Crossing Paths (MCUxCanon) (Hiatus)

Wild Hunt

"Longing."
"Rusted."
"Furnace."
"Daybreak."
"Seventeen."
"Benign."
"Nine."
"Homecoming."
"One."
"Freight car."

The phrase was complete and the man with a metal arm was stone-faced, awaiting his orders. "Good morning, Soldier. We have a mission for you," said his handler in Russian. "Ready to comply," the Winter Soldier replied.
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Phoenix tore through the forest, breath coming in short bursts. She didn't know what was chasing her but the dark intent was palpable. Her Road had taken her back to the world she had left some time ago. It was the same, yet different, as if she had achieved a time jump. It made sense since the Road led her outside the dimensions of time and space when she was hopping from world to world. She had been back for about a month but for the past three days, she couldn't shake the feeling she was being followed. Every time she had checked, there was nothing there. If she was, it was yet another reminder of the things she lacked from her unicorn ancestry. Her mother's kind could pass completely unnoticed if they wished. A lot of humans in the Empire weren't even aware which forests were unicorn-controlled.

Phoenix didn't have that refined ability to pass unseen. Try as she might, being sighted had happened a lot on a number of worlds, including this one. That led to her current status: running from an unseen threat that finally made her fight-or-flight instinct kick in. She reached a clearing and was heading for the other side when a shot rang out. Startled, Phoenix's hooves hit a hidden hole and she was sent crashing to the ground. Tearing up grass and soil with her horns as she slid to a stop, the chimera just lay still. She breathed hard as she mentally checked for injuries like a broken leg but her reinforced bones and muscle had saved her again.

Slowly getting to her belly, she chanced a look at her tail. "Great. Bastard shot it off," she thought. Fortunately for her, her tail was shot off between the second and third segments, meaning regeneration wouldn't take too long. If it had been shot off any lower, then it would take longer. Plowing headfirst into the ground hurt her more than her tail getting shot off did. Her tail didn't have nerve endings past the root. Getting to her hooves and shaking her body free of dirt and grasses, Phoenix turned to face the direction she had come from. The sound of a motor roared through the forest, drawing closer. She had to quickly decide what she had to do. Her tail would take ten minutes to regenerate tops but until then, she was somewhat defenseless. She had her horns but her tail was her primary weapon. Standing her ground seemed like a good idea but considering she was in a world where guns were a thing, it wasn't particularly a safe idea. Still, the one who shot her had shot to disarm, not kill. Which usually meant someone was interested in her and her capabilities. Her tail, for instance, held potent venom from an unknown scorpion species that someone would find very useful.

If they were after her for her venom, they were in for a disappointment. Phoenix never allowed her own husband to analyze it to see what sort of scorpion had been used in the gene splicing and sequencing that led to her creation. She wasn't about to let some humans get their hands on it and weaponize it for their own use. The chimera looked around and found the severed remains of her tail close by. She quickly trotted over and raised a hoof. Just as she was about to bring it down on the telson, a motorcycle tore through the underbrush, carrying a man with a metal arm. He wore a mask and goggles, effectively hiding his identity. A rifle was strapped to his body. Phoenix froze for a split second but brought her hoof down hard just as her pursuer skidded to a halt. The telson was crushed like a grape, her venom useless now. All the while, she had never taken her eyes off the human who curled his metal fingers into a fist.

Clearly, he was enraged by what she had done. It was rolling off him in waves. The chimera took this time to study him. Aside from his face being hidden, his brown hair was down to his chin. He wore a leather top with dark fatigues. His metal arm looked like it was something Byakko High King had forged but the craftsmanship seemed...almost beyond even his skill level. Byakko was the best at what he did so anyone being able to outdo him in anything was someone impressive. The thing that gave the chimera pause was his scent. He smelled exactly like someone she had met long ago in this world's time. Every living thing had its own unique scent. Even two members of the same species had variations in their scents. They were like fingerprints, unique to a singular entity. She filed her observations away and had to figure out how to forestall further aggression until her tail regenerated. Every minute without it seemed to stretch to eternity.

"You shot me," she said, plainly. That had the intended effect of startling the man. He didn't outwardly show it but it was plain in the way he subtly tightened his fist. "The monster speaks," he responded, his mask muffling his words a little. "Monster is a new one for me. I've been called a demon, an abomination, even beautiful. But if 'monster' means the same as 'chimera' to you, then it will be yet another title given to me," she said. The man reached up and pulled his goggles off, freeing some very familiar blue-grey eyes. "You know why I was tracking you," he said, more than asked. "Naturally. You aren't the first human who saw potential in the tail you shot off. I could be wrong but I think your intention was just to relieve me of my first line of defense and be on your merry way. As an entity, I don't mean much to you. Sorry, not sorry that I destroyed the thing you were stalking me for," came the response.