Authors' Note:
By the way, the mistake in the summary has been fixed so it matches the story. That was my fault.
~DorkyUke (CWA)

Enjoy the story! Please review!
~The Nerdlings (both of us)

Chapter 10:

Third Person:

Gear typed away at her computers, eyes narrowed slightly. According to her sources, the Guys In White were in New York City, having spotted the infamous Phantom. She was hoping that they may have more time to work on Phantom's reputation, but it has only been a single week since he joined the Avengers. A single week since she wore that dress and yet that memory was etched into her mind forever and she couldn't get rid of it.

She shook her head. There was much more important things to think about besides her crush on Axel and just how she affected him with that dress on- granted, it was a rather good memory. She wondered if she should tell him just about what images have entered her mind of him. She smirked to herself before shaking her head again, nope- gotta think of something else, anything else. Alex? No good- it happened in a dream. Danny? He is my little brother figure so no, but he reminds me of Axel which leads my mind back to Axel. Think... NAKED GRANDMA!

She gagged slightly at that image, at least the bad images of Axel were gone. She turned her attention back to the screen and grabbed her cell phone to call Axel.

"Eagle One to Wanna Tap That, I have something important to say."

"Do you really have to call me that?"

"Yes, yes I do. Now as I was saying, I have something important to say."

"If it's anything food related, we're not falling for that again and we are vegans."

Gear smirked to herself,

"Actually, the important thing is that I'm wearing a purple thong."

Hearing his sharp intake of breath and imagine his face was worth it. She looked at the screen in the top right- the camera feed showing him flying through the air. He fell down a bit and finally, he hit the ground with a thud with a bleeding nose (sadly the bloody nose was not from the fall). Alex picked up the phone and her voice came on,

"Mind explaining to me why my twin is thinking of more images and now has a bloody nose?"

"He asked for it."

"He asked for you to have phone sex?"

Gear just laughed,

"Don't use that term if you don't know what it means, anyway, I do have something important to say- The GiW are in New York City. Tell Phantom- but tell him gently 'cause he'll most likely freak out."

"Noted. And Gear?"

"Yes, It Happened in a Dream?"

"Stop making my other half all derpy. It's really annoying-and gross."

"Never."

She heard the dial tone as Alex hung up and smirked.

After Alex hung up the phone she put it in her pocket and started dragging a now bloody Axel by his hair, purposely thinking of gay porn him out of his trance.

She watched with satisfaction as his face turned from yearning to disgust in a matter of seconds.

"You awake now, sweetie?" She asked mockingly.

He glared and pulled hos head out of her hand.

"Pervert," she said as Axel tried getting the blood out of his fur. "What did she say to you anyway?"

If Axel didn't have fur she would have seen him blush.

"N-nothing," he stuttered.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, we got trouble."

"Do tell."

"GiW are in New York and they're after our friendly neighborhood Phantom."

Axel cursed.

"We're on our way to tell him. Except there's one problem."

"Other than the GiW?"

"Gear said tell him gently."

Axel snorted.

"I don't think either of us can be gentle when it comes o stuff like that. He's just gonna have to live with it."

"Yup."

They both headed to where they knew Phantom was- on the roof of the pizza building. Sure enough, he was sitting criss-cross mid air while eating pizza. Beside him was a large pizza. They caught him in the middle of a bite.

"Oh hey," he said sheepishly, "it's vegan pizza if you want some. I wanted to try something different."

"Yeah sure, whatever," Alex said, "We need to talk."

"About what? Cause if it's about Axel and Gear's love life, I really don't want to know judging by his bloody nose."

"The Guys in White are in New York City."

With that they learned something knew- ghosts could faint.

Now that I think about it, Gear thought, I don't think Alex and Axel can do gentle.

Either way, there she sat still tracking the Guys in White on her screens while watching Danny faint through the security camera. That had to be one of the many things she could do that were helpful. She was watching the live feed, but should anyone check that camera, they would be getting a looped video of an empty building top.

She took a large bite of her all meat pizza (the major different between her and Axel) as she typed away, the pizza slice handing out of her mouth.

"'ota' 'et'em," she tried to say to herself, Gotta get them.

So that was what she did. She worked out the numbers in her head easily enough to figure out the estimated number of hours/days that they had until the Guys In White would try something and she had to say-

Time was not on their side.

"Huh," Alex said, throwing Phantom over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Since he's a ghost and all you wouldn't really expect him to faint."

Axel nodded and jumped off of the building with Alex, flying as fast as they could with the unconscious Phantom in their hands.

They both felt the same way about the situation. They had made a new friend, and he was family to them now. If anything happened they didn't know if the Avengers could stop them from ripping a few throats out.

They knew how cruel the world-and people-could be. They would fight tooth and claw to protect anybody-even the villains if it meant that they lived instead of died. They had spent the majority of their lives stuck in a hole in the ground learning how to kill. They would use those skills to help and protect people. Whether or not they died doing it.

When they got to Avengers HQ, Phantom was still unconscious, and Steve was arguing with Tony about technology. They stopped the instant they flew in.

"What's wrong? What happened to him?" Tony asked.

"He fainted," Axel said as Alex set him down on the couch.

"Why?" Steve asked, itching for his shield. He felt naked without it.

"The Guys in White," Alex filled in.

"They're ghost hunters that capture and or kill."

"And as you can see, Phantom is terrified."

Tony nor Steve knew what to make of this new information. Only that they had to protect Phantom. He was so young, and their newest recruit. To them not only was he a hero, but he was also a scared teenager hiding behind a mask of bravery.

They were knocked out of their thoughts as Axel put Phantom on the ground and Alex poured a bucket of icy water on his face. Phantom sputtered and coughed as he sat up.

"Hey there, sunshine. Welcome back to the world of the living," Alex said.

"Time to make a plan," Axel stated. Phantom groaned.

"It's a nightmare come to life."

Alex put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We know what it's like, so don't sweat. Don't think of it. Obviously you can't go outside. No pizza parlors, school, gym, Gear's house, anything. You stay in this building."

Phantom nodded as Axel continued.

"Also, you don't have to, but if they track you by your ectoplasmic signature, I suggest you power down."

Phantom paled a little more.

"Like he said, you don't have to," Steve said.

"But it would be a smart idea," Tony finished. He nodded, but didn't transform.

"We'll build some shields around the fortress just in case they find you and decide to get a little pushy and physical."

"But what if-" Phantom started, but was cut off.

"-We're gonna protect you one way or another, and if we can't, well, there's gonna be hell. If we can't protect or friends, our family, then you can be damned sure we'll avenge them. Either way, we're not going down without a fight."

Phantom was silent for a moment, think about the depth of her words. It was painfully obvious that the others were all in a silent agreement that seemed to scream.

"Thanks," he said. They nodded.

"Kid, it's what we do. Especially if it's our own kin, by blood or not," Axel said, "Because sometimes-a lot of times-your chosen family is or can be better than your blood family. The only reason we'll give up is if we die trying to help. Trying to protect."

"To avenge," Tony said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"You're not in this alone. You never will be. Not as long as you have us."

"And you will always, always, have us."