August 21 - Where In The World Was Clint Barton (option 13)
Title: Where In The World Was Clint Barton (option 13)
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Avengers (movieverse)
Characters: Clint Barton, Xander Harris
Rating: FRT
Word Count: 1335
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel, etc. All are used without permission. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: Another possibility of what Clint was doing during “Captain America: Winter Soldier”
Summary: “Hey, fella,” a young male voice said. “Welcome to Oxnard.”
Where In The World Was Clint Barton (option 13)
By Beriaearwen
Clint knew his breath had caught as consciousness returned, but hoped his instinctive return to a resting sound had covered.
His head throbbed and his body ached. Letting his conscious mind float a bit, he felt the poin in his head coalesce into one specific spike. The slightest movement of his muscles let him know he'd been drugged. Focusing outward, he could feel his arms were free and the cold concrete beneath his head.
“Hey, fella,” a young male voice said. “Welcome to Oxnard, or wherever else they may have taken us.”
When Clint didn't respond, he felt the tip of a shoe reach out and nudge him.
“I know you're awake. There's no one in here but us, not even a video camera in th eroom. There is one just outside the door which is also our only source of ventilation.”
Knowing the game was up, Clint cracked open an eye and waited for the world to focus. Slowly he opened the other eye. The shape beside him focused into the face of a young man. Clint put his age between eighteen and twenty. He appeared to be in good physical shape, if a little haggard looking.
The other man tipped his head and seemed to study Clint for a few minutes.
“Little hard to tell with you lying down, but your pupils look pretty even, so... no concussion.”
Clint just grunted, his eyes slipping closed again for a minute while he gathered his energy. Though it seemed to take far more energy than it should, he eventually pushed himself into a sitting position. When he started to fall over, he felt a hand suddenly steady him. “Thanks,” he grunted.
“No problem,” the young man said. “Looks like we'll be roommates for a while. I'm Xander.”
“Clint,” he reapplied, not feeling up to more than one word.
“Don't worry, the drug is already wearing off or you wouldn't be able to move to sit up. Give it another half hour - hour and you'll be back to normal.”
Clint let that thought filter into his mind as he took in his cell. It was concrete and there was only one door with a barred window opening near the top for air. The hinges, unfortunately, were either on the outside or, given the thickness of the door, inside the wall. There was no handle on the inside, so it only opened from the outside. That would limit his chances of escape.
“Other than when they dropped you off, they come by once a day with some water and food. Not sure what time since we have no natural light source, but I'd say sometime during the day. They don't speak English and I don't speak whatever they do, so I have no idea why we're here. When they do come, it's always in at least pairs, since I see two of them, but I think it's three - one to open the door, one to bring the stuff in and one to cover me. Not sure if they'll increase it to two to cover since you're in here. But that's the only and best chance I've seen so far. I may be able to distract the two in order to get out, but that third would be a little much for just me.”
Clint looked at the young man again and began to re-evaluate. The way her broke down what he saw, the way he stated he could take down two but not three, it wasn't bragging. It was the statement of someone very aware of their situation and of how much damage they could do, and take. If Xander wasn't a plant placed here by whoever held him, he could be an excellent asset. “How'd you get here? You said something about Oxnard?”
A wry smile appeared on Xander's face. “Standard Scoobie luck. I just graduation high school and was heading out across the country. Got from Sunnydale to Oxnard before the car gave out. One minute I'm getting out of the car to see what's going on, the next I'm waking up here. I know there was something else between exiting the car and ending up here, but I don't really remember it. I did end up with a concussion and some short-term memory loss. Where were you taken?”
Clint took in the young man's story as he tried to force himself to his feet. “Not Oxnard,” was all he replied. In fact, he'd been no where near California and that made him a little more worried because whatever group had taken them, they knew what they were doing and distance didn't seem to matter to them. That never boded well and, to him, it smelled of Hydra. Thinking of Hydra, something the young man said drew his attention and his eyes back to the young man. “Did you say Sunnydale?”
Xander looked surprised. “You've heard of it?”
Clint only nodded, not willing to share what he knew of the place - someplace he wouldn't set foot in even if Fury begged.
“I call it home sweet home. Born and raised there.”
Clint's rapidly clearing mind began going over everything he knew about Sunnydale, everything the reports had said and everything they hadn't. If this was who he thought it was, he was in luck. “You wouldn't be Xander Harris by any chance?” He watched as the young man's face shuttered and his eyes went from friendly to deadly and suspicious. To Clint it was all the proof he needed. If he had to be stuck here with someone from Sunnydale, Xander Harris was one of four people he would have chosen. Holding up his hands to indicate he meant no harm, he explained, “The people I work for keep a very hands off approach to Sunnydale, but do keep tabs on it. Some of the best people I've worked with survived life in that city. It says a lot about you to come from Sunnydale.”
That didn't seem to reassure the young man as much as he would have liked, but this was no place to give the recruitment speech. Not to mention he just remembered the 'do not approach' tag on Xander's file.
“Not making with the warm and fuzzies,” Xander said, his voice in the same light-toned pitch, but there was wariness and steel underneath.
“Blew that,” Clint muttered to himself, looking up at the ceiling. Meeting Xander's now suspicious eyes, he tried again. “Look, I can't tell you who I work for, spy stuff, but we are not going to be interfering with Sunnydale or anyone from Sunnydale. If we did, there are a whole bunch of agents who would take exception, especially those recruited in the past three years.”
Clint waited while Xander evaluated his words. One of Clint's outstanding characteristics was his confidence, but right now, he could feel Xander weighing him and he couldn't help but hope he wasn't found lacking. He needed this man's help to get out. Forging a relationship with him could only prove beneficial in the future. A few minutes later, Clint released the breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding as he watched Xander nod.
“Alright. We need to figure out what to do after we get out. I've got no idea where we are or how to get away.”
Clint nodded. He offered a grin. “Not the first time I've done this,” he assured.
Xander returned the grin with one of his own, “Ditto.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
In the end it took them one try to escape their cell, one hour to prove it was Hydra that took them, one day to get out of the base and three weeks to work their way through a jungle to civilization where they hitched a ride to Germany before making their way to one of Clint's contacts and eventually, home - or in Xander's case, Oxnard where he went to pick up his car.
End
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Avengers (movieverse)
Characters: Clint Barton, Xander Harris
Rating: FRT
Word Count: 1335
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel, etc. All are used without permission. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: Another possibility of what Clint was doing during “Captain America: Winter Soldier”
Summary: “Hey, fella,” a young male voice said. “Welcome to Oxnard.”
Where In The World Was Clint Barton (option 13)
By Beriaearwen
Clint knew his breath had caught as consciousness returned, but hoped his instinctive return to a resting sound had covered.
His head throbbed and his body ached. Letting his conscious mind float a bit, he felt the poin in his head coalesce into one specific spike. The slightest movement of his muscles let him know he'd been drugged. Focusing outward, he could feel his arms were free and the cold concrete beneath his head.
“Hey, fella,” a young male voice said. “Welcome to Oxnard, or wherever else they may have taken us.”
When Clint didn't respond, he felt the tip of a shoe reach out and nudge him.
“I know you're awake. There's no one in here but us, not even a video camera in th eroom. There is one just outside the door which is also our only source of ventilation.”
Knowing the game was up, Clint cracked open an eye and waited for the world to focus. Slowly he opened the other eye. The shape beside him focused into the face of a young man. Clint put his age between eighteen and twenty. He appeared to be in good physical shape, if a little haggard looking.
The other man tipped his head and seemed to study Clint for a few minutes.
“Little hard to tell with you lying down, but your pupils look pretty even, so... no concussion.”
Clint just grunted, his eyes slipping closed again for a minute while he gathered his energy. Though it seemed to take far more energy than it should, he eventually pushed himself into a sitting position. When he started to fall over, he felt a hand suddenly steady him. “Thanks,” he grunted.
“No problem,” the young man said. “Looks like we'll be roommates for a while. I'm Xander.”
“Clint,” he reapplied, not feeling up to more than one word.
“Don't worry, the drug is already wearing off or you wouldn't be able to move to sit up. Give it another half hour - hour and you'll be back to normal.”
Clint let that thought filter into his mind as he took in his cell. It was concrete and there was only one door with a barred window opening near the top for air. The hinges, unfortunately, were either on the outside or, given the thickness of the door, inside the wall. There was no handle on the inside, so it only opened from the outside. That would limit his chances of escape.
“Other than when they dropped you off, they come by once a day with some water and food. Not sure what time since we have no natural light source, but I'd say sometime during the day. They don't speak English and I don't speak whatever they do, so I have no idea why we're here. When they do come, it's always in at least pairs, since I see two of them, but I think it's three - one to open the door, one to bring the stuff in and one to cover me. Not sure if they'll increase it to two to cover since you're in here. But that's the only and best chance I've seen so far. I may be able to distract the two in order to get out, but that third would be a little much for just me.”
Clint looked at the young man again and began to re-evaluate. The way her broke down what he saw, the way he stated he could take down two but not three, it wasn't bragging. It was the statement of someone very aware of their situation and of how much damage they could do, and take. If Xander wasn't a plant placed here by whoever held him, he could be an excellent asset. “How'd you get here? You said something about Oxnard?”
A wry smile appeared on Xander's face. “Standard Scoobie luck. I just graduation high school and was heading out across the country. Got from Sunnydale to Oxnard before the car gave out. One minute I'm getting out of the car to see what's going on, the next I'm waking up here. I know there was something else between exiting the car and ending up here, but I don't really remember it. I did end up with a concussion and some short-term memory loss. Where were you taken?”
Clint took in the young man's story as he tried to force himself to his feet. “Not Oxnard,” was all he replied. In fact, he'd been no where near California and that made him a little more worried because whatever group had taken them, they knew what they were doing and distance didn't seem to matter to them. That never boded well and, to him, it smelled of Hydra. Thinking of Hydra, something the young man said drew his attention and his eyes back to the young man. “Did you say Sunnydale?”
Xander looked surprised. “You've heard of it?”
Clint only nodded, not willing to share what he knew of the place - someplace he wouldn't set foot in even if Fury begged.
“I call it home sweet home. Born and raised there.”
Clint's rapidly clearing mind began going over everything he knew about Sunnydale, everything the reports had said and everything they hadn't. If this was who he thought it was, he was in luck. “You wouldn't be Xander Harris by any chance?” He watched as the young man's face shuttered and his eyes went from friendly to deadly and suspicious. To Clint it was all the proof he needed. If he had to be stuck here with someone from Sunnydale, Xander Harris was one of four people he would have chosen. Holding up his hands to indicate he meant no harm, he explained, “The people I work for keep a very hands off approach to Sunnydale, but do keep tabs on it. Some of the best people I've worked with survived life in that city. It says a lot about you to come from Sunnydale.”
That didn't seem to reassure the young man as much as he would have liked, but this was no place to give the recruitment speech. Not to mention he just remembered the 'do not approach' tag on Xander's file.
“Not making with the warm and fuzzies,” Xander said, his voice in the same light-toned pitch, but there was wariness and steel underneath.
“Blew that,” Clint muttered to himself, looking up at the ceiling. Meeting Xander's now suspicious eyes, he tried again. “Look, I can't tell you who I work for, spy stuff, but we are not going to be interfering with Sunnydale or anyone from Sunnydale. If we did, there are a whole bunch of agents who would take exception, especially those recruited in the past three years.”
Clint waited while Xander evaluated his words. One of Clint's outstanding characteristics was his confidence, but right now, he could feel Xander weighing him and he couldn't help but hope he wasn't found lacking. He needed this man's help to get out. Forging a relationship with him could only prove beneficial in the future. A few minutes later, Clint released the breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding as he watched Xander nod.
“Alright. We need to figure out what to do after we get out. I've got no idea where we are or how to get away.”
Clint nodded. He offered a grin. “Not the first time I've done this,” he assured.
Xander returned the grin with one of his own, “Ditto.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
In the end it took them one try to escape their cell, one hour to prove it was Hydra that took them, one day to get out of the base and three weeks to work their way through a jungle to civilization where they hitched a ride to Germany before making their way to one of Clint's contacts and eventually, home - or in Xander's case, Oxnard where he went to pick up his car.
End