Thank you to everyone that followed, favourited and/or reviewed the prologue! I really appracite the feedback. Here is where the Avengers come into the story so I just wanted to say that I do not own any of the Marvel characters and that I am thankful for my beta o0aurora0o. I'm very excited about this story and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I promise to update soon!
Chapter 1
The Quinjet is 30 miles outside of Cordova, Alaska. It is a small fishing town, located on a bay in the southern part of the state. It was once a picturesque tourist attraction, but had become overrun in a matter of hours by an invisible, unknown creature the locals are calling the Ajih. The incidences started with break-ins and small robberies but had now escalated to a full-fledged attack on the town's civilians and sheriff department.
The Avengers had been asked to intervene when the most recent events had taken place, leaving many injured.
Only a handful of them had been sent to Alaska. Tony, Clint and Natasha had volunteered to tag along when the case was brought to them and Steve asked Bruce to come if they needed the big guy. It felt like they were getting the band back together with 5 of the 6 original Avengers piled into the Quinjet.
"What does Ajih mean?" asks Steve, looking up from his tablet to gaze out the window at the mountains below. The Alaskan snow is beautiful from above, but it reminds him too much of the war, how he had plunged into the ice after losing his best friend.
Steve shakes away his thoughts and turns to his team.
"Demon or ghost," Bruce Banner say, speaking up. He is a well-knowledged man who know the answer to almost every question directed at him, except for why they brought him along on this mission. He refuses to let the big guy out after what had happened in Sokovia, so he doesn't know why he is part of the operation.
Tony is pacing around the cabin with a packet of blueberries in hand. "That's delightful. Why couldn't they call it something cuter and not-deadly, like fluffy?" he mutters sarcastically before tossing back a handful of berries.
"Because something named fluffy wouldn't hurt this many people," Clint points out from the pilot's seat, flipping through pictures of the casualties. None of them know what they were about to walk into. They survived the attack on New York City and Ultron, so surely they will be able to defeat this beast.
"I've met some pretty vicious cats named fluffy," Tony says, and tosses a berry at Natasha who is leaned up against the wall at the back of the aircraft.
She dodges the berry and narrows her eyes at him for a moment, but puts on her mask. She will never give him the satisfaction of knowing that he is annoying her. She turned her attention back to her tablet and continues reading.
"Whatever it is, it put the town's entire police department in the hospital. A 17-year-old boy died," Bruce informs them and he shakes his head. He is tired of watching people get hurt; tired of hearing about innocent deaths.
"Point is, we need to be cautious," Steve says firmly, sliding a hand into a glove and putting the strap in place. "We don't know what we're dealing with."
"How do we defend ourselves against something we can't see?" Tony asks, half-serious.
Natasha's lip twitches into a smirk as she places another gun into the holster around her waist. "If you use your ears, you don't need to see," she mutters in the condescending tone she likes to use on the billionaire.
"Not all of us are trained assassins, Mata Hari," Tony retorts.
Natasha sends the billionaire an icy glare, cocking an eyebrow.
"She'll get you for that." Clint chuckles and places his arrows in his quiver. No one knows Natasha as well as he does, but they all know how ruthless she can be if provoked.
"Alright, we're about to land. Suit up," Steve orders as Clint begins their descent into this once peaceful town.
They land, and all except for Bruce meet with law enforcement officers that have been brought in from surrounding areas.
Bruce feels it will be better if he stays inside until they need him.
The woman in charge, Miranda Klein, leeds them to the woods at the edge of the town and explains that the unknown being has been chased into the forest. They are also informed of all the new and pertinent information regard the "Ajih"—the creature can create force fields and become completely invisible. With the thin layer of snow on the forest ground, it makes it easy to track its movement.
"No one saw what it really looks like. The only description I have is that it was wearing a... 'brown work coat and black ripped combat boots'," Klein tells them.
"It's human?" Natasha asks.
"No, it's a demon," a male deputy snarls, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. "I know the couple that own that corner store. Their son used to play with my boy."
This situation is literally too close to home for a lot of the law enforcement personal that have come to help. The Avengers are used to coming in and dealing with a problem and leaving; after New York and Sokovia they could walk away, but here, in Cordova, they see how much this is affecting the locals. It's hard to ignore the impact this situation has on them.
"I would come with you, but I can't afford to sacrifice any more of my men," Klein says before letting them wander further into the forest, following a trail of light footprints in the snow.
They come to a clearing in the woods where a small pool of water lay in the ground.
"It looks like the tracks stop at the edge of the water," Tony says into his intercom before flying over the pond. "It doesn't continue on the other side."
Steve looks at him as he lands next to the team, confused. "Where did it go?" he asks.
"Could've flown away," Tony suggests, as he kicks off the ground to scan the trees for any sign of the creature.
"No, it's in the water," Natasha stats calmly. She cautiously pulls out her gun and points it ahead of her.
"You've got to be kidding, right?" Tony laughs dryly. "It's below zero." How could anything handle swimming in frigid waters, let alone stand still in it?
She sets off a warning shot into the edge of the pond and watches the waves ripple across to the other side. Something in the water catches her eye.
She turned to her partner, giving him a curious look.
"There," Barton nods as he lifts an arrow, pointing it at the invisible figure.
Startled, Steve pulls his shield off his back and Tony lifts his metal-clad hands, preparing himself for a fight.
"Alright Harry Potter, time to take off your magic cloak," Stark yells across the water. The water is calm again which meant one of two things, that the Ajih wasn't moving or that they lost it.
They wait silently, but to no avail.
"Spread out around the water," Steve orders. If they can't see it, they will have to surround it so it won't have the chance to escape.
However, before they can get in position, something splashes. The creature is sprinting through the water towards the shore.
Tony sends a blast in its direction but it was too quick, and it lifts a force field before the shot can reach it. A light crystalline white colored shield hovered around the Ajih. Tony shoots again, but the blast cannot penetrate the field.
The creature keeps moving.
Steve stops. "Banner?" he yells into his comm.
"What's happening?" he is quick to answer. Being left in the Quinjet makes him anxious, but being out in the field makes him terrified, so he waits and tries to stay calm.
"We need some help; it's heading back towards the town. Let the sheriff know."
At this point, Tony has flown ahead of the mysterious being and cut it off. Natasha throws a taser orb at the force field in an attempt to disable it, and for a moment it seems to work. The field weakened and Tony sets off another blast before the creature can react but misses by an inch.
Clint fires arrows at the Ajih to keep it from regenerating another force field. Steve throws his shield into the mix, hitting the invisible figure, and sending it flying into the ground and sliding through the snow.
Unfazed, it quickly springs back up and begins to fight by throwing glowing circular orbs of energy at Tony and Steve.
Then everything goes quiet. The ground was well trampled now, making it hard for them to see where it was.
Suddenly, there is a swift knock to Natasha's leg and she is close lined. She hits the grounds with a thud.
"I thought you could hear, Romanoff?" Stark can't help but chuckle as he fires another blast, once again missing the shot.
"I'm still better than you!" she retorts, brushing snow off the sides of her thighs. Now she is pissed.
"Both of you need to focus," Steve tells them, but the truth is that they don't know what to do when they can't see what they were aiming at. They may be talented warriors but no one can aim blindfolded.
The creature takes shot after shot from the Avengers and it doesn't let up.
The sound of snapping twigs comes from behind them. They turn just as a small branch brakes off a small pine tree. Tony fires another blast in the direction of the fallen branch, this time hitting the invisible spector. There is a flicker and for a moment and he see a pale figure, but it becomes invisible again before he can get a good look.
Before Clint loses complete sight of it, he shoots an arrow and hit the figure in the back. If they can't follow the creature, they can at least follow the arrow.
The Ajih rips the arrow from its back and lets out a loud high pitch scream. Realizing it can't win, it runs, leaving a trail of blood in the snow.
They are almost in the town now, and everyone is racing around to make sure that the creature will be stopped before it hurt anyone else.
The four Avengers surround the creature.
"There is no way out," Steve says firmly. None of them are sure if this thing can speak English, but it is worth a shot.
Blood pools on the ground and law enforcement officers are starting to gather at the clearing with Bruce Banner standing close by.
Without a response from the Ajih, they all fire at the same time. They don't want to risk it getting any closer to the town.
The creature hits the ground and slowly, begins to fade back into view.
The Avengers are shocked, to say the least. Nothing could prepared the team for what lays before them now.
A pale young girl, no more than 15-years-old with long, brown hair, lays face down in the snow. She is short, extremely thin and covered in bruises and open wounds. Blood is pooling around her limp naked body as it flickers from invisible to visible.
"Jesus," Steve mutters as he looks away.
"Please tell me we didn't just kill this kid," Clint says, wide eyes locking with Natasha's.
Natasha calls for a medic's help.
Bruce comes running right away, his eyes widening as he approaches the flickering figure. The pool of blood increases by the second.
Unlike Steve, Bruce is not fazed by the fact that the young girl is unclothed. He is a gentleman but he is also a doctor and in this moment, he is only focused on helping her even though he is not sure she deserves it. He takes a moment to assess the situation before stepping in and taking charge. All he has with him is a small first aid kit and a foil thermal blanket. He opens the blanket and throws it over her body.
"Remind me why we're helping this thing," he says as he stares down at his watch, trying to count the slow beats of her carotid pulse. Once he finds it he glances up at their captain as if asking what they should do next. If they don't move her soon she will die.
Before Bruce can say another word, Steve bends down and scoops the limp child into his arms. Something about her makes him feel sorry. She is as light as air and as pale as the layer of snow on the ground. His eyes are locked on her soft-featured face; she looks peaceful as she lays passed out in his arms.
The rest of his team follows quickly behind. He cradles the girl into his chest as he pushes his way through the sheriffs and deputies. The air feels thick with emotion. Sad for the tragedy this town has endured and anger for how the perpetrator is now being treated with kindness.
The Sheriff in charge steps forward. "We can take it from here Captain," she says firmly. She wants to see this monster die. How does a robbery turn to this much chaos?
"With all due respect Ma'am, she will die if you don't let us help her," Steve says.
"That is not our problem. A young boy died," She leverages, through gritted teeth.
"Lady this is not an eye for an eye situation," Stark says as he rolls his eyes. He doesn't necessarily agree with helping this child but he is not going to question Steve's motive right now.
"If you'd excuse us, she needs a doctor so we are leaving," the redheaded assassin announces. Natasha is the first to push through the crowd of people gawking at the horrifying scene.
The sheriff looks at them and Clint shrugs before following his partner toward the Quinjet with the rest of them trailing behind him.
Once in the aircraft, Steve places the girl down on the medical bed in the back and straps her in place for the ride. Bruce steps in, flying like a bullet to place an oxygen mask on the girl's face, turns on the electrocardiogram screen and connects electrodes to the girl's chest to monitor her heart rate. He stops to judge the machine. It starts to beep at an alarming rate.
"I'm losing her," he yells, causing everyone to kick into hyper-drive.
"What can I do?" Tony asks. He has limited knowledge of the human body but it is enough to lend a hand.
Bruce's mind is racing; he isn't used to this kind of pressure. In this moment, he is a doctor without nurses or a surgical team. He needs more than just Tony, but right now he will have to do.
"Put pressure on the wound in her shoulder," he instructs as he hands Tony a pair of surgical gloves.
"It's a good thing I like playing God," Tony jokes, trying to lighten the mood as he firmly hold a laparotomy pad over the open wood. It is not perfect but it will do for the time being.
Bruce is whispering curses to himself as he searches through a drawer for a specific needle. Once he finds it, he inserts an open-ended needle into her chest. Her lung was collapsed and she was not breathing but now the girl's heart rate and pulse-ox regulated.
Natasha stands with her back leaned up against the wall, watching intently as the doctor moves around the table. There is something about the fear in his eyes that makes her feel helpless. No one else is qualified to help in this situation. Maybe they need doctors with them on missions. It would have helped in New York and when Natasha and Steve infiltrated the Lemurian Star platform in the Indian ocean. None of them needed immediate medical assistance but what if they had and no one had been there. Natasha has been in too many situations that brought her close to death in the past.
"Welcome back, Kid," Tony says with a smile when he notices the girl's eyes fluttering open.
Bruce let out a sigh of relief knowing that he has done his job. Good thing Cap had convinced him to tag along. He starts taking off his gloves when the little girl starts to hyperventilate. He looks up at the machine and notices that the girl is panicking.
Natasha steps forward and reaches for the girl's hand. She squeezes it.
"You're okay now," she says softly; her voice is as soothing and comforting as she can make it. She imagines how confusing it must be to wake up in a plane, strapped to a bed, surrounded by the people that were trying to kill her less than an hour ago. A selfish part of Natasha wants to keep the girl calm so that she won't try to hurt them and a selfless part of her wants this young girl to feel safe. She looks exhausted; like she has not slept well in years.
Natasha cautiously reaches up and runs her hand over the girl's hair. This was something that Clint's daughter finds comforting when she is upset.
Slowly the girl regains a steady breathing rate.
"Natasha, watch her while I call Helen to let her know we're coming," Bruce says with a gentle smile as he steps away from the table. It is not often that Natasha let herself show affection towards others but when she does, her kindness warms his heart. She deserves to have someone that she can love and who can love her back. He had the chance to be that someone; unfortunately that time has passed between them and he is regretful of letting her slip away. She has a good heart even if it isn't always in the right place.
Steve is up front with Clint watching the sky as they soared toward New York. He notices Bruce approaching and turns to face the Doctor and nods.
"How is she?" he asks. It is a small plane and Steve already knows the answer but he feels it would be good to get an update. He likes to feel in charge and for the past few minutes, he has not.
"She's stable for now," Bruce answers as he wipes the beads of sweat off his forehead with a hand towel. "Please don't ask me to do that again anytime soon."
Clint chuckles at the doctor's comment. "Have you reached your quota for stress this month?"
"You could say that," he replies jokingly, though he really does not want to do it again anytime soon.
"Do you think anyone is looking for her? You know, maybe her family.." Clint trails off. He hates to think that she is all alone in the world.
"My guess is no. She's incredibly malnourished; no one has taken care of her in a long time," Bruce remarks. Her pale yellow tinted skin and her frail skeleton like body is significantly noticeable.
Hawkeye presses a few buttons on the control panel in front of him before he turns away from the scenery and the sky. He glances back to young girl and smiles as he watches Natasha running her fingers through the child's hair in an effort to comfort her. For the first time since they had left Alaska, he feels sorry for this girl.
Clint turns back to piloting the aircraft.
"How old would you say she is Doc?" Steve asks. To him, she looks so tiny when he was carrying her out of the woods. It was like lifting a feather.
Bruce takes a moment to reply. "Hard to say for sure but my guess is 12-16 years of age. I'll run tests once we're back."
"Cap?" Clint questiones.
Steve turns and nods giving Clint the go-ahead.
Clint hesitates for a moment before he speaks. "How do we know she's not going to start attacking again."
"We don't. But I don't think she meant to hurt anyone. You saw how scared she was," Steve says with a sad look on his face. He doesn't want to defend the girl's actions but he can't make sense of what had happened. He also can't say that he isn't thinking the same thing as Clint.
"Are you saying that she did this out of self defence?" Clint retorts with surprise.
"I don't know why she did it but I think there is a lot more to this that me think." Steve explains.
"That is exactly why this doesn't feel like a good idea." Clint feels discomfort in the bottom of his stomach. He can tell that something bad is going to happen.
"How far are we from compound?" Bruce asks, leaning over Clint's pilot chair.
"We're about 30 minutes out," Clint replies. He flicks a few more switches, presses a couple of buttons on the control panels and scans the green colored screen that shows their flight path. He turns to face Bruce. "This thing moves fast but it's not light speed."
"No that's okay. She'll make it" Bruce assures them.
As if on cue, the alarms go off on the machines monitoring the girl.
Please let me know what you thought of the first chapter and stay tuned for more!