Danny felt his fingers sliding off the smooth metal of the Blackhawk as he attempted to dodge the demi-god's hammer while clinging to the side, his body pressed tightly against the cold and damaged sheeting. He flinched as Thor swung again, the armoured wall crumpling under the Asgardian's brutal force as Danny hopped over to the edge of the gun-platform, one foot dangling in the air.
Digging his blunt nails into a ridge between the damaged plating, Danny shoved a foot into one of the destroyed panels, hauling himself up to clamber on top of the chopper under the primary rotor and out of Thor's reach. Groping for another ridge to cling to, Danny suddenly felt a fist grasp his ankle, yanking him back down onto the platform. Landing roughly on his hands and knees, Danny ducked low reflexively, feeling a surge of air rush over his head as Thor's weapon piercing through the wall of the war-machine with an aggravated boom.
Thor's booted foot met Danny's hand in retaliation with a yelp of pain, just like his brother's boot had a few hours earlier, almost forcing the half-ghost to relinquish his hold of the platform to cradle his captured and bruised phalanges. Blood flowed into the appendages as they began to throb from under the blond-haired man's heavy steel sole, making it difficult for Danny to pull his hand out without a sharp convulsion of pain running through it.
Tugging at the captured hand while weakly beating at Thor's metal-encased foot, Danny glanced up to find the god's exulting face leering down at him, his hammer hefted above his head in preparation for the final blow. Danny frantically began shoving at the boot again, his breath coming in heavy bursts as he attempted to summon his powers, only to find himself completely drained. Gritting his teeth and slamming his eyes shut, Danny continued to push desperately against Thor's foot, refusing to give in.
With a final burst of adrenaline, Danny drove the heel of his hand into the side of the boot, only to meet with air. The lack of combating force sent the halfa sliding across the narrow gun-platform to land on top of his bruised hand with a groan.
Lying on the station, Danny cracked an eye open with a wince, before he felt them widen in disbelief. The raging and hostile Asgardian prince was being forcefully dragged away by Steve Rogers, who held the god in a combative grapple-hold, compelling Thor to withdraw from his attack on the half-ghost.
Blinking in surprise, Danny squeaked as he was yanked by the neck of his jumpsuit, sending him tumbling into the helicopter's cabin to collapse across the floor, automatically cradling his damaged hand to his chest. He could hear Thor snarling vehement threats from the other side of the Blackhawk, along with the two SHIELD operatives disbelieved cries. Their voices pounded into Danny's head, but he couldn't find the energy to care.
A whisper pulled Danny from his fatigue, "You alright there, Dan-Dan?"
Rolling his head to the side, Danny glared up to find a casually dressed Tony Stark crouching next to him, clapping imaginary dust off his hands, his face still holding traces of soot from his battle in the Basilica.
Danny rolled his eyes at the Ironman and groaned, "Why do they always give the big scary weapons to the guys with the anger issues?" He rasped tiredly.
"Don't worry. If Thor hangs around earth long enough, we're gonna sign him up for a class or two," Tony chuckled softly, "He'll be there right alongside Bruce in 'Anger Management 101'."
Ruffling the younger boy's white hair, Tony continued, his expression losing its cheekiness, "It's good to see you're okay, Dan-Dan."
Danny frowned slightly at the name, before giving in to his prolonged exhaustion and slipping into unconsciousness.
/ / /
Steve struggled to keep his hold on Thor, who writhed furiously under his grapple-lock near the back of the cabin. Clenching his teeth together in case Thor decided to throw back his head and make the super-soldier bite off his tongue, Steve watched as Tony stationed himself between Natasha and Clint's line of fire as they screamed furiously from their seats in the cockpit at him and Tony, while Bruce was trying – and failing – to calm the situation down.
Natasha waved her handgun around, trying to get a clean shot at the unconscious ghost that Tony hovered over. Noting the wild look in the woman's eye he had seen in many a reckless soldier, eager to take the first shot. Thinking fast, Steve gripped the end of Thor's red cape, hauling it over his head, making the god squawk as he grabbed a nearby medical kit and flung it with amazing accuracy at the assassin's hands and causing her to drop the gun which flew out of the open helicopter cabin, down into the Mediterranean sea. Steve's ears burnt from the coarse language that spilt from the woman's mouth as he grabbed back onto the still-blinded Thor.
Feeling a presence next to him, Steve found that Tony had left the metamorphic ghost's side, coming to stand next to him, hands held up defensively as Clint brandished his unarmed bow at the inventor from his strapped pilot's seat, his voice cracking in anger. Steve wasn't able to catch the inventor's retort over the SHIELD agents' squabbling and Thor's thunderous belligerence from under his cape.
Tony made another attempt to be heard, his voice rising along with Bruce's, only to meld into the raging hum of unrecognisable voices. Steve resisted the urge to join them, instead focusing on containing the still struggling mass of Asgardian muscle that seemed intent on ripping out the poor un-dead teenager's throat, whether he could see him or not.
Steve grunted as Thor violently twitched in his grip, "Stop struggling!" he called out angrily, readjusting his hold. He was left unheard, however, as the heated argument rose to new decimals. A flicker of light caught his eye as he glanced over Thor's broad shoulder. Steve cringed as he watched a bright light emitting from Danny stomach, the strange white rings he recognised from their encounter in Vatican City struggled over his body, travelling up to his clavicle, baring the SHIELD insignia on his upper arm before relenting, slithering back down across the boy's torso, and dissipating in another flash of white, leaving Danny in his original ghostly state.
Steve gave a sigh of relief, turning his head back to catch the SHIELD operatives' wide-eyed stares as they weakly tugged at the safety belts wrapped around them.
"What? That uniform…" Natasha stuttered off, her eyes not leaving Danny's prone form. Clint's eyes narrowed, but the archer stayed silent.
Steve's attention was diverted as Thor swung a muscular arm out, his giant hammer almost hitting him in the shoulder.
"Release me, piteous mortal!" Thor strained, attempting to once again rip himself out of Steve's defensive lock, snarling from under his the thick and heavy cloth.
The time-traveller groaned in pain as a wayward elbow collided with his cheekbone, forcing him to loosen his hold and stumble into a stressed Bruce Banner, who overbalanced under the additional weight and buckled back into one of the seats with an "Oomph!" Steve tactlessly collapsing at the smaller man's feet.
Shaking his head and rubbing his cheek, Steve heard Bruce cry out, "No!"
Steve watched in horror as Thor leapt at Danny, ramming a surprised Tony into the cockpit in the process. The inventor crashed into Clint's pilot seat and slid to the ground, winded, making the SHIELD agent jerk the cyclic stick roughly to the side as he was unintentionally shoved. The helicopter fell into a steep decline as the Avengers yelped and squeaked in shock. Steve felt a moment of weightlessness before gravity took hold, rolling him across the helicopter's length to ram into the back of an imbalanced Thor's knees, knocking the Asgardian off his feet to on top of the dishevelled Steve.
Silence ran through the interior of the chopper as Clint managed to level the Blackhawk. Steve, from his spot under Thor, panted heavily, shoving the god off of him and away from Danny. Thor growled from under his – once again – upturned cape.
Steve allowed himself to chuckle along with Tony at the sight, sitting up straight to cup his cheek before a sharp click registered in his mind. Twisting his torso around, the ex-soldier had no time to react as Natasha Romanoff's foot rammed itself into his jaw, sending Steve reeling back in a state of shock.
"What do you think you're doing, Romanoff?" Steve heard Tony call out angrily from his spot on the floor by Clint.
"Getting answers," Natasha grunted in response.
Steve heard Bruce's light footsteps rush past him, "Wait, stop! You can't hurt him!"
Resting himself on one elbow while using the other arm to cradle his twice-hit face, Steve cringed at the sight of the assassin straddling the unconscious ghost, his arms pinned to his sides by her muscular thighs, efficiently immobilizing the unconscious teenager. A glimmer of light caught his eye in the dark night near Danny's neck, where Natasha held a large sharp blade to his jugular.
Thor poked out from under the red cloth, "I wanted the honour of tearing the Hel-creature's head off," He muttered childishly.
Holding an arm out in a placating manner, Steve spoke low to the agent, "No one is going to get their head teared off, all right? Lower the knife, Miss Romanoff, we don't want anyone to get hurt."
Natasha laughed darkly, fisting Danny's hair and pulling his head back to bare his throat, "Not until you tell the rest of us what's going on. If you three," she glared sharply at him, along with Tony and Bruce, "Know something about the Draugur that the rest of us don't, I recommend you start talking before I force-feed this zombie its own brains."
Steve chewed his lip worriedly, staring at the younger boy's face, which was lax in his sleep, before relenting with a sigh, "Fine, Danny is—"
"Our only link to Loki!" Bruce cut in, wringing his wrists habitually as he hovered nearby.
Steve frowned, confused, "Wha—"
"Yes," Tony exclaimed, hefting himself up from his spot on the cockpit's floor and cautiously made his way over to Natasha, quickly snatching the hunting knife out of her grip, making her scowl up at him, "Without the Draugur, we won't have any idea what Loki's plan is. At least with this guy we'll have some clue where to start."
Thor towered over the halfa as he sneered down, "Very well, we shall use the death-bringer to our advantage. And afterwards, we destroy it along with the others."
Silence permeated the Blackhawk as Clint flew it ever-closer towards the Helicarrier.
/ / /
Danny hissed as he slowly regained consciousness. His whole body ached terribly, particularly his hand.
Too exhausted and sore to move, Danny simply laid still, letting the silence sweep over him like a security blanket, his brain throbbing painfully as glimpses of memories flashed by too quick for him to catch, fluttering out of his mind into the void of the forgotten. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, feeling the pressure in his head disappear the further he relaxed into himself. The quiet resounded throughout the room, a silent song that lulled him into a sense of tranquillity, drawing him further into the darkness, until a flicker of a memory burst to the forefront of his mind, breaking him out of his peaceful reverie.
Danny's eyes flew open with a start as he gasped, only to slam shut just as quickly under the fluorescent glare of the ceiling lights. Groaning, the half-ghost rolled onto his side, his bones creaking under the strain – Danny heard more than one vertebrae pop.
Footsteps echoed in his head, coming closer, matching the dull thudding in his skull. Hesitantly peeking an eye open, he frowned as a pair of black-clad boots swam in his vision, a leather coat flittering by the ankles. Raising his gaze, Danny growled at the sight of the director who stood boldly on the other side of a pane of glass, his single eye staring down at him apathetically.
"Nice to see you're awake, Draugur."
"Ugh," Danny said intelligently. Pushing himself up onto his elbows, the halfa glanced around at his surroundings. He was in the containment chamber again.
Nick Fury continued, ignoring the ghost to prod expertly at the buttons on the chamber's control system, "You have caused us a lot of trouble than you're worth, beast. Knocking out our surveillance system, commanding the break-in and stealing the sceptre. You've been working much closer to Loki than I originally believed."
Surveillance system? What break-in? "I don't know what you're talking about." Danny gritted out.
"There is no point in lying, Draugur. Your henchmen are not as loyal as you would like to believe. Mutiny appears to run strong through your breed." Fury spat out, his voice vehement despite his cool expression.
A snarl flew from the halfa's throat as he pushed himself onto unsteady feet, stumbling towards the scarred man, falling just short of the glass, encasing Fury in his much larger shadow, "Look, dude, I have no idea what you're saying! So before you start throwing accusations in my face, how 'bout you tell me what's going on!"
The threatening sound of numerous gun safeties being unlatched made Danny pause as a grunt stood next to Fury, the soldier's hand hovered threateningly over a large dial. Biting the inside of his cheek, Danny reluctantly took a step away from the glass where he glared around the room, trying to catch sight of the hidden SHIELD agents under the bright and disorienting lights of his prison.
Fury smirked at Danny, "I'd recommend cooperating with us, Draugur, if you don't want to end up as target practise."
Danny blinked, "Was that an attempt at humour? Because if it was—"
He was cut off as a loud banging echoed through the room, diverting his attention. The doors swept open with a swipe of one of the agent's key-card to reveal a frazzled Maria Hill, her posture ramrod-straight despite her obvious hurry.
"Sir, the Avengers are on their way to speak with you now." She announced, her breath short as she strode over next to her first-in-command.
Fury's mouth turned down at the corners, "Why didn't you let yourself in, Hill? Where is your override card?"
"It appears that I have misplaced it, sir." Maria bowed her head, her hair slipping out of her slick ponytail.
Danny bit down harder on his cheek to stop himself from chuckling at her 'forgetfulness'.
"Very well. Make sure you terminate the key-card as soon as possible and double security measures to the labs. We don't want anything else of value falling into the wrong hands."
Darn it. Oh well, Tucker already had a copy of all their files anyway.
"But sir, what about the Avengers?" Maria glanced nervously in the halfa's direction, her voice softening to a whisper. Danny almost snickered, he was more than capable of catching everything with his sensitive hearing.
"Let them in," Fury didn't bother to lower his own voice, pinning Danny with a glare, "It will be better to have them here to understand the Draugur anyway," Fury admitted, making Danny scoff, crossing his arms indignantly, before wincing. His hand really hurt.
Familiar voices were quickly carrying themselves through the open doorway, only too soon revealing the heretical team that the public so proudly called the Avengers. Danny felt his lip curl at the sight of the towering mass of blond hair that sneered at him through the glass.
His gaze slowly turned to the rest of the team, skipping over a surprisingly drawn Tony Stark and a worried Steve Rogers, past a nervous Bruce Banner and a stone-faced Clint Barton, to land on the short stature of Natasha Romanoff, whom was staring at him with large, unblinking eyes, following his every movement.
Shifting on the spot, Danny watched as Maria Hill directed the hidden agents out of the room. The half-ghost distractedly felt the hairs raised on the back of his neck as a shiver ran down his spine – the feeling of being watched hovered over him like a foreboding cloud. Glancing at the Avengers, he found the ex-assassin's laser-stare still resting on him, her eyes now narrowed into slits. Danny had the perverse feeling he was being judged.
The heavy metal entrance door slid close with a hiss as Fury strode towards the control board again, "It appears, gentlemen and Miss Romanoff, that we have once again fallen to one of Loki's plans."
"I'll say," Tony jeered, "I'm guessing the new renovations weren't planned then? Oh, and nice job by the way with the border security. You guys were a huge help out there. All zero of you."
"Our priorities had changed accordingly, given the circumstances." Fury levelled a glare at the confused Danny.
Danny moaned tiredly, "Are we on this again? Look, how many times do I have to tell you I don't know—"
"What happened exactly, sir?" Steve stepped forward, his military habits coming to play, his boots clicking together as he stood to attention.
"The Draugar have taken Loki's sceptre."
"What?" Thor shunted Steve out of the way, bounding over to the eye-patched man to yank him up by his lapels. Danny silently cheered, "I thought we had agreed that the Midgardians would destroy the cursed thing! You promised to throw it into the deepest of oceans yourself if you had to!"
Fury shoved the god's hands off him, "It is not that simple I'm afraid, Thor. The amount of verifications and research needed to deem it harmless towards both humans and the earth's other inhabitants is far beyond throwing it away in the garbage. Certain protocols are necessary in situations like these—"
Thor blatantly ignored the SHIELD director's weak argument, stalking his way up to Danny's cell to slam his heavy hands against it. The thick glass rattled at the impact.
"Tell us what you know." Thor panted, the glass fogging up to obscure his face.
Danny grimaced, "Tell you about what? I'm just as clueless as the rest of you guys about what's going on."
Thor's expression became wild, "Tell us now, you freak!"
Danny glowered at the name, "That's it."
Storming over to where the god stood, Danny shoved his intangible hands through the thick glass pane, too focused on Thor to notice the sharp, violent burst of electricity that crackled up his arm, making his gritted teeth tingle furiously. Latching on to the neck of his cape, Danny dragged the off-guard Thor through the barrier, who hissed at the intense electric shock that passed through his intangible form.
Hurling the god across the length of the cage, Danny smirked hauntingly as Thor landed heavily, rolling to a stop barely inches away from the glass wall, a thin layer of smoke rising from his body.
Danny cracked his own smoking hands threateningly, "You wanted to go, Mister High-and-Mighty? Let's go, one-on-one – no interferences from your Avenger buddies either. "
Thor slowly got to his feet, his eyes crackling with almost childlike glee, "Very well, demon. I accept your challenge. When this is over, not even Hel herself will want to consider you as one of her spawn."
Danny scoffed, his energy sliding down his arm like ice water, the skin beginning to glow green as the power circulated in his uninjured palm, "Please, I'll have you crying to daddy for a bedtime story by the time I'm done with you."
Thor lunged at Danny, catching the halfa off-guard as he was tackled around the waist. Danny visibly winced on impact with the chamber, the wall sparking an array of lights where his back collided. Thor quickly released his grip on the teenager, stumbling away as he shook his hands vigorously with a hiss. The skin that had touched both the glass and Danny was a fiery red. Shiny, blistering welts were forming across Thor's knuckles as he nursed them.
The half-ghost gave the god no time to recover. Despite being sore, he felt rejuvenated from his sleep and raced towards Thor, dodging a wayward fist to kick a leg out. His white boot met Thor's sternum at full-force, sending him tumbling back in Fury's direction by the control panel.
Danny waited to hear the imminent shattering of glass, only to frown, confused, as the older man simply fell out of the cell, landing roughly on the ground by a surprised Bruce's feet.
By the time Danny had recognised his chance of escape, Fury had already raised the walls back up to their stations, leaving him trapped inside.
"Now is not the time for petty feuds, Thor," Danny heard Fury say as he raised a tentative hand towards the glass, only to quickly draw it back as a sharp spark flew towards him. Danny grumbled moodily.
"I don't know, I was sort of enjoying it. Saves me from having to buy tickets for the next title match," Danny watched Tony rock back and forth on his heels, his face smooth of the worry lines he had last seen creasing the man's brow.
Thor grunted belligerently as he stood, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Now," Fury continued as if he wasn't interrupted, "Is the time for action. Loki may have the sceptre, but we have the Phantom."
Danny paused at this, his focus pulled away from the electric wall, "Hey! How do you know my name? I never told you that!"
Fury spoke tiredly, clasping his hands behind his back as he paced along the length of the glass, "Over two years ago, it came to the American government's attention that a large abundance of unregistered life-forms was inhabiting the state of Illinois. However, as they were deemed to be of a low threat towards humans in comparison to other extra-terrestrial creatures at the time," Fury shot Thor a look with his single eye, "the GIW was sent instead of SHIELD for the purgation process."
"Purgation? They were sent to knock us off?"
"Once the government had had a chance to capture and study you, most likely; yes," the director stated factually before continuing his monologue, "That plan of action changed, however, when we were introduced to the Asgardians. Our analysts invested much time studying old Nordic folklore and sharpening the lines between fact and fiction after Thor disappeared again," Fury's coat snapped as he came to a halt in front of Danny, his hands still clasped behind his back, "One of those stories was of the 'Draugurs'. Ungodly beings of terror that stormed through archaic times and thrived on obsession, only to suddenly disappear from history just as quickly as they came."
The director's single black eye reminded Danny of wet tar, as he felt himself sink deeper, "Due to the GIW's incompetence, the existence of these 'ghosts' – or more correctly, 'Draugar' – were once again brought to SHIELD's attention. Banished to another dimension, they had somehow been able to escape, despite their nature being far more docile than their reputation had preceded. SHIELD dispatched numerous undercover agents to study them, and you, Danny Phantom, stood out as one of the most immediately threatening and dangerous."
"Well this never came up in the files, did they, Brucey?" Tony nudged Bruce in the side, "Now why would that be? Why put such a strong security measure over something like that? I bet your string-puppets didn't even know about that," he nodded at the baffled SHIELD agents as they gaped at their commander.
"Because we're supposed to be SHIELD's latest toy," Danny stated, his teeth grinding together hard enough to squeak while his hands balled up into fists by his side, "SHIELD was gonna use the sceptre to control the ghosts to defend the planet from anyone who threatened it – against the Avengers initiative even. Helmet-hair dude just beat them to it."
Fury's dark eye swivelled back on Danny, "That information is highly classified, how did you know that?"
"The same way I found out about PROJECT: FriendlyFire," Danny grinned toothily at the director, yet his eyes were void of amusement.
"PROJECT: FriendlyFire? What's that?" Steve asked cautiously.
"It is none of your concern, soldier," Fury finished. Nodding to the grunt beside him, the uniformed man twisted the large dial he had threatened Danny with earlier. Fury's cool façade never cracking.
Danny sneered, "He's just as bad as Loki and Plasmius! He's just using you all for—!"
He collapsed onto the ground of his cell, Danny's limbs writhing and contracting, pain shooting through him to sink deep into his bones, rattling them from the inside out as electricity bounced off the walls, sending the room into a haze of white. A scream erupted from the halfa's throat that shook the prison dangerously. Hairline fractures spread across the length of the glass, weaving intricate and jagged patterns as his anguished cries carried.
Just as quickly, the pain stopped, leaving Danny lying on the floor, his body smoking heavily as he choked for air. Fluttering his eyes open, he saw Steve's patriotic shield embedded deep into the panel, the lights from the keys flickered before dying as the glass walls slid down out of sight.
"Enough," Steve's voice was strong in the silence, his expression hard.
Tony stalked up next to him, his jaw visibly grinding, "There was no need for that, Fury, he's just a kid. What's he know that's got you so scared, huh?"
"It is of no importance to any of you," Fury quipped, "Now, Miss Romanoff, will you and Mister Barton are to escort the rest of your team members to the strategies room. We need to discuss our course of action against Loki and this 'Plasmius'. They are our most prominent threat of the moment."
With a sharp nod, Clint placed a hand on Steve's shoulder, who brushed it off with a final sorrowful glance at Danny's fallen body before striding out, grabbing Thor on the way as Bruce slowly shuffled out after them. Natasha hesitated to move from her spot, her eyes still trained on Danny before she snapped herself out of her stupor, smacking Tony across the back of his head, who released an indignant cry before being hauled out by the ex-assassin.
Danny almost sighed in relief as the door slid shut and silence encased the room, only to tense up as footsteps met his ears.
The half-ghost peeked an eye open to find the commander, Fury, waltzing into the chamber up to where Danny laid, "Phantom, I have a proposition for you."
A soft croaking noise escaped his throat. Fury took it as curiosity.
"Help us against Loki and his army and I promise you national immunity from this war."
Danny's mouth twisted in a frown as he stared up at the hazy outline of the director, before lolling his head side to side negatively. There was no way he was ever going to willingly work for SHIELD.
Fury's face became a lot clearer as it rushed into his vision, merely inches away from his own, blocking out the blinding lights from above, his voice almost mournful, "Let me rephrase the offer then, Phantom. The heads of the SHIELD agency are planning to terminate your little town, along with all of its citizens – ghostly or otherwise. It's considered a breeding-ground for your kind," The commander stood back up, making the bright fluorescent lights flood back into the halfa's vision, forcing him to clap his eyes back shut and twist his head away, "But if you cooperate with SHIELD, I will convince the higher-ups to cancel the missile launch. So what's it going to be? Do I need to make the call?"
Danny didn't hesitate to nod in agreement.
"Good," Danny heard footsteps retreating from behind his eyelids, "You can join the rest of us in the strategy room when you're ready – I'm sure you can direct yourself around the Helicarrier by now. And remember, SHIELD will do anything to protect this world. And they will not hesitate to use drastic measures if necessary."
"So you're going to eliminate terrorism with terrorism?" Danny rasped out softly.
"It is only concluded as terrorism if you follow through with it, Phantom. And that choice relies solely on you. I am not the enemy here."
Danny laughed hollowly, "That's what every bad guy thinks."
The boots disappeared as the metal door locked. Silence swept over the room over him as he exhaled deeply, the ache in his bones catching up to him. The glowing white rings of his transformation embraced him to reveal his human form, stretching across him as his skin lost its slight tan, his white matted hair became black, sticking to his face with sweat as his eyelids snapped open to reveal angry blue. Neither SHIELD nor Plasmius were going to win this war. That, Danny could promise.