Angel of Darkness

Prologue

A silence fell over S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, even the infamous Nick Fury was quiet.

"Now I'm going to ask this again," He spoke softly, his eyes falling on each one of his heroes. "What happened?"

"Loki escaped." Tony Stark blurted out, his eyes filled with amusement.

"Thank you for stating the obvious Mr. Stark and for being a complete nuisance. Now, do I have to ask again or do I have to pry it out of the six of you? Who bust Loki out?"

"It was a woman... well her men." Clint Barton spoke up, his eyes catching Natasha Romanoff's. "I faintly remember seeing her when I was under. She was powerful, maybe even more than Loki. She rarely used it, so I don't really know."

"Then what does that mean?" Steve Rogers stood up, palms pressed against the table.

"It means that we will not only have to deal with Loki, it seems, but another." Fury growled.

"What did she look like?" Tony asked. "Does she have great powers as well?"

"No duh, Stark." Natasha sneered under her breath, and Stark glared daggers in her direction.

"Tasha," Clint placed a hand on her shoulder before continuing. "All I know was that she was petite, and bony, but she was agile. I didn't think that anyone could move as quickly as she did. I remember working on the cube with Dr. Selvig, and seeing her there, watching over us. Just the way she would look at us with those piercing amber eyes was enough to make all the men working for Loki shrivel under her gaze. As far as I knew, nobody would even think about mishandling their task in front of her, for who knows what she would've done to punish them."

"So what you're saying is she's dangerous." Natasha looked at Fury, uncertainty crossing the director's face.

"Very." Thor cut in. "What color hair did she have?"

"Very dark brown, almost black." Clint replied. "Why? Do you know her?"

"Yes. Very well." Thor nodded. "She is the queen of the realm known as the Enchanted Forest, or Vanaheim."

"She's from another realm?" Steve looked up from where he was playing with his hands. "Like you?"

"Yes. Not too long ago, her mother forced her into a marriage to the original king. We don't know what exactly happened but she was unhappy. She had the king killed, and blamed his daughter for ruining her life. She became indignant and bitter, wanting more than just revenge."

"Then what is she doing with Loki?" Bruce Banner asked, moving closer to hear the rest of the story.

"About a year ago, she tried to take over the other realms, only being able to concur Jotunheim, the realm of the frost giants. Their king, Laufey, had refused to give her something before she took over, something we heard she wanted to kill the king's daughter with. Loki had defeated Laufey awhile back, so when the new heir saw the queen of Vanaheim, he bowed down, which was not the best idea at the time. She stole what she had been trying to get out of Laufey's hands, the rimestone, an ancient relic, or infinity stone, that gave her the ability to have the most power in all the realms. She had the potential to be unstoppable. After having Jotunheim pledge alligence to her willingly, she soon came after Asgard. My father, Odin had made some mistakes with her as well, so it didn't surprise him that after she stole away Jotunheim, that she'd come back for him. But we were ready. Due to the fact that she had not yet learned to wield the power of the rimestone, we were able to defeat her army, sending them back to Vanaheim. My father watched over the next year as she used it's power to turn the realm of Vanaheim into her own personal kingdom."

"So, you're saying that she's moved on to Earth now?" Fury raised an eyebrow.

"It seems that way, and she's using Loki's help. I just wish I knew how they got their army.."

"Army?" Natasha looked at him in alarm.

"Yes, the Chitauri. A monstrous group of aliens run by their cold blood leader, Thanos, and his helper, The Other. She must be using Loki as a decoy to take over the earth with their forces."

"That would be the smart thing to do." Tony remarked loudly.

"Yes, for her, but dangerous for Loki." Thor sighed.

"So what's this girl's name anyway?" Clint asked.

"We don't like to speak of it on Asgard, or any realm in afraid that she might hear us with her the power of the rimestone." He spoke softly. "Her name is Regina. Or, as Vanaheim knows her, the evil queen."