AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I enjoyed this one.

Week two at Avengers Tower

Merlin groaned as he wiped pond water from his eyes. That mission had been a total failure. He had discovered a possible lead on the three figures he had seen in his vision. Iron Man, Hawkeye and Falcon had accompanied him to Scotland to check it out. Cap, Thor, Vision, Wanda and Natasha had elected to follow a lead on Bruce's whereabouts instead.

Merlin's goal in Scotland had been purely reconnaissance. If he had found his three targets, he would've waited to call in all of the Avengers, just in case. Merlin rather liked being alive, and he suspected that the others did as well.

Merlin had been using special satellite energy-scanning technology that he and Tony had tweaked to search for magical hotspots. Merlin knew the difference between a natural hotspot, like the Lake of Avalon, and something alive, such as a magical creature. Or group of magical creatures.

He and Tony had set specific search parameters, but they still came up with more than 300 different hotspots. Merlin had wanted to bang his head on the table. There was only so much you could do when using new, magic-searching technology, even when it came from a genius, and the most magical person in the universe.

Merlin had decided to visit the first place that had come up. Scotland. Merlin liked Scotland. He had a house there. After this visit, though, Merlin had decided that he didn't want to see another Scottish pond anytime soon. He was even debating whether or not to fill in the pond at his Scotland residence.

The group had taken the Quin-Jet, discreetly landing in a forest clearing half a mile from the hotspot's origin. They had emerged from the woods into a large, grassy field. There were worked up patches of mud marked by large hoof prints. A cow pasture.

Merlin examined the little tablet fastened to his wrist, checking the energy readings. He also poked his magic around the area, feeling for anything out of place. He found it in a large pond, filled with gobs of slimy green scum.

Tony had stared disappointedly into the water. "I was expecting something way cooler than this," he mumbled. "Maybe a fancy hideout or palace. You know, something... evil-looking. Do you think there's a secret tunnel in the pond?"

"Maybe you should dive in there and check," Sam muttered. He wasn't very happy. He didn't like humidity. Or mud. And there was lots of humidity. And lots of mud. Somehow mud had gotten into his boots, and he was not a happy camper.

Clint jabbed Sam with an elbow. "Shut up and quit whining," he hissed. "We're on a mission. This is serious."

Merlin knelt next to the pond, leaning close to the water, but careful not to touch. "This is definitely the source of the magical energy," he murmured. "But it only seems strange, not exactly evil. I doubt it's what we're looking for. But we should still check. And sorry Tony, no secret tunnel. My magic can feel that much."

Tony huffed. He had a thing for secret tunnels.

Clint nocked an arrow as Merlin stood up, grabbing a small pebble on his way. Merlin moved away from the pond, skipping over a patch of gooey mud. When he was just over five feet away, Merlin stopped and tossed the stone into the pool of slimy water. It landed in the water with a quiet plop.

Nothing happened.

"A trap?" Tony ventured, arms tense and repulsors ready.

Merlin shrugged. He cupped his hand together, gathering a ball of magical energy. Merlin glanced at his companions to make sure they were prepared, and lobbed the energy ball into the pond. As it touched the water, and a shining crackle of electricity spread from the point of contact, rippling over the entire pond.

There was a moment of calm. Then the storm came.

The pond seemed to explode, pond scum flying into the air. Indistinct, motorcycle-sized figures formed of murky water and greenish mud emerged from the explosion of water. The odd-dozen figures were so distorted and deformed that Merlin couldn't even tell what they were.

An arrow appeared in what Merlin guessed what was the head, but the creature simply smacked it away with a lumpy limb. A repulsor blast from Iron Man's gauntlets boiled away some of the water on one of the creatures, leaving dry, cracked clay. A well-placed kick from Falcon had the creature minus one leg.

Merlin blasted another with lighting. It was strange to be fighting so openly with his magic. He didn't have as much opportunity for combat magic as he used to have. It was possible that he was a tiny bit out of practice, which wasn't to say that he wasn't 100% competent in any fight, of course. Just a bit shocked at how much adrenaline could be pumped into his bloodstream in so short an amount of time.

It took the group only a few minutes to dispose of the creatures, but by then, all of them had been thrown into the pond at least once. Luckily, no cleanup was necessary, as the creatures simply dissolved into piles of mid and dirt when they were chopped into small enough pieces.

Now Merlin, Tony, Sam and Clint were back on the Quin-Jet. Tony was trying to clean mud out of his suit's gauntlets. Falcon was grumbling about how wings weren't supposed to get wet, and Clint was dumping mud and water out of his quiver. Merlin was wiping mud from his face and pond scum from his hair. It slapped wetly onto the floor of the Quin-Jet.

Merlin contemplated the mud on his fingers. He thought of another time that he had been covered with mud. The memory was foggy, but it was there. Merlin had been under the control of Morgana then, and he had been tasked with killing Arthur. Thank goodness he hadn't succeeded. That would've been awkward explaining to everyone.

Merlin was pulled from his thoughts by Tony's annoyed voice. "What were those things?" he asked, sighing and wiping mud from his disassembled gauntlet. "Mud monsters? Water demons?"

Merlin shrugged. "How should I know?"

Sam frowned. "Aren't you Mister Magic Man?" he asked. "You're super old. Haven't you learned about magic creatures?"

Merlin grimaced. "Well," he muttered, "they could be anything; disgruntled nymphs, deformed kelpies, or just plain, old, angry pond scum demons. There're hundreds, thousands, of different kinds of magical creatures. Not to mention the interspecial breeding, which we do not need to go into. It's much too hard to keep track of so many different creatures. Sorry that was such a mess, lads. Better luck next time."

Week three and a half at Avengers Tower

Merlin was nursing a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream. Wanda watched interestedly from her place at the kitchen table. Merlin appeared to be sulking. Wanda suspected that it had something to do with his last mission. She had accompanied him this time, along with Thor, Steve and Vision. They'd come home desperate for calamine lotion to ease the symptoms of their poison ivy. Sam, Tony, and Clint had volunteered to help Nat look for Bruce.

Natasha was getting frantic, even though she hid it impossibly well. The only reason Wanda knew, was because Natasha had invited her to the spa. They'd blabbed over stupid things while getting massages and facials, but Nat had nearly had a breakdown while they were in the sauna.

Wanda had been surprised to say the least.

Natasha didn't open herself on the best of days. Now here she was, in a sauna, switching between angry ranting and curling up into a ball. She must've really cared about Bruce. Natasha had told Wanda how nice it was to have another girl on the team. Nat had said that the boys were great fun, but she needed someone who could see this side of her and not laugh their stupid, idiotic, boyish heads off.

Wanda had smiled and nodded. It was nice to have a confidant.

Now, as she contemplated the brooding man before her, she wondered if that same confidant thing could apply hear. Wanda had never met someone with powers similar to hers before. Vision had his Mind Stone, sure, and he really was wonderful, but it wasn't quite the same.

If Wanda admitted it, she was still slightly nervous about being around Merlin. Not because he scared her anymore, though. Merlin was actually more of a goofball than Wanda ever would've guessed. She was nervous being around Merlin because she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of someone who seemed so amazing and powerful.

She wanted to have Merlin as a friend, someone she could confide in, talk with.

So Wanda sucked in a breath, and stood up, moving around the couch and plopping down next to Merlin. Merlin moodily took a bite of his ice cream. "Hello," he mumbled around his full mouth.

"Hi." Wanda idly scratched the back of her hand. Stupid poison ivy. "I was just wondering if you were all right," she asked nervously. "You looked... aggravated. Is there anything that I can help with?"

Merlin smiled wanly. "Oh, no… just a bit upset about these missions and this whole mess in general. I can't help feeling that I'm missing something huge. Something obvious. Something about it seems familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it. Sorry about the poison ivy, by the way."

Wanda waved aside the apology and frowned. "Perhaps you could explain it, get your thoughts out of your head. It works for me. I used to talk with Pietro late into the night. It made things a little bit better."

Merlin pursed his lips and turned fully to look at Wanda, licking off his spoon. "Thing is, I'm not sure that I can explain it. It's more of a bad feeling than anything else." Merlin smirked. "Arthur always used to tease me about my funny feelings."

Wanda tilted her head to the side. "You say you get bad feelings? Does your magic react to bad situations?"

"Sometimes. My magic was instinctive as a child."

Now that was interesting to Wanda. She could feel her reservoir of power whenever she called for it, but usually not before. It was like a bubbling pool of energy in the back of her mind. The reservoir could be drained, but it seemed to grow deeper when she exerted herself. Like how exercise makes muscles stronger.

Her powers were ready and waiting when she called, but silent in her mind when she wasn't using it. Sometimes, Wanda could feel a buzz through her body if her emotions were high. Wanda wasn't sure if that buzz depleted her powers, or strengthened them.

Wanda's magic, while it was a part of her, hadn't always been there, or at least, it hadn't always been accessible. Instinct and magic were hard to mix for Wanda. Her powers required concentration and intent. Merlin's appeared to bend to his will before he even knew what his will was. Wanda wondered if it could be taught.

"I can see that you find that idea intriguing." Merlin chuckled as Wanda snapped out of her thoughts. "Do you constantly feel your power, or is it more of a tickle in the back of your mind? You know that it's there, but it's not always flowing through you?"

Wanda nodded thoughtfully. "That's an accurate way to describe it," she said. Wanda picked at a fingernail, trying to act casual. "Do you think instinctive powers can be taught?"

Merlin grinned. "There's only one way to find out."

Wanda had led Merlin to her favorite place in the tower; the rooftop greenhouse. The greenhouse was large and airy, filled with the scents of rich dirt and healthy plants. Wanda reverently touched a bushy plant with large, oval-shaped leaves. She bent one of the leaves, releasing the cool scent of mint into the air.

"Pietro loved mint," she explained. "He loved the smell."

Merlin glanced approvingly around. "This place is perfect," he said. "Is there a place to sit?"

Wanda sat crossed-legged on the cool concrete floor. "Is this all right?" she grinned. "Or are you so old that your bones are falling to pieces?"

Merlin chuckled and sat upon the floor, facing Wanda. "I can be old, my dear Wanda, which, I must admit, is not very fun. I like being young much better. It's much more enjoyable. Much easier to move about. Being old is hard work."

Wanda giggled. "So how are you going to teach me something that's supposed to be instinctive?"

Merlin smiled. "I believe that anything can become instinctive, with enough work. Now, I want you to close your eyes, and concentrate on spreading your power to every part of your body, all the way to your fingers and toes. Think about what you love, what make you Wanda Maximoff. Hold it for as long as you can. And don't forget to breath. That's rather important."

Week four at Avengers Tower

Merlin couldn't even think about the latest mission. The bakery in Italy… it had been horrible. Choking clouds of flour, pools of slippery oil on the floor, ending up in a dog-pile, Merlin being crushed beneath Steve, and Thor, and the freaking Iron Man armor! That had not been fun.

Not to mention that the cookies had contained way too much salt, and the muffins were drier than the Sahara desert. Merlin would never look at bakeries the same way again.

Week seven at Avengers tower

Merlin was getting so fed up with these stupid, stupid, stupid, missions. Thirty-four failed missions. Thirty-four cases of humiliation, pain, and unnecessary fights. This was so stupid.

Merlin ached. He needed a long, long bath. He wanted to nurse his many bruises and the tiny teeth marks covering his arms. Merlin ran a scratched, bleeding hand through his hair. His hand came away with pieces of his own silky black hair, and greasy clumps of short, wiry brown fur.

Merlin shuddered. Soap. He wanted soap, right now. Who knew where those rabid little monkey-beasts had been?

Week ten at Avengers tower

Merlin had just gotten back from his sixty-third recon mission. He was so done with this. He was tense all the time. The Avengers were as well. Merlin would see them at odd hours, drinking coffee, or reading books on martial arts. Natasha seemed to be losing hope of finding Bruce. It showed up in how snappy she was. Of course, her bad mood probably also had something to do with the dreaded fight that everyone was sure was in the near future.

Any day now, the three figures would attack. Merlin had trouble sleeping. Most days, he would stay up all night, staring out the window, with the news channel on, watching and listening for the slightest sign of trouble.

None came.

Week fifteen at Avengers tower

Merlin was actually beginning to doubt the validity of his own vision. He knew that the Avengers had begun to doubt ages ago. Not because they hadn't become great friends, but mostly because Merlin seemed to be gaining a scary obsession with cracking the mystery.

Wanda and Tony had sat down with Merlin, discussing every tiny, minute, itty-bitty detail of Merlin's vision. Nothing had come from it.

In other news, Wanda now had the ability to use her magic to search for things, like Merlin could. She still struggled to hold it for long distances or long periods of time, but she was getting better.

Tony had truly taken Merlin into his heart… and his lab. Merlin, from years of experience knew, at least a little, about pretty much everything. Merlin had spent his many empty years learning and discovering. Merlin enjoyed robotics. He enjoyed chemistry. He enjoyed physics. Merlin enjoyed… pretty much everything. Learning new things was what had kept Merlin sane over the past hundreds of years.

Tony would spend hours with Merlin in the labs, talking science talk and tinkering with random things. They'd built a chicken robot that laid boiled eggs. Merlin had ignored the ludicrousness of it, simply because it had taken his mind off his stupid missions. The science babble made Steve and Sam's eyes cross. Thor was surprisingly knowledgeable about some areas of science. His girlfriend, Jane Foster, who'd come to visit several times, had also enjoyed the science talk.

Clint also had a good grasp of science in general. Clint had disappeared from the tower almost every weekend without fail. Merlin still hadn't been told what he did, but he had begun to suspect that Clint was in a relationship, perhaps even had a wife and children. He'd seen lipstick smeared on Clint's cheek, and a smudged, paint-y handprint on his pants.

Vision and Merlin enjoyed sparring with each other, and playing intense games of chess. They had a running scoreboard of wins. Currently, they were tied.

Sam and Merlin liked to play games, laser tag, Mario Kart, and Monopoly included. They also liked setting up elaborate pranks and booby-traps for the others. They'd had to hide out in a dingy old sandwich shop for six hours, because Tony had been so angry at the Hello Kitty graffiti on his Iron Man armor.

Steve and Merlin liked to draw together. Merlin was good, but Steve was better, capturing perfect likenesses. He'd had Merlin describe Arthur and the knights to him, in great detail. The end result had been Merlin staring for hours at a piece of paper. Steve had felt guilty for eliciting such a reaction, but Merlin had assured him that it was fine.

Thor would exchange stories with Merlin. They would regale each other with stories of past years, battle tales and the such. They would eat Pop Tarts and chat about magic and life.

Merlin and the Avengers had become a team, really and truly.

Week twenty-three at Avengers tower

Merlin was alone this time. The Avengers were discussing something about a press conference that they all had to attend. Usually at least one of them would accompany him. Merlin had assured them that he would be fine alone, he had been fine alone for hundreds of years, for heaven's sake, but they'd insisted that he at least wear a comm.

Merlin now fingered the piece of plastic in his ear. This was his last recon mission. He'd promised Wanda. The Avengers had been trying to get him to drop the matter for a month, telling him if something was going to happen, it would've happened by then, or they would've found something. Merlin was just too stubborn to admit defeat. But, finally, Merlin had caved.

It had been nearly three months since the two months hence we'll destroy the world deadline. And nothing had happened. Apparently the vision had been a false alarm, perhaps just a figment of Merlin's imagination.

It had felt so real! But alas, Merlin knew that he was by no means perfect. There was a chance that he'd made a mistake. He'd been recovering from a bullet wound, broken ribs, and suppressed magic. There was a very high chance that he'd made a mistake.

But Merlin's paranoia would not shut up.

So Merlin was heading to California, for one last recon mission. Lake Tahoe, if he remembered correctly (which he did).

Merlin had borrowed the Quin-Jet. He could've transported himself there using magic, but things could get complicated if someone saw him. Not to mention that magical jet-lag sucked.

Lake Tahoe was a gorgeous crystalline blue. The day was clear, but cool. Merlin landed the jet on a clear beach, the rotors throwing up sand.

Merlin's booted feet sank into the sand as he walked. Merlin expanded his magic around him, feeling the earth. He really hoped that this wasn't another thing with water demons. He'd almost drowned three times, not to mention the times that one of the Avengers had almost drowned.

That was another reason Merlin was quitting his missions, at least, quitting asking, or expecting the Avengers to come with him. Many of them had almost died while on one or another of his stupid little quests.

Something still seemed off about the whole thing, which was the only reason for this last trip.

The water lapped at Merlin's toes. He folded his arms and glared out at the water, letting his magic search for something, anything.

It was twelve minutes and twenty-three seconds before he found something. It was just a twinge, but it was enough. Merlin turned toward the trees, tramping back over the sand. Merlin ducked under twisted branches and crunched over pine needles and granite sand.

He hiked into a patch of woods which seemed slightly darker, and definitely more sinister than the other wooded areas. The air seemed thick, humming with magic. The magic itself was odd, somehow familiar to Merlin, and unfamiliar, but laced with the magic of the Old Religion.

Merlin pushed aside a dead branch, wincing at the crack as it broke and hit the ground. He pushed through dense underbrush, and emerged, quite suddenly, into a small, dim clearing. In the center of the sandy clearing, sat a rickety-looking building, long and low, probably fifty feet long and twenty feet wide. It was constructed of long wooden slats, roughly nailed together, with holes badly patched.

Merlin could hear faint voices. He muttered a spell under his breath, bending the lights rays around his body, rendering himself invisible. He crept carefully toward the shack, careful to keep quiet.

Merlin peeked through one of the holes, moving around the building until he saw something move. The light in the shack was dim, but not dark. Two people were talking, one lounging in a large, wooden, throne-like chair, the other pacing.

The pacing figure was a man, tall and lean, wearing a long coat, and boots. He had long black hair, slicked down, and angular features. The figure in the chair was woman. And the sight of that woman chilled Merlin's blood.

He fumbled for his pocket, yanking out a Stark-Tech phone that he had built with the help of Tony to better withstand unplanned energy pulses. Merlin rumbled, almost dropping the phone. He clicked the video button, and held it to the cracks of the building.

The woman in the chair was talking. "I'm tired of this horrid place," she snapped, voice high and cold. "We've been here for months. Have you finally finished your planning?"

"Oh, yes," the man said. Merlin could almost hear the grin in his voice. "We've finished planning. That team of arrogant fools and their new little friend will be gone before the month is out."

Merlin ended the video and feverishly sent it to Tony. I found them.

"So your plan is ready to be set in motion?" the woman asked, flicking black hair over her shoulder.

"It already has been set in motion. Right now, in fact. She's already in position."

The triumphant glow in Merlin faded. A chill went up his spine. Uh-oh.

There was a blinding pain in the back of Merlin's head and an odd, painful tightening at the back of his neck, and then he couldn't feel anything.

I had so many reviews for the last chapter! Thank you guys! Thanks for the follows and favorites as well!

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-Indigene Syke