"(Y/n)?" Bucky said quietly as he came up behind her. The Winter Soldier taking a few steps back as the snakes that had once been her flowing locks, turned and hissed at him.

"Don't come any closer, James. Just leave. I told you that I was dangerous. I'm a monster." (Y/n) sobbed, as she fumbled around in one of her pockets, pulling out a large pair of dark glasses, and placing them over her eyes.

"(Y/n). I'm not leaving you like this. Please, let me help." Bucky continued. Stepping forward a little, as the snow white serpents once again moved to wrap themselves around her. The snakes seeming to want to calm her as much as Bucky did.

"You can't help me, James. No one can help me. This is only a small part of what I truly am. This is nothing compared to the complete creature that I can become. Please just go. I don't want to hurt you." (Y/n) told him, as she slowly moved to sit. Not daring to look around to see what she had done.

Bucky steeled himself. He knew what it was to believe yourself to be a monster. Knew what it was to be feared and hated. He knew what it was to be alone. To feel like you were the only one. And no matter how much she told him to leave, he was determined to stay. Determined to show her that despite what she believed; she was in fact truly special. Truly gifted. And that just like him, all she needed was one person that genuinely cared for her. One person to show her that even monsters could become something great.

"I'm not going anywhere." Bucky declared. His heart beating a little steadier as slowly the snakes began to fall apart. Their bodies morphing back into delicate strands of hair. The Winter Soldier placing his hand reassuringly on (Y/n)'s shoulder. Not failing to notice how his lost girl's whole body seemed to relax as she felt his delicate touch.

"Is.....is it safe?" Bucky asked hesitantly. Taking a seat next to her on the dirty floor, as (Y/n) slowly nodded.

"When the snakes disappear, I'm safe to be around again." (Y/n) sniffed. Finally daring to look at the man that was by her side.

"How?........Can I ask........."

"Can you ask what I am? How I can turn flesh and bone into stone. Transform a beating heart into rock?" (Y/n) interrupted as she removed the dark glasses. Bucky once again able to peer into her beautiful grey orbs.

"I can do all those things because I am the stuff of legend. A scary story that the ancients might have spoken about around their campfires. A creature that shouldn't exist, except for in the pages of a book. I am a Gorgon. A winged sperpent that can turn any living creature that looks into my eyes, to stone. I am the living, breathing, curse of Athena. Much like the three sisters of the ancient world. Even the name, Gorgós, means terrible, dreadful." (Y/n) sighed, dropping her head into her hands.

"You.....you mean like that, er.......Medusa?" Bucky asked, trying to remember back to something in the deep, dark recesses of his mind.

"Just like that, yes. But unlike Medusa and her two sisters, I am not cursed to be the creature all the time. It is more a defence mechanism. When I am threatened. When I am scared or hurt, I become the creature. It starts with my hair. The strands becoming the golden eyed snakes. Then my eyes turn from their normal colour to those of a serpent, and anyone that dares meet my gaze will find themselves transformed to stone. Yet that is not the full measure of my curse. For in the final stage, I become the beast. My body morphing into the winged snake. A snarling, spitting monster that knows no mercy. That will kill until nothing is left alive. So now you know. Know you know why my parents didn't want me. Why I had to run away from the children's homes. Why I live on the streets. There is no hope for me, James. Maybe I should go to Stark Tower. Maybe I should let the Avengers kill me. Perhaps Captain Rogers would do me the honour of being my Perseus. For death has to be better than this." (Y/n) explained. The tears once again rolling down her cheeks.

"Don't say that, (Y/n). Never say that. Death is not the answer." Bucky insisted, as he pulled (Y/n) into his arms. The super soldier feeling the tears of the lost girl soak through his shirt, to the flesh underneath.

"I know what it is to be a monster, (Y/n). To know of nothing else but how to kill. To want to kill. To carry on killing until nothing alive, is left standing. You're not the only one that has done things that they regret. Hurt people that they shouldn't. But you don't have to be just a killing machine. There is another way. Something else that you could be." Bucky told her, as (Y/n) moved so that she could look up into his eyes.

"How could you be a monster, James? I don't believe it. You're the nicest, sweetest man that I have ever met. You've done nothing but be nice to me. And you don't even really know me.........."

"I was a monster. But I had help. A friend that cared enough about me to want to bring me back. That knew I wasn't truly a monster, no matter what I, or anyone else believed. And I can do that for you, if you will let me, (Y/n). Show you that there is another way to live. Show you that you can use your gift to help. Just give me a chance. Please." Bucky begged, as he reached and brushed some of (Y/n)'s pale hair from in front of her eyes.

"But what about your friends, James? What will they think? What if something happens, and I hurt one of them? They might not want a street rat in their home. They might hate me........"

"They won't hate you, (Y/n). Believe me. They will be able to help you too. I want to introduce you to the man that helped me. And I know that nothing will happen. That there won't be a need for you to change. Just give me a chance. Give them a chance. I............" Bucky interrupted, knowing that he had no other option but to tell (Y/n), who and what he was, now. To tell her who his friends were. And to confess where he lived.

"Look. I need to tell you something before we go any further. But not here. Let's get you outta here. You don't need to be around all this." Bucky confessed. His hand begging for (Y/n) to take it. The super soldier smiling as she slipped her palm into his. Bucky leading his lost girl out of the dark and foreboding unused workshop. Back down the alleyway and onto the bustling streets of Manhattan. The Winter Soldier hoping that his confession wouldn't change (Y/n)'s mind about him and send her running once again.