This is the Undead writer speaking
This is a crossover that has been in the works for some time. I got the idea just after having finisshed watching the first half of Once Upon a Time Season 3. I really liked how they potrayed the character of Peter Pan and how different he was from how he has been potrayed in all previous incarnations. I suddenly started to imaginie what would happen if Peter Pan fought with the Avengers and that small thought became my insperation for this crossover.
Now Before I say anything else, this fic will follow the events of the show pretty closely. So if you havent watched the show or specificaly the 3rd season, there will be huge spoilers ahead so youve been warned. That being said, there will be some huge changes made to the story make things more intresting. An example of this is how I will potray Peter Pan. The one thing I thought the character lacked was some kind of scene where he fought with the Neverland 6. He was buillt up so much through both season 2 and 3 so to see him so easily defeated twice in a row was very disapointing. In my take on the neverland arc, this is something I will definatley change.
I do not own Avengers or Once Upon a Time.
PS: Those who are fans of my Digimon GOH story, I am sorry to say that I will put that story on hiatus for now. I am digimoned out at the moment and want to try new things. Maybe a change of pace will renew my interest in continuing it later on but you can at least expect at least 1 more chapter in the first quarter of 2015 before I official start the hiatus.
Storybrooke, a place having been untouched for more than 28 years from the outside world, was in grave peril. But it had not always been that way. But to get to that point, we have to go back in time and see how it all started.
We have all read the classic stories and tales such as Snow White and the 7 dwarfs, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the beanstalk, the little mermaid, and more. We have also watched different takes and adaptations of these stories throughout the years particularly in the ways of Disney. These are all tales who we all know are fiction and exist as a way for us to escape out of our own bleak reality and into a land of wonder and imagination especially for young children.
We are all incorrect however. These tales have occurred but not in our society. In our world, they are just stories and legend. In another land however, they are quiet real. In that world, all the characters we know and love coexist in the same universe far away from our own.
They are however very different from how we imagine them however. In this world, Snow White is a very skilled bandit stealing to be able to survive, Little Riding Hood is actually the big bad wolf, Jack is actually a girl by name of Jacquelin, Jiminy Cricket was originally a human, there were actually 8 dwarfs instead of 7, and Prince Charming is not really Prince Charming. Even legends from other cultures like from the Greek mythology exists in this world
Still, some of the characteristics present in the tales and Disney versions can be seen at the core of these real-life counterparts. Snow white still has a pure heart, Charming being the courageous hero, and the 7 dwarfs being very similar to their Disney counterparts. Other like Pinocchio, the blue fairy, and Robin Hood were also similar in a couple of ways to the versions of these characters we know about.
With all the heroes being real, the villains of those stories exist in the same universe as well. Just like the heroes, they are quite different from how we imagined them. Some of them like Ursula and Captain Hook are not really villains at all with Ursula being a goddess of the sea and Hook being much more of an antihero than straight-up villain. Others like Jafar and Maleficent are pretty much what one can expect out of those characters with their signature powers present like being able to transform into a dragon and having serpent staff in ones possesion.
The most well-known villain of the fairy tale world was the evil queen from the story of Snow White. Unlike the known version of her from Disney, the evil queen was original not a very evil person. Contrary, she was a very pure and good person and went by the name of Regina. She was however twisted by her controlling mother and made queen. She did not blame her mother for all her misery however; instead she blamed a young Snow White which led to a feud between the two which would go on for years to come which ended with Regina casting a curse to take away Snows and everyone else happy endings.
This curse took all the characters from their homes and brought them to another land. A world without magic. Our world. It was at this moment that Storybrooke came to be.
As the town just emerged out of nowhere in our world, everyone lost their memories of their past lives and replaced with fake memories received through the curse. The only one who remembered was the evil queen herself who became the mayor of the town. Watching all her enemies and especially Snow White under her thumb was definitely the happy ending she had always wanted.
But the creator of the curse, the most powerful sorcerer throughout the land, Rumplestiltskin, had added something to the curse unknown to the queen. He had made sure the curse would be broken 28 years after it was unleashed upon the land. He wanted to get to this new land through the curse. Why he wanted this and why he wanted Regina to cast it was a mystery to everyone except for Rumplestiltskin himself.
Like predicted, the curse was broken 28 years later in the form of a savior, a product of true love, and the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Her name was Emma Swan and she broke the curse and restored everyone's memory all according to Rumplestiltskin plan.
One thing remained of the curse in the end though. While everyone had gotten their memories restored, Storybrooke still stood tall. No one had been returned home to their own world. This was a problem, a very serious one.
Ever since the town just appeared in our world, it had been surrounded by a large magical force field preventing anyone from entering or leaving. With the curse weakened however, this field was no longer functioning properly. It was keeping the people inside from leaving but it did now not prevent anyone from the outside from getting inside. Knowing the danger outsiders could bring to Storybrooke, the fairytale characters did their best to prevent their little town from being discovered.
The citizens of Storybrooke were correct in their fears when unfortunately for them, 2 people managed to get inside town borders with the intent of erasing Storybrooke from existence. Their plan was already in motion which would mean the end of Storybrooke and all of its inhabitants.
Their true goal though was still set in mystery…
Finally, the boy with the heart of the truest believer would soon be within his grasp.
All these years of searching would soon be over. He had spent so long trying to find the child only to meet failure time after time again. It did however give him a chance to expand his "lost boys" into a force to be reckoned with. Still he needed the child. Without it, his "game" would come to an end and that was something he would never allow to happen. He was the master of the island and he was going to remain that until the end of his days
When his agents finally located the child, it slipped between his fingers out of his grasp to an area where even he could not enter. That dam curse was keeping him from gaining from what he desired.
He was however not very concerned about the curse. Rather it caused a devious smile to appear on his face. Any curse could get broken. He had seen enough of that during his lifetime. But any curse having been made by "him" of all people would be broken sooner or later. Rumple always planned ahead. He knew that from experience. With Rumple involved, the game was sure to be a lot interesting. It would not be a very fun game without a powerful adversary to trick and cheat after all.
He just had to wait for the curse to be weakened and then he would strike. The boy was unaware of the approaching danger and it was to remain that way until he would emerge from under the bed like a demon preparing to feast on its innocent victim.
Time however was running out and the hourglass was slowly reaching its end. But like always however, he was correct in his assumption. The curse got broken. The field protecting the cursed area was vulnerable. His agents were already on their way. He would soon have the boy and with him, the heart of the truest believer.
Nothing could stop him now. Not Rumpelstiltskin or the Evil queen. Neither would all the people and creatures cursed. They were either weak or too stupid to be a threat. Not even the savior would be able to stop him.
All he had to do now was to wait. He would succeed. He always did. There was no force throughout the realms that would be able to oppose him from completing his goal.
"Are we there yet?"
"I dare you to say that one more time Stark"
"Chill out Natasha. I am joking with you….. so are we there yet?
"No not yet but I might consider throwing you out if the car"
"I must sadly agree with the man of iron on this one. This vessel is not fit for an Asgardian"
"Thanks for the support Shakespeare incarnated. So are we there yet?
"Stark can you be serious for just a couple of seconds. Id advise you not make Natasha madder than she already is. I learned it the hard way on the mission in Moscow years ago.
"Oh come on don't be such a downer Hawkeye. Loosen up and have some fun"
"I don't think our "fun" is exactly the same Tony. If you want to be a training dummy for bow, then be my guest"
"Now that would be a worthy tale to speak of in the halls of Asgard. How a man of iron got defeated by a simple Archer.
"I so hate you all right now but seriously…are we there yet?
"I am warning you Tony. The other guy is going to give you a pounding next time he gets out."
Steve Rogers AKA Captain America, the first Avenger, simply sighted where he sat in the backseat of the small car they had hired listening to his fellow team mates squabbling amongst each other. On the right of him sat Tony Stark AKA Iron Man with his usual smirk plastered on his face while on his left sat both Thor and Bruce Banner AKA The Incredible Hulk competing for the seat. Thor was being very loud about it while Bruce was quiet as a mouse not wanting to unleash the green monster within him. Driving the car was Natasha Romanoff AKA The Black Widow who was desperately trying to keep her poker face and not lash out at Tony. Having been pestered by Stark ever since the journey started had taken its toll on the SHIELD agent. Next to her in the front seat was Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye who was sitting around playing around with his bow to relieve his stress.
The road ahead of them was a long and lonely one with only the trees around them as company. It was fortunate however due to the sheer absurdness of seeing all of earths mightiest heroes squeezed together in a very small van. Steve knew that secrecy was always important for recon missions but this was a little bit too much even for Fury. Still Steve trusted Fury's instincts especially after receiving the mission report.
SHIELD had apparently kept a close eye on a certain area in Maine for a long time. Fury hadn't said much but there had been strange rumors centered around the area and some kind of mystery energy signal had been picked up originating from said area 28 years ago. SHIELD agents had been trying to get in for years but there was always something preventing them from entering. A couple of weeks ago however, the energy had somehow lessened in effect and Fury had seen this as an opportunity to call in another team to investigate the strange phenomenon.
Instead of sending his agents, Fury had once again called together earths mightiest heroes the Avengers in order to solve this mystery once and for all.
Steve had agreed to the mission at once being the good solider he was. His solider skills however were not enough to survive a couple of hours car ride along with Tony Stark and his snarky comments. Enough was enough however but before the Captain could even comment on Tony's latest "are we there yet"; something caught the supersoliders eye in the distance.
A couple of meters in front of them a sign was slowly coming into view. By the looks of its structure, Steve could deduce that it was very old. His instincts were telling him that the answer to the mystery was right ahead.
"Yeah I think we finally are there Tony" Steve said.
"Storybrooke?" That sounds like some weird version of the Disney theme parks." Tony chuckled at the sight of the sign as they passed by it.
Thor at once felt that something was off around them as the sign disappeared behind them. The god of thunder couldn't explain it but something about the atmosphere around them had changed. It was a familiar feeling which Thor hadn't felt in ages but he couldn't pinpoint exactly where he had felt it before.
"Something wrong Thor?" Hawkeye addressed the god of thunder having noticed his sudden change in mood. "I do not know Hawkeye. This area feels strange to me."
"What's even stranger is that according to SHIELD and the rest of the world, there is not supposed to be a town in this area of Maine." Natasha agreed with Thor as she continued to drive them towards their destination.
"Well that's new. There is actually something the great Natasha Romanoff doesn't know about." Tony said earning him one of the Black Widows death glares. In order to ease the tension, Tony carefully chuckled "Anyway, what do you all expect to find in this mysterious town? My bet is on an invasion of mutated bunnies preparing to take over the world."
No one laughed at Tony bad joke. They just ignored it. He had a point however. They did not know what they would be facing once they got there. Considering that Fury had failed to get inside for many years in a row, The Avengers were ready to face about anything…... Well almost anything really. They would never have guessed that soon enough that they would soon enter a place where logic did not exist and where the rules of Fairy tales ruled instead.
Grumpy at the moment was not having a very good day. No one in Storybrooke was having a good day at the moment due to the current apocalypse of nature spreading throughout the town destroying everything in its path. Vines and trees were popping out everywhere.
"Everyone out of the way. Dwarfs coming through." He shouted as he pushed past Archie Hopper (AKA Jiminy Cricket) with his other 6 dwarf brothers closely behind him, "Hurry up you lot or we will become plant food. This is not the time to Heigh-ho.
Grumpy did not need to turn around to see if the other dwarfs were behind him as he could hear the sound of their running feet. Except for one pair who feet that lost their balance and fell hard to the ground. "Dopey" Grumpy groaned in annoyance.
Grumpy was many things. Before the breaking of the curse, he had been Leroy, the town drunk. Then when he went back to being Grumpy, he was exactly like he had always been. Rude, sarcastic, skeptic, mean and much more. But if there was one good quality within Grumpy it was loyalty to his friends and family. Dopey was definitely a pain in the ass at times but he was still family. With that in mind, Grumpy without hesitation turned around and ran back past his confused dwarf brothers.
"I so am going to pay Dopey back for this later if we survive this" Grumpy sighted as he finally reached Dopey. "Get up Dopey" Not waiting for Dopey to get up on his own accord, Grumpy literally lifted him up to a standing position and then took off as fast as he could dragging Dopey along by the shirt.
The growing of the vines and nature around them were faster however. Before Grumpy could react, a vine attached itself to his left leg and pulled him high up into the air "Oh this is why I hate vegetables"
In all the confusion, Grumpy accidently let go of his grip on Dopeys shirt. Realizing his mistake, Grumpy desperately tried to regain his hold but it was no use. Dopey was falling downwards to the ground fast. By now, the 5 remaining dwarfs had noticed their companion's misfortune and stood ready to catch the falling Dopey.
There was no need for them though as Dopey was caught by someone else.
Grumpy did not really know how to react to this new arrival. It looked like some kind of a knight but what was weird about it was that it was in the colors of red and yellow. Also it was flying. Having been the victim of a powerful curse, also having to deal with magic users such Regina, Rumplestiltskin, and Cora, and now meeting some king of flying knight, Grumpy did not really want to have anything to with magic for years to come in the future. "Oh my luck. Another weirdo"
"Hey. You don't call the person who just saved your friend weird. That's just rude." The strange knight replied back with snarky comment. Grumpy groaned mentally. He hated people who thought themselves funny when in reality they were not. "
"I call you whatever I want. Names Leroy and now that introductions are over, can you be nice and get me down from here" Grumpy muttered rudely. He would have been grumpier if not for the fact that Tony was currently holding a confused Dopey in his arms.
"No need to be so grumpy (the dwarf rolled his eyes at the mention of his name). I can get you down but I really must ask, did you use some kind of giant fertilizer nearby or do you just have very green hands?" Tony said.
Grumpy caught a glance of his fellow dwarfs conversing with a strange group of people down on the ground. All these strangers of recent really did make Grumpy very suspicious but could anyone blame him. Greg and Tamara after all had turned out to be far from trustworthy.
"Don't know, don't care. Just get me down" Grumpy said trying to keep his voice straight. What happened next surprised and terrified Grumpy as Tony raised his palm and released some kind of magical blast at the vine holding him causing it to break sending Grumpy kicking and screaming down to the ground. "I hate my life"
Tony caught the distressed Grumpy a couple of meters above the ground chuckling to himself as he put the two dwarfs down on the ground. "You asked for it". Grumpy just gave an angry glare in response while Dopey just observed the situation with childish interest.
The growth of the vines and tree had for the moment slowed down a bit giving Grumpy enough time to take in the other new arrivals in Storybrooke. Firstly, there were two people, one male and the other one female, dressed in black suits speaking to Happy. Grumpy at once got suspicious. They did not look very friendly with the man having some funny looking bow on his back. The woman kind of scared Grumpy. She wore a very sincere smile but by the way she acted, Grumpy could guess that this was one girl he would not want to face in a brawl.
The remaining 3 strangers seemed friendlier as they introduced themselves but Grumpy knew not to make decisions based on appearance alone. The first one (Bruce Banner) looked harmless enough but there was just something about him that made Grumpy uneasy. The second one (Steve Rogers) looked a bit strange with some kind of blue suit covering his entire body and the largest shield Grumpy ever seen on his right arm while the third one (Thor) was dressed in armor and wore a large red cape. Grumpy had to admit that these were the strangest garbs he´d witnessed since entering the land without magic. That wasn't saying very much as he had seen a ton of weirdly dressed people back home as well.
While most of the strangers were watching the group of dwarfs with suspicious glares, Thor was eyeing the sight before him in confusion. Grumpy just now noticed the large hammer which the man was holding in a firm grip. That was one impressive weapon. Wonder who created it?
"Say friend," Thor addressed Grumpy. "What is a group of dwarves doing on Midgard off all places? Shouldn't you and your kind be in Nidavelir?"
Thor was suddenly surrounded by an army of questioning looks. "Dwarfs, like from Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs" the archer raised his eyebrows.
"Considering everything I have seen on my journeys, I wouldn't be surprised if dwarfs existed. Didn't we fight aliens a couple of months ago" Bruce suggested. "Point taken" the archer replied.
As Leroy, Grumpy had learned many things about the world without magic. One thing which had puzzled him for a long time now was how this world had found out about the enchanted forest though legend and stories. Based on what he had seen, the tales were much more lighthearted than the real deal. Maybe it was for the best for the inhabitants of this world to believe it all to be fiction. Still Grumpy could not be helped but be slightly upset over how he was portrayed. His nose wasn't that big.
They had Henry. They had taken her Henry.
These two sentences swirled insides Emma's mind as she ran as fast she could towards the harbor. There was a small chance that Greg and Tamara would escape by sea as the whole town was on lookout for them. That was one chance Emma was not going to let slip away from here. She had already lost Graham and Neal. She wasn't going to lose Henry as well.
"Emma, you don't even know where you're going." Mary Margaret AKA Snow White AKA her mother called after her. Emma knew Mary Margaret along with David and Regina was trying to catch up to her but she couldn't afford to stop. Henry was at stake after all.
"Doesn't matter. I have to find him. I'll track them down to hell if I have to." Emma replied. She could now see the edge of the docks and it turned out that she had been right as she saw Henry in the clutches of Greg and Tamara. Just seeing Tamara made Emma's blood boil. She would rip that woman to shreds for what she had done.
Greg threw something in the water creating some kind of green light. Emma at once realized what Greg and Tamara were planning. "The last bean. They've opened a portal." Regina said having come up with the same conclusion.
Greg and Tamara turned around and noticed their pursuers. Not wasting any time, they ran towards the edge preparing to jump with Henry in tow.
"Henry!" Emma starts shouting desperately trying to reach her son. Neither she nor the others were fast enough however to prevent Greg and Tamara from jumping. Emma watched in horror as Henry little figure diapered into the portal.
Emma was about to jump in after her son when David strong arms grabbed her from behind keeping her from doing anything stupid. "No! No! No! We have to follow them! There has to be a way!" Emma yelled trying struggle herself free from David's strong grip as she watched helplessly as the portal below in the water closed itself.
"Not only do we not know where they went, but Hook stole the last bean!" Regina said sounding just as desperate as Emma felt at the moment. For once she and Regina were on the same page. Henry was the one thing which they both cared about most in this world.
"I don't care!" Emma replied.
"Without it, there's no way to follow."
If it hadn't been for David holding her back, Emma would have fallen to the ground and started crying. Henry was gone and she had been unable to save him once again. "There has to be. We can't just let them take Henry!"
"They've taken Henry?" Gold's voice came up from behind them and when they turned around; they saw Gold and Bell approach them. Seeing the powerful sorcerer made Emma happy for once. If Gold couldn't find Henry, then no one could.
"Yeah. You're the Dark One. Do something." David pleaded but by the looks of Gold's face, the sorcerer for once did not have an answer.
Emma finally broke free from her father's thick grip and asked and eyed Gold with a glimpse of hope in her eyes. "Gold, help us." Emma asked.
"There's no way." Gold informed the entire group thrashing what remained of their hopes. "I spent a lifetime trying to cross worlds to find my son. There's no way in this world without a portal."
For a moment, everything went silent. Gold's words had struck them harder that they could have imagined. Many timed in the past, they had all gone at one point in time to Rumplestiltskin for aid. Every time, he had used his dark magic to help them with their problems not once failing on what he promised them. There was a first day for everything.
Regina took the news the worst of all of them. "So that's it? He's gone forever?" Regina screamed directing all of her anger towards Gold who didn't even seem fazed by the evil queens little rant." I refuse to believe that."
Emma couldn't really blame Regina for being so angry. She was feeling the same way but she was keeping her anger suppressed and replacing it with sorrow. Regina was about to storm off when suddenly a strange sound came to their attention from above.
When Emma looked up, her eyes widened in surprise. She had never expected to see him off all people in Storybrooke. She had never met the guy but she had seen him on TV many times especially ever since he became a superhero. Henry would have a fit if he had been there at the moment.
In the sky above them was Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. For someone who'd grown up outside of Storybrooke like Emma, the sight of a superhero flying through the air was a good sign that their luck may be turning for the better. But for someone who had been in time stasis for almost 28 years, the civilians of Storybrooke reacted to the situation much differently evident by Regina giving a murderous glare in Iron man's direction.
"First they take henry and now they plan to finish the job. I will not allow this" Regina growled with a deadly tone. Before Emma or anyone else could react, Regina summoned a large ball of fire to in her right hand.
"Regina! Don't do it."
Emma's warning fell on deaf ears however as Regina threw it towards the unsuspecting super hero. The effect was almost instant as fire ball hit its target. Emma along with David and Mary Margaret watched in horror as the Iron man suit began to fall towards the ground.
Things were looking much bleaker than before now in Emma's mind. If Iron man was there, were his teammates in the area as well and how would they react to one of their own being attacked?
During this entire time out at sea, a ship could be seen in the horizon closing in completely unaware at the huge brawl that was about to happen.
If there was one thing Tony Stark liked to do on his free time other than playing with his inventions or hanging out with Pepper, it was the feeling of soaring through the air like a bird.
After having been crammed together with a Shakespearian with a big hammer, the living symbol of America, 2 spies which usually spent their time keeping him in check, and the man with the worst anger issues ever, Tony really needed some time alone. Not that he didn't enjoy his friends company from time to time.
Man had since the beginning of time wanted to gain the ability to fly. Tony had succeeded with doing just that but he wasn't about to give the technology to the worlds governments any time soon.
As he flew through the air, Tony got a good view of the town that SHIELD was very interested in. The town wasn't very big but it was still a bit larger than your usual small town in the middle of nowhere. There was a small mine nearby and a pretty big port full of boats that Tony also noticed. All in all it seemed like a perfectly normal town.
Except for the force field which had kept SHIELD unable to get in for years or the sudden growth of grass and flowers in the middle of the town which ended just as suddenly as it had begun or the fact that there were "dwarfs" according to Thor living in the area. The last part was the most surreal in Tony's opinion.
Dwarfs? Sure he had faced greedy businessmen, iron man suit rip offs, Norse gods, and evil killer aliens, but dwarfs? The first thing which came to his mind when hearing the word was the tale of Snow White. The idea of mythological creature's actually existing made Tony's head hurt. It made a bit of sense however. If Asgard existed, it was plausible for other legends to be real as well.
The supposed "dwarfs" reaction to the accusation however was pretty hilarious.
"Natasha calm down. There is no need to threaten him" Steve tried to intervene. Natasha simply gave him her famous widow stare before turning back to the "dwarfs" with a very convincing fake smile on her face. The dwarf's faces were right to be filled with terror. When the Black Widow wanted something, she would get it no matter what.
"Listen Lady. I have already told you. The names Leroy, I like to drink, and I'm not a dwarf. People can get offended if you go around and call you that." Leroy said. It was a bit surprising for Tony and the rest of the avengers see someone talk back to the Black Widow. Still it was obvious to them all that Leroy was lying to them. Except for the part about the drinking. This guy was obviously the town drunk.
Natasha wasn't fooled at all and closed in on Leroy who seemed the leader of this merry band of Dwarves. "You sound convincing and all but some facts doesn't add up Mr. Leroy. This town does not appear on any map.
"The town pretty remote. There are many small towns which do not exist on paper."
"What was that sudden growth of plant life which began to cover the area?"
"Probably due to the massive amount of rain in the area. How should I know? I am not a gardener."
"What is this town really?
"It's a town. Isn't it obvious?
"Why did Thor here say you and the group behind you to be dwarves?"
"Maybe he just doesn't like short people."
"What's your real name Leroy?
"Leroy is my true name. Now stop asking me dumb questions
"Why have no one been able to get into this area for years?"
For a moment, Leroy just stood there completely quiet with a thoughtful look. Tony knew that Natasha had driven the man into a corner and Natasha knew it as well by the look of the fake smile on her face getting wider.
"…Maybe granny's cocking scared everyone away" Leroy said carefully looking around as if he did not want anyone to hear him.
Natasha's eyes locked with Leroys for a second. Leroys eyes did not flinch at all. Tony had to give the man some credit. He did not know many people to survive this long with the Black Widow interrogation skills.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaachooooooooooo"
A sudden sneeze diminished the tension between the two. Natasha simply looked unfazed while Leroy jumped in a mix of shock and surprise.
"I hate it when you do that Sneezy" Leroy lectured the culprit with a bump to the head. Immediately as if he had realized he'd made an error, Leroy's eyes went wide for only a fraction of a moment but it was enough time for Natasha to notice it.
"Something bothering you Mr. Leroy?" Natasha asked in a very sincere voice: If he hadn't known who she was, Tony would have been fooled as well.
"No sister. Everything's fine" Leroy responded.
Natasha sighted. Tony knew what was going to happen next. Before now, Natasha had tried the friendly way and with that having failed; she was about to take the gloves off and it wouldn't be pretty.
"I bet 100 dollars that they guy will be begging for mercy in about one minute" Tony whispered to Bruce who just rolled his eyes in response.
"Just be glad I am not letting the big guy interrogate you Tony" Bruce whispered back.
Hawkeye overheard their little conversation and decided to add his own thoughts to the matter. "I bet it will take even less than that for Natasha to make the guy squall."
The 3 men watched with interest as Natasha approached Leroy casually. The other 6 men had backed away leaving Leroy alone to face the Black Widow. He really did not stand a chance. The carnage was about to begin. Steve however had a different plan in mind.
Without warning, he placed himself between Natasha and her prey. Natasha gave the captain a furious glare while Leroy simply looked relieved.
"Let's stop this Natasha. There are better ways to do this." Steve said with a stern voice. Natasha was about to argue when she saw Steve's emotionless face staring back at her. It was the face which Steve had worn in several battles and endured through with in World War 2. This face meant that Natasha would have to go through Captain America if she wanted to continue her talk with Leroy.
"I agree with the captain" Thor said as he also walked between her and Leroy. "Dwarfs are stubborn creatures. They are not the friendliest either but there is one thing which I know any dwarf likes. Which is why I propose we go the closest bar and drink ourselves full to get to know each other"
At once all the suspiciousness disappeared from Leroy's face and was replaced with a wide grin. "You may be big and ugly but I am starting to think the way you think brother"
With both the symbol of America and the god of thunder staring her down, Natasha simply backed away and turned around with an angry monster hiding beneath her fake smile ready to be unleashed at any moment.
Tony chuckled at the though. He wouldn't like to be in Steve's and Thors shoes about now. Maybe that's why he left both at the Rabbit Hole (seriously that must be worst name of bar ever) to endure the Widows bite for a tour around this strange town.
He had seen about most of the town now and he had found nothing strange at all. There were no monsters running around, no more nature growing out of nowhere, no robberies going on in the alleyways, and no dwarfs singing Heigh-ho throughout the street. Still based on what they witnessed before, Tony knew the town was hiding a huge secret and he would be the one to solve the riddle.
The only part of the town he had yet to investigate was the harbor and as he approached his final destination by air, the suits scanner detected something.
"Sir Energy source of unknown origin located in the area."
"Well it's about time. I was almost getting bored up here" Tony said as he checked the scanners. Apparently whatever the scanners had picked up was very close by and it was growing by the second. "Never seen anything like it. Maybe it is something similar to the Tesseract. Either way, I should probably investing…..…WHAT? IT'S GONE. It can't just have disappeared."
Tony was stunned. Whatever the suit had picked up had just vanished into thin air. He had just found the key to solving this mystery and he had let it slip through his fingers. Natasha was so going to kill him once she found out about it.
"Warning! Warning! Incoming projectile ahead"
Tony did not have any time to feel depressed however when the suit alarm for close range projectiles went off in his ears. Next thing he knew was turning around to stare face to face with a large ball of fire heading right for him.
"Oh crap" Tony managed to stutter just before the ball of fire collided with him sending him spiraling down towards the ground.
The descent was making him very dizzy. Falling to your death after having been knocked out of the air by a huge ball of fire tended to do that to a person. It also tended one to see illusions which Tony was having right as he spiraled down through the air; he thought he saw an old-looking pirate ship approaching in the distance.
The ground was approaching fast and Tony knew he would not be able to prevent himself from crashing in time. At least he wouldn't cause any property damage seeing as he would either fall into the cold water or onto the hard concrete. Unfortunately, neither would occur as Tony caught a glance of something below him which made him cringe. There were people on the ground; people who would soon be road kill if they did not move out of the way.
Move out of the way! Move out of the way! These thoughts were running throughout Tonys mind as he felt the suit crash into the ground. Sudden yells of surprise and fear could be heard swirling around him. Still the suit continued moving bouncing down and up until the journey ended with him colliding face first with a brick wall.
"That could have gone better. At least I didn't hit anyone" Tony groaned in pain as he forced himself and the suit into an upright position. The first thing he saw was the group of people he had almost crashed into. They were all looking at him with surprised expressions. Except for a man with a cane who was holding a very injured woman in his arms as if she had been hit by something hard and were looking at him with a large amount of rage in his eyes. Tony didn't have to be a genius to figure out what had happened.
"Sorry for all of this. It wasn't my intention of getting roasted by a ball of fire and crashing into the ground and hurting your girl." Tony chuckled carefully as he tried to apologize for his actions. It didn't really help to ease the tensions at all. The people were still giving him wary looks especially the one with the cane.
"Rumple don't" the wounded girl managed to stutter weakly but the man completely ignored her as he put her gently down to the ground and approached Tony.
"I said I was sorry. I really did not mean to hurt her. If you allow me, I can call one of my friend's who's a doctor. He might have some anger issues but he's a good guy." Tony apologized trying to prevent the incoming fight. He really did feel sympathy towards the man and if Pepper had been hurt in the same way, Tony would probably have reacted the same way.
Still, the odds of this man beating him in a fight was about 0% or so Tony thought as he found himself flung through the air right into another brick wall by some kind of unknown force. Next he knew he was gasping for air as if he was being choked to death by an invisible assailant.
Great Tony thought to himself. He just had to piss of a group of people with powers and with his suits systems still down after the heat overloaded it; He really was not having the best of days and it would have been his last if he hadn't heard the familiar sound of shield being thrown in his direction.
The first thing Steve did as he saw Tony surrounded by a group of people, one which was using some kind of telekinesis to choke Tony to death, was to follow his instincts. A fellow solider was in danger so Steve did not hesitate to throw his shield.
The shield would have hit its target if the man with the cane hadn't disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke letting the shield hit nothing but air. It did disrupt the man's concentration however as Tony lungs began to breathe fresh air again. It also alerted the other in the group to Captain America's presence. Fortunately for him, he had not come alone.
"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE"
At once Natasha ran at their opponents with the speed of a mountain lion closely followed by Thor and his hammer itching for a fight. Hawkeye followed behind the 2 with his bow with an arrow ready for each of his opponents. Only Bruce stayed put. There was no reason to unleash the Hulk unless it was an emergency.
Steve before doing anything rash and running at his opponents like his fellow comrades, he quickly analyzed the situation. In total, there was 5 opponents to deal with. One which definitely had some kind of powers. Of what he had seen, it was obvious that the old man was more than meet the eye with various powers at his disposal and probably even more yet to be unleashed. He would probably be the biggest threat. Thor would maybe be a good match to pit him against with his might hammer but to be on the safe side he would assist. Taking out the biggest threat was always the best thing to do. That's not to say Steve didn't see the rest to be defenseless. Appearances and gender didn't mean anything. Steve had learned that the hard way in the past. The 3 women looked very fierce and didn't almost flinch as they saw the Avengers coming towards. It did not make things better as what looked like medieval weapons like swords and bows appeared in front of them in a puff of purple smoke. These fighters were not to be underestimated.
There was a sixth member of the company as well. A very pretty brunet girl who was staying a bit behind the rest. Steve at once noticed how her right arms hanged limply beside the rest of her body.
"Clint focus your attention on the female archer to prevent ant long distance attacks. Natasha cover him and prevent anyone from reaching Clint. Look especially out for that woman with the scowl on her face. I have a feeling she will be a tough opponent. Your job is to keep the rest busy while I try to get to Tony. You're with me Thor in case the one that diapered comes back for another round." Steve ordered his teammates. None of them objected. He was Captain America after all.
The orders went into action almost immediately. Hawkeye got off a few of his arrows at the female archer. None of them were aiming for anything vital. Their true goal was only to immobilize so that they could apprehend her for interrogation. The archer however fired of equally as many arrows in Hawkeyes direction. Hawkeye managed to roll out of the way of the arrows but one just missed by a millimeter as he felt it nudge his hair before impacting with something behind him. She was good. Really good. Almost as good as him but only almost as he heard a sudden yelp as one of his arrows hit her in the leg.
"No one hurts my wife." the blond man of the enemy group called out in rage as he ran at Hawkeye with his sword in a firm grip. Hawkeye fired of a few arrows at him which he miraculously all avoided with surprising speed and agility. He would have cut Hawkeye in two if the Black Widows hadn't put herself in his path.
With great reflexes and speed, The Black Widow kicked the man so hard he fell to the ground hard. He didn't lose the grip on his sword though as he aimed a swing at her as he got up on his feet. Natasha easily dodged it but didn't really get a chance to counterattack as she was kept on the defensive as the man released a barrage of swings from his sword. None of them hit its target as Natasha was definitely more skilled than her opponent but that was not saying the man was a slouch. The man was on the contrary very well built and had the reflexes and strength of someone who had taken part in many battles. Hawkeye was of no help as he was busy keeping the archer as well as the other two ladies from reaching them.
One of the ladies however proved to more difficult than the rest as she generated a ball of fire in her hand which she proceeded to throw at Hawkeye. The SHIELD Archer thankfully let out one of his explosive arrows which slowed the fire down for enough time for Hawkeye to roll out of the way. It was however just a distraction as the caster suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of him and gave him a kick to the face. Hawkeye might not be the best in martial arts but he knew enough to counter the kick with a punch to the stomach. The women just gave him a very evil looking scowl before throwing 2 more fire balls at him.
"Why do I always get the difficult ones?" Hawkeye grunted as he avoided fire as well as a couple of arrows shoot at him from behind coming from the female archer. Hawkeye in retaliation released a couple of stun arrows towards his opponents.
Steve was watching the battle with worry as he saw his friends fight their respective opponents. He had been right in thinking that these people were skilled. But now he had to focus on his own objective as he along with Thor approached were Tony was lying gasping for air.
"Friend Stark. It was very unwise to go off alone." Thor chuckled as the god of thunder helped Tony on his feet.
"Zip it thunderhead. It's not like I expected to be blasted out of the sky" Tony replied bitterly as the familiar sound of the iron man suit going online could be heard.
"Let's get you out of her Tony. You're too hurt to take part. We will regroup with Natasha and Clint later." Steve said. Tony gave Steve an annoyed looked but relented anyway due to his injuries.
"You're not going anywhere dearies"
Before any of the 3 heroes could begin to comprehend what was happening, the old man with the cane appeared right between them and sent them flying in different reactions with some form of Telekinesis.
Thor was the first to get back on his feet.
"You shall pay creature for attack my friend. Let you feel the power of Mjolnir." Thor roared as he flung his mighty hammer towards his target. The man however simply teleported out of the way of the hammers path and gave Thor a look of humor in his eyes rather than fear.
"An asgardian? That brings back a couple of memories" the man simply said in response with a smile on his face. It was as if the sight of a god didn't affect the man's confidence one bit.
Steve was finally getting a good image of the man in question in front of them. The man was dressed in a very fancy looking suit and moved with such dignity and elegant posture that one would forget that he had a cane. He was giving them a friendly smile but Steve could literally feel the man watching them intently as if he was looking straight into his soul. It instantly put Steve on edge. This man was very dangerous both mentally and physically. He could feel it.
"Don't underestimate me mortal. You have no idea of the powers you are playing with" Thor threatened as he caught his hammer.
"I know exactly who you are Thor Odinson." The man replied in the same monotone voice as before. Thor simply looked stunned at this revelation. Steve couldn't blame him. This man seemed very wise and knowledge could prove to be a more dangerous weapon than the mightiest of weapons.
"How can this be?" A mortal has never set a foot within the halls of Asgard?" Thor said demanding answers. "I am not like other mortals dearie. I even helped out the great Odin once. Very messy business indeed."
This man probably had some relation with Asgard or one of the other realms from Scandinavian mythology that Thor had told SHIELD about. It was clear however that Thor had never seen him before judging by their conversation. It was also obvious that this man had something to do with the strangeness present in the town.
"Enough of this. We would just like to ask a couple of questions. No one needs to get hurt." Steve interrupted. The man turned away from Thor and gave Steve a creepy grin. "I can see that" he chuckled with sarcasm as he nodded towards the brawl going on besides them.
"….still the answer is no dearies as I have more important matters to attend to" the man said as he teleported away. Steve tried to stop him from leaving but found himself immobilized in place. The same thing had taken hold of Thor. The man had used their conversation to put some kind of spell on them and Steve watched in horror as he appeared like always in purple smoke in front of Tony who had been watching the conversation with curiosity.
Tony managed to release a couple of repulser blasts but the man simply waved his hand and a wall of purple smoke appeared in front of him absorbing the blasts. "Can't we just talk about this. I didn't mean to hurt your girl. I…."
"Her name is Bell and you will pay for what you have done." The man snarled and an expression on face emerged on his face in contrast to the calm expression it had held before. Not that the man could see it, a look of confusion appeared on Tonys face. "Bell? Like from Beauty and the Beast? That's a bit weird don't you think"
Kind of insulting the girlfriend of the guy trying to kill him was not a very bright thing to do. The man did the obvious thing and started to beat the crap out of Stark with his cane. Maybe it was just Steve's imagination but based on the sound of the cane crashing into the iron man armor several times, it sounded as if suit was slowly being turned to a piece of junk. The man was obvious stronger than he looked.
Steve desperately tried to break the spell holding him down. He wasn't going to let a fellow solider (and more importantly a friend) to die on his watch. Even with his enhanced genes, Steve was not powerful enough to break the spell.
It wasn't powerful enough to keep Thor down though for long.
"For MIDGARD strike this mortal down" Thor bellowed as he broke through the invisible forced holding him. He at once threw his hammer towards the enemy who had his back turned more interested in causing Tony a whole lot of misery.
The man simply teleported out of the way as before leaving a bruised Iron man in his place. Thor suddenly found himself flung backwards by the man's Telekinesis abilities as he appeared right besides Thor. Thor wasn't the one to give up easily however. A large storm cloud was forming above them. Steve understood what Thor was about to do. The man seemed to figure it out as well but he didn't look very concerned about it. Rather he was grinning wildly.
"Go ahead Odinson. Show me how much you have grown since last we meet." The man taunted as if he wanted to be struck down by lightning. Thor granted his wish as large lightning bolt hit the ground. Luckily it wasn't a very large one otherwise Thor might have zapped the entire town out of existence.
Thor at first though his opponent to be defeated but since Steve hadn't unfrozen yet, it could only mean one thing. The man was still alive and it was proven to be true as he emerged out of the smoke chuckling like that of a small child looking relative unharmed with a only a couple of burn marks on his arms.
"Not bad. You have definitely improved Odinson. Still rash but very much more in control of your powers." The man mused to himself as he advanced slowly towards Thor.
"I don't know how you know me mortal but I do think I would recognize your foul stench. I can sense it now. The pure darkness within you" Thor said. The god of thunder was much calmer than before but his voice was still stern and wary. "Tell me how you know of my father"
"Maybe I will dearie, maybe I will not. It's all based on what happens next" the man replied never letting his eyes of Thor.
The two got into a very intense staring competition. The man obviously had the advantage but Thor did not back down either. Steve might not be able to move but he could still feel the coming confrontation that was going to begin. A battle would soon begin. A very destructive one.
Suddenly a sound echoed across the dock. It was the sound of a gun being fired. The fighting ceased at once. Everyone turned around and to their surprise noticed a large ship having docked just besides them and the Captain was looking down at them all with a flabbergasted expression.
Steve did not blame him. From the captains perspective, he had just stumbled upon 2 archers trying to make the other one into porcupine, a guy with a sword and a woman in a jumpsuit trying to subdue one another, the world's greatest inventor laying on the ground looking more like junk of the year, and 2 strangely dressed men having the world's longest staring contest.
"Can someone tell me what the bloody hell is going on here?"
For a moment everyone remained very silent until unsurprisingly it was Tony who broke it.
"A pirate with a hook for a hand? You must be a big fan of Peter pan if you're trying to cosplay as one of the arguable most famous Disney villains in existence."
Emma sighted in relief. Finally it seemed like all the confusion and misunderstandings had come to an end. She was happy that her parents (and Regina and Gold unfortunately) had not been to hurt in the short struggle. It wasn't every day one could say that people one knew could give the Avengers a run for their money. Still she admitted to be happy to see Hook for once in her life. The pirate really knew when to make his entrances.
Hook was giving Tony Stark a murderous look for the Peter Pan comment for some reason but Emma didn't care about that at all. All she wanted to know was why he had come back and then kick his ass for having been in league with Greg and Tamara.
As Hook descended down from the Jolly Roger and walked onto the harbor, Emma walked towards him with a fiery scowl ignoring the her parents running after her more concerned about the pirate captain than their respective opponents, Gold using the opportunity to teleport himself and Bell away to who knows where leaving a frustrated Thor, Regina mumbling curses towards Hook, and the Avengers slowly regrouping keeping a steady eye on them all trying to process the situation before them.
"Hook What the hell are you doing here?" Emma said with such an angry tone Regina would have been impressed.
"Helping" Hook simply replied not at all deterred by the group of angry fairy tale characters advancing upon him. That just made Emma even more furious.
"Well, you're too late." Regina said. For once, she and the rest of the Charming's were on the same page.
"Am I?" Hook said before completely ignoring Regina and walking up to Emma not at all fazed by her murderous face.
"I thought you didn't care about anyone but yourself." Emma said with a lot of sarcasm. She did not believe him for one second. The pirate had after all betrayed them once before in the enchanted forest and locked her, Mary Margaret, Mulan, and Aurora inside Golds old cell.
Hook then did something that surprised her greatly. The pirate captain took out a leather satchel out of his pocket and dropped it into her hand.
"Maybe I just needed reminding that I could." Hook said for once sounding very serious. Emma could even some small amounts of sympathy and regret within those words. Emma watched in disbelief as she opened the satchel and saw its contents. In her hand was now the last bean.
Suddenly a glimpse of hope began burning inside Emma. They finally had a way to follow Greg and Tamara to who knows where. This bean was the key for her to get back Henry back.
Regina was apparently thinking the same thing. "Enough waiting around, let's go." She said trying to hide her happiness over the good news. This caught Hook a bit off-guard as he had yet to be informed of the recent events.
"Go? Where?" Hook asked. "I thought we were saving the town."
David, who probably despised the pirate the most of the ones assembled simply gave Hook a smug smile at knowing something that Hook didn't. "We already did."
"None of you will be going anywhere until we have gotten some answers"
The sudden sharp voice of the Black Widow reminded the whole group of the armed superheroes standing beside them eyeing them with interest. Apparently they had heard the whole conversation and now they wanted answers. Just her bad luck as usual.
"Watch your mouth girlie, as if you don't know. You're here after all to finish the job that Greg and Tamara started." Regina snapped back venomously.
"Greg and Tamara?" Captain America asked. "I am sorry mam but I don't know anyone by those names.
Regina was taken aback by the sincerity in the captain's voice while Tony simply chuckled a bit painfully though due to the beating he received from Gold.
"A very impressive vessel you have there. Look like an old british battle ship. I am surprised that they even exist anymore." Bruce marveled over the sight of the Jolly Roger giving him the attention of the Storybrooke residents for the first time since the little brawl started out. Emma knowing the true nature of harmless looking hero was feeling very relieved that they had avoided having a green gamma monster wrecking the town.
"I agree with Banner. This is a very impressive vessel" Thor whistled in awe. For the moment, the god of thunder had seemingly forgotten his frustration with Gold.
Hook, taking the full pleasure of someone admiring his ship, started to brag to Emma's displeasure. Hook really did like the sound of his own voice. "Of course this is a great ship mates. I'm its captain after all. You should see her in action though. The Jolly Roger is a complete marvel when she is at sea."
"The Jolly Roger?" Bruce replied with confusion at the absurd statement.
"You really have a Peter Pan fetish don't you" Tony laughed. "Or maybe you somehow think you are Captain Hook in person who has somehow escaped from the chains of your storybook and is now roaming around the sea looking for a crocodile. Maybe this entire town is some kind of hub for crazy people who think themselves to be storybook characters such as Snow White and Prince Charming. Of the two options, I think the first one is more plausible."
"Stark don't antagonize them. As you saw, they are great warriors and I'd rather not be almost torched again" Hawkeye addressed expecting some kind of counterattack in retaliation. But none came as Mary Margaret, Regina, Hook, and David looked rather more confused than angry.
Emma was the only one who got the full meaning of the joke and sighted in defeat. She had dreaded this moment for a while now but she knew that that it was inevitable that they would find out the truth now. It was maybe for the best to just get it over with. To her parents protest, Emma walked up to the Avengers with a neutral expression.
"You're more correct than you think Mr. Stark. Far more than you can comprehend so let me explain a couple of things. It all started with…"
Tony did not know if to laugh or to call a mental hospital for the mentally scared. This woman's claim was scientifically impossible and messed up his view of the world he lived in. He could accept the existence of Asgard, a man having been Popsicle since World War 2, them not being alone in the universe and so much more. But those things could be explained with the help of science. With this problem however, Tony brain could not comprehend the sudden flow of information.
Magic? Disney characters playing house? It sounded so absurd but by looking at the pretty blond in front of him, He knew she was serious about this. Who in their right mind could come up with something like this? Sounded like it could be hell of a good TV show.
His fellow teammate's reactions varied. Natasha and Clint had their best poker faces on but inside their mind, the gears were running full throttle. Cap didn't look very shocked either but considering he was a man out of time and been introduced to things he never thought possible, that was understandable. Bruce looked rather more interested and in awe than skeptic like Tony.
Thor however seemed the only one who didn't look very surprised by this stunning revelation. In fact he didn't seem very fazed at all.
"Ah I see. This explains the strange energy I have been feeling since entering this part of Midgard. All of you must be from the lost 10th realm"
Okay it was official. Tony definitely had to reevaluate all scientific knowledge he had come to understand throughout the years and replace it with Disney cartons. Oh how the mighty had fallen.
"10th realm?" Emma repeated as she looked back to her parents and Regina for any kind of answer. David and Mary Margaret seemed just as confused as she was however.
Just looking back at them gave Tony a headache. So Emma was the daughter of the supposed people claiming to Snow White and Prince Charming but they are all around the same age due to a curse cast by the evil queen which baby Emma avoided by being sent to earth where she would ultimately be the savior to break the curse. Apparently Pinochio (really he existed too?) was supposed to be her protector who ultimately abandoned her in an orphanage.
"What do you mean by 10th realm? I have never heard of such nonsense." Regina asked. Her stare was almost as scary as the Black Widows (not that Tony ever would say that out loud). She really fitted the evil queen persona.
"Sorceress watch your tongue." Thor bellowed with such great power that Regina went silent in awe of the power displayed. "My father the mighty Odin has told me many tales of this realm and its connection to Midgard but until now I did not really believe in its existence until now."
Thor suddenly found himself at loss for words as he felt something prevent him from saying anything else. The perpetrator revealed himself as the man which had fought evenly with Thor and given Tony one of the hardest beatings he received in a while.
"Stories are often based on the truth dearie and in case of this world, what many consider fantasy turns out to be quite real" Rumpelstiltskin, the most famous of tricksters from within the realm of fiction, corrected as he appeared out of thin air right besides Thor. "Isn't that right Natasha Romanoff or are you going to shoot me with those silly weapons of yours?"
The Black Widow didn't even flinch at the mention of her real name. Instead she just kept her handguns set on Rumpelstiltskin the same way the rest of the team had their weapons drawn.
Rumpelstiltskin chuckled "If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now dearies. For now I am just her to talk and I can guarantee I can tell you more about this situation than the Asgardian here. Also it's not every day, one gets to speak to earths mightiest heroes after all.
"How do you know of the Avengers Gold?" Emma asked not really sounding that surprised.
"Let's just say I like to keep up with important events outside of the town" Rumpelstiltskin replied.
"Says the person who couldn't get through an airport safety control without help." Emma murmured to herself. Rumpelstiltskin didn't hear it but Tony did and chuckled.
Rumpelstiltskin simply gave Tony a questioning look before turning back to his audience. With a swift movement of his hands, Thor suddenly found the room to breathe once again and was about to give the trickster a taste of the power of Mjolnir but Rumpelstiltskin had already predicted that outcome and therefore Thor found himself hammerless as Mjolnir simply disappeared into thin air out of his hand.
"What? How did…" Thor found himself at a loss for words.
"Don't be so melodramatic Odinson." Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. "I will give you back your toy once I have explained the situation to respective party"
Thor was about to charge the trickster with his bare fists in retaliation but Steve put himself in his path and caught the fist. "Calm down Thor. Let's hear him out first before doing anything rash"
Thor sighted in defeat and backed off but not before giving Rumpelstiltskin a look that said that this was not over. The trickster however didn't seem to mind it all. He was rather enjoying being the center of attention. His audience however did not feel the same way.
"Come on already. Just spit it out you annoying imp" Regina shouted out annoyance at the same time as…
"I'd advise you to continue Mr Rumpelstiltskin." Natasha gently said with fake sincerity in her voice. Even the great Rumpelstiltskin could not help but feel uncomfortable under the Black Widows gaze.
The two women stopped in midsentence and gave the other one a terrifying look. It was as if watching two of tremendous power trying to overtake the other one. Tony knew enough about Women that these two would become great rivals in the future and he would not like to be in between them.
"Seem like a catfight is about to start" Hawkeye commented with a bit of nervousness. Tony agreed very much with that statement.
"If your done acting like small children…." Rumpelstiltskin lectured (ironically sounding like a small child himself) the two as he teleported in-between them. "….I shall tell you the answers you all want and it's not every day I give things away for free so see this as your lucky day"
"Just get on with it Gold" Emma rolled her eyes.
"As you wish. First of I want to ask you dearies a question. How many different worlds do you know of?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.
"I have heard of a couple during my traveling years as a bandit. There is Wonderland, Oz, and Neverland I think" Mary Margaret answered or was it Snow white? Either way, Tony had a hard time believing this girl with some serious archer skills that even rivaled Hawkeyes was supposed to be Snow White. Disney had really gotten that story completely wrong.
Maybe it was just Tony's imagination or did Rumpelstiltskin face expression change slightly at the mention of Neverland.
"Correct dearie but also incorrect as well. Those are just part of our own world just located in different spaces separate from our own but still inked in some ways to the Enchanted forest. This world is very similar."
Everyone just looked at Rumpelstiltskin with a blank expression. Even the more intelligent of them gave him a questionable look. "Gold explain it in such words that we understand" Emma sighted.
"Don't get snippy with me Miss Swan." Rumpelstiltskin lectured, not even looking in Emmas direction. "It's simple really. Our world and this world without magic is similar because…. something we unfortunately don't have time for right now. Isn't there something we came here to do?"
The supposed fairy tale characters eyes widened in shock as if they had just forgotten something important. Tony was to comment if they were about to go back in time and sue the Grimm brothers and Walt Disney for misinterpreting their stories but considering the grave expressions on their faces, this was not the best time for a bad joke.
Emma looked the most distressed as she turned to Hook with a determined look. "We need to get to Henry at once. We can't let Greg and Tamara get even farther away with him."
Without any hesitation Hook offered his assistance to help out the pretty blond. This Captain Hook didn't really fit the storybook profile at all. He was more of a ladies man than a goofy sociopath pirate portrayed in most media. It all was very surreal to Tony. Maybe they were going to meet up with Little red riding hood next or maybe Mickey Mouse would somehow turn out to be the Mayor of this strange little town. Either way, this would be a long day.
Steven Rogers / Captain America was well known for sense for justice. He had become a symbol of freedom that been passed down through the generations. He had fought and almost singlehandedly won World War 2. He had risked his life to protect the innocent from the Chitauri invasion. This was all common knowledge by not one would have been surprised by the next step of action by Captain America.
Steve already after just hearing a few sentences decided that he would help these people. That these people were characters that inspired the stories he read in his youth didn't phase his determination to help them. An innocent Child was in danger therefore Steve could not just stay on the sidelines. He was Captain America after all.
But that was in the past. Now he was on the deck of the Jolly Roger as it sailed out for the unknown that waited them along with his fellow Avengers. Not that all of them thought this was a good idea to begin with.
"This is very unwise indeed. I do not trust that dark Sorcerer." Thor said not surprisingly as the Thunder God had made his stance very clear in this difficult situation.
"Oh come on thunderhead. Aren't you even a bit curious about this? I know I am now that the shock of this absurdity has worn off." Tony encouraged. Most of the Avengers had already decided to help out but Steve had already guessed that Black Widow and Hawkeye would probably use this as a recon mission for SHIELD. Still Thor was the only one against the idea.
"You have a point man of iron. This is something no one of my people has encountered in years. Only the all father has encountered this type of magic before." Thor murmured in agreement but still being the stubborn god he was, he was not ready to give up just yet. "Still I do not trust that sorcerer. He reeks of darkness. How do we know that their mission is one of true intentions? They might as well be tricking us into lowering our guard. I have much experience with this sort of trickery."
Not that Steve could read minds but he could only imagine the betrayal of Loki still haunting Thor as it had months ago during the attack. In some ways Steve understood this way of thinking. Loki had after all been Thors brother and now seemingly he had lost him. Steve had something similar with Bucky. Not they were brothers for real but they had been childhood friends. The main difference was that Loki still was alive but imprisoned in Asgard and Bucky was killed trying to save Steves life.
"I understand the risks Thor. I really do. But would you leave a child in mortal danger and do nothing. I know I wouldn't and I know neither would you Thor" Steve said. Thor did not say anything but based of the twitching of his eyebrows, the thunder god seemed to contemplate on Steve's words. "Also I would feel a lot safer with you at my side"
Those last words had been the last straws that finally managed to convince Thor to help out and now he was leaning on the rail of the ship as far away as he could from Mr. Gold holding Mjolnir in a firm grip.
That the fairytale characters went by different names did confuse him a bit at first but he had quickly adapted to the idea as it was much easier to call them by regular names than their fairytale profiles.
"Messed up world huh?"
Like always, Black Widows sudden appearance made the super solider jump in shock. Even after having been partnered with Natasha having joined SHIELD, her ability to sneak past his superhuman senses still eluded him. He was grateful for the company though. Tony might be considered his best friend among the Avengers (as well as the most annoying) but Natasha was the one he known for most amount of time since having been unfrozen.
"Yeah this is not what expected when I woke up this morning. Guess there are still things in this time that can surprise me." Steve replied as he tried to regain his composure.
"I have gotten used to this by now. The last few years have been quite interesting after all." Natasha admitted chuckling slightly at Steve's misfortune.
"That's saying lightly" Steve smiled as the memories of how he and rest of his teammates stopped the invasion of Chitauri over Manhattan raced through his mind. Things were definitely more interesting now than it had been decades ago.
"So what is your opinion on all this captain?" Natasha asked. "This is not like anything I'd ever trained for."
"It's weird but I have gotten so used to this strange world that I really don't find myself surprised by anything anymore" Steve answered truthfully as he watched the rest of his team interact with fairy tale characters.
Tony (Still wearing his Iron man armor) was unsurprisingly standing next to Hook to the irritation of the famous pirate captain as he tried to maneuver the ship toward the giant whirlpool in front of them. It was not an easy task and having the annoying iron avenger bugging him every second possible with different questions did not make it any easier. While Tony did not have any luck getting information out of the stubborn pirate, He was secretly scanning Hook from inside the suit looking for any kind of radiation or unknown elements which could explain this weird predicament they were in.
Hawkeye had managed to climb up the mast (to Hooks protest) and was now looking down at everyone below looking for future threats. The SHIELD agent might have agreed to the ceasefire but he still didn't trust all of his new allies. Especially the one who had almost burned him to a crisp. That Black Widow had found herself detesting her as well as Hawkeyes bad experience of magic due to a certain Asgardian did not make things much better. That said, Regina (the evil queen) did not seem very comfortable with him either as she kept sending deadly scornful look up at him.
Bruce, out of all the avengers, was having the easiest time befriending their new allies. He was currently having a conversation with Mary Margaret (Snow White) and David (Prince Charming) and judging by their reactions, Steve knew the subject of discussion. Bruce might be the one with worst anger issues but he was also someone Steve could easily trust. Bruce was a kind and helpful person who helped people in need. Steve could see beyond the monster everyone saw and instead appreciate the man within. It seemed Mary Margaret understood this as well as she instead of turning away in fear, she continued chatting away with a surprised Bruce as David kept a bit of a distance not knowing if he should be afraid or glad that Banner was on their side.
Thor was standing by himself desperately trying to distance himself from Gold as much as he could even though he glanced at the famous tricksters once in a while. It was very obvious that Gold words from before were still ringing loudly inside Thors mind. It was even more obvious that Gold pretended not to notice Thor burning 2 large holes in the back of his head.
"You really are hopeless Rogers." Natasha sighted but then suddenly as if an idea had popped up in her head, a devious smile appeared on her face that Steve knew meant trouble, for him that is. "Want to bet 100 dollars that you are wrong"
Steve, apparently not having learned the time when Fury challenged him to a similar bet, agreed to the Black Widows bet not knowing that he would loss this one faster than the last bet.
Suddenly the entire ship started to shake violently as they were pulled towards the whirlpool. In normal cases, any sane person would be trying desperately to avoid being swallowed by this powerful force to reckon with. In this situation though, what was beyond the whirlpool was their destination.
Steve at once prepared himself for contact as he tied a rope around his waist and bound it to the mast. The other crew members did the same except for Hook who remained by the wheel laughing as he fought the current.
"Not so fast captain sparkles. We don't want to join Davy Jones Locker now do we?" Stark quipped not at all sounding like his usual self. He sounded rather very sea-sick?
After all the annoying comments, Hook took full advantage over the situation. "Haven't you gotten your sea legs yet mate? Not that it's very surprising for a land-lubber like you. I would offer you some rum but all of that wonderful beverage belongs to me on this ship."
As Hook was teasing the seasick Iron man, Prince Charming brought up a good point
"So who are we up against? Who are Greg and Tamara?" David announced to the rest of the group. Mr. Gold was the first to reply.
"They're merely pawns, manipulated by forces far greater than they can conceive. They have no idea who they're truly working for." Gold said with a grim tone as he and rest held on desperately to the ship as it slowly started to descend into the whirlpool.
Steve already had a hunch who it was Gold was referring to. It made very much sense when taking into account their destination. Also Gold seemed much more tense than he had been previously. He was hiding something. That was obvious though. He was Rumpelstiltskin after all.
He wasn't the only one in the crew who thought something was up as Emma eyed Gold with suspicion. "And who's that? She asked carefully.
Instead of answering with a straight answer, Gold simply replied with an abstract statement.
"Someone we all should fear."
With that, the ship diapered into the whirlpool. Steve had a feeling that this would not be easy. This could even be more challenging the god of mischief and his alien invasion. That this would test their spirit, mind, friendships and put them to their breaking point. Steve was sure of it but they would not give up especially with him around. He would try to led them through this new world they were about to enter. Heroes and works of fiction would have to work together to survive….
Neverland
They had arrived. He could feel them entering his territory. No one could enter Neverland without him knowing about it and that was exactly the way he wanted it.
By the number of people that he could feel entering the waters around Neverland, he was already giddy in excitement due to the game becoming even more interesting now than originally planned. Why was that you asked? 6 of them he had already expected to come after the truest believer but the rest…. Now that was both unexpected and exhilarating.
New Players? Superheroes? Dangerous opponents? Now this is what he loved about games: Unknown variables. He would enjoy playing Earths mightiest heroes into his hand. Not that he would exclude the rest of the players from the game. The more the merrier.
He would enjoy this game more than he had done in the past. Hook he would trick as he always had, the savior and evil queen would be baited into his traps using his prize, maybe he would infect Snow White and Prince Charming with Dreamshade, the avengers he would take down one by one, and Rumpelstiltskin… will have a "lovely" time revisiting Neverland just like in the good old days.
He chuckled with a tone full of malice where he was standing on the cliff watching the ship far out in the dark ocean coming towards him slowly. Behind him a huge figure hidden in the shadows gloomed over him eyeing the ship as well. The figure was much larger than the boy standing in front of him but instead of attacking, it simply remained passive in place. It just stood there with his large bony arms and legs like a lost puppy behind the boy dressed in green rags. Who was the boy you ask? Very simple to answer if your acquainted with the stories surrounding Neverland.
This game would be his masterpiece. It would be filled with terror, death, pain, longing, paranoia, fighting, and the most important thing at all, his victory. Not that it would be easy. If the game wasn't somewhat difficult to win, then it would be no fun. Still there was the backup plan and the allies he acquired just for a moment such as this.
Either way, at the end of all this, one statement would be proved true once again.
"Peter Pan Never Fails"
Thanks for reading this first chapter. Dont forget to leave an reviw.
This fic will in total contain 12 chapters + an epilogue. I also do have an idea for a sequal if people like this one. Each Chapter will focus on the events focusing around one episode. This chapter is based on the finale of season 2 "And Straight On 'til Morning" specificaly the end of that episode. I aded a lot of stuf involving the Avengers entering Storybrooke to not make it tedious for those whove already seen the show. The fight betwen the Avengers and the Storybook characters was fun to write.
Next chapter will focus mainley on Thor and Rumpelstiltskin. This pairs interaction and growing relationship will be at the center of this fic. Thats due to the reason that Thors hammer could be seen in Rumpelstiltskin castle in an episode present in season 1 of the show. Since Rumpelstiltskin has intertwined with almost all the fairytales, Whos not to say that he hasent had some part to play in Asgardian history.
Thats all for now. The undead writer signs off for now.