Quit Wishing! by voracity

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Xander shot at the guys running from him and then looked at the guy who landed in his mechanized suit. "Not your fight this time, sorry."

"I can jump in. Stop them from running."

"I'm letting them run because it'll lead back to their camp, where they have hostages."

"Oh, okay then." He called that in and nodded. "They stopped Cap from stopping them on the outskirts of town."

"Thanks." Xander called in to his local military contact, getting a nod back. "They're following them into the forest. So hopefully they'll find some missing people." He texted someone. "The local demons are going to help track them. A few of their daughters are missing too. No, don't let Bert eat them. Make them suffer in prison," he said as he typed that. Stark was laughing. "It'd serve them right but wouldn't stop more. Them saying how horrible prison is might." He looked at a staring higher level demon, shrugging. "Tell Bert I said to calm down. He can eat the ones that military doesn't take into custody as long as they're not former hostages who got mind screwed."

"I can do that, Knight. Why are you jumping into this one?"

Xander waved a hand around. "Does this look like a town I might be familiar with?"

"Oh, one of your minis is here."

"Yeah. She's worried they'll come for her or her sister. Their family refused to move to somewhere safer so we're doing the right thing." He shrugged, walking off. "I hate beings who do those things anyway. Tell Bert to have some root beer and wait it out. There'll be some left."

"I will do so. What about the battle you're missing?"

Xander paused to stare at him. "What battle I'm missing?" The higher level demon stepped away from him. "Hmmm. What battle I'm missing?" he repeated patiently.

"The one by Morry?"

Xander called her. "Morry, what's this I hear about a battle near you? Oh, humans. Yeah, not my job unless I have to. Any of those green idiots that really seem to like Ki?" He listened, bobbing his head. "Okay. Well, hide and if you have to evacuate do so. Call me once you're on the road and I'll head down there tonight. If the military guys down there need me, let them tell me." He grinned. "Good girl. Have fun with your new baby goat, dear." He hung up.

"Stupid humans," he told the demon. "Not my job unless they make it my job. But thanks. Sometimes Morry has to be reminded of the smart and wise things to do when emergencies happen. She's got jump in problems way too young." The demon bowed and left. Xander popped his neck then sighed. "I need to find a chiropractor." He walked off shaking his head. He winced when his neck popped again but at least it felt better again.

Stark stared at the guy's back, shaking his own head. He didn't know many people like him. He called the team, who was helping track the stupid humans here. They found their base, helping the military raid it. Stark flew there to help with the gathering of victims. He stopped Rhodey from going near one. "We don't know that they're not brainwashed or that they haven't fitted explosives on them. Let me scan for bombs first." He did that and pointed at two. "They have bombs." One burst out crying, shaking her head. "And I don't think she agreed to do that."

"It's a problem they've done many times," one of the soldiers agreed. "We can't send them home until we know if they now agree."

"You can undo brainwashing," Stark said. The soldiers nodded they knew that. He spotted one girl on the ground, going over to her.

"No, she's boobytraped," a soldier called.

Stark waved a gloved hand. "Hey, princess," he said, letting his suit translate it. "Can we get that bomb off you?" She didn't answer. He frowned but got the vest off and tossed it to the soldier waiting on it. "Who beat her?"

"Her supposed husband when she refused to put it on," one of the women said. Another woman hit at her. "He did! Mine tried the same thing and the only reason I'm not on the ground is he'd hate to lose his son I'll have ripped from me as soon as I find someone who can!"

Stark came over, looking at her. "She's really young."

"She is," she agreed, putting a hand on her stomach. "We did not want to be here, any of us, originally."

"That's called brain washing," Stark agreed. He put a hand on her stomach to use the sensors. "You're about three months in." She grimaced but nodded. "And it's twins, too early to tell the sex." She slumped. He looked at the soldiers.

"We have doctors. I do not know of what you speak," he said bluntly. "Nor will I ever." Stark nodded, letting her go. They loaded the young one up to be carried with the others.

Steve turned to look at Stark. "They could be forced back."

"Like Bucky was?" Stark asked bitterly. "No, they don't have code words, Steve. They have captivity. They have Stockholm syndrome. They have beating and raping until you give in. Groups like this trashy ass bunch of zealots are like that all around the world, no matter what their religion. This one's just a side project of a bigger group of zealots who turned terrorist to get their viewpoints in the lead." He walked off.

"Did you worry the same way about people you freed from prison camps back in the day? They're the same thing. HYDRA's not into religion, they can't warp it to prove themselves right." He scanned the woods, going to help with some of the ones who escaped. Mostly some of the women who were more recently taken or in better health. The ones in the village all had marks from cuffs. He got near a group. "Hey, I'm an American. We're not part of that group. It's safe," he called to them. They stared. "C'mon, ladies. Let's get you to medical attention."

"They treat us as if we're foul," one sneered. "All men are the same."

"Sometimes, yeah. Not all of us though. There's soldiers out here and the remains of this camp. Let's get you to safety? And medical attention?" They got led off to where some of the women were waiting. A few got hugs from the older women. "Can you guys protect each other?" They all nodded. A soldier came over dragging a woman. Stark shot at his feet. "Is it her fault she got captured and kidnaped?"

"No," the soldier slumped. "They still did not get free."

"Could you have?"

"I..."

Stark held up a hand. "She's wearing marks from handcuffs and ankle restraints. She's a good thirty pounds below what a woman her height should weigh to be healthy. She's coughing like she's got tuberculosis. Could you have gotten free?" The soldier slumped. "They're *victims*. Sure, some have been brainwashed into liking it, but not all and the rest of them probably have families or someone who would like them back."

"Their families will say they're soiled," the soldier sneered.

"Only if they're like you." A higher officer came over. "Is he allowed to do that?"

"No," he admitted. "But some blame women for not being able to protect themselves when they were never taught how to do so by men like him." He glared at the soldier. Who let her go to the other women. "We do have medical professionals who will be treating them, Mr. Stark. Thank you for your help."

"I hate people like this group and their overseeing group of morons. I did even before one of them took me hostage." He saluted him and flew off. "Let me know if you need my help."

The officer looked at the group. "Get them back to our camp, get them seen to by the doctors. Any who are pregnant they can take care of."

One woman burst out crying, shaking her head. Another woman cuddled her. "She was pregnant when stolen," she noted. "They killed her husband when they took her. They were on their way back with captives when they found them driving and decided she'd do because she was looking at a magazine." The soldiers both winced but nodded. She got the others into the truck so they could go to be examined and hopefully released home. That one was always guarded. She had wanted the child.

Steve Rogers looked at Sam Wilson when he landed. "I..."

"Yeah, they're like war camps you freed," he agreed with a nod. "Al Queda and all their sorts are assholes using religion to justify their idiocy, and they do take slaves. To them slavery's just fine." Steve grimaced. "The same as Stark was right. The ladies need help for the brainwashing and probably won't get enough. Things can be thin in this area. No one wants to work with war crime victims, even in the US." He walked off. "I cleared my sector of all but some fuzzy things in a tree," he reported. "They had teeth so I'm guessing they'd bite if bothered."

"Many things do out here," he agreed. Sam smiled. "Thank you for the help."

"If I can help again, let me know. I work with soldiers every day." He shook his hand. Steve came over to say about the same thing and they left together. Stark wasn't there when they got back but that happened sometimes. He found things to do or that needed to be done.

Stark was back at the soldier's camp getting the women sorted out so they all got treatment and the help they needed and wanted. He got that one personally. "This one got taken from her husband a few months ago," he said quietly to the nurse, who nodded. "It's her actual husband's child, not her hostage taker's."

"Some women want to keep their children due to religion so we won't have a problem. We can mark that it's from her actual family." She said that to the woman who started to cry again. She got her into a room and calmed down. Stark sent in the older woman to help her since she was basically the mother figure right now. That helped calm that one and a few younger women down.

A general walked over. "Mr. Stark, we need to see if you can help with a problem. We cannot always get information to their families. Not all have phones or internet connections."

"Aren't there victim finding groups where their families check?"

"For the younger but not the older ones."

"Okay, can we have one of them do the same thing for the older ones or do we need to set up a way to look it up from a town's police office? Something like what we do for missing children in the US but instead for the found ones?"

"I...I had not thought of that. Some officers wouldn't want to help."

"If so they can set up a computer in a corner and let the families come in to look for updates once a week or so."

"Good point. It would get to most areas, if not all areas. We do have the missing person system. We can add onto it for found ones. Thank you. And for your help."

"Not a problem. They need help. It's not their fault they got captured by zealots with ideas."

The general smiled and shook his hand. "Most of the rest of your people are probably home."

"Probably," he agreed. He said something to the young one he was helping by bringing her out of her fugue state. She was now able to look at someone. "She's retreated," he said quietly.

"We can get her out. The women help each other." Stark nodded and patted that one on the head before leaving it to them. He led her into the medical building. "She's back in her mind."

The nurse looked at her and tipped her face up. "She'll come out." She led her in there to talk to her. Maybe they'd get her name today.

***

Sam Wilson found Xander bandaging some woman's arm. She looked like she was a run down prostitute to Sam's eyes. "Why do you help these people who aren't yours?" he asked. Then he realized how he sounded and winced.

Xander shot a dirty look his way then went back to it. "I'm very much for anyone peaceful. Or protective of their people but not a dominating overlord sort. The town I grew up in was over half demonic. Mostly peaceful groups there to hide from asshole humans. And a lot of vampires." He smiled at the woman as he hitched down the tape. "Try to keep it dry and clean for six or seven days," he said quietly. She nodded. "And if you see that one again, make fun of him loudly so the others know he's a weak ass man." She giggled, running back into a building.

He looked at him. "I hope even if I end up as an evil overlord that I never turn into an asshole like the ones earlier. I don't care what anyone is, race, species, whatever. Never have." He shrugged. "I went to school with plenty of half-demons and most everyone ignored that. Some full demons too who could pass. And still everyone ignored it. As long as you're not out to take over, harm, or kill humanity or the earth, I'm all for you living your own ways as long as it doesn't hurt someone else against their wills."

He stared at him. "I've also seen how bad some of the bad sorts can be. I'd never let something like earlier go on because I wouldn't wish that on my enemies. If I'd rather have you eaten than live like that, then I feel I've got a duty to help stop it if I can. If I'm in the way I'll find some other way to help. I don't know why that's so hard for many people to think is the right way but too many do." He stood up. "Anything else or are you on break from making idiots see that they're idiots?"

"I don't usually have to unless I'm back at the VA, Harris."

Xander snorted. "And yet earlier, one of your teammates decided that the women they were rescuing were at fault for being captured and beaten and brainwashed," he said quietly. "Maybe you should." He shrugged but grinned. "Just an idea, dude." He walked off. "I'm going to do laundry."

"You should probably sleep."

"Yup, sometime tomorrow. Mine's a night job usually."

Sam Wilson watched him go, looking confused and concerned. He knew what the kid was saying, and he was right, but was that his job to fix? Yeah, it probably could be if he wanted to. He went back there to talk to his teammates. Though he did stop to get something to eat on the way there. Dinner tonight had been hotdogs Steve had charred on a grill.

***

Xander looked up from teaching one of the minis to block hits. "Good job. Work with your brother so he knows to quit picking on you for being a girl." She went to pounce her older brother, making him huff and shove at her but she shoved back this time. It made the brother mad but that sort of mad was good for him. He got up and went to talk to the woman staring at them. "You are probably trespassing and the people in this region are pretty tolerant so they're probably going to just scowl at you for it. Is there a huge problem I have to go handle for my mini in there?"

"I know much of the Council, Mr. Harris."

"No, you know about the *old* Council, lady. They all got blown up."

"By something your team did."

"Well, when the choice is losing the population of humanity by us losing something or being lied to and interrupting someone's well deserved reward, then we went for the practical one." Natasha glared. He stared back. "Willow lied to us about her being in a hell realm. Otherwise I would've probably went with the plan to take out the town catastrophically." He shrugged. "I had to have the plan. We almost needed it twice before then. So yeah, when she lied we decided practical was also beneficial and nice to her. If we had known she lied we would've done things different and let the LA group handle the fallout with us." He stared at her. "For that matter, we've fought like hell with the remains of the old Council to remake it so it supports the girls."

"So she'll do what, go on patrol at eighteen?"

"If that's her choice. No slayer *has* to patrol. They all have to learn self defense and how to protect themselves. That's just practical. The rest, they stay at home if they want to. They travel if they want to. They go to college and get married if they want to. They retire to do whatever when they're ready. It's not like we can uncall them. We can't take being a slayer from them. Would you rather we left them ignorant and easy prey?"

"No," she admitted, arms still crossed over her chest. "How can you teach them anything?"

"Hmm, let's see. Seven years of doing the job before we lost Sunnydale. How about that for a start." He stared her down, making her shudder. "Unlike *some*, our girls no longer have to watch each other die or have fits about killing. If our girls can't handle that then they're more than happy to protect themselves and their families. We have a few who're very traditional women for their cultures. We have one that's a Buddhist nun.

"She was raised by the old Council and they dumped her when she was eighteen. That's how she chose to heal." He shifted his weight. "Now she teaches some of the novitiates how to do self defense and protects her temple. That's all we expect her to do because that's her choice. We're all about choice and letting the girls be girls and making sure they get educated so they can make choices."

"Many girls down here don't go to school."

"Which is bullshit," he said firmly. "All children need an education. Educated parents raise smarter kids and smarter kids do great things for the world. I'm hoping this one turns into a teacher some year."

She blinked a few times. "What if they don't want to hunt?"

"Then that's their choice and they know enough to protect their homes if they need to. No one's going to make them go on patrol if they can't or don't want to handle it. We're not like the old sorts. Most of us were doing the job in the field before the old one blew up so we rebuilt it the right way."

"The government hates the girls."

"The government hates them being women," Xander corrected dryly. "The same as they hate you're female and all the other females do protective things. It takes their macho bullshit attitudes to the woodshed." She rolled her eyes. "And if they try something again, like last time, we'll let them handle things themselves. We've got plenty of nicer places to be than Cleveland." He grinned. "We've had to do that before. Then we had to talk girls out of going to Brazil to go have beach time after the battle." She snorted, still looking unamused.

"Beyond that, we're nothing like you grew up in. They were many bad things before but not that bad and now we're better. None of us have to stand there and watch our co-slayers be killed. Or kill them. None of us are taken from parents anymore. None of us are treated like disposable warriors. We expect our girls to be girls and then women of their own making. If we slipped back to what it used to be, you'd see me there with a rifle before anyone else. Buffy would be behind me because she hates guns but can do some damage with a sword."

"How can you be sure they won't slip after you die?"

He smirked a tiny bit. "They can't. There's many wishes laid and life debts paid in advance. Not mine, though I've got one laid in waiting in case. Buffy did a lot of those herself because she saw how the girls who got found by them and raised by them got screwed by them. It's one reason we honor the slayers that went before the current ones. All the girls are taught how it used to be in Council History. They get that when they're about ten or so. They're introduced to the slayers the girls used to know and the ones who've fallen and taught about self will. And all the treaties the Council used to have."

She quirked up an eyebrow. "Ten or so?"

"Old enough to start making decisions. Young enough to still have an idealistic streak that keeps thinking a shiny knight will ride up to save them. It's about the same time school kids in Europe and the US get world history. This is their world." He waved a hand. "All the weird and wonderful and wrong in it is something they have to learn and handle."

"You've had girls at battles."

"You have to be past your diploma and all your slayer classes to fall into battles, by volunteer only. If we need more than that we'll allow some of the ones who've passed all their classes and are desperate to volunteer. They take the back line so they see the least amount of anything. The only battle that wasn't held to was the final one in Sunnydale. We were facing down thousands of super vampires and had to get seven girls to the altar to bleed on it to seal her back in. We had twenty."

"Were you there?"

"Yes, guarding a group of the younger girls keeping an exit open. Me bleeding on the altar wouldn't have helped anything. Me guarding the younger girls who insisted they could help instead of staying on the busses did that instead. I lost three," he said honestly. "We lost five of the others on the battle to the altar." She nodded once at that. "Again, they had the choice to stay on the bus and refused. The slayer spirit overrode their age in some cases. She used them to do what was needed. We've since meditated to talk to Sineya about the young girls. She agreed, they need to be girls."

"The slayer spirit?"

"Yeah, the slayer spirit holds an imprint of every former slayer. It's passed to each girl when she's activated. Buffy had to call up the first slayer once to help with a battle and since then they talk about weekly. It's one way she keeps track of how the minis are doing. I can meditate and talk to her. Any of the girls can."

"Why can you?"

"The spell for that battle."

"Oh." She grimaced. "What was that bad?"

"The initiative fuckers your boss knew about." She glared. He stared back. "Fury knew that. He knew about Sunnydale back in our senior year. He knew about them too. His files said so. He's the same sort that let little girls handle the saving of the world by themselves."

"She was...."

"Buffy was in high school and had been a preppy cheerleader sort. Would you really trust the world to a group of teenagers?"

"No," she agreed.

"Yet, you did. The files said you and Barton both showed up in Sunnydale after the mall thing." She flinched a tiny bit. "So yeah, you let the world be saved by a group of teenagers. The old Council wanted it to be just Buffy and Giles. Would you have stepped in then?"

"We were not allowed."

"If orders are more important to you than the fate of humanity, you're probably in need of some therapy." She opened her mouth but he held up a hand. "Don't. You can't rationalize that in a way that doesn't make you sound like a soulless asshole. Even banshees have souls." He walked off. "Quit panicking my mini please and have a good life."

She got into her car and drove off. He had some points but she was not that way.

Xander got back down with the kids. "Okay, class time. Let's do...history. I'm in a bad mood so history is like that." They groaned but came over to learn from her books. Even her brother needed it. The parents watching them all smiled at them for learning things.

***

A semi-Xander showed up somewhere and looked at the guy he knew, who shrugged at the fighting going on in the next room. His form wavered a tiny bit but came back to Xander, earning a dirty look. "I'm a Messenger," she said quietly. "This way they know the source."

"How would you know about losing anything?" a male voice shouted. "Not like you have!"

"You know *nothing* about loss. You decided to run away from it," another shouted.

Xander looked at Barton again. "I've got to talk to the stained, bitchy cunt about what someone she knew did. Is she here? That way I don't have to go get in the middle of that?"

"That describes a few of SHIELD agents."

"The one that thought she could mind fuck you to screw you as their files said."

"Oh, Wanda. She's in there. And I'm not going in there."

Xander nodded. "Come with me so you can stop me from yelling back?" Clint snorted but escorted him in.

"What are you doing here?" Steve demanded, hopping up.

"Shut the fuck up," Xander told him. "I'm here because someone gave me some information for one of your people that they might want to hear." Steve glared. Xander stared back. "Secondly," he said dryly. "You could hear the fight from the street. I don't particularly *want* to be here but it's the right thing to do." He looked at Clint then at the other yelling ones.

"Okay, where's the cunt who decided to sic someone on a city as a diversion and killed about a thousand people?" A few flinched from that. Xander stared. "Someone decided to gather her brother's body and it's in stasis in Oslo. Possibly able to be revived. The people above it are about to be raided by Germans though so they wanted her to know so she could find him in the next few days."

Stark laughed. "Kid...."

"Stark, most of your battles, you lose, and a lot of people can step in. I lose a battle, you all die before you can step in. So don't try." He stared at him. "Unlike you, and shiny boy there, most of us who fight jumped in for a reason. The same as you jumped in for a solution to a problem. To many of us," he told Steve Rogers. "Each failure to contain the damage to only those fighting is a stain on us. Yes, collateral damage happens and it's unavoidable, but it's also evil. If you don't feel it and worry about how many there were, you're soulless. You've lost it somewhere.

"And yes, I've had a few battles where a whole lot got destroyed, even some innocents, but I still mourned each one. That makes me human." He gave him a pointed look. "Also, never talk to my minis again, Rogers. Not only have you disappointed them as someone they should've been able to look up to, but you made her so horrified that she nearly let herself be captured by the nice people who want to kill her for being chosen before she's born.

"She had to be talked into letting herself be saved because you convinced her she was a damned soul and evil for protecting others. Okay?" He looked at the redheaded witch sort that came in. "Oslo. Your former training people have your brother's body. It's in stasis so he can be revived." She choked back a sob.

"And don't fake cry, lady. I deal with it *allll* the time with the teenagers I have to train when I'm in Cleveland." She glared. He stared back. "You know, there's a Golaat coven in the next town. They can make sure that you've actually apologized for all that you've done. The ones you sicced someone on as a diversion have called out for justice. There's Justice demons just like vengeance ones." He gave her a pointed look. Then he looked at Clint. "Go home! You need to go home!"

"I...."

"What's the worst that can happen?"

"They're not there."

"Okay, so situation normal for you right now. What's the best that can happen? They're there and they remember and so do you? The same coven can do a block on the memory for you. That way it'll only come out after another event of mind screwing. They do that for trauma cases all the time. Including those ones that got captured and can't come out of their minds." He punched him on the arm. "Thank the Justice demon that your daughter talked to, dude. She sent me today with all those messages." He gave him a pointed look. "Give you a lift to the airport?"

"Yeah...I..." He took a deep breath. "Yeah."

"Okay. Meet me at the truck with your gear. By the way, the walking penis zit Fury is coming this way to try to provoke another demon battle to cover up his idiot plan of the moment instead of just taking out the problem I took out last week." He looked at Natasha. Then he walked off. He heard a female scream and felt her come near him with her powers. It let him enact the vengeance asked for. "Halfrek's will be done," he told her. Steve stomped out. "Halfrek, the vengeance demon over lost childhoods, asked me to get her to act so she could have a talk with her." Steve stepped back, looking horrified. "She'll be fine. Go get her brother before someone idiot-like gets him?" Steve nodded, backing away. He looked over. "Bert." He nodded. "Halfrek has her."

He looked down then at Xander. He could tell who she really was. "It's a pity. Many wanted to remove her for taking out a city on purpose." He stared down at her when she gasped and woke up from the judgement. "You should leave our continent for good, girl. You're not welcome here after what you've done. The High Councils of Europe, Southern Africa, Northern Africa, and the Asian Houses of Order all agree you are not worthy among our peoples. You are hereby noted you are under a death order for the deaths you have caused."

Xander laid a hand on his arm. "Her brother's in stasis in Oslo."

"They will allow that. We suggest she goes where there's no Council to find her." He looked at Steve then looked at the others. "Genocide is always wrong," he reminded Rogers.

"She didn't mean to do that."

"If you set off a nuclear bomb we'd feel the same way about you," he said then shrugged. "I would stay away from Asia. The house of Korea is the sort to tear you apart." He walked off.

Xander nodded. "I'm not welcome over there either because I took out a battle that was over the fate of a girl's marriage because it was causing a lot of property damage to the regular town. They don't play. The others, you could probably make a plea that she's put herself under punishment for it if she did, but Asian Houses of Order, nope. They're single strike and then punishment." Steve slumped.

"Most demon societies have a lot stricter rules because they don't want to be outed and taken out for it. They got one in Europe who was singing Karaoke in his natural form because it outed their peoples. The last time I knew he had throat cancer and was begging for mercy. But it kept people from taking their peoples out." Steve nodded once. Xander pointed. "That way, by about a county's worth in US measurement. They can read her intentions and her actions. They can report to those councils so she's not in danger."

Stark nodded. "We can ask them. We all have those."

Xander nodded. "Yup, we do. Mourning it means that we're not soul dead yet." Clint came out with his stuff. "C'mon. I can get you home."

"Some of us just try to forget."

Xander nodded. "That's saving your sanity. Can you blow it off?"

"No."

"Then you're not there yet." Clint nodded. "C'mon. You can pick the radio station." He drove him off to a portal maker, who sent him right to his front porch. Clint stared for a few seconds. Xander gave him a slight nudge. He scowled but sighed and took a step, wincing when his daughter squealed inside. He walked in and hugged them all as tight as he could. Xander had the portal close and winked at the demon, paying him for it. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"It's healing and someday we'll need healthier heros."

"Yeah, someone's got to take my place," Xander agreed. "And I know they won't love the twinkies like I do." He walked off, taking a payment from one of his poker buddies. "Thanks, dude. I need dinner." He patted him on the fin. "Have a great game. I've got to handle the problem coming up up north."

"Have fun!" a few called. "She's a goddess."

"Yay. Maybe she'll like Willow." They laughed but maybe, you never knew. Willow being flirty could stop an apocalypse and she'd like that.

***

Xander, the real one, called the phone number he had for the safehouse, thanks to Bert. "It's actually Harris," he said dryly. "That was the Messenger for the Powers That Be. Who I grew up with and used to date. Cordelia is often blunt, but right. The higher ups send her to tell people how to handle the bad shit they called into being." He listened to the choking. "I'm not near there. I'm still with my mini I had to talk into letting herself be saved from the idiot humans."

He hung up and sighed, checking her over. He rewet the forehead washcloth and put it back over her forehead. "You rest, sweetheart. Cordy went to yell for me." She moaned in her sleep but settled down when he ran a hand over her hair. He tried to call her mother again, getting her father this time. "Thankfully, your plan failed." The man hung up.

Xander called the police number he had for down there, nodding at the officer that answered the video call. "It's me. I have Kisembo. We managed to rescue her from whoever those idiots her father called were. I can't get her mother to let her know because her husband won't let her near the phone." He let the phone see the mini slayer then looked in the camera again.

"It is good she's fine. We'll send someone to talk to her father. The ones who had her?" the officer asked.

Xander grimaced. "I wasn't nice but some may be alive. I did shoot to wound. I also had to take the time to argue with her because some *hero* sort told her she was evil and her father agreed," he finished bitterly. "She got a bit gassed. I've got her under care and I'm helping with what I can. If I have to I'll take her to an ER up here." That officer nodded, turning his head to call that. "But for now, can you go kick her father's ass?"

"Gladly, Watcher Harris. We will check on the rest of her family. You take care of her. Ki is a sweet girl."

"I will be. Thank you for the help. By the way, the Messenger for the PTB, the higher ups over the slayers, was out walking around to yell at people as me."

"She impersonated you?"

"I used to date that harpy, she does a good job." He grinned slightly. "She went to yell at the heroic sort about their shit stinking like everyone else's outhouse. So if you hear weird things that I've been doing today, it might've been her." He waved and hung up since he was getting a new call. "Hey, Bert." The demon stared at him. "I heard already. She showed up to do a healing spell on the mini and hand me my poker winning."

"Good," the demon agreed. "Is she all right?"

"I damn well hope so," Xander sighed. "She's got a fever. They had some sort of gas that I've given her an antidote for."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. I might need it." He waved and hung up. Xander considered her condition and the area he was in. It wasn't a great area for medical care but one was about six hours away.... Yeah, she still had a fever. He packed up his few things and medical kit, tucking it back into the truck before he carried her out to the truck and tucked her in. He walked around to get in and drive. It was a long drive but a lot of it was at least highway from this end. By the time he got to the barrier and guardian his mini was running a worse fever.

He got out, jogging to the house. "One of the minis got gassed. I need medical attention for her," he told the barrier's guardian. She called that in and came out to help him. "I gave her fluids, I gave her tylenol, I gave her an antidote for what the gas should've been by smell, taste, and what it said in their system. Her fever won't come down. She's running hot enough that I can't even keep a wet washcloth on her head. She's down to shivering. It's about time for tylenol but I don't have the stuff to IV her."

"We will bring her to a doctor, Watcher."

"Please." He looked at her. "I'm good with field stuff but I'm not a doc and I don't have what I need." A medical team came out. "Guys, it said it was this stuff," he said, pulling up the picture on his phone. "I gave Kisembo the antidote I have, I gave her tylenol five hours ago, I've kept forcing water and her fever's still going up enough to dry out damp washcloths on her forehead." They nodded. He lifted her out and handed her over. "Please treat her. She got convinced by some *hero* that she was fucking evil and I had to talk her into allowing herself to be saved. She usually goes by Ki and I have her file in the truck if you need anything from it. There's no known allergies and she's not on any routine meds."

"We will do what we can, Watcher Harris," one of the warriors said as she came over. "Who did this?" Xander let her have the picture files. "Hmm, quite a mess."

"I aimed for wounding. I needed to get her out of there, not amass a graveyard in my way. Her father," he said more quietly, staring at her. "Got some buddies together." She shuddered but nodded. "Just please, heal her? Her mother was told by the local police down there that she was healing. I told them I'd take her to a hospital if I had to. Her father wouldn't let the mother near the phone."

"Men like that are assholes," she agreed. "Calm down. Camp. Relax and call in a poker debt to get the ones you didn't manage." He nodded, taking a deep breath. "Make a report to your people."

"Oh, I'm waiting to scream at someone. Oh, if you hear I was yelling at *hero* sorts earlier, it was the Messenger for the PTB. She had to pass along a few messages of 'your shit does stink' variety apparently."

She smiled. "We monitor that base and we heard. We had wondered."

He smirked a tiny bit. "Her name was Cordelia Chase and I actually dated her in high school. She was part of the patrol team in Sunnydale and then LA's team."

"Ah, so she would know about heros." She nodded, following the stretcher. "Calm down and call your people," she ordered, heading back into the barrier.

Xander popped his neck and sighed. "I'll be about five miles that way," he said with a point. "That's my usual camping spot." The barrier guardian smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the help." He got in and drove off. He could call and scream at her father in peace and quiet there.

***

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