Psych the Avengers Out

Injection

Steve and Thor both give shouts of dismay as her lips part slightly, giving her a shocked look. Steve roughly pulls Tony off her as she slumps to the floor, eyes hazy and dazed. Thor kneels in front of her and takes her head in his hands. Her eyes flutter closed and she slumps into the wall completely. Steve is screaming at Tony, something like, "What's your problem you bastard?!" Thor cocks her head gently from side to side and then places it against the wall. He turns and crossed his arms to face Stark who is basically being throttled by Steve.

"What the hell was that for, Stark?!" Steve yells.

"There had better be a good explanation for this," Thor says darkly, gesturing to Jay.

Tony brushes Steve's hands off of him firmly. "Both of you," he says shaking his head. "Still all brawn and no brains." He squats down in front of Jay and feels her pulse and brushes her hair out of her eyes. He slides some kind of device around the side of her head that has too many blinking lights and components for Steve and Thor.

"What is that?" Thor asks at the same time Steve asks, "When did you make that?"

"EEG. Short for Electroencephalography. Measures her brain activity. Made it while you were eating pot roast," Starks says as he pulls up a screen on the holofile that shows brain wave patterns. "Look at that Jarvis," he mutters, eyes rapt on the screen. "Her brain activity dropped right off. It's like she's comatose. Well, compared to the rest of us."

"Tony," Steve prompts, warningly.

"Oh go lift weights and let me be the intellectual," Tony mutters.

"Tony!" Steve takes a step towards him.

"Fine, fine," Tony growls, throwing up his hands. "Xena, here, is an experiment, yes? So obviously something up top in her is what these maniacs are after. Now you know Fury; he holds his cards close to his chest so there's more than one motive here. Yes he wants her since she corrupted or destroyed a good deal of the research being done at Warren Biochemical. But why would S.H.I.E.L.D. be interested in what they are doing in the first place? Fury says he doesn't delve into that kind of stuff but it seems off to me."

Steve has a contemplative look on his face. "You think he's after something else?"

"Captain, he definitely is," Stark snorts. He points to Jay, slumped against the wall. "Why make a drug that takes her out? I mean, why manufacture a chemical that inhibits the activity of one of the greatest assets you can have? She reads minds, dear Captain Spangles. If I was Fury, I'd want her on the team ASAP, so why is he so interested in a drug that mutes her?"

Thor and Steve exchange worried looks. Tony sighs, "Maybe if you two spent more time studying than working out, you'd have already come up with those questions. Thus it falls to me to impart my great wisdom on your puny minds," he sighs dramatically, "Such a burden."

Steve rolls his eyes and Thor tries not to smirk.

"So from here...?" Thor asks, turning slightly to look at Jay. "You just rendered her unconscious with that drug so do you care to explain what that was about?"

"Well, she asked me to didn't she?" Tony asks, fake bewilderment in his tone. Steve looks ready to blow a gasket so Stark wisely explains. "To be honest, it was about time someone gave her a break. If that break had to be administered by me in the form of a drug then so be it. The point of the matter is, she has been running on pure adrenaline and heightened brain activity for the past three days, maybe longer, and her body and brain need a break and you and I both know that she really doesn't seem like the type to go down quietly or willingly." Thor nods in weary agreement, remembering the way she dodged him earlier.