Entry 2 - Never Easy
Title: Never Easy
Fandom: BtVS/Avengers
Word Count: 1161
Prompt: #367 - Possession
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, settings, or fandoms. They are the property of their respective creators and companies.
Summary: Finding Clint had been the easy part. Catching the bad guy was going to be much harder.
A/N: Next in the Buffy-Coulson series.
“A summoning circle,” Clint said in a slow measured pace as he looked at Willow. “I'm guessing that's as bad as it sounds?”
“Definitely bad,” Willow said with a bob of her head. “I'm just not sure how bad yet. It may take me some time, but I just wanted to let you know.”
“Do you have any ideas about it?” Buffy asked, her gaze flickering over to Clint. Her shoulders were tense with the sudden thought that perhaps the reason the rescue had gone so easy was because their rescuee was actually a time bomb waiting to go off.
Willow gave her head a subtle shake. “I'm not positive it's been used yet. It doesn't look finished, but I won't know until I examine it.”
“Go for it. We'll be there in a minute,” Buffy said, the tension leaving her shoulders. She turned to Coulson. “It looks like we have a joint operation after all.”
“This could be why we've had trouble locking down the leader of the organization. If they've been using magic it could be anybody,” Coulson said with a frown. “What should we expect?”
Buffy shrugged. “I won't be sure until Willow finishes examining the circle. Clint, how exactly did they capture you and what happened down here?”
Clint raised a hand to run through his short hair before he replied, “I was tracking the lower ranking members through the city in attempt to detect a pattern. However, I kept losing them, but I noticed that whenever it happened, there was an entrance to the catacombs nearby. That's how I figured out where their main base was.” He frowned thoughtfully for a moment before continuing, “I'm still not positive how they caught on to me. I hadn't even tried to infiltrate them. I was still in the intelligence gathering phase."
“It's possible they used magic to detect you,” Buffy pointed out. “Depending on how proficient they are, they could have known about you from the beginning and chose to grab you now for a reason.”
Coulson nodded his agreement. “The magic could also explain our difficulties in infiltrating the organization in the past.”
“Then what happened?”
“I was barely able to get that message out before they overpowered me and pulled me into the catacombs. I'm no slouch with navigation, but I was lost just a few turns in. I thought I was a goner because no one would have been able to find me down here. Thank goodness for that magic tracking spell you guys used,” he said with a grin. “But they worked me over while trying to get some of the standard information.”
Buffy interrupted him. “Why work you over? Why not just use magic?” She asked, truly curious.
“I'm not sure, but she definitely seemed to enjoy hitting me, and she pack a wallop for someone her size,” Clint said as he rubbed his jaw where a bruise was starting to bloom. “And then an hour ago someone came in freaking out. She ordered them to put me in the room and to pack up.”
“An hour ago, that's when you and Willow arrived,” Coulson murmured.
“They must have picked up Willow's magic signature when we teleported in,” Buffy said with a sigh. She studied Clint for a moment. “You keep mentioning a she. What did she look like?”
“Wasn't much taller than you, slim, long red hair, and she had a scar on her right cheek.”
“Damn it!” Buffy swore and paced the small room a few times before she stopped in front of Clint. “Are you sure you're fine? No broken bones you're hiding? Cuts? Stabs?”
Clint looked at her in surprise. “I'm a bit banged up but I'm good. Who is she?”
“You good to go, ready to fight?” She drilled at him, her eyes intense.
“Ready to go,” he said with a confident nod despite looking thoroughly confused at the sudden change in topics.
“Miss Summers, who is she?” Coulson asked as he stepped between her and Clint.
“Trouble, big trouble. So big, that we have to take care of it now,” Buffy said, before walking briskly out of the room and into the main room. “Willow! Please tell me that circle wasn't for summoning a demon for possession!”
The redhead looked up at her in surprise from her crouched position next to the circle. “How did you know?”
“Because what else would our favorite slayer villain be doing?” Buffy said with a disgusted look on her face.
“Jaedynn?” Willow said, her surprised expression dropping into a darker one. “Here?”
“Not unless you know another redhead with a scar on her right cheek who can pack a wallop despite her size.”
“Well, shoot,” Willow said, sitting fully on the floor. “This complicates things.”
“And I'm ready to hear how,” Coulson said, his voice full of steel. “Who is this Jaedynn and why would she capture my agent? Don't make me ask again.”
“She's a slayer,” Buffy said flatly as she turned to look at him and Clint. “Unfortunately there are the occasional bad apples and Jaedynn was pretty far out there. We had concerns about her when we first found her but thought that with the right reinforcements and training we could cut off her downward spiral. We were wrong.”
Willow stood up to stand next to Buffy. “To make matters worse, she's very proficient in magic. She also studied with the coven while she was with us. Her power is impressive but she's always craved more. She's been seeking a way to enhance her own powers with that of demons. This circle is evidence of the current attempt.”
“If she's so much trouble, why haven't you taken care of her?” Clint asked with a frown as he adjusted his bow onto his back.
“We've been trying the rehabilitation thing first,” Buffy said with a sigh, her eyes tired with an old pain. “But we're still struggling with the ability to keep any rogue slayers contained. A last ditch effort would be to strip her of her powers permanently, but it's a painful, invasive process and I don't like doing it.”
“You've done it before?” Clint asked softly.
“Twice.”
Coulson gave Buffy a sympathetic look before he asked, “How do you want to handle this?”
“This is the first lead we've had on her in a year. She has to be somewhere here in the tunnels. I want to end this today,” Buffy said firmly although unshed tears shone in her eyes.
“And how do you want to end this?” He asked, his tone soft.
Buffy shared a long look with Willow before turning back to him. “We take her down by whatever means necessary. I don't want to kill her, but I won't object if it's the only way.”
Fandom: BtVS/Avengers
Word Count: 1161
Prompt: #367 - Possession
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, settings, or fandoms. They are the property of their respective creators and companies.
Summary: Finding Clint had been the easy part. Catching the bad guy was going to be much harder.
A/N: Next in the Buffy-Coulson series.
“A summoning circle,” Clint said in a slow measured pace as he looked at Willow. “I'm guessing that's as bad as it sounds?”
“Definitely bad,” Willow said with a bob of her head. “I'm just not sure how bad yet. It may take me some time, but I just wanted to let you know.”
“Do you have any ideas about it?” Buffy asked, her gaze flickering over to Clint. Her shoulders were tense with the sudden thought that perhaps the reason the rescue had gone so easy was because their rescuee was actually a time bomb waiting to go off.
Willow gave her head a subtle shake. “I'm not positive it's been used yet. It doesn't look finished, but I won't know until I examine it.”
“Go for it. We'll be there in a minute,” Buffy said, the tension leaving her shoulders. She turned to Coulson. “It looks like we have a joint operation after all.”
“This could be why we've had trouble locking down the leader of the organization. If they've been using magic it could be anybody,” Coulson said with a frown. “What should we expect?”
Buffy shrugged. “I won't be sure until Willow finishes examining the circle. Clint, how exactly did they capture you and what happened down here?”
Clint raised a hand to run through his short hair before he replied, “I was tracking the lower ranking members through the city in attempt to detect a pattern. However, I kept losing them, but I noticed that whenever it happened, there was an entrance to the catacombs nearby. That's how I figured out where their main base was.” He frowned thoughtfully for a moment before continuing, “I'm still not positive how they caught on to me. I hadn't even tried to infiltrate them. I was still in the intelligence gathering phase."
“It's possible they used magic to detect you,” Buffy pointed out. “Depending on how proficient they are, they could have known about you from the beginning and chose to grab you now for a reason.”
Coulson nodded his agreement. “The magic could also explain our difficulties in infiltrating the organization in the past.”
“Then what happened?”
“I was barely able to get that message out before they overpowered me and pulled me into the catacombs. I'm no slouch with navigation, but I was lost just a few turns in. I thought I was a goner because no one would have been able to find me down here. Thank goodness for that magic tracking spell you guys used,” he said with a grin. “But they worked me over while trying to get some of the standard information.”
Buffy interrupted him. “Why work you over? Why not just use magic?” She asked, truly curious.
“I'm not sure, but she definitely seemed to enjoy hitting me, and she pack a wallop for someone her size,” Clint said as he rubbed his jaw where a bruise was starting to bloom. “And then an hour ago someone came in freaking out. She ordered them to put me in the room and to pack up.”
“An hour ago, that's when you and Willow arrived,” Coulson murmured.
“They must have picked up Willow's magic signature when we teleported in,” Buffy said with a sigh. She studied Clint for a moment. “You keep mentioning a she. What did she look like?”
“Wasn't much taller than you, slim, long red hair, and she had a scar on her right cheek.”
“Damn it!” Buffy swore and paced the small room a few times before she stopped in front of Clint. “Are you sure you're fine? No broken bones you're hiding? Cuts? Stabs?”
Clint looked at her in surprise. “I'm a bit banged up but I'm good. Who is she?”
“You good to go, ready to fight?” She drilled at him, her eyes intense.
“Ready to go,” he said with a confident nod despite looking thoroughly confused at the sudden change in topics.
“Miss Summers, who is she?” Coulson asked as he stepped between her and Clint.
“Trouble, big trouble. So big, that we have to take care of it now,” Buffy said, before walking briskly out of the room and into the main room. “Willow! Please tell me that circle wasn't for summoning a demon for possession!”
The redhead looked up at her in surprise from her crouched position next to the circle. “How did you know?”
“Because what else would our favorite slayer villain be doing?” Buffy said with a disgusted look on her face.
“Jaedynn?” Willow said, her surprised expression dropping into a darker one. “Here?”
“Not unless you know another redhead with a scar on her right cheek who can pack a wallop despite her size.”
“Well, shoot,” Willow said, sitting fully on the floor. “This complicates things.”
“And I'm ready to hear how,” Coulson said, his voice full of steel. “Who is this Jaedynn and why would she capture my agent? Don't make me ask again.”
“She's a slayer,” Buffy said flatly as she turned to look at him and Clint. “Unfortunately there are the occasional bad apples and Jaedynn was pretty far out there. We had concerns about her when we first found her but thought that with the right reinforcements and training we could cut off her downward spiral. We were wrong.”
Willow stood up to stand next to Buffy. “To make matters worse, she's very proficient in magic. She also studied with the coven while she was with us. Her power is impressive but she's always craved more. She's been seeking a way to enhance her own powers with that of demons. This circle is evidence of the current attempt.”
“If she's so much trouble, why haven't you taken care of her?” Clint asked with a frown as he adjusted his bow onto his back.
“We've been trying the rehabilitation thing first,” Buffy said with a sigh, her eyes tired with an old pain. “But we're still struggling with the ability to keep any rogue slayers contained. A last ditch effort would be to strip her of her powers permanently, but it's a painful, invasive process and I don't like doing it.”
“You've done it before?” Clint asked softly.
“Twice.”
Coulson gave Buffy a sympathetic look before he asked, “How do you want to handle this?”
“This is the first lead we've had on her in a year. She has to be somewhere here in the tunnels. I want to end this today,” Buffy said firmly although unshed tears shone in her eyes.
“And how do you want to end this?” He asked, his tone soft.
Buffy shared a long look with Willow before turning back to him. “We take her down by whatever means necessary. I don't want to kill her, but I won't object if it's the only way.”