Hiiii, sorry for the late post! I had to figure out this chapter, plus I started college again and I'm in a show sooo yeah!
Thor: Ragnarok and all its characters belong to Disney and Marvel, only Eliza is mine.
I woke with a start, my holoscreen beeping my morning alarm at me. With a groan I grappled for the offending device on my bedside table. I slowly dragged myself up, turning the alarm off, rubbing my eyes blearily. Once I'd dropped the holoscreen back onto my dresser, I blinked my eyes fully open and checked the time.
6:30
Right, I was getting up early so I could get a head start on scrapping today. I dragged myself from bed and began my morning routine. Get up, shower, get dressed, make breakfast, brush my teeth. Sakaar doesn't have coffee, but it has something equivalent to that, thank the gods, otherwise I would definitely not be able to get up this early. I wandered to my window and pressed a button that would lighten the windowpanes so I could see out into the city. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, giving the tall buildings outside long shadows. I sipped my drink, slowly waking up. As I did I glanced down at my hand, a few cuts still littered my palm from the accident with the cocktail glass. It seemed like so long ago, but in reality it was last night. The cuts weren't too deep, most were scabbing over since last night, but it hurt like hell, so wrapping it was the best way to keep it from being agitated.
Humming under my breath I go to the counter and finish my breakfast, of thankfully somewhat normal eggs and toast. Sakaar had strange foods but some were like what I'm used to back home, so I'd managed to get by cooking for myself. Once I had finished, I hurried to my bed and slipped my boots onto my feet. I'd opted to not wear my leathers today, nothing elaborate or fancy by Sakaar standards. I had chosen a simple maroon sweater and my black jeans I'd salvaged from my fall. I slipped my boots on, buckling them nice and tight. I grabbed my satchel that housed my extra tools for scrapping and hurried into the hallway, tying my damp hair off into a topknot as I went. I slipped my earpiece on and made my way to the lift, tapping the tech and speaking into it.
"Call scrapper 142," I leaned against the window part of the lift as I waited for Valkyrie to pick up.
"...What...?"
Great, she sounded drunk, or at least hungover.
"Oh I'm sorry, did I wake up the princess?" I tried to keep my voice light though I was somewhat annoyed with her. Most mornings when I was up bright and early ready to work she was still snoring in her room, passed out with a bottle in her arms.
"Very funny..." Her voice sounded marginally less slurred that time.
"I'm heading to the hangar, meet me there,"
Her response came back a minute later. I could hear her shuffling around, and a few bottle clinked somewhere as she shifted. "It's only 7:00..."
"Aren't you the one who said that we need to be quick if we wanna get the good scrap?"
"I said not to get easily distracted,"
"I feel like drinking yourself into a stupor counts," I stepped off the lift into the massive hangar and took my sweet time walking over to Valkyrie's ship. I could hear her swearing under breath, calling me all manner of rude things. It honestly didn't bother me, I've dealt with worse in my time.
"Meet me soon, otherwise I'll leave without you,"
"You can't fly my ship, you don't know how still,"
"Won't stop me from trying," I nodded politely to a couple other scrappers I passed in my walk.
"Touch her and you're dead,"
"Then you better get here soon," I said with a chuckle as I disconnected the call with her. I walked up to Freya, Valkyrie's lovely little ship and lowered the ramp, quickly hopping in and dropping my bag down on the cockpit floor. I jogged out of the ship and did a checkup, something Valkyrie usually did in the mornings to make sure everything was top shape. I hummed under my breath as I worked, trying to stay busy while I waited for my drunk scrapping partner.
I was starting to seriously consider leaving without her when I heard an annoyed voice behind me.
"Still here?"
Valkyrie stood there, hands on her hips, her hair a mess and her leather armor askew. Her blue cape was clearly wrinkled. If I had to guess, she probably passed out like that last night.
"Yes, though I was getting ready to leave without you." I leaned against the ship.
Valkyrie grumbled something under her breath and climbed the ramp into her ship. I rolled my eyes at her, but followed suit, settling into the seat beside her.
We were silent all through takeoff, Valkyrie clearly trying to focus on keeping us from falling out of the sky in a giant metal can.
"Can you actually fly right now?" I glanced over at her.
"Yes,"
"How hungover are you?"
"I can hold my liquor,"
"That's not what I asked," I glanced out the window and down at the city flying by beneath us. We were nearing the edge, closer to the portals where all the scrap fell from.
"I can fly," Valkyrie stared straight ahead and that seemed the end of the conversation as she clearly did not want to converse with me, so I shut up and pulled out my holoscreen. I flipped through what little news-feed there was on Sakaar. Not much ever happened here outside of gladiator fights, and the occasional hit out for some petty criminal or other. We were both quiet as she landed the ship outside the city and lowered the ramp. I followed the woman down to the trash littered surface, sticking my holoscreen in my bag and throwing it over my shoulders.
"Where do you want to start?" I glanced at her.
"Wherever," She mutters and wanders off. I stare after her for a few minutes before sighing and going in a different direction from her. I wandered among the scrap heaps, climbing over large pieces, and under hanging wires. I kept my eyes open for anything useful. I wandered the heaps for almost an hour, slowly accumulating gears and mostly intact wires. Hopefully I could sell them for rewiring, most were in good condition, I'd managed to disconnect them from panels that were sadly unable to be salvaged on the surface. Today wasn't my best haul though, I'd yet to find anything big. I wandered on, suddenly noticing another figure among the piles. An older woman with witch taut leathery skin, dark eyes peeking out from under thick brows. Her gray curls were a knotted mass, little braids mixed in with little trinkets braided into her hair. She wore a long cloak over her dirty pants and tunic. I recognized her, Zohar, another scrapper. I remember meeting her once when Valkyrie introduced us in passing. The old woman had practically growled at us to leave her alone, that she was working and we were bothering her. I didn't want to confront her, but I also wasn't going to just turn back now. I made my way towards Zohar, waiting for her to spit or curse at me but she paid me no heed. I sidled past her and until I noticed what she was working to take apart; an airplane.
I stopped in my tracks. "An airplane,"
Zohar suddenly jerked up, turning her head to look at me throw narrowed eyes, "Eh? What'd you say girl?" Her voice sounded like what I imagined cardboard to sound like; stiff and dry.
"What you're scrapping, that's an airplane," I pointed behind her to the airplane, or at least what remained of an airplane. It was mostly the back half. I wasn't versed in aircraft but it looked like it had been small, probably a private vehicle.
"You seen one before?" The old lady was still hunched over from what she'd been working on.
I shrug, "Sort of. Where I come from these are used for transport, sort of like our spaceships here but uh, not nearly as fast and efficient."
She narrowed her eyes at me, "You know how to take 'em apart then?"
"You're asking me?"
"Clearly you know what it is," She said.
"Yes but not everyone knows how to use one or operate it, I'm not a mechanic," I protest, gesturing helplessly.
She stared at me silently long enough to make me uncomfortable before turning around again, "Help me scrap the metal,"
she went back to work, fully expecting me to listen and follow suit. I sigh and sling my bag off my shoulder, placing it on the ground. I go and crouch down beside Zohar and wordlessly begin helping her remove the metal casing piece by piece. I glance up at the many portals littering the sky as I work, wondering which portal it fell through.
"It's the blue and green one,"
I glance at Zohar. She's staring at the plane but I guess she noticed my staring at the sky.
"What?"
"Where it fell from," She said as if that was all the explanation I needed.
"How do you know?" I look at the sky once more before returning to my work.
"Because I've salvaged something that fell from that portal before," Her wrinkled hands worked deftly with her tools.
"Oh..."
We work in silence for a few more minutes before I ask, "Does stuff fall from that portal often?"
The old scrapper was quiet for so long I thought maybe she was a bit deaf. "No. I imagine the portal is hidden somewhere, very little falls through it,"
I look at the gray clouds that swirled around the portal showing vibrant blues and greens. These portals were more like wormholes, able to bend space so you ended up here. I don't really remember my fall, I had been knocked out and only remember flashes of waking up among the scrap, being in pain, and then nothing until I woke up in an infirmary. After that I was brought to the Grandmaster, he took a liking to me and made me his errand girl, until now of course.
I was thrown from my thoughts by Zohar, "You fell from that portal too,"
I look at her, "What?"
She nodded up at the sky, "That one, where this device came from you said," She pats the plane. "You fell from that portal too,"
I stare at her. She knew where I'd come from. Well she didn't know, but she certainly knew now that the plane and I were from the same place. Then that must mean...
"The Bermuda Triangle..." I stare up at the sky. I'd found it, the portal I needed to get home.
"Eh?"
"The Bermuda Triangle, that's where I fell from," I explain. "It's...it's this spot in the ocean where just weird stuff happens. Planes like this one will go missing under mysterious circumstances. A lot of people are scared of it. Some say it houses monsters and demons,"
Zohar just nods, "Wise people. Such a place probably does house such monsters," She suddenly whipped her head to the side to look at me, "How did you end up there?"
"...Long story but I was...chasing something and ended up there,"
By this time, Zohar and I had removed most of the metal casing of the plane and managed to drag the heavy pieces aside.
I stood and arched my back in a stretch. Zohar stretched as well and I could hear the crackling of her old bones.
"Zohar,"
The old woman looked at me with mild curiosity, "What is it girl?"
I hesitated to ask but I guess it's now or never, "...How...how often do people fall through those portals?"
"Other than you?" She began to pick up her bag and stuff her tools into it, "I'm not sure. It doesn't happen all that often. There's been you of course...and uh that strange man with the dark hair,"
I blinked. Did Zohar have the answers I needed? "Man with dark hair? Did he happen to be wearing green and black leather?"
"You know 'im?"
"...It's how I got "promoted," Grandmaster gave him to me as a chore to clean up,"
"Heh he was pretty dirty when he fell,"
"Where did he fall from?" I bent over to put my tools back into my own bag as I spoke.
"Why do you wanna know?"
"Let's just say it's curiosity,"
The old woman and I stared each other down, her dark eyes stormy. If I knew where he came from I'm sure I could find some dirty secrets on him.
"The big one," Zohar gestured to the biggest portal in the sky, over the water. I stared up at the swirling mass of orange light and gray smoke.
"Where's that one lead?"
I looked back at Zohar who was staring up at it with an unreadable expression.
"Asgard."
So sorry Loki wasn't in this chapter. Thought about making this chapter like, I mean splitting it into two different stories but same chapter. Decided against it as I felt this was the best place to end. Loki will DEFINITELY be in the next chapter I promise.
Until next time!