A/N - Thanks again for the great reviews, everyone! Keep it up. ^u^ On another note, I'll probably slow down the updates to once every two days. I just got a lot added to my plate, and my muse is withering away with all the pressure. Sorry, but it can't be helped. Please enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Ghosts, Ghost Portals

When Danny got back to the hotel room, he had no desire to stick around and listen to his parents go on and on about ghosts and ghost technology again. That was something his life could do with less of. After calling a quick goodbye to Bruce, the halfa teen retreated to his room and flopped down on the bed with a sigh.

Spending all day socializing, even if it was enjoyable, was exhausting. It was vastly different from back home, where he'd have barely any time at all to enjoy the company of his friends between ghost fights and avoiding detection.

Avoiding detection was something Danny had always had issues with. The teen wasn't a very good liar, originally, and he still wasn't all that good. He had his moments, and he could lie away small things his parents or teachers noticed, like a minor scrape or a new band-aid. He became very good at hiding pain, limps, flinches and all. The teen could easily take a hit from Dash Baxter and pretend it hurt more than it did, or less, if Dash managed to punch an injury. His body language was better at hiding things than his words, though.

Really, it was mainly that Danny didn't have creative enough excuses that were also believable. His most common excuse at school was still the old 'may I go to the bathroom'. Half the student body thought he had bladder problems. The other half just knew he was bad at lying. It was pretty obvious.

So, yes, avoiding detection was something Danny Fenton sucked at. Which was why the appearance of two government agents when he had already slipped up a couple of times was so alarming, besides the fact that he had a phobia of agents.

He didn't know who they were, he didn't know who they worked for, and he didn't know if they wanted anything specific or were just hanging around the tower because they were Avengers like Tony and Bruce and Steve. He needed to know. His paranoia wouldn't let him rest until he knew he was safe.

There was one person Danny could count on for help in a situation like this. One of his two best friends, the ever-amazing hacker, Tucker Foley, would be able to find out more about the two agents. With any luck, the teen wouldn't be interrupting anything important.

"Thank the Ancients Tucker can hack so well," he grumbled, ruffling his hair. "I'm so lucky to have such good friends... now where did I put my phone?"

Bruce nodded to Danny as the teen said his farewells for the evening and disappeared to another room. He wasn't sure what to expect from the teen's parents, but he allowed himself to stay open-minded and inquisitive as they introduced themselves and their topic of study.

Danny had said they were paranormal scientists focusing on ghosts and ectoplasm-based technology. He had failed to mention how enthusiastic his parents were about the subject. The nuclear physicist was entirely unprepared for the other man's exuberant shouts about how ghosts were interesting creatures made of ectoplasm and post-human consciousness.

Danny's mother put her hand on her husband's arm to calm him down and introduced herself cheerfully. "I'm Madeline Fenton, and this is my husband, Jack, though you can call me Maddie, if you'd like. We're Danny's parents. He said you wanted to discuss our research?"

"Yeah," he agreed, giving them a slight smile, "Danny mentioned a bit about the parallel dimension, and a bit about the ghost attacks in your town. I thought it was very interesting, and as a fellow scientist, I was curious to learn more."

She smiled kindly and replied, "That's wonderful! It isn't common that someone believes us or our son right off the bat, you know. Come on in, and have a seat. Do you want any tea, coffee, water?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, thank you."

They all took a seat in the small living area. Maddie and Jack exchanged a brief look, a silent conversation that was short and to the point, and Maddie nodded. Jack grinned, and pulled out what looked like a futuristic plasma gun. Bruce had a feeling his guess wasn't far off.

"So, you wanted to know more about ghosts and the Ghost Zone, correct?"

He nodded, and she continued on. "Ghosts are commonly thought to be human souls, after the body has died, and that the souls linger for a purpose, maybe some unfinished business. This is... partially true. We're still unsure how to confirm whether a ghost created from a deceased human is that human's soul or not. Research would point towards yes, but there's no factual basis, seeing as many ghosts cannot remember their human lives, if they ever had one. Jack?"

"Of course, Maddie!" her husband replied. He took up where she let off, and explained, "Over the past three years, we've learned a lot about ghosts! Apparently, not all ghosts are malevolent and evil. According to our best source, most of the population of the Ghost Zone just want to be left alone. Our source, a ghost named Phantom, also explained that ghosts can have children together just like humans, and are able to build families. Interesting, huh?"

Bruce grinned and nodded. It really was interesting. There was effectively another sentient race on Earth, or at least a parallel dimension connected to Earth. He wondered if he could speak to this Phantom ghost.

Maddie smiled at the other man's interest. "Obsessions are what keeps a ghost around. I believe that, if they really are souls of the dead, they could pass on if they satisfied their obsession, but they could also stick around if they chose to. As Jack said, some of them form families and have children. I'd definitely understand not wanting to leave them behind."

"So, the parallel dimension is called the Ghost Zone? How did you two learn about it?" Bruce asked, fully curious by now. He wanted to know what it was like, if it was like another world or a duplicate of Earth, or if Thor's stories of Asgard sounded similar.

Jack and Maddie both nodded. "We came up with a theory for it in college, with our friend, Vlad Masters. Other people had ideas, but nothing to go off of. Think about it this way; the Bermuda Triangle, areas where it's common for things and people to disappear, things from the future arriving in the past, or vice versa? If there was a parallel dimension running alongside ours, and the barrier was weak in certain places, what would happen? We researched these phenomena, since it seemed to occur a lot in places of high spiritual and supernatural activity, and we found a journal of someone's travels to a 'strange place' where the sky was green and the people were different, and could fly."

Jack beamed at the other man, catching the expression of understanding that appeared in his eyes. "Exactly! The person who wrote that journal fell through what's called a 'natural portal', and ended up in the Ghost Zone! From there, it was fairly easy to figure out a way to break through to the alternate dimension. The hardest part was building an artificial portal."

"Yes," Maddie agreed. "The theory was actually very simple. We had managed to get a supply of ectoplasm, and we built a proto-portal, a prototype for the artificial portal we wanted to make. There was a moment where it worked, at first. It was too bad the thing blew up in Vlad's face. That poor man."

"Yeah, poor Vladdie. Well, twenty or so years later, we completed a full-sized artificial portal to the Ghost Zone! We tried turning it on, but it didn't work. We thought there must've been something wrong in our calculations, but Danny tried to get it to work, bless his little heart. He's definitely a Fenton, that boy!" Jack boomed proudly.

Bruce chuckled at that. He was suspicious, though. How would a fourteen-year-old get his parents' invention to suddenly work? What had happened there? Was it something simple that the parents had missed because they spent too much time on the project? It was entirely possible. Sometimes people could miss the most obvious mistakes.

"So, what happened? How did your son get it to work?" he asked.

Maddie and Jack shared an uncomfortable look. She frowned, and replied, "He never told us how, actually. We've asked, of course, but he always distracts us or gives a half-answer and leaves the room before we can ask more. I think it might be because of the accident that he had with the portal... but I wouldn't know for sure."

"Accident?" Bruce asked, alarmed. Maybe his suspicions weren't unfounded.

Jack nodded, also frowning. "Yeah. Danny's friends said he'd got a bit of a shock when he turned it on. They did say it wasn't anything to worry about, and Dann-o looked fine, but..." he trailed off, and his frown deepened.

"But he was very clumsy for the next month or so, and after that, his grades started dropping, and he started missing curfew more often than not. It was the beginning of freshman year for him, though, so we chalked it up to academic stress. He's doing a bit better now," Maddie added, continuing what her husband had started explaining.

"That's weird. Well, I'm glad that Danny didn't get hurt worse. Thank you for telling me about all this. It's really fascinating." Bruce shook their hands, and smiled. "I might be back tomorrow to talk some more. I'm sure you have plenty of interesting ghost stories."

"Of course, Dr. Banner. You're welcome to come have a chat when Danny comes back from his visit with you and his other new friends. Just... make sure he stays safe. I'm not overly concerned about him, he can certainly handle himself, but..." Maddie replied, trailing off.

"But a mother worries. Of course, Mrs. Fenton. I'll make sure he gets back safe and sound tomorrow," Bruce agreed. With that, he and the other two adults said goodbye and he left for Stark Tower. It had been a very... intriguing conversation.

"So, you think you can do it?" Danny asked quietly, holding the phone up to his ear.

"Of course, man. No problem," Tucker replied smoothly. "It'll be fun. I always like a challenge, when it comes to computers. I might even try to hack Stark's systems, just for the hell of it. What were the agents' names again?"

Danny sighed in relief. "Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov. Thank you so much, Tucker. I don't know what I'd do without you," he stated sincerely. There was a relaxed laugh from the other end of the line, and he grinned.

"Dude, you would be lost without me. Admit it, without me and Sam, you'd probably be horrible at fighting ghosts," the techno geek drawled smugly.

"Yeah. Those training regiments you made for me did wonders on my aim and physical fitness. I still can't believe Sam hired a martial arts teacher just so she could teach us what she learned, those skills really came in handy." Danny chuckled.

"Hell yeah! Aikido is great! I never knew that you could learn how to fall. If only you could use it on Dash instead of letting him beat you up."

Danny grimaced. "It's easier to just take it, and I don't want to do anything that would give me away. Beating up Dash, even if it was just redirecting his attacks with aikido, would put too much suspicion on me."

Tucker sighed. "I know, man. It just sucks that you have to deal with that."

"Yeah. Thanks, Tuck. Talk to you later?" Danny asked.

"Yep. I'll give Sam an update tomorrow. I should have the info you need by tomorrow evening, at the latest. Most government systems are crap, after all. Talk to you later, Danny." And with that, he ended the call.

Danny sat on his bed in the darkness, looking out his window at the night sky, ignorant of the faint green glow his eyes gave off. His time in New York had been packed to the brim with interesting and exciting things. New friends and experiences were abundant. It was the end of the second day, with five left.

In that moment, the halfa wondered how he would get by without revealing his secret to a bunch of superheroes, most of which were geniuses or good at reading people. Clockwork would intervene if it was going to end badly, though. He always did give Danny warnings to steer him in the right direction whenever a situation could turn dire.

All the ghostly teenager had to do was trust Clockwork, his instincts, and be careful.f