.11 | Let Me Help

Merida heard four abrupt knocks at the door followed by two slow knocks that were spaced apart by two seconds.

That was her signal.

Her eyes caught sight of the door opening as the tall red-haired vixen from the circus slipped inside with a little duffel bag and what appeared to be a drawstring backpack.

The woman was decked out head to toe in a sleek black leather ensemble that hugged her curves in all the right places. The red of her hair was a bright contrast to the dark leather of her outfit.

Merida watched as the woman moved with confidence into the room, placing the duffel bag on the bed with a light thud.

Merida quivered with anticipation of what was to come. She had been so ready for freedom but now that it was here she felt unsure. Her fear was palpable.

The woman took note of Merida's hesitation, her brows drew in slightly as she silently assessed the forlorn mutant girl.

"Put these on." Natasha offered quietly as she unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out a pair of black pants that resembled skinny jeans with a patterned white top that would fit her slender form perfectly.

Merida reached out and hesitantly took the black pants, the woman's eyes landing upon the marred marks on her wrist. The woman quickly averted her eyes from the ghastly scars.

Merida's cheeks burned red.

She pulled away swiftly, hiding her wrists as if that would stave off the burning shame of trying to end her life once upon a time ago.

A mixture of understanding and compassion in the woman's eyes, which seemed to be rare for the someone who appeared to keep most of her emotions in check.

Natasha then pulled out a thin black camisole for underneath her white top, a pair of socks that were patterned with little grey cats, and a pair of black boots.

The woman turned around quickly, giving her a moment of privacy, which indicated that Merida needed to change immediately.

Time was of the essence right now.

She discarded the bland hospital gown and quickly pulled on the camisole, followed by the patterned white top, before eying the little flowers that decorated it. Her shaky hands pulled on each pant leg before stuffing her feet into the socks.

"Cat socks?" Merida found her voice as she stuffed each foot into the boots, the woman turning around with a sly smile on her face.

"I commandeered them from Agent Larson. She has a thing for cats." The woman murmured as she quickly opened the drawstring backpack, turning around fully now that Merida was decent and clothed.

"This backpack has a tracker in it that links to our Helicarrier. Keep this backpack on at all times. If something happens to us you run, understand? Clint will find you."

"Clint?"

"He's one of us." She smiled at the doe eyed girl in reassurance.

Merida nodded as the woman put the drawstring backpack on her, Merida turned around and flipped her short hair out from the drawstrings on her shoulders.

The woman then nodded, "Alright, let's get you out of here."

Merida knew that these people were the real deal. They had done this kind of stuff before, she was sure of it, but they were also breaking her out of a facility that was basically a branch of their own agency.

"Aren't these people going to be mad once they figure out that I'm gone?" She asked softly.

The woman smirked slightly and shrugged, "Probably, but they should have thought about that before they made the decision to put you back in a cage."

Merida froze for a moment, realizing just how much these people were risking to get her out, to get her somewhere safe..all because Steve wanted to do so.

"Thank you," Merida spoke up hastily while the red haired woman raised a brow at her gratitude.

"You don't even know who I am, and I don't know even know who you are-I just-why would you all risk this for me?" Merida asked quickly, not realizing she was rambling nervously.

The feeling of being looked out for and people caring to this degree was foreign, especially from people who were essentially strangers. She could only count on one had the people that cared for her like this back at the circus.

"I don't have to know you to want to help, and my name is Natasha,"

"Natasha Romanoff."

The name dripping from her tongue was Russian, the dialect instantly recognizable even from Merida, who had been sheltered much of her life.

"I'm Merida,"

"Merida Reid."

She offered her hand to Natasha and she watched the woman flick her eyes down to her little outstretched hand. She hesitated briefly but then offered her hand back, shaking the girl's hand to bridge the trust between them.

"I knew a Merida once. She aided in a mission with me in Prague." Natasha remarked cooly with a smile.

"What was she like?" Merida asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

"She came from a broken and poor home, but she was a force to be reckoned with. With the right people guiding her, she became a powerful beacon of hope for her impoverished people,"

Natasha looked like she was reminiscing for a moment before eyeing Merida quickly and regaining her cool and calm composure.

"She became an agent of her government and has been helping people ever since."

When Natasha looked at Merida she smiled lightly and Merida felt a flush of her cheeks. She wondered if such a story was meant to empower her, to make her feel not so alone as a broken circus cat that had been caged for so long.

Natasha saw the look in Merida's eye and added encouragingly, "Your story doesn't have to end in another cage, but you need to be willing to fight back for what is right."

Merida felt as if Natasha and Steve's words eerily echoed one another. They both had said similar things to her.

"I've done things..when I'm the tiger." Merida breathed out in the tense silence of the room.

Natasha looked at her and gave her a half hearted smile, "We've all got a little red in our ledger. It's how we move forward that counts."

Merida didn't know why, but she had little trouble talking to Natasha. Maybe it was the fact that Natasha looked at her with understanding, or maybe it was because she reminded her of Fran; strong and beautiful.

Another familiar knock could be heard from the door, followed by another knock and after two seconds more another knock.

That was their cue.

Natasha became a different person altogether, a woman on a mission. She opened the door quietly and nodded over her shoulder, indicating that Merida file out first as a familiar face greeted her right outside the door.

Steve.

"You ready?" He asked lowly.

She nodded silently in response, her mouth was as dry as the Sahara from her increase in nerves.

Merida's stomach flip flopped as she pulled the black skinny jeans up higher on her waist, her hands falling on the sides of the drawstrings, fidgeting nervously with it.

Steve took in the oversized pants and looked
to Natasha who shrugged, "It was all I could find for her."

Steve then looked to Merida as if he hoped the oversized pants wouldn't be a problem.

"It's okay. I'm less worried about the outfit and more worried about how we are getting out of here." Merida quickly added.

She was skinnier than most girls her age, but due to her past living conditions it was to be expected. She was lucky to even see a decent meal with Killian. Sometimes he didn't feed her at all as punishment.

She swallowed thickly, slightly embarrassed that she couldn't fully fill out her pants.

"We'll get you something you're more comfortable in once we get to New York." Steve offered with a genuine smile, trying to ease her discomfort. There was something so sure in his words, as if this plan wasn't going to go sideways at all.

"You're so confident we're going to make it out." Merida commented with a shaky smile.

"I have to be."

Natasha made a motion with her hand on her wrist, indicating they had little time to execute the plan if they were going to make it out without sounding alarms.

Merida silently took in Steve's blue bomber jacket, a white shirt underneath with a dark pair of pants. He smiled encouragingly to Merida, but as he met Natasha's eyes, he furrowed his brow and nodded at his partner once.

In a mere instant, Steve's demeanor changed, as well as Natasha's.

The two were in mission mode.

Steve's muscles were slightly coiled around his shoulders while Natasha kept her head on a swivel as they carried off down the hallway.

Steve took the lead.

Merida fell in the middle as Natasha picked up the spot behind so they could protect her from the front and back.

They rounded a corner and came across two agents on the floor, their chests rising and falling as if they had been sleeping. Merida halted and her chest picked up in tempo at the idea of being caught.

Steve turned around to Natasha and gave her a pointed look.

She smirked lazily, "I might have taken the liberty of taking out a few agents before coming to get her."

Merida looked between them and pointed to the ceiling, "What about the cameras?"

"We have a small window before they realize that all the security cameras aren't working." She answered with a sly grin as

Steve nodded his head for them to keep following.

Merida followed even though she quivered uncontrollably from the fear of being caught. Sometimes she even found herself holding her breath unintentionally.

As she stepped over the men who were knocked out cold, she turned around quickly to look at Natasha.

This woman was lethal.

And beautiful.

Fran would have loved Natasha.

The red-haired agent eased Merida's worries, "They'll wake up with a bruised ego, but that's about it."

She winked at Merida and her cherks turned scarlet, feeling relief they weren't actually dead. She had seen her fair share of death and holding Zoe in her arms as she had been shot was not something she'd ever forget. Her stomach lurched at the thought so she pushed the harrowing and gruesome memory to the back of her mind.

Merida swallowed and followed Steve; her footsteps were silent on the tile floor of the facility as her heart started to pound mercilessly against her ribcage.

She wished she could silence it.

Merida wondered if anyone else could hear. It was so loud she wanted to cover her own ears.

They made it down the hallway and around another curve without an inciden. Steve's plan was working perfectly. Most of the agents weren't even up and the facility was quiet since it was before dawn.

Natasha only hoped that Sam would pull through acquiring them a vehicle from the garage to escape with. He hadn't checked in yet, but Natasha still had time before she would start to wonder if he ran into a situation down there.

The three of them turned towards a door that was locked and they stopped suddenly, Steve looking back at Natasha expectantly.

Natasha pulled a thin card from her side pocket, swiped it on the electronic lock and Merida watched wide eyed as it made a ping, turned green, and signalled it had unlocked.

"This location needs to work on their security." Natasha murmured.

Steve smirked lightly, "Well, it's good for us."

The three of them carried down the tile steps from the floor they were on. Merida looked over the railing, hands gripping the cold steel, and sighed. Her little body ached at the thought of running down what appeared to be about sixteen flights of stairs.

Merida followed behind Steve without protest, the only sound that came from any of them were their rushed footsteps. She gazed at Steve as he ran down the stairs with little effort, not even a bead of sweat could be seen from the back of his neck

Merida knew she wasn't in the best of shape from being malnourished. She always wondered if she had been fed properly...if she would have been stronger..maybe she would have been strong enough to run away and not get caught by Killian.

She frowned and found her pace quickened at the thought of Killian and the fear of going back in a cage.

That was all the motivation she needed as they continued down, rounding around the tenth set of stairs as Natasha followed closely on her heels behind her.

A crackle came through from Natasha's ear piece.

"We got a situation."

Merida felt her heart sink.

Steve didn't waiver from his pace, but he did look behind him before jumping down the last three steps when they rounded the corner of the fourth floor, his eyes met Natasha's and they widened with alert.

Merida slowed up a bit, but he looked to her quickly and nodded for her to keep going.

"C'mon, keep going." His said with a polite urgency.

Merida nodded.

She trusted the star-spangled man, and so far, he had not led her astray, so she kept going on blind faith that everything would work out. It was either that or stay behind and roll over to the people in charge and agree to be put back in a cage. She knew what they were doing was risky.

Merida was terrified to go back to four walls and being treated like a freak.

"Big-do-,

"very big-"

The man's voice crackled and Natasha furrowed her brows, trying to make out what Sam, their other partner, was saying.

"Who is that?" Merida asked curiously.

"Sam. He's a friend." Steve mentioned.

"Or a foe if he blows this break out." Natasha mentioned with slight irritation to her tone.

When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Steve hesitated at the large steel door that greeted them. Sam was supposed to have already unlocked it, but it wasn't guaranteed since he had just come through and said there was an issue.

Every bone in Merida's body froze as the moment of apprehension seemed to sink in for all three of them. She had a feeling they were well equipped to adapt to any kind of hiccup.

She looked at Natasha, who was whispering into her earpiece again to see if Sam could come in again because he was breaking up.

Steve turned his gaze to Merida, who trembled with anxiety, but an abrupt whiff of something caught her mutant senses.

She wordlessly knelt down on the floor on her hands and knees, looking through the faint crack at the bottom of the steel door as Natasha and Steve gazed down quizzically at her.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked wearily.

"Smelling." Merida answered simply, not breaking concentration with her inner beast. She closed her eyes and inhaled as best she could. She closed off everything around her and focused solely on the other side of the door.

Every sense in her body hummed and vibrated, and eerily enough in that moment she felt so in synch with the mutant part of her. She got up and wiped her hands on the over sized skinny jeans.

Merida smiled shyly at their curious gazes.

"There's a dog in the garage."

"That's what Sam was trying to say." Natasha looked up at Steve, awaiting his next orders.

"Could you sense anything else?" He asked quietly.

Merida shook her head.

"No, just the dog and one person, which I'm guessing is your friend Sam."

"It better be a really big dog for Sam to put up a fuss about." Natasha remarked irritably.

It was only when Merida remembered who she was, and what she was, that she looked between the two Avengers. She bit her lower lip fervently and an idea swept over her in an instance.

A small smile graced Merida's fragile features as she started to take off the drawstring backpack.

Steve watched her with her confusion.

"That dog isn't going to put up much of a fight with a really big tiger." Merida murmured in response to Steve's questioning gaze.

Natasha gave Merida a sly smile.

The implication of her words made Steve's eyebrows knit together, weighing the pros and cons of letting her going through the door in her mutant form.

He looked up at Natasha and she met his gaze, shrugging her right shoulder before Steve looked back down at Merida who gazed up at him hopefully.

"I don't know how I feel putting you on the front line."

Merida was frightened, yes, but her eagerness to help was growing stronger by the second. She knew what she was capable of and if she could help these people that were risking everything for her then she would.

"I owe you all for what you're doing-"

Steve frowned, shaking his head ever so slightly, "This isn't about keeping score."

Merida smiled meekly, "I want to help though. Trust me."

She emphasized the last two words as her body quivered with delightful anticipation from the inevitable shift.

Steve ground his teeth as he clenched his jaw tightly, looking up briefly at Natasha who nodded her head in silent encouragement. He could see Natasha was on board with sending her through the door as the tiger, but he still had his reservations.

Merida spoke softly, her lashes fluttering as she murmured, "I know you want to keep me safe, and I appreciate that, but like I said, I want to help. Don't take that freedom away from me."

That was all Steve needed to hear for his resolve to crumble. Her words were weighted and the implication behind them was something he understood.

He nodded, taking her drawstring backpack from her hands and holding it loosely at his side.

She smiled kindly up at him. Her smile actually reached her eyes and for a moment Steve gazed at her with a trusting glint to his blue eyes. It was a moment of trust and respect that was being forged between them.

He wanted to protect her at all costs, but she had never had freedom, or a power to choose since being under Killian's thumb for so long. Steve wanted nothing more than to break that cycle, to show Merida what it was like to be treated like a human being and not a beast in a cage.

Natasha cleared her throat as the two stared at one another for a beat too long. They jerked their heads towards Natasha and she nodded towards the door seriously,

"Whatever we do needs to be done in the next few minutes."

Steve returned his gaze to Merida, inclining his head in a silent nod, giving her his blessing to go ahead to shift.

"I'm right behind you." He assured her.

She felt her insides flip flop from nervous anticipation

Her body started vibrating and everything was felt as if it were ripping apart and coming together all at once. Merida then shifted violently, and rather beautifully, before their eyes.

There was a snap and crackle of an unseen energy in the air. It was magic and madness all wrapped in one. Her tiger form was so large that it took up quite a bit of space in the small stairwell.

Natasha backed up two steps upon watching the magic happen right before her eyes. She was taken aback, but Steve stood still. He watched as the tiger before him blinked once and in those feline eyes he saw Merida giving them both the okay to open the door.
He didn't know exactly how he knew that, but he just did.

Her maw opened slightly, a twitch of her mouth as she took in the scents from all around her.

Natasha's heart was beating like a fast paced drum, but Steve's was a steady tempo as he took the card key from Natasha's outstretched hand.

Steve unlocked the door with the card key, the click of a lock and a ping of green emphasized that the card key had worked on this door too. He turned the steel handle and pulled the door open, breathing in a steady calm breath that what lay beyond that door wasn't more than they bargained for.

Author's Note:

Soooo sorry for the delay in this story.

Got hooked on writing my original works but I'm back here now with updates! A second one should be out soon! ;)

Sorry I left it on a cliffhanger but story wise it works better this way.

It's interesting to write her character as timid while the tiger part of her is so strong and confident and ferocious. It's as if the tiger is everything that she wants to be.

I'm enjoying the Natasha / Merida interaction and I love how Natasha uses the story of an old friend to try and boost Merida's confidence in herself.

She is such a smol bean but she has to learn how to step up and fight back so she DOESN'T go back into a cage.

She's been through so much. T.T

And the fact that people actually caring about her is a foreign concept hurts my heart. T.T

This girl deserves the world.

And I have a feeling Steve might want to give her the world when all is said and done! ;)