Avengers: A Wedding At Last

Villainous Meeting

"It seems a lot has changed since I was out of the picture," Amora sighed as she took a seat at the large, ornately carved wooden table. She looked around at her surroundings, taking in the sight of the elaborate old castle that had become her home. After deceiving Thanos and his children into believing her dead, she'd traveled the cosmos. Her travels were both physical and psychological and she had been utterly changed by them. She had dove into the deepest pools of knowledge, some of it long-lost, and had risen anew.

Asgard had always been the prize she sought. That golden, opulent world where she and her family had long been so subservient to the royal family. She was to marry Thor and become queen over all of it. But the fool didn't even see her, leading her to seek out Loki instead. A fellow schemer, the two of them had plotted to take Asgard for themselves. They'd successfully implicated Thor in an attack on Jotunheim, resulting in his exile to Midgard. Then, taking full advantage of Odin's absence during his regenerative sleep, Loki had taken the throne.

Amora had remained in the shadows per Loki's commands. She'd been content to do so, especially since it seemed that Thor would never return. Loki would never be Odin's favorite, but without Thor there would be little choice; Loki would become king.

But then that damnable mortal- Dean Allen- had intervened. Even Loki's attempt to kill him and Thor by sending the Destroyer to Midgard had failed. Amora had offered to take action but Loki refused. Resigned to watch him fail, Amora had been pleasantly surprised when Loki unveiled another plot. A backup plan. If he couldn't win Asgard through the initial plot, he'd find another place to rule. He'd fled Asgard and allied himself with Thanos in exchange for dominion over earth.

Amora had been disgusted with the prospect. Asgard was what she truly desired. But she knew Loki would fail. She just had to wait for the inevitability. Behind his back, she formed her own plot. When Loki failed, she would step forward and prove herself to Thanos. She would tear the Avengers apart for him, ensuring he would meet little opposition in his quest for the Infinity Stones.

But Amora had been as foolish as Loki in allowing her own feelings to cloud her judgement. She'd allowed her anger at Thor and her jealousy of Dean to debilitate her. In doing so, she failed in her task and might have met death at Thanos's hands had it not been for the powerful illusion she'd crafted. Thanos and his children thought her dead, leaving her free to flee.

While Thanos worked to secure the Stones, Amora sought that deeper knowledge of magic. Her Asgardian magic, though powerful, would need supplementation if she were to ever succeed in any plot. And when she entered that place of darkness, she encountered a new benefactor- one who could give her the power she craved.

Then it happened. Thanos snapped his fingers. And, just like that, Amora was dust. Five years had passed in her absence. Of course, to an Asgardian this wasn't significant. What was significant, however, was what she learned upon awakening.

Asgard was no more. Those who'd survived its destruction now lived in a sad little corner of Midgard. She'd laid eyes on it and sneered in disgust. The golden empire was now a modest fishing village. She learned that Thor had been responsible for this turn of events. He- alongside his brother, a Valkyrie, the senseless green ogre, and that despicable Inhuman prince- had set into motion the events of Ragnarok. Surtur drove his flaming sword into Asgard, obliterating it completely.

Amora felt immense anger just knowing that her ultimate goal had been ripped from her fingers.

"Change happens, Enchantress," a smooth robotic voice spike from across the table. "It's inevitable. If you can't accept that then you're no better than the Avengers. Afraid to grow. Afraid to...evolve."

Amora closed her eyes in frustration. "Must you dog my every step, machine?"

"Well, it's either you or the others. You're better company. Even when you're sulking."