Encounters Part Two
Peter was swinging through the city when it happened. There was nothing, and then there was a glowing green portal and there were things streaming out of it. Wait, was that a dragon?
“Karen, call Mister Stark,” Peter ordered, twisting to swing towards the portal.
Stark answered on the second ring. “Kid, what’s up?”
“Mister Stark! Look out the window or something! There’s a portal and there’s these things coming out of it and I think I saw a dragon,” Peter rambled, landing on a roof nearby to get a better look.
“Peter, where are you?” Tony asked, his voice deadly serious.
“Manhattan. I was on my way to the tower. But did you not hear the part where I see a dragon?” Peter answered. He moved rooftops to get a better view, and yeah, that was a dragon.
“I heard, kid. Sit tight, I’m on my way. Everyone else is suiting up,” Tony ordered, and Peter could hear the whir of the suit starting up in the background.
“I can’t just do nothing, Mister Stark!” Peter argued.
“Fine, evacuate civilians or something, then. Just be careful, okay?” Tony said.
“Will do,” Peter agreed, and the call cut off.
Instead of moving right away, he took another moment to watch the things still streaming out of the portal. He wasn’t sure what to make of any of them. Finally, the stream slowed. A shock of black and white that Peter thought was in the shape of a person came out last, and then the portal winked out of existence. A scream sounded from the people on the streets way below Peter, and he swung down to start corralling them away.
There were still people in the streets when the police rolled up. They started piling out of cars, and the one that Peter assumed was the leader waved him over. He did a mix of swinging, running, and flipping over to the man.
“I’m Sergeant Jamie Reagan, I’m in charge here. What can we do to help? And do you have any idea what these things are?” the officer asked.
“Just help me get people out of here and set up a perimeter however far back seems necessary. Iron Man and the other Avengers are on their way, I was just the closest to the ground. And sorry, but I have no idea what they are either,” Peter answered.
Just then, a boy that was probably around Peter’s age landed next to him. He had shock white hair, a black and white suit, and he was glowing.
“They’re ghosts. Or, I guess I should say, we’re ghosts. Cause I’m a ghost too. But, um, none of your weapons will probably do anything. I’m on your side, um, it’s complicated? Anyway, I’m Phantom, nice to meet you and all that. Also, ghosts can phase into buildings so those aren’t really safe. But if it’s any comfort most of these ghosts are a lot more focused on wreaking havoc and not necessarily hurting people. Some of them aren’t really sentient enough to have a real intention,” the boy announced, glancing back and forth between Peter and Jamie Reagan.
Before either of them had a chance to respond, a ghost, because they were apparently ghosts, dove towards Peter and Jamie. Peter tried to web it, but his web went right through it, and it was still coming-
Phantom shot a green blast out of his palm and the ghost disintegrated. Peter and Jamie stared at him for a moment. He held out his hand and a ring of light passed over it. When it was gone, he held an assortment of objects that Peter couldn’t identify. Jamie shook his head to clear it.
“Ghosts? So, well, any advice?” he asked Phantom.
Phantom shrugged. “Like I said, most of them aren’t inherently violent. If you can get people away, that’s probably the most you can do. Also, your weapons probably won’t do anything and you might shoot each other on accident, so I’d take that into account. Oh, and try to avoid the giant dragon. He does breathe fire. And, well, dodging is probably your best bet honestly. I’ll do my best to keep them off of you, but there’s only so much I can do. Just, well, don’t die, yeah?”
Jamie ran a hand through his hair. “Alright, I can work with that. Thanks.”
Then, he was off, yelling orders and making hand motions. Phantom turned back to Peter with some sort of shining silver belt in his hands and secured it around Peter’s waist. It tightened until it fit, then clicked.
“That’s a specter deflector. It keeps the wearer safe from ghosts, basically. If you can hit them, it’ll do damage. The weaker ones it might even take out. I only have two on me, so you can decide who the other one goes to,” Phantom explained, holding out another belt. Peter took it and, lacking pockets, put it on too.
Phantom nodded. “Good. I also have a few ghost-” he paused to blast a ghost that was heading for Jamie before continuing, “a few ghost weapons, they’re all pretty simple. Three wrist rays and two lipstick lasers. The wrist rays go on your wrist, you just hit the button to shoot, and the lipstick lasers have a button on the side that shoots a laser out of the red end. I have someone coming with more, but for now, I’m leaving handing those out to you. I need to get in the fight. If you have earpieces for comms or something, patch me in when you can, yeah? Okay, great, good talk,” Phantom finished, shoving the weapons into Peter’s arms and flying off.
Peter put a wrist ray on each wrist, then webbed the remaining weapons to his side. He swung back up and, after a bit of trial and error, figured out how to use the wrist rays and his webs at the same time. There was an alert chime on his suit, then Tony’s face appeared in the upper corner of his vision.
“I’ve been here for a minute, kid, I saw you talk to the police, you have any idea what’s going on?” Tony asked, worried.
“Sort of? They’re ghosts, Mister Stark! One of them came and talked to me and said he’s trying to help us and his name is Phantom and he gave me a few weapons he said will work because let me tell you, my webs are doing nothing to these things, and also I guess we should avoid the dragon,” Peter rambled, navigating the fray and relying heavily on his spider sense and his anti ghost belt.
“They’re ghosts? Ghosts are real? And one of them is on our side? This is insanity,” Tony answered, grumbling to himself.
“Aliens attacked New York, a killer robot attacked Sokovia, anything can happen,” Peter replied, grinning.
“Har har,” Tony deadpanned. “Now, you said something about weapons? Because I got to tell you, kid, my repulsor blasts are doing nothing to these things.”
“Yeah, not many weapons, but weapons. Some wrist rays and little laser things. They all require pushing small buttons, so I’m not sure how they’d do with your suit,” Peter answered.
Finally, finally he spotted Tony in his suit through the fray and started swinging towards him, shooting the ghosts around him.
“I can push small buttons!” Tony argued.
Peter rolled his eyes. “Fine, but I’m giving you a wrist ray so at least you can’t drop it,” he retorted.
Tony spotted him and steered towards a rooftop. Peter landed next to him and quickly transferred one of his wrist rays to Tony, showing him where the button was. It looked hilarious, but Tony seemed able to use it with little issue.
“What did we miss?” Cap asked a moment later, and Peter flinched. Tony noticed.
“I patched Spider-Man into the coms, he’s working with us on this one. Want to fill them in, kid?” Tony asked.
“Sure thing. So we’re fighting ghosts, the white haired boy is a ghost and he’s on our side. So far only the weapons he gave me have done anything against them. They can fly, turn invisible, and turn intangible, so watch where you point your weapons. I’m on my way to the ground, I’ll give you guys what I can. Also, I have a ghost proof belt?”
“Dibs!” Natasha yelled over the coms.
Peter grinned and located the team on the ground, trying and failing to fight off ghosts. He used his wrist ray to clear a bit of a clearing. He pulled the weapons off his side and pulled the webbing off of them. He fumbled for a moment with the button on the belt, but undid it.
All the Avengers on the ground turned to him. Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, James Rhodes, Wanda Maximoff, and Vision. Peter was momentarily surprised to see that Bruce Banner was still, well, Banner and not Hulk. He didn’t say anything about it, though. Natasha was the first to notice him, and she grinned.
Peter pushed aside his hero worship and stepped up to pull the belt around Natasha’s waist and secure it. She held still.
“That’s a specter deflector, it repels ghosts and basically lets you do things like kick and punch them. If they’re weak enough it might take them out,” Peter explained.
“You said you had weapons?” Natasha asked.
Peter nodded and offered her a lipstick laser. “Lipstick laser. Button on the side, shoots a laser out of the red end.”
Natasha took it, shot a ghost behind him, and smiled. “Sold.”
Peter snorted and moved on. Steve was the closest, so he offered him the last wrist ray, with a short explanation. Banner got the other lipstick laser. Peter held his ground for a moment, helping them fight off ghosts.
“Anyone have an extra earpiece for comms? The ghost that gave us those weapons, Phantom, was asking about it. His input would be helpful,” Peter asked, over the comms.
“I have an extra. Mine gets broken sometimes,” Bruce offered.
“Cool, thanks. He’ll be on whenever I can find him,” Peter promised, taking the offered earpiece and swinging off.
It took him less time than he thought it would to find Phantom in the fray, high up. Peter swung up next to him, waved, and landed on a nearby rooftop. A moment later Phantom touched down beside him. Peter offered the earpiece.
“Comms,” he said, by way of explanation.
“Thanks,” Phantom grinned, taking it and slotting it into his ear.
He flew off, and Peter swung off.
“Hi everybody, my name is Phantom, I’m a ghost, I’m on your side, and now I’m on your comms,” Phantom announced.
“Thanks for the weapons, they’re a big help,” Tony answered.
“I try. My sister is almost here, she’ll have more things you guys can use. I don’t usually carry much because I don’t need it for the most part, but hey, it worked out. So, Spidey, want to help me take down this dragon?”
“Why Spider-Man?” Cap asked.
Phantom chuckled. “Easy, he’s maneuverable, he’s high up, and he’s got the best gear right now. Plus, he’s the first one I met, and he’s cool.”
Peter rolled his eyes, blushing under his mask, but listened as Phantom outlined a plan to take down the giant dragon. While he talked, he swept up ghosts in what looked like a soup thermos. The plan was pretty simple, Phantom would distract the dragon and beat him up while Peter stole his magic amulet and then Phantom would suck him into the soup thermos. Peter thought to himself that his definition of “simple” was probably very different from normal people’s. They spotted the dragon, and the battle began.
Scarlett flew out of her portal over Manhattan and sought out her brother. Assured that Phantom was in one piece, she made a beeline for the Avengers that were all fighting back to back on the ground. She’d have to get the ones in the air later. She touched down in front of them.
“Hello, I’m Scarlett, I’m Phantom’s older sister. I have more ghost fighting tech for you, it looks like you need it,” she greeted, pulling her bag around in front of her.
“Nice to meet you. What have you got?” Barton asked.
Scarlett grinned. “Lots of things. First of all, for you.”
And she tossed him a glowing green quiver full of glowing green arrows. Barton caught it and looked surprised for a moment, then pleased. He shrugged the quiver on and started shooting.
“For Widow,” Scarlett continued, offering Natasha a pair of sleek silver pistols.
Natasha grinned as she took them, cackling like a mad woman when they shot lasers instead of bullets. Scarlett continued handing things out, both on the ground and in the air. Blasters for Vision, Rhodes, and Wilson. Rogers got some sort of disk slapped on his shield that made it glow purple and make contact with ghosts. Maximoff got a pair of what basically boiled down to double sided lightsabers, except for ghost fighting. Banner got a silver and purple thermos with instructions on its use, and everyone except for Natasha got some sort of silver disk stuck on them that seemed to do the same things as Natasha’s belt. With all her goodies distributed, Scarlett flew off and joined the fray.
With all the Avengers now properly armed and Phantom and Peter having taken care of the dragon, the battle de-escalated quickly. Soon, they were finishing with the last remnants of the ghosts, and after that they were done.
“Team meeting real quick! Everyone to me!” Tony called over the comms.
Phantom said something to Scarlett, and soon everyone was gathered around Tony, including the two ghosts. Tony waited for everyone to quiet down.
“So, well, ghosts are real. And apparently we have a lot to learn about fighting them. Phantom, Scarlett, anything you want to say?” Tony asked.
Phantom and Scarlett exchanged a look, then Scarlett took a small step forward.
“You all handled yourselves surprisingly well in my opinion,” she started. “Our world has always been secretive, something more talked about in legend and myth in most places than in real life. Today that’s changed, and that’s going to cause problems. We’re in a time of transition in our world right now, and because of that, things will be more chaotic than they otherwise would be. This means that more ghosts will come through to this world, either to wreak havoc or seek refuge. The peace we’ve maintained with your people is very fragile, and it remains to be seen whether what happened today will break it. Know that Phantom and I, and many others, have no wish for conflict with you. We’ll help you where and when we can, but regardless of what we do, from this point of, things will be different.
“There are already humans that know of our existence. Not many of them, but some. Many don’t understand us, and some do. Phantom and I can’t give you the kind of perspective on this that you need, but there are some people who can. Their names are Kendra and Winter Paris. Winter produced most of the weapons you all used in this fight. It’s because of this that, regretfully, I have to ask for what technology Phantom and I gave you to be returned to us. It was loaned to us to let you use for this fight, but it’s not ours, and if we don’t return it then it will cause problems for us. I have a card for the Paris Sisters, you can call them and talk to them about getting those weapons on a more permanent basis and ask them any questions you have about the technology.”
Scarlett handed Tony a business card and then retreated. The Avengers all exchanged looks. Peter was the first to take his wrist ray off and offer it back to Phantom. Phantom grinned at him, took it, and threw it in the bag Scarlett had brought. Peter started to take the belt off, but Phantom shook his head.
“You can keep the specter deflectors. Those are actually mine, and I’d feel better if you at least have something to protect you until you can call the Paris Sisters,” Phantom said, mostly to Peter, but he nodded at Natasha as well.
“I guess that’s something,” Tony grumbled.
Phantom rolled his eyes. Slowly, one by one, the Avengers gave up their weapons and the silver disks. Phantom passed the full bag to Scarlett. She gave him a side hug, nodded at the group, and flew off.
“Scarlett can be a little harsh, but she’s right. There couldn’t have been a worse time for this to happen, but well, that’s just how it goes sometimes. Just know that our society is just as complex and varied as yours, if not more so. Just because we’re ghosts, we’re not all evil, and we don’t all have the same intentions. Different ghosts want different things, just like humans do. You need to take that into account when you’re dealing with us, and judge us on an individual basis the same way you would with humans,” Phantom advised.
“We will, I promise,” Cap offered, nodding.
“What he said,” Tony agreed.
“It was fun to work with you, Phantom. I don’t suppose I’ll see you around?” Peter asked, half jokingly.
Phantom chuckled. “You just might, Spidey,” he said with a wink.
“Good,” Peter replied.
Phantom grinned at him then turned to address the group at large.
“It was good to work with all of you. You handled yourselves well. I might see you around,” he offered.
Then, he waved and flew off, opened a portal, and he was gone.
Peter turned his attention back to the rest of the Avengers.
“Well, that was bizarre,” Bruce offered.
Tony scoffed. “You’re telling me. What are we gonna tell Fury?”
“Good luck with that Mister Stark!” Peter called, swinging off.
The other Avengers laughed behind him while Tony called after him. When Tony stopped talking, right before he swung out of hearing distance, Peter heard Cap ask: “Are we ever gonna get to meet the kid under that mask?”