6126/Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Date of Scene:	04 May 2021
Location:	Underground Fight Club
Synopsis:	Two Asgardians enter. Two Asgardians and one who deserves to be one leave. In their wake is pain, fear, blood, and destruction. A perfect night out, really.
Cast of Characters:	Vintridr, Sif, Thea Queen

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Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr has had a great many occupations during her stay on Midgard. Homemaker, farmer, student, scholar, healer, construction worker, cook, teacher, barista -- the list goes on and on.

    She hadn't expected 'Tour guide to Asgardian nobility' to that list, but here she is. Lady Sif had called on her, asking to see a 'proper' fighting hall -- apparently the local dojos were insufficiently energetic for her liking.

    As it happened, Vintridr happened to know of one - a mostly-underground venue for cage fights, the location shifting with some regularity to avoid the authorities.

    Fortunately for Vintridr, one of her contacts for forged identities happens to know where it is, and with only a minor application of bribery he informs her of the time, place and entry credentials for the next venue, late at night in the basement of a condemned warehouse in one of the worse parts of town...

Sif has posed:
It's seemingly become a tradition in no time. Each morning, at the same time, in the same morning crush, the "Lady in Red" shows up. Always in red and white. Always ordering the same thing. "My usual."

And Vinnie is given the order each time. Her colleagues, still finding the woman a little spooky, ensure that.

Then she drinks it, waves her goodbye, and leaves.

Friday was different. Friday she leaned in to Vinnie as the barista worked. "I need to watch fights. Good ones. With stakes. Not the ones on the scrying boxes." She means televisions. "Do you know where to find them?"

And that's how they wound up here, in a warehouse in a supposedly unused corner of the wharf. With a huge cage in the middle. Rows of fighters talking trash at each other across a divide. Muscular, clearly armed, goons at the doors and in the seating area. And a crowd of people all looking for that high of watching people trying to erase other people using just their bodies.

"Now this is more like it!" the Goddess of War enthuses, dressed in blood red leather from neck to foot, no skin showing behind hands and face. And let's face it. She doesn't need to show skin. The leathers are doing their job.

"I can FEEL the rage! The lust for blood! Quite rousing! Makes me wish I was in the middle now!" She pastes a rueful expression on her face. "It wouldn't be a challenge nor would it have any honour, however. So we'll just have to watch."

She slaps Vinnie on the back. "Thank you for this! I am indebted to you!"

Thea Queen has posed:
After that fated encounter with the Asgardian Royalty in Sweden turns out that Thea had caught their eye. Which was a dangerous enough prospect or so she had been warned. But if anything Thea was a tenacious little thing.

And not only tenacious but also more committed to what she wanted to do. Talk about Asgardians have infectious personalities... So infectious that she had decided to track a certain goon all the way out to this fight club, one that had been dealing with drugs back in Starling city and was now here in Chinatown. She had learned her target had an actual penchant for fights, so in true Thea fashion she had signed up to fight. Because of course she did.. Which was what she was waiting for, sitting on the sides, dressed in black and red leathers which are the trademark colors of her alter-ego suit.

The hood was up, covering most of her face, muttering a bit to herself. "Great going, Thea. Maybe you should had made sure it wasn't a 300 pound 6'3 guy before signing up for this..."

She is considering her life choices until she catches something by the corner of her eye. Someone familiar? And very much out of place in here. What? She lifts her head to look at Sif first, then at Vintridr. Clearly not the usual types here. So she gets up and starts approaching. Still time until her fight!

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr chuckles, but keeps her own voice slightly lower - a scout's habit, mostly. "It wouldn't be a fair fight unless we tied one arm to your back and gave them all blades. They have ferocity, but not much else..."

    She grimaces at the ridiculous price for the drinks, but pays nonetheless. "This /is/ an intoxicant, as Midgard knows them. The people who make it call it 'small water' - a private joke of theirs; you would appreciate their sense of humor, I suspect..."

    She takes a sip, then leans back to look around for a moment while the main event hasn't started yet. She looks past Thea as if she hadn't noticed the young woman, and the casual way in which she brushes a stray hair from her face helps disguise the battle sign for 'someone approaches, 3 o'clock' quite neatly.

Sif has posed:
Sif, seemingly entranced with the layout of the place... ("It's like the caverns of Gundersheim, only not as attractive!") ...drinks the filthy liquid she's been given without even noticing. She does notice, however, the signal because battle language is second nature to her.

Without betraying that she'd been signalled, she flashes a look that direction in the guise of looking at some structural element or other, pointing out something in the rafters. (The "security" guy concealed in a sniper nest there is probably wetting himself a little at the fact she just pointed straight at him.)

She then stopped, blinking, and her mouth broke out in a huge, wide smile.

"My good friend!" she enthused to Vinnie. "That is the mortal I talked to you about. The one that I mistook as a piece of Loki's crumpet, only to find out she had the spirit to stand up to Hela."

Beat.

"I didn't say she had good sense. Just spirit."

She waves Vinnie along as she navigates the energetic, bloodthirsty crowd to meet up with Thea. "How are you my friend! You wish to enter the cage?" She turns proudly to Vinnie. "See? Spirit! She's perfect for..." Pause. "...never mind."

Thea Queen has posed:
There we go again with that word. Crumpet. There's just a briefly indignant tension of shoulders before she relaxes and a faint smile crops up on her features, blue eyes coming to sight when she lifts her head to look at the duo. "I am surprised to see you here..., coming to see the festivities..?" a glance over her shoulder to the cage where a big guy is punching down on ANOTHER big guy, some blood spurting out. She swallows and looks back to the two asgardians, elbowing someone on the crowd further away so she can more properly get closer to the duo.

"I am Thea." She says in a greeting manner to Vinny, hands rubbing nervously on the side of her leathers. "And yes, going to enter it." she admits to Sif. Another quick glance back and then back to them. "Someone I need to take down."

She certainly could had chosen a better venue for it.. But it's about sending a message too. Keep your crap out of Starling City.

Yet if anything she seems happy to have her new friend here, a warm smile coming to her features, "But so, what are you up to here? Are *you* thinking on getting in there too?"

Vintridr has posed:
Vintridr's eyebrow shoots up at Sif's introduction. "Truly, now?" she asks, more as an expression than any kind of doubt that Sif might be exaggerating, then looks Thea over with /significantly/ more intense scrutiny. "Interesting. Most people your age would not choose a venue like this unless they were particularly desperate or foolish. I have to wonder which it is."

    Those words should be a scathing insult, loaded with scorn or contempt. But somehow rather than judgement there is neutral curiosity, as if she's seen this all before countless times and is vaguely interested in which it is /this/ time.

    But then she smiles and makes a polite almost-bow, one hand briefly at her chest. "Any who can count Lady Sif as their friend can count me as well. Well met; I am called Vinnie by most around here."

Sif has posed:
Thea is fated to suffer the indignity of a crushing hug (carefully metered to mortal standards, if only barely). "I am so happy to see you here," she enthuses. "You consistently surprise me with the spirit you show!"

After Vinnie introduces herself, Sif adds, "She was my student when I was giving back to the people who'd once trained me. That was a long time ago, so I don't think I could take her to ground as quickly as I did then any longer." She grins at Vinnie with her irrepressible humour. "And I suspect she would love the opportunity to take revenge for that even yet, so I don't think I'll try in the immediate future."

She looks up the rank of opponents, trying to guess who Thea's might be. "Which one is yours? Is it that slender whiplike one at the end? If so, beware backstrikes. The sculpting of his arms tells me he does forward feints and reverse strikes."

Thea Queen has posed:
There's a thing or two Thea has learned about Asgardians now after her EXTENSIVE exposure to their ways. And that is them being JUDGEMENTAL. And with Vinnie going and calling her either desperate or foolish her mouth opens to give a bit of a brusque response before she finds her feet being lifted off the ground. Ack! The hug leaves her helpless for a few seconds, 'squished' against the larger Asgardian, "I am happy to see you too.." she manages to squeak out before eventually she can breathe normally again.

The hug does help Thea get through her quick temper though so instead of a scathing response to Vinnie she actually smiles. "Good to meet you, Vinnie." then she chuckling as Sif explains their relation, "You know, I can only imagine how Sif is when training people." scary? demanding? "I am sure you must have stories." a cheeky little grin.

As for Sif's question, she looks back to the fighters gathering. In a way she wishes it was that slender guy. She can fend those off easily. But instead she points at the mountain of muscles next to that one. "That one." she says. The man in question seems surrounded with a couple of others, laughing at something they say. They appear to be a group of some kind and those scars are telling of being experienced fighters. The crooked laughs do tell of a more .., crooked personality too. "He has been hovering on Starling city for a while now. Drug dealer." she frowning intensely, jaw tightening. Clearly she doesn't appreciate those sorts.

The fight on the ring gets more intense too, the crowd rowdier and letting out gasps as the two combatants truly start duking it out without regards for safety. The match may be over soon considering the kind of haymakers they are throwing at one another.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr nods in understanding. "Protecting your home, then; a better reason than most who fight here. Fight well and hard, and may courage bring you victory."

    She smiles fondly at Thea's question. "Lady Sif's idea of training is to do her best not to maim you by accident while you frantically try not to die. It is /educational/ but somewhat rough on the nerves while it's going on."

    "Imagine having studied hard and learned many techniques, only to go up against someone who not only knows all of them, but has invented some of them, and has been on both the receiving and giving end of every single one for years. Not just fast, but /quick/; not just skilled, but /experienced/... As I said, very educational."

Sif has posed:
The match has captured Sif's attention while the other two banter, fists clenched, eyes shining, body twitching in suppressed movements--the ones she'd make were she either of the participants.

And yet, despite being in the throes of bloodlust-by-proxy, she still has the wherewithal to return the salute with a distant voice reciting from reflex: And if fate calls for your end..."

As one telling blow lands in the middle of the face of one of the participants, she's up, punching the air, as if willing the defender to make the only move that will save him, but, alas, the defender isn't receiving her messages and hits the canvas after another flurry of completely unblocked blows erases consciousness from his brain.

"THAT WAS UNCONSCIONABLE!" she calls out, furious at the incompetence displayed. "MY GRANDMOTHER CAN FIGHT BETTER THAN THAT!"

She's not lying.

Of course her loud shout has caught more than a little bit of attention from other attendees and some of the hosts...

"What were you saying?" she asked, seemingly blithely unaware of the attention she's drawn. "Oh, right. Old age and treachery. Always victorious over youth and talent." She teasingly punches Vinnie on the shoulder. "This was the kind of place I needed. Something as uncourtly as possible! We should consider wagering now!"

With some effort she produces a roll of bills from ... it's not exactly clear where, actually. "This is coin of the realm, is it not?" she asks, unrolling a fist full of twenties and fifties. "Where does one lay the wagers?"

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr tenses up slightly at the attention Sif's outburst has garnered, eyes flickering briefly as she takes in all her surroundings, starting the mental calculations for how to move if this turns into an unscheduled brawl, taking into account Sif's likely unwillingness to leave as long as even one enemy still stands and Thea's relative lack of resilience should bullets start flying.

    She points at the overly well-dressed man with the smug smirk sitting behind a table and the two hulking and visibly armed bodyguards standing to either side of it. "Over there, I would think. If he isn't the one who organized this- " and thus would be considered the lord of the house and therefore accorded a certain degree of respect "- he likely speaks for the one who did."

The unspoken advice: Try not to offer /too much/ insult.

Thea Queen has posed:
Well, Thea could relate to SOME of that training. At least the parts about trying to evade dying. That's what training with world-reknowned assassins does to you. That sense of wanting to survive no matter what. A sense of survival she could had used BEFORE signing up to fight here. Specially as this last battle is finishing in a most spectacular way. The punches continues to fly on the unconscious for a bit, more blood popping out..

Though Thea might be a bit cynical where it comes to those. They knew what they were signing up for! She certainly is no valkyrie!

Sif calling attention to them is met by Thea adjusting the hood on her head. Keep that face out of sight! Though the display of quite the large quantity of money has her eyes widening. "You shouldn't be flaunting all that money around.." then she sort of re-considering. Who would dare try to rob her anyway?

A nod is given to Vinnie when she points out the man with the bodyguards. "Yea, that's the guy who takes the bets. Also the sign-ups."

"Well, wish me luck. It's time for me to get in there." She tells the others. This last fight is on it's rear end.

Sif has posed:
The blood-clad goddess is already on her way to the table. "Greetings upon your house and hospitality," she says respectfully to the man. She drops the money in her hand upon the table. "I will wager all of this on the hooded one," she says gesturing Thea's way. "She is my friend and I am confident she will remove, literally or metaphorically, the limbs of her opponent before spitting in his face."

She stands patiently while the paperwork is done, watching the fallen one get dragged out of the cage while the winner did his "I am the best" nonsense. "Pathetic!" she mutters to herself. "The battles haven't even been completed and he begins with the boasts." She snorts dismissively, turning her attention back to the bet and receiving the ticket. She waves the ticket Thea's way as her friend wends her way back to the combatants, rejoining Vinnie.

"Let's get closer to the cage. I want to watch it up close!"

Eyes open wide. Pupils dilated. Nostrils flared. Motions animated. She's on fire. She's living this vicariously.

Let's hope nothing happens to make it participatory...

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr turns to nod at Thea - but then pauses mid-nod, a certain stillness coming over her body as her eyes unfocus and her head tilts slightly, as if listening for a distant noise no one else can hear. She turns slowly, as if caught in slow motion, until her gaze fixes on where the triumphant fighter lifts his feebly struggling opponent bodily into the air before throwing him to the ground to emphasize his victory.

    There's a technique to throwing people onto surfaces without inflicting massive damage - but if this fighter knows it to begin with, he's too far gone on adrenalin and bloodlust to care, and the cheers of the crowd drown out any warning that might have been given. They certainly almost drown out the sound of the crack as the loser hits the groud head first, coming to rest at a clearly wrong angle.

    Before anyone has time to realize what just happened - and certainly before anyone so much as saw her move - Vintridr is kneeling by the fallen man's side, one hand on his chest as she looks down on him, lips moving in words that no one else hears...

Thea Queen has posed:
With bets placed, the crowd roaring, it was time for the new fight! Or so does Thea's opponent thinks. He is already inside the ring after that toss-out, laughing at how the man falls. Clearly he doesn't care much about cage safety. "THAT'S WHAT I AM GONNA DO TO MY OPPONENT..!" he shouts to the crowd, arms raised but then ....

Someone else is there? He eyes Vinnie, "Get out of here, woman. Or are you my opponent?" he is a bit confused though. Where did *she* come from? The other two goons are there with him too, looking none-too-friendly. Maybe they will get in on the action too if they are lucky. So they smile crookedly.

Thea blinks and then she is seeing Vinnie up there near the fallen man. "What the ..." and moved with that impulsiveness that is her trademark she rushes in too, up and into the cage, "No, I am your opponent." so dramatic. But she certainly looks stylish in that black and red outfit that marks her as Speedy (she truly needs a better hero name).

It's a style that's met with loud laughter out of both her opponent, his cronies and even some of the crowd. "You, pipsqueak?" he laughs again but then looks at Vinnie. "You, woman. Get out of here, and take that trash with you." with trash being the man that's most likely on his death throes.

Vintridr has posed:
    "That is my purpose," Vintridr responds without looking up - and isn't it fascinating how that same calm, quiet and friendly voice suddenly without rising in volume has a ring of pure steel in it that manages to quell the cheering. Then she rises, holding the man's body - except that his body is also still lying on the ground - and turns to face Thea's opponent, skewering him with a glare.

    "He came here because poverty makes a man desperate, and he needed the money. He knew he was outmatched when they put him up against his murderer, but he fought with all his heart and never gave up. He now goes to where they will sing to his courage and praise his name," and she looks around the room with scathing contempt. "But you who celebrate murder and bloodlust and know nothing of honor - when you die, your name will be forgotten before your body has time to grow cold."

Sif has posed:
She smells the blood lust. Hears the crunch. It takes a few moments to register what the crunch implies, forgetting just how fragile mortals really are. It was Vinnie's sudden appearance at the man's side that refreshed her memory, and, ironically, snaps her out of her burgeoning blood lust.

This was not an honourable way to die. This was a lout killing a foe already fallen by the rules of the game, just for extra attention.

Vinnie knelt by the fallen one's side. Sif, by contrast, leaps, in a single bound, next to the contestant who caused the death, clotheslining him in a vicious sideswipe that, he should be singing praises to his deities for this, hit him in the shoulder instead of the neck.

"SILENCE YOU BRAYING JACKASS!" she commands the killer. "SHOW RESPECT TO THE FALLEN!"

The killer is too busy trying to relearn how to walk after being sent flying a good five metres to respond. Which gives Sif the opportunity to hear what the OTHER man said. Thea's opponent.

She turns slowly to face the man, eyes in tight focus. Mouth in a rictus grin of predatorial preparedness.

What keeps the man alive is Vinnie's speech. It's clear in her face, however, that she's looking for an excuse to end him where he stands. She does, however, draw her two concealed, long, slender daggers, bejeweled with rubies in the hilt and crossguard, ready to make sure that any who try to interfere with Vinnie's task join the ranks of the fallen.

They were quite cunningly concealed in her boots, using enchantments to make them invisible to mortal (and Asgardian) eye.

"Say another word," she seeths at the man. "Just. One. Word."

Thea Queen has posed:
The speech from Vinnie brings the crowd some pause even if what it gets from both the fighter that did the killing and then both Thea's opponent and his cronies is snickering. They don't seem particularly phased or too impressed. The clothesline *does* impress them though. Specially as the man flies five metres and hits the side of the cage before falling unconscious.

Yea, that brings people pause. Some murmurs. Tempers on the outside of the cage have been somewhat subdued with Vinnie's speech but inside they appear ready to rumble. The big guy cracks his knuckles as if getting ready for a fight, eyes down on the knives with a snort and then showing his fists. He is unarmed it seems to say!

Thea glances about, at the tension in the ring ready to blow and speaks in a rather firm manner. "I will take care of him." a whisper to Sif and then a nod that seems to tell she's got this. No need for them to dirty their hands!

"Hey, Tommy-boy. Remember when you were told to stay out of Starling? Well, you should had listened." she steps forward.

Vintridr has posed:
    There is a brief shimmer of rainbow light - and a noise that isn't a noise that only Sif can hear, a tone of grief and triumph mixed together - and Vintridr's hands are empty, and that sense of presence diminishes until it's Vinnie who looks over her shoulder to smile at Thea.

    "Of course. We wouldn't dream of taking your chosen fight away from you." With that, she nods at Sif and casually saunters back out of the ring, unconcerned about the body still on the floor, although she pauses briefly as she passes by where its killer is still trying to recover their senses.

    "I suspect the proprietors of this place will be quick to make his body vanish and his presence here forgotten, and you'll be safe from justice," she tells him casually. "But you'd do well to leave town, because the next time I lay my eyes on you you won't see the next sunrise. Nod dizzily if you understand."

    She continues on to the table holding her drink without waiting for an answer.

Sif has posed:
The man cracks his knuckles, puffs his chest, and otherwise acts like the ape he is. Ready to show him the error of his ways, Sif is stopped by Thea's words. Thea's spirit. The spirit that she so adores in one so young and breakable.

She doesn't waste breath. She merely hurls both daggers such that they only barely miss each side of his head, continuing in a very flat trajectory until they bury themselves to their hilts in a steel girder well behind him.

"Don't kill this one. Humiliate him."

Those words meant for Thea, though her eyes don't leave the tough guy.

"If I see your face again after your humiliation, mortal, mine will be the last face you see."

She then turns and rejoins Vinnie, face dour, fists clenched.

And rage-filled blue eyes focused almost always on Thea's target.

Thea Queen has posed:
The big guy, now having been outted as being called Tommy, opens his eyes wide when those knives fly so past to his head. The crowd is going crazy again. Do they want to see Sif and Vinnie fighting? Hell, yes! Clearly they are too set on their ways to be shaken by what Vinnie said. Mortals and their vices. It's hard to shift them. Still, there aren't as many around as there were before. Clearly the death of someone in the ring, then what was said, having driven quite a few to either leave or simply stop enjoying the fights. Maybe there's some hope for midgard still!

Humiliate him... Easier said than done. Thea is still figuring out a way to stay alive. But she has a few tricks up her sleeve.

The ringleader though, that one isn't happy with what is going on so when it seems everything is ready to go he shouts. "Get that fight goin'!" which means the cage is closed right after the two Asgardians leave, leaving Thea alone with the three thugs. Not that the two cronies interfere.., for now. Instead it's the big guy that steps in.

"Time to crush you again. Speedy, wasn't it?" He laughs out loud. Clearly they have some story. He walks forward, all full of bravado.

Thea tilts her head from one side to the other, thoughtful and then .., she lashes forward like a serpent, quick, dodging the man's grapple and bringing her leg up. It hits the man squarely in between his legs with a sickening sound. The two cronies recoil and let out a sympathetic 'ow' while Tommy looks stunned and falls on his knees.

Yea, that one is right out of Malcolm Merlyn's 'playbook'.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr lays a calming hand on Sif's arm. "This is her battle to win or lose," she reminds the older woman. "Barring treachery we won't interfere."

    She smiles with a certain amount of satisfaction as Tommy leaves his guard open to one of the oldest tricks in the book. "She's quick and sharp. I see why you like her..." she murmurs as she continues watching the fight, occasionally fixing one of Tommy's cronies with a glare that leaves no doubt as to what'll happen if they decide to interfere on their boss' behalf.

Sif has posed:
"I know that!" Sif's voice snaps with annoyance. Annoyance bouyed by concern for her newfound friend.

She only had the one healing rune and it was a given Freya was not going to be letting her get near enough to lift another anytime soon.

"I would not interfere. I'm not a hot-headed youngling!" Sif's legendary temper is flaring, blood is boiling, and friend and foe are starting to mix in her sight. If this turns into anything larger it will be a blood bath.

Her fists clench sufficiently tightly to draw blood from her own nails in her palm. Her breathing goes shallow and ragged. And all the time her eyes are on Thea's opponent.

Then Thea pulls off the cheapest conceivable cheap shot that ever cheaped. Sif's reaction is one of startlement, then laughter. Deep, booming, derisive laughter as she watches Tommy crumple to his knees. Fists come unclenched and she buries her face in her hands, trying to stifle what is rapidly turning into giggles. (Goddesses of war do not giggle. They do not titter. They laugh heartily.) (Keep trying to tell yourself that, sister!)

Finally she looks back up, face streaked grotesquely, accidentally, with her own blood, giving her a demonic demeanour.

"Finish him!" she calls out between guffaws.

Well, at least she's not about to go on a rampage of death, right?

Thea Queen has posed:
The 'finish' part is a bit harder though. Really. She tosses a few punches over the man's face which seem to not have much of an effect, at least the first few ones. But then she picks up the pace.. *smack* *smack* "Remember..." she says, breathing a bit harder, "... stay out of Starling. In fact.." *smack* ".. stay out of drug dealing in general. If I find you dealing again you will get another one of these.."

Teeth gritted, she more 'stings' than actually hurts the man's meaty face with her punches. It might be a good thing that he's all groggy and in pain, unable to react.

In fact Tommy grabs one of Thea's arms when she goes for another punch, muttering something incomprehensible... He's gaining some momentum to stand up and then it comes. Another kick. A sidekick to the face that leaves ears ringing. Then another on the front of the man's face. It's enough to make him topple back. Unconscious.

The two cronies look at his fallen boss, then to the scrawny Speedy. What the heck? Blades flash. They appear ready to take care of business themselves.

Perhaps not the best of life choices considering there's Asgardians around. But hey, they never primed for being smart!

Vintridr has posed:
    Vin's hand on Sif's arm is firm. Not a vice to pinch or hurt, but a steady grip that anchors the older woman to the here and now, keeping the War Goddess' battle's rage at bay by sheer will.

    ... At least, until the moment Tommy's goons decide today is a good day to be stupid and draw knives. Vintridr's situation awareness misses very little, and she's released Sif's arm before they finish drawing. "'Ware treachery!" she calls out to Thea even as she dashes forward, reaching the cage and crouching to grip the bottom edge and heave.

Sif has posed:
Battle rage held at bay, anger does flare when the knives come out from a fair fight won fairly. Vinnie ran forard to the cage, grabbing and heaving it, sending it over in a perfect opening for Sif, following half a step behind, to leap forward into the ring, landing on her feet before the two henchmen.

It's called teamwork, and it's what Asgardians have been doing (as individuals!) for centuries or more.

"Put up your blades if you wish to live," she says to the pair, fists on hips, legs in a broad supporting stance. "This is your one w..."

One of the henchmen--the dumber one, apparently--lunges forward to plunge the blade into Sif's chest.

It doesn't really work.

The tip cuts through the leather quite easily, this being Midgard clothing, not of hides from Asgard. Then it hits a snag. It just can't seem to do much to the flesh beneath. Beyond curling up, actually, and cutting the leather again, from the inside. Sif stares at the man coolly as he works out just how utterly and completely boned he is.

Then comes the backhand. A backhand landed without any holding back.

Thea Queen has posed:
This clearly isn't how it was supposed to go. Really. Why doesn't the knife go in? It's a question that the man will bring unanswered to unconsciousness or worse when that backhand from Sif hits him. Enough to send him flying across the room and towards the crowd, disappearing in their midst.. There is a gasp of confusion, then some people stepping back. Most shutting up. It's not as if Vinnie lifting the cage as if it was nothing didn't already help with the feeling that something was *very* wrong here. Or is it right?

But now they know they are face to face with superhuman people.

The second thug, just a nudge smarter, tosses the knife to the ground and lifts his hands. There's that smell of urine that can be sensed to those near that guy, it making Thea wrinkle her nose.

"Gross.... Get out of here." she tells the guy, "And bring Tommy with you. And remember, if I see you guys again this isn't going to end well for any of you.." menacin' little Thea. But she has the support of the big scary Asgardians nearby!

The thug nods urgently and reaches down to start dragging Tommy out of there, the rest of the crowd continue to watch in silence..

Thea looks up at Sif, then to Vin. "We should get out of here before we draw more attention to ourselves.." she whispers.

Vintridr has posed:
"More attention than what, precisely?" Vin replies with a distinct hint of amusement as the mangled remains of the cage come crashing down some distance away. "But you're right, we should probably leave. Whatever the proprietor bribed the authorities with won't be enough to overlook this much noise."

    She takes a moment to look at the other Asgardian. "Lady Sif?" she asks, with just enough emphasis on the name to cut through any lingering battle rage. "I believe we are done here."

Sif has posed:
It's like a switch turned off. Sif turns to face Vinnie, chuckling. "Thank you, my dear newfound friend, for this wonderful evening of entertainment!" she says effusively, leaping out of the ring, turning to help Thea down if desired, and then walking across the absolutely unpopulated portion around Vinnie. She turned to face the ringmaster. "Well done. Most entertaining. Could you have someone fetch my blades while I go get my winnings?"

And she does. She goes straight to the betting table presenting her ticket.

Thea won. Fair and square. On 15:1 odds.

Are they going to argue?

Thea Queen has posed:
Vinnie does have a point. More attention than what? It makes Thea chuckle amusedly but then she is following the others out, perhaps a touch relieved that there is no more bloodshed. It was a bit hairy for a moment there! She takes Sif's help to jump out of the ring but then is moving on her own, towards the exit but then ....

Why is Sif going to the betting table? Oh, God ....

The ringleader gets a bit wide-eyed at the approach. He is perhaps considering his chances but then snaps his fingers a few times for a couple of men to move. "You heard the lady. Go get her blades. And be quick about it!"

There's just a little pause before the ringmaster nods and they start getting the money out.. Ugh, this will be bad for the winnings of the house.. But better to lose a bit now than just lose everything on angering these people.

So eventually Sif gets an hefty amount of dough (will she be able to hide in herself as well as she hide the first roll of bills?).

"Please go.." The man mutters, stepping back. Not happy at all with them.

Thea gives them a thumbs up, "You two were awesome.." she tells the Asgardians quietly.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vinnie smiles down at Thea. "You acquitted yourself admirably." she compliments the young woman. "Lady Sif chose well. But for now, it's time we took our leave before this establishment's owners decide to do something ill-advised..."