Girl/Gal-of-Action: I do not own DP or Marvel and never will. You have waited long enough, so enjoy chapter 6 and I'll see you all in the End Notes.

Tony is many things- genius billionaire playboy philanthropist comes to mind. One thing he is not though is an expert on ghosts (if that is even what these things really are). What little Tony does know of ghosts comes from those melodramatic "reality" ghost hunting tv shows that he sometimes watches for kicks… And if what information that they give can be believed (doubtful, very doubtful), then these "ghosts" aren't the run-of-the-mill type. Can "normal" ghosts punch Iron-Man through walls, shoot out green-rays-of-death, or possess the War Machine's armor? Tony doesn't think so!

Speaking of a possessed War Machine… "I AM NOW TECHNUS 3.0! FORMERLY KNOWN AS SKULKTECH, BUT ALWAYS THE MASTER OVER ALL TECHNOLOGY!" Ridiculous, cliche and villainous cackling follows. Tony can't help but wince at the beginnings of a tortuous monologue. Is he serious? Tony wonders, incredulous. As he watches the War Machine armor transform and repair in front of his very eyes in a flash of green, Tony decides that yes, this wacko is completely serious. At least I got James out of there. As soon as all these ghosts appeared, Tony's mind instantly went to his unconscious friend. Not thinking to take the damaged, heavy suit with him- Tony left it behind in favor of getting his friend to one of the ambulances he had arranged to wait some distance away. When Tony had returned, it was to the sight of complete chaos.

All of the previous fights had broken up in favor of new objectives. Only three people seemed to have any sort of success over the entities, while the rest only managed to keep them at bay or run away. Ignoring the Captain and his team for the time being, Tony does a sort of roll call for his team. Natasha is chained up, his highness is nowhere to be seen, Peter has a new toy, and the only one that seems to have these things on the run is Vision. That was when the jet appeared, and Tony immediately knew that the Captain was on it. Vision fired his energy attack, but it was blocked by some type of shield. Not wanting to call Vision away from the others for a more hands on attack, Tony speed off after the jet on his own….

Only to be mobbed by a bunch of glowing bats and confronted by a possessed War Machine suit a moment later. His repulsor beams were just effective enough to keep the swarm of bats at bay, but seemed to have little to no effect on the possessed War Machine itself. Now, in the present, Tony orders his new female AI to raise the beams to the highest power setting. Even so, there is no effect. "FOOLISH HUMAN! YOUR TECHNOLOGY, NO MATTER HOW DELIGHTFUL, CANNOT HARM ME ON IT'S OWN!"

Since his opponent seems to be in such a talkative mood, Tony decides to ask a question in a conversational tone. "Huh, interesting. So, what does work against you?"

"NOTHING; FOR WITH THE UPGRADE I HAVE UNDERGONE AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO THIS DELIGHTFULLY NEW AND 'HIP' TECHNOLOGY, I AM NOW BEYOND EVEN THE GHOST CHILD! I NO LONGER REQUIRE A PARTNER, EITHER, FOR I AM-"

"Master of long-winded monologues?" Tony deadpans and, with a burst of unexpected speed, he hits the possessed War Machine with a hard left hook. It sends the armor (and whatever is inside) reeling into the concrete below. At least these still work, Tony thinks dryly, flexing his gauntleted fists.

Tony is surprised to hear boyish snickering from behind him. Reminded of Peter, he immediately glances behind him. Instead, he sees that kid- Phantom?- giving him an approving thumbs up. "Good going! I tell him that all the time, too!" Having failed to stop the Captain and now dealing with this ridiculous new enemy, Tony naturally isn't in the same good cheer.

"You know that crazy? Mind explaining to me why him and his posse of glow-in-the-daylight ghouls are here?" Tony inquires darkly.

Phantom looks sheepish. "Er, I-" He cuts himself off with a yelp, noticing something below. "Yo, tweedle dork and tweedle dumb! Lay off! She doesn't want to be your friend and she sure as hell isn't bewaring you or your stupid boxes!" He darts down toward whatever has caught his attention, but before he is out of hearing range he throws a warning over his shoulder. "Word of advice- switch with Vision. Technus is so not a good match for you." This time the boy does fly off, ignoring Tony's calls to come back and tell the rest of the class what he knows. For the time being, it appears that Phantom only has eyes for Wanda. The woman is being harassed by a (weirdly enough) ghost in pink pajamas shooting ice and a little blue man in overalls telekinetically tossing large crates.

Tony can almost hear Steve making one of his comments about the 'weird future'.

Not for the first time, Tony feels sick under a wave of heavy emotions (Guilt, Hurt, Betrayal), but he pushes it all to the side. He knows he made the right decision- and he isn't responsible for Steve. The man can and did make his own choice. Speaking of the Captain… He's off to God-knows-where, leaving behind a couple of kids. Why? What's so important? Would the kids know?

Tony's mind races a thousand miles per minute. He needs to capture the kids- they're his only lead now- but at the same time he needs their help to deal with the current threat. Current threats like the possessed War Machine rising from the debris in the crater below. Tony had really held nothing back when trying to punch it's light outs, but it would seem that it just isn't enough. Tony briefly considers Phantom's warning, but soon brushes it off. This is Tony's fight- the loon stole his best friend's suit and Tony is going to take him out. Not to mention, he needs Vision to help the others. "Vision, can you take a moment to free Natasha? Spider-Man has her, and she seems to be chained up in something he can't deal with." Tony makes a note to find out how that happened later. After an affirmative is received, Tony flies down to meet the glowing, green fighting machine- and for once, it's not the Hulk.

"So Technus abandoned you? That must hurt, huh, Tin Can? Being shoved aside for something newer and shiner, like you're Tucker's last week's PDA." A volley of missile-like projectiles is sent at him in reply. These are the newer types, ones that lock onto his ecto-signature and follow him relentlessly. It's no laughing matter, and Danny no longer has time to offer witty banter as he frantically avoids the shots. While the original Danny deals with Skulker, one of his duplicates helps Scarlet. The remaining four duplicates he managed to create struggle to keep the ghosts contained in the area. With only one reliable Thermos between all of them, it's more than difficult. The other five Thermoses that appeared when Danny duplicated would only disappear when the Danny duplicates do. Once that happened, anything those Thermoses contain would instantly be released. Hence, the six Dannys are forced to play a totally uncool game of hot potato with a single Fenton Thermos.

It isn't working out so well.

"Save your breath, ghost child," Skulker leers, floating intimidatingly over the original Danny. Danny is forced to comply. As a half-ghost, he still needs some oxygen, and tricking those missiles to crash into one another in his current situation is no cake walk. Skulker chuckles darkly at Phantom's necessary compliance, ignoring the neon green glare shot his way in place of biting words or burning ecto-blasts. Despite how many times Phantom has beat Skulker down, Danny can't help but feel threatened. Skulker might be a measly level two on the ecto-identification scale, but with his current armor and weapons, he's a solid level six.

Usually this wouldn't be a problem with Danny being a level 8 on the ecto scale now- in fact, it would be all too easy. Unfortunately though, Danny is supporting five duplicates in an extended battle. The last and only time he has ever fought with duplicates was in the fight against Pariah Dark, and even then he only supported three. Not to mention, it ended with Danny unconscious and being carried to safety by his arch-nemesis Plasmius, of all people. All in all, not an ideal situation to be in, especially not now. There is no Plasmius to reign in the other ghosts here. Plasmius may want Danny's blind loyalty and obedience...

But Skulker? Skulker wants his pelt. Talk about Ew. And painful, can't forget about that.

"You're slowing down, welp. Getting tired?" Skulker taunts ominously. His goatee and mohawk flames brighter from his metal skull as he points a charging weapon at Danny. Danny gulps slightly, but still manages to avoid the following blasts no problem. "Soon you'll be nothing but a pelt hanging upon my trophy wall."

"You've been saying that for the last three years! Get some new lines already." Danny finally finds a moment to breathe by giving wide-spread fire with his own ecto blasts. It forces Skulker to pause and go momentarily intangible. "What about you, though? You're more ticked than usual- almost like a scorned lover. Technus leaving must have hit you harder than I thought!" On second thought, pissing Skulker off even further might have not been the best plan. Until this point, the ghost had yet to become truly serious, just toying with his so-called prey...

"Infernal brat! My love is only for Ember!"

"If that's the case, why does she keep dumping you every few weeks?" Danny really just can't keep his mouth shut, can he? This time he really hits a sore spot.

"SHUT UP! Shut up or I'll rip out your tongue!" Skulker roars. He never was good at banter.

Ecto-blasts blaze in quick, precise succession from the gun in his left hand, and a glowing blade appears from his right.

Fighting, however, is a different matter. Skulker was always pretty good at that.

"I HAVE ENHANCED YOUR TECHNOLOGY, MAKING IT EVEN BETTER!" This 'Technus' proclaims with the utmost gusto.

Tony isn't convinced. "The only thing I've seen you make it do is glow green," he spits through clenched teeth. He's so sick of his technology turning against him, one way or another, even if it's only turned into some dinky little glow stick.

"HOW DARE YOU?!"

"With confidence."

"... WHAT?"

"You asked me how I dare, so I said with-"

"SILENCE! YOU OBVIOUSLY CANNOT COMPREHEND HOW-"

"Sir, the results are in," Tony's female AI reports dutifully.

"Give them to me," Tony orders, allowing his opponent to go on his tangent unimpeded. Despite how annoying the monologuing is, Tony secretly admits to himself that it's pretty useful. If all the bad guys did this, he'd probably have a much easier time with them- studying them for weaknesses and the like while they just blabber along.

"The entity has enhanced and is currently powering the suit code named WAR MACHINE with a substance unknown to my databanks. However, various unconfirmed sources I have managed to acquire would indicate that this substance is known as 'ectoplasm'."

Tony frowns. It isn't solid, but at least it's something. "Tell me about this ectoplasm."

"Ectoplasm: A supernatural viscous substance that exudes from the body of a medium during a spiritualistic trance, and forms the material body of manifested ghosts or spirits." The AI informs with precise and cordial mannerisms in her tone. Tony makes a face. Exudes from a medium during a spiritualistic trance? That doesn't sound pleasant. But Tony keeps the thought to himself.

"Is it… Susceptible to anything?" Tony knows he is grasping at straws here. What is he expecting to find? Some type of magical, spiritual kryptonite?

"I am not sure I understand, sir."

"Weaknesses. Something I could use against it; something better than my repulsor beams and fists." Tony struggles to maintain his calm. It would do no good to yell at his AI. Yet again, he misses JARVIS.

"Numerous sources would indicate that there are many ways to ward off evil spirits- such as iron, salt, holy water, smudging, blood blossoms, blessed crosses, special incenses-"

"Filter out all results not backed by some type of scientific research," Tony snaps, thankful 'Technus' is somehow still ranting and letting him concentrate in relative peace (or as peaceful as one can get while surrounded by rampaging ghosts).

"Filtering…. Done. Research completed by Fenton Works and Axion Labs would indicate that the only reliable substance consistently effective against all ectoplasmic entities is the substance, ectoplasm, itself."

"Great. Just great," mutters Tony, holding back a curse, but then an idea comes to mind. Peter's new toy. It was working against these things just fine. What is it exactly and where did he get it from? He decides to ask just that. "Spider-Man?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark?"

Tony nearly winces at the all too eager to please tone. "That weapon you've been using. What-"

"AND SO NOW, YOU WILL PERISH!" And Technus has to choose this perfect moment to finish his monologue and finally attack.

"Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark!" Peter is trying to get a response thirty seconds later, but Tony can't hear him over the distressed alarms of his Iron-Man suit. Warning messages flashes red in his helmet hud and his AI calmly informs him of several systems failing. It would seem then, that this Technus wacko really did enhance the War Machine, because Tony definitely did not build it with the capability of shooting sudden high voltage electricity.

Ironic. If he only listened to Technus' monologue- he would have known all about that new ability in advance.

Wanda is tiring. It's like the battle against Ultron all over again, enemies on all sides and sparse allies scattered about. The only difference is the enemy itself. Unlike Ultron's drones that were simple to understand, these ghosts are contradictions in every sense. Chaotic, yet predictable. Emotional, yet single-minded. Diverse, yet the same. It, quite frankly, is giving Wanda a killer headache. There is a pounding behind her eyes that just won't go away, not while surrounded by these emotion-driven beings. Imagine multiple screams so high-pitched that it makes your teeth chatter and skull vibrate in place, but you are the only one that can hear them. That is what the young meta-human is undergoing, fighting to keep those silent screams at bay while physically battling the ghosts with scarlet energy.

Vision, who previously supported her, rushed off a few seconds back to free Natasha at Tony's request. Wanda had assured him she'd be fine. Now, she isn't so sure. For every few she pushes back, even more seem to take their place. Where exactly did they all come from? She has to wonder breathlessly. There are dozens, if not a couple hundred, and they just won't stay down! She won't be afraid, though. Her brother wouldn't be afraid.

Especially not of these two. In fact, he'd probably fall over himself laughing. "An overgrown child in pink pajamas, and a blue hillbilly..." She mutters to herself dryly, levitating in front of her a piece of a broken off plane wing. It blocks a burst of ice from the ghost in pink PJs. Cracks form along her makeshift shield, shattering a moment later as the hillbilly levitates a crate through it.

"Beware the square metallic fury of the BOX GHOST!" He shouts maniacally, causing Wanda to groan in complete embarrassment. Why did she have to get stuck with these two losers? Couldn't she have fought the giant snake ghost instead? She's tired and hurting, sure, but anything else would beat this! Her embarrassment only compounds at what happens next. Danny feels the need to fly to her rescue- her knight in a glowing hazmat suit, it would seem.

While he deals quickly with the ghost in PJs, Wanda can concentrate fully on overalls over here (or concentrate as much as she can with those silent screams). The Box Ghost, as he is so accurately named, levitates the already severely battered crates for another go at her. Wanda quickly decides that she has had enough of that. Besides, she isn't about to be outdone at her own game. Telekinesis is her thing, after all. The neon green surrounding crates flickers into a deep scarlet red. The Box Ghost is taken aback, aghast and horrified. "W-what is this madness?! I am the BOX GHOST; I am your MASTER. Heed meeee-" A few seconds later, the Box Ghost is buried dead underneath an assortment of broken crates. One blue hand alone is visible from underneath the rubble. It twitches slightly. "… why have you betrayed me?" he whimpers pitifully, completely heartbroken from the sound of it.

When a blue glowing vortex sucks him into a thermos of all things, he doesn't even protest. Apparently, he is just that depressed from his recent defeat.

Wanda purses her red lips. Her gray eyes flicker between Danny and his identical twin fighting a robotic ghost some ways behind. She quirks an eyebrow in question. Danny offers her a shy half-smile, rubbing his neck with one hand and holding the thermos with another. "Later," Danny promises earnestly.

"If there is a later…" Wanda says under her breath, turning away. The odds don't look good. She figures if the ghosts don't overwhelm them soon, the remaining avengers will. Wanda, although at peace with the prospect thanks to the Captain's escape, is still not looking forward to her return to captivity.

There's a cold hand on her shoulder, chilling and startling her simultaneously. In the brief moment she looked away, Danny closed the distance between them. He raises a green dome shield to fend off the ghosts eager to attack the distracted pair. Wanda waits wearily for him to speak, trying not to wince at the pounding headache behind her eyes. All of these ghosts. All this anger and resentment and obsession. It continues to grate at her mental shields, just like the ghosts currently pounding at Phantom's shield.

A slight squeeze on her shoulder returns her attention to the physical. Danny gives her a calm, steady look, so different from the ghosts surrounding them. "There will be a later." It doesn't sound like a promise- and for that she's grateful; promises can be broken. No, Danny makes it sound like a simple fact.

Wanda almost dares to believe him.

Girl/Gal-of-Action: The following lame Omake was written before I realized that the abandoned airport was in Germany, and not Washington D.C. Whoops. Just pretend it's at the outskirts of the capital for the duration of this omake, please?

~OMAKE~

"W-what is this madness?" The Box Ghost stutters, staring wide eyed at the scarlet aura surrounding his boxes.

Wanda raises her hands and the crates along with it, eyes dark as she proclaims- "This. Is. D.C!" -and proceeds to telekinetically slam the projectiles against the ghost. The Box Ghost gives out a distressed and pained cry before he is completely buried.

Danny's confused voice comes from some distance behind. "Wait- I thought this is Marvel?"

"That too!" Wanda confirms.

~END~

Girl/Gal-of-Action: I have finally plotted out the rest of this story in full, and so there is no way it can be abandoned. Everything through chapter nine is written, and I have a fairly detailed outline of what follows. I suspect this short story will be around twelve chapters in full. So, while it may take us a long while yet to get to the end, we will get there!

On another note, I changed the characters listed in the summary to better reflect who has the most "screen time" in this story.

Huge thank you to my beta Sam, Aiagia on fanfiction . net, who proofread and offered some great feedback. It is only with Sam's help that this chapter sees the light of day.