New Identity ~ MCU/SWCW Story

|<Chapter Two>|

This chapter has been rewritten as of 4/9/21.

Note: The transition into the next chapter probably won't make sense right now since this edited version is a lot different from before.

Streetlamps flickered above her, barely emitting enough light to illuminate the path she was following. Her footsteps echoed throughout the eerily silent night; she had long since lost the main streets and she was now wandering about the abandoned backstreets of New York.

Ashley wasn't really sure what had drawn her to walking about the city streets this late at night. Perhaps it was her swirling thoughts or the restlessness that grew throughout the muscles of her legs. The polluted air did little to clear her thoughts, so she was only left with her repetitive strides to ease her mind.

Originally, she had heeded no attention to the warmth that dusted her hip. Although, as foot after foot fell on the pavement of the street, she couldn't ignore the burning sensation it had evolved into. Her fingers trailed down to her hip, where she discovered that the source of the heat was the pouch attached to her belt.

Curiosity wound its way onto her features as she undid the clasp and rifled through the bag. The pads of her fingertips finally brushed against a hard, scorching surface. She yelped in surprise and jolted her arm, though her hands seemed to be under trance inflicted by the object. Within moments, they were grazing against it.

The longer her fingers lingered on the surface, the cooler it became. After several seconds, the warmth had left her hip, and pain no longer tingled throughout her skin from the burning.

She was just about to pull the object out of the pouch when a pulsing warning echoed in the back of her mind. It drew her gaze to a nearby car's side mirror, which revealed a scene of five darkly-dressed men trailing behind her. They were all rather scrappy looking except for the burly male that stood in the front. A sadistic, twisted smile was plastered upon his lips as he intently stared at her.

Panic surged through Ashley and she began to realize all the mistakes she had made that led her to this. For starters, she was a small female walking alone at night. She hadn't even remained on a bustling street that would deter criminals, let alone bringing something that could serve as self-defense for her.

Not wanting them to know that she had caught on, Ashley kept her head forward and only saw them through the reflections of windows and mirrors. Her pace hastened, but it was obvious that the men were gaining ground on her.

When the distance between them had grown far too short for Ashley's comfort, she broke into a dead sprint. Her legs throbbed and pleaded with her to stop, though there was no turning back now. Heavy, weighted footsteps echoed behind her and she knew that they were following.

Before she could realize what was happening, the muscles in her left leg gave out and her knee buckled. This sent her crashing down onto the coarse pavement and caused her to lose any momentum she had going. Ashley quickly scrambled to her feet, only to find that the men had easily caught up and had formed a circle around her.

She nervously backpedaled into a nearby ally and swiveled her head around to find an escape. Dismay flitted across her face when she realized she was completely trapped.

"Wait, please! I don't want any trouble!" Ashley pleaded, feeling her back roughly slam against the cool stone of the building. The leader's hand harshly gripped her shoulder. She could even feel his nails piercing her skin through the jacket. By now, her hood had fallen off of her head, and her icy white hair gleamed in the moonlight.

"I don't care what you want," he spat before firmly gripping her chin in his palm. A nasty, rumbling cackle bounced off of his lips and he moved to the side to let the rest of the men see. "Look at that, boys. I don't think I've ever seen such a fine-looking broad before."