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"Hey, Tony," Xander answered his phone as he flopped down on his camp bed. "What's up? What new doohickey of yours am I going to field test this time?"
"Nothing new this time. I'm still working on a stable wooden bullet. Just wanted to see how you were doing; catch up on all the latest gossip. You know, the usual." Xander could practically hear the charm oozing through the phone.
"Uh-huh," he rolled his eye. "What did you do?"
"I am deeply offended by that."
"I think it's a physical impossibility for someone to offend you. Offend you on behalf of a friend, yes, but actually offend you, you, no."
"It's statements like that which make me wonder where the hell you learned to speak English."
"Sunny Southern California, baby," Xander grinned.
"Yeah, except I spent half my childhood in 'sunny Southern California' and I don't mangle the English language the way you do."
"Well, that's because you grew up in the Stone Age."
"Right. So what does that make Rogers?"
"Prehistoric?" Xander suggested, chuckling when Tony let out a loud laugh.
"I'm totally telling him you said that."
"Yes, because I'm sure Captain America cares what I have to say." he snorted.
"Eh, you'd be surprised. I may have mentioned you a time or two."
"You finally talked to him?" Xander asked, all traces of joking falling away.
"Maybe. Possibly we sorta talked while I was working on that gun I had Thor bless for you."
"How'd it go? And thank the big guy for me, would you? That gun is awesome."
Tony laughed. "No problem. He, uh, actually asked to join you on a 'hunt' at some point. He's interested in, and I quote, such a daring Midgardian Warrior who fights the Forces of Darkness with such limited powers."
"Yeah. Story of my life. Though I admit it would be interesting to see the God of Thunder laying into some of the demons we get around here." Xander paused as his perimeter ward pendant began to pulse announcing something had breached the wards he'd set. "Uh, hold on a sec, Tony."
Gripping the pendant, he concentrated on it for a moment the way Willow had taught him. The intruder was human. There was a very mild touch of the supernatural on them but more like a fading echo. Not likely to be trouble but considering it was closing in on midnight in the middle of the jungles of Cameroon he wasn't going to take any chances. Rolling off the camp bed, he quickly doused the light and reached for his Colt.
"Listen, Tony, I've gotta go. Someone just breached my wards."
"Uh, yeah, about that..."
"I don't have time to talk particulars of magic..."
"No, no. I mean the person who breached your ward. God, I can't believe I'm talking about magic."
"Point, Tony," Xander snapped quietly, tracking the barely there rustling of the vegetation outside.
"It's one of my teammates. I sent him. To talk to you."
That brought Xander up short. "Uh, why?"
"Because from what little you've told me about your experiences you've gone through similar stuff and the S.H.I.E.L.D. shrinks just aren't cutting it for him. To inclined to be judgmental asses about what he went through."
"Hawkeye," Xander guessed. "The guy Loki did a mental number on."
"Yeah."
"Right. Next time you send me a friend tell them to show in daylight, kay? I'll call you back in a few minutes." Hanging up and turning off the phone so Tony would need to get JARVIS to turn it back on which would take a couple minutes, Xander tossed it on the bed. Crouching down to make a smaller target, he aimed the Colt where the faintest outline of a human shadow was on the wall. "Would the person standing next to my tent please put there hands in the air and come around to the front?"
The figure froze then slowly raised their arms before making their way around to where the tent flap was.
"Step inside nice and slow," Xander instructed. Another hesitation and then the person did as told. Slowly a man inched his way into the tent. Caucasian, well outfitted for travelling in the jungle, Xander was almost certain of the man's identity. Especially when he saw the collapsible bow peeking out of a thigh holster. "Hawkeye?"
The man visibly startled but nodded. "Yeah. Stark tell you I was coming?"
Xander snorted. "About ten seconds ago, right after you tripped my alarms."
"I didn't hear or see anything."
"That would defeat the purpose of the alarm system; letting everyone know it was there." Xander slowly turned up his lantern until they could both comfortably see. Yep, the guy in front of him matched the pictures Xander had seen of the Avengers. Before anything else could be said Xander's phone started ringing. Letting out a sigh, Xander gestured to the chair at the table as he picked up the phone, getting up so he was sitting on his bed again.
"Hi, Tony. Don't worry, I haven't shot your friend though a little more warning than, oh, by the way, I sent a friend to see you and they're in your camp right now, would be nice."
"But what's the fun in that?" Tony laughed. Xander rolled his eye.
"Yeah, whatever. Good night, Tony." He hung up and turned the phone off again. "So, you're Hawkeye."
"And you're Xander Harris, Stark's mysterious friend who supposedly can understand what I went through with that piece of shit Loki."
"Unfortunately, yeah, I know what it's like to have your mind screwed with using magic. You got a name or should I just call you Hawk?"
"Clint is fine."
"Alrighty. Let's talk then since that's what you came all this way for. Tell me what happened. I only know things from Tony's perspective."
Clint sighed, running a hand through his hair, but started talking.