( avengers: infinity war )
★
CHLOE WONDERED IF morale was always lifted when Thor entered any kind of battle.
However, despite the fact that their team had a literal Norse god on their side― Alex would've had a field day with him― the forces conspiring against them still had the upper hand.
The woman, Bucky, and the raccoon stood back to back, the former assassin and raccoon shooting their guns while Chloe hacked and slashed at the dogs that came a little too close for comfort.
"Come and get some, space dogs!"
Said space dogs barreled and snarled at them, only stopping to bite them or fall from lack of brain activity.
If they had brains.
"Chloe, duck!"
From years of practice, the Assassin hit the dirt and glanced up, watching bullets fire and bodies drop. Hearing the bullets stop, the woman rolled over and shoved the sword into the chest of a dog about to jump Barnes. Standing up, Chloe examined the dead space dogs with a nod of approval, slashing the very much alive animals charging at them.
"How much for the gun?"
"Not for sale."
"Okay, how much for the arm?"
Chloe snorted, doing a barrel roll to end the life of her last space dog in the area.
"Oh, I'll get that arm."
Standing up, the Assassin saw blue pulse across her vision, heavy reds filling the Wakandan grass with steady blues in the thick of it. But right across a small river of space dogs, charging right at her was a swirling mix of red and gold.
Her eyes widened and the woman dropped to the dirt a second time. She did a push-up to launch herself back into the air, spinning around with her drawn sword to see Rams with a crazy look in her eye.
The alien growled fiercely, banging her sword against her shield. "I'll kill you, you female scum!"
Chloe sighed heavily, quickly scanning the area for some sort of ally― human or not, at this point― and spotted, finding Natasha and Okoye holding their own a few meters away.
If only she could get to―
―Chloe had to duck as a flying shield flew right where her head once was. Throwing her sword up, the clang that sounded as alien steel met vibranium vibrated through the air and her bones. Gritting her teeth, the woman duck and rolled away, standing with her back against Natasha's.
"You have a crazy alien, too?" 'Tasha grunted, smacking the dogs away.
"Popular in demand, apparently."
As Rams approached in her crazy fury, a cracking of dirt and trees filled the air. Right from beneath the ground appeared giant razor wheels spinning in their direction, killing and wrecking everything in their path.
"Fall back! Fall back, now!"
Chloe pulled her bow from her shoulders and an arrow from her quiver, firing an arrow that released electricity into Rams' bad shoulder, watching with slight relief as she went down for just a moment, giving her time for a much-needed breath.
It didn't last.
Natasha dragged Chloe against her as the wheels were less than ten feet away, but the impact never came. Their angel, dressed in a red outfit much like her own, lifted the weapons away and into the air.
Chloe glanced over Natasha's shoulder as both space dogs and Rams charged at them.
"Wanda!"
The witch dragged her hands to the ground, the wheels following the motion of her hands. Dogs whimpered and a muffled scream resonated in the air. Adrenaline was pounding as Chloe, Natasha, and Okoye stood up, looking at both the torn dirt and a smiling Wanda.
The Wakandan General twirled her spear. "Why was she up there all this time?"
★
Their luck didn't quite last after Wanda joined the field.
It was a trap; either Wanda left Vision's side to protect the fighters, or she stayed― destroying her friends and those fighting below. Chloe didn't blame the witch, as she would've done the same.
Right as Wanda would've left the main fight to go protect the Vision, the other blue female alien joined the fight, quickly being taken down with the forces from the Scarlet Witch, the Black Widow, Okoye, and the only Assassin on the field.
(The flying, spinning wheel of death and a mix of Wanda's powers helped as well, but Chloe felt as their little team did the most.)
Despite the adrenaline and small spark of hope running through her veins, the twenty-one-year-old had a feeling it would last very long. Tension hung through the air as she raced to the forest to help their Vision problem, as Sam proudly named it.
Explosions rang out behind her as Thor flew to destroy the isosceles triangles of death that kept pumping out the space dogs.
(This was her life now.)
Chloe managed to reach the forest as Wanda landed, drawing one out of her last two arrows and clicking it into place. She stood a few feet away from the couple, using her sixth sense to scope out the area.
"Are you okay?"
There was a high-pitched ringing, followed by a groan.
"What? What is it?"
Vision breathed heavily. "He's here."
The Assassin rolled her shoulders, ignoring the growing pain emitting from her left shoulder from her first encounter of Rams on the battlefield.
The wind howled as Chloe approached Steve, watching as the leaves fell from their perches and the area, once booming with sounds of clashes and growls, grew silent as their supposed master approached.
Chloe saw Steve hold a hand up to his ear. "Everyone, on my position. We have incoming."
Steve turned to the young woman, his eyes filled with both a sense of calm and dread. "Try to see if you can find a spot in the trees for a better vantage point. We need an element of surprise."
The woman gave a curt nod and turned to sprint off before a callused hand caught her wrist.
"Stay safe," Steve Rogers ordered, looking into the eyes of the young girl he had watched grow for the past few years.
A lump grew in Chloe Frye's throat, only managing a nod that (hopefully) conveyed her you too.
Racing past Sam and Natasha, the girl scaled a tree and drew her arrow, drawing a deep breath to settle her nerves.
For Alex. For the hundreds of Assassins that died by this Titan's hand. For the innocent people, we protect.
Chloe opened her eyes and drew the string back slightly.
She was ready.
Her head whipped around as a cloud of black smoke with blue electricity started forming a few feet behind Bruce. From the portal stepped a man with purple skin and blue and gold armor. His height was intimidating, almost as much as the glowing golden gauntlet with five infinity stones awaiting a sixth.
"Cap, that's him."
The Captain activated his shields. "Eyes up. Stay sharp."
The following events flew by― a charging Bruce was covered in blue light and trapped in a rocky prison― Steve, covered in purple, was thrown out of the Titan's way― T'Challa was punched to the ground― Sam's wings were blasted in purple light.
Chloe knew she was the last line of defense before the alien hit Wanda and Vision.
Drawing back her string, the Assassin let the arrow fly, watching it strike the gauntlet and spreading a freezing foam over it. Despite efforts, a small grin etched its way onto her face, only to drop as the Titan simply waved his hand, watching as the chemical material faded out of existence.
Law of Conservation of Mass― matter is neither created nor destroyed.
Her mind blanked as she was blasted with the same purple light that took down Steve and Sam, falling to the ground on her already bad left shoulder.
Pure energy, along with ozone, fear, and a resonating snap brought the Assassin to attention, the silence following hanging heavily in the air.
Clutching her dislocated shoulder, Chloe managed to get to her feet and find Natasha getting up slowly from the mound of rocks she was stuck under. "Nat, are you okay?"
Natasha just stared at her, a look of horror, remorse, and intense guilt all rolled into one piercing look.
The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "What―"
Chloe suddenly saw a fleck of dust rise in the air, her gaze fixing on her dust-ridden hand that was slowly working its way up her arm. She shuddered and looked at Natasha, who nearly sprinted over to her.
The twenty-one-year-old sank to her knees, a calm feeling washing over her nerves as the dust spread further up her body.
An Assassin should never fear death.
The blonde skidded to a stop and cupped the girl's face in her hands. "No― stay with me, Chloe!"
With great difficulty, the Frye rose her injured arm and placed a gentle hand on the woman. "Give him hell from me, Nat."
With a soft, watery smile, Chloe Frye vanished from the face of the earth, only her memory left in her place.
★
surprise?
sidenote: for all the confusion, this book still has a solid ten-ish chapters left. trust me, i'm not done with chloe just yet!
happy new year!
peace,
aidan.