AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Chapter (which one is it again?) 14. Fun fun. This chapter went in a very different direction than I thought it would. Here it is, my little ponies. Please enjoy.
BTW, I keep forgetting this, this is after Age of Ultron. I know Bruce leaves right after that, but, for the sake of the story, I have delayed his departure. I'm not sure if/when he'll leave. We'll see.
DISCLAIMER: Owlishly is a fun word. I enjoy it very much.
Merlin took a long drink of water. He was stuffed. The shawarma that Tony had ordered in had been surprisingly good. They were basically pieces of pita bread filled with meat. Merlin decided that he liked shawarma.
On the couch next to him, Thor was polishing off another piece. "Delicious!" he crowed. Thor elbowed Merlin, who grimaced and rubbed his ribs. "Your world may be primitive," Thor said, licking his fingers. "But they do know a thing or two about food."
Merlin grinned. "They've learned much since the Middle Ages. Food is one hundred percent better than it was."
Tony laughed from where he was slouched on the floor, rubbing his stomach. "I'll bet it has!" he said loudly. "They didn't even have Cheetos back than!"
Bruce rolled his eyes from where he was sitting, sipping a cup of tea. Bruce had wisely chosen to restrain himself when it came to over eating. The only other person who wasn't in a food coma was Vision. Vision didn't eat much.
Wanda was sitting on the floor, leaning against Vision's knees. Steve was sitting next to Vision, wondering if his extra fast metabolism was on the fritz. Sam was groaning, spread eagle on the floor. Natasha was on Merlin's other side. "What time is it?" she asked, eyes closed.
"FRIDAY," Tony called. "What's the time?"
"It is 2:53 in the afternoon, Boss."
Tony groaned, long and loud. "I have a press conference at 3:30," he said, pushing himself heavily to his feet. "I gotta go. Pepper is going to kill me if I'm late. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
Tony stumbled into the elevator. The doors dinged as they closed.
There was a moment of silence, as everyone took in this new development. "Should we sticky note his room?" Sam wondered. "We could booby-trap his toilet. Fill his bed with shaving cream."
"That's disgusting," Steve moaned from his position.
"Man," Natasha muttered sourly, opening her eyes and staring at the ceiling. "I wish Clint was here. It's so boring without him. He always has good ideas. He'd have a great idea for a prank. Or he would start a pillow fight or something, and then we could all try to kill him for bugging us."
Nobody spoke, boredom and over-indulgence keeping the quiet reigning. It was nearly ten full minutes before anyone said anything, each off in their own version of dreamland. Steve and Wanda had actually fallen asleep, Steve slumped across the couch, snoring gently, and Wanda on the floor, an arm wrapped around one of Vision's legs. Vision appeared perfectly fine with this. Finally, Merlin stretched and stood. He could hear his spine clicking.
"Well," he said, "if we're not going to do anything, than I'm going to try and find the people who are threatening the safety of the world."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sam said, lifting his head off the floor and glaring at Merlin. "This is team bonding time. Tony had a real excuse for leaving. He had to go to a press conference. Pepper told him too. And when Pepper tells you to do something, you do it. But you... you have no excuse."
Merlin didn't know who Pepper was, but he didn't really care at that point. The world was in danger! "Why isn't preventing a world-ending disaster a good enough reason to leave?"
Sam stabbed a finger into the air. "The world is not currently ending," he said. "Therefore, we have a little bit of time to relax."
"He has a point, you know," Natasha called, running her fingers through her hair. "Don't be a Steve."
Steve jerked awake at the sound of his name with a loud snort. He jerked to feet, hand snapping to his forehead in a salute. "Yes, sir!" he snapped, eyes blinking owlishly.
Merlin blinked while Natasha laughed. "What?"
Steve glanced around, rubbed his eyes, and blushed. "Sorry," he muttered apologetically. "Old habits die hard."
Merlin nodded and patted slapped Steve on the shoulder. "Don't I know that," he said.
Sam grumbled something unintelligible. "That's what we're doing! We're trying to break you of your old, nasty habits!" he said. "Saving the world can wait until after relaxing. You said yourself that we have two months, right?"
"Yes, but—"
"Then we'll probably survive if you don't get started on your sneaky spying until tomorrow, right?"
"I guess, but—"
"Then let's do some karaoke!" Sam shoved himself to his feet. "Or watch a movie, or play Mario Kart, or something."
"I call Mario," Natasha said, grabbing a controller from a hidden cabinet underneath the flat screen TV. She tossed controllers to everyone else, almost smacking the sleeping Wanda in the face. Wanda startled awake as Vision caught the sleek black controller. Vision smiled at her. "I'll be Bowser," Vision said, focusing on the flat screen.
The group was just starting a race down when a loud, shrieking alarm blared. The lights flashed, and the TV flicked off. A cold, controlled voice spoke, saying the same thing over and over; Lower Manhattan. Merlin cringed and covered his ears, dropping his controller onto his lap. Everyone else leaped to their feet, sprinting to the elevator. Vision just phased through the window, flying out of sight. FRIDAY opened a window for Thor, who whirled his hammer in a circle, shooting after Vision.
"What's going on?" Merlin shouted at Steve, who was just stepping into the elevator. Merlin skipped between the closing doors, squeezing in next to Wanda, Natasha and Bruce as the elevator shot downward. "What's going on?" Merlin asked again, over the blaring alarm, which still shrieked just as loud in the elevator. "Who's dying?"
"Nobody's dying," Steve said, distress coloring his voice. "That alarm is the Assemble Call. FRIDAY, Call acknowledged and accepted. Avengers are in route."
The blaring alarm died, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.
"What's the situation?" Wanda asked, her accent slightly heavier than normal. Maybe it was the stress.
"Is… the Other Guy needed?" Bruce asked, wringing his hands, face pale, but determined.
"Yes, Mr. Banner, sir. There are… medusa-like creatures attacking lower Manhattan. Iron Man is already on his way. He's says he'll get the party started."
"Medusa?" Wanda wondered as they stepped into the equipment room.
"A snake-haired monster from Greek myths," Natasha explained hurriedly as she strapped on her Widow's Bite gauntlets. Wanda slipped on her scarlet jacket and stuffed a small cube of what looked like Jell-O into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. "Energy gel," she explained, yanking on a pair of gloves. "It keeps me going longer, especially when I have to use my powers."
Steve emerged from behind a locker, dressed in his suit, strapping on his helmet. His circular shield was on his back. Merlin grimaced at the sight of it, remembering some very painful cracked ribs.
"What do you want me to do?" Merlin asked. "I can help you."
Natasha, Wanda and Bruce glanced at each other, then hurried out a door. Merlin glimpsed a jet hanger through the closing door. Steve took a breath, and Merlin turned his attention back to the icon before him.
"What you can do," Steve said sternly, his voice flat, but somehow regretful, "is stay here. The Avengers are a team, and frankly, we know next to nothing about you; your strengths and weaknesses, your abilities. Right now, you're a wild card. We saw that one demonstration earlier, but we need to see more, to be one hundred percent sure that you're capable of helping during a battle of this scale. After we get to know you more, do a little more training, make sure that you're not a liability, then, I swear, you can help us in battle, but until then, sit tight. FRIDAY will keep you updated."
Merlin opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but found he couldn't! Captain Rogers had a valid point. Of course, Merlin could take care of himself, and others at the same time, but the Avengers didn't know that. And so the couldn't trust (for the moment) that Merlin wasn't a liability. For the most part, he had been unconscious while they knew him. That might have had something to do with their hesitance.
Merlin hated it when people he was arguing with had valid points.
Steve disappeared into the jet hanger. Merlin heard the sound of engines purring. The purr rose to an even roar, and then faded. Everything was dead quiet. Merlin uncertainly turned back to the elevator and stepped inside. There were a whole lot of buttons. There were five buttons marked with a B. Merlin assumed that those were basement buttons. Besides those, there were buttons marked 1 through 93.
Merlin had no idea which floor he had been on with the Avengers. And, like the idiot he was, he couldn't remember the number the guest floor was on. Merlin new they had gone down, but how far, he couldn't guess. Merlin slammed the 50 button. That was as good a place to start as any. The elevator dinged and Merlin felt the strange pressured feeling that comes with elevator rides.
The doors slid open. The open doors revealed a busy office space. Several people stopped and stared. Merlin blushed. He raised his hand and twiddled his fingers awkwardly. "Hello."
The place was filled with the low, chattering hum of a busy workplace. A brown-haired lady wearing a purple shirt and a white coat hurried over. "Are you the new intern?" she asked, grabbing his arm and leading Merlin toward a cluttered desk. "I'm Vanessa. You can organize this table to start. Budget files go in that box, office supplies in that drawer. If the phone rings, answer it. Ask Emmaline over there about anything you need to know. She's the head intern."
The woman, Vanessa disappeared, her coat swirling behind her.
Merlin blinked in confusion. What on earth had just happened? Merlin curiously picked up a spare piece of paper and studied it. Budget quotas. Merlin dropped the paper in the box, and tried to slink unobtrusively away. The girl who Vanessa had pointed out hurried over. "I'm Emmaline!" she said excitedly, straightening her glasses and brushing her blond hair out of her face. "You can call me Emma, though. Do you need help over here? Vanessa said that you're new."
"Uh, yeah," Merlin said awkwardly. "But I don't need any help. Actually, I have to go somewhere. It's urgent—"
"Nonsense!" Emma chirped. "I'd be happy to help! Are you British? That's so cool!"
Merlin gulped. The girl's rapid-fire way of speaking was startling. Merlin needed to get out of here. He tried sneaking away several times, but Emma kept spotting him. "Break time is in half an hour," Emma said, her cheeks pink. She took Merlin's hand and dragged him back to the cluttered desk. "Once we've finished, and it's time for break, I'll show you the employee lounge. It's totally nice. It's on the 15th floor."
Tony grimaced as he blasted one of the medusas. The things were half-way humanoid but they moved a more like lizards, crouched on all fours, a line of spikey fins stretching downs their backs to form a long, slippery tail. Their skin was dark, with thick, slimy scales reflecting back the afternoon light. Tiny snakes wreathed their elongated heads and their eyes were a terrifying blackish-green. Fangs glistened in their over-large, almost snout-like mouths, forked tongues flickering.
The screams of the few civilians left on the scene were haunting. There were probably only thirty of the monsters, but the things were proving incredibly hard to kill, or even injure. Tony's repulsor blasts left steaming dents in the scales, but Tony could tell that the injuries he was dealing were only minor.
The nearest monster hissed and leaped at Tony, filmy gray fangs bared. Tony blasted into the air, but the thing held on tight, claws somehow finding purchase on the cold metal of Tony's suit. Tony spun in midair, flinging the monster in a brick wall, which collapsed on top of it. There was an unearthly shriek, but it sounded more angry than injured.
Tony cursed as he saw a woman being cornered by another one of the monsters. "No!"
The monster leaped at the woman, fangs catching her on the shoulder. The woman screamed, blood spilling from the large holes in her shoulder. The edges of the wound were black. Patches of dark, flaky skin seemed to be spreading from the wound. The Medusa monster lost interest in the woman when Tony's repulsor blast caught it in the face.
The monster was flung backward, straight into Thor's waiting hammer. Electricity crackled. Thor waved as Tony picked up the trembling woman, and carried her to the nearest Med-Evac Unit. A quarantine nurse examined the woman. The nurse glanced up at Tony. "If you kill one of those things, bring it here. We'll need to study it so we can figure out a cure for that." The nurse pointed to a mass of people, dark swirls covering their skin, emanating from terrifyingly large snake bite wounds.
Tony nodded and shot back into the air. "Guys," he called, "we need to take one of these things down. People have been bitten. And BTW, not letting them bite you would be a very good idea."
Tony dodged a leaping monster and shot a missile at the hideous creature. The missile exploded, leaving a beach-ball-sized crater in the street. Debris and smoking bits of… stuff showered the street.
"Well, guys, missiles work on these suckers," Tony panted, spotting Black Widow riding one of the monsters, buzzing the crap out of it with her Widow gauntlets. "But we need to kill one intact, so we can save those civilians. Nice rodeo, Widow. Keep it up."
Tony blasted another missile at a monster sneaking up behind Cap. Cap threw his shield at a monster, snapping its neck. The monster slumped to the ground, dead. "Take that to the med unit!" Cap called. Tony grabbed the slimy creature, surprised at how heavy it was.
Tony heard Hulk's angry roar a few streets over. He dropped the carcass of the monster into a large box, which a team of scientists sealed and loaded into a truck to take to a lab for study. Tony shook his arms vigorously, trying to remove the slimy residue left on his armor. He quickly gave up and headed back into the fight.
Falcon and Vision joined him on the way over. "We need to corral them in one area," Vision said, voice calm, not even breathing hard.
"Agreed," Cap said, voice tinny over the coms. "Falcon, come from the east and get them into the warehouse district. Vision, you come from the north, Iron Man, you come from the west, Thor, guard the south. Wanda, try to keep them distracted, so we don't damage too much property. Widow and I will round up any stragglers. Hulk?"
Tony heard a roar from somewhere in the distance and grinned. "Hulk," Cap said again. "You can smash them as soon as we get them corralled."
Falcon chuckled as Hulk roared again. "I think Hulk has more fun than Banner ever does."
"I'm gonna tell Brucie you said that," Tony called, speeding up. Tony dodged between buildings, blasting the heels of the monsters, sending them scurrying toward the warehouse district. Tony could see pulses of red energy flaring along the walls of the buildings, shielding them from the worst of Hulk's anger, Vision's mind beam, and Tony's explosives.
The Avengers gathered in a group, facing the monsters. Hulk was stomping around the edges of the herd of monsters, smashing any who dared try to escape.
"Stupid Clint misses all the fun," Natasha griped, wiping at her forehead. A bit of blood smeared her temple. "As usual."
"He has to go to the front lines next time," Tony said. "Is this place clear of all civilians? I've got four tank missiles left. That should be enough for the rest of them."
Steve nodded briskly, slamming his shield into a hissing monster's face. "Let 'em have it. Hulk, time to move out. Wanda, you know what to do."
Wanda nodded as Tony prepared his missiles. The Hulk retreated till he was standing among the Avengers. Tony fired his missiles. A red energy shield surrounded the group of monsters as the missiles hit and the Avengers took cover.
There was a muffled explosion. Fire filled the half-dome of pulsing scarlet energy. Wanda grimaced as she kept shrapnel from shredding her teammates and their surroundings. The energy shield flashed brighter red where chunks of broken pavement hit it. Despite Wanda's best efforts, pieces of debris broke through, landing on the cracked pavement. Silence returned quickly, smoke coiling and swirling as Wanda released her shield and sank to the pavement, rubbing her temples. Vision helped her sip from a water bottle.
"Nice job, everyone," Cap panted, removing his helmet and wiping sweat from his brow. "How are Wanda and Bruce?"
"I'm fine," Bruce called, from where he was jerking on a pair of pants, courtesy of Natasha. "Did I break a lot of things?"
Natasha smiled. "No. You did fine. Everyone's fine. Some civilians got injured, but Medical is telling me that they're working on an antivenin right now. It's progressing well."
"Excellent fight, friends!" Thor boomed, holding a fist in the air. "All of you fought with great strength."
"Indeed," Vision agreed. He helped Wanda to her feet. "Your endurance is increasing, my dear. You did a wonderful job."
"Yup. This is great," Tony said sarcastically. "Fine and dandy. And I'll be the one paying for cleanup and all that jazz." Tony had a niggling feeling that something was wrong, even though everything appeared fine and dandy.
Something scraped against the pavement. Tony whirled. "Bruce!" he shouted. "Watch out!"
But it was too late. It was already in mid-leap when Bruce saw it. A dark, slimy shape emerging from the growing shadows. A straggler. They must have missed one of the monsters. Drops of cloudy venom hung from the tips of its fangs.
The monster snapped, striking Bruce on the side. Its teeth sank deep. Tony blasted the monster with his repulsors at the same time that Thor's lightning bolt, Vision's mind beam, Wanda's energy ball, Cap's shield and Falcon and Natasha's bullets hit it.
Needless to say, the monster died a quick and painful death.
"Bruce!" Natasha cried, trying to rush forward, but being jerked back by Cap. "Are you all right?"
Her answer was a bone chilling roar of anger.
Merlin clicked on the TV. He had finally managed to escape Emma and her OCD. He had locked himself in the first empty room that had a TV. He had to know what was going on.
What he saw made his heart drop down into his stomach. Merlin felt bile rising in his throat. This wasn't going to be good. The Hulk was on a rampage.