Chapter Text
Another day. Another party. Another irritating distraction from her ever-so-much-more- interesting studies.
Not that being in the Grandmaster's Court was bad , per se. It was just so busy. True, there were always so many interesting people and creatures and species for her to observe, forced to mingle and carry on under threatened imprisonment or worse, which did indeed help to pass the time - most of them had no idea how they got here. Oh, she loved that glorious moment of complete confusion when they first arrived, all flustered and raw and reactive...it was just so...so... interesting .
But then that moment would pass - usually either by death or imprisonment - and she would still be at the party...waiting for the next interesting thing to grab her attention.
With a sigh, she adjusted the massive glasses on the bridge of her nose, her antennae twitching slightly as the breeze carried the unusual scents and pheromones past her receptors. Nothing too exciting, just the party goers and the ever-changing odors of the Wasteland.
Leave it to GM to host a party in the trash heaps. She stood fidgeting next to an out-of-the-way piece of junk. Her fingers rapidly drummed the edge of her drink as she looked around, watching all the strange and wonderful species the Grandmaster...eh…”invited” to stay in his inner circle. Their feelings about being included in this exclusive social group was obvious from their body language - some thought it was a great honor...and some would give a limb or two just to escape. She giggled at the thought of amputating one of the legs off of the lean, tall creature chatting nervously in front of her, of watching them try and hop to freedom. Ooooh, but then she could study the limb, watch the muscles and nerves twitch and flex, get a better understanding of that particular anatomy…
No, no...it would be a waste. No one got away from the Grandmaster unless he wanted them to get away.
Not that she ever worried about leaving. She had hatched here, and the Grandmaster was the first person she saw. The apparent rarity of her species made her a particularly treasured addition to his collection - according to the records, her egg had been discovered out in the Wasteland by a scrapper, and even she didn’t know where she was from. The Grandmaster, however, loved to refer to her as a descendent of fairies and sprites… or bugs and birds, depending on his mood.
But it was her natural curiosity and obsession with learning that really kept him intrigued by her. She was always looking closely at anything new that she could dissect, examine, disassemble...sometimes even reassemble, though that part wasn’t nearly as fun.
And the information he found for her! That in itself made her want to stay forever. So many books and ship’s logs and databases and computers and parchments and all manner of knowledge just fell from those ugly holes in the sky and were brought to her. Those were her favorite days, when a new piece of literature or a scientific research paper showed up, and in the chaotically messy space she called her room, she could lay on the bed of webs that she had built for herself and pour over it for weeks .
Her least favorite days...were party days. Like this one. Where she was meant to be shown off . She sighed again and began bouncing her knee as she rested on the piece of junk, awkwardly twisting in the uncomfortable, fashionable clothing. Soon this tiresome affair would be over and she could go back to her room and-
{{{ THUD }}}
A cloud of dust rose from the middle of the party, right in front of the Grandmaster, and when it cleared...there was a body.
It was wearing mostly black, with hints of dark green, and there were some gold and silver accents on the long jacket. It had black hair on top of its head, though given that it was face-down and clothed she couldn’t tell if it had hair anywhere else. The clothing looked leathery but obviously of very high quality, not like the lost raiders or scavengers that usually fell from the sky. No, something about this one was different...it was... interesting .
Her gossamer wings twitched.
The Grandmaster hardly seemed phased by the sudden and violent interruption, though the band stopped and they were all gawking at the thing that had just landed in front of them. With a wave of his wrist, the Grandmaster had them playing again, and he kicked the creature over with his sandaled foot so it was right-side up.
“So...what do we have here?”
The being was...well, unconscious and dirty from the impact. But even covered in the dust of this filthy planet, he - and she now saw it was a “he” - had perfect longitudinal bilateral symmetry from the top of his head to the bottoms of his booted feet. No scarring or trauma on his pale, non-scaly, bald skin; his parted lips exposed little white bones in his mouth (“Teeth”, she reminded herself), and they were all perfectly lined up and flush, with no gaps indicating that any were missing. Eyebrows, cheekbones, nose, earlobes... ears. It was all there…
He was PERFECT.
She hadn’t even realized that she had left her secluded little piece of junk and had moved to just behind the Grandmaster’s legs, staring transfixed at the thing, until she felt a heavy hand slap her shoulder. She squeaked in surprise, then did her best not to groan at the pain that came after. It was a well-intentioned gesture from the Grandmaster, but it still hurt her delicate little body.
“So, what’s up, doc? Is our new guest gonna make it?”
Close to the ground, she scuttled up to the boy - no, the man - that lay unmoving in front of her. She gently attached the mandatory obedience disk to his neck, careful to see if it would wake him. It did not. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“OK,” she buzzed with her usual intonation of nervous excitement. “Examination time…let’s see let’s see...”
First, she poked at his shoulder. Good GODS he was heavy! Those muscles felt like corded steel, and he barely budged even when she gave him a second, harder shove.
“Oh, he’s very sturdy, Grandmaster. Very sturdy indeed. I don’t believe he was damaged at all by the impact.” The Grandmaster hummed approvingly, and she continued.
Second, she bent her antennae down in front of his mouth and felt his breath, picking up everything the air that escaped him could tell her - warm blooded, complex internal organ system, LOTS of pheromones oh my goodness , and it seemed the last thing he’d eaten was...grapes…
“He shows no signs of illness...all chemical indicators appear to be healthy,” she said as her antennae flicked and responded to the stimulation.
Last, she bent over his face, looking intently at all his features - they were almost TOO perfect...like he was the model from which all other men were made slightly less perfectly. She gently reached over and opened his eye. Under the lid was a beautiful iris in a shade of green most unlike any other green she had seen in her whole life - jewel-like, sparkling in the dirty sunlight of Sakaar. She almost lost herself in those colors...until she noticed that eye was focused on her.
Ohhh no he was conscious.
“GAAAHH!” He gasped and slapped her hand off his face, then struggled away from her, trying to get to his feet.
“EEEEEE!” She shrieked and fell backward, barely able to move her wings out of the way before landing with a hard bump.
“Ooooh!” Grandmaster clapped giddily. “Feisty!”
The man knelt on the ground, breathing heavily, his long dark hair covering that perfect face and those unbelievable green eyes. She couldn’t stop staring at him...he was...he was... fascinating. Her eyes went wide and her wings started to flutter unconsciously...
“Where...am I?” the man growled, and as he looked up he made eye contact with her. She froze...except that her wings would not stop fluttering. At all.
His attention turned to the Grandmaster.
“Hello, hello, newcomer! Welcome to Sakaar, glad you could join us.” Grandmaster simpered with his usual mirthful grin. “And, ah, what’s your name, tall, dark and handsome?”
“I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, Rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief…” he began to stand, and she realized just how tall he was, towering over her…
“Lucky? That’s your name?”
“What...? No,” the man stopped and gave the Grandmaster a look of utterly confused frustration. “Loki. Lo. Ki.” He said, using his hands to indicate the separate syllables.
“Got it, Lucky. And you are so lucky to have found us here, we were just getting into the swing of this lovely soirée and now we have a prince in attendance! Hey everybody, come meet Lucky!”
The Grandmaster put an arm around Lucky’s shoulder, which was quickly and unceremoniously brushed off. Gasps went through the crowd as the new stranger backed away from the lamé-clad Ruler of Sakaar.
“I don’t know who you are or... what this place is, but I must return to Asgard immediat-“ With a quick click, the man spasmed, falling back on the ground in a heap of limbs and dust. The little obedience disk flashed rapidly as it left him incapacitated...but surprisingly, not unconscious. He continued to jerk violently in the dirt and stare wide-eyed at the equally-surprised party goers.
Oooo...he is VERY sturdy! I wonder why…how… She kept her distance, but could not turn away. Nor could she hide the curious and excited smile spreading across her face.
Grandmaster turned to two huge creatures with multiple heads and more arms than necessary, tapping the control device thoughtfully on his chin, an evil but excited grin focused in the prince’s direction. “Get him to the Gladiator quarters. I think he’ll do well in the pits.”
Her antennae twitched nervously as the golems picked up the convulsing newcomer. Ohhh no no no. I need to know more about him. He’s just TOO...interesting!
She carefully approached the Grandmaster and gently tugged on his flowing coat. He turned and looked down at her, a soft and endearing smile replacing the more malicious expression.
“Ah, yes, Bugsy?”
“Sir...Grandmaster, your majesty,” she started, maintaining the practiced humility she had learned to use when asking for something from him. “I...before you send him to fight...could I, if it suits you, and only at your pleasure-“
“Get ON with it…” he said, though not unkindly.
“May-I-please-take-him-back-to-my-room-and-study-him-further-I-promise-to-keep-him-in-fighting-condition-but-I-think-there-might-be-more-to-him-than-we-can-tell-right-NOW-so-”
“Bugsy!” He cut her off, and she instantly shut her mouth, staring at him through those thick glasses with giant, pleading eyes.
“Bugsy, baby,” The Grandmaster knelt down so he was eye level with her. “Of COURSE you can study him first! That’s what I adore about you, you little spitfire!”
She squealed with delight and jumped, her rapidly fluttering wings carrying her high above his head in excitement, and she floated down slowly, grasping her fidgeting hands together. With that, she scurried over to the stranger, still held by the two-headed monstrosities, and slapped a purple-colored patch on the other side of his neck. His pupils became pinpricks - either from panic or from the fast-acting drug - and as the patch changed from opaque to translucent over the course of the next several seconds, his emerald eyes eyes fluttered and closed. The obedience disc deactivated, and he went limp.
“Take him to Doctor Flutterbug’s room,” the Grandmaster redirected the hulking creatures, then turned back to her. “And you know the rules - your pet, your responsibility.”
“Yes, Grandmaster - thank you!” she said. And with that, the party resumed, the mysterious man was carried to the city, and she followed them closely as they took him across the Wasteland, floating through the air on her restless wings and considering all the interesting things this creature could reveal to her...