Drabble 42-Blast to the Past

Natural portals were both a good and bad thing in Danny's book. The were bad because the would pop up out of nowhere and take him to places he never asked to be, but the were also good because sometimes that was exactly what the needed.

However, he had no idea how to feel about this one.

The sky was grey and lifeless, and there went any buildings. Just trees and a dirt path leading to a giant wave of smoke in the distance.

Danny didn't know if it was because of years of fighting ghosts and super villains, but his gut was screaming at him yo check it out. He turned invisible and flew towards what he probably shouldn't.

It only took him a few short minutes but in those short minutes the threat had been neutralized.

By Captain America.

Danny flew down and his behind a tank despite being invisible, and watched as Cap and some other guys, came together again.

"Wait," Cap said. "Where's Buck?"

"Right here you fuckin' punk," he hollered. Danny's eyes bulged out of his skull at the sight if Bucky Barnes.

He was wearing and odd, blue uniform with a rifle strapped to his back. His hair was short and the had a cocky, easy going grin plastered onto his face. And both of his arms were flesh.

"I'm in World War II," Danny muttered to himself. Slightly in shock, slightly in relief. Because Cap knew Tony's dad meaning he could build a portal and get back home!

"What was that?" The guy in the bowler hat asked. If Danny was right, that guy was Dug Dug Dugan. A member of the Howling Commandos like Steve and Bucky.

It took all of Danny's willpower to not fanboy and make a fool of himself. He had almost all of the Howling Commandos comic books. He stopped collecting when Steve started telling stories.

It was the that Danny realized that if the wanted their help he would have to reveal himself. But the wasn't going to turn into Fenton. Just stay as Phantom.

He slowly came out of his hiding spot, dropping his invisibility and holding his hands up in the universal sign of Please Don't Hurt Me.

"It was me," Danny said, taking a step forward. "And I need you help."

"And how do we know you're not HYDRA?" Bucky asked, aiming his rifle at what Danny knew was his beautiful face.

"Because I hate them. They experimented on me like I was a class science project." Granted it wasn't in this time but that didn't stop Danny from feeling the level of hate that he did towards the organization. He saw Bucky relax just ever so slightly. He understood.

"Why should we believe you?" Dugan asked. The other Commandos yelled out their agreements.

"Because," Danny said, unzipping his HAZMAT suit and ripping it open, "Do you honestly think I would be on the same side as the people who did this?"

It was a low blow, Danny knew, but if he showed his dissection scar then maybe the would help him.

Cap and Bucky went pale, and the others couldn't bare to look for morethan a couple if seconds. Dugan started to look a little green, and Danny zipped his suit back up.

"Can you guys help me?" Danny asked. They had recovered enough to give him a powerful yes, the would help him, but still made extra eye contact.

Steve honestly didn't know what to think of this kid. First, the was a fucking child. Second, what the hell was he wearing? And what did that insignia on his chest mean?

He was… Unnatural. He was maybe sixteen or seventeen at the most but he had white hair that was brighter than the old man's who lived in the apartment above him back in Brooklyn. And his eyes…Those were what set Steve off the most. He had seen bright green eyes, but his were freaking glowing. Literally. In fact, no that Steve looked closer, he saw that all of him had a faint, white flow around him. But there was something about him that made Steve want to trust him. He didn't know what it was, but he knew he had to follow his gut. It hadn't led him wrong so far.

"Whats your name, kid?" He asked, placing his shield on his back. The kid gave him a relieved, somewhat cocky smile as he flipped his hair out of his eyes.

"Name's Phantom."

—-

It was two days to get to their extraction, so the had to camp. The first night went smoothly, more smooth than the all thought it would. Like always, they took turns sleeping. Dugan took the first shift, Bucky the second, and Steve the third.

Danny had stayed awake for all three.

He had cracked a couple of jokes to Dugan, but when he got no response the say in silence until he woke Bucky up and went to bed himself. Despite knowing Bucky, he didn't know this one. He had no idea how to talk to him, so they didn't.

Steve, Danny had quickly realized, hadn't really changed all that much. It was easier to talk to him. Back at the Tower he had always thought of him like a mentor, but now he was just a good friend. A sight for sore eyes.

"So…Is Phantom like, a code-name or something?" Steve asked. Danny nodded.

"Yeah," he replied with a small smile. That surprised Steve. He didn't really see many smiles from anybody. Nit a genuine one, anyway.

"Can I ask you something?" Steve asked. It was out of nowhere, but Danny was winking to answer them.

"Yeah, to ahead."

"Why are you glowing? And how did a kid like you end up in the middle of enemy territory?" Danny saw nothing but concern in Steve's big blue eyes, and he allowed himself to sigh.

"I'm… Ugh, my name is Phantom for a reason. I… I'm half ghost. My parents were scientists and ther3 was an accident and it changed my DNA. And I ended up here through a natural portal."

"Half ghost? Natural portal?"

"Yeah. Human and ghost. Id show you my human half but I don't wanna wake the others. And natural portals are linked to this place called the Ghost Zone, which is where all ghosts stay. They can take you to any time, place, or dimension. You're probably not going to believe me but in from the 21st Century…"

There was something else he wasn't telling Steve. And he was right-Steve didn't really believe it. But if he was it would make sense. Why he had on funny clothes, the glowing, his he appeared out of nowhere. But he needed to know the rest

"There's something else, isn't there?" He asked. Danny nodded.

"Yeah. But I cant tell you. I don't wanna mess with time. Bad things happen when you mess with time. And Clockwork would have my head on a stick if he found out I screwed it up. He's another ghost-Master of Time and all that."

"You're really open about all of this," Steve noted. "Why?"

"I guess," Danny said, "cause you're easy to talk to. Like an old friend."

They spent the rest of the night in silence.

-—–

The second night was kind if the same, except when he and Steve talked, all he did was tell him his real name. It was a small thing, Steve wanted to believe, but the also wanted to believe that it was about as big of a thing as Danny floating about an inch of of the ground instead of actually walking. He knew Bucky noticed his feet weren't actually touching the ground, but he didn't know if the others saw. They had gotten him some clothes so he could blend in a little better. Over his skin tight suit he wore some pants, boots, and a dirty, green long sleeved shirt. They put a helmet on him so he wouldn't be a glowing beacon of trouble, and got him some goggles for when the met Stark.

It was strange, though, how he could be so aware and awake. The kid hadn't slept in two days, maybe more, and he was walking around like he' slept for a week. Steve also noticed that he didn't really seem winded. In fact, the only time he really saw Danny physically breathe was when he sighed. Other than that, it was kind of rare to see his chest move up in down like his did. He also didn't eat as much as the others, for whatever reason. Maybe ghosts didn't need to actually eat? He had no idea. But he did take some coffee if it was offered it to him. He never got cold, either In fact, he complained that it was to warm a couple of times.

Bucky sped up so he could talk to Steve, keeping an ear on Phantom's conversation with Gabe. He was trying to learn a few basic French terms for Denier. He seemed to be a fast learner.

"So, did you talk to the kid?" Bucky whispered. Steve nodded and snuck a glance at Danny, who was laughing at something Gabe said. It was weird. He was like a ray of sunshine, all happiness and rainbows right in the middle of a war.

"Said he was half-ghost and from the 21st century," Steve replied, eyeing the trees. "I'm not saying it's true, but it would explain everything."

"Seriously?" Bucky asked, giving Steve a skeptical look.

"Well, I went from ninety pounds soaking wet to 240 pounds and in enemy territory within a few minutes. I like to think that at this point I have an open mind. Besides, he's not even touching the ground. You saw, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I don't like it, though. He shouldn't be here. And I've read enough books to know that if you mess with time bad things happen."

"Goodness, you're so paranoid. And he said the same thing, about time and all of that. If we take him to Stark, though, he should be able to get home."

"Good. I can't stand any more of his stupid jokes."

"Woah, retro," Danny said as they walked into Howard's lab, Peggy leading them. Steve had briefed her on the way down while Bucky and Danny talked about the future. Apparently, in the 21st Century they did not have flying cars. But they had flying people, so it was kind of the same thing, according to Danny. And on top of that, they had a black president, same-sex marriage was legal, and and his best friend was a guy who could stick to walls and shoot webs like a spider. It was all very intriguing.

"Ah!" Howard shouted as they walked over to him. "Who do we have here?" He asked, looking Danny up and down. "You're fashion sense is absolutely horrible, kid, let me tell you. Who dressed you, Cap?"

"Yeah. actually," Danny replied nervously.

"What a shame. Any-who, I assume you all are here for upgrades?" Howard looked at them expectantly, his eyebrow raising up the same way Tony's did. He was fidgety and tinkering with his hands when he didn't have a tool in them. The apple really didn't fall far.

"Um, actually, I need to get home. But I need your lab to do it."

Howard stopped dead in his tracks, blinking at Danny as if he told him that he needed Howard's lung.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you. You, an obviously inexperienced child, needs to use my tools to get home? And how do you plan on doing that?"

"I'm going to make blue prints and go from there. I've built it before, I just need a pen and some wall space."

He got up in Howard's space, but it wasn't as intimidating as he had hoped because of his awful getup.

"Danny, show him," Steve said.

"Ugh, finally," Danny said. He stepped back from Howard, the tension already gone, and started taking off the helmet and goggles, showing white hair and green eyes. He took off the long sleeved shirt and pants and boots as well, showing Peggy and Howard the uniform he wore underneath.

"What are you, kid?" Howard asked. Danny could practically see the gears turning in his head as he lifted off f the ground, sitting cross legged in mid air.

"I'm a ghost. Well, half-ghost, but a ghost nonetheless. And I need to use your lab so I can get home to my time. Please?"

It took only a few weeks to build the portal from scratch, even with the modifications Danny had made to it. But Steve and Bucky were still sad to see the little genius go.

"Okay," Danny said as he took the blueprints and incinerated them in his hands. "This works on ectoplasm-the stuff ghosts are made of-and it'll only work once. But Steve, Bucky, you have to promise me you'll destroy the portal after I leave. I can't be ruining the time stream or anything, it's highly important to the future. Understand?" Cap and Bucky nodded.

"Where'd you get the ectooplasm?" Bucky asked as Danny turned the portal on. It hummed with glowing energy.

Wordlessly, Danny held up his bandaged arm. "Nothing a little of myself can't fix." He walked over, and stood before them as the portal finished warming up. "I can't thank you guys enough," he told them, holding out his hand. Steve and Bucky both shook it, and he gave them a two-fingered saute before flying through, and into the Ghost Zone. Once the doors were closed, it started sparking and shutting down, deactivating thanks to Danny. Steve walked up and destroyed the control panel, and Bucky started to tear the wires out.

After all, they had to keep their promise.

It only took a quick stop at Clockwork's Tower and he was back at the Avenger's Tower, safe and sound like nothing had ever happened.

"Oh, Daniel, back from patrol already?" Vision asked as he flew up to him. Danny nodded, and took the hallway that led to his room. He had had a long couple of weeks.

"Danny."

He turned around, only to see Steve, still in his shorts from his morning run.

"Oh, hey Steve. What's up?" All he had to do was act natural. It couldn't have been that hard, right?

"Nothing," Steve said with a smile, patting Danny's shoulder. "I just wanted to say you're welcome."

Danny stared, stunned, as Steve casually headed to his room. When his brain finally rebooted, he smiled.

It was nice to finally know the reason Steve had been so keen on having him join the Avengers.