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

Why do I get the feeling you're about to tell me something bad?

The next few hours after I woke up were spent talking to Nico in peace until Tony, Steve and Thor were at the doorway, clamoring over one another to get through. Nico and I exchanged looks with one another before collectively sighing. Finally, Tony burst through the door first, followed by the rest of the boys, and ran over to the bed, hugging the life out of me. "Thank God you're okay, kid." I blinked twice. "Um..Tony..you can let go now." I awkwardly announced, making everyone laugh. Tony let me go, albeit not without a pout as he crossed his arms over his chest and sat in one of the chairs, noticing Nico and nodding his head in a silent greeting. Steve was the next one to say his hello's as he took the seat next to Nico's who had a faint but noticeable blush on his cheeks as the super soldier sat down. I shot Nico a smirk that said, 'we'll talk about this later' before turning to smile at Steve. "We were really worried about you, Thana." I giggled. "I noticed." "I am glad to see that you are fairing well, Lady Thana. Loki was quite worried for you." I turned to see Thor seated on the other side of me. "Where is Loki, Thor? I need to speak with him." "I sent him away to his chambers so he could rest. He was down here the whole time you were 'passed out' as you Midgardians say. He never left, even when this young man," he said, gesturing to Nico before continuing, "came and told him he could go." I processed the information again; it coincided with what Nico had said. Maybe Loki really did care. My thought process was interrupted by Tony. "Speaking of young men, who exactly are you, kid? No offense." He said to Nico, who looked at me, as if to ask if they could be trusted. I nodded. "My name is Nico Di Angelo. And to answer your question, I'm Thana's older brother." "You definitely got the 'old' part right." I said to him. "I'm not that old, Thana." I gave him a 'really' look. "Dude, technically you're like 83 years old. You're literally a decade younger than Steve. Matter of fact..." I trailed off, looking at Steve, who was looking at my brother with a nostalgic twinkle in his eye, then back to Nico with an evil grin on my face, "you and Steve should have plenty to talk about." Tony looked at me with an eyebrow raised before shaking his head at me. "So, when can I get out of this bed? I'm getting restless." I said aloud to nobody in particular. "Actually, right now, if you want." Tony answered. I looked at all of them before waving my arms in a dismissal type of gesture. "Well don't just sit there! Get out of here so I can change, ya doofuses!" All four men got the hint, jumping up quickly and heading for the door. I grabbed Nico's hand before he could get out of reach and motioned for him to stay behind for a second."You so got the hots for Steve! I ship it!" I gushed once the guys were out of earshot. He blushed again at the mention of his name. "I do not! Besides, I'm with Will!" I shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to look. Besides, there's so much you two could talk about! He's from the forties, you know." I wiggled my eyebrows while Nico just shook his head. "I'll talk to him, but you have to talk to Loki. And you know what about." I huffed through my nose, rolling my eyes. "I will, but I'm not making any promises it'll happen right away." Nico slumped his shoulders in defeat knowing that was the best answer he was going to get out of me. He hugged me to his side, kissing the top of my head, before he walked out the door, following the guys up to the common area. I got up, and headed to my room to change my clothes. When I got done, I headed to the common room. When I got there, Clint was watching TV, Tony was drinking coffee, Steve and Nico were in the kitchen talking, and Thor was sitting next to Bruce and Nat, chatting about old war stories. I smiled at the scene before me, feeling a sense of warmth spreading through my core. 'Was I really apart of all of this? Could I give any of this up so easily?' I thought to myself; before anyone noticed my presence, I headed to the elevator, making my way down to the training room. When I got there, I had JARVIS queue up one of my workout playlists while I changed into one of my capoeira outfits and wrapped my hands and feet, ready to start with the punching bag first to get out some of the pent-up frustration built up from thinking too much about the present situation. "JARVIS, please play Ascent by Teminite." "Right away, Miss Phoenix." I started bobbing my head to the music before I swung at the punching bag, making contact as the beat dropped. I began to rapidly kick and punch the bag consistently with the beat, picturing the bag as all of my problems thus far and letting my emotions took over and released through each hit. After one last hit, I knocked a hole through the bag, said object hitting the floor with a soft 'thud', the sand filling spilling out on the floor like blood. I took a deep breath as the song ended and the soft sound of someone clearing their throat behind me brought me out of my trance, my body tensing up in anticipation, but not before focusing on the life force, releasing a deep breath I didn't know I was holding upon realizing it's familiarity. "Steve." I breathed out, turning around to face him, relaxing my body. He looked at the punching bag, letting out a low whistle, before turning his attention to me. "Y'know, the last time I did that to a punching bag, I was pretty upset. What's eating you, Thana?" I sighed, walking over to the bench, patting the side unoccupied beside me for Steve to sit down. He obliged and waited patiently for me to start talking. I started unwrapping my hands and feet, trying to prolong the inevitable conversation, the tears starting to build up in the corners of my eyes, before finally I stopped mid-motion and broke down. "Steve, I'm scared. I-I'm scared, and I don't know what to do." I breathed out, barely above a whisper. "Someone is going to get hurt, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to stop it. I'm afraid that I won't be enough." I admitted quietly. An uncomfortable silence ensued before Steve broke it. "Thana, you are more than enough. I see it in you; in everything you do. Even if you weren't, you would still be enough. Because you have to be. But, finding strength in your weaknesses is the only way to overcome them. You're afraid that you are not enough? Show everyone why you are." I took a deep breath and exhaled, a look of sheer determination crossing my features before I stood up abruptly. "You're right, Steve. Thank you." I smiled at him. He stood up beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Just remember you're not alone, Thana. We're a team. We look out for each other." I nodded in acknowledgement before smirking at him. "So Cap, what did you and Nico talk about?" He blushed before shaking his head. "N-Nothing at all. Just reminiscing about old times." I raised an eyebrow at his stammering. "If you say so." The ride back up to the common area was quiet until the door opened and Steve and I were greeted by the rest of the team. "Glad you're back, Thana." Bruce and Nat said. "Glad to be back." I replied. "Sup." Clint responded, not looking away from his show. I smiled and shook my head, making my way to the kitchen while waving back at Thor, who had waved at me while I was passing. I made myself a cup of tea and sat down at the breakfast nook next to Nico, who seemed to be waiting for me. "So, when are you supposed to be going to the underworld?" I opened my mouth to speak before Nico cut me off to answer my question. "Loki told me." I raised an eyebrow at that. "So you and he have been talking? And you were gonna tell me about this when?" "I just asked him if he had an idea of what was happening and he told me a few things about what's been happening lately. Speaking of which, when where you going to tell me about any of that?" "Touché. But we're supposed to be going on Halloween since my mother thought it would be a good idea for a ball for suitors to present themselves." I finished, rolling my eyes. "Are you ever going to stand up to her?" He asked. "That's the plan, dear brother." He looked taken aback by my answer. "What? You honestly thought I'd lay down and take that? I put up with a lot of my mother's crap, but I'll be damned if I'll let her mess with my freedom. That's where I definitely draw the line." He smiled at me. "Well, look who's grown up." Nico said. I buried my face into my tea, my face feeling hot from embarrassment. "Shut up." I said, playfully shoving him. "I should be getting back to camp. Will is definitely gonna want to know what's going on; you know he worries." Nico said, standing up. I stood up with him, giving him one last hug before releasing him. "Bye, Nico. Tell Mama Solace I said hi, okay?" "I will." "Promise?" "Promise." I held out my pinky and he grabbed it with his own, sealing the deal. I smiled at him and let go as he shadow travelled back to camp. I sighed and finished my tea, placing the cup into the sink before wordlessly going to the elevator and back to my room. I had some thinking to do and I needed to be alone for a while. I had all but gotten changed when JARVIS called for the team to assemble in the living area. I opted for shadow traveling back to said area (to avoid any awkward meetings). When I arrived the while team was present (Loki included). He spared a glance my way as I returned it, silently acknowledging the fact we needed to talk, before Tony asked the AI what was going on.

"Sir, Director Fury would like all team members to attend the emergency meeting in conference room 2A immediately." Everyone collectively groaned or sighed as we made our way to the conference room.

*Le time skip to the room*

"As you all know, with the exception of Miss Phoenix, Loki's scepter is located here in the tower under lock and key," he paused to look at Loki, "for obvious reasons." Loki rolled his eyes and muttered something along the lines of, 'You try to take over Midgard one time and they hold it over your head forever.' Fury shot him a look. 'I thought it was funny.' I smiled, projecting my thoughts to him. He grinned as he projected back, 'Anything to see you smile, love.' My face instantly got hot as I broke out into a furious blush, making his grin grow into a smirk. I stared straight ahead waiting for Fury to continue. "Last night, it was stolen right from under our noses." A chill set throughout the room as everyone processed the new information. "Do you have any idea how dangerous the scepter is? It contains the Mind Stone, one of six Infinity Stones. If it falls into the wrong hands, there is no telling what will and can happen. It should have never left my hands." Loki boldly stated. "We've planted a tracking device on it, so in the meantime, all we can do is wait for it to show up on our sensors." Fury stated. Just as he finished, the com device in his ear fizzled to life as he placed a hand to it, his facial expression becoming more grim with each word. "Avengers, I've just received word on the location of the scepter. It's been located just outside of New Jersey." My eyes widened as I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was off, and I had an idea of who was behind this. "I know where the scepter is and I believe I also know who took it." Everyone's gazed shifted to me, waiting for an explanation. "I believe my sister is behind this. As for the scepter, it's in one of two places, and I pray to the gods it's not where I think it is." I stood up immediately, pulling water from the water cooler and messaging Nico at camp. When he answered, his face instantly darkened. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to tell me something bad?" I sighed. "Nico, have you seen or heard anything, off, lately?" He shook his head. "No, everything is good here. No sign of you know who, at least not yet. What's going on?" I shook my head. "I'll let you know as soon as I do, okay? Keep an eye out for me, will you?" He nodded. I sighed and threw the water into a cup nearby as I looked back up to the team and Fury. "That eliminates camp, so the only other place has to be my house. Everybody get suited up and meet me back in the common area. Let's go."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

So just a heads up, I haven't given up on this story, it's just been a while since I've been able to work on a chapter. I'm posting what I have so far because I have hated making you guys wait so long and I though you deserved a new, extra long chapter for being so patient. As for future chapters, I'm going to try my best to get on an update schedule, but that may mean shorter chapters. I don't have a computer or laptop, so everything I write I do on my phone, which is another reason it takes me so long to update. I want you to decide! I would also love your feedback! Tell me what you want to see in the story in future chapters and I'll do my best to factor it in! Drop a comment on this and other stuff I mentioned earlier below and I'll definitely get back to you ASAP! Much love and thanks!