( avengers: infinity war )

★

CHLOE STARTED OFF her day pointing an arrow at Templar's head, the red tip of the weapon meeting the red blood leaking out of his forehead. Her left leg holding down his hand cradling a gun, the twenty-one-year-old Assassin was tired and one-hundred-percent done with the mission she was assigned a day ago.

"I'll give you one more chance," she growled out, applying more pressure to his wrist. "Where are the Animus blueprints you stole?"

"You'd really think I'd tell you?" he choked out, grinning with bloody teeth. "What do your Mentors teach you over there?"

The woman held a blank face, twisting her arrow into a better hold before stabbing his shoulder, ignoring the loud cries. Chloe twisted the weapon and moved it around, feeling no remorse for the man. Smiling when he gave in, the Frye slid the handgun into the waistline of her pants and stood, grabbing the arrow as she went up.

He whispered out the coordinates and, as Chloe committed them to memory, slid himself over to a brick wall to rest. "What do they teach you Assassins? No remorse?"

You're one to talk.

Chloe was safely removed from the environment, perching on the edge of the building overlooking the alley, when she heard the man's comment. She scoffed, pausing for before answering the man's question. "They teach us to survive."

Chloe Frye sprinted across the rooftops of DC, leaving behind a dead body with a red arrow protruding from his forehead.

★

"So, how was your mission?"

The Assassin peeked over her computer and made eye-contact with Alexander, who was tapping his blue pen against a pad of paper, the beginnings of some complicated schematic looking out through his fingers.

Chloe's glance slid back to her computer as she finished her mission report. "Fine, I got the blueprints back, killed the bad guy; all in all, good mission."

The tapping stopped. "Wait, killed the guy? Is that what you just said?"

"Yeah," she asked, giving her cousin her undivided attention. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Alex said after a moment of thought, shifting in his chair slightly. "It's just... I thought you were done with killing."

The twenty-one-year-old rolled her eyes, submitting the paper and leaning back in her chair. "And I thought Rogers and the others would call every once-in-awhile. I thought Crane and Hastings would call every once-in-awhile. It's been two years, Alex. Someone around here has to step up."

The man scratched the back of his neck, awkwardness, and caution practically bleeding from his body language. "Look, Chloe, I saw the autopsy report of your target, and... since when has an arrow through the head been your MO? Since when has torture been your way of getting what you―"

"―Since I remembered the Templars were winning," Chloe snapped, clutching the desk until her hands turned white. "Since I remembered we're on the losing side. If you have a problem with it, feel free to notify the Mentor."

Storming out of her office and ignoring her cousin's calls, the Assassin grabbed her equipment and made her way to the archery range, her hands twitching for some action.

Down the hallways, she went, and Chloe ignored the shiver going down her spine. She squashed out the pang of regret that was forming around her heart and gripped the handle of her bow harder.

Maybe Alex was right. You have been a bit stressed, maybe you need to―

"―I'm fine," she growled to an empty room, her footsteps increasing with tension as she made her way over to a station. 

The Frye gripped her bow, ignoring how it shook, and pulled an arrow from her red quiver with a lightning speed, nocking it and letting it fire. The arrow wiggled as it hit dead center of the target. 

Her arms shook as she nocked the second one―

―And watched it disappear from beyond the side of the train.

Chloe almost threw her bow down from pure frustration. "I thought I was done with this!"

It had been almost two years since the woman had a vision, or whatever you wanted to call it, so she never bothered telling anyone else other than Alexander. So why in God's name was she suddenly back in―

"―You're late," the accusatory voice of Evie Frye bit at her. "Starrick is making his move. The Piece of Eden is somewhere inside Buckingham Palace."

"Let him have it." Jacob's voice sounded like defeat, piquing Chloe's interest.

As he tried to walk on, his sister's voice grew louder. "I've seen your handiwork across the city. Perhaps you should trust my judgment."

Jacob stopped for a moment before reeling around. "I've been killing Starrick's henchmen, what have you been doing? Let's ask Henry, shall we?"

Chloe twirled her bow between her hands, taking a few inquisitive steps forwards and backward, mentally debating whether or not to intervene.

(Which was a stupid thought, 'cause how in the hell would she stop something that happened a little under two hundred years ago, but that was beside the point.)

"I have been repairing your mistakes," the sister sent back. "'Too much haste is too little speed.'"

"Don't you quote Father at me," he growled, taking a few steps closer.

Evie yelled back, mimicking his actions. "That's Plato! And I am sorry this doesn't involve anything you can destroy. Father was right, he never approved of your methods!"

"Father is dead!" Jacob snapped.

"―Enough!" a late Henry Green announced, surprising the woman. "I have just received word from my spies. At the palace hall tonight, Starrick plans to steal the Piece of Eden, and then eliminate the heads of church and state."

His words drew the attention of the twins and their descendant, the tension through the air almost suffocating the American.

"Once more, for old time's sake?"

"And then we're finished."

"Agreed. So, what's the plan?"

Chloe didn't stay for the plan. 

Back in her own time, the Assassin slowly let her bow fall to her side, the tremor in her hands gone. She took a deep breath and gently set it aside, clipping off her quiver and placing it next to her bow with the same motion.

(She missed how the second arrow never landed on the target. It wasn't even in the room.)

The woman took a few steps back before turning around and walking out the door, her footsteps lighter but with the same passion as ten minutes before.

Muscle memory walked her back to her office when she opened the door, an apology already on her lips. "Alex, look, I'm sorry for how I've been―"

The picture of her cousin's scared look would forever scar her. Immediately flicking out her hidden blade, Chloe whirled around and made her way in front of him, eyeing the purple alien in front of them.

The alien was tall and slim, with navy blue skin and a bright purple outfit to match. Her fiery-red hair blazed in contrast to her black ram horns, and the sword in her right arm was displayed almost as proudly as the shield on her left.

"Time traveler," the alien spoke with a raspy voice. "You have attracted quite the attention."

The Assassin suddenly wished she kept her weapons with her.

★

Jacob Frye stormed out of the train, leaving his sister and Henry behind. 

With the lame excuse of rallying some troops left at the feet of his friends turned colleagues, the man stormed through the streets of London with just as much passion as his descendant a little under two hundred years ahead of him. 

Thoughts flew through his mind at rapid speed, covering everything from the shouting-match with his twin, to the situation at hand, to the weird growling sound he heard when entering the train.

As he was walking in the darkness of the night, no real destination set in mind, a sudden calmness washed over him, and a blanket of light regret rested on his shoulders.

Maybe Evie was right. You have been a bit care-free, maybe you need to―

A glimmer of red and silver caught his eye, the two colors in stark contrast with the glum walls of London night. Approaching the object with caution, Jacob was surprised to see a red arrow made out of materials he had never seen before in his life.

He was even more surprised when he realized the wall it was embedded in was made of brick.

Like the spark to a flame, the red arrow ripped the blanket off his shoulders and re-ignited the feeling of fury for his sister.

"I'm fine," he growled to an empty street, ripping out the arrow and throwing it to the ground, smashing through the foreign material as his foot broke the shaft.

However, the blanket still floated around as Jacob panted, his breath evening out just lightly enough to reach down to the ground, pick up the broken pieces, and place them in his pocket.

Jacob Frye turned around and left for his train, not understanding why he decided to keep a broken arrow.

★

uh, hi?

so, it's been awhile. sorry bout that. i had a pretty busy summer with sports and school things, and the inspiration department was not doing it's job. however, i really do hope all of you had a wonderful summer.

last wednesday (8/15) was my first day of school, so idk how the schedule of updating will be until i get back into the swing of things.

hope you enjoyed the chapter, and welcome to infinity war!

peace,

aidan.