Chapter 3: Chapter 3
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(General P.O.V)
The pain of falling down onto a concrete floor from more than 100 feet away was brief but unimaginably agonizing. His ribs had snapped and dug into his lungs. His organs had raptured from the force of the landing, he'd lost his sight and darkness took a lot of time to creep in.
Dying sucked. Ash was determined not to die this time or if that failed, the next time then. See, he had a theory now. Somehow he was time travelling back to the point in time where he woke up after crashing through the building. Ash was stuck in a time loop.
He looked at the office clock to his left, ignoring the questions from a concerned Anthony. 10:40 a.m. Which meant he had an estimate of 2 minutes to get out of this building before shit hit the fan.
Ash got up to his feet quickly amidst Anthony's concerned questions. He made sure the action was not too fast, careful not to let the fast motion disorient his balance.
He grabbed the jacket slung over the seat next to him and wore it.
"Hey! That's mine!"
Someone yelled from the crowd which now that Ash could act calmly and count, was only made up of no more than 20 people. He could have sworn that they were more but that didn't concern him now.
He unwrapped the towel strapped to his hips and turned to face the gasping crowd.
"There's a bomb in the building."
He calmly said and then took advantage of their shock, to grab Anthony and Linda by their wrists and run towards the Staircase. He couldn't use the elevator as he knew that the cops and security guards that had been called after his crash were on their way.
Anthony and Linda were so surprised at first that they said and did nothing as Ash led them down the stairs. He did not waste time at all. He was careful not to trip as his feet slapped the cold steps of the staircases.
They were on their 9th row of stairs, headed to the 18 floor when a door banged above them. Ash hurried his pace, taking 2 stairs down as fast as he could. The screams and sounds of battle had begun in earnest.
"What is going on?!"
Anthony demanded as the building itself begun to rock and tremble.
"No time! Just run!"
A roar sounded out from above them, followed by the sound of energy bolts blasting apart walls, furniture and people. A section of the stairs and building above them disappeared after a particularly nasty tremor that messed with their balance.
Linda's feet gave out when the stairs under her were destroyed by something massive, brushing it's tail along the building. Being that she was slightly behind Ash and Anthony, she slipped and fell with the section of the stairs.
"Linda!"
Anthony yelled in alarm, reaching out and just barely missing her fingers. Their eyes made contact, both wide with terror. Anthony barely registered the sudden motion from the corner of his eyes as Ash, desperation fueling his every step jumped after Linda.
Anthony could hardly believe it. His eyes tracked the whole thing without missing a thing. Ash's fingers interlocked with Linda's palm while his other arm was holding the towel he had refused to leave behind which was held in a knot between two pieces of rebar, sticking out after the stairs had fallen.
He had tied the knot while they were escaping to use as a weapon, thinking that it couldn't hurt to be prepared. Ash thanked his foresight while hanging above the debris from the wrecked building. A cloud of dust was begining to rise up and obscure the air.
Ash grit his teeth and held on, trying to pull him himself up by one hand. His heart hammered in his chest as he looked down and realized, there was no way he had the physical strength to pull both his weight and Linda's up. His body was slim and lacked muscles.
Ash did not want to die but he knew that without help, that would have been the likely outcome. He smiled at Linda.
"It's...it's going to be okay..."
His hand slipped a little, eliciting a Yelp from the deaf woman.
"I got you! Hold on!"
Anthony shouted from above them and while straining he managed to pull the towel enough, by putting his weight to good use. It took more time than Ash was comfortable with. They could be attacked by Chitauri at any time.
" Are you alright?"
Anthony signed at Linda, checking her for any injuries. Linda nodded and they both turned to Ash.
"Thank you, son."
Anthony have his heartfelt gratitude. Linda was a very good friend of his.
"Don't mention it."
Ash waved him off with a small smile, realizing that this was the first time he had shown any bit of happiness since everything that had happened.
"We still have the matter of getting down to the ground to consider."
He said, looking at the smashed stairs.
The building itself was missing a huge chunk from its side and they all knew the dangers of staying there for too long. None of them wanted to think about whether the others were still alive.
The dust that had covered the space was just now resting, providing a visible view of what was happening outside the building. Ash walked over mutedly and looked out. It was... horrifying.
The sky was dotted with so many flying objects, all of whom were coming out of the portal in the sky. They probably numbered in the hundreds every second that passed. How in the hell had the Avengers, a team of only 6 people contained them in Manhattan and still save people? It honestly made little sense.
There had to be something else he was missing...
"...ey! Hey! We need to go! Now!"
Ash was pulled out of his thoughts by Anthony grabbing his hands and pointing out through the hole in the building. A massive dark brown whale had emerged from the portal and was floating in the air towards their general direction.
"Holy... we're not gonna make it..."
Ash realized. They were still very far away from the ground and with the stairs below and above crumbling due to the earlier destruction, the only option left was...
"What should we do?"
Anthony's words struck a chord with Ash.
The young boy looked at the both of them and realized, there was nothing THEY could do.
"We have to ask for help."
He ran closer to the open space and surveyed the battle going on.
Directly infront and below them were six individuals fighting against the tide of aliens coming at them. One of them had just alighted from an old motorcycle. Bruce Banner, Ash realized.
He waited as he knew what was about to happen. It felt as if the iconic words of the hulk managed to reach his eyes.
"...I am always angry."
Boom!
A shockwave that managed the feat of shattering every glass near the attack resounded out, making Ash loose his footing. Anthony managed to grab him before he could fall. The older man noticed the look of awe on the young boy's face and looked at the general direction Ash was.
"That's our way out."
Ash whispered.
"Get ready."
He said a bit more loudly before grabbing on to a lose metal frame and hoisting himself up.
"Wait..."
He ignored Anthony, focusing on the task at hand.
Right now was the most opportune time.
"HUUUULK!!!!! HEEEELLLLPPP!!"
His voice strangely enough managed to make it all the way down to the Avengers. Iron man pointed at their position before taking off to deal with another concequence of Ash's shout. The Chitauri had heard him as well.
"Duck!"
Chitauri gliders fell onto their position like raindrops from the sky. Blue blaster energy pelted the surroundings and Ash stumbled away from the shower of rock, exploding near his position. He heard a roar and a split second before Anthony grabbed him up by his shoulders, a massive green form landed on the side of the building, plowing through the Chitauri gliders and soldiers like they were nothing.
Then he landed on the small section of the stairs left. Ash heard a gasp from behind him. Anthony and Linda were terrified of the Hulk and he couldn't really blame them. Up close the Hulk managed to look even more terrifying.
"Please save them first."
Ash requested.
Hulk said nothing, merely snorting out in annoyance and grabbing all three of them. There were a few cries of surprise when Ash felt fingers wrap protectively against his torso. Then the air screamed as the Hulk jumped off the building onto the side of another before bouncing off of it again to the side of a similar skyscraper.
Then with barely any force, the gamma radiated giant landed on the devasted ground.
"Hulk buddy! You think maybe you could have taken the extremely squishy humans away from the friggin battlefield?"
Ash heard Hawkeye shout when the hulk deposited them behind a car near the battlefield.
Hulk huffed and jumped away without a word. The big guy was more concerned with another Chitauri Leviathan that had just exited the portal.
"Hawkeye, Natasha you have your orders. I will evacuate the civilians to a safer distance."
Star spangled, fit body and a kind but stern voice. That was how anyone would describe Captain America.
The Super Soldier crouched before the three of them, a gentle look on his face despite what was going on around them.
"Okay folks, ready to get outta here?"
Ash found himself nodding. He looked at Anthony and Linda, knowing that they were saved...
It started as a itch at the back of his head. Time seemed to slow down like before. The sand below Ash shook from the shockwaves of a Chitauri Leviathan being felled. His senses were enhanced to beyond the usual limit. Something was about to happen. Behind Captain America, Ash saw something, a shimmer of yellow black robes and golden sparks. His eyes widened.
He pushed the Super Soldier away and felt a dull thunk land on his chest, belly and thighs. The pain registered immediately. The golden construct weapons glowed dangerously and Ash only had the time to look into the eyes of the time displaced Super Soldier before he, Anthony and Linda died in the resulting explosion caused by the mystical weapon constructs. The last thing Ash thought was, 'a sorcerer just tried to assassinate Captain America.'
Weekly Power Status
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