"Mo********er, that hurt!"
Fury sits on the chair with his fingers still twitching slightly as an aftereffect of the electric shock.
If one looks closely, Fury's short hair was standing up, making him look like he had grown taller by a bit. He holds a bag of ice in his hand and shakes his head in an attempt to keep his mind clear.
Next to him, agent Barton says hesitantly:
"Maybe I should've waited for that shot..."
"No, Barton."
Fury shakes his head, he presses the bag of ice on his head while telling the apologetic Barton:
"You did well just now, you and Merlin moved in perfect synchronization. I'm not blaming you, in fact, I'm thankful that you guys saved me from that ugly bastard."
As he spoke, Fury stared fiercely at Talos, who was bound in chains around the room pillar.
The latter was bound with metal chains, assumably to prevent him from running, the chains were tight, making Talos look like a metal cocoon.
Facing Fury's fierce gaze, Talos shrugs with difficulty and says in standard English:
"I've said it for more than once now. We mean you Earthlings no harm."
"Where's Monica!"
Carol Danvers who was sitting on the other side of the table slams on the table and questions:
"Where did your people take that innocent young girl?"
"We're not trying to harm anyone."
Talos snorts, he turns to look at Fury and says:
"Release my captured subordinate, and I'll let the little girl go!"
"You're negotiating, huh?"
Fury stands up and walks in front of the alien, he says in a low tone:
"You're giving up on the life of that Skrull we captured, ain'tcha?"
"We're gonna die either way if we don't get what we need!"
Talos uses an earnest tone to tell Fury:
"When we set up that trap for the Kree Starforce, we've already put our lives aside! Do you think that we Skrulls are weaker than you Earthlings?"
"Then what do you need?"
Carol looks at Talos and says:
"I've heard of a free-to-act force under the Skrull Queen's wing. And your name, Talos, is a 'big-shot' among the Skrull Civilisation, you betrayed your queen! Even we thought you had gone mad, so what exactly are you trying to do?"
"We want to live!"
Talos lets out a breath, he uses a lonely yet sincere tone to tell everyone in front of him:
"We just want to live...everything we did is to escape from the hell called war! Not all Skrulls are evil, and our only hope of living resides in you! In your head! Carol Danvers! Only you know where the life of us exiles are!"
"Sorry."
Carol shakes her head:
"I don't."
"No! You do!"
Talos says firmly:
"You just haven't remembered it, if you can let me go right now, we have a device that can reawaken your sleeping memories..."
The alien leader says earnestly:
"Believe me, people. We mean no harm!"
As Fury, Barton, and Carol were interrogating the Skrull, in the nearby farm near Maria's house, Merlin, Natasha, and Maria were searching for the little girl Monica who was taken by the Skrulls.
Merlin could not find any life activity similar to Monica even with his dark senses spread to the limit. It would seem that the Skrull had taken her somewhere farther.
"We search outwards for 15 more minutes, then we head back!"
Natasha who was experienced in searching tells the two people beside her:
"It's risky moving in the dark, not to mention the Skrull's ability to shapeshift, so it's best we don't spread out too much."
"You move with Maria, Natasha, I'm faster, so I'll keep looking for them."
Merlin looks at the nervous Maria and asks in a low tone:
"When you find Monica, you know what to do?"
"Mmm, I know."
The mother who lost her daughter holds a gun in her hand, a furious fire flashes in her eyes, she's seen the Skrull's shapeshifting ability with her own eyes, she tells Merlin:
"My daughter used to love blueberry cookies when she was young, but I forbad her from eating anymore ever since she got a decayed tooth from it when she was 4."
"Good, this question is crucial."
Merlin's figure transforms into black fog and begins searching farther ahead, while Maria and Natasha continue searching in another direction.
Merlin was in a bad mood right now, not just because the little girl Monica was missing, he had lost contact with Coulson who followed them here just now.
It's possible that Coulson, who was guarding the perimeter around the farmhouse, had encountered a disguised Skrull.
He had just met his younger brother whom he hasn't seen for 5 years, and then, he lost his own brother. He's likely in danger right now too.
This was a terrible feeling.
"Meow, meow!"
As Merlin flew across a row of abandoned houses near the edge of the farmhouse, he suddenly hears the sound of a cat meowing, and quite the familiar sound it was.
Merlin takes a turn and begins searching while following the sound; a few minutes later, he finds a familiar-looking cat at the entrance of an abandoned basement.
It was lying on the edge of the basement and was meowing while licking its fur.
Like it was calling for its owner.
"Goose?"
Merlin immediately identified the orange cat as soon as he saw it.
It was the cat he met in Pegasus Base, it wore a silver collar and name pendant on its neck, it seemed lazy, yet there was an intelligent light flashing in its eyes.
When it saw Merlin appear, the cat turns its head sharply and waves its tail, apparently, it had also recognized Merlin who once fed it.
"How are you here? Did you come here following Fury and Carol?"
Merlin squats down and strokes on the cat's head, the cat stuck its head against Merlin's palm with nostalgia.
"Alright, I forgot that you can't speak."
Merlin attempts to carry the cat, but it dodges Merlin's hand.
It quickly runs to the edge of the basement, looks back at Merlin, then runs to the other side of the house following the edge of the basement.
Merlin feels like he may be going crazy.
But he clearly understood what Goose meant from its eyes...follow me!
"Hell! It's a fantastic beast, it has to be right?"
Merlin says so then transforms into black fog and follows the cat over the farm fence.
After proceeding through the darkness for nearly 5 minutes, Merlin senses a presence similar to Monica in the dark house up ahead.
The small cat agilely leaps onto the windowsill on the house, it then lies down as if waiting for Merlin to act.
"Thanks, Goose."
In the shadows, Merlin puts some cat food in front of the kitten, then opens the window and enters.
To his surprise, there was someone else in the room aside from the sleeping Monica.
Coulson!
He seemed to be on alert, watching outside the window while holding his gun.
"Coulson!"
Merlin appears from the black fog, opens the lights, and calls out Coulson's name from behind him; the latter was surprised, he turns back and points his gun at the suddenly appearing Merlin.
But after seeing Merlin's face, he immediately lets out a smile.
"Sir, you're finally here."
Coulson keeps his gun and staggers towards Merlin while Merlin observed him using his dark senses.
His eyes were the same.
His face too.
His accent.
The form of his soul.
The way he moved.
Hell, even the same tall hairline.
"I saved this little girl from the Skrulls, but he damaged my communicator, so I could only find a temporary hideout. It's good to see you again."
Coulson wore a familiar smile on his face, his leg was bleeding as if he was wounded. Merlin says to Coulson with a concerned expression:
"You did good, rookie. You're hurt, and the kid's safe, so we should move now, bring the girl along, she's important."
As he spoke, Merlin suddenly asks:
"Right, how's Lola? Where is she? Didn't she come with you?"
Hearing the question, a difficult smile appears on Coulson's pale face from the injury, he tells Merlin:
"Don't test me, sir. I'm not Skrull, I'm here with you on a mission, you save Fury with the others while I guard the perimeter, there is no Lola."
"Alright."
Merlin lets out a smile and nods at Coulson:
"Now I know you're real, take the little girl and go."
Coulson nods and drags his injured leg towards Monica who was sleeping on the couch.
"Bam"
But as Coulson approaches, Merlin suddenly throws out a punch and heavily slams into Coulson's belly.
The punch was so quick and fierce, Coulson had no time to react.
The full impact of this 800-pound fist sends the pretender off his feet and into the air, crashing into the wall like a cannonball.
But before the dizzy pretender could get back up, a combat baton emitting blue electric light is smacked at his head; the pretender desperately tries to dodges, but the baton lands on his neck.
Under the intense electric shock, the muscles of the pretender's face began to distort, he roars in an attempt to counterattack.
But then, the expressionless Merlin raises his leg and kicks at the wound on his leg, and smacks on the guy's chest with the baton.
The pain from his wound being attacked as well as the intense electric shock cripples the pretender's resistance, a few seconds later, he falls flat onto the ground from Merlin's heavy hit and was not able to get back up.
Merlin retracts the taser baton, squats down, and stands in front of the pretender.
He looks at the face identical to Coulson's and says:
"Whether or not you're the real Coulson..."
"You deserve this beating for not remembering Lola!"
"Ah!"
The noise of the combat awakens the sleeping girl, she curls up on the couch and lets out an intense scream. Merlin stands up, presses his glasses, and speaks to the scared Monica gently:
"Little girl, I'm your mommy's friend, now I ask and you answer. What did you like to eat when you were young?"
"Ice cream, donuts, and blueberry cookies."
Monica hears the brother who beat down the bad guy claim to be her mother's friend and quiets down instinctively; she hears Merlin's question and quickly answers:
"But I got a decayed tooth when I was 4, then mommy forbad me from eating them."
"Good."
Merlin lets out a breath of relief, he waves at the little girl and allows her to run over to him and latch onto his leg. Merlin pats on Monica's head, this 9-year-old little girl certainly looks to be frightened.
"Natasha, I found Monica, and I caught a Skrull. Tell Maria she can put her heart at ease."
Merlin reports the news through the communicator, then, a piece of more surprising news is delivered from the other side of the comm.
"Alright, Merlin. Also, we found agent Coulson, he's wounded, but he says that he shot at the Skrull who took Monica, we're bringing him back now."
"Oh? Really?"
Hearing as Coulson was safe, Merlin lets out a relieved breath. He lowers his head and looks at the wound on the pretender's leg, it should be Coulson's doing; though one must admit this alien's self-regenerative capabilities, the gunshot wound had begun scarring after a short few hours.
"Looks like Fury recruited Coulson for a reason."
Merlin smiles, carries the unconscious pretender, and walks out of the room while holding the little girl's hand.
He lets Monica carry the sleepy orange cat Goose, he then transforms into black fog, rolls them up, and arrives at Maria's farmhouse a few dozen minutes later.
"Monica, my baby."
Maria held her daughter in her arms while weeping with joy, Carol stood next to them lightly patting on her once best friend's shoulder.
"Mommy, that brother knows magic!"
Monica forgot about her fears as she saw her family, she holds her mother while pointing at Merlin, saying:
"He can turn into the wind!"
Merlin shakes his head, not minding the child's praise.
He first gives tonight's MVP Goose some cat food, then goes to check on Coulson.
The rookie's arm was broken by the Skrull, but he retaliated against his attacker with a bullet. Right now, the rookie agent Coulson had patched up his wounds and was sound asleep.
Merlin did not wake him up, he gently closes the door and headed for the living room.
"Bam Bam"
The captured Skrull prisoner is thrown in front of Talos with a face of guilt and shame, Merlin holds his colt against the head of said Skrull.
And Fury stands next to him, gently telling the despaired Talos:
"Now, Earthlings 4 points, Skrulls 0."
Fury looks at Talos and says with confidence:
"So, Mr. Talos, do you plan on maintaining your silence?"
Talos looks at his guilty subordinate and lets out a sigh, he looks at Merlin with the gun then looks at Fury, saying:
"Fine, I'll talk. If you really want to know."
