Save Us {Bucky Barnes}

001

I was never normal, far from it actually. When I was two, both of my parents died in a freak accident that gave me superhuman powers. I was forced into an orphanage where I learned to control my powers but was an outcast because of them. So, I hid them. Only using them in times of need; protecting myself against the people of New York and other older kids but never to pass a subject (not that I ever needed to do that) or as a party trick. I graduated high school in 2008, excelling in the sciences and then I graduated MIT as a computer engineer in 2014, just like my parents had, but my life changed two years before that.

Battle of New York – 2012

The screams of people rang in my ears. Buildings where in the rubble, dead bodies littered the streets, but I swore to myself that I would never use my powers, not after high school. Not ever again. Yet, there was a massive shard of glass embedded in my leg. I was sitting in a pool of metallic red blood, groaning as I held the force field around myself, trying to stay as small as possible, hoping no one saw me. But then, almost as quickly as it had started, it was over. The aliens slumped, looking as if someone had flipped a switch, their cruisers crashed into the ground, and then I was creaming again. The dream flashed before my eyes, meteorites smashing into buildings, killing people on the spot. The sky blood red, and the blood. It was everywhere. I screamed louder, but then there was someone next to me. Someone in a whole lot of blue and red, holding a shield. I looked at him and I knew immediately that he was someone I could trust. I let the field drop and he came rushing to my side.

"Hey. Hi. Are you ok?" Captain America asked me. I nodded but he pointed to my leg, the one dripping blood. "You don't look ok. I'll get a medic."

"No!" I said loudly but I lowered my voice and said again, "No. It'll be ok." He raised an eyebrow at me.

I put my hands on either side of the shard and muttered, "Oh god, this is going to hurt." And pulled it out of my leg. From the corner of my eye, I saw the colour drain from Cap's face. I placed a had on the gash and thought "I believe this will heal. Fast." The wound closed, looking as if it had stitched itself up. Cap stared at me in disbelief.

"How-what did-how did you do that?" He whispered to me.

"I – uh – well, I have a secret and now it looks as if it's out." I smiled weakly.

Cap stood up and offered me a hand. I took it and he pulled me up. "What's your name, kid?"

"Tessa, Tess Stone."

"As in like, Margret and Hugo Stone's daughter?"

I nodded and bowed to him, "At your service, Mr America. Also, how do you know them? They died in 1992. I thought you were on ice?"

"I'm catching up with my history. Let's walk. I mean, I would like you to meet my friends. If you don't mind?" He stuttered.

"Yep. I'd love to meet your friends."

"Ok. Let's walk then and you can tell me about your powers."

"Ok, so. It all started in 1992. My parents were looking for fairies. I know. It sounds weird but they were. They found them alright. They died under 'mysterious' circumstances, but it wasn't mysterious at all. The fairies killed them. With magic. They were in the middle of a war and they mistook my parents for the enemy and killed them both. I was in my rocker in their lab as I was only two but the leader spared my life. She gave me the power of belief." I stepped over a large piece of the building. I was covered in head to two in the dust. Cap looked at me confused, "It means that if I believe that something happens, or I can do something, I can. Like how I healed my leg."

"Wow. You've had a pretty crazy life. I would love to help you to find a way to blend in and have a normal life and a proper family," I nodded my head. "So, I'll introduce you to the rest of the Avengers and we'll discuss it. Sound good?"

"Yeah. I'd really like that. Thank you, Cap." I threw my arms around him.

He nodded and patted my back. "Anytime, Kid."

※※※※※※

"What the hell, Cap?! You brought a random kid here?! She could kill us! In an instant!" Tony fumed.

"Why don't we ask her who she is and if she's thinking of killing us?" Nat reasoned.

"I was just talking to her. She's nice. Smart too. On her fourth year of computer engineering at MIT." Bruce told the group standing in the corner away from Tessa. She fumbled with her hands and stole glances at the group when she thought no one was looking at her.

"Oh, come on! Why don't you go talk to her, Tony? You are judging her by her looks or her cover or whatever. You haven't even said hi." Clint offered.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He made his way over and sat down on the broken concrete next to me. "Hey, kid. I'm Tony. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand for me to shake. I shook it nervously.

"Hi. I'm Tessa Stone. Nice to meet you too." I replied.

"Tell me, why are you here?" He glanced nervously at the over Avengers who were watching the exchange with varying degrees of interest.

I looked up at the others nervously and Cap gave me a slight nod. "Well, Cap found me hiding with a shard of glass embedded in my leg and a force field around me, trying to hide from the battle."

"How did you fix your leg?" Clint asked nervously, looking kind of frightened. I hadn't even noticed them come closer.

"I, uh, healed it? With my powers?" I said nervously, looking down at my hands.

"Oh?" Thor asked, "This child has powers?"

"I'm not a child. I'm 22." I muttered under my breath.

"Yes, Thor. That was the first thing that Cap said." Bruce explained.

"Can you tell us what your powers are and how you got them?" Cap asked softly. So, I explained it for the second time in two hours. When I had finished, they all started to ask me questions.

"Can you fly?" Tony asked me and I showed him that I could.

"Can I shoot you and you not die?" Nat asked and I told her yes.

"Can you create me a miniature dog?" Clint asked and I made him one, "I'm going to name you Spot!"

"Can you make weapons of the gods?" Thor asked and I made him a whole arsenal.

"Did you cheat on your tests to get into MIT?" Bruce asked and I rolled my eyes and said, "I don't need to. I'm smart enough already."

And the questions went on. But the important question that was asked was from Nat. "Can you defend yourself in hand-to-hand combat?"

"Uh, probably not to your standards but yes. Being an orphan with powers teaches you that powers will not defend you all the time." I replied.

"Ok. Well, we'll start rebuilding the tower and when that's complete, Nat will train you. But for now, let's all go home. I think we all need a rest. We'll meet in the morning at 10 back here." Tony said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"See you later team," Clint yelled over his shoulder as he left and soon it was just you and Cap left in the broken tower.

"You going home?" He asked.

"I'd be surprised if the hotel I'm staying in is still standing," I told him.

"Yeah. Let me walk you there and if it's not, you can stay at my place."

"Oh no. I can't do that to you. I'll find somewhere else to stay."

"No. It'll take you forever to find a place. Please. Just one night until we can find you a place to stay."

"Fine. But only one night."

"Yep. Only once. Let's go." And I followed him out of the building thinking that this would be the only night I spent at Steve Rogers place but the more I blended in with the Avengers, the more he became like a really annoying father to me.