A/N: Just a forewarning: this is actually a three-way crossover between The Avengers, Sherlock, and Once Upon a Time, but is stupid and only lets you pick two. As far as timelines go, if you don't end up picking it up in the text, this fic starts out after The Avengers, before Once Upon a Time season one, and during the first half of Sherlock season two (after Moriarty's encounter with Sherlock but before he was taken into custody by Mycroft).
The mystifying sounds of Mussorgsky's musical composition, Night on Bald Mountain, danced around inside the ears of Jim Moriarty, one of the most infamous criminal masterminds of the modern-day. Moriarty adored classical music. It's sweet, instrumental tones created feelings in him that modern music couldn't hope to match. Mussorgsky's song painted a mental image of bloodthirsty demons dancing around a fire inside of Moriarty's head. The "pleasant" imagery put the consulting criminal into a sadistic feeling of serenity. This serenity took place so completely that Moriarty didn't even notice another man entering his London flat.
"James Moriarty, I take it?" a man's voice asked, drawing Moriarty out of his music induced trance.
Moriarty scowled unpleasantly at having been disturbed from his relaxation and looked over the intruder, surprised that this man had managed to get inside without his knowledge. The man standing before Moriarty was certainly a handsome man. He was tall in stature and had long black hair slicked back. His eyes were a piercing shade of green that felt as though they were looking into your soul. The man had an entirely other worldly look about him, mostly stemming from his clothing which consisted of green, gold, and black leather. Moriarty did not know this man personally, but he certainly recognized him from being all over the news a few months ago. This man was a war criminal that had somehow caused an extraterrestrial invasion.
"Loki Laufeyson, is it?" Moriarty answered, "A pleasure to meet you in person."
Moriarty pulled himself up and dusted off his suit. He stood about a head shorter than Loki, but didn't allow that to phase him. Loki was a dangerous fellow to be sure, and any sign of weakness could potentially be fatal. Loki's piercing green eyes stared back at him.
"Just Loki will do," Loki stated blankly, "I do not care for my surname as it bears the name of my filthy monster of a father."
Moriarty took notice that Loki's parentage was a touchy subject and resumed studying this man standing before him. Loki carried himself with upright posture and a look of smugness that indicated to Moriarty that Loki possessed a superiority complex. His choice of clothing revealed a desire to appear regal; this told Moriarty that Loki was self-conscious and hoped to boost his own self-esteem by improving his appearance. His face, on the other hand, revealed nothing to Moriarty. He clearly had one Hell of a poker face that shared none of his secrets.
"My apologies," Moriarty responded, "So, are you going to tell me why you're here or not? No, wait, let me guess: you've come to ask me out on a date. Well, as flattered as I am, Loki, I simply cannot take you up on your offer at the moment."
Loki chuckled lightly in response.
So he does have a sense of humor, Moriarty thought to himself.
"Humorous, but no," Loki began, "I have actually come to forge an alliance."
Moriarty nodded in understanding. It would figure that Loki's purpose would be for an alliance. Moriarty controlled one of the largest criminal organizations in the entire world, spanning all over London and beyond. Despite this, he had managed to stay off of the radars of SHIELD. Only one man had ever traced things back to him: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was a rare breed: an equal to Moriarty in a sea of ordinary people. He and Holmes, however, had only had a five-minute meeting by a swimming pool that had ended abruptly after he was called away by a phone call. Moriarty hadn't directly encountered Holmes since then, but he was eagerly looking forward to their happy reunion which he was planning even now. However, this Loki fellow certainly knew about him, which sparked Moriarty's interests. He'd covered his track meticulously so that no one short of Sherlock Holmes's intelligence would be able to find him, and, yet, Loki had somehow managed to do just that. But successfully forging an alliance always required a healthy dose of skepticism on the part of the would be allies, otherwise one would end up with the short end of the stick so Moriarty kept his admiration hidden.
"An alliance, hmm?" Moriarty began, "To what end, might I ask?"
"The end result is of no importance to you," Loki hissed, "It is simply an end for my benefits. You, however, should be asking what I have to offer you."
"So what are you offering me?" Moriarty inquired, playing along with the man, "Better be something really good to get me to look past the ends."
"Oh come now," Loki said, a devilish smile creeping on to his face, "Don't pretend as though you care about the ends. I've been studying you, James Moriarty, and I've found that you are indeed an intriguing specimen of a human. There's an old human phrase that states 'if the end is right, it justifies the means.' However, you look at life through the opposite perspective. You don't care a wit about the end result of your actions. You do what you do for the thrill of the chase, the ecstasy of the means. That is what I offer you: the challenge of enacting the greatest scheme in the history of the world. The ends are solely for me, but you have the means for yourself."
Moriarty took note of how Loki used the term "humans" in his sentence, confirming Moriarty's suspicion that the intruding figure was not, in fact, a human. That would explain how Loki had managed to get to him. But, if Loki was not human, what was he? But, besides that, Loki clearly knew quite a bit about him. It was a brilliant and accurate deduction, and it told Moriarty that Loki had been simultaneously profiling him at the same time that he was profiling Loki. Finally, he had encountered someone other than Sherlock that he could see as an equal. And if Loki was as intelligent as this little encounter had indicated, then the challenge that Loki would give him promised to be one Hell of a ride.
"What would you have me do?"
Over three thousand miles across the Atlantic ocean, in a town in Maine called Storybrooke, Regina Mills was driving on her way home from work. Regina was a mayor of this town. While Storybrooke's name would imply that it was a quiet and peaceful town, one would be foolish to make such an assumption. After all, story books gave birth to the first nightmares of childhood with their wolves and witches. Storybrooke was no exception, and no one proved this more than the mayor herself. Regina was cold-hearted and corrupt and she enjoyed playing with the lives of everyone in Storybrooke simply because she could, but Regina felt justified in this. After all, the reason why everyone was in Storybrooke and, in fact, the reason Storybrooke even existed was all because of her. Her curse had brought them all here to this land without magic or happily ever afters.
Rage began to boil inside of Regina when she saw a woman exiting Granny's Diner: Mary Margaret Blanchard. Mary Margaret was the local school teacher, or, at least, that was the identity that she took on when curse came into play. Back in their home world, Mary Margaret went by the name Snow White. Regina had shared a precious secret with Snow White as a little girl, and she couldn't keep it. Because of that, Regina lost the thing that she loved the most in the world, and her heart was broken beyond repair. But now, Regina was the one holding all of the power. She was mayor of the town, had a beautiful young son and a dashing boyfriend, and was able to enjoy the misery of all the fools that crossed her in the past. Yet, somehow, justifying this to herself did not give Regina the satisfaction that she desired. She needed to see her power with her very eyes. Regina took a turn down main street, altering her course ever so slightly and parked directly in front of the hospital. She exited the car and strutted into the hospital with long strides.
"Madame mayor," the receptionist said immediately upon noticing Regina's entrance, "What can I do for you?"
"I'm here to see that John Doe coma patient that I found last year," Regina explain.
"There's been no change, ma'am," the receptionist informed her.
"I know," Regina answered, "I simply want to see him."
The receptionist waved Regina in to the infirmary, and she walked over to the bed side of the coma patient. Just seeing him brought a smile to her face. He certainly was a handsome man and big and strong, the perfect story book hero. Seeing him so weak and helpless brought feelings of delight to Regina. It was fitting. He broke her sleeping curse and now he was the one trapped in sleep, and, in turn, this left Snow White alone without love just as Regina had been left alone without love.
"This is my happy ending," Regina whispered quietly so that only she and the coma patient could hear.
Satisfied at last, Regina left the hospital and returned home. They all got what they deserved. After all, no meal tastes sweeter than that of revenge.
