A/N: As promised, here is the accompanying story to "Getting to know Spiderboy" featuring the first gen trio- Bucky, Steve, and Renny. The chapters of this story will most likely be short, only detailing a few moments of their friendship. The first two or three chapters are really just the flashback excerpts from GTKS, but this first chapter will give you a slight insight into how Renny falls into the MCU.
I welcome any newcomers and greet the ones who are here from GTKS. I hope you like the story.
Read on!
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and most of the plot. Anything you might recognize from MCU movies belongs to Marvel.
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New York.
Holy crap she was in New York. The grin on her face could have been face splitting.
Renny had grown up with superheroes. Iron Man was her idol when she was six. Hulk was her giant teddy bear that kept the nightmares away. Thor emphasized the importance of being humble, Sif turned her attention to trying her hand at martial arts, and Loki reminded her that smarts and cunning were just as important as being able to throw a punch.
She loved Steve for his big heart and Peggy became another model of strength for her.
The Avengers had her ten-year-old self gaping wide-eyed at the screen during that one iconic moment that the world's mightiest heroes came together in perfect sync…
That was the movie that started her want to visit New York, no matter how far. That want only got stronger with every Marvel movie that featured spots in the city- particularly Doctor Strange and Spiderman Homecoming.
When she turned fifteen, it finally happened. She got to visit her aunt in New York and she had a week. Several days during the summer didn't feel like enough.
She'd been to Bleecker street, the café that Captain America had been in when he was sketching Stark tower, Grand Central station, a bit around Brooklyn and Queens, now, Central Park.
Standing at the Bethesda Terrace was the last thing she remembered. Closing her eyes, feeling the wind on her face, and imagining that Loki and Thor were standing right beside her…
Then it was a bit of a blur from that moment.
The sound of shattering glass, the violent swirl of colors, and the feeling of falling and flying at the same time. She felt like she was being rapidly pulled through water and her veins felt like they were filled with both fire and ice. She felt like she couldn't breathe even with the feeling of wind whipping past her.
Over her own frantic cries, she heard yells and different voices that were vaguely familiar.
"Stop!"
"Were those the car keys?"
"I heard screams…"
"The convergence…"
"… Put down the spear!"
"You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum…"
"… Loki! No!"
"Did you hear that?"
"Now Darcy!"
"…You were breaking it!"
Then… when she thought that her heart would burst from how hard it was beating against her ribs, the chaos stopped with her crashing to her hands and knees in a puddle of water.
That was practically a month ago. A month of wandering the streets. It was traumatic, suddenly finding yourself very alone, trying to survive while processing that she had somehow traveled back in time. The late 20's to be exact.
Summer had faded some time ago, and the autumn chill was in the air. She thought she never felt colder in her life and the last meal she ate was the day before. Most days were like this, feeling hungry, cold, hopeless, and purposeless.
Renny looked up at the grey sky, wondering what kind of sick joke this was. Throwing her back in time when she was a nobody. What was the purpose of it all?
Just then, the sky opened up and rain began pouring down, soaking her clothes before she got to a small shaded niche by the side of a building. She slumped down on the ground and let out a slow, defeated sigh. She pulled her knees to her chest, closing her eyes.
Maybe she'd get sick and die.
Whatever higher power sent her here, they wasted their power and effort.
Pathetic.
She chuckled and let a bitter smile curve her lips.
"Hello miss."
The childish voice made her lazily open her eyes. Grey met warm brown. She was surprised to see a young boy standing in front of her. Renny guessed that he was maybe ten years old.
He seemed a bit shy at first, scuffing his shoe on the ground, but then he spoke again. "It's pretty cold out and this rain is getting bad."
She wondered what the kid wanted. What would a kid want with a random street person like her?
"You'll catch a cold if you stay out here. My best friend gets sick a lot, and his ma makes him take these medicines. Steve says they taste real bad." He stuck his tongue out, nose wrinkling.
Adorable kid. She had to give him a small smile. It was then she noticed that the rain wasn't soaking into her clothes anymore. She looked up and saw the boy was holding his umbrella over the both of them.
"Medicine usually tastes bad." She agreed, though she was still confused and didn't know what else to say.
The boy looked a bit awkward and scratched at the back of his neck. "That's why you shouldn't get sick, miss. Are you waiting for the rain to stop?" He asked innocently.
Oh… sweet kid. Concerned about a stranger. He probably thought that she was just an unlucky girl without an umbrella, waiting out the rain. She didn't want to tell him she was there at the shaded alcove of the building because she had nowhere else to go. Kids were naturally sympathetic and tried to solve problems so much bigger than them even when they couldn't really do anything about it.
"Yeah. You should get moving too before this rain gets worse. You might get sick." Renny smiled again, her eyes glinting sadly, her expression soft. She didn't want to make him feel bad that he couldn't really help her out. The hard truth was that he would just have to leave her to her misfortune.
The boy's cheeks warmed slightly, and the teen noticed how he seemed to be looking for something. He must have found it, because a determined look became present in his eyes like he made a serious decision. The expression was undoubtedly cute on a kid's face.
"Here, lady." He said, holding out the handle to his umbrella.
Renny was shocked, to say the least. "I can't take this. You need it more than me. It's difficult when kids get sick." The 20's wasn't exactly the best time to get pneumonia.
The boy shook his head and put the handle firmly in her hands. "Don't worry about me, miss. I live just close by, I can run." He pulled his jacket over his head and got ready to make a break for it. "Besides, my pop said gentlemen lend ladies their jackets and stuff." He grinned impishly before adding, "Especially when it's a pretty dame."
Before he could dart off, Renny got over her shock enough to ask him, "M-May I ask for the kindly gentleman's name before he leaves?"
The little boy's grin widened, the previous light blush on his cheeks a little more evident. "Name's Bucky." He answered simply before running off.
She called out after him before he could turn a corner. "I'm Renny by the way!" The boy slowed down, turning and walking backwards.
"Nice meeting you, Miss Renny!" He gave her one last smile before dashing off again.
"Bucky…" The girl smiled, thinking of someone with the same nickname. Nice boy. Naïve, but nice. He even looked like a kid version of-
"James Buchanan Barnes!" She heard the yell come from somewhere around the corner. It sounded like a woman. "You are soaking wet! Where is your umbrella?"
"Sorry, Ma. Forgot it." The kid's voice answered.
Renny heard the first voice fuss before it was cut off by the sound of a shutting door.
It was then she processed just what she had heard.
Bucky.
James Buchanan Barnes.
That Bucky?
Renny took a deep, shuddering breath.
This had to be a joke. Right?
As if getting thrown back in time wasn't enough of a twist.
She put a hand to her forehead before running through the conversation she had with little boy Bucky.
He even mentioned that his best friend's name was Steve and that that friend got sick a lot.
Like Steve Rogers before the super soldier serum.
Those things couldn't be coincidence… It was way too much to be chance.
The need to confirm everything put new strength in her limbs, and she didn't feel the cold as much anymore. She had to find some hard evidence, maybe a newspaper article with familiar names.
Standing up and clutching the umbrella tight, she made her way down the sidewalk. There had to be evidence somewhere. Something to cement the fiction that had now become her reality. Something to tell her she was in a world where the future Captain America and Winter Soldier existed.
Looks like the powers that be had some kind of plan for her.
Renny couldn't believe it. It worked. It really worked.
When she'd found a newspaper and really looked, it didn't take her long to find an article about Howard Stark. The article wasn't plastered all over the front page, but it was still there. It looked like Tony's father was still gaining traction in the scientific world.
"From another world, you say?" The question was voiced in modulated tones. "And you believed it best to seek me out?"
Renny just nodded. She still couldn't believe it worked- what she did to get here. It was laughably simple.
When she found more proof that she really was in the Marvel universe, she had thought about her options.
Approaching Howard Stark wasn't really a choice, she didn't have the smarts to catch his attention. Bucky and Steve were still children- their parents would never really let them interact with some street urchin. She was a fifteen-year-old street girl with no connections whatsoever, she'd already tried getting some kind of job for the past month to no avail. Her chance of survival if she fended for herself was slim.
Who would be willing to house a teenager who had no records? Who could she talk to without them immediately assuming that she was crazy? Someone who believed in parallel worlds and alternate dimensions, possibly magic and the manipulation of time...
She took a chance and went to New York City. It was 1927. Did the place even exist here yet?...
177A Bleecker Street
To her amazement and sheer relief, it was there. She was frozen in front of the building for several long moments as she took it in. The large, round glass window she could see on the second floor. She took a deep breath before she walked up the steps, knocking on the door.
Her voice was so soft, but she didn't want to seem crazy to the passersby on the street who might hear her. "I need to speak with the Ancient One." When nothing happened for a minute, she added a little more desperately, "Please."
When sparks formed a circle beneath her feet, she held her breath and clenched her eyes shut, anticipating to fall like Loki, but there was only a rush of air and her feet never left the ground.
"You can open your eyes now." The voice was gentle.
Renny obeyed and found herself face to face with the Ancient one.
A/N: If you're new to the GTKS universe, I'd love to know what you think of the story. Please drop a review. Those who are familiar with my other story, the next chapter will still be more flashback chapters first before I get into a new chapter.
'Til next time