You Don't Always Get What You Want.





The three men stared at each other in the dark basement. One was trapped. The other two looked like they wanted to help. They were talking about how to help the trapped guy. Then one turned, frowning at the shadows. That let that one see the thing that hit him in the face and split the skin on his cheek. He pulled a weapon but it was too late.

"Don't kill them," the trapped male said, his voice cracking. The man came out of the shadows, nodding at him. He stomped on the second man's chest when he tried to move. "Don't." The younger one took off his goggles, looking at the machine he was stuck in. He released the trap, nodding at the doorway. "Wait for me."

"Don't get taken again," he growled, stomping off. He paused to stare at one then at his mentor. "I can't believe this." He disappeared up the stairs.

The formerly trapped man nodded at them. "Thank you."

"You have a mini me?" the one that had been stomped on asked, trying to sit up. The man ignored him.

"Who is he?" the other one asked. "Is he your son?"

The man shook his head. "No. They made him." He disappeared after the first one. He looked at him. "You didn't have to come."

"The last time they captured you, they made you forget again," he noted. "Now they can't do that again." He nodded. "Out of here?"

"Give it a minute." He watched the other two come out of the basement, looking around before going to search for him again. He looked at the younger version of him. "Does the one that you took in remember him?"

"Yes. He's swearing up a lot." He grinned at the other man, getting a dirty look back. "It's not my fault he took me over when they tried to erase me. It's nice he let the others out." He walked off. "I've got transportation."

"Hopefully it doesn't come with a cat like the house did."

The younger man smirked. "Fang is a good cat. That's why she sits on your arm to get fur in it. She thinks it makes it feel better."

"I'd rather she not." He got in to drive. The younger one rolled his eyes but got into the passenger's seat, checking his weapons while they drove off. "Are there any of the former lab left?"

"Two. Both in hiding in South America. I got the other three on their way down there but I had to break off to come rescue you."

"Thank you. I'm not ready for that yet."

The other guy shifted to look at him. "Doing that only made Steve more stubborn. He'll find you again." The other one grunted. "Are we going after the last lab people?"

"Resting."

"Let me drive."

"No."

"Your head's obviously hurting. Let me drive." The other one shook his head. "If you crash us because you're getting flashes again I'll call him to pick you up from the hospital."

"Nag."

"Every day. They made me this way," he shot back with a smirk. "So let me drive."

"Fine." He let go of the wheel, moving overtop of the other one so he could slide over. "Don't wreck us and don't pick up any dogs, cats, or girls."

"Fine. No dames and no pets."

"Thanks." He tipped the seat back, resting his eyes for now. He trusted this one. He had trained him so he knew what he'd do and how he'd do it. "Home?"

"Yes. You need to rest and meditate." The guy nodded, letting himself sleep for a bit. The dreams would come but this one could make them easier for a while.

***

Steve Rogers found Natasha that night, sitting next to her at the bar. "We need to talk," he said quietly. She looked at him, sipping her drink. "We had him. He got rescued by someone who was just as bad as him."

She blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"

"Sam called him a mini me for Bucky."

"I have not heard anything about that." She finished her drink. "Let's go talk." He paid for her drink and followed her out to the car Sam was waiting in. She got into the back because Steve would never fit into the backseat. "There was another one? Another Soldier?"

"Had a slightly different mask and goggles," Sam said, driving them off once Steve was in. "Young guy, maybe mid twenties. Dark hair, white guy, strong, scary non-look on his face, and he stomped on my chest when I tried to move. No robotic arm."

"Bucky told him not to kill us," Steve said. "That's pointing to him knowing more about us." He shifted to look back at her easier. "He got Bucky free then went to wait on him outside."

"He clearly had control of the kid," Sam agreed. "He gave very quiet, non-firm orders."

"I asked Bucky if he was his son. He said they made him."

She considered it. "They would probably want someone to follow him when he was too injured or dead. They probably used most of the same methods but tried a few others. Was there anything in particular about him?"

"Young guy, dark hair, muscles," Sam said. "Sneaky as hell since he beaned Steve from the shadows."

"I barely heard him move," Steve said. He held up the beanbag that had hit him and split his cheek. "I got hit with this."

She took it to look over, frowning at it. "Sawdust, some pellets of some kind. They feel like metal." She pulled a knife out of her pocket to open the seam, pouring it into her hand. "Sawdust, silver it looks like. Why use a precious metal? There's easier things to craft or procure." She checked it, nodding. "I have no idea but this looks homemade." She looked at Steve. "Was he in tactical gear?"

"Slightly. You could tell he had on a vest under his button up shirt and jeans. Work boots not combat boots."

"Odd choice."

"Maybe it's what he could steal when he needed to get out of the tac gear," Sam said.

"It's possible." She pulled out her phone to send text messages, finding one waiting on her. "Somehow one of them got my number. He said not to find them. You upset Bucky's memory problem." She let Steve take the phone. "That's your phone number."

He checked his phone, shaking his head. "It's not looking hacked and that message isn't in my outbox." She took her phone back to text to it. Steve's phone rang. She sent it to one number they had found to track for Bucky. It got answered that the young one was none of her business, HYDRA had already rued their mistake by making him. To leave Bucky alone for a few days because his head was going to explode soon if he didn't get some of the memories sorted. Steve and she would not help with that, which would make them bigger targets for HYDRA to try to retake them again. Then the phone was disconnected by changing the number when she tried to answer. She let Steve read it.

He frowned. "That's possible."

"It's probable. The memories coming out would unsettle him much like seizures would. Whoever this one is clearly has his trust."

Steve nodded. "If we can find the young one, can we track him easier? I doubt he's got the inborn sneakiness Bucky had before he joined the army."

"I can ask some contacts," she said, sending out a few messages. None of them knew anything. "Sorry."

He nodded, turning back around. "So we'll start over. Hopefully we can save them both."

"It's clear the young one hates HYDRA," Natasha said. "So perhaps he's taking care of Bucky's needs?"

Steve shrugged. "No idea. A partner? Or is he a trainee?"

"Could have been both," she said. "Some things need more than one man. As you know." Steve nodded at that. "We'll find him, Steve. Both of them."

"Thanks, Natasha."

Natasha's phone rang with a peculiar ringtone, making her smile as she pulled it back out of her pocket to look at. "Clint said that there's been a few suspiciously dead HYDRA scientists recently. No one knows why or by who but they're going into hiding so even their HYDRA supervisors can't find them."

"Them," Sam said.

"It's likely," she agreed, sending a message back. "Clint's contacts have seen the young one. He said there's a lot of contradictory information but most everyone just calls him 'damn it, it's him'." Steve laughed, nodding. "And he is Bucky's trainee." She looked up after sending back a response. "A HYDRA goon was worried they'd come for him and spilled that they had made that one to take Bucky's place. Somehow, that became a huge mistake." A new message came in. "He said they destroyed a base in Iran getting free, down to the basement level, and ran off. Apparently they had taken Bucky back just before we met him in DC. That one was looking for him and got him out of DC after he rescued you."

Steve nodded. "So he's looking out for him."

"Apparently. Clint said one of his contacts called the young one more sane than Deadpool but just as deadly, but less talkative." She looked up. "And he can use swords as well as guns."

"Interesting," Steve agreed. "Why would HYDRA need someone to use a sword?"

"It could be from his former life," Sam said. "There is SCA people who do fence and joust."

She sent that back, shaking her head when she got a return message. "No, he uses it like a knight in an old time battle would. It's a weapon like Deadpool would use but he's got no particular blade that Clint's heard. He can pick up any sword or dagger or gun." She looked at the men. "Clint said he's heard that guy's weird but deadly."

"So if Deadpool and Bucky had a kid, it's this guy?" Steve asked. Natasha nodded. "Charming. Is he as insane as Deadpool?"

She asked that. "Clint's answer is 'not exactly'. But he's not sure why." She looked up, smiling slightly. "He said he wanted to rescue the kid to make him sane."

"Okay, sure," Steve agreed. "I doubt we could get one without the other now."

"At least you know Bucky's fine, he's healthy, and he has someone taking care of him," Sam said.

"Yeah, that's the good news. The bad is we have no idea where he's going this time." They pulled into Sam's parking spot and got out to go inside. They had some searching to do.

***

The duo walked into their safe house together, Bucky leading. "Well, that was fun," the younger one said, reaching up to pet their cat. She was once again on top of the fridge. She'd come down later to bother them for petting or something. "I still can't believe they want me back. Not after the last attempt."

"You made yourself a challenge," Bucky said, looking at him. "You may not head off on your own to draw attention to yourself, Alex. Or meet up with the other one."

"Fine. I won't." He went to the bathroom. "Want the first aid box?"

"No. I'm fine."

Alex leaned out to stare at him. "Your arm has a hole, you can barely open a can with that hand. Want the electrical kit or the med kit? Or do I get to tinker?"

"The last time you tinkered I got Ukranian radio stations," he muttered, walking off. "And I was in China."

"You picked up the comm channels too," Alex quipped, closing the door so he could use the bathroom. He came out to silence, grabbing his gun to pull on the person waiting on him.

"You survived. Welcome home, Soldier."

"Not likely." He shot him and headed for where Bucky was. He was destroying some. Alex shot them and then headed out a window to get their external forces. They were quickly down. A few ran but he'd get them later. Bucky came stomping out, handing Alex the cat carrier. "Let me get the armory packed."

"I have," Bucky said. "That's what I was doing when they broke in." They shared a look. "Lisbon?"

"Sure, I could use some beach time," he said dryly. He scanned around. "Three left in a jeep. They're not going to make it too far. I fired an explosive head at them." Bucky smirked. "They summoned me thinking I was a mystical weapon. Fuck them."

"You're mystical to many because no one understands you," Bucky joked. "Even after my original self possessed you." Alex rolled his eyes but hit him on the arm before going inside to pack his two bags. They joined the cat, Bucky's bag, and weapons in the backseat. The cat sent up a racket. "Calm your pet down before I give her away or sedate her."

Alex got into the backseat to calm her down. She finally fell asleep so that was nicer. "Lisbon?"

"It's nice weather."

"Okay. I guess it's cool. Should I find a friend up there?"

Bucky snorted. "We're not staying there for long."

"Then why don't we go somewhere safer then go to Lisbon?"

"I have no idea where that would be."

"Where's the last place they'll look for you?" Alex asked.

"Russia?"

"New York?"

"You can probably get your mascot into Russia easier."

Alex snorted. "I can hide Fang, James."

"Fine. I'll consider it on the way to the airport." He drove off, but he was smiling. Alex really was the best trainee he'd ever had that he could remember. He was loyal like Steve had been but mouthy like him, and he had a lot of uses in their life beyond being his backup and being able to treat his injuries. He'd have to make sure Alex and Steve got along once they were ready to deal with Steve. Then they'd have to find and introduce Forger.

***

Natasha walked out of the bathroom the next morning, putting her phone on the table in front of Steve. "That is all that anyone has been able to find out about the young one. He appears to not have been fully corrupted by them." Steve read over the information, not looking pleased. "I've also heard they left whatever safehouse they went to last night because an extraction team found them. The two that survived that said that James did not take them out, the young one did. Hill questioned one of them. They told her that he was not normal, they had not gotten what they wanted when they summoned him, and things were worse than they appeared with that one because again he's not normal."

"Summoned?" Sam asked.

She smirked at him, just a tiny little cat smirk. "Apparently they were trying to use something to summon a higher energy weapon along the lines of the cosmic cube." Steve shuddered. "They got him instead."

"Wouldn't something like that be more specific so it couldn't goof that way?" Steve asked.

"It would appear that they got some of what they wanted. They said that when they were attempting to wipe him the first time, some spirits intervened. They destroyed the lab and the boy got them calmed down." She settled into the free chair with some coffee, taking a sip before putting the mug down. "There's also rumors, according to the questioned one, that he had somehow summoned other dimensional natives to come help him get free. They destroyed the lab for him and got him and Bucky out of there when they found him. HYDRA regained them a few days later, but by then the boy had sucked up something somehow that made him better and meaner. They managed to escape a second time a few weeks later, and the young one managed to stay free when HYDRA recaptured James right before we spotted him in DC. He had been recaptured for about two weeks at that point."

"Is that why the programming broke down?" Sam asked.

"No idea," she admitted. She took another sip. "It was the young one that got James out of DC however. They did an image search and found him on the tapes they had confiscated." She looked at Steve. "He found James at the museum exhibit and helped him out because he apparently had a headache by what he was showing."

Steve nodded. "So he's protecting him? Or is Bucky still training him?"

"No one's sure," she said. She shrugged. "It could be that and more. One other interesting fact, the boy has stamina. He went to someone for help, and paid the usual sexual price. Apparently he wore them out in many ways because one of them named him his heir in his will after he died in bed with him."

Steve sighed but nodded. "That's bad. How do you even do that?"

"No idea," Sam said. "I can't. But it might go with the sword work that got noted by someone last night. Maybe wherever he came from swords are more usual so he's been in battles?"

"Possibly," Steve agreed, frowning as he leaned his head on his clasped hands. "Can we find them now? Where are they heading?"

"They boarded a plane to Lisbon but no one's sure. They didn't get off at that airport. Bucky's arm is too distinctive to cover completely; that's how we spotted him on surveillance."

Steve nodded. "Is the young one traveling with him?"

"Yes, and he held an animal carrier that no one seemed to see." Both men stared at her. "No one checked the animal's papers, no one scanned it, the animal went through the x-ray machine instead of going through the scanner like normal. No one noticed the animal."

"I can't see Bucky putting up with a pet."

"Perhaps it's some sort of familiar," she said. "I have no idea. It was an interesting fact noted."

"Can they find where they got off?" Sam asked.

"No. No one matching their description got off the plane at any of the stops according to the airport's security tapes Hill had tapped."

"So, disguise," Steve said.

"Anyone with an animal carrier?" Sam asked.

"One with a large backpack that could hide it. One animal carrier in another color. Hill didn't think either was them because they were both females."

"So maybe there's something like an illusion?" Sam asked. "Unless we believe that guy has magic?"

"If they wanted a mystical weapon," Steve started.

Natasha nodded. "It's possible. No one's sure but they're very curious. There's also two distinct descriptions of the younger one."

"Could there be two?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "The only information we have on them is contradictory." The men both nodded, sipping their coffee. "Now what?"

"Going to Lisbon is probably pointless," Steve said. "Was that plane going anywhere else?" She shook her head. "Could they have boarded another plane?" She nodded. "Are we sure they got on that flight?"

"They were found on the surveillance tape of the walkway. They could have turned back but no one saw them on the way out."

Sam nodded. "So they could be anywhere again." She nodded. "At least it's some information. Is the new guy more or less dangerous than Barnes?"

"No one's sure yet, but he is not squeamish. A few of those lab people died in horrible manners. One was said to be chewed up, like something the size of a t-rex ate it then spit it out," Natasha said.

"If the guy can summon up a t-rex, we're all doomed," Sam joked, grinning at her.

"Quite possibly," she said dryly. "Though I'm not sure if he summoned one or did something mechanical to them."

"I'd hope it was something mechanical instead of a dinosaur," Steve joked, grinning at them. "I'd hate to have to find a big enough gun since we're not presently talking to Stark."

"Stark might be fascinated," she said.

"Maybe," Steve agreed. "Better to not include him yet." She nodded. "Any other tidbits?"

"The boy, or someone, has fixed a serious problem in James' arm. Someone said they saw wiring after one event and a young one that was working with him fixed it."

"So swords and electronics," Sam said. "Weird combo. Is he Asgardian?"

"Not that anyone's said," she said.

"He was pretty normal sized last night," Steve said. "Not like Thor."

"We'll have to ask when we find them," Sam decided. The other two nodded. "Am I making breakfast?" They got up to make their own then they'd go back to searching the duo out. Two people had to be easier to find than one, right?

***

Bucky looked around the modest two room apartment in Brooklyn, then at his younger protege. "Why here?"

"Because the one guy I accidentally sucked up suggested it."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense. Weapons storage?" The young one pointed at an area. "Just a closet?"

"No, not just a closet. This is a former SHIELD safehouse that HYDRA had control of. No one remembers its here. It's not on the lists. As far as SHIELD knows, HYDRA looted it then left it. They checked it twice then crossed it off the list as compromised." He grinned. "Which means it's perfect for us and Forger. He's upstairs by a floor." Bucky nodded, grimacing. "That means he can do more than patch that hole you have."

Alex went to the kitchen, pulling out food to eat. They settled in. Forger came down to look at his arm, then went to get parts. When he came back, Alex leaned on the table. "Steve's still looking for you, now us. He's gotten intel from a few sources we have in common. They're not sure who I am, or if there's actually two of us." Forger grinned at him then got back to work. "They've gotten very little beyond the fact that I've been seen with a sword."

"Still weird," Bucky complained. "Must you?" he demanded.

"If you want it to work, yes," Forger said. "You'll need it to work to finish taking out the people that took us from home." Alex gave him a hug. "Thanks."

"Welcome." He got back to his fixing job, making sure it was seamless. The moving plates were a pain in the butt to bend back but they were needed to cover the more delicate wiring inside.

Bucky looked at Alex. "What are you seeing? You're staring at the wall. Don't tell me there's another spirit here to talk to you."

"There's two, they're having a perpetual argument in the hallway. They apparently got shot out there." Alex looked at him. "Something the old you saw. You, Steve, and Howard sitting at the same table while Howard tinkered with something." He shook his head quickly. "He's really looking forward to rejoining your head instead of mine. That and he thinks Steve's stubborn levels are going to max out soon so we need to either get them off the track or somehow make them leave us alone for at least a few more weeks."

"Go be your charming self, like you did with Gloria that time," Forger quipped, smirking at him. "It'd make you tired enough to sleep again."

"I get sleep. I just see *someone's* dalliances with dames." He looked at Bucky. "The old you was clearly trying to recreate Steve as a dame." Bucky just shrugged. "I know, but still. You were." His face screwed up then he rolled his eyes. "He's having mental spasms over that." He looked up. "Sure, it was a *bromance* of the ages," he said dryly. "Really." He shook his head and sighed, getting more coffee for them all. "He's complaining that you two weren't like incestuous brothers at all, just like brother-fucking cousins." He sipped his coffee, grinning at the new ranting the spirit of Bucky was doing.

"Please quit warping the former me," Bucky complained. "How do I get him back?"

"Break the last few blocks," Andrew reminded him. "He's hiding from all the angry Russian parts."

Bucky hummed and nodded, sipping his coffee. These two were weird but they were good students for him. They learned a lot. Especially Forger. He hadn't been able to fight at all before HYDRA had summoned them. The ranting of the HYDRA people had been hilarious but not good for anyone. Especially when Alex had appeared with a weapon in hand, a being floating behind him, and the dead had suddenly rushed at him to invade him to get his help.

They were not the mystical weapons HYDRA had been summoning. They were just the sort of weapons that Bucky needed to get free. They may have captured him for a few weeks but Alex had gotten him free while Forger was getting him free of their designs. Forger had been gotten and altered for about a day but Alex had stopped that. He had stopped all that fast with the beings that had helped him. They were kind of mad on his behalf. Alex had been feral so he couldn't show that by more than growling and killing.

They'd figure it out and he'd figure out the Steve thing too.

***

Alex was out talking to sources of local information when he spotted one of the capture team out and about. They were staring at a young woman across the room. Alex recognized her. She probably recognized she was in danger. He sent a quick text message to Forger then strolled over to dance with her. He sidled up behind her, wrapping a hand around her waist. "Don't flinch. There's a capture team staring at you," he whispered in her ear. She stiffened anyway, glancing back toward him. "I'm giving you an excuse to get out of here when they go for me. All you have to do is act like a normal woman."

"I can do that." She turned to dance with him, staring at him. "May I have your name?"

He grinned. "Alex."

"You know who I am?"

"You're the reason Bucky keeps getting headaches that make him wake up swearing in Russian," he said, staring down at her. "Which we'd like to help him with but it'll take a few more months." He spun them around, glancing around them. "Hmm. Slap me and walk off."

"May I know anything more than a first name?"

He kissed her then winked. "I'm not from this realm, Natalia Romanova. Nor have I ever been until someone summoned me." She smirked, slapping him and stomping off. Alex strolled the other way toward the alleyway. Most of the team came after him. The two that weren't she could get outside. Alex was leaning against a wall smoking when the team made it out to him. "Wow, you guys are slow." A few pulled stun guns. Alex shrugged, taking another drag of the cigarette. He had picked up that bad habit from Bucky's Ka spirit. "Do you think they scare me?"

"You're coming with us, Warrior."

"I doubt that. I doubt you can make me." They advanced on him. Alex pulled a knife and waved them on. "C'mere. I'm bored. Not like I'm getting laid tonight so you'll be my fun stress relief." One advanced. Alex kicked him around then dropped him. "Next?" They rushed as a group. Alex destroyed most of them and kicked off the wall to flip over the last two. He got one in the throat with his knife, ignoring the graze to his side. He kicked the remaining one in the head a few times then stabbed him in the throat. "No thank you. You're not fun. I needed stress relief, and you guys were horrible at it." He wiped his knife off on someone's pantsleg then put it back. He stood up, staring at the man at the end of the alley. "Don't make me kill you too, Stevie." He grinned and back handsprung up onto the wall, then over it and disappeared.

Natasha looked at Steve, who was gaping in horror. "He said his name was Alex and he's never been from this realm. They summoned him. One called him Warrior."

Steve looked at her. "That was Bucky's name for me." He swallowed. "Said just like him."

She nodded. "We heard a lot about the dead coming to him for help when they summoned him."

Steve nodded. "Do you think one was Bucky?"

"They could have shoved him out of his body somehow I suppose. I have no idea how that happens."

Steve nodded again. "Can we track him?"

"I doubt it unless someone else is out and about."

Steve took a deep breath. "Can we ask?"

"Of course." She walked off to find someone's number in her phone. "It's Natasha," she said quietly. "It's nice to hear from you as well." She smiled. "No, a bit of hunting. There is someone connected to Captain America who is in the wind. Yes, him. The rumors are true but he has trainees. One named Alex..... Forger? Interesting. Documents? Mechanics. Hmm. Any ideas on them? I ran into Alex earlier when he saved me from some HYDRA agents by distracting them for me. I would, yes. So would Steve. Thank you. Of course I'm local for the moment. I'd love to have dinner. I'll see you in a few hours?" She smiled again. "Done." She hung up, looking at Steve. "There's two trainees. Forger, who does mechanical things, and Alex. They are in Brooklyn."

"Why?" Steve asked. "Did Bucky drag them there?"

"Not that they said."

"All right," Steve agreed, swallowing. "Can we find them?"

"By now they would have moved. Ask the non-Avengers." He nodded, heading off. She went to dinner.

Steve went to a bar where he knew a few lower level mutants hung out, getting a few odd looks as he sat down at the bar. "Who's here tonight that might be able to tell me where to find someone?" he asked the bartender.

"That's sometimes a dangerous question."

"A friend and his two trainees or whatever are nearby."

A guy sat down next to Steve, staring at him. "Forger's a cool guy."

"Is that his own name?" Steve asked. "Or his codename?"

"I think it's what his middle name translated to. He's a bit messed up after HYDRA tried things on him for a day." He shrugged. "At least he got the magic under control."

"Magic?"

"Yeah." He sipped his drink. "Why are you looking for Forger?"

"I'm looking for Bucky to help him."

"Oh, him. Yeah, he's somewhere around Brooklyn. He's hiding from you but he's in Brooklyn."

"Anything you can tell me about Alex or Forger?"

"They're from some other realm. They have demons there. Alex told some bad guy he totally fucked up that he wasn't as bad as a demon that liked to eat kittens."

"That's interesting. Is that why one of them called him Warrior?"

"He appeared with a sword, got the dead gathered there to help him, and then took out a base. With a sword."

"I heard he was like a kid between Deadpool and Bucky."

The guy burst out laughing, nodding. "Yeah, a lot. Though I think those two tease each other. I can call Wade, see if he knows where they are."

"Please. I just want to help Bucky."

"Sometimes helping him isn't what you think it is. Alex has gotten some of his memories free for him." He gave him a look. "He'll find you. You know that."

"I know," he agreed. "But I'd feel better if I was sure he was somewhere safer from HYDRA than on the run. That way if anything he needs it's nearby. Or I'm nearby if he needs my help."

"The trainees are good. Alex seems to be like a movie hero sometimes but they're okay."

"I'd still like them to be closer so I could help. I want to help Bucky get better."

"I'm sure he realizes that."

"Alex called me a name Bucky used to."

"Yup," another voice said as he sat on his other side. "I can sometimes see the spirits he's sucked up." The guy in the mask stared at him. "Including the Bucky that was in the museum." Steve opened his mouth. "I guess he was out of his body thanks to HYDRA so Alex sucked him in too." He grinned at the bartender.

"You still owe a tab," the bartender said. "And no swords in the bar."

Steve put down money for them to get a beer, getting a grin from the bartender. "Can you tell Bucky I want to help him however I can?"

"I can," Deadpool agreed. "I'm pretty sure he knows that but it's painful. Every time he sees you he gets this mind cramp that makes him flinch and get headaches."

"Alex said he had one when we found him in DC."

"Yup. Then they went home to a capture attempt." Deadpool lifted the bottom of his mask to drink his beer. "Alex handled it with him."

"Someone said that Alex is like a kid between you and Bucky."

Deadpool smiled. "I'd claim that kid in a heartbeat. That'd be a kick ass kid. I'd be proud of him."

"They're local. Can you help me find them?"

"They don't want to be found. He's protecting you by not being near you. Plus not having the massive brain cramps."

"I want to help," Steve said, hanging his head.

"It's funny how Alex sucked up the old Bucky," Deadpool said, giving him a pointed stare. "But I doubt the two attack puppies will let you near the big dog."

"Hey!" someone shouted. "If you talk about them, they show up!"

"Too late," a female voice called. "But Forger is fun." She laughed. "No tickling!" The sound of a slap then she laughed some more.

Steve got up but Deadpool shook his head. "Talk to Alex, Rogers. Don't talk to Forger unless you want to talk comic books or science fiction stuff. He even gives me headaches with all that stuff." He finished his beer, got a refill, and headed to a table.

Steve nodded, glancing into the back. Forger was there. The guy stared at him. "Can I meet you two?"

Forger leaned out with a grin. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'll tell Alex."

"Please."

"Have a great night." He disappeared into the back again, taking the giggling working girl with him. He could tease her mercilessly then let Alex work her out. Alex was great at that sort of thing. He was still working on his skill set here. That spell had so screwed him up.

***

Steve was getting coffee for him and Sam the next morning when someone behind him smiled and paid for his drink. "Thanks." He turned, smiling at the guy. "Can I buy yours for you?"

"Nah, I'm flush. Dad gave me an allowance." He took his coffee cup with a wink, heading outside.

Steve followed, handing Sam his through the car window before going after him. "Alex?" He looked back at him. "Can we talk?"

"We're going to, but not out here. There's way too many spectators." He led him to a pretty empty alley that had some boxes and almost no windows. He hopped onto a box, staring at Steve while he sipped. "What's up?"

"I want to help Bucky."

"He's helping you by not being around you. He'll draw more attention and danger to you."

"I can handle that."

"No, you can't. We've taken out at least ten bag n'tag teams." He stared at him. "Including the other night when they tried for your pretty assassin friend."

"Okay," Steve agreed. "Still, we're stronger together than apart."

"Except for the crippling headaches he gets each time he looks at your picture," Alex said. He glanced at Sam then at him. "I've helped him get some unlocked but the rest has been compressed so much it'll take outside intervention. Which we're working on but it'll be months. Months of him having crippling migraines that could lead to him being captured again unless we can take out all of HYDRA."

"I can help guard him."

Alex took a long drink of his coffee then sighed. "You're part of the problem, and maybe a later solution, but right now all you're doing is causing migraines. He can't do anything while they're going on. Including sleep, which he needs to heal."

"Can we help you guys set up a safe house?" Steve offered. "Make sure it's safe from HYDRA?"

"I'm pretty good at that." He grinned.

"Are you Asgardian?"

"No," he said, chuckling. "As I found out there's barely a comic book of my former home here. Two issues and it was ended because no one believed in strong female lead characters. In my world I fought demons."

"Oh," Steve said. "They said you appeared with a few beings."

"Yeah, including the hell god I had been helping fight. Two minutes earlier and I would've had artillery in my hand and I would've made them send me home so I could finish that battle with the girls."

"Is he okay?"

"He's good."

"Did you suck in Bucky's old spirit?"

"Mostly. He was hanging around. I'm slowly getting him back to his original body but we have to take out the blocks first." He turned and shot at someone, making them scream as they fell.

"Thanks," a female voice yelled.

"Welcome. Don't want assholes like that around me anyway." He put the gun up, looking at Steve again. "The things you learn in Africa dealing with stupid issues," he said dryly, then grinned. "Way too many stupid. Usually also people taking bribes from the stupid sort."

"I've seen some of those recently." Steve shifted, looking around then at him. "How can I help him?"

Alex shrugged. "Right now all you're doing is giving him a headache. We need to fix that before anything else."

"We can find a safehouse for you guys," Steve said again. "And I can check in through you. I want to make sure Bucky's okay."

"His old self said you're about to guilt yourself into another coughing fit," Alex said dryly, staring at him. Steve groaned. He grinned at the older guy. "He also said that you had better have found a dame for both of you since it's your turn because they all ignore him when you're around, just like in that bar in France." Steve laughed, nodding. "I am doing the best I can to get him back to mostly whole and then his old self can go possess him then instead of me. Though it's nice that I can now dance and he's embarrassed when I sleep around." He shrugged, tossing out his empty coffee cup.

"He used to date all the time."

"Yeah, I keep getting lectures about easy sluts and how good girls in his day put out but not that way.... Oh, and he said he complains a lot about oral sex. Apparently it's not manly enough for his style." He grimaced, looking off to the left. "Yay. They like it, that's why they come back." He paused. "Yeah, I know, the last one was an assassin. He was like my fourth, get over it." He rolled his eyes. "He's a bit of a prude."

"Yeah, he had his moments but back then gay guys were illegal. You got locked up for that stuff," Steve said.

"I get that. I really do." He grinned again. "Thankfully I've never dealt with that sort beyond our former mayor being a germphobic prude who hated sex." He slid off the box. "I'll tell him you're going to quit hunting him so we only have to escape *one* group?" Steve nodded. "I'll try to keep him as safe as I can and I'll call if I have to go rescue him again. Not the first time this year. Unfortunately." Steve grimaced but nodded, looking down. Alex smiled at him. "He said you're moping and you should at least go dancing. It'll cure that with some ice cream." He looked up then grinned. "Also, if we run into something serious, I'll gladly call you guys instead of handling it."

"What if HYDRA comes again?" Sam asked.

Alex looked at him. "Then we handle it. We've handled a few of them over the last few years, Mr. Wilson." He smirked and waved. Then he looked at Steve. "Some day you'll have most of your old friend back, with a lot more damaged memories and the occasional need for a lube job. Just have some patience. Like a dame, sometimes you gotta wait on 'em."

Steve nodded. "I can wait but I want to keep track of him in case he needs me to help him heal."

"Sure. You can do that. We make some subtle waves when we move. People want to fondle the arm and it freaks him out."

Steve laughed. "It's pretty and shiny but Bucky was always good with the dames."

"Yeah but now they think he's emo." He walked off. "We'll see you later."

"Please do. Just let me know when I can help."

"Sure." He climbed a wall, disappearing back into the buildings.

Steve looked at Sam, who shrugged. "It will take time for him to integrate those memories and deal with them."

"I know, still blows chunks." He walked back to where Sam was waiting, walking off with him. "Alex seemed a bit nice."

"He seemed hard, like he's seen too many battles."

"Apparently they were battling demons there."

"That's just...nasty," Sam said, shaking his head. "Very nasty." He finished his coffee and tossed the cup into a trash can they walked past. "Bucky will be fine. At least you know he's okay now."

"Alex seems able to help him."

"I'm hoping we can help all three of them. They clearly need some safety. When they're ready, they'll come to you for it."

Steve nodded. "I'm hoping it'll be soon." They went back to Steve's apartment to make further plans. They really did need some new safehouse locations. Natasha joined them with bags of food for lunch. She was great at setting up safehouses so that and lunch was a welcome help.

***

Forger and Alex looked at each other two weeks later. They were in deep shit. Bucky was knocked out. There were supposed SHIELD agents surrounding them. Alex shrugged. "The old way?"

"The new works better for you than me. Your deal took almost all my skills from me."

"I meant you take the old way?"

"Yeah, I'm set for that."

"Shut up and don't move," an agent ordered.

"That's not in my makeup," Alex said simply. "If a hell goddess couldn't make me shut the fuck up, you sure as hell won't." Forger released something and Alex went into super speedy mode. Yeah, he got shot in the arm and grazed a few other times but the agents were all down. Two permanently. Alex looked at his arm and sighed. "I hate new scars. Forger?"

"They're down," he said, putting something else down. "Get Bucky?"

"We can both carry him. He's more solid than he looks." They carried him out, hotwiring an agent's car. Forger was driving. "Any idea what they did?"

"Some sort of electrical pulse. That's why I called. You know more electronics than I do."

"Great." He checked Bucky's eye but he tried to grab him by the throat. "That's real nice for the ones who saved your ass."

"Who are you?"

Alex huffed. "Great. They made you forget again." The man sat up carefully, looking around. Alex looked up then at him. "Okay, let's remove this memory thing." Bucky tried to grab him but Forger cast something and Alex backed it up by zapping him. Then the old Bucky tried to possess himself. It didn't fully work but partially. Bucky floated back to Xander shaking his head. "More blocks?"

"A few," the ghost said. "But it's healing. Slightly." He climbed back into Alex's body.

Bucky shook his head a few times. "What was that?"

"You."

Bucky stared at him. "Why did you do that?"

"Do you remember who I am now?"

"You're Andrew. Also known as Alex."

"I am. And you remember Forger?" He pointed at him.

"Yes," he said, glancing at him then at Andrew. "You're hit."

"Through and throughs and a graze. I'm good. I'm more worried about you. You got mind zapped."

"I can tell by the headache." He looked around. "We're in New York?"

"We're moving tonight," Forger said. "Let me pick up Fang and the weapons." Bucky grunted, nodding.

"Thanks," Alex said. "Do we have to tell anyone?"

"No," Forger said. "Not hardly."

"Why did you two switch names?" Bucky asked, getting comfortable.

"Because they thought I was the warrior they didn't get with him." He smiled at Bucky. "They weren't totally wrong but I'm not the nice one."

Forger shook his head. "No he's not. Though it's nice that the demons gifted you with my weird possession streak."

"It's not bad. They're friendly most of the time." He looked at Forger's neck. "That thing is in the black again."

"I'll deal with it in a few."

"Thanks. Don't want you to go totally feral when the chip shorts out." Forger grinned back at him before parking and getting out. "Let me get the kits."

"Sit," Forger ordered, heading up to grab everything and the cat.

Bucky looked at the wounds. "What happened?"

"I took out some SHIELD agents."

"Great. That'll cause problems."

"Not likely. They're not supposed to exist." He grinned. "And if they keep it up, I'm going to have a fit."

Forger came back, tossing back the soft-sided pack that was their med pack and carefully putting the cat in the front seat with him. Then he went back up and came down with their backpacks. They went into the trunk and he got back in to drive. "Okay, we're heading where?"

"Somewhere not here," Forger said as he drove them off. He paused and got out, leaning on the hood to stare at the young woman standing there. "Hi." He grinned. "Looking for someone?"

"Looking out for someone, Forger."

"How do you know about me?"

She grinned, flipping some hair back. "I'm Hawkeye's protege and Natasha told him, so he told me to be careful around you and if I found you to help you out."

"We're just evacuating for a bit. SHIELD decided to play bad games. You should go be safe."

"Safe is not being an archer." She moved closer. "If you're having problems with SHIELD, talk to the Captain about talking to his groupie, their former handler that supposedly died. He's in charge."

"That's good to know. Thank you."

She smirked. "Welcome. Shoo, go, don't forget to call the pouty Captain guy. It'll help." She strolled off. "Going to deal with the idiots in the bro mafia group."

"Have fun with them. I did," he called after her. He got into the car, looking back at Bucky.

"That will draw him deeper," he said quietly.

Forger nodded. "It may." He restarted the car, moving off. "We'll see if we can plan around that." Bucky nodded, relaxing. Fang started to meow so he handed her back to Alex. She was his cat, she only listened to him. Even if she was a Bucky's arm groupie.

***

The next night, Forger was in a dark office when a man walked in. "Ya know, it's weird when we have to have talks." He turned the chair around, staring at the woman behind the man. "Shoo. I'm not going to hurt him. Just lay some truth and I know your kind, Agent May. Shoo. Now." He stared at her.

"Go, it'll be fine," the guy said, closing the door but staying over there. "Who're you?"

"Forger." He grinned. "I suspect by now that you've gotten the report on some of your people attacking us last night. Alex and I were not amused. We really weren't amused to have to redo all the unscrewing we've done with Bucky's poor mind."

"That wasn't us."

"They said they were SHIELD."

"There's a second group."

"They're still stupid." He stared at him. "To drop some intel on you means that someone should probably trust you. I don't but you're a complication I don't need to deal with while we deal with HYDRA trying to get him and us back."

"You were an agent?"

"No. They summoned us when they wanted a mystical weapon. Had no idea what they were doing. They were trying to get the infinity stones again." He shrugged. "I'm good but not infinite."

Phil Coulson grimaced. "Why would they try that?"

"You get them all, you get the special powers as a prize," he said dryly, smirking at him. "Just like the visions say you'll have to fight after the whole civil war tears the rest of the US apart." He tipped his head to the side a bit, staring at him. "It needs to be noted that Bucky has not a single full memory of anything that happened before he got woken the last time."

"We found their lab in the bank. The chair?"

"Compressed memories into a tiny little box in his mind. We've been working on it but the ones who want to help so much are a danger to us and them. It's also making the problem worse. All we want to do is get him healthy, get him able to legitimately make his own decisions, and then find a way to send me and Alex home. You guys are a complication we don't want."

"They probably wanted to interrogate him."

"Yet they fired something at him to white out his mind again. So no, I doubt they wanted to interrogate him. Use him maybe, but not interrogate. There's no way they'd get anything with his mind whited out that way."

"I can agree with that interpretation but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not in charge of them so I can't make them stop."

"That's not how this works," Forger said simply. "Because they need to stop. Today. Otherwise we're going to have to consider them as corrupt and dangerous as HYDRA is to us, and then we'll have to retaliate. Considering Alex and I both used to hunt demons and I'm rather skilled in a few areas...." He smiled. "It should be heard by them as well."

"What if they try to detain you since you're not native?"

"Then they're in for a rude surprise. We're not normal and we weren't even before HYDRA had us for all of a day." He grinned. "I seriously wasn't normal before and Alex asked to have some of my luck when he got brought. That's why the demons they accidentally brought with them helped us take down the lab." He stared at the older man, who winced. "We're not happy campers to have been summoned. We're protecting Bucky and he taught Alex a lot he didn't know before. Unfortunately I've been places that the level of stupid this is becoming is epidemic. And the more stupid it gets, the worse we'll have to react.

"It's your choice to make us react and this is the only warning any of us will give. Because if I have to deal with them, so be it. Or in our world, so mote it be." Bells rang out. "Got it?" Coulson nodded. "Good." He smiled. "I'll let you call your people to yell at them and make more complicated plans that won't work. Because frankly, we're not going to fall for the comic book bullshit levels that you guys put out." He leaned down once he stood up. "If I can take down a cult that was hoarding biological weapons by screwing a few of them then turning them on each other, then I can handle this in a totally different, unique way." He smiled. "I hope we have a truce. It'd be really nice not to have to run from everyone when they show up." He left through the window but disappeared into the sewer before anyone could catch him.

Phil Coulson reached over to stop his tape recorder, then called the others in to hear it. "I want to know what they did. We need to stop that."

"He was an asset."

"He was brainwashed," Skye complained. "Even Rogers said he has no memories of anything. Who was that guy?"

"By the information we have, he's called Forger. I have no idea why. I'm not sure if anyone knows." They all nodded, getting down to researching and stopping the other SHIELD group from interrupting.

This could get very bad very quickly if they didn't stop it.

***

Bucky looked at Alex later that night. "Why did you pick him to emulate?"

"The others had no idea how to street brawl. I needed to be tougher." He grinned. "Besides, I had to use a living example for the battle memories to be crafted from." Bucky nodded. "It worked out okay."

"Good. What about getting home?"

"After you're healed I will." Bucky scowled. "It's the easiest way so I don't bring the old you with me."

"Fine." He went back to his sandwich. "Where is he?"

"Discussing some 'I really wish you wouldn't' ideas some groups have had."

"Why?"

"To keep us out of the way of the fighting."

"That's not practical."

"It can be. We'll have to wait and see." He dug into his own dinner. "Can I have some sparring time later please?"

"Of course. You need to stay in practice." Alex grinned, digging in again. The cat almost made a noise from her spot on top of the cabinets so Alex put down a piece of chicken for her. She hopped down to eat it then went back up there after letting him rub her ears for a few minutes. She was so spoiled sometimes.

Bucky just shook his head. He wasn't used to owning a cat.

***

The young woman sat down boldly across from the older guy sipping some milk. She smiled at him. "Do I know you, miss?" he asked, putting down his glass.

"I needed to tell you they moved."

"Who?"

"Your former buddy. Mr. Hot Arm and Racoon Eyes." Steve stiffened. "The SHIELD that's not your former handler's version tried to grab the three of them. They whited him out but they got it fixed." She glanced around then at him. "So they're safe but not local."

"Thank you. Are you... who are you?"

She grinned, pulling her bow around. "I'm the other Hawkeye, Captain." She winked and got up, strolling off.

Steve sent a text message on his way back to his apartment. Sam was already looking things up.

Natasha walked in behind him. "May said Forger popped in for a talk," she noted. "Told Agent May off but they talked for about twenty minutes about how they didn't want to consider SHIELD another threat." He stared at her. "It may not have fully helped but it was an effective warning. They at least researched the two boys."

"Any idea if it can help them any?" Steve asked.

"Not yet," she said. "Though I've heard that Alex is still trying to get home. I have no idea how that'll work since someone last night told me that Alex had asked for the other one's gifts and skills when he appeared or just before he was summoned." He stared at her. "I don't know why he couldn't get himself free if he had the same skills."

"Probably too many there to get him," Steve said. She shrugged, sitting down at the table to help Sam. Steve considered it. Alex was a bit scary. He was like a movie spy when he fought. So what was Forger like when he fought?

***

Forger sat down across from Bucky, getting a curious look. "Let me help you with the meditation."

"Can you do it better than him?"

"Yeah, I actually learned how to do that. He got some memories and my fighting abilities." He grinned. "I'm actually trained for it." Bucky nodded, letting Xander lead him down into his mind and onto the spirit plane. He hadn't been here before and looked at the young guy that appeared next to him. The guy was slightly younger looking than Forger, had an eyepatch, was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, plus combat boots. He was wearing an open hunting knife and there was a hyena following him. The young one looked up then the old him appeared with a few other spirits. "Okay, guys, let's find the blocks." They moved on Bucky, who wanted to fight back but knew it'd be a problem if he did.

The old Bucky stared at his new self. "The fighting is the programming having a panicky girl fit."

Bucky stared at him. "I'm not you."

"No, I'm you from before the Army." He grinned. "The us from the Army is hidden in there. He's the one that's been squeezed to a pulp." He moved closer, staring into his eyes. "You can do this. We can do this." He looked back. "Xander?"

"It's good. You guys have to do that sort of work yourself. If I remove the blocks I can see it could harm him." He walked over, pointing at a few places. "I see large blades there. Like in a magic show." He wiggled one and Bucky yelled, holding his head. "Yeah, that's what they did to you." He looked at the old Bucky, who grabbed that plate to remove it for himself. Bucky tried to fight off the pain but they got two out. The old Bucky was all right, but Xander was a bit bruised from the fighting. Xander snatched one before sending Bucky back to his mind.

Bucky woke up with a yell.

Forger woke up, staring at him. "How's the headache? I can make that tea." Bucky stared at him, panting. "There's another ten plates."

"Fuck," he said in Russian.

"Basically, yeah. But they have to come out if you want to regain those memories."

"The ones I'm getting I don't want!"

"They turned you into an animal, Bucky. You were programmed. That's a later healing point. Once you remember what you need to heal from." Bucky stomped off swearing at him. Forger looked at the old Bucky's ghost, who shrugged.

"Give it a few hours, kiddo. He'll calm down. I always did whenever Stevie pissed me off."

"This is worse than that."

"Probably, yeah." He went to hover in front of himself. Bucky stared at him. "I can't even see the plates. I doubt it'll get any more pretty. Once they're gone we can fix the damaged parts."

"I don't want to remember some of that."

"I'm sure you don't. If you want to remember the rest, we have ta free those." He stared down at him. "Which do you want? To wonder or to know?"

Bucky nodded. "I'd rather not know right now."

"I get that. I can't agree with it, but I get it." Bucky glared. Bucky shrugged. "I'm you, buddy. I remember our sister. You don't. Or our mother." Bucky nodded, slumping some. "So, there's going to be bad things. They're all about the bad things. They turned you into one."

"I can't be that."

"No, you can't. Once you remember, they can't use you again." Bucky stared at him. "Even if they compress you again, I'll be in there so I can come back. We can put in trip switches or something."

Forger came in, handing over a mug of tea. He moved behind Bucky to work on his tense shoulders and back. "It'll help."

"It's not that sort of pain." He waved him off.

"Drink the tea. Shut up, and deal with it. It'll cause you more pain and it'll keep you from moving right in case they come again." He looked at the spirit. "There's plenty I don't want to remember and it's not as bad as his."

"True," he agreed. "I've seen into your mind. You did bad shit for the right reasons, kiddo." He looked at himself. "A few more of those and we can fix it all."

"The tea has a mild sedative herb so he can get some sleep without nightmares," Forger said. "It's something I've had to use in the past after apocalypse battles."

"I saw a few of those," the old Bucky said, shuddering. "Damn."

"Basically." He grinned, going back to it. Alex came in to help him take care of Bucky. They got him down. Forger went back to the spirit plane while meditating, removing the rest of the blocks on him while he was down. It'd hurt him less. Then he pulled the old Bucky in to send him in there to help him sort things out. Forger came out, got dinner made, then went to rest.

Bucky woke up in the morning, and woke up Forger by staring at him until he woke up. "That's dirty pool."

"Yep." He sat up, staring at him. "Did it work?"

"Yeah, so far. What if they come back?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, the old you is highly protective and a bastard when he needs to be." He gave him a pointed look. "The chair's destroyed. I did that when they tried to put me into it. The dead people helped me a lot."

"That's still weird."

"It's not my fault I'm like an open suit for them." He shrugged, getting up. "Let me start breakfast."

"Alex did." He walked out. "Can it be undone anyhow?"

"Only if you do it," Forger said, coming out. "He'll make sure it won't happen again. Eventually he'll end up merging with this new you so you're one person again."

"That's good to know." He settled in with his scrambled eggs and toast. Forger grabbed some coffee. "Eat something."

"I'm good. I'll eat in a while."

"Now," Alex called. "I know you've done this before but yay!"

Forger came back with an eyeroll but did settle in to eat. Everything could be gone over later. Bucky would still need some help and support to finish opening things up.

***

Alex looked around at their new city from their rooftop. "Why are we back here?" he asked.

Forger looked at him. "Because it's one of the few places where we can get things to help Bucky remember. Plus they won't be waiting for him here. The few HYDRA agents here in town are still trying to take over, so we're out of notice. They'd never consider us here. If so, it's helping by getting them out of the way."

"I have to do what?"

Forger looked at him. "Don't make me beat you." Alex walked off rolling his eyes. Forger got the plans they'd need and went down to talk to Bucky, who was back in bed. So he'd go handle it himself.

"Don't you dare," Alex called. "They could be watching for you."

Forger looked at him. "They don't want another feral incident. The only way they'll take me is dead, and that's not going to happen because then I'm no use to them. They'll try something and when they do, you guys go back up there." He winked and left, going to draw some attention to HYDRA's people. Some were really open. They were stupid too. So sure, a robbery in their office would help when it drew news people.

***

Steve flinched, looking up as someone landed on the ground next to him. "Alex? Is Bucky okay?"

"We're fine. We moved both of us back up here after Forger nearly got caught in DC getting information for Bucky. He's still really mad at Forger so if you see him can you detain him so we can yell at him?" He walked off shaking his head. "He said be home later."

"I can do that." He looked so confused but oh well.

***

Forger landed in Steve's apartment, shrugging. "He's staring." He handed over the backpack he carried. "The stuff they have on you and him. It was too important not to grab when I was in there disabling the self destruct modules." He gave him a look. Then behind him the window closed. "I stopped their plot to destroy parts of DC."

Bucky stared at him. "I should kill you."

"You can try but it won't work for you either." He stared at him. "Beyond that, I took out another two units of HYDRA. Full units." Bucky stared, mouth open. "And took out their self destruct units, plus their new robotic army. All that took was the mouse." He waved a hand in the air. "Beyond that, be mad. It's good you're having emotions again." Bucky glared. Forger shrugged. "It is." He looked around. "Rogers, who lives above you?"

"Natasha presently."

"That's why I can hear an electronic squeal." He opened the window, climbing out and up there. He let himself in, staring at her. "They're talking."

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Forger." He grinned. "I gave Steve info on the people I had to bypass down there plus stuff on them." He sat on the windowsill. "Leave Bucky alone please. He's still really confused. We've just barely gotten the blocks removed. He's barely starting to remember. Including you."

"I...."

He held up a hand. "Don't. Just...don't. I can still see spirits. Including the you that's following you around. The Egyptians had a point when they talked about the Ka."

She blinked. "There is?" He nodded. "Is she young?"

"Ish. Late teens. Looks really angry."

"I..."

"Bucky's was his old self before the army. Yours is younger than his was but not by much."

She nodded. "Is she trying to pass anything on?"

"I think she's confused." He looked at that spirit. "Anything?" He walked over to touch her hand. She pulled back, giving him a scared look. "I'm not them. I can talk to her."

She barely touched his hand. "She is not doing what they would want."

"She said you're not doing what they would want," he said. "Things have changed since then. They were wrong people. They did wrong things. They made you do wrong things."

She nodded. "I survived."

"You did survive. It's a credit to your strength. You've proved you were stronger." She smiled shyly, ducking behind her hair. He moved it off her cheek, smiling at her. "Do you need to tell her anything?"

"The new masters seem kinder. I like them. They use our skills better."

Forger looked at her. "She said she likes the new masters better. They use your skills better and they seem kinder."

Natasha grimaced. "They are, though I do choose a lot of my own missions."

"That means you grew up," the younger Natasha spirit said.

"She said that means you grew up."

"You lead others who could be us. You make a good Widow Mother."

Forger repeated that. Natasha winced. "I would not want anyone to do what we did."

She nodded. "I can see why." Forger chanted something, letting her appear to her older self, stepping back to get out of the way. "You will not be that harsh but you can teach others how to survive like we did."

"I can and have," she agreed quietly.

The younger one smiled at her. "You survived and that's the most important thing. You graduated when thousands haven't." Natasha nodded. "That's something special."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm still watching over you. Sometimes you need to remember how strong we are. Before others try to make you weak enough to be taken down." She touched her cheek, smiling at her. "We'll survive for a very long time."

"Sometimes the weakness is an art to itself."

"True, and we learned that. But not all that makes you weak is an art and not all that are arts are weaknesses." She patted her again. "You will find a weakness in yourself, the same as they said you'd have one. It doesn't mean it's a bad thing. You found one that wasn't a bad thing. Friendship made you stronger." She faded out.

Natasha looked around but the boy was gone. She took a deep, centering breath, then went to take a shower. That was weird and making her skin itch. She saw things much differently when she was a teenager. Now she knew what true weaknesses she had and how to use them to her benefit. Including friendship.

***

Downstairs, Alex snuck in. "Guys, HYDRA just pulled up dressed like SHIELD agents. We've got to go."

"Let me call Natasha," Steve said, grabbing a few things to shove into his emergency kit. He and Bucky went out the window and headed in different directions. Alex went with him. Natasha finally answered and agreed she could be safe and leave. Steve looked at where Bucky had disappeared but he couldn't see him. He could hear a few quiet gunshots though. So they were apparently handling it.

***

Forger watched, he was too far away to get there in time to help, and he followed when they managed to overpower Alex. Bucky had disappeared. Forger could fix this though. He had a lot of experience in handling problems. He followed them back to their lair.

"You didn't get all of the self destruction devices," the man staring at the bound Alex sneered. "Not by a long shot."

"You'd be shocked, though that wasn't me." He smiled. "Don't you worry about it though. I'm pretty sure our mouse will get the rest."

"Mouse?" he sneered. "What sort of mouse can disarm things?"

Forger came in through the window, shooting the others but leaving that guy. "The sort that can do many interesting things. I used it while destroying a demon cult." He shot him in the forehead, making him die. He undid the bounds, getting a nod. "Go. I'll clean this mess up."

"I can."

"You hate to see dead people." He looked at his cohort. "Just go. Help Bucky."

"Yup, I'll see you soon?"

"Probably." Alex snuck out. Forger took a second to download the computers in there and then went to destroy things. He was great it. He was so great at it when new guards came rushing in he let himself slip into the feral state to give them what they wanted. They wanted him, they could have him in ways they never expected. He ran into a few heros trying to get in and shook his head. "There's nothing left in there." He walked around them. One of them tried to grab him but yelped as his hand burned. "Not a great idea, dear." He blew a kiss and grinned. "They're gone. They really shouldn't come after us. We get mean. We've learned well before we even got pulled here." He ran off, going over a wall and into the river to lose them.

"Who was that?" Stark demanded.

"Forger," Hawkeye said as he joined them. "One of the two guys that HYDRA pulled trying to get a mystical weapon. He's been helping Barnes. Natasha's asked about him a few times." He looked in there. Then at Stark. "There's a lot of things that we shouldn't look like a threat to." He walked in. "Guys, can we have the remains?" he asked.

One of the ghosts floated over to him, patting him on the cheek. "Yes. They are not fully judged but we will do the rest for you. That way they can't escape." She smiled. "You are good, Hawkeye. One day you'll be one of us." She floated off. "Finish up." They pulled out the souls that were going with them then left the facility past all the heros waiting. One of them shuddered, looking down. She paused in front of her. "Your brother is not one of us. He is at peace, child." She looked up at her. "It could be much worse. Trust that the other side is mad at those sort too for how many of us they add." She disappeared.

The young woman wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Stark pulled her closer, ignoring her shoving at him. "Are you all right?" She nodded. "Want to go wait in the car?" She nodded, going to do that. Stark walked in there. "What was that?"

"Forger can call up dead spirits," Clint Barton said, looking at him. "He did that when he got pulled here. He used to hunt demons from what little we know."

Stark blinked. "Seriously?" Clint nodded. "That's...wrong on so many levels."

"He was in DC getting things for Bucky a few days back, and found self destruct things." He walked off. "Computer array, Stark." Clint checked the rest of the bodies. No one was alive and they all looked horrified. The few that had gunshot wounds weren't horrified. That told him all he needed to know. Forger hadn't done most of the work himself, he had asked them to do it for him. He really wanted to know what the guy could *really* do. The rumors about him were weird and contradictory.

Stark shuddered. "That's just wrong. So very wrong." The rest of the team went over the facility to find out what they had been planning. It'd help them predict what was going to come their way next.

***

Forger handed over the bag. "The crystals you need. One's large and needs to be split."

"Thanks." He looked then at the park. "Here?"

"We should be safe enough here and I can guard while you set it up."

Alex laid out the crystals. "You're missing one."

"I told you one was larger and needed to be split."

"Oh. Thanks." He did that with a dagger and a rock as a hammer. Those two pieces got put into place by the diagram Alex had found. The three stones got put in the center then he pulled out a sharper dagger. "Come on. You have to be in here before I start."

"If I step in now, it'll drag all the spirits with me. I'll step across when you have it open."

"The protections..."

"Are going to be warped by me, Andrew. The hellmouth taint I carry will see to it, and if they don't, the spirits will." He stared at him. "Just do it!"

"Fine. Cranky."

"I need laid, Andrew. Just...make the circle."

Andrew nodded, sighing as he laid the protections around it then let his blood drip slowly onto the three center stones as he chanted the spell. He felt it open. "Okay, it's open, Xander."

"Go." He turned to fire on someone stomping their way. "Go, 'Drew! Now!"

"Come on!"

"Andrew!" He pointed. "Go!" He slipped through the portal. Xander stepped toward it but no, he was hit by his former skills coming back. "At least he has the memories and the training to help him." The portal snapped and he grinned. "Yeah, baby, I'm back now." He leapt and killed the bad guy, then landed and grinned. "Thanks for the training help too, Bucky." He looked at him.

"You knew you couldn't go back," he said from the tree he was resting against.

"Not with the power I hold. The spirits are enough to keep me here, much less the magical radiation I have." He shrugged but grinned. "So I could really use the sparring time again."

"Yes you could." He stared at him. "You're not a movie spy. I couldn't make Alex see that at times."

"Bullshit. I've taken out two hell gods by myself." He grinned. "To keep little girls from doing it themselves."

"I know programs like that."

"We ended one."

"Good." He moved closer, walking around the steaming body. "What is that?"

"Demonic." He shrugged. "It happens." He yawned. "Andrew needs to sleep." He looked at the spell circle, breaking it by picking up the stones. They went back into the bag with the bloody stones. He carried them off. "Where are we heading, boss?"

"Home."

Forger looked at him. "Which home? The home I inherited by killing someone in the sack? Your home? Did he take his cat?" Bucky nodded, rolling his eyes. "Good. Fang is really his cat." He looked around. "We have guests."

"It's Steve's friend."

"Hmm. Not exactly." He sniffed. "Someone wears gardenia perfume. Do you really think the guy with the wings does?"

Bucky sniffed. "How can you smell that?"

"Hyena taint." He grinned. Then he turned and fired a sedative dart at someone. "No. Not your type, sweetheart." He walked off. "Let me go get dinner. I'm hungry for a change."

Bucky followed. "Put the stones safely somewhere first?"

"On the way home."

"Okay. Want me to give it to Steve?"

"What's he going to do with magic supplies? The last time I looked, the shield did not give him magic."

"How did you get it? Andrew had it naturally."

"Hellmouth taint." He smirked. "The damn thing loves me and it's here in the US anyway. All three of the ones on this world have checked up on me, petted me fondly, and told me to be a good boy." He ran off, disappearing into the night.

"Great, mystical holes that lead to hell dimensions like him like the cat used to," Bucky complained, heading off into the night so he could eat and think. He was still merging the memories. He ran into Wilson and shrugged. "You just have to get used to them."

"The other one home?"

"Yeah. Thankfully. He's mostly gentle. The other one...he's been in too many big things to be anything but hard." He walked around him. "I'm still merging them."

"Ya know, I'm a counselor for the VA," he called after him.

"I read your dossier," he called back with a wave. "Maybe some day."

"Or him, if he needs me."

Bucky paused to look at him. "I doubt you'd help him any, Wilson. He's not exactly going to ever be a normal guy. Hunting demons does that you apparently." He disappeared.

Sam called in that contact and information, going to see who Forger had knocked out. Steve was complaining that he had lost both of them again. Bucky was invisible wherever he was and Forger had been picked up by some lady in a cadillac. By the time Natasha had tracked the car, Bucky was out of the city, Forger was making her squeal happily in New Jersey, and they figured out she was an arms dealer. Then Forger disappeared into the daylight before they could bust in to capture him.

***

Andrew landed at home after a few side trips on the way, the path hadn't been direct, and came out into a battle. He stared then dispassionately fired on the two higher beings, killing them. Then the two human mages that had summoned them went. "Hi, all," he said when the slayers stared at him. He grinned. "I'm back."

"What happened!" Buffy demanded, stomping over, bloody sword in her hand still.

"HYDRA. Bad comic book guys with ideas of purity and power. They were trying to summon a mystical weapon. That's what got Xander and me." He stared down at her, being a bit taller than she was. "He's okay as of when I left. I had borrowed his skills for the battle and that's what got me," he said quietly, grinning some. "Then we had to help a guy who was screwed over worse than the PTB do to any of you ladies. I learned a lot from the real warriors over there."

"Like swords?"

"Like the guy was part of a team that basically won their World War II. He was the second-in-command guy." She shuddered. "I learned a lot." He smiled at the others, waving some, then put his guns up. "Sorry, new habits aren't going to die at all." He looked at her. "So, I'm now able to plan battles, and explosives and all sorts of neat things I had to learn. Especially after I ended up sucking up Xander's ability to suck in ghosts." He walked off with her. "It'll be okay and Xander's fine, Buffy."

"He's normal and so are you."

He stared at her. "Buffy, I took down a whole troop of warriors all by myself just last night," he said plainly. "All of them human." She shuddered, stepping away. "Because it was them or me. And it ended up being me who survived. The same as Xander's done in Africa. I may have copied his skill memories and then trained them so they're mine now, but I'm still Andrew. I'll step in when the girls need me to. Including on patrol some nights. That way none of the human based problems we've had start again." He walked off, going to hug his favorite slayers. "C'mon, I feel the need to make cocoa. I haven't had to do more than simple foods for about a month. And that dish was a casserole." They gathered around to escort him back. Giles stopped him so Andrew grinned at him. "Borrowing Xander's skills with that wish was really handy but why HYDRA took me. Comic book bad guys that I'm still better than." He walked around him. "I've got a journal you can bum for the reports, Giles."

"Please, then we'll be talking, Andrew. You seem different."

Andrew smirked back at him. "I wished for some of Xander's skills for the battle. I got most of them for almost a year now. Thankfully I trained most of them into me so I'm going to keep them. Hopefully not the possession one, but the others are kinda neat. I had no idea why women got all moany on him." He grinned, heading to the kitchen with the girls.

Buffy stomped in. "He's taken out humans."

"Humans are those things that endangered slayers lives," Andrew quipped from the kitchen. "Including the one group that wanted to sacrifice you all for being *women* who dared to fight." He leaned out to look at her. "Did you yell at Xander for saving three baby slayers in Africa by taking that group out?"

"I didn't know he did or I would've!" she shouted.

He nodded. "A lot of the girls overseas don't tell you a lot of things because you'd have a hissy, just like you are now." He tipped his head slightly to the side. "We never hurt anything or anyone unless they make us, Buffy. If they make us, it's going to be them instead of us or the slayers. Ask Giles, I'm sure he's gotten some reports." Giles nodded, taking off his glasses to rub at his eyes with the hand holding them. "We're sorry this blew how you see the world but you deal with undead killing and we'll deal with the humans that try to kill you back for it." He went back to his cocoa making for the slayers and started on a real dinner. They clearly hadn't been eating properly if the stack of takeout boxes and pizza boxes were any sort of sign.

Buffy would calm down. He hoped. If not, he'd figure it out and maybe go take over Xander's route in Africa. Just in case he needed to know how to fight the possessions again.

***

Forger landed in Africa and went to find a shaman he had trained with. Yeah, it was going to be a lot of fighting. He hoped the slight vision of the man ripping into him for daring to use his gifts to defend them all and deal with the HYDRA people wouldn't come true. It had been bad. The shaman had compared him to Rosenburg when she was full-blown magic addiction. He was almost depressed that it could turn out that way. Of course, the man had never been that mean to him in the past but you never knew.

He paused to change at a motel overnight. Now he looked more like a normal person instead of a soldier or a warrior. Not that he wasn't wearing weapons but not as openly. He drove into the village, looking around. The clinic and everything else looked the same. He parked behind the clinic and walked around to the market, nodding at the women he remembered. He bought food, using the local language. She smiled and made a nice deal with him. He went to the shaman's tent, knocking on the door before walking in.

The old man stared at him. "You didn't take the warning."

"I was hoping it was just a crackhead dream," he said, sitting in front of him like a student would. "Is it wrong to help heal him?"

"You used his spirit against him."

"No. I let them merge once I had removed the blocks they created. They smashed his mind to little pieces. He had no memories of anything. Worse than one that had a head injury, he knew he was missing things. He was getting flashes and his Ka was hanging around. I accidentally sucked his spirit in for a few minutes. I just...sent it back to the original owner and helped them meet again."

"That may be healing, but what of his mind if it happens again."

"He didn't do it to himself. Evil ones did it to him, made him an attacking beast for them against his will."

The shaman nodded. "There's many of those in this world." He stared at him. "You still used those skills to attack."

"I let the ones they killed have justice for it," Xander defended.

The shaman nodded. "That is one way of viewing them killing them."

Xander nodded. "True. It does look bad, but without it they never would've found peace. Which is worse? Dealing with people who treat people like experiments by letting their victims take justice or leaving unquiet spirits that will some day hurt innocents?"

"In that choice there's no good one." Xander nodded, looking down. "Do you still think it was the right use of your gifts?"

"Yes." He looked up at him. "I do. Because they stole me as well. Some day I'll be the same sort of spirit that'll need to be quieted. I hope someone lets me."

The shaman nodded. "That makes sense for one as angry as you."

"I'm pretty sure you've seen the world I came from."

"I have been shown, yes. Including why we met." He stared at the young. "You should eat. You brought lunch."

"You taught me to never show up without food," he said dryly, smiling at him. "Lunch?"

He took a piece of fruit to sniff. "A bit unripe but it'll make a good dinner." He put it aside.

Xander felt that bad feeling. "Oh, Goddess no," he mumbled, saying a prayer. He looked at his trainer, who smiled sadly. "Please?"

"I'm sorry but they were here first."

Xander nodded, flipping to his feet and barely missing the bullet aimed at his back. It hit his hip. Xander killed them and a few others that rushed in. He looked at the shaman. "I'll see you on the spirit plane, Elder. I'm sorry they corrupted you." He ran out, dodging bullets. His rental jeep had a bomb on it. But they hadn't found the magically hidden things. He pulled them out and released them. The bad guys went down in a hail of screaming as the acid shot across them. He made sure he didn't hit any of the villagers. A few were hiding and one had a knife. One of the village elders had a gun. "I'm not here to hurt you. I came to talk to the one who trained me," he called. "I'd be peaceful if they hadn't shot me."

"It is as the highers will," the elder said. He fired on him.

Xander shook his head and said a prayer as he set the bomb he pulled off the jeep off before throwing it toward them. It went off and he felt bad. He felt sick. He felt like he was going to puke right then and there, even though there was still a large danger to him. He walked off, taking what he needed with him. Behind him, the spirits came at the old shaman's call and turned on him and the others for having them die. One came after Xander and he paused, bowing at her. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't know they'd be there or I wouldn't have come."

She nodded. "They had already poisoned us. It just released us." She patted him on the cheek. "There's many of them here. There's only one of you."

He choked back a laugh and a sob. "You told me that once about a demon enclave I had to take down because no one could help me." She nodded, fading out. Xander decided on his course and he could handle this. He looked up. "Is this what you wanted to try to break me? Because it won't work. The world can burn and I'm still myself." He woke up with a scream, panting hard. Someone touched his shoulder and he broke her hand then flinched. "I'm sorry. Sorry." He got up, going to the small airplane bathroom, then he came back to help her. "I didn't realize it was you, ma'am. I thought you were a hostile entity." She nodded, letting him wrap and brace her hand for her. The pilot was scowling. "I had a flashback," he said quietly. "They happen and there's nothing you can do about them but survive. I won't fall asleep again." The pilot went back up to the cockpit and Xander went back to his seat.

That had to be a real vision.

That meant the Powers That Be knew about him being taken and had probably allowed it.

Which meant the slayers at home were screwed and the vision that said he couldn't go home was right.

He'd have to deal with it himself.

He didn't even fight when they took him off the plane. He looked at one of the agents. "I'm sorry. I had a flashback; I fixed her hand so it'll heal all right but I did apologize. You guys know you can't fight those."

One of the agents nodded. "I've seen others have them and attack when woken."

"She touched my shoulder," Xander admitted. "That's why I apologized and helped brace her hand for her. I'm really sorry."

"That's fine, sir. We can put you on a later flight to your destination."

"No, let me go home instead," he sighed. "It's not a good time for a vacation to see old friends." They nodded, helping him change the tickets out after they had the proper forms filled out. They were real agents, they understood about those sort of things.

***

Bucky looked up from his drinking when someone sat across from him. He sipped the beer, staring at her. "Yes?" he asked finally.

"Are you ready to come in?" she asked quietly.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm still figuring the memories out. Plus I'm still looking for Forger."

She slid a paper over. "He had a flashback on a flight to Africa. Broke the stewardess' hand."

"He doesn't have flashbacks, he has visions," he said, reading it over. "Though it's nice he's going to see an ex." He handed it back. "I'm still working on making it all make sense."

"I understand why but we had to move around a team earlier. They were heading this way."

He nodded. "I dealt with a few earlier."

"This was less than an hour ago," Natasha said.

"I'll get my tab but I'm not going in."

"That's fine. We can track you. You know he worries."

"Yeah, the punk did a lot of worrying over me instead of himself in the old days." He shook his head, paying his bill and heading out to the hotel. Two agents in there got knocked out. He packed and left, nodding at Natasha as he walked past her. Steve got in his way. "Not. Yet."

"We can get you back to the US. You'll be safer."

"Nowhere's safe."

"We have safe houses," he said.

"Still not truly safe, Stevie." He patted him on the arm. "Let me go check on Forger. That vision must've been bad for him to wake that hard." He walked around him, going to find a way to Rome.

Steve followed, but had to stop to beat a mugger that tried him and Natasha. By then Bucky had disappeared again.

***

Xander walked into the shrine to Janus, kneeling at the altar. One of the guards cleared his throat. Xander stared at him until he walked off. Xander looked up. "If you wanted or needed me to be a better warrior," he said in Latin. "Why didn't you just have me possessed again? Why go to all this trouble?" He stared up at the statue. "All you're doing is making me more angry and it still won't break me. No matter what the PTB think, Lord Janus, it won't break me. I've already broken and healed." He laid a small offering on the altar then stood up and stomped out. If the PTB had a temple he'd remind them of the same thing. But it appeared he was stranded here and had to help the good guys. Somehow. Not that they'd accept it since he was normal. Again. Someone pulled him into an alley, covering his mouth. He stared at the guy.

"HYDRA cell not even two blocks away. One's meeting with a high ranking cardinal," Clint Barton said quietly. He let him go. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, you're a comic book character in my original world." He smiled sadly. "Thanks."

"Welcome. We can help you get to safety."

"There's no safety. For some reason they want me more than they want Bucky. I don't know why but they do. Otherwise I'd be in Africa talking to a shaman I trained with. Unfortunately they figured out where I was going and he warned me on the flight."

"That was a vision?"

"Yes, it was. I used to only see apocalypse battles. Yay me," he finished flatly. "I'm having a moment of this shit sucks and is my life. I'm going to go hide and maybe drink. Thank you for the warning."

"I'd like to know what you can do. If we need you at a battle, I need to know what skills you have," he said when Xander looked at him.

Xander nodded, grinning some. "I'm sure you'll see them sometime. Hopefully not soon though."

"I saw that base in DC."

"They deserved the right to avenge their deaths."

"True. I'd want someone to let me do that too." He leaned on the wall. "You could come in."

"I'm not going to get in the middle of the war between Stark and Rogers. I saw how that ended. It wasn't good. Beyond that, I'm not that sort of hero. I stepped in because one little teenage princess shouldn't have to save the world alone, especially after they took my only anchor to peace," he said quietly. "All this," he waved a hand around. "Is the Powers That Be, who're over the princess patrol, making sure they're weaker so they have their balance.

"I'm pretty sure they had easier ways of making me better at my former job of demon hunting and they went with this. So...I'm going to mope for a bit, mourn my old life, then I'm going to go blow the fuck out of people that did this to me with their help." He smiled. "You go hide. Before they find you. You're more vulnerable than I am and I don't want to have to call back your spirit some day, Hawkeye." He walked off, merging into the shadows to go find somewhere scummy but safer.

Clint watched him go, calling in the contact to Natasha. She thought it was interesting but Clint knew that look. The kid was at his end if he didn't find a reason to go on. Maybe they'd have to find one for him.

***

Bucky found Xander later that night, sitting across from him in the bar. "Why does it look like they want to beat you to death?" he asked in Latin.

Xander grinned. "They might but they won't. A girl hit on me and I made her squeal happily enough that she took the rest of the night off. So their fun was out." He took a drink. "Which one did you run into?"

"A few. You?"

"Clint."

"Hmm. A lot alike."

"No. He had choices and I had one. I took my one and it wasn't great but it was better than being eaten." He finished his drink. "I really need a night to mope."

"Ditto." He stared at him. "Do you have all your memories?" Xander nodded. "That's bad."

"No, bad was the shaman I trained under warning me that his whole village was compromised. I'll need to honor them soon." He got up to get another drink, bringing one back for Bucky too. "Vodka."

"Thank you." He watched what Xander was drinking. "Is that mead?"

"Vodka and ouzo with some rum for taste." He sipped it. "It works well."

"That's weird."

"It works."

"Point." They sat there and sipped while the rest of the bar pouted about their fun thing being off for the night. Bucky and Xander could outdrink anyone. They got into a drinking contest to prove it. Bucky won, because super soldier healing factors were great for that, and he got to carry Xander to bed before someone stabbed him. They settled in to guard each other that night, aware at least one other Avenger was in town. They'd deal with that in the morning. After Xander honored his mentor by lighting a fire that he sent out to sea.

***

Xander looked up from staring at the floating little fire, staring at the woman next to him. "I can help you build one for him," he said quietly.

"He'd hate that. It's mushy." She looked at him. "You can see spirits." He nodded. "Is he here?"

"No." He pointed. "He was there but he peeked in then left." He shrugged. "Sometimes they only check in, sometimes they move on faster." She grimaced. "Sorry." He looked around then at her. "You don't have a Ka spirit." She looked confused. "Your Ka is like a secondary soul to you. Often it's a more innocent version of you or a younger one at least. You don't have one."

"Maybe because this is all I've known."

"Romanoff had one." She gaped. He nodded. "They've done something to you. I don't know what but have them scan you. Please?" he asked quietly. "With the way they liked the mystical they could've promised your soul to someone and it'll take a lot of work to get it back."

"Who would I ask?"

"Mortimer at the bar in New York. The Stabbing Fleshwound looks like a prison bar but it's not. Ask the bartender there to talk to Mortimer and tell him what I said. He'll be able to tell." He walked around her. "I wish you peace, Scarlet Witch."

"Thank you, Forger." She turned to look at him. "Who was it?"

"My training mentor. They thought I'd go to see him to get help so they took out the village. When I had a vision not to go, they killed him for it and probably half the village." He looked at her. "And I feel guilty. I should've went to save them."

"That's insane. You can't do that and they might've still died."

"I tell myself that. Sometimes it's not enough. When you get to that point, retire." He stared at her over the edge of his sunglasses. "Really. Just...quit and move to somewhere quiet for a bit. It'll save you." She slumped but nodded. He left, going to head to upper Europe.

"You can come with us," she called.

"No I can't. It'll put you in more danger." He waved before disappearing into the crowds coming down to the beach to start their day.

"What a cause for depression," Stark said as he joined her. "But he's right. If you get that bad, you take a break. We'll understand." She looked at him. "I know we're still fighting. That guy's an interesting conundrum that I'd like to solve."

"He can't go home," she said.

"That doesn't mean we need more third-party fighting going on."

"I don't think he's going to end up working for anyone but Barnes." She walked off. "I apparently have to talk to a bartender at a bar in New York."

"Yeah, that's a demon bar, Wanda, and there's probably one locally." She looked back at him. "It's down by the Coliseum. Back in one of the alleys. I'll drop you there?"

"Thank you." He nodded, taking her down there to ask. She walked in by herself, looking around before walking over to the bartender.

"I know of you," the bartender said.

"I just ran into someone who said I didn't have a Ka spirit." The bartender winced. "I don't know why. He referred me to a bartender in New York that could call someone named Mortimer. I wasn't sure if there was a closer source since I won't be there for at least a week and a half."

"There's others who can do what that one does. Including some chaos sorcerers." He stared at her. "I have no idea what they did to you to do that."

"Me either."

"Let me call one. Sit. I'll get you some tea since you're too young to drink." He walked off to start the water for tea then made the call. Almost an hour later an older African man walked in wearing a native patterned tunic and linen pants. "Her, Abrogard."

He sat down, staring at her. "Hmm. I can see you were a twin."

"He died fighting Ultron," she said quietly. She finished her tea and put the cup aside. "Forger said I have no Ka spirit for some reason but I never made any deals or anything like that."

"They could have done it when you were a newborn." He held out a hand. "I will not harm you, Wanda." She put a hand in his, letting him read her. He nodded, letting it go. "Both Ka spirits went with him but they were highly damaged and chained. I can call back yours. That would activate the curses they put on you to never get out of their control." She stared at him. "It will not hurt his spirit in the least. I would need the help of a shaman who can talk to spirits."

"Would that guy Forger be one of those?"

"He would but he's already left the area. He's up flirting with the local hellmouth." He looked at the bartender. "Can anyone find the Spirit Warrior?"

"I don't know that anyone has his number," the bartender said.

"He's up by our growing hellmouth."

"I'll see if someone up there can talk to him." He text messaged a few people up there he knew. One said they could talk to him. He'd arrange it with them. A few minutes later they got back a message and Abrogard took Wanda with him to meet up with the young one.

***

Xander looked at her. "If I had known there was local help, I would've stayed local for a bit." She nodded, looking at her hands. "Okay, let's do the hard part first. Then we'll free it." He looked at the chaos mage. "You can work around me? I know magic goes screwy around me."

"Yes, I can. You're a being of chaos and I'm well versed in that art." He smiled. Xander nodded, marking the protections around her while he did the magical ones. Xander burned some herbs and summoned the spirits back. He stared at the young, cocky thing. "You took hers too." He grimaced. "Sit with your sister." He worked to get the Kas together and exposed, smiling at her. "You forgot to stay." She glared at him. "We can remove those."

"She'll be in danger. She'll lose control," the Ka spirit said.

"She can't be worse than a suicidal witch wanting everyone to feel her grief." He moved closer, holding out a hand. "Come?" She shook her head. "I can make sure the deal isn't called."

"It's to a higher power."

"Sometimes higher powers just think they are."

"This one is a Destroyer."

Xander leaned over to look at the young spirit. "So am I." She blinked a few times. He smiled. "There's gods then there's Gods. Even immortal beings won't win this time. The next round maybe but not this round. Your powers aren't what he thinks they are." He held out a hand again. She took it. She screamed as the chains tightened. He and the mage got her free. She panted. "Let me introduce you to yourself." He walked her over, over the edge of the protections. "Wanda-Ka, this is Wanda, yourself." He linked them by joining their hands. Wanda shivered. "Let it go, Wanda. She's part of you." She let the feeling settle then started to cry. Xander knelt to help her. "You're safe and he'll be watching over you." He looked at the ghost of her twin, who nodded. He and his Ka were rejoined and healing. "Ghosts haunt those who are lucky enough to need them. Especially nosy brothers." He grinned. "Special twins are never parted, even if they're on different planes. Until you're reunited, he won't move on. He'll stay to nag you. Your Ka can talk to him and you can learn to meditate to talk to her." He gave her a squeeze. "It goes well with the magic."

She wiped off her cheeks. "Thank you." She looked at her brother. "Others will think I'm insane."

"Tell them I called your brother back to nag you about your clothes." She laughed, wiping her cheeks off again and standing. "Go rest. It'll seem easier in the morning when he nags you about eating." She nodded, walking off. The Kas and the ghost followed her. The Kas were about eight and skipping while holding hands to support and protect each other. Pietro was already nagging his sister about crying about him. Xander looked at the mage, shrugging some.

"Is it coming?"

"Yes. Not too soon but soon. Right when we're the most split." He walked off. "Let me disappear. Before someone tries to blame things on me."

The mage settled in to say a long prayer to his God. They'd need the help to channel the chaos of a mad god coming back to earth.

***

Xander woke up, staring at the man at the end of his bed. "Forger," he said with a smile. "Pleasant to see you again."

"I know damn well you're dead."

"Nothing is truly ever dead any longer. Marvelous secrets the universe holds." He grinned. "We have your weapons."

"I doubt you have all of them." He sat up. "And I doubt this stalemate won't end badly for you. I might end up injured but I'll blow the hellmouths before you can kill me unless it's a perfectly clean shot."

"I don't want to kill you. You and that one can summon back the Invincible One. Twice born I believe they called you."

"That was Andrew. That's why I got him out of here."

"I scried your realm. He was not born at the proper time. You were."

"Dude, no one knows when I was born. The date on my birth certificate is wrong. It happens when drunks raise you."

"I'm sure you were the one they spoke of. The Foresaken One."

"No. I'm the One Who Sees. The Foresaken One was Andrew." He pushed the button that was in his hand and tiny explosions went off around the room. Xander dove, grabbing his gun case and shooting the guy, then he grabbed the guy's wallet from his pocket and some clothes, heading out before the fire department got there. Abandoned buildings were highly flammable sometimes.

Xander woke up with a gasp, looking around the room he was in. He looked up. "Thanks for the warning and the lack of pain this time." He got up to grab his things and left, waiting on the idiot mystical wannabe to show up. He did need to loot him for money. Bullets and travel was expensive.

***

Wanda showed up where Stark and Rogers both were the next morning, shaking her head at Sam's odd look. "I talked to Forger last night. He got my Ka spirit back from where whoever had made a deal with them," she told the two staring heros. "I had a vision during it. We have worse coming. I saw a gaudy gold glove with gemstones. The purple guy holding it was scary and insane. He wants to take over earth to destroy it."

"Is he mechanical?" Clint asked.

"No. Or Asgardian." He nodded at that. "But he's the guy that gave Loki his staff. That was a flash I got from him during it."

"So we're talking super powerful," Stark said. She nodded. "Were they trying to summon him with you?"

"Forger said something about special twins. So now I have my brother nagging me to brush my hair." She looked at him then at them. "It got us free of the sacrifices to bring him here."

"A bit of Casper time is better than dying to bring a powerful thing here," Stark quipped. "Are you okay?"

"Mostly." She looked at Steve, who patted her on the hand. "Someone stopped me on the way in this morning saying that they needed The Twins of Power, the Forsaken One, and a lot of mystical power. The Tesseract is one of the things in the glove." She wobbled, holding her head. Steve got her into a chair. "The staff holds one. The cube, the destructo-egg, the aether, and one I can only see in shadow. Then the Mad Titan comes to give his lover more Death for her pleasure." She passed out.

Steve got her onto the floor, patting her cheek while Natasha came in to help her. "She had a vision or something."

"It's said Forger had some so perhaps he activated the gift in her," she said quietly. She got a damp cloth to help. Wanda moaned, waking up. "Don't move. You passed out after having a vision."

"I hate him for giving them to me," she said, taking the water to sip. She sat up with help, looking at them. "Those suck."

"I'm sure they do," Steve agreed, smiling at her. "At least you're safer now." She nodded, looking at her brother then at him. "Is he mad?"

"Fussing. He couldn't do it before but now he can nag." She finished the water. She looked at Natasha. "Is it worth having one?" she asked quietly.

"It's part of your soul. Having one is always comforting."

She nodded. "That is comforting." She relaxed again. "What did I say?"

"You told us about the great apocalypse coming up," Stark said. "Something about a glove and stones and a mad guy who wanted a lot of death."

"The mad guy is dating Death," Wanda corrected. "She's his lover and he wants to gift her things. He was jealous when some guy in a mask was flirting with her and needs to prove his love." She stood up with help. "Those suck."

Clint walked in, handing over a small zippered bag. "This was sent through my window last night on a plain arrow. Directions are inside for headache tea."

She looked then got some hot water to steep it. She grimaced as she drank. "Yuck."

"Helping any?" Steve asked. She nodded. "Then I'm guessing that's so you don't overuse it?"

"I'm sure it is." She finished and put the cup down with a grimace. "That's gross."

"Most native medicines are," Natasha assured her. "You never want to know what's in them but they do tend to work for certain things."

Clint nodded. "Forger told me last night he had visions so I'm guessing it's someone he asked to send the tea stuff to you. I'm sure he knows what's in it if you need him to get you more."

"Thanks, guys." She looked at her twin's ghost then at them. "He had to bring back Pietro's ghost."

Natasha nodded. "Sometimes you need someone who does nothing but care about your well being." Clint nodded he agreed with that.

Steve nodded too. "I had Bucky doing that when we were younger." He patted Wanda on the arm with a grin. "You can talk to him in front of us. We understand he's there and you're not cracking up."

"Thanks." She relaxed. "So what do we do about the evil guy who wants to date death and maybe the weird guy in the mask that was dating her too but that's why he's got issues now?"

"Weird guy..." Natasha said. "Red and black?" Wanda nodded.

"Swords?" Clint asked. She nodded again. "It figures." He and Natasha shared a look. "We'll talk to him back in New York. He's usually there and he seems to know about Bucky too."

"He gave me some good intel that led me to Alex," Steve said.

"Alex is home now," Clint told them. "Forger managed it before he left for Africa."

"Why didn't he go too?" Stark asked.

"I don't believe he could," Natasha said. "The only agent who was there watching beyond Sam said he told Alex to go while taking out the demon trying to stop him."

"Sam said the same thing," Steve said with a slight nod. "And that Bucky told him stuff that made it seem like Forger was way too tired of battles at the moment."

"I'd guess you'd have to be if you're fighting demons," Wanda said. "I got a few flashes off him while he and the chaos mage guy were working on the problem for me. Including a lot of girl warriors with ancient weapons."

Natasha looked at her then groaned. "He used to hunt demons."

"I'm pretty sure he's still hunting demons, just some of them are human," Stark said. "Because some of the guys in HYDRA are nightmares for humanity." He sipped his coffee then put the mug down. "Now what, people?"

Wanda looked at him then at Steve. "You two are tearing us apart and we're coming up on a bigger problem than Ultron. Yeah, we need to argue about a few things, but is that going to work? Pietro is worried about that." She looked at her ghost then at them. "I'm not ready to die for you two to argue."

Clint patted her on the shoulder. "There's a lot of important problems behind both viewpoints, including things like independents that aren't on a team and newbies who just come out."

"Or guys like you that have skills," Natasha said simply. Steve and Tony both nodded they agreed. "Though Wanda is correct, we must work this out before that battle. We cannot win against a higher enemy when we're so split up. This one's not only super powerful but I think he's immortal or something. It seemed like it from what little I got."

Clint pulled out his phone to call someone. "It's Barton. Is Deadpool near there?" He listened. "Thanks." He hung up and called the other bar in his neighborhood. "Hey, it's Barton. Don't start, man. I'm looking for Deadpool, he's got intel I need right now." He listened. "Arabian peninsula? Why?" He nodded. "I've seen that happen. Yeah, if you can please. Tell him it's about one of his ex-girlfriend's other boyfriend. Apparently he's going to cause problems. Thanks." He hung up. "He's off killing people."

Natasha shook her head. "Some of the assassins in the world are very weird."

"Better weird than typical," Wanda quipped.

"You'd just have to meet him to see how weird it is," Clint assured her.

"He seemed nice the few times I've talked to him but he was talking about stuff I had no idea about," Steve said. "And he's got a bit of BO."

"He's in spandex all the time, Steve. You sweat in that stuff," Clint quipped. "Especially since his is full body covering." Clint looked at Wanda. "He's got a lot of scarring."

"That happens to some people," she agreed. "I'm not going to be mean to him, guys."

"Okay. Just...if he's talking about his talking boxes, kinda ignore it, okay?" Clint suggested. He looked at the others. "So are we going to have an actual talk about the problems splitting us?"

"I think...."

"I think you're one they wouldn't want on the list," Steve said. "And I don't want to see us at the end of that slope we'd be starting down. Treating people like they're lesser beings because of how they're born is *wrong*."

"It is," Stark agreed. "I'm all for not including the average joe and jane in the list, Steve. The ones who come forward, want to do the work, yes. We need to know who they are anyway in case we have to work with them at the very least."

"And yet, it will not stop there," Clint said simply.

"No government has ever stopped at the easiest and safest step," Natasha agreed. "It will become the monster we'd have to fight. We have hopes of controlling it somewhat."

"Run by a lot of the guys we're presently fighting," Steve said. "I can't trust them not to start other programs off it."

"I can see that point but we can stop it going further."

"Or we can stop them making the list in the first place because it'll never be fully stopped. Someone in the background will have that information just waiting on it to come up for their own purposes. Just like in Germany."

"We weren't so clean," Stark reminded him. Steve glared. "I'm sure you saw what happened to Japanese Americans, Steve."

"I did," he agreed. "And I had a lot of strong words over it. I wasn't in a position to change it then. I am now." He stared at him. "That way we don't repeat the evils of the past." He looked at Clint. "Are you all right?"

"I'm good. Saw a few sights I hadn't had time to see before on missions, all that. I still want to know what Forger can do."

"He trained as a shaman," Wanda said. "That's how he was able to help me." She noticed her brother's ghost staring at something and looked then kicked Steve and nodded. He looked then got up to go talk to Bucky since he was clearly waiting.

Steve came back. "Guys, we have to move this talk. There's a few goons coming this way."

"Russian mob?" Clint asked dryly.

"No, HYDRA." Steve stared at him. "Though I heard."

"They're annoying," Clint said with a shrug. He grinned. "But my dog's great." He walked off with Wanda. "C'mon, you're more vulnerable right now from the headache. I'll get you back to the hotel and we'll go so Stark and Steve fall out last. They'd want them more anyway." She nodded, taking the pouch of medicine tea with her. Natasha followed.

Stark stood up. "I don't have to pack or anything so I'm heading to the airfield. Am I flying everyone back?"

"If you're willing," Steve said. Stark nodded so they gathered at the airfield to go back to New York and argue some more.

Across a few rooftops, Bucky smiled at the sensible plans going on. Someday soon they'd have another battle and he'd have to actually step in, not just nudge. Now, he had to find Forger and get him out of his moment of remembrance and temper. The kid had some issues he had to work out too. Then again, he was a hero now so of course he did. Maybe Steve's friend could help him some if Bucky tied Forger up on his bed.

***

Xander spotted the moving shadow, following it. It turned to attack him, making him fight them back. "Wow, you've slacked more than the one in my realm did," he said in Swahili. The guy backed off, glaring at him. "Hi. Why are you up here?"

"It's none of your business."

"Actually, it is. I'm watching over someone who's having problems." He shifted his stance, shrugging some. "I worked with some shaman in your country, Prince. So why are you here? Call me paranoid but yeah, I am now."

The guy stared at him. "Someone said something about a displaced warrior from my home country."

"Not fully. I trained with some shaman there. I trained with shaman in a lot of places actually. I was training the slayers in my world and needed some of my own training for some problems I was having with spirits."

"You believe that stuff?" he snorted.

Xander looked off to the guy's side then grinned. "Cute teddybear your Ka has," he said quietly. "Blue with a brown polka dotted ribbon. Little sailor shirt." The guy shuddered, backing off. "Yeah, I can tell those things," he said dryly. "Which is why I'll ask again. Why are you near one I'm helping protect tonight?"

"I was looking for one who is going to upset my people."

Xander pointed. "Seven blocks, Prince."

"Thank you. You know of them?"

"And saw what happens when they haven't pulled their heads out of their asses in time for the next true battle." The guy groaned, shaking his head. "Visions, yay," he said sarcastically.

"Wonderful. Let me go network."

"You have fun with that and watch out for non-people with plots. Non-human people with plots specifically."

The guy stared at him. "Vision?"

"Yeah. Muchly. And I don't mean the helpful guy either." He grinned slightly. "Don't worry, it'll come after we hear that one of the heros might die." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "For a while anyway. He died but showed up in the next battle." He sighed. "Just....seven blocks that way, okay?" He nodded, heading off into the shadows.

"Who's going to die?" Clint Barton asked from behind him.

"Heard you sneaking, dude." He looked at him. "You guys are a comic book in my original realm and even without the vision that confirmed it, it's gonna suck."

"Why?"

"Because your civil war epic adventure is going to be worse than eye-opening. Then bad shit's coming." He stared at him. "Very bad shit." He walked off. "If I'm not around, call me."

"Sure. Will I know when?"

"Yeah, before the funeral." He waved, then got off that roof to head off somewhere more private to work on his headache.

Clint sent out a text message to a few friends, who agreed that he had visions, a few had seen him have one, and one of those had been about a battle with a space alien guy. And Deadpool had to get *very* drunk after witnessing it. Clint winced, going to find Deadpool. "Okay," he said when he ran into him, getting an odd look since the guy was flirting with some poor hooker. "Visions and alien guys? Is it the same one Wanda had?"

"No clue about the pretty redhead." He strolled over, letting his intended prey escape for a bit. "Why? You could ask Forger. He'll tell you."

"He's a bit creepy."

"Nah, he's the sort of white knight a lot of you were. Then he got brought here and let it go for being a warrior." He shrugged.

"Wanda saw some purplish guy with stones and a tacky glove."

"Yup, he had that one near me. Creeped me the fuck out in a permanent manner. But when the alien overlord destroying sort comes, call me and I'll show up to help."

"We heard he was your ex's ex."

"Yup, him. Thanos."

"At least we have a name. Anything else you know?"

"Seriously. Mentally. Cranked. Beyond even *my* levels of cranked on the bad days, Barton. Beyond even whiny teenage girls in a mall who think they're hot cranked." Clint winced but nodded once. "Other than that, Forger keeps a journal." He patted him on the arm. "Let me find that pretty little filly for a midnight ride." He strolled off whistling.

Clint looked up then went to find Forger again. He was hard to find but not too difficult if he wasn't trying to hide. He actually found Bucky first, who was looking for Forger. "He had a vision?"

"Which one?" was grunted and Bucky turned to look at him.

"Thanos. Huge battle after the Avengers have a civil war and someone dies."

"Oh, great," Bucky complained. "Yeah, I'm going to step in when it comes too."

"Deadpool said he has a journal?"

"That's a weird friendship I'd like him not to have but if anyone understands displacement issues, it's Wilson." He rubbed his forehead. "I have no idea where his vision journal is. He was working in it earlier."

"So he's had others?"

"He averages at least two a day right now. However they summoned him turned it on high according to him, but a lot of it he had already read in comics." He shrugged. "I don't understand. I really just want him to calm the fuck down sometimes."

"Like you, he's mourning most everything he had," Clint said dryly. "Only he doesn't have a Steve to lean on." He gave him a pointed look. "Speaking of, he's moping again. Can't you at least send him a cryptic text message now and then to make him loosen up? Let me know if you find out about the battle please?" He handed over his card and left to have his own headache.

Bucky tucked the card into his pocket. "Maybe I'll just drop him there. He can do both for me." He found Forger later that night beating some punks in the park and kicked one back down. "You this bored?"

"Yeah. They lifted classified info from someone they stabbed." He tossed the envelope from his pocket at him then finished off the last two. "No one needs that shit."

Bucky looked in the envelope, nodding. "Nope, no one needs this stuff. I'm going to kill Alex if he gets back."

Xander looked then shrugged. "He's revisiting seventh grade."

"Excuse me?" Bucky demanded, staring at him.

"That was Warren's science fair project with Andrew in seventh grade. I'm guessing he was feeling nostalgic or he was missing them again. They both died a few years ago."

"I'm still going to thump him for leaving it somewhere it could be stolen."

"Not my doing, boss."

"Fine. Go give this to someone who won't use it." He handed the envelope back. "Then taunt Steve and tell Hawkeye everything about that battle with the alien guy. He asked." He walked off.

"He hates me."

"I don't care."

"Fine." He looked at the guys. "You're lucky. This way I can't finish working my stress levels out on you." He strolled off, nodding at the floating robotic guy who was hovering at the edge of the trees. "Don't even try."

"I can tell them you're coming."

"I won't be there until tomorrow. I've got to go clean up more of Alex's stuff. Apparently someone stole things from him again." He grimaced, heading off. A flight to DC... Then Lebanon.... Then Paris. Then back here and he'd go visiting.

"Hand that over first," Bucky yelled from somewhere. "Then go get the other stuff."

Xander sent a text message saying that was the lighter thing of everything Andrew could have created, it was probably stolen by HYDRA or SHIELD of some form or another, and he didn't want the harsher things in anyone's hands. For right now, it was fine. He'd put it in a lockbox. He got given the same order again and sighed. "Fine, whatever," he agreed.

"You're the boss and you can disarm the damn neutrino bomb he probably built in Lebanon. Have fun with that because I'll be running like my last name is Bolt." He went to sneak into the tower. It wasn't that hard. Stark's security was automated and magic versus science still meant science lost. He smirked as he walked in on the good doctor. "Bucky had me hand this to you before I went to find the worst things Alex created." He held it up. "Even though I was going to get the rest all at once to you so you couldn't use it."

"Why wouldn't I use it?" Banner demanded, sitting up in his bed.

"Because you have ethics. Unlike Alex's former cohorts when he was younger, who wanted to be evil overlords." He tossed him the envelope. Banner looked it over and moaned. "Exactly! I got it off some pickpockets who stabbed the courier carrying it. I believe he was some form of SHIELD, but we don't trust them either. We figured you wouldn't use it."

"You and Bucky?"

"No, me and the three spirits presently hanging around nagging me. Just...don't ask. It's a shaman thing...." He flapped a hand. "They complain about everything. Then again, they were nagging bitches before they died. So..." He shrugged.

"You see spirits?"

"Doc, I'm a trained shaman and I had a problem with possessing things before then," he said dryly. "You haven't lived until the hyena takes you over because you accidentally stepped into someone's work area to help a kid being bullied." He waved. "Anyway." He called up something on his phone. "Send that to bow guy for me please. I don't have his email and he's been asking a lot of people. Which means I've got to hide harder and pay hookers more when I need the stress relief because they realize I have fantastic stamina that wears them out."

Banner took the phone to look over then sent it. "I've seen a tv show with you."

"Could be." He grinned. "I know there was two seasons here but it got canceled for being pro girl power." He took his phone back and took off the tracker, handing it back. "I've got to rescue the rest of Alex's design work from someone." He waved and disappeared.

Bruce leaned back groaning until someone pounded on his door and walked in. "How did he not get seen?" Stark demanded.

"Magic, Stark."

"What!"

"Yup." He looked over as Clint strolled in with a grin. "Get it?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"He said quit mentioning him, it's driving up the price when he has to rent stress relief because they realize he's the guy with the stamina."

"I heard about that. He was having a moment and wore out three higher classed pros over the course of four hours of sex. Then he got off." He grinned. "He's very good to his lovers apparently."

"I don't need to know," Banner said with a wave.

"Thanks, Doc." He went to read the information with Natasha and Wanda, who agreed with what she had seen.

Stark stared at him. "You know something about him."

"Two seasons of a tv show I caught when I was on late night science benders for noise. It got canceled for being pro girl power." He looked at him. "About vampire slayers."

Stark's eye twitched. "Excuse me?"

"Yup."

"Fuck!"

"Basically. It's on netflix."

"Yup." He went to look that up, staring at it from his desk chair. He identified the kid easily enough. And yup, there was magic and other freaky things that would bother his science. "I need to make a magic sensor. Maybe it'll let us know when he's around."

***

Phil Coulson stepped into his office and paused. "This looks familiar."

"That's because it slightly is. They stole Alex's updating work and it's dangerous to the world, Coulson."

"How dangerous?"

"His and another friend's seventh grade science fair project was a working neutrino bomb."

Coulson blinked, closing his office door. "How?"

"Warren and Jonathan wanted to be evil overlords. So did 'Drew but they thought he was kinda soft, but he had skills they wanted to use." He shrugged, leaning back again. "The guys who captured it got it off a bag n'tag team from HYDRA trying to get us back. It's dangerous. I'd like to lock it away with someone who has ethics. Dr. Banner has some of it and if you guys go after him for that I'd hate to be you."

"Me as well. I know Banner won't use it, Xander." Xander grinned. "It was Skye who realized you looked just like the guy on that show."

"Yup. HYDRA wanted mystical warriors. Boo-yah," he finished flatly. "Thankfully I had been training slayers in their native environments for four years before they summoned me. I went from a knight to a barbarian warrior type." He grinned. "Now that all my skills are back from 'Drew...."

"He did?"

"The day I went missing there was a huge battle and he wished for my skills in battle since I couldn't have gotten there anyway. I was meditating so I wouldn't confuse him with what I'd normally be doing when they summoned. Which was why I unleashed the dead when I woke up and he showed up with demons helping him when they summoned him."

"That's weird."

"Yup." He grinned. "All the wacky that was my life since I can't get home." He stared at him. "So, Andrew's stuff?"

"If you can get it without harming any true agents, have at it and I'll respect that Banner will tell me how bad it'll be when I ask him."

"Good deal." He stood up. "May's really nosy."

"She's an agent. It's part of our training," Coulson said dryly.

Xander grinned. "You need to see the visions I sent to bow boy later. It's going to be horrible and some of Skye's people are the problem and some are the heros." He went out the window again.

Coulson reached over to open the door, staring at May and Skye. Skye nodded. "If you let me know I'll ask," she said.

"Thank you."

"Welcome." She walked off. "Should I call them?"

"I will. Expect to see him tomorrow." He looked at May.

"I'll pay you the twenty I owe you later," she sighed, walking off. "Let me know if he needs help getting the information from them."

***

Skye walked into the meeting area the next morning, staring at Banner. "Apparently my genetic relatives are involved in the battle coming up?"

He slid over the printout of the battle. "We heard."

She read it over, tapping something. "That's... huh. I know him. I'll ask him. Can I..." She pointed at the paper. He nodded. She grinned. "Thanks, Dr. Banner. Director Coulson wanted to know how bad the information was."

"Neutrino bomb."

"As in a real one?"

"Yes."

"Damn."

"Exactly." He smiled. "It's safer if I hold it."

"Definitely. You won't use it. Thanks." She left, going to find her trainer. He was waiting on her, he usually was when she needed him. She handed him the vision then read it to him. He groaned and explained a few things. "I need to tell them."

"Please do. His reappearance is a bad omen for all."

"Thank you." She went to tell Coulson, dialing the number for Stark's personal phone once she made it into the office. "I heard more about the purple guy and what he can do. He's immortal."

"Great," Stark sneered.

"The glove gives him god-like powers that make Loki look like a whiny baby playing dress up."

"Even worse," Stark agreed.

"The stones are super powerful alone, with all five you're basically The One In Charge. There's more powerful beings, they just bet on us doing things."

"So no help?"

"He can be beat. You have to destroy the glove and separate the stones," she said, looking at Coulson. "You can't destroy the stones. You can destroy the holder. You can get them hidden. Some of my people may be willing to help. My trainer's going to talk to them."

"Thank you, Skye," Stark said dryly. "Any good news?"

"Yeah. Don't start the civil war, Stark. Did you even read the vision and how it starts off?"

"I... Not yet."

"Do it," she ordered then hung up on his grunt. "Because that war is going to get your hero assassinated for a bit." She walked off to Coulson's stunned look. They had to prevent that one from starting, much less happening.

Coulson sat back, considering things. He called Stark back. "How do we stop this before it gets Steve assassinated?" he asked quietly. Stark took him off speaker while spluttering. He heard what they had heard from Forger about that, how he'd get better somehow. "I don't know. I know I don't want it to happen. So let's work this out so we have some sort of peace treaty, even if it's a bad one. We can't be that split when Thanos happens."

He nodded, listening to what he was thinking and what caused the split. "I understand that. It does also live up to the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So let's have a talk to work things out, Stark. You, him, me. Meeting somewhere. Because we need to and if I don't, the other attempt to restart SHIELD may cause more problems. Thank you. Let me know." He hung up and rubbed his forehead. That was not an acceptable loss in any manner.

***

Stark walked out, going up to the others hanging out in the living room. He hauled Steve up and into the kitchen, handing over the printout of the vision. "Did you get that last night?"

"No."

"It's been spreading around but we know a few things. Thanos is immortal. There's five stones, the glove is vulnerable but not the stones." Steve winced. "It's going to get worse. Read where it starts," he said flatly. Steve read it, wincing at the notice of his death and then he looked confused later on. "Forger said you got better, somehow." He sighed. "Coulson just called. He wants a Geneva convention meeting. You, me, him."

"I..." He looked at him. "Who else has seen it?"

"He gave it to Clint last night," Bruce said from the doorway. "The rest of us have seen it. I thought you would've been given it earlier or I would've given it to you, Steve."

"Thanks." He looked at it then at him. "Why was he here?"

"Some of Alex's past research and tinkering led to higher weapons that should not be in human hands that might use them. They decided I wasn't going to tinker with them."

"I'm not even going to ask because it's probably magic based," Stark said dryly.

"Seventh grade science project was a neutrino bomb."

Stark blinked then nodded. "No, I don't want that info in any hands. It'll restart an arms race. No. No new weapons-based cold war."

"A what?" Steve demanded. Bruce pulled up something for him to see. "So it's like a worse A bomb." The two science bros nodded. "Great." He looked at them. "He did that in seventh grade?"

"He wanted to be an evil overlord sort," Bruce said, smiling at him. "Nearly managed it but they considered him too nice."

"Oh, dear."

"Now he's helping in Forger's old job."

"Great." He looked at the phone then handed it back. "Hide it?"

"Better than anything I've ever done," Bruce assured him. "And the rest that he's getting back from whoever." He walked off.

"Yeah, we need to talk," Steve agreed, looking at Stark.

"I agree. We need to talk before we talk to Coulson."

"Agreed. When?"

"Pick a time and place, Rogers. I can get there." He walked off.

Steve figured out a safe place to hold a discussion that would probably include shouting. It had to be safe. It also had to be private. They had to vent some ill will between them. His phone rang with a text so he looked at it. He smirked and sent one back, but that number didn't accept texts. Bucky at least knew when to cheer him up. Which meant he was probably nearby. He went to look for him out the windows.

***

Xander finally had the last of the information he wanted out of others' hands, and he was in pretty bad shape today. He limped back to the tower, being open about it this time. He ran into Natasha outside, staring at her until she stared back. "I need to talk to the good doctor please, ma'am," he said with an evil grimace. "To hand over the rest of this bullshit."

"You're injured." She moved closer.

"Yeah, had a bit of a problem in Paris. Half the world's agents were there to get to the stuff being auctioned by HYDRA."

"Wonderful. Come, we'll get you to our infirmary."

"I don't trust doctors, sorry."

She stared at him. "We've all seen that show by now."

"Unfortunately it didn't go into graduation, which was a huge battle, or a military project that the general after Banner would've adored to run, or any of the other battles. I don't trust doctors."

She sighed. "I will stay with you and Bruce is in the infirmary anyway. He's working on Steve's shoulder sprain."

"Then I might step in but I still don't trust people."

"I understand that fully."

He nodded. "I figured you would. I have half of it here and half's in a safety deposit box that I put your name on as well as mine."

She tipped her head. "Very cautious of you."

"I could die at any time and who knows who'd get it if it didn't have an alternate owner." He limped after her. "There's one in DC too, but Alex and I only put in the stuff we got on Bucky."

"That's good." She led him inside and up to the infirmary. The guards all tensed and so did the boy. "Easy. They will not harm you or I'll take them down for you." He looked at her. "I'm quite good at it."

He grinned. "I know. You're a comic in my world, Natasha." She almost blushed but smiled. They walked into the infirmary, Xander stopping just inside the doorway. "Doctor Banner, I've got most of the rest of that stuff. Some I had to dump really fast into a safety deposit box in Paris. They were holding an auction and I didn't want to take it with me or leave it in the hotel room. Fortunately your pretty, talented teammate has her name on it too." He pulled out the envelope.

Bruce walked over to get it, looking over the information in it. He stared at one then looked up. "He fused magic and tech?"

"Probably. Knowing Andrew? Yeah, quite likely. Then again, Warren built his own girlfriend and we couldn't really tell she was magnetic. Or when they built the bot from Buffy to help her. Unless they were in the same place and the robot was talking about her programming instead of her shoes, I couldn't tell."

"Why would someone build a robot of her?" Natasha asked. "She seemed shallow."

"Well, originally it was for Spike's sex needs," he said dryly. "They were dating." Natasha grimaced, shaking her head. "Then we kinda took it for patrols while Buffy was dead. She died a noble bit of parts thanks to the demonic biker gang, which was just before Willow brought her back."

"Your world is insane," Natasha said.

"Sometimes, yeah." He nodded but smiled. "I'll tell her where the rest are so she can pick it up more safely. One of the HYDRA scientists was having an auction of that stuff."

"That's always a bad idea," Bruce agreed. He looked over the rest then up at him. "You're injured."

"I'm fine. It was a bit hard getting out of the auction."

"I can change bandages for you."

"I don't trust doctors. Sorry. Thanks but sorry." He waved and left, limping all the way out.

She looked at him. "Apparently they had a program like General Ross would've liked," Natasha said.

"That's gross," Bruce agreed. "We need the rest of this safely out of the way. Just this stuff is really bad."

She took it to look over, frowning. "Why would one do that?"

He looked then pointed. "Because you end up with that and that's a powerful bomb apparently."

She nodded, handing the information back. "I'll gather that file as soon as possible so no one breaks into that bank." She left, making arrangements for a quick flight to Paris and back. Clint sent her a text message that had the bank's name and that it had been sent to him because the kid didn't have her text number. Plus to please pick him up some pastries. He was missing the good stuff. She rolled her eyes but it didn't take that long to drive by a pastry shop for Clint's sweet tooth.

***

Xander was sitting on the edge of his building's roof when his buddy showed up. Xander looked over at Deadpool as he huffed but sat down. "I need someone who can stop the stupid before we're fighting Thanos after each other. They still haven't stopped fighting yet."

"How bad?"

Xander handed over something. "I had a demon contact get me those two series. Oh and one of yours that I'm not sure is still right with the changing I'm planning on doing." He handed that over too. "You do chaos so well. Nearly as well as I do."

"Yeah, me fighting Thanos? Not a good plan to have." He flipped through one but Xander handed him the other one instead. "This one's sooner?"

"This one's starting."

"Great." He flipped through it, humming. "That's not good. I'm almost nowhere."

"You had your own side story." He smiled some at the other guy. "It's going to be even more messy. At one point in time, Stark took over SHIELD and Rogers took over the US."

"We'd all be uptight," Deadpool muttered. "SHIELD would turn into that snake that eats itself. Probably fun to watch." Xander handed over the rest of the stack of Deadpool comics. "Hey, I'm popular."

"Yup, you sure are, and a bit goofy at times. I really liked you talking to dead presidents, then you got the SHIELD agent in your head too."

"Eww." He went back to those. "Can I shove them at Rogers?"

"Shove them at someone. They won't listen to me." He shrugged. "Be subtle if you want. If not, don't be subtle. They still won't listen to me. I'm just the guy from that other realm and I've got two demon lords to take down between now and then."

"I'd let you borrow a sword but they're special."

Xander held up his battle axe with a grin. "I had the same contact steal this while he stole my comic collection back from the other one." He stood up and strolled off. "Happy reading, Wade."

"Thanks, Xander." He looked back. "Was she that bitchy for real?"

Xander snorted, looking back at him with a grin. "She got convinced for years that I was *normal*."

"Eww."

"You didn't get to see Anya though. That would've been after high school." He winked and strolled off. "I've made sure she won't answer a call about you, that way she doesn't have fun torturing you for a few years. You'd end up like me."

"Yeah, not my cup of coffee," Deadpool said, getting up and hiking off with his new comics. They were a good warning of things not to get into he guessed. He went to find someone who could find someone. He'd try for subtle. Of course, he missed the one guy and had to go to his own cohort. He plopped down in front of him. "Forger had someone steal the comic books in his realm about us. I've got a ton of them," he said with a grin.

His fellow hero shook his head. "I don't want to know."

"Including that we're going to have the US split into Rogers vs Stark? Then an apocalypse battle?"

"That's more important," he agreed. "How bad?"

"Very." He put that comic on the table. "Forger's been trying to stop it. No one's listening about that yet."

He took the book to flip through. "How right?"

"As far as I know, pretty. Forger's had visions about it too."

"Wonderful."

Deadpool leaned closer, smirking evilly now. "It ended up with Stark in control of SHIELD. Rogers as president." Cable shuddered, handing back the book. "So we need to find a way to make them both read it."

"Sit on their couch reading that one?" he suggested. "They might appreciate that."

"Maybe. Forger asked me to handle it for him. He's got a demon emergency thing coming up. Or two."

"I'll keep my ear out so I can run the other way."

"Me too. Demons are freaky things." He smirked. "Wanna help?"

"Not right now." Deadpool put down another comic and pointed at the title. "You?"

"Them. Right after the war."

"Yeah, call me for that one." He finished his beer and walked off.

Wade decided that wasn't a bad idea. He went to the tower, sneaking in and upstairs. He could read his books until heros usually got up then switch back to reading the other important one so they caught a clue. He caught Barton, who shook his head at the Deadpool comics. Then he spotted the one laying beside him on the couch. "Forger had them brought by a demon contact. Also, two demon things coming up for him so he told me to be my charming, subtle self." He smiled.

Clint took that book on the civil war to look through, groaning and sighing through it. "Fuck us all."

"I could do that but you'd enjoy it."

Clint looked at him. "I can hand this to them."

"I was going to be here reading when they got up."

"Stark's in the lab, he won't be waking up until tomorrow sometimes if he gets to bed anytime before midnight tomorrow. Rogers doesn't really sleep all that often." Deadpool took that one back, going down to the lab. He could sneak in, he was an assassin. Clint leaned back, shaking his head. This was going to be really bad. No wonder Forger had tried to make them work it out first.

Stark looked over at the feeling of difference, noticing the guy in red and black spandex who was reading a comic book on his couch. "Who're you?" he demanded.

He lowered it, smiling at him. "Deadpool. Forger asked me to come be subtle." He went back to reading.

"Subtle about what?"

"You're already missed the clue, Stark."

Stark looked around then at the comic book, walking over to snatch it. He looked at the title then flipped through it, groaning at what he saw. Deadpool was reading a different graphic novel instead, one that had him in the title. Stark sat down to read the story about their civil war. "Why couldn't he tell me?"

"He did. You're dense."

"Why didn't he show me this instead?"

"He just got it from his own realm." Deadpool changed the page then had to separate them and read that one. "He's off handling a demon problem or two for the next little while so he asked me to be subtle. So I decided to be a geek like Alex was." He looked over the edge of his graphic novel, wiggling his eyebrows behind the mask. "I have one where apparently I'm going to lose my mind and go after Thanos if you want to bum that one too."

Stark looked at him. "In a few days?"

"Gladly. I don't want that nasty thought either." He tossed that novel over. "Somehow in his realm the comic me got married. That's so weird. I even had a kid that SHIELD was having raised by someone normal."

"That is really weird, yeah." He looked at the book then back. Deadpool was gone. Stark sighed. "Make sure he gets out of the building, Friday." He went up to Rogers' suite, knocking on the door. Steve opened it, looking half asleep. "Forger decided he didn't have time to keep being delicate." He held up the graphic novels. "He made some guy in red and black spandex tell us."

"Swords?" Stark nodded. "Deadpool. Clint told me about him." He opened the door so he could walk in. He took the first graphic novel to look over, staring at the title page for a few seconds. "That looks bad."

"Bucky looks good with your shield."

Steve went toward the back, staring at all that. "Yeah, if he wants it, he can follow me. Him or Sam," he said quietly. He sat down to read the book, slumping at a few points. He looked up at Stark. "We do have to work this out."

"Yup, we do. I don't want that. Especially not right before a battle. Dealing with Ultron was hard enough with all the problems we had." He sat down across from him. "So what do we do? We're going to have to disagree on that topic for now."

Steve nodded. "We do need to hold a few talks. Us and the team." He put the novel on the coffee table. "Can we work that out?"

"Yeah. I only skimmed that." Steve let him have it back. "The other's on Thanos kind of." He let him have that one instead while he read the first chapter of that important book.

"Deadpool seems fun," Steve said finally. "Thanos seems really dangerous." Stark nodded, switching back with him. Steve kept reading, frowning at what he was seeing. "This is real close to that vision."

"So we're not far off the realm that Xander comes from, or the comics on his world come from."

"So what do we do?"

"We work this shit out, Cap." Stark stood up. "I don't want you dead because of this. I don't want to spawn an underground movement, none of it."

Steve looked up at him. "I agree. When do you want to start?"

"Tomorrow? After breakfast. I've got to finish something for Pepper." He left, leaving those there.

Steve laid on his couch to finish reading those. This was looking very bad if that was his future. It was a weird view of it but if it helped he was all for stopping the fighting.

***

Xander looked up from handling a demon, then went back to chopping it into smaller pieces. "Hey." He finally got the thing beheaded. "There, now we can set it on fire, again. Before it regenerates again." Bucky added his lighter. "Thanks." He stepped back, wiping his forehead off. "One down, one to go."

"When?" Bucky asked, looking at him. "You're injured."

"Ya think?" Xander asked dryly. "Who would've thought? The last time I fought that one I had two slayers and a few guys with guns there." He looked around. "I know it's watching." A smaller demon showed up with a note then disappeared. Xander read it, snorting. "Yeah, that'll be fun."

Bucky took the note to read, grimacing. "At home?"

"I can't get there. So they're going to have to do it themselves. Unless we can open a portal so I can fire artillery over without having to cross over. As far as I know I can't do that."

Bucky nodded. "No way to get you home?"

"Nope. The higher powers there decided I was too strong." He looked over. "I told them if they wanted me to be a better warrior they should've just had me possessed again." Another demon appeared, sobbing on the one on fire. Xander shook his head with a sigh. "Let's go." He walked off. The demon attacked him with a scream so Xander cut back at it, getting it on the chest. The battle wasn't long but it wasn't easy either. About ten minutes later the demon died and Xander set that one on fire. He sighed and walked off. "I hate it when the grieving ones show up to retaliate." He walked off shaking his head.

Bucky scowled but followed. "Does that happen often?"

"To me? At home? Yup. Here? Not as many of them." He looked back. "We'll deal with it as it happens. I've got another one coming sometime." He checked. "I need to clean you." He pulled off his t-shirt to wipe the blade and handle down.

Bucky shook his head with a sigh. "Let's get to somewhere you can clean yourself up. You're nasty."

"It happens." He grinned back. "There's been worse. Believe me, there's been a lot worse."

"Yay." He pointed. "Car?" Xander headed for the obviously stolen car. Bucky followed so he could drive. The motel wasn't bad and Xander could clean up then change into something he got from a local mini mart store. "Where's your gear bag?" Bucky asked.

"At the nice hotel up the road that's run by a demon mafia clan." He grinned. "It'll still be there in an hour." He went back to showering. When he came out, he was finally clean and Bucky had the first aid kit waiting. "Thanks."

"Welcome." He dosed and bandaged the cuts then they went to pick up Xander's gear bag and regular bag before leaving to find the other demon. It'd show up where they were since it had a vendetta against Xander. Maybe New York. Maybe it'd be a way to make all those supposed 'hipsters' become normal New Yorkers instead of whiny things.

***

Steve was getting coffee, staring at the people who weren't quite panicking but were definitely agitated and heading away from something. He put down money for the coffee, finishing off the cup before hiking toward whatever it was. It was a rather large...being that was being fought by Forger. Steve called that in. "Guys, Forger's fighting something huge with a battle axe."

"You can't shoot it," Xander called. "It has to be beheaded!"

"Sure," Steve yelled back, finding a street sign he could rip off so he could help. The demon batted back at him, knocking him into a building. "That's not polite," he told the demon, hopping up to get back into it.

"Watch the claws, they're poisonous," Forger said. "I've got a great anti-venom I can make later." He cut the demon's arm and paid for it by being slammed into a building. "Oh, fuck you and the demon queen that pushed you out." He got back into the fight.

Deadpool jumped in. "Beheaded?" he asked.

"Yup. Thanks for the help. Watch the claws, they're poisonous."

"Great." They got into the thing, killing it before the Avengers could get there. Deadpool stared at it. "Where did it come from?"

Forger stood up from panting, looking at him. "His mama hit on me so I took her out because she was nibbling on a school. Then his big sister tried to flirt with me but I wasn't going to do that nasty thing. So he's fighting for their honor."

"Hmm," Deadpool said, shaking his head. "Is this the second one you had coming?"

"No. It's larger. It'll take artillery. It's waiting." He pointed behind them. "He said to let the young pup fight for his mother's honor first." They looked at Steve.

"Stark's coming."

"That'll be handy," Xander agreed with a grin and a wave. "Let me go deal with this one." A female demon appeared, staring at him. Xander stared back. "Hi, Dawn."

"Not your Dawn," she chided with an evil smirk.

"I know that. My Dawn is a good girl, not a succuba." He pulled something out of his pocket to flip at her. She left with a shriek. "Thanks though. Unless you can bring me what's in my former jeep?" He waved. He looked back at the ground shaking. "You can wait." He looked at Rogers again. "You don't want to have to see this one."

"Bull. I can help."

"It'll take artillery and bombs. Not a battle axe. Though you can hold it for me if you want." He held it out with a grin.

Deadpool took it. "I'll clean it for you since I can't help until we get artillery." He walked off.

"Thanks," Xander said. He looked at the demon again, shrugging. "So?"

"You're unarmed," he smirked.

"I'm never unarmed, dickhead." The demon growled, inflating himself.

"I'd say something about that name but his head does look like male genitalia," Steve said, staring at it. It was huge. For some reason he wanted to run from it. Maybe it was something the demon was doing? He nodded at Sam as he landed with Barton jumping off. "He said he needs artillery."

"SHIELD's coming," Sam said. "We hope they'll have some."

Stark landed, firing on the demon. It laughed it off. "Why is this one visiting?"

"Its kid tried to kill me," Xander said. "His wife tried to fuck me. I'm not into that so I stopped it. Now this one wants to use me to bring them back and he's not going to get that." He shrugged. "I have no problem with peaceful beings from any plane, but you're not and she wasn't either." The demon growled and lunged. Xander pulled out a tiny something and let it grow in his hand, then used it against the demon. Stark fired on it with Barton's explosive arrows. Then a missile showed up to blow into the demon's stomach. Didn't do much more than make it yell but it helped some maybe.

"How does this thing die?" Clint called.

"Dismemberment and then fire is always handy," Xander quipped, grabbing something from the SHIELD agents and blowing that demon up. "Damn I thought that was the stronger version," he complained. "Got anything stronger?"

"That was."

Xander cut his arm and muttered something in Latin, making people glare at him. A demon appeared, staring at him. "All I want is my fucking jeep with everything in my safehouses in it please?"

"Why should I?" the demon sneered. "You're about to die."

"All my owed debts from every source go to my Dawn to use as she sees fit." The demon shuddered, shrinking down. "Or you can do a bit of moving stuff for me right the fuck now please?" He pointed at the demon. "Not like I'm asking you to bring me back there to piss off all the higher ups."

"Point." He disappeared and came back five minutes later with a jeep full of things. Xander looked over then flipped backward to grab something to use. The demon blew up. "Wow. Why did you have that?"

Xander leaned on the case, staring at it. "Did you see Tunisia?"

"We all hated that."

"So did I. That's why I had that." He grinned. "And hey, we still have the invasion in LA here in two years. And no slayers here." He smiled. "Thanks." He blew a kiss. "That means you only owe me two?" The demon huffed but disappeared. Everyone was staring at him. "Poker debt." Steve groaned, shaking his head. Xander looked and adjusted the things in his jeep, getting in to drive off. "Thanks for the help, guys." He paused by Deadpool, taking his axe back. "Thanks, man." He drove off with a cheerful beep.

Stark looked at Deadpool then at Steve. Then at Barton. "He's warped."

"Ya think?" Bucky demanded. "I'm going to spend days getting him calmed down if he hasn't went to fix himself somehow." He walked off shaking his head.

"Disarm him," Stark called after him.

"I haven't managed that yet."

Coulson looked then at Steve. "Maybe you two should talk?" he said.

"We have," he admitted. "And so has Clint." He got out of Clint's way. "Thank you for helping."

Clint punched him, knocking him out. "Not a problem." He walked over Coulson, heading for the nearest taxi. "Let me see if I can help Forger calm down. He's a guy like I am."

"He went for hos," Deadpool said with a grin and a wave. "To wear them out. He does it a lot. Makes the rest of us look less than manly if we can't make them scream at least twice." He left, going to get a bit drunk. Demons were too weird for him. He looked at the little box he saw. "I realize why Xander's so screwed up but *damn*. If I die someday I'm leaving him my swords and guns." He walked off shaking his head.

Steve squinted then sighed, looking at Stark. Who nodded. "It's Miller time," Stark said. They got back to the tower with Sam, who settled in to talk about Xander. He was worried about the guy's mental state. So were the rest of them now.

***

Back in Xander and Andrew's original realm, Andrew untuned the portal, shaking his head. "At least he handled it. I should've brought his stuff to him or had the demon that picked up his comics bring the weapons." He went back to baking, smiling at the tiny slayer peeking over the top of the breakfast bar. "Need a snack?"

"Candy?" she asked quietly.

He leaned on the breakfast bar, staring over at her. "I'm making chewy cookie bars."

"Candy's better. Not healthy."

Andrew grinned, handing her something from the bowl on the counter. "You'll ruin your dinner."

"I'm a slayer. We can always eat." She grinned at him. "Was that Xander?" He nodded. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. He managed to get the demon that was hunting him. He used his brains and a poker debt. Slayers should always use their brains."

She smirked. "I do that at school because the girls are butts." She ran off. "Andrew's making cookie bars," she called. "Xander defeated the bad demon."

Andrew went back to cooking, smiling at the staring girls from the doorway. "Twenty minutes to bake." They left and came back once the bars were out of the oven. "Someone check Xander's room. See if anything else of his is here?" One of them went to do that so he could pack it and send it to him. The others got their cookie bars then went back to practice.

***

Bucky looked up at the sudden sound of babbling girls, finding Alex staring through a portal. "Alex. You left stuff I should beat you for."

"Oh, someone got my thinking journal?" Bucky nodded. "Sorry. Is it safe?"

"Banner has it." He looked at the staring girls, staring back. "They yours?"

"Mini slayers." He handed over a backpack and two other bags. "Xander's stuff from here. Mostly clothes but his spare crossbow. Sorry but I packed the ugly shirts too."

Bucky took the bags. "I'll hand them to him when I find him. How's your cat?"

"On top of the fridge at the moment. The girls were trying to pet Fang too often." He smiled and took a bag from one of the minis. "Here, I baked. You haven't eaten today, Bucky." He waved and the portal shut.

Bucky looked then sniffed the bag. "Healthy cookie bars. He's so weird." He put them aside and looked in the bags. "Ugly shirts. That figures with Forger's wardrobe of choice." He texted him and Forger showed up through the back door a few minutes later, grabbing his stuff. "You can have some of the cookies too."

"Doesn't go with the mead. Maybe for breakfast." He yawned. "Thanks, boss." He left, going back to his hidden apartment. It had no windows, was tiny, but it was well hidden in his building. No one knew he had taken over this storage area as his apartment. His favorite t-shirt got pulled out and put on, making him grin as he relaxed and dealt with his sore spots for the night.

***

Sam Wilson looked at Steve that night. "Bucky looked better."

"He seems it. Frustrated by Forger but better."

"I've offered to talk to Forger for him."

"I'm not sure if it'll help any, Sam. He's burned out. He doesn't think he can get home again. He's trying really hard to fit in here but he doesn't seem to be able to get out of warrior mode. I've offered to talk with him too." He looked at his buddy. "Is there anything I can do to help him?"

"Get him talking."

"He won't," Clint said as he walked behind their couch. "Even those of us who know about him knows he won't talk about it. It might hurt the slayers there."

"What's a slayer?" Sam asked. Steve queued up the tv show, letting him watch it. "That's Forger."

"Yeah. There's two seasons of it. It got canceled for being all girl power according to Bruce."

"Okay." He settled in to watch the first episode, wincing at some things. "Does she get less airhead?"

"Not totally. Maybe later since Forger said this was only two years but there were more. He had graduated and had at least a year after that before going to Africa to train the other slayers."

Sam considered that then nodded. "He's seen way too much."

"Yup," Clint agreed from the kitchen. "And he's got bad stamina problems. He wore out three pros earlier. A lot of squealing and he let them have the hotel room for the rest of the night." He came out with coffee and a sandwich. "He's not fully burnt out. He's still got some light and he's still a bit goofy. I don't know why he favors a battle axe though. I'd want higher guns with what he had been doing." He ate a bite of sandwich. "He's hiding somewhere in the city." He ate another bite. "He's still got all the cases too. Including a holy water grenade. He wasn't exactly fighting the same war as the rest of us. Oh, he spotted Thor." He grinned as he chewed his next bite. Steve was staring at him. "Walked up to him, mugged him totally, nearly dipped him during the kiss, told him to say hi to a female warrior by name and his brother. Then strolled off while Jane spluttered." He walked off again with a grin.

Steve looked at Sam, who shrugged. "That's weird but okay I guess."

"I'll try to talk to Bucky about Forger again. Maybe you can help him?"

"I'd hope so. At least then he'd calm down. He wouldn't need to rent three girls."

Steve's phone rang with a text message and a video. He let Sam see the message of 'he nearly married her, his stamina's high from her' and then the video that he had apparently stolen off Forger. It was a young woman nagging Xander about orgasms and her not getting enough of them, plus he wasn't working enough overtime to give her good presents. Steve looked at Sam at the end.

"Okay, so maybe he does need three of them," Sam said dryly. "The poor guy needs better taste in women too." Another text message, this time from an unknown number. "What's a vengeance demon?"

"No clue," Steve admitted, texting that back. He got a longer text about that subject. "Huh." He let Sam see it.

"He really needs better taste. That has to be a trauma induced problem." He sent back a text message saying he'd be more than happy to work with him if he wanted to talk about it. The text message bounced. "He changed his number." Sam handed back the phone, shaking his head. "The boy could use some therapy."

"Probably," Steve agreed.

***

Xander looked up as someone sat next to him at the bar, buying him a drink. Deadpool never paid for his own drinks if he could get away with stealing them and Xander wanted his tonight. "Bad night, Wade?" he guessed.

Deadpool looked at him. "You look like someone fucked Alex's cat on your bed."

Xander shook his head. "Fang's happy with Andrew and avoiding the slayers of mass petting." He sipped his own beer, then shrugged. "Been a long night of nagging me because I have stamina."

"I've seen and heard." Deadpool patted him on the back. "You could start going around to kill people like I do. I can introduce you."

Xander looked at him. "Half of them I've had fun with. That'd take some of my fun."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "I've had fun with a lot of people. Here and not here. Which is somehow getting merged in my head again. I'm guessing I need to be demagiced again." He took another drink then poured a potion into it and gulped the rest, waving for a second while grimacing. "Eww." The bartender handed him a bottle of water. "I need taste, please?" He got handed a lemonade packet to put into the water. He combined them and shook the bottle then gulped it. "Eww."

"What was that?" Wade demanded.

"Demagicing solution. It weakens Willow's magic on me." He finished the water. "I'm going to be nauseous and dizzy later."

"Want walked home like some damsel?" Wade taunted with a smirk.

"Yeah, if you could." He heaved. "Before the liver damage is going to make me heave in here."

"Liver damage?" Wade demanded.

Xander looked at him. "I stopped a witch going suicidal and genocidal. She hit me with black magic and damaged my liver. It's mostly out but with the new spells that *someone* put on me, it's gotten worse. The whole point of that potion." He grimaced and belched. "Let me go puke in the alley." He walked out and barely made it to the alley. Puking up sparkly blue stuff was nasty, like always. He heard a cleared throat and waved a hand then went back to it.

"Lord Thor," Deadpool said. "He just had to take a potion to remove spells from him. Let him puke up stuff that looks like unicorn piss."

Xander snorted, shaking his head. He finished bringing it up and stood up, wiping off his mouth with his t-shirt's bottom. "Unicorns piss uncolored looking stuff. I know this because some of the younger slayers brought some to pet while helping a tiny witchling under Willow's watch." He looked at Thor. "Sorry. Potion for spell removal."

Thor nodded once. "I've seen such. How did you know my brother?"

Xander grinned. "In my realm? I'm Xander Harris, white knight to the slayers and Savior of Karata." Thor blinked hard, staring at him. He smiled. "HYDRA wanted a mystical warrior. I'm full of hellmouth energy and was helping with a mystical battle against yet another demon lord by lending my skills to the other one they drew." He shrugged. "Though me dating Sybiline was sweet. She was really nice and taught me to make that potion."

"Can we see into your realm?" Thor asked.

"Yeah but I can't get sent home. The Powers That Be liked this plan because I taught their chosen warriors about having free will and kept them winning when the PTB wanted *balance*."

Thor nodded. "I have heard of those powers. They are not rational." Xander nodded. "Are you well?"

"I had to demagic again. I feel like shit to be blunt but sometimes that happens."

"How did you get that magiced?"

"A witch in my realm lost her soulmate. She decided to show humanity how much pain she felt as she killed them all. I interrupted her to stop her. Seven. Hits. Of. Black. Magic." Thor shuddered. "Plus some new spells recently that were making me sicker I had to solve."

"We cannot find you a way home?"

"No. With my hellmouth taint and them making sure of it, no. Otherwise I would've headed back with Andrew. I couldn't even get near the portal."

Thor nodded. "That is a bad thing but you can help us here."

"And I do. I do a lot of it behind the scenes. I still don't want to see the Rogers vs Stark war coming up."

"I told them about it," Wade said with a shrug. "If they listen...."

"True." He hugged him then smiled at the God. "I'm going to bed now. Have a better night, Thor." He nodded at Wade. "Let me wander home."

"I'll drive your jeep."

"I didn't drive. I'm not stupid and I hate the cabbie killing people that's picked me up twice. I'm not in the mood to kill him back tonight." He wandered off.

"Let me make sure he gets home so I can poke through his weapons," Wade said. "The Avengers would never show up in this bar. It's way too low class for anyone but Hawkeye." He hurried after Xander. "Let me help so I can poke through the weapons."

"Sure. Just don't borrow without asking. I can't get more here. All my kind, nice, treating dates were in that realm." He grinned. "I need to make more friends but Bucky gets upset."

"Sometimes you gotta have friends."

"Yeah, but he doesn't like that." He shoulder-nudged him. "He scowls at me about being a friendly sort with you too."

"Of course he does. He wants you to be the lone hero sort he is. Sometimes you gotta have people around."

Xander nodded. "Very often. I hate being alone."

"You two fags go somewhere else," someone yelled.

Xander looked at him. "First, if I was bending him over, he'd be begging, not walking. Secondly, who said I'm gay? Can you prove it?" The guy sneered, standing up. Xander pulled out a knife and waved him on. "C'mon, big boy. You think you're so tough?" A few of his buddies came out. "Aww, you need buddies to help you gay bash. So damn pathetic. I know teenage girls who're better at it." The guy roared and rushed him and got stabbed. Two more got hurt then Xander looked at the last few, shrugging. "You guys have problems too?"

"No," one said. "Who're you?"

"Forger." He grinned. They backed off, shaking their heads. "Aww, are you guys HYDRA?" They ran off. "I think that's a yes."

"Dibs," a female voice called. "I'll track."

"I'm good enough to deal with them," Xander decided.

"Not likely," Wade said, walking him off. "You're still shaky. Leave some of the bad idiots for the rest of us. Okay? I'm bored."

"Yeah but they don't want you like they wanted me."

"Even more reason for you to rest. I need to make them more scared of me before I get rated as a sidekick." He got him to his building, going up with him. It was a dinky former storage area that had a cot, a radio, and a lot of weapons boxes. He looked in one and winced, putting the lid back down. "Someday I'm going to borrow that to make a huge mess." He looked at the little windows only he saw and grinned. "They'll make pretty messes."

Xander grinned. "I like that but make sure it's a harmful thing?"

"Yup," Wade said. "Rest." He left, letting the kid put on whatever security devices he wanted. He ran into Bucky, blocking his path. "Xander had to take a demagicing solution. He's pukey."

"A what?" he demanded.

"It's not the first time."

"I've never seen him do that."

"I saw three other times of taking it," Wade said. "He threw up in an alley then we ran into a street gang that thought we were gay and were aligned with HYDRA. I put him into bed."

"How long has that been going on?"

"When did he stop the suicidal witch?"

Bucky grimaced. "I hadn't heard a thing about that."

"Liver damage he said."

"Or that. I'll go interrogate him myself," he muttered. "Thank you."

"Let him rest. He'll probably puke on you if you don't."

"I've seen sick people before." He went up to the former storage area, wiggling his way in. He looked in that same weapons box and sighed then looked at his protege. He was glowing. He was sweating, he was unconscious. "This isn't good." He checked him over then huffed. He woke him up, getting groaned at. "Don't do that. What's wrong?"

"Her," he moaned. "Trying something." He curled up. "I need to smite a witch."

"Is there some way to block her?"

"Andrew if he's there. Which he probably isn't. She likes to get him too." He sat up with help, holding his stomach. "I'm going to kill her this time." He glowed with another brighter spell. "Fuck you!" he growled. "I'm going to end you. And the you in this realm for this, Willow." Another spell got laid on him.

"That potion?"

"Thirty days." He sucked in a breath. "Help me get to a bar. There's other ways of ending it but it'll be a pain."

Bucky helped him up. "I can get people here."

"Mages don't come to you, you go to them," Xander said, blinking at him. "And the one that would want to deny me is a bitch about this sort of thing. He thinks he's always right." He limped off, Bucky following. Xander came back to get a special dagger and then limped back out and down to the street. "We need to go to the East Side." Bucky nodded, stealing a car to get them there. Xander walked up to a door, knocking on it. He blinked at the woman answering. "She's tried to spell me again."

"We don't help your type," she sneered.

He cut his thumb with the knife. "I swear I am not here to harm anyone who is not harmful to humanity as I'm a protector of it." She gasped at the blood coming out. "I'm not from here, ma'am."

"Oh, dear." She stepped back. "Stay."

Xander winced as another surge of magic happened, leaning on the doorway. "Please? I stopped her nearly killing humanity once. She was my best friend." He looked at her. "I'm going to kill her soon when my hellmouth taint reacts. I'm holding it in as hard as I can but I need help to weed those off and I took a demagicing potion earlier thanks to her."

She nodded. "Stay." She jogged off. "Master!"

An older man came down glaring at him. "We do not like your kind, Xander."

Xander glared at him. "If you actually did your job, I wouldn't be in this shape, Strange. Beyond that, I didn't come for you." The other one came down the stairs. "It's Rosenburg. Again." He swallowed. "I took the demagicing potion earlier."

"That is bad." He checked him over, grimacing. "What is she fouling up this time?"

Xander laughed. "I think she's trying to make me harmless so I can't harm her or anyone." He looked at Strange then at him. "Please? Before my hellmouth taint explodes?"

"That's an apocalypse in the making, boy." He led him inside, looking at Bucky. "You can sit quietly in the corner while we drain him in case she sends something to attack him." He helped the boy into his working area and things in there lit up on their own.

Xander looked at one. "Not right now please? Before I have to fight Rosenburg?"

That one floated back to the table. Xander collapsed to the floor in the center of the working circle. The mage finished the lines to start working on him. "Steven, I need you to block that sorcerer. She's your kind." He looked over. "She's causing harm, do deal with her for me please."

"Fine." He moved to a corner to work on that problem. He felt the spells coming and the intent, wincing. The boy was back to glowing.

"Let us drain off those spells," the mage ordered. He started by blocking off new ones and draining the ones that were infecting him. "They're trying to latch onto the hellmouth taint."

Xander looked at him. "The only way to decrease that is me to release it and we know that's a bad idea. Then I'll get blamed because she was 'just trying to help you, Xander'," he mimicked. "The coven there doesn't give a damn about me. Or humanity apparently."

The mage nodded. "They need rearranged." He drained off the other spells, grimacing. "I wish I could capture that energy."

Xander pointed at something. "It can gather it in a capturing vessel if you set it up right. The same as you would blood."

The mage nodded, going to gather his capturing vessels. He set them up and Xander let the magic be pulled out of him and into them. The boy was glowing but concentrating on keeping his own energy inside. "You can let some out if you need to," he ordered.

Xander shook his head quickly. "It'll definitely draw things here I'll have to deal with. Thanks though." He looked up at him then up. "I'm going to fry your ass." He sighed, centering himself again on his breathing. "I feel the urge to backlash her. I know it's wrong."

"Somewhat," Strange said dryly. "Though it may startle her."

Xander leaned over to look at him. "I'm infected by two hellmouths and a third that was started by me ending a battle. I'm pretty damn sure I can breach the realms and kill her." Strange shuddered. Xander sat up, holding his knees. "This sucks. It hurts and it sucks. I need to stop this."

The mage smiled. "How did you get infected by them? Perhaps you should undo it."

"Sure, I can undo being born." He looked at him. "Don't give her ideas though." The air wavered and he grabbed it to stop it. On that realm the spell got ended before it stuck. Xander handed the haze of energy over to the mage. "Here, before she killed that realm."

Strange grimaced. "Why did the kraken be defeated by an ascended one?"

"Sunnydale's hellmouth," Xander said dryly. "Kraken in it. The ascension was our high school graduation." The sorcerer supreme stared at him. He grinned. "I was born really near to the thing and for some reason that may or may not have been that witch I sucked up a ton of the energy. I have to wear a blocking thing so I don't get sick from the radiation's lack. That's why that one battle ended up with me starting a new one instead of it ending the continent. I channeled the energy that way instead."

The mage looked at his necklace, taking it from him. Xander had to struggle to pull in the energy so he handed it back. "Can we not weed that out?"

"It grows," Xander said with a shrug. "No matter what I do it grows. If we could it'd be nice but it won't. Any more than I can heal the liver damage her going suicidal gave me."

The mage winced, checking him over. "There's still many too many bad spells on you."

"I only care about three protections," Xander said, pointing at the tattoos. "One's from a shaman I trained with to help me prevent more possessions. One's done by the witch that is like my sister and the other one's done by the idiot witch's soulmate but she's gone. It's a letting me know something bad is going to happen one and may have been why my visions activated when my eye got popped."

"You're a medium," Strange said, standing up. "That is not a good thing."

Xander looked at him. "I found that out later, after two possessions, ghosts giving me sicknesses, and having my visions activated. Now I'm a shaman."

The mage nodded. "It's a good use of your skills, Ghost Shaman." Xander smiled weakly, nodding at that. "Though you being a killer is odd with that gift."

"I'm a demon hunter and HYDRA pulled me." He stared at him. "They're a threat to humanity as well."

"Good point," the mage agreed. "We don't find them nice either."

"They're going to end up activating the prophecy that will bring Thanos with his pretty gauntlet. Thankfully the other one they pulled managed to get home. Is he all right?"

"The male sorcerer I can feel is suppressed," Strange said. "He was here."

"That's Andrew. Yes he was. He got home. The Powers That Be hate me so I'll never get to go home. So now I'm the warrior protector of this realm."

The mage nodded. "It's a necessary thing, especially if Thanos shows his ugly mug." He got back to weeding out the magic. "Push like you're giving birth, Xander." Xander pushed the magic from him and they drained it from him until he was less healthy and still glowing but only with hellmouth magic. Then they put a protection on him to end that attempt. The boy was unconscious, sweaty, and sick. He was protected now. That sorcerer in that realm got free and attacked with Strange's help. That witch turned sorceress was going to be in very bad positions soon. Strange could get there to deal with her. It was his job after all. The mage looked at Bucky. "He'll need watched for a few days. It's like he's got the flu only with a migraine and worse problems." Bucky nodded. "Can you?"

"I'm not good at it but I can protect him. Or I can rescue him later from SHIELD's revamp."

Rupert Giles shook his head. "They would probably be more problem than they're worth. They would definitely see him as an odd specimen." Bucky nodded once. "Can you protect him from them all?"

"Probably. He's got a hidden area."

"Every hunter needs their own pack lands." He smirked. "Take him home. Give him fluids and broths. He's right, the hellmouth taint will regrow but it's normal to him so it'll make him feel better. Right now it's like he's coming down from radiation exposure. Let him rest. The boy is dreadfully pissed."

"Thank you. Do you need paid?"

"I can do some wonderfully protective things with that power I sucked off him." He smirked. "Including around myself and my students so we don't get touched by Thanos."

Bucky nodded. "Thank you." He lifted the kid up and put him over his shoulder, walking out with him. They went back to his tiny former storage closet. The landlord was in there but he wandered out looking confused. "That's a weird spell, kiddo." He put Xander on the bed and got him some water from the stolen water pipe in the corner. "Here, drink." Xander sipped and drifted off again. At least he felt healthier and wasn't making his hair stand up from the energy he was leaking.

***

Bucky walked up to Bruce Banner where he had been giving a lecture at a local college, pulling him aside since he was done. "I'm going to trust you with this but if it gets into SHIELD's hand, then they'll use Forger as a specimen." He handed over the notes he had made.

Bruce looked it over, grimacing. "Is he all right?"

"Exhausted. Drinking but he's still sweating and in pain."

"What's the liver damage from?"

"Spell. Black magic thrown at him."

"That's so weird." He considered it. "I can come see him if you want."

"Please. He's getting worrisome."

"Let me know where and I'll grab a kit." Bucky wrote down the address, then headed off. Bruce went back to the tower to pack up an emergency kit, then left to find that address. It turned out he lived a few blocks from Clint's other apartment. He walked up, meeting Bucky in the hallway. "Tiny apartment?"

"Full of stuff he needs for demon battles." He opened the door to let him inside.

Bruce looked then nodded. "That figures. I remember his jeep." He wiggled in to look over the patient, wincing at what he saw. "He needs IV fluids."

"Can we get one? I know Xander knows how to lay them."

"I can lay one. I'll have Clint bring me what I need since he lives nearby."

"Sure." He nodded politely at the landlord.

"Does he actually pay?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Bucky said. "He does."

"Oh, then he's the mystery payment. It's cheap for what the other places go for." He stared in there then at him. "And if those are going to get him raided...."

"Only if dirty agents show up and I'll have him hide them," Bucky said.

"Fine." He left shaking his head. "Usually I'd get nearly a grand for that space."

Bucky snorted. "Six hundred is more than generous since he had no emergency exit. You don't get a grand for the regular apartments on this floor." He stared at him. The landlord grimaced but stomped off. "I'll help him find somewhere better once he's more healthy."

Bruce looked over. "I can bring him to the tower."

"He'd hate that and we were warned SHIELD would treat him like a gerbil."

"Point but SHIELD doesn't run the tower."

"No, just levels of it."

"True." He got back to checking him over, stopping Xander when he woke up suddenly. "It's me, Xander. You're getting worse."

"The hellmouth taint regrowing is bad but the liver damage got egged on I think. I've got ways of helping it once I'm stronger."

"Did we detox it the traditional way?" Bruce asked.

"No. She spelled me majorly. I went to a mage to help me before she finished killing me."

Bruce nodded. "I have no idea about anything like magic. You need fluids. You're getting dehydrated."

"I can lay an IV."

"That's fine. I'll have Clint bring one." He stared at him then at the boxes then at him. "They should be somewhere safer. The landlord was right, agents could get mad about them."

"Only guys like us see them, Dr. Banner."

"Uh-huh. How many warriors and heros are agents?"

"Point. I can't afford a real apartment. I barely afford this place."

Bucky looked over. "You're moving back in with me, kid."

"That means moving things every two weeks."

"I have a set place and you're needed here for a bit." He leaned in the doorway. "My rent's only two hundred more than this and it's paid up for the next year, even if I do have to run off to draw HYDRA away."

"I can help." He sat up with a wince.

"No you can't," Bruce said.

"Doctor, I've been in huge battles when I felt like this. I didn't do that great, but it's necessary sometimes."

"It's not now. Right now, we need you to rest in case we get another demonic problem." Xander winced. "So you need to get healed. Would you come to the infirmary to get scanned?"

"I'd rather avoid SHIELD."

"Me too." He smirked. "I can do an ultrasound of your liver and figure out your blood tainting issues."

"I'm not so sure she didn't activate the mermaid taint." He rubbed his liver. Bruce gently pressed, making him hiss. "Ow. Please quit. I'm likely to lash out." Bruce backed off. "Ow."

"How?" he asked.

Xander looked at him. "Her soulmate got killed next to her right after they unbroke up. She was going to show everyone how much pain and anger she felt. I stopped her but she had sucked up black magic. Seven hits of black magic."

Bruce grimaced. "Could that cause organ damage?"

"Yeah, sure as shit did. I went down by twenty percent thanks to that. I had a lot of draining that magic and it's not going to get better because it regrows. Otherwise the liver might heal itself."

"We can't weed that out?"

"No. No more than I can the hellmouth taint I sucked up without knowing it."

"I'd like to hear more about this and I want to scan your liver. We might be able to find something medically we can do. Or maybe weed out that mermaid taint. How?"

"Swim coach."

"That's so weird but we're talking about demons." He straightened up. "Come to the tower for a day?"

"Let me move him," Bucky said. "Then we'll show up tonight?"

"That's fine. I don't sleep a lot. It'll be quieter and easier to sneak him in too." He looked around then at Bucky. "How are you going to move him?"

Xander pulled something out from under his pillow, tossing it onto a box. Suddenly they looked like cardboard boxes. "I paid for it a while ago."

"Still weird. I'll see you tonight after midnight." They nodded. "Good. Drink a lot today, kid. You could use all the fluid you can inhale." He went back to the tower to make sure he had what he'd need to scan him and treat him for that dehydration.

Bucky stared at him. "You could've told me."

"You needed to fuss over Alex."

"You're too used to being alone. Get over it, you're not now." He came in to gather things with Xander's help. The jeep could make three trips to move him. He had a good range of things hidden around the tiny closet space.

***

Bruce looked over at Xander after everything had gotten run, coming over to check the IV he had put him on. "You're a mess."

Xander shrugged. "Had to be handled anyway, Doc." He blinked at him. "I'm okay enough."

"Your liver is down to fifty-three percent efficiency." Xander winced. "The energy taint that you're holding and can't get rid of is apparently cushioning that. The DNA taint I found with the weird enzymes isn't harming you but is transferable in case you need to donate."

"We had to do a full blood switch to keep me from going black and slimy." He shifted. "I need to be good enough to save myself from the ones who summoned me."

"You're going to be lucky if you don't die of this." He stared at him. "You've got to take time to heal. Healing has to happen so you can protect yourself and others."

"I'm still weak from blocking her last attempt and the draining. I'll be better in a few days."

"I'm sure you will be. Will your liver mystically heal?"

"I heard livers do heal."

"If the problem killing them is fixed. The energy you've been hit with is still infecting it and I don't know how to cure that."

"Me either." He shrugged. "I've been looking."

"Can we weed some of that hellmouth taint out?"

"No. I'm not sure how or why I sucked up so much from both of them but it'll regrow until I'm about balanced and I keep something on to hold that down while muting it so I'm not picked up as a sacrificial victim."

Bruce nodded, scanning the necklace. Then he looked at him. "Does your liver bother you when you're normal?"

"Only when I'm kicked in it?"

"That's a good thing to avoid anyway." He stared at him. "You absolutely need a few weeks to heal. You need more fluids and I'm sending you home with a few IV's and some meds to help with the other health issues."

"What other health issues?"

"Your body's out of whack. You look like you're living on hard rations."

"I pretty well never stopped that. I spent a few years in Africa training slayers before I got summoned."

Bruce nodded. "It shows. Your body's out of whack and we can handle that without making you gain weight. You have to start eating though and I don't mean sweets since I've heard about you moaning over twinkies." He smiled. "Protein, veggies, very little sweets. Like you're in training, kid." Xander sighed but nodded. "That's after you're not dehydrated." He stared at him. "Watch the fat intake because it'll cause you a lot more problems if you don't."

"I've seen others with it. My parents were dying of cirrhosis before I left."

"Good. So are you only for a different reason." He stared at him. "We can probably stop it somehow. I'm not sure how yet. It may mean we have to find a way to weed that energy out of you."

"Can we do that blood test again once I'm not dehydrated and sick?"

"Definitely. Because if that helps, we'll help you deal with it." He stared at him. "Still. Month off. Heal, rest, eat, drink. All that. No sex. No training, no lifting weights, no fights unless you absolutely have to. You can trust Bucky to protect you, right?" he asked at the grimace. Xander nodded. "Good. Trust him to protect you now." He patted him on the knee. "Once that bag's gone I'll send you home with a few others. Any drug allergies?" Xander shook his head. "Good." He gathered supplies for him and handed him the plastic bag once he had the IV unhooked. Xander patted him on the arm then left. Bruce went upstairs to bother Thor for a bit. He was awake on the couch staring outside. "What's a hellmouth, how would I stop him from regrowing the energy he sucked up, and can we find some way he doesn't have to wear a piece of it to mute it so they don't spot him?"

Thor grimaced. "Sit, Bruce. Hellmouths are subjects of much debate." Bruce sat down and let Thor explain that to him. Bruce explained what the boy had told him and Thor backed it up and told him how that had happened. Very few souls would be able to unwillingly draw such energy into themselves. That one could only have three reasons to have done that. With what they knew, one was most likely. That witch had done it so she could sacrifice him later. They could help the boy heal.

***

Xander looked up as the mage that had helped him walked up to him in the park. Xander stared. "Hey, Giles. Traded places with yourself?"

"You can tell?"

"The you here is more slinky." He shrugged slightly. "Sit, please."

Giles sat down with a sigh. "Are you all right?"

"Mostly. Liver's a bit off." He shrugged again. "We got all the spell residue off finally and I'm back to balanced on the hellmouth energy problem." He looked at him. "Is she alive?"

"Mostly. She's fully bound outside of battles." He grimaced. "I was about to kill her when I heard what she had done."

"To me or to Andrew?"

"To both of you, though I do wish that Andrew were still a more gentle soul. He's much harder."

"He got pulled here by a group that agreed with Nazis but were going to make their own world order. Since he had my skills for that battle he got to do a lot of things I normally would've done."

"That's a pity. Andrew was happier before."

"Now he knows he has to savor the little things." He looked at him. "Like the cat."

"Fang is darling and has adjusted well. He's presently in my desk chair getting it all furry for me." He cleared his throat. "How long has she been doing that?"

"I don't know. She could've done it unconsciously when she first started. Bruce, Dr. Banner, thought she might've had me sucking up the hellmouth energy to sacrifice me."

"I felt you had it around you when you were younger. I'm not sure why. I never was." Xander nodded. "If so, that's a bad thing. If not, it's an odd, bad thing."

"At least I can use all my skills here to protect people since we don't have slayers here."

"I'm proud of the work you've done. Even though I never hear of most of it." Xander dug out something, handing it over. "You kept a journal?"

"Of course. That way someone could figure out what finally killed me." He gave him a look. "Gen did good not spilling it."

"She has, yes. I had no reports from her at all."

"Is she...."

"Pregnant and having a few problems so she's at the Council house in England for natal care." Xander nodded, smiling some. "She guarded your secrets very well." He looked them over, frowning. "You did what?"

Xander laughed. "There's a lot of that." Giles rolled his eyes. "I spent a lot of time wondering why people did things that way. Until one of the shaman I trained with swatted me and told me to be a good boy and just learn it, it could come in handy."

"At least you did find a mentor who could help you."

"I am, yeah. I learned a lot from them."

"Good." He flipped through the books, reading the short entries. Xander wasn't wordy unless he was complaining about the girlish attitude problems. He ran into one where Xander complained about his attitude problems too. "I had no idea why you wanted that weapon."

"Vision. Go forward three pages." Giles did and grimaced. "Kinda necessary no matter what the old farts thought."

"They've been horrified since you got sent here. We've had a lot of problems they had to help with."

"Still probably hidden ones that the girls are handling without telling you. Gen did it to me a few times. Unfortunately one she didn't kill right so it came back being all mad until I fired something up its ass."

Giles shook his head with a sigh. "I've seen the girls do that more than once. It worked but was rather nasty."

"Thankfully you're not on clean up duty."

"True. That is very good." He finished reading them, wincing at a lot of things. He swatted him for one thing but Xander grinned and shrugged. Giles handed the journal back, staring at him. "How can we help?"

"Is there a better way to detox the stuff in me?"

"Not really. There's other methods but none are...pleasant."

"I can handle unpleasant. That potion isn't all that nice when I spend hours puking up magic."

"That should only work on those who have magic but have been poisoned."

"Hellmouth energy," Xander quipped.

"That shouldn't matter." He frowned. "I'll send the me here the other methods."

"I'm sure after a few hours at the house he'll be more than ready to come home."

"The coven came in today to talk to Willow about what happened."

"Not like they've ever stopped her."

"They have."

"They didn't. She turned a few slayers into pets while sad one night after she broke up with Kennedy. Not a thing said even when you sent her over. Nothing said about trying to harm Andrew a few times because he's a guy who uses magic. They don't care what she does and I'm not sure if that's their problem or Willow spreading out."

"They lectured her strongly."

"They lectured her for nearly ending the world, Giles." He looked at the older man. "If it had been me or Buffy, you'd have beaten us and then they would've killed us. They *lectured* her. They nearly struck Andrew down for floating pots in the kitchen one day."

"I forgot about that." He grimaced. "That's true, they do treat her differently." He sighed. "We'll deal with it later." He looked at him. "How are you doing otherwise?"

"I realize I'm trapped here. I'm handling that all right."

"You may be able to travel home via portals."

"I couldn't get near Andrew's, Giles. It nearly had me killed when I tried. That plus a few visions...." He shrugged. "This was their way of getting me out of their hair but making me better in case I'm needed to be called back. I also would really love the visions to end." He rubbed his forehead. "The witches have discovered the switch." He looked over. Not his Giles. "They get you?"

"They tried but I proved they were wrong on many things." He stared at him. "I realize now why you run from nagging." Xander grinned. "The slayers are hellions in the making and Andrew is doing good helping them. The coven...they're blinded by a higher being but I've laid a trap to undo that." He grimaced again. "I'll work up a better version of that potion. "It shouldn't work for you but since it does I'll make sure it works better. Our version of hellmouths radiate on a different stream."

"Would that help the liver damage I got from Willow trying to stop me from stopping her?"

"I hadn't heard you had any. That would make the potion cause more damage."

"It's removing the stuff she did to cause the damage and there's no other frequent way to do it." He shrugged. "It's the best of bad options."

"True, it wouldn't require anyone to do six weeks of spell cleaning in their working areas."

"Sorry."

"No, it needed to be done." He patted him on the knee. "What caused the liver damage?"

"Black magic she sucked up to end humanity. Seven hits of it."

That Giles considered that. "That would cause quite a bit of damage."

"I went to the demon bar and had them suck it out before I lost consciousness a second time. A few of the demons sucked it out of me."

That Giles nodded once. "Why didn't they stop her?"

"The coven couldn't and sent Giles to stop her during that. She downed him a bit so he put the protections on me and sent me. The coven ended up lecturing her about her grief."

"That may have helped but I would've paddled her at least." He grimaced again but let it clear up. "I'll gather the necessary recipe for that potion for you. There's a few versions that may work better than the one you pay me to make." He smirked and stood up. "Have a better day, Xander."

"Thanks, you too, Rupert." He nodded and left him to think and enjoy the park.

Xander got some sun time in then felt like someone was staring at him so he went back to the apartment to make some soup for lunch for them. Bucky was having headaches from the memories again. Someone had to take care of him and Xander was pretty darn good at it. Thankfully Xander had lost his tail so no one knew how to get into their apartment. He'd go stop the agents that were trying them again later.

***

Xander snuck into the tower, going up to the common level. It was two in the morning, Rogers was up and wandering because he had woken him with a text message. He dropped the agent in front of the soldier, staring at him. "He seems to think your friend would like to talk to him. I think he's an idiot and for some reason he's having headaches again. He's nearly slipped back once so they're doing something long distance I've got to end. Want him before I have him?"

"Sure, I can have him arrested." He stared at him. "You still look tired."

"Yeah, well, coming down from a Willow-cident." He shrugged. "I've got to handle that. If he goes back it's more likely he'll be recaptured." He left, going back there. Bucky had reverted and gotten free of the things binding him down. Xander took the weapon from him. "It's to kill demons. Specially formulated."

"I know you," Bucky sneered.

"Yeah, you should. Do you remember my name?" Bucky lunged at him and Xander hit him with the sedative needle he had paused to lift from the infirmary. Bucky went down with a groan. Xander wasn't falling for the act. "I know they don't act that fast but I need to stop the ones who're trying to recapture you."

"I don't know you," he sneered.

Xander hummed, going to draw things around the apartment and then set up blockers. James tried to leave but he stumbled and fell. Xander put him onto the couch and went back to protecting the apartment. The sedative didn't last long, the serum healed all that from his system. He got up to try to beat Xander again. Yeah, it hurt, and Xander was sore, but it had to happen. Thankfully Xander was used to faster, stronger, better fighters even before he got here. He just slipped back into that mindset. Bucky's broken ribs slowed him down. So did the minor stab wound. The one Xander had on his thigh sucked though.

***

Xander called someone three days later. "Tag, you're it," he said in greeting. "They retriggered him. He's down right now while his hip heals. No, I'm in a bit of pain, Rogers. I've kept him from going out to be recaptured. No, I'm really blaming myself. They had to have followed me. I'd leave with him but I'm not in any shape to do that. So can you come take your buddy for a few hours? Please?" He dropped the phone and pounced Bucky to knock him back down. "Stay the fuck down! Unless you want to be treated like a bad robot again, stay the fuck down!"

He knocked him out. Bucky was still in pain, he had barely managed to move through the concussion. Xander panted, staring down at him. "I hate this and I'm going to fucking kill every last HYDRA agent there ever was. Or whoever's doing this. I'm about to make a blood vow and ask a poker buddy. Don't make me go there, James. Really, you don't want me to go to full blown apocalypse battle handling."

Bucky moaned, holding his head. "What the fuck are you doing sitting on me?"

"Keeping you here before whoever retriggered you captures your dumb ass again." He stared at him. "Quit fighting me on this. I don't want to have to come rescue you."

"You won't be able to." Xander stabbed him in the stomach, making Bucky yelp. "How dare you!" He moved but Xander snapped something and it paralyzed him. Bucky gasped a few times but couldn't do more than breathe.

Xander leaned down to get into his line of vision. "Don't make me go back to handling huge problems," he said quietly. "It's always a bad idea. I've been trying to save your ass now for three days. You may not remember why but I do. Others do. We're going to keep protecting you until you can do it yourself again. Understood? Blink if you have a problem with that idea." Bucky blinked. "Tough shit." He stood up, holding his new sore spots. "You're being protected because right now you're not able to do more than kill someone and it won't be someone you want to miss."

He went to the kitchen to dampen down a cloth so he could press it against the new stab wound. Plus the old one that had reopened. He heard someone outside and sighed. "That's probably a bad idea. Damn it." He got two guns, holding one and tucking the other into his pocket on the way to the door. He opened the door, pointing the gun in the face of the guy standing there. "Hawkeye."

"Forger. Can I help?"

"Hell yes. Keep Bucky here. That paralytic gas will wear off in a few hours." He limped to the bathroom, kicking the door shut.

Clint called Steve to tell him where they were and checked Bucky. "You able to breathe?" He blinked. "Good. I've got to find out what did that."

"Blue book on the second shelf," Xander called. "Really handy and I wrote it on my travels."

Clint pulled it down to read, nodding at what he saw. "Interesting. You need Banner, Xander?"

"No. I can't leave the cache here and alone. They'll try to capture it."

"We can move it back to the tower."

Xander opened the door to look at him, watching him wince at the bruised places Xander had hidden under his shirt. "No. Thanks anyway. I don't trust some of your overlords. Especially the supposedly protecting everyone sort. Because they don't." He closed the door more gently this time. "I'm cleaning up."

"Sure." He watched out the window. He winced. "Xander, that secondary SHIELD group is here," he called.

"Fuck 'em." He came out with a bleeding hand, putting it over a spot on the wall. Outside, a huge demon appeared with a roar and looked at the agents, bending down to pick one up so he could stare at it then eat it. He hummed in pleasure, picking up another to nibble on. Clint was choking and spluttering. The agents were running for their lives. The hidden HYDRA agents were running for their lives. Steve Rogers pulled up in a sedan and got out, walking around the demon. It ignored him.

"What if there were good agents!" Clint shouted.

Xander stared at him. "Are there any of those in this city? I haven't seen a single one yet." He stared at him. "Also, that one can read intents and minds. It only eats evil things. Expect there to be fewer muggers." He heard someone coming up the stairs, leaning out to look at them. "Good, your turn to watch over him and his screwed up mind. He's decided I'm a sacrifice he's willing to make." He went back to the bathroom.

"Xander, why are you so injured?" Steve asked, staring at his back.

"Four fucking days of fighting with something." He got some water to sip from the sink. "That paralytic will wear off in a few hours. He heals slower than you do from what I've seen after battles."

Steve blinked. "Are you all right? I can call Bruce or bring you back with us."

"We have the cache here, including his. I can't leave that here for them to get." He stared at him. "I'll move it later and move somewhere safer for a bit. Just get him to safety so I don't have to keep fighting with him over protecting his stubborn ass." He took another drink and a tylenol.

"Are you sure you can't use Bruce?" Steve asked.

Xander looked at him, shaking his head. "I've handled all of them."

"You've got a huge bruise on your side and I remember why you were seeing him before."

Xander smiled. "Thanks but don't worry about it."

"Can you get rid of the demon?" Clint asked.

Xander shrugged. "Go for it. It'll be in the park later eating muggers. But hey, no more agents who're trying to capture him. I warned him not to put me back into apocalypse battle mode. He did it anyway. I could've called something a whole lot more harmful." He limped into the bedroom, tossing out Bucky's go bag. "His." He tossed out the tactical gear and then the roll of weapons. "Also his. I'll move us somewhere safer since they probably followed me. It's my bad to fix," he said when Steve stared at him.

"He'll kick himself once he's back to normal," Steve said, moving to look in there. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine and he has a trigger in there to undo anything like that. He put it in himself when I linked him to himself again. It woke up all the memories and all that."

"Okay. That's good. How do I trigger it for him?"

Xander shrugged. "I haven't seen his Ka to ask him. They're remerged." He sighed and looked out there, calling up his spirit sense. "I can't even feel a ghost or spirit around here. Sorry. Maybe once he's calmer. He should be able to do it for himself." He shrugged, pulling out a new t-shirt to pull on. He packed himself up and then started on Bucky's. "I'll drop the rest of his stuff off later. It'll be less I have to move."

Steve nodded. "That's fine. Does he have non-clothes stuff?"

"Yeah. He has a safe full of files on himself that we've found." He looked at him. "I tried to make him read one that first day and he nearly bit me."

"I'll handle it. You heal and stuff. Keep in touch?"

Xander looked at him. "I'll be fine. Thanks." Steve grimaced but left with Clint helping him haul Bucky to the car. Clint had taken that book with him. It might come in handy.

Xander finished packing things, sending Bucky's stuff via imp. His went into a specialty box he had found at a demon bazaar. Much easier to move that way. He had to find a spot but for right now any motel would do while he gathered money.

He was going to kill whoever had retriggered Bucky. He really, truly was.

***

Steve looked over as Bucky gasped and hopped up, staring around the room. He stared back when the other man focused on him. "Are you back?"

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Somehow you got retriggered. After four days of trying to protect you and having to fight you to do that, Xander gave up. He called. He's moving your stuff with his."

Bucky considered that then shook his head. "I was undoing a few memories."

"I wouldn't tell him that since he's vowed to kill whoever did that to you. Considering how injured he was...it'll take him a few days to get to it." Bucky winced, finding Steve's phone to text his protege. Wouldn't go through, came back as no such number. "He changed it?" Bucky nodded. "We'll find him."

"Maybe. He can hide. It took me six weeks to find him that first time." He sat down, running a hand over his hair. "I need to go straighten that out now."

"He'd probably forgive you."

Bucky snorted, shaking his head. "No he won't. That's like a betrayal, Steve." He stood up again. "Any idea if he's still in the city?"

"No clue. Ask Clint?"

"I can do that."

Clint knocked and came in a few seconds later. "The video surveillance said he was up and asking about Xander. He's not in the city. He might not be in the US. I know he's really pissed off at whoever did it." He stared at him. "You nearly killed him at least twice."

"He should've let me go."

"So he would have to save you again?" Clint snorted. "Really?" He stared at him. "I'm sure that would've went over great with you, and then him being even more mad." He looked at Steve. "I think he's heading to Canada. No one's sure. I doubt anyone will be sure. He was muttering about worse than Rosenburg. Though that demon was killed by Deadpool in the park eating muggers." He left them to talk.

Steve shook his head with a sigh. "Okay, so we have a mess to clean up." Bucky was rubbing his head. "Headache? He said you got some whenever we talked," he said quietly.

"Little bit." He looked at him. "I screwed up."

"Yeah, I think so. I'll help you fix it. You know that. Xander could use all the support he can get sometimes." He stared at his oldest friend. "He's like your son in some ways."

"He'd hate that comparison. His parents were shitbags." He sat back down. "What's in Canada?"

"I don't know if you don't. I barely know the kid."

Bucky nodded. "I try really hard to but a lot I can't get into." He got up to pace again. "I need to go back there, see if he left any clues. He usually would leave me one."

"We can do that." Steve stood up. "Grab a shower first? Change clothes?" Bucky looked at himself then went to do that.

***

Bucky stomped into the bar where Xander sometimes went to talk to others, especially that damned costumed one. He hauled Wade up as he walked past him, hauling him out back. "Where is he?" he demanded coolly.

"Did you lose the guy that's been taking care of you?" he shot back, staring at him. Steve shook his head. "He was. Again."

"He didn't even leave a message so who has him? He always leaves a hint where he's going."

Wade stared at him then looked at Steve. "Do you have any idea what's been going on with your buddy and his slave? Because yeah, some of us watch Forger. We've seen him protecting Bucky, we've seen him keeping him from being recaptured." He looked at Bucky. "We saw you meditating before you went down and there weren't any HYDRA people near there. I'm not the one that told him that though. One of the others told him that little tidbit. As for where he's going? Somewhere he can heal. Let's face it, a non-serum guy kept you in check and safe for four days. Even though his liver's not working right, still." Bucky was growling. "All we know is north. Though I'm pretty sure he's going to run into Logan. He's hiding up that way and guys like that are drawn to the kid. Maybe he'll get to relax and destress, as long as Logan doesn't take him as a threat. None of us can get hold of him to warn him not to touch the kid."

"He is a bit paranoid," Steve agreed with a sigh at the end. "So he hiked off?"

"Yep. Something about betraying his trust. Something about it had taken a year but he knew you'd do it anyway." Bucky took a swing at him but Wade ducked it easily. "Something about taking care of your stupid ass and this is how you repay him, should've been born a girl came up." He stared at him. "Good luck with that." He went back inside.

"Can you tell us if you hear from him?" Steve asked quietly.

"No. I like Xander. He's a good friend to have. And hey, he'll be out of the way when you and Stark finally blow each other up." He went in to get a beer.

"Now what?" Steve asked, staring at Bucky.

"I need to find him to apologize."

"Can you find him?" Steve asked. "I'm not sure if he wants to be found."

"People notice the one-eyed guy." He looked around then at him. "I'm going to Canada. Call me if you need me for something?"

"Fat chance. You're not in any shape to go hunting your protege."

"It's my duty."

"And mine is helping you."

"No, it's not. You have missions and world saving things to do."

Steve stared at him. "Maybe knocking you around would help fix whatever loose wire's in your brain." Bucky winced. "Let's go find your protege. I'll actually talk to him first so you don't make him react and summon another demon to eat bad people."

"I got told that." He stomped to the car, getting in to drive. Steve made it inside though so that was going to happen he guessed. He headed north. "Do you know that Logan guy?"

"Yeah, I do. His phone's off so I sent a text message."

"That's good. Xander doesn't need more hell in his life." He rubbed his forehead.

"Maybe I should drive while you have the headache."

"The boys pulled that on me all the time," he growled. "I'm fine."

"Okay, if you're sure." Steve stared at him until Bucky huffed and let him drive instead.

***

Xander looked up from settling in the motel of the night, sitting outside to check his knives for sharpness, when he heard someone walking. He stared at the guy. "I recognize you from the comic book in my original world, Logan. I'm not here to bother you, upset you, or get into your face. I'm just getting away from an abusive boss. So just...don't. Okay?"

"Who're you?"

"Forger."

"Never heard of ya."

"Great." He shrugged. "That's your shit. I'm not getting in your shit. You and all the other costumed ones can go the fuck away for a while please." He went back to sharpening that knife.

"Big words for a punk no one's heard from."

Xander smirked at him. "Just because you're hiding up here in the middle of nowhere doesn't mean I'm not known. It means you're hiding and haven't talked to anyone." A claw came out. Xander shrugged. "Yay you. I can summon something to eat your ass before you can stab me."

"You're one of Strange's contacts?"

"No. He hates me. I got forced from my realm, where I was hunting demons to save humanity, to here." Logan shuddered, stepping back. "Sometimes though, it's a good use of the energy that's infecting me to bring something that'll save me work. Unless you'd like to not become work? Because I'm not here to deal with anything you're dealing with. I'm just getting away before I kill someone. Which you're interrupting."

"You ever talk to Xavier?"

"No. Why would I want to talk to the mind fucker that killed a whole team on purpose because they might've saved the right people?" Logan flinched. "He's not a totally good guy. Frankly, I trust Magneto's methods more than Xavier's. At least he's honest about what he wants. I can't agree with his ideals but at least I know where he stands. Others? Not as much. You're more than welcome to keep both mind fuckers and the idiot one-eyed bicycle *far* away from me. Like I said, you guys were comics to my world." He smiled. "I've seen him go bad too." He went back to his next knife.

"Who trained you?"

Xander let out a bitter laugh. "Hunting with a slayer for seven years. Then going to train others that got activated." He looked up. "I spent three years doing that before being shoved over here. It was a *great* early birthday present that HYDRA did by summoning me. Thankfully they're dead."

"All of them?"

"No, but those ones are dead. If I run into more, they'll be dead." He shrugged. "I protect humanity from bad things. Including them." He went back to working on the knife. "You have a great night at the pub. I'm going to rest and move on in the morning."

"Don't go further north. There's a group up there that'll want to take you in."

Xander looked at him again. "I know." He smiled. "I doubt they're going to manage it without nearly killing me but I know." Logan nodded, hiking off. "Have a better night, dude." He finished up that knife and checked his pistols then went inside for the night. This motel had been abandoned so it was safe enough for now. No one was nearby outside a few hunters and one crazy guy in the woods, who was probably Logan.

He'd move on in the morning to find something better to do. Woods brought up bad instincts and he did not want to hyena out.

At the bar, Logan checked his phone for messages, finding one from Rogers. He sent back a 'too late' and a town's name. They could track the kid from here. He sent messages to others to find out about that punk kid. Maybe it was a bad thing, maybe not, but he hadn't been here about or for him. He got back something from an odd source but they were trustworthy. He was right, the kid was angry and a punk but damn good at what he did.

***

Xander rolled his eyes when the bar behind him went into fighting mode. He paid for his beer, smiling at the bartender. "Thank you."

"You passing through?"

"Yeah, I'm on a road trip to get away from some people I thought I could trust. Turns out I was wrong." He sipped his beer, nodding. "Tastes better up there than in the US." He took another sip. Someone grabbed his arm. "Let. Go." He stared at the guy. "Now please." The man sneered but backed up. "I'm staying out of you boys' fun times tonight. Can't you honor that?"

"I think you're a poacher," the drunk guy sneered.

"The last time I hunted wildlife for food I was in a village in Africa and the whole village ate on it for nearly a week. I've never hunted for shits and giggles or a head on the wall. That's highly disrespectful. Anything else you want to ask?"

"You sick or something? I noticed you rubbing your side."

"My liver got damaged a few years ago during a fight." He shrugged. "It happens. It still works."

"Should you be drinking?"

"Yeah. I don't have a problem with alcohol and a beer every two weeks was recommended by my doctor to clear out my kidneys. Tastes better up here than the same stuff does in the US. Must be better made. Beyond that, I'm just driving to deal with issues right now. My issues shouldn't become your issues and I won't stop if you try me. Do we understand that warning?" he asked, staring him down. He finished his beer. "Go play little boy games with your friends. I'm not the tourist you want to try." The guy sneered again and took a swing at him. Xander hit the guy in the throat and made him fall down choking.

"I've faced down warlords," he told the guy on the ground. "I spent three years in Africa protecting people. You ain't shit to handle but I didn't want to handle anyone tonight. So go play, little boy. I'm not here for you." He looked at the bartender again. "Plenty of guys like that where I grew up. Pity. The world could use some more real men." The bartender tried not to laugh but did serve him a second beer. "Thanks." He sipped it, listening to the group as they argued and picked on the guy he had hit. It'd be another attempt later but Xander could handle them and not kill them. He was that good. He finished the beer, put down a tip, and headed for his car. A cop car was out there. "I'm not drunk. Not even close to impaired."

"I can breathalize you, sir."

"Please do if it makes you feel better." The officer pulled the machine out and Xander blew .0013. Xander grinned. "I had drunk parents who made sure I could function above legally drunk but I've only had two beers and I'm going right to the hotel." He pointed at it. "Am I safe?"

"I suppose. You hit that guy?"

"When he tried to hit me first." He shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets. The officer tensed up. "Relax. I'm not armed. I'm just keeping myself from hitting the one trying to sneak up on me." He nodded back that way. "Apparently they were bored enough to want new prey and I'm really bad at being prey." One tried to pounce him so he moved and kicked him on the way down. "Not your toy," he repeated. "Dumbass." He looked at the officer. "Let me go nap. I'm on a roadtrip to get away from an asshole supposed friend." He pulled out his keys and got into the old station wagon he had, heading over to the hotel. He checked in and locked the door before alarming the room and laying down. Drunk idiots weren't that big of a deal to him. He could hear the officer yelling at them though. It was sweet one was his son.

***

Steve ran into Logan on purpose. "Logan."

"Rogers." He shook his hand. "I have no idea where the kid went. He shacked up in an abandoned motel for the night then left the next day. Went westish but a bit south. "

Steve nodded. "Anything that way you think he might want to stop in on?"

"Not that I'm aware of. All I got from the kid was he's mad. Real mad."

"Yeah, I get that." He looked back at Bucky, who was filling up the sedan. He looked at Logan again. "Long story."

"I got that from Cable. Who said he's usually a nice kid but your boy there fucked him up worse. For all I know he's heading to Vancouver to watch all those tv shows tape. He seemed like a geek."

"He is. Mostly. Thanks. Let us know?"

"If I hear, yeah." Steve nodded, going back to the car. Logan watched them go, shaking his head. He sent a text to Natasha, he adored that girl, and then one to a few contacts. The kid had been noted at a bar brawl so he told Rogers that. Maybe it'd help the kid be less angry.

***

The next day, Steve found out where the kid was, he was on the news handling a huge demon. It had been covered. "He stole your ball cap," Steve said, making Bucky look over. Bucky groaned, shaking his head. "Let's see how far off that is."

"They said it was near a reservation. He's probably going to talk to the shaman. He trained with a few in Africa."

"Maybe," Steve agreed. "I'd want out of that area before they figured out who I was."

Bucky shook his head. "Most people are freaked out by demons. They'll thank him for that." He stood up, coming closer to watch the replay. "We can get there by tonight?"

"Few hundred miles," Steve said after looking it up. "Tomorrow morning if we go straight through." He looked at Bucky. "If he's still there."

"He'll be near there." They packed up and left again after getting more gas. He hated chasing Xander but it was sure that Xander wasn't going to come back without them pulling him.

***

Clint called Xander's phone, hoping he'd answer. "Did you store anything large in New York?" He listened to him say 'find a sword'. "A sword!" he demanded. "Beheaded. And the head's in the neck area." He winced. "He's out of the area, kid. Oh. Great. Yeah, if we can blow it apart we can do that. Stark said he can't. Take out the red glowing thing. What red glowing thing?" He put on his sunglasses as ordered. "Oh, that red glowing thing. Guys, there's a red, glowing thing around his waist," he called. "If we take that off we can blow his neck off." Natasha looked back then nodded, leading the first attempt with Stark. Hulk caught Stark when the demon batted him back. Hulk lunged at the demon but it was stronger than him. Clint blew an explosive arrow trying to destroy the glowing amulet.

Dr. Strange showed up and summoned the amulet then handed over a glowing sword to Natasha, who beheaded it. "Where is the irritating boy?" he demanded dryly.

"Hiding from the assholes who used him," Clint said. "Like a sane person would." Strange winced. "Somewhere up north."

"I'll find him later to get the new potion to him." Strange looked at the demon. "You could probably burn it but it appears the belt pouch has something in it." He left with his sword. He had to talk to that boy again apparently. When he meditated toward him and found him on the spirit plane, he understood and agreed he needed a vacation.

***

Xander woke up and stared up. "Don't tell them where I am. Thanks." He got up to leave. He came out of the bathroom finding a potion on the bed. "Thanks." He took it with him. He could take it and puke up magic later. Wherever he ended up. Hopefully far away from Bucky before he treated him like a demon and smited him. Or was it smote? He'd have to ask Thor the next time he ran into him about that piece of grammar. He walked out to his car and sighed at the guy leaning against it. "What?" he demanded.

Steve stared at him. "I left Bucky back at the diner, Xander," he said quietly.

"Good. That means I won't kill him." He stared at him. "I'm done. I don't care. Okay?" He went to get his other things, coming out to find Steve looking at the potion. "That's to remove some of the magic that infected my liver. Thanks." He took it back and got into the car. It wouldn't start. Steve smirked. "Put it back. Please."

"Can you just talk to us?"

"No. I've done enough. Thank you anyway."

Steve moved closer. Xander glared. "I'm not threatening. Just trying to keep it quiet and the others out of it, Xander." Xander snorted. "He wants to talk, to apologize."

"I went through hell helping him. I'm not sure there is an apology that great."

"I'd at least listen. What does that hurt?"

"Ask that to an abused wife, Steve." He looked at his engine then sighed and took a few bags and the potion with him, walking off. He disappeared into the woods.

Steve followed but lost the kid. Xander trained a lot in woods apparently. He called Bucky, but he couldn't track him either. Steve looked at him. "He doesn't want to let you apologize. Compared you to an abusive husband."

Bucky winced. "I didn't mean to go back down. I really didn't."

"Well, now we gotta help find him. Before something happens."

Bucky stared at him. "Just because he draws trouble doesn't mean he wants to."

"I didn't mean it that way."

"You sounded like those girls." He huffed, grimacing as he looked around the woods. "Let me get his stuff sent back to New York." He stomped off to handle that then he'd look for the kid. He looked at Steve. "I never taught him anything about the woods."

"You think he might've picked it up in Africa?" Steve asked dryly. Bucky winced but nodded. "We'll get this back to the tower." Bucky nodded, calling a contact to do that for Forger. They wouldn't do it for him but Xander was a favored playtoy of their boss. He also noted they had a fight and he was looking for the kid but he had just run away into some woods. That minion promised to tell his boss, who could find him and baby him for a bit.

***

Two weeks later, Xander was finishing the large demon he had been called on to kill, wincing at the poison that was soaking into his scratches and cuts. He looked back. "I need the blue bottle from my pack," he ordered. "It's got an anti-toxin." The officer who had gotten him there looked and shook his head. "Shit. I don't have that one." He looked himself, wincing as the poison started to work.

"Well, I'm mostly immune to it, but I'll have to go hide while I go primal for a bit." He gathered his two packs and hiked off wiping off his favorite battle axe with his t-shirt. He almost went to the motel but no, that would be a bad idea. He might hurt someone. He headed out of the town, up into the mountains. That was probably safer. He found a good cave before his mind totally left, covered his packs with branches, and then went to splash off in the local stream. It was ice cold but it happened. He felt his mind slip back into the hyena and mentally sighed. He'd come out of it soon. Probably.

***

Steve and Bucky got to where Xander had been about two hours after he had hiked off. "Where's the guy that handled it?"

"He went into the woods. He wanted an anti-toxin he didn't have," the officer said. "We think he's fine since he said he was immune to it."

Bucky shook his head. "It'll probably turn him into a primal hunter instead of anything else. He's immune but it can still make him sick. Any idea where he is in the woods?"

"No. There's a few streams. We were worried but figured he knew how to hunt like normal folk."

Steve nodded. "He spent three years in Africa. Do you have a map?"

"Sure, I can run you guys a copy." He got it off the wall to copy for him. "Here you go. I hope he's okay. He was like one of the superhero types you see in New York City."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, he can be. He's a nice guy too." He left, telling Bucky what had happened. They got rooms at the motel so they could park there and headed into the woods. They oriented themselves and headed up one of the streams. No signs of anything but animals. Another stream crossed into that one so they followed it. Slight signs of humans but nothing that looked fresh. The higher stream, near the top of the mountains, had more signs of people. Multiple people. They considered the tracks. They were all heading in one direction. They followed, hoping it was just hunters. No, it was an assault team. A SHIELD assault team. Steve and Bucky shared a look then nodded at each other. They took down the team and put them into a cave they checked first. Steve blocked it with some rocks. It wouldn't last long but for a while.

Bucky pointed, then followed the tracks. "Combat boots," he noted quietly. Steve held up a hand, listening. A low pitched growl. Bucky shook his head. "Probably a mountain lion." They moved on and something pounced them, then ran off after biting Bucky hard on the neck. "Never mind, I was wrong." They chased after Xander, Steve finding his hiding cave by accident. Xander wasn't in there but the packs were. Xander was in a tree.

Bucky watched around, spotting a nesting area but not the kid. "There," he said with a point. "He's that way." They carefully went that way, finding Xander's hiding spot up a tree. He was growling. Bucky handed Steve the pack he had picked up, moving closer slowly. "Xander?" he asked quietly. "Come down here please?" The growling got more deadly sounding. "Please?" The boy climbed some. "Don't make me come up there."

"Don't," Steve said. "You'll make him attack you." He put the packs down, moving under the tree. "Xander, come down please," he said more firmly. "It's not safe. We want to protect you." Xander stared at him but no go. They heard the other group get free, they were swearing loudly about the rocks. Xander looked and sneered then they went up in a burst of flames. The fires died out before they spread but the few agents who had been out of the cave were now crispy piles. "That was not a good thing." He got into his pocket, holding up the meal bar. "Food?" Xander batted at it and got into another tree and tried to disappear. They followed, finding he had somehow disappeared again.

Bucky looked around. "Tell me that's not a fairy ring?" he demanded with a point.

Steve looked, shrugging some. "Looks like a ring of mushrooms, like the stories your Ma told us."

A tiny being flew out to stare at them. "Are you the owners of that one growling one?"

"He got poisoned while taking out a demon," Bucky said. "And people don't own each other anymore. We're looking for him to bring him home if that helps."

The fairy shook his head. "Not really. Looks like he was getting away from you two." He flew back in and told the other guards that. They decided to send him where he felt like. He told the angry ones that and then sealed that portal for now. Humans could be so bitchy at times.

***

Bucky started to call around as soon as the fairy told them they had delivered Xander somewhere else. "Not in New York," he complained.

"That town he's from?" Steve guessed. They picked up the packs and snuck past that team, heading back into town. They overnighted at the motel while gathering intel. Steve got an answer later from Natasha. "Africa."

"That makes sense in a few ways," Bucky said. "Is he safe?"

"No. They called him Warrior?"

"Yeah." Bucky grimaced. "Did he let himself be captured?"

Steve glared at him. "Do you really think he would?"

"I'm not sure what a hyena would do."

"We can figure that out on our way there. She'll pick us up and send an agent to take the car back to New York for us." They gathered what they'd need and caught the helicopter outside of town. The locals would wonder but oh well. Had to happen.

***

Natasha got information from her contact, paying in US cash for it before coming back to the hotel. She handed it over to Steve. "He fought hard. They tried to take him down and could not. The drugs they tried to sedate him with didn't work." She unwrapped her hair, looking at them. "They're willing to kill him instead of use him to bait you back there, Bucky. They're aware he has special skills but not sure what they may be."

He nodded. "He's got a few. Including irritating others." He looked out the window. "We have surveillance teams."

"That figures," Steve agreed. "Can we handle this on our own?"

"Yes," Natasha said. "There's not that many agents but more may be coming soon."

Steve and Bucky looked over the intel they had. "How much of a chance it was compromised on purpose?" Steve asked.

"Likely," she admitted. "It was all I could get."

Steve patted her on the wrist. "You're good at it and I know you can back us up." She smirked at him. "The last we knew he was in some sort of primal, animalistic mode."

Bucky rubbed his neck. "He bit me."

"He bit many of the agents," she said. "He ripped one's throat out." Bucky smiled, shaking his head slightly. They figured it out. She called in a report, pissing Clint off because they couldn't wait for him to get there. He got shown what they had so if he had to he could rescue the rescue team and Xander.

They gathered to go in, taking out the teams trying to herd them there on the way. They didn't need more agents behind them.

***

Steve came off the quin jet first, stomping in. "Bruce." He hopped up, turning to stare at him. "We could use your help."

"Sure. Is he all right?" he demanded, following him out there. Xander was strapped down and growling. He was covered in blood. He had a few cuts, one really deep one that was bandaged. "What happened?"

"He got poisoned by a demon he was taking out and then HYDRA managed to capture him," Bucky said, looking at his hands. "The fairies decided to hand him back to a shaman in Africa instead of us."

"I'll hear that story later," Bruce decided. "Any other problems beyond the obvious?"

"Not that we know of," Steve said. "We destroyed that lab. That's the only thing he growled that was intelligible."

"We wouldn't have the same versions of diseases they had. Help me get him to the infirmary." They carried the stretcher down there with Natasha limping behind them.

She paused in front of Clint, dropping her body camera in front of him with a look. Then she finished her limp down there.

Clint took it to run on his laptop, staring at the faces. "I didn't know they were HYDRA." He ran into one and grimaced. She was alive. "She was undercover. Please let her have been undercover," he mumbled. He sucked in a breath and kept going. A few more agents he would've sworn were good. He called Coulson's system, getting him on video chat. "Please tell me my ex was undercover," he said quietly.

"You know I can't divulge that."

"She was at a lab that got taken down." Coulson winced. "Was she undercover?" Coulson nodded slightly but looked to the side. "Natasha had on a body camera." He hung up and went to tell her that. "Coulson confirmed she was working," he said in her ear. She relaxed. "Do I need to make arrangements?" he asked quietly.

"He sniffed her and let her go after knocking her out. We weren't sure why."

"Any idea what possessed him?" Bruce asked.

"Hyena," Clint said. "He noted one a few times during casual talks."

"That's good to know." They got to work stripping Xander out of his clothes, no matter how much he fought back. Clint walked over, slowly moving into Xander's personal space. The younger guy sniffed him then let out a small chatter. Clint leaned on him, letting Xander sniff him as he moved them against the wall. It let Steve strip him off and then Clint got him nested on a bed. Xander tried to chew on the IV tube but Clint stopped him. Xander looked around then chattered toward Natasha, getting up to go sniff her again. He leaned on her shoulder, sniffing better.

She patted him. "I'm not your pack. I'm an independent hunter." He chattered and lapped her neck then strolled back to the other pack member.

"I'm a good pack member," Clint promised, patting the bed. "Come rest." Xander climbed back up to sniff him again, and Clint let him as long as he didn't do more than sniff. At the first lick, Clint moved away. Xander lounged on his pack member, making happier noises. Bruce upped the sedative in the IV, looking at Clint. Clint grinned. "He's cuddly."

"He seems like it. Can you get him shifted so I can check the injuries?"

Clint shifted himself, which made Xander move too. Stark came in with a plate of meat, letting Clint have it. "Thanks, I was hungry." He nibbled on a piece of meat. Xander's head nudged it so Clint let him have it instead. The boy nibbled, sniffing it until he picked one to pick up with his teeth. "Sure, that works too. Can you let the healer look at your sores?" He fed him another bite of meat. Then Xander hopped up to go growl at Thor. "Hey, he's good, part of the pack, Xander. Let Thor in. He's fine. He's a good pack member."

Thor waved a hand. "He is obviously possessed by a primal spirit."

"Former one, a demon's poison brought it back up," Steve said. "He ripped a lot of people up."

Thor walked Xander back to the bed, letting him eat some more meat when Clint offered it. "He'll be fine. We can test for the demon poison."

"I can't draw blood," Bruce said. "He's got some sort of protection that means no one can draw blood right now."

Thor grimaced but nodded, looking the boy over. "Here, we need to trim this line," he said with a point at something that looked like a fancy scar. He took the scalpel to trim that line, which let Xander calm down, Bruce take blood, and Clint get napped on. "He has many subtle protections that you would not expect if you weren't looking for them. It's well done." He patted the boy on the head. "He could use bathed as well." He looked at Bucky. "I know of you as Steve's friend. Are you better?"

"Yeah, I'm a lot better. Thanks."

"It is no issue." Thor left them to it. He did not want to imagine too many demons down here.

Bruce ran the bloodwork, shaking his head at what was coming up. "I'm sure there's an anti-toxin."

"He's out," Bucky said quietly. "I know he can brew them but I don't know how to do it myself."

"We can figure that out if you can find me a reference," Bruce said.

"It's in storage in the boxes," Steve said.

"Which is in my spare closet," Clint said. Steve went to look for that set of books while Bucky's injuries got looked over.

A youngish woman walked in, looking constipated. "What happened?" Maria Hill demanded. She looked at Clint. "You called Coulson?"

"I spotted his ex at the problem we just handled," Natasha said simply. Hill huffed. "Even when he was out of his mind he still managed to nearly take down the base."

"Why was he captured?" Hill demanded.

Clint stared at her. "He got poisoned by a demon he was taking down, Hill. It happens to some of us." She glared at him. He stared back. "Why are you in here anyway? You're not involved in any of the other heros in the city. Which the kid is. So bug off." Xander woke up with a yawn, blinking at Clint then around. He sniffed toward her then snarled. She backed up.

"He ripped someone's throat out," Natasha warned. "With his teeth." Hill retreated to the doorway. Bruce shut the door in her face and got back to work. Natasha smiled. "Is he looking better?"

"Somewhat. He might be able to come out of it soon. The poison's not that strong in his system."

Clint tipped the boy's head up to look in his eye. "Can you wake up? It could help." Xander put his head back down after picking up a piece of meat with his teeth. "Okay, sure, you avoid things." Bruce looked over so he pointed at where the super soldiers had been sitting. Bucky was in the bathroom. Bruce nodded, moving Bucky to a more private area. Xander relaxed some and drifted off again after trying to bite the IV cord again. Thankfully Clint stopped him so he didn't get a mouth full of fluids one shouldn't swallow.

***

Clint was gone when Xander woke up. He blinked up at the ceiling then looked around. Bruce stared back. "Shit," he said.

"You went primal."

"My hyena is really nice." He sat up with a wince. "Why did I go primal?"

"Demon poison."

"Oh, yeah, that thing. If I had taken the antidote I didn't have it would've prevented that." He looked at himself then at him. "Did I go another three rounds with his highness?"

"No. You somehow stumbled into a fairy ring and they sent you to Africa, where you got captured by a HYDRA lab." Xander winced. "It got destroyed. Natasha made sure."

"That's nice of her. I'll buy her flowers for that. Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Turned ankle. Few cuts." Bruce came over to stare at him. "You bit someone's throat out."

Xander grimaced. "Yuck."

"Very."

"Did I pick up some sort of scuzzy asshole STD?"

"No. Not that we can tell." Xander grinned. "What happened? I've heard rumors but what caused the problems?"

"Is my liver worse?"

"No. It's actually went up a bit. The poison didn't cause any other problems." Xander nodded. "Were you immune?"

"Partially. Mermaid taint."

"That's still weird. Though testing it is making the system groan."

"Did they get any samples?"

"That lab's in a smoking wreck."

"Good!"

"With what I found in your blood? Yes, it is." He stared at him. He was used to others who talked around a problem, he was one himself. "What caused the problems, kid?"

"Which problems?"

"The ones with your mentor."

"He went back there."

"He said he was meditating and slipped."

"He has a code to break that. Has had one since I merged him with his Ka spirit again." He sat up straighter to stretch. "Can I go hide?"

"No. Not yet. You still need more fluids and food." He stared at him. "That potion in your bag?"

"Magic removing."

Bruce shook his head with a sigh. "Does it help with everything else?"

"No. It makes me puke up sparkly rainbow looking stuff but it removes some of the leftover black magic I carry."

"Do you always take it?"

"I usually need to take it before I start to draw things. That may have been what brought that demon there. I'm not sure."

"From the news, it came to try to gather the sacrifice some mother had made." Xander nodded once, relaxing again. "You're safe here but Sam or someone will try to make you talk about why the fight happened."

"Because I was feeling like the abused kid he had," Xander said bluntly. "I didn't need that shit again. I had enough of that with the slayers."

Bruce nodded. "I don't think getting out of a toxic relationship is ever a bad idea," he said. "Are you sure it is?"

"Yeah. It was pretty bad before then when he was blaming me for Willow sending magic at me from across the realms and it making me sick. I don't need the nagging. I don't deserve the nagging. I can't handle it. I'm sorry but Steve can help him finish healing while I handle things that need to get done. There's a few of us who handle the smaller things."

"I'm sure you will as long as you finally heal." Bruce stared at him. "I'm going to draw extra blood in case they managed to get a sample," he said quietly. "That way I can process for antidotes." Xander sighed but nodded. "Thank you for doing sensible things."

"I do have common sense, but sometimes you gotta do the big things."

"Good point." He drew more blood for that processing, starting it into the system. "Steve and Bucky wanted to talk to you."

Xander shook his head. "No. I....no. Not right now. It's ungrateful of me but I can't."

"I don't blame you for that response, Xander. I really don't. For now, just relax and rest. You can handle all that stuff later. Also, all your stuff that was in the car is now in Clint's spare closet."

"I'm sure he took good care of my artillery for me."

"Probably." Bruce smiled a bit, getting back to work. "Hungry?"

"Nauseous so no thank you." Xander laid back down. "How long am I trapped here?"

"At least another day."

"Okay." He drifted off into his mind. It wasn't a sleeping state but at least he could rest and react if there was a problem.

Bruce checked on him then got back to work on the antidotes. It could become very important sometime soon.

***

The next morning when Bruce came back to the infirmary there was a post-it note on Xander's bed that said 'thank you' and nothing else. Bruce shook his head but got back to work on the boy's problematic blood results. Either Bucky had him again or Bucky could run out to find him again. One of the two.

Stark leaned in. "One of Hill's thugs tried to get in here to talk to him so he escaped."

"That's not why I figured he had escaped. Did he make it past them?"

"Yup. Somehow." Tony grinned. "Anything good?"

"I'm making antidotes for his version of the diseases he had." Bruce looked at him. "Not only are they dead strains but they're slightly off our version."

"How did he do that?"

"No idea. I didn't get to ask." He shrugged. "The dynamic duo?"

"Sam laid a bit of truth on him that made him pouty."

Bruce took off his glasses while turning to look at Tony better. "Xander said Bucky had been nagging him about however that witch had nearly killed him. Compared it to an abusive relationship."

"That's gotta be the soldier they made him into. I doubt Rogers would've put up with that." Bruce nodded that was true. "I can go point that out. The kid be okay? We apparently need someone who can handle demon emergencies so we need to get someone trained."

"Clint might be able to. Swords are different from bows but still ancient weapons."

"I was thinking Romanoff. She's good with the one Strange handed her." He walked off considering that. He ran into most everyone in the kitchen. "Romanoff, we need someone who can handle demon problems. Can you take sword lessons? You looked better than even Hawkbutt did."

She looked at him. "It's too early to ask those sort of questions and I do know some. I had to learn a bit of fencing for a mission." She sipped her tea. "Is Xander even here?"

"No, he got away when Hill's thugs came for him."

"Any idea where he is this time?" Clint asked. "His artillery probably misses him."

"Is it sentient?" Stark asked, looking confused.

"Who knows since he deals with weird things," Clint said. "I like the guy a lot. I've been reading through all the demon books, especially the field manual." He looked at Natasha. "Beheading comes up about forty percent of the time."

"Most things can't function without a brain."

"One has two heads, one on each end, and has a backup brain in the ass end." She shook her head with a sigh, drinking more tea.

"Good, you two learn that so we're not leaning on him until he's healed. Bruce said his liver's not any better and that's a bad thing." He looked at Steve. "Where's your buddy?"

"Off trying to find him to talk to him."

"Considering Bruce said the kid told him your buddy had been nagging about stuff he had no control of?"

Clint nodded. "Xander said he felt like his abused kid." He used his spoon to point at Steve. "Why would Bucky blame Xander for being harmed by someone in another realm that was mad at him?"

"She could have been confused or trying to help him," Natasha said. "I asked that mage. One of the bindings she used would've kept him from harming anyone."

Clint looked at her. "Which would've gotten him dead. I'd only take self defense from someone if I was really mad at them."

"She's a young woman," Natasha reminded him.

"Bobbi wouldn't have done that either."

She nodded. "Yes, but Bobbi has never been the genteel sort that girl apparently tried to pretend to be." She stared at him. "He said she was trying to protect him from turning into a monster."

"Uh-huh. Still sounds like she wanted him dead," Clint said.

"Perhaps but she might not have used anger, just sad feelings."

Clint nodded. "Point. I still say she's not right in the head so she's mad in the other definition."

She nodded. "I can agree with that diagnosis. She's clearly not well wound."

Steve blinked at them. "Bucky nagged him about that?" They nodded. "Why?"

"Why did he not retrigger his memories for however long?" Natasha asked. "Forcing Xander to deal with him. It seemed a good way to drive him off."

"It certainly worked," Stark agreed. "He's disappeared again."

"I'll find him later and hand him back his weapons as long as he's got a safe place to store them," Clint said with a wave of his spoon. "Plenty of people track Xander. Not just because he's a bit weird but for other reasons. A lot of people think he's fun to watch."

"I'm sure he would be," Natasha agreed. "I'd like to see you workout with him with regular weapons." Clint smirked at her. "You do good enough with a staff, you should be able to use a sword as well." She finished her tea, getting up to start more water boiling and some toast.

Stark shook his head. "You looked like some fantasy pinup girl with one," he teased with a wicked smirk. She glared at him. "All you needed was the fantasy armor."

"I don't think I want to be admired for that."

"Let's hope someone doesn't send us to a realm like that," Clint said. "You and I would survive but Stark would be lost without electricity."

"Magic does drive me nuts," Stark agreed. "Bruce too." He got more coffee and started another pot. Outside Natasha and Bruce, everyone else was a coffee whore in the tower. An empty pot was a sign of war.

Steve looked at them. "Can I help them straighten that out?"

"No, he has to apologize for himself," Clint said. "You doing it for him is like sending your mom or girlfriend to apologize for something."

"I'm not either of those for him but I guess that's a good point."

"No, it was Alex who nagged Bucky back into better health," Clint said dryly, smirking at him. "He even threatened to have his cat fur up the metallic arm a few times from what I heard."

"That would suck. You can never fully get cat fur out of anything," Stark said. "Especially out of delicate electrical materials."

"Does that mean we can get a dog to watch the tower when we're all gone?" Clint quipped.

"No. I'll build you a robotic dog to play with but it won't have any fur to get into everything. I don't have time to vacuum dog fur out of my suit." He drank some of his coffee as he walked off.

Clint grinned at Steve. "Maybe we can train it somehow too?"

"Maybe. I've seen other K-9's in the field. They were real handy." He got up to get more coffee then went to talk to Bucky. "Any luck finding him to apologize?"

"No," he complained. He looked up. "I wasn't that bad to him."

"Did you nag him about that magic attack?"

Bucky frowned. "He said he had protections."

"From ones doing it from here. Probably not from powerful magic users in another realm that used to be his friend." He took a sip of his coffee. "He told Bruce he felt like your abused kid."

Bucky winced. "I...I wasn't that bad."

"Why not trip the memories again?"

"I tried, it didn't fully work. Which means I need to meditate to talk to myself or whatever that was."

"I have no idea how that works so try it now. That way we can go find your protege. Before someone else wants him."

"With any luck he's found a few of his former dates and they're babying him. We'll never find him if he's with them but they'll protect him."

"Does Xander really need that much protecting?"

"He's injured."

"Yeah, according to Bruce his liver's been injured for years, Bucky." He stared at him. "You might ask him that. I'm not sure if he'll tell you since that's private medical information. It might help so you don't push him away again on purpose."

"I didn't realize I was doing that."

"That's why it's called an unconscious action. C'mon, let's go ask around. Maybe someone knows." Bucky followed him out into the city to find his young protege.

***

Natasha went to the demon bar the boy played poker at, settling at the bar. "Is there someone here I could talk to about Xander?"

"A few of us know him, pretty lady. Who're you?"

She smiled. "Natasha Romanoff."

"Hmm, the one who's nearly as good as a slayer," the bartender said, smiling at her. She stared back. "You can't bend metal bars."

"No, I cannot, but I've thankfully never needed to." She shifted to cross her legs. "I think it would do better if someone like his mentor understood that Xander can handle things. They've had a few problems."

"We weren't sure if Rosenburg had spelled him from that realm," the bartender admitted. "It seems like what the girls did to him." She smiled. "If you know the right sources, there's a better tv show in another realm."

"Do you know who I can get copies from? Are they fictionalized or like reality tv?"

"There's only one realm that uses us as reality tv," he said. "Do they tune in over there? I'm not sure. I know who you can ask. I can tell you how to get to their shop."

"Please. Xander seems to be very helpful most of the time and even if Bucky doesn't realize it, the rest of us need some training by him to handle swords."

He nodded. "I can see that point. We've had some migration from his original realm thanks to them getting scared of the Red Witch." He stared at her. "I can tell you they won't be all nicey-nice with you. They'll expect you to be a bit...softer. You should also show up in better armor before they put you in girly armor."

"Seeing Sif's armor means that I know other women wear things that aren't chainmail bikinis," she said dryly.

"Yeah, but she earned their respect for her badass moments even in that fully covering armor. They don't know you yet." He grinned. "Even if they were watching our battles."

"There's many men who don't understand the strength all women have. Otherwise humanity would've died out when men had to bear children," she said with a one-sided shrug.

He laughed, nodding. "Too true. My own Ma's egg laying was horrific the one time I saw." He walked off, coming back with a piece of paper. "Here's his shop. Don't go alone. If you can get Lady Sif, that'd probably help a lot. The merchant has a crush on her. If not, try to bring Xander."

"He disappeared from the infirmary and no one knows where he is."

"Do you blame him?"

"No," she said. "I would have left sooner." He nodded. "Is he local?"

"No clue. He's hiding. He's probably pouting about his artillery babies and his favorite battle axe not coming with him."

"Clint would give them to him when he asks," she said, standing up. "Thank you."

"Welcome, Great One." She smiled, leaving to see if she could find someone to go with her. He shook his head, sending a text message to that merchant. That was an interesting question. The bartender's face switched back to demon guise, making him smile. "At least they'll learn how to appreciate him. It was a very interesting wish Andrew prompted Buffy to make." He disappeared with the bar before more humans found it.

Natasha went back to the tower and to Thor's suite, tapping on the door. He opened it, staring at her, hair tie in his mouth while he pulled the rest back. "I have the address of someone who can get us film of what Xander has done over there. I was warned to bring someone like Lady Sif as the merchant has a crush on her and the rest of us strong women he expects to be chainmail bimbos."

Thor smiled, taking the hair thing out to tie up his hair. "She is not down here but I may go with you, Natasha. It would be interesting to see."

"Thank you. He said the merchant was impressed by her skills, that's why she's expected in real armor while he expects the rest of us to be in fantasy armor."

Thor shook his head. "They are much like those clubs full of scanty girls down here to us. A fun pasttime but not for real." He grabbed his jacket and boots to put on then went with her. He had heard much of this community but had never seen any of them. He pointed. "Is that not Xander?"

She looked then shook her head. "No, it's not. It looked like the other one, Alex." She frowned, chasing after him. It wasn't but he did look a lot like him. They went to the merchant's shop and stepped inside, which brought them across a portal into a bazaar. Natasha was the most dressed woman there. She nodded at a staring guard. She held up the paper. "Is he here?"

He pointed with his mouth open. "We don't get many like you here, human."

"There's not many like me anyway. Thank you." She walked off with Thor. The men around them were giving her too interested looks that were annoying her. One tried to touch her so she broke his paw. She stared at him. "Not a toy. Thank you anyway." She let him go. They continued walking. A few of the men were following them but Thor's look back at them made them back off. They found the right booth and she stepped forward. "A bartender sent me to you to learn more about a new compatriot," she said quietly. "May we speak?"

He looked up from reading his comic, smiling at her. "Of course we can, Agent Romanoff." He put the comic down, leaning closer. "Can you tell that jackass that he ruined Andrew for me?"

"If we can find him, yes. Should I give him your name?"

He smiled. "Jonathan. I was brought back specially for this talk by Andrew moping." He waved a hand around. "What do you want from our realm?"

"I want to know more about the boy's battles and attitudes, especially once he was out on his own."

"Xander's always been on his own. Jesse was a good anchor but he and Willow couldn't be there all the time. They weren't twins. Thankfully. I can't imagine what would've happened if we had lost Xander and not Jesse." He handed over a boxed set of DVD's. "Should play in your realm." He handed over a few comic books. "Those are mostly on the slayers but he does show up. Ignore the 'him and Willow' stuff. It's a bit more fanciful but has the thread of truth." He patted a black case. "That's almost precious and I need the slayers to look at it."

"Can I get copies?"

"I'm not sure if I can or not." He looked at Thor, who smiled. "I know about you, Lord Thor, and all those who've held your hammer when you weren't worthy for a bit. I have no idea why something whispered in your ear did that but it's nice Jane became you for a bit. Oh, and she needs a mammogram. Today." He nodded a bit. "Before it's too late. The hammer just makes her die faster."

Thor cleared his throat. "I will bring my beloved there as soon as we get home. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled. "I thought Darcy would do better but I guess she's not the same sort of pure spirit." He shrugged and looked at Natasha. "If I could copy them I would." He looked back at a demon. "Don't bother the pretty agent lady that takes out alien warlords, guys. It's not nice to make her fight you." They ran off. He grinned. "Sometimes men are pigs. In his species' case, literally."

"Is there some way to see if they can be copied?" she asked. "Or is there a way I can get another copy?"

"I doubt they want you to pay them," he said, but he did pull out his phone to call, speaking in another language that sounded slightly musical in cadence. He huffed then said something else. Then he hung up. "They think you're amusing. You're a movie series to them." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Higher beings, yuck. Though they were placing bets on you and Brucie getting together." Another set, larger this time, showed up. "Is that all of it?" he asked, looking at the extra cases. "Huh, stuff so the slayers won't nag." He handed them over then leaned over to kiss her quickly. "Always wanted a warrior woman to hold at night. I guess you're good enough since you needed me for a bit." He winked and the stall disappeared.

She carried the DVD's while Thor got the comic books. She looked at him. "That was weird."

"Yes it was but he was a spirit. I'm not sure who sent him."

"Could that matter to the tapes?"

"If they taped what actually happened, I would think not," he admitted. They went back through the same portal and came out in a time when New York was a forest. They went back through and looked. "How do we get back to our right time?" They reset it for them. "Thank thee, warrior." They went through and found Clint waiting outside in th car. "Well timed."

"Been two hours," he said, looking at Natasha. "You freaked Steve out." He turned the car on and they drove off once everything was inside. The three of them took over the movie theater Stark had installed to watch the videos. The first few seasons weren't much different from what they had seen. The third, they felt sorry for those stuck in it. While they agreed some things were important, Clint wasn't having any of the 'but he's not a monster' thoughts. "No, he is. You're blinded by your emotions and I'm sorry but stake him in the daylight."

Natasha patted him on the hand. "I'm sure that's not the end of it." He snorted. "Young women are like that sometimes. She was taught to care."

"Point but still!"

Thor nodded. "Some warrior women have to deal with that problem." They kept watching, all of them wincing at the battle at graduation. "That sucked," Thor announced. "How did no one see him doing that?"

"Some people want to ignore things," Clint said. "Like demons."

"Mayhap but still!" They went to the next season and it explained why Xander didn't like being around military people and a few references he had made. Natasha did snort happily at the point where Xander mentioned he had stripped.

At the end of that season, Clint looked at Natasha. "Maybe they have a head vacuuming machine over there?"

She shook her head. "I doubt it." She put in the next disc so they could watch that. It didn't get much better. By the end of the series, they were all morose and upset for the children. "I'd go to Africa too," Natasha said quietly. Thor and Clint nodded to agree. She sighed and put in the next one. "Xander's Wacky Adventures," she read of the title screen. They saw Xander coming out of the airport in Africa and being pounced by a crying demon. Who he helped. The tape skipped around some but it covered the important events instead of everything.

Clint climbed the back of the chair, trying to get away from something on the screen. "Damn!"

"That is worse than a bilgesnipe," Thor said, eyes wide.

Natasha paused it and both of them calmed down. "I think it found the camera and was trying something. Shall I fast forward?" she asked as she did that. She put it back in normal play mode once it was Xander killing it with a slayer, or some other sort of girl who could use a sword.

Thor nodded. "We warriors would appreciate women with such skills." He frowned. "What is that?"

The sudden demon grew and Xander fired on it without looking then finished the first one. That one died on top of the slayer, making her shriek and complain until he got it off her. Then she kicked and spit on it. Which revived it so she got to kill it this time. Xander looked up and shook his head with a sigh but the film skipped to another incident. It was more goofy. It was Xander dancing with some kids around a fire at what looked like a celebration. The adults looked on fondly and the slayer, or girl with the sword in the last incident, was laughing at them. It was cute.

Stark sat down at the end of the couch, staring at it. "Wow." They all glared at him but he shrugged and they kept going through those. A few more made Clint want to find holy water to bathe in. Thor too. Stark was grimacing. "He needed better weapons."

"The skill is in the user, not the weapon," Thor said. "Though many of those I would rather have your suit's weapons instead of my hammer to defeat."

Stark nodded. "Definitely. Legolas?"

Clint looked at him. "If that's the truth, I'll bow to the kid. I'm not that sort of warrior and he's a bit crazy."

Natasha nodded. "Quite." They finished those out, and it did cover what happened HYDRA had pulled Xander and Andrew. She shuddered at that scene. Clint was curled up in a tiny ball in his seat. Thor was hunching over as well. Stark was shuddering and trying to curl up a bit. She turned them off. "We have comics that glorify the slayers as well."

Stark looked at her. "Anything that bad?"

"They had another true battle without him there," Thor said quietly. "An invasion was mentioned but not covered." They got into those comics to share around.

Stark looked at the one on the invasion. "We need to make sure this can't happen here."

Natasha took it to read, nodding. "Yes, we do." Clint took it and went to call people to make sure of it. She looked at Thor. "We should ask Xander about some things to see how true they were."

"It looked like hidden camera taping," Stark said quietly. "I'm pretty sure it's not a movie." He looked at her. "We underestimated the kid."

She nodded. "I think others have as well."

"They're sulking in Steve's room. Cue up the first one?" She did that and he snorted at the title of the regular show. Steve and Bucky came down at his texted order. They settled in and Stark watched it with them. Bucky nearly exploded at the graduation battle but Stark only laughed at the love spell incident. Stark looked back at the swearing in Russian. "It gets worse. Save it for a few years worth." He got them into the other things. Steve seethed that his army had done that sort of thing over there. Bucky growled at the stuff in the first disc from Africa. Until that same demon that made them curl up showed up. Then Stark left them to watch the rest alone.

Steve waited until the end to say anything. "I'm going to quote Nick Fury: Mother Fucker."

Bucky stared at him. "Seriously?"

Steve stared back. "You underestimated him?"

"Hell yes!"

"Well, now we know so we won't do it again."

Bucky paused then nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. Any idea where he is?"

"No."

Bucky got up to pace and think. "We can go to the demon bars to ask." Steve nodded, getting up to tidy things up. Bucky paused to look at the screen then at him. "I guess that's how he met Deadpool."

"I'd guess so," he agreed. "He looked good defending everyone from that huge intergalactic demon." They headed out, handing Natasha the DVD's. "It might help Bruce."

"It may, or it could disturb him a lot. Clint's not sleeping yet and can't make himself eat." Steve shuddered, heading down to the garage. "Oh, Bucky, Andrew's friend Jonathan said to yell at you for ruining Andrew. Apparently he's not the same sort of geek."

Bucky grimaced. "He needed it to survive but I'm sorry I ruined him that way. I hope he can compress them together." He walked out thinking about that. Andrew had been a strong willed but weaker emotioned geek then. Then he had taken Xander's skills for that battle. Andrew was very different now. He hoped he was all right. Though he felt lighter about not having warped Xander into a cold killer. At least he hadn't done that damage.

***

Deadpool walked up to where Xander was resting on a bench in the demon poker hall, staring down at him. "If I had a couch I'd offer it to you."

Xander flapped a hand without opening his eyes. "I'm okay here. I'll get up in a while to play some more for new weapons."

"What happened?"

Xander opened his good eye to stare at him. "Do you want the 'shit happened' explanation or the longer, realistic one?"

"The shit happens one works for me."

Xander sat up with a moan, holding his side. "Let's just say it started with me accidentally stepping into a fairy ring, they decided I should be back in Africa so put me in that village I nearly went to get help in, and HYDRA had set up a lab base there after they had destroyed the village in case I showed up." He stared at him. "I was in hyena land so there were suddenly dead fucks."

"Dead fucks are some of the best fucks there are," Deadpool said dryly.

"Squealing fucks are the best fucks there are because you know they're enjoying it." Xander grinned. "Anya used to squeal and I try to make sure all my present dates do too."

"True, squealing fucks are a lot of the best there are." He looked down at him. "The Dynamic Duo are looking for you." Xander shrugged. "Word was that they found some sort of show that showed you over there."

"Wow, maybe the slayers should watch it so they quit underestimating Andrew," he said dryly.

"Not you?"

"No, Wade. I know I can't go home," he said quietly, staring up at him. "So I've got to make the most of it and make new friends here." Wade grinned. "But if the should-be-fucking-by-now duo watched that I'm probably going to get angsted to death by one of them. I should hide better."

"No full humans get in here," Wade reminded him dryly. "Only mutants and demons." Xander grinned. "Which one do you fall under?"

"With the mermaid taint? No clue."

"Huh." He walked off. "The pretty redhead asked about you earlier. That's how they got whatever show." He looked back. "I overheard something about Jonathan."

Xander hopped up. "That's a bad thing. The First Evil killed him. That means she's back."

Deadpool stared at him. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. Shit."

"We can get a message to Andrew for him to check," one of the higher demons sighed. "Though he was in a demon bazaar and said a higher power sent him back so he could nag Andrew." He looked at Xander. "If so, how would we solve it?"

"We could destroy the seal before she opens it. Where is it?"

"There," the demon said. "Still." Xander grimaced. "In that realm."

"Can you get Andrew a short message?"

"I can mail it."

"Please." He wrote out a message and sealed it for the demon to mail for him. "Thank you." He slipped him a few bucks. "For postage or whatever."

"Done. You should find a better hiding spot."

Xander shrugged. "I'll find one later. Since I'm up, I can win more artillery. I'll probably need it." He paused by one demon to stare at him. "Did they see me taking out that Higher?" The demon nodded, not looking at him. "Great. So they know I have status." He walked off scowling.

"You knew?" one of the other demons demanded.

Xander smiled. "Anya *did* explain those things to be, guys. She used to fantasize about taking out a few who were dicks to the vengeance demons. Then we'd screw on their consecrated altars or thrones. I learned a whole lot from those." He grinned. "Anya was a fount of information. I learned a lot about how to kill the higher demons." He made it to the bar and put down cash, getting a bottle of milk. "Thanks." He went to play a few hands until he could sleep again.

"There's human officers staring at the building," one bouncer announced from the doorway.

"There's no law saying you can't bet for cats or anything other than money," Xander said without looking up. "I'm sure there's a liquor license for those few things you guys serve, and I'm pretty sure all the weapons in here are legal." He hid his own.

"They might react because they see them as physically deformed mutants," Deadpool warned.

Xander pointed at someone, who puffed up but smiled. When the officers rushed in that demon started to put out his mind altering smoke. Most of them wandered off but a few weren't caught.

An officer glared at Xander from beside him. "Are you one of those powered mutant sorts?" he demanded.

"Nope." Xander looked at him. "Not in the least. I'm a protector of this city's inhabitants, including these ones." He stared at him. "Personally I feel great pity for the ones I have to beat for harming people for how they were born. I didn't like it when it was about race, I sure as hell don't like it when it's about a birth defect like a fin. Then again, birth anomalies like fins, scales, and alternative breathing methods aren't as tragic as ones that give you Down's Syndrome or blond hair. Also mutations." He stared at the officer. "Beyond that, why would it matter if we're not doing anything wrong?"

"You exist. That's wrong." The officer pulled his gun. Xander was up before it cleared the holster and had him pinned to the ground. "You won't win. The others will get you."

Xander leaned down. "If I die here so be it. So will your whole realm when I don't get something stopped." He grinned. "I'm the guy that takes out those huge problems." The guy shuddered, trying to get away from him. "I don't think any of us were bothering you by existing. If so, that means your existence isn't really worth anything. If it can be bothered by others existing that means you're just a placeholder and someone more important, who could've done good for the world, would've been born. I pity you that knowledge. At least I've saved the world, even if I only had a sword." He let him go. "Now, have a nice night, Officer. Though that looks like a rental uniform." The man stomped off. "Let us know if they try to burn it," Xander ordered.

The bouncers nodded, watching the humans have a hissy fit across the street. They even called them in to 911 as a group of officers stating they were going to raid a place to kill everyone inside due to being mutants. A few more officers showed up to talk to them and arrested the group for not being officers. The bouncers smiled when they got stared at. One of the officers shuddered, moving away from there, but humans were like that.

"I'm hoping that's not the same group that willingly and knowingly burned their own kids for being born mutants," Deadpool said from behind his cards. "If so, I hope like hell they die for it." The demons muttered but nodded. One looked that up online and went to show the officers that. He was mute anyway and none of them wanted to look at the screen. Deadpool came to the door. "That's tape of them killing their kids in a ritual manner." The officers looked at the film, growling at it. "Thanks. We don't like those." He escorted the tiny demon back inside and went back to his poker table. Xander came over to hug the demon then him. "No hugging, Xander. I don't do boys."

"Pity. You'd be fun in bed." He went back to his bench and laid down again. He had a new gun, that was a good thing to help him have good dreams. It made a great comfort snuggle.

***

"Maybe if we summon a demon he'll have to show up," Steve said the next morning.

"Don't you dare," Bruce ordered. "Xander's still sore and needs to rest for the next few weeks."

"Sorry, just thinking out loud," Steve said. "We couldn't find him."

"He was defending a demon poker hall last night," Clint said from making coffee. "Some anti-mutant people decided to rent uniforms and bust in one."

"Where?" Bucky demanded.

"The Six Gallon." Clint looked at him. "Only demons and mutants in there."

"I'm guessing his mermaid taint or something got him in," Bruce said. "Anyone else of note?"

"I doubt Deadpool's going to help you guys." Clint went back to fixing his cup of coffee then came to sit down. "The demons in there are peaceful."

"Are there any in town that might help?" Steve asked.

Clint shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I haven't been hanging out down that way in a few months."

"Thanks. Let us know if you hear he's out and about?" Bucky asked more quietly. Clint nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. I heard he got mouthy on one of the bigots."

"Good. Thanks." Bucky walked off thinking about that.

Steve looked at Natasha, who shrugged. "There's always some in town but I'm not sure who could unless Logan's back in town."

"He ran into Logan, told him to mind his own business," Steve sighed. "But thanks." He walked off texting that one. Maybe that old guy knew someone in town who'd be an intermediary.

***

Across town, two mutants got the same text message and one agreed she'd go there that night to talk to the young guy. She had seen him fighting a demon and it was impressive but scary. She put on civilian clothes instead of her uniform and headed that way casually. It meant she could get dinner too, which was nice since it was her night to cook for the group. She walked into the demon bar, getting noticed by most everyone.

Deadpool waved a hand. "He's sleeping. Let him."

She shrugged, sitting down at his table. "How did you know why I'm here?"

Deadpool smirked at her. "Because the dynamic duo of moping are like that, Rogue."

"Point." She looked over at the other human in there, shaking her head. "I saw him in a battle with a demon. It was scary."

Deadpool nodded. "Yes it is." He patted her on the covered arm. "He only likes them dangerous and he's more likely to go for Remy than you." She laughed, swatting him with a gloved hand. "Seriously."

"That's fine. I'm not looking for a trade-in deal. I got plenty dealing with the problems."

"I hear that," Deadpool agreed. Xander gasped awake, looking around. "You out of the vision?" he called.

"Fucking Powers," he muttered, heading to the bathroom then back to the bar to get a cup of coffee. He wrote down what he saw, handing it to Deadpool as he walked behind him. He paused to stare at the new girl, sipping his coffee. "Who're you?"

"I'm Rogue. Logan asked me to play messenger."

"Hmm. I'll have to talk to them eventually but not right now." He took another drink. "They need to get right with each other first. Then they can deal with others." He went back to the bathroom, coming out while adjusting his fake eye. A few demons grimaced. "Not my fault her minion popped it and gave me visions."

"Speaking of, have you met him yet?" Rogue asked. "He seemed weird."

"Long story there," Xander admitted. "And yeah, just the once in the park when Alex got to head home." He sat down at the same table, antying in. She played a hand while Deadpool explained the special rules since this wasn't regular poker. She won a tasty kitten but she'd take it home instead of eating it, which made the demons pout at her.

Deadpool reread the vision. "I should drop that on them."

"I can do that on the way home," Rogue said. She looked at Xander. "They're worried about the moping."

"Yeah, well, I was feeling like the abused kid so that's fine to me."

She nodded. "I can see that point. You ever come by the school?"

He stared at her. "In my original world you're a comic book, Rogue." She winced. "I've seen plenty of things that state I want to be *nowhere* near the head fucker. Either head fucker really. Or his pathetic lap dog that changed sides a few times. The rest of you I admired and I put you up as role models to my slayers. But I don't want to go there."

"You don't like telepaths?" she asked with a grin.

"As far as I can tell the comics have been right and did you know he killed a team to protect someone's death?" She gaped. He stared at her. "I don't need to handle that. I handle non-peaceful creatures from other realms." He waved a hand around. "Unlike these guys, who are all peaceful." He put his cards down. "I have no problem with any being as long as they're peaceful and not out to get me. Fuzzy, funny colored, scaled, bad breath, and all. I'm used to a lot more weird people than mutants."

One of the demons nodded. "Spike comes to mind."

"Don't remind me," Xander sighed, looking up. He frowned at the demon face, waving at it. "Hi. Huge problems?" It dropped something from its mouth. Xander read it over and nodded. "I can do that but all that stuff's in Clint's closet. Is it right now?" The demon head nodded, looking interested. "Okay, I can handle that. Thank you for letting me know. Are the slayers okay?" The head wobbled side-to-side. "That's fine. Thanks, man." He frowned and concentrated, pulling weapons to him. "There, let me go handle the thing in the park that's going to eat this realm." He looked at his cards then at Deadpool. "Play it for me please." He took his new gun friend with him too. "Nice to meet you, Rogue." He got into his jeep with the weapons, heading for the park.

Deadpool looked at her, shrugging some. "He's like that during problems. He's still healing a lot of injuries too."

"Should I tell Rogers?"

"No, I'll tell Rogers." He took the vision back with a smirk. "Have a better dinner."

"Fine." She left, going to watch the kid in the park. Vision, the new metallic Avenger guy, showed up but Xander had it well in hand. Nothing seemed to harm the little cute looking demon but then Xander pulled out an axe and the thing grew. Xander killed it quickly enough, just a few more injuries. Then he threw down something and left with what he had left. She went to report to the others. Having a weird guy like that wasn't the same as having Deadpool but they apparently could work well together.

Deadpool finished both hands, tucking Xander's few bucks into his pocket on the way to the tower. He ran into Stark, holding up the vision. "It woke the kid up."

"Is he all right?"

Deadpool stared at him. "Probably. No idea with what he just fought off." He walked off. "Have fun with that. Let me know if I need ta help."

"I can do that." He read it over, grimacing. "That's going to be bad." He took it up to Thor's room but he was in the common area. He handed it over on his way to coffee.

"I wonder how correct he is," Thor said, grimacing at it. "That will be nasty."

Stark came back. "Yes it will be. How do we stop that since it's your area instead of science?"

"I know not yet. Let me think on it." Stark nodded, leaving him alone for a bit. Thor scowled at the vision. When the android floated in, Thor nodded at him. "We have a foreseen event coming."

Vision read it over. "I saw that one earlier. He was taking on something in the park. I could not identify the species."

"A demon?" Thor asked.

"I do not know that category of being, Lord Thor."

"That's fine. Did he win?" Vision nodded. "Thank thee. I need to find out what this being is." He went to write a letter home. It said they had nearly a year and his father would answer before then. He hoped.

Vision went to tell his progenitor about that fight in the park. It was interesting yet weird. That boy was very weird.

***

Xander was at a fast food place when he had his next vision, moaning as he grabbed his forehead. He sipped his drink, bundling his burger into his pocket so he could wander off to suffer in peace and aloneness. He didn't need to draw attention to himself today. He had to go back for his jacket but that happened when he was distracted. He made it to the alley before he heaved, leaning against the wall.

"Hey," a female said. "You okay?"

He blinked at her. "Kate Bishop." She scowled. "I'm Forger."

"Oh, hey. You okay?"

"Vision."

"The guy?" she asked, looking around.

"No, like the brain ripping vision." He sucked in a breath and finished his soda, then let out a sigh. "That's not good." He blinked at her. "Sorry, I hate those things."

"It's okay. Clint told me about you." She smiled. "Need walked back to wherever you're hiding?"

"You're busy."

"No I'm not."

He pointed. "Explosive arrows. You're busy. I can get there."

She stared at him. "Wait right here and I'll deal with that then we can all run away. Okay?" He gave her a look. "Seriously. I'll tell Clint otherwise." He groaned, clearly having another. She went to handle the stickup going on then came back to find him heaving for real this time. "That's nasty." He waved a hand. She helped steady him while calling in help. She had no idea what to do about visions. Clint knew though. Natasha showed up a few minutes later in Clint's car. She led him to it, knocking him out when he struggled. "He had a second one while I was handling the stickup he pointed out."

"Get in." She climbed in the front while Xander laid in the back. Natasha drove them off. "What smells like food?"

"He tucked his burger into his pocket. I was getting a post-school snack and spotted him." She looked back then at Natasha. "Think he's going to be all right?"

"Probably. This isn't the first one he's had." Xander moaned. "Xander, is it this realm?"

"Only one of them and they're coming here anyway," he moaned. He sat up, holding his stomach and leaning his head forward. "I'm in a motel near the river."

Natasha glanced back at him. "Bruce wants to scan your brain after that and check on your liver. He overrules you because I'm scared of him and not you." She parked inside the tower and they got out, Kate helping Xander up to the elevator. "Just to the infirmary," she promised, pushing the button. They walked in and found Bruce glaring at someone. "Is this a bad time?" she asked.

Bruce looked at her. "Yes. This is a SHIELD agent."

She sneered. "Are we certain? He could be HYDRA."

"He's been studying mutants," the agent said coldly. "We're very interested in that."

Xander walked in and stared at him, backing the guy against a wall as he advanced. "Unless you want me to beat you until your body is fully broken and then feed you to something I play poker with, stand the fuck down," he hissed. "I'm not in the mood for you. I'll see you eaten. Now, scoot before you piss Dr. Banner off."

"Who're you?" he demanded.

Xander smirked. "Forger." The man shuddered, shrinking away from him. "I said go. And I mean now please. Before I have to figure out how many weapons I'm carrying. I can already guess at four and a grenade." He pulled it out to smile at it then him. "And it's a gas grenade. Let's see." He patted himself down, coming up with another one. "Aw, that's explosive. That's a pretty baby pet." He stared at the agent.

"You're insane," he sneered.

Xander hit the guy, making him fall down. "No, I'm angry. And you're pissing me off more. How nice of you." He smirked. "You were going? Before I have to remember I'm carrying at least three guns?" The agent scrambled to his feet and ran off. Xander groaned, shaking his head. "I hate morons. It's bad enough some of them are people that want to date me."

Kate took the grenades to look at. "That's a gas grenade?"

He nodded, leaning over to point at something. "That's the same as the pin. Push that, count to three, then throw." He grinned. "It's a holy water grenade." He took it back.

Bruce cleared his throat. "How's the liver? And disarm while you're in here, Xander."

"I'm fine. I just had a few visions. The ladies overreacted to me holding my head and groaning."

"I wanted to see what they did to your brain," he said with a smile. "Let the young one babysit your guns and things." Xander huffed but let Natasha disarm him since she wanted to. Bruce looked at the small pile of weapons then at the boy. "Is that all of them?"

He grinned. "Probably."

"I'll have to put you in the CT machine for a few minutes. So nothing metallic."

"Small problem." He held up his pendant. "It keeps the hellmouth taint inside. That will probably kill your machine."

Bruce stared at him. "We'll take that off last. Strip. Let me check your liver too." He got a needle and strap. Xander sighed but sat on another bed once he had mostly stripped down and was eating his burger. "That's not good for you."

"No, it's cheap and I didn't do great at poker last night." He ate another bite. "It's food and it does the job."

Bruce shook his head. "Probably not as good as it should be."

"Men who live on salads are to be pitied, Doc."

"There's other foods." He drew the blood and started it running then came back to probe around his right side. Then his kidneys and pancreas got gently felt up. Then his head. "Have you tried Indian food?"

"I grew up in lower Cali, Doc. We had mexican."

"Less spicy," he admitted. "More beans."

Xander smiled but nodded. "I like Mexican food but I'm sick of it for the moment. Plus, hey, cheap."

"Yes it is." He looked in his eye. "Your other one needs cleaned."

"I ran out of saline and I keep forgetting to pick it up. It's only been a week."

"You have goo around the edges."

Xander took it out to look at, grimacing. "What is that?" He sniffed it then delicately tasted it, making Natasha shudder. "Oh, that's where that one thing sprayed when she got off in the poker hall. I can make a kick-ass aphrodisiac out of it." Natasha took a large swab to the eye to get that. "Want the recipe?" he quipped.

"Yes." He wrote it down for her. She looked. "What's that?"

"It's a type of scale shell that's been ground a specific way. It smells like dried poop but it's really strong when diluted with alcohol. Or mixed with these two it turns into a gassy substance that can make you hallucinate." He pointed with the pen he had stolen off Bruce. "This one's a normal thing. There's another two normal things, and I usually put it into coffee when a past lover wanted to play around with it while I was taking a healing week off."

She blinked, staring at him. "We saw film of you in Africa. Very few of your boyfriends though."

He smirked. "Great."

"You did insane things that none of the rest of us would've done," she said, staring at him. "I'm hoping you don't have to do it here?"

"By the second vision, one of the demons there is going to try to merge the realms to try to get away from Willow," he said quietly. "I hope not too."

"Write that out for us?" Bruce ordered. Xander sighed but did that. Bruce smiled at the young one. "Which one are you?"

"Kate Bishop. I'm the other Hawkeye." She smiled. "Clint told me about him."

"That's wonderful. I think he's upstairs."

"I can wait in case the vision has to do with me."

Xander looked at her. "You're about as old as some of the slayers. Maybe you can speak their spoiled bitch language?"

"I go to school with a bunch of them so I can translate," she quipped.

He grinned. "Cool!" He looked at Bruce. "Am I done?"

"No. We still need to see what the vision did to your brain." He looked over. "Stark, check the machine for his bloodwork while I run this."

"The radiation will warp your machine," Xander warned again.

Natasha took off his pendant. "I'll hold this while we scan it." Bruce took him into the CT room while she let Stark scan that for them. Bruce came rushing out and Xander came out to grab two weapons and shot at the machine. She leaned in there. The CT now had teeth, it was trying to eat anything on the sliding bed, which was apparently its tongue, and it was growling. "Stark?"

He came in to look then shot a repulsor blast at it. It died. Stark looked at Xander. "What would a sword do?"

"It's what I grabbed. I've handled worse with a sword."

"Uh-huh. Brucie?"

"I got one scan," he said. Natasha handed back the necklace. Xander put it on and the lights overhead quit trying to wiggle around. "Let's see if I can do it with the necklace on." He walked Xander in to do something else.

Clint strolled in, handing Kate a cup of coffee on his way in there. "Bruce, for some reason I seem to suck up his hellmouth radiation. Let's see if we can do it that way?"

"I would but we'd have to use the MRI, which will take at least a half-hour," he said. "The CT is down until we find a new one that won't bite."

Clint looked in there then at Xander, who shrugged. "Can you hold on for a half-hour?"

"Yeah, if I must."

"You must." They moved in there and Clint took the shielding necklace to put on, just outside of the range of the magnets. Xander's radiation was drawing into him so it helped. The MRI didn't start to growl until they were nearly done. Then Clint got Xander out of there and handed him back his necklace.

Bruce came out of the command area, staring at Xander. "Can we weed that out?"

"Not unless I dump it to make a new one." He groaned, holding his head. They got him back into the MRI while Clint helped again.

Stark looked at the young one. "I've heard about you, Bishop. How did you find him?"

"He was having lunch and had a groaning, grabbing his head moment then went to heave in the alley. Then he had another one while I handled a stickup."

Stark nodded once. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. It's kinda what happens sometimes." She shrugged but grimaced at Natasha scanning the fake eye. "I think it's just an eye."

"You never know. I've known spies who carried explosives in theirs," she said.

Stark looked at her. "That's hardcore." She nodded. "Huh. The idiot he ran off?"

"Bruce said a supposed SHIELD agent who wanted into his research on mutant skills."

"Forger totally alpha dogged him," Kate said with a smile. "I need to learn how to do that."

"He handled many large demons," Natasha said, looking at the young one. "You will hopefully never have to handle something that's skyscraper sized with a battleaxe."

"No, I'd rather not," Kate agreed. "That's when you beg any listening God for weapons."

Natasha nodded. "Yes he did." Stark smiled. "I would have as well."

"Me too," Stark agreed. "Even Loki."

Clint came out with Xander, who was still holding his head. He tucked him into a bed. "Bruce will come out to put in an IV with painkillers."

"Nothing works," Xander moaned. "Ever."

"We'll see if ours are different. We don't have the same things you guys do," Stark said. He found an IV and Natasha laid it while Bruce ran the scans. "Bruce, where do you keep the good stuff?"

"Blue cabinet," he said, tossing the keys. Stark got something and Natasha picked out something to insert into the IV tubing.

Xander whimpered. "Nice stuff but still a headache. Don't let them get me?" he begged Clint.

"No one's gonna get near you here," he promised, stroking over his hair.

"Not even the scowling ones?"

"No, not even Bucky and Steve," he promised quietly. "We'll block 'em." Xander nodded, passing out. He looked at Natasha. "You're never that generous with me."

"He needed to be unconscious. You don't usually." She made notes for Bruce and they settled in to wait. Bruce brought out the copy of the newest vision. She grimaced. "He said they'd be coming."

Steve leaned in. "Huge problems? Oh, hey," he said with a smile.

"He asked us to protect him from you two," Clint said. "And we need to talk to Alex. They're apparently coming to visit with demons who're running from them."

Steve blinked. "He doesn't need protected from me."

"Don't know but he's unconscious," Kate said. "He had visions."

"He has some sort of tea to help with those," Bucky said from behind Steve. "I think he's out though." He walked in and looked at Xander then at the pile of weapons. "He's missing some."

"They may be at his motel room," Natasha said. She handed the key in the pile she had pulled off the boy to Clint. He nodded, going to check on it for him. "He ran a SHIELD agent off."

"Good," Steve said. "Was it a problem one?"

"Yes," Bruce said. He looked at the liver function test, grimacing. "That's not good. His liver's stuck at about fifty percent again." He sighed. "We need to help him heal that."

"How did that happen?" Kate asked. "Demon byproduct?"

"Witch going suicidal," Natasha said. She smiled at her. "You're only mentioned in one of the visions." She let her see them.

Kate pointed. "Unless we're getting a Valkyrie, I'm about the only female archer down here that's in a uniform." She looked at her. "I can help."

"We'll allow you to." She smiled at the young one. "For now, don't you have homework?"

"Probably." She shrugged. "But it's vacation for the next week. I have time to write an essay on current world politics as it pertains to mutant rights." Stark shook his head quickly. "I've already gotten it half written. I just have to polish it." She hopped up on the foot of Xander's bed. "Isn't he used to younger female warriors?" They all nodded. "Think he'd work on some of my weapons training?"

"If you asked," Natasha said. "He's taught a few people about swords."

"Cool." She looked at him, patting his foot. "Just me, Xander. You're safe and Bucky's not here." He glared at her but Xander went back to sleep. She stared at him. He walked off in a huff. She smiled at Steve. "He didn't want him here. Patient's rights."

"Fine. We'll come back when he's awake," Steve said, following Bucky.

Bruce shook his head. "He'll probably escape by then," he muttered, getting back to the bloodwork results and the scans. He squinted at one, enlarging it. "That's got to be vision damage." Stark came over to look, pulling up comparison scans to Clint's brain and Bucky's scans. It was interesting how they compared, especially Bucky's. It might help them with his memory problems. Or keep it from happening to anyone else.

Stark took notes on that problem in case they ran into it later, or someone wanted to study it. Kate went over the various weapons while Natasha explained what the young one didn't know. Clint came back with a few things and a battle axe. Stark looked over. "Is he moving in?"

"I had to run two supposed agents off. Unless he had stuff hidden magically." He nudged Xander, getting an almost-blink. "There were agents by your room so I moved stuff," he said in his ear. "Was there anything hidden?" Xander mumbled something and put something in his hand. "Okay, I'll bring Kate to check it. Your battle axe is on the foot of your bed." He moved back when Xander kicked it and caught it to cuddle. Clint smiled. "I do that with my bow too." He patted him on the shoulder. "Lets go, mini me."

She snorted. "You just wish you had my great hair, Clint."

"Not likely. I'd look weird with girl hair." They walked out together.

Natasha shook her head with a sigh. "Now there's two of them." Stark smiled, looking over the bags. She got the weapons out of there. Xander made grabby hands at the assault rifle so she let him have that too. "When did you get that?" He mumbled something. "That's an interesting poker winning. You rest. I'll protect you." He mumbled something. "I'm not nice but I'm decent." He grinned, falling back asleep cuddling his babies.

Bruce looked over, taking a picture to save down. Then he got back to work on the boy's health issues. He had plenty.

***

Bucky snuck back into the infirmary and found it empty. He huffed, going to the storage areas and office area to find Bruce. No luck. He was in his lab though. He tapped on the window before walking in. "Where did my student go?"

Bruce looked at him. "I left him sleeping up there." He took off his glasses. "Did he sneak out again?"

"Apparently."

"Friday, where's my patient from the infirmary?" he asked.

"He is taking a shower under Thor's orders," the new AI said. "They were going over the visions he's had."

"Is he going back to bed?" Bucky asked.

"I can not determine that," the AI said.

Bruce got up and went to the changing area by the gym. He looked at the boy. "We need to talk before you disappear or go back to bed."

Xander winced, looking at him. "The visions?"

"Have caused huge amounts of problems." He pulled up the scan on his tablet, letting the boy come out of the shower to look at it. "That dark spot? That's brain damage," he said quietly. "Your liver's stuck at fifty percent still." Xander grimaced. "Your bloodwork looks weird for some reason we don't know. It may be exposure to the demon blood or goo that you took off your eye." Xander sighed, going back to his shower to finish rinsing off then came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Bruce looked at him. "Can you take care of that exposure?"

"That's probably where I was without my hellmouth blocking necklace for a bit."

"I took the blood before we did that," Bruce reminded him.

"I was without it for an hour last night while I was getting the chain fixed," Xander sighed. "I can do the demagicing potion. I'll end up heaving forever and that'll make whoever made me dinner mad."

"We can do that tomorrow if you stay tonight."

"I don't think we need to have that fight here," he said quietly.

"He did come looking for you just now. Asked me where you were." Bruce stared at him. "The only other option is really going to whoever did Deadpool's problems and have them test on you so you get self healing gifts too."

"Actually, that taint may be from him. I was stitching one of his cuts closed the other day because it was too deep to heal correctly without a few retaining stitches." He considered it. "Are we the same blood type?"

"No," Bruce said.

"Hey, thinking that I did the impossible with the mermaid taint," he said, shrugging at the end. "You never know how it'll work around me."

Bruce considered it. "We can distill the antigens for self healing. Let me think about that tonight?" Xander nodded. "Good. Go back to bed. We'll do the potion in the morning."

"I still don't want to have that fight with him here. He's your buddy."

Bruce shook his head. "He's Steve's friend. He barely speaks to me." He stared at him. "You managed to last four days."

"I used a paralytic on him a few times. A few times with magical traps. I need to pay to get some more made." He sighed. "That's going to suck."

Thor shook his head. "I did not know those happen."

"Yeah, they do." He looked at Bruce again. "I guess but...."

"I'll make that clear to him. I can also sedate you so you sleep tonight."

"Um, no. That's not a good idea."

"I can see why."

"I got woken up by that same agent," Xander said quietly. "And Coulson."

"I must've been at dinner. I'll stop that." Xander grinned. "You, go back to bed. Let Thor finish debriefing you about the visions." Thor nodded. "At the end, go to sleep. We'll do the potion in the morning if you have it." Xander nodded. "Good. Go." He let Thor walk Xander back up there. Bruce went to talk to Bucky. "Do not stress him out. At all. You're damn lucky he survived four days of handling you." He stared at him. "He doesn't need it with the way his health is." He walked off again, going to find Clint. "Can you talk to Deadpool?"

"I have," he admitted, looking up from playing cards against Steve and Kate. "Why?"

"Xander's not sure if he can do what he did with the mermaid taint with his blood and there's a strange exposure-related enzyme in his bloodwork. He was doing a few retaining stitches for him."

"So you think he sucked up the essence of the asshole in spandex?" Clint guessed.

"I'm hoping if he did, he got his self healing talent. With the vision damage, we're going to need to look into ways to fix it."

Clint nodded. "I can ask if he'll donate blood. He and Xander are buddies." He pulled out his phone but Kate took it and pointed outside where they could hear an explosion going off. "That might help too." He got up to look out there. "Wade!" he bellowed. The hero looked up and waved with his sword. "Get up here for a few when you're done! It's important! Xander's having more of those things he has." Another wave of the swords. Clint came back to get back to his card game.

"Thanks," Bruce said. He went to wait on him by the elevator. Deadpool came off. "Two points we need to talk about," he said quietly. "Xander's had three visions today." Deadpool shook his head with a sigh. "Two of them about the slayers' realm coming here so some higher demons get away from the witch."

"I'd like to run from her too," he admitted. "What's the second?"

"We're not sure if Xander sucked up some of your blood when he did those stitches."

"Like demon taint?"

"We're not sure what it is. There's a strange enzyme. Can I draw a half tube of blood to test?"

"Yeah, I don't care about that. I'm hoping he got my healing gifts. He takes way too much damage to not have a healing gift. Then he limps off cracking jokes while telling you it's nothing."

"Me too," Bruce admitted. "The vision damage was ...let's just say it's not good. I can't say more without his permission." He heard a growl and sighed, looking in there. "Thor, can you go smite the CT that his hellmouth taint made carnivorous? Apparently it came back to life after whatever Clint did to it earlier." Deadpool looked in there then shook his head with a sigh. Only Xander, it seemed to be a universal sigh of complaint.

"Of course." He went to look with his hammer. One good strike and it bit him. He hit it a few more times, destroying it. A few smaller pieces were still trying to bite him so he smashed them too. He came out pushing back his hair with a sigh. "It is fully smote."

"I was wondering if that was the past tense of smite," Xander quipped. "Not sure if it was smote or smited."

"Smote," Thor said with a smile. He nodded at Deadpool. "You can visit with him. I have heard the visions." Xander handed them to him.

Deadpool read them. "Can I run?"

"Yeah, you can run and help the demons run," Xander quipped. "I'll have to face down the judgmental one I guess. It looks like another standoff. So hey, maybe less liver damage this time."

Bruce looked over. "Please, before you need a transplant." He came to draw the blood then looked it over. "Not the same enzyme. Crap."

"Sorry," Deadpool said.

Xander grinned. "If I had to suck up someone's essence at least you're cool."

"Thanks, kid. How long you in here for?"

"Tomorrow sometime," Bruce said without looking. "We're demagicing him again." He looked back. "It's not related to the goo you pulled off your fake eye. Any idea what this is?"

"We didn't really do chemical analysis on the things we had to hunt," Xander said. "Nor were we like the Initiative."

"I saw that. I would've destroyed them," Bruce said.

Xander grinned. "We sure did try."

"Good!" He looked at the blood again. "You may have sucked up some of his healing gift. The tissue sample I took is healing. Huh."

"Mermaid and healing together turned it weird?" Xander guessed. Bruce hit himself on the head, running an internet search on mermaid taint. "I have a tooth in my gear," Xander said, getting up to dig through it until he came up with it. "Here. I kept one to remember that by and in case we had to test against it if I suddenly changed form into Swamp Thing like they did."

Bruce tested it and grimaced. "Not exactly," he said after a minute. "It is that and the healing gift."

Xander sighed. "So no more talk of liver transplants and brain damage?"

"Only if it heals it," Bruce said.

"It should," Deadpool said. "Sorry, Xander."

Xander hugged him. "If I had to suck up someone's essence it's great it's you. It's even better than sex sometimes." Deadpool laughed, hugging him back then left. "Let me know if you hear from Alex please?" he called after him.

"Yeah, if I do, I'm going to tell him to call about that scary vision. Three hundred teenage slayers is a dangerous thing. Especially to my sanity." He disappeared again.

Bruce smiled. "He's a breath of fresh, Mexican food laden air."

"I liked Mexican food," Xander quipped.

Thor smiled. "It is good it may help you." He left.

Xander laid back down when Bruce looked at him. "I'm being a good boy."

"I'm sure you are. We can protect you." Xander nodded, snuggling and going to sleep for now. Bruce got back to examining that and the mermaid taint. It was so weird. And possibly something Clint would stumble into some day.

***

Bucky was sitting there when Xander woke up from his post-potion and heaving nap. Xander grimaced. "I'm not going to yell. I'm going to apologize."

"I doubted you wanted to do this where others could hear." Xander made himself sit up even though his stomach still hurt and now his side was aching. He looked down at it then at Bucky. "So, why did you go back there?"

"The trigger wouldn't work."

Xander shrugged. "It's in there. I know it's in there." He looked behind him, getting a shrug back. "Why couldn't he trip it?"

"He was scared," the Bucky-Ka said.

Xander looked at him. "He said your fear blocked it."

"Oh." He nodded once. "I was scared of what I'd do when I pulled that state up."

"Well, apparently you were right to," Xander said dryly. "Considering I had to use multiple methods of keeping you down for those days before I tapped out to let Steve deal with you."

"You should've called him sooner."

"I knew you didn't want him near you like that and the problems would probably get worse."

"I did try to trip it back, Xander."

"And then you tried to kill me. Multiple times."

"I was a killer."

Xander nodded. "So was I. And?" Bucky grimaced. "You still went there on purpose without warning me. If I had known I could've set up something so you couldn't get free and have tripped it back for you. Instead you were apparently deciding I needed to be killed for taking care of you." He stared at him. "Frankly, I felt like the abused kid at that point. You're damn lucky I didn't just kill you to put you out of your misery."

"Yeah, I am. I taught you well."

"Don't flatter yourself, James. I knew how to kill someone long before I got pulled over here. That show didn't show anything about the three germ docs, did it?" He shook his head. "Probably not anything on the militias?"

"A few on them."

Xander nodded. "Did it show Sudan and the refugee camp where I had to take out soldiers coming for the vulnerable to get slaves and kid soldiers? And a lot of them were already kid soldiers?" Bucky shook his head more quickly. "Yeah. So don't flatter yourself that you changed me that much. I've been the guy that had to do it because no one else could or would since I was almost sixteen and had to kill my soul's light. I may have been vulnerable because of Andrew's needs for that battle, but I'm not the nice fairy. I never was the nice fairy. Kids like me don't get to grow up to be sweet, innocent people."

"We didn't see much about your family on the shows."

"Yeah, you wouldn't. The drunks weren't around unless it was a problem." He stared at him until Bucky looked away. "You did it on purpose. You did it knowing that you'd probably attack me again, because you have every other time you reverted. Even if it was meant to scare me off so you're alone again, that's wrong on many levels and frankly, I'm still fighting the urge to shoot you so you're out of your misery. Should I?"

"No." He shifted to look at him. "I will never do that again."

"I'm not going to chance that. I had to hold in my own urges to keep you safe. Do you think the hyena you met in the woods wouldn't have killed you if I had let her out?"

"No, I saw the mess you made in that lab." He shuddered. "You made a hell of a mess."

"I don't remember," he said honestly. "I never do when I'm in possession mode. The second shaman I trained gave me that present." He sighed. "At least I didn't eat them. The rest that were possessed at the same time I was ate a principal."

"I saw on the show." He grimaced. "Eww." He considered it. "We can rebuild the trust. I will not do that again outside of battle needs."

Xander nodded. "You need to work to combine them. That way you're not two people and your Ka isn't giving you that disappointed look again."

"He is?"

"Yeah." He looked at the Ka spirit again. "Anything you want me to tell him?"

"No, I need to smack him around. Send him down?"

"He wants to talk to you on the spirit plane."

"Sure, I can do that if it'll keep me out of doing that again." Xander nodded, getting them onto the floor to work on that. Bucky dropped and faced off with his old self, who punched him until he was groaning on the ground. Xander had left them alone, he was meditating on his own. Bucky looked up at his Ka spirit. "I didn't mean that."

"Yup, sure you didn't." He stared at him. "Never the fuck again or I'll shut us down and we won't get back up."

"Agreed," Bucky said, standing up with a wince for his now broken ribs. "I..."

"Don't even. I can read your mind even when I can't read the kid's. Speaking of, he's injured. He's got damage from the visions. He's got liver problems from the suicidal witch incident, and now he's been infected with some self healing gift that's only healing tiny things instead of the bigger, necessary things. You only caused a bit more damage to him but now he'll have to use the hyena state more often to protect himself. Also, the vision about the slayers coming over? Try to protect him like the relative you claimed him to be. Got it?"

"Yeah," Bucky said. "Thanks for the head's up. Can I help him heal?"

"Not right now. You can't fully unmagic him. The hellmouth taint is helping but the black magic regrows faster than the hellmouth taint can eat it and more often than he can take the potion."

"I can talk to that mage."

"Please do." Younger Bucky stared at him. "Steve would've been ashamed of that. What would you have done if that was Stevie?"

"I..." Bucky cleared his throat. "I wouldn't have."

"Good! Treat him like the old Steve before he leaves us and never comes back. We need the support staff."

"Yeah, I appreciate the kid. I was apologizing."

"You're being a dick."

"Yeah, I am." He went to wake Xander up, which brought him back up. They woke up to agents standing there with guns. Bucky stared. He looked at Xander, who sighed. "We can fix it."

"Yeah, we can," Xander said, stealing one of Bucky's knives to cut over something. Then he took off his necklace. The agents were giving him weird looks but he was used to it. "Here, hold that for me please?"

"Kid, you're injured."

"Fuck it." He concentrated and the hellmouth taint came out to infect them. One of them screamed and held her head. The other two backed off looking scared. Bucky got up to handle them. "Hey, Bucky, go to the decontam chamber," he ordered calmly. "I can't pull it back in yet." Bucky looked at him. "Now. Before you glow in the dark." He knocked both agents out, then tossed Xander his necklace before going in there. Xander sneered. "You really want me that much?" he asked the one screaming on the floor. "We can give you what makes me so special." He stood up and stared down at her. "I'm not a toy. Especially not your toy." He kicked her in the head to shut her up. Xander limped out, heading out of the tower. Bucky came after him and pulled him back up there, putting him into the decontam chamber next to his.

Stark leaned in with a scanner. "It's safe," he called.

Bucky leaned out. "He let it out on them," he called. "All that stuff from the hellmouth." He closed himself back in. The alarm quit going off.

Stark and Bruce came in to look at the agents. They got put into suits then put into a speciality room to be questioned by Natasha or Steve. Bruce took readings from both of them. "Barnes, you're not that infected," Bruce said over the speaker. "Hit a bed after you shower."

"He's flashing," Xander called. "Sorry. I was being expedient because we came up from meditating to find them there."

"Okay. Steve!" he yelled. He came jogging in, walking over the bodies. "Take Bucky to do a decontam shower. He's okay enough it shouldn't infect him. Xander let out his hellmouth taint," he said when Steve stared at him. "Bucky's been exposed to it before I'm sure."

"Sure." He helped Bucky out. "At least we won't have to keep smiting you like we do the CT machine." He led him to the infirmary's shower to get him the decontamination pack. "I'm here and you're all right."

Xander snuck over with Bruce's nod. "He needs physical grounding," he said quietly. He moved up behind him, pulling back his hair. Bucky shook his head. "I'm sorry I radiated magic on you. Take the fancy shower stuff," he said in his ear. "Just calm down and let it go." Bucky glared at him. He stared back. "I'm probably going to be answering questions instead of doing my own. Take Steve in there to shower with you." He went back to the main infirmary, looking at Bruce. "Sorry?"

Bruce stared at him. "It reduced the amount you carry by almost a full percent," he said dryly.

Xander looked at them then at him. "Only one percent? That's worse than I thought." He went back to the decontam chamber. "Should I let more out?"

"Not in there. We're arranging for a way with that mage that helped you. Clint and Kate Bishop went to talk to him about how to do that. For now, just come out, go back to bed, and we'll monitor it." Xander slunk out to climb back into his bed. Bruce looked into the bathroom. "He good?"

"So far," Steve said. "The radiation's going down the drain according to the meter in here." He looked at Bruce. "Is Xander all right?"

"It lessened what he carries by a whole percent." Steve winced, slumping and shaking his head. "We're figuring that out. Get him out and into a bed so we can make sure he's going to be all right." He went to talk to Stark, who was studying the radiation's power and effects.

Xander pointed at the female. "I released it and she went on a wailing fit. I may have activated a birthright gift but she had a gun like the other two when we came out of meditating to help Bucky on the spirit plane so his Ka could kick his ass."

Bucky came out working water out of his hair, nodding. "Yes he did." He settled on the next bed. "We'll be fine and we'll figure out why it didn't trigger it back." He looked. "She screamed like she saw the end of the world and it was her fault. He was nice when he knocked her out with a kick to the temple."

Bruce nodded. "I'd consider that nice. We can scan her to see what got activated." Coulson stomped in. "Are they yours?"

"No. They're another group that formed off the former SHIELD." He looked at them then at Xander. "What did you do?"

"I woke up from meditating being held at gunpoint," he said bluntly. "So I kindly took off my protection and hiding amulet and let the hellmouth taint have fun with new friends." He stared at him. "Not like I could've gotten to a weapon and I consider my survival more important than theirs since I handle the huge problems coming, and see them in advance. I also consider all the other inhabitants of this tower more important than them walking out of here."

"I knocked out the other two when he stunned them," Bucky said, checking his arm over. He moved and winced. "Huh, injuries carry over from the spirit plane."

Xander smirked and nodded. "Yes, they do. That's why I have a few scars."

"At least you didn't gnaw on anyone this time," Stark said with a shrug when Xander stared at him. "There was no growling. That's a great thing. Right?"

"Yeah. Hyena'ing out is one of my last resorts. I'm glad I didn't pick up my next evil girl and make a few love slaves too."

Bucky groaned, shaking his head. "I have no idea how you made a tough, badass arms dealer squeal and run over to pounce you, but it's weird," he noted. "Weirder than Alex picking up a cat during a fun night."

Xander shrugged. "I could pick up a cat but I never stay in the same place for more than a few days. Maybe a dog." Bucky gave him a look. He stared back. "I'm fine and I can stay on my own now, Dad," he said sarcastically.

"Nope. It's protective to have us together," Bucky said quietly, staring him down. "We've seen a lot of HYDRA people."

"Yeah, I've seen some heartburn from the poker buddies. Even Deadpool walked off shuddering and covering his ears as a poker buddy ate a few that were bothering a demon poker hall and sanctuary."

Coulson stared at him. "They were eaten?"

"Yeah, by the ones protecting the peaceful groups inside. Some who are real handy because they do things like help ease hurricanes and earthquakes." He stared at him. "They proved they weren't peaceful first, so their own stupidity."

"That seems a bit harsh," Coulson said. "What about jail?"

"So their people can get them out again?" Xander asked. "Because that's happened at least twice that I know of. We started out with that. It proved to be unreasonable because they came back again and were even more mad for their night in jail." He shrugged. "Them or me. I'm going to choose me." He looked at Bruce. "Are you sure I can't go get dinner somewhere?"

"We can feed you, kid," Stark ordered. He looked at him. Then at Coulson. "You don't get a say since you didn't stop them first. They proved their intentions and were taken care of based on what they were doing. What did you want him to do, cry and sob about it?"

"They're not any worse than any demon I've had to take out," Xander agreed with a shrug and a grimace. "Some of them were even a lot more human than those supposed agents. Definitely more humane. Eating someone's nicer than being tortured to death."

"Yes it is," Bruce agreed. "I probably would've harmed them greatly if I had been in here when they rushed in," he told Coulson. "We judge him on the Natasha scale, not on what normal people do."

Xander got up to hug him. "Thank you," he said, then went to the bathroom.

Bruce looked after him, smirking at Stark. "If that vision is true and they come here, can we talk to them?"

"Gladly. I'm going to let Pepper do it as a sensible woman." Bruce smirked and Stark pointed. "Natasha has the other two when you're ready to haul them out of my building." He went to check on the kid, who was washing his hands. "You good?"

"Yeah, just fine." He looked at him. "I'll be fine."

"Good. We've decided we're letting Pepper and maybe Natasha talk to those slayers of yours if they show up." Xander smiled, shaking his head. "Go back to bed before Bruce gets pissy." Xander went to do that and Stark got them dinner. He paused to look at the kid. "Do you eat like a super soldier?"

"No, I eat like a teenage guy."

"Okay." He got food down for Bucky too. Bucky was shaking his head with a sigh. "You and Steve do eat more than a teenage boy."

"Try to make it lower fat," Bruce ordered. "With his health I want to watch his fat intake."

"It's cheaper," Xander said.

"Uh-huh." He stared at him. "Yay."

"Yes, Doc."

"Thank you." Clint walked in trays of food, handing Bucky his then Xander his. "Thank you as well, Clint."

"Welcome. The agents are still sobbing that they're going to die by radiation."

Xander looked at him. "I haven't and I was born really close to it. Hundreds of kids are born near the one in Cleveland too. If they're that woosey they should give up and just die after a confession. That way they're not taking up resources." He stuffed his mouth.

"Natasha said the same thing. It made one huffy and demand to be tortured instead." Clint walked off shaking his head. "The young one agrees, Nat, he's a woose."

Coulson looked up then sighed and looked at him. "Are you normally this homicidal?"

Xander stared at him. "Were they not here to kill me? I don't care a bit about someone there to take me out. They get what they deserve, either by my hand or by someone's. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get mercy from them so why the fuck should I give it back?"

"Point," Stark agreed, nodding, looking over at Bruce.

Bruce nodded. "I feel the same way. They brought it on themselves."

"I would've just taken them out to protect myself," Bucky said. "No mess, no fuss, no worries of them coming back." He bit into his second sandwich. "Eat." Xander huffed but dug in. "Thank you. Don't make me find one of your ex's to fuss over you."

"Could you? I could like some fussing," Xander admitted. "I don't like being sick."

Bucky nodded, looking at his phone. He texted someone, then a second number. "Okay." Xander grinned at him. "Then we'll talk."

"Fine." He dug in again, slurping his soup. "This is really good."

"Welcome," Bruce quipped. "I made it a few days ago and put it in the freezer."

"So much better than I can do over a firepit."

"You can almost use a stove," Bucky said.

"Not like anyone in my family cooked. My only exposure to stoves was home ec, working in a strip club's kitchen, and working fast food."

"For that level, you do good," Steve said as he came in with statements.

"Strip clubs have kitchens?" Stark asked, looking at Bruce. "I never noticed they had food."

"If they're good, the girls can be that distracting," Xander agreed dryly. "We weren't that high up of a club. We were also mixed. Though the drag queen nights on Saturday were usually the most fun and attended." He ate another bite of dinner.

"Huh," Stark said. "What sort of foods would a strip club serve?"

"Wings. Mini meatballs you bake then toss into a pan. Baked ravioli looking things." He shrugged. "On drag queen show nights we had a big bowl of salad with chicken in the back for the ladies."

"So finger foods you can tease the girls you're buying drinks with," Stark said.

"Or so the girls can nibble between sets and drinks to soak up the alcohol," Xander agreed. "They didn't even sell the great liquor and the cheap stuff hits you harder."

Bucky shook his head. "I don't know why dames do that."

"Money," Xander said. "Quite a lot of them it's that or prostitution. Which would you rather see them do? Especially since quite a few I knew were single moms and guys who were hovering near an addiction or beyond broke but were pretty."

"Then taking off your clothes has got to be better," Steve agreed.

"Some do sell more than a preview," Stark said.

"At the club I worked at it was about thirty percent but I've heard some of the bottom level scrunge clubs were closer to fifty," Xander said.

"Yeah," Stark agreed. "And the girls often want better jobs but can't get them. No training, no education, nothing that would get them there."

"A few of the guys and girls I worked with were in college," Xander said. "They weren't going full time because they couldn't afford it but one was about two semesters from graduating and another one had just started."

Stark nodded. "Some do make it out of there that way. Some get burnt out and flee for their lives before it ends it. Depends on the stripper. Did you?" he asked, smirking at the kid.

"I *so* sucked at it," he said with a grin. "I froze up like Bambi and everything. I'm better at it now. A few of them took pity on me and taught me better."

"Good. I guess that's an easy way to find bad boys and girls to fuss over you." He got back to examining the radiation sample Xander had so kindly given them.

Coulson rubbed a hand over his face, then looked at Xander. "Next time try to incapacitate."

"Fine. If I can. If they're firing at me oh well."

"Thank you." He looked at Steve. "Can I collect them? That way we can continue to question them?"

"Sure." He led him to that room, letting Natasha help him haul them down to his car to lock inside. Steve came back to the infirmary, looking at Bucky. "Are you better?"

"Slightly." He looked at Xander. "Finish dinner."

"I am. Quit nagging! You're not my wife!" He scowled at him but went back to eating. Stark and Bruce were trying not to laugh.

"I don't think I'd ever be the *wife*," Bucky said dryly. "You and Steve like to be fussed over. Not me."

Steve patted him on the ankle. "I fussed over you many times, Bucky. Beyond that, liking being fussed at doesn't make you wifely." He stared at him. "I know some very nice male wives. They're a lot stronger than I am because they handle a lot more than I could as a husband. Including the kids sometimes."

Bucky stuffed his mouth, shaking his head. "I'm not going to ask." He ate another bite. "I have nothing against them but not my thing so I don't need ta know," he said at Steve's scowl.

"Fine. We'll talk about it later on." He looked at Xander. "Is your back hurting?"

"Tiny bit but I'm good." He shrugged. "I can't sleep on my back but apparently I did."

"Oh, okay. Need a heating pad or some ice?"

Xander grinned. "I'm good, thanks."

"Welcome, kid." He gave Bucky a pointed look then left.

"Some day he's going to make a fantastic fussy father," Bucky said, looking at Xander.

"I have no idea how to do that. My examples were craptastic and I'm infertile anyway so a moot point."

"There's a bunch of mutant kids who need to be adopted," Stark offered. "You'd be great at that and anything's better than being in the system for them."

Xander nodded. "Maybe if I settle down sometime. They can't be any worse than slayers who think they're all that because they're born with skills."

***

Xander had a month before it was proven once again that having correct visions sucked. He had actually healed, Dr. Banner had said his liver looked better than usual, and now here he was with a huge problem starting. Of course, no one was answering their phones. He tried the method of last resort. "It's Forger," he said, staring at the opening portal. "You remember that problem I foresaw about that other group showing up? It's now and no one's answering their phones. Thanks, Kate." He hung up and stared at it, then looked at the agents showing up.

"People!" he shouted, getting attention. "That is a portal to another realm, my original one," he noted. "There are beings over there that are trying to get away from a witch going rogue." A few winced. "They may be demons but they are *peaceful* for the most part, just trying to save their own asses. You harm them and it can kill that whole realm since I know at least one of them running this way is one that stops earthquakes." An officer moaned, shaking his head. "So let's find a way to channel their running in fear?" The officer called that in.

Phil Coulson walked over. "We have a tent set up with healers," he announced with a point. "For them. Their own kind of healers." That got called in as well. "Make sure it is not harmed by some yahoo with a shotgun and ideas please. We're short on agents." He looked at Xander. "They're outside the city helping Thor with a problem."

"Figures." He smirked. "Great, but probably why they piggybacked the portal today." Coulson nodded once. "That sort of portal takes shitloads of power. My cohort barely managed to get his home and I heard it took him three other portals and realms to get there." Coulson winced. "So yeah, based on the visions, they're running in fear of Rosenburg going off again."

"All right," he agreed. "We can help. Put breakable barriers up so no one gets hurt," he ordered the police officers coming with them. "The healers are back there." He pointed, looking back. "That's HYDRA."

Xander turned and waved with a smile. "I'll have them eat you if you bother those healers. I really will. They'll need energy anyway." They shuddered but made sure no one got near the healers. "Most of the ones coming are peaceful. It's daytime so we won't get any vampires. The few that won't be peaceful are probably higher ups that Willow was trying to have a hissy at again," he said. "The visions only showed four of them out of the whole running mass. Also, move the agents." He pointed at them. "They'll get run over." That got noted and people got arranged.

"It's opening, I can see a picture," an agent called.

Xander nodded, stepping up with his axe. He stared through it, waving. "Go that way," he called. "There's a tent with healers waiting." One of those demons nodded. They fled out and to the healers, some going past them to hide in the city. Xander looked at the group that was holding back. "C'mon. You're peaceful and you know I'd never hurt a peaceful species. The axe is for her so I don't get more liver damage." They ran through and got nudged in the right way by the agents. He heard jet boots and sighed in relief. He wasn't in charge! He nearly did a happy dance about having backup this time. He looked at Kate, who shrugged. "Anyone else?" he called.

"Yes, the slayers are fleeing this way," one of the mages said. "We don't know what she did, Xander."

"Considering we had a wish granted that brought Jonathan back to tell the super agents here about the slayers....." He grimaced, waving. "Healers," he said with a point. A few of the girls stared at her. "Yeah, this is where we got summoned to," he said dryly. "Go. Let me handle her yet again."

Kennedy stopped to stare at him. "One of the higher demon lords said she could not fix what HYDRA or whoever had done and she went off."

"Last time she was going to make humanity feel the rage and grief she felt with Tara dying," he said more quietly. "This time she's lost her ever-loving mind. I'm sorry for your possible loss, Kennedy."

She nodded. "We saw those tapes. We were wrong about you, Harris." She whistled and pointed. "This way, ladies. We have healers set up and peaceful species to guard." They ran that way.

"Get the kids out of there," Xander called after her. "They're too damn young!"

"Fine!" she yelled back. "Gwen, watch the baby slayers."

"Yup."

"Kate, please?" he asked with a point. "Things attack the minis." She nodded, jogging over to help get them into a safe area. A few new ones ran over, Faith carrying Andrew. He waved. "Healers," he said with a point. "How long?"

"Ten if you're lucky," she said, dropping Andrew. "He was going to stay to blunt her."

Xander looked at him. "Don't make me tell him to beat you, Alex."

"Shut up, Forger." He got up and dusted himself off. "Faith, go guard the healers. Most of those agents are bad guys who pulled us here." She nodded, going to protect them and the slayers. He looked at Xander. "Guns?"

"Back, same as usual. Pack back by Coulson." He pointed. "Have fun with that. We'll have one appearing here in about ten minutes thanks to using the magic she's going to unleash."

Alex winced and ran back to get that pack. "Hi, Andrew Wells, housemother to the slayers. Also known as Alex, that damn bastard the Winter Soldier trained." He grabbed the pack to pull out weapons. "Bullets. He forgot bullets?" He looked back. "You forgot bullets!"

"You have twelve mystical ones to handle the demons coming when she backlashes," he called. "They're in the side pocket. The rest are already loaded and you have spare clips."

He found them, loading them into the clip with a hum of displeasure. "Let there be only two demons please," he muttered. He stood up, putting the guns in good places then slid into his former body armor. "Thanks for saving it for me," he said, heading to the slayers. "Ladies, according to the visions, after Willow finishes losing her mind, there will be a major demon event coming here using the magic she'll pour out," he noted loudly, getting attention.

"You minis, I want you with the healers, out of the way of harm, and if we fall, you trust Stark and Bucky Barnes only! Am I clear?" They nodded. "Stark's the guy in the fancy armored suit, the shiny one if another one shows up, and Barnes looks like a homeless deranged guy but he's an old hand at the hero stuff. Do not try to help if you are under patrol age cleared and/or cleared for major battle duties!" They nodded, going to help the healers. "So help me, Goddess Isis and God Loki, if one of the HYDRA goons touches the minis I'm hyping Forger up on stuff and sending him at you to *play*."

Xander grinned back at him. "Gee, Andrew. That's a sweet offer." He looked back, finding Buffy and Dawn coming. He pointed. "Healers. Giles?"

"Trying to help her," Dawn said.

"Dawn, fall in to guard the minis," Andrew ordered with a point. "They'll listen to you." She nodded, going to help. He grinned at Buffy. "Welcome to an apocalypse battle after her."

"Great!" she said sarcastically. "Can you save Giles?"

"Yeah." He concentrated and summoned him, waving at him. "Healer?" he offered with a point.

"I need to...." He stared. "Xander." He grinned and wiggled his fingers. "Oh, dear, this is that vision." He jogged off. "Ladies, make sure you have suitable weapons in case it's worse than the vision said."

"I made sure the minis ran with at least a weapon each, Giles," Kennedy said.

"Good!"

Xander looked over as magic started to flow their way, staring at the witch stomping in. "You know, it's not nice when I have a vision of you showing up causing a major demon incursion on this realm," he said dryly. He sighed. "They're going to suck off the magic."

"I can end them, they need it for drawing you and Andrew here to warp you!" she sneered. "You going to kill me this time?"

"If I have to so I don't have to save humanity, the same as I would've on that cliff." She stared, mouth open. He stared back. "For knowing me most of my life, you missed a lot of stuff, Willow. Including me harming a few assholes who tried to snatch you for fun. That's when I lost my blood innocence. Stabbing them wasn't *fun* but it sure as hell saved you from being a plaything." She shuddered, stepping back. "Now, shut down the magic. Before we have a major demon showing up here to kill people because it's sucking off your skills."

"You can't prove that." Xander pointed at the portal trying to open. She sneered and closed it. Which made it explode open. "I didn't do that!"

"Well, ya did," he said dryly. "Gee, thanks." She sneered and tried to hit him with magic. His amulet sucked it in. "Thanks for that too." He stared at her. "Don't make me pull out new skills I had to learn in Africa. You don't want that, Willow," he said quietly. "I don't need to have taken out both of my childhood friends." She flinched, shaking her head. He nodded. "Shut it down. Before worse show up. Andrew, don't hit anything until a bluish-purple demon shows up." He didn't look back at them.

"Yup, can do, Forger."

"Forger?" she sneered.

"Yeah, I learned how to hand-forge weapons in Africa." He grinned. "I do a pretty good job too, including of mystically charged weapons." She sneered and shot another spell at him. He stared at her as it hit him. "Nice try. Want another before I make sure you have to fight what you summoned?" She huffed and stepped over, that's when the harder demons showed up. Xander looked up at a roar then at her. "Nice work." He hit her, knocking her out. He hesitated but walked off. "I'll take her out later if I have to," he noted as he walked past Bucky.

"I can, kid."

"We might need her," Andrew called. "I can't pull the heft of magic she can."

"If Strange is here, make him help her," Xander called, diving in to use his axe on the demon in front of him. It screamed as it died. The axe glowed. "C'mon, baby. Let's do the work." They fell into the battle, going to the bigger ones. Xander shoved a few slayers out of the battle and pointed. They ran to the healers. Andrew freed the few minis that tried to jump in then kicked one on the ass to make her run back to the healers. The others just ran in fear when Xander glared.

"Unless you want Willow to turn you into a pet bunny rabbit, stop it, you're too damn young!" Andrew shouted at one with a point toward the healers. She ran off sniffling.

"Don't threaten my minis with transformations, Andrew," Buffy complained. "She can't change them back! Just spank someone! The rest will avoid it." She looked back at him then had to duck a claw. "Eww, I don't want your slime in my hair!"

Xander shook his head. They killed a few more demons before all the ones there paused and ran for their lives. Xander looked, panting to catch his breath. "I'm out of shape for apocalypse battles." Andrew helped him stand up. "Why did they run?" He found out why. Willow was floating and back in full black magic mode. Xander took Andrew's gun and said a silent prayer before shooting her in the stomach. She fell with a scream. "I have mercy," he said, handing the gun back to him. "I... She can heal." Andrew hugged him. Xander looked at the first portal. "Ladies, see if you can get home?" he called. One of the agents let one of the older slayers test it and she shook her head. "Giles?"

"It'll take at least a month to power raise to do that if we capture all the magic she's been spouting out." He came over to do that. He looked at her. "I wouldn't have spared you, Willow." She was sobbing. He drained the magic with some help.

Xander popped his neck, looking at the slayers. "Ladies, healers," he reminded them with a point. "All slayers in the battle are to get checked. You learned the wrong things somewhere." They sighed but trudged that way. Someone tried to attack him from behind so he turned and nearly killed it on the first blow with his axe but it didn't happen. He ducked under their return attempt and then killed it with a dagger to the eye. "Not today, dear, I have a headache." He sighed, looking at the few demons still staring. "What?" he demanded. "Did you think Africa made me nicer?" They shook their heads. "Tell me within a few days how you're going to get home. I have his set to get home in a bank vault if it'll help."

The head demon nodded. "We will, Knight." He patted him on the shoulder. "You should rest. You're tired."

"Been a long day," he said dryly, smirking at him. "Thank you. Have the healers told you where the local peaceful sorts are?"

"Yes, we have already moved most of us there unless they were useful. The ones that can filter magic and blood from the ground are waiting to clean up here and the two guardians of mystical artifacts that needed to be guarded are waiting to find out where to store them for now."

"I can find them a good storage area to guard," Coulson said. "I'm Director Coulson of SHIELD."

The demon nodded. "That would be helpful. Thank you, human." He led him over to them.

Xander looked, frowning. "You guys left the crown there?" he called. They pointed at a mini slayer wearing it. He sighed. "Great. We'll unpossess her after all this and she's home." They nodded. He looked at the slayer. "Go with the guards, Goddess Imara."

"Of course, Knight." She smiled at him. "You do good work with the slayers and here. We thank you for your help with that problem." She regally strolled off behind the guardians with the agents helping her into the car. "I thank you as well. This one's body is strong but tired. She's still young." She yawned. "She thinks it's nap time." She fell asleep on the way to the office to guard her.

Xander and Andrew shared a look.

"I have your book of exorcism rites. We'll find one," Andrew promised. He punched him on the arm. "You good?"

"Good enough." He looked around. "It's over with, people. Get on with the cleaning up and going to pray that it was so minor this time. Before they show up again." They went to do that. Xander rolled his head around to pop his neck again.

"Let me, kid," Deadpool said, holding out a hand. Xander let him take his axe. "She's beautiful and like your usual one."

Xander grinned. "I had to reforge her when she broke at one battle. She's an undercover mystical artifact now."

"Great job then." He walked them off. "Stark?" he called, pointing at them.

"Bruce said the infirmary, Deadpool." The boys waved, heading for the sidewalk. Stark looked around, watching the demons filtering things. The agents were staring. "Any who are HYDRA should probably disappear if they're alive."

"A few demons fed on them to give the healers energy," Dawn quipped with a wave. "Where can I park the minis, Mr. Stark?"

"I've got a gym they can have a sleepover in tonight. Who're you?"

She smirked. "Dawn." She looked at the minis. "We all healed?" They nodded. The healers shook their heads. "Big things?"

"Two have stomach issues and one's got a growth."

"If it's not immediate I can bring them to you later this week," Dawn said, giving that healer a hug to feed her energy. "Thank you for helping the slayers."

The healer smiled, patting her on the cheek with a paw. "You are a good girl, Dawn. Find a life outside all of this before you turn bitter and into Xander." She got the others headed off. The remaining agents escorted the slayers to Stark's building so they could clean up and settle in to rest and recover after the battle. Andrew and Xander were a few floors up in the infirmary getting tested.

Stark looked at the last few agents, shrugging. "Could've been worse."

"It was less messy than any other portal event we've had," one agreed. "It was confined to here mostly. Unlike London's." He grimaced.

"On their realm, they had a demonic invasion of LA by portal," Stark quipped as he flew off.

"That's even worse," that agent decided. They let the demons cleaning things run off once they were done and set up some monitoring agents to make sure nothing restarted in the next few days. They were a bit paranoid about that so they'd calm it down.

***

Xander looked at Bruce when he walked up to him that night. "My liver?" he guessed.

"Not as heavy of damage," he said dryly.

"That was downright flowery compared to what she hit me with then." He shrugged. "Am I dying?"

"Only the good die young, Xander." He stared at him. "You're a good boy but not that way." Xander smirked and nodded. "Rest. Your liver is fine. The weeding out the mages did helped you and Andrew both. The slayers are fine, if a bit cranky with Buffy and Giles." He patted him on the foot before walking away again.

Xander settled in with a sigh. He was nearly asleep when Andrew yelped that something was nibbling on him. "Sorry, he had me go into the CT without my hiding pendant."

Andrew got up to stomp on the last few pieces of that possessed CT then demagiced it for them. A few hiding pieces in closets and vents died before they could eat anyone. Andrew went back to bed with a head shake. "Only you, Xander," he sighed as he laid down.

Bruce looked at him then shook his head. He wasn't going to ask. As long as it was dead for good, he was fine with that.

***

"How long will this last?" the head of the FBI demanded. They were meeting with Buffy, Giles, and Stark at Stark Towers.

"A month we think," Giles said. "We believe we can reopen it in approximately thirty-one days if we can build up the magic and get some help from the local practioners. Without them it will take about forty-five days."

"So a month," the director complained. "Why did you run here?"

"The demons trying to get away from Willow picked it," Buffy said with a shrug, looking at Stark.

"The visions showed that there was already a connection so it was easier. We had two of their staff pulled here by HYDRA wanting mystical warriors."

"We had *visions*?" the director sneered at him.

"Three of them. The guy who had them has never been wrong," Stark said. "He's had a few dozen and only ten percent haven't went off yet but they were stated as later events. Considering I was eighty in one, I have to make plans to live longer than I thought."

"If we knew this why didn't you tell us?" he demanded.

"Because of this fit you're throwing now," Stark said dryly. "Not like you would've believed it. We did tell agents we trust to work with, some of whom were SHIELD before they fell apart. They made sure to get agents there before the problem started. Not like I would've called you first. You can't do anything but give orders. We needed agents who could handle it and the battle afterward we knew was coming. We thought we had a few more days, that's why we were offsite with Thor handling an issue."

"You guys really have a real Thor?" Buffy asked. "That's weird. We only have god kings that have taken bodies over." She looked at Giles. "Does that mean Janus is real here?"

"There's a few temples to him," Stark said. "I asked For...Xander."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Why does Andrew pray to Loki?"

Giles cleared his throat. "It was thought that we'd go to different chaos sources to handle the chaos the girls have naturally surrounding them. I used to do magic with a few practioners of Janus in my youth. We made him change to Loki and the Goddess to add some extra stability. It helps us quite a bit to have that additional drain. Fifteen mini slayers is enough to drive one mad, praying to a chaos god makes it better."

"At least the higher chaos sources would know to reign in their little power sources," Buffy agreed sarcastically. "There's eighteen minis at the main house, Mr. Stark. All under the age of thirteen. It's pray to a chaos god to control them or sacrifice them to one some days."

"I can understand that. That's why I don't have kids," he agreed. Andrew was let into the room with Bruce. "We good?"

"The portal's just a shadow of itself and it can't reopen without a lot of work," Andrew said, sitting at the table. "We have it marked and all that. Using the crystals I used to get home and some extra energy, we can go directly instead of the indirect one I took."

Giles nodded. "That's good. Have you talked to any of the sorcerers here?"

"I talked to Dr. Strange. He was there glaring at the portal until I explained why we can't fully end it."

"You could," the head of the FBI sneered.

"Sure, we can all stay here," Andrew quipped with a grin. "That's fine. We can get the kids set up in schools and stuff." The man started to splutter. "That's your only choice. Sorry." He looked at Bruce, who smirked at him. Then at Giles. "Xander's liver damage didn't get any worse thanks to her."

"It appears that we'll have to use her as a funnel to reopen it. Dr. Strange said so," Bruce said with a nod at Stark. "We went over how that worked and how to put something on it to monitor any energy output from it. Just in case. He knew how to do both so I put an energy meter next to it."

"That's fine, Bruce. Slayer Summers?"

"Some of my girls are going to be doing patrol there to make sure nothing comes through it," she promised. "We only had sixteen patrol cleared at the main house. Have we scried or anything, Andrew?"

"I did," Giles said, clearing his throat. "With Faith earlier, Buffy. We talked to Helmers in Austria. He and a few of his senior girls showed up to handle the main house for the month we'll be here." She nodded with a smile. "Marisa has taken over as senior on the hellmouth until you're back."

"That's cool. Thanks, Giles."

"Welcome. I didn't want it uncovered. The hellmouth can be very nasty in short order without a competent slayer on patrol."

"The three we have here aren't nearly as active as yours," Stark said. "Can we figure anything out about them?"

"Of course we can look. It would be good to compare them to ours. Have the boys said anything?" he asked, looking at Andrew.

"The only one I've seen in person was here in the US, it is in Cleveland again, and it's not open. It's got spiderweb feeling stuff covering it still. No idea about the others. Xander may have seen them. He's more attuned since they're like fond parents to him sometimes."

"I hadn't thought about that connection," Giles admitted, then shrugged. "I'll talk to him later when he's not hiding from nagging slayers."

Buffy looked at him. "We saw that show. We're all horrified but slightly amused. If Xander had to do that in our realm, we should've handled it."

"You weren't there," Andrew said. "Most of the minis there were too young. Don't even bitch at him about what he handled in Africa, Buffy. You guys got that so you'd quit nagging him about being normal."

She let out a bitter sounding snort as she pushed her ponytail back over her shoulder. "I don't think Xander's normal any more. Damaged. Hopefully will calm down some day and not become a bad guy. Not normal."

"Some of us do what we gotta do," Stark said dryly. "Including saving the world by taking out huge demons." She huffed but nodded. "We saw it too." He grinned. "Agent Romanoff asked. That's who met your old friend, Andrew."

He nodded. "That's cool. I miss Jonathan. He would've been horrified but in a good way."

"Why?" the director of the FBI demanded.

Andrew smiled. "When we were younger, Jonathan and I were in with another geek who was making world takeover plans. They managed theirs a tiny bit. I'm still deciding which one I'm going to do some day when the slayers finish driving off the last of my sanity. Thankfully some of it got put back when I got pulled here by HYDRA and then trained by a world-class assassin." Buffy glared at him. He stared back. "I helped take down a lot of HYDRA goons, Buffy. Including with robots and other ways." He grinned. "I have a little electronic mouse who took down most of the self destructs they had planted in DC thanks to Xander using it while getting information they had on our mentor."

She blinked a few times. "Why can't you do that for demon things?"

"I get a lot of 'don't be stupid' about those things," he said bluntly. "Especially from the redheaded tidal wave."

"Do it anyway," she ordered.

"The last few times you complained about robots helping during battles," he said dryly, staring her down. "Frankly, it'll help the minis since I don't like it any more than Xander did."

"Sorry." She slumped down some. "Next time, tell me. I'll gladly adopt anything that'll keep down battles."

He nodded. "Fine. We'll talk about that before the next one." She nodded. He looked at Stark. "Did he finally get through on the civil war thing?" Stark nodded. "Thank you!" he said looking up. "Now if only the next problem wasn't going to show up!"

"We're trying," Stark said dryly.

"Thanks."

"Do you have more comics?" Stark asked him, leaning on the table. "Xander said that you had a lot more; he had casually read them for decades, you collected for real as he put it."

"They're in hermetically sealed storage in Canada."

"Oh. Anything that would help that one?"

"I'll see if I can find one. Plus for Deadpool. He'll be amused at some of the older ones." He grinned. "I had hoped that Xander would flirt with him but no. Not happened."

"Deadpool swears he likes girls."

"Don't tempt some of the coven," Buffy warned. "They'd like to neutralize Xander's influence too because it's taken them out of power over the Council. They will change him into a her."

"Then he'd probably kill them all," Andrew quipped. "Very hard."

She nodded. "There's a few of them that have been nagging me about Dawn. They need to stop it."

"I've told them to stop it," Giles said, patting her on the hand.

Someone knocked and leaned in. Xander looked at her. He had his fake eye in again today because the eyepatch kept getting stared at. "I'm having Dawn spar with Kate Bishop, who is a superhero in her own right. She needs self defense lessons. Also, the slayers are doing the same thing." Stark grinned at him. "Bishop offered." He looked at Giles again. "Strange is muttering about Willow and how he can't bind her because she's only technically a sorcerer. Something about witches who move up being different?"

"Yes, it could be. I'll find him later?"

"He's at the you here's house." He looked at Stark. "The minis made Bucky run off and hide. Two of the baby ones called him Bunny instead and were trying to pet him because their power of smartass grew with the traveling. I've already straightened out the 'you're just a guy' thing they tried on me and they're grounded all day in the corner watching everyone else workout." He grinned at Buffy. "They need a mom."

"I try."

"Yeah. Hire one." He looked at Stark again. "Steve said to tell you he's trying to get Bucky out of a closet and it'll be hours before he's done there. But it's keeping the older ones from trying to pounce him. Another reason I had Bishop talk to them, she's used to teenage girls." He rolled his eyes then looked at the head of the FBI. "Can you tell your cousin I'd like him to pay his poker debt before the portal back in case I get to leave? I'm not sure if I can or not but you never know." He closed the door and walked off.

"He does bring a lot of sarcastic life to our lives," Bruce said with a smile at Stark. Who nodded. "I have the you here's address, Mr. Giles." He wrote it out to hand to him. "He's helped Xander with some demagicing potions and the like."

"That's good. I've talked to him a bit."

Buffy looked at him. "Does that mean the you here didn't give up magic?"

"No, he didn't, but he also didn't do that final spell with Ethan either."

"Oh. That's good. Is Ethan here?"

"I have no idea. He didn't mention him and I hadn't asked."

"Fine. I was thinking maybe a chaos mage could help with the spell to make sure that part was funneled the right way."

Andrew waved a hand. "I can help with that too." She nodded. "That way we don't wear out their defenses here."

"That'd be helpful," Stark agreed. "Thanks, kid."

"Welcome." He looked around then at him. "We all expected the sixty-ninth floor to have huge play areas, not a meeting room," he said dryly.

Stark smirked. "That would be too stereotypical of me, kid." Andrew laughed, leaning back in his chair. "So we're done, right? We have plans?" They all nodded. "All right, let me know what I can do to help."

"We need to find a place to house the girls," Buffy said. "Your gym is great but there's four showers for the girls to fight over."

"We don't want to wear on your good will either," Giles said. "Thankfully I did manage to bring some things so I could get us funds through the local demon communities."

"It'll take a large motel or a small dorm," Stark said. "Let me look, guys." They nodded. "Andrew, can you show him where that would be?"

"Yup, not a problem. We haven't been in the city very often but I can find a map." Stark grinned. Andrew smirked back. "I'm usually a good boy and I made sure Fang had a neighbor sitting him yesterday. That way the poor cat I picked up over here won't be hurt."

Giles shook his head with a sigh. "I'm sure the girls coming in to help cover will love to pet Fang, Andrew."

"Fang's picky. I'm sure he'll have someone to pet him or he'll sneak back to the neighbor to play with her fake foot again. Fang seems to love prosthetics."

Stark shook his head. "Bucky told us you threatened to have Fang fur up his arm."

"Forger did that," he said with a good boy grin. "I just handed him the cat. He was being a pouty prick that day." He walked off with Buffy to check on the girls.

Giles sighed, shaking his head. "At least it's a mildly evil thing from him instead of something massively evil. He can do that but it's better the girls not see him fall from grace as it were." He followed his people back to the gym.

Stark nodded. "I should probably keep down all evil plans too then." He left. The director of the FBI was huffy again but oh well. He was a pain that way.

***

Clint found Xander on top of the building that night after midnight. "Don't jump," he said. "They can't be driving you more nuts than they have Natasha."

Xander grinned at him. "I'm staring over my protectorate to find more bad things." He took the cup of coffee, sipping it with a moan. "Thanks."

"Welcome." He stared over the city. "It's good New York adapted so fast. There haven't been any problems with the new demons yet."

"One of the bars got picketed but they got talked down by someone who pointed out the normal folk would run from Willow too." He took another drink. "Have you had to hide weapons yet?"

"Yeah. I have mine locked." He looked at him.

"They're not my minis. My minis are in Africa and have sense, their parents made sure of it." He took another drink. "Though they might be able to break the locks."

"We'll see. It should shock them." Xander grinned at him. "You good?"

"I'm fine."

"Think you can get home this time?"

"Probably not. The PTB still hate me. I got that last night in a dream of my ex-girlfriend, who is their messenger. She was sneering I still wasn't good enough." He shrugged and drained the coffee in one long gulp. "Good dinner. Let me go hide from them."

"You staying here?"

Xander looked at him, shaking his head. "They won't listen to me. They wouldn't listen to me when I was there every few days. When I was doing their training." He shrugged. "Buffy told them I'm normal and therefore weaker and in the way."

"Not with what we've seen."

"Yeah, but they're girls. They never got taught to watch people to see what they did and how well they did it. That would be tactical of them and they only think about tactics during sales for school shopping." Clint laughed. "Seriously!" He smiled. "Let me go hide."

"Have a better night."

"You too and lock the doors. A few of the tiny minis think you're a Santa like guy who can cuddle. I heard them and tried to correct that thought." He left him to think.

Clint shook his head. "I don't give away my weapons so I can't be a slayer Santa." He finished his nightly calming down time then went down to his room, having to call Buffy up to come get three of the minis to get his bows back. They had somehow gotten the locks undone and two were napping around them in his bed. The other one was dancing his arrows around like they were dolls at a ball on a PBS movie. Buffy sighed as she came in wearing a bathrobe and jammies, picking up the girls to carry out but leaving the weapons there by prying them from the little fingers. "Thanks." He locked the door and blocked it off in case then cleaned up their mess. They had apparently found his cheetos stash too. There were crumbs and a bag in the trash. Then he went to bed, cuddling his own bow to protect it from grabby girls.

***

Andrew looked at the minis, who were all pouting at him. "We do not break into people's rooms. We do not steal their things. We do not eat their snacks, ladies." He looked them over again. "I'm really ashamed of a few of you for doing all those."

"The chips were out," one protested.

"You wouldn't know that if you hadn't broken in," he said, glaring at her. "You're not a thief. You don't break into places. These nice people are helping us and you're setting a bad example of what a young woman from our home should be like. So stop it before I paddle every last one of you." They pouted but nodded, looking down. "Good. Thank you for learning to behave. Now, go spar with Kate." He pointed. They trudged that way. He looked up and sighed then went to tell Giles he had yelled at them since Faith got pouted at about yelling at them. He ran into Xander. "I yelled."

"I hope it helps more than when I do it." He looked at him. "Bruce called me in for hellmouth radiation testing."

"I'll set up a containment after I tell Giles I had to yell." He jogged off to do that then joined him in the infirmary, setting up a containment area to hold in the energy. Bruce was giving him a funny look. "It's magical radiation." He shrugged. "We don't know why it works as a magic/science blend but it does." He took the necklace Xander handed off. "See, holding it in. No more nibbling things."

Bruce took readings then looked at Xander. "Can you consciously let out a tiny bit?" He nodded, letting some out while he scrunched up his face. "That's enough. Pull it back in." Andrew tossed over the necklace then went to watch over the minis again. Xander put back on the necklace. "Can you get out of that without ruining it so I can see how he did it?"

"Sure." He got out of the circle of things by stepping over them and headed for the bathroom.

Bruce finished taking readings and turned to find a little piece of metal staring at him. "I thought all the CT was dead."

Xander came out of the bathroom to pick it up and look at. "It's not part of the CT. I think it's part of the MRI." He handed it over. "No teeth in that one."

"That's good." He put it into a jar to study later. "Go be a good boy."

Xander grinned. "I'm usually a good boy, Doc." He left, going to the demon poker hall to make sure everything was going all right there. Faith was there already so they were calm. "We good, beings?" They all nodded. "Cool." He settled down on the bench and took a nap. It was safer to sleep here than it was anywhere else in Manhattan.

Faith looked over then at the demon dealing at their table. "He do that often?"

"It's safe here." Faith nodded and got back to her hand of cards. It was good she was calm too. Even if she was escaping hyper mini slayers too.

***

Xander walked up to a group of mutants and slayers, listening to the arguing going on. He moved a few of the kids out of the way and stared down at the slayers. "Thank you for being a disgrace to our universe," he said firmly but coldly.

"They're weird!" one complained with a point.

"So?" Xander stared at her. "You deal with non-humans all the time and kids born differently with a mutation freak you out? You're in such deep shit when I find Buffy to tell her you're such a bigot, Mandy." She gasped, shaking her head. "Yeah. You are. They're born this way. Just like you're born a slayer with a future calling. That's no different than they are, only some of them look a bit weird. You've had this problem all along with the demon communities that are just existing and not harming anyone. It's been noted the *whole* time." She glared at him. "Who let you four out of the tower? Or wherever they're warehousing you for right now?"

"We're on patrol," one said.

Xander glared at her. "You certainly aren't as there's not much around here for you to take out. Hardly any vampires and they aren't like the ones we've dealt with before. They're more like werewolves only without the changing monthly." He sighed. "Let's go, girls. I'll walk you home to tell Buffy and Faith what failures you're becoming."

"We are not!" one shouted and lunged at him. Xander hit her, staring down at her. "How could you?" she sobbed.

"I would've done it even before being displaced, Miranda. Because you're a bitch. Actually, you're a cunt and I don't use that word lightly, but you are the dictionary definition of one. Now, let's get up and go back to wherever so I can tell them that you four need retraining. A lot of retraining." He pointed. "Let's. Go." They huffed off. Xander looked at the kids. "I'm sorry about them. Most of the slayers aren't that bad. They're young, stupid, and about to get paddled to death for it though." He patted one on the head. "Your flame's getting low. Go do fun things." They smiled and left. Xander followed the girls. One had found Buffy out getting food and was complaining at her. "That one decided to try to attack me because her cunt ass moment of stupid got shoved back in her face. Apparently kids who look a bit funny are game for her to make fun of with her buddies. I didn't know slayers were supposed to be bigots and bullies, Buffy."

"You hit her?"

"Once. Knocked her down."

She nodded. "Good. She needs spanked. I'll make sure Giles does it." She stared at him. "I don't like how hard you've become, Xander, but it's good for you."

He stared down at her. "I've been this way since before you met me, Buffy. You just wanted to see the friendly parts. I've never been the nice, sweet, kind kid Willow thought I was." He smirked. "Sometimes you gotta be harder." He grabbed one of the slayers by her hair, pulling her back. "I don't think you need to make anything any worse."

"That's a vampire!" she said with a point.

Xander looked then at her. "He's three thousand years old, he's tougher than Steve Rogers is, and he'll kill your dumb ass. He also doesn't kill to feed, he keeps a good part of Europe safe, and if he tries something with the girls I'll shoot his ass to take him out. There's no way even the five of you with Buffy could take him out."

Buffy smiled and waved. "I met Dracula once."

"I have too but he was a headcase," that vampire admitted with a smile for them. "I'm looking for my newest childe, girls. And Forger." Xander smirked and pointed. "You're sure?"

"He was moping in the poker hall the last I knew. His depression woke me up."

"Thank you, Forger. Have a nice night."

"Oh, I'm sure I will after I spank someone." The vampire walked off laughing. Xander looked at Buffy. "He turned Dracula over his knee and paddled him until he begged," he told her with a grin. "Then he tortured him for a few weeks until he decided he was going to play by the rules again."

"Wow." She stared after him then looked at Xander. "They know you here?"

"Yeah. I've been doing the part-time hero stuff here." He shrugged. "It happens."

"Great. Let's get the girls home. One's missing." Xander pointed then threw something at her, making her scream as it started to eat her hair. "Sure, we can do that later." She walked the girls off once she had her bag of food. She knocked on a door. "Xander found these four being bigots to some of the local funny looking ones."

"Mutants, Buffy. They're born that way. Just like you were born a future slayer. Or kids are born with birth defects. Some are born with pretty severe talents or looks and some aren't."

"Like in the comics?" she demanded.

"Yeah." He smirked. "Welcome to that world."

"Oh." She sighed but nodded. "Andrew must've been in lust then."

"We had to escape from bad guys who want to rule humanity," Xander said dryly. "He still had my battle skills then too. He was in happy land later on." She nodded. "I promised that one I'd be paddling her," Xander said with a point. "Since she was making fun of kids for being born funny looking. Want me to do it out here?"

"I can and will administer that spanking myself," Giles assured him, glaring at the girls. "Inside, all of you." They all followed the girls in. Including Xander. Giles smiled at him. "I can easily spank them."

"Please do." He sat in the corner while Giles dealt with the attitude problems.

"Have you seen Faith?" Buffy asked, sitting next to him.

"Yeah, she was at the same poker hall I hang out at."

"Good. She could use the stress relief. Cleveland was hella busy before we all ran from Willow. I'm hoping it stopped while we're here."

"If not, we'll reappear to it," Giles told her. "We can prepare for that."

Xander nodded. "We can run lessons, Giles. Including that nice Miss Bishop, who offered to help."

"That would be agreeable," he said. He went back to telling the girls how ashamed he was of them. They were already pouty but oh well. They deserved it.

Xander left, going to the closest mutant teenager hangout. He walked in and over to one. "The slayers who did that are punished and they know why it's wrong. Giles is going to have a talk with the others who may be harboring such bigoted stupidity." The kid smiled at him. "The majority of the girls aren't like that. Those ones are spoiled bitches though. I'm really sorry they tried that with that group of kids. They're *very* sorry right now." He hugged that one's girlfriend. "Happy conception." She groaned. He grinned. "I've seen that work a few times." He looked at the gang leader. "They do it again, tell me or Faith please. We will do more than lecture."

"Thanks, Harris."

"It's not right you guys are picked on. Not like you guys chose this any more than those girls chose to be slayers." He shrugged. "It's not right of a good person and the slayers had better be good people." He nodded. "I'm going on patrol if you need me and my phone works again." He left, going to the park to look at the portal. He ran into Deadpool, who gave him the high-five. "I helped correct a few of the bitches."

"Congrats. Will it stick?"

"It had better." Xander looked at him. "We work with the peaceful community on our realm. If they're against people for being a bit off normal, then they can't do that. I'm hoping all those sort grow the hell up since they're all young teens. Giles paddled." He grinned.

"Good!" They looked at the flexing portal. "It seems like something's trying to come through."

"It probably is. Buffy said that Cleveland had been really busy before." He walked over to it, nodding at the agents. "Can we get any sort of feed from over there?"

"The camera's only intermittent."

"Hmm." Xander looked at it then patted himself down, laying something on top of the monitor. "It needs more magic to connect." He watched as it shivered and the group over there did something. "Is there audio?"

"No," they said. "Only one way, sir."

"Hmm. Hey, Wade, get 'Drew?"

"He's on his way. I called him first but he was nagging."

Xander looked up and shook his head. "Teenage girls. A lot of teenage girls."

"Thankfully I like mine older and I don't have any of those myself," Wade quipped. "Here he is."

"Hey, 'Drew, we need to send a message over there. They're trying to reopen it by force."

Andrew came over to look then cast the quiet spell. "Stop it. The portal can't open on this side until we get enough power, so in about thirty days." They nodded. "If it's a huge problem, we'll handle it when we get back. If you break the portal, we can't get back and they're about to kick a few of the younger, bratty ones off this realm."

"I nearly beat one to sense," Xander admitted. "Picking on mutant kids."

The demons stared at them across the scrying portal. "You're where mutants are?"

Andrew smiled. "Yes, I am. HYDRA wanted us as mystical weapons." The demons shuddered.

"There's only three hellmouths here and they're all real friendly," Xander quipped. The demons moaned. "Is it a huge problem you're trying to get away from? Or were you trying to rescue the slayers?"

"Trying to rescue them," one of the demons admitted. "Are they all right?"

"Two can't sit," Xander said dryly. "Because they needed worse."

They nodded on that side. "We will make sure things are fine. Andrew, your cat is fine."

"Thanks, guys. I picked up Fang over here from a Xander-style girlfriend." One of the demons whimpered.

Xander grinned. "It's been months for me. I need to go fix that soon." He waved. "Be peaceful, people." They nodded and Andrew shut the portal. "I really do need to find something fast and good in the clubs."

"Pay for one, it's easier," Wade said.

Xander smirked. "They complain I wear them out too much." He shrugged. "I'm just that fantastic."

"I've heard the complaints about that," Wade admitted. Andrew walked off shaking his head. "Sorry, kid."

"I'm glad I only date normally and I don't have to put up warnings for extreme stamina." He looked at Xander. "Bucky's fully better?"

"Don't know," he admitted. "He should be. Go talk to him. He gets pouty about breaking you from your innocence."

Andrew snorted. "I haven't been innocent since my brother tried to have something eat me." He went to the tower to talk to Bucky.

Xander looked at Wade. "Patrol?"

"Sure. We can do that."

"Cool. Thanks, guys." He handed back the monitor and they walked off together.

The agents looked at each other. "Who was the guy in the spandex?" the one Xander had talked to asked.

"That's Deadpool. He's an assassin. The one that came first was Forger, and the other one was Alex. They helped Barnes recover from HYDRA and helped take down a lot of them," his partner said. "They're really weird though."

"Yeah, I guess." They went back to watching the portal. It was a creepy yet easy assignment. Much easier than watching over the teenage girls that could fight demons. And shop. The agents watching them said they shopped very well.

***

Xander and Andrew looked at the group of girls they had gathered in the right park. "All right," Andrew said. "We're going to do the spell to reopen the portal." The girls cheered. "We have checked in over there each week. There appears not to be problems but right now, we're expecting something to happen as soon as we go back. Senior slayers go in the first line. You fall out in order of experience with the exception of the tiny minis that are in the middle so they're not attacked. Hanna, the minis go behind you and before Amanda." Those two girls nodded.

"Your only jobs is to get the ultra minis to the safety of whatever sort of car or whatever is waiting," Xander said. "We called last night to the slayer house, they should be waiting on you guys." Everyone nodded. "If there's a battle, I'm sure you'll know what to do and try to keep it down. Just handle it so you can evacuate at this time. Let the others already there handle it because the portal can wear you out. Just like last time." A few nodded. "It'll start here in a few minutes. There's helpers on that side as well." He looked at Giles, a few other local sorcerers, and Willow, who was in chains. "Willow goes last then Andrew and I in case there's a problem since we've been here for longer." Andrew nodded, looking at him. "You first," he said with a grin. "Just in case."

"That's fine." He looked over at Bucky and Steve, going over to hug Bucky against his will. "Thanks." He went to help open the portal with the others.

Xander watched as it formed and spun open. Andrew tossed over a rock, getting it back. "Okay, ladies. Faith, you lead since Buffy's got the bigger weapons. You can duck and let her hop you." Faith smirked. "You're tougher than that. She's a cheerleader." Buffy snorted but they walked through in that order. Buffy turned and waved. The older slayers went through followed in a mostly orderly fashion by the others. One of the tiny minis spotted her mother and ran over to her ahead of schedule but nothing touched her. The one demon that growled got smacked by Faith. The last of the slayers walked through. "Drew, you, Giles, Willow." Xander nodded and saluted Bucky. "Here goes nothin'." He moved up with his bags. Giles walked Willow through. The portal wobbled some. Andrew grabbed his pack and headed through. More wobbling. Xander walked up to it and laid a hand on it. He started to step through and a vision hit. He held his head, groaning. He looked and threw something. "'Drew, you'll need that. The Powers are pissed off." The portal tried to close on him so he stepped back. It shut, blowing Xander back. "Sure, PTB. We'll come help later." He looked. "Tell me I tossed over the weapons."

"All the bags had weapons," Bucky said, helping him up. "You made sure." Xander checked and groaned. "Not the right weapons?"

"No, he's going to need bigger things in about twenty minutes."

"I can banish it to him," that realm's Giles said, taking it to send it over. "You need to rest, young man. That hellmouth there tried awfully hard to get you back."

"It loves me." He looked at the portal then at him. "Any hope?"

"We had hope. They blocked it." He grimaced. "So we'll keep doing the demagicing."

"Can we suck it out of him?" Bucky asked.

"If we want to send over a dead body," Giles said, glaring at him. "I doubt that would be what you wanted for him?"

"No."

Xander looked at him. "Some day someone will wish I was there and they'll hear 'wish granted'. The Powers just said so. Of course I'll probably be on a walker then." He gathered up his stuff. "Let me go find a hotel room."

"Take your room back," Stark called. He and Banner were doing studies on the portal. It popped out something and a bag dropped. "Looks like Andrew sent your clothes back."

"Great. Means I don't have to go find more." He grabbed that one, walking off shaking his head. He stared at the two beings there. The demons had gotten themselves home last night but had left the two mystical artifacts: one a crown that was possessing a baby slayer and the other one being a vase the baby slayer was cuddling. "Why didn't you go through?" he demanded.

"The crown said it wouldn't accept me." She blinked up at him. "Knight, will you guide this one?"

"Not just me but yup. You know that. I'll figure out how to put up a house for us later."

She turned to look at the guardian, taking off the crown to hand over. The girl blinked a few times, smiling at Xander. "It's okay. You're a young guy and she knows you need to do guy things. Girl things are different." She took the guard's hand. "We need to get the vase home." He nodded slowly. She laughed. "You're so silly, Xander. She knew you needed boy time." She walked off with the guard. "That crown is really picky. She hates my hair, she didn't like how I brush it. She's picky and kinda mean."

"She hasn't been in a body very often. We're forbidden from letting her inhabit anyone," the guard said patiently. "Knight, we will get them home for you."

"Sure," he said, waving. "Let me know if I can help."

The young slayer looked back at him. "The slayer spirit was giggling with the crown's but she said that the PTB are mad because we're too strong."

"Then you should stay here," he said.

She shook her head. "You need to teach others how to hunt. They're going to have what we did in LA soon. The crown lady felt it." She smiled. "They need to know. Then you can come home because the Powers forgot things." They were taken by a set of demons who brought them to a portal. She smiled at the guard. "Thank you for helping me."

"You helped us, Slayer Kissy." She blew a kiss at the others and they left for home. They'd get there when she was sixteen, and a princess like the crown's spirit wanted her to be. He had raised her to be a goddess of the crown and she was every bit of one.

Xander looked up. "When are we having that problem?" he called. "So I know how long I have before they need swords." The vision hit, making him fall down. "Ow."

Bucky and Stark walked over to help him up and get him back to the tower while Steve helped Banner clean up the gear. Agents rushed after Stark and Bucky to see what was going on. If there was an invasion that was their job, not the Avengers.

They could deal with naturalization papers for that young man soon. He wasn't exactly like most illegal aliens that visited the US.

***

Epilogue:

***

Xander appeared in a flash of light. He was older, but not nearly on a walker at the moment. The bad days... For right now he pulled out the weapon he had created and used it against the large demon. He sneered at the remains. "Pikachu," he quipped.

Faith, who was older too, pushed her hair back to stare at him. "X?" she demanded.

"You *finally* wished?" he snarked, staring at her with an evil smirk. "But yeah." She hugged him. He patted her on the back. "Let go of the broken rib, Faith." She let him go to stare at him. He shrugged slightly. "It's strapped but one of the mind fuckers took out a few people and I had to help bring them down. Should've heard the yelling from everyone. Especially Wade and Bucky." They walked over the remains of the demons. "I'm back," he called. The slayers all stared. He smirked. "Girls." A few shuddered, backing away. "Yeah, the hellmouth really adores me. That's how I homed in on home." He looked at Andrew, who was leaning on his weapon's tube. "You're going to dent it."

"I'll fix it later." He walked over, staring him over. "Which mind fucker?"

"The same one that got that girl you drooled on and she nearly beheaded you with her fists."

"Oh, that one. Is he gone?"

"Yup. It stopped all the mind fucking going on really fast once I shot him." Andrew grinned, punching him on the arm. "But I'm also the harbinger. Willow's back." He looked at Faith then pointed. "They sent her back to merge us before we both went unstable thanks to Asgard." He looked at Faith. "Ladies, we're about to have a realm merge, that's why the Powers allowed me back. Asgard just went into ho position three: tits up and ass open for the fucking it'll be taking. Even their chaos mages tried to stop this one but Odin was cranked and let in a non-friend." He waved a hand. "Apparently he wanted to date the idiot bad guy." A few moaned and checked their weapons. He pointed at two. "Dawn duty. Now." They ran off to find Dawn to guard her. He looked at Andrew. "Sorry, but I got it when I crossed back over." He pointed at Willow. "She's in thrall."

"If we stop it?" Faith demanded.

"That whole realm dies." He looked at her. "All nine realms of that world dies." She winced. "If not, you have warriors to help." She nodded that might be nice. "And they'll all be there for the battle. Under the orders of Lady Sif, Goddess of Female Warriors."

"I could pray to that one," Faith said. "Can we slow it down? We have to work on stuff to protect it."

"Get Dawn to holy ground. Get Willow guarded because if someone stops it, it'll rip in a way that won't let it be ended in a hundred years. Because in the next eighty years we'll lose slayers back down to twenty or so called at a time and then someone will reopen Sunnydale as a historical dig site. They'll trip into the seal and accidentally bleed on it. The PTB said so. That'll mean calling all the slayers again around when we're about to have aliens showing up. That'll be Asgard's last help for us."

"Great!" she said snidely. "Thanks for the head's up."

He shrugged. "I got it when I passed over. The migraine's sucking balls right now." She rolled her eyes as she walked off giving orders. "Someone make sure wherever the scythe is buried it's holy ground," he ordered to Andrew. "Otherwise someone will try to take it."

He nodded. "Buffy's buried with it."

Xander looked at him. "I knew that. We can still scry."

"Shit."

"Yup."

"Did you call in a favor to get here just then?"

"No, if I had used a favor I would've been here sooner or went to stop Odin. Merging us with Asgard fully is though." He grinned. "It'll help steady everything, no matter how much Thor complains." The portal behind them started to flux and then exploded as the wash of magic flew over them. "Ready for this?"

Andrew nodded. "Yeah, we can handle this. Ladies, fall back," he ordered. "We've got company, use company manners."

"And if they look blue/green and scaley, they're the bad guys," Xander added. "Just them." The girls all nodded. Xander grinned. "It'll be your first alien invasion."

They groaned but when the merge finished, they rushed over to help with the battle.

Andrew smirked at Steve. "Hi again." He used the weapon he had to blow up a ship. "Let's fix this bitch before I have to remember Xander's memories some more."

Steve shook his head. "We heard higher beings were involved."

"Yup, for a hundred years," Xander said dryly. "Then we'll split again." The heros all groaned. The slayers were helping them so it was easier at least. They could handle this. Xander and Andrew were good merging altars of power. And if the heros suddenly got a new appreciation for the next generation of fighters, it'd make it easier on their old bones too.

The End.