With a shove, Barton pushes Jay behind Steve and fires into the crowd of soldiers bearing down on them. Steve pushes her backwards towards Thor with a yell of, "Thor, keep her safe!" and Jay feels like she's being pushed through the blades of a windmill as she changes hands and spins, being smashed back into Thor. Once her head stops spinning, she pushes off Thor violently with a scowl.
"I'm not a doll, you oaf!" She hollers at Steve's back. Tony claps a hand down on her shoulder.
"No worries kid." He pulls out a slim metal briefcase from seemingly nowhere and Jay looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, Fury said to pack light so I did," he jokes and Jay watches as the briefcase morphs into a full light-weight set of Iron Man. Jealous, she scowls at him. "Don't do that, Xena, it'll give you wrinkles." He charges into the fray as Thor grabs her arm and drags her back. A blur of green streaks by and Jay watches in wonder as Bruce flies by her, his shirt ripping to shreds and his muscles swelling. With a roar, the Hulk arrives into the battle.
"Come on, Jay, we need to get you out of here!" Thor roars over the chaos of battle as Natasha jumps over her to land on the shoulders of a goblin. She sinks an electronic pulse into its neck and the creature spasms and crashes to the ground and Natasha flips off of it and nails another goblin with a flying kick. Jay digs her heels in and pulls against Thor but it doesn't do any good. It's like fighting an out-off control freight train.
"NO!" She yells at Thor and tries to pull her arm out of his massive fingers. Thor registers her feeble attempts to break his grasp and stops for a moment. "No more running, and being protected and being treated like a fragile doll. I'm fighting this one." Something in her tone makes him look deep into her eyes and he sees a challenge there and something more. A glimmer of the warrior Vanir that runs in her blood. While he's still puzzling over this, Jay rips her arm from his grasp and bolts away.
Jay runs towards the cell. She knows what she has to do because they aren't going to make it out of this without him. She doesn't even stop to think. Anytime a soldier or goblin tries to intercept her, she pushes outwards with her mind and sends the creature flying backwards into the walls and pillars around her. She opens her mind and lets the power come instead of fighting it. She moves with the motion of the people around her, using their momentum against them and for her benefit as she dodges and turns away from attacks. It becomes a dance, this battle. Her steps are sure and she can almost feel the warrior in Sigyn here with her.
Then she is at the edge of the cell and Loki is standing in front of her, rage and vengeance in his eyes. Look at me. She pushes the thought at him and his eyes snap to hers. She stares deep and sees what she was hoping for. She pulls her hand back to level with her shoulder and then slams it forward with a yell, putting everything she has into a telekinetic push.
The bang that follows is deafening as the cell wall explodes outwards, golden enchanted glass flying past her head, shards nicking her skin. She feels splinters of glass enter her arms and embed in her hair but even as she falls backwards from the shock wave that resonates outwards, she feels someone catch her.
"I thought you didn't trust me," Loki says. Jay levers herself up out of his grasp.
"I don't'" she says and picks up two discarded daggers off the floor from a nearby downed goblin. She offers the hilt of one to him. "More are on their way," she says and pushes the dagger hilt towards him. "I have a feeling you have plans that don't involve dying today, right?" He takes the daggers with a considering smile under dark brows.
"You're pretty trusting for someone who says she doesn't trust me," he says as they move back to back. A group of soldiers spots her and charges towards them. "Here I am at your back with a dagger and you somehow know that I'm not going to slip it in between your ribs?"
"You're holding it wrong if you want to do that," she says and slashes at the first goblin that throws itself at her. "Besides," she says as she spins and Loki moves to cover her right flank, "You're grip is too high to do any damage. You'd pierce my shoulder, not slip it between any ribs."
They switch positions and she sinks her dagger into the neck of a gobbling with a grunt as Loki slashes a red line across the chest of a man aiming for her back. He turns and they find themselves face to face. "Do you suggest I hold it here," Loki asks with a smirk as he lowers his arm so that the tip of the dagger pricks her left lower rib.
"No," she says and lifts his arm up just in time for a goblin coming at her back to impale itself on the dagger. "Right there is about good." She ducks under his shoulder and kicks a man square in the jaw. He goes down with a crunch and a splurt of blood. Loki's hand clamps down on her wrist and swings her backwards in an arc and she goes to snarl at him but belatedly sees the man that was about to gore her on the right go down under a swift knife stroke from the trickster god. She uses the momentum he's granted her to kick both of her legs in succession up onto the shoulders of an incoming soldier. Loki lets go of her fingers at precisely the correct moment and she wraps her hands around the man's necks and Loki takes him out with a dagger to the chest.
They take stock.
Fifteen wounded men and goblins lie at their feet and it's only about two minutes from the assault. Jay has only a moment to be proud before Loki grabs her around the throat and lifts her off the ground, pinning her to the wall. Surprised, she drops the dagger with a gasp and both of her hands fly up to her neck.
"First rule of battle," Loki hisses. "Never drop your weapon and second, never trust anyone to watch your back." She manages to glare at him even as she's gasping for air. "Now, while I have your attention, listen very closely," he says in a low voice. "No matter what you may think, no matter what you saw in my memories, or in Tyr's, I am not that man anymore. There is nothing in me to redeem, nothing in me that wants to save you because of who you are. We mean nothing to each other besides having to work with each other. Am I clear?!"
The last question is snarled vehemently into her face. With an effort, Jay pushes outwards hard with her mind and Loki has to take a step back and his grip unloosens fractionally. Crystal. She snarls right back at him. But it's you who said all of that not me. With a slightly shocked look, Loki suddenly drops her and Jay crashes to the floor. She sucks a huge breath in and dissolves into a coughing fit. "Then why did you release me?" Loki asks, for once, clearly confused.
When she can finally breathe again, Jay looks up at him with fire in her eyes. "You're the same kind of person as me, no matter how much you try to hide it," she bites out bitterly. "You don't want anyone to save you. You think there's nothing to be saved. Fine, then, I don't care, that's not my problem so screw it." Loki's looking at her with a strange look on his face. "I freed you because I figured you hated Tyr more than you hate me or Thor." She picks the dagger off the floor. "And I am never without my weapons," she says and Loki swears her eyes glitter and the debris around her floats off the ground, skimming around her ankles, in what could almost be called a caress.
"Jay!" Tony flies up to them. He lands in front of her, clearly positioning himself between her and Loki. "What's going on here? And what is Reindeer Games doing out of his cell?"
"We needed allies," Jay says simply, clearly not in the mood for a long winded explanation.
"Ah, the old, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Tony asks. She just shrugs. "We need to get you out of here, kid," he says more seriously. "Tyr's cutting some pretty deep damage into us and Thor's holding him off for now but they are pretty evenly matched and I'm actually a little worried for Rock of
Ages." Jay nods.
She looks at Loki and then Tony. "Okay, plan?" She asks. "Technically we still don't know Tyr's motive, even if we now…know why."
"Our first priority needs to be getting you out of here," Tony says deliberately. "We can figure out the motive later. Right now, keeping you away from him is the only thing that matters."
"That's not true, though," Jay says, seeing Loki considering her and Tony on the periphery of her vision. "Tyr reveals more than he means to when I'm here. He's boastful and pride seems to be his biggest sin. I wager we could get him to spill his plan with a little persuasion and goading. We need to be prepared for what he's planning. We aren't going to survive many more surprise attacks, let's be honest."
Tony considers this for a moment, hating the fact that she's right. "When did you get so smart, kid?" he muses to himself.
"She is right," Loki says, earning himself a dirty look from Tony. "You're going to be playing a defensive game until you have some idea how to counterattack."
"And how do we know you're not just saying that for your own purposes?" Iron Man asks, pointing an accusing finger at Loki. "None of us would care if you disappeared from the Nine Realms permanently." Jay's face flashes concern for a moment, but it is so fleeting that Loki barely registers what it was before her face becomes completely impassive again.
Loki shrugs. "You don't."
Irritated, Iron Man punches the wall, leaving a fist sized indent.
"If we get in close enough, I can read Tyr's mind," Jay says.
"Not likely," Loki says, crushing that plan brutally. "He'll be shielded. He's not that arrogant."
"Well, I doubt asking politely is going to do that trick," Tony says sarcastically. "Hey, dude, what's the deal with this girl? You like pretty faces, or something?"
Jay smacks him hard. "By the gods, you're acting like teenagers!" She hollers, grabbing both of their attention. "If you're not going to help me then go smash goblins or something equally testosterone filled so I can think in peace!"
Tony tries to smother a laugh. "Okay, your highness, what's the plan then?" Jay manages somehow to both glare and smile at him at the same time.
"If I can get close enough to establish a physical connection between Tyr and myself, I'll have better access to try and decipher Tyr's plan. To get in that close, I'd either have to give myself up or-"
"Be in disguise," Loki finishes for her. Jay nods.
"And since we seem to have picked up an errant trickster god who can shape-shift and create illusions, the plan is actually relatively simple." Jay says. "Loki makes us look like we're soldiers or goblins or something else that Tyr has drawn through the crazy hole-portal-whatever he used to get here and we get close enough that establish a connection, get the info and ta-da it's done and we split from Asgard."
"You know it won't be that simple," Loki and Tony voice at the same time.
"Duh," Jay drawls, "But that doesn't mean it isn't worth a try."
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"Really, a goblin?!" Tony grumbles for the eighth time. "Why do you and Jay get to be soldiers and I have to be a stinking goblin?"
"Because you whine like one," Jay snaps back at him at the same time Loki says, "Because you obviously lack the decorum to act like a soldier." Jay and Loki turn to glare at each other and Tony puts up his hands in mock defense. Jay catches his thoughts by accident. Wow.. okay then… no messing with team Xena and Horns.
They had decided to approach Tyr from a direct route. They have adopted the forms of two commanding officers and a large goblin. Jay hopes size indicates status but what does she know about goblins. Loki had pointed out that only officers were likely to be close to Tyr. When Tony had queried where Tyr had found this army, Loki had flippantly said maybe Midgard and Vanaheim. Jay does recognize the Warren Biochemical insignia on some of the soldier's uniforms and most of the mercenaries are human. Goblins are definitely not from Earth. But apparently goblins live on Vanaheim. Note to self for later; that could be an interesting fact.
They aren't sneaking up because obviously that would look suspicious. Instead, they are marching right up towards Tyr. Jay gulps. He's intimidating and she knows that deep voice, has heard it in her nightmares. It's the voice that controls Jared Bradlich, the one that kept her captive for so many years of her life. Something hot and poisonous fills her stomach and she doesn't want to acknowledge that its hate but somewhere deep inside of her she knows that's what it is. He stands there, so sure of himself, with an arrogant smirk on his face. He's huge, even wider around than Thor and covered in thick leathers and pelt. He's the picture of an ancient Viking. She doesn't see how anyone could take him out.
Loki leads the group and Jay can tell she's dragging her feet by the way Tony gives her a shove from behind. Tyr is standing on the stairs at the entrance to the dungeons, calmly surveying the battle with a disinterested smile. He clearly thinks that he will win. They kneel before him and he raises an eyebrow, waiting for their report.
"My Lord," Loki says and his voice comes out much deeper and more gravelly than normal. "Our forces are having trouble locating the girl. The Man of Iron is also missing. We believe he may found a way to sneak her out."
Tyr's gaze comes to rest squarely on Loki. "And did you think this news would please me?!" He hisses. He strides forward to backhand Loki but Jay seizes the opportunity and blocks the strike by firmly grabbing Tyr's wrist. She can't stop the movement entirely and goes flying backwards, her fingers tightening into iron bands on the wrist as thick as a tree branch so she can't let go. She stumbles and Tyr looks at her in disgusted surprise.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Tyr bellows and lunges towards Jay but she uses that moment to thrust herself into his mind. There is a sound like the crash of steel and Jay screams as Tyr violently shoves her out. She battles him for purchase, slides past his thrusts and feints left and right. With a smash, she is thrown from his mind and her body follows, flying through the air and crashing into a pillar.
"Jay!" Tony yells but Tyr picks him up by the throat and squeezes. Tony gurgles in the god's grasp and thrashes, and sees fleeting glimpses of Jay lying in a pile of human limbs on the ground. Tony grasps onto the arm holding him but he can't get any purchase. Suddenly a sharp slice flashes across his vision followed by a burst of blood and a yell of rage from Tyr. The hand drops Tony where he lies on the ground gasping for air like a fish out of water. He looks up to see Loki with a dagger dripping blood facing off against Tyr.
"You wretch!" Tyr screams at Loki. "How dare you!" He charges at the slimmer man with a roar but Loki dodges and slashes and Tyr screams again as a bright burst of blood erupts from his arm. Tony uses the distraction to crawl over to Jay. She's covered in blood and he can't even begin to find the source. "Rogers!" he hollers over the headset. "We need you down here with Thor right now and we need a way off this realm. She managed to get in Tyr's head and she knows the plan." He looks up towards Loki and the trickster meets his eyes and nods. Stark is about to call to Loki, but weak fingers grasp his arm and Jay sends a thought to his mind. He'll cover your retreat.
She grabs onto his arms and pulls herself up until their eyes meet. Someone else needs to know. She thinks into his mind. I'm a liability while only I know the plan. Let me show you.
Stark nods and Jay grasps the sides of his head and her gaze spears him down to his soul.
The Circlets of Sigyn. Portals between dimensions. Goblin and giant armies destroying Asgard, Vanaheim and then Earth. Mind control. The Dance of Sigyn. Jay in chains.
When she releases him, he understands. His head snaps back as she severs the connection. The Circlets of Sigyn are connected to the magic of Sigyn and her dance. Sigyn's dance opened the portal that let her escape to Earth and so can be used to travel between worlds. Jay can perform the dance and open the portals. Tyr has been experimenting with drugs on Jay. Mind control drugs. Oh god. He plans to use Jay to unleash an army on the Nine Realms. The madness of Tyr, a one-handed god hell-bent on revenge.
"We have to get you out of here," Tony says. He scoops her up into his arms and looks towards where the trickster and Tyr are still battling. Loki is holding his own but Stark can see that Tyr's strength will overpower the smaller man soon. Figuratively biting his lip, Tony makes the decision. "Hey, Reindeer Games, if you're with us, we could use a way off this realm!"
Loki briefly catches his eye and smiles a smirk that has earned him the title of trickster god. He grins devilishly at Tyr and suddenly copies of the trickster appear, surrounding the one-handed god. Tyr roars in frustration. Then suddenly Loki is at Stark's side, taking Jay from his arms. "We need to get her as far away from Tyr as possible," Tony yells as they run away from the berserker god. "She needs to be as far away from Asgard as possible. We need a way off-world and I can guarantee that Tyr is watching your rainbow bridge."
Loki grins. "Leave it to me."