Phoenix Rising: A PJATO/Avengers Crossover/Loki Love Story

Something strange is going on...

"Agent Hill, there's some strange activity going on just west of here." Being Nick Fury's right hand was damn sure a stressful job, and the craziness happening as of late sure wasn't making things any easier on Agent Maria Hill. She sighed quickly as she went over to the inquiring agent to see what all the fuss was about, an irritated look on her face. "Can you pinpoint the exact location, agent?" The agent typed something into the waiting computer, catching a glimpse of Agent Hill's face and speeding up. "There. Our systems show there's some kind of abnormal energy reading coming from this location, just outside of New York, collectively. The readings seem to be similar to the ones given off when the Empire State building exploded. You don't think it could be...her?" A satellite image appeared on the place, somewhere in a clearing in woods. If Hill wasn't irritated before, you can bet she was now. "You can't be serious, agent. There's nothing there. Is this some kind of joke? Because it's not very funny." The agent froze, sensing her mood. "I promise, Agent Hill. I would not joke about this. The readings are off the charts, ma'am." Hill just rolled her eyes before exhaling sharply. "Fine, fine. Dispatch some agents to check it out." The agent called for agents to go scope the situation, among them Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff.

~A quinjet ride and a few boring road games later~

"Y'know, I don't see why they always send us on these boring missions. Why couldn't it be something with a little more action?" Nat rolled her eyes at her partner's inquisitiveness. "Stop whining, Clint. You accepted this mission for the same reason I did. We've both had too much shelf time and we were bored with nothing else to do. So stop your complaining before I throw you out of this thing without a parachute." He laughed before he saw her face. He instantaneously quieted himself. "So what're we looking for again?" Natasha sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We're here to find what exactly is making those off the charts readings. Brace yourself for landing." Clint strapped on his seatbelt, gripping the seat slightly as Natasha brought the quinjet to a slight hover above the ground before she sat it down completely. They both unbuckled and perambulated to the source of the high energy reading. Both agents exchanged looks before getting serious. "There's absolutely-" Nat began, "Nothing here. Is this a joke?" Clint finished for his partner. Then their coms sounded off a static before Hill's voice rang through loud and clear. "I said the same thing, Barton. But unfortunately it isn't a joke. Whatever you're standing in front of-" "Is like a force field of some kind. Whenever I get close with this sonar, it goes crazy. But when I touch it-" Nat waved her hand through the space, "nothing solid to the touch." She finished. "How do you touch what's pretty much invisible?" Clint inquired. Hill sighed again. "I don't know, but whatever this is shares similarities with the infamous Empire State building explosion, which of course could tie into Fury finding our mystery girl. So I don't think I have to tell you how important it is we find out who or what is producing that energy." Clint sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We need to talk to the rest of the team about this." Before Hill could respond, a spike of energy sounded off. "There's an incoming quake or something headed straight for you two." As soon as she finished the last word, a rumbling sounded as the earth beneath them began to crack and split open, almost like it was releasing something. Clint quickly rolled out of the way, landing next to Nat, who was primed and ready to attack. The noise alerted Maria, who was trying to figure out what the hell just happened. "What the hell was that?!" Just before Clint or Natasha could answer, a figure rose slowly from the ground. Clint armed his quiver with an explosive arrow, ready to grab and shoot at a moment's notice, whereas Nat had her gauntlets armed and a gun ready. The figure dropped gracefully on to forest floor, shrouded in fog. As it neared the agents, they could make out her appearance. The left side of her was black and hardened like a mummy, and the right was pale and chalky, as if she were drained of all her blood. If that wasn't strange enough, she wore a golden dress and a golden shawl, and her eyes were empty black voids. Hill whispered into the com device. "Who the hell is that?" Before either agent could answer, the figure snapped her head toward them, her dual colored hair spinning with the motion. She slowly made her way to the agents, her train of ghosts whipping in the wind behind her. Clint drew the arrow he had prepped and aimed. "Stay where you are and don't move. We don't want to hurt you, but we will use force if necessary." She stopped, a few feet short of them, and proceeded to laugh. It was a horrible, ghastly sound, almost like nails on a chalkboard. "And what makes you think you can harm me, mortal?" She said, her voice sounding almost drawn in, like a ghost, as she took a step closer to them. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep advancing, I will shoot." She smiled, before striding up to them in one swift motion. "Me chtýpi̱se me kalýteri̱ volí̱ sas, toxóti̱s." (1) Clint loosed the arrow notched in his bow. It flew straight through her, as she dissipated into the fog around them, the essence flying away with the wind. Somewhat maniacal laughter followed after it, along with a menacing message.

"I'm coming for you, dear sister."

(1) Hit me with your best shot, archer.

_______________________________________________

Oh snap! My first attempt at a cliffhanger! Did it leave you hungry for more? I hope so! I just wanted to take the time to say that if you're reading this, thank you. This story is, for me, the pinnacle of my writing and I'm starting to see how much my writing style has improved. I've had this story in the works for quite some time now, and it really means a lot to me that you would read even a single word of it. So again, thank you all, my fellow authors and readers.