Ace of Hearts [Loki Laufeyson] BOOK I

I'm Not a Monster. Right?

Somehow, the Avengers were able to get to their jet in under two minutes (which is saying a lot seen as all the agents in the SHIELD base were scrambling around), Jay hot on their tail. After all of them got into the jet - Jay as pilot since Clint had to get into his uniform - she started up the engines before the jet took off.

The whole ride to the tower was silent, except for the occasional loading of a gun, the quiet whirring of Tony's suit as he moved, and the sound of a foot rapidly tapping the floor. It took them around ten minutes to finally get to the tower, and they saw that the Frost Giants were closing in on all sides. They were destroying everything in their path. Buildings were on fire, ice covered the streets, cars were being crushed - this brought back memories of the battle of New York for sure. The creatures still had a good three blocks to go, but this would be one tough battle.

"Bucky, Nat, and I will work on getting people out of harm's way." Cap suddenly stated, no one objecting to his orders. "Thor, Sam, you two take out any of them who are trying to run. Tony, Clint, and Jay, don't let any get to the tower. And Bruce? This is a code green." Everyone nodded in agreement. She landed the jet on the roof, pressing the button to open up the ramp. In almost an instant, everyone was out of the jet and thrown into battle.

Steve, Nat, and Bucky were doing an amazing job at saving citizens and getting the city evacuated while taking out any Frost Giants when they had the chance. The sky was filled with clouds and thunder as Thor summoned lightning to strike down the beasts. Sam would fly in and gun a few down with his wrist guns, flying up before coming in and doing it again. The Hulk was going on a rampage, throwing Frost Giants into buildings, ripping them limb from limb. And whenever a lucky one got past the barrage of fire from the others, they would be struck down by a blast of blue energy, an explosive arrow, or around six cards slitting their necks.

Though it may have seemed like they were doing extremely well, they just kept coming. That's when she got an idea. 

She took the sudden break in giants to her advantage, slamming her staff on the pavement before she was shot up into the air with a stream of blue mist following behind her. As soon as she reached the roof, she looked around at the utter carnage happening around her. Explosions went off every few seconds, and her ears were starting to ring from the familiar sound. Memories started flooding back into her mind, distracting her from her job. 

Jay had lied when she told her father the mind control device didn't work. It did - only temporarily. In the short time that she wasn't in control, she managed to destroy whole buildings filled with people just to get to one person. She remembered doing this without a second thought to the people who were being killed. Jay remembered slitting the necks of whole crowds of innocents at a time without so much as blinking just to send a message to those who would mess with HYDRA. She was a monster - plain and simple. There was no redeeming her - not after what she had done. It was miraculous that she had even recovered from all the killings she was forced to perform. She had felt guilty for weeks after she had escaped, only one thought in her mind - I'm a monster.

But look at her now. She was making an effort to save the lives of not only the people that she cared about, but a whole city. Surely that can make up for something? She was a monster. Was a monster. 

I'm not a monster. I'm helping people. I'm saving people. I'm not a monster. She paused, looking down at her trembling hands. Right?

She shook her head, holding her hands out to her sides and closing her eyes in concentration. She would prove to others - to herself - that she wasn't a monster. She had to.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open, her hands glowing with blue mist as she felt energy coursing through her veins. In around two hundred places in the pavement underneath the building, the grates over the two hundred or so holes were suddenly thrown off onto the street, thousands of cards flying out of the holes as she started to build up a dome around the building. Granted, she didn't leave much room between the cards and the building - there was no way she could've had that many - but she tried. Jay left a large opening in the top so the Avengers could still get inside. 

"Everyone!" She yelled, hoping her comm was turned on. "Get into here, NOW." Several voices seemed to resonate behind hers, her eyes blazing bright red. Surprisingly, the Avengers were quick to fly inside. 

Tony was first, struggling to carry Steve and Bucky with him - one was carrying a vibranium shield and the other had a vibranium arm so she wasn't that surprised - but he managed to gently drop them on the ground before landing himself, his mask flipping up so he could stare at his daughter. Sam was next, carrying Nat and Clint with him as he dove down and dropped the two ex-assassins, before landing in a roll himself. Somehow, Bruce's comm hadn't fallen off, so the Hulk was last to jump in - sending cracks on the roof. Everyone - even Jay - looked at him in surprise as he slowly shifted back into Bruce. 

Jay turned back to the wall of cards, pointing a shaking hand up at the opening. Spare cards rushed up to fill the gap, leaving the Avengers in complete darkness.

"I...I'm not going to be...able to hold this for...for much more than...than an hour..." She muttered, her eyes blazing a bright red. Hundreds of the cards lit up, providing them with much needed light. Every so often there would be a large booming sound or a horrific screeching of claws on metal, but the dome held.

She was getting tired, and fast, but she had yet another idea. The others wouldn't like it, but it had to be done.

She had to get Loki out.