My first Fanfiction in 5 years, it could all end in tears.

Avenging the Phantom

"I'm telling you Reed, the angle's all wrong," said Tony for the fourth time. He folded his arms and stared up at the huge expensive-looking machine.

"No offense Tony but when it comes to matters like this I prefer to trust my own judgement," said Reed, tapping away on a computer behind him.

"Bet you wouldn't be saying that to Hank."

"That's because the 'matters' I'm talking about are these conversations with you." Tony allowed himself a smile.

"I still think the angle's wrong," he announced yet again. This time Reed Richards ignored him completely.

On the opposite side of the chamber a door slid open and Thor stepped through, raising his arms. "How goes the work my friends?"

"Other than Reed completely ignoring me, not bad Thor, not bad," said Tony. He gestured to the machine. "We're almost ready to give it a test run."

"Shall I fetch my good armour?" queried Thor. Reed stretched around his chair, extending his arms all the way to the controls at the base of the machine, some 8 feet away. He looked like blue bubblegum, stretched between someone's fingers.

"Not yet Thor," said Reed, "we're not ready for living test subjects. We won't even know if we have the right dimension for another day or so." Thor frowned, unimpressed by the lack of action. "but you're welcome to stay and see the switch on."

"Nay, dear friend," said Thor, "I have things I must get back to." Tony knew an excuse when he heard one but he said nothing. Thor left, his heavy footsteps echoing around the chamber's metal walls.

"I bet if I said we were making a magical road out of stardust he'd want to stay," said Tony in a dry tone. Reed said nothing, apparently not bothered either way.

"Okay, let's get this started," said Reed.

"All right," said Tony. "Jarvis, initiate sequence B6 S18."

The machine itself was an impressive looking thing. To one side was a set of stairs on to the main platform. Around the centre was a huge arch, about 15 feet in height and jutting out from around the platform were odd metal rods topped by green crystals.

Just inches from Tony's hand was the small laser which had been the subject of their disagreement. It would be an easy enough thing to reach out and adjust it. Then tony shook his head, it wasn't worth the argument. Besides, they had been talking in millimetres, a measurement too precise to get right with his hand alone.

"All right, here we go," said Reed. There was a low hum that began to build in pitch and volume. All around the platform the crystals began to glow with a faint light. And that was it. The hum didn't go any louder and the crystals stayed faint.

"Shouldn't this, you know, be doing more?" queried Tony. He had been expecting a big light show but it hadn't appeared. Reed's arms were stretched to opposite sides of the room, his fingers working furiously at multiple controls. Something wasn't right.

...

Just as Tony and Reed were starting their first test run, the Hulk and Clint were three stories below, discussing a missing doughnut. Both were leaning close to the other, glaring in to each other's eyes. However arguing became difficult when a big ball of wobbly something appeared right next to them.

"What on earth is that?" asked Clint. The wobbly something, was a huge ball of swirling colours. There was something odd about it, other than its appearance. It was as if it wasn't really there. It made no sound and there was nothing about it that Clint could feel.

"Maybe it's your doughnut," said the Hulk, smiling.

"That doesn't even make sense," complained Clint, turning to the Hulk once again. Then without warning, the ball moved. It surrounded them and Clint felt a change in the air pressure. His ears popped and he felt a sudden rush of cold air. And then, it vanished.

The ball of colours dissipated to reveal a room very different from the one they had been standing in. The Hulk and Clint looked around to discover multiple pairs of eyes staring at them. People dropped their belongings in shock. Stacks of paper fell to the floor in a messy flutter. The sight of a huge green monster usually met the same reaction wherever they went.

"Ghost!" someone screamed. And thus began the chain reaction of fearful yells and stampeding people. Clint inspected the wall behind them and his eyes widened.

"We gotta get out of here," he warned.

"Why?" asked the Hulk, as if screaming women wasn't enough of a reason.

"Because we materialised in the middle of a bank," said Clint sternly. The two ran from the building, almost hitting an old man who exclaimed "Ghosts!" when he saw them.

"Why does everyone think you're a ghost?" asked Clint.

"He meant you too," the Hulk pointed out. Clint frowned before bolting away.

"Come on," he yelled over his shoulder, "we need to find somewhere to hide till we figure this out."

...

Back at the Avengers mansion, Reed was struggling with the possibility that the angle of the laser could very well have been wrong. "I'm telling you," complained Janet, "one minute those two are arguing over dessert or something, the next they're gone in a puff of smoke."

Reed and Tony both worked away at their computers, trying to figure out what had happened. "Wasp, did you actually see anything?" asked Reed.

"Well, no," she said, pouting a little, "but I heard them well enough."

"If they both have their Avenger's cards on them, we might be able to establish a connection," said Tony.

"Why don't you just get this thing going again and we'll go in after them?" suggested Janet, leaning against the machine's panels. Tony, worried about what she might have her hand on, stood up and gently pulled her away.

"The portal's not stable yet," said Tony, looking in to her eyes and holding her shoulders. "We need to make sure it's safe before anyone else steps in and disappears. So for now, my main priority is getting contact and making sure they're okay."

...

Danny flew over the rooftops, enjoying the day's sun. He wondered for a moment if ghosts could get sunburn, then shrugged his shoulders, not caring. "Aah it's so nice to be out on a day like this," he said to himself. "Taking in the sights of the town and the song of the birds and the... screams?"

Danny looked at the street below and spotted a huge green ghost. It appeared that he had managed to empty the street. Cars had been abandoned and all signs of people were absent, other than the screams as they continued to run away. Danny flew down to hover in front of the beast. He had never seen a ghost like it. He was huge with muscles the size of beach balls. He wore nothing but shorts, even his feet were bare and his mouth was pulled in to a sneer.

"I was gonna catch a movie," said Danny, "but I guess you'll have to do for this afternoon's entertainment."

"I wouldn't count on it," came a voice to his left. Danny twisted in the air to see a man dressed in purple, holding a bow and arrow, aimed directly at him. "He's not much fun when he's angry."

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AN: The formatting isn't quite as sleek as I was hoping, I was finding the editor a bit iffy. Anyhoo, I had fun, hope you did too. Let's do this again some time :)