Dragonscales

Chapter 27|The Missing Assassin

The Avengers sat in the Quinjet, plus Loki. Ever since the press conference Tourmaline and I have been considered part of the team. "We're here!" Natasha announced from the cockpit. I messed with my black finger less gloves. My swords hung at my side, while magic hummed throughout my body. Loki's signature green magic shimmered around his hands, enclosing Ave's necklace. His tracking spell would make our mission a lot easier. Nat landed the craft in a ring of trees, far enough from the base they wouldn't notice us but close enough for us to make a quick getaway. 

I climbed onto Tourmaline's saddle, Loki sliding on behind me. I knocked an arrow. Tourmaline jumped into the sky. We sped towards the base. Loki and I sniped guards with our respective weapons, while Tourmaline shot blasts of fire at the armored vehicles. Stealth, I hissed. None of my attacks are stealthy, Tourmaline responded. We fought through the outside guards and made it inside one of the watchtowers. Tourmaline shrunk down to the size of a large dog. I cast and invisibility spell, thankful for the full moon powering my magic. 

We crept through the hallways, following Loki's spell. So far we hadn't been noticed by anyone. We found the cell block. Rows of concrete prison cells were stacked on top of each other, dutifully guarded by ten men. Loki pointed to a cell, two guards flanking the metal door. I nodded and sneaked to her cell. I disconnected my swords and stabbed one guard. The other one yelped and began shooting in my general direction before I stabbed him too. I cursed under my breath as the other men noticed their fallen comrades. Blasts of fire were being shot, while knives were being thrown. Thanks, I projected out to them. 

I placed my hand on the door, tearing it away when it starting burning me. I cast a quick spell, making the iron door shatter in a million pieces. "Ave!" I called out in elvish. Golden eyes stared back at me. "Thistle?" A familiar female voice responded in elvish. I grinned and threw myself into the dark cell, wrapping my arms around my friend. A pair of shaking arms returned the hug. I pulled away, remembering the battle outside. I cast the spell on the chains binding her and pulled the female elf out of the cell. Loki and Tourmaline were waiting outside, now visible. I must've accidentally released my spell during the excitement. "C'mon!" I bid her. "Wait! There are dragon eggs here. I heard one of the bitches talking about it." Ave flipped her curly blue hair over her shoulder. Loki handed the necklace back to me. I slipped it around my neck. Ave ripped the golden cuff off of her arm. It transformed into a double-ended spear. She twirled it around and began sprinting toward what I assumed was the dragon eggs.

A scream ripped through the cell block. I located the screamer's cell. I cast a spell on the door, making it crumble. A young elf cowered in the corner, her golden hair glowing. A man crouched over her, pinning her to the ground. Ave used her spear to rip him off of the elfling. She slashed at his throat, crimson spilling from the wound. I broke the chains, then helped the elf up. Her hair stopped glowing, then immediately slumped into me. Loki heaved her off of me and onto his shoulder. Ave gasped, the looked down at her leg. My brain barely registered the second gunshot, before a threw a bolt of pure magic at the Hydra agent with the gun. Ave desperately grasped at the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding. I threw off one of my gloves and tried tying it around the wound, but it wasn't long enough. 

"We need to go!" Loki yelled. An explosion knocked me off balance, while Tourmaline caught me. Stealth be damned, she hissed, then grew to her full size. The black dragon charged at the agents flooding into the cell block. "Thistle? Loki? Where are you?" Tony's voice crackled from the com. "We're in the cell block!" Tony cursed from the other end. "Leave! This place is about to blow!" Another explosion in the distance rocked throughout the concrete. Chunks of rubble fell to the ground. Tourmaline threw Ave and the elfling onto her back with her jaws. Loki and I sprinted after her. We barely made it out of the cell block before a loud bang and bright lights danced behind us. A bomb dropped in front of us, causing our group to back peddle. Tourmaline bucked the elves on her back into Loki and I's arms. She threw her wings around us, ready to take the brunt of the bomb. 

Large chunks of concrete fell out of the ceiling, blocking our path. Tourmaline folded her wings inward. The blonde elfling's brown eyes looked up at me with pure terror. "I think I can teleport us out of here." Loki announced. The ground shook with another explosion. "But that much energy-" I said, panic filling my voice. Loki cut me off. "I know." He took my hand in his, and green magic swirled around our group. I lent some of my magic, drawing power from the full moon. Our blue and green magic swirled around us.

Loki grunted as we hit the ground. He fell into my arms, clearly exhausted. We were just outside the Quinjet, where the rest of the Avengers were waiting for us. Tourmaline and I dragged the rest of our party onto the metal contraption. Before we took off, I sent a message to my cousin using an enchanted arrow and a sheet of paper. As soon as we got into the air the concrete base crumbled. Bruce tended to Ave's wound, while Loki used my thighs as a pillow to take a nap. I gently ran my fingers through his hair until he fell asleep. 

I exhaled and leaned against my seat. "Hey Thistle, we found something that might interest you." Clint held up a scaled egg. Three more were being cradled in Thor's arms. My eyes widened with joy. "Dragon eggs!" I squealed. Tourmaline's head perked up. She was currently wrapped around the elfling, a protective position. We aren't extinct. Tourmaline exhaled in amazement. She broke into a toothy grin. I'm not the only one. 

A/N---

Heyo. As always thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as I'm not the best at writing action scenes. Still, it was fun writing this chapter since Ave is finally free and you guys get to meet her. 

Le Author,

Ash