A/N - This is an Avengers/Danny Phantom crossover. Phantom Planet didn't happen, Danny still hasn't told his parents his secret, and this happens shortly after the events of the Avengers movie.

There is a poll on my page to decide who Danny is paired with! Go vote, you have until the fifth chapter is published. (At that point, I need to know.)

Chapter One

Road Trip

Danny scratched the back of his neck nervously. His parents had been invited to participate in Stark Expo, and he had been dragged along by his over enthusiastic father yet again. His mother thought that he'd be fine to stay home alone, being nearly eighteen, but Jack had wanted the teen to learn more about inventing and engineering.

"I don't get why I couldn't just stay home and take online courses or something," he complained. "I really don't need to go to some big tech expo. Remember what happened last time you took me to something like this?"

Maddie chuckled. "Aw, sweetie, don't worry! Your father and I only have to be there for a week, after all. I highly doubt that they have anything you need to worry about. Just try to stay away from the more dangerous exhibits, alright? I know how clumsy you are."

The raven-haired teen groaned. "Thanks, Mom. Really feeling the love."

"Dann-o, you know your mother didn't mean it like that! You're enthusiastic, just like your old man!" Jack boomed happily, ever the excitable puppy. "Besides, if you really want to, you can just hang out in the hotel room or go to boring lectures!"

Not for the first time did Danny wonder if his father had a lower setting than loud. He gave his father a weak grin and nodded, trying to think of things he could do at the Stark Expo. It sounded interesting enough, but with his grades (still suffering from constant ghost attacks), he didn't know if he'd understand any of the technical talk.

Little did his parents know, their son enjoyed tinkering with some of their older, more obsolete ghost inventions. Danny didn't really know what he was doing, he couldn't explain what he did to Sam and Tucker, but he had inherited the Fenton family talent of inventing. His more compact, sleeker Fenton Thermos was a huge help in ghost fights, and it was more easily hideable on his person. He had also remodeled some old ecto-wristrays for Sam and Tucker so they were more powerful.

Danny just... didn't know any technical terms. The little he knew had come from his parents' occasional explanations of their ghost hunting tech. He thought that the devices and plans themselves would be really cool to see, but the teen just knew that the lectures would do absolutely nothing for him.

After another few hours of driving, Danny gave in to his boredom and started fiddling with the tech his parents had laying around in the back of the GAV. Why they felt it necessary to drive that monstrosity, he would never understand.

It would take the entire day, and a good chunk of the night, to get to New York from Minnesota. In all that time, Danny barely had anything to do. He had a couple snacks, a bottle of water, a Shakespeare book for English class, and his Fenton Thermos. Not the old one, but the sleek, almost unrecognizable redesigned one. The raven-haired boy had spent an hour scribbling notes from his latest Ghost Zone history lesson with Clockwork on a spare piece of paper his parents had lying around. He daydreamed about living with his cousin Dani and his best friends, fighting ghosts together, having snowball fights with the yetis from the Far Frozen. He thought about everything that had happened to him since he went into the portal and half died, three years ago. So much had changed over three short years.

The biggest change was the probation of his evil future self. Dark Dan had been released from his prison by Clockwork after about a year, and given two options. If Dan behaved and was helpful (good just didn't fit the ghost), he would get more freedoms as time passed, and allowed to be his own ghost, eventually. He could not cause mass destruction or terror, and had to do tasks and the occasional favor for the Ghost of Time

If Dan decided to go against Clockwork's wishes, he would be deleted. Permanently. He had the chance to change, and though Danny was wary at first, Dan actually began to heal from the accident that didn't happen in their timeline. He would never get his humanity back, he had burned that bridge, but he was less of a jerk most of the time, and much less violent and evil. The halfa teen had actually become more comfortable around his evil future self.

Danny chuckled to himself at that thought. "Dan is actually really protective of our friends and family. I'm just glad he didn't end up with Vlad's obsession with my/our mom. That would've been a whole 'nother level of creepy fruitloop," he reflected.

Now, if only they could magically appear at their destination. That would be perfect.

Danny was shaken roughly by a particularly large pothole. Stretching, he rubbed his eyes tiredly. The teen couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep, but he was glad he'd managed it. The sky was dark, it was night, which meant that they must be nearly there.

"Danny? You awake, sweetie?" he heard his mom ask.

Danny mumbled a bit, but he worked out a full sentence. "Yeah. How long t-til we get there?" he yawned. His hair was sticking up in odd places, and with that dazed expression, he looked just like a little kid again, and Maddie wanted to get up and hug the stuffing out of him.

"Just half an hour, Dann-o," his dad exclaimed, a little less enthusiastic than when they began the trip. Apparently, even he suffered from exhaustion sometimes. There was just something about road trips that drained a person.

Danny perked up at the answer. "Really? Awesome," he commented. Once he got to the hotel, he could call Sam and Tucker and make sure they were okay. And find something to do. He was bored. Again. And he had just woken up.

An hour later, the three had all been checked in, given room keys, and treated to a nice dinner, courtesy of Stark Industries, who was paying for their hotel room. Danny had to admit that the dinner was a very nice touch, and almost made the road trip worth it. He hadn't had such a nice human-made meal in ages, since his mother often made their food come alive, and his father just didn't cook.

In fact, the last time he had such a nice meal was when Vlad held a Christmas Truce party in his mansion last year. Vlad had his chefs prepare a mix of human and ghost delicacies, and the few ghosts who received invitations greatly enjoyed the three-course meal.

So, Danny was very contented, sleepy, and only slightly worried about his friends' well-being back in Amity Park. He couldn't really help worrying. He knew Sam and Tucker would probably be perfectly fine, what with their years of experience helping him fight. He knew they would call if they had a problem they couldn't beat. His hero complex just wouldn't let him rest, in the end. He needed to call them.

Sadly, he had to wait another hour before his parents decided to go try the hot tub and pool. While he would have liked to swim, he didn't want them asking question about all of the scars that littered his body, and it created the perfect opportunity for a potentially long phone call involving ghosts and his alter ego.

He hurriedly changed into his sleepwear and pulled out his cell, a sleek, newer model the fruitloop had gotten him for his seventeenth birthday. Always suspicious of the billionaire's intentions, Danny had completely dismantled and reassembled it before he was satisfied it was just a normal, un-bugged phone. Then, he had given a very confused fruitloop a big hug.

"Sam Manson speaking," a feminine voice drawled.

Danny grinned and greeted her with a, "Hey, goth girl."

"Ghost boy!" she cheered. "I was wondering how long it'd take before you called us. I take it that you've gotten to your hotel by now? It's pretty late."

"Yeah," he replied, still smiling. "I fell asleep about four hours in, and slept nearly the whole trip, so I'm not that tired. I think that's actually the longest continuous sleep I've gotten in... months. Wow."

He heard a snort from Sam. "Well, that means I win the bet. Tucker thought you'd call before you got to the hotel, and I thought you'd call from the room. How's it look, Danny?"

Danny glanced around. "Pretty nice, actually. Stark Industries is paying for it, and they didn't skimp on anything. It's a two-bedroom suite with a bath, a kitchenette, and a small living room. I still can't believe I get an actual bed. I thought I was gonna have to ask for a roll-away or pull out the couch bed or something."

"Well, Stark Ind. does treat its guests well. Most people think that's Ms. Potts, the current CEO's influence. I kinda doubt it, though. She seems nice, but that's just one of those things too far outside of her sphere of attention. I'd bet anything that it was something Tony Stark recommended. He acts like a dick, but he's actually really funny."

"How do you know that?" Danny asked, before remembering her background.

"Rich people benefits. I went to a few in the Twin Cities, and he was at a couple of them. We talked once, not much to say. Very flirty, very snarky. He strikes me as your type of guy, actually. Engineering genius," she replied casually.

Danny read between the lines and blushed. "Hey, just because I'm bi doesn't mean that I'm looking for a partner. I'd rather stick to people who wouldn't make me look stupid, thanks."

He heard a harsh sigh from Sam's end, and rolled his eyes. "Besides," he continued, "I'm not all that interested in men nearly three decades older than me, Sam. Even if they are cute and snarky." He paused to take a deep breath. "Alright, so, how are you and Tucker doing?"

"Ah, but that means you are interested," Sam replied playfully. "We're doing fine, really. Clockwork sent your evil future self to help out, in case we run into anything we can't handle ourselves. It's been a nice... bonding session, I guess."

The halfa let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Remind me to thank Clockwork when I get back, okay? Just make sure Dan doesn't go off and torment the A-Listers anymore. Remember the last time we let him have free reign around town? He might not be evil, but he's still a jerk sometimes."

There was a very indignant shout from the other end of the line. "Oops. Guess he heard that. Don't worry, I'll keep Dan on a short leash. Jazz is coming to visit on Wednesday, too, so she can work on his mental state some more."

"Alright, say hi to Tucker and Dan and Jazz for me, then," he laughed. "Bye."

"Bye, ghost boy. See you when you get back," Sam replied, hanging up.

Danny tucked his phone back in his pocket and ran a hand through his thick, black hair, which was still sticking up in odd places. He needed a shower, and preferably before his parents came back from their short jaunt to the pool.

This trip was already off to a better start than he anticipated. He just hoped it would stay like that.