Disclaimer: All rights go to the respective owners of Marvel and Nickelodeon/Butch Hartman. No copyright infringement is intended. The author of this story owns nothing; this story is for fun, not money or profit of any kind.


Chapter 9: Answers

"We need answers," Black Widow said. "And I think I know just who has them."

The Avengers were still reeling over the events that had transpired. Danny Phantom had seemingly gone rogue, and had blown up his home, and destroyed a police station in Amity Park. When the Avengers had confronted their team mate, he had attacked them, leaving Captain America severely battered. Black Widow seemed to believe that this was, in fact, not the same Danny Phantom she had spoken with earlier in the day, but an impostor.

"Alright," Cap grunted from his bed, wincing as he tried to get up. "Let's go." Hawkeye and Thor tried to hold the soldier down.

"Do not strain yourself, Captain," Thor insisted.

"No offense, Spangles," Stark remarked. "But you just got your ass handed to you. We need you at full strength when something goes down."

"They're right, Steve," Natasha said. "This is no time to be a hero. We can handle ourselves, for a while."

"So, what's your plan, Natasha?" Banner asked. "Who is it that you think can help us, and more importantly, where are they? Because we need to hurry."

Natasha sighed. "I'm sure you all know the name 'Vlad Masters'?" she asked. "Long story short, he's still alive, and I think he knows more than he's letting on."

The room was silent in answer. That was... unexpected, to say the least.

Thor frowned. "I do not recognize the name," he said. "Who is he?"

"An old enemy of Danny's," Clint said, frowning.

"The same guy who tried to take over the Earth, not too long ago, during the Dis-asteroid incident," Stark also said. "I'd met him a couple times over the years, before all that mess. Great fashion sense, terrible hairdo."

"Where's he at?" Cap asked from his medical bed.

"At a secured facility," Widow replied, cryptically.

"Fury?" Cap asked, knowingly.

"Fury," Widow confirmed, a faint smirk on her lips. "I'll give JARVIS the coordinates. It'll be best if only a couple of us go. The less attention we draw, the better."

"I'll stay here," Banner said. "I'll get to work on a tracking algorithm to try and help JARVIS track Danny. And to help keep an eye on Cap. Barton, you should get that shoulder looked at, too." Barton only shrugged and nodded.

"Stark, come with me," Widow said. "I need you."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Stark couldn't resist a devilish grin. "Well, alright," he said. "But don't tell Pepper. She's the jealous type. And, I'm not cheap; I demand fine wine."

Widow leveled a glare at Stark. "Not in that way," she scowled. "I might need a big gun if that... Phantom impostor catches wind of us leaving the tower."

"I'll prepare the Quinjet for immediate stealth departure," JARVIS said. The Quinjet soon departed silently from the Tower and entered cloaking mode.

After the Quinjet departed, JARVIS alerted the others that the city of Salem, Massachusetts was under attack from a ghostly assailant. A news feed appeared on the monitor, and the attacker was none other than the Fright Knight. The feed abruptly ended as the Fright Knight swung his blade at the camera.

"I will go alone," Thor said. It was not a request, and the rest of the Avengers knew better than to try and dissuade the God of Thunder. "Tales of the Fright Knight have reached even the halls of Asgard. We will see if his blade can match Mjolnir."

"Be careful, Thor," Bruce said. "This guy is no push over. Believe me, I know."


As the Quinjet approached the facility in the middle of no where, they were met by... nothing. "Mister Stark, Agent Romanoff," JARVIS said. "I'm not detecting any life signs in the main portion of the complex; nor have I received any response on any of the channels you provided."

"Damn," Widow frowned. "Our ghost has been hard at work."

"No time to waste," Iron Man said, serious and already suited up. "Let's go." He ran to the exit hatch and flew out, as Widow landed the Quinjet. The Avengers blasted through the door and were met by a horrifying sight.

Corpses. Dead agents' bodies were strewn around the place.

Iron Man looked around, feeling his stomach drop and his heart rate rise. He hated seeing anything like this. "We're too late," he said softly.

"No, we aren't," Widow replied, taking in the startling scene, her instincts taking over. "The wounds on these bodies are fresh. Very recent. We need to hurry." With that, she took off at full speed down the halls of the building, with Iron Man in tow.

"JARVIS, run a scan for me," Iron Man said inside his suit. "Specifically, for any ghosts."

"I am detecting one signature, sir," JARVIS replied. "Deeper inside the facility."

"Romanoff, we're not alone," Iron Man said to Widow.

Finally, Widow lead them to the room they needed to get to. Without a moments hesitation, Iron Man tore the large door open. They rushed inside to see Vlad Masters in his cell being held by the throat by a dark creature that appeared to be made of pure shadow! The creature had an evil grin and glowing red eyes.

"Hey, let him go," Iron Man ordered.

The entity turned to the two heroes and snarled, but made no move of dropping Vlad. "Fine, then," Iron Man said. He used an ecto laser on his armor's forearm and blasted through the cell wall. The beam struck the creature, which recoiled and evaporated. Vlad fell to the floor of the cell and grasped his throat, coughing harshly.

"Never thought I'd be happy to see you, Mr Stark," Vlad rasped.

"You alright?" Iron Man asked, skipping the banter. When Vlad nodded, Stark replied, "Good." Lifting him up roughly by the collar, he hauled him out of the shattered cell. "Widow says you can help us. I guess we'll see."

"Clearly," Vlad huffed as Widow cuffed his wrists. Vlad smirked at Black Widow, and said, "Agent Romanoff, you look the worse for ware. Why, you look as though you've seen a ghost."

"No more games. You're going to tell us everything," she said. It was not a suggestion, nor a question. It was an order. To Vlad's credit, he didn't flinch. She then placed a black hood over his face, in order to prevent him from seeing anything as they returned to the Tower.


Thor landed in the town known as Salem, of Massachusetts. The town was known for it's legends of witchcraft, or so Darcy had once told him when she had regaled him with stories of Midgard. Such a haunted past would, of course, naturally draw someone like this Fright Knight.

What worried Thor, however, was not tales of witchcraft. It was how utterly quiet the area seemed. The scene before him was disturbing. Some of the nearby buildings were on fire, casting an eerie glow in the night, mixed with the bright moon. But there was no one around.

So, the old tales of the Fight Knight's blade were true. Those who were cut by the Soul Shredder were sent to a realm of fear. As Thor slowly walked up the street, his long red cape billowing, he heard something behind him.

Turning, he saw what many would consider a frightening sight. In the dark orange glow of the nearby flames sat a figure on a demonic steed with large bat-like wings, far larger than any normal hoarse.

"So, the Asgardian Avenger comes to challenge my blade," Fright Knight said, his deep commanding voice rang out.

"I have not come to die," Thor shouted back, gripping his hammer.

"You do not have a choice in the matter, Odinson," Fright Knight said. He pointed his green blade at Thor. "My blade has long thirsted for an Asgardian's soul. What better victim, than the legendary Son of Odin?"


Soon arriving back at the Tower, Cap had healed to the point where he could at least stand. Banner had worked with JARVIS in creating a wide-range tracking program specifically keyed into Danny's unique signature. Upon landing, JARVIS filled Iron Man and Black Widow about Thor confronting the Fright Knight.

The Avengers had gathered into the briefing room. Vlad, still with the hood over his head, was sitting in a chair, and was still handcuffed. "Am I the only one who thinks it's a bad idea to have a criminal like Masters in our own HQ?" Barton asked.

"He doesn't have his powers, anymore," Widow replied.

"If he still did, JARVIS or the Tower's sensors would have went off," Banner said, following Widow's train of thought.

"Finally excepted the truth, Agent Romanoff?" Vlad chuckled softly.

Widow replied by ripping the hood off Vlad's head. "Out with it," she said. "All of it. We're running out of time. No jokes. No snide comments. The truth. Now. You know who or what that thing is that took Danny's place. Who is it?"

Vlad shook his head, as if in disappointment. "I tried to warn you, dear girl," he said. "That monster is Daniel. Or rather, he's half of him."

"This is a waste of time," Tony muttered, scowling. "Guy's off his rocker. Danny always said he was a fruitloop."

Vlad scowled at the comment. "I wasn't finished, Stark," he said. Vlad shook his head, and closed his eyes before continuing, telling them of his return to Earth, after being struck by a chunk of the Dis-asteroid and blacking out. "I woke up in a clearing and turned around to see a horrifying sight glaring down at me. It was Daniel! And yet, it wasn't. It was far to old and large to be Daniel.

"And then, the being told me everything. This being was indeed Danny Phantom; but from the future."

"That's a load of bull," Cap said. "There's no such thing."

"Well, technically, time travel is a theory that has been gaining ground in the scientific fields in the past few years," Banner said. Cap shot him a look, and turned back to Vlad.

"You expect us to believe that?" he asked

"Believe what you will, Captain," Vlad replied.

"We're getting off track, here," Widow interrupted. "Earlier, you said that this thing is only part of Danny. What else is he?"

"Why, me," Vlad said. "This future Phantom told me the rest of his origin story, if you will. Our Little Badger has had quite the adventures through time. He didn't go into details on how, but apparently, our Daniel once traveled into the future and witnessed found what remained of the world."

Vlad paused to take a drink of water before continuing.

"In that previous time line, Daniel lost everything, including his family, well before he met any of you. With nowhere else to go, he came to me. In order to help him get over his pain, I apparently separated his human half from his ghost half. But this had... disturbing consequences.

"No longer tied to his human soul, Daniel's ghost half saw this as a chance to rid himself of his most hated enemy. Me. Phantom managed to separate my ghost self from me, and tried to overshadow it in an attempt to destroy Vlad Plasmius. But when Daniel's ghost half mixed with mine, my evil side overwhelmed him.

"And in that moment, an entirely new being was born. A Dark Phantom, if you will. One that contained all of our combined powers. However, our Daniel was eventually able to over come his future, and alter the time line."

"So, this thing out there posing as Danny," Stark said. "Is actually both of you, all wrapped up in one big, bad package? This is too weird, even by ghost standards."

"So, why did this... 'Dark Phantom' save you and tell you all this?" Captain America asked, trying to put aside the idea of time travel for a moment.

"Because he wanted to use me as a pawn in his game of revenge," Vlad answered. He then tapped his chin, and glanced at the ceiling for a moment. "I must say, he does indeed posses my devilishly charming intellect and impressive ability to make complex plans. Traits that Daniel has always lacked on his own."

"And so you just agreed to help him," Banner pointed out, skeptically chewing on his pen. "Just like that?"

"Of course, I did," Vlad glared at Dr Banner. "Please, due enlighten me as to what I was supposed to do? I couldn't have fought him; I didn't have my ghost powers anymore! And I certainly didn't want to die."

"So, he's been planning all this for years," Maria Hill asked. "Why now? Why take so long?"

"To be thorough," Vlad answered plainly. "And to build up his power. He has inhuman patience, and took each step carefully. Even going so far as to test Daniel's skills on board your flying ship, just before the incident in New York."

"It was him that blew the other engine on the Helicarrier?" Hill asked. "We caught sight of a pink ecto-blast striking the engine, causing it to blow. But Phantom's blasts are green."

"Mine were pink, dear girl," Vlad explained. "As I said, he is a combination of myself and Daniel. Changing the color of his blasts would hardly be a difficult feat for someone like him. He wanted you and Fury to think I was the one who attacked your vessel. He wanted me to eventually be found by your agents, so I could sew the deception."

"And then, once he no longer had use for you, he wanted to tie up all loose ends," Natasha concluded. "He wanted everyone to think it was, in fact, the real Danny Phantom wreaking havoc."

"Until he miscalculated on how well you know Daniel," Vlad said. "Once he realized that you, Agent Romanoff, could see through his deception, he tried to have me killed, because he knew I would tell you the truth."

"Was that him in that base?" Stark asked.

Vlad shook his head. "No," he answered. "That was merely a shadow duplicate. After all, why put yourself in harms way unless it's absolutely necessary? It's a tactic I had used, over the years."

"If a single duplicate could take out an entire base, armed with anti-ghost weapons...," Stark wondered out loud, not finishing the thought.

"In any case," Captain America said. "This Dark Phantom must have a base of operations." He looked pointedly at Vlad. "Any ideas?"

"I never saw his lair," Vlad said. "I don't even know if it's on Earth, or in the Ghost Zone."

"But you must have an idea of where to start looking," Cap insisted, frowning. "He is half of you, after all."

Vlad's eyebrows furrowed, and he stroked his chin, deep in thought. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thought occurred to him; as if remembering something. "Actually," he said. "I might have an idea."