~~Author Notes~~
Oh my….you guys are all AWESOME! Seriously, I was not expecting this big of a turnout for just the first chapter. You all are too kind, thank you so much. To all of you who have followed, favorite, and reviewed you rock.
Yes, to answer the question of one of my reviewers the other Guardians will be appearing as well. It isn't about just Jack. (Though he is the main focal point along with the Avengers)
Thank you for the information bethanytokitoki, I will work on that.
This chapter is kind of long, but everything happens for a reason. At least it does in my stories.
!* This was SUPPOSED to be posted last Friday but for some reason fan fiction was not letting me on. This is the first time in the last four days that I was able to get it to work. Kept saying things like "server code ####; server not available." And "There is no server here to accept your request." I tries with three different computers; talk about confusing. Has anyone else had that problem, or was it just me? *
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or Avengers.
Chapter 2: I didn't see him!
Bruce finished buckling into seat with dread playing across his face; no matter how in control of the other guy, he was always felt uncomfortable on these Quinjets. Tony was standing in front of him fully clad in his armor, but left his helmet in his arms, standing next to him was Steve.
"Oh…I still don't think this is a good idea." Banner mumbled weakly.
"Nonsense, this is a brilliant idea. Best Fury ever had." Stark retorted.
Banner smirked and rolled his eyes, he was preparing to retort when Clint spoke from the front of the plane. "Don't worry Bruce we will be there in no time, just bear with us for a little while. I'll make sure to make the flight as smooth as possible."
"I'd appreciate that very much."
"Everyone ready?" Natasha called from the passenger seat, with a quick glance to the back and a thumbs up from Steve she activated the plane.
Clint flipped the necessary switches to get the jet into the air, with a nice smooth humming in the air they were off.
Those who were standing had to brace themselves from the unexpected g-force. Banner's hand grasped the bottom of his chair in a death grip, his breath hitched in his chest. After a few quick turns here and there they had leveled out to a nice cruising speed.
"Sorry about that, got hit by a head wind." Clint hollered back into the cabin.
"A little warning would have been nice." Stark looked to Banner who was trying his best to still his beating heart. "You alright there big green?"
The man merely shook his head up and down and left it at that. Either he didn't trust himself to say anything or he lost his voice briefly; Tony wasn't sure which it was but decided not to comment. Instead he moved on to a topic they were all thinking about, "So anyone want to make a guess as to what we will encounter?"
"Another crazed god." Clint stated dryly from the front of the plane.
"Aliens." Natasha supplied.
"Terrorist group." Stevie stated earning a huff from Tony.
"What?"
"Really Cap-sickle? After all of the enemies that we have faced recently-on top of those strange energy readings-the best thing you can think of is Terrorist."
"Hey, I'm a realest. Not everything that endangers earth comes from an outside source."
Natasha hummed in thought, "True. So if we had name a faction what would it be?"
"Well let's look at the facts and see what we know." Clint suggested. "First there is the strange energy readings, both of which were previously unknown to us until recently. Meaning they don't want to be noticed."
"If that is true then I wouldn't blame them. After we all but 'announced' our presence to the world last year who would want to make a move." Stark pointed out rather uppity.
"I was thinking about that actually." Banner chimed in this time. "Why would someone who possess enough power to damage a town, and show up on our energy scanners but be invisible to the entire populace."
"See I was thinking the same thing." Tony's brow furrowed as he entered into scientist mode. "It could be possible that they are using a form of cloaking similar to that used on the SHIELD Helicarrier. However if looked at closely one could discern what it is due to the distortion in area around them."
"If the people of the town couldn't see them then there is a good chance that they either have a more advanced form of cloaking; or they are using a different form of power than we are aware of." Banner finished his thought and looked over the group. "If that's the case we may need to think of a new way of approaching this."
"I already have JARVIS equipped with the new scanning frequency so I locating them won't be an issue."
"That's easy for you Stark, but for the rest of us without a television screen in front of them we have to take precaution."
Tony's eye twitched at the Captain's jab, "Don't worry I'll hold your hand for you."
"No thanks I don't play with toys."
"Alright boys, stop your bickering we are coming in to our destination."
"What already?!" Banner looked more relieved than he was previously.
"What?" Natasha grinned back at Bruce with a pride in her eyes. "This plane can go fast when it wants to."
"Not to mention the pilot's knew what they were doing." Clint smirked as well.
"I'll give you all the praise you want once we land." Banner chuckled back.
A lot smoother than taking off the plane landed in a clearing not far from the last known location of the mysterious attacks. Clint and Natasha switched it off while Steve dropped the hatch. That was all Banner needed to see to unbuckle and dart outside.
With a sigh of relief he took in the sights around him; the sun was beginning to rise in the distance illuminating the horizon wonderfully. A small town could be seen in the distance and not far beyond that a forest edge came into view.
"So first we recon the town. Talk to the people, we need to get as much information out of them as we can. Don't rule anything or anybody out, if they say they know something take note. If anyone gets a good lead contact the others. Let's take care of this swiftly so we can get back home." Steve stated their orders and everyone took off into different portions of the Town.
Banner elected to scout out the surrounding area and buildings rather than talk to the crowds, Steve didn't object to the suggestion. After all, it would be unwise to have the other guy make an appearance in front of an already tense town. Ever so slowly his eyes scanned the damage made to the buildings and street. It was clear that this was no accident caused by a natural disaster, even though ice seemed to cling to some of the buildings.
Ice? Edging his way over to the shadow of the building he took a closer look at said ice. Thin layers of ice with fern like frost patterns coated the entire wall. Encased inside was small black-iridescent sand stones. Bruce's removed his glasses and stared in disbelief when the sands began to pulsate and shake.
Almost instantly his mind went into scientific mode, every little detail about the strange substance being noted. If he didn't know any better he would say that this sand was the energy reading they were looking for; which meant the ice covering was probable the second reading.
He wasn't sure what the others have discovered within this town, but he was sure he hit the Jack pot.
Upon entering the town Black widow and Hawkeye were immediately surrounded by a group of citizens. Most of them were muttering on about things they couldn't quite understand. Between the sudden change in language and the multiple voices speaking at once they were in a bind.
Clint grimaced as a young lady started ranting in his ear before he finally couldn't take it anymore, "Entschuldigung, sprechen sie englisch?"
The girl paused then smiled softly, "Oh yes, I speak English."
Clint sighed with relief and began his interrogation; he knew a little bit of German but not enough to hold multiple full blown conversations. Widow followed his example but expanded her options to languages other than just English. Luckily a few people spoke the languages she knew making it an easy task. Anyone who didn't speak the language merely translated what they knew though those who could.
To their dismay however all the people seemed to know very little of what was happening to their town. Some claimed to have heard a stamped of wild angry horses while other claimed to have heard a joyous laughter.
Most complained of the commotion happening at nighttime, while a few claimed to have seen strange happenings throughout the duration of the day. Parents noted the strange behavior shifts in all of the children in the village. Clint took note of it, but Natasha brushed it off claiming that children would often have a torrent of emotions when adults become panicked.
All thought the information was good, it was not really all that helpful. They had hoped that what they gathered would connect with what the other would find.
Steve had a little more of an issue. Children came out of the wood-works squealing about how first the 'Guardian's' showed up and now it was the Avenges. He was curious to find out who these 'Guardian's' were but, as soon as he mentioned he had lost them. All the kids went on a tangent about how Jack Frost and the Sandman came to their rescue.
'They were saved…by fairy-tales?' he mentally gowned. Quickly he scolded himself for the thought, he knew better than to write them off as idle chatter. Children may have had wild imaginations, but if they aren't in trouble they will tell the truth. It was for this reason alone that he took note of all they said, even if it did sound ridiculous.
Stark on the other hand didn't seem to have any issues gathering information. What with JARVIS helping, he was able to locate every area hit by their strange foe and then some. He was able to come to the conclusion that the source of the readings were no longer in the town. In fact they were not far from his current location.
Smirking behind his iron mask he opened a com link to the other Avengers, "Well what do we have here."
Steve's voice was the first to chime in to the remark, "Tony? What is it, what did you find."
"Looks like our little friends have been taking a walk in the woods."
"Stark do you have a visual?" Clint chimed in.
"Not yet, I have an energy trail. I'm going to follow it."
"Wait Stark not yet, we don't' know what we are dealing with." Rogers shouted over the link.
Seeing as this was a good time to intervene, Banner decided to recount his findings. "I hate to pick sides but I think Steve is right on this one. Tony, I found something I want you to take a look at. "
"Banner needs Tony's advice, that can't be good." Natasha chided.
"I heard that." He scoffed in fake hurt.
"Alright, everyone head over to Bruce. We will go from there." Steve's voice click off leaving the coms silent.
Tony blasted off the building he was standing on and made his way over to Bruce.
Once everyone had regrouped and recounted their findings, Bruce pointed out his strange little discovery. At first no one knew what he was talking about, but once Tony got a good look he was gone. Half of the words that sprang from his lips went over all but Bruce's head.
"Uh, could you probable repeat that, In English perhaps?"
Tony gave a look to Steve that could only be categorized as 'are you stupid' before going on another rant. "This substance looks to be sand, but holds a different energy layout. It is as if it is a living organism rather than a speck of dust. It goes the same for the ice. Although it looks and feels like normal frozen water it holds a pulse of energy. Both object have the same read out as what we seen at the ship."
"I came to the same conclusion when I was analyzing it. I would love to take some samples and see what I can find out but…"
"Leave that to me." Tony activated the small laser located on his right arm and aimed it towards the building. A small beam of red impacted the ice melting a small chunk; that was a mistake.
Right when the ice had started to melt the sands held with in reanimated. Like a blast it shot out form the wall and into the air. Tony and Bruce were too close to react quick enough and were blasted out of the way.
Steve's mind processed it all just in time to jump in front of Natasha and raise his shield. Barton was also quick enough to process the blast and managed to jump behind a tree. Quickly the sands gathered in the sky over the group, it pushed and pulled itself into a desired shape before settling down.
Clint peeked out from behind the tree as Natasha and Steve looked over his shield.
"What the hell is that?" Steve blurted out.
"It appears to be a horse, but I have been fooled before." Natasha replied with mild amusement.
"Have you seen anything like it before?" he asked without moving his eyes from the strand creature.
"No." was all she could say.
"Well whatever it is it doesn't look friendly." Clint voiced while nocking an arrow. Snorting angrily the stallion reared before darting off into the direction of the Black Forrest.
"Well at least it didn't go to the village." Steve looked over to see Tony rolling over, a slight moan could be heard escaping his lips. "Stark you all right?"
He received a hand wave before moving his attention over to Bruce…oh crap. Bruce was gone, "Did any one see where Dr. Banner went?"
A deep hearty roar sounded in the direction of the forest. "Great, the Hulks out."
"My guess is he went after the beast, should we follow?" Natasha asked. Although she held an inquisitive yet slightly impassive face, it was clear that she really wasn't too keen on hanging with the Hulk.
"Yes, Stark already picked up on readings from the Forrest. If the beast is heading that way, then it is probably trying to regroup. We don't know what their capable off; he may need our help."
"I'll shoot ahead and meet you guys there." Stark stated rather that suggested.
"Alright, the three of us will head there on foot. Don't forget what Fury said about detaining Tony!" Steve shouted. Weather Tony heard him was irrelevant, odds are this new being was not going to come in quietly. They would have to fight.
Jack remained hunkered down in the underbrush as a few more Stallions passed overhead, his eyes remained transfixed on their every move. When one broke to far from the heard he shot out and took it down. Once eliminated he went back into hiding, "This is going to take forever." He mumbled half-heartedly.
Rustling in the distance caught his attention as it was moving way to fast to be any normal animal, but too slow to be Bunnymund. Curiosity bubbled inside him, the need to know what it was driving him from his hiding spot. With the help of the wind he was out of the bushes and into the air. Nightmares were nipping at his heals but he ignored their presence; he couldn't help but feel that there was something big out here.
Angered at being ignored one stallion lost its form and rushed him as pure sand. Caught off guard Jack was hit square in the back and tossed to the ground. Hissing slightly from the impact Jack scrambled to his feet as the sands dove down for another strike.
Strike. Dodge. Strike. Doge. A ballet of attacks filter though out the air as Jack and the Nightmares tussled. Animals ran from the area and the sky began to darken with billowing winter clouds from Jacks attacks. As the battle raged on the unknown presence was getting closer to him. Its existence shook the earth and agitated the wind; this in turn made Jack's mind race with curiosity.
When a deep and thunderous roar echoed off the trees, all the curiosity that was inside of the young spirit morphed into concern. Never has he hear a beast call such as that, and he has been around a very long time. Panic overtook him and his flight instincts kicked in.
Pushing off the ground he blasted away a nearby stallion and dodged through the opening. With the Nightmares blocking the air and the forest thick with debris he bounced from tree to tree like a pinball. He knew he had to take care of Pitch's Nightmare, but he couldn't do that when there was something much worse in the area.
A stallion appeared in the distance and began to charge him. Undaunted he narrowed his eyes and continued forward. Just as he was about to strike the Stallion reared in fear and disintegrated; now standing in the spot the beast was in he caught sight of what had made it retreat. A large green fist was headed straight for that location.
Jack's body froze as he knew he couldn't escape the impact, "This is going to hurt."
End Chapter 2
~~Author's Notes~~
Alright that is Chapter 2! Woot! So the Avengers are learning little bits and pieces of the puzzle, and Jack just "encountered" a green fist. Care to guess whose fist it was? Lol Well keep an eye open. The next Chapter is coming to you very soon! *Given that the site doesn't mess up on me again.
Quick Thanks to Black Robin, Artemisgirl91, bethanytokitoki, Book Soldier, Yuurei no Chu, Bebuzzu, guest 1, guest 2, and littleheartache for your reviews. There were pleasant to see. Again thanks to all of you who followed and favorited.
Feel free to R&R. I look forward to seeing you all in Chapter 3!
~Skye out