Title: Now You Don't

Summary:

After their first robbery from Las Vegas, The horsemen get on SHIELD's Radar. Using Magic and Illusion is enough to earn an 'Index' stamp from SHIELD. But as Fury hands the case to Avengers, they discover something beyond them being played at a global scale and not to mention a certain scientist with a green side being finally confronted for his not-so-secret past.

Chapter 1

"Magicians?" Clint Barton spurted out skeptically as he stared at the case file in his hands. "You're kidding me right?"

"Circus is your speciality, Clint." The red-head beauty beside him snorted as she rested her legs on the table lazily. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Your in this mission too, Agent Romanavoff." Fury barked from the other side of the table, making Natasha turn sharply in his direction.

"I don't deal with freaks." She hissed out with her best poker face. Magicians are one of those people who will definitely get her anger flared up.

"You have no choice." Maria equipped as she shared a bored look with Fury. "If magic is involved, we need to get to the roots of this before things get out of hand."

"But they're just entertainers. I'm sure there's nothing magical about them." Clint retorted.

"Probably." Coulson spoke up, finally making his presence known. "But we need you and the avengers to have a look at this. Go out to their show tomorrow in New Orleans. Watch their performance. Index them. See if they use magic. If they do, its our case but if not, we'll leave the case to the FBI."

"What if they do have magic?" Clint asked.

"Then we put them on the INDEX and arrest them for their global theft. Find a way to stop their magic and put them behind bars."

"That sounds like a plan." Natasha grumbled.

"Now off you go, you need to brief others before you guys go to the show tomorrow." Maria said before dismissing them.

...

"Magicians?" Tony grumbled skeptically in the same manner as Clint did. " You're kidding me right?

"Nope." Clint began as he took his place next to the billionaire in the Quinjet. Each and every avenger was heading to New Orleans for the horsemen's magic show. Steve, who was sitting beside the red-head beauty was amused at the idea of magicians, while Doctor Banner just grumbled in protest. "Hill wants us to see if their using real magic."

"But their performers." Doctor Banner started as he hates the idea of meeting magicians and keeping up with their antics. "They use cheap tricks and illusions to trick you. There is nothing real about them."

"Since when are you so negative towards magic, Brucie?" Tony asked, arching his eye-brows. As for as the billionaire knew his scientist never liked the idea of magic. "I thought you and me are going to team up and rip apart their tricks."

"Bad idea, Tony. You'll just piss them off." Clint warned.

"And next thing you know they'll be coming after you." Natasha added with a pointed look.

"Well, I like to see them try." Tony scoffed, poking out his tongue in return. "Right Jarvis?"

"Yes sir, indeed." The male voice of the AI rang out through the Quinjet.

"Do we have any intel on these four magicians?" Steve called out as he looked at the archer who was holding the large tablet in his hand.

"There isn't much known on them." Natasha began, cutting Clint off, obviously having being memorised every single detail about her targets. "Except that they were amateur magicians a year ago before they teamed up together."

"They must have a common goal." Steve noted.

"But they are also experts in their own fields. They each have a title." Clint added as he passed the tablet to the captain who stared down at the four brief files of the magicians.

J Daniel Atlas - The Showmen

Henley Reeves - Escape Artist

Jack Wilder - Sleight of Hand and Pickpocketing

Merritt Mckinney - The Mentalist

"Is there anything on their tricks that might prove they are using real magic?" Tony spoke up.

"Not yet."

"What about the part where that french guy gets teleported from Las Vegas to Paris under 30 Seconds?"

"It was a set up. The guy and more than half of the audience was hypnotised during the show. They had a fake vault built under the stage, therefore somehow convincing the guy that he was in fact in his vault in paris."

"What about the money?"

"Probably stolen before they even did their show. Atleast thats what that old guy said."

"Who?" Steve asked.

"Thaddeus Bradley." Natasha spoke up, earning a sharp look from the Doctor was sitting on the other side, listening to the conversation. She spotted an hint of recognition in his eyes before it disappeared. "A former magician who now makes living by revealing other magician's tricks. He was the one who uncovered the horsemen's tricks on his website."

"And the FBI? Why didn't they arrested the magicians if the guy revealed everything?"

"They didn't have enough evidence. Although they did interrogate them but it only earned them a massive headache. Apparently the group's mentalist and the showman are a pain in the ass."

"Sounds like my kind of guy." Tony equipped, going back to his phone.

"Sir, we will be in New Orleans in few minutes. The show is in few hours." Jarvis informed just as the Quinjet took a small dip causing the captain to grip the support handle tightly.

"Are you okay, Steve?" Natasha asked in worry as she saw the man gripping the handle with a death grip.

"Your doing better cap." Clint smiled. "Atleast your not screaming to get out this time." Natasha saw a faint blush on the captain's face. She knew that Steve sometimes suffered from nightmares about his own crash in the Arctic all those years ago but not this. Looks like he is getting better at handling it.

"Aww, look at that, the cap does screams!" Tony joked before receiving a glare from Steve's end. Natasha patted her friend's shoulder in assurance just as the jet took another dip, this time at a more sharper angle than before.

"Take it slow Jarvis."

...

"Hmm.. Natalia Rushmen, Barney Barnes, Steven Roger and Tony Stark, I wonder who they are?" Merritt mused with a smirk as he looked at the audience list.

"Oh, I don't know.. Maybe the avengers?" Daniel said sarcastically as he checked the tracking bracelet in his hand.

"I expected more better and discrete names from them." Henley said as she applied her red lipstick. They were in their green room, preparing for their show.

"With them here, the playing field will finally be levelled if you ask me." Merritt continued. "It will be more fun to play this game now."

"I can't wait to see their faces. They won't realise what we are actually doing." Henley said with a smirk just as Jack entered the room.

"All the trackers are in place and so as everything else." The younger horsemen informed as he plopped himself next to his Idol Daniel. "No-one will know that we're actually doing real magic."

"Good, here. Keep this one with you." Daniel said as he handed the tracking bracelet in his hand to Jack. "You need to put this in Rhodes pocket after the show."

"Okay."

"What about the avengers?" Henley asked turning around on her stool.

"Avengers? They're here?!" Jack exclaimed suddenly. "Oh my god, Is Iron Man coming too? Iron man is going to be watching us! YES!" Henley laughed at the young magician's excitement. After all, Iron man is Jack's hero. On the other hand Merritt and Daniel shared a look. A wise man has always said to never meet your heroes.

"Relax Jack, I'm sure he's going to love you." Henley said with a smirk. "After all, your the one who will be misplacing his Iron man suit." At this, the youngest magician looked at her in shock.

"ME?! No! I-I can't do-"

"Do you want get blasted by his missiles?"

"No. But-"

"Then your going to have to do this, Jack. What if he decided to go all Iron man on us during the show? We don't want that, do we?" Henley teased the poor young boy with a wink. She loved him like her little brother. "Aww.. Look at your face. Relax jacky, you will be fine." She said as she pinched his cheeks.

"But he's my hero." Jack said with a sad face as he stared at the tracker in his hands.

"Someone wise has always said to never meet your heroes. Now cheer up, if you pull this off, he might actually like you for your guts." Henley reasoned which soon earned a grin from the young horsemen.

"He will?"

"Definitely."

"Well then." Daniel Clapped his hands. "What are we waiting for? Let's get this show started!"

...

"It's wayyy to crowdy for a magic show, don't you think Legolas?" Tony muttered to Clint who looked at the amount of people at the show.

"Well, Maria did say that their show was sold out in 30 seconds." Clint listed the fact. "She had to throw few people off in order to make room for us."

"Everyone loves a good magic show, Tony." Natasha replied as she fixed her backless green dress. "Not everyone loves robots." Tony rolled his eyes at the red-head assassin.

"I wish Bruce was here. Why did he have to sit this one out? He's a better company than you all." Tony retorted, making everyone arch their eye-brows at him. "What? Don't look at me like this. You all know your not the best company around here."

"Butthead." Natasha grumbled as she entered the arena, followed by Clint who also glared at the billionaire. Tony looked at Steve, expecting an insult.

"Be nice for once." Steve replied softly before following the two assassins, leaving Tony behind.

"You know I can't, I don't do nice!" Tony called out to the cap before walking forwards. But at that moment, someone bumped into him. Some dude with a baseball cap.

"Watch it, kid!" Tony grumbled to the kid as he stopped himself from falling.

"Sorry." A young voice replied, before the kid disappeared out of his view. Tony looked at his Iron Man briefcase which was knocked out of this hands when the kid had bumped into him. He picked it up and entered the arena just like his team mates.

...

"Sir, do you really think the Eye is involved in this?" Maria questioned Fury who was staring at the horizon view from Triskelion.

"I'm sure of it, Hill. There is some kind of connection between them."

"The Eye?" Coulson spoke up in confusion. "What's the Eye?"

"A small group of so called magicians that claimed to have real magic." Maria answered with her hands on her hips. "We have been tracking them since SHIELD has started. They were off grid for most of the years, only resurfacing from time to time. But this past year, their activities have been more frequent than usual."

"And how are the horsemen's related to them?" Maria huffed.

"We think they are working with them. There is no way four amateur street magicians could pull such a heist off without any help."

"So there's a fifth horseman. Like from the bible?" Coulson asked. Maria nodded.

"It's the Eye. It has to be them."