Quick Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, nor its characters, nor Sleeping Beauty. I am simply a fan. This is my first Avengers fic, so I can only hope I'm doing these guys justice. As always, reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading!

-EpicPenguin

Prologue: Magic Is No Fantasy

The witch looked like she had escaped straight from the pages of a storybook. Scraggly gray hair, ancient wrinkled face, even a wart on the tip of her long, hooked nose. She was pretty damn powerful, though, possessing not only magic but also an army of large mutant rats and wicked ravens that were the size of small fighter jets. Eventually, after a long battle, the Avengers finally had her surrounded.

"You think you've defeated me?" she screeched, looking at the assembled heroes. "You think getting rid of magic is as easy as destroying the vessel? Mark my words, I shall have my revenge!—"

With a hair-raising scream, she erupted in a great mushroom cloud of red smoke. It billowed outwards, engulfing the Avengers where they stood. As the smoke swept over them, they felt a curious sensation, as though someone had draped a heavy blanket over their heads.

When the cloud cleared, they stared at the pile of ash that had once been their adversary. Finally, Tony voiced what they all were thinking.

"What the hell was that?"

"A curse?" Tony laughed, leaning back in his chair. "You've got to be kidding."

"Does it look like I'm in a mood to be joking around?" Fury asked.

"Well, I mean—" Tony looked around at the others' solemn faces. "Oh, come on, no one else thinks that this sounds ridiculous?"

"We've seen aliens destroy Manhattan, Stark. Is there anything that's too ridiculous for us to believe at this point?" said Steve.

"That's different. That's technology—alien technology, but still. This is magic we're talking about here. It's fantasy," said Tony.

"Magic is no fantasy, Man of Iron," said Thor gravely. "Loki is proof enough of that. Director Fury is right to be concerned."

"Aw, c'mon. There's gotta be a scientific explanation behind that spear. We just haven't found it yet."

"It's been examined by some of the best scientists in the world, yourself and Dr. Banner included," said Fury. "Or are you saying you're not the top in your field?"

"It's not a question of—"

"Tony, please. We don't have time for this," said Bruce quietly from beside him.

"As I was saying," snapped Fury, "I don't like what that woman said. 'Getting rid of magic isn't as easy as just destroying the vessel.' Since you all didn't get to her before she exploded, we could very well end up with magic all over this city now."

"So you're telling us to keep our eyes peeled?" asked Clint.

"No, I'm telling you that this means what's left of SHIELD isn't going to have time to sit around keeping watch over your sorry asses," he said. "So make sure you watch yourselves. Magic is nothing to mess with!"

"Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on Stark," said Natasha.

"Good," said Fury. "We've got our best people working on figuring out what sort of a curse it was, but we're new to this sort of thing. So until we know, don't do anything stupid. That's all I'm saying."