STATUS: available [×] taken [ ]

* MEANS IT CAN BE CHANGED

TITLE: Phoenix*
FANDOM: MCU/Marvel
LOVE INTEREST(s): Bucky Barnes
TIMELINE: CA:TFA — AU

CAST

shantel vansanten* as
POPPY LANCASTER

daisy ridley as
AURINDA ADAMS

tyler posey as
MIGUEL CARRILLO-LOPEZ

lana condor as
PHAN KIM-LY

DESCRIPTION

The Lancaster family had a tradition like a lot of other families. Franklin Lancaster, following in his own father's footsteps, joined the army when he came of age, where he met his wife, Violet, who had also followed her parents' footsteps by becoming a nurse in the army. When they had their first child, Roscoe, he was always set on doing the same, but he died of pneumonia before he got a chance. Then, following in Franklin and Violet's footsteps, Poppy Lancaster also became a nurse for the US army when she came of age.

When she is offered the chance to join the mysterious SSR, she takes the opportunity presented to her and is put up in an apartment in New York City with a fellow agent by the name of Peggy Carter. It is through her work with the SSR and Peggy Carter that she meets Steve Rogers, who becomes the super soldier that goes by the moniker Captain America and where she is reunited with a certain James "Bucky" Barnes.

But it is this job that also leads her to a magic gem that gives her powers strong enough to create or destroy entire galaxies, losing her love and finding him again and a life she never expected.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

› alrighty so as always, please at least clean up the summary

› Poppy Maxine Lancaster was born June 21, 1919, to Franklin and Violet Lancaster. She was their second child after their son, Roscoe Lewis Lancaster, died of pneumonia at the age of eight on December 21, 1917

› Franklin Lancaster is a general. Violet Lancaster is a nurse

› Poppy was technically born a mutant, though you don't have to use that word if you don't want to. She has telekinesis and telepathy. Her parents know but no one else does

› a couple years after joining the army at the age of eighteen and having an exemplary record, she catches the attention of the SSR and they get her on as an agent. She is moved to New York City and put up in an apartment with Peggy Carter. They become fast friends and she tells her new friend all about the guy she's gone on a few dates with, James Buchanan Barnes, who calls her "Doll" and takes her dancing and to science fairs and tells her all about his dumbass friend that he's always gotta save from getting beat up because he can't stay out of a fight

› Poppy is heartbroken when Bucky tells her that he's being shipped out (deliberately not telling her if he was drafted or enlisted, though we all know he was drafted) but he promises to write and she gives him a locket with a picture of herself in it to take with him

› it is after this that Peggy and Poppy go to Camp Lehigh and meet Steve and do the whole super soldier/Captain America thing

› when Steve gets put on the circuit instead on the front lines, Poppy, Peggy and Steve don't see each other for a while. They don't reunite until he does that show for the troops where he realizes that Bucky is missing

› it is here that Poppy and Steve realize they knew each other before Camp Lehigh. Steve realizes Poppy is the girl that Bucky talked about and she realizes that Steve is the dumbass friend that Bucky was always talking about

› Steve also informs Poppy that Bucky was a part of the troop that he just performed for but he was captured and then abandoned. Poppy tells Steve about her abilities (Peggy already knew from when they were living together and since they still do bunk together) in an attempt to convince him to let her come with him to rescue Bucky. She says that Bucky is her guy and she can defend herself, she has to come. Eventually, Steve relents and agrees to let her come along

› they rescue Bucky and when they find him he is not only reciting his identity number thing (I can't remember what it is exactly) but he is also clutching the locket he got from Poppy

› it is in their escape that Poppy finds a room with a mysterious gem in it. She is entranced by it and Steve snaps her out of it, but she finds she can't leave it, so she takes her handkerchief and wraps the gem in it (without touching it directly) and puts it in her pocket and they escape

› on the way back, once Bucky is well enough to be walking (due to a lot of help from Poppy, probably), she is sitting on one of the tanks as they walk and someone (probably Dum Dum, let's be honest), calls her Sugar. In response, she takes Bucky's hand and says, "Sorry, but this sugar is rationed." which is slang from the time that was just too cute for me not to include

› after they get back to base and everyone retires for the night, Poppy pulls out that gem. When she touches it, her entire body seizes up and she falls backwards, feeling electricity coursing through her veins and burning her up before she passes out

› when she wakes up, the gem is still clutched in her hand, but she has no idea what happened or why and assumes she actually just fell asleep and imagined it or something

› Steve starts putting together the Howling Commandos, Poppy gets to be included because she helped in the escape and has powers, which all the boys know even though it's not common knowledge among anyone else

› people do question this, but the boys always stick up for her, just saying that she is a skilled fighter and has helped them a lot. Never going into specifics. They're just like "she'll kick your ass, can kick your ass, [has powers] and helped Captain Fucking America rescue all those soldiers, so..."

› plus, it does look good on the bonds and promotional stuff for them to have a woman on the team. You can even mention that there was an uptick in women joining the army in some form or buying bonds and stuff after Poppy is announced to be joining the team if you wanted to

› during the year that they are doing missions as a team, Poppy and Bucky get a lot closer

› eventually, they do even get engaged and he proposes with a little ring made out of string and promises to get her a proper one when they get back home

› they all celebrate that night in the pub of whatever small European town they are closest to or in and everyone congratulates them. It's like a little bit of hope for them all in the midst of such a horrible thing going on all around them

› then, of course, it's time to go get Zola

› Poppy does not see Bucky fall. She's actually unconscious at the time

› basically, the big guy with the gun shoots her and she gets sent flying backwards into a different car where the door shuts

› She's dead. But that's not the end

› she received power from the gem that she took from Hydra, a very specific power. The Phoenix Force. And she wakes up in the White Hot Room, a kind of dream-like world that comes from the Phoenix Force, and she meets the Phoenix and learns a little bit of information about her new abilities before being resurrected

› when she wakes up, someone (you can pick who) has to tell her what happened to Bucky and this breaks her, just like it broke Steve. She even almost loses control of her abilities but manages to get them under control again

› from there they defeat Red Skull and Steve goes into the ice

› and from here is where we get into the AU portion

› for a while, Poppy works with Peggy, founding SHIELD and working for them. All is good. She starts getting a better reign on her new abilities because she is much, much, much stronger now

› but then weird things start happening. She gets weird dreams about the Phoenix, sometimes uttering warnings, sometimes just whispering things to her to try and entice her into using her power for bad things

› and then something happens that specifically reveals Hydra to her, that they're still around and want to kill her. She panics and she is so terrified that she just vanishes without a trace

› she starts her own organization, the Phoenix helping her realize who she can and cannot trust

› she meets Aurinda Adams in 1949, who reminds her of Peggy, and grants her a small portion of her own power and makes Aurinda her second in command

› then, in 1961, she meets Miguel Carillo-Lopez, who reminds her of Bucky, and she grants him a portion of her power as well, bringing him into her inner circle

› then in 1966, she meets Kim-Ly, who reminds her of Steve, and she grants her a portion of her power, making her the final member of her inner circle

› in 1975, after years and years of making a lot of pain for Hydra, they decide they've had enough and send their assassin after her

› they don't realize the extent of Poppy's power means they will lose him or even truly the irony of who they're sending after her. No one knows that Poppy is the Phoenix, everyone believes her to be dead and they only know her by the name the Phoenix

› Poppy, of course, immediately recognizes Bucky, not because she can necessarily see his face, but she recognizes his mind. There's a brief fight because she doesn't want to hurt him and she needs to get his mask off to confirm his identity

› when she confirms it, she uses her powers to put him to sleep and ties him to a chair so that when he wakes up, he can't hurt her

› she uses her abilities to realize what happened to him and decides to start helping him, slowly using her abilities to bring his memories back, though seeing her stirred something and before she has a chance to start, he looks at her all confused and says "Poppy?" and she realizes there's hope

› Poppy helping clear the brainwashing from Bucky's mind and restoring his memories will not be a short affair. This will take years. The mind is a delicate thing and as proficient as Poppy is with her powers, she is not only being extra careful with him, but it is very delicate work as well.

› for a while, she doesn't tell Aurinda, Miguel and Kim about Bucky. She keeps him in the innermost room of her office (she has the innermost part, where she has her desk, a couch and some filing cabinets, then the next part where she has some bookshelves, two couches and a chair and then the door out of her office) and a secret. But she does eventually fess up

› from here, the story would follow what is basically the fallout of the MCU with this change and with Poppy's organization existing and dismantling Hydra, since that would be her next goal once she has Bucky back

› for the most part, things won't change too drastically. Tony likely wouldn't have taken over Stark Industries so young, moreso when Howard thought he was ready and I can still see the events of Iron Man 1 taking place since Obadiah Stane could still be pulling strings behind the scenes and they were still dealing in weapons at the time.

› obviously, CA:TWS doesn't happen. There is no Winter Soldier anymore by this point. This also means that Zemo wouldn't have been able to use Bucky in Civil War. He'd have to find something else to use to drive Steve and Tony apart, if you want to go that route.

› I'm not sure exactly when Poppy will reveal herself to Steve alongside Bucky. I can see it happening after The Avengers, since Captain America has been seen for the first time in seventy years. I can see them waiting a little while to be sure its Steve as well. The exact time, I will leave up to you, I will say that The Avengers should be the first opportunity. There shouldn't be anything before that since Steve was only off ice for like two weeks beforehand

› I am, as always, willing to help you work through what changes to the timeline you either want to make or would happen

› at some point as well, before the 2000s most likely, Bucky and Poppy will get officially married like they always thought they would. She still wears the ring of string along with her wedding ring.

› So, onto Poppy and her inner circle

› Aurinda Adams, also called Goldie since her name means gold, was born on the spring equinox. She has the same determination, independence and strength that Peggy does. And a lot of the same attitude. She is also British. Her family consists of her grandmother, Katherine Adams and her aunt, Lucinda Adams. She is in her early-to-mid twenties when she joins Poppy.

› Miguel Carillo-Lopez was born on the summer solstice. He is an incredibly loyal person and is always willing to jump to anyone's defense, which reminds Poppy too much of Bucky. He is a first generation Mexican-American and the oldest of six children, three brothers, two sisters and one set of twins, the youngest boy and girl. His father died when he was caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout in their neighbourhood, which wasn't the best, but all they could afford. His mother was the only one left providing income, so Miguel dropped out of school to get a job. He is in his early twenties when he joins Poppy.

› another thing about Miguel is that he and Poppy have a sort of friends with benefits arrangement until Bucky comes back. It doesn't start right away, but after a while... No feelings ever come of this. It's just some fun. The portion of Poppy's own power inside Miguel prevents this kind of thing to keep the balance between them

› Phan Kim-Ly or just Kim or Kimmy was born on the fall equinox. She may be small and young, but she is remarkably like Steve in the way of her always picking fights with bullies and wanting to stand up for what's right. She is the child of a single mother and is only a teenager when she joins Poppy

› in the modern day or any time in history, you can give Aurinda, Miguel or Kim love interests. They can be any gender. If you do anything with Miguel, I would advice waiting until after Bucky comes back and he and Poppy stop sleeping together.

› the Phoenix Force has a lot of powers associated with it, so I will not list them all here. I will give the list, along with the other info for the plot, to whoever takes it.

› as always, I am happy to help or answer any questions for whoever takes the plot!