Rise of the Champions - Chapter Thirty-Seven

Author: Milady Dragon


Jack looked out over the camp, nursing the cup of coffee that he'd been given by Laura Barton, watching as the workers began to prepare for yet another day.

He and his people had been offered a place to stay in the main camp area, in a smallish wagon that belonged to another member of the show who usually stayed in the animal pens when they were settled for any period of time. It hadn't mattered to the team, any of them would have been happy to camp around a fire somewhere, used to sleeping under the stars as they were; well, Jack had been staying home more of late, but that hadn't cancelled out all those accumulated centuries of mercenary work, which had meant long weeks without beds or even a roof over his head. Besides, to be honest, he really didn't need all that much sleep, and had taken a walk around the perimeter of the site, checking the non-existent defenses and wondering just how they were going to protect this place if something did happen.

Perhaps it wouldn't come to that. Maybe the traveling show would escape any sort of retribution. He could hope that they hadn't accidentally opened these people up for either Hydra or Loki to come back against them in some way. If it had just been Hydra, Jack didn't think he'd have been so concerned, but now that the Hales and Loki had most likely teamed up…there could be serious trouble on the way. Which was why Jack was there, instead of back in Gateway with his husband and their family.

He really should have asked Ianto to suggest a Wizard come with them. Jack wouldn't have minded the extra firepower.

Still, he had Toshiko with him, and the only person he knew that was deadlier with a bow was Clint Barton. There was also Natasha, who would defend her best friend to the death, even if he wasn't around to be defended. And, while he wasn't at all certain of all Bobbi and Hunter's capabilities, he'd seen them in action when they'd taken down Hydra in Lasavar and had been impressed enough to offer them a place on his own team back home. It didn't hurt that he genuinely liked them both, and was proud to have them on this new and temporary team of his.

Speaking of Bobbi, there she was, walking toward him, her own cup of coffee in one hand and one of the meat pastries they'd been serving in the kitchen tent in the other. Jack had already polished off three of them, they were that good.

"Hey," she greeted him once she was closer.

Jack returned the greeting. "Did you sleep well?"

"As well as I usually do on the road." She smirked a little. "I hope Hunter and I didn't keep anyone awake."

The immortal laughed teasingly. "Well, I wasn't going to say anything…" He leered at her. He hadn't really heard anything, but then he'd been wandering a fairly long time last night.

Bobbi joined in with the laughter. "You think you're so charming."

"I am! Just ask Ianto."

"He's your husband. I'm pretty sure he's completely biased."

Jack had to agree with that assessment. Just as he was biased himself when it came to Ianto Jones.

"We're the talk of the camp," she went on. "Gossip is running wild about why we're here."

"Some of the rumors are pretty funny," Toshiko joined them. She was already armed, her bow hooked over the quiver at her back and her short sword at her hip. She was ready for anything that may occur, and Jack was proud to call her his Second.

"Oh, do tell," he encouraged her, knowing that his Elven friend liked a good bit of gossip.

"That we're here to buy the traveling show," she chuckled. "That's a good one."

"I like the one about us being from some sort of criminal syndicate and we're here to muscle in on the Bartons," Bobbi added.

"I do like that one," Natasha joined them. She didn't have any sort of breakfast with her, but she'd probably already eaten. "Then there's the story that we're bodyguards for the Bartons to protect them from the aforementioned criminal syndicate."

"Oh, and here's a good one," Hunter came up behind his lover with his own coffee and breakfast, "that we're all a part of some Baronial Council conspiracy to regulate the traveling shows and that Carson's is only the first step in adding more taxes onto their revenue."

Jack snorted at that one. "Do any of us look like government?"

"Well, to be fair," Toshiko grinned, "you and I technically are government, Jack…just not this one."

"You have a point." Jack's team in the United Kingdom had been fully funded by the Crown ever since Wizards started showing up. They'd been the first response when any sort of rumor about magical shenanigans came up, and had also been the first to really start to search for new Wizards for the school.

Of course, the rest of that team was back in the United Kingdom, doing the job they'd been chartered for, while Jack and Toshiko were in the Western Lands, a place they decidedly weren't chartered, currently doing off-the-books works on behalf of the Grand Masters.

Well, for Clint really because, despite the fact that he really hated his brother at the moment, Laura and Barney Barton and their children were family, and if Jack understood anything it was that family was important. Even when you weren't getting along with them at the moment.

Also, it was their fault, in a way. Even if they didn't know if Loki would have found out about Carson's from any sort of inquiry into rumors about Hydra, or if the knowledge had come from Clint himself from when he'd been put under Loki's thrall.

Jack had been in the United Kingdom at the time of Loki's rampage and hadn't paid much attention to what had been going on in the Western Lands beyond what Their Majesties had been discussing at the time, so he'd had to do some catch-up on the mad Asgardian quickly.

From what he'd been told since, Loki was dangerous and needed to be stopped, perhaps more than the Hales did. After all, he'd managed to kill Phil, and even though he'd been fully into his Dark One phase back then, he'd still been incredibly powerful. The very idea that someone could have done that to Phil Coulson had Jack shivering just a little. From what Phil had said, Loki had managed to get the drop on him because of his grasp of illusion magic. Phil had also explained that he'd been an arrogant bastard back then, and hadn't taken that sort of thing into consideration. Now, however, he claimed he was as ready as he could be to face Loki once more.

From where Jack and his people were standing, the immortal could see the Barton's wagon where it had been parked. As he watched, Barney Barton climbed down the stairs, followed by his son, Cooper. Jack had met both Cooper and Lila yesterday, and had liked both kids instantly. Barney had grown on him a little as well, mostly because he just seemed so damned sorry for what he'd done to his younger brother. Jack honestly believed him when he'd said he would do anything to make it up to Clint, and hoped they would eventually get some sort of happy ending, if just for Clint to meet his niece and nephew.

That dark-haired archer, Kate Bishop, approached Barney, and they talked for a few moments before he called back up into the wagon for Lila. The teen appeared and then went with Kate down toward the practice fields, her own bow slung over her shoulder.

"Something tells me a certain natural skill in archery is in the Barton family tree," Natasha observed.

Jack had to agree with her. "I wonder if either Barney or Lila are as good as Clint is."

"No one is as good as Clint Barton, mate," Hunter corrected. "That Elven arsehole is as good as they come."

"Hunter's got a point," Toshiko added. "Clint never misses. I saw Kate shooting as well, and she's almost on par with Clint. She just needs a little seasoning and she'll be just as good. She's even taken Clint's old traveling show moniker: Hawkeye."

There was a knowing expression on Natasha's face. "I know you're not up with Western Lands politics, but there was a scandal in Barony Bronze not that long ago, concerning a minor Lord whose daughter ran away from home. That minor Lord is named Derek Bishop."

Jack's eyes widened. "Are you saying that Kate is that daughter?" That was…honestly, what child didn't dream of running away with a traveling show, at some point in their lives? Hells, Clint had done that very thing. And now, there was yet another Hawkeye, a part of the same traveling show, and joining it in the same manner although for very different reasons.

The Widow nodded. "From what we've heard, Lord Derek is an asshole who's been married three times now. His latest wife could be Kate's older sister. Now, I'm not saying that age is a thing if you truly love someone, but from all the rumors this latest Lady Bishop is a gold digger who has Lord Derek wrapped around her finger so tightly he practically ignored his own daughter for the woman."

"Yeah," Hunter added, "it's no wonder the kid ran away."

"Plus," Bobbi replied, "apparently Lord Derek looked down his nose at Kate's archery prowess, considering that sort of thing not what a privileged young lady should be doing. At least, that's what I've heard."

"I heard that, too," Natasha confirmed.

Toshiko snorted. "I see what you mean by him being an arsehole. Sexist, to boot."

Jack just couldn't understand why some men felt that women weren't capable of doing certain things, or it being unladylike. In his experience, women were some of the most dangerous people he'd known. See Suzie Costello, Toshiko Sato, and Martha Jones as examples. There were more, but he didn't have the time to stand there and list them all.

"Baron Clark has had it up to the eyeballs with Lord Derek's behavior." Natasha was amused by the whole thing. "When he went in front of the Baronial Court to petition for a search, Baron Clark flatly refused, claiming that Kate would be better off anywhere else than at home, and besides she was of age to make her own decisions. He wasn't going to waste Baronial resources looking for someone who had left of her own free will."

"While no one's seen it," Bobbi said, "the servants at their home claimed there was a note from Kate basically telling her father to go to any one of the hells he chose. There are a lot of people who'd love to have seen that."

"More power to her," Jack laughed. He had to respect someone who would say something like that to her own father, especially since it sounded like he deserved it.

As they stood there, a youngster approached Barney at a run. Barney had taken a seat on the steps of the Barton wagon; Cooper had gone off on his own, most likely to perform whatever chores the boy had been assigned. The girl talked to him, her arms waving excitedly, and then took off running once more, back toward the big tent.

Jack wondered just what had caused that haste.

It looked as if he was about to find out.

Barney stood and strode quickly toward their group, his face grave. "Captain Harkness," he greeted as soon as he joined them.

"Mister Barton." Jack still wasn't quite sure what to think of Clint's brother, even though he'd seemed genuinely contrite over what had happened between the brothers all those years ago.

Now that he was close, it was obvious that something had disturbed him. His face was pale, and Jack could see that his hands were shaking slightly. "She's here."

The immortal knew immediately who he meant.

The UnEarthly Child.

It had been decades since he'd last seen her, back when Genosha had reappeared and the mess that had ensued. The Child had shown up and thrown herself into events; that had been when Jack had discovered that she had been created to balance the Deathless' existence.

At the time, she'd called it Lifelessness.

Jack had been horrified.

He still was.

That the universe would do that to anyone else, let alone a child, it was sickening. He just couldn't understand it. Sure, he was aware that there had to be a Balance to things, but to curse a little girl with immortality…it made no sense.

Back then, she'd told him that it didn't matter, that she actually enjoyed her existence as it was now, but that didn't make it right.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice suddenly hoarse. He had the urge to run in the opposite direction, because Jack really didn't want to hear what she would have to say.

"I am here, Deathless."

The childlike voice startled him. She'd managed to sneak up on them, which was just plain spooky, her tiny smile enigmatic and dark with secrets.

The UnEarthly Child looked like she was about ten years old, with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a white dress that was old-fashioned and mud-stained at the hem, as if she'd walked miles to get to the traveling show. And maybe she had, or maybe she'd used magic to get there, Jack had no idea.

There was something eerie about her, that screamed her true age and her power. No one looking at her could have ever mistaken her for an ordinary child; but then, she did nothing to hide her otherworldliness. Unlike Jack, who kept his Deathlessness under wraps as much as possible…well, he had, until he'd become famous by marrying Ianto Jones, the second Wizard to have been born in almost a thousand years

Jack's heart was hammering, but he hoped he wasn't showing just how bothered by her presence he felt. "I should have expected you to show up at some point." He kept his tone light, not wanting to cause offence mainly because he had no idea how she'd react.

The last time he'd seen her, she'd also been hanging around his former lover, John Hart. He supposed if Hart hadn't offended her, no one else would be able to.

Her smile widened and became a little lighter. "I go where I am needed, Deathless."

"And you're needed here?" Toshiko asked. She sounded a little spooked, and Jack couldn't blame her for feeling that way.

"Is there a place we can speak in privacy?" the UnEarthly Child inquired politely.

"We have a wagon here." He motioned over his shoulder toward the loaner shelter they'd been given.

"I have shit to do." With that, Barney vanished.

Personally, Jack thought he had the right idea in this case.

The wagon they'd stayed in last night was small, but it was also cozy, with a pair of sofas, one on each wall, that could be used as beds. There was also a bedroom, which Jack and Toshiko had silently agreed would go to Bobbi and Hunter, since they were a couple, and it was curtained off from the sitting area by about thirty lines of brightly colored beads that hung across the lintel and mostly obscured the bedroom from view. Natasha hadn't said anything, but had just grabbed a blanket and had curled up in the floor, looking as comfortable as if she'd been in that selfsame bed.

There was a small table at the end of one of the sofas and Jack, who understood best of all what she was there for, pulled it around so she could use it for her cards. The Child smiled up at him, taking the seat, and patted the cushion beside her.

Jack accepted, although it was just a bit reluctantly.

Bobbi and Hunter took the other sofa, watching expectantly, Natasha perching on the arm next to Hunter. Toshiko, who also knew what was going to happen now, positioned herself against the wall, where she would have unrestricted view of the table. She would make note of everything the Child did, possibly better than Jack himself since this wouldn't be affecting her as directly as it would him.

The Child's feet didn't even touch the floor.

Seeing that just added to everything wrong Jack felt about her…and this whole situation.

"Deathless," she spoke, twisting on her seat in order to face him, her cards already mysteriously appearing on the table, startling both Bobbi and Hunter but not, seemingly, Natasha, "I am here to speak to you, but you must know that my primary purpose in this place is to prepare the Archer for his destiny."

"I understand." He couldn't help the tiny, almost superstitious, shiver that crawled down his spine. "I can get Clint here –"

The smile she gave him this time was bright with laughter. "Soon, Deathless. For now, the cards do have something to impart, as you and the Cardinal Champion are bound together with the Void Champion and his Archer."

Jack had figured that, since he and Ianto were the only other immortals out there besides Phil, who would need their help when it came time for him to mourn his loved ones…just as he knew that Phil would be there for them. "What do you have to tell me?"

With a nod, she turned back to her cards. Jack watched as she closed her eyes for a heartbeat, then flipped the first card over.

It was one very familiar to him – it was the Knight, the one who somehow resembled him, down to the armor and the blue-grey cloak. It didn't need any sort of explanation.

The next card was one he'd also seen before.

The Wizard on it could have been Ianto's double, down to the red and gold dragon seated at his feet, his eyes aglow with the Deep Ways.

"So far," he couldn't help himself, "all you're giving me are also-rans."

The UnEarthly Child cackled. It sounded so vastly amused Jack couldn't help but grin in return. "Then, perhaps the next one will not be, as you say, a rerun."

And it wasn't, but it was also recognizable to Jack.

It was Phil Coulson on that card, the ink ancient and worn, painted long before the other man had been born. In the artwork, he was dressed all in black, with Lola by his side, one hand outstretched and a black flame twisting about his fingers and his usually blue eyes solid Void.

The next card was Clint, in purple, holding a drawn bow with arrow on the string, Lucky rearing up on his rear legs and…wait, was Lucky missing an eye?

Jack glanced at her at once. "What is this?" he couldn't help but ask, although he knew very well that she would never answer in anything less than a riddle, and that was if she deigned to answer at all.

"I cannot say," her answer was plain and unambiguous.

Then she went back to the cards.

The UnEarthly Child laid down more, many of them Jack didn't know. And, when she was done, and explained in her roundabout way, he sincerely wished she'd never showed up at all.