The Heart of a Soldier | Avengers Crossover

p r o l o u g e

-JILLIAN-

I WAS LYING ON THE GROUND, breathing in the humid hot air mixed with the scent of grass and dirt. Explosions shook the ground beneath me as I readjusted my grip on the M16 in my hand. My head pounded, my hands ached, and my legs were throbbing. I rolled over onto my back and aimed at the target. I had a clear shot of the soldier in the tank and I had direct orders to take out the tank before any more of our men were killed.

        I aimed the M16 at the man, his black helmet shining in the evening light. I took a deep breath, in and out. As I squeezed the trigger, a missile came out of nowhere and hit the target, blowing it up. I was knocked back from the explosion, dirt and mud splattering all over my face. I spit out the grass, struggling to get a breath of air in. I coughed, my chest heaving, my heart hammering.

        I rolled onto my side, the gun in my hands feeling like dead weight. I heard more explosions and screams, making this all more real than I had previously thought. I heard jets, and I looked up, finally getting a decent breath in. I saw Iron Man hovering just a few feet in front of me. I coughed again, adjusting my grip on the M16. I pushed myself to my feet, wobbling a bit before standing up straight. A scream cut through all the gunfire and explosions like ice, causing me to freeze in my tracks.

        I spun around, weapon raised and ready. I saw Jackie, one of my friends I had made through training, on her back, an enemy soldier's riffle pointed at her forehead. I watched as her eyes drifted to mine, my mouth parting in shock. No. This wasn't supposed to be happening... none of this was going according to plan.

        After the Ultron attack, countries and states had fallen out of balance. People had begun to riot, society had fallen into chaos. We were on the brink of war, all thanks to the Avengers. I had signed up for the military a long time ago so it wasn't anything new when we were sent to an unmarked area on the map to assess and assist.

        However, when we had gotten here we were ambushed. The people were a mix of the innocent, rebels, and some of the left over Hydra soldiers. Combined, they were overpowering us.

        Jackie's mouth parted to scream, but a gunshot silenced her. Her head whipped back from the shot, her face practically gone. I stumbled back, feeling defenseless. What was happening...

        My eyes darted to a tank rolling up, crunching up the dirt and grass beneath it. I got down, aiming my weapon. Just because we were losing doesn't mean I was giving up. I pointed my gun at the man's helmet poking out of the top, and took a deep breath, squeezing the trigger. My bullet didn't get far, or matter much less, because another missile had been launched, causing the tank to explode on impact.

        I shielded myself from the shrapnel and metal flying at me, waiting for the clear. Once I heard the crackling of fire, I knew it was safe. I turned around, my weapon raised as Iron Man landed in front of me. I scowled, clicking the safety off my weapon. It was there fault half of my team was dead.

        "Sorry princess, I had my shot and I took it. I saw you were aiming at the same thing, so I saved you the trouble" He spoke, his voice slightly threatening. I raised an eyebrow, about to chew him a new one, when a bullet grazed my shoulder. I cried out in pain, falling to my knees. My arm went to my shoulder as a burning sensation filled my arm.

       I looked over my shoulder, my eyes scanning the bodies that littered the floor, and the men hiding behind trees and vans. My eyes landed on the barrel of a gun pointed right at me, making my eyes go wide. I needed cover. I turned back around, my breaths coming out short and ragged. I looked around for any short of cover, hoping to find something... anything.

        My eyes landed on an abandoned van. I ducked as I heard gunfire, several bullets hitting the ground next to me. Iron Man had disappeared, but I didn't really care. The Avengers shouldn't be here period, they made the mess and now we were cleaning it up. They were only making matters worse by being here.