A/N - Alright, you guys, listen up. I like Sam as a character, she's awesome, independent, strong, goth, etc., but I don't like the Danny/Sam pairing. I'm sorry, but those of you who are hoping for that? It's not gonna happen in this story. : /

Thanks again to all of the people who reviewed, you guys have some awesome ideas, and it's always good to know I'm appreciated! Please enjoy.


Chapter Ten

Defense and Dinner

The rest of the afternoon was spent in pleasant company, with Bruce occasionally checking in on the two mechanical engineers. Tony taught Danny how to build a fully functional blaster, complete with filled power cell. It wouldn't be effective against ghosts, but it could easy take out a human opponent.

"Take it, squirt. You built it, after all," Tony commanded when Danny tried to give it back.

Danny shook his head. "I don't need something like this. I'm just a teenager, isn't it dangerous to give me a functional weapon that could harm people?" He almost laughed at the irony. Technically, he was always armed. It was incredibly hard to disarm a halfa.

The genius frowned. "You're living in a city where ghost attacks are the norm, and agents have shot at you. Besides, if people realize your friends with most of the Avengers, you'll probably be a target. It's better if you learn to defend yourself now, so when you run into trouble later, you won't be in as much danger."

This time, Danny couldn't hold back a laugh. At Tony's glare, he explained, "My mom's a ninth dan black belt in karate, I've been raised in a ghost hunting household, I know how to build a functional gun, even if it isn't a normal gun. Thanks for worrying about me, but I don't really need self-defense lessons, much less a blaster."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Is that a challenge? I'm pretty sure the type of people who'd come after a friend of mine aren't your average run-of-the-mill criminals. We're talking super villains who want collateral against us, who wouldn't bat an eye at taking hostages."

The teen sighed, knowing that Tony wouldn't take no for an answer. To be honest, the man had a point, but Danny knew he could take care of himself. "Alright, fine. If it makes you feel better, I'll keep the stupid blaster. Good?"

When Tony didn't complain, the teen picked up the weapon and fitted it on his wrist, sighing at the heavy weight of it. It was kind of similar to the wrist-rays they used on ghosts, but much more dangerous. If he acted reflexively and shot at someone, they'd get a lot more than a little bruise. He'd have to be careful with it.

"Alright, it's almost six. I should probably head back to the hotel in the next hour or two, I don't want to worry my parents," he muttered, frowning.

They headed up to the living room, and Tony asked, "Why don't you stick around for dinner? We can order pizza for everyone and watch Harry Potter, or Mean Girls, or something. What kind of movies do you like? What's even popular these days? I thought Kung Fu Panda 2 was pretty funny, to be honest."

It took a moment for Danny to reply. He hadn't actually had time to just hang out and have fun with someone in such a long time. He'd usually have to be on guard for things like ghost attacks or his parents' newest invention targeting him.

"I... guess I could," he muttered hesitantly, the idea of relaxing a foreign one.

The doors to the elevator slid open, and Tony cheerfully steered him over to the nearest seat, plopping him down and ignoring the slightly bewildered look the teen had. Bruce and Steve were nowhere to be seen, but Clint had strung up a hammock in a corner of the room near the ceiling, and was relaxing with a... comic book.

"Hey, birdbrain, you up for pizza and movie night?" Tony called, smirking.

Clint just gave the genius a thumbs-up, eyes not leaving the comic book he was absorbed in. Tony grinned even more, and strolled over to where Danny was still seated. He flopped down lengthwise across a loveseat across from the raven-haired teen.

"JARVIS, please call Steve and Bruce up to the living room. Tell 'em it's movie night. Then, call my favorite pizza place. Oh, and we should probably get two of everything; between Steve and Bruce, they can eat five or six large pizzas." Then, he turned to Danny, and asked, "Do you have any particular requests? A large appetite, maybe, or the desire for a specific non-alcoholic beverage? I'm trying to take Pepper's orders into consideration, here."

Danny shrugged. "I can probably eat two or three pizzas on my own. I like pepsi or coke, for pop. Coke is preferable, but I'll take pepsi, too." His ghost half used a lot of energy in fights, and while he could produce his own energy to a point, it usually took an extra toll on his human half, requiring the teen to eat more, or eat ectoplasm-infused food.

JARVIS took that moment to reply. "Dr. Banner and Cpt. Rogers are informed, and on their way up to the common area now. Ms. Potts is also in the area, and was already planning to stop by for dinner, or so she said when I took the liberty to inform her."

Tony chuckled, "Then we're only missing Natasha and Thor, huh? Well, not much we can do about those two. Thor's off-world, and Natasha is always busy with SHIELD." He pulled out his phone, and tapped out a quick text.

Danny watched curiously as the overexcited genius prepared for a simple group movie night, and smiled softly when his face lit up at the thought of having everyone together. The teen suspected that Tony didn't have many friends outside of Pepper and the Avengers.

"Oh, Danny," Tony hummed, "I sent a text to your parents, to let them know you were eating dinner with us. They probably won't mind, anyway."

He just rolled his eyes and grimaced. His mom would probably laugh, then chew him out later for not telling her himself. "Well, it's done now. Not much I can do about it. Maybe they'll be able to tour the city or something," he thought in resignation.

A while later, Pepper appeared from the elevator, followed by Steve. Bruce had joined Danny, Tony, and Clint quickly, not having anything in the lab he needed to finish up. Steve had been working out, and didn't really want to offend anyone's noses. A quick shower was all that was necessary to fix that problem, though.

The pizza arrived, steaming and delicious, and the group sequestered themselves on and around the couches. Tony even pulled out a couple beanbag chairs from some weird closet that no one knew existed. Pepper didn't say anything, but she didn't really need to. Her expression said it all. It was a look of pained resignation.

'De ja poo, the feeling that you've seen this shit before.'


Danny looked up when the elevator dinged. They were about three quarters of the way through their movie, and a good half of the pizza was gone, when the silver doors slid open to reveal a taller-than-average woman with short, red hair in a black catsuit. She had gun holsters attached to her thighs, throwing knife holsters wrapped around her wrists like bracelets, and she carried herself like a fighter. He instantly knew that she was trouble, and most likely an agent of some kind, like Clint. He tensed, ready for an altercation.

Steve had apparently also noticed her approach, and gave her a friendly smile. "Hey, Natasha. Done with work for a while?" he asked politely, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone had accompanied the spy.

She shrugged, face impassive. "Fury didn't have anything he needed me to attend to right away, so I got some time off. I should be able to hang around here for a few days, if the five-year-old doesn't mind."

"Hey! I resent that! I'm at least seven!" Tony cried indignantly.

"Seven-year-old, then, though you strike me as too hyperactive for that age," she amended, giving another shrug. "Is that a yes?"

"Sure. As long as you don't piss off my new friend," the genius responded.

Natasha turned her attention to the person she had originally come there to see. The kid was muscular, though the baggy shirt and jeans hid it well from untrained eyes. He was tall, probably approaching six feet, and had short black hair spiked forwards. She wondered if it was naturally messy like that.

Daniel Fenton, age seventeen, son of two genius inventors and ghost hunters. He looked tense and uncomfortable at the slight scrutiny he was under, not that she was very surprised. He looked like the person to be overly cautious. Those blue eyes were guarded, and filled with distrust for the newest arrival.

She approached him, relaxing her stance a little to appear more open and friendly as she walked. When she reached the teen, the assassin held out a hand and offered a cheerful smile to Danny. "Natasha Romanoff, Clint's friend," she stated, waiting.

Danny hesitantly took her hand, still anxious and tense. He knew she was putting up a front for him. When she had left that elevator, she had an air of seriousness. He could easily picture her holding her own in a harsh fight.

"Danny Fenton." His tone wasn't cold or disrespectful, a smooth polite baritone. Seems his voice had decided to stay lower after all. The teen could only pray for no more awkward cracking and that it wouldn't change any more.

He watched her frown a little, and mentally sighed. This would be interesting. Clint was a naturally cheerful person, relaxed and easygoing with some snarky humor thrown in, and it was easy to get used to his presence, regardless of the whole agent thing. He still preferred the other three men to the archer, but he was easily tolerable.

Natasha, he could tell, was not that kind of person. Her attitude before introducing herself to him was distant and apathetic, possibly even cold to the others. She wasn't naturally cheerful or friendly. That was an act to make him feel more comfortable, and he had seen through it, and she knew he had. Natasha's act had not won the woman any points with him.

"Can I join you, maybe steal some pizza?" she asked softly, leaving the decision up to the teenager. This won points with Danny. He hated it when adults brushed him or others off because they were younger.

He nodded, deciding to keep an eye on her. "Sure. I think there's still plenty of pizza left. It might not be hot, though," he answered, equally as quiet.

She nodded her thanks, and threw herself down on the beanbag next to Clint, almost launching him onto the floor. Tony snorted, Steve and Danny started laughing at the offended expression the archer was wearing, and Bruce and Pepper just rolled their eyes and smiled. If the assassin meant to break up the tension between her and Danny, it worked. Really well.

The rest of the movie was finished in peace, and there were only a few slices of pizza left when everyone was full. Which was only surprising because Tony had apparently ended up ordering twenty pizzas. Steve had five, Bruce had six, Danny had three, Clint had two, and everyone else ate one. The only person who didn't finish a whole pizza was Pepper, and she gave most of her extra slices to Tony or Natasha.

They all slid smoothly into a game of poker to end the evening, with Tony and Clint carefully teaching the resident teenager how to play. Natasha threw in a few tips here and there, being such a good player herself, but the she knew Danny didn't really feel comfortable around her yet, and held off on invading his personal space.

Unlike a certain billionaire, who was never known for respecting the space of anyone. Aside from Natasha, of course. She would probably punch him in the face and break his nose if he tried. Thankfully, Danny had gotten used to the over-exuberant genius and his ways by the end of the second day. The physical expressiveness wasn't much different from Jack, and the way Danny's father loved to hug people, slap them on the backs, et cetera.

It was rapidly approaching ten o'clock, and Danny knew he needed to head back to the hotel before his parents started to worry. While most of the group was disappointed that he had to leave, they were mollified with promises to return the next day.

Danny didn't know whether to find it strange that everyone liked him so much, or to enjoy the new friendships that had formed within hours of meeting the other Avengers. His only human friends up to that point had been Sam, Tucker, and Valerie. Everyone at school was more concerned with popularity or just didn't want to hang out with 'that loser, Fenton'.

In the end, as Bruce accompanied him back, wanting to speak with his parents about their research, he decided to be grateful that he had managed to catch Tony's attention in the first place, and that the genius enjoyed his company enough to call him his friend.

It had been a really good day, overall.