If you would later ask Steve why he chose that particular day to expand his searches for rare seashells to the dangerously sharp rocks at the end of the beach, he would answer that he simply came upon the idea that the high rocks could very likely contain some shells that have been there for years, maybe even centuries. It was a very simple thought, but it was the one that saved the wounded creature lying between the rocks from dying a very slow and painful death. It's lifeless body would've been dragged back into the sea when the water rose again, and the body would've been found a few hours later back on the shore by the screaming children of some European tourists.

Luckily, that all didn't happen. Instead, Steve scrambled on top of the nearest and lowest rock and stood there for a moment trying to catch his breath.

Wheezing and with shaking hands he tried to find his inhaler in his pockets. Finally fishing it out he took a deep, comforting breath. The lightheadedness disappeared and he could think straight again.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all..." Steve mumbled while wiping away a few droplets of sweat on his eyebrow. His blonde hair was stuck on his forehead, but he didn't bother brushing the strands aside.

It was a beautiful summer morning and at this moment he had this part of the beach all for himself. In just an hour, however, it would be crowded with tourists and other people so he had to hurry before most of the shells would be stamped into the sand by ignorant sweaty feet. That morning he had left his home at about 5.00am, leaving behind a note for Sam with whom he shared the expensive apartment. His roommate often said that Steve could just as easily live in a broom closet since he was only ever at home to sleep.

The rest of his time he spent either on the beach or at the sea life center where he looked after the animals that found themselves there because they were severely wounded or because several top scientists who were researching sea life behavior were closely observing them.

Work would not begin until seven, so Steve took his time with searching the rock for anything special. Unfortunately all he found was a grumpy little crab that wasn't very pleased with Steve lifting the stone he was sleeping under and with a yelp Steve dropped the rock it was hiding under when he felt a painful sting in his hand. The crab almost got squashed by his own shelter and quickly took his leave over the rock where Steve couldn't see him anymore.

"Goddammit!"

Steve clutched his hand with a miserable look on his face as he sat down on the edge of the rock to look at the damage. He was lucky that little thing hadn't cut his pinkie right off.

Steve let out a sigh and tried to use his t-shirt to stop the slow blood flow. Suddenly he jumped when he heard something that sounded like the screech of a seagull mingled with the whine of a dog. It was the strangest sound he had ever heard and there was something... off about it. He only couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. It seemed to come from somewhere underneath him, and when he looked down his mouth dropped.

There, a few meters underneath the spot he was sitting was what looked like a person. He or she lay face down on the sand and didn't seem to move. But that wasn't what shocked him the most when he looked down - maybe it was just the merciless morning sun and the recent lack of oxygen that made him see things that weren't there, but... No. No way. He was just seeing things, like the dreamer he was.

After gaping like an idiot for at least another minute, he could hear the strange chilling sound again and he jumped into action. He let himself slide gracefully down the rock to land on his feet next to the person in need, calm and professional.

Or. Well. That was what he had in mind. Instead he lost his balance and actually tumbled off the rock with flailing arms and fell face first into the sand to ironically mimic the position of the stranger. The air was knocked clear out of his lungs and he got his second asthma attack of the day. This one was far more severe and a lot scarier because he was unable to reach for his inhaler.

Wheezing, he tried to calm himself down by thinking that there was no way he could pass out now, not when there was clearly someone who needed his help more than anything right now. Was that blood he smelt? It was far too strong and nauseating to be from the cut to his hand, so the stranger was in a far worse condition than he had initially thought.

Steve could feel the lightheadedness slowly coming back when he finally managed to roll on his back and reach a shaking hand towards his inhaler. A wave of relief washed over him when he could finally take a full breath of clean air again. His face was bright red from the sun and the great effort it took him to rollover.

After a few more breaths Steve remembered why he was here in the first place and he pushed himself up on his elbows. Luckily he hadn't landed on a rock, but he still winced when a shot of pain came from his fragile ribs. He dropped his inhaler and crawled closer to his now silent companion. He hesitated before he slowly reached for the stranger's shoulder and immediately withdrew his hand with a silent yelp of surprise when he touched the skin. It didn't feel like human skin - it felt extremely rough, almost as though he could cut himself on it, and it didn't give when he pressed on it. Not even a millimeter.

The stranger - was it even human? Was it his imagination after all? It at least wasn't an ordinary human, all right - let out another weird, strangled noise and hunched up his shoulders. There was something off about the stance of his shoulders, but that thought was quickly cleared out when the stench of blood got stronger when the- the creature lifted it's upper body with a soft whine off the sticky sand and Steve could see its belly.

Steve gagged and almost threw up when he saw the deep, sticky wounds clotted with brown blood and the steady, red flow mingled with yellow pus that still poured out of them. But it was the discovery of hundreds of wriggling little maggots that made him want to turn his stomach inside out.

He hastily looked away and his eyes landed on the legs of the stranger. His eyes bulged out when he saw the scales that covered his whole lower body. Steve could clearly see the outline of two legs pressed together underneath those strange scales. The legs almost seemed to be wrapped into this cocoon of thick, leathery skin and scales, with on the end no fins but what looked like long, thin feet with webbing between the toes. The feet were spread in a V-shape, just like the fins of the mermaids in his old picture book.

Another piteous whine cut through the silence between the rocks and Steve quickly pushed his frantic thoughts away and scrambled to his feet. He ignored his own little pains for a minute and thought frantically about what he had to do now. His excitement felt inappropriate when this half human creature appeared to be dying next to him and he pulled out his mobile and quickly pressed the speed dial of the center. On the third ring he finally heard the familiar icy voice.

"Sea life Center Stark Banner, you're speaking with-"

"Loki! Hi, this is Steve, could you please get Tony or Bruce on the phone? I got a - a heavily wounded creature down here at the beach. Please, it's an-"

"Emergency. Of course," said Loki in his usually bored drawl talking right over him. "I'll send Banner with a team. Stark is of no use, he would only clap like an idiot if he saw the beast... If it weren't for his money he would've been kicked out a long time ago... Anyway, the pet rescuers are on their way. Keep your phone on so they can follow your signal. Stay put, do what you can to keep the poor beast alive, blah, blah, blah."

With that, Loki ended their conversation and Steve was left feeling partly anxious and partly annoyed. Shaking his head, he knelt down again and reached hesitantly for the head of the creature, which was now thrashing around in agony. When Steve rested a reassuring hand on its rough brown hair, it startled and snapped its head around. Before Steve could do anything, he saw his own still slightly bleeding hand disappear between sharp teeth. That was not so bad in it's self until the creature bit down. Hard.

Steve had almost screamed his lungs out when Dr. Banner and his team finally arrived and freed him. Later, he wouldn't be able to say what the people in the narrow space between the rocks had said to him and each other nor what they did when they saw the creature that just had to be a merman. All he remembered was the pair of bright, brown eyes that looked straight back into his own blue ones. They looked human, but at the same time didn't even resemble human ones.

They looked straight back and showed nothing but utter fear.