And moving right along and switching back up into the movie scenes! As always, I claim no rights to anything Marvel! Tessa is mine and that's all I claim! Hope you like how she fits in! Enjoy! Xoxo-NickyLynn
Their time on Sakaar, as it turned out, was not over soon. They had been granted access to inside the palace walls, and even discovered where all the Grandmaster's crafts had been stored, however, as seemingly simple of a man he was, the Grandmaster was not stupid. He had made sure that the entire operating system that the crafts were locked into was protected by layers and layers of thick access codes and security measures. Codes that were only known by a very few select people. But even if they could somehow manage to get one of the crafts free from its locked confines, getting it out of Sakaar would be nearly impossible given the vast amount of guns and other ships at his disposal. Their simple get in and get out mission turned into something far more complicated, as they had to figure out a way to get ahold of the codes and figure out a way to get out without anyone knowing so that they had a chance to make it to one of the wormholes before they were blown to bits.
It was meant to be a quick and easy task, yet as the days passed with no changes, Tessa was growing increasingly upset. There was a relief in her, knowing that time outside of Sakaar would move slower than for them, giving them more time to work without much repercussions in the outside world, yet as the days passed, her anxiety only grew. It had been over a week since her and Loki had first landed on Sakaar, and they were no closer to getting out of there than they had been in the beginning. They were trying their best to cozy up to the Grandmaster enough that they could somehow manage to pull the codes from him, unfortunately though, they had to be careful, because as it turned out….as much as he liked them….the security he kept around him, mostly in the form of one very angry woman called Topaz, did not. And as they soon found out….anyone that betrayed the Grandmaster, or even just offended him on a bad day….ended up a puddle of goo on the floor. And that wasn't a metaphor. The Grandmaster and his personal guard had a weapon of sorts, that when pressed up a person's flesh, dissolved them until they were nothing but a bubbling mess of liquid. And it was a fate Tessa and Loki were adamantly avoiding.
So, they were going slow, pushing closer and closer into his inner circle with each day spent trying to entertain him and the people in his court. It was a tiring task….the constant pretending and kissing ass….but it was still the best shot they had at getting off the planet, so they kept at it day in and day out. They were currently sitting with a group of the Grandmaster's more intimate circle of friends, Loki laughing along with them and sharing his own (mostly fabricated) stories, while Tessa just sat with a fake smile plastered on her face, praying that this would all end soon so she would be released from this hell.
Tessa had zoned out long ago as the group around her laughed and continued on jovially, leaving her staring at nothing in particular, the voices around her blending into the music filling the background. She had been so busy worried about what was happening on Asgard, that she didn't bother taking in whatever story it was that Loki was currently spinning for the group. As Tessa's mind began to wander, she could have sworn Thor's voice echoed through her head. She let out a sigh as guilt began building up in her again before she heard it again, this time with her actual ears. She blinked around in confusion until her eyes fell on a familiar looking head of hair, currently sitting back in a chair facing the Grandmaster as he messed around with the music board on the other side of the room.
"Thor?" she breathed out as she shot up from her seat, giving the people around her a tight smile as she excused herself and practically ran over to him while trying not to draw too much attention to herself while the Grandmaster was busy turned and talking with the woman charged with his protection.
"Tessa?!" Thor asked in surprise when he caught sight of her rushing over to his side. "W-what are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to get out of here!" she told him in a hushed whisper. "What are you doing here?! What happened to Hela?"
"I…I don't know." He told her. "I fell from the bi-frost same as you!"
"Yeah, well, we've been here weeks." Tessa told him, her eyes casting back over to Loki who only now seemed to notice where she had run off to. His eyebrows dropped down when he took in Thor before getting up and excusing himself as well to come over to them.
"What are you doing here?!" Loki asked for himself.
"I'm stuck in this stupid chair!" Thor told him, motioning his chin down to the metal he had been forcefully strapped to. "Where's your chair?!"
"We didn't have a chair!" Loki whispered back, hoping Thor wasn't about to come in and screw up all their hard work.
"Well get me out of this one!" Thor told them in a panic.
"We can't." Loki told him with a shake of his head.
"What?" Thor asked in disbelief, looking at his in betrayal. "Get me out!" he tried again.
"Loki, we're not just going to leave him!" Tessa interjected then.
"We can't." Loki said then, turning to face Tessa. "We've just gotten into the Grandmaster's inner circle. We can risk messing that up!"
"I don't want to be a puddle!" Thor said, shaking his head adamantly, having seen for himself the damage that the Grandmaster's stick of punishment wreaked.
"You're not going to end up a puddle." Tessa told him in reassurance.
"Well, probably." Loki threw out with a shrug.
"Loki!" Tessa reprimanded, smacking her hand against his chest.
"What are we whispering about?" came the Grandmaster's voice next to Tessa then, causing the three of them to jump in alarm, not having noticed his attention back on them.
"Oh, Grandmaster!" Tessa said in her normal tone, holding a hand over her chest from the startlement. "I didn't see you there." She tried to cover up innocently.
"You, uh…you know this, uh…." He said, pausing as his gaze dropped back down to Thor. "You call yourself the Lord of Thunder?"
"God of Thunder." Thor corrected. "Tell him." He told them, nodding his head towards the Grandmaster in expectation.
"We've never met this man before in our lives." Loki said before Tessa could say anything, causing her to turn to face him with a frown.
"He's our brother." She said with a roll of her eyes, turning back to the Grandmaster, not willing to go along with Loki's denial.
"Another brother?" The Grandmaster asked in surprise. "What kind of genes do they have coming out of Ass-Guard?" he asked, looking around at the three well-built and attractive Asgardians.
Tessa's eyebrows furrowed together at his choice of words, but choice to ignore it. "Do you think perhaps you could free him?" Tessa asked hopefully, motioning down to Thor who just nodded his head eagerly.
"Thing is….one of my scrapers brought him in." he told them. "Says he's a fighter. So, is he?" he asked them.
Thor let out a laugh at that. "Take this thing out of my neck and I'll show you." He told him.
Tessa nearly throttled him at that comment, knowing that would not help his case any. "Hey, listen to that!" The Grandmaster chuckled in amusement. "He's threatening me! Hey, Sparkles, here's the deal…" he said, clearly enjoying this. "If you want to get back to Ass-Place….uh, Assberg…"
"Asgard." Tessa corrected quietly.
"Any contender that defeats my champion….their freedom they shall win." He said ominously, pulling Tessa's gaze over to him in surprise.
"If Thor fights in your Contest of Champions and wins, you'll free him?" Tessa asked in confirmation.
"Bingo, Sunshine!" The Grandmaster said, pointing a finger over at her.
"Fine! Point me in the direction of whoever's ass it is I have to kick!" Thor threw out angrily.
"Ah, now that's what I call….contender!" The Grandmaster said happily, waving his fingers over Thor. "And don't worry…the direction is this way, come on." He said then, pulling up a control pad to Thor's chair as he began walking away.
"L-loki! Tessa!" Thor squeaked as he was unwillingly pulled along behind.
Tessa took a step to follow after him, but Loki's hand on her arm stopped her. She whipped her head around, only to find him shaking his head at her while his eyes trailed after his brother. "Don't. There's nothing we can do right now." he warned her.
"We can't just let him be thrown into that arena!" she tried to reason as she pulled her arm out of his hold.
"And what would you suggest?" he asked, his eyes dropping back down to her. "If we make a move now, we're all going to end up on the receiving end of the Grandmaster's anger. And I'd rather keep my body in its non-liquid form, thank you very much!"
"So, what, sorry Thor, but you'll just have to figure it out on your own?" she bit back at him. "We're not leaving him!"
"Look, I'll find him and talk to him." Loki finally relented.
"Fine." Tess breathed out in a huff as she spun on her feet.
"Where are you going?" he called after her questioningly.
"To find a way out of here!" she called back as she stormed away, knowing something needed to be switched up if they expected to get out of here anytime in the near future. So, she set off while Loki went after Thor, an idea formulating that just might work.
Later that evening, after Tessa had finished going through with her plan, everything working out better than expected, she made her way to the Arena of Champions, having been invited to watch the fight from the Grandmaster's private viewing box. She was now standing in front of the glass, a drink in her hand and a ball of anxiety in her gut. She was watching as Thor strode out into the arena, the Grandmaster's massive holographic replica hyping up the crowd as he introduced him.
The arena was surrounded with people, and Tessa wondered if all of Sakaar was there in the audience, seeing as the stands were jammed packed with screaming fans, everyone excited for the bloodshed. Tessa's eyes swung around the scene, shocked that so many people could find so much thrill in watching people fight to the death. Her eyes dropped back down to her brother as he stepped into the middle of the field below her, his long trademark hair having been cut nearly to the scalp, leaving him look almost unrecognizable.
The crowd was booing Thor's entrance, obviously not impressed by him. Tessa's hand gripped the glass in her hand tighter, praying that he would be able to best whoever it was he was meant to face. She felt movement beside her and looked over to find Loki stepping up next to her, his eyes watching Thor as well. "Did you talk to him?" Tessa asked him.
"Not sure how much good it did though." He told her, keeping his eyes focused on Thor. "Tessa, whatever happens…." He said then, bringing his eyes over to her. "Promise me you won't do anything reckless."
"Says the pot to the kettle." Tessa scoffed with a roll of her eyes.
"I'm serious." He told her. "If Thor doesn't win this, you need to let it happen. Getting yourself mixed up in this will only make things harder for us."
Tessa rolled her eyes at that. "I'm not just going to let our brother die." She deadpanned.
Loki's mouth dropped open to argue, but an explosion of color in front of them drew their attention back to the arena, finding several bursts of green color going off everywhere as the Grandmaster introduced Thor's opponent. The crowd was going wild with excitement, obviously having a strong preference for his winning of the match. The ground began to rumble, sending vibrations running through the room, causing the ball of anxiety in Tessa's gut to grow as she watched in anticipation.
"He is a creature…." The Grandmaster's hologram was saying in introduction. "What can I say about him? Well, he's unique. There's none quite like him. I feel a special connection with him. He's undefeated! He's the reigning! He's the defending! Ladies and gentlemen….I give you….your incredible…!"
Tessa's eyes snapped down to the large door holding the contender back as it began opening, but before it could pull all the way open, something massive came slamming through it, taking out and destroying the bottom half of the thick metal door. The creature let out a roar as it came lumbering into the arena, and Tessa's face dropped down in shock. She blinked rapidly, sure her eyes were playing a joke on her, but no matter how hard she tried to clear her vision, it didn't falter. There, standing on an alien planet, far away from where he should have been, was Hulk, decked out in thick armor and wielding a giant hammer and axe.
"What the hell…." Tessa muttered out, finding herself still staring down at the sight in shock. Thor, standing a few feet before a roaring Hulk let out a triumphant yell, and the entire crowd went silent as they watched his elation in confusion.
"I have to get off this planet." Loki said as he backed away in fear, remembering the last time he had come face to face with the beast.
Tessa's hand snaked out and latched onto him, stopping him from backing away any further. "Don't you dare!" she warned in a hushed voice as she spun around to face him. She caught sight of the Grandmaster walking towards them then, and she pulled a smile onto her face as he approached.
"There you are!" he said as he strode over to them. "Come sit with me!" he encouraged as he moved to drop himself down on the long white couch behind them. "I have a feeling this fight is going to be a good one!" he said excitedly, patting the empty spot next to him.
Tessa gave Loki a stern look before giving him a small shove towards the couch. They both walked over and sat themselves down, Tessa sitting down in the spot next to the Grandmaster as Loki sat on the end, looking far too uncomfortable as his eyes fell back on Hulk's green form.
"Hey! Hey! We know each other!" Thor was calling up to their box happily, swinging his hands up above his head to gain the Grandmaster's attention. "He's a friend from work!"
Loki had his fist pulled up in front of his face, his thumb pressing into his lips nervously as he kept his eyes trained on the ground below. Tessa had her fingers dug into his bouncing leg, keeping him from running by force. She looked over towards the Grandmaster, who was now staring at her in confusion, and gave him an innocent smile and laughed, hoping not to bring too much suspicion on them.
Thor went on to address Hulk then, though Tessa couldn't make out what he was saying. His hand then swung up in their direction, pulling Hulk's gaze over to them as well. "Tessa! Loki! Look who it is!" Thor shouted giddily, motioning his newly acquired weapon in Hulk's direction. Loki just stared down with wide eyes while Tessa hesitantly lifted her hand to give a small wave, still reeling from the turn of events.
Thor continued talking to Hulk as the crowd around them chanted Hulk's name, and Hulk was clearly not as happy to see Thor as Thor was to see him. In the next moment, Hulk went soaring into the air with a roar, lunging at Thor. He brought his weapons down on him, slamming them down into the ground with a boom that shook the area as Thor quickly rolled out of the way. Once he was back up on his feet, Hulk swung around and slammed his hammer into him, catching Thor in the chest and sending him flying back through the arena where he managed to flip himself around and dig his daggers into the ground to bring himself to a stop. Once he skidded to a stop, he stood back up, pulling out two longer blades from the holsters on his back. Hulk let out another roar as the two faced each other, and Tessa wasn't sure who she should be more worried for.
Her eyes moved over to the Grandmaster, finding that he was clapping like an excited child, a wide smile pulling up his face as the two warriors stood off against each other. Her gaze was quickly pulled back down to the arena, however, when she noticed Hulk jumping into the air again before bringing his weapons down on Thor. Thor brought up his own blades this time, knocking back Hulk's blows. Unfortunately, he was only able to deflect a few hits before Hulk threw his large hammer against him again, sending him flying back with it. Thor was not able to catch himself this time. He went flying all the way back until he slammed into the wall behind him, a huge crater forming where his body tore through the metal. Tessa sat up in alarm, suddenly have decided who she was more concerned for.
"Here we go! Here we go!" the Grandmaster commented as he rubbed his hands together, watching in satisfaction as Thor pulled himself from the rubble as Hulk came running at him, his heavy footsteps shaking the place. What he wasn't expecting, however, was for Thor to pull out Hulk's hammer, which was imbedded in the wall next to him, and use it to slam into him, sending him crashing against the wall, tearing a line of destruction through it with his tumbling body. By the time Hulk came to a stop, nearly half of the arena's wall was demolished, and the crowd had grown silent in surprise. "What?" the Grandmaster asked, clearly not having expected that.
"I mean, you did ask if he was a fighter." Tessa commented, her wide eyes swinging from the fight, up to the Grandmaster, not sure who she was supposed to be rooting for. They all watched then as Thor cautiously walked over to Hulk, who was pulling himself from the rubble in a daze, holding his hand out in front of him like he had meant no harm. He was able to get close enough to him that he reached out, slowly bringing his hand down on Hulk, and Tessa knew he was trying to lullaby him, much like Natasha and her were able to do during missions. Hulk held out his own hand, and Tessa leaned closer to the window, watching with rising hope as he let Thor ease up to him.
Her brief moment of hope was stripped away, however, and her face dropped to one of worry, as instead of the fight stopping, Hulk took hold of Thor's feet, swinging him up into the sky before slamming him down into the ground. He slammed him back and forth like a ragdoll, much like he had with Loki so long ago, and Tessa nearly slapped Loki when he shot up like he had just won the lottery.
"YES!" Loki exclaimed, bringing his fist down in a pump of victory. "That's what that feels like!" he shouted in delight as a laugh escaped, looking down at Tessa in satisfaction before he noticed the Grandmaster staring in question. "I'm just a huge fan of the sport." Loki said in cover, pulling a laugh from the Grandmaster as well.
"Would you sit down!" Tessa seethed at him as she grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled him down with more strength than she needed, causing him to stumble back down next to her. "My God, your concern for your brother is so touching." She said in sarcasm.
"Oh, come on!" Loki said, motioning down to the arena. "You can't tell me you don't see the humor in that!"
"No, Loki!" Tessa bit out a quietly as she could. "There's nothing funny about this to me!" she told him as Thor and Hulk began brawling again, Thor managing to get quite a few good hits in. Thor was able to get the upper hand for a minute before Hulk reared back and hit him, sending him flying across the arena again. He jumped into the air after him, and landed on him, slamming Thor down into the ground with his massive weight.
Tessa's fingernails dug into her palm as she watched Hulk bring his fists down on her brother over and over again, the whole area rattling with each powerful blow. The muscles in her jaw twitched in anger when she heard the Grandmaster laugh, clearly enjoying Thor's beating far more than her. Just when Tessa thought she could handle no more, a bolt of lightning filled the area, emanating from Thor's fist and slamming into Hulk, sending him flying back through the air.
Tessa's jaw fell open as the crowd went silent again, everyone watching in fascination as Thor pushed himself back up, his entire body bathed in a current of energy the crackled around him dangerously, his eyes nothing but glowing light. The Grandmaster shot up to his feet in alarm as Tessa turned a confused face towards Loki. "Did you know he could do that?" she asked, the display of power something she had never seen come from Thor before. Loki's wide eyes pulled away from Thor long enough to land on her for a moment, giving her a shake of his head. "Well, this just keeps getting weirder." She said as their gaze fell back to Thor who was now striding confidently towards Hulk.
The two fighters ran at each other, leaping into the air as they drew closer, Hulk rearing back as hard as he could while Thor's body burned with the dangerous glow of power now coming from him. When they collided, Thor bringing his fist down on Hulk's jaw, a burst of power went off, expanding around them like a bomb and sending a shockwave through the entire arena. Hulk ended up on his back as Thor dropped down to his feet, and as the dust settled, the crowd began chanting Thor's name instead. "Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!" echoed all around them as Hulk struggled back up on his feet, Thor marching over to him to end things.
The Grandmaster intervened in the fight before anything more could happen, however. He pulled out the device that controlled the prod lodged into the side of Thor's neck, and with a press of a button, sent Thor dropping down to the ground as a current of electricity that wasn't emanating from him rolled through him, ceasing up his muscles involuntarily.
Tessa, seeing what he had done, shot up to her feet. "You cheated!" she yelled out in anger. "He was going to win!"
"Hmm. My planet, my rules." The Grandmaster said back with a shrug.
Movement out of the corner of her eye pulled her vision back out the window, only to find Hulk soaring high up into the air as far as he could go before dropping down again, heading straight for Thor, who was laying on the ground, unable to get away. They all watched with baited breath as Hulk dropped down on him, the arena shaking from the impact, causing Tessa to tense up and flinch as she watched Hulk body slam Thor, knowing there was no way her brother would be walking that off. As Hulk pushed himself off an unconscious Thor, Tessa spun back around towards the Grandmaster. "You lied!" she bit out angrily. "You said he could win his freedom!"
"Sorry Sunshine, but I'm renegotiating the conditions." He told her with a wave of his hand. "That brother of yours isn't going anywhere. Not when he can fight like that." He said, motioning to where Thor still lay unmoving. "I think I'll keep him on as one of my main contenders." He said, brushing past her. "The crowd sure loves him enough." He said as Tessa turned to follow him.
Loki had stood up and latched onto Tessa as she tried moving past him, keeping her from going after the man. Tessa turned to find him staring at her in warning. "This isn't the time and place." He reminded her pointedly.
Tessa let out a sigh as her eyes moved from him, to the Grandmaster, back down to Thor. "Come on." She said then, slipping her hand down into his. "Time for Plan B." she said before teleporting the two of them away.