If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be traveling on, now
Cause there's too many places I've got to see
But, if I stayed here with you, girl
Things just couldn't be the same
Cause I'm as free as a bird now
And this bird you can not change

-Free Bird; from Lynyrd Skynyrd

Name: Dany Fernanda Gutierrez

Date of Birth: 1895

Country of Origin: Chile

Status: Alive

Species: Feral Mutant

Current Location: Canada

Abilities: Enhanced strength; enhanced agility; heightened senses; retractable claws; accelerated healing factor; enhanced speed; geokinesis

Background: Subjected to intense experimentation, resulting in Gutierrez's entire skeletal structure to be bonded with Adamantium. Date of experimentation unknown. Location unknown. Any information regarding it, other than what is already known, is either lost, destroyed, or hidden away. The Adamantium in Gutierrez's body was also bonded with the retractable claws on her fingers. Gutierrez's accelerated healing factor slows her aging process significantly, not only making it impossible to harm or kill her in any way, but to determine her actual age. Prone to violent outbursts, it is highly recommended to avoid any kind of abrupt, or otherwise tense, confrontations with her. Gutierrez is possibly the last living member of her family.

-0-0-0-0-

"What's a 'feral mutant'?" Steve Rogers' eyes flickered from the documents and photos to the man standing in front of him. It hadn't been long since Nick Fury had been in the presence of the supersoldier, probably less than two and a half weeks. After Steve defrosted and was told of his unfortunate predicament, he was sent out to adjust to modern times. Naturally, Nick made sure to have some accommodations made on the soldier's behalf. An apartment was arranged, along with the first two monthly payments taken care of. A bank account was set up, with a fair amount of money set aside for personal fulfillment. Throw in some clothes and other personal items needed, and Steve would be taken care of until he managed to be self-sustaining. Of course, Steve would still be on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar until the Initiative called for him, but what Fury wanted from the supersoldier in that moment was assistance for a recruiting mission. In a way, Fury sort of felt bad for Steve. The poor guy hadn't been out of the ice for even a month and he was being asked to go out on a mission.

"Mutants are people born with the ability to gain superhuman powers," Fury answered, his eye flickering to the document in Steve's hand. "The scientific community says they're they next step in human evolution. While mutant abilities differ, the one thing they share in common is a single genetic mutation - which is how their community got their name."

Steve's brows furrowed. "I don't quite follow," he said.

With a sigh, Fury tried to think of a different way to explain it. "How much do you know on genetics?" he asked.

"Not a lot."

"Genetics makes us who we are," Fury said. "It makes us" - a hand waved lazily between the two men - "human. For mutants, theirs is different than ours. They have a mutation in their make-up that unlocks powers that we've only dreamed of having."

"And the feral part?" Steve arched a brow at that, at that point hoping to draw the conversation along. There were plenty of things about the subject he couldn't understand, but he's hoping to come close with some further investigating.

"Feral mutants have more animalistic qualities than regular mutants," Fury explained. "Their powers are determined upon which animal they bear similarities with."

"And her?"

"Gutierrez has an affinity for wolves. Which means her mutation shares many characteristics on what a wolf might have."

"Like?"

"Acute sense of smell; territorial; heightened hearing; known to attack when feeling threatened, sick, or hungry; goes towards isolation, but will socialize when necessary."

Steve looked down for a moment, observing the picture of the woman. She had long, curly hair. Dark circles decorated around narrow eyes. Her lips were somewhat drawn, bearing her teeth. Her document showed she was born in the late 1890s, but she looked like she wasn't a day older than her early thirties. Would an accelerated healing factor really slow down the aging process that much? Was something like that even possible? Apparently, it was. Steve had to wonder how many people he'd encountered back in his time who were mutants. How common would they have been in the '40s or any time before that?

"Do you have an estimation on how many mutants there are globally?" Steve asked.

Fury nodded. "It's speculated that there are millions of them worldwide," he responded. "They're considered a minority, considering humans outnumber them. Congress has been having an ongoing battle on whether or not there should be a mutant registry. It's been going on for years."

Steve frowned at that. "Are they threats?" he asked.

"Not all of them. Like humans, there are some who want to live peaceful lives, and others who want to cause problems. Plenty of humans believe that the only good mutant is one who's under constant supervision. Others want to work with them, have an undisturbed coexistence."

"Is that what you want?"

"I want peace for everyone," Fury said. "I believe Dany can help bring about that peace. Same with you and the others."

Steve shrugged. "And if she says no?"

Fury simply shrugged and walked off. Once he reached Steve's apartment door, he looked back at him. "She's been located in some woodlands in Canada," he said. "You'll be coming with me to get prepared. Once we're over the location, let me do the talking. If the situation arises, and she attempts to attack, you'll do your thing."

He left before Steve could even open his mouth.

-0-0-0-0-

It was a clear day out, the sounds of animals and insects filled Dany's ears as she leaned her back and head against the trunk of a cedar tree. She'd been living in the Canadian wilderness for a couple years; hunting, living. Dany flourished outside of human civilization. Years - decades - before, the feral mutant attempted to live peacefully with humans, she really did try. On multiple occasions, as a matter of fact. But each and every time, something bad would happen. Dany wanted to believe that maybe she had a place with humanity, but nothing she did, no matter how many things she changed or sacrificed, seemed to work in her favor. In one way or another, Dany's mutation would be exposed and she'd be driven out of the life she had built for herself. Then there was the whole experiment, and that was the final straw. After that, after the Adamantium had been infused into her skeleton, Dany chose to leave humanity behind. She chose to leave the world behind. Working her way into Canada, Dany lived in the wilderness, living in her own world, allowing her feral nature to come out. It was better. It felt good.

Living in the Canadian wilderness was probably the best decision Dany Gutierrez had ever made. She could live the life she wanted. Dany could accept her mutation, not having to be scared that she might hurt someone. Outside of civilization, it was quickly understood that her feral side brought her closer to nature and her geokinetic abilities helped her create a sustainable living arrangement. It wasn't disrupting anything major, which meant that Dany was doing something good. It was a paradise.

Until one day.

The day she heard the sound of a helicopter overhead. Helicopters weren't uncommon; Dany heard them plenty of times before. But the one she was hearing sounded like it was coming closer, which wasn't good at all. A sense of panic rose in Dany's chest before it quickly transformed into anger and irritation. Part of her wanted to believe that maybe she was blowing it all out of proportion, that the helicopter wasn't coming for her specifically. Dany had no living family left, as far as she was concerned. She'd left Chile in her adolescence when her mother was still alive. And if Dany were to be completely honest with herself, she didn't care enough to recall something that far back.

When the trees started rustling, Dany felt her body tense. She could feel the vibrations of countless animals running from the sound. One of the perks of geokinesis was being able to feel the vibrations of all living creatures. Anything with the capability of moving sent off waves of vibrations that Dany could feel. She could find a person or an animal for miles by the waves they gave off while walking or running. If they weren't moving, she'd be able to detect their vibrations through miniscule movements. Even the tiniest twitches or tap of the foot was enough for Dany to go off of. And feeling all those nearby animals scurrying off sent a wave of protectiveness throughout the feral mutant's body. If the incoming helicopter wasn't coming for her, then she'd do everything in her power to scare the intruders off.

Scowling up at the sky, a deep growl worked its way from Dany's chest up her throat. Her mouth opened, showing her teeth. In some ways, Dany's teeth were somewhat similar to a human's, the only exception being her canines being longer. Not too long, just enough to make a bite more painful than it needed to be. Crouching, Dany extended her claws, the bright silvery color from the Adamantium making them sharper, giving them a bit of a curve. Causing more damage in a fight.

"It landed," a small voice in the back of her head whispered. "Aren't you going to check it out? Just to make sure?"

Another growl ripped its way through Dany's body. She had to check it out; she couldn't afford to have anyone causing problems to her home. That was the last thing she wanted. Quickly and easily maneuvering her way through some underbrush, Dany hoped to keep herself as concealed as possible. She wasn't going to risk getting herself noticed and shot at, even if her injuries could heal on the spot. Once she got to the landing spot, she noticed how different the helicopter looked from a typical one. It looked more high-tech, sleeker. Dany's brows furrowed in confusion. Who'd be taking something like that into the Canadian wilderness? A hissing sound from the back of it caused Dany to go down, attempting to hide herself further. She made sure her claws were ready to go, her body positioned so she could easily pounce if she needed to.

"Ms. Gutierrez, we know you're out here." A man's voice. He sounded older. He wasn't alone either. There was someone else. "We've got heat scanners, you're hiding out here. Why don't you come out?" Dany didn't move. She'd prepared herself to attack, but she couldn't make herself. This guy knew her, the more civilized part of her. How? Dany didn't recognize his voice, so how could he know her? "Dany Fernanda Gutierrez," he called again. "That's your full name. Look, we're just here to talk. That's all. I know what you are, Ms. Gutierrez; you'd be doing us all a favor if you just come out and talk."

Taking a deep breath, Dany calmed herself down. Maybe she should listen to what this guy had to say. She wasn't going to fully turn off the feral side of her, but she'd bring out enough of her civilized side to have a reasonable conversation. If he tried something, she'd attack. Same for his companion. Keeping her claws out, Dany slowly stood up and made her way to where the man and his companion stood.

(A/N):

Hey, sorry for the wait on this chapter. I'm hoping you guys could give constructive criticism where you think it's needed. This is a bit out of my element, so any help I can get is appreciated. Writing a feral mutant is definitely harder than I thought it'd be, so anyone who's good at writing something like that, I'd love your help.

I own nothing in the MCU. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in.

Quick break-down for the story: This will be based in the 2012 AVENGERS movie. Since I am making this a Thor x OC story, there might be someone - or maybe no one, who knows? - who's wondering if Jane Foster and Thor are still a couple in regards to the amount of time that went by between the first THOR movie and the lead-up to the first AVENGERS. My answer is this: read the story if you're interested in that. Even though Jane's and Thor's relationship wasn't heavily mentioned in the actual movie, I'll have a few pieces in the story that talks about a relationship between them, whether it's romantic or friendly is still up for debate. I'm just hoping that made sense. Anyway, I will be mentioning the X-Men in this story, since I feel like they'll be very important later on. I'll explore more into Dany's past and her powers as the story progresses, as well.

If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, leave a thought in the review section or PM me.

Don't forget to leave your constructive criticism. I'd appreciate to know what you thought of this mess of a chapter.

Thanks a bunch!

Vienna Lane