So before writing this chapter I figured out a few dates that completely surprised me: Percy was born in 1993.
I was originally going to make this story take place after Endgame in both worlds, but now seeing that Percy would be 30 YEARS OLD that wouldn't work for this story.
*I UPDATED THIS CHAPTER AFTER I REALIZED THAT I GOT PERCY'S STORY WRONG*
I've seen the movies more recently and I left the first book in my mom's classroom so I decided to just write what I could remember...
*ALSO UPDATED 4/25 TO ADD LATIN TO THE LANGUAGES THEY SPEAK*
I added Romanian too because Sebastian Stan is from Romania and idk just kinda thought that would be cool.
"Bucky?"
"Percy?" Bucky stood up from his chair, ignoring the game and everyone else in the room. He walked over to Percy, looking him up and down.
"You're… you're so tall!" Bucky couldn't believe how tall he had gotten in what seemed like no time at all. Percy hugged him, not caring about Peter or the other guy in the room that he didn't really know.
"Did you hear that we're allowed to use phones now?!" Bucky nodded eagerly.
"I know, right! Wasn't it because the new owner of Apple is a demigod too and made a new phone that doesn't have the weird monster-tracer signal thing?" Percy nodded back.
"It's awesome, everyone at camp bought one! Chiron even said that we make group chats with our cabins. Mine is me and Tyson."
"That sounds about right; I was the only one when I was a kid too. So did you figure out all your cool stuff?" Percy shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"Yeah, I did. Wait, what do you speak?" Percy asked Bucky. Bucky grinned and held his fist up to count off all the languages he could speak on his fingers.
"Umm… Russian, Romanian, Latin, Wakandan, I read Ancient Greek, dolphin, whale, fish, oh, there's one more. Dangit, what is it? Oh yeah. Duh. Horse," Bucky replies, holding up a finger for each one.
"Dude, that's awesome! I learned Romanian at camp one summer. Did you get the water thing?" Bucky nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, I did! I've kinda learned to have fun with it over the years. I can see people's parents when I concentrate, too. You know, like when someone gets claimed, that shows up above their head when I think about it. I can do it in crowds, too, just look around and see all these symbols floating above people's heads. Like Nat… yeah, Nat's an Athena. She reminds me of Annabeth." Peter and Sam watched the exchange with confused faces.
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold the phone," Sam interjected. "You know this kid? You're talking to him in what seems like an entirely different language like you've known him for years." Percy grinned and looked at Bucky.
"Guys," Bucky began. "Let me introduce you to my brother."
"YOUR WHAT?!" Peter and Sam yell at the same time.
"Jeez, could you guys be a little louder in here? I couldn't hear you enough already," Tony said, coming downstairs.
"Hey, Bucky." Bucky looked over at Tony and nodded.
"Hey, Tony."
"Who's the kid?" Sam gave Tony a look.
"Well, I mean, we thought he was just Peter's friend, but now the kid might as well be a gorgon for all I know."
"Hey, whoa! Do not joke about the gorgons, those things in a Bargain Mart apron with meat and cheese samples on a tray are scary!" Everyone looked at Percy like he was insane, but Bucky just smiled.
"Dude, I can imagine. I fought one of those once, in like 1930, and it was crazy."
"Yeah, I fought it and the only way I got away from it was when I rode the snack tray down a hill and almost into a river. And then I carried Roman Hera across a river. Crazy times," Percy said.
"Dude, you got to carry Juno across a river?! Everyone said that she was like, crazy hot," Bucky replied with a wide grin. Percy scrunched his nose.
"Are we talking about the same person? She was a crusty old hippie lady."
"Eww. Even though I have no clue who we're talking about," Sam interjected.
"Dude, I still can't believe you're here! I haven't seen you in like, five years!" Bucky hugged Percy again, still not able to believe that he was able to see his little brother again.
"Okay. I'm sick of sitting here and acting like I know what's going on. HEY! MEETING IN THE KITCHEN!" Over the course of a few minutes, Steve, Nat, Clint, Thor, and Rhodey came into the kitchen and sat at the table.
"Yeah?" Steve always assumed something was wrong when meetings got called, but when he saw Bucky smiling and standing beside a younger kid, he was confused rather than worried.
"What's this about?" Clint looked around, confused.
"You guys take the mic, you've got a lot of explaining to do. Get comfy, you guys, based off of what I've heard this could take a while," Tony explained, pointing at Percy and Bucky. Thor laid eyes on Percy, recognizing him instantly.
"Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon," Thor said, looking at the boy in jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a pair of blue Jordans. "It is an honor." Bucky looked at Percy and clapped him on the back.
"Dude, a god just said that it's an honor to meet you," Bucky whispered.
"Not to be rude, um… Thor, but how do you know that?" Thor grinned.
"You are a legend across the Nine Realms, known for your valiant deeds."
"What does valiant mean?" Percy whispered to Bucky.
"Dude, I'm just as dyslexic as you. I don't know," Bucky replied.
"What did I do, again?" Thor looked confused.
"Your return of Zeus's lightning bolt- name tastes like poison- is heroic alone. That doesn't include your conquest of the Labyrinth, or your defeat of Kronos, your plummet to Tartarus, or defeat of Gaea, to name a few." Thor tossed Mjolnir at Percy, wanting to see if the boy could lift it.
"I can't catch that!" Percy tried to catch the hammer, barely catching the end of the handle before it hit the ground.
"Holy mother of Zeus," Percy said, bringing the hammer up to his stomach. He flipped it over in his hand, tossing it back to Thor.
"Yeah!" Bucky high fived Percy.
"So what in the world is going on?" Bucky and Percy turned back to the rest of the Avengers sitting at the kitchen table.
"Where do we even start?"
•••
Percy explained his story, and then left the entire kitchen table silent, trying to make sense of what Percy just explained.
"So you're telling me that your best friend turned out to be a satyr, a protector I assume?" Percy nodded warily at Thor. "So then you killed the Minotaur with his own horn, using Riptide, and then wasn't that the point where you realized that your teacher was Chiron the centaur, and then ventured around the country against the advice of all your superiors to find Persephone's Pearls to rescue your mom from the Underworld?" Percy stared at Thor, completely surprised that he knew his story.
"Yeah, that's exactly right. But how do you know that?" Thor chuckled, looking to Percy.
"There was a Greek history class on Asgard, and there was an entire semester class on the Endeavors of Perseus Jackson. As the king, I was required to take it because I had to familiarize myself with all of the Nine Realms. But I did not know that Bucky here was your godly brother."
Percy opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again because he didn't know what to say.
"They taught an entire semester class about me on Asgard?! That's crazy."
"I enjoyed it very much. You're quite a brave hero. I've never heard of two demigods surviving Tartarus, defeating a titan, and then closing the Doors of Death."
"I could tell stories here all day and still not tell them all. Umm… what if I just tell the highlights?"
"We're curious how you know Bucky," Steve said, eyeing Bucky carefully.
"Um, so if you haven't figured it out, Bucky's my half brother," Percy explained. "We have the same godly parent."
"Wait, wait, wait. So you're telling me that one of tin man's parents is a god?!" Sam raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between Percy and Bucky.
"Um… yeah. Poseidon. He's the god of water and horses. That's why we can speak fish, whale, dolphin, and horse. Well, I mean, it's kind of hard to explain," Percy said. "It's kind of like…"
"Kind of like speaking Groot?" Everyone looked at Thor as he said this, even more confused.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's exactly like that!" Percy grinned and took Riptide out of his pocket, throwing it up slightly in the air and catching it.
"Hey, kid, can you throw me that pen? I need to cross yesterday off the calendar."
"Um… you don't want that pen," Bucky said. "I would find a different one if I were you." Tony shrugged. "Why? Does it not work or something?"
"Umm… no, it definitely works, just not in the way you'd think," Percy told Tony, getting nervous about handing over the pen.
"Why? I'll figure it out. Is it like a weird button you have to push?"
"No… No, you just pull the cap off like this," Percy grinned, uncapping the pen and holding Riptide toward the floor.
"Celestial bronze! Dude, I watched you sparring from the hill and somehow I didn't know that you had celestial bronze!"
"Where did you watch me spar?"
"Your field trip to Wakanda?"
"Oh, yeah! Remember your little house thing? All the Wakandan kids would go in there and make faces at you to see if you'd wake up." Bucky laughed, a legitimate, completely genuine laugh.
Steve watched his friend with a smile, noticing the way his eyes sparkled when he was happy. He noticed the way that Bucky looked so happy and carefree when he talked to and about Percy, and that was something that he hadn't gotten the privilege to see in Bucky for so long.
"When I woke up one day, I actually did catch a few of them."
•••
Flashback to Wakanda
Marvel Universe: 2017 (pre-Infinity War)
Percy Jackson Universe: 2006 (post Sea of Monsters)
Bucky sat by the lake in Wakanda, looking out over the water and thinking. Thinking about his friends, where they might be, what they might be doing. He had felt more relaxed since he had been unfrozen here; he was free to come and go as he pleased, and had even become a favorite among the kids here. They enjoyed playing games with the mystery man in the large grassy areas of Wakanda. He helped Shuri and T'Challa with the heavy lifting in the lab, occasionally pitching them an idea or two.
One day, as Bucky sat on the hill watching the younger kids playing tag, he saw a large group of people in the distance that he didn't recognize. As they got closer, he couldn't believe his eyes.
They were led by Chiron, his old camp counselor from when he was a kid. He stood from his spot on the hill and slowly began to approach them, remembering the prophecy from when he was a kid at Camp Half Blood.
Poseidon's only son
will not be the last.
Once a war has been won,
the duties will be passed.
He saw the group of kids walking towards the hill, not able to recognize any of them from the distance.
And probably because he wouldn't know any of them anyways.
As they approached the hill, Bucky walked closer to Chiron, opening and closing his metal hand. He got closer, and as Chiron turned around from talking to the campers he saw Bucky approaching him. Bucky was suddenly aware that he looked out of place; a random long-haired man with a metal arm walking around a peaceful place like Wakanda.
Bucky looked to Chiron and to the campers, noticing that camp had gotten considerably larger than it was when he had been around. He shoved his hands nervously into the pockets of his jeans, second-guessing his decision.
"Chiron," Bucky said, saying the name that he hadn't thought about in so many years.
Chiron studied the man for a moment, trying to remember.
And then he did.
"James Barnes," Chiron said, holding his hand out to Bucky. "Or do you go by Bucky now?" Bucky smiled and shook Chiron's hand.
"Bucky kind of grew on me." Chiron looked him up and down.
"You know, I'm not really sure how you're still alive." Bucky chuckled and looked back to the hill, where T'Challa and Shuri now stood.
"A lot's happened in the last… let's see, how long has it been? I think it's been almost ninety-five years since I've been to camp." All the campers looked to each other, whispering about this new detail. Bucky looked at the group of kids, looking at all their godly parents.
Until he saw one that surprised him.
"Chiron… the prophecy?" Chiron looked to Bucky with a proud smile.
"You see him, don't you?" Bucky looked back to Chiron with a surprised look.
"Yeah, but… does he know?" Percy only assumed that they were talking about him.
"Um, Chiron? Do we know this guy?" Percy asked from the crowd.
"Yes, yes I do. And you will, very soon," Chiron replied.
"How?"
"Percy, this is your half brother." Bucky looked to Percy with a small smile.
"The Winter Soldier is my half brother?!" Bucky winced at the name, barely being able to stand being called this anymore.
"T'Challa doesn't let people call me that. He says…" Bucky sighed. "He says that I have to tell people that I'm James 'Bucky" Barnes. But you'll love T'Challa." Chiron looked at Bucky like a proud dad, the same way he looked at Percy.
"Well, I think we should go meet the king who was kind enough to let us come, don't you?" All the campers nodded and cheered in agreement.
"Maybe you and Percy could get to know each other a little bit," Chiron suggested. Bucky nodded, walking over to Percy as the other campers walked up the hill towards T'Challa and Shuri.
"So what is Wakanda like?" Percy asked, seemingly shy.
"It's an awesome place. I've been here for about a year and a half and loved every minute of it. I mean, all the parts I was unfrozen for." Percy looked up to Bucky as they walked.
"You got frozen?"
"Yeah, I had to, because I had to try to get my mind back after the whole Winter Soldier thing, and the best way to do it was to go back under the ice. They made me a new arm while I was out, though. Completely indestructible, and they only have vibranium here in Wakanda, that's why it's so valuable," Bucky explained. Percy looked at Bucky's arm, taking Riptide out of his pocket and turning it over in his hand.
"I mean, I have a pen that turns into a sword…"
"No way! That's so cool!" The campers stopped walking, stopping on the crest of the hill right in front of T'Challa.
"Demigods, it is an honor to have so many valiant young people here in Wakanda. Here, we value bravery, peace, and trust, and these are qualities that we see in all of you young people. You have the power to protect the world and shape a generation," T'Challa said to all the campers, talking in the way he did when he addressed an important audience.
Looking back, Bucky could see how the prophecy from when he was a kid fell perfectly into place. Bucky was Poseidon's only son after Zeus' decree that the Big Three couldn't have any more children, and Percy was the next Son of Poseidon that would take on all of the responsibilities of such an important demigod. The war that had been won for Bucky was the war between Steve and Tony, so the prophecy had fallen perfectly into place and Percy had become another child of Poseidon.
And Bucky couldn't be more excited.
"So do they have a different language that they speak here?" Percy whispered to Bucky as T'Challa addressed the campers.
"Yeah, they have Wakandan, and it kind of reminds me of Greek a little bit. They have, like, symbols that don't really look like English letters." Percy shrugged and flipped Riptide over in his hand.
"Is that your pen sword?" Bucky leaned down the couple inches that he had on Percy and whispered, still looking at T'Challa as he conversed with Percy to at least seem like he was paying attention. Bucky had become a master of side conversations in school and at camp as a kid; it was something he had pride in when he was younger.
The campers had a 6-hour stay in Wakanda, so Percy and Bucky spent their time down by the pond swimming (more or less; they never actually got wet) and sitting around the edge, talking.
"So, I never found out. How old are you, actually?" Bucky grinned and skipped a rock across the surface of the water.
"Um… it's been a little while since I thought about it. I was born in 1917, so technically, I'm 106. But I have no idea the amount of time I've actually been conscious and out of ice. So now that I've told you my completely confusing story that even I can't figure out, how old are you?" Percy grinned and put his elbows on his knees.
"I'm 13, but I think it's kinda cool. So weren't you and… Captain America in the war together?"
Bucky smiled at Percy's curiosity.
"Believe it or not, those were the good old days."
So I just got over having covid and am still kind of feeling it, so I may not post as quickly as I posted these chapters.
So another Endgame easter egg that I just realized after I watched it again: when they're testing the time travel suit with Scott and the Pym particles, Rhodey and Scott are referencing all the time travel movies they can think of. One of the movies they mention is Hot Tub Time Machine, which is a movie that Seb Stan played in as Blaine.
Completely random, but I thought it was kinda cool.