Part 1 – Tower Transfer
Summary: Garou is escorted to Avengers Tower in silence. Steve handles introductions. Tony cracks jokes. Bruce warns about blood pressure. Garou doesn't speak, just scans the room like it's a battlefield. Thor calls him "little wolf." Natasha doesn't blink.
The Quinjet sliced through low clouds over Manhattan, its engines barely audible in the sound-dampened cabin. Inside, Garou sat hunched forward, elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on nothing.
No restraints this time.
Just two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents seated ten feet away, pretending not to breathe too loudly.
Steve stood near the hatch, arms crossed. Every few minutes, he glanced at Garou—not with suspicion. With… assessment. Like trying to read a book with no title, no cover, and half the pages torn out.
"Almost there," he said gently.
Garou didn't respond. His gaze shifted to the city skyline, tracking it like it might attack.
The tower came into view.
Stark Tower, all glass and arrogance, with a glowing arc reactor nestled in its chest like a defiant heart.
As the Quinjet landed on the rooftop pad, Garou was already standing.
The hatch opened.
A breeze hit them, warm with summer. Garou didn't flinch. His bare feet touched the landing pad with the quiet grace of something that should've made noise but didn't.
Steve led the way, walking beside him. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stayed back.
The elevator ride down was silent, except for Tony Stark's voice greeting them the moment the doors opened.
"Cap. And… ohhh, you brought the cryptid. Is this Take-Your-Walking-Weapon-to-Work Day?"
Garou's eyes flicked toward him.
Tony held out a hand. "Hi. Tony Stark. Billionaire. Genius. One-time time traveler. You'll love my place, lots of windows to jump out of if you feel stabby."
Garou stared at the hand. Didn't move.
"Cool," Tony muttered. "We're doing the broody thing. I can roll with that."
They entered the common floor. Polished wood, modern design, full open layout. The Avengers were scattered around like characters in a coffee commercial. Bruce stood at the counter pouring tea. Natasha leaned against a wall near the staircase. Thor lounged on a massive couch, chewing something unnecessarily crunchy.
All eyes turned to Garou.
Thor stood immediately. "Is this the beast I was promised?"
"He's not a beast," Steve said.
"He's shirtless and twitching," Natasha said. "That's at least a red flag."
Garou said nothing. He stepped forward, slowly, scanning the room.
He didn't walk like a guest.
He walked like he was clearing a combat zone.
Thor approached him with a grin. "You carry no hammer. No armor. And yet they say you crushed steel with bare hands."
Garou blinked at him.
Thor chuckled. "You are very small. Like a wolf pup."
Bruce looked at Steve. "Is he… alright? We're still testing his vitals. His cortisol levels are—"
Garou suddenly turned. Not fast. Just sharp. Like he'd heard something inside Bruce's chest.
Bruce fell silent.
Tony leaned toward Steve. "You sure he's not going to eat one of us?"
"He hasn't yet."
"That's your bar?"
Garou moved toward the window and placed a hand on the glass, gazing out at the skyline. His reflection stared back. Still shirtless, still silent, still unreadable.
He tilted his head like something about the city bothered him.
Like it was missing something he couldn't name.
-----... -... -..... ------
They sat at the long glass table in the common floor's briefing room.
Stark called it the "casual command center." It was usually where Avengers planned, argued, or ordered shawarma. Today, the only item on the menu was uncertainty.
Garou sat at one end, back straight, hands flat on the table. His gaze didn't wander. He wasn't sizing anyone up anymore. He was listening—but not in the way people did.
In the way predators did.
Steve sat next to him. Across the table: Tony, Bruce, Natasha. Thor stood, still chewing whatever it was he'd started earlier—probably half a goat.
"I'm not saying we trust him yet," Steve said, voice calm, diplomatic. "I'm saying he hasn't given us a reason not to."
"He folded Agent Mason like an omelet," Tony replied. "That's at least a mild red flag."
"Mason raised a weapon."
Tony held up a hand. "Okay. But let's look at the other red flags, shall we? One: Glowing veins. Never a great sign. Two: hasn't said a single word. And three—" He leaned forward, pointing a pen at Garou. "He just mimicked my heartbeat through the table."
Steve blinked. "What?"
Bruce looked up sharply. "Wait, what?"
Tony tapped the table twice. Then paused. "He tapped. Twice. Then matched my pulse. I have a micro-reactor in my chest, guys. You don't hear that unless you've got sonar ears or a creep filter built into your skull."
All eyes turned to Garou.
His hands were still on the table. His fingers drummed once, then stopped.
Tap… tap… tap.
Then nothing.
Like he was bored now.
Bruce stared, wide-eyed. "Okay. That's not normal. Even I can't do that."
"Maybe he's echoing vibrations," Natasha said. "Like a bat. Or a tuned piano that punches faces."
Steve turned to Garou. "You aware of what you're doing?"
Garou didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
But his eyes flicked to each of them. Studying. Not confused. Not hostile.
Just… measuring.
Tony sat back. "Alright. He's not gonna talk. Fine. Let's give him a name. Can't keep calling him 'The Other One We Found in the Ice.'"
"Don't name him," Natasha said quietly.
"Why not?"
"Because then we'll get attached."
Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not about attachment. It's about giving him a place."
Garou reached toward his glass of water. Lifted it. Sniffed it like it might explode.
Tony watched with fascination. "Okay. Table manners—ehh, two out of ten. But he's curious. I can work with curious."
Bruce leaned over to Natasha. "What's your read?"
She narrowed her eyes, watching Garou tilt his head like he was listening to pipes in the wall. "He's not analyzing. He's absorbing. He's watching us like we're the anomaly."
Tony smiled. "Then maybe we are."
Across the table, Garou finally sipped the water.
He winced slightly. Set the glass down. Looked around like he expected someone to explain what that was.
Steve grinned faintly. "You'll get used to it."