AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Chapter 12! Yippee! We have a few more AOS characters in here. Don't worry if you don't watch the show. Simmons is a scientist, and Fitz is sort of a robotics expert. Or those are the parts of their job descriptions that I have decided to focus on. Fitz and Simmons are partners. Anyway, enjoy.

Merlin woke from a tangled nightmare. He was in a soft bed. Merlin blinked hard, trying to clear the fog from his brain. He didn't recognize this room. It was all white; white walls, white lights, and white bedsheets. Merlin guessed that it was a hospital unit. He wondered if he was still in the Avengers Compound.

Merlin remembered clearly the vision he'd had while using the stone. The three figures in the dark room. After that, though, things were fuzzy. He seemed to remember shouting and darkness, but that was about it.

Merlin wondered why he'd had such an intense vision. Never before had he become so entangled in the nightmare world of the seeing crystal. Never before had he heard things from the seeing crystal. If Merlin had to hazard a guess as to why, he'd guess that whatever was coming was very, very bad. The Old Religion was still attempting to prepare him.

Needless to say, Merlin was not happy or excited.

Merlin raised a hand to rub at his eyes. Something tugged on his arm. Glancing down, Merlin discovered that he had an IV slotted into his arm. Merlin frowned. What on earth had happened last night? Was it last night? How long had he been out?

Merlin smacked his lips. His mouth was dry. Like all good, stereotypical hospital rooms, a pitcher of water and a cup sat on a table a few feet out of Merlin's reach. That was easily fixed though. Merlin flicked a finger. The water pitcher floated into the air and filled the empty glass. The glass floated through the air.

Merlin caught the cup as the door opened. He sipped it as two people stepped into the room, a young woman with dark blond hair, and a brown-haired young man. The girl smiled widely when she saw Merlin awake and sitting up.

"Hello!" The girl said in a crisply accented voice. "Excellent to meet you! My name is Simmons, and this is my partner, Fitz."

The young man nodded, grinning easily. "Hey," he said, bustling forward. He also had an accent; a bit closer to Scottish, if Merlin was forced to guess. Fitz was carrying a black case under one arm. He set the case on a table, and opened it, seemingly in his own world. The girl, Simmons, hurried to Merlin's bedside.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, slipping on a pair of plastic gloves. She took Merlin's wrist and counted along with his pulse. She peered into his eyes, checking for a concussion.

"I'm fine," Merlin said patiently waiting for Simmons to complete her check-up. He knew how physicians were with their patients. He had lived with Gaius for years. "Are you two with the Avengers?"

Fitz chuckled. Simmons giggled. "Oh, no," she said. "We're agents of SHIELD. Well, we're more like scientists, and SHIELD doesn't really exist anymore… But we work with what used to be SHIELD. The good part of SHIELD. Yes. I'll stop talking now."

Merlin smiled. "But the Avengers trust you?"

Simmons nodded proudly.

Merlin nodded as well. "I'd like to get up now if that's all right."

Simmons smiled, brushing her hair out of her face. "Of course," she said. "Just let me remove this IV." Simmons hummed a tuneless melody under her breath as she slipped the IV out of Merlin's arm and taped a cotton pad over the prick.

As Simmons was disposing of the used medical instruments, she spoke. "Before you get up, I want you to drink a few glasses of water." Simmons grabbed the water pitcher and turned about, searching for the glass. She blinked in confusion when she saw it in Merlin's hand. "How did you…? Fitz, did you…?"

Fitz glanced around, confused. Obviously, he had been tuning out the conversation while he messed with some sort of tablet-like device. "What?"

Simmons pointed to the glass in Merlin's hand. "Did you give him the glass?"

Fitz shook his head. "No. Why?"

Simmons turned to Merlin. "Did you get out of bed and grab it?"

"No," Merlin said.

"Then who did?"

"I did," said Merlin.

"But you just said—"

Merlin smiled. "I didn't get out of bed. I used magic."

Fitz cocked his head, now fully interested in the conversation. "Magic? How does that work?"

Merlin shrugged. "There's not an exact way to describe it. Simply put, it's the manipulation of the earth's energy."

Simmons nodded excitedly. "Mr. Stark explained a bit to us and Coulson. I'm really curious; are you really the Merlin? The one from all the old stories?"

"Yes. I am."

Simmons flushed with excitement. "There's so much I'd like to ask you," she gushed. "But I'd guess that you're hungry. Would you be willing to answer a few of my questions after you've had a meal?"

"Of course," Merlin said.

Fitz grinned. "Better watch out," he said to Merlin as Simmons excitedly washed her hands. "Once she starts asking questions, it might be a bit hard to get her to stop."

Merlin sat at the table, digging hungrily into a plate of pizza. Merlin thought that if pizza had existed in Camelot in his time, wars would have been avoided.

Merlin lapped up a string of dangling cheese. The Avengers, minus Clint, who was off doing Hawkeye stuff*, according to Natasha, and Wanda and Vision, who were apparently playing with their respective powers in the training room. The agents of the supposedly non-existent SHIELD were off doing agent-y things with some guy named Coulson.

"So what exactly did you see in that stone?" Steve asked, getting right to the point. He had finished his own pizza several minutes ago. (Steve was honestly surprised at how much Merlin could eat. Merlin wasn't a very big guy, but he had almost eaten a whole pizza by himself.) "It must've been pretty bad."

"You totally wigged out," Tony called from where he was pouring himself another glass of Sparkling Cider. (The week without alcohol bet with Pepper still wasn't over yet.)

Merlin frowned thoughtfully as he took another bite of his pizza. "I saw a lot of things," he said. "People fighting, flashes of scenery and faces, things like I normally see. Then I started hearing things, which has never happened before."

Tony frowned. "Never? Did anyone tamper with your rock before you used it? Did you cast a spell or something?"

Merlin shook his head. "I have wards around the stone. If anyone who didn't have my permission had touched it, I would know. And I didn't cast any magic on the stone. It was magic trying to prepare for whatever is coming."

To be honest, Tony was sort of doubtful about the whole the world might end because I had a funny feeling, and then I fainted after I looked into a shiny rock. It wasn't that he didn't believe Merlin, it was more of the fact that Tony had a slight case of denial. He really, really, really, really, really didn't want to have to fight off a bunch of evil monsters or evil people, whichever might be the case.

Merlin continued. "When I started hearing things, it was more like I was actually there than it was like a vision. I saw three people. And before you ask, I couldn't tell who they were, or even if they were male or female."

"That sucks," Tony said, annoyed, sitting down and cradling his Sparkling Cider. "Why is your life making my life so confusing?"

Merlin shrugged apologetically. "I don't know. But anyway, these three people, they were plotting something. They talked about a vendetta, and a plan. Something that wasn't ready yet. One of them said that it would take another month or two for it to be fully prepared. Other than that, everything was just as vague as it always is when I use the crystal."

The room seemed to deflate. That was what had nearly killed the living legend in front of them?

Thor frowned. Steve had explained to him who Merlin was, and something about the stories tickled the back of his subconscious. The stories were familiar for some reason.

Thor put it aside for a moment. "I have never met a mortal who can properly use a seeing crystal for such a large amount of time without losing his sanity. How can you?"

Merlin snorted. "I'm not exactly mortal, am I?" he said. "I guess—"

"I don't get that either," Tony said, munching of a handful of potato chips. "Does that mean that you can't die at all, or that you can't die naturally?"

Merlin rolled his eyes. He wondered how many times he was going to get interrupted. "I can die," Merlin said. "From sickness or injury. I can't die from old age. How any of that works, I don't know, now back to what I was saying." Merlin glared a bit at Tony who plastered on an innocent look, like why are you looking at me?

"I know several sorcerers back in my day that had the ability to use seeing crystals and scrying bowls," Merlin said. "As far I know, I'm the only… ah, mortal, left who can use them. It might have something to do with my destiny or something silly like that. The druids always said that Emrys would unite Albion, and the Once and Future King would come back to aid in time of need. How that applies to right now? I have absolutely no idea."

Thor scratched his beard. Albion. The Once and Future King. Thor stared at Merlin. "Are you Emrys?" Thor wanted to make certain.

Merlin chewed his lip and glanced at the floor. "I am," he finally said. "It was a destiny that I never wanted."

Thor grinned. He had heard of this mortal, just not by the name he was currently using. Merlin shifted nervously at Thor's wide smile. Thor reached across the table and grasped Merlin's hand, shaking it firmly.

"I have heard of you," Thor boomed. "Many years ago, on Asgard, there were rumors of a powerful Midgardian sorcerer who would unite a kingdom called Albion. I was never sure if they were true, but it seems that they were! There were stories told of you and your destiny."

Merlin rubbed his aching wrist. "I see. I didn't know. What did these stories say?"

"They spoke of your heroics in saving the kingdom, and your prowess in magic. I don't recall ever hearing details. The rumors always seemed very vague. But the stories depicted you as a hidden hero, a white knight!"

Merlin reddened. "Um, yes, well…."

Much to Merlin's relief and Tony's disappointment (Tony could sense when good teasing material was being dispensed), a knock came from the door. Jemma Simmons poked her head inside. Her cheeks were flushed.

Merlin stood gratefully, knowing what she was here for. "I'd love to explain, Mr. Thor, but I have a prior arrangement with Miss Simmons here. Perhaps we can exchange stories later?"

Tony shoved himself out of his chair, guzzling the last of his cider in one go. "Are you going to play with your magic rock?"

"Oh, no," Natasha said, pointing a finger at Tony's nose. "No more playing with magic rocks for you! Not after what happened with Ultron!"

"But that was like, two months ago," Tony pouted. "And what about Bruce?"

Bruce held up his hands. "It was Tony's idea!" he said.

Steve, Natasha and Thor smirked.

"Natasha's got a point," Steve said.

"Fine!" Tony cried, throwing his hands into the air. "I promise not to touch the rock! But I want to see what they're going to do. This is going to be interesting, I can tell. Brucie, you coming?"

Bruce stood and followed Simmons, Tony and Merlin out the door.

The laboratory was bustling, even with only five people inside. Simmons was excited enough for all of them. Simmons had Merlin moving the crystal from one scanner to another. When she had heard how it had shown Merlin a vision in a different way then it usually did, she pointed out that the energy readings that she and Fitz had taken from the stone were steady. Not a single anomaly. Which meant that something else had caused the strange vision. (Tony had muttered something about how his life was an anomaly, but everyone had ignored him.)

Tony hadn't been allowed within two feet of the crystal. Bruce had given the crystal a quick examination, proclaimed that the thing creeped him out, and had sat at a worktable, reading a book, but paying attention all the same.

Fitz, on the other hand, was trying to act cool in the presence of Tony Stark. The Tony Stark. Fitz had shown Tony his drones, and the two had been talking robotics ever since. Jemma was quizzing Merlin about his past; his friends, his family and life in general.

"I can't believe that you were a servant," Simmons said, scribbling something in a notebook. "I have never had that version of the story."

"Stories get twisted," Merlin told Simmons. "Magic may help smooth out the edges of the rougher things. Nowadays, most people wouldn't even give a second thought to the possibility of magic being real."

"Does… can magic do that?" Simmons asked. "Just... change what people think?"

"It's not quite that simple," Merlin chuckled, moving the crystal underneath another scanner. Merlin was wearing gloves while he handled the crystal, to keep away visions. They had decided that, even gloved, Merlin should be the only one to touch the crystal. "It's a bit more like suggestion, to help them cope with the absurdity of it. I wish that magic was simple like that. If it was, I probably wouldn't even have needed to use the stupid crystal."

Simmons took one last scan. "That should do it," she said. "If I find anything concrete, I'll be sure to tell you."

"Excellent." Merlin slipped his crystal back into its velvet pouch and tucked it into his pocket. There was a moment of awkward silence. "Was there anything else that you wanted?" Merlin asked.

Simmons looked as if she was going to say no, but an affirmative answer popped out of her mouth instead. "Would you mind if I took some scans of you? I mean, you, for your magic? You know, for scientific purposes? I've never had the chance to study someone with powers like yours."

Fitz, hearing the question, glanced over at Merlin and mouthed, "I told you something like this would happen."

Merlin stuttered, trying to find words. "I—I guess." He'd never had someone ask him that question before. It sounded very strange, to say the least. He knew Tony had had FRIDAY scan him before, but he suspected that what Simmons had in mind was going to be very different.

Merlin sat still as Simmons attached electrodes to his temples. He had a monitor on the index finger of each of his hands and he was wearing special goggles. He was sitting in a special room, designed to block any sort of interference from outside.

Simmons adjusted a few more things, checking the wires, than smiled. "I'll be back in ten or fifteen minutes. I want you to raise the water out of that glass," Simmons pointed to a cup of water on the floor. "Then I want you to freeze it, then make it evaporate. There's a fish-eye camera lens up there," she said pointing into a corner. "Just so you know where to look."

Simmons grinned, and left the room, closing the door behind her. There was a hiss as the door sealed closed. Merlin shifted uncomfortably. There were enough wires on him to build a bomb. Merlin sighed. He could just hear Tony, Bruce and Fitz laughing at him. Merlin was sure that he looked like a low-budget cyborg. Ah, well. Might as well just get it over with.

Several hours later found Merlin collapsing exhaustedly onto his bed. Simmons had been ecstatic about the information she had gathered, and coerced Merlin into a full examination of his abilities. That had been a mistake. Hours of scanners, rays, and questions left him wanting nothing more than to never speak to anyone ever again.

Merlin decided that he would never again subject himself to such torture.

*Clint's Hawkeye stuff is him visiting his family for a few days. The Avengers don't trust Merlin 100% yet, so they didn't tell him.

And Thor only heard rumors about Merlin. There was no legends about him on Asgard, just rumors of a powerful Midgardian sorcerer. just wanted to make that clear. We'll probably get into a little more on Thor later.

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-Indigene Syke