This was fast. And I will be considering romance for Lincoln. Suggestions will be taken seriously if you have any, but I honestly will just end up finding whoever has the most chemistry with her in the end as time moves on. Thank you for the comments today too! I might have taken a dark turn with Sakaar but it was really how I perceived it based on the movie. I don't get graphic or describe anything, but be warned that sexual assault is mentioned very briefly.

TW- Mentions of Sexual Assault, non-consensual sexual behavior, and a panic attack

IDon'tOwnMarvel

We must've walked for an hour in silence with just the city up ahead as our motivation to keep going. I, luckily, had a water bottle in my backpack that helped pull me through before we were able to enter the city and walk down the streets together. Loki seemed to have a good sense of direction, so I just followed him while he walked with authority towards the big building with half-finished statues off the sides. One was under construction and very clearly starting to turn into the hulk. That excited me a little bit.

I missed Bruce, but I was going to have to remember to be careful around the Hulk. He and I didn't exactly have the best history considering everything that happened during Ultron. I didn't know if he was going to hold a grudge after all this time.

Loki and I were very quickly stopped at the door though when he tried to let us right in. Then he just complied when the guards collected us at the door and demanded to know where we came from.

"Loki?"

He waved me off and looked right at the guard. "I want to speak to whoever is in charge. We were his guests and I don't feel very cared for."

They murmured nervously about something before one of them said something else to Loki and he followed after with the tiniest hint of a smirk. I stuck right near him, still a little weirded out by the aliens, but honestly not trying to be. After all, they might be looking at me and thinking that I look weird too.

Just process it, Lincoln. I tried to force the comfort. You're around aliens. You're on another planet.

I pursed my lips, taking a deep breath through my nose and keeping close to Loki on our walk. A guard grabbed my arm while I was still trying to process though and I shocked him without a second thought and made a few of the guards back off me when we stepped into an elevator. The alien laid unconscious on the floor outside, giving me the room I needed to breath when we crammed into that small space.

They didn't dare touch me again, but they corralled Loki and I back off the elevator when we reached a floor marked with an alien language. I found it a bit stressful, but reminded myself that I could probably kill everyone here and then promptly escape before anyone even knew what happened if all else fails. Sure, it might mess with a few things, but this was my life on an unfamiliar planet we were talking about. If shit went down, I wasn't sticking around for anyone.

"Hey, what's this?" The Grandmaster asked as we were most definitely crashing a party before it started. "We have visitors already? Seems a bit…early? No? Early."

"Loki, of Jotunheim." The god to my left stated before gesturing to me beside him with a less excited tone. "This is my associate…"

"Jackie." I finished, not ready to give out real names to people I didn't know. "Of Earth C-137."

It's not like he watches Rick and Morty out here. I smiled a little. What's wrong with a reference?

"Oh, so there's more than one now. It's nice to know those humans are going somewhere with their species. Hey-" The grandmaster gestured for one of the servants. "Get them the drink."

He turned back to us. "I don't like to say it's mandatory, but it's highly recommended. Not a lot of folks appreciate the taste."

A goblet was placed in my hand and being as tired and sick of this as I was, I didn't hesitate to take a deep sip of the clear liquid. Now, I may be 21, but I wasn't exactly a drinker due to not caring for the taste of any drinks or their after effects. This certainly had the feel of alcohol though on the back of my throat and tasted of vinegar. It was by far one of the most disgusting combinations of flavor I'd ever experienced.

I bit back a visual response and just swallowed before handing the goblet over to Loki.

"Woah! She does not mess around!" The grandmaster cheered and clapped his hands together. "You aren't one of those bitty humans are you? You're something different. Are you human? You don't look human with the whole…ancient wisdom outfit."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm half Eternal."

"That- that's something I believe." He pointed at me. "We would love to have you around. How about Chuckles here. Is he with you?"

I looked over at Loki who was stifling an offended look. I figured I'd score a few trust points with the god. "He's with himself. Norse god and all."

The grandmaster nodded approvingly with a smile. "Well, we'd love to house some diversity around here for a little bit. What generation are you? I haven't seen any of your kind in a good million or so years."

Ah, fuck. I didn't think this part through. I ran through a few panicked thoughts before I jumped at an answer, hoping for the best. "Fifth."

"Oh, so you are a newbie." He chuckled. "Can't be more than 3,000 years old. Earth years, that is."

"I wouldn't know." I chuckled back, making a poor attempt at a joke. "I lost track after 907."

The Grandmaster laughed at that. "An Eternal with a sense of humor. Now that's something I wasn't expecting. Hey, Plop, give them a room, would you?"

He turned back to us with a wave. "Wow, I hope to see you guys later for party hour. I'm sure you'd kill around here. We don't get Eternals and you all tend to be…if you don't mind me saying…adventurous. Show us some tricks later, will you?"

I flashed a dignified smile at the Grandmaster. "I'll consider it."

He waved us off and the guards ushered us back out of the room while I felt the Grandmaster's eyes on me while I left. We rode the elevator to a different floor and I followed alongside Loki to our supposed 'room'. Unfortunately, by 'give them a room', the Grandmaster literally meant one room. So, now I had to share a room with Loki. The guards left, abandoning me with the god next.

"I thought I was going to do the negotiating." Loki walked by me to the only bed in the room.

"Well, it's not my fault." I groaned back, falling back onto the couch. "The Grandmaster really likes my species I guess."

The walls of the room were decorated with yellow and white lines that jutted off in random directions, certainly making for an odd design choice. The bed, however, was quite basic with a dark green comforter and soft looking pillows. A line of shelves held a variety of bottled liquids on one wall with the opposite holding a kitchen-looking nook with an island and what could be an alien version of a fridge beside cabinets.

I pulled out my cards now that I was finally in a moment of rest during all this craziness and Loki just tossed a ball up in the air while laying on the bed.

Give me something. I sighed, shuffling my deck. "Who is keeping me here?"

A card fell out and I set down the deck to pick it up, not surprised when I saw the figure molding to look very familiar. Dr. Strange sat as the Hierophant on a throne with my sling ring in hand. He always came out as the Hierophant when I got him as an answer on things. I assumed it was just his card.

"Of course." I picked the card back up and started to shuffle again. "Why is he keeping me here?"

The Wheel of Fortune fell out, making me frown hard.

"Ew." I picked it up. "I mean, thank you for the answer, but I hate it."

'Destiny can be altered…but not ignored.'

I was pretty sure that was what it said. Either way, it was a bad reason to keep me here. Just because Strange thought that I was needed, did not mean that I was. Who was he to think he knew better than me? I'd been doing this way longer.

Peering up over the other side of the couch next, I was looking to see Loki where he was probably listening in to my talking. He was still tossing a ball on the bed, not paying any mind to what I was doing.

"Alright," I sucked in a deep breath. "When- No. Uh…What will I need to make it through this nightmare?"

I started to shuffle and gave Kevin a second to think while I waited for an answer and looked up over the couch again until two cards fell out and landed neatly on the ground in front of me. I set the deck aside again.

"The Moon," I read outloud quietly to myself, smiling a little at the word carving out on the bottom. "Trickery, huh? I can see that. Probably need the god of 'grabbing arms' then."

I set it back down before flipping over the next card and immediately losing my smile when I saw what was being drawn out on the Four of Wands. A man holding a woman by the waist, mid-dance, and looking down on her…me with a flower crown on my head. I was depicted as the woman in the card with the dress and the man standing over me in his own outfit. Who was the man drawn out as?

'Alliance.'

As soon as Loki's face was filled in, I slid the card right back into the deck and sat still in my place.

"An alliance?" I repeated under my breath. With Loki? The dude probably invented stabbing people in the back.

I strained once again to look over the edge of the couch at him before going back to pocketing my deck into its pouch and putting it back on my belt. That was enough tarot reading for today and I got up after that to explore more of the kitchen and try to take my mind off the stress of being even further from where I didn't belong already.

Loki sat across from the young woman, watching her draw cards and ask quiet questions while occasionally peering over at where his illusion was tossing a ball to keep her distracted. The Four of Wands had thrown him off a little too, forcing him to consider his own options on how he was going to get out of this 'adventure' alive. He'd heard plenty of stories about Sakaar.

It was appropriately nicknamed the 'Dump of the Universe', and anyone could tell why. The other stories told of the Grandmaster and his 'brother', the Collector. There were three other Elders, or the last living of their species from the very beginning, and Loki never really wanted to ever have to know any of them. Now, being trapped on a planet with the slimiest of them all and some Eternal that he had met before she had the ear piercings, he wasn't quite sure where he needed to put his money and time.

Perhaps, if he played his cards right, he could gain the trust of 'Jackie' and have her help in removing the Grandmaster from power. Sure, it wasn't the perfect plan, but it was a hell of a lot better than falling into the servitude of a being with little entertainment outside of whatever unfortunate bastard stumbled across this world.

If the Eternal had her so-called 'sling ring', he could also just convince her to portal them away. He assumed that was a device used for such a spell, and in a time like right now, he would be eternally grateful to have the ability to just leave.

He got up with about half a plan in mind and went back to his illusion to take over from there. When he got back up off the bed, Jackie turned to look at him and watch as he stalked to the door.

In an effort to at least start to have the Eternal on his side, he was going to have to make some sacrifices. That would start with finding out all about this 'party' and gaining the favor of whoever was around. If he knew anything, it was how to play pretend. So, after joining the party, he found a way to get away with not being touched or looked at.

He watched his illusion from afar while the Grandmaster was easily fooled.

"You know, we have more private parties, I'm sure you'd love to join in on." The Grandmaster said, standing almost close enough to Loki's fake self to touch him and realize he wasn't actually there. "We have…oh what is it? Loads of fun, really. I insist you join us tonight. Next week we're partying on my ship."

"Oh, I'm quite alright." Loki's illusion tried to decline politely while the actual Loki eyed the melting stick nearby the Grandmaster. "This is the only amount of partying I need. Thank you though."

It would be a bad time. Loki concluded on his own. No need to be dramatic yet.

"No, no, no," The Grandmaster held up a hand. "All of my VIP guests have at least one party! It's how we get to know each other. Bring that young Eternal with you too. She's just…adorable."

Loki couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable by the concept and made his illusion agree before turning and walking back out of the party room.

He had no overwhelming desire to take part in such activities, so an execution or desertion was going to be needed as soon as possible.

"Where'd you go?" I asked, sitting up off the couch to watch Loki walk back in.

Loki didn't answer so I just nodded to myself before looking towards where I'd found a bathroom.

"Can I shower or are you going to shower soon?"

Loki didn't even look in my direction and just fell back on the bed with a huffing sigh. I got up and walked towards the bathroom, stopping in the hall to look back and see if he would answer before just going in and spending the next twenty minutes trying to figure out how it turned on.

Showering away the stress made me feel a lot better, especially because I was able to ask my tarot deck if the bottle I found in the shower held shampoo that I could use. It was confirmed and I came out of the shower smelling a little like vanilla. It wasn't bad, and certainly helped my nerves about having to be out and about on an alien planet. My sanctum pajamas that had been packed in my backpack helped too.

I came out of the bathroom feeling a whole lot more relaxed than when I first walked in, my mind stewing with what Loki had said in the movie.

Weeks.

He had been here for weeks before Thor showed up. That could be anywhere from two to seven because at eight weeks, it just turns into 'months'. I had to wonder how I might manage this planet and Loki for two weeks, let alone seven. All we would have is plenty of time to form an alliance or 'friendship' that Kevin had so intimately drawn out for me. Why'd we have to be dancing? And why the Four of Wands?

I didn't sleep so great that night even after making Loki promise that he wouldn't try to kill me in my sleep. My blanket on the couch wrapped tight around me so that I might feel at least a little safe about sleeping here. I may have charmed it too to wake me if someone tried to touch me while I was sleeping. Charming was not one of my greatest skills, but I could manage exactly three of them. The blanket one was learned solely because someone used to sneak into my room in the sanctum and try to steal my notes. Turns out, it works on the astral form of one Stephen Strange too.

He never liked that I didn't let him look through and try to decipher my chain of events notes.

The next day, I got back into my orange robes and tried out a few of the weird foods hanging around the kitchen. Loki was nowhere in sight, but when he came back moments after I started to look around the kitchen, he was carrying a bag. He walked right by behind me to the island counter and set it down.

"Food." He dumped the bag out, showing off the wrapped up baked goods and two odd fruits. "Some that looks digestible at least."

"Oh, can I have some?" I asked, picking up what looked like a muffin. "I can't find anything here."

Loki looked behind us at the cabinets before shaking his head. "I'd avoid navigating the complimentary breakfast alone. You'll want water with that."

I looked down at the muffin in my hand that he had pointed at. "Why?"

"They're always made too dry." He picked out a different baked good and hopped up onto the counter to sit. "Water is in the icebox."

"What's got you so nice all of a sudden?" I opened up the fridge and pulled out an odd looking bottle with clear liquid, holding it up to show Loki. "This?"

He nodded, "I told you I have no problems with Eternals. Even those who are only half acquainted with them. I assume your other half is human?"

I shrugged, leaning back on the counter and looking over my muffin. "Still. I never expected you to be so…non-egotistical when I first met you."

"That's not the word I would use to describe myself." He took a bite of his food with me, "I'm merely strategic."

I took a sip of my water to wash down the very dry baked goods. "Oh, so you think you can use me?"

"I think we could both benefit from an agreement here." He mentioned, watching my reaction very carefully. "An alliance, perhaps."

Just like Kevin foretold, I didn't want to let this opportunity slip by. However, Loki was pretty smart, so I didn't want to agree right off the bat and make myself look even more stupid in front of him.

"Why would I need that here?" I pressed, "I know some people."

"Not nearly enough." He took a sip of his own drink that he brought from wherever he got the food. "The person that you know of happens to be a sex-crazed idiot."

"Well, I know more people." I defended with a scoff. "How was I supposed to know…"

I trailed off, remembering a line from the movie when Bruce was on the spaceship.

"Oh," I gave Loki an apologetic look. "Okay, maybe there was a mention of the guy liking orgies during my premonition. I forgot that part."

"'Loves' them." Loki corrected, "I've been invited to one already and I'm being strongly advised to attend."

"Oh my god." I whispered back, "Was he hitting on me? He called me adventurous."

"He flirts with everyone." Loki shook his head, "Don't take it as a compliment. He's disgusting."

"I know that!" I hissed, a cold wash of worry chasing up my spine. "I don't want to sleep with anyone! I didn't sign up for that!"

"Well, then, it's my deepest regret to welcome you into reality." Loki smiled insincerely, "Nothing ever goes how you want it and consent is a loose concept on a lot of realms."

I took a step back from him in panic, fear hitting hard on my chest. "Okay, Strange? Send me back now. I don't want to be a part of this."

No response came while Loki looked indifferent and frozen in thought. I got dizzy standing where I was with the whole world crumbling in on me.

"I feel sick." I whimpered, sitting down on the floor and wishing hard that Tony might come strolling in and sit down with me like he did all of last year during my bad streak.

For the first time in a while, I felt very small.

"Allfather." Loki grumbled to himself, hopping off the counter and grabbing for my water to set it down beside me.

Honestly, even the look of the strange alien water bottle was throwing me further into this pit while I felt like I was going to throw up. Sex? And with aliens? No way was I partaking in anything like that. I wouldn't even do that kind of stuff with other people on earth. They'd have to kill me before I did that here.

Loki stalked back over closer and all I could see was the closing distance.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted, scooting away from him and doing my best to keep back the tears of panic. "DON'T!"

Loki crouched down with a small sigh, meeting me at my level with a new face and longer hair. She held out the blanket from the couch. "I won't."

She watched me take it and wrap it around myself before she sat down all the way. I was still watching her in mild shock from the transition into a new face and outfit. It was Loki…just…Lady Loki.

"I can't stand it when people cry." She settled down across from me with her back to the island. "And I never said I would make you do anything. We could fit it into the alliance…as a sort of agreement to how we manage this world."

"I don't want to be here." I held the blanket tight around myself with a weak voice. "I don't know why Stephen would leave me. What if he knows and he's leaving me here anyway?"

"Others can be truly vile sometimes." She hummed, "I need to get out of here just as much as you do. And I can tolerate limiting my encounters with the Grandmaster. In exchange, I need your power."

I blinked. "My what?"

The theory wasn't awful and after I managed to pick myself back up from my meltdown, Lady Loki stood with me in the living room and started to practice pulling energy from me in order to make a more physically interactive illusion. Eventually, we got to a point where I figured out how to push energy too and she got a bottle to, shockingly enough, hold it.

Then, she was Lad Loki again and I was less willing to stand directly next to him.

"What?" He made the bottled energy disappear in his hand and stepped back away from me. "Playing favorites?"

"A little bit." I admitted quietly, not hating how I'd managed to spend the day with him in just our bedroom. "Does the Grandmaster really not take any other offers? I could run around and find contestants for his little shows."

"You might want to limit your contact with him." Loki put on a new outfit via illusion. "Enjoy your evening. I have a party to get to."

I heard that his trick had been a success later that night while I laid awake on the couch with the blanket cocooning me. He looked tired though, so I tried not to pry at all while he collapsed onto the bed again. I could see where he was laying awake too, but didn't bother him since he had saved me some trouble tonight. Or, at least I thought he had done me a favor.

"He wants your company for a show tomorrow." Loki said, not moving from where he laid still.

"Tonight wasn't enough?" I asked quietly, "What kind of show?"

"You were not…there tonight." He sat up to look at me. "It was only myself."

"Why didn't you manifest a version of me too?" I sat up with him to give him an accusing look. "We practiced that trick all day and you couldn't even make me too? All that and I'm not off the hook?"

He stared back at me tiredly for a moment before laying back down and rolling over with a sigh.

I wanted to snap at him for that, but to be entirely fair, I never saw what went down out there. Maybe I'd have to figure something else out with him to get him to do that for me. Either way, I wasn't going to approach him tonight and just laid down again too.

The next day, my worries surrounded having to see the Grandmaster in person again after learning all that I had already. Loki made me a fake outfit with an illusion- just a white button down shirt and blank pants with some nice loafers.

"How long should I expect to be trapped here with you?" He asked while we stood in the elevator together. "Surely you have some idea."

"Weeks." I whispered back, shifting awkwardly when he looked down at me. "That's what you said. Your own future words. Trust me, I'm not liking it either."

"I can tell." He pursed his lips into a thin line until the elevator stopped on a new floor. "My own words?"

"Your own words." I confirmed, trying to push down my nerves as I stepped out after him and his fake smile when he spotted someone he 'knew'.

The Grandmaster spotted me from the other side of the room, sitting in his chair by what looked like a tiny arena that sat in the center of the party room. I figured that it was not far off from what someone might use to fight dogs, so it worried me a little that I might be watching small aliens battle it out to the death today too.

My suspicion was confirmed too when he beckoned me over and I had no other choice but to obey like a good guest.

"Hey, no party the other night?" He asked, laughing a little. "No, no, I joke. I won't rush you. Did you see our little, ah, battle ground for later? I have two champions these days. And this is good for gambling while we wait for the real thing."

"Oh," I nodded along like I was fully on board. "What should I be expecting?"

"A bloodbath." He grinned delightfully, "You'll love it, trust me. Hey, while you're at it, why don't you show off some tricks? Make some friends? Get comfortable. You'll be here a while. Haha, right?"

"Right." I looked back over my shoulder.

"That partner of yours." The Grandmaster continued, "Quite the showboat, huh? Always a delight though. Topaz?"

He beckoned to the lady beside him. "Can you get the trickster over here? Let's keep these two together. Maybe the social one will get Miss 'half-eternal' here a head start and…she can keep him out of trouble."

I didn't mind being paired with Loki while he fit me into a group of aliens and their conversation. It wasn't awful as long as I could use Loki as a visual block from the Grandmaster who kept looking at me. It was odd having adapted so fast to have Loki as my crutch in this terrifying world. It was my worst nightmare. I'd never imagined Sakaar to be so…awful.

I mean, I knew that it was a shitty planet and an even worse place to be stuck, but the guy running the place really just added a level of horror that I was not prepared for.

My mood was only picked up when I was caught so far off guard at the party that I could've started sobbing. Let's just say, standing around the arena at the insistence of the Grandmaster so I'd get a good seat, did end up being beneficial.

I could only watch on in shock with my jaw dropping when the first dark cage opened up from the far end and the fattest fucking bearded dragon came sauntering out, no smaller than the size of a damn iguana. And I knew that orange colored Beardie ever, especially with the strong feeling that came right up along with his fat steps.

"Oh my god." I gasped, looking to Loki and pointing. "That's-"

He shot me a warning look with his mind prying into mine. "Be very careful with what you say next."

"What?" The Grandmaster got to me first, rubbing his hands together like a cricket. "You like him? He came in with our champion downstairs. Heck, he was so insistent on keeping him, I couldn't refuse. Undefeated, these guys."

"I know him." I pointed at TC, completely ignoring Loki's prodding into my mind to tell me to shut up while I was on the verge of tears at the sight of my old friend. "That's my partner."

Loki looked at me quickly again with even the Grandmaster giving me a funny look.

"Who? Sparky?"

"Yeah." I looked down at my friend again, feeling my heart lodge in my throat when I saw him again.

I really thought I wasn't ever seeing him again. I really thought I'd doomed him by letting him come on the quinjet at all without thinking of it's fate.

"Wow, wow." The Grandmaster laughed, "Well, Topaz, get us some drinks. We've got a real party today. You two can meet after the match, right? Why don't you watch first? Sit, sit."

I waved off the guy with the chair and just leaned on the side, smiling when TC looked up at me. Though I didn't have him in contact with me right now, I could tell for sure that he was just as excited as I was. His tail whipped to the left when the other door started to open and my stomach pitted with worry.

Supposedly he was undefeated, but that weird rat-creature that came hopping out looked like it could do some damage.

"Ready? This is my favorite part." The Grandmaster put a hand on the small of my back and I had a hard time watching all of a sudden.

The contact was very unwelcome and had me tensing up all over even as TC snapped his mouth and then lunged at the rat while lighting up in a series of purple sparks. They crackled around him and he smacked the rat with his tail, knocking it clean out like I was able to do with my own power.

Then, he got right to shoving the entirety of that thing into his mouth to swallow it whole.

"Neat, huh?" The Grandmaster asked while I stepped aside and bumped into Loki to get away from his hand. "The sparkles really got us too when he first got here. He might've been a little smaller though- We do not skimp on the food or the drinks."

Loki slid me back out of the way by putting himself next to the Grandmaster. "Can we see him?"

I was eternally grateful for that move and was finally able to breathe as I looked down again to see TC finishing off the rat. It was a wonderful feeling if I ignored having to feel some random guy touch my back. TC was let out of the arena next and despite his large size, I was quick to pick him up and get flooded with the overjoyed feeling he was putting off with me.

He settled down across my shoulders and I was able to properly enjoy myself at the party with my support system there to scare people off and watch my back. Suddenly, no one wanted to touch my back while TC was quick to pick up his job dutifully. I'd never felt so relieved in all my life than when TC rested on me again.

It sucked having to walk back to the room without him while a 'handler' put him in a crate to carry him back to his home. The only consolation I had was the knowledge that TC was probably living it up in a room of his own somewhere with how famous he was. And…massive.

When I made it back to the room though, I could care less about Loki's judgment and fell into tears on the couch. It had been a while since I'd seen my friend. Today was just overwhelming to the point where I wasn't sure I wanted to leave our room ever again.

Loki didn't pay any mind to me and ended up just leaving the room again while I opted for another shower to cry some more and scrub myself clean.

Tomorrow I'd have to work around trying to find an actual timeline, and I had exactly one thing to go off of- Hulk's fighting schedule.