#i have. a lot of hydra peter aus

[brekitten]

Guilt

Sometimes, Peter feels guilty.

He knows he shouldn't, because the skipped lab days with Tony and missed dinners with May, and all the little lies and excuses he's told them to ease their worries, are really for the greater good - a fact he has been told time and time again by his superiors. But no matter how much he tells himself this, he can't stop feeling guilty about all of it.

As he bids May a hasty goodbye, throwing his backpack over his shoulder, that same guilt threatens to crush him once again. He almost wants to stay, to have dinner with his aunt like he had promised he would. But he can't.

He hopes he doesn't have a mission tomorrow night, so he can make it up to her.

He steps into the alley outside his apartment, where two men are waiting for him. They hand him a folder, he skims over the information, and he hands it back. They leave without another word.

He quickly climbs onto the roof and changes into the clothes he brought with him. The mask - the final piece of his uniform - slides over his mouth, and he finds the familiarity comforting. Unlike his Spider-Man mask, which always seems so suffocating, it covers just enough of his face to keep him anonymous. He prefers this mask, and wishes he could use it instead. But he can't, because it isn't Spider-Man's.

The mission is quick, far quicker than most. The file had included the likely locations of the target, and Peter finds the man right away. The target is in an unprotected building. All it takes is one shot from Peter's gun, and the man is dead. No one sees him leave the rooftop he took the shot from, and he makes it home without incident.

He changes back into his civilian clothing, tucking his uniform and weapons back into his bag, and goes into the apartment. May is waiting for him, and he rattles off some story of what he had done, the lies falling easily from his tongue. He tells her nothing of his mission.

He does have dinner with her that night, even though it's late. He has dinner with her the next night, too. He still doesn't feel like it quite makes up for his repeated absences, especially with how strained May's smile always looks.

He tries not to feel guilty about all of the lies and excuses he tells her. It's for the greater good, after all. Everyone he kills in Hydra's name deserves it, and their absence from this world makes the lives of everyone else better. But he knows May won't see it that way; not many people do.

Maybe someday, he can tell her the truth. But for now, he lies.

And despite knowing that what he's doing is what's best for her and everyone he cares about, he feels guilty about it all.

[winterdadandspiderson]

WINTERDAD AU #1

(part one because this got way too long. this is essentially the plot of an old fic i started back in 2020 and what would've happened of i'd continued it. i might try and write it again one day, perhaps, if i don't give up after 2 chapters. anyway here we go)

- mary parker was a shield agent when she met the winter soldier, both were on a mission. they fought, but never got as far as mortally wounding each other. mary would always slip away. it was like a game. bucky had been kept out the ice for a few weeks at that point, running a long job. but the longer he's out, the more he starts to remember little pieces, who he used to be.

- mary feels pity for him, seeing through the stone cold image hydra forged for him, to the person within. they fight. but then they also talk. they keep seeing each other while bucky scouts. eventually one thing leads to another and they develop a relationship of sorts. 

- mary later discovers she's pregnant but bucky never finds out. he's taken back, wiped and put under the ice once more. mary quits her job at shield so she can provide for her kid and keep them safe. knowing full well if anyone in shield or hydra caught wind that she was carrying the winter soldiers child, they'd never be safe.

- she's sad that bucky disappeared again, she knows hydra likely had him wiped and iced again. but she moves on, meeting richard soon after who she tells she's expecting a son, that the father disappeared without a word (technically not a lie) he tells her he'll love him like he's his regardless.

- when her son is born she names him peter james parker (during the few weeks they met, the last time they talked, bucky ended up remembering his first name, mary wanted peter to have at least a piece of him)

- peter ends up looking a LOT like bucky. he has the same shade of dark brown hair, facial structure which shows as he grows. but he has mary's eyes)

- the plane crash was really just an unfortunate incident. peter still goes to live with aunt may and uncle ben when he's seven. and then things go as they usually do in canon. the avengers form, yada yada all that stuff, you know the drill.

- when he's 14 peter is bitten by the radioactive spider. BUT. an important detail here is that due to the expiermentation bucky was subjected to by hydra and the enhancements which altered his genes, some of that, though remaining dormant, passed onto peter. but it didn't really do anything, it was just there. but it did keep him alive after the spider bite. without those enhancements in his blood peter would've died. instead, he gained his powers.

- uncle ben still gets shot, which as usual influences peter to become spider-man. and months after tony still comes along and recruits him to fight in germany. peter does.

- when he briefly faces bucky ("you have a metal arm? that is AWESOME, dude!") neither know so that also goes as normal. bucky is bewhildered by the kid who managed to block a hit with so much force behind it, while also shocked to know that he was just that, a kid.

- now one vastly different thing here is that while the avengers do split for a good year, steve and tony eventually talk and make amends. the avengers reassemble, deciding that they need to put the world before their feud. they're not on super good terms, but they tolerate each other. tony still refuses to forgive bucky.

- homecoming happens during the time where things are still rocky between the avengers so peter still deals with vulture alone. but he does see tony more often, stopping by for lab days to work on his suit among other things, to keep up the "internship" charade. tony grows fond of him, though he doesn't admit it.

its post homecoming where things start to go wrong.

[sjsmith56]

Faces of Bucky Barnes

Summary: One shot of an interaction with the multiverse that affects Bucky Barnes during a tough time in his life.

Length: 7.4 K

Characters: Bucky Barnes from 2024, Bucky Barnes from 1938, Jim Barnes (son of another AU Bucky from 1971), Bucky Barnes from 1998 (AU).

Warnings: some references to drug use, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse, and suicide but it’s not really a dark fic.

Author notes: Set at the same time as Spider-Man: No Way Home but only connected in a roundabout way. Also slightly connected to What If? Season 2, Episode 2, What If? ... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes.   Images in the banner were created by the author using the Microsoft Copilot App in Designer mode.

🌃 🌉 🥡

It was Bucky's favourite place to go when he needed to get out of his head for a while. A rooftop on an empty warehouse that overlooked an approach to the Brooklyn Bridge was the perfect location to sit at night and see the bridge that he had grown up with all those years ago, before the war, before HYDRA, before the Avengers. Before everything became fucked up again.

This time, it was Alexander Ross who set in motion the latest attempt to rope Bucky into doing something he didn't want to do. The man just wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You served your country before, then you served HYDRA. I'm just asking you to serve your country again. Then we'll call it even."

Those were his exact words. As if Bucky's service in World War II wasn't enough, all by itself. As if fighting Thanos twice and containing the Flag Smashers also wasn't enough. Why couldn't Bucky just be left alone to do what he wanted? Why couldn't he tinker with old cars and motorcycles, keeping them in good repair for enthusiasts who still appreciated how things were made before. The sound of a siren on the bridge caught his attention and he focused on a police car in pursuit of someone. That part was still very much the same now as it had been then, even though the subway cars and vehicles crossing the bridge looked different. There were always going to be people who lived on the wrong side of the law and those who would hunt them down.

Why did Ross think it should be him doing the hunting? The man wouldn't even say who it was he wanted Bucky to hunt down but deep down the super soldier knew that Ross saw a lot of good people as enemies and that's what bothered him the most. For all he knew Ross wanted Bucky to go after Sam, or even Peter Parker, and that would never happen.

Peter Parker, that kid was facing problems just as bad as Bucky had it. He just couldn't seem to catch a break. Why couldn't they leave him alone as well? Let him go to college, marry his girlfriend, have a family. He was a good kid, and a smart one. But no, certain segments of society were out to pigeon-hole him as a threat.

"Stop," he said out loud. "Breathe. Peter will be okay. You can tell Ross no and you'll be okay. Life will go on."

A sound of a portal opening behind him made him shake his head. How did the sorcerers always find him? He turned around to see if it was Dr. Strange or Wong, but he didn't expect to see what he saw there and stood up, facing the young man, with his face, his much younger face, dressed in a brown suit.

"What just happened?" The younger version asked, his face a mask of surprise. "I'm in Brooklyn, cuz that's the Brooklyn Bridge so that must be Manhattan but it ain't nothin' like the New York I know. Who are you?"

His Brooklyn accent was strong, much stronger than Bucky's accent of 2024. He studied the current version carefully, lingering on his eyes, recognizing him. Approaching him where he stood near the edge, he looked up at him, puzzled that this older man with his face was taller.

"Are you me?"

Fuck it. The guy just walked through a portal from the 1930s based on that suit that Bucky remembered wearing then.

"James Buchanan Barnes, born March 10, 1917, is the day I was born, in Indiana," replied Bucky. "Moved here when I was a little kid. You?"

"Same," he replied. "You're older and taller than me and dressed different. What year is it?"

Older Bucky smiled a little. He read a lot of science and fantasy fiction when he was younger so the thought of it being a different year obviously came easily to his other self.

"2024, and before you say that makes me 107 years old, yes, I am that, technically. But there's a reason I'm still alive and I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you. What I can do is phone someone to get you back home."

The younger Bucky smirked. "Hate to break it to you, pal, but there ain't a pay phone up here."

It was older Bucky's turn to smirk as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled Dr. Strange. His smirk turned to a frown as the call went to voice mail.

"Hey, Strange, it's Bucky Barnes," he said into the phone. God, he hated voice mail. "I'm talking to a version of myself from ...." He looked at his younger self. "What year exactly are you from?"

"1938, was headed out for my 21st birthday party. Supposed to pick up Steve then meet Dot and a bunch of friends at a dance hall in Rockaway Beach."

Fuck, he was such a punk then. "The younger version of me says he's from 1938. Are you messing around with the multiverse again? Call me back, or better yet, get over here. I'll keep my phone on so you can locate it."

He hung up then noticed his younger self looking curiously at it.

"It's called a cell phone. There aren't many pay phones these days as nearly everyone has their own personal phone, even homeless people. It's used for more than that. You can pull up maps, watch movies, television shows, play games, even pay for things."

He shrugged. The younger man looked back at the Manhattan skyline, his eyes taking it all in.

"I can still see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building," he said, "but look at the height on some of those others. People live in those?"

"Most are office buildings," replied older Bucky. He sighed. "Not sure what's going on as you shouldn't be here. The guy I phoned is a sorcerer acquaintance. He should be getting back to me."

"Sorcerer? Seriously? They're around in the future?"

"They were around in the past," said older Bucky, "but more hidden and secretive. The ones now have had to be more visible because of ... stuff."

The sound of another portal behind them had them both turning to the source. Young Bucky's face transformed into something incredulous as the telltale sparkle of light appeared and grew larger, except it wasn't a sorcerer who came through. It was another version of Bucky, definitely from the multiverse because he was young, but he looked like he came from the 1960s or 1970s, as he had long hair, a Fu Manchu moustache and wore bell bottom jeans and a jean jacket. He came through, watching the sparkling circle close then noticed the others standing there.

"Far out," he said, as the portal closed behind him. "That was some trip." He noticed the 1930s version of himself. "Cool threads, man. Got a 1930s vibe going there." He looked closer at the two of them. "Weird. You look like me, except you're older and you're younger. Dude, what's happening?"

"Did you understand that?" asked 1938 Bucky.

"Some of it," said original modern Bucky. "Not sure what's going on, but I think you two appeared here from your original universes. What year was it before you came through the portal?"

"1971," replied the long-haired version. "I smoked up a little while ago, thought maybe I was hallucinating. This is real? What year?"

"2024," answered 1938 Bucky as he glanced at original Bucky. "He smells of reefer."

"Reefer." The long-haired man laughed. "They haven't called it that since the 1940s. What do they call it now?"

"Weed, mostly or cannabis," said original Bucky, sighing. "Can't believe I'm having this conversation. It's legal now, at least in New York, so they refer to it by brand names as well."

"No shit!" The long-haired man laughed again. "Like, you can buy it in a store?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Bucky dialled Dr. Strange again, getting another voice mail prompt which made him hang up. This was definitely a multiverse thing but the fact there was a version of him that was born after the war meant he wasn't just in his original time frame. He was in different ones as well. Unless ... this guy was his kid.

"What's your name, when were you born and who were your parents?" he asked. "Sorry, just trying to keep things straight."

"Jim Barnes, Jr., born in 1950," said the long hair version. "My dad was James Buchanan Barnes, Sr., and my mother was Dolores Barnes. They split up when I was about 10.

Fuck, this guy was his kid. 1938 Bucky glanced at him, obviously thinking the same thing, as he mouthed Dolores' nickname, Dot.

"Why did they split up?"

"My dad was never right after the war," said Jim. "Lost his best friend in 1945 when he fell off a train during a mission. Tried to drink himself to death but never seemed to get there. He could out drink anyone, so he just got angry and eventually it got too dangerous for us to be around him. Us three kids stayed with Mom." He shrugged. "Not sure I'll be seeing any of them any time soon. I decided to go to Canada when I got my draft notice. It's just a matter of when."

Modern Bucky felt his stomach do a flip. Steve must have fallen off the train in this man's timeline, an event that obviously affected him deeply. This son of his was 21, in 1971. It meant he likely was drafted into the Vietnam War and didn't want to go. He glanced at the 1938 version of himself, who was frowning at this revelation.

"It was because of a war in Southeast Asia," Bucky murmured. "By all accounts it wasn't supported too well by the population. Some burned their draft cards and went to Canada. Stayed there, too." He looked at Jim sympathetically. "Can I ask you something? Are you strong? Like really strong? Can you handle your alcohol well?"

"Yeah," said the younger man suspiciously. "Takes a lot to get me buzzed. Sometimes, it's not worth the trouble." He frowned. "I'm not a coward. I am strong but I don't want to fight anyone. It's a bogus war, man. Rich boys can get deferments or get into the Coast Guard or the National Guard and not have to go over but even they've been involved in some killings. The killing of those four students in Ohio last year was the last straw for me. I'm not firing against American citizens."

His dad obviously never told anyone about what HYDRA did to him and he passed on his abilities to his kids. No wonder he was trying to drink himself to death. The guilt over Steve's death ... wait, if Steve fell, did he become.... He shook his head, clearing that thought.

"Your dad, is he still alive?"

Jim swallowed, looked at the Brooklyn Bridge with obvious pain then back at Bucky.

"No, he put a bullet in his head a couple of years ago, after my older brother Steve came back from Vietnam missing an arm. That's another reason I'm not going. If anything happened to me, it would kill my mom and as fucked up as I am, I do love her. I love Steve and Rebecca as well."

Bucky placed his hand on Jim's shoulder, patting it sympathetically. The sound of another portal drew all of their attention as the circle formed. What stepped out shocked Bucky, as this version of him wore a uniform that was obviously his universe's version of Captain America, complete with a dull silver-coloured prosthetic arm. His hair, longer than Bucky's but shorter than Jim's was clean and somewhat styled. He looked startled at the 1938 version of Bucky, then puzzled at Jim Barnes. Finally, he noticed modern Bucky, specifically the metal hand and approached him.

"What year?" he asked, gesturing to the skyline.

"2024," replied modern Bucky. "I've been out of HYDRA for ten years. You?"

"1998. I was sent to be Russia's contribution to a threat to the world in 1988 and escaped but I ended up in a car accident a couple of years later. Went into a coma. When I woke up it was 1994 and my old arm was gone but Tony Stark made me a new one. Somehow the damage that put me into a coma neutralized the trigger words. Peggy Carter asked me to be Captain America for the Avengers. What else was I going to do?" He shook his head then looked at the two younger men as they stood gazing at the Manhattan skyline, so different from what they were used to. "I take it these two are other versions of ourselves."

"Not exactly," said Bucky, gesturing to the 1938 version. "He's an original. The other one is our son. In his universe, Steve fell off the train and we tried to drink ourselves to death, never telling anyone what we were or accepting it."

"Shit, does he have ...?"

Modern Bucky nodded. "We should tell him, as it appears he's self-medicating a lot, unsuccessfully. Mind you it's 1971 in his world and he's just made the decision to be a draft dodger." He hesitated for a moment. "My words are gone as well, courtesy of a brilliant scientist. She designed this arm for me. You should know that Steve is alive."

"What? They said he was lost in a plane crash in 1945."

"Frozen in the ice. In this universe, they find him in 2011 and thaw him out. The serum kept him alive. He stayed here until last year then went back in time to be with Peggy. Cap in this time is another guy, Sam Wilson. He has wings."

"They didn't ask you?"

Bucky shrugged, then looked over to the Brooklyn Bridge. "Too messed up in my own head. I killed a lot, including Howard and his wife, in my timeline. I remember them all."

"I'm sorry." Cap Bucky placed a hand on Bucky's shoulder. "You are a good man. I killed a lot for HYDRA as well, but Peggy never held that against me. Neither do the other Avengers. I guess Howard died of cancer when I was in a coma. What you do in the here and now is what should define you. Easier said, I know, but still true." He took a breath. "So, what are we going to do? Sit here and wait for a sorcerer to appear? I could use something to eat."

Bucky looked at the others. "You guys hungry? I don't live too far. We could pick up some takeout and beer. I left a message for Dr. Strange. Once he checks his messages he should come and help get you back to where you belong."

"Food is good," said 1930s Bucky. "What's takeout?"

The other three smiled the same lopsided smile and Bucky gestured to follow him down a fire escape. They stopped at a Korean place that was still open, with the proprietor waving to Bucky from the kitchen, as he was a regular customer. He ordered several servings of everything, knowing that three of the four of them could easily finish it, choosing Korean fried chicken, beef and pork bulgogi, green onion cakes, japchae, bibimbap with rice, and kimchi. Although the staff gave the other three some second and third looks, they didn't say anything.

"This universe has seen some strange things, including aliens, androids and sorcerers," explained modern Bucky. "Seeing three other versions of me doesn't even come close to weird."

After dividing the food bags between them they made one more stop at a 24-hour liquor store with Bucky getting a couple of six packs of beer and a bottle of bourbon. They crammed into the elevator of his building.

"I only have a one-bedroom place," said Bucky. "Not much furniture but I'm good on the floor if you others want to take a chair. I'm living on an army pension so it's what I could afford."

When he handed off the food and booze to the others to unlock the door, he opened it and stepped back to let them in first. They filed in, dropping everything off on the small kitchen island.

"This is nice," said 1930s Bucky. "Clean, small but if it's just you it's enough. Nicer than that slum Steve is living in."

Both modern Bucky and Cap Bucky nodded, remembering that tenement room their best friend insisted on living in. Taking his meagre assortment of glasses out, Bucky poured out some bourbon in each one, holding his glass in front of him.

"Here's mud in your eye," he said, draining it in one gulp. "They've been kind enough to provide us four servings of rice, just take what you want from each of the other containers and dig in."

For the next few minutes there was no sound as they all went after the food, transferring portions into their individual rice boxes. Modern Bucky sat on the floor, leaning against the wall as the other three took the armchair, and the two dining table chairs that were there. Cap Bucky eyed the bedding on the floor.

"Sleeping there?"

"Yeah, bed's too soft," replied modern Bucky. "I manage a few hours every night."

Jim swallowed his food and looked critically at the two artificial arms. "What's with the arms?"

"Not sure I can tell you, exactly," said Cap Bucky. "Let's just say this Bucky and I have a shared experience where we lost our flesh arms, went through some shit, then got a new life and new arms in the process."

"Were you born in 1917 as well?" asked 1930s Bucky. "He already told me."

"Yeah, I was. Don't know if you'll go through what we went through. Jim's dad didn't, at least not the way we did."

"He had both of his original arms," said Jim. "But he was one angry guy. Ma said before the war he was a lot of fun but after ... he was a different man. She still loved him, but he hurt her and us, more than once."

"I would never hit a woman," stated 1930s Bucky. "Not Dot, I loved her."

The other two Bucky's looked meaningfully at each other. On a hunch, modern Bucky signed to Cap Bucky, who sat back and watched, nodding his head. He signed back, as the other two realized what they were doing.

"What can it hurt?" asked modern Bucky, verbally. "They've already seen two different versions of us, and how New York looks in the 21st century. Maybe, this Bucky is this guy's dad. If he understands what might happen, he can deal with it better, and I'm sure Jim would like to understand more of what his dad went through that made him the way he is. It can help him with his own timeline and whether he should go to Canada."

The bright blue eyes of Cap Bucky seemed to harden for a moment then they softened.

"Alright, we tell them both everything," he said. "We can't change our past but maybe we can change their futures."

For the rest of that night, the two Bucky's with prosthetic arms told their stories, amazing each other with the synchronization of their journeys until Cap Bucky's took a turn when he listened to Howard Stark and didn't kill a boy who only wanted to get back home to Earth. Both 1930s Bucky and Jim Barnes questioned them about details, about the things that they wished they had done. By sunrise, the 1930s Bucky had loosened his shirt and tie and was lying on top of the double bed in the bedroom. Jim Barnes had taken his boots and jacket off and was lying next to him curled up with his hand hanging over the edge. Cap and Modern Bucky still sat in the living room, leaning against the open wall, while finishing the bourbon.

"So, where exactly is Steve in 1998?" asked Cap.

"Buried in a glacier in the Arctic," said Bucky, reaching for one of his notebooks and tearing a sheet out. "Here's the coordinates." He watched as Cap looked at it, folded it up and placed inside a hidden pocket. "They were on a display in the Smithsonian. He's alive and they should be able to resuscitate him. I don't know if your universe will go through with what mine did but if it does, aliens start to show up in 2011, then Tony tries to make Ultron in 2014 to protect the Earth. Instead, Ultron went a little crazy and decided to kill humans. Aliens start looking for the stones ... that blue Tesseract is one of them ... and Thanos comes calling in 2018. If he does, remember to go for the head. Don't let him snap his fingers or else half of all life, everywhere, is just gone."

"What about you?" There was sympathy and understanding in Cap Bucky's eyes. "What's going on with you?"

"A powerful man wants me to work for him." Bucky looked at his metal hand. "By work, I think he means for me to hunt other enhanced individuals and bring them together so that he can control them. I don't want to do it but he's in a position to make my life miserable if I don't." He looked around at his little flat. "This isn't what I ever envisioned for myself. I'm 107 years old, living on an army pension that barely pays the bills, while waiting on the army to give me my back pay for all the years I was basically a prisoner of war. Half of society thinks I should have been shot for what I did as the Winter Soldier, and the other half are indifferent to my existence."

"You have friends though, right?" Modern Bucky felt his face get warm. "You don't think you're worthy of friendship, do you?" Cap sipped his bourbon, thoughtfully. "Obviously, I didn't kill as many people as you did when HYDRA, then Russia had me in their control, but the body count was still up there. I became a kind of vigilante when I first got away from them. I could hear calls for help and would get to people who were being assaulted. I hid myself a lot. Then, I got hit by an armoured truck and knocked out. Stayed that way for four years. When I woke up, Peggy Carter was sitting next to my bed. Tony showed up within the hour. A few of the Howlies showed up, old men all of them, but they were so happy to see me. None of them ever forgot about me and Peggy apologized for not looking for me, even though she suspected who the Winter Soldier was years later. I could have been angry, but the fact was that I could have also escaped sooner than I did. I just convinced myself that I was too far gone and not worth saving. I was wrong. Don't give up on life, Buck. If you don't want to do what this guy wants you to do, then don't do it. Call in your friends, tell the newspapers, expose his plans to the daylight. Fight for your right to have a life, to be just another face in the crowd."

"You make it sound easy." Bucky sighed. "I'm just tired of it. You know what I really want to do? Fix motorcycles and cars from the 1930s and 40s, find an understanding woman who doesn't mind listening to the old music with me, maybe dinner out or dancing once in a while, having a couple of kids and playing catch with them in the back yard. Getting old ... God, how I want to grow old." He rubbed his face. "Sounds pathetic."

"No, not at all," smiled Cap Bucky. "Sounds pretty perfect to me."

A portal began forming in Bucky's living room and both men stood up. Dr. Strange strode through.

"I got your message," he said, taking in Cap Bucky. "How many?"

"Three, although one of them isn't me. He's, my son."

Strange frowned. "Your son ... interesting. Well, get them out here and I'll send them back."

Modern Bucky went into the bedroom while Cap Bucky stayed out in the living room with Dr. Strange.

"Can you do me a favour?" he asked. "Is there any way you can make him appear like another face in the crowd?"

"That's what got me into this mess," said Strange. "A similar request from another person. You mean, no one would know who he is?"

"I mean, I think he would want to keep his friends because he doesn't have many and he shouldn't have to start at the beginning to find new ones." A crease appeared in Cap's forehead between his eyes. "All he wants is to live in peace, fix old vehicles, find the right woman and grow old. Is that too much to ask?"

Strange looked carefully at this version of Bucky, noticing the uniform. He had obviously come to terms with his own past if he was Captain America in another universe. The Bucky from this universe came out of the bedroom followed by a younger version of him from what appeared to be the 1930s and another from the 1970s. They were both rubbing their eyes as if they had been asleep for a while. The younger Bucky's eyes grew large at the sight of Dr. Strange.

"Sorcerer?" Modern Bucky nodded making the 1930s version grin. "Far out."

Jim Barnes grinned at the use of his term by the older Bucky. "He doesn't look like Gandalf."

"None of us do," deadpanned Strange. "Alright, let's get you two back to where you belong. No talking about what you've seen or heard. Frankly, people in your times will think you've had a psychiatric episode if you do, so keep it quiet."

With a wave of his hand the first portal opened, and 1930s Bucky quickly shook hands with the others before stepping through. Once that portal closed, he opened another one for Jim Barnes who looked thoughtfully at the two Bucky's then waved when he stepped back into 1971. Cap Bucky extended his metal arm to modern Bucky and the two men with the shared HYDRA past grasped each other's arms before releasing them. After he stepped through the portal only Bucky and Dr. Strange were left.

"Busy night?"

"You don't know the half of it," said Strange. "Is everything alright, with you, I mean."

"Thaddeus Ross is pressuring me to join his "team," said Bucky. "I think he wants to use me to hunt down enhanced individuals. Even though the Sokovia Accords are toast he still wants control of us."

"What do you want?"

"To find my own way, one that doesn't involve hurting people, or having to justify why I should be allowed to live," said Bucky, frowning. "I just want the life I was supposed to have if HYDRA never get their claws into me, unless I ended up a serial killer anyways, because I don't want that."

"That's fair," said Strange. "Excuse me for a moment." Bucky watched as the sorcerer did his thing with the Time Stone. When he came out of his momentary review of time, he looked at Bucky and smiled. "I don't think you have to worry about Thaddeus Ross too much. As for the rest, I'm sure things will look better. How was it visiting with two versions of yourself and a version of your son?"

"Interesting," admitted Bucky. "I should try to get some sleep. Cap and I stayed up all night comparing our HYDRA experiences. I'm glad to see another version of me got away from them."

Dr. Strange said nothing, just smiled his grim smile, opened a portal and stepped through.

March 15, 1938

"So, there's no connection between having your birthday celebration now and the Ides of March?" asked Steve as the two friends headed to the train station. "I was surprised when you canceled out last weekend."

"Nope, unless you're all planning to stab me in the back," said Bucky, waving to Dot and her friend. "Now, Margie is shy like you, but she's into art. Dot says she's always drawing something."

"She looks nice." Steve blushed as his friend put his arm around his shoulder and drew up to the two young women. "Hi, Dot."

"Hey, Stevie," she said, after receiving a kiss on the cheek from Bucky. "This is my friend Margie. She's in the art program at Pratt."

"Yeah?" His face brightened. "I just had a year at Auburndale but couldn't afford another year."

"Auburndale's good," said Margie, liking Steve's blue eyes and ready smile. "I was lucky to get a scholarship to Pratt. What's your favourite medium?"

Steve offered her his arm as they went up the steps. Bucky took Dot's hand, pulling her towards him, and wrapping his arms around her.

"Thanks for waiting until this weekend and finding him a date. I didn't want Steve to feel like a third wheel."

She shrugged; her red hair vibrant under the streetlight. "I don't know why I didn't think of pairing them together before. They're alike in many ways. Steve's a good guy. He just needs to loosen up a bit."

Bucky grinned then his face grew serious as he gazed at her. "I love you; you know. Have for a long time."

Her face changed at his declaration, as she smiled then placed her hand on his cheek. "I love you, too, Bucky. Now let's go dancing."

With their arms around each other they followed the other couple up the stairs to the elevated train station, waiting for the one that would take them to the dance hall at Rockaway Beach, the second dance of the spring season.

April 7, 1971

Jim stepped off the train, placing his satchel over his shoulder as he walked towards the exit. When he stepped back into his time after being in the future, he wasn't sure what to expect. But ending up in the library at Brooklyn College wasn't it. Hopefully, he still lived in the same house with his mother, brother Steve and sister Rebecca. On the train ride to their neighbourhood, he thought over what happened to him. It had been an interesting experience, that was for sure. Perhaps, he could write about it in his journalism class. His stop came up and he made his way to the door, stepping out into the cool spring evening air. It was only a short walk from the station to the house.

"You got mail!" His mother called as he stepped inside.

How she always knew it was him coming in was interesting. He looked at the return address, Department of Defence. Shit, it was his draft notice. His last deferment didn't go through. Stopping dead in the hallway in front of the stairs he stared at the envelope wondering whether to open it.

"You better deal with it sooner rather than later," said a familiar voice that shocked him.

"Dad? I thought ...."

His dad put his finger up to his mouth. "It's me," he whispered. "It's been hard waiting for this day, waiting for this version of you to come home and know the truth. I remembered what you wore that night."

"I thought we couldn't change our past," said Jim, as his dad took him by the elbow into the living room.

"I changed my future and that changed yours, but you had to get back here to know it," said the older Barnes. "I didn't join the 107th. I became a pilot and Steve became a reporter, drawing comics of the various soldiers he met as he covered the war. Some other guy became Captain America. Some other guy became the Winter Soldier. It still worked out for them because they were different guys, and their futures were different than ours."

"But our Steve still lost his arm," said Jim.

"Yeah, but he didn't lose us because I didn't lose your mom and you kids. We got him through it, and we'll get you through whatever that letter says." He placed his calloused hand on his son's face. "I think that's why you were there so that I would know you, know what you went through as a kid because of how I dealt with the things that happened to me in your timeline. I've tried really hard to be a good man, Jim."

His eyes were glassy as he said it and the two men hugged. Then Jim opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, making a sigh of relief.

"Coast Guard," he said. "They've taken my ... when did I become an experienced sailor?"

"Since I started taking you kids out on sailboats when you were kids," smiled Bucky. "Don't worry, it should come to you, once you integrate into this timeline. Your brother, Steve, ended up on a patrol boat in the Vietnamese river system, lost his arm when he was shot from the shore. With the Coast Guard, you could end up working from home. You don't have to go to Canada, although you'll have to cut your hair and shave that monstrosity off your face."

His grin showed Jim that his dad was joking, and they hugged again. Both men thought back to that night when they went from their respective times into the future and met two other Bucky's who had gone through hell. Something drew them there, to fix both of them, and to fix what was wrong between them. It was meant to be.

May 17, 1998

Bucky was with the team when they located the Valkyrie just under the top layer of the glacier. It had shrunk from when the aircraft crash landed into it in 1945. Since then, the one wing tip was slowly exposed, to the point where it showed up on an aerial survey done by the Greenland parks service, close to the coordinates given to Bucky in 2024. Carefully they had used steam to thaw out the door into the large aircraft, finding it mostly undamaged inside, although a lot of ice had built up from all the water that seeped in from the glacier. Then a corporal called to them when he spied the shield and Bucky hurried over there, brushing the frost away from the body that lay encased in ice under the shield.

"Steve," he whispered, confirming his identity.

The extraction team came in, carefully unthawing the ice several inches underneath the frozen remains, then lifting the icy block onto a stretcher, then into a Chinook helicopter. Bucky sat near Steve's body, watching as the block of ice was wrapped in thermal blankets to slow down the rate of the ice melting so it was gradual and wouldn't put his body into shock. By the time the large helicopter landed in Thule, they had the special medical unit set up, with Peggy and Tony waiting as Steve's body was wheeled in. None of them slept well over that week as they did everything they could to keep the thawing process stable. When the decision was made to start warming the body they waited anxiously, hoping that the information given to Bucky was accurate. Ten days after he was transported there, Steve Rogers opened his eyes and saw himself in a hospital room, with tubes and IV lines coming in and out of his body. He shifted, setting up a bunch of alarms, which brought a number of people running. The person he noticed first was already there, with a head of dark hair, long in length, a several day-old beard, and the blue eyes of his best friend, Bucky.

"Hey punk," said that best friend, grinning at him. "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid until I got back."

"Buck." Steve tried to raise himself, but several hands came out to stop him. "You're alive. You fell."

"Yeah, I did." Bucky smiled sadly. "I'll tell you about it later. The important thing is that we found you. A lot has happened since you went into the ice, but now that you're here, I think things are going to look up."

The two friends looked at each other with affection. Catching up would have to wait, as a team of medical personnel arrived to document the momentous occasion when a frozen body was successfully reanimated after over 50 years encased in the ice. It was one for the history books.

May 31, 2024

It had been almost two weeks since that night when the three portals discharged the two Bucky's and Jim Barnes on the rooftop of the building. Bucky had kept a low profile since then, although he phoned Sam, telling him about Ross's ultimatum to him. Sam was angry about that and raised a very public stink, which made Ross back off, although Bucky still had the feeling someone was watching him from afar. More than likely, he was being paranoid. On this Friday morning, he got up, hearing about a particular motorcycle for sale in Bensonhurst. When he got off the train he began the short walk to the shop. Frowning at the Closed sign on it when he arrived, he peeked inside the window, then noticed a back door was open. Heading around to the back he saw a woman, sitting in a lawn chair, with her feet up on a crate, a coffee on another crate while she closed her eyes in the sun.

"Excuse me," he said, making her eyes open, frowning at him. "I called about the World War II motorcycle. The man said I could come this morning to look at it."

She ran her eyes over him, then sighed. "That was likely my deadbeat brother. He's taken the bike. Said he had a buyer for it in the Bronx. Personally, I think he took it to his loan shark, to pay off some of his debt. Sorry that you came all this way for nothing." She shook her head, seeming to fight off some tears. "Hell of a way to run a business but what do I know? My dad left it to both of us and he's running it into the ground, while I'm trying to make it a going concern."

"Well, I guess the price he quoted was too good to be true," said Bucky. "I'm sorry to bother you."

He turned to leave but she called out to him. "Hey mister? There's another classic motorcycle in there. Needs some work but whatever price you want to pay for it, I'm willing to let it go for that. Otherwise, the bank will just seize it when they foreclose."

"I don't want to take advantage of your situation," said Bucky.

She stood up, surprising him with her height as she was only a couple of inches shorter than him.

"Come in and have a look at it, you never know," she replied, walking towards the open door to the shop.

They stepped inside and right away, Bucky felt comfortable with all the motorcycles in various states of repair. He saw several from the 1940s as well as some 1950s models. She stopped beside a silver motorcycle that seemed to be complete, a 1958 Triumph Tiger 100. He kneeled down, looking carefully at the engine, then stood up and examined the finishings.

"She's beautiful," he said. "What's left to do?"

The woman shrugged. "Honestly? I'm not sure what I'm missing. She starts up fine, then about a mile into the ride she starts running rough and by the time I get her back here she gives up the ghost. I've put a lot of time into restoring her but I'm missing something."

"You're the mechanic?" He noticed her look of dismay at his comment. "I'm not being critical. I'm impressed." He stuck his hand out. "Bucky."

"Angel," she replied, shaking his hand, then noticing his smile. "Yeah, it's my real name. I guess my great grandpa took one look at me when he came to the hospital just after I was born and said I was an angel. He's the one who started this shop, after World War II. He was responsible for the motor pool for the Howling Commandos, Sergeant Bruno Moretti."

She pointed to a large, framed photograph on the wall. With a smile, Bucky went over to it, grinning at the picture of the Howling Commandos as he bent closer to it. That's when Angel saw him in the picture, then looked back and forth between the man standing beside her and the man on the old photograph.

"You're Bucky Barnes."

"Yeah," he replied, then straightened up. "You're Sarge's great granddaughter. Did you know him?"

"No, he died when I was about a year old. Grandpa told me his stories about the Howlies ... that's what you called yourselves, right?"

Bucky nodded his head, feeling nostalgic at the moment. "They were a good group of guys. Sarge always kept us supplied with working vehicles. Didn't even mind when I would tinker with the motorcycles. Showed me a few things as well. Sometimes, I'm amazed I still remember it."

"Well, you've been through a lot," replied Angel. "It must be hard at times, stuck in a future that is so different. Sometimes .... Never mind." She looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"No, it's okay," said Bucky. "What were you going to say?"

"Well, sometimes I feel like I'm out of my right time," she said. "I mean, I like the old music, and even though I'm a mechanic, I'm kind of a girlie girl when I'm not knuckle deep in a greasy engine. It must be worse for you sometimes. I imagine you missed out on a lot of things because of what happened to you." She looked away again. "Sorry, I'm babbling."

"I don't mind. You're honest without being cruel and that's a good quality."

They stood without talking for a moment, comfortable in the silence, then their peace and quiet was shattered by the arrival of Angel's brother, Tony. Right away, Bucky didn't care for the guy, wondering how he was such a jerk compared to his sister. Eventually, he found that he had to leave before he was tempted to punch Tony and headed out the back door. Before he got very far, he heard his voice being called and turned to see Angel walking towards him. She handed him her business card.

"Stay in touch," she smiled. "We can go for coffee or something. If you want."

"Yeah, I would like that." He looked at her again. "Do you have your phone with you?" She nodded. He phoned the number she gave him, making her phone ring. "Save my phone number. We can talk about the different things you can try to narrow down that problem with the Triumph. Or maybe you can talk your brother into selling his share in the business to someone else."

They were looking at more than each other's eyes when he said that. Then Angel smiled and saved Bucky's phone number to her contacts. They began to walk away from each other then both turned to look back at the same moment, making them chuckle. With a wave, Bucky headed towards the subway station, feeling pretty positive about his prospects.

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One Shots Masterlist

[fanficimagery]

Once a Weirdo, Always a Weirdo

After finding yourself in a normal living situation, HYDRA has to go and ruin it by targeting the local school for outcasts and weirdos.

Words: 8K Author's Note: I take no credit for Reader's rant towards the Avengers. It all belongs to Marcel Gerard of The Originals. Wednesday AU where *SPOILERS* Tyler's Hyde was never activated and Miss Thornhill doesn't work at Nevermore. Also, it's canon that Xavier falls fast and it's no different here lol.

At the Avengers Compound, you sit on a barstool at the bar and watch as all the superheroes and their scientist friends continue to mingle even after all the paparazzi have left. You had been summoned to attend an event for some good publicity after helping reverse Thanos' snap, and to be honest you would rather be anywhere else but here.

When they had first brought you and your brother in, you'd been ecstatic to leave behind all the experimentation and poking and prodding some evil organization put you through. You'd gone in a normal teenage girl and came out a weapon who had no control over her abilities. The Avengers took the both of you in, shielding your identities from the government and even the papers, and helped you adjust to everyday living.

But just when you thought you had found a group of people who could understand you and possibly keep you company, you realized they merely thought of you and your brother as children who needed training here and there. Invitations to hang out or even to just talk were brushed aside, and you only ever got to spend time with the older superheroes when they needed your help.

Losing your brother during a mission you never should have been on was strike one, ignoring your cries for help after his death was strike two, and being pushed to the back burner yet again even after you did a lot of the work in helping them defeat Thanos is strike three. So, when the superheroes all laugh at some stupid joke Tony Stark no doubt has just told them, you down the rest of your Cherry Coke and decide to finally take a stand.

Walking towards the central core group of Avengers, you pull your compound clearance badge out from your back pocket and toss it on the glass coffee table that's in the middle of the group. Talking and laughter ceases, and everyone glances at you. "I'm out." You say.

As you turn to walk away, Tony huffs and draws your attention back. "What do you mean you're out?"

"It means exactly what you think, Stark. I quit. I'm done."

"You can't just quit."

"And why not?" Against your will, your eyes start to fill with tears and Tony's jaw drops in surprise. The tension thickens as you glance between every so-called Avenger. "I've done everything that you have asked of me. And for what?"

"Excuse me?" Tony asks, offended you'd say such a thing.

"I joined your stupid team," you say, glancing between him and Steve. "I left what little friends I managed to make in the dust because that's what you all needed."

"YN…" Natasha softly calls out to you and you stare at her with your bottom lip trembling.

"I fought for Earth. I kept Peter breathing," you cry, angrily swiping at your tears as your emotions finally bubble over. Then glancing at Doctor Strange, you sneer at him. "I even kept Ebony Maw from piercing your cold… black… heart. I did everything!"

"Sweetheart…" Bucky takes a step towards you in hopes of calming you down, but you take a step back with a shake of your head.

"Anyone who's not an official Avenger is nothing to any of you. Nothing."

"That's not true." Peter Parker steps forward then, his earnest expression giving you pause. "YN, you are an Avenger. You're my- you're my friend. You're one of the best of us."

"No, I'm not." You take a step back. "Not anymore."

As you turn to walk away, no one utters a word.

No one dares to interrupt you when you're packing your bags, and no one stops you when you walk out the front door.

Only when you're outside the compound gates do you allow yourself to exhale in relief, but that relief is short-lived when you realize you have no idea where you're going to go.

"Oy vey," you mutter. You really should have thought this through more.

Six Months Later

When you'd left the Avengers, you thought you'd travel the states for a while before you found a place to settle in. Instead, you found yourself in a small town by the name of Jericho that was only a few hours away from where you left and found a little Bed and Breakfast whose owner gave you a deal for a semi-permanent room when she found out you had no family and no place to go. All she asked in return was that you help her out since she was getting up there in age and couldn't move like she used you. You easily agreed.

For a half a year, you never strayed too far from Josie's B&B. The older woman was surprised you knew your way around leaky faucets and could replace the inner workings of a toilet, and you nearly gave her a heart attack when she found you on the roof replacing missing shingles, so the ceiling didn't leak when it rained.

The B&B didn't get many visitors, but you noticed an uptick in people willing to stay there after you started tackling the overgrown lawn and making the place look more inviting.

"I'm heading out," you tell Josie one morning. "Do you need anything?"

"No, my dear. I'm fine."

"Well, I have my phone on me. If you need anything, just call. I'll pick it up on the way home."

Home.

You never thought you'd have a home again, but that's exactly what Josie's given you. And if her pleased little smile is anything to go by whenever you refer to the B&B as home, she knows it too.

"Alright. I'll see you later."

Jericho is such a picturesque little town that it never ceases to amaze you when you walk around town. You've wandered around every now and then, but you always kept to yourself. The only place you did visit was Weathervane Cafe, but only during the nighttime hours when most locals would be safely tucked away in their homes.

The cafe is the exact place you're heading to this morning, though, intent on getting a hot cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

When the bell jingles upon your entrance, the barista glances up from the book he'd been reading.

"Hey!" Tyler, who you'd gotten to know a bit since you started visiting, smiles as you walk up to the counter. "You're here early. You want your usual?"

"My usual coffee, yes," you say while taking a seat on a stool by the front counter. "And can I have a breakfast sandwich?"

"Sure. Coming right up."

It doesn't take Tyler long to get your order ready and you're surprised when he joins you at the counter with his own sandwich. Then again, there was only two other people in the cafe and Tyler obviously wasn't busy.

"So, what brings you in this morning?" He asks.

"Hunger." You take a bite out of your egg, ham, and cheese sandwich, groaning in delight as you cross your eyes. Tyler huffs in amusement, watching you wash the food down with a careful sip of coffee. "And I just wanted to get out. Stretch the legs, y'know?"

"Yeah. How's Josie?"

"Josie's good." You eat a bit more, wiping the crumbs away from the corner of your mouth. "She's enjoying the B&B now that people are booking her rooms."

"None of that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you."

You shrug. "Maybe." You eat the last of your sandwich, frowning when there's no more. They really needed to make their sandwiches bigger. "Hey, can I have another?" You ask him.

"Sure." Tyler chuckles as he quickly finishes off his sandwich, moving back behind the counter to grab you another one.

When he hands it over, you happily dig in while he refreshes your coffee.

You're halfway through with your sandwich when Tyler's wiping down the counter and the bell above the door jingles. You watch as Tyler glances up and don't even need to turn around to know who it is. Tyler's smile tells you all you need to know.

"You're here earlier than normal."

"Hello, Wednesday," you muse. She takes a seat to your left and you smile at her. Her deadpan expressions were something that threw you off when you first met the girl, but you grew accustomed to her sometimes-morbid humor and the odd threats here and there. "What brings you in?"

"Coffee."

"Her boyfriend," the person to your right says at the same time. You turn towards the voice, surprised to see another guy around the same age as Wednesday and Tyler. When he gets a good look at you, he seems to sit a little straighter while running a hand nervously through his shoulder length hair. "Uh, hi. I'm Xavier."

Your lips twitch while you give him a quick little nod. "YN." Then looking at Tyler, you ask, "Can you get me Josie's special to go please?"

"Sure."

"Why are you here?" Wednesday asks.

"Hunger and fresh air. Why are you? Shouldn't you be in class, young lady?"

Wednesday's eyes roll. "We're the same age."

You chuckle and then Xavier's drawing your attention once more. "I'm sorry, but are you new here? I've never seen you around before."

"I got in a few months ago. I just prefer to wander when the moon's out, but I was extra hungry this morning."

"She's totally a vampire," Wednesday says.

And while you find amusement in her words, Xavier's eyes widen as he apparently takes her seriously. "She's joking. See?" You flash him your teeth. "No pointy teeth in sight."

Before either of your companions can say anything, someone passes behind you with a scoff. You glance over your shoulder to find an older woman sneering at Wednesday and Xavier, and then turns a softer look towards you. "You wouldn't want to be hanging out with the likes of them, dearie. There's lots of weirdos around here thanks to that freaky school who allows them out and about."

Your eyes subtly narrow as you turn on your stool, plastering on the most condescending smile you can. "Ma'am, I am the weirdo." She frowns at you, and you quickly lean forward, snapping your teeth at her. She gasps and dramatically backpedals away from you, and you roll your eyes while turning back around. Tyler is shaking his head in amusement at you. "What?"

"You're a menace." He pushes forward Josie's usual order and you take out a twenty to cover both your and Josie's breakfast, then shoving a ten into the tip jar. "Thanks."

"No problem." Taking one last gulp of your coffee, you grab up Josie's order and then stand. "Well, it was nice meeting you Xavier," you smile at him. Then glancing at your friends, you say, "Tyler, I'll see you next time. Wednesday…" you trail off, grinning, "don't make anyone cry before lunch time."

"No promises."

You laugh as you take your leave, heading back towards Josie's. You've had enough socializing for the day.

On rare occasions, Josie likes to leave the B&B and walk around Jericho. Even more so now that she has you to escort her around. The locals are happy to see her, even if they have to paste on smiles for you. Apparently, your little confrontation with Mrs. Clementine inside Weathervane was hot gossip for a couple of days and now everyone was quite skeptical of you.

You're walking down Main Street with Josie's arm hooked through yours when she stops you in front of a salon. She stares up at the salon name, lips pursed.

You stare at her, softly grinning. "Are you looking to change things up, Josie?"

"Yes. I believe I am." You see her reach up with her other hand, lightly touching at her salt and pepper colored hair. "I'm thinking of a new color and cut."

"Well, you deserve to pamper yourself. The B&B has been doing great."

"It's all thanks to you, dearie." Josie looks at you, patting your hand with a smile. "Now why don't you go hang out with that Tyler boy while you wait for me. It'll take a while."

"Yes, ma'am."

You escort Josie inside the salon, making sure she's taken care of before you leave her alone. Then walking back outside, you head towards Weathervane Cafe to bother Tyler. Only before you get there, you nearly run into Xavier as you turn the corner. His hands loosely wrap around your biceps, trying to steer you to the side as he immediately apologizes.

He glances at you and then does a double take, and you grin. "Xavier."

"YN." He slowly smiles, letting his hands fall away to sheepishly tuck away in the pockets of his jacket. "This is twice in one week. Tyler said it's rare you're out in public."

"Tyler said, huh?" You ask, arching an eyebrow. "Been asking about me, have you?"

"Maybe." His lips twitch in amusement. He glances around and sees you're alone. "Are you grabbing lunch this time?"

"I was just going to annoy Tyler, but I think I can eat. I just dropped off Josie at the salon, so I have hours to kill."

"Cool. Do you, uh, do you want some company?"

"Sure. Let's grab a burger somewhere and then take it to Weathervane. I like the atmosphere there best."

Side by side, you and Xavier head towards the only diner on Main Street to buy your lunch, and you can't help but chuckle whenever you glance up at him. You knew he was tall, but the height difference between the two of you is very obvious when you're this close to one another.

The two of you get the same thing- a cheeseburger and fries- and take it to go.

At Weathervane Cafe, you and Xavier take a seat in a booth near the door and wave at Tyler when he notices you're there. The two of you unpack your food, splitting the ketchup packets and then digging in.

"So, YN…" Xavier muses. "Why Jericho?"

You take a bite of your burger, chewing thoughtfully. "It was just supposed to be a pitstop," you settle for saying.

"Oh? Where were you supposed to settle then?"

"Anywhere." You shrug. Xavier meets your gaze then, chewing slowly. You say, "I was staying in Upstate New York for the last few years. These people had taken me in and… I don't know. It just felt like I overstayed my welcome with them or something, so I left."

"You left?"

"Mhm. I for sure thought I'd end up traveling further, but I stopped by Josie's B&B to figure out my next direction, and I just never left. I think Josie realized I had no home, so she gave me one. I'll never be able to fully repay her for it."

"I don't know about that," he muses. "I'm pretty sure Josie was only months away from shutting down the B&B, but then you walked into her life and completely transformed the place. I don't think any of us have seen her as happy as she is now."

You blush at his slight praise, and he grins. You busy yourself with your food before asking, "So Nevermore Academy? What year are you in?"

He seems to perk up a little, probably happy that you're interested to talk about his schooling rather than putting the place down. "My last year, actually. I'm pretty bummed I'll have to leave soon. I'm hoping the principal offers me a teaching position for the art program."

"You any good?" You wonder.

Xavier huffs and turns to open the bag on the seat next to him, pulling out a sketchpad. He sets it atop the table and quickly flips through the pages until he lands on one of his sketches.

And wow. He really can draw.

On the page is a charcoal drawing of who you assume is a group of his friends (you're only assuming they're his friends because the uniforms are a bit of a dead giveaway, plus Wednesday is there so yeah) sitting around a concrete fountain. "Oh wow. Xavier, this is amazing."

You study the sketch a bit more and when you look up at him, you fight off a grin at his reddening ears and neck. "It's nothing."

"You're talented. Own it." He huffs and eats a bit more since he doesn't know what to say. "Now I just want to get this out of the way, so don't think I'm digging or poking fun or…"

"Go on."

"Nevermore Academy." Xavier grins, wondering when you were going to bring it up. "Is it really a school for gifted children or are the locals just a bunch of assholes?"

"Are you really asking me that after you just rolled with the punches when Wednesday called you a vampire the other day?"

You shrug. "If aliens and deities exist, why can't vampires and werewolves and other beings?"

"Fair enough." He takes a sip of his drink to clear his throat. "Nevermore is a school for outcasts. There are vampires, werewolves, sirens, psychics, and people with other special abilities."

"Cool." You smile and toss a fry into your mouth.

Xavier, however, stares at you in shock. "Cool? That's all you have to say? You're not even going to ask what I am or what I can do?"

"If you want to tell me, you'll tell me on your own time." He can only blink at you while you continue eating. You watch as he carefully tries to read your expression, gauging your reaction to what you just learned. Then he glances around to make sure no one is paying him any attention before holding his hand out over his sketchpad. His eyes close and you frown, and then sudden movement on the paper catches your attention. You gasp as you stare at the sketch that's now come to life- his friends on page, with the exception of Wednesday, laughing at something that had been said. "Xavier," you then breathe in awe. You chance a look at his face, his eyes now open as he sheepishly smiles. "You're amazing, you know that?"

He chuckles. "It's just a moving picture. I can actually bring animals and insects to life to where they crawl off the page, but I didn't want to freak you out."

"You'll have to show me one day," you say.

"Yeah. I will."

You and Xavier continue to talk even after your food is gone, and he ends up buying pastries for dessert. Tyler joins you every now and then when he doesn't have a customer to tend to, and before you know it Josie is entering Weathervane Cafe to show off her new do.

Gone is the salt and pepper hair that fell to her mid-back in a low ponytail.

Now, she sports an edgy bob with an undercut and her hair dyed platinum with just a hint of purple at the ends.

Your eyes widen. "Josie?!"

She beams at you. "Do you like it?"

You gape and Xavier chuckles. "I- I love it! Are you kidding me?! You look great."

"Stop it." She laughs, bashfully waving off your words.

"She's right, Miss Josie," Xavier says. "You look great."

Josie glances at him, eyes lighting up. "Ah, young Mr. Thorpe! Hello there. You were not the boy I was expecting YN to bother."

"Josie," you grumble.

She laughs at you. "I'm only teasing, dear." She winks at you, and you quietly whine in embarrassment. "Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know that I have plans right now so you're free to do as you please."

"Are you sure? I can always-"

"It's a date, dearie. I doubt you want to chaperone Mr. Sinclair and I."

You're back to gaping and you only snap out of it when you see her glance out the window. Outside is who you assume is Mr. Sinclair, a handsome man in his late sixties and is beaming and waving at Josie. "Oh. Go Josie," you then cheer her on for bagging a handsome one.

Xavier snorts as she lightly swats the back of your head. "He's too old for you." You laugh and she wrinkles her nose, chuckling with you. Then, "Well I should get going. Have fun you two."

"Bye, Josie," you and Xavier muse. As Josie takes her leave, you notice a pep in her step as Mr. Sinclair meets her halfway and leads her to his car.

"Huh. Who knew a haircut could bring forth all the confidence in the world out in her."

"See? I told you," Xavier says. "You gave her a new outlook on life. You don't have to repay her for anything. The two of you are good for one another."

You shake your head at his words, watching Josie laugh in the passenger seat of the car. "Maybe."

"No maybes about it." You huff with a roll of your eyes before glancing over to meet his gaze. "Now come on. I hear there's a fair going on. Let's go see what hideous stuffed animals we can win."

Though you continue to claim that you're not a social being, Josie finds herself hiding her smiles whenever Xavier shows up to see if you're free to hang out. More and more you find yourself roaming the town of Jericho with the boy, hoping that your slight attraction to him stays just that. A slight attraction.

But the more time you spend with him, you knew it was going to be a losing battle.

His smile was far too adorable to not completely fall for.

Then one night, after having dinner at an Italian bistro, Xavier's chuckling over how full you are. You pushed it when you had dessert and now he's laughing at your pain.

"Why didn't you stop me?" You moan, pulling a beanie down atop your head.

"I did! I told you to stop."

"Should've tried harder."

Xavier waits until you're settled before offering you his arm, and you're quick to hook your arm through his and practically lean all your weight against him as you walk down the sidewalk. You're moaning and groaning, and he's more than content to listen to you whine.

"I'm never eating dessert again."

"No?"

"Nope."

"But what if it's cheesecake and has that strawberry glaze you seem so fond of?" You open your mouth to retort but let it snap shut a moment later. "Or chocolate covered strawberries?" You groan a little. "Or-"

"Okay! I get it." You pout as he smirks down at you. "I'm a sucker for desserts. It's just my choice in dates that's apparently abysmal. What kind of lousy date doesn't stop me from overeating?"

Xavier's quietness surpasses a moment longer than usual, but before you can ask what's wrong, he asks, "Date? So, I wasn't reading too much into us?"

"Do you see me hanging out with any other guys?"

"Well, there is Tyler."

Your eyes roll. "As if I'd want to get on the bad side of Wednesday." Xavier huffs a laugh as you press into his side, knocking him off balance. "And besides, he's not my type."

"That's good to know."

"I'm sure it is." You mockingly tease him.

The streets of Jericho are quiet, locals coming and going from their own nights out on the town. You're about to turn the corner of one of the streets when the screaming starts, slowing you and Xavier. The two of you tense and look around, backpedaling a few steps when you see people running.

Then gunfire rings out.

"Get down!" Xavier pushes you towards a car, ducking behind it. "What the hell is going on?" He wonders while peeking over the trunk.

"I don't know."

Though your heart is beating rapidly, and you don't want to deal with whatever is going on, you know you need to get to the bottom of whatever is happening. As long as you've stayed in Jericho, nothing has ever happened that would make you out yourself. Now, however, you're not so sure you can walk away from tonight with your secret intact.

With the lull of gunfire, you slowly crawl out from behind your hiding place.

"What are you doing?! Get back here!"

"No. I need- I need to see," you say. Glancing over your shoulder, you meet Xavier's wild gaze. "Trust me."

"YN-"

Not letting him finish, you hurriedly make your way behind another car on Main Street. Xavier is quick to follow, staying close to your side. People start screaming again, glass shatters, and more people run off. The glass windows to Weathervane Cafe have been completely shattered and you see a handful of men in dark clothing and face masks milling about.

"Shit. They have Kent and Divina," Xavier mumbles. And sure enough when you look, you see that two men have each knocked out individual tossed over a shoulder as they walk out.

There are some older locals that get caught in the streets, but after being looked over, they're threatened to keep moving.

"Nevermore students," you realize. "They're taking Nevermore students."

"But why?"

You frown as the militarized men bind the students, placing a metal contraption over each of their mouths. One of the men turns just right and the emblazoned logo on the side of his helmet makes your stomach drop. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. This isn't good," you mumble.

"What?"

"Xavier, every student at Nevermore is gifted. What are Kent and Divina's gifts?"

"They're, uh, they're Scales. Sirens."

Sirens. Hydra just got their hands on two sirens! 

"You need to get back to the school."

"What? Why?"

"Xavier, just trust me." Your hand reaches for the necklace that you rarely bring out from under your shirt, the miniature arc reactor hanging rather innocently from a silver chain as you yank it off. When you squeeze the arc reactor between your thumb and forefinger, it glows blue and you're quick to shove it into his hands. "Take this and get back to the school as soon as you can. Tell your teacher there's a dangerous threat and they found out about the gifted teenagers. Lock the school down."

"What are you-"

You reach for Xavier's face, grasping his face between your hands and pulling him in for a kiss. You linger there for a few seconds before pulling back, gaze darting between his eyes as you watch him try to catch up. "Go. The necklace is an SOS beacon. When the good guys arrive, give them my name. Tell them Hydra's taking gifted children. They'll help protect the school."

"W-What are you?" He asks.

Smiling sadly, you tuck the left side of his hair behind his hair. "I used to be a superhero. Now I'm just… lost."

"YN-"

You quickly peck his lips once more, grinning softly. "Go. I'll explain everything later."

"What are you going to do?"

"Distract them." A small explosion has you and Xavier ducking even lower. "Go, Xavier! Get back to the school now. Protect your friends."

Another explosion sounds, sending debris raining down over you and Xavier.

Xavier falls to his stomach, watching the feet of scurrying people on the other side of the vehicle you're hiding behind. But when he glances back for you, you're gone. He wildly glances around only to find that you're nowhere in sight.

"Well shit."

. . . .

Xavier bursts into Principal Weems' office, panting and heaving and shrugging off the hands of coach Vlad.

"Mr. Thorpe!" Weems stands tall, aghast at the behavior of her usually well-behaved student. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Lock… lock down the school," he says. "Jericho- it's under attack."

"What?"

"Lock the school down!" He then shouts. He shrugs off coach Vlad's hands when he tries to restrain him again. "Kent and Divina have been taken. They're targeting Nevermore students. You need to gather everyone somewhere safe and lock the school down!"

Principal Weems looks to coach Vlad, eyes widened, before addressing Xavier again. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty damn sure. I saw it with my own two eyes. They sedated Kent and Divina, bound and gagged them, and threw them into the back of a van. Other Jericho locals got caught, but after a quick look over, they were released. They were also setting off bombs and shooting up Main Street."

"Vlad, gather the teachers and round up the students. I want a head count of who's here and a list of names of those missing. I'll contact the sheriff."

"Done."

Xavier's left alone with Weems, and he stumbles forward, showing her the necklace before she can reach for the phone. "There's one more thing."

Her eyes land on the pulsing blue light. "What is that?"

"Emergency beacon. My… friend activated it. She said the good guys will come here and that we needed to explain that Hydra is taking gifted children. She said they'd protect the school."

"Do you trust her?"

Xavier takes a moment to think on it before he nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"Okay then. Gather the archery team and anyone capable of handling a bow. Get those with telekinesis while you're at it. We'll leave the sheriff's department to handle Main Street and hopefully these good guys will be here soon. We'll hold off any threat until then."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xavier rushes off to do as he's been told, finding his friends along the way. He finds Tyler with Wednesday and Enid, and fills them in about what he's seen. They're shocked and Tyler hurriedly gets his dad on the phone to let him know he was okay.

They find Bianca and Yoko, and the two girls are livid when they realize their friends have been taken. Enid rushes to find Ajax and Wednesday grabs Eugene by the back of his shirt to drag him along with the group.

Coach Vlad and a few other professors are directing students to the main dining hall, urging the older students to barricade windows. Xavier picks out those who can help defend the school and has them load up quivers with arrows to prepare for a fight.

Principal Weems takes those prepared to defend Nevermore out front, and everyone spreads out. The evening is eerily quiet so it's easy to hear anything out of the norm. So, when a sudden whooshing sound gets louder and louder, everyone tenses and looks upward.

"What is that?" Bianca asks, silver eyes scanning the sky.

"I'm not sure." Xavier's eyes dart all across the sky, his gaze catching something glinting. "There!"

But just as everyone pinpoints what he's seen, the object lands right in front of them.

It's Iron Man.

"Holy shit," Eugene utters. "Iron Man!?"

"Uhhh…" Iron Man's face mask dissolves, and Tony Stark frowns at the assembled group of teenagers and a handful of adults. "I gotta be honest. I'm at a complete loss here."

"YN." Xavier blurts and Tony's gaze immediately zeroes in on him. "YN said you could help."

"Help with what, kid?"

He digs the emergency beacon out of his jeans' pocket, showing him. "W-We were on a date and Hydra attacked Main Street. They took two of my classmates and were setting off bombs! She thinks they're coming here."

"Okay. Time-out." Tony gives the universal gesture for a time-out. "You were on a date with YN?"

Wednesday, Tyler, Enid, Bianca, and Ajax all look at Xavier and he blushes under everyone's stare. "So not the point right now, Mr. Stark."

"Right. You're right," he smirks. "We'll talk later." And then glancing at Principal Weems, he asks, "You in charge?"

"I am." She smooths down the invisible wrinkles in her skirt, clasping her hands in front of her. "I am the principal here at Nevermore Academy."

"Alright, so care to share with the class why Hydra would be taking your students?"

"Nevermore Academy is home to children with… special talents," she settles for saying.

"Mhm. Just how special are we talking?"

"The two students they've taken so far are sirens," Xavier says. "They have the gift of persuasion."

"So, in other words, Hydra's got their hands on two future weapons. Any other talents they'd be after?"

"We have vampires, werewolves, gorgons, psychics, and students with other special talents," Principal Weems says.

"To someone like Hydra, it's like Christmas has come early." Tony sighs and taps at his ear. "Park the jet and meet me out front. It's a school and Hydra has their eye on it."

Everyone stands around in a tense filled silence until around the back of the school, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier, and Spiderman all jog forward.

Tyler watches everyone in fascination before leaning towards Xavier. "YN knows Avengers?"

"Apparently."

When all the adults are gathered, Captain America takes over. He speaks plainly with Principal Weems, telling her all she needs to know. Hydra has a habit of kidnapping people, torturing them until they break, and then wiping their minds clean to make the ultimate weapon. They had been in possession of a stone that would give certain individuals powers, but ever since they lost that stone there's been chatter that they'd moved on to finding children with powers already in order to mold them in their favor. And up until now, Hydra hadn't made a move.

Enid suddenly perks up, brushing her hair behind her ear. Glancing towards the main road leading up to the school, she says, "We have company. Several vehicles are heading this way." All the Avengers glance at Enid, wondering how she could possibly know that when she flicks her nails, letting them turn into talons.

"Cool!" Spiderman exclaims.

Enid beams at him while the other Avengers shake their heads at him in fond amusement.

One, two, three- a total of seven Humvees roll up outside of the school gates, but only one is brave enough to drive their Humvee through the gate to knock it down.

"Here we go again," Tony mutters right before his mask covers his face once more.

Individual after individual unload from the Humvees, weapons grasped in hands.

"That's alien tech," Clint says.

"Of course, it is," Bucky utters.

"Bianca." Principal Weems beckons the girl forward. "If you will." She gestures towards the oncoming threat and the younger girl nods.

Stepping forward, Bianca takes off her necklace before inhaling deeply. She can feel her vocal cords slightly vibrating as she says, "Stop."

But the men merely chuckle, one of them tapping at his ear. "Not gonna work on us, girlie."

She blinks in surprise and Xavier quickly tugs his friend behind him.

"Sirens, get inside the school," Principal Weems says. "Hide."

Five students break off from the group, rushing back towards the school. The Hydra men chuckle, shrugging as if that were no big deal. As if they'd get to them sooner or later.

"The Avengers are an obstacle, but it is an obstacle we'll overcome," the Hydra goon in charge says. "Gentlemen, take your aim."

Weapons on both sides are raised, but just as Hydra pull their triggers, another individual is landing in front of the Avengers and Nevermore students.

"YN?!"

Hands and eyes glowing red, you raise your arms in front of you to shield the barrage of bullets and energy beams that had been let loose. You're panting and heaving and have to blink blood out of your eye from a gash above your eyebrow.

When Hydra ceases their attack, you lower your arms with a sneer. "Did you really think it was going to be that simple? You made a mistake coming after my friends."

"Little witch," Hydra goon number one coos. "You're coming with us with all this is said and done."

"Like hell I am. My mind is my own now and Hydra will never make me do their dirty work again."

"You say that now."

Before you can shield yourself again, a bullet catches you in the shoulder. The force of the bullet sends you whirling back with a yelp and then a piercing howl rips through the air.

The sound of gunfire and energy beams fill the air, as well as shouts from Captain America for the kids to get inside the school. Hands steady you and when you glance upward, Xavier is staring down at you with wide eyes.

"What are you?"

The question comes from your left and see Wednesday staring curiously at you. "I. Am. Pissed. Off."

Ripping yourself out of Xavier's hands, you turn around and throw up a shimmering red shield between the two groups. Then marching forward, you start tossing energy ball after energy ball at the Hydra goons, uncaring if they're knocked unconscious or dead. Your feet start glowing and with one large stomp, a wave of red energy shoots outward in front of you to knock the Hydra men off their feet.

"Enough!" They immediately try climbing back to their feet and you wrap red energy around them. Squeezing your hand shut makes the energy wrap tighter around them, and you only let up when a hand falls onto your shoulder.

"That's enough, YN. We'll take it from here."

You can hear voices telling you to stop, but your blood is running hot. After the confrontation on Main Street and getting knocked around, being shot, and having Hydra get beyond the gates of Nevermore, you're absolutely livid.

"YN, stop! You're killing them."

Words aren't registering and the gathered Avengers and Nevermore students shift uneasily.

Xavier doesn't like the expressions the Avengers are starting to sport, glancing at each other warily and having an unspoken conversation, so he takes matters into his own hands. He boldly rushes in front of you, hands grasping your face before he's leaning down to press his lips to yours.

"Ho-lee shit."

Xavier keeps his mouth pressed to yours, turning you little by little until your back is to the Hydra men, and he only lets up when he feels your hands fist into his shirt near his waist. Slightly pulling back, he keeps his face close to yours as you try to catch your breath. "Are you back with me?" He murmurs.

You gulp. "Mhm."

"Good. You scared us there at the end."

"Xavier?" You blink slowly.

"Yeah?"

"I don't feel so-" But you never get to finish your sentence because your eyes roll into the back of your head and your body goes limp.

"Shit." Xavier easily catches you. "I need some help over here."

The Winter Soldier steps forward, and it takes everything in Xavier to not shrink back at the intimidating man. He passes YN over to him and the Winter Soldier easily hoists her into his arms. "That bullet needs to come out," he grumbles.

"The infirmary." Principal Weems steps forward then. "We can take care of her there."

"Show me."

Principal Weems nods and then looks over her students. "Children, with me. Let the Avengers do their job in peace."

Everyone follows Weems towards the dining hall, but Xavier, Wednesday and Tyler follow her and the Winter Soldier to the infirmary to keep an eye on their friend.

A consistent beeping wakes you and your eyelids flutter open. You groan at the brightness of the room and then groan again when you attempt to roll over and your entire body aches.

"Easy. Easy," a voice soothes. You turn towards the sound of the voice and are surprised to find Xavier sitting there. "Welcome back. You've been out for a few days. It's probably why you feel like shit."

You grimace as you raise your hands to rub at your eyes. "What happened?"

"You got shot and lost a lot of blood while you demolished those Hydra guys."

You wince. "You saw that, huh?"

"Oh yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Not telling you about me."

Xavier chuckles as he leans forward in his seat, reaching for your hand. "You're a complete badass. Why would you be scared to tell me you could do all that?"

You shrug and then glance around the room you're in. "Can I have some water?" Xavier quickly finds a pitcher of water, pouring some into a cup for you. He helps you drink a few sips and then lets you lay back down. "What do you already know?"

"Just that you used to be an Avenger. Spiderman, the Winter Soldier, Black Widow and Hawkeye were really worried about you."

You smile softly before it slowly falls. "They rescued me and my brother from Hydra," you tell him. "We were orphans Hydra had kidnapped off the streets. They pumped us full of serums and then made us hold a glowing stone that eventually gave us our powers."

"A stone gave you powers?"

"Yeah. We were one hundred percent normal until Hydra got their hands on us. They used to say my brother was fast and I was weird. I guess I'll never outgrow that label now. Once a weirdo, always a weirdo, I guess."

Xavier huffs a laugh, his smile slowly falling at something you said. "Your brother was fast?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah. He had super speed. When the Avengers took us in, they showed us how to be the good guys. We were on a mission and my brother sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye and a child."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you. I kind of lost myself after he died, and I never really found my way back. The Avengers were supposed to be a family, and they are, but it was a family I didn't quite fit in with. The only time they really acknowledged me was when they needed something. I couldn't live like that anymore."

"So, you came to Jericho."

"Technically I was just passing through," you tiredly muse. "But then I met Josie, then Tyler and Wednesday, and finally you. This place is the first place that's felt like home since my brother died."

"Well hopefully Jericho continues to feel like home. They really did a number on Main Street."

"Yeah. That was partially my fault," you guiltily admit. "I got a little carried away flinging the bad guys around and trying to catch their bombs in order to lessen the damage." Xavier chuckles as you wince. "Is everyone okay though? Your friends?"

"Everyone's good," he assures you. "The Avengers think they came here looking for the sirens specifically, but they were no match for you. You're scary when you're pissed off."

You laugh and then groan, pulling your hand from his to lightly swat at him. "Don't make me laugh."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Xavier smiles as he leans forward, capturing your hand once more to press a kiss to the back of it. "Now do you think you're up for some company? Principal Weems would like to speak with you. As well as the Winter Soldier and Spiderman."

Your nose wrinkles. "They the only ones that stayed behind?"

"Yeah. The second Iron Man and Captain America started talking over the merits of training the Nevermore students, Hawkeye and the Black Widow marched them out and told them to not stick their noses in a school that was perfectly functional without government supervision."

"Good." You manage to fight off a wince as you sit up, groaning only a little. "As grateful as I am that they rescued me, they are not the greatest mentors. I would advise anyone with stars in their eyes for the Avengers to really do their research before committing to become a superhero."

"I think the only ones who were super impressed by their presence were Eugene and Ajax. You have nothing to worry about," Xavier tells you.

He ends up calling a nurse and she situates your bed so that you can properly sit up. Then after adjusting the blanket over your lap and getting you another cup of water, Xavier leaves to retrieve your guests and Nevermore's principal.

The tallest woman you've ever laid eyes on walks in behind Xavier, and you have to remind yourself that it's not polite to gape. But something in your expression must show your awe because when you glance at Bucky, he's smirking at you.

"I am going to make this quick and simple so that you may converse with your friends and get back to resting," Principal Weems says. Her no nonsense attitude makes it so you can only nod at her. "I thank you for keeping my students safe. Nevermore Academy will always welcome you should you find yourself in need of a place to go."

"T-Thank you."

Principal Weems smiles at you and then glances at Xavier. "Mr. Thorpe, classes start back up in five minutes. Do not be late."

"I won't." Principal Weems takes her leave and then Xavier glances down at you, eyes wide. "Shit! I have to go. I'm so sorry."

You grin at him. "No worries. I'm not going anywhere it seems."

"Mhm. Yeah." Uncaring for the two Avengers at his back, he rushes forward and gently grasps your face between his hands. The kiss is short and chaste, but makes you blush nonetheless. "I'll see you after classes are done for the day."

"See you." You watch as he collects his purple and black striped blazer from the chair he'd been sitting in earlier, quickly donning it before grabbing up his bag and practically running from the room. When you glance at Bucky and Peter (who quickly lets his face mask dissolve as soon as Xavier is out of the room), your eyes narrow at him. "Not a word."

"Look at you," Bucky muses. "You leave us and you get yourself a boyfriend."

Your head falls back a little as you quietly groan. "I didn't plan to. It just... happened."

Bucky takes Xavier's vacated seat and Peter sits on the edge of your bed. "How did you even find this place?" Peter asks a little too excitedly. "This school is crazy!"

You shrug. "I only knew about it because of Wednesday. She told me the school's name, but I never knew it was a school for gifted individuals. I only found out that fun fact after I started talking to Xavier."

"And Xavier's the boyfriend?" Bucky asks.

"He's… something," you say. At both their knowing expressions, you sigh. "We've been hanging out, but tonight was the first time we really called it a date. Then Hydra got kidnap happy and you saw how that ended."

"Yeah. He totally kissed you to bring you out of your murderous rampage." Peter huffs in amusement. "You're lucky Clint didn't stay behind. He kept looking at that Xavier guy distrustfully and mumbling about teenage boys and hormones. Natasha had to remind him you actually weren't a kid anymore."

"Clint's a good guy, but if he tries to pull the dad card, I'm kicking his ass."

"Fair enough." Bucky continues to stare at you until you squirm under his gaze. Eventually, he asks, "Are you happy here?"

"Yeah."

"You find what you were looking for?"

You can't help but smile. "Yeah. I did."

"Good."

You smile at him and then look at Peter who looks close to bursting. "Anything else, Petey?"

"Can you introduce me to the gorgons?" He blurts. "I really want to meet one!"

"You're going to have to wait on that, unfortunately," you say. "I only know Xavier, Tyler, and Wednesday."

"And what are they?"

"Tyler's a normie, as far as I know. I'm not sure what Wednesday is because I've never asked, but Xavier can draw something on a piece of paper and then bring it to life. It's so cool."

Peter deflates just a little. "Well, if you get to know a gorgon, can you introduce me then?"

"Sure, Petey."

"Yessss."

Bucky shakes his head at the teenaged Avenger before looking back at you. "Well now that we know you're good, we should be going. We've all got paperwork to complete and Hydra to interrogate."

You grimace at him. "Have fun with that."

"I will."

Bucky and Peter both hug you before they leave, and then when you're left alone you settle back down in the bed.

You're sure your other friends have questions after witnessing what they did, but that's a problem for another day. Right now, you need rest. And food. But Xavier will most likely bring that later.

Until then, you were going back to sleep.

[lurafita]

If Avengers AU but not just simply copying the movies/comics.

Okay, Magnus in the role of Iron Man, because genius billionair fits him fine. Alec in the role of Captain America, because the whole superhuman soldier thing works well with him. Which makes Jace the Winter Soldier by default. Izzy could be Magnus' employee, working in the labs, giving her Hulk powers? (because why not?) So, background: Alec and Jace are military, and Jace gets lost during a mission/kidnapped by the circle (who would be like Hydra, I guess). Alec going against orders to find him, getting kidnapped as well. Because Malec know each other through Izzy, Magnus would be using his contacts (because rich people have contacts) to try and find out what is being done to find and rescue the missing Alec and Jace. When he finds out that their superiors have pretty much written them off, he gets angry and then he gets sciency, building the iron man suit. (Izzy wouldn't be experimenting on becoming the Hulk, exactly, but lab accident conveniently turning her into something like the hulk just at the right time to accompany Magnus in his finished suit to rescue her brothers) Meanwhile Alec and Jace have been experimented on with the super serum (hold the brainwashing, please), turning them into super soldiers. Planning their escape, but so far have been unsuccessful, because there are a lot of circle people and they have been freakishly prepared for what kind of powers the serum would give the two. But fortunately, during their latest attempt, Magnus and Izzy crash into the place as well, overwhelming the circle and getting Alec and Jace out of there. Thus begins the forming of the Avengers. (Clary could be like Thor… 🤣) (Ragnor could be like Jarvis!!!) (Sidenote, I'm sorry, but my manic and obsessive adoration of Peter Parker prevents me from ever accepting anyone else in the role of Spider-Man. So no Spidey in this story. - Unless it's Peter crossing over.)

[riveriafalll]

Writeblr introduction I guess?

Guess what bitches (affectionate) I’ve been here for like six months and I’m finally making a writeblr introduction. I have just vibed within the community for all this time, and I reckon it’s time to actually confirm my existence as an actual writer.

A bit about me: you can call me River, I mainly write fanfiction for quite a few fandoms, I’m a full time student, I use all pronouns (agender bitches for the win) and autistic currently seeking diagnosis.(in this economy? I know, right?)

I’m open for all tag games and asks (please include me, I promise I won’t procrastinate on the tag game until it’s three weeks later and it’s too awkward to post it then)

Here is my master list of wips, categorised by fandom. The majority of these are not being regularly written in, but they all will one day find a home on the archive I promise.

I will link them up to their respective WIP introduction pages as they happen, if you want to hear about one sooner, let me know <3

Harry Potter

No Time to Die: Drarry au where I kill off Draco in the first scene, have many clever plot-fixes and throw in as much LGBTQ rep as I can

Aelia Lovegood - Luna Lovegood has a pyromaniacal twin who is trying to fix racism by punching Nazi children in the face. It’s mostly working

Oh dear it’s a time loop fic - Draco and Hermione are trapped in a time loop, what will they do? (Troll everyone for basically eternity, and try not to go mad)

The fic where Harry is a sociopath, and goes full homicidal mode on Voldemort along with a scary Hermione and a power-hungry Ron - eh the title explains it well enough

when stars collide (a black hole forms) - a person from our world falls into the HP universe, and immediately tries to mother hen her family out of being evil. Callidora is the twin sister of Bellatrix, and spends the next thirty or so years attempting to fix everyone through the power of love. It works most of the time.

Harry Potter and the job he should have gotten - thirteen years after the end of the War, Minerva McGonagall has a staffing crisis and breaks into people’s homes until they agree to teach. Harry/Theo Knott, Hermione/Pansy and Draco girlbossing it by himself while figuring out how to be a single father.

Marvel

Of Godparents and Aunt-sassins - Jokingly, a couple name the godparent of their new child as Loki. No one expects him to except. Ava is a menace, Loki is a gender fluid icon, a wonderful brother and a terrible influence, Natasha is the vodka aunt, Clint is the fun uncle, Cooper Barton is the responsible one, Peter is a tiny adorable baby who gets adopted, and the Avengers live the 2012 Tower life

SHIELD: An Unofficial Guide - based off the SHIELD survival tips blog here on tumblr, written up in a guide-book form, complete with neatly organised chapters and unique anecdotes

A Glitch in the System - Glitch, a winter-widow and the last remanent of HYDRA, is sent to assassinate the Avengers. When she fails, she runs away and meets a certain spider-child on a rooftop. Featuring a teenage Loki, an amnesiac Pietro and a certain blonde widow, who’ve all moved into May Parker’s apartment, and a lot of miscommunication between just about everyone

Loki doki timey wimey - set during Thor:Ragnorok, Tony and co notice that Loki has reappeared on Midgard, and promptly break into Doctor Stranges house to question him. Dr S promptly gets very annoyed by Tony and Lokis inability to get on, and sends them away to the magical equivalent of a get along shirt, which goes wrong and leaves Tony and Loki stranded in a time loop. They’re under the impression that the loop will break when they learn to get along, Dr Strange is doing nothing to disillusion them of that.

(This is the image that my beta once_and_future_fandoms made when I ranted about it to them)

Another life - something I started before the Loki show came out (take that Marvel), starts at the beginning of Infinity War, when a female Loki dies at the hands of Thanos, meets the personification of the universe, merges with the Tesseract, leaving her with a shapeshifting familiar and teleporting powers. She then travels briefly through the multiverse and lands in the OG Marvel universe, with a Tom Hiddleston themed Loki and attempts to fix stuff through the power of having a giant snake and knives.

Bucky and the time he lived in the woods with his murder daughters - Bucky escapes from HYDRA in the 90s with Natasha and Yelena. They live in the mountains of Romania together, learning how to be actual real life people and incidentally becoming cryptida along the way. Natasha and Yelena join SHIELD in their early twenties, and continue happily along their way in the canon plot, until their father James comes to visit the Avengers Tower after the Battle of New York, and bumps into a familiar blonde…

Supernatural

Woahhhh it’s Emmy - Emmy, (long for MJ, short for Mary Junior), is the standard extra Winchester OC, twin sister of Sam, who is almost as bad at talking through her problems as Dean is. While Sam went to Smamford, and Dean ran around with John, Emmy started a weapons dealing company for hunters, travelling around under the guise of an occult shop. She reluctantly joins back up with her brothers in season 1, just to make sure her dumbasses don’t get themselves killed. She solves half of the shows problems with a glock.

Doctor Who

Who the fuck is Sally Sparrow? - Kat Sparrow has grown up knowing that things live in the darkness. The Sparrows are known by all the intelligence agency’s of the world, for their abilities to find and trap those things. Their specialty? Angels. When River Song appears on her doorstep one night, telling her that she has an angel to catch, Kat does the only thing she can, and joins the Doctor, River and Amy in the TARDIS to catch it. Kat thinks it’s fantastic, Amy enjoys having a friend whos roughly her age, and River is cryptic as ever. The Doctor, however, would really like to know how the hell a human girl is capable of subduing the most deadly creature in the universe.

Redo of Sally Sparrow except there’s no Sally Sparrow and a completely different plot line - When River tumbles into the TARDIS at the start of the infamous Maze of the Angels episode, she brings someone else with her - her adopted daughter, Astra. Unknown to 11, Astra is his child from the future, the result of a coupling between 12 and Missy, who was partially raised by both of them and the other half by River. Featuring: Astra is briefly evil and genocidial, Astra gets therapy with 14 and Donna, Astra flirts constantly with half of his companions, River, Missy and 13 all walk into a bar, and the combination of lesbianism causes a rift in time and space, and someone really needs to stop 12 from naming people after his past companions.

The Vampire Diaries

TVDeeznuts - Cassie Gilbert, twin sister of Jeremy, heads off to an out of state boarding school after being compelled by Damon in an attempt to protect the first person to have trusted him unconditionally in the last hundred and fifty years. Yes, he might have been a crow for half of it, but the thought is what counts, right? Unfortunately, being the danger magnet she is, Cassie immediately manages to befriend a local artist by the name of Nik Mikaelson. Three kidnappings later, Cassie is the first honorary Mikaelson since Marcel. Let’s just hope it doesn’t go quite as bad as his did.

Shadow hunters

Making my OCs be adopted by a bunch of vampires has nothing to do with my parental issues I promise - Autumn, a rather shy twelve year old, is Turned into a vampire rather unexpectedly by a less than stable Maureen who wants to be best friends forever. She immediately attaches herself to Raphael, who is horrified, but ultimately decides that he can use the situation to gaslight Magnus into believing that she’s always been around. Autumn has no objections, Lily thinks it hilarious, and Elliot is just happy to have a little sister.

Shadow hunting my multiple mental illnesses - Astoria Fray is perfectly normal. She does her homework, eats far too many chips, and goes out to parties with her best friends Lily, Elliot and Raphael. And then her mom gets kidnapped, her sister goes missing, her uncle won’t talk to her, and a very sparkly man tells her that he’s a friend of her mothers and that she can stay at his place. And as if that wasn’t enough, turns out that she’s not human, her dad is shadow hunter Hitler, and vampires, werewolf’s and warlocks are real.

At least Lily and Raphael are still normal. Right?

we'll never get free (lamb to the slaughter) - Magnus Bane is forced to baby-sit a precocious, morally-grey Warlock child. It goes about as well as you'd imagine.

Fourth Wing

Fourth wing more like fortieth wip - Elyrion Melgren (currently going under the name Elyrion Foxe) lived in Tyrrendor for the first fourteen years of her life, while her father led the armies of Navarre, spending her days exploring the city with her best friend Xaden. Six years later, she hasn’t seen Xaden since the apostasy, and has been forbidden by her father to go into the Riders, as he doesn’t want her to interact with the Marked Ones. Elyrion promptly ignores his orders, crosses Parapet, and joins the revolution.

Throne of Glass

Cadre Coparenting - what could go wrong? -Two years after Aelin Galathynius was born, her sister, Aurelia arrived. Born with powers of darkness and death, Evalin and Rhoe have no choice but to send her to the only person with experience in controlling powers like hers - her Aunt, Maeve. Maeve promptly passes the child off to her loyal bloodsworn until she’s old enough to be useful to her. Between the six of them, the Cadre just about manage to raise a singular child, despite Aurelia's best attempts to be difficult. It’s entirely her fault that half of Doranelle now believes that Lorcan and Rowan are divorced, and co-parenting their daughter together with Gavriel and Vaughan, their new partners, and Fenrys and Connall, her brothers.

Twilight

Twi-mental breakdown-light - Twilight if Bella had a precocious ten year old sister, and Edward and Bella raise her in aroace solidarity. Esme is delighted that she finally gets a grandchild, and Emmett is not responsible enough to baby sit.

[artificial-red-head]

Hell Bent For Leather Part 2

Masterlist

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader, Minor Steve Rogers X Natasha Romanov

Summary: Bucky goes back to the club to have a conversation with Steve. They have some interesting revelations.

Tags/Warnings: Biker AU, Paste Abusive Relationships, Dialogue Heavy

A/N: I did very little research about motorcycle clubs, and most of my knowledge came from other fics. This is definitely inaccurate but we're just going to roll with it. I also make no promises on when I'll update. Also someone asked to be added to the tag list but I forgot who is was.

Chapter 2: Never knowing when he'll appear

There was something about your tone that made him think of Natasha. The way how your voice lowered and was laced was anger when you talked about what your previous club had done to you sounded just like Nat when she had threatened him over something with Hydra–but that is a whole other story. 

The words kidnapping me and killing my sister played on repeat in his head. 

Kidnapping me and killing my sister.

Kidnapping me. 

Killing my sister.

Fuck. 

It made him think. 

He thought about Hydra. 

And then Natasha. 

He knew Nat’s brief past with them and she knew his; their time with Hydra only overlapped for about a year before he left. He knew about her adoptive sister when Nat reached out to him while she was stuck with Hydra. The club was all aware of the accident that happened when Natasha left Hydra. 

She had gotten a little too drunk and let a couple of tears slip. Natasha hardly ever cried, and if she was it was not a good sign. The moment Steve asked her what was wrong, she broke down and cried harder. All the details of what had happened with Hydra were told to the club. The things that they made her do. Her sister's relationship with Brock and what had caused her to reach out to him in the first place. The worse part was what had happened the night that they left. 

What happened to Natasha and her sister was nothing like what he and the others endured. 

He had only been able to escape a few years before with Steve and a few other men. They fought their way out after months of planning. They had started their own club and built it from the ground up in a few short but hard worked years. 

Pietro had phoned Steve late a couple of nights before, telling him that someone had rolled into the motel parking lot on their motorcycle. Not specifying if it was a man or a woman. Steve asked him to check it out since he was dealing with other matters. He was happy to, he was itching for a fight and Steve knew it. 

What Bucky was expecting was a burly man, maybe a rival club member, but he was not expecting a woman. Much less a woman with such a temper that could rival his. 

He had forgotten to ask your name during the encounter. He was too angry and distracted by the fact that someone in the town next to their territory was riding around on a motorcycle. 

He was just maybe also distracted by you and the way you talked back to him. 

Okay, he was distracted by you. But it was not a problem. 

Maybe he did have a problem. 

Okay, maybe a few. 

Bucky was well aware of Steve’s eyes on him the moment he stepped into the bar. He knew he was waiting for a report on who was in town. 

Instead, Bucky went behind the bar and filled up a glass, threw it back, and filled it up again. 

“Uh, Mr. Barnes?” 

Bucky turned. Peter, one of the club’s bartenders, had been standing behind the bar beside him. 

Peter was a timid boy and too smart for his own good. He had fallen into the possession of a motorcycle when his uncle had died, along with the duty of taking care of his aunt. He was a good kid and too awfully young to be messing around with the club. 

But Peter had debts to pay–another thing passed on from his uncle–so the club kept him around. 

“What, Kid?” 

“I- uh,” Peter made eye contact with him for a second and then looked away. “Mr. Rogers would like to speak to you, sir.” 

Bucky took another sip as he rolled his eyes. He planned on ignoring Steve for a little bit longer but the Kid just had to be a goody-two-shoes. 

Fucking kiss ass. 

He made his way over to Steve and brought his glass along with him. He pulled up a chair to where he was and sat down without saying a word. He was not going to lose to Steve. 

Steve gave him a look. He was going to lose to Steve. 

“I’m gonna say somethin’ crazy, but you gotta hear me out.” Bucky started. 

Steve remained silent. He put the glass that Bucky had brought over to his lips and took a long drink and he waited for Bucky to go on. 

“I think the girl is Nat’s sister.” 

That had got a reaction out of him. He spat out the drink and slammed the glass on the table. He sputtered for a moment. “What? Wait, wait, wait. Backtrack will ya?”

“It was a woman. I went down to the motel and Wanda told me that they were workin’ down at the diner on the other side of the line. Didn’t tell me it was a woman who came in.” Bucky leaned back in his seat and looked at his now empty glass. “So when I went to the diner, I went in there expecting a man. I asked whose bike was outside and she said it was hers.”

“So what does that have to do with ya thinkin’ she’s related to Nat?” Steve counters. 

Bucky sighs, “I’m gettin’ there. I started asking her questions and I ask her if she was part of a club. She told me ‘not anymore’ so I asked her why’s that and she said that they kidnapped her and killed her sister.” 

He debated on telling Steve that it was her anger that reminded him of Nat. But it was not the best thing they could go off of. Natasha never told anyone in the club her sister's name. It made him wonder if it was on purpose or if it just never came up.

“Did she say it was Hydra?” Steve huffed. 

“No, but who the fuck else would it be, man? Where else would she come from?” 

Bucky placed his hands on the table and mapped out lines with his fingers. “If you take the road that the Maximoffs are on and keep going you’ll end up in Hydra territory in…” He took a moment to think back to when they left, “About a day.”

Steve brought a hand up to his chin and rubbed the light scruff that was starting to grow out again. He sighed, “Did she say anything else about her old club?” 

“No, but think about it. Nat said that Rumlow shot at them a couple of times before they swerved. When she woke up she was gone and there was blood stained on the road. If Hydra took her back they most likely would have told her that Nat was dead so that she wouldn't try to run away.” Bucky winced as he brought up Natasha’s past. 

Everyone at the club hated bringing up bad memories. Especially Hydra related ones. No one had a good memory that pertained to that place. The clubhouse was always a mess, the men there lived and acted like pigs. The women were treated like shit and he had witnessed it firsthand too many times. 

Steve stared up at the ceiling, something that he would do when he was not sure what to do in a situation. “Shit. What was her name? We gotta ask Nat her sister’s name.” 

Bucky stayed quiet. He did not know her name and Steve was going to have his ass for it. The said man lowered his head down to make eye contact with Bucky who tried to look everywhere minus Steve. 

“You didn’t get her fucking name?!” Steve stood up from his chair and started to walk to the back room. Bucky got up and followed behind him. 

“I was distracted by the fact that it was a woman!”

That probably was not the best thing to say. 

“Wow, Bucky.” Steve said exasperated. 

He stared at himself in the mirror. His chestnut hair was still wet on his shoulders, curling up on the ends as it dried. 

He stared at his arm. 

The scars. 

The scars were the only thing that was left behind from Hydra. Hydra was great at covering up their tracks, no matter what it was. They could torture a person to near death without leaving a visible mark. 

But not this time. 

They left their mark on Bucky to remind him that he belonged to them. 

But he did not belong to them. He belonged to Howling Commandos. With Steve Rogers, Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan, Jim Morita, James Falsworth, and the others. 

He was not Hydra's. 

He stared at his arm again, but this time he looked at the ink that swirled around his scars. 

Bucky had been so thankful when Tony had joined the club. His talent with a tattoo gun was unmatched by anyone else who had put ink on his body. 

The geometric designs and the mandalas hid his scars well, but some areas were impossible to cover. And those were the scars that he hated the most. The scars that Hydra had given him when he first disobeyed them. A warning to never disobey again. 

Tony’s parents were also victims of Hydra. 

Bucky sighed and forced himself to look away. 

[gfawkesphoenixchokingonashes]

Stucky fics by Gfawkes

Lis here; she/her, GenX, snarky, salty, geek. I love horses, writing, gardening, running, sarcasm, swearing, and a lot of other nonsense. NSFW always. I have two teenagers. If that weirds you out, believe me, it does the same for me. (This blog runs on a queue (#q) because I’m a grown ass adult and I can only escape here when real life is done). I write stucky and humbly offer the following:

Telephone Game - Stark Tower, friends to lovers, Avengers’ confessions. Also check out the sequel Game of Dice.

Capricious - Hydra Trash Party, porn with plot, happy ending.

Motivation - Gym Bros rom-com with art by @buckybearsdoodles​

Forget-me-not - Alaska / Korean War, Historical AU, Pre Serum Stucky, hurt/comfort, sad with a happy ending.

Fics with ART

I’m fortunate to have worked with some amazing artists for inspiration! Please support their work by visiting the links below and sharing the love!

We are each our own devil (and we make this world our hell) - Dark Angel Steve and Winter Soldier/Bucky in a wingfic with art by @murkycrush

Lost Soldier - Bucky is found by Peter Parker, who sets out to find Bucky’s long lost friend. (hurt/comfort collab with @cobaltmoonysart)​

Where angels fear to tread - Shrunkyclunks and horses (hurt/comfort collab with @sanguineterrain)

As long as there is dusk and dawn, a glimpse of stolen time (fantasy hurt/comfort collab with @liquidlightz)​

The AUs

Gold, Silver, and Virtue - After EG, Steve doesn’t return, but he does come back to the Winter Soldier. (fix-it, Silver Fox Steve)

Have You Ever? - very first fic I wrote. Pre-war, 40s stucky with smol Steve, based on From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

The Masturbation Challenge - humor/fluff

Dog Fight - Modern Steve and Buck, no powers (hurt/comfort, Marvel Trumps Hate donation by heros.bazaar.art)

Recycled - Cap!Bucky Shrinkyclinks (humor/fluff)

Falling isn’t always a bad thing - Christmas Fluff, modern boys

Zen and the Art of Steve Rogers - motorcycle trip across the US, modern boys

Bucky Barnes Always Rings Twice  - Shrinkyclinks no powers (humor/fluff)

Every Teardrop - Musicians, smol Steve, modern Bucky (humor/fluff)

Fifty Below - baseball idiots (humor/fluff)

A/B/O

Unchanged - apocalypse AU

[theravequeen]

Hey gang

I made a horrifying symbiote AU where my shapeshifter OC, Raven, gets caught mid shift by Widow, a symbiote, and I'm the process they both absorbed Peter and made a terrifying amalgamation :)!! And then Harley has to find them like this and he and Stephen have to figure out a way to fix it :))

.

Anyways enjoy the read and the experimental art I'm stupidly proud of!

TW FOR: BODY HORROR, EYE CONTACT, GORE

Harley couldn't believe he was doing this.

The old Hydra base was completely run down, crumbling beneath itself. Hazard signs and sharp fences were put all around it, like some sort of nuclear fallout plot.

Something was in here that Hydra didn't want them to see.

But this is where his siblings disappeared to. Everyone told him Hydra killed them. That they were killed in the midst of Armageddon by Schneider and his horrid organization of criminals. Of sick and twisted beings.

Nat had said they dissapeared one day, never coming back home. It was Hydra, Harley had found out.

Now here he stands, face to face with the building that apparently was his siblings' tomb.

Wish a deep, shaky breath in, he began to walk into the crumbled building, flashlight gripped tightly in his hand.

Traveling through the beginning of the Hydra base, he didn't find much else other than the broken down walls and shattered glass of the facility. Occasionally he'd find traces of an odd substance, purple, and almost gel-like, though he dare not touch it himself.

Soon, he reached a large, open room, with machinery and equipment everywhere. Some broken off from the ceiling, leaving dead wires dangling down. Others, large computers and control panels, smashed to pieces and torn apart.

The floor was covered with a smelly, black sludge, the same purple gel, and lots and lots of dried blood.

Harley's stomach churned. The only beast large enough to do this that he could think of Hydra getting their hands on was Raven, if she was made very, ::very:: angry.

Something deep down inside of him was trying to tell him that she was already gone. That all of this is just a lost cause. But he pushed past it, because he had to. Because he still felt like they were still out there...

The farther he traveled, the more the building became destroyed, to the point where he was having to climb over rubble, ducking and squeezing through tight cracks just to continue.

His mind was ***screaming*** for him to turn back, but he couldn't stop now.

He made his way through a thick wall of rubble, only to be met with the very distinct smell of rotten flesh that almost made him throw up there on the spot.

He gagged, pulling the mask he had brought with him up over his face, before continuing. What in the *world* could be the source of that smell??

As he looked around, shining his flashlight over the floor, he got his answer, jumping back at the sight of it.

What had to be at least ten Hydra guards lay on the floor in front of him, flies and maggots crawling all over their bodies, now rotting away after being left for too long, hollowed out sockets and rotten eyes staring back at him.

Harley turned, most definitely going to be sick. He had to turn around--- *he had too*. This was too much. Too dangerous.

Taking one last glance, he noticed a number of the bodies had massive chunks taken out of them, wounds only teeth from a massive monster could cause. Something had been *eating them.*

His previous hypothesis as to who that "beast" could have been flashes in his mind, and he fights down more bile, quickly turning away and beginning to try to escape.

But that's when he heard the breathing.

A deep, shuddering sound. Rattling around in massive, laboured lungs.

Harley froze, before swallowing and turning around, despite what his muscles were *screaming* for him to do. He's seen enough horror movies-- this is the part where you *run.*

But God, he was so curious-- ***what if it was her?***

He shone his flashlight around, until suddenly his light landed on something that looked like eyes. He jumped, almost dropping the flashlight.

He began to back up, eyes never leaving the hollow, *human* eye looking back at him, towering above him in an impossible hight.

Surrounding the eye was the same purple substance, forming a body around it. As his shaking light went over the thing's body, he noticed at least one arm sticking out of the thing, which was mostly a pile of sludge.

The thing's mouth hung open, gaping jaws filled with sharp, canid teeth, as well as human teeth stretched into the skin around, in unnatural and uncomfortable looking positions.

Then, it *moved.*

It pulled itself towards him, the breathing echoing in his ears. As it moved, a sickening, squelching sound reverberated around the room, as it's body morphed and changed to grow more limbs.

He had to get out of there.

He quickly turned and began running, hearing the thing screech in protest as he did. Heart thundering in his chest, he scrambled for the wall of rubble, squeezing back through it as fast as he could.

Just before he got out, his jacket got stuck, trapping him in the rubble. He could hear the squelching of the thing getting closer, as tears began to form he pulled at the jacket, frankly not caring if it tore.

And then, a weak, haunting voice echoed throughout the room, one that froze Harley's blood solid.

"H...ar...l.e...y?"

It knew his name.

***How did it know his name???***

He pulled free finally, and began backing away, gasping for air as he did. He looked around, as the sound processed more in his brain.

Why did that seem so familiar. Why was the voice so familiar????

Eyes widening in horror, he quickly began to realize what was happening.

That mutant abomination---that. Amalgamation of parts and pieces, an alien of mutation---

***That thing was his siblings.***

[tornrose24]

We know that Father Norman sends out the hybrids if anyone tries to escape the village like with Lady Emma, but what’s stopping the Lords like Otto from just escaping themselves?

As you saw in the story, Norman is capable of having eyes within and outside the village. Given that this is an alternate version of the MCU–especially one in modren times where it can be easy to access all kinds of info–it would be really easy to track down any of the lords. Especially if you have someone like Max who–according to movie canon–is capable of accessing all kinds of data.

Max would only leave if he saw reason to expand outside the village, but his loyalties are strong.

Curt would only leave if he REALLY felt like persuing his evolution goals outside the village. It's his wife and son who would suffer if they tried to escape because Curt still loves them in his own twisted way in the state he is in, and would actively hunt them down. (Basically, a lizard!yandere dad/husband).

Flint and Otto are the only ones who are screwed the most out of this. Flint is passable as a human until he uses his powers or makes contact with water, and his daughter's physical appearance was changed thanks to her cadou, so risking the outside goverment capturing her is the LAST thing he wants, not to mention the bullying and mistreatment she would get from the outside world. (Also, you really can't trust the US Goverment in the MCU, and I didn't confirm if Hydra or the Red Room is still out there in the AU).

And of course Otto was physically altered by his cadou, and he was NOT joking about being unable to cut the tentacles off, so he really has no other place to go and wouldn't live much of a life. (He can't just hide them that easily like in SM2 either). Also, his mutated state was a lot easy to trigger in the first year, but even if he had better control over the change, his mental state in that form isn't that great. Only his wife is able to get through to him (and eventually Peter), but everyone else would be out of luck, and he'd instantly become a target if his mutation triggered.

[mamaspidershit]

Hi, love ur blog, it's so wholesome! 🫶🏼

I wanted to ask u if u knew some good fics about mama spider x blackhill?

Or if u wanted to give me any prompt for them, anyways

Hope u have a great day and weekend! 💕🫶🏼💕💕🫶🏼

Thank you so much! Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of a blackhill x mamaspider fics, I do have one (two if you count my own fics lol) I could find and have read about a million times. you won't have to cry (or hide in the closet) by trixicbean

I genuinely ADORE this one. Trans!Peter is one of my favourite headcanons, and tbh blackhill as his moms/aunts is so fun to read. I wish there were more fics with them!

there's also The Wet Cat And The Golden Retriever, which does have blackhill in the last two-ish chapters, but its mostly focused on peter and nat <3

For prompts, I have a few you can choose from!!!

-> blackhill adopts fosterkid!peter

-> hydra!peter au where blackhill takes him in and have to juggle helping a traumatized kid, their personal lives, and their love life.

-> trans!peter au where he comes out to his moms

i hope you like the fics and the prompts! hope you have a freaking awesome day/night as well!!!

[katie-delaney]

Wips summary

This is mostly me making myself a list of my WIPs, to organize and also to try and stop myself making anymore. There's spoilers below.

Ghosted, au abo one shot (almost finished)- a totally silly au inspired by the Met Gala look in which Bucky is a moody Alpha vampire living in a big spooky castle on a cliff, haunted by the ghost of 18 year old Peter. Steve is a tiny Omega living in the town at the bottom of the cliff, dared to go up and see if the castle really is haunted cos he keeps scoffing at people and telling people there's no such thing as vampires and ghosts. Guess what honey...

Sequel to He Ate My Heart abo (2k words approx so far) did you want a Hydra bakery scene? That's definitely what everyone wants in this sequel right?

The Officers Tent -abo au - (one more chapter to write, not started yet) - I know it seems kind of finished but I wanted a whole last chapter of Peter and Bucky torturing Steve's clit. So I'm writing one.

The New Gods - abo nuclear apocalypse wasteland au? need to start chapter 5. This one is going to be a long ongoing one.

Held To Ransom, one shot, (aprox 3k so far)- knives out cross over - this is probably exactly what you think it is. Winter Soldier Bucky working with Brock/Hydra to kidnap Ransom Drysdale. There's something about that face, particularly with a bloody nose, that's making The Winter Soldiers head hurt.

The Meat Grinder - sex worker Bucky abo au - need to do two more chapters and stop keep forgetting this fic cos I love it.

A View To A Kill - the voyeurism au. One more chapter left, not yet started.

Your Wife Waters Flowers, I Wanna Kill Her - this is nearly finished, 20 pages, an end game make it so much worse fic, Steve takes Bucky back with him to the 1940s to resume their former life and marry peggy, Bucky did not want to go. He did not want to live across the street from his best friend he's been crushing on his whole life. The Winter Soldier didn't either. (This fic is morally AWFUL, and absolutely inspired by Taylor's Fortnight)

The Little Vampire - vampire au one shot (4k so far) pre serum vampire Steve Rogers corners beefy sized Bucky in a parking lot. Bucky mouths off at him and well...some big boys just need to be put in their place. (Dommy power bottom Steve)

I also kind of wanted to write a third chapter of the Alpha party but no good ideas have been forthcoming yet.

End brain dump.

[niniblack]

Extraction by Nini Black

Peter Parker has several parental figures: a hippie aunt, a dorky uncle, an absentee father, and a deceased mother. Trying to find out more about his mother got him bitten by a radioactive spider last week, which resulted in superpowers (awesome!) while his dad’s mysterious government job has just gotten him kidnapped and dragged halfway around the world (not awesome!) The last person he’s expecting to be rescued by is Tony Stark, famous mostly for being rich and famous, but at this point he’ll take anyone who’s not pointing a gun in his face. Tony Stark—genius, billionaire, philanthropist, and SHIELD consultant—would really rather be examining the shiny scepter that the Avengers just recovered and charging an exorbitant fee for offering his expertise on it, but he’s a sucker for missions involving kids and Natasha knows it. It’s just his luck that absolutely nothing is going to plan, and what should have been an easy in-and-out rescue op has turned into a race through Madripoor with a scared, untrained teenager, and half the city out to kill him. An AU of Extraction, minus the drug cartels and plus the typical Marvel shenanigans.

I know, I got super creative with the title lol.

Anyway, some tags to entice you to this one: Extraction AU, Kidnapping, Kidnapped Peter Parker, Gun Violence, really a lot of gun violence, Graphic Violence, Not Canon Compliant, Shield Consultant Tony Stark, Tony Stark is not Iron Man, BAMF Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has a Heart, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Madripoor, SHIELD, HYDRA, Alive Richard Parker, Richard Parker’s A+ Parenting, Canonical Character Death, but not in the same way it happens in canon, rescue missions.

This is the fic with the car chase, if you've seen me share that scene in the past.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

for the fic writer asks: 3, 15, and 18!!

3: What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

oof, there's a lot. i'm very longwinded and i hyperfixate easily, which is a recipe for fics that take a long time to make and then never gets made. 

the all stars:

bucky barnes designated driver au: a personal fave, no idea if i'll ever write it in full but i hope i do. bucky barnes, fresh out of hydra, ends up stumbling into hell's kitchen and meets its devil. matthew murdock has an air of such good natured, reckless stupidity that usually manifests in a violent back alley street fight that it punches through decades of hydra programming because jesus christ, this man is terminally, dangerously stupid. why is that so familiar. this is one of the most chaotic things i've ever come up with and i love it with my whole heart. it's one of my favorite peter parkers i've ever come up with in it. he's so feral. may is where he gets it from. she is in a polycule with frank castle and karen page. it's so fun.

peter parker roommates au: weird cosmic energy linked the three peters from nwh and let them do what america chavez does, just with each other's universes. they immediately use this fact to save on rent costs by moving in together. multiverse shenanigans ensue. this one i'm probably going to write after i wrap up a few other projects.

time travel au: probably never going to write this one unfortunately, which is a shame, because it's an absolute party. matt murdock and peter parker are sent back to their old bodies in a freak magic accident. they immediately decide not to tell the fucking wizards this happened, because the fucking wizards ruin everything trying to "preserve the timeline" and "not destroy the multiverse as they know it." it's fine, peter did the math and they only have like a 13ish% chance of destroying space and time, trapping everyone in an endless void where death and escape will be impossible and those are like, AMAZING odds. and they sort of need those odds because they got booted back to the day that frank castle's family died and they simply fucking immediately saved them with no regard for the consequences. featuring a peter who refuses to be swayed by the fact that he's fucking thirteen again, he's going to airdrop the CIA's files to the entire state of new york, a matt who insists that he is aware that peter is like, thirteen and allergic to grass but this is one of his best friends, it's not weird, a frank who has no idea who these fucking people are, and a karen and foggy who got together and immediately sailed over the relationship hurdle of both mutually finding matt to be unspeakably attractive when he engages in open and honest communication, stumbled right into the most awkward seduction of all time. everyone is so stupid, except for peter, who is using this less of a romance opportunity and more as an opportunity to commit federal crimes.

Spider-Man v Kingpin x2: I have these two really different plot lines of Peter Parker versus the kingpin that’s like, cat and mouse, mind games, suspense type things. An older peter parker than what I currently have on my account, post nwh, that kind of showcases his ability to hold his own in the new york underground. Ensemble vigilante cast for both, but in very different ways. disney hire me i would make either of these into an eight episode series in a second. 

De-fridging the punisher's family: okay so like, i think there's a distinction between all “my wife/kids/girlfriend/family died and now i have to commit gratuitous acts of violence” backstories and fridging that's like, bad writing (even though it almost always is bad writing, very few writers have pulled it off) and i don't actually think frank castle's backstory is bad writing. that being said, i LOVE undoing it. i do not know why i am hyper fixated on the castles, but i am. they are alive and they live in my head. i have wayyy too many stories that are focused on the castle family. i do not know why. my favorites:

Maria Castle was Jack Murdock's kid sister AU--probably one of the sadder ones of the bunch. Maria is the painfully estranged aunt of Matt Murdock, who she recently bumped into, only to find that he looked like someone kicked the shit out of him. In an effort to make sure he's okay, she tries to revive ties long since buried. She invites him to join her family on their tradition in Central Park.

"Castles for Christmas" AU--Winter break is here, the dorms have plumbing issues, Foggy has a mandatory trip visiting a horrible bitch of a great aunt who doesn't want any blind best friends tagging along, and Matt says "I have a place to stay" when the place is an old mattress next to the boiler in Fogwell's. Meanwhile, Agent Orange takes a very different approach to the problem of Frank Castle and steals his kids. Matt Murdock hears a couple of kids in trouble and decides to handle it himself. When the kids' father tracks him down afterwards--well, nightmare scenario, but they aren't ratting him out to the cops, so it's as good as it can go. The problem: these people are fucking insane and their mission of "thank the nice young man who saved our kids" turned into "fully kidnap him and force him to live in their guest bedroom because they have an exaggerated sense of duty and this man is living like a fucking goblin." Featuring a matt who's like, trying to politely explain to the Castles that he appreciates the concern, but also this is a fucking kidnapping, like there's literal zip ties involved, like seriously this is a felony, a castle family who has decided that if frank keeps dragging him off the windowsill before he can wriggle his way to freedom then maybe they'll give him stockholm syndrome and it will be a nonissue, and a foggy who is wondering if his best bro has been enslaved by a suburban family of four to make gingerbread men.

Maria Castle Matt Murdock Best Bros Au--at the start of his Daredevil career, Matt saves a random suburban housewife mid-mugging--only she was in the process of saving herself and Matt gets clipped with a bullet in the process. the injury to his person is minor. the injury to his pride is major when random suburban housewife pistol whips him in a moment of panic, proceeds to kidnap masked man for medical treatment. The thing is 1) she hates the PTA 2) it's so hard to make adult friends with you know, kids and everything 3) she is extraordinarily okay with aiding and abetting and 4) this man is her dumbass little brother now, look at him, he's so ridiculous and pathetic, she can't not bully him, this is an excellent life decision curtis calm DOWN. featuring a curtis who does not want to be a part of this, please and thank you, maria stop calling him, and a frank still in Afghanistan, under the impression that this is his wife's new gay best friend instead of like. a man she met via vigilante justice.

15: Are there words, phrases, mannerisms or scenes you tend to use a lot?

Uhhh, i overuse stuff like “(s)he sighs” or “(s)he doesn’t say anything” or “(S)he scoffs” and “(s)he shrugs,” etc. because i’m looking for a specific like, rhythm(?) in a conversation or in the prose and shove in those mannerisms like placeholders. I haven’t figured out a better way to handle that problem with my writing yet, but hopefully will one day. 

Frank’s a weirdly expressive character, at least the way Jon Bernthal plays him, so I tend to kind of add in like, exaggerated exasperation. He has a lot of looking heavenward for strength, side-eyeing, that kind of thing.

Matt and Peter very purposefully have some parallels across my projects, but especially the Matt  and peter in pottery shards. it’s this kind of impatient way of downplaying concern for them. I think that all narrators are inherently unreliable, is the thing. It’s all going to be framed through their mindsets and experiences. Matt and Peter are both deeply isolated characters who don’t know how to comprehend--let alone accept--help and concern, for different reasons. Matt’s used to systemic abuse and instability. He’s used to him having problems being treated as him having done something wrong and being punished for it. So there’s usually a scene with a character showing some pretty appropriate concern for him--Brett, Foggy, Karen, etc.--and Matt’s entire internal monologue is about how endless this conversation is and how he doesn’t know why they’re reacting like this, and the thing they’re reacting to is like, horrible abuse. 

Peter has the same thing, because Peter in pottery shards is someone who enters the narrative as someone who has purposefully isolated himself and set himself into the mindset that people trying to interfere in his life--aka help him, the fourteen year old--is just going to hurt both himself and the people he loves. And there’s a lot of reasons for this, not all of which has been unpacked yet, but it’s resulted in this same mindset that Matt has as perceiving concern as something that’s at best a waste of his time and at worst a big problem he has to fix. So you have scenes where Curtis is actively providing him health care, or teachers are concerned about his wellbeing, and his entire internal monologue is either frustrated musings on how to get out of this, or perceiving it as them being upset with him. 

Foggy and karen haven’t gotten to the brunt of their roles yet in any of the projects, but I usually try to model them around these same internal baseline characteristics that results in repeated mannerisms. Foggy is someone who is usually very purposeful in how he acts and the words he uses. like, he’s really more self aware than any other character, and he’s good at teasing through the maladaptations of other characters. So foggy gets these repeat lines of verbal clarifications like “This isn’t a fight” because he’s good at clocking what exactly is wrong with another character and trying to make his own actions clear. I’ll refrain from karen because most of her repeated baseline characteristics haven’t popped up yet. 

18: Recommend someone else fic! (And tag them if they have a tumblr!)

i don’t think this author has a tumblr, and I haven’t seen anything from the in years, but silverpard on both AO3 and fanfiction.net has this one fic that changed the chemistry of my brain. it’s called a mirror, darkly and it influenced my own writing to a ridiculous degree. i’m not much of one for batman, never got into DC, but it’s very much worth it. 

[buckywiththegoodhair86]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Thanks, Friend!

I'm not entirely sure how to judge this other than by ones I re-read most often and the ones I'm most proud of writing. So, all of these are some of both, I guess.

Captain Rogers and the Norseman's Cube. I'm genuinely pleased with and proud of how this one turned out, and I enjoy nice slow read-throughs of it when I'm chilling. Also, little headcanons and side characters from this one tend to bleed out into a lot of my other fics.

A Little Problem. This one's just really cute, okay? Even though I wrote it and I know how it's going to go, it still gives me the warm fuzzies. It also includes one of my most favorite lines that I have ever written: ""I think Miss Natasha is waiting to go on with the story," he said with an awful lot of dignity for someone with a hot chocolate mustache and marshmallow residue on his nose."

My Heart Don't Wish To Roam (specifically the medieval AU). I like all of these AUs and they're a lot of fun to write, but the medieval one got well away from me in the writing, and I reined it back in eventually and I think it turned out the best story of the set so far. (Also, the camping scenes.)

A Day In The Life. I like this one because it alternates between funny and Feelings. I had fun coming up with all the different scenarios and interactions and trying to figure out the sorts of things Steve and Bucky and Sam do when they're not fighting crime. It's also a nice exploration of the Bucky Recovering From Hydra feelings without getting too much, and also at one point Peter Parker teaches Steve Rogers how to use the word 'yeet'.

A Second Chance At Keeping Him Safe. This one was more serious than a lot of stuff I'd written before, and I like how it turned out. I liked getting to really look into things in the movie-verse and not an AU from Peggy's point of view, which I'd never done too in depth before. And I'm a sucker for a good amnesia story, so I figured I should write one. (Also, the bathtub scene.)

Thanks for sending me the ask! I'm off to drop the ask in some other writers' boxes!

[heliads]

requests are open again!

so so excited. the time has finally come! fic requests will close when my queue is full two months in advance. i will keep an updated list with the requests taken so that you know how many spaces exist in the queue, and that list will be in this post under the read more tab.

a few things to consider before we start:

i will not be posting as frequently. as you may have seen from recent posts, my writing motivation has gone down a lot. this is due to school stress etc but also due to the lack of interaction (i.e. likes but no reblogs or comments). i'm not writing for notes only, but when i spend 45 mins on one fic and everybody just ignores it, it makes me not want to write anymore. the new posting schedule will be every three days instead of every two.

this timing change means that fewer requests will be taken before requests close. i am aware that requests are closed like 95% of the time. i am literally just some guy and i have limits. i cannot write all of the time.

fewer requests taken means i will be more specific about which requests i take. if you want a higher chance of your request being taken, please follow my rules and check my masterlist to make sure your request hasn't already been written. please just treat me with respect xoxo

there are more fandoms!! since requests were last open, my semester ended so i've had the chance to catch up on some tv, thankfully. i've now finished f1: drive to survive, the second season of bridgerton, and the first season of the originals. will keep you updated as i watch more things haha

thank you all so much for your continued support!! can't wait to hear your fic ideas >33

xoxo, lisa

fics in the queue:

7/7: brocedes angst

7/9: peter pan x reader (dreams as a plot device to take reader to neverland but mainly create problems)

7/11: leclerc!reader x carlos sainz (this one is going to be so good...)

7/13: four x reader (there is jealousy in dauntless)

7/16: carlos sainz x reader (reader is shy)

7/19: thorin oakenshield x reader (reader is a fairy and on the quest, fae i am obsessed with your mind)

7/22: goodnight robicheaux x reader (reader is a witch (!) and fights)

7/25: ben florian x reader (soulmates au where negative things you think about yourself are written on the skin of your soulmate)

7/28: charlie dalton x male!reader (headcanons for charlie realizing he likes guys)

7/31: peter pevensie x reader (peter and reader are trapped in a cave after a battle, reader is injured, they await rescue)

8/3: kaz brekker x reader (reader is a historian with knowledge of a location kaz needs for a job, but kaz develops feelings ! !)

8/6: thomas x reader (thomas has magic! in the maze he has magic!)

8/9: kaz brekker x reader (reader joins the dregs to save her little sister but kaz sees this as a prime opportunity for a resurgence of his brother trauma)

8/12: regulus black x potter!reader (they fake their deaths together and go on a horcrux destroying quest)

8/15: darkling x reader (soulmates au)

8/18: andrew garfield peter parker x reader (reader is a former hydra experiment with wings, now an avenger)

8/21: alina starkov x reader (healing from trauma after ruin and rising)

8/24: theo raeken x reader (theo confesses his feelings but reader has the distinct memory of when he tried to kill them all)

8/27: nikolai lantsov x reader (reader was on sturmhond's crew but anti monarchy so they cannot date !)

8/30: katniss everdeen x reader (reader is haymitch's daughter)

9/2: inej ghafa x reader (dirtyhands gets sick of the constant pining and uses the ol kazzle dazzle to get them together)

9/5: namor x reader (reader is a daughter of hecate)

9/8: nina zenik x reader (spies in fjerda!! but with love!!)

9/11: platonic natasha trace x reader (reader is a country singer and supported by the dagger squad)