Life on Sakaar wasn't entirely different from life back home, therefore the novelty of this alien city had worn off fairly fast. Now, Spencer spent most of her days wandering the City, lost in her thoughts, and with her bodyguard Cayden following behind. Cayden seemed to enjoy the lack of conversation, but would occasionally ask Spencer random questions here and there when he was super bored. It wasn't as if Spencer didn't like Cayden, but Cayden reminded her of Tony, which in turn reminded her of home, and that made her homesickness even worse.
But anything was better than being locked in their apartment; Loki was only home late in the evenings when Spencer was sleeping, and would leave before Spencer even woke up. Today, Spencer decided to spend her day in the outskirts of the city; somewhere safe from Scrappers. She wanted to stretch out into the open and use her abilities, since it had been a while since she had used them. Cayden, being her ever-knowing guardian, guided her away from the city and almost thirty minutes from the mountains of trash until they reached a small area of open ground.
It was hotter out here compared to the inside of the city limits; despite all the metal, it was fairly cool in the city. Spencer glanced up at the sky as Cayden watched her with barely concealed curiosity; Spencer felt her fingers twitch as rolls of massive dark clouds began appearing over them, shielding them from the harsh sun. Already it felt cooler, but Spencer dropped the temperature even further to her preference.
To protect her, Loki had instructed she not change the weather in Sakaar; the Grandmaster's eyes were everywhere, watching and waiting for signs of a powerful opponent to go against the Grandmaster's beloved champion. Loki held some fear that someone would spot Spencer using her abilities and get herself thrown in the arena.
But out here, Spencer was free to do as she pleased.
Out here, she felt like she could breathe a little easier; albeit it still smelled like trash, but not as much as in the city. Cayden merely plopped himself on top of a boulder, glancing up at the dark sky with barely concealed amazement. She watched him with a smirk and when Cayden's galaxy eyes met hers, "You did that?" He asked in awe.
Spencer bobbed her head, "Surprised?" She goaded.
Cayden had an expression of sheepishness, "I had my doubts," He rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle, "A part of me thought it was because Loki was trying to scare me, but," His eyes drifted upwards towards the sky, "It wasn't a bluff, what else can you do?" He asked comically but with genuine curiosity.
"I've only had these abilities for a few months," Spencer mused as she flexed her fingers and called out to the earth; the spot beside Spencer burst upwards and molded itself to whatever Spencer willed; the earth moved smoothly to transform into a dog.
"What is that?" Cayden demanded, as the dog made of hard rock wagged its tail up at Cayden.
Spencer smiled, "It's called a dog," She watched Cayden reach out to pet the Earth Dog and Spencer quickly changed its form to look like Loki, "You're obviously familiar with Loki," She laughed when Cayden's expression soured instantly.
"Go back to the dog," Cayden demanded with a pout.
The Earth Loki shifted back into a dog, and Cayden was entertained with it while Spencer practiced with her abilities; she did easy practices before shifting into her more complicated and dangerous theories. She voiced one of these theories to Cayden; he had gotten bored with Earth Dog a while ago and was content to watch Spencer practice.
"What's lava?" Cayden scrunched his face up.
"It's molten rock," Spencer answered, pointing down to the hole she made, "It comes from the center of the planet."
"Is it dangerous?" Cayden poked his head over the dark hole.
"It can quite literally melt your flesh and bones at the same time," Spencer felt anxious, "Very dangerous and if Loki found out I was attempting to bend lava, he'd have a heart attack," Spencer and Cayden exchanged looks before smirking at one another.
If there was one thing these two enjoyed doing, it was pissing Loki off.
"Well, who am I to stop you?" Cayden sighed dramatically.
Spencer pointed behind her, "Stay behind me, last thing I need is to accidentally melt your face off," She explained as Cayden shuffled a few feet behind her. Just in case, she encased Cayden in a box of thick stone for an added layer of protection.
Spencer walked around the decent-sized hole anxiously, "I mean, nothing bad can happen, right?" She mumbled to herself thoughtfully, "It shouldn't be different from anything else I can bend," Spencer shifted into a steady stance, rolled her shoulders, and stuck her hand over the hole and began to concentrate.
Her fingers twitched as she shifted through all the rock, dirt, metals, and gems getting in her way before she felt a certain hotness against her fingertips; she found the lava. It wasn't unbearably hot, but hot enough to make her flinch instinctively "Okay, now we pull," Spencer muttered to herself and felt her fingers curl slightly; urging the lava to follow her pull.
It barely budged; the heat increased ever so slightly.
Spencer huffed and pulled harder than she intended to; her fingers burned, and she pulled her hand away from the hole as lava spouted out of the hole a second later. Spencer's eyes widen, and her mouth went slack; the heat from the lava almost burnt her face off, but luckily there was always a thin layer of electricity protecting her body, so, the heat from the lava only felt lukewarm against her cheek.
She squealed and tried to solidify the lava as it spouted up into the air furiously, her fingertips felt numb and achy as Spencer watched the lava slowly turn back into a solid form.
Her heart was racing in her chest, "That was intense," Came Cayden's muffled comment from his little box; the young woman turned to look at the blue alien, "You almost melted your face off," Cayden pointed out.
"Yeah," Spencer dragged the word out as she stared at the tower of lava rock with a frown and dropped the stone box protecting Cayden, "It burned my fingers," Spencer held up her red fingertips; layers of skin were burnt off and bleeding. The pain didn't really hit Spencer because her body was rapidly healing the severe burns.
Cayden looked horrified, "M-Maybe we shouldn't try to do that again?" He gulped.
Spencer stared intently at the lava rock and in the next instance, the tower of lava rock was being shoved back down into the hole. Cayden watched with wide eyes, "The extent of your power is terrifying," Cayden admitted with a small frown.
Spencer met his gaze with a sad smile, "I know," She responds in a small voice, "No one knows better than I do how terrifying my abilities are." It always scared her, as much as she admired and respected her abilities, there was always some fear lingering in the back of her mind.
She knew no matter how hard she tried, there would come a day when she would snap, or wouldn't be able to keep her emotions in check, and her abilities would be unleashed in an unstoppable way.
Cayden saw the sullen look on her face and said, "At first, I envied your powers," He says softly, "But now, I don't think I'd ever want them."
Spencer just stared blankly at her healing hands; lost in her own sea of thoughts.
It wasn't until later, when Spencer managed to return them back to the outskirts of the city, and Cayden was guiding her back home, did Cayden ask, "Are you going to try that again?" His voice was curious.
Spencer smirked at the man, "Of course,"
Cayden snorted, seemingly unsurprised by her choice, "You are a dangerous woman, Spencer," He tells her.
Spencer frowns, "Because of my powers?"
Cayden shakes his head, "No, because you don't know when to give up."
His words hit Spencer hard; it instantly reminded her of Steve and Tony; those two who were so different on the surface, but similar deep down. No one knew better than Spencer that those two never gave up. It shouldn't have surprised her that she picked up on their bad habits.
Because even though, she had a healthy dose of fear for her abilities, she would never give up trying to control them completely, never give up trying to master them. She had to until the fear of that unstoppable day was diminished completely from her mind. Right now, it was easy to fear her abilities, but once she had more time and control over them, eventually, she would have little to fear of her abilities.
Cayden and Spencer came home to a nice surprise.
Loki was home, and currently pacing in the living room.
"Did something happen?" Spencer asked immediately upon seeing her friend so frazzled.
Loki looked at her with a grim expression, "Thor's here."
Immediate relief swirled through Spencer, "That's good, isn't it?" Spencer asked Loki confused.
Loki shook his head, "He's to fight the Grandmaster's champion tomorrow night," Loki says darkly.
"You're fucking kidding," Spencer swears angrily. The relief she felt gets turned into fury now.
Loki sighs and slumps onto the couch, "Our only hope is that Thor can beat the champion, but even then, I do not know how far my influence can go in order to free Thor." Loki explains.
Spencer's fingers twitched and out of impulse, she wants to snarl threats that she would tear this whole city down in order to save her friend; but the thought stops her rage. She closes her eyes in frustrated; just because she potentially had the power to destroy this whole planet, did not mean she could resort to that level of violence instantly. A huff of frustration escaped her lips, "I want an audience with the Grandmaster tomorrow after the fight."
Loki laughed in response, "And threaten to destroy the planet?"
Spencer cocked an eyebrow, "As tempting as it is," She replied dryly, "I can't always rely on that type of violence to get what I want, but perhaps we could come to an understanding in terms of setting Thor go." Spencer shrugged.
"You've never met this man," Loki scowls sourly, "He is beyond niceties and won't be swayed by your pretty words."
Spencer shrugged again, "I guess we'll see tomorrow."
"And if he refuses to set free Thor?" Loki demands.
"I suck the air he breathes out of his mouth," Spencer deadpans.
Cayden coughs up the water he was drinking from the sink and Loki looks absolutely shocked and thrilled by Spencer's words, "Really?" Loki says, looking excited.
Spencer gives him a blank look, "I was joking, Loki," Loki glares at her, "We'll figure it out tomorrow, okay? First, we see if he survives the fight and if it looks like it's not going to end well for Thor, then I'll jump in and help."
"You? Have you forgotten that you're a mortal?" Loki spits out angrily.
Spencer levels Loki with an icy stare, "No," Loki almost flinches at her tone, "But I am a mortal that even you fear."
"That you are," Loki mutters uneasily, "I hope the Grandmaster realizes this too before you decide to kill him."
Spencer shrugs, "I shouldn't threaten to kill someone on a planet that isn't mine-"
"Are you saying if we were on your planet, you'd threaten to kill someone without any qualms?" Cayden asked, cutting her off.
Spencer smirked at Cayden, "On my planet, I was an assassin."
Cayden sizes her up and looks at Loki for confirmation.
Loki nods, "She does not lie."
Cayden calmly states, "I am undoubtedly turned on right now."
"Ew, dude, seriously?" Spencer scoffs in disgust.
"That is highly inappropriate," Loki scowls at Cayden.
"Anyway," Spencer sighs, "Let's try not to kill the Grandmaster unless it's extremely necessary, okay? Like, last resort type of thing."
Loki just shrugs and Cayden mutters, "As a citizen of Sakaar, I am not hearing any of this conversation."