Girl-of-Action- Forgot to put this in the first chapter, but as you all know, I don't own Danny Phantom or Marvel and never will. *sad face*
Danny flies forward in a rush, ectoplasm thrumming through his being in place of adrenaline. Captain America is to his left and Agent Barton is to his right. Ant-Man is nowhere to be seen, a literal ace up their sleeve as he clings to Captain America in his tiny form. The plan is to get him into Iron-man's armor, and knowing Mr. Stark would go after Steve from the get-go, Ant-Man is with him. Hopeful in their hastily constructed plan and confident in his new friends, Danny picks up the speed. "They're not stopping!" Danny hears Spider-Man comment nervously, and the ghost boy guesses that this is the other's first major battle. Danny is not so nervous- the battle against Pariah Dark was much more intimidating and on a much larger scale.
"Neither are we," is Iron-Man's reply in determination, a determination mirrored by the opposing team. Neither side is backing down, and the participants resign themselves to the fact.
Danny concentrates on his target. Who is his target? A dangerous, feline-looking guy in all black... The dreaded, infamous, powerful- Cat-Man. (Phantom's preeeetty sure that's the guy's name. Yep. Without a doubt. There seems to be a theme going on here, after all.) Yet, just as he is about to reach the imposing figure, he is cut off by Vision.
Danny much prefers Cat-Man.
His ghostly core screams at him; just being around this entity in his Phantom persona feels so very wrong. Fear rises up in him, but he transforms the feeling into resolve and raw energy. Quickly charging up a ball of flaming, green ectoplasm in his right hand, he lets it loose at the man, who dodges easily. "Please hear me out, Phantom."
"Sorry, not interested," the green eyed boy replies mildly, at ease tone at complete odds with the emotions churning inside of him. He ignores them however in favor of sending several more ectoblasts in quick succession. Vision has a close call with one of them, but otherwise has no troubles dodging. The emotionally-charged ectoblasts leave mini craters in the concrete below.
"I know you've been convinced by yourself and others that what you are doing is right, and I realize that you are afraid of the government for a good reason... but please understand that there is another way. Signing the accords will be a show of faith towards the people. An agreement can be made- the government will stop hunting you and you will be surrounded by friends. The others and I could protect you until that time."
Danny makes a face. Is he seriously giving the 'join me' speech? Gotta be kidding me... Disappearing from visibility, he bursts forward near full speed (around two hundred miles per hour or so). He slams into Vision, the man given no time to dodge. Vision is thrown down to the concrete and skids, yet barely gives a grunt, much to Danny's mounting frustration. The halfa comes at the man again, remaining invisible, and tosses Vision by his leg through a metal crate. Unfortunately, Vision has caught on to Danny's newest tactic and when the boy comes at him for a third time, he merely goes intangible.
Danny hisses in annoyance, but backs off, returning to visibility. As soon as he does, there is no outward sign of his irritation. In it's place is his usual cocky attitude, and he flashes a bright grin at his opponent. "Sorry, dude, but I've been given the whole 'join me' speech before and I'm not buying into it. These things always have too high of a price, and I'm not willing to sell my soul for a bit of peace."
"No, Phantom, it's not selling your soul," Vision pleads with the boy. "It's compromising for the sake of peace. It's taking responsibility for mistakes, and helping ensure that new ones won't be made."
Danny is stunned by the naivety this man is showing, and almost forgets the feeling of wrongness surrounding him for a brief moment. "Man, you really just don't get it, huh?" He shakes his head in mock disappointment.
Vision arches a nonexistent eyebrow. "Please, elaborate."
"There is no way to make sure that mistakes won't be made. With or without people breathing down our necks, people will get hurt, and we'll be blamed- whether because we acted wrongly or didn't react fast enough. Even just being in the general area can get you condemned- when people are hurting and scared, they need someone to point their finger at. Think your buddies in the government will help you then, when worst come to worse?" Danny snorts at the thought as he quickly blocks blow from Vision, surprising him when Phantom manages to hold his own under the intense force. They have been fighting the entire time Danny was talking, although both combatants have been holding back somewhat to let Danny say his piece. "Not a chance," the ghostly hero goes on, following up on his block with a roundhouse kick that Vision himself blocks. "They'll want, need, a scapegoat- and you and your friends will be the perfect sacrifice!"
The powerful declaration does little to change his opponent's beliefs. Only a strong sense of pity surfaces in Vision, pity for the young entity standing across from him. Vision flies backward to get some space in between them, and shakes his head sadly. "I'm sorry to hear you have such little faith."
Danny rolls his toxic green eyes, backing up too and crossing his arms. "My faith is in individuals that I know and believe in- not in the faceless masses or politics-steeped bureaucrats. I'll protect the people, but I'll never give myself over to them," he elaborates stubbornly, glowering at Vision. Danny normally avoids philosophical debates like the plague (especially in fights), but when he does get into one, he doesn't back down.
"We're not the villains." Vision tries one more time, hoping to at least have Phantom sit the battle out, if nothing else.
Danny only sighs, weary of this conversation. "They hardly ever think they are," he mutters, remembering his own arch enemy. I'm not the villain here, Daniel. The only thing I've ever wanted… is love. The surprisingly sappy admittance from the usually cold and arrogant man had surprised his young nemesis, and kept the boy up for several nights after.
"There is nothing I can say to convince you, then?" Vision inquires, sounding just as weary.
Danny straightens, getting into a front stance mid air. "Nope," he confirms with his usual cocky attitude returned, popping the p.
"...Very well." Without any further warning, a beam of bright yellow light erupts from the man's forehead, heading straight for Danny! Reacting on pure ghostly instinct, the teen goes intangible, only… it doesn't help, not really. Pain erupts through the young boy's very being, and it feels like he's being burned from the inside out. That sense of wrongness he's been feeling reaches a crescendo, and that's what does it. He screams, yet doesn't hear a sound. His ice core convulses in agony at the intense heat, and Danny loses his ability of flight. He falls toward the ground. This is a blessing in disguise, as it takes him out of Vision's line of fire.
"Danny!" Steve and Clint shout, Steve fighting Iron-Man and Clint fending off a tag team of Black Widow and Black Panther. They recognize Danny as the source of the scream, but are too caught up in their own fights to lend him a hand.
"Jesus!" Ant-Man yelps, having been thrown from Iron Man's suit and reverted to normal size a few moment before… Only to see Danny getting shot right through with a beam of intense light, and consequently falling hard to the ground. He sprints to the boy's side. To Ant-Man's pleasant surprise, there is no gaping hole through Phantom's stomach- but that doesn't mean that he isn't in pain. Danny lays there, eyes unseeing and squirming in what is obviously intense pain. "Ah, damn. What can I do to help? Kid, what can I do?" But Danny doesn't answer. There is no way for Ant-Man to help him, and he is in too much pain to explain that to the man right now.
Just then, Vision sets down a few feet in front of the pair. Ant-Man stiffens, face paling underneath his helmet. He doesn't know what he can do against an opponent like the Vision. Maybe he should just grab the kid and try to run? Emphasis on the try? Maybe if I shrink the kid and me I can- "H-heh…" Ant Man leans down, trying to hear what Danny is struggling to say. "I-is it just me, or i-is it-t hot o-out here?" Ant-Man stares. Whatever he expected Danny to say- that wasn't it. Danny forces himself onto his elbows with the help of his ally and cranes his neck towards the approaching Vision. "M-maybe we should all j-just chill out?"
Vision pauses, pursing his lips. "Are you surrendering?"
Danny smacks a hand harshly against the concrete below, white bangs shadowing his eyes. A sardonic smile twists at his lips. "Not a chance," he rasps, ice bursting from the ground at the same time to surround one of Vision's feet. Vision attempts to tear his foot away from the ice with his formidable strength, and despite the ghostly element's enhanced properties, it begins to crack… Before it can shatter though, more ice quickly appears, crawling up the man's legs and now to his torso. Becoming more alarmed, Danny sees the man go intangible. Phantom smirks, his own form having stopped shaking. He slowly stands as Ant-Man does the same, and the latter must admit… Phantom lives (or, er, exists?) up to his name. Glowing an eerie blue color, he looks in all sense of the words like a vengeful specter.
Soon, Vision is encased in ice, his intangibility having strangely (for him) failed to surpass it. Danny allows himself a moment to celebrate, having hoped his ice would work the same with the Avenger as it does with ghosts- being unaffected by intangibility. Oh yeah! Wait until I tell Tucker, Sam and Jazz about this! But of course, the moment Danny starts to celebrate, Murphy's Law has to strike back. The gem on Vision's head starts to glow a fierce yellow. Danny's eyes goes wide. "Uh-oh," the boy mutters, feeling like he is in the headlights of a sixteen wheeler blaring towards him, terrified yet rooted in the spot.
"Move!" Ant-Man urges, tackling the younger male just as that beam of light erupts from its icy prison. It burns a hole in the area Danny just occupied and begins to swing toward them. Ant-Man scrambles to regain his footing, but Danny forces him back down to his side.
"I got this!" Phantom proclaims with as much confidence as he can muster. Working as quickly and efficiently as possible, he creates an ectoplasmic shield for them. It's the strongest he's ever made, and much to his relief, it holds when hit by the beam… But for how long? Danny's ghostly form shakes with the effort, small bursts of ectoplasm erupting from the tips of his fingers and other parts of his body as he deals with the strain. How long can the guy keep up this level of attack?! He doesn't even seem to be tiring, and Clockwork knows that I can't hold this shield for much longer… Danny prefers dodging or going intangible during fights. Hardly ever does he have to make a shield this strong. "Okay, maybe I don't got this," he chokes out.
"What?"
"Dang it- run, dude! You can't do anything for me here, and I can't hold this shield for much longer!" Danny closes his eyes tight, bright green still managing to shine through his eyelids. He feels his teammate give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Hold on a little while longer." And with that, Ant-Man runs off. Danny doesn't know what Ant-Man is planning, but hopes that whatever it is, he does it quick. Danny does not want a repeat of what happened earlier, but is looking more and more like the Amity Park hero will be unable to avoid it. The beam of energy chips away at the stubborn, neon green shield. For those to see it, it is an iconic sight, one they won't forget anytime soon. It is sorta like a powerful ray of sunlight slowly burning away a mostly unyielding mass of fluctuating eerie green light and blackened shadow… For Danny on the other hand, it is like a magnify glass is being held up to a teenie, tiny ant… aka him. Suffice to say, it's agony. The only thing worse would be directly being hit by that power, and that thought is the only thing that has kept Danny going for this long...
But then, it just stops.
With the sudden relief of the overbearing pressure disappearing, Danny collapses, the ectoplasm his shield was made of quickly being reabsorbed into his body. The extra energy is much welcomed as Danny opens his eyes, trying to make sense of the blurry image in front of him. Vision is mostly free from the ice and the shattered remains surround him, yet he only stands still. Then Danny notices her- the Scarlet Witch standing tense next to him, eyes half-lidded in concentration and hands alight with a red energy.
Girl-of-Action- Ok, so the first round of Danny vs Vision didn't go so well for the former, but don't think that means he's out for the count! Danny still has plenty of fight left in him yet! I hope I managed to write a good fight with a fair representation of their powers. Tell me how I could improve, if I didn't.
A quick thank you to the guest who left a review. Thank you for the encouragement, and as you hopefully can see, I have continued. :)
Now a huge, huge thank you to two people-
Okami Princess for being my beta so to speak for this chapter. I appreciate your feedback and encouragement!
And~
The White Titan for actually creating a cover photo for me! This was a really awesome surprise, and I'm very flattered. To see it on deviantart, go to thewhitetitan .deviantart art/Not-the-Villain-cover-612842177 (without the spaces, of course) and be sure to check out some of his other works. They're pretty cool!
Finally, thanks to everyone for reading!