Drabble 65-Bored part 2

The humans were…Interesting, to say the least. Every single one of them. After his little trip to the mortal plain he decided he was going to keep an eye on them, just in case. And he had Clockwork's help in looking back at what they had previously done, like saving New York from aliens. Which was pretty rad.

He knew how Stark buried himself in his work, ignoring his feelings because it was easier to detach and pretend like you don't care when you know deep down you probably care to much.

He saw how the good Captain would wake up in a cold sweat, shouting for this Bucky person, or a Peggy. Then he would realize where he was, eyes sparking with realization, and stay awake the rest of the night. Nobody knew because of the soundproof walls and Steve's ability to lie his ass off like it was as easy as breathing.

He observed how Doctor Banner would fiddle nervously, always wringing his hands as if anticipating something bad. He flinched at every sudden noise and would shy away from contact more often then not. But he had more heart than probably any of the others. All he wanted to do was good, but sometimes things got a little out of hand.

He noted how Natasha was quiet as a mouse though everyone was aware she was the predator, not prey. He knew she kept an assortment of hidden weapons on her person, even if she was just relaxing in her pajamas. It gave her a sense of comfort. The Tower and Avengers did to, but only to a degree. The Widow did not like being caught off guard. And after Red Room, Danny knew she never would be.

Then came her partner I'm crime. The archer. Clint was definitely a wonder, chugging down an entire pot of coffee straight from the pot and able to stomach moldy pizza if he really needed to. His aim was like nothing Danny had ever seen, and yet he didn't even seem to care. But Danny saw through that. Clint cared about being the best, about being worthy to the Avengers kf nothing else. Because if he ever missed he would be just another guy with a bow and arrow. He would just put in his purple hearing aids and get on with his life, because pretending you were stupid was simple than his life, and sometimes he really just needed simple.

Thor was probably the hardest to read. Even harder than Natasha. A lot of that came from the fact that Thor was immortal and had a lot of baggage. He blamed himself for Loki's fate and his mother's death. He blames himself for the death of the mortals that fell when the Chitari attacked. He decided to use those, however, to give his friends-his second family-advice. If anything it was to prevent them from making the same foolish mistakes he had. Too many lives have been taken because of him. To many innocent lives. Most people would never know though. The never looked past the kindness in his eyes to see the guilty weight bearing down on him.

Then there was probably the most normal person out of the lot. He had no powers or any special skills except for being able to control a giant pair of wings with ease. But he had these eyes that spoke volumes without him even having to open his mouth. His body language said soldier. It said retired. But his heart spoke a tale of sadness, of exhaustion. A type of haunting that stayed with a veteran for the rest of their lives. He saw how Sam put headphones in on the Fourth of July, and he saw the way he rarely took his own advice. His loyalty was what set him apart from the others.

Its was strange how… Alike he was with each and every one of them. Uncanny, really, like bits and pieces of his personality made seven other super heroes, half of which didn't have powers. His chest tightened and he mindlessly rubbed at the spot above his core, feeling the cold through his gloves. He smiled to himself at the thought of his last visit to the mortal plain. He loved the feeling of fulfillment, like everything was right in the universe. His head had cleared and he had felt the nostalgia of an adrenaline rush and excitement. The kind that was nowhere to be seen in the Ghost Zone.

Perhaps it was time for another trip

. -—-

It wasn't hard to find the Tower by any means. It was this big, ugly thing in the middle of New York with a giant letter A on it, practically asking the bad guys to come and destroy it. Subtly was definitely not their strong-suit , that's for sure. Though he wasn't particularly one to talk either. After all, when he was alive he had a UFO on his house and a neon sign telling everybody human and ghost where he lived. He wondered how much of it was left.

He landed gracefully on the launch pad Stark used, smiling at the breeze that was dramatically blowing his cape, like he was in a movie. It was a bright day with a few clouds here and there, making i seem like summer, but when Danny looked over to Central park he saw the orange in the leaves and the grass starting to die, just so it can be reborn again.

His small smile grew into a grin, though, when he heard a door open and small footsteps come his way. He turned to meet his favorite billionaire, Tony Stark himself.

"Hey, Spooky," Stark greeted, hands in his pockets. He looked relaxed, but is body language told Danny he was ready for a fight if the need be. "How you been?"

The King shrugged as he walked toward Stark, his green eyes scanning the building. "I've been bored out of my mind. Politics was definitely not my major in college, I'll tell you that."

Stark chuckled a bit, taking one hand out of his pocket and slapping Danny on the back with it before leading him inside.

"How does a brat like you become king of ghosts? I'll never understand that."

"Like anybody could resist my good looks," Phantom shot back with a laugh, gesturing to his face. Tony rolled his eyes at the spirit. He pushed the door open, and stepped inside, but before he could announce their new guest, Thor stood up. I giant grin was plastered on his face as he strode over, holding out his hand.

Tony watched as they didn't shake hands, but instead gripped each other's forearms for a moment before letting go. Phantom had on less armor this time, so now it was easy to see the muscles rippling under his clothes.

"Greetings, my king," Thor said with a smile. "Would you like to try a toasted pastry?"

"Anything but toast, dude," Phantom smiled back.

"You don't like toast?" Clint asked from across the room, trying to balance a tower of action figures on his knee. "Toast is amazing!"

Instead of responding, he followed Thor to the kitchen, where Sam and Steve were relaxing over a cup of coffee. There was another man with dirty brown hair and only one arm with huge bags under his eyes. He was very new. Phantom noticed how he tensed up when he walked into the room with Tony.

"Phantom!" Steve rushed, standing up so quickly that his chair almost fell back. Sam just rolled his eyes, and the new guy glared at him. Probably for disturbing the peace and quiet.

"Captain. Always a pleasure," Phantom smiled. He looked around the fully stocked kitchen as Thor grabbed a package of poptarts and put them in the toaster.

"You want to sit down with us?" Steve asked. Phantom shrugged.

"Yeah, sure."

Steve thought it was odd. He thought Phantom was odd. He was a king, and almost always formal, but when he wasn't he almost acted like Clint, with the 'dudes' and other modern day slang. He also apparently had the impeccable ability of making himself at home.

"So, what brings you to the land of the living, man?" Sam asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Phantom shrugged.

"Oh, you know. Bored out of my mind. And it's nice to see some old friends. Though, I don't think I've met you," he looked over at the silent figure, who was now looking like he'd rather be somewhere else. "I'm Phantom," he said, stretching out his hand. The ,man didn't take it. Instead, he muttered out a gruff, "Bucky." Phantom's eyes widened, and he got a big grin on his face.

The ringing of Tony's phone didn't disrupt the conversation a bit, but it did make Danny question his music choices as the billionaire left the room. He turned back to Steve.

"You mean like...Captain America's old war friend Bucky? Bucky Barnes?" He could barely contain his excitement. Sam made a mental note that the ghost was apparently oblivious to body language, because now Bucky was really looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Hell, maybe even sitting on the couch with Barton. "Dude, that's so cool! It's such an honor!"

Steve was looking at Bucky now, unsure of how he would react, but he did one thing that only Steve ever was able to see.

Bucky smiled.

It was a tiny little thing, just a tilt of the corner of his lips, but it was enough. Anyone who could make Bucky smile was a friend in Steve's book.

"Damn it!" They heard Tony shout. He had been quietly murmuring to the person on the other line. It was strange how someone as energetic as Tony could make himself damn near invisible, but now everyone was starring at him as he walked back into the room. Phantom gave him a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Nothing. Just work stuff," Tony answered. He headed over to the bar and poured himself a generous glass of whiskey before downing it and sighing, almost lost in thought. His brow was furrowed and his hands were at his temple, trying to think.

"What happened?" Sam repeated Danny's question. Tony looked over at him, his lips in a thin line, like he was trying to decide whether or not he should tell the former pararescue. He sighed again.

"Dalv co. Is buying out small portions of Stark. With the money they can get from them they could buy me out."

Tony sagged, seeming more tired than a man his age should be, but Danny perked up. Not happily, no, but because he recognized the name. God it had been so long since he's heard it he almost forgot about it completely.

"...Did you say...Dalv?" Danny asked him. His voice took on a more serious tone. "Run by Vlad Masters?"

Tony looked at him partly in surprise and partly something else Danny wasn't able to identify. But the sudden mood change wasn't promising.

"Er...Yeah. Snobby rich guy with a football obsession. Every time we end up in the same room together I hear him complain about how the Packers won't be sold to him."

"Even in death he still pisses me off," Danny muttered.

"What? What does that mean?" Steve asked.

"Vlad was an old college friend of my parents, ended up getting ghost acne and with it he got ghost powers. He's a halfa." Danny explained.

"That would explain how he came out of nowhere with all that money," Tony said. "I've been trying to figure that one out for years."

"Yeah, he stole it. And now it looks like he's stealing you. But I know just the way to fix this." A smirk grew across Danny's face as he rubbed his hands together maniacally. "Who would like to go pay the old fruitloop a visit?

Sorry about the late update, I just started college and had a bit of writer's block. And I also apologize about the last chapter having so many typos, I wrote most of it from my phone and I copy and pasted it from tumblr before fixing the typos, and forgot to go back. I hope you enjoyed!