Chance Encounters - August 1
Title: Chance Encounters
Author: LadyWinterlight (songs_of_winter)
Summary: Part of the 2019 LiveJournal’s Twisted Shorts August Fic-A-Day series.
Crossover: Avengers MCU
Characters: Buffy, Clint Barton
Rating: FR-7
Word Count: 617
Spoilers : Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame
Disclaimer: I claim no rights to recognizable characters, the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Avengers or anything else from the MCU.
Buffy ran down the street in Osaka, two of the minis behind her, towards the sound of screaming. It was late at night, it was starting to rain, and while the populate of Earth had decreased by half five years ago - it hadn’t affected the undead in the slightest.
Which meant that the much smaller number of Slayers that were left had their work cut out for them.
Except that it turned out to be a fight mostly between humans. There were a few vampires lurking in the shadows as a hooded and masked figure with a sword swept through the club, taking out yakuza right and left. If the figure was unenhanced human, though, he was still trained to the point of being over the minis’ heads. She waved them towards the actual vamps and demons, and followed the hooded figure herself.
Several men rushed the figure with swords, and Buffy decided to even the odds a bit. Not that any of these people appeared to be on the right side of things, but at least solo dude wasn’t allied with demons as far as she could tell.
Of course, when dealing with humans Buffy always fought to wound rather than kill. And unfortunately for her sense of fun, these guys either didn’t speak English or didn’t have any appreciation for a good quip. She left several unconscious by the time the hooded figure finished his fight. He whirled around to swing at her next, and Buffy blocked the sword even as he froze in place.
“You’re not one of these thugs,” a low voice spoke.
“Nope,” Buffy said, popping the ‘p’ sound. “But eight against one was never good odds, even if you’re… special.”
“I had it handled,” the man’s voice was almost petulant, and Buffy grinned.
“Sure, but in a town like this I’ve gotta get my kicks somewhere.” It was a very old habit, playing up the valley girl facade to confuse people. And for some reason, this guy seemed to be buying it more than she’d expected him to.
He wiped his sword and sheathed it, stepping back from her non-threateningly. “I appreciate the backup, darlin’, but you don’t want any part of my mission.”
Or maybe he wasn’t buying into her act, but had decided to play along anyway. That hint of a drawl was heart-melting. “Mission, hmm?” she asked, looking around. “Well, then, just be careful. My team doesn’t normally mess with the mundane criminal element, but these guys were literally making deals with demons.”
His head tilted; the hood gave that much away. But then he nodded abruptly. “Thanks for the warning.” He spun on his heel and left; Buffy let him, watching thoughtfully.
A week later in Tokyo she spotted him again. This time, she only watched from an alleyway as he fought with and killed another organized-crime-type. Only she wasn’t the only one watching, and once the fight was done he was confronted by none other than Natasha Romanov herself. Before they could leave, she stepped out of the alleyway.
“Drawn to another fight, Miss Demon Hunter?” Barton asked when he recognized her through the pouring rain and under the hood of her raincoat.
“More or less,” she shrugged. “But if you’re going back to Avenging, I figured I should give you this,” she added, reaching out with a business card in her hand.
“What’s this?” Romanov asked, taking the card when Barton made no move to do so.
“I figure we’re both in the business of world save-age, and if you think you might need help with the next Apocalypse you might wanna give us a call,” Buffy said. She watched both Avengers’ eyes widen, but she slipped away into the shadows before they could ask more questions.
Either they’d be in touch, or not. But if they decided to trust her, Buffy believed they could come to terms on a rather interesting alliance.
Perhaps working with recognized superheroes would help keep the Slayers from being targeted as often, too.