Running. That was all Cora knew. She has been running for months, only stopping when absolutely necessary. She was tired, exhausted, but there was no stopping, she new that HYDRA as well as others were after her. She already had one run-in with a HYDRA operative sent to bring her back, it ended poorly for the operative. Cora was making her way through a forest clearing that was un-avoidable, she hated these patches of land. She had been in her wolf form for months, trying to eat when she could but mostly using it for the stamina of the animal. It was late afternoon, the spring breeze felt incredible on her dark fur. But she knew that open land made her vulnerable to attack, without the cover and protection of trees..
(hours earlier)
3rd person pov:
Fury had called the whole team together, Vision and Bruce had stayed at the tower with Loki. Nat and Clint sat next to each other at the round table in the middle of the room. Then Steve and Bucky next to Sam and Tony. Thor was off earth at the moment, likely to return in a few days. The director started briefing us on our next priority mission. A young mutant girl, with animal shape shifting abilities. Around 16 years old. Fury explained in his usual monotone voice that S.H.I.E.L.D had been tracking her movements for a few weeks.
"Can't S.H.I.E.L.D just bring her in? She is just a kid?" Questioned Tony, seemingly bored of being here.
Fury held back his glare, "We have been monitoring her and it appears she may be easier for the team to bring in, she is not to be underestimated." "She is an ex-HYDRA assassin, it is also likely that HYDRA tampered with her genetics." Fury stated.
Nat noticed Bucky visibly tense at the mention of HYDRA, Steve noticed as well and gave him a comforting glance.
"Alright team, we'll head out tonight, Fury, can you send over any other details on her and the location?" Steve inquired.
"Already done. Remember, she is a girl who just escaped the horrors of HYDRA, be careful." Fury responded.
(back at the tower later that day)
Nat's pov:
I was curious about the mutant girl we were sent to capture. Capture, I don't like that word, she's just a kid, a little girl. Reminds me of my own past slightly. We had learned that she had a name while working in HYDRA, simply, 'Scarlett Wolf.' She was known as the shadow that kills while there. Dangerous and scared, not great when mixed together. We were bound to have our hands full.
Steve's pov:
Fury had sent over everything we needed to know, the team had already gone over it more then once by the time I put together our plan.
"Ok team, we know she is a shifter, so look for anything out of the ordinary. Nat and Clint, you are our reconnaissance team, stay hidden and go for the high ground in the trees, you have an advantage there. We don't know if force will even be needed, I rather we go for a relaxed approach, but be on guard."
"Ok, ok, come on cap, it's a 16 year old, we can make this quick." Tony interjected as I shook my head.
"A 16 year old with over 60 confirmed kills in 4 years, many of which were protected, high profile targets." Nat spoke up.
"Exactly, Fury warned us to be careful Tony. Also, you all have tranquilizing darts replacing some of your normal weapons. Natasha's are in her electric shock wrist bands, as well as the normal electricity, Clint, you have tranq arrows, Sam, you have them in the targeted missiles on your suit, so do you Tony." I responded.
"I say I just hit her with a low energy blast and then we take her in, easy." Stark retorted.
"Use the darts Tony." I said as the rest of the team agreed with me. Loki was staying at the tower since we didn't expect to need his magic.
3rd person pov:
The Avengers boarded the jet and set off to the large forest on the outskirts of a nearby town. Once again Vision and Bruce stayed back at the tower, Loki in his room reading and Bruce preparing for their incoming guest. A cell similar to what Loki had been in when he had first arrived to the tower was set up for her, even if hopefully only temporary. Bruce also prepared any medical equipment that they may need upon the teams return, as well as DNA tests to run. Bruce felt bad for the girl, she hadn't chosen this life, he hoped they would be able to help her.
-back with the rest of the team-
The jet set down in a clearing within the forest and the team exited, although it felt eerie, the clouds above cast a darker landscape in front of them.
"Ok team, spread out, Nat and Clint, you are our scouts, get up high. Everyone keep their comms on and alert to anything unusual." Cap assigned.
As they spread out Bucky and Sam headed east with Tony and Steve heading west and Nat with Clint started scaling trees. Sam scanned the land from above Bucky, within a few minutes he picked up on something black and furry in a small clearing. Immediately calling over the comms that he found something and being directed to watch from a distance while the rest of the team hurried over to where he was.
Cora's pov:
I could smell some new, strange scents, it made me uneasy as I picked up my pace to reach the cover on the opposite side of the clearing. Maybe 150 feet out from the tree's sanctuary I heard something above me, without alerting the person above that I had spotted them I took in the strange metal wings on a dark-skinned man's back. 'That's a first.' I thought to myself. But it didn't look or smell like something HYDRA would cook up. It has to be someone sent from S.H.I.E.L.D, although I didn't know much about the "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Quite the name, all I knew is that they were some secret government people who were trying to take me in, and that HYDRA hated them. I watched the man seemingly talk to himself before backing further away from above. I decided to make a run for the treeline and shift into something smaller once I reached some cover.
3rd person pov:
As soon as Cora made her bolt Bucky appeared from the trees, closer to the side she was running too, she hesitated as she heard the winged man above start making his descent closer while quickly analyzing the man in front of her. He had nearly shoulder length chocolate brown hair and, more noticeably, a metal arm that she recognized as the scent of vibranium. She couldn't take much time to analyze the man as she now realized that Mr wings had radioed for backup when she saw him 'talking to himself'. Cora redirected further away from metal arm dude and sprinted for the trees, strangely both men only watched her, which only made her more uncomfortable. Once reaching the tree line she realized why they hadn't given chase, there were two agents above her in the tall trees who's scents immediately hit her nose. She stopped for a second to register the agents, a scary looking women with fiery red hair and an aura of strength and stealth, and a dirty blonde haired man with a bow. 'Strange choice of weaponry.' Cora thought to herself. As soon as she took them in the man with the bow shot an arrow towards her, it nicked her left shoulder as she went to dodge it, she let out a small growl in pain. She immediately took off though, she needed to be a bit further away to shift, to avoid any arrows. Within a few seconds she found herself a safe distance from the agents and in some thicker brush. There she shifted into a tiny chipmunk. After shifting she scrambled up the nearest tree to take refuge.
Tony's pov:
After Sam told us he spotted something we all made our way to his location, Barnes was already near him so he was the first to arrive. Natasha and Barton were both near their location too, Sam explained what he was seeing, a giant black wolf making it's way through a small clearing. Steve instructed Nat and Barton on where to go with Sam's help and had Barnes set himself on one side to corral her towards them. I had picked up Steve to fly him to the others quicker. As we came near to Sam's position Natasha radioed in through the comms, sounding out of breath, saying her and Clint were giving chase and that one of Clint's arrows had barely hit her shoulder, probably not injecting a large enough dose of the tranquilizing agent to knock her out.
Cora's pov:
I had narrowly missed the dart, although it had barely hit my shoulder. I new that their was some kind of sedative inside though, I could feel it burning through my veins, it wouldn't on a normal person, but my DNA had been messed with which somehow managed to make many chemicals react with my blood. It hadn't slowed me down though, after shifting I climbed the closest tree and hid in a shallow hole within the trunk, maybe 10 feet above the forest floor. I wasn't in the best shape, panic and exhaustion setting in, I hadn't eaten in more than a few days, focusing on constantly moving. I new one thing though. I was not going back to being a test subject, never seeing the sunlight, ruthlessly tearing apart whoever I was commanded too. I didn't want to hurt anyone anymore, but if it meant escaping, killing was an option.