Danny reappeared at the mountain top and turned to the fight again. He was really starting to get weak. He only had one more of those explosions left in him if he hoped to keep his ghost form. Anything more and he was going to change back to Fenton and this time he wouldn't be able to change back until he recovered some energy. He flew forwards and blasted Doctor Octopus away from Spiderman.
"Spiderman, I have a plan to get us all out of here in one go but you need to trust me. Get everyone together and don't move. It will hurt and you will want to run, but don't. I promise there will be no lasting damage done," Danny explained before jumping up above the fight and began to charge his fists again with that uncontrollable amount of energy.
Spiderman frowned under his mask but he did trust Danny. The ghost teen had helped them despite having the option not to. He dodged away from Doctor Octopus's tentacle and began to lead the scientist closer to the fight against Scorpion. Eventually they were close enough for Danny to release the energy he'd been holding back and the explosion engulfed all five figures.
Spiderman cried out in alarm and despite his spider sense, he didn't react. He was suddenly thrown back and hit into a wall. Wait, a wall? He was on a mountain top a moment ago. Spiderman slowly got to his feet.
"Spidey! You alright?" Powerman called as he held a hand out to help Spiderman up. Spiderman nodded and took Powerman's hand.
"Yeah, what just happened?" Spiderman answered as he saw White Tiger and Iron Fist getting to their feet and Nova had already thrown Scorpion into a new cell and was in the process of dragging Doctor Octopus into another.
"Not sure. But I think Danny was behind it. He apologised to us when he brought Beetle out of the system. Said that he didn't mean to catch us in the blast. But he caught those ghosts me and Tiger were fighting," Powerman answered.
Danny then phased out of the control panel and collapsed against the wall. Spiderman and Powerman turned to the ghost teen. He looked, for a lack of a better term, dead on his feet. He looked ready to pass out from exhaustion. The two heroes rushed forward.
"Are you alright?" Spiderman asked concerned. Danny looked at him, his green eyes looking a bit dimmer than usual.
"Yeah, just… just tired. That ectoblast took a lot of energy and I did two without a long time in between to recover. Not to mention Spectra really did a number on me," Danny admitted softly.
Spiderman and Powerman glanced at each other.
"What about those ghosts?" Spiderman reminded him. Knowing that Danny survived the blast from the computer, he was concerned about Technus causing trouble again. Not to mention Spectra and Bertrand. Danny shook his head.
"Don't worry. I caught them already," Danny assured him. Spiderman smiled under his mask.
"But I have to admit something to you guys. Best not to be done here," Danny muttered. Powerman frowned.
"Like what?" he demanded suspiciously. Danny looked at the impervious hero.
"I know you're secret identities. When I tried to stop the computer I accidently saw them," Danny answered quietly. All five heroes froze in fear and turned to the ghost teen.
"We need to talk," Danny concluded with a small smile trying to reassure them. Spiderman gulped down his worries and called Nick Fury to let them out of the cell block and lift the lockdown. He also warned the director of the mess from the fight. Within minutes the doors slid open and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents ran in and checked all the cells and assessing the damages requiring repair.
Meanwhile Spiderman, his team and Danny walked through the tricarrier to their personal briefing room. Danny stumbling on his feet, too tired to float through the halls and fell into the last seat free once the team sat down in their usual seats. Danny leant back and relaxed into the seat. He knew it looked bad but he was too tired to care at this point.
"Are there any recording devices in here?" Danny asked after a brief, tense silence. Spiderman shook his head.
"There shouldn't be," he answered.
"I'd prefer to know for certain, Spiderman. Some of the things I have to say I don't want all of S.H.I.E.L.D. to know," Danny replied.
"Like you blackmailing us," White Tiger accused angrily, a soft growl lacing her voice. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not going to blackmail you. In fact I want to say a few things that… that I wouldn't be telling you guys otherwise. As insurance for you so you feel less threatened," Danny revealed calmly despite his nervousness.
Spiderman bit his lip with indecision but decided to trust Danny this time, the ghost had proven himself to the hero if not the entire team, and tapped a few keys on the computer. He hacked into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database and shut off all recording devices and cameras in their section. Spiderman then turned to Danny.
"Prove you know who we are," Spiderman demanded. He wanted to be sure Danny did know who they were before they said something they'd regret. Danny shuffled in his seat so he looked more alert. He was ready to have a nice long nap, but he couldn't just yet.
"Alright, Peter Parker," Danny retorted with a slight smirk. Spiderman's eyes widened in shock under his mask.
Danny then pointed to each hero in turn and said their secret identity.
"And finally, Danny Rand. To avoid confusion, feel free to call me Phantom instead of Danny," Danny concluded. The heroes nervously took their masks off and watched Phantom warily.
"I'm not going to tell anyone," Phantom reassured them again.
"How can we know that?" Luke demanded. Phantom nodded seriously.
"I know it's not easy to have your secret identity revealed to a complete stranger and possible enemy. But I'm on your side. So, as a sign of goodwill… I'm going to tell you some things about myself. Things that could easily get me killed if the Guys in White ever learned this stuff," Phantom answered.
They all, bar Sam, frowned.
"Killed? You're a ghost," Peter pointed out. Phantom shook his head, surprising Sam.
"Not exactly. This is what I don't want anyone to know. I'm a halfa. Half ghost. I have a secret identity too," Phantom informed them. The briefing room was silent.
"How can you be half ghost?" Ava asked. Phantom smiled grimly.
"Lab accident. Word of advice. If you see a big machine that you heard was broken. Don't go in. Chances are it just wasn't turned on properly. The accident half killed me," Phantom explained. The heroes winced in sympathy. Phantom shrugged.
"But that was a while ago now. But if the Guys in White knew what I was, they'd be able to figure who I am. And if they learn that, I'm dead. Fully dead. Because they'd arrest me and experiment on me. That's why I don't want this to be officially known by S.H.I.E.L.D.," Phantom continued.
Peter glanced at his friends. They all understood the gravity of what Phantom was saying.
"So, you're not going to say who you are right?" Peter guessed. Phantom shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry, if I don't say it, I can always claim ignorance. I've gotten good at that. But… since I know yours, I will give you a big hint. Fenton. That's all I'm saying. If you figure out who I am or need me again, you can go there. Just don't tell Maddie and Jack what I am. You'll understand if you ever need me," Phantom replied.
"So… you're really not going to tell anyone about… us?" Peter repeated, anxious to break the silence that fell after Phantom's explanation. Phantom nodded.
"That's right. I can keep a secret. Trust me. Only one person has ever found out my secret, and they're really smart and know me well. You can trust me. I sound bad because of things that have been said about me. But… if you ignore the whole mayor thing at town hall and those robberies when Circus Gothica was in Amity Park… you'll see that I just have a bad reputation. I do try to do the right thing," Phantom assured them.
"If that's all your questions, I'd really like to head home and I'm not strong enough to fly this time. In fact, if I did I'd change back to my human form," Phantom admitted. The heroes blinked in shock.
"You're that weak?" Danny Rand muttered. Phantom frowned.
"I prefer tired," Phantom corrected. The team glanced at each other.
"Director Fury will want to talk to you first. But since the situation's been resolved… I guess we can take you back to Amity Park," Ava answered. Phantom nodded and got out of his seat. The heroes followed suit and pulled their masks back on.
Hmm, big hint. Well, almost finished now.
I know everyone would prefer Danny to just come out with who he is but I figure he wouldn't risk that much. Like he said, he can always claim ignorance. But he is giving them a lot of hints, coupled with everything they overheard from Spectra and Danny's soft comments throughout, they could figure it out... reckon they will though?
Let me know what you guys think.
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Until the next chapter.