Avengers: A Wedding At Last

What's Good for the Enchantress is Good for the Trickster

The shadows immersed Amora, and with them a sense of absolute dread. Her very soul felt as if it had been frozen just from entering her master's place of darkness. After adjusting to the contrast of earth and this other world, she traversed the  network of tunnels, her every step haunted by the snarls of monstrosities unseen from their place in the shadows.

"My children will not harm you, so long as you are my disciple," the dark one had told her.

She clung to that thought as she felt the hot breath touch the her face and chest. Her eyes darted about, catching the silhouettes of ravenous, nimble things. Knowing that her safety in this realm was so very tenuous, she felt her fear mounting. She had yet to discover the secret to freedom, and the possibility of what may happen was eating at her.

"You look...unwell, Asgardian," the dark one's voice raked across her.

Amora suddenly found herself remembering the illusion that had saved her from Thanos's wrath when she failed him. The dark one's magic dwarfed hers and she knew there was so very little she could do to save her skin.

"I have found nothing," Amora confessed.

The dark one immediately moved across the floor, his body gliding like a specter. He reached down and Amora flinched as his long fingers caressed her face. The intimacy of the gesture contrasted with the absolute dread that churned within her.

"How unfortunate for you," he whispered harshly. "I entrusted you with secrets, Amora. And you repay me with...nothing."

Amora wanted to scream but her pride restrained her. Instead, she steeled herself and met his gaze. "I scoured the earth for you," she defended as she recalled the last several weeks of dodging Ultron and the others as she pursued any knowledge edge could find. "There is no knowledge of you. Your kind erased you from history!"

"Perhaps you should have extended your search beyond earth," a cool, familiar voice spike from the shadows.

Amora's eyes widened in shock as she tracked the voice and watched Loki emerge from the shadows. He wore a smug, satisfied smile as he watched her squirm.

"Oh, Amora. Did you think you could deceive me? Deception is my life's blood." Loki moved until he was standing next to the dark one.

The dark one turned away from Amora and looked down into Loki's confident face. "And what have you learned?"

"That freeing you will require patience," Loki began.

"I have existed here for centuries, Asgardian. I have no fear of patience."

Loki grinned. "Of course."

"Now. Elaborate," the dark one commanded.

Amora watched as Loki took center stage, his voice raising theatrically as he did what he always did so well- claim the attention of a captive audience. As he spoke, she could feel her hope of greatness- her very life- being taken from her.

"In conclusion, I have one question for you," Loki declared. "How...attached are you to your body?"

The dark one chuckled. "Merely a shell, Asgardian. The essence is what matters most."

Loki bowed his head in understanding

"And I have one question for you, Loki- should Amora continue her journey with us? Or will my children feast tonight?"

Loki lifted a brow and looked at Amora. The expression was so unreadable she couldn't even begin to imagine what was circulating in his head.

"I believe...that Amora has her uses," Loki finally concluded. "Beyond that of a meal. Though she does look rather delicious, doesn't she?"

Amora disguised her relief, disgusted at how helpless she was in their presence. All her life, she'd longed for total control. Being dependent on anyone for her well-being was a foul taste that stung her senses.

"Very well. Then be on your way." The dark one turned and stalked away, dismissing them without another word.

"Amora, I am impressed with you," Loki sighed as he draped himself across her bed. "Double dipping!"

Amora glared at him. "And then there's you, interfering with my plans."

"Correction, Amora- then there's me, saving your skin from inevitable failure. Really, you should be thanking me. His children would be picking their teeth with your bones had I not intervened. Really, you're being so ungrateful."

Amora disregarded his words. "And now that you've usurped my plans?"

"There's no need to be territorial, Amora. Between his plot and Doom's, surely one will prove more fortuitous. And now...we have more time. More...wiggle room."

Amora rolled her eyes. "Go on."

"Doom's plot may succeed."

"Yes?"

"And if that happens, there will be no need to concern ourselves with the more laborious task of bringing our marooned friend into the world."

"But?" Amora prompted.

"But if Doom should fail, we will at least have time to pave the way for our new friend's arrival. And now, thanks to my genius, we know how."

Amora smiled as she thought about what it would take to sidestep the powerful magic that bound their mutual friend to the shadows. "But can you do it?" She asked. "Can you...exact such a killing blow?"

Loki chuckled at Amora's question and swung his legs onto the side of the bed. "I am quite capable. Don't think for one moment that my...other self...is any indication of who I will become. Make no mistake, Amora. There is no bridge I wouldn't burn, no heart I wouldn't break."

Amora lifted a blond brow and smiled. "Well, then it appears we will have to work together to continue the facade of loyalty."

"I could carry the task alone," Loki sighed. "Deception isn't a chore for me. But it's fitting that you and I should do this together."

Amora nodded. "We'll have to be cautious. Doom and Ultron are canny. And then there's that pompous mutant who loves to hear himself speak. He's an unknown quantity to me."

"Just follow my word to the letter and none of them will ever suspect that we're playing both sides. We carry out Doom's plot first..."

"And if or when it's clear it won't succeed..."

"It will be easy enough to fade into obscurity and bide our time for our backup plan."

Amora folded her arms across her chest. "And then? After we've seen either plot through? What then?"

Loki hopped off of the bed and walked to the window to peer into the night. "Doom's plot could change the course of history in all of our favors. As he's said, we would live as gods."

"And the Avenger..."

"Ours to do with as we please. Tell me, Amora- how would you like to keep Thor around as our eternal prisoner? Perhaps you can put a leash and muzzle on him?"

Amora chuckled at the thought. "And his beloved Dean?"

Loki smiled darkly. "Oh, I would see him torn apart before Thor's very eyes."

"And the child?" Amora asked.

"Oh, I would raise them as my own, of course. It would be the ultimate perversion to take Thor's child and mold them in my likeness."

Amora relished these ideas for a moment. "And if we help him cross into earth, we stand beside him as he unleashes horrors the earth has not seen in millennia."

"The Avengers will fall before their might. Everyone will," Loki determined. "And from the ashes we'll rise."

Amora smiled despite her earlier misgivings. Either way, she would finally have the total power and domination she craved. And, in either scenario, she'd see Thor and Dean punished for their offenses to her.

Everything was going to work so well.