A/N - I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to be nearly two days late! Was really busy over the weekend, and I got so anxious over not posting a new chapter because this was nowhere near complete, that I just kept putting it off and oh god I'm so stressed right now. Please, accept my apologies, and I hope you'll be understanding if this ever happens again, I'm horrible at sticking to any kind of schedule. Sorry that it's a bit short, too.

Please, enjoy my terrible self's late chapter. ;-;


Chapter Sixteen

Travel

On the ground level, Happy was waiting with a car to take Dan and Danny back to the hotel the Fentons had been staying at. Dan had initially planned on coercing his younger self into just flying back, but this was much more convenient and comfortable.

Danny, however, was surprised. "Happy? Did Tony send you to take us back?"

The chauffeur nodded and smiled slightly. "Mr. Stark alerted me to your departure, yes."

"You really don't need to, it must be a hassle," the teen protested.

Dan crossed his arms and glared at his "cousin". He commented, "If Stark wants us to use a service he is paying for, it'd be rude not to. Besides, it looks like Happy, here, is a bit bored. I'm sure he wants something to do. Right, Happy?"

Happy laughed a bit, and answered, "It is rare that I actually get to drive anyone somewhere. Mr. Stark prefers to be behind the wheel, if you remember, sir." He was hired by Tony to be a chauffeur, but he mostly drove the car to places after the billionaire had arrived or was departing. He was a bit bored, if he was honest.

Danny punched the raven-haired man in the shoulder. "Like you ever cared about being rude or not," he muttered sarcastically. "Alright, we'll let Happy drive us back to the hotel. It'll give me time to call my parents. Good?"

Both men grinned at him, and the teen had a distinct feeling he had just been manipulated several times over without putting up any resistance. Or ganged up upon. Either worked, he wasn't choosy.

Dan herded him towards the waiting vehicle, and unceremoniously shoved him in the back seat. Danny thought he heard a laugh from Happy, but he couldn't be sure. It wouldn't really surprise him if he had.

Once they were all settled and on the road, Danny pulled out his phone and shot off a quick text to his mother. He wasn't sure whether they'd still be on lunch break or not, and he didn't want to accidentally interrupt their lecture.

After a positive reply, he pressed call and held the phone up to speak. "Hey, Mom."

"Hi, sweetie. Is something the matter?" she answered, worry in her voice.

The teen chuckled, and grinned. "No, Mom. Something's just come up back home in Amity Park, I'm going to be heading back early," he replied reassuringly.

"Something back home is wrong? Do your father and I need to come?"

"No," he hastily snapped. "No, it's nothing like that. Uh, Sam got sick, and I need to go see her. Nothing life-threatening, but she's pretty out of it, and apparently asking for me and Tucker. Don't worry about transportation, either, it's been covered."

He heard his mom sigh. "Alright, sweetie, if you're sure... oh, we just didn't get to do anything together! Your father and I are always busy with lectures during the day, and you're hanging out with your new friends... I hoped we could have some family time. Oh well."

Danny also sighed. "Sorry about that, Mom. Maybe next time."

"I love you, Danny. Stay safe, and remember to call if you need any help."

"Of course, Mom. Love you, too. Bye," he responded, and quietly hung up the call. Danny looked over to see a somber expression on his future self's face. He wished Dan was able to reacquaint himself with their parents, but it wasn't possible as long as he kept the fact that he was Phantom a secret. The teen placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"Ready to head home?" he asked calmly.

"Always," came Dan's low response.


After Danny had left with his "cousin", Steve, Clint, and Tony had sat in the living room in silence, considering everything that had been revealed to them. The three Avengers all knew and could admit that they had become attached to the teenager during his short stay, and knowing that there was something going on that required him to go home didn't ease their worries any. Just looking at those scars revealed by the swim trunks had made them all uneasy. The fact that the teen had another panic attack hadn't helped, either.

Tony let out a long, heavy sigh. He wished Pepper was there. She would probably know what to do about everything. He also wondered where to start on disbanding the Guys In White, that idiot agency that was responsible for one of Danny's biggest fears, apparently.

Steve coughed a little, and asked, "So, is anyone gonna comment on how similar those 'cousins' looked?" The super soldier thought it strange that the raven-haired Fentons both had the exact same voice, skin tone, hair color, and facial structure. If 'Dan' wasn't so much older than Danny, he would've assumed they were twins.

"It was weird," Tony obliged, making his comment. His mind was too busy to really contribute much.

Clint shrugged. "Genetics are weird like that, sometimes," he added. "I mean, look at me. My sight is almost a mutant power, but I don't have the X-gene. I just happened to win the genetic lottery when it came to vision."

The Captain realized he had an entirely valid point. While Clint was at one end of the genetic luck scale, he had initially been at the other end, before the super serum. Asthma, heart conditions, weak constitution, and a myriad of other things had affected him before he became known as the 'First Avenger'.

"Still," he argued, "Danny said they were cousins. I'd get it if they were siblings, but cousins? It seems a little far-fetched, honestly. The only real differences between the two were ages and voice inflections. Dan tended to drawl and use sarcasm a bit more."

Tony snorted. "I didn't realize you were so observant, Capsicle. Got a little crush on tall, dark, and mysterious?" he asked, taunting the muscular man.

Steve rolled his eyes, ignoring Clint's surprised laugh. "Ha ha, very funny. No, I just think it's odd, and I've spend enough time around Danny this past week to notice the differences. I'd say you should've noticed, too, but we all know your information comes from JARVIS."

"Hey!" the genius protested.

"Oh, you two leave each other alone," came a sharp voice. The elevator closed behind Pepper, her hands on her hips, face set in a disapproving scowl. "Captain, I expected better from you. I already know not to expect much from our resident super-genius, though."

"Thank you for the ego-boost, I think," aforementioned super-genius muttered in confusion, "but really, insults, Pepper? You can totally expect more from me!"

She rolled her eyes. "Tony, your maturity usually hovers around that of a hyper five-year-old. Sometimes, you even make it up to six!" the woman replied cheerfully.

"I resent that! I'm at least seven at all times! The Capsicle just brings me down to five when I'm around him." He crossed his arms, glaring at the super soldier. Really, he was usually better than that. There was just something about Steve that made him want to argue everything with the man. Not very helpful between teammates, but whatever.

Clint just reached over and lightly smacked him upside the head. "Not what we're worrying about right now, tin can. Pepper, Danny just left. Something came up, and he had to go home early. After everything we've learned about the kid over the week, we're all pretty worried about what the problem could be."

The red-headed woman's shoulders slumped a little, and she let her hands slip from her hips to rest at her sides. Joining them on the couches surrounding the TV, she asked, "What did you find out to make you so worried?"

Steve, Tony, and Clint all glanced at each other. "He's got a lot of pretty bad scars," Tony commented, suddenly finding the window very interesting.

"Panic attacks aren't really unusual, it seems," Steve added. "He had another one just a little while ago."

Clint shrugged, and grimaced. "The Guys In White don't care about people, just eliminating their targets, which are supposed to be ghosts. A lot of Danny's scars come from them, or accidents caused by them."

Pepper let out a shaky breath, and smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles out of her skirt. "It looks like Danny has quite a few concerning secrets... Tony, do you remember the dinner party where you introduced us?"

The genius nodded slowly, and she continued, "Well, he hinted that Mr. Masters had powers of some kind, and that they used to be less than friendly. In fact, he used the word 'enemies' to describe their past relationship."

All three men exchanged alarmed looks. Was Masters a villain? But he and Danny were friendly, now... had they fought? Did Danny have powers? Was his hint about Masters having powers true? Whatever the teen had to return home take care of had to be something to do with some of the secrets he had been holding close.

"You know..." Tony trailed off, pausing to consider his options. "I think it might be a good idea to show up for a surprise visit. Just in case."

Clint nodded seriously, picking up his bow from its spot against the wall. Steve's face was grim and he stood, pulling on his leather jacket. Pepper nodded in agreement and pulled out her phone to reschedule meetings for the next two days, just to be sure she wouldn't miss anything important.

Tony thought about calling Natasha and Bruce. He didn't have any intention of waiting for Thor, since the god wasn't expected until the next week. Natasha, though... Danny had never been at ease around the assassin. It would probably be for the best if he didn't call her up.

Bruce, while Tony was sure the teen would appreciate his presence, was busy with work from SHIELD. The scientist most likely couldn't get away, but he would call and leave him a message, anyway. The billionaire was pretty sure he was on the West Coast, somewhere. It wouldn't be too out of the way for SHIELD to drop him off in Minnesota instead of taking him all the way back to New York.

Now that they had a plan, they left to get ready. Everyone wanted to be prepared in case something went wrong and they had to fight, after all. Danny was one of their own, now, and they protected their own.