Chapter 6

It was windy, and the skies were dark with rain clouds when the green portal opened up. The Avengers, all suited up, stared at it. They were excited to see Phantom again, and were excited to visit his home.

However, what came out of the portal wasn't Phantom or Valerie. It was a giant wolf creature, with black fur and glowing green eyes. He walked over to them and handed them a note.

Hey guys,

I'm sending an escort because I'm stuck in a meeting. This is Wulf. He speaks Esperanto, and he'll be your escort. You can trust him.

-King Phantom

Tony looked from the note to Wulf, and gave the creature a thumbs up. Wulf grinned, and it was adorable. Wulf turned away from them, walking towards the portal. He stopped right next to it and turned around, waving them through.

Steve was the first one that went in. He put his hand through first, surprised from the coldness. But he was used to the cold. This wasn't going to be a big deal.

On the other side, it was nothing like Steve had ever imagined.

The skies were a beautiful, swirling green. The ground he stood on was purple. There wasn't any grass or trees, but there was a garden at the foot of the large castle, that had flowers sprouting from it. A small green woman with pink petals for hair and soft yellow eyes looked up at him. She smiled and waved before floating over.

"Hello, my name is Tulip. How may I assist you and your friends?" She asked. Steve looked behind him, not having noticed the rest of them coming over. Wulf stepped forward and...Spoke to her? What came out of his mouth was just a series of statics and clicks, but Tulip seemed to know exactly what he said anyway. She waved at them before going back to the garden, willing flowers to grow with her glowing hands.

"She seems nice," Bruce said, moving closer towards the group.

"What was that static, though?" Clint asked. "It wasn't my hearing aids, was it?"

"No, we heard it too," Natasha answered. "Maybe some kind of...dead language?"

"Is that why Wulf speaks Esperanto?" Tony asked. "That's so bad it's good."

"We are falling behind the draugr," Thor said. He most certainly did not look happy to be here. He was a little on edge, but willing to respect those in a kingdom that wasn't his.

Wulf led them through the large oak doors and into a huge throne room. Near the back of the room were two grand thrones, with a small crown sitting on one of them. There were guards floating here and there, talking and such. A couple of cooks and maids made their way through as well. But the one that stood out to them most was the one who was on a horse. He and his horse were covered head to toe in black armor, with purple fire coming from the knight's helmet. He looked at them with his piercing green eyes and trotted over to them.

"Weapons at the door," he said.

"Relax, we're friends with the king," Tony said. "We're the Avengers. Ambassadors of Earth?"

"Weapons," the knight said, his voice more menacing than last time, "at the door."

"Relax, it's more of a respect thing than anything. That's always been a rule here."

All six of them looked up at someone who looked eerily like the king. She had short white hair, blazing green eyes, and a similar skin tight outfit, with the same blazing green logo on her chest.

"Your Danny's friends, right? Name's Dani, nice to meet you."

She floated over to them, behind the table that a guard was standing behind.

"Uh, who are you?" Tony asked. "And why are you a smaller king?"

"Oh, Danny is my cousin."

"Then why do you have the same name?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because we both have parents that are bad at picking names. Now, just leave the weapons, once you guys leave the castle you can have them back."

Dani seemed...trustworthy enough. Especially if she was related to the king, who was also apparently named Danny (which evidently explains why he decides to go by King Phantom. King Danny didn't have the same ring to it). So they complied. Steve gave the shield up, Clint his bow and arrows, Natasha her two pistols and one of her knives, and Thor's hammer. Tony walked over to the wall and stepped out of his armor, and watched as it folded itself into a suitcase.

"You don't have any?" Dani asked Bruce.

"Not one I can leave at the door," he answered.

"Wait...I think Danny told me about you. You're that gamma nerd guy. The one that destroyed harlem," she said, eyes widening.

"Well, y-yes, but I swear, I-"

"-how did you do it?" she asked, a giant grin spreading across her face. "When I saw the footage I was so amazed! Dude, you and me have to go one on one with me some time!"

"Ghost or not, I don't think you'll win that one."

Again, all of them turned to the one who spoke. It was a tall woman with shoulder length black hair and purple lipstick. She looked human.

"Come on, his royal high-horse is this way. He should be ready for you now."

The goth girl led them through a maze of hallways. Dani followed them, floating lazily above them. Halfway there they met up with a black guy with huge glasses, who only stopped talking to Tony after Sam, the goth, had threatened to break his kneecaps.

"You don't have to be so rude," he said. "I'm just a fan."

"Really, Tucker, I don't know if he noticed," Sam replied sarcastically. Tony chortled behind him, both at the two humans and Dani, who was asking Thor about his hair.

It was a solid ten minutes of walking before they finally made it to a very important looking room, where they could hear Danny inside.

"I don't care if you think this is a bad idea, we all voted on it!"

"But bringing them here? To our home? You are a worse king than Pariah!"

There was silence for a few moments, and Sam and tucker pressed their ears against the door to hear better.

"They will be here soon," Danny said. His voice was low and dangerously calm. "You will treat them with respect, and you will trust that I am making the right decision. Am I understood, Observant?"

"Y-yes, my liege. I only demand cautiousness, which is not something you have shown throughout this whole ordeal."

"With Earth's Mightiest heroes I know it is not caution, but respect that they are to be treated with. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, my liege."

"I don't think we need to wait any longer, Daniel," Clockwork said. "Sam, Tucker, Danielle, please come in. Don't keep our guests waiting."

Sam and Tucker sighed as they opened the door.

"How do you always know?" Tucker groaned.

"He's the master of time, idiot," Dani said, floating through the door.

The Avengers all clambered into the large room. It wasn't nearly as big as the throne room, but it was a decent enough size to hold all of them.

"Hi guys. Take a seat anywhere, and we can start talking. Uh, that's Dora, Frostbite, Clockwork, the head Observant, and you've already met Wulf."

The ghost appeared through the wall, a plate of snacks in his hand. Danny spoke to him in Esperanto for a moment, and Wulf shook his head, waved his hand, and laughed at what was presumably a joke from Phantom. Valerie waved to them, smiling as the took seats around the table, sandwiched in between the ghosts.

"Uh, hi," Clint said, looking between Frostbite and Clockwork.

"Hello, Clinton," Clockwork said. "The batteries in your hearing aids will die tomorrow. I suggest you get them replaced."

"W-how-?"

"He's the master of time," Danny explained. "Sees all, and all of that bullshit. Frostbite is the King of the Far Frozen. The ones I was telling you about when we met last."

"Oh, Great One, you flatter us by speaking of us. All good, I hope," Frostbite said, scratching his chin with his ice arm.

"Woah," Clint said, eyes wide

"Of course. I even spoke highly of your fleas."

Frostbite stopped scratching his chin and looked at Danny, who had a shit eating grin on his face.

"You need better material, Great One," he said, but there was no missing the smile Frostbite had one his face.

"Shall we get started," Observant said. Danny flashed him a look, and the Observant looked away.

"Is this the Council you told us about?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I honestly really just wanted you to meet them, since I know all of you and the organization you're with. It's only fair."

"Strange, how you both are alive," the Observant said to both Steve and Tony, who were sitting next to Dora. "Both of you."

"Not necessarily," Clockwork said, his voice calm. He turned from a young man into an old man, but lost none of his charm. "After all, if that were true neither of them would be sitting in front of us, alive and breathing. They've still got business with the living."

"Observant," Phantom said, looking at him. His fingers were folded, and he held them in front of his mouth. Observant looked at him, and everyone could see the fear his one eye. "We are here for diplomacy. We are not here to question who should and should not have passed."

The Observant only nodded, looking away.

This was...A side of Danny they had never seen. Sure, they had met King Phantom, but they had never met King Phantom. He was pretty laid back all the time from what they had seen, but here in this meeting room he had an air of authority that everyone was either to respectful of, or too fearful to fight.

"Don't worry about those two," Valerie said to the two heroes. "They always butt heads. Can never agree on anything."

"Hey, you should take the stick out of your ass," Dani told the Observant. He huffed with indignation.

"Dani, what are you still doing here?" Danny asked.

"I'm bored. And there are superheroes here. I never thought I would see Hulk face to face, it's pretty great. And Thor said I could braid his hair later."

"Oh, can I join you?" Dora asked excitedly.

Dani started chanting 'braid train' as she floated around the ceiling. Tucker and Sam joined in of course, as well as Clint and Tony.

Danny sighed. This was going to be a loooong meeting.

The meeting ended an hour later, and Danny was already feeling worn. He didn't like the Observant, and was glad when Clockwork finally said he had better things to do. He and the Observant had business together, and needed to have an important discussion. Danny knew he would have to meet up with them again later, but for now, he needed to not be in the same room as the Observant.

"Would you like to tour my lair?" Danny asked.

"I'm sorry, you're what?" Clint asked, recoiling slightly.

"He means the castle. A ghost's home is called a lair," Valerie explained.

"Oh, okay," Clint said, relaxing. "Sure."

Danny stood up and adjourned the meeting, and said goodbye to everyone. The funny looks by the Avengers didn't go unnoticed.

"What language is that?" Tony asked. He wondered how Danny was able to make the static noise with his mouth.

"Ghost Speak," Tucker answered. "All ghosts inherently know it. It's not something that is learned."

"Oh. Cool, I guess."

"Hey, Danny, we're gonna head back," Sam said. "We have to work in a few hours."

"Do you need Wulf to take you?" Danny asked.

"Nah, Tucker's got his little doohickey. See you around, though." Sam and Tucker exchanged hugs with their favorite King before leaving through a man made portal.

"Well," Danny said, clapping his hands together and turning to the group of superheroes, "Let's get started, shall we?"

Danny led them through the maze of hallways, through the throne room, the dungeon that was in the middle of being refurbished, the processing center for new ghosts, and so much more the castle had to offer. None of them realized horses were able to turn into ghosts, and they didn't really know how to feel about it.

Once they were done with the castle, Danny took them on a tour through the Zone itself. Of course he exercised caution, and unless they lived here they were going to for sure get lost. The went by the frosty mountains that was the entrance to the Far Frozen, which Danny did not take them through. None of them were equipped for the cold, and even if they were there was still a chance they would get pneumonia or hypothermia. The cold was for ghosts only.

They did walk through Dora's kingdom, though, and he bought them each a small trinket of their choice from the vendors that littered the main street. After that, they strolled through a neighborhood of lairs, both big and small, like Poindexter's school and Skulker's Island. His had a garage attached to it, and inside was Ember and her band rocking out. He waved, and she flipped him off.

"Well, what do you think?" Danny asked, after they had explored the Zone for a few more hours. "I know the scenery isn't as nice as Earth, but we have some pretty neat things."

"It was amazing!" Tony said. "I never thought a parallel dimension was even possible. And you can move through both as freely as you want. It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Stark," Danny said with a grin. "I think that's already a lot for one day. I can't exactly show you a whole world in a few hours."

"Is your friend Wulf going to escort us again?" Natasha asked.

"No need," Danny said. "I can do it."

Danny moved in front of them and held out his hands. They glowed green for a moment, before he let the green energy flow forward, and forced it to swirl at a certain point, creating the portal. He held up a finger and stuck his head through.

"Yeah, this is your stop. After you," he said, standing next to it.

One by one they all marched through, exhausted but excited at the same time. It was all so incredible. They wondered how one ghost, no matter how powerful, was able to rule over it all.

Once the supes were all back on the Helicarrier, he said his goodbyes and closed the portal.

"That was a lot," he sighed. He had a lot of fun, but he was exhausted, and he didn't really know if he wanted to fly all the way back. So instead, he put his pinkies in his mouth and blew, letting out a high, shrill whistle. A few moments later a small green dog came bounding up to him.

After some mandatory kisses and snugs, Danny let Cujo down.

"Alright, grow."

Cujo did, and Danny only narrowly missed the large amounts of drool that fell from the dog's mouth. After some more mandatory belly rubs, Danny hopped onto Cujo's back and grabbed onto the collar.

"Alright, boy, let's go home."