” 

“What?” She balked. “How am I supposed to know?” 

“And just like that you fail.” He looked back to the gathered heroes. “What about you guys?” He didnt derect the question to Natasha, who he guessed already knew.

“Human?” Scott asked. 

“Ghost.” Hawkeye declared. 

“Spider?” He looked down at his stead. 

Peter humed. “Both.” 

Danny clapped. “Bingo!” Then, he groaned. “This sucks.” 

“Any clues on what they're planning on doing with him?” Scott asked. 

“The followers are all convinced their sole purpose is to heal the king. At present, they are under the assumption that he is receiving inadequate care from the ‘ignorant heros.” 

“And the Emerald One?” Peter asked. 

“The only thing the man is consistent on is his desire to obtain the king. His purposes past that are unclear, but the first step after obtaining you is to treat your injuries.” 

“You're still injured?” Dani asked. 

He wished he still had something to throw at her. Instead, he glared. “Think about where I've been these past few years and then don't ask that again.” 

“But you were moving around like it was nothing!” 

He scoffed. “You're not very experienced.” He ignored her protests. “What do we do now?” 

Fury spoke up. “Antman and Hawkeye will head to their main compound, infiltration and standby respectively.” He looked to them, receiving nods of confirmation. “Spiderman, I imagine you've already got ideas on what to do on your end.” 

Peter nodded. “I can think of a few things that'll be helpful.” There was an assuredness to his knight's voice that eased some of Danny’s concern. He really, really didn't want to be summoned again. The thought of it squirmed in his gut, making him overly aware of his internal scars. Even so, Peter didn't sound scared. He sounded like he had already been thinking of what to do, which helped more than Danny thought it would.

“I need a thermos.” Danny blurted, not realizing the conversation had continued while he was thinking. 

“What?” Several people asked him.

Peter knew what he was talking about. “Those plans, they weren’t very detailed, do you think we can-”

“-I can.” He was sure of it. “Those are my parent’s notes, I know how they work, I know how they think.” He looked over to Fury, who had that calculating, watching expression on like always. “Whoever this ghost is, they don’t know I’m a halfa, which means that I can’t tell what they want from me. Being king won’t help me if they are after my throne. Hopefully, I can create a device to capture them before they summon me.”

“What are your plans with them if you do catch them?” Fury sounded borderline scolding. 

Danny glared. He knew he was technically always going to be a child, but was now really the time to be treating him like one? He left his knight’s shoulders, choosing to seat himself in the center of the table insead. Natasha was right, he really didn’t sit in chairs that much, did he?

“I haven’t forgotten that the original summoning resulted in the deaths of over a hundred people. I also am aware that without it, I would have experienced my Second Death.” Dani gasped, and part of him wanted to tell her to leave. Like Ben, she was also far younger than she looked. “What happens to the ghost when I catch them is my decision and my decision alone.”

“A hundred and thirteen-”

“-I know!” He snapped. Danny felt power surge through him, itching to be released. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm. He shot Peter a warning, not needed to verbally ask him to not interfere. “The Realms have its own rules, its own ways of punishing. I can’t let the ghost be taken into the custody of the living.”

“And why is that?” Couldn’t Fury just shut up?

Danny pointed to his chest. “Because I know what happens to ghosts who get caught.” He saw the heroes move to speak, but he shot them their own glares. “I don’t care if you guys wouldn’t do that. Can you promise those after you won't? What about after them? A hundred years from now?” No one said anything, so he returned his attention to Fury. “I understand that one of mine has committed crimes against yours, but I can’t let them be charged here. As hypocritical as it might sound coming from me, this is a matter for the dead to handle.” 

Was he doing a good job as king, for this? This was definitely one of those political disagreements Dora had warned him about in their week of royal lessons. The Ghost King didn’t necessarily rule the realms, even though they kinda did. One being, over the infinite? That was too much. As a whole, the Realms couldn’t be governed. The never ending expanse full of beings from various times and worlds couldn’t possibly be brought to order in the way that a living, human government may try. The position of king was one chosen by the Realms, by the unending expanse those departed called home. King was merely how this role was recognized. 

As far as Danny currently understood it, he did have some degree of power over his citizens. For now, he decided that meant he needed to protect them. Whatever this ghost’s purpose was, however blood stained their methods, the result had been that Danny wasn’t gone. He didn’t want the lives lost to be without justice, but he couldn’t let undue harm come to the ghost. He wasn’t sure how to word it to those gathered, but death, or more accuretly murder, was not the worst crime recognized within the realms. To a world full of the dead, there were far worse fates than no longer being alive.

“I see.” The room tensed as Fury scrunched his brows and thought on his response. Danny hoped this would be like their earlier discussion, where Fury had relented enough to allow both of them what they wanted from the interaction. “Let’s discuss the ghost’s extradition after they have been apprehended.” 

Danny gave a slight smile, relief filling his aching chest. “Thank you.” 

Antman, ever the tone deaf one, leaned over the table with his arm raised, “What does a thermos have to do with anything?” 

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you know what you're doing?” Miles asked. 

“No, I'm completely guessing and have never helped with these ever.” 

“Danny.” Peter warned. 

If he were honest, the wires were a bit more complicated than he was comfortable with. He hadn't actually made a Fenton Thermos himself before, but he had helped fix them. There were several times one had gotten damaged or had malfunctioned and needed repaired. Once, Tucker had caught him as a joke, only for the thermos to break and zap him randomly. That had been a bad couple of minutes. Tucker had gotten him Nasty Burger as an apology. 

“This was one of the most useful things my parents ever made. Most of my fights back in Amity ended after catching whoever decided to start shit in one of these. Then, I'd sneak them back to the lab and dump them back into the ghost zone. Course, stronger ghosts or too many ghosts and they'd start to break so, ‘hey dad can you show me how to fix this?’ And boom, back in business.” 

“You actively used your ghost hunter parents, to help you hunt ghosts, while they hunted you, and you were pretending it wasn't you?” Miles blinked at him. 

Danny gave a slight shrug. “If it works it works.” He chuckled a bit as he adjusted more of the components around the thermos they’d picked up on the way to WEB. 

Technically, with an unknown time limit on them, it would have made more sense to stay at the tower and work there. One of the others could have sent over the plans he needed for reference, and Tony definitely had plenty of materials they could use. 

It was Dani that was the problem.

 After hearing how close to Second Death he had been, she wouldn’t stop hovering over him. She was worried, he knew, but it was too much. She didn’t even know that all that was holding him together was a spell that, for some blessed reason, Strange hadn’t told anyone about. 

He couldn’t take all the worrying. It was bad enough back home, with May and Miles looking at him like the slightest issue might make him shatter. Danny couldn’t convince them that he was okay, in large part because he wasn’t.

He stopped working on the thermos for a breath.

Was it okay that he thought of the Parker house as home?

“Give me your wrist.” Peter took his arm that had stopped fiddling with the thermos and attached a newly modified bracer to it. Danny looked at it, seeing no visible difference but feeling that it was now much heavier. “Upped its capacity and efficiency. Also added a tracker, in case you’re in a shield again.”

He nodded and returned to his task. “Thank you.” 

It was uncomfortable, the get up he was in. He had his backpack on, filled with several IV bags of AE, one of which was actively in his vein, a bottle of the condensed AE pills, and a probably illegal amount of pain medication. Slung on his shoulder under the backpack strap was his water bottle, of course filled with straight AE and deffienetly not mixed with Redbull. Danny would never ignore how important it was to make sure he had as much artificial ectoplasm on his person in favor of having an energy drink with him. Never. 

“What do they mean, width 3M? There’s no way they mean meters for something this small.” Gwen asked him, holding a print out of the plans for the Fenton Ghost Finder.

He waved her over to give him the paper. “Three fingers,” he held up his fingers together, pointing to the finger pads, “M is for Maddie. Should be about this long.” He snatched a pencil to mark out the approximate length. 

“Your parents, top of their field, used their fingers to measure things?” 

“Fingers are easier to keep track of than rulers.” He returned the paper and went back to the thermos, again. 

“Decoding these notes is giving me a bigger headache than decoding the files.” Gwen shook her head. 

“These are the same people who made a portal to the ghost zone.” He laughed while adjusting more parts. “They literally were able to make an interdimensional portal in the basement.” 

“They did what?” Miles called. 

Danny grinned. His feelings on the portal were mixed, but he couldn't have the spiders thinking his parents weren’t insanely smart. Even if they were also, at times, insanely stupid. Presently, he was defending their legacy to Miles, Gwen, and Harry. Peter had yet to make a comment akin to disbelieve regarding his parents inventions and Anya wasn’t there. Grady wasnt either, something about checking on how Dr Conners treatment was going. The man was still in a medically induced coma, but was apparently healing well. 

“They made a portal to another dimension, in our basement.” He said this with a snarky, pridful tone he didnt usually use when talking about it. Normally, he would speak fairly nuetrally about the portal to avoid akward situations. Yeah, it was a sorce of great trauma for him, but it was also something they couldnt avoid using. Danny had found it better to just ignore his discomfort regarding the portal. 

“That sounds, wildly unsafe.” 

“Wow, ya dont say?” He sassed Harry. The joke was only funny to him though, as no one present knew how he had died. He glared at his thermos. “Can I have a tiny screwdriver?” 

Peter tossed him one, and Danny expertly caught it, as he totally expected. “Nice.” Miles laughed. 

“Is that what this massive one is, an actual portal?” Gwen asked. 

Danny stopped working, again. Suddenly, defending his parents' skills seemed like the wrong move. “Please don't try and make one.”

Just like that, all work stopped. For a painful moment, all the gathered heros looked at him. Then, mercifully, Harry nodded. “Noted.” Harry shared looks with the others, and Danny was able to finish the stupid thermos without getting into his half death. 

Just as he finished, Peter took his other wrist and attached the second updated bracer. “Don't forget you have these again.” 

“I promise nothing.” Danny clicked the cover onto the thermos, then held ig up to inspect his work.

It was plain, just metallic grey with a black band around the top. After being modified, the body was now broken up with some seam lines, but otherwise lacked that distinctive Fenton look he’d always known. They'd gotten a similarly plain grey carrying case for it, so that Danny could sling it over his shoulder like he did his water bottle. He frowned at it. “Do you guys have… some markers?” 

It was stupid, really. There were so many other things he could be doing to prepare, yet there he was drawing on the thermos case so that it held some of the nostalgia that was in his core. The markers bled and blew out his lines, and the green was too dark. When he was done, it looked like a poor imitation of the design he knew. Still, it brought a small, sad smile to his face. 

All that he needed now was to test it. 

“Oh no.” Miles teased. “He’s plotting.” 

“Not against you this time” Danny pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his admittedly few contacts. 

“So you admit you plot against me!”

“Admit what?” He lost his grin and tilted his head at Miles. “What are you talking about?” 

“Damn it Danny.” 

He pointedly ignored Miles’s complaining while he called Tony. He answered on the third ring. “I swear if you’ve found another clone child-” 

“-Yes, three.” The groan on the other end of the line brought more laughter from him. 

“Is that Mr Stark?” Peter asked. After a nod, the room parroted some hellos to their benefactor. 

“Yeah yeah hi everyone.” Tony sighed. “What do you want?” Tony sounded angry, or more accurately tired. 

“Is Dani still there?” After their fight, he wasn't able to sense her presence anymore. His best guess was because she was no longer a trespassing Candidate. It was odd, being so abruptly aware of just how much territory he had accidentally claimed only to just as abruptly not feel it anymore. It made him a little anxious to think about.

“Yeah, her and Ben are dusting the ceilings.” Another groan. “Ben is asking questions and Dani is giving him a mix of real and fake answers.” 

He snorted. “That's great.” 

“Its not.” Tony huffed, then, a bit away from the phone. “That is not how that works! Spiders do not shit their webs!” 

“Should we really be letting the what, two year old, teach the baby anything?” 

“How do you know she’s two?” 

“Her fangs.” He answered curtly, as if this was knowledge Tony should have known. “Anyways can you tell her to come here, I need her help with something.” 

Tony agreed, and after some back and forth with Dani, his much needed assistant was on her way. Peter stood in front of him and crossed his arms. “Why are you bullying your clone?” 

He gasped, overly dramatic. “I am not bullying her!” 

From her spot, Gwen snorted. “Yeah like how you're not bullying Miles.” 

“Gwen, give the kid a break,” Harry grinned, “He's just a baby.”

He sent a half hearted glare towards Harry. “I should have burned that book myself.” 

Without missing a beat, Harry cointered, “Babies shouldn’t play with fire.” 

He looked to his knight. “Its like he doesn't even care that I'm older.” 

Peter, the traitor, laughed. “Aren't you 14?” 

“ArEnT yOu FOurTeEn?” He mocked. 

The somewhat stress induced teasing session was interrupted by his ghost sense going off. In preparation, Danny halfway hid the new thermos and wiped the grin from his face. 

Dani popped her head through the ceiling, completely visible and also entirely upside down. After laughing from the jumps she got, she asked, “Hey OG, whatcha need?” 

He cocked his eye. “OG?” 

Miles laughed. “Cuz youre the original.” Danny frowned and found himself entirely tempted to steal his remaining pair of shoe laces. 

The problem was he wasn’t the original. Dan was, and now he wasn't sure Dani knew about him. 

He’d deal with that later. 

“Whatever, c'mere Chompers.” He waved her over. She floated into the space proper, giving her hellos to the heros. 

“Hello people I dont know.” Dani sounded completely unconcerned with the amount of strangers she had been meeting. 

Testing the thermos had to wait for introductions. Danny pointed with one of the markers he still had. “Thats Harry, hes chill. Thats Gwen, she makes me do my homework-”

“-You should be doing it anyway.” She scolded. 

“And Miles, he has no shoelace privileges.” 

“I will find them!”

“No you won't. And this is Peter, my knight.” 

“Oh!” Recognition crossed Dani's face. “The pajama guys!” 

Harry snorted. “Mines a mech suit.”

Gwen shrugged. “Its easier to work if there's not anything to get in the way.” 

“They all copied my aesthetic.” Peter pouted with no hurt behind it. 

“Are you Ben’s base?” Peter nodded. “They didn't make him as old as you.” 

“Yeah, Im not sure why they picked the age they did, and the one guy I can ask is… missing.” 

Dani raised her brow at that while the heros stiffened before quietly returning to their tasks. Chompers gave him a look, and Danny shook his head. Now was not the time to explain Model. 

“Right…” Dani folded her legs as she sat in the air. “ So what did ya need?” 

“How familiar are you with ghost hunting tech?” 

“Not very. Val wouldn't let me help and Vlad never let me mess with anything.” 

He held back his grin. “I need you to let me know if this works.” Before Dani could respond he uncapped the thermos, hit the button and pointed it at her. The familiar hum of the beam working thrummed against the lingering nostalgia within his core. 

Dani didn't finish yelping before she was in the thermos and Danny had already capped it. She began cursing at him, her voice small and muffled. He laughed while the heros looked at him with mild horror. 

Gwen shouted, “Is she okay?!” 

At the same time, Miles blurted, “That's what that does?!” 

“She’s fiiiiiine.” He was laughing a bit too hard now and had to hold his chest. “Ive been souped plenty of times. Its cramped, but it doesn't hurt.” 

“She doesnt sound like shes fine in there.” Harry crossed his arms. 

Danny sighed dramatically. He held the thermos up, a small voice still cursing at him. “Chompers, shut up a sec.” 

“Why the fuck should I why would you-”

“-Now please.” Empowering his voice for this was petty, but he didn't want to wait for her to calm down. When she didn't continue her rant, he said, “Thanks. K, now can you tell me if anythings pinching you?” 

“No?” 

“No shocks, wires, weird temperatures?” 

“I just feel squished.” 

“That's normal.” He grinned. Both his thermos and his prank had worked. It felt like a little win that he hadnt realised he needed. 

So much had been going wrong. He was struggling to exist in his human half. His powers were weakening as if regaining his strength was breaking him. His core was, or had been, worsening. Worst of all, he had scared May. 

Something about her knowing about his core felt off. In Amity, if anyone had learned he had a core his identity as Phantom would have been revealed instantly. Everyone there knew what that meant and how big of a deal it was. May? She had no reason to know, and therefore only knew what they told her. To her credit, she quickly understood the severity of an injury to his core, and wasn't treating him like a ‘pesky ghost.’ Now that she knew that much, it felt weird that she didn't know he was a halfa. 

It was almost like he could ease into the topic of being a halfa with her. That was something he couldn't have done with his own parents. If they had learned of his core, or even just his powers, they would have known before he could explain. In Amity his identity had been all or nothing. Here, his two sides were far more blurred. He could be a human with powers, a living boy with a core, and still hide as Phantom. 

It was weird.

He tried to set that train of thought aside. 

“Can I get out now?” 

“Ugh, fine.” Danny groaned as he went to uncap the thermos. 

He didn't get the chance. 

Danny felt his body lurch, his core burning with a now familiar sensation. Before he even got the chance to try and resist the summoning, if only for long enough to free Dani, he found himself in a brightly light room, hovering in the same position he had been sitting in. 

His breath caught in his throat. Whatever space he was in was sterile, giving it that smell hospitals had that, for him, had long since held a very different connotation. It was thick in his lungs, reminiscent of cleaning days. He could still feel the burn of droplets of chemicals from a careless agent. They'd been rushing, trying to not be sick at the sight of his body. Their disgust caused bleach and other cleaning products to flick onto his exposed organs. This place smelled the same.

Bright, nauseating fluorescent lights bore down on him. He wanted to squint away, to bury his head, but he was too stuck in the memory of being unable to move. The light was always on. Constant, burning, humming. Sometimes he could close his eyes, but that made it so all he could focus on was the pain. So, despite the light he’d look. He could crane his neck just enough to see his organs arranged. He never had decided which was better - staring at them or ignoring them. 

“Danny?” A quiet voice that sounded like his own broke him from the past, if only just enough to act. 

He hugged the thermos close to his chest and raised an arm to fire a blast at the summoning circle. He remembered to use the bracers, just like Peter had said. 

The blast ricocheted off of a ghost shield. 

His eyes locked onto a thin man in a dark blue grey robe, almost navy in color but not quite. Even behind the rather ornate green and silver mask, Danny could tell the man was frail. He could also tell, now that he wasn’t entirely consumed by his memories, that he was possessed. 

The receding glow from using ectoplasm was a pretty big give away, since he had missed his initial ghost sense. 

“Ghost Boy!” A horse, almost chopped, voice called to him. 

He made to respond, but yelped instead when he found that he was trapped in a ghost shield. On the island, he had used anger to mask his fear. Now? He was barely tethered to the presence by a quiet, scared halfa he had clutched close to his chest. 

“Let me out.” 

“Sorry, little king. We can’t have you hurting yourself or anyone else while we work.”

Around him, chanting began. He swirled, finding a similar set up to what the exiled cultists had made in the cave. The summoning circle began to glow, and he tried to fire a blast at it again, only for the shield he was in to prevent him from breaking it. 

“Shit shit shit shit shit shit-” What did he do? He could turn human, but would that even work? He didn’t want these people to know his human face, nor did he want to risk that method not working for Dani. Could a thermos sneak a ghost through a shield? He couldn’t remember, and he definitely didn’t want to be wrong here. 

Still clutching the thermos, he started flying around the shield, kicking at it and cursing. He couldn’t do this, not again. Before loosing everyone, being caught in a ghost shield was an annoyance, an inconvenience that he used to just have to wait out. Sam or Tucker would figure out a way to rescue him, sometimes Jazz after she started helping too. There was even a couple times where Valerie had let him out, reluctantly admitting that she had needed his help. After Dan, he hadn’t taken the time to fully realise what being alone meant. He’d left to the realms, hurt and angry. He tried to return after becoming a candidate, he was going to ask Vlad for help.

The decision had taken him a couple weeks to come to. He’d tried asking Dora and a few others what to do about it, but he was mostly teased for his efforts. Vlad was his last resort. He had left to keep the both of them safe, to prevent himself from becoming Dan, but he had no one else to turn to. So, he had reluctantly stepped through the portal. 

Instantly he’d been trapped in a ghost shield by the GIW.

“Let me out! Let me out! Letmeoutletmeout!” He was kicking as hard as he could, which he was sure was bruising his legs. He screamed, not quite using his ghostly wail but still loud, powerful, and despite. Someone was calling his name, but he couldn’t tell from where. 

The cultists kept chanting, their voices growing loud in his ears. Beneath him, the summoning circle had filled with a green glow. The light of it reached up to him, unphased by the ghost shield. It wrapped around his limbs and torso, much like the bindings that had held him to the table. Some of the light twisted around his neck, and he let go of the thermos with one hand in an effort to claw it away. 

The light darkened, loosing the ghostly green and turning crimson. Like the cycle. In, Out. Ectoplasm, blood, filled and emptied in a constant loop. The light solidified into the same chains he had seen around Dorathea, only the longer it was around him the darker it got. Soon, the red was imperceptible. Bound in black chains, he lost the ability to resist. Danny floated, his body relaxed but his mind reeling. The shield dropped, but it didn’t matter. They’d caught him. 

Cold, frosty tears fell from his eyes.

Chapter Text

Miles had a better understanding of everything than the rest of his team. He was there, right from the beginning of this whole mess. He'd seen the first summoning. Front row seats right alongside Dr Strange and Peter. That night was burned into his memory, joining his various nightmares he'd acquired over the years of being a superhero. 

The ritual was bad before the cultists were sacrificed. The burning iron of the candles clearly made from blood was a haunting sight enough. Then, so many people died and he hadn't been able to do anything. 

He tried to convince himself that he only hadn’t been able to help because Dr Strange had stopped him, but months later and he still wasn't sure if he had been trying to help or run. 

He had thought it couldn't get worse, but then he had seen Danny. An old, dark joke came to mind to describe it. 

What's worse? Ten dead babies nailed to one tree or one dead baby nailed to ten trees. 

The absurd morality question prompted the comparison of the number of victims to the amount of suffering. Obviously both scenarios were horrible and sickening if pictured too deeply, but which was worse? Was it better for a group to have suffered equally, or an individual to suffer far more? Of course, the prompt specifying babies made it worse, as there was a level of innocence that only held new life that, at least in Miles’s mind, was something people instinctively tried to protect. 

That first summoning had managed to be both sides of that absurd kind of horrible. One hundred and thirteen victims were sacrificed to summon one more victim.  Miles had been under the false impression that seeing people burned alive by otherworldly flames would have been the worst thing he saw that night. 

No, the worst had been seeing what had been done to Danny. 

At the time, Danny looked like he was dead, completely. Miles had seen fake cadavers on TV before. The bodies that were really just actors holding as still as possible, some pale foundation on their skin and a fake, stitched together incision drawn across their torso. Danny had almost looked like that, only the injuries were far too real.

His chest was concaved, and his mouth gaped like a fish out of water. The shirt he was in was less of a garment and more of a dust cover. It was stained with red and green, and the smell. Danny smelled like rot and sweat and grime and iodine. When he revealed he'd been like that for five years, Miles found himself wondering if it had been longer. 

Things sort of got better, little bit by little bit. Peter became Danny’s knight, which had a lot of weird effects. Since receiving the Mark of the Vow, Peter hadn’t slept. Miles knew he was hiding it, but it was pretty easy to figure out. Pete was never in bed. He was always working, both his WEB stuff and his hero stuff. Most nights, he didn't even change into pajamas to keep up the appearance of someone who was actually sleeping every night. He was pretty sure Aunt May had noticed this as well. 

Adjusting to Danny living with them had been easier than Miles thought. When awake, the kid was mostly just a little shit. It was pretty annoying that he had become the halfa’s favorite to pick on, but there was no malice behind anything he did so it was hard to stay mad. Plus, every time Miles did get upset, that stupid mischievous grin would remind him of the absent, dead looking boy he’d first seen. Miles had long since decided he’d take all the pranks in the world from that kid if it meant that his eyes never looked that blank again. 

The other ghosts were a not so fun reminder of his recently acquired little brother’s halfa status. Was it okay that Miles thought of the kid as a brother? He thought of Peter as a brother too, he had since shortly after he got spider powers. Miles wondered if he latched onto familial bonds too eagerly. 

Regardless, the other ghosts scared him. Dorathea had given off this energy of something that was so different from everything he knew. She moved and talked and laughed, but she didn’t breathe. Her body and movements seemed like something straight out of the uncanny valley. She had used to be human, but had lost the qualities that made her look it. Her skin was an otherworldly green, bright yet almost sickly at the same time. Her eyes glowed red like a predator’s in the night, but her sad smile had been so genuine that he’d pushed down his instinct to fear her. 

Fright Knight had been an entirely different experience. His presence was louder and far more menacing than both Dora and Danny had ever been. Miles could still feel the nick of that stupid sword. It hadn't even actually cut him. Instead, the moment the blade caught his arm he was transported to a distorted version of the last time he saw his dad. 

It started off just like the memory, except the buildings rippled as if underwater and the sky was green and purple, casting odd shadows around them. His father stood in his full villain suit, fighting him while blaming Spy-D for the attacks in their neighborhood. Maybe his dad had been right, to a degree. 

In the beginning, Miles had been careless. He wasn't like Peter, who took great care in keeping his spider work away from those in his personal life. Miles hadn't, he had simply thought that since he had the powers, he could do it. He'd quickly been proved wrong several times over, unfortunately not learning his lesson till after attracting trouble too close to home. 

In the real world, when his father had actually fought him, Miles had figured out who Swam was quickly. He felt betrayed. His dad, a supervillain? Miles still didn't want to believe it, even four years later. It was bad enough, learning the things his dad had done, but why did he have to leave? Why couldn't they have talked?

In the nightmare created by Fright Knight, instead of being horrified and dropping everything, his dad rejected him outright. Miles knew it wasn't real, but he couldn't help but be freaked out. It was one thing, hearing his dad curse at him and attack him when he was asleep. It was scary and disturbing and everything Miles feared would happen when, or if, he ever saw his father again. 

The bee hanging around the window kept distracting him, even as they were all trying not to panic. 

“Both of them?!” Harry did not handle the stress well. He wasn't keen on admitting it, but Miles didn't think it was a secret that he enjoyed the spooky edition. “How did both of them get summoned?!”

The bee kept crawling on the window, looping in a path Miles was too preoccupied to recognize. Alarms sounded in his mind, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of the danger. It was an annoying point of difference, how his spider sense only alerted of danger and didn't make him react to it. Peter’s let him react before he even finished registering what the danger was. The girls were the same, though not quite as fast as Pete. But him? Miles could feel the alarm, but he had to figure out what the problem was himself. 

Normally, anyway. 

Pete and Gwen were looking just as lost as him. Harry noticed, and started looking around. For a moment, there was nothing but the buzz of something being wrong. 

Just as he was about to ask, Peter clutched his chest and started breathing heavy. He fell to his knees, and when they tried to help he held up a hand. 

“What's happening?” Miles asked. 

“I don't" Peter yelped, swatting at nothing about his arms. Panic was welling in his brothers eyes, so Miles ignored the silent request to stay back to grab Peters hands. Green shone brightly from his eyes, which was only a little freaky looking. 

“Talk it out.” Miles kept a tight grip on Pete's wrists, worried he’d accidentally hurt himself. “What are you feeling?”

“It burns.” 

“Where?” 

“My arms.” 

Gwen joined them, kneeling and rolling Peter's sleeves out of the way. Visually, there wasn't anything wrong with them. She ran her hand along his skin, then shook her head. “They feel normal.” 

Miles nodded. He’d figured as much. “What else?” 

“I, can't feel him. At all.” 

“Okay, so he’s in another ghost shield.” He tried to keep his voice calm. “That's what the trackers are for. We’ll be able to find him.” 

Pete bit his lip and nodded, squinting his eyes shut tight. Suddenly, white light flashed around his body, solidifying green before darkening into black chains. The new bindings wrapped around his limbs, torso and neck, snaking their way across his body. Miles expected this to freak Peter out even more, but instead all the tension left him. Miles watched as Pete’s body relaxed, even his arms were only still up because he was still holding his wrists. Miles let go, deeply unsettled by the drastic change. 

“Pete?” He asked, waving a hand in front of still glowing eyes.

“I’m fine.” 

Miles disagreed. So did everyone else. Gwen pulled out her phone, “This sounds like something Anya mentioned before.” She dialed, but pointed to Harry, “Call Fury.” Then, to him, “Keep watching him.”

“On it.” Miles returned his attention to Peter. “Hey, Pete, my buddy, my pal, my brother from another spider,” Peter did not react to his rambling. “Please talk to me.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re acting weird.” When Pete didn’t say anything, Miles tried asking, “What do you feel now?”

“Heavy, and..” Peter slowly reached up to the chain around his neck, grabbing it and pulling on it gently. The motion seemed to be difficult despite its simplicity.  “Its like, I need permission to move.” 

“Okay, uh… You’re allowed to move.” At that, Pete nodded and let out a slow sigh.

Gwen waved for their attention, and Anya’s voice came from her phone. “Is he able to make decisions on his own, or does he need to be prompted?” 

They all looked at Peter, who didn't respond. Miles felt his brows pinch together, “Pete?”

“I think I need prompted.” Peters gaze fell to the floor, and Miles could almost feel the frustration from him. 

“Okay. When Danny lost his free will to that orb thing, Pete did as well.” 

“So we can assume that they managed to ‘bind his will’ like they had wanted.” Miles quoted, remembering Danny and Pete’s recount of the island summoning. 

“Well thats not good.” Harry huffed. His own phone was too his ear, and he apparently had Fury on the line because he added, “Yeah… Spiderman's not doing well either.” 

Miles, despite having watched Danny disappear, still expected to hear the halfa spout off, ‘No shit.’ 

WEB had never been a quiet lab. Miles had a large part in the noise, with his various robots all being far from quiet. It wasn't just him though, all of them shouted to each other as they worked, calling for help or asking random questions without leaving their spaces. When Danny started hanging around, their work which had always been peppered with jokes, now had an audience that loved to fire off comments. 

Miles missed the commentary from the peanut gallery. 

“Okay, Fury’s team is mobilizing now. Our trackers got a read on Danny?” Harry asked. 

Miles looked to Peter, who pulled on the chain again. Noting that he wasn't checking, Miles took Pete's laptop and checked himself. 

“No signal… Figures.” Miles found his gaze drifting back to the window. The bee was still there, still tracing a pattern he didn't recognize. 

Miles opened his mouth to ask something, but the question died on his tongue as his spider sense sent an alarm through him. He and Gwen both leapt back, pulling Harry with them.

A loud clank sent chills through his spine. The sound echoed as if they were in a large cave. The sound reminded Miles of being inside the nightmare made by Fright Knight. It was the type of unsettling that was adjacent to otherworldly. The kind of other that made him want to run away and find a nice, safe hole to hide in. 

Miles turned around, finding Peter with a length of ghostly chain in each of his hands. He had snapped it, and now the links were dissipating into nothing. A satisfied grin spread across his face. 

“I am so glad that worked.” 

Miles smiled, relieved that the Emerald Wings no longer had control over Peter, even if they'd been unaware of it. “Let's go find our ghost.” 

Morale was always better when Peter had his head in the game. While they mostly did their hero work individually day to day, for team ups Pete naturally fell into the leader role. Miles still looked up to him for the easy way he recovered from conflict and could guide the group into working together. When he'd first gotten his powers, Miles had given Peter a hard time by ignoring or brushing off his advice and desire to take things seriously. Even so, Pete had helped him with his newfound powers and responsibilities, guiding him to being the person he was today. 

By every measure, Peter was a strong, kind, forgiving person. 

The island summoning had taken that image Miles had of Peter and added a scared fury to it. Pete had been worried for Danny, and his anger at being unable to find him had caused him to be short with everyone for which he’d since apologized.

 His attitude this time was different from the Island summoning. They'd been expecting it, which helped far more than Miles could have guessed it would. The last time, he hadn't been able to do anything to help Peter. Miles had watched helplessly as his brother desperately flipped through the ghost book for any hint that might help find Danny. At the time, Miles hadn’t been privy to just exactly how bad the situation was. 

As they were setting up the ecto tracker Pete had made on the SHIELD helicarrier, Miles found his mind wandering as his eyes kept watching the bees on the window. There were four now, all of them crawling on the window in a squished amalgamation of turns that looped into a sort of circle. 

He recalled Mays face when they'd learned about Danny’s core. Beneath the horror and confusion was something Miles could only see as expectant. Her eyes had darted between all of them, but when they had landed on him they shared a look that made him want to confess everything. 

It was as if she had asked him, ‘Did you know too?’

Did he?

Miles used to think of himself as observant. He could notice little things, like a single bend of a component to a motherboard, the smallest break in a circuit, the pattern the bees were drawing on the window. When he first got his powers, he lost his confidence in his observational skills. He hadn't noticed Peter was Spiderman, and now he hadn't noticed that Danny’s core was breaking. 

How much did one have to suffer for their soul to be broken? The question rolled around in his mind while he thought of May's eyes, asking if he had known. Guilt wracked through him that he hadn't. It felt like something he should have picked up on. 

He wouldn't dare tell anyone, but the attic did very little in terms of sound proofing. He’d quickly invested in carpets to keep his movements from disturbing the Parkers, but even with the added layers he could still hear everything that happened in the rooms below his. Miles tried not to listen, but sometimes his curiosity was too easy to indulge. He often heard Peter mutter to himself as he worked, or May sing as she cleaned her room. 

For Danny, he often heard the ramblings he did when he was asleep and unable to recognize his surroundings. Phrases like, ‘don't touch me,’ and ‘I'm human, please,’ would echo from below. It gave him a chilling picture of what the kid had endured. There were also times when Danny, completely awake, talked to himself as if speaking to someone else. Miles worried he was hallucinating, but these conversations always sounded pleasant in tone, so he hadn't asked. 

But he hadn't noticed how bad it all was. 

Miles blinked, pulling himself from his thoughts and his task, trying to up the sensitivity of the trackers, to look at the bees. 

There were ten now, enough to make the pattern more easily seen. The bees stuck together, no longer looping and repeating the same path. Instead, they each held still and now outlined the pattern. 

“Is that an ‘M’?” 

Briefly, all work stopped as the others saw what he was looking at. Miles walked to the window and put his hand on the glass. The bees rearranged to have one positioned above each of his fingers, with the remaining bees wiggling insistently near the window latch. 

The others were talking to him, but he couldn't hear them. His heart beat hard within his chest, the thudding pounding in his ears. 

“Dad?”