Chapter Fourteen:

There were many things that Three was feeling at the moment. She was rather exhausted from seemingly endless flying and hungry. She was very confused seeing as she didn't have a clue where she was. She was cold — all she wore was the dirty blue clothes that she was forced to wear.

Yet, with all this — and certainly more — Three was still happy. She made it out of the School — again — and just had to find somewhere to hide for the rest of her most likely short life.

Where she would hide was the real question, however. She couldn't go back to the Avengers, she couldn't go to Ferry, and Three highly doubted that she'd come across another person like her so she could hide.

Three didn't even have a plan at this point. Her first plan was simple — go north, find shelter in the snow, and figure it out from there. Three was helpless now. She had no idea where to go or what to do! Three clenched her small fists, this was just great. It was only a matter of time before she was caught, be it the School, the Avengers, or that Fury man.

Three sighed, she needed rest. They would expect her to be in the air, she needed to do more walking. Three looked down at the massive rolling hills of trees. She had spotted a few small homes every now and again, but otherwise, it was rather rural.

Three began her descent downwards, easily disappearing into the foliage of the trees. She had been flying and walking for the better part of the day since her escape — which had been nearly two days ago.

Three walked for several hours, stopping only once when she had stumbled upon a creek. She debate whether or not to follow where it led, hoping that it'd lead somewhere she could find food, but then decided against it. Three didn't want to go into a city, or any populated area for that matter. There was too big of a chance of someone finding her and she didn't have anything to cover her wings with.

It was long past nightfall when she finally decided to get some rest. She laid against a tree, who's roots were rather thick in the ground. Three would continue to travel south in the morning and maybe she'd even be able to find someplace to hide as well.

*

Three woke up to a gunshot. It popped her eardrums and rattled her bones. Three snapped her head up, ignoring the stiffness in her joints. Her heart pounded in her chest and her fight or flight instinct switched on. She immediately began to run, beating her wings to gain air. Two more gunshots sounded by her, one whizzing past her ear and hitting a branch in front of her. Bark wooden splinters flew everywhere, and Three flew back, rubbing the shards of wood out of her eyes before going again.

Three had made it out of the trees and into the air when she hear another shot. Pain immediately rocketed through her shoulder and wing. Three screamed, falling back to the earth like a anchor underwater. Tears pricked at her vision as she limply fell through the trees.

Three fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The impact being so hard that Three was knocked unconscious for a few seconds.

Three forced her eyes to open. She could hear her heart beating in his ears and her head pounding in pain. She felt warm blood on her shirt and clothes. She also felt white hot pain in her foot — she must've landed awkwardly — her shoulder, and her wing.

Three rose a shaky hand. Sh... She needed to get up. She couldn't stay here. Something... Someone shot at her. They were going to find her if she didn't move! Three tried to push up her body, but her limbs didn't respond to her. After several hours of traveling, she was too exhausted to get up. With that, her new injuries, the blood that she was rapidly losing, and the adrenaline rush in her veins running dry, Three found herself completely depleted of any energy.

Three heard footsteps, they were coming and she couldn't do anything about it. Tears welled up in Three's eyes and slid down the sides of her face. She saw the blearily sight of two pairs of thick black, leather boots before she fainted.

*

No word could express the amount of anger on the Avenger's faces when Nick Fury explained Three situation to them. When he had gotten to the part pertaining to Madeline Hurkman they became outright furious.

"You can't allow her to have Three," Steve said immediately.

"Do you think I want to give her to that woman?" Nick demanded, his eye narrowed. "I wanted to bring her to justice, not strip her of her rights."

"She can't do that," Natasha spoke up. "Her experimentation is unlawful; she's a child, despite being fifteen percent whatever. I'd rather her in prison than be experimented on again! Can you even lock someone up at her age?!"

"Judging by her crime, she could be very well be given a sentence fit for an adult," Nick said. "And... That doesn't help her. According to section one, amendment thirteen of the United States constitution, 'neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted...'."

"The slavery abolishing one?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with her?"

"If she is convicted a felon, then technically, she would still be considered a slave," Nick explained rubbing his forehead. "If she is sent to a private prison — and Hurkman owns several of them — then she would be played right into her hands."

"Are you—are you serious!?" Clint's eyes bulged. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I wish I was," Nick sighed. "She said that I had twenty-four hours to find her, which would be up in a few hours. After that, I'll be forced to back down and allow Hurkman to... Collect her 'property'." Fury looked at the six men and woman sitting around him. "I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted this to go at all, but there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Where would we go to find her?" Bruce asked him. Nick rolled back, allowing his chair to scrap the ground a bit. After a bit of digging, he finally pulled out a small file and flipped it open.

Everyone leaned in to get a better look, except for Bucky however. He had been silent the entire meeting. "These are the satellite scans of Arkansas from the past twenty-four hours," he said, then flipped the page. "It picked up on this fourteen hours ago." A indistinct picture of a pair of white-and-black checkered wings, and the blurry figure that resembled a human. No one could doubt that that was Three, "Ten minutes later, she's gone."

"Why is she going to Arkansas?" Tony asked.

"Don't know," he shrugged. "And, I also don't know if Hurkman has this information either, so I suggest you hurry."

"... Why are you giving us this?" Bucky finally spoke up. "Why are you suddenly on our side? What's the catch, Fury?"

"No catch," Nick replied, leaning back in his leather seat. "It was wrong to try to put her in prison, I know that now. I don't want her being ruthlessly experimented on again either." Fury fixed his eye on James, who tensed under his gaze. "I made a mistake, and now I'm making up for it. Now," Nick regarded the entire group. "We can either play the blame game with each other, or you can go find Three."

*

Three couldn't move. That was the first thing she realized when she woke up.

Her hands were tied behind her back and she was blinded and gagged — she almost laughed when she realized that — and her feet were tied too. Her wings were roughly tied together too. It felt sticky... Maybe tape?

Whatever she was in bumped, and she jolted, the familiar feeling of falling clouding her mind. Three breathed heavily, shaking in fear. Where was she!?

"... Ah, we can't 'ill the kid fah it's wings. Nobody'll buy tha' shit!" Three tensed at the voices, and then lied limp as if she were still asleep.

"Well, wha' if we jus' cut off 'em wings! The kid can stay 'live aftah that, but big-ass wings like tha'll be good money!" Three's eyes filled with tears at what she heard. Cut off her wings!? What!? Who were these people?!

The voices neither got nearer nor farther, so Three relaxed, trying to figure out where she was.

It did not smell good — and that wasn't because of her. Something was rotting, and she heard flies. Three grimaced feeling a few on her wings and her wound. The scent of rotting animals made Three feel lightheaded. So much blood, she didn't know what to do.

Focus, Three chided. She she suspected that she was in a car or some kind of vehicle. Maybe if she got out of these stupid ropes, she could run. But her shoulder was still messed up and so was her wing. And, her foot hurt, she might've twisted it.

Three could fly on a semi-messed up wing, but it'd hurt like crazy. As long as she got out of the area, she should be fine and could limp the rest of the way.

Three exhaled, focusing ice on the ropes around her arms. Slowly, it made its way in-between the loops and knots before she began to expand it. Soon, the rope became useless, and Three was able to slip her hands out.

With her hands free, she quickly untied her feet, and then her eyes. Three blinked, letting them adjust to the bright sunlight before trying to get up. She over her shoulder and winced. Three looked down, her foot was twisted and still aching, and had swollen up quite a bit. She couldn't run and she couldn't fly. Fantastic.

Three shakily stood just as the car came to a stop. Three stumbled forward, her wings twisting and trying to flap to balance herself, but they couldn't do much because of the sticky tape. So, she fell forwards, her head colliding with the end of the car so hard that she fell unconscious.

*

Three had a massive headache when she woke up. She must've bruised her skull when she fell because her head was pounding like a drum. Three tried to stand, but she was instead greeted by the bitter sound of chains on her hands, connecting to a steel plate on the ground. Her wings were still taped with no hope of moving them.

This time, however, she hadn't been blindfolded and gagged. Three raised her good arm to her forehead, making the chains dangle loudly. There was a big bump where she knocked her head along with a bit of blood which had crusted over by now.

The door opened and Three jumped. Light spilled in from outside, illuminating a large man with a bit of muscles and a big belly. His head was mostly bald with a few patches of gray hair, and his skin a tanned white. His face was wrinkly, but his eyes were dark and red-rimmed. His clothes were simple, but worn. Shorts, and a red flannel shirt with sweat stains under the arm.

"You finally woke up, huh?" He snapped, his voice slurred. As soon as he spoke, Three smelled the piercing scent of alcohol on his breath, which made her crinkle her nose. "My boys said you jus' up and fell outta the sky, huh? What are you, some kinda alien from New York, huh!?" Three shook her head frantically, backing away from the intoxicated man. "Then why don't'cha explain them wings of yours?"

Three curled in on herself, trembling. She didn't want to be here anymore. The man merely laughed at her feebleness. He walked over and yanked at her hair. A cry of pain left Three's mouth, and she stared at him, tears filling her eyes. "Won't talk, huh? I'll be havin' a lotta fun with you, bitch."

The man squeezed her cheeks in his dirty hands. Three shivered, trying to move away from him, but the chains wouldn't allow her. "... Not half bad, to be honest. You catch a fair price," Three's eyes widened, a fair price!? He was going to sell her!? "Wonder how much someone'll pay for them wings of yours, eh." He ran his meaty fingers fingers over her sleek feathers that poke out of the tape and her bones.

Suddenly, Three lashed out, hitting him with her chained hands, trying to back away from him, but the room had been small and she could only get so far. The man wasn't fast enough to move, however, and the chains hit him in the face. He cried in pain, holding his jaw. Three barely thought as she suddenly moved towards him, taking the chains and clumsily wrapped it around his neck and pulling hard.

The man gagged, as he awkwardly bent over towards Three in a failed attempt to alleviate the pain. Three was breathing heavily as she pulled harder. The man gagged, falling to his knees, his face turned a strange shade of purple before his eyes rolled into his head and he fainted.

Three panted, but quickly struggling to pull at his body, searching for anything that could get her out, which was a bit hard with her wrists connected to each other. Finally, Three found a metal key in his shirt pocket of his flannel shirt, Three yanked it out and began to shakily push it into her own locks on her wrists, using it to unlock the chain on her wrists. Then, she awkwardly turned backwards, using the key to cut through the tape on her wings, then winced when she missed the tape.

Finally, the about half of the tape was off and strewn all over the floor. Three had peeled off the area where she was shot, the gun was powerful enough to go through her shoulder and through her scapulars. Three also noticed something strange. Her feathers were cut in half, making her wing seem less... Fluffy.

Three ignored it for now. She placed some duct tape on her wing, covering the hole. Then, she shakily stood, the only opening was the door, and she heard voices outside. She would need to be very careful.

Three slowly walked to the door, wincing when it creaked on its rusty hinges. She peeked out. There were two men, about ten feet from the door, their backs facing her. Each one carried guns, which made Three nervous. Three slipped out, slowly going along the side of the shed, and towards the wooded area. The sun was setting now, so maybe the darkness would help conceal her, giving her a better chance at hiding away.

One of the men turned a quarter of the wnay towards her and she froze, waiting. "... Pops still in 'ere? What's takin' him so long!?" Three began to walk again. She was so close.

"Dunno," the other one said. "Maybe he's gettin' a lil' fun outta her before we ship her off." Both of them laughed, and Three winced. Just a few more feet. Just a few more and she'll be free.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice hissed right behind her ear. Three screamed, jumping and frantically flapping her wings. As soon as she was in the air, she knew something was wrong and she fell to the ground. Three cried out in pain, trying to scramble away, but the man behind her grabbed her by her bleeding shoulder.

Three screamed, trying to pry his fingers off, but it didn't work. "Thought you'd get away that easy?" He mocked, his breath smelled stale and dirty, making Three crinkle her nose in disgust.

Three kicked him in between the legs and his grip loosened. She took this chance to run, she tried to fly, but her feathers were messed up, and she could only gain one or two feet before falling like a rock.

She heard gunshots whizz by her and more people screaming at her. Three's heart was beating like a drum, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. Another gunshot scraped her ear, and she gasped, but didn't stop running. Her leg began to ache, but she ignored it. Go, she pressed herself, keep running. Don't stop. A sharp pain stabbed her in the neck, and Three panicked, thinking it was a gunshot. In this panic, Three didn't notice the side of a rather large hill she was running along the slid of.

Three slipped, and everything seemed to blur together as she tumbled down a rocky hill, her wings doing nothing to stop her. Three tried to grab unto something, but nothing stopped the momentum that she was falling. Rocks, dirt, and trees passed by her before she hit ground.

Three's eyes were blurry for a few seconds, but she was able to hear more shouting, angry shouting that is. Three crawled away, her hand slipping into water. Slowly, she looked to her right. Water. A river. Three gulped, and crawled into the water, allowing the current to carry her wherever it was going.

Three shuddered at the cold temperature, but didn't complain. Soon, the voices began to muddle together and fade away. In fact, everything faded away. She couldn't hear anything... It was so peaceful.

... Maybe... Three could stay there... Forever...

*

"Any news?" Steve asked Bucky when he returned to the quinjet.

"That was the last abandoned house in the state," He replied dejectedly. "Maybe she's staying at a farm again?"

"Already checked," Natasha replied, "Apparently, people here seem to be more vocal about strange phenomena. If anything happened here, they would, 'do what's best for the country'."

"Great." Steve muttered.

"We just have to wait for her to get in the air again," Tony spoke up from his seat a few feet from Steve. "The satellite images would pick it up, and we'd be able to estimate her location by then. And if she's in the forest, we've got Sam doing a manual scan over the area for any unique life."

"What if she's been taken already?" Bucky asked, voicing his pessimistic thoughts.

"Then we'll take her back," Steve replied, determination shining in his tone. Bucky sighed and went to sit down, rubbing his forehead.

"What's wrong Ice Cube?" Tony asked, teasingly, "You're gonna get grey hair if you stress too much." Bucky shot him a glare, "And warts too."

"Found something," Sam's voice echoes through the ship mechanically. Everyone froze and the tension doubled. It was Steve who finally spoke up.

"What is it?" Steve asked, having to physically stop himself from getting too excited.

"Group of men, all carrying guns and chasing something near... Oh shit."

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, exchanging worried glances with the others.

"The men chasing her got lost... She's near a river now. Bring the jet over, and tell Bruce to get ready." The line cut off, and everyone began to run, doing as Sam ordered.

*

Sam dove into the trees, easily being able to land on the ground beside the girl, who had somehow washed up near the rocky side, almost thirty feet from where she originally was. Sam carefully, dragged her out of the river bank. Once she was done, and dripping with water, he scanned her over, searching for injuries. A bullet hole in her arm and shoulder, her left ear was bleeding, and she twisted her ankle. There were also several insignificant scraps and bruises here and there.

Sam touched his ear piece, "I got her. I'll send you my coordinates."

There was a short pause and a little static before Tony replying, "Great. Take her to an opening; there should be one about twenty meters... East of where you are. We can land the jet and pick you both up."

"Got it." Sam picked her up, carrying her bridal style, and flew in the direction he was instructed.

Sam arrived exactly where he was supposed to be, but frowned when all he saw were trees. He touched his ear piece, "Tony? There's nothing here." The only sound that he was met with was static. The usual text that was displayed across his visor's screen had now disappeared. Deciding it would be best to put her down before calling again, he moved his wings to fly into the heavy tree's foliage, but strangely, his wings did not obey his command. "What...?"

Suddenly, his wings folded into his pack and both of them fell straight into the trees. Sam grunted, pulling the girl towards him as he fell through several branches before roughly landing on the ground. His pack took the bulk of the impact, and he heard a loud crack when it collided with the earth.

Sam groaned, but looked down. Three looked mostly unharmed, and somehow still unconscious. He had felt her twitch several times while they fell, but hadn't awaken.

A sharp pain spiked in his neck and he quickly rose a hand, yanking out a needle. Sam cursed as something dropped out of the trees beside him.

A girl, probably no older than eleven or thirteen squatted beside him. Her skin was dark, from what he could tell by the little exposure of it, and a metal mask covered the bottom half of her face. A striped tail snaked around her legs, carefully. Her eyes were slightly discoloured, one being black and the other brown. She wore a skin-tight suit with special armour shielding important vital organs and were patterned like a tiger, matching her tail. Two cat-like ears were on her head, but one of them had been made completely out of metal, both of them easily growing out of her skin, and was seen from her shaven head.

"Who are you?" He demanded, but his voice was slurred and his body growing drowsy.

The girl didn't respond. Instead, she yanked Three out of his arms, and tossed her over her shoulder. Sam grunted, trying to drag himself over to the girl, but his actions were useless. Whatever the girl had shot him with was working fast in his system.

Even with the mask covering half her face, the girl somehow managed to look smug. "Thanks," she said and then kicked him promptly in the head.