~BARNES~

The girl sighs, the tears that once marked her face gone. A groaning sound comes from the door and a small hatch is opened, revealing a dented, metal tray with two plates of food on them. The food mainly consisted of baked potatoes, a large bread roll, chicken breast and cooked vegetables.

The girl and I simultaneously scramble to the door, reaching for a plate of food. I reach mine first, eating the roll, trying to tame my ravenous appetite. I rest against the wall, stretching my legs out. After a couple of seconds, the girl turns to me, not quite meeting my eyes. "You should probably save that roll. It keeps the best. The potatoes are okay as well." I look at her, swallowing and then eyeballing the remaining roll.

"Thanks." I say, the awkwardness obvious between us. "We only get one meal each day?" She nods. We sit there in silence, eating our food. "Do you call yourself anything?" I ask her. "I'm assuming you can't remember your real name, but have you given yourself one?" She sighs, setting down her plate and wrapping her arms around her knees. "I'm just me I guess."

"Well I'm not going to call you Me, so how about I call you Lauren?" She raises an eyebrow, grinning and looking me in the eyes before scoffing and turning away. "Okay then, how about Jessica?" Her smile widens, yet she doesn't seem to approve. "Mel?" I question, a familiarity to it. "Mel," she says, as if testing it out. "that's a nice name." She rests her head against the wall, half a baked potato and a roll still on her plate, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

"My name's Bucky."

~ANIMALIA~

I walk through an alleyway in Topeka, the damp, bitter cold of the holiday season chilling me to the bone. I bring my hoodie hood further down my face, trying to hide it from some loud teenagers beside me. "Hey sexy." A drunk boy slurs. "You want a good time?" His friends laugh and giggle. I stop in my tracks, feeling warm breath behind my neck. "No thanks, I'm fine." I mumble, gritting my teeth. "Come on baby, it'll be fun." He says, resting his hands on my waist.

"I said I was fine." I repeat. Grabbing the man's wrist, I twist it, causing it to break. He howls in pain, doubling over. I bring up my knee so it collides with his nose, a couple of his drunk friends no longer laughing. One tries to swing at me, his slowed reflexes giving my plenty of time to duck and and sweep my leg under his feet, knocking him down. The remaining girl leans over the original drunk, sobbing and cursing at me.

I turn to run away, only to be faced with a tall, long haired man in a red hoodie. His blue eyes pierce mine, a whole world seemingly contained inside of them. "Mel?" He asks, his tone cautious as if unsure. "I'm sorry, you must be thinking of someone else." I say as I sidestep him, only to have my actions mirrored. "I need you to come with me. You can trust me, okay? My name is Bucky. I think I know you from when I was a part of HYDRA." My eyes widen, mouth agape as I punch him square in the jaw, taking off down the street.

HYDRA is after me.

They found me.

I'm going to die.

"Mel!" The man shouts. I sprint toward a nearby coffee shop, adrenaline flowing through my veins. He must be a HYDRA agent trying to get me to come to the facility. I can't go back, I'll die before I enter that hell once more. I see a blue, red and white man run toward me, grabbing a hold of my wrist and dragging me back into the alley. His metal shield digs into my lower arm, it's curved sides grinding into my skin. I grow spines all over my arm, wrist and hands. I feel it pierce his flesh, blood dripping from his hand. My captor releases a puff of air, letting me go.

I make protective armour grow all over my body, similar to that of an armadillos. My body instinctively knows what to do when I'm under attack, all my training leaving a permanent brand on my brain. I swing at the masked mans nose, only to be tackled by the other. He tries to pin my arms to my back, only for me to change form once more so I become a humanoid, slippery snake. Bucky's metal arm keeps a firm hold, which I try to shake off. His reluctance to hurt me gives me an advantage, and I slip out of his grasp within moments.

I grab the colourful man's ankle, pushing my feet off of the ground and swinging my legs through the air, my feet landing on his face. It simultaneously breaks his nose and the added weight makes him lose his balance, causing him to fall into his back. I twist his ankle when he hits the concrete, breaking it with a loud crack. I rise one of my legs so I'm resting on one knee, the cold concrete seeping through my pants. Bucky closes in one me and I throw my body weight upwards, my legs wrapping around his waist.

I get him in a headlock, so right I can feel his throat muscles bluffing with the effort to clear his windpipe. He walks backwards into te wall of a building, my head hitting the brick hard. I lose my grip on his neck and he peels away my arms, shoving me to the ground. I stumble in my panic, turning to crawl away. He runs in front of me, stopping me from leaving. His metal hand gleams in the moonlight and his companion walks behind me. I let out a small cry of alarm. The masked man walks toward me, and I stumble back, waiting for him to get close. Sure enough he does, expecting me to turn and run. He lifts his shield, ready to throw it at my head.

The art of deception.

I grab him and put him in a choke hold, poising my newly-formed fangs right above his neck. "You'll let me go," I warn Bucky. "or I'll kill him." He pauses, disappointment washing over his features. I feel a warm presence between my temples, its comforting embrace lulling me to sleep. I loosen my grip on the masked man, who scrambles out of my grip.

A brunette woman appears, whispering something into Bucky's ear. She begins to walk towards me, crouching down to my level and manoeuvring her fingers and wrists in different directions. A red mist gathers around her hands in tendrils, making their way towards my temples. The warm sensation returns and I panic, knowing that I will be sent back to HYDRA to be experimented on again. "No, please don't take me back, please... Don't..."

I try to crawl away, my hand reaching out into the air, only to collapse in a dirty puddle.