Project: Fenrir (Marvel)

2.Safe..?

Flames licked at the collapsing walls as Bucky carried Cyllette through the crumbling Hydra base. Rubble rained down, the ground shaking beneath them. Sam flew overhead, blasting debris away with controlled bursts, while Natasha covered the rear, pistol at the ready.

Cyllette's head lolled against Bucky's shoulder, her body weak from the sudden, forced transformation. Her breathing was shallow, and her vibrant blue eyes flickered between consciousness and darkness.

"You hang in there," Bucky muttered, tightening his hold on her. "We're almost out."

Almost wasn't soon enough. The corridor ahead collapsed in a shower of steel beams and concrete.

"Detour it is!" Sam called, banking left through a side passage.

Natasha gestured. "There's a maintenance tunnel this way!"

The team veered off course, smoke and fire closing in behind them. Bucky glanced down at Cyllette-her skin was cold, too cold. Hydra's cryo-systems hadn't fully worn off, and the forced transformation had taken its toll.

"Come on, kid..." he whispered. "Stay with me."

Cyllette stirred, lips parting. "...Why... help me...?" Her voice was barely a breath.

"Because you didn't deserve what they did to you," Bucky said. "Nobody does."

Her gaze-faintly glowing-met his for a heartbeat before her eyes fluttered shut again.

Sam blasted through the final bulkhead, and daylight poured in, blinding after the base's darkness. The icy terrain outside stretched beneath an overcast sky. Quinjet engines roared overhead as their extraction arrived.

Natasha tapped her comm. "We've got the package. Prepping for evac."

Bucky sprinted aboard, gently laying Cyllette on a stretcher. Medics rushed over, hooking her up to monitors. Her vitals were unstable-body temperature erratic, heart rate spiking between wolf and human patterns.

"Is she gonna make it?" Sam asked, panting as he collapsed into a seat.

"She has to," Bucky said quietly, eyes never leaving her face.

The Quinjet lifted off, the burning Hydra base shrinking below.

---

Hours Later - Avengers Facility, New York

Cyllette's eyelids fluttered open to sterile white lights and the soft beep of medical monitors. The warmth of blankets contrasted with the cold lingering in her bones. Her body ached, every nerve buzzing between exhaustion and pain.

Her eyes, as soon as they fluttered opened wide, alert of her surroundings. Weary. Anxious.

She shifted-and immediately tensed. Unfamiliar place. Unknown faces. Panic surged-her hands twitched, veins darkening as a growl rumbled in her throat-

"Easy," a voice said gently.

Her head snapped toward the source. Bucky sat beside the bed, metal arm resting on his knee. His face was calm but watchful. He wasn't a threat, right? No. No, not a threat-yet not someone she could trust. Not yet. Maybe never.

"You're safe," he said. "This is the Avengers' place. Hydra's gone."

Her gaze darted to the door-two guards stood outside. She scanned for exits, her training kicking in. There were windows, probably easy for her to break through, but on what floor were they? Probably too high. She couldnt risk it. She couldnt help herself thinking these thoughts. Years of conditioning didn't fade overnight.

"Not a prisoner," Bucky added, reading her thoughts. "You can leave if you want."

Cyllette frowned. Why? Hydra taught her people didn't do things without reason. And she'd learned that quickly. "Why... help me?" she rasped again.

Bucky sighed. "I know what it's like. To be used. Controlled." He glanced at his metal arm, the scars it represented. Thinking of his own past with Hydra... god, it made him shudder. He never would wish anything like it upon his worst enemy. Unless it was someone from Hydra. "Someone helped me once. Figured it was my turn."

Silence stretched. Her fingers tightened in the blanket, nails sharpening before she forced them back. Control was slippery-like trying to hold water in shaking hands.

"Where do I go now?" she asked, voice cracking.

"Wherever you want," Bucky said. "But..." He hesitated. "You don't have to figure it out alone. You're welcome to stay here as well."

Alone. The word echoed. Hydra had been her entire world. Orders. Experiments. Pain. Now... emptiness. Freedom was supposed to feel like something.

Instead, it was terrifying.

Why..? She thought freedom would be good... but right now it felt suffocating. She wasn't free yet, was she?

Her stomach twisted. "I don't know how to be..." Her hands clenched. "Not this. Not what they made."

Bucky leaned forward. "You start with small steps. Breathing. Eating. Talking." A faint smile tugged at his lips. "We've got people who can help. Better than me at the talking part."

She huffed-a sound that could almost be a laugh if it wasn't so raw, a small, though subtle smile on her lips. Maybe freedom wasn't so bad after all.

The door opened, and Steve Rogers stepped in, offering a reassuring nod. "Hey. Name's Steve."

Cyllette's eyes narrowed, recognizing him. The soldier from Hydra's files-the "Captain." Her posture stiffened. In her mind, she was conditioned into thinking he was a threat. He was an enemy. That's what they'd told her. Kill on sight. She could hear the command echoing in her head, but stayed... mostly calm.

"Not here to interrogate you," Steve said gently. "Just wanted to say you've got a place here if you want it."

"Why?" The question slipped out again-bitter, confused. Why these people? Why kindness after everything?

Steve exchanged a look with Bucky. "Because everyone deserves a second chance," he said. "Even if you don't think you do."

Cyllette looked down at her hands-human now, not claws. Not fur. Not a weapon.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

She could figure out who she was beyond the wolf. Beyond Fenrir.

And for the first time in twenty-one years... she didn't feel entirely lost.