Written in the Scars

Bucky was petting Cujo, the very enthusiastic little ghost puppy, when the door to the room opened and Danny and Shuri walked back in. Shuri was in sky blue medical scrubs, and Bucky wasn’t sure if she’s changed or if she’s been wearing those the whole time and he’d just been too exhausted to notice. He could feel the tension in his body racking back up, even as Cujo wiggled closer to him and licked his face. Danny noticed the tension, because of course he did, and he offered Bucky a soft smile.

“We have a game plan,” he explained, drifting closer.

“Okay,” Bucky agreed, squaring his shoulders. “Then let’s do this.”

Cujo yipped, licked Bucky on the face one more time, then opened a portal and bounded off. Danny chuckled and rolled his eyes at the little ghost before becoming serious again, turning to Bucky,

“Alright,” Danny agreed. “I’m going to have to overshadow you to make sure you’re still. I won’t be in your head, this time, just your body. Which I know can be more terrifying all on its own, believe me. Shuri will ask you questions or to tell her things while she’s working. Just focus as best you can. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready,” Bucky agreed.

“Then let’s begin.”

By the time they were finished with the surgery, Bucky had just enough time for Shuri to show him to a room before he passed out on the bed. Danny saw Bucky stumble, offered him a hand, and Bucky took it and let Danny lead him to the bed. As soon as Bucky collapsed, his breath coming slow and even in sleep, Danny relaxed himself. Shuri and he closed the door behind them and walked back to the lab space, starting to put things back where they belonged. They worked in silence for a time.

“Well, that was hell,” Danny said after a while, chuckling slightly hysterically.

“Yes,” Shuri agreed quietly, scrubbing her hands in the sink. “It was.”

“You think he’s okay?” Danny asked, letting himself drift up into the air, laying back with his arms over his chest.

“I believe so. If nothing else, he is now free,” Shuri answered.

“Except for the metal arm.”

“Except for that,” Shuri agreed. She paused for a moment. “We could build him a new one. If he wanted.”

Danny turned in midair to face her. “Really?” he asked, a spark of excitement lighting in him that he hadn’t been expecting.

“We are perfectly capable,” Shuri offered, finally turning the water off and drying her hands. 

“We are. But do you think he’d want one?”

Shuri shrugged. “I am not sure. Perhaps, when he awakens, we should simply ask him.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, the exhaustion catching up to him again. “After we all get some sleep.”

“After we sleep,” Shuri said, obviously at least as exhausted as Danny himself. “There is a room for you here, if you want it.”

Danny considered it for a split second. “No, thank you,” he declined. “I have my own spaces.”

Shuri smiled at him tiredly. “Then sleep well, Phantom.”

“You too, Shuri.”

Danny opened a portal, waved once, and then he was gone. The green and blue swirls of the Realms felt like a welcome, like home, as he drifted aimlessly. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going, he was just following the gentle humming tug on his core that was drawing him to wherever home was at the moment. It varied from day to day, moment to moment. When he’d been a kid, “home” had meant expectations and pain. Now, after being cared for with gentle persistence by Clockwork and the Paris family, “home” was starting to feel more like somewhere safe. But Danny had long since given up having only one “home”. Home wasn’t a place anymore, it was people. And apparently, tonight, that person was Clockwork. Danny realized this as he drifted through the open doors of Long Now and into Clockwork’s waiting arms.

“You did well,” Clockwork murmured to him, wrapping Danny up in his cloak and picking him up like nothing so much as a very small child. “Rest now.”

Danny was already asleep.

“You did reschedule that ghost fighting meeting thing, right?” Peter asked Tony, even as he dropped his backpack on the floor of the lab and plopped down in his chair.

Tony looked up from whatever he was working on and grinned. “Well hello to you, too,” he said. “And yes, I did. Didn’t I tell you? It’s on Friday.”

Peter raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “You mean tomorrow?”

Tony blinked at him, rubbed at his eyes. “Fri?”

“The ghost fighting meeting is tomorrow evening, boss,” Friday answered.

“Oh,” Tony agreed, sounding thoroughly defeated. “Okay, then.”

Peter looked him up and down. “When was the last time you slept?” 

Tony waved a dismissive hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

It did matter, but Peter didn’t say that. Yet. Instead, he leaned over to peek at what Tony was working on. The schematics looked unfamiliar, and it took Peter a moment of studying them to realize what they were.

“You’re still trying to make ghost fighting tech?” he demanded.

“Maybe,” Tony mumbled, not looking up. Then he sighed, scrubbed his hands over his face. “Yes.”

“Friday, when was the last time Mister Stark slept?” Peter chirped.

“Friday don’t-”

“Boss has been awake for approximately seventy two hours,” Friday reported.

“Traitor,” Tony mumbled.

Peter sighed. “Alright, bedtime, Mister Stark,” he insisted.

“But I need to-”

“No,” Peter interrupted, firmly. “There’s nothing you have to do that can’t wait until you’ve slept. Right, Friday?”

“Boss has completed all of his SI deadlines for the past three monehts. The next design deadline is not for three more months,” Friday answered.

“Traitor,” Tony said again.

“Come on,” Peter ordered. “Bed. Or I’ll call Miss Potts and Mister Rhodes to fight with you about it. And then have Rogers sit on you so you hold still and sleep.”

Tony actually looked mildly annoyed at that threat and sighed, standing slowly. He stretched, joints popping, and gave Peter a dirty looked.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

“Excellent,” Peter declared, grinning, scooping his backpack up off the floor. Tony eyed him suspiciously. “And I’ll sit at the desk in your room and do my homework, because if I leave you’ll just come right back in here when I’m gone.”

Tony groaned theatrically. “The Daily Bugle is right, you are a menace to society.”

Peter just kept grinning. “I know. Now bed.”

Tony rolled his eyes again, but let Peter trail him to his room and set up shop at his desk while he got ready for bed. It was a ridiculous time, barely even four pm, but Tony let Peter glare him into submission. 

“Hey Jazz,” Danny said, as soon as she answered the phone.

“Hey, Danny,” Jazz answered. “How’s everything been?”

“Weird,” Danny grumbled. Jazz was immediately concerned.

“Oh? Weird how?”

So Danny told her. Jazz listened, occasionally interrupted to comment on one thing or another. A significant amount of time had passed by the time Danny had finished.

“I see why you said ‘weird’, now,” Jazz said. “It sounds weird.”

“It is weird,” Danny grumbled. “But actually, other than the weirdness, I was calling to see if you’d help me with something.”

Jazz perked up immediately, curious. “With what?”

“So I’m teaching the Avengers how to fight ghosts tomorrow. I mean, just the basics, obviously, but they already know how to fight so it’s going to be more a matter of teaching them how to adapt their fighting techniques to fight ghosts. And Sebastian and Tucker were going to come so they can start their research to retrofit their tech. Sam will probably come too, to help with the training and stuff. We’re not practicing against actual ghosts yet, but when we get to that Ellie and Scarlett will probably play target practice. I’d love to have you there for that, too,” Danny explained, waving his hands even though she couldn’t see him over the phone.

“What time?” Jazz asked.

“Four pm. We’ll be there for a while, if I had to guess,” Danny answered.

“I’m actually, miraculously free. I’d love to come. Pick me up at three forty five?” Jazz asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Yes!” Dany exclaimed, fist pumping. “Of course I will. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jazz!”

“See you tomorrow, Danny!”

“I still can’t believe we’re going to meet The Avengers!” Tucker exclaimed, even as he helped Sebastian pack.

“You’ve said,” Sam deadpanned.

“Give him a break. I was excited the first time too,” Danny cut in, walking into the lab.

Sam grinned, rolled her eyes. “Oh believe me, we remember.”

“Yeah, you were excited about meeting Spideeeerr Maaaaann,” Tucker singsonged.

“Shut up,” Danny muttered.

“What? You obviously like him,” Sam answered, sticking her tongue out at Danny.

He rolled his eyes, but he was blushing. “Like him? I barely know him!”

“Yeah, not real convincing there, kid,” Sebastian drawled, zipping up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders.

“We need to get Jazz on the way, we should probably go,” Danny decided, walking towards the Specter Speeder.

The others laughed but let Danny herd them into the Specter Speeder. Winter dashed in before they left and hopped in the back, muttering something about being forgotten. Sebastian, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, just rolled his eyes and put in the correct sequence to open a portal.

They were having the meeting in the gym this time. Peter vibrated with excitement between Natasha and Tony. They were all decked out in their gear and suits this time, not just Peter. And they were going to learn to fight ghosts. Well, start to learn, anyway. And Winter had said on the phone that there would be some people with them that the Avengers hadn’t met yet so be prepared for that. Peter assumed Danny would be there, and he wondered if Phantom would be, too. He tried not to hope too much.

“Excited, are we?” Natasha asked him, bumping him gently with her shoulder.

He bumped her right back. “Yes,” he agreed, not even bothering to hide it, not from Natasha.

“Me, too,” she whispered in his ear, like a secret, then grinned at him.

“The Paris family and company have arrived on the roof and are making their way down to you,” Friday announced.

“Thanks, Fri,” a few voices chorused back.

“Of course.”

Natasha tucked an arm around Peter’s shoulders, keeping him on the ground, presumably. He watched as her face faded from the soft smile she had around the team to the smooth indifferent mask she presented to people she didn’t quite trust yet. The heavy double doors to the gym opened and a small group of people walked in. Winter and someone Peter didn’t recognize were at the front, followed by Danny arm in arm with a girl with orange hair, and then two other teenagers they didn’t know.

“Welcome!” Tony said dramatically, spreading his arms wide, the armor glinting in the fluorescent lights of the gym.

“Thanks!” the man walking with Winter called. “Nice place!”

“I think so,” Tony agreed, letting his arms drop back to his sides.

“Hey, Danny!” Peter called, waving.

Danny grinned at him, tugged the girl he was arm in arm with closer. Natasha’s arm tightened almost imperceptibly around Peter’s shoulders.

“Hey, web slinger! This is my sister, Jazz,” he introduced, gesturing at the girl he was walking with.

Jazz smiled, offered him a hand. They shook. “Nice to meet you,” she said.

“You, too,” Peter returned.

“Alright, alright, bring it in,” the man with Winter called, having taken place in the middle of the room with the two teenagers next to him. Winter had started talking to Bruce, and the Avengers had broken into whispering little groups among themselves.

“...my brother Sebastian, he’s no fun,” Peter heard Winter mutter to Bruce, but she was grinning.

Everyone shuffled until they were bunched like children in a classroom, facing presumably Sebastian and the teenagers. Danny winked at Peter and tipped an imaginary hat, then he pulled Jazz through the group up to the front. Winter squeezed Bruce’s hand and then went to the front as well.

“Hi everyone,” Danny said, taking over as soon as he was in front. He stepped a little in front of everyone else, and they all stepped back a little, let him lead. “You all know me, we met last time. You’ve all met Winter, too. There are, as you have undoubtedly noticed, four new people with us.”

A chuckle went around the room.

“Right,” Danny said, grinning. “Introductions. This is my sister Jazz,” he started. Jazz waved. “She’s the only person I’ve met that can match me in ghost fighting, probably because we learned the same way.”

“I’m totally better at ghost fighting than him,” Jazz said, by way of introduction. Another chuckle.

“Then there’s our brother Sebastian Paris. He’s the ghost technology expert in the family, well, other than me.”

Sebastian stepped up and waved. “I taught him everything he knows,” he declared, pointing at Danny.

Danny reached across Jazz to shove him in the shoulder. “Did not.”

He turned back to grin at his audience, then. “Anyway. This is one of my best friends, Tucker. He’s probably the foremost human ghost technology expert outside of our family.”

One of the teenagers, the boy wearing a red beret, stepped forward and waved.

“And this is my other best friend, Sam,” the other teen girl, wearing a lot of black, stepped up. “She’s a great ghost fighter, but she’s actually here because she’s amazing at teaching other people to fight ghosts and play to their strengths. Jazz and I fight well, but we fight the same way, and sometimes it’s hard for us to teach other people because we’ve been doing it so long that it’s second nature. Sam is dynamic, so she’ll hopefully be able to help you adapt your current fighting style and ability to fighting ghosts.”

“And now we have two Sams,” Tony said, grinning.

“I didn’t even think of that,” Danny admitted.

“It’ll be fine,” Sam Wilson said.

“Yeah,” Sam, Danny’s friend, agreed. “It’ll be fine.”