I awoke laying down amidst a large pile of garbage, several pieces poking me uncomfortably. I slowly sat up, groaning in pain and rubbing my eyes to adjust them to the light. I was surrounded by mountains of trash as far as the eye could see, everything from alien pieces of machinery to a city of Phoenix sewer plate strewn about in disorganized chaos.
I looked up, seeing many portals very much like the ones during the convergence, trash and debris falling from them to the planet's surface. A large body of water was at the trash's edge, spreading into the distance right underneath a massive red portal. I stood up, crying out a small bit at my bruised backsides protest. I heard voices approaching, and scrambled to hide by a refrigerator that was propped up against the remains of a ship.
A large group of masked figures approached, mumbling to themselves.
"I could have sworn I heard something over here." one of them said, poking around where I had once been laying.
"Wouldn't be the first time you thought that!" one of its companions laughed, shoving him.
"You all are completely worthless!" a female voice shouted.
The group turned around to see a woman walking forwards, white paint decorating her eyes.
"What's the good in paying you if you never find anything?" She finished.
"But I swear I heard a cry!" the first masked being said, pointing at the ground. "I heard it come from right here!"
The woman scanned the area surrounding us, her dark hair beginning to wave in the slight breeze. Her eyes stopped dead on where I was hiding, and for a horrible moment I thought that I had been seen.
"If it happens again," The woman said, still staring right at me before turning to the group, "If you alert me for no reason, you're all fired, and the Grandmaster will never buy from you again."
Whoever the Grandmaster was, they were enough to scare the group of masked men away, muttering about finding a better catch. As soon as the last one had left my sight, the woman turned to look at me again. She stepped forward quickly, drawing out a knife that was holstered on her leg.
"Who are you? How did you get here?" She demanded, drawing me out of my hiding place.
"I'm (Y/N) Coulson," I stammered, trying to find the pommel of my shortsword without alerting the stranger. "And.. and I'm here because I was thrown from the Bifrost by the Goddess of Death."
The woman's stern expression faltered, and she lowered the knife slightly. "Hela?"
"Yes."
"Come with me." she said, putting her knife back in its sheath. "You will have to tell me more about it."
I nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. For now it seemed that I was safe, though I didn't count on staying that way for long. The woman lead me to a small ship, and I sat on the floor of it as she strapped into the pilot's seat.
"The name's Val." she said as we took off. "You're Asgardian, I'm assuming?" she said, gesturing to my clothes.
"Actually, no." I said, looking down. "I'm from earth, I've lived on Asgard for about four years though. I'm friends with Thor and… close with his brother." I added, sadness threatening to bubble up at the mention of Loki.
"You've got friends in high places." Val retorted, her eyes focused on directing the ship.
"I guess I do." I replied. When Val didn't press further, I took it as permission to sit back and wait for further instruction. I leaned against a wall, wondering what had happened to Loki, Thor, and Asgard since Hela's release. How long had I been on this planet? Did they know where I was? Would I ever be able to return?
I was taken from my thoughts by Val calling for me.
"Welcome to Sakaar, (Y/N)"
We flew over one last hill of garbage, to reveal a city that seemed to be built of spare parts. Ships flew everywhere, weaving between buildings and making their way to and from the edge of the city. We made our way to the largest one, faces displayed on it's outside, the sheet metal shining in the sunlight.
"Scrapper 142, I need clearance." Val said into her comm. "And an audience with Boss Man."
A garbled reply came from her console, and we continued to fly into the building, landing in the first empty shuttle bay. Rising from her seat, she gestured for me to follow with her. I stood, doing my best to hide my sword in my skirts as I followed Val out of her ship.
Walking down long hallways, I peered around, trying to see if there was any chance for me to escape. My eyes were met with nothing but walls, and armed guards standing every hundred feet or so. We were stopped by guards at the end of the hallway, asking for verification.
"Scrapper 142, here to see the boss." Val replied, showing the guard a mark on her arm. The guard nodded, stepping out of the way as the door behind him opened.
Following Val into the room, I was greeted with bright sunlight pouring in from several wall-length windows. Val walked up to a man, his silver hair and colorful clothing fitting in perfectly with the aesthetic of Sakaar that I had been shown so far.
"Ah, Scrapper 142!" The man said, "Always nice to see you. I see you've brought me another! Oh, is this one a woman? Haven't had one of those in a while!"
"Hello, Grandmaster." Val responded, nodding to him and a woman that I could only assume was the Grandmaster's bodyguard. "Nice to see you too. Actually, I've come to speak with you about her. I know our deal is usually that I sell all I gather exclusively to you, but I want to arrange a breach of contract for this single fighter."
"What do you mean?" The Grandmaster said, "This is the first woman that's been brought in ages, the crowds will love her! She has to fight!"
"With all due respect sir, this woman is from Asgard." Val said, "Your fighters wouldn't stand a chance. I want to keep her. I would never use her against you, of course. The very next fighter I find will be yours, absolutely free."
I sincerely hoped that she was bluffing. I had trained for self-defence more than anything, and the idea of having to fight someone who was trained and practiced in fighting was more than a little intimidating.
"Asgardian, hey?" The Grandmaster chuckled. "You would know more about that than me. I'll tell you what. She only has to fight once. Against my new guy. I want to know what he's made of! After that fight, if she survives, you can keep her for whatever purpose you want her to serve."
"That will work splendidly, Grandmaster." Val said, nodding to the man. "When will this fight take place?"
"In a week's time." the Grandmaster replied, "I want to give this new guy time to acclimate to things here. And you, little miss fortunate," he said, looking to me, "You will need to prepare to be defeated!"
Val nodded, beginning to lead me out.
"Better watch and make sure you're not going soft." The Grandmaster called out as we left, "You may have brought me my beloved champion, but you've yet to surpass him! First you miss bringing me my new guy, and now you want to keep this one? It's not like you at all!"
We left quickly, Val muttering under her breath as she directed me back towards the ship.
"Thank you." I said quietly as we entered her ship once more.
"Don't mention it." she said, sighing.
"Why did you protect me, though?" I asked, "If that's your income, why bother saving me? Especially if he seemed so interested in me?"
Val stared out ahead in silence, and I began to think that she wouldn't answer.
"You remind me of someone." She said softly, "Someone that I used to know, and care about very much." she paused, sighing before adding, "I need a drink. And you need to train and prepare. Because this fighter the Grandmaster is talking about is new, I've got no idea what he's capable of. Do you have anything that you can do that might be useful in keeping you alive?"
"I know a small amount of magic." I said, "I never practiced it much, though. I can remain invisible for a time, but the longer I do it the more exhausted I become."
Val popped the cap off of a bottle of alcohol, "Well, we've got a week to strengthen that as much as we can." she said, taking a swig. "Let's start."