Girl At War

Fight - 28

Eloyse held up her barrier as the man heaved down with his makeshift club. He struck it, and the club slid off. Raising it again, he started toward Eloyse again. She kept her shield up. Suddenly it flickered, then faded away. In panic, Eloyse shook her hands and tried again. She could feel how tight the bracelets were. There was no chance. As the club descended, she whirled and ducked away. Adjusting for her sudden movement, the agent still managed to catch her shoulder, and sent her flying.

She groaned, stiffly propping herself up her elbows. She was vaguely aware somebody was yelling at her, but she couldn't understand. Then there was a rough hand on her, giving her a shove. 

"Yea, yea!" she snapped, kicking out at the man who had followed, "I'm getting up!" He kicked at her, which she barely avoided. Nothing like going after somebody who was already down. Then the man was bodily heaved up, and vanished from her sight. She squeezed shut her eyes at the blinding light which suddenly shone in her eyes. Slowly, she opened them. Steve's concerned, or rather panicked, face hovered above hers.

"Great! You're not dead!" He gave a searching glance around for any attackers.

"Not yet..." Eloyse groaned, stiffly sitting up. "Do you ever wish you could swear?" She asked curiously, getting to her feet. Steve stared at her.

"What?"

"Do you ever wish you could swear?"

"W-well.." he stammered, unsure how to deal with such a question. Natasha saved him by diving behind his shield, a machine gun tracing her movements. Eloyse rolled over, getting behind Steve also. Steve himself gave a startled little jump when both girls pressed close. He held up his shield, and the rain of bullets was noisy as they hit. Natasha peeked around the shield, raising her guns. The man toppled over.

Eloyse and Natasha both deserted ship, leaving Steve sitting there with a lost puppy expression. Eloyse headed for a more secluded area, less people hopefully. She rounded the corner of the building, out of sight of the main fight.

"Stop!" A sharp, familiar voice froze Eloyse in her tracks. "Raise your hands!"

She put her hands up, slowly turning around. The girl with creamy white hair and striking blue eyes was painfully familiar. "Kanzia, don't do this." Eloyse whispered.

"Who's Kanzia?" The girl motioned Eloyse down. The brunette dropped to her knees.

"You. You're Kanzia. I found you when I was looking for my brother, Shyden. You were hurt bad from a battle, abandoned as a prisoner. I healed you. We both rode my horse, Damian. You're a Zuni, shape-shifter. Kanzia, don't you remember?"

"St-stop talking." Kanzia stammered. Her gun was lowering, being held with only one hand. The other clutched her forehead. She was making a pained face. Eloyse kept her eyes fastened on Kanzia's eyes. They were flickering, blue with flecks of white in them now.

"You had a brother." Eloyse lowered her voice, speaking softly. "You talked about him for hours as we rode. His name was Chelan. You guys would go swimming together, and build forts."

"Eloyse?" Clint walked around the corner, "Oh, ther-" he froze upon seeing her predicament. Kanzia's lowering gun had sprung back up at his bold voice. Clint was helpless. He didn't dare go help Eloyse with that gun pointed right at her heart. He could see her talking, could hear her for a while, but then the white-haired girl motioned him to back up. Not favoring a fatal wound, he obeyed. The girl seems to be in some sort of mental agony.

Good! Clint selfishly thought, standing perfectly still.

A soft footstep forced him to notice Natasha. The redhead stopped by his side, planting her feet and crossing her arms. "Wish we could help..." She murmured. Tony landed near them, walking over in his suit. The white-haired girl shot a quick glare at them, so they kept their distance.