"Sorry to say this, Danny, but you've seriously hurt your right hand." Bruce stated, stepping away from the examination table Danny was seated on in the medical bay.
"Wow, really, Doc? I couldn't tell through all the crippling pain that's been running through it," Danny quipped, cradling the appendage protectively.
Bruce ignored him, fixing a sheet of X-Ray film onto a light-board, "You've injured it in three places – mainly in the phalanx bones. You can see that the intermediate and proximal phalanges of your index finger have dislocated, while the metacarpals of your middle finger are suffering from splintering fractures near their corresponding joints," Bruce pointed at each of the bones as he described them, "You've also strained the tendons in the synovial sheath, which is most likely the reason your forearm hurts as well."
"Cool," Danny replied dully, "So… my hand's broken then?"
Bruce sighed before opening a cupboard and pulled out large rolls of bandages and strapping tape, "I'd usually say you shouldn't use your hand for at least the next six weeks, but with your, uh, resistance to injury, I think it would be best to trial it at four days for now."
Danny stared at him aghast, "Four days? What am I going to do for four days?"
The doctor shrugged, softly gripping Danny's arm as he began to wind a long white strip of cloth around it, "We're going to need to support your wrist. Just hold still while I set the soft cast."
"Wait, you're giving me a cast?" Danny looked miserable, "Great," Bruce heard him mutter, "This just gets better and better."
Bruce awkwardly patted the boy on the shoulder, his much shorter stature making it difficult to reach. Glancing up at the sound of the door opening from behind him, he watched as Tony Stark strolled through, Pepper Potts behind him.
"Dan-Dan! How're you feeling?" Tony asked cheerily, his arm winding around Pepper as they approached the examination table. Danny glared, his bottom lip jutting out as he eyed the red-haired woman suspiciously.
"Bruce," Pepper smiled warmly at the doctor, "It feels like forever since I've seen you."
Bruce threw a quick smile of his own before turning back to Danny's arm, binding it meticulously while Pepper approached the half-ghost.
"Hello there, you must be Danny Fenton. I'm Pepper Potts, Tony's much, much better half." Pepper unwound herself from a protesting Tony's gasip, stretching out her right hand. Danny blinked stupidly at her before he motioned at his clothed arm, making Pepper blush in embarrassment.
Danny ignored this, focusing on the multi-millionaire, "How does she know who I am?" He asked fiercely.
"Aw, come on, Danny, I trust Pepper with life – have many times, in fact. So don't worry." Tony clapped Danny on the back, jostling the poor boy's arm.
Bruce hovered over his bindings protectively with a sharp, "Watch it!" as Danny squeaked in pain.
"Jeez, the kid's just sprained a pinkie, right? It's not like he's going round two on his deathbed or anything." Pepper gave Tony a sharp jab in his side for the tasteless joke.
Danny angrily waved Bruce off him as he yanked the X-Ray from its board and shoved it out to the millionaire. Tony's eyes flicked down at the film, yet his arms stayed by his side.
Pepper heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes at Tony before graciously taking the sheet out of Danny's hand, "He doesn't like things being handed to him." She answered to Danny's questioning look.
Danny stared at her before turning back to the Ironman, "Just because you trust her doesn't mean I automatically can. It's not your secret to tell, Tony. Besides, Bruce here has told me you've made some pretty risky judgement calls before. Ones that have almost gotten you killed."
Bruce cringed at the mention of his name. Ducking his head low, he finished sealing the soft cast and began to bind Danny's fingers together, who grunted in pain.
"Stane-Schmane," Tony scoffed, fondly tapping his arc reactor, "All dear old Obadiah's done is helped me see who I can and can't trust."
"Well it's obvious that I can't trust you." The white-haired boy spat out scathingly. Tony fell quiet at that.
Looping a sling around Danny's neck with effort, Bruce stepped back to pack his materials away, "It's all done, Danny. You can go if you want."
"Finally! Thanks, doc!" Danny leapt off the table, heading directly for the glass exit, "See ya!" He called over his shoulder with a wave of his uninjured hand, disappearing from sight.
Pepper watched him leave before quietly skipping out of Tony's reach and followed after the half-ghost, leaving the two men to face one another.
"I told you not to push him, Tony. You're feeling guilty now, aren't you?" Bruce commented, carefully closing the lid of his medical kit.
Tony sniffed, looking away, "I don't know what you're talking about."
/ / /
Danny stormed through the corridors, passing by a group of sniggering SHIELD agents, conspicuously pointing at his sling with obvious mirth. He glowered moodily at them, letting his green eyes flash threateningly. The operatives reeled back in fright, their hands hovering over their belt holsters protectively. Danny ignored them, continuing his way down the sterile-looking hallway without a backwards glance. Passing a bend, Danny quickly yanked the white cloth from around his neck and flung it to the floor, kicking it for good measure before stomping away.
"Danny, wait up!" The sharp clack of high heels met Danny's ears as he came to a standstill, impatiently waiting for the owner of the footsteps to reach his side.
The soft and inviting smile slid off Pepper's face at the sight of Danny's clenched jaw, as she cleared her throat uncomfortably, "I, um, just wanted to introduce myself officially, while Tony wasn't around."
Not even glancing down at her, Danny let out a heavy gust of air, "Nice to meet you." He gritted out, as if it pained him to say the words and twisted away from the woman, continuing down the corridor.
There was a pause before the annoying clicking of Pepper's shoes started up again, trailing behind him. Danny rolled his eyes but refused to say anything. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone – especially not someone who has such a personal relationship with Tony Stark. He was tired and hungry after all the commotion over the past two days, barely able to steal anything more than a sandwich from the Helicarrier's cafeteria without being chased down by either an overeager rookie or a deranged demi-god. The last thing he wanted was to associate with someone who considered an egotistical genius millionaire to be good boyfriend material.
The thin little sticks poking out of the soles of Pepper's shoes made a surprising amount of noise in the empty halls as she followed him. She didn't say a word, simply followed him vigilantly, quickening her footfalls as Danny extended his gait in an attempt to lose her. His arm was beginning to ache again without the support of his sling, yet he was too prideful to turn back and get it.
The clacking continued for several more minutes, and Danny could hear Tony's assistant begin to puff in her attempt to keep up. Finally, the half-ghost had enough.
"What do you want?" He hissed, whirling around angrily to loom over the tall woman.
Pepper stumbled back, apparently surprised by the abrupt confrontation, "I-I just wanted to talk… A-and to give you this." A long, wide strip of gauze was gripped in the red-head's hands, which she held it out to the halfa.
Danny felt all of his misconstrued anger deflate at the sight of the white cloth covered in footprints. Gently tugging it out of the woman's nervous grip, he looped the knot back around his neck before carefully sliding his damaged hand into place, sighing softly as the pressure lessened in his wrist.
"Thanks." He whispered guiltily, giving Pepper an uneasy smile.
Pepper's rigid posture didn't ease up at his words as she nodded sharply, her hands tucked safely behind her back.
Danny ran a hand through his messy white hair, sucking on his lower lip, "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I… haven't been having the easiest time lately." He admitted while weakly adding, "You said your name was Pepper, right?"
Pepper seemed to brighten at this, her posture losing its tension as she stuck her hand out again, "Yes. I'm Pepper Potts, Stark Industry's CEO and Tony's conscience whenever the need arises."
"Wow. Tough job. I mean, the first sounds easy, but the second…"
Pepper smirked, "That's why I charge by the hour. I think I'll have built up a rather nice retirement fund by the end of it."
Danny chuckled softly when a jaw-cracking yawn cut him off, water seeped his tired tear ducts, giving his green eyes a glassy, unfocused appearance.
"Are you alright?" Pepper asked warily.
Danny hummed affirmatively, "Yeah, just haven't gotten my full eight hours for a while – apparently falling unconscious just makes you more sleepy."
"Oh, I didn't even think that ghosts could get tired," Clicking her stilettos together and grabbing onto the black sleeve of Danny's uninjured arm, Pepper dragged Danny further down the corridor, "Come on. You can have Tony's bed. He can sleep on the couch tonight."
/ / /
Steve sat in his room, carefully buffering his shield with precise movements. The rough cloth rubbing small circular motions against the familiar red, white and blue. It was moments like these that Steve cherished – moments where he didn't have to think about anything except whatever was directly in front of him.
Applying more pressure with his cloth on a particularly stubborn streak of dirt, Steve huffed as more flecks of paint flittered to the ground to join the pile on the floor. With all the scratches and marks covering the round plate's surface, the stars and stripes were now almost imperceptible.
Carefully resting his shield on its allocated stand, Steve slumped onto his bed with a frown, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. With all the commotion around Danny and the invading ghosts, Steve felt more than a little stressed out. The burden to keep the boy's identity safe while watching him struggle was eating away at the Captain's empathetic heart. After being dismissed by Fury, the Avengers had quickly parted ways – Thor storming off angrily with Clint and Natasha following behind at a much calmer pace.
Steve had hovered near the door along with a curious Tony and Bruce, making weak conversation with the genii, until a strangely reluctant Tony had been dragged away by an operative, claiming someone called 'Pepper' had arrived. Steve himself was forced to leave shortly after with Nick Fury for a debriefing, leaving a nervous doctor outside the chamber alone.
Steve felt his eyes pinch at the corners. Sometimes he had the strangest feeling that his teammates knew about Danny.
Something was digging into Steve's back, dragging the super-soldier out of his memories to instead make him wriggle uncomfortably and grope for the mysterious object. Pulling out a thin, black block of plastic covered in an array of buttons, Steve carelessly tossed the television remote onto the small table next to his bed and rolled over, trying to clear his head again.
An image of Danny being trapped in the containment chamber flooded to the forefront of his mind, making him groan to himself. Running a hand down his face Steve sat up, snatching at the remote to clumsily switch on the television screen, slowly flicking through channels to keep his mind off the halfa.
Clicking another button, Steve quickly remembered why he didn't like the moving picture box. It was mind-numbingly dull and pointless. In his time, movies were rare and far between, and the theatre had simply been too expensive for him to visit regularly. So when he was first introduced to this certain piece of technology, the war veteran had originally been blown away – only to be found quite disappointed by the sheer amount of infomercials and lazily-planned sitcoms.
Pressing off a cooking show, Steve's thumb stilled over the channel button as a familiar white-haired boy's face filled the screen. A hysterical woman's voice filtered through the background, the pixelated camera shaking violently in the speaker's hands as Danny threw her concerned looks.
The shot cut to a scene Steve was less than proud of. Bruce's gigantic green form was leaping at one of the news helicopters that had invaded the streets of Vatican City, dangerously grazing the tail as Steve attempted to distract him, while vainly ordering the helicopters away. He watched as a well-aimed lamppost collided with one of the nearby helicopter rotors, forcing the aircraft out of the sky down towards earth, only to be valiantly saved by Danny before it hit the ground.
Tuning into the news presenter's words, Steve felt his stomach drop in trepidation.
"—with an estimate of over fourteen billion dollars in repairs needed on the Basilica alone, the city of the Vatican has been left in ruins by our beloved Avengers, who we once placed both our trust and our lives in," the anchor-man's expression was grim as he stared into the camera, a small screen off to the side running footage of the demolished city, "While no major injuries or deaths have occurred in this nation-wide catastrophe, thanks to a hero we can now recognised as 'Danny Phantom'—" The side-screen switched to a still of Danny fighting a green Bruce, "the world still has to wonder 'Have we put our trust the right people?' Many believe not as riots have begun to break out across the world, calling for the Avengers to be disbanded and for some of their members to be incarcerated for their actions."
Steve watched with wide eyes as the scene changed. Shots of mobs holding picket signs with demoralising slogans against Steve and his teammates – some promoting Danny Phantom – flickered past the screen, people mauling each other and creating havoc as armed policemen moved in on them with riot shields and tear-gas.
Steve quickly switched off the television, flinging the remote across the room as he hurried to find the others.
/ / /
Danny collapsed boneless onto the large bed as the white rings ran over him, throwing his uninjured arm over his eyes with a slow but satisfied smile. The bed dipped slightly as Pepper perched herself on the edge. Peeking out from under his arm, Danny found her staring at him with a light frown.
"What?" he asked nervously, shuffling minutely across the mattress.
Pepper glanced away, shaking her head, "It's nothing."
"No, seriously, what's up? You can tell me," Danny pressed.
Pepper tugged seemingly unconsciously at the bedspread, "It's, well… When Tony described you, I just assumed…" The red-head seemed to hesitate before finally admitting, "I just didn't expect you to be so young."
Danny sat up slowly, resting his back against the headboard, and stared at her as she continued to awkwardly fiddle with the sheets.
"He talks about you a lot, you know. He's really impressed by what you do. And I can promise you that that is rare," Pepper laughed softly to herself before meeting Danny's shocked eyes, "When he first came home from meeting you, he spent hours on the computer – finding out as much as he could– and babbling on about a magic kid that beat up Bruce."
"I'm not magic." Danny said, disgruntled.
Pepper ignored him, "He really likes you, Danny."
The halfa scoffed, "Well if that's true, he's got a funny way of showing it! To him, my identity is just a big old game of 'Guess Who?'."
Pepper looked at him forlornly, "Tony isn't really the best at human interactions, I'll admit. He just doesn't know how to talk to you."
"He's almost let me die tons of times!" Danny flailed his arms violently, before quickly pulling them back to his person, his right twinged uncomfortably.
"Do you really think Tony would let someone die if he could stop it?" Pepper asked. Danny looked away guiltily.
Standing up, she walked over to the doorframe, "I'll talk to Tony for you, but just consider his side as well."
Danny bit his lip, before calling out, "You're not going to tell people about, er… me are you?" he gestured towards himself, his dark hair and blue eyes a stark contrast against his pale skin.
With a ghost of a smile, Pepper simply replied, "Sweet dreams," before slipped out of the room, closing the door with a sharp click.
Danny moaned as he flopped back down onto the bed, throwing one of the many pillows over his face and squeezed his eyes shut, in an attempt to shut out the annoying voice in the back of his head that was agreeing with Pepper, and go to sleep.
Too bad he didn't feel tired anymore.