CHAPTER 9 - Magic

"I don't think I can do this," Clint huffed, sweat leaking all over his brow. Rocket, Quill, Drax and Mantis (who Clint had a real big issue with once he realized she was with them) stood off to the side, watching. Loki had easily casted a spell on a vacant hallway to give it further depth and just before an arrow would strike the wall, it would hit a force field that held them still. Rocket and Quill thought the whole thing was cool and before Loki could stop him, Rocket tried the thing out first. And, since Loki's spell wasn't set to stop blasters, there was now a blackened area behind the illusion.

"You need to keep trying. First spells are always difficult, and I'm not teaching you a simple one because you refuse to learn anything else," Loki snapped. Now that he finally got Clint to try working on a spell, Loki knew he could be harsher with the archer. Especially since Clint had been so keen on trying to learn this spell. Clint glared at him. "If you were more willing, I could lead you up to this spell and things would be much simpler."

"Fuck you," Clint growled before setting his stance up again. He muttered the words Loki had made him memorize and drew back. An arrow fluttered to existence, not solidifying like Loki said it should. Clint growled and the arrow seemed to change but as Clint went to fire, the arrow fizzled out. "Damn it."

"You are focusing too hard on creating it. Lets just have it appear and try to get it flying off the bow," Loki suggested. Clint snarled but got ready again. With his loss of concentration, he was forced to cast the spell again. And like before, an arrow appeared, fading in and out. Clint fired and it vanished after flying maybe a foot away.

"That got farther this time," Rocket helpfully commented. Clint turned and glared at him, not losing his concentration on the spell. Rocket just stared back. "I ain't threatened of you till ya do it right."

"Rocket," Quill snapped. Rocket crossed his arms and just shrugged. Huffing, Clint turned back and tried again. This time, the arrow seemed more solid than any other attempt. Clint fired and the arrow actually stayed in existence until it hit halfway down Loki's makeshift range. The amount of power casted finally took its toll on Clint and he dropped to his knees. Loki moved to check on the archer. Unlike with Wanda, he wasn't going to make Clint find his limit. This spell, if Clint could focus on it long enough, would last an entire day with little magical input. All Clint needed to do after the initial spell work itself, was concentrate.

"He okay?" Mantis wondered. Clint growled, punching his fist onto the floor.

"Clint, we should stop for the day," Loki said, knowing that if Clint tried any more, the archer be getting far too close to his limit than the trickster liked. Clint snarled, getting back to his feet. Without thinking about it, Clint snapped out the spell and fired before anyone could see if an arrow appeared. Clint did it again six more times before falling to his knees once more unable to hold himself up. This was worse than the battle with the Trogziks. No, this was worse than when Ego first attacked him.

"He did it," Quill called, awed. Loki jerked his head up, looking to the wall. And indeed, seven absolutely real arrows were hovering at the area Loki had marked center of the target. Clint groaned and shifted so that he fell against Loki. The Lie-smith caught the archer, holding him steady. With a quick scan, Loki realized Clint was farther too his limit than he had first thought. With the power Clint held, Loki feared the archer may never wake if he went over his limit. The trickster casted a protection spell on Clint and held it as long as he could until Clint looked up at him. With a sigh, he released the spell.

"What was that?" Rocket questioned, pointing between the duo. Loki said nothing, just helped Clint back up to his feet.

"Is... Is there a way to get rid of them after?" Clint inquired, looking down the hall to the arrows. Loki sighed.

"Yes, but you need rest and at least five more successful attempts before I even think of teaching you that," Loki muttered, dropping his own spells. The arrows clattered to the ground.

"He produced them from the air?" Drax probed. Rocket and Quill looked at him like he was asking if they all needed to breathe.

Loki trained Clint nearly every hour (outside of resting and sleeping) until they arrived on Knowhere. Once there, Loki said it was too dangerous for either of them to use any magic. Too many aliens that arrived here knew of magic and or ate magical users. It wouldn't be safe. Gamora offered to stay behind with the duo and the ship as the others went out and got supplies. Groot, rapidly hitting some sort of teenage phase, was hiding out in his room. He had found a small gaming system on a holo device and hadn't put it down since.

"When we get to Earth, I'd like to teach you how to imagine different types of your arrows so that you aren't limited," Loki informed as the trio relaxed in the dining area.

"Sounds interesting. Do I have to use another spell to do it or-" Clint started.

"It is mostly concentration while working the original spell but it is easier with a secondary spell. The more we work on the spell, the more you'll be able to do with it," Loki explained.

"How does that work? I mean, I thought spells were literal in their purpose," Gamora wondered.

"Many spells are. But there can be some variations done to certain spells. An example being the spell I am teaching Clint. There is also one that I particularly enjoy that creates an illusion. I typically use that to 'copy' myself but as it's an illusion, I can think of whatever I want," Loki answered.

"So, it's more thought process with it?" Gamora asked. Loki nodded.

"Many spells are not just words and waving of hands. They require the caster to really think about what they are doing and how best to do it. As one practices spells more often, the easier it is to do. It can almost be like second nature," Loki continued.

"Now, I notice that when Clint seems to be getting tired, you cast a spell on him. Is that something all casters do?" Gamora inquired.

"No. My magic... It absorbs the magic casted on me. So, he's like... Refilling my battery," Clint awkwardly described.

"Is it possible for one to hold onto a spell like these without it breaking?" Gamora added.

"It's the concentration to do such a spell that keeps it going. When I cast protections spells on my friends, I need to either cast it twice to make it stick around for a longer period of time, or focus for the entire time I want it to work," Loki replied. Gamora hummed. Before anyone could ask any more questions, there was a noise, like a scuffle, happening at the back of the ship. All three of them shot to their feet and headed back there to check it out.

Indeed there was a scuffle. Two aliens were duking it out right outside their bay doors. Quill, Drax, Rocket and Mantis weren't anywhere nearby. Gamora growled at the duo fighting but didn't move to break it up. Loki and Clint followed her lead, outside of the growling. As they focused on the battle, looking deeply at the ship from the other side, a blue alien focused on Clint. After a moment, the alien moved forward and tapped something onto the back end of the Milano.

"Cosmo no like when people fight on world," a Russian sounding voice called through the groups head. The two aliens jumped apart from each other, glaring. From around the corner, a yellow lab in a space suit walked toward them. Clint nearly squealed at the fact that there was a dog here. He tried to run to him but Loki held him back. This was one of the dangers that Loki had feared. It wasn't all that bad in the long run, but a part that Loki had no wish for Clint to have gotten involved in it all. If this dog knew of Clint's potential, the dog had many contacts with magical collectors that at this stage Clint would be unable to stop. "Cosmo wish peace."

"We apologize for our friend and will take our leave," an alien from the crowd answered, grabbing one of the combatants and pulling him away. The other alien huffed but walked away as well. Nodding his head in satisfaction, 'Cosmo' then looked straight up at Clint as if the archer had called out to him. The archer stiffened, surprise. Seeing his gaze, Gamora and Loki both shifted to stand in front of Clint, trying to subtly block Cosmo's view. A onlooker from the now ended battle followed Cosmo's gaze to the ship. The alien focused hard on the group but did nothing.

"Cosmo sense you are not near here," The dog commented, coming toward the ship. Gamora moved forward in an attempt to block Cosmo from getting too close. Clint felt a chill run down his spine. This wasn't good. Cosmo was giving Clint the same sense of nerves and fear as he felt when Loki first came through the Tesseract nearly seven years prior.

"We have only come here to restock our supplies and then we will be on our way. Our friends are already getting the things we need," Gamora implored. Cosmo glanced to her quickly before focusing on Clint again. Clint glanced at Loki instead. But the trickster was warily watching the dog. Best to not antagonize Cosmo unless needed.

"Cosmo sense change in you," the dog continued. Clint frowned and shifted to get away. He was not going to get trapped in another Ego situation. Loki grabbed the archer's arm and pulled him closer. This was not going well at all and Loki doubted that they be able to escape this situation without making it far worse. "No need worry. Cosmo mean no harm."

"Excuse me for having a disbelieving air to that. Haven't been having much luck out here," Clint replied. Loki hissed, squeezing Clint's arm a bit harder. Really not good to snark the dog that could sense their magic without them even using any of it. A laugh echoed through their heads.

"Cosmo like you. Cosmo wish to show around," the dog called before spinning and walking away. Clint frowned and moved to step away again when suddenly, he and Loki were pushed from behind. They were slowly forced out of the ship and had to follow Cosmo as the dog walked off. Gamora let out a cuss and followed quickly after as Cosmo led the duo through Knowhere. She looked around, seeing many aliens stopping what they were doing to watch. It was always interesting to see who Cosmo was speaking too. As they left the ship and drew attention elsewhere, the alien from before moved forward and placed a small machine onto the back of the Milano. Once it was set, the alien smiled and walked away.

"Cosmo, please. We are nearly ready to go," Gamora repeated. Cosmo ignored her and began listing the sights that they passed as he forced Loki and Clint to follow. Clint was smart enough to simply relax into Cosmo's path where as Loki stiffened himself and thought of how to escape without calling attention to himself. They were led around until Cosmo brought them into a building and shut the door behind them, releasing the pressure on Loki and Clint. Clint backed away from the dog, for once in his life afraid the normally adorable creature.

"Cosmo tell you Earth child," Cosmo stated, looking straight at Clint. Clint said nothing. Was this seriously all the damn dog wanted? "Cosmo see you no want space travel. Want home. Family."

"I was sent here by mistake and have been trying to get home," Clint admitted, praying that answering would get him away faster. Behind him Gamora hissed. Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say. Cosmo nodded.

"Cosmo help."

"What?" Loki and Gamora echoed.

"Cosmo help hawk go home," the dog reiterated and Clint couldn't help but shiver at the idea that Cosmo knew about his code name. Everything about this was bad. There was no way in hell he'd trust this dog.

"I'm sorry, I... I can't. The guardians have been taking me home. I'm fine traveling with them," Clint said, really not liking Cosmo's extreme interest in him and helping him. Cosmo moved forward, ignoring Loki and Gamora who shifted to try, once again, to block the dog from getting close to Clint. It didn't work as Cosmo used the same force as before to push them back. Clint shifted, uncomfortable. What would be the best way to get out of here?

"How that go? You now something you no wish to be," Cosmo countered. Clint winced. That was true but... Like Nova Corps, Cosmo just didn't seem safe. "Cosmo help."

"I'm fine," Clint repeated. Cosmo's eyes narrowed, a very strange look on a dog. After a moment, Cosmo huffed.

"Cosmo believe. Hawk safe with friends," the dog announced as if all this had been a random test to see if Clint was loyal. Clint didn't trust it. And it seemed neither did Loki or Gamora.

"So can we return to our ship?" Gamora wondered. Cosmo nodded. "Thank you."

She turned and headed to the door. After a brief hesitation, Loki turned and headed to the door as well. Clint twisted to go as well but was stopped by something. He glanced back at the dog and frowned. Neither Gamora or Loki noticed Clint wasn't coming until they were out the door. Once they were out, Loki turned and was about to cry out when the door shut in his face.

"Look, I just want to go home," Clint stressed, trying to fight whatever Cosmo was doing. Cosmo moved closer to Clint and the archer tried his best to pull away. "Please."

"Cosmo let you go home. Cosmo just want see," the dog responded. Clint whimpered when Cosmo got close enough to touch Clint with his paws. Even in a space suit, Cosmo seemed so threatening. As the dog pressed his paws onto Clint, Clint felt his memories moving through his mind, faster than he could process them. Then, Cosmo let go. Something about all that apparently pleased the dog. But Clint was shaken. What the fuck was wrong with all these aliens? Maybe they had gotten lucky before that it was only Asgardians and Chitauri that they've had to deal with. "Hawk go home."

The door behind Clint opened and he stumbled out, bumping into Loki who easily caught the archer. He and Gamora looked very worried. Cosmo nodded to them and closed his door which made Loki glare at the dog. But he couldn't do anything now that the door was closed.

"What happened?" Gamora asked, placing a hand on Clint's shoulder. The archer jerked himself free as if her skin had burned him. Loki frowned even as Clint shook his head. The archer just wanted to get back to the ship. Gamora must have noticed how Clint felt as she simply nodded her head and started leading Clint to the ship. Loki took a moment to look back at the building Cosmo had 'hidden' himself in. Why were so many interested in Clint? What was it about the archer that drew all this attention to him? After a beat, Loki silently followed after the duo. The three of them got to the ship just as the others did. Quill frowned.

"What happened?" he wondered.

"Cosmo," was all Gamora said before they got onto the ship. Loki easily led Clint to his bunk and shut the door. Outside, the Lie-smith could hear the guardians putting things away and readying the Milano for the journey to Earth. He could only hope it worked out well this time as he doubted Clint would be able to handle being in space any longer.

Clint yet again refused to come out of his bunk for two days. But this time, neither did Loki. At first Quill and Rocket were concerned but Gamora wasn't all that surprised. The meeting they had with Cosmo was strange and unsettling. Even she felt a bit odd after all of that. Why did Cosmo care about them? What was the dog's interest in Clint? And why did it matter?

"Come, we should get back to training," Loki encouraged on the second day. It wasn't necessary at this point as Clint had broken the magic build up from before and he currently had a good while before the build up happened again. But, training more never hurt. If Clint could learn this one spell, he had a better chance of standing against any danger from an enemy of a magic user. Clint snorted but stood and followed Loki out into the hall. Neither of them spoke to the guardians as they set themselves up and started working on Clint's spell work. Rocket was the first to notice them.

"Ya know. It's be cooler if it was a blaster," the raccoon joked. Clint chuckled, glad for the return to 'normalcy' after everything that had happened. He had been told nearly a thousand times that it'd be cooler or easier to work with something other than a bow. And he'd always say the same thing.

"Not as pristine a hit as I'd like. And easily blocked by the right kind of armor," Clint retorted.

"Yondu used to use an arrow that responded to some sort of electric fin on his head. He'd just whistle and the thing would go insane," Rocket mentioned, lost in his brief thoughts of the Ravager.

"Yes well, we don't have need of that," Loki replied, smirking. Clint shrugged.

"Be kinda cool, but then it wouldn't really be you aiming. Kinda takes the point of it out," Clint commented. Rocket laughed. He had originally thought the same thing, that didn't mean it wasn't cool to look at.

"Ah, I like you guys," the raccoon declared. Clint ignored him and began rapid firing his bow with numerous arrows. Loki waited till Clint was deep into it before suddenly shoving the archer. Clint barely faltered in both his aim and the spell. Loki smirked then adjusted his spell of the 'range' so that now it showed thousands of warriors running at Clint. Clint gritted his teeth but kept going, trying not to be phased at all by what Loki was doing. Chuckling now, Loki made it seem like the warriors were firing back at Clint. The archer dodged, but kept his spell going. "WHOA!"

Loki glanced back and noticed that some of the 'gun' fire was headed toward Rocket as well as Clint. He chuckled again and then focused the spell to only go for Clint. Clint continued like this for nearly an hour. Every now and then, Loki would change up his spell to make it harder for Clint to concentrate. The best was when he added in images of the Avengers and he was suddenly above a building. At first the archer faltered but even so, he never lost the spell.

"Is that your team?" Quill wondered as he rounded the corner to see the illusion that Loki had conjured. Clint paused. His team? Then he actually seriously focused on what Loki had done. It had been the image of being on a building that had thrown Clint, not the addition of the Avengers. Yeah, he had actually noticed that he had people to protect but for some reason his mind hadn't caught on to it being the other Avengers. Clint smiled lightly before sighing. Looking at Loki with a nod, Clint turned to look at Quill. Loki sighed and drew the images of the Avengers closer.

"Iron Man, aka Tony Stark," Clint started with. Loki made sure the armor stepped forward and then the armor dissolved into Tony Stark. Clint moved on and as he did, Loki shifted the illusion. "Captain America, aka Steve Rogers. Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff. Hulk, aka Bruce Banner. And Thor, Loki's brother."

"Huh," Quill replied, staring at the images. Rocket huffed, his gaze scanning each image and then comparing it to Clint as if the archer wasn't worth anyone's time. Ignoring it, Clint then looked to Loki. This wasn't his full team.

"There have been a few new additions," Clint mentioned. Loki frowned before realizing who Clint was talking about. Who else had been added to the team? Then Loki remembered the amount of people at New Asgard. All of them must have been Avengers as well. He added the ones Clint mentioned. "Falcon, aka Sam Wilson. Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff. War Machine, aka James Rhodes. And Winter Solider, aka James 'Bucky' Barnes."

"That's a lot of people," Quill responded. Clint shrugged.

"There are a bunch more heroes out there... Daredevil, The X-Men, Spiderman, Dr. Strange-"

"I will get my vengeance on him," Loki whispered. Clint chuckled. He had learned about Loki's and Strange's little spat. Like everyone else, he thought it was hilarious.

"And all of them are on Earth?" Quill questioned. Clint nodded, seriously thinking about how many heroes there were. If one broke apart the teams and left it to one person defending an area...

"We have like at least one hero for every state and every country. Hell, maybe even every county," Clint replied. Quill shook his head.

"And here it's only us."

"Sorry. We... We haven't really mastered space travel," Clint admitted, a hand going to rub at the back of his neck. "Certainly nothing like this or anything. Just... Hard to describe what it is, but it can't travel farther than the Moon."

"Wow... That's gotta suck," Quill muttered. Clint shrugged.

"Guess it's a little give and take," Clint retorted. He turned back to the illusion. Without questioning it, Loki set it back up. To everyone's surprise (himself included), Clint didn't need to recast the spell. He just turned around and started shooting again.

"Okay. I might be ready to start teaching you how to make them disappear," Loki commented. Clint's beaming smile practically lit the hall.

Another chapter down.

Darius is doing great. Currently annoying me because he wants me to do stuff I don't want to help him with at the moment. He just isn't listening to me saying no. But, he'll have to get used to that at some point. We've had some small issues with him, basically regarding sleep and last night bathroom issues. Overall though, he's great. Baby Jason is giving his parents a bit of a hard time at night but... That's what babies do.

Short note, but that's all I can really think of... Until next week!