Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or W13.

AN: First off, Happy New Year! So, new year, new story. One of many I'm starting for 2016.

Please bear with me, it's my first W13 fanfic. Not really sure where the story is set, obviously between certain seasons (with the introduction and departure of certain characters) but I've just finished watched W13 for the first time (kinda rushed through the series, after a slow start) and haven't gotten to grips with the minute details. As for OUAT, it's after season 3… possibly going AU somewhere after that, unless S5 stuff starts creeping in. It's all a mystery to me until I write it…

Poison brought Regina Mills to Warehouse 13. Not a poisoned apple, or any other fairytale-related artefact. This poison came from a ring, once worn by the most venomous actress from the early twentieth century. While the wearer of the ring went unharmed, the poison was transmitted through skin contact with a victim.

Regina was shopping in New York, enjoying a short break from Storybrooke and seriously considering the merits of ever returning to that small town, when instinct drew her to the second-hand jewellery store.

She had been told magic didn't exist in this world. Someone had lied.

The darkness surrounding the ring had called out to her and she paid for it without taking note of the price. As soon as she held it in her hand, she knew she could never use it and decided to take it back to Storybrooke where she could keep it safe. She left the store and returned to her hotel, while Artie and Myka were still tracking the sale of the ring from its previous owner. As she ate dinner, alone, she was unaware that two Warehouse Agents were watching security camera footage from around the shop - having been given a brief description by the owner of the customer who brought the ring. It was late by the time they came for the ring. Expecting an easy bag-and-tag – in situations like this, where civilians hadn't discovered the artefacts powers, their cover as Secret Service agents usually guaranteed they could claim the objects as imperative to national security and reimburse the new owners for their trouble – they were surprised when Mayor Mills refused to hand the ring over. No matter how much Artie argued, or Myka persuaded, she wouldn't tell them where she had hidden the ring. With a gun pointed at her, she couldn't stop them from tossing the room but luckily she had placed the ring in a secret magically protected compartment, which had been powered up by the presence of the ring.

Artie was becoming annoyed that his usually accurate instincts were failing to provide the location of the ring. "Listen lady, that ring has killed a lot of people…"

"My name is Regina Mills, I am a Mayor and I don't care you who think you are I will not be spoken to in that manner."

The corner of Myka's lip curled up in a half-smile as she admired the gorgeous brunette maintaining a regal pose while sitting up in bed, "Mayor Mills, I don't think you understand what my partner is saying, the ring…"

"If you expect me to give you any credulity for this… charade… you should have had the common decency to approach me during daylight hours, with a knock on the door like any civilised human. For all I know you are common thieves and those badges are nothing more than shiny imitations procured from a toy store."

"The badges are real and the ring is dangerous. We know you brought it today, so just tell us where you stashed it and we'll leave you alone. Look, we'll even give you the money you paid for it."

"And if I no longer have it with me?"

"Then tell us where it is and we'll track it down. People will get hurt."

"From a ring?" Regina tried her hardest not to smile, but it was difficult acting as though she didn't know about the ring's darkness.

"Clearly you wouldn't believe the truth, so why not save us the time from going through every millisecond of CCTV footage…" Artie kicked out at the pile of papers he had strewn across the floor when looking for the ring, but Myka placed a hand on his arm stopping his rant.

"If the Mayor won't co-operate then perhaps we should do that. Who knows, if she posted the ring we have limited time to reclaim it from the local sorting office."

"I did pass several items today," Regina mused. "It is entirely possible the ring was accidentally slipped inside an envelope."

Artie frowned, "she's too calm," he whispered to Myka. "I don't trust her."

"You don't trust anyone," Myka reminded him. "How long did it take before you let your guard down around me and Pete, hm?"

"One of us should stay here. I'll get Claudia to check out the CCTV and follow any leads."

Myka shot Regina an apologetic smile as Artie shuffled out of the room, "I'm sure it won't take long."

"In that case, do you have any objections if I try to get some sleep?"

"If you think you can…?"

"I am assuming you won't allow me to make any phone calls, and as I have recently slept through worse situations than this, without the comfort of a bed, I cannot see a reason to forego my beauty sleep."

"That sounds interesting… about the worse situations I mean. Where did you say you were Mayor?"

"It is a small town in Maine, and I doubt you would believe the truth," Regina quoted Artie's words back to her.

"Trust me, in this job you learn to keep an open mind."

"Regardless," Regina lay down and closed her eyes, "I'm too tired to tell it now; it's such a long story."

"Perhaps later then," Myka agreed turning a chair round to face the bed and settling down with the Tesla still in her hand.

She wasn't sure what sort of situation would allow someone to fall asleep with a gun pointed at them, at least not without a serious amount of sleep deprivation first. Perhaps she should have continued the search for the ring without Artie, but he had taken the purple gloves away in his bag.

Regina woke to hushed voices coming from the other side of the bedroom door. Artie had returned and was arguing with Myka. When the Agents had introduced themselves the night before, she had been worried that they were after the ring to use its darkness. Now, after an uneventful nights sleep, she wondered whether they were telling the truth about wanting to ensure it didn't harm anyone else.

Then her cell rang, and Myka rushed back into the room. The agent fished it out of Regina's bag and checked the caller ID.

"Sorry," the agent apologised, "we'll let you call them back as soon as you give us the ring."

"I don't have the ring. Is that Henry?"

Of course, Regina knew the only person who could possibly be calling her was Henry. Emma preferred texting and they were the only two people she trusted with her number. Of course, the reason she had given Emma her number was to enable the Sheriff to call if something was wrong with Henry, but the blonde still used it to report in rather than calling her office.

"He's my son," Regina clarified, hoping the emotional link would get the cell passed over.

"If I let you take this, will you promise to act normally? I mean, this isn't…"

"You have a gun pointed at me, that makes me a hostage so I understand."

Myka nodded and listened as the mayor spoke to her son. Artie was still outside and probably listening in on the call with one of the many artefacts hidden in his black bag. She had a pool going with the others; Pete thought the bag was the one which inspired Mary Poppins – despite it not being a carpet bag, Claudia bet it was linked to the Warehouse and pulled items directly from the shelves depending on what he needed, and Steve suggested it was just an ordinary bag filled with artefacts Artie had forgotten to log. Myka had been in two minds. The FBI agent part wondered if it was just instinct, and the fact that Artie usually knew more about the situations they were getting into than them and so was able to come prepared. The bookworm part of her wanted to vote for Perseus – a Greek myth containing a magic bag, or Jack the Ripper's black bag – though there were no theories about it having artefact properties. Eventually she settled on corrbolg – from Celtic mythology known as the 'Treasure Bag of the Fianna', which supposedly held many magical treasures at one time and as such would explain how it was able to safely hold their strange artefacts. None of them had found the courage to ask Artie for the truth – yet.

When Regina's call ended, and there had been no suspicious phrases that might alert someone to her situation, Myka retrieved the cell and suggested Regina get dressed as there was someone outside she wanted her to meet.