( captain america: civil war )

★

"LISTEN, WE GOTTA make a quick stop somewhere."

Chloe said, leaning in between Steve and Sam. She sat in the back seat with Bucky, who unfortunately lost a round of 'rock, paper, scissors' with Sam.

"Where is this quick stop?" Sam asked, looking at her through the rear-view mirror.

Chloe looked at her phone. "Take a left now."

Tires squealed against the concrete as Steve took a sharp left-turn, leaving the other two men to complain quietly. The teenager rolled her eyes and directed Steve down the back roads, leading them to a place her cousin directed her.

The small buggy pulled to a stop in front of a quaint house, which Chloe knew to be a safe house where Assassins could lay low for a bit. Alexander had texted her hours before, telling her where to find him and her gear.

"Okay," Chloe said, opening her car door, "I'm not going to be gone for long. Don't follow me in."

Slamming the door shut, the teenager ran up the steps and knocked on the door, holding up two fingers to the security camera she knew to be hidden in the wall next to her. The door quickly opened to reveal her smiling cousin in front of her.

"Chloe!" Alex exclaimed, holding his hands open.

She smiled at Alex and looked at the leather bag behind his heels. "Is that it?"

"Yep," he smiled. "All your gear, as requested."

"You're the best!" Chloe said, rummaging through the bag full of her equipment.

"So I've been told." he teased. He looked behind her at the car full of the three trained soldiers. "So, fighting with the Avengers? I thought you didn't do that stuff."

The Assassin shrugged, swinging the bag over her shoulder. "I owe Cap a favor, and this is just in the description."

Alex slowly nodded, still peering over her shoulder. "It's still really cool. I mean, Captain America needs your help―"

"―Alex," Chloe laughed. "Your fanboy is showing."

"Fine, fine. Just promise me you'll be safe."

She smiled at her cousin, grateful she still had him around. "I'll try my best."

The two cousins hugged one last time, and Chloe laughed as Alexander pointed at the car holding the three famous men with a face of excitement. She turned around as the door behind her clicked to a shut, and she slowly descended the staircase leading down to the car.

Opening the door and throwing in her suitcase, the Assassin ignored the looks of interest of the three's faces and tugged the door shut. She gave Steve a quick nod through the mirror, settling her gaze on the window. "No."

Sam turned around. "No, what?"

"I won't tell you who he is." Chloe met his gaze. "I have to have some privacy in my life."

And that ended the rising comments of the three Supers. The teenager turned her head around to look out the window and ignored the sting of Bucky's eyes on her shoulder. She concluded her isolation by plugging in her headphones into her ears, clicking the playlist Alex had made for her.

★

Her eyes closed, the Assassin now listened to the engine of the car and the occasional mumble of the three boys who believed she was asleep or couldn't hear them.

Sam discussed how bored he was, to which Bucky would tell him to 'shut it', or something along those lines and Steve would tell them how much longer to their destination he only knew to break the two up.

Chloe decided she needed a break from this mess was over.

Sighing and shifting slightly, she knew deep down that a break would never happen, not as long as trouble was around the corner, and it usually was. It was kind of unfortunate, really. She never really got weekends off, the only vacation she would get was if her mission required her leaving Manhattan, and her Holiday break was usually spent watching the snow fall from a foreign window.

Was retiring an option for a twenty-year-old?

Probably not.

She let her conscious rest and felt the tug of sleep once again. When was the last time she slept in her own bed, a proper bed? When was the last time she slept? Two, three days? Well, she was getting it now, even though she'd probably have a crick in her neck at the end of it.

When darkness took over and the talking ceased, Chloe's eyes opened to a time, not of her own.

She looked around at the alley, with the two children throwing rocks into a top-hat. The girl sighed and hauled herself up onto the staircase ledge, her eyes scanning for that of her ancestors. She really needed to talk to someone about getting rid of these bizarre hallucinations.

Footsteps hitting concrete captured Chloe's attention, and she sighed as Jacob and Evie descended the staircase. Her legs swung back and forth from the ledge, and the teenager prepared herself for an interesting conversation.

"What is this place?" Evie asked.

"It's nice to meet you both at last." the girl spoke, who Chloe knew to be Clara O'Dea. "This is Babylon Alley. Here, we make it our business to know the streets and provide children the opportunity to control their own destinies."

Chloe always knew this kid would make an excellent businesswoman if she ever lived in the 21st century.

Evie stepped forward. "Clara. Mr. Green said we might be able to help one another?"

"In exchange for our services, we ask a small favor."

Or maybe Clara would be a hustler in her time.

Chloe's ancestor stepped forward and opened his arms. "Well, why not? You seem to have taken most of my money," Evie held out an arm to keep Jacob at bay, "why not take a small favor too?"

"There are several factories around the city that are powered almost entirely by child labor." Clara enclosed. "Those children work long hours, with little pay, and most are not permitted even to leave the factory grounds. They suffer terribly. I need you to save them."

Chloe snorted. Yeah, small.

"A small favor?" Jacob questioned.

"In return, we offer you intelligence. Something you clearly need."

Chloe started cackling at Clara's remark. It wasn't every day you see your ancestors get called out by thirteen-year-old girls.

"Now hold on a minute-"

"-I'm late for an appointment. What are these terms?" the girl questioned.

"We accept."

Evie and Clara spit into their hands, sealing the deal with a handshake. Chloe grimaced and sighed, wondering when the hallucination was going to end.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Clara smiled up at Evie and returned to the hat game with the boy waiting.

Chloe hopped off the ledge, her feet stinging as she hit the ground-

-and shot up as the car door closed. She sighed, running her hand over her eyes. Chloe gave a quick nod when Sam asked her if she was okay and gave a small smile to Bucky.

She really needed to talk to someone about those... memories.

★

Jacob scoffed as Clara went back to her game, but jumped when he heard boots hitting the ground behind him. When he turned, nothing was there. He stared at the spot on the ground and noticed the shoe print. Was that there before?

"Jacob? Are you alright?" his twin said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, fine." he tore his gaze away from the spot and threw a smirk Evie's way. "Time to go liberate some children, huh?"

As Evie rolled her eyes, and he swaggered out of the alley, Jacob couldn't help but recount all of the times he heard or saw something, or someone, that wasn't there.

He really hoped he wasn't going mad.

★

Chloe will be in Infinity War.

december 13, 2017: hello all! yes, I know you all are disappointed that this isn't an update, but this does have important info, so hold on please.

I live in the US, and that means there is a high chance my Internet rights will be pulled from me due to Net Neutrality, which means if this goes away, I will probably not be able to post anymore.

So, under the impression this might be my last, or at least one of them, chapter, I have a few things to say. (Im not doing this on my rants page cause this will get to more people.)

First off, thank you for all the votes, comments, encouragements, and support throughout this book. I seriously wouldn't be here without you all.

Second, I will try to pump out the next chapter sometime around Christmas. It's finals week, so my attention is mainly on that right now.

Finally, you guys are great. You inspire me so much, and I'm glad I have you all in my life.

Happy Holidays ❤️

update: 4/21/18

peace,

aidan.