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CHAPTER TEN YOU'RE LIKE A FIREBENDER
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Clint had spent two months during Riley's training simply teaching him how to shoot an arrow correctly.
He had taught Riley how to reload as quickly as possible, had taught him the best arrows to use and which bows did what. He'd taught Riley which ones was best for long range, which ones were best to use in a fight if a target got too close and there was no room to shoot anymore. The most important thing he had taught Riley, however, was how to predict where the target would be before they actually got there. He couldn't shoot a moving target as soon as he saw them. He would have to follow their movements and then shoot slightly ahead of them, just to make sure the arrow would actually hit. He also had to take into account the weather around him.
Thankfully, the weather in New York was tame. Hot, but not windy, which meant he didn't have to worry about his arrows going off course. It was easy for him to pick off the stray Chitauri flying through the air around him. He was far enough away from the main conflict that he was mainly just picking off the few who tried to circle around and attack Tony or the Hulk from behind. Clint was getting most of them a few blocks away, firing off arrows faster than Riley could, faster than Riley even needed to. After taking out only ten Chitauri in half an hour, Riley chose to focus most of his energy on keeping an eye out for civilians. Most of them had cleared out by that point, either escaping into buildings or going toward open water. For the few who didn't, Riley covered them until an Avenger on the ground—Steve or Nat—could get there and lead them to safety.
But none of it was doing any good, because more Chitauri just kept coming. The second any of them thought they were making even the smallest dent in the army, the black hole in the sky would open again, and another whale Chitauri would fly through, bringing even more humanoid Chitauri with it. By the third time it happened, Riley was nearing his last arrow, and his arms were growing tired from holding up the crossbow for so long.
"This isn't working," he pointed out, frustration clear in his voice. It was the first time he'd spoken in the past forty-five minutes, aside from the stray comment about a civilian being on this street or that street. For a few moments, nothing but silence and static welcomed his words, and he thought briefly that he had lost contact with the rest of his team. Then he heard a grunt that sounded mysteriously like Nat, and then her voice was breaking up the static.
"He's right," Nat said, breathing heavily on her end. Riley stepped closer to the edge of the building and looked over the street. He wasn't surprised to see that Nat and Steve were still fighting on foot. If he squinted, he could just make out Nat's form leaning against a crushed car. "None of this is gonna mean a damn thing unless we close that portal."
