Chapter 280: Sakaaran Welcome/Trials?
Chapter 280: Sakaaran Welcome/Trials?
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-Sakaar-
"What the hell is that?" Pepper muttered as she peered out of the transport shuttles window.
After flying in nothing but a giant never-ending junkyard for a while, the group found a big city, which seemed to be made out of the scraps that fell from the many wormholes.
Though two buildings stood out among the rest.
A grand multicolored tower as well as a huge arena.
On the outside of the oddly shaped tower were sculptures of faces, which were big enough to spot from far outside the city.
[Insert picture of the Grandmasters Palace here]
As for the Arena, although it was huge, that was about it. It didn't have any crazy art or colors like the tower, but it was certainly impressive.
[Insert picture of the Grand Arena here]
"Okay, I was willing to believe that people live here, but this is just crazy..." Rhodes muttered as he joined Pepper and Tony at the window.
"It's not actually that surprising." Tony says as he points to the pile of junk that he collected. "This place is like a goldmine for alien tech and metals. As long as the people are smart enough to fix this stuff up, then a city like this is very possible. In fact, it's a bit pitiful in my opinion."
Pepper, Gamora, and Rhodes raise a brow in question as Tony points to the rusted scrap metal buildings, which made up most of the rather large city.
"With all these resources, why didn't they just build factories to process the scraps and make some fresh metal to build with? The only two places that look to be built properly are that weird tower and the big coliseum over there." Tony points them both out.
"Maybe the leadership isn't the best?" Pepper assumed.
Even on Earth situations like this pop up in a few countries, where the leaders are either incompetent or corrupt, forcing the civilians to live a much harder life than they could be enjoying.
"We can always have a look..." Tony changed course to the colorful tower with a bit of gleam in his eye.
Although Tony isn't overly greedy, it was like this entire world was seductively calling his name.
He wants to reap the endless technology from it!
And if the current leader is lacking in his duties, or even better, a tyrant that misuses the power he holds, then maybe Tony should step in...
For the good of the people, of course.
"Hehehe..." Tony laughed quietly to himself as he stared at the never-ending hills of junk in the distance.
"Umm, is he alright?" Rhodes asks worriedly.
"Yeah, I think so..." Pepper shrugs unknowingly.
Although he wanted the junk, Tony didn't exactly enjoy the responsibility of leadership, so he would have to think carefully about how to handle this...
...
As the ship landed not too far from the tower, Tony, Rhodes, and Pepper disembarked and looked for an entrance.
Of course, Tony made sure to lock up the shuttle, as he didn't want his precious junk to be stolen.
"Hey! Are you new?"
Just as they found the entrance, some guards stopped them from getting inside.
Each of them was dressed in matching black and brown heavy leather-looking armor, covering their entire bodies from head to toe.
[Insert picture of Sakaaran Guards here]
And unlike the shabby scavengers that they met earlier, the guards were equipped with pristine weapons, which seemed to have been restored back to perfect working condition.
"Yeah?" Pepper answered unsurely.
Trash isn't the only thing that falls from the wormholes. People do as well.
In fact, Sakaar is said to not have a native species. Even the Salaarians fell through the wormholes, though they were some of the first to arrive.
"Good, newbies have to use the other entrance. Follow me." A guard breaks off from the others and leads Tony's group to what appeared to be an amusement park ride on the side of the tower.
Sat before them was an advanced rollercoaster-style train cart that connected to a rail, which led into the pitch-black side entrance.
"Sit." The Guard points to the seats.
Gamora, Pepper and Rhodes didn't move an inch as they suspiciously eyed the train cart.
"Maybe we should-" Pepper tried to voice her suspicion, but stopped as she watched her boyfriend rush into the cart with an excited smile on his face.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Tony turns to the group. "This looks fun."
Obviously, Tony had some suspicions as well, but with his suit always ready to deploy, not much could scare him these days.
Tony Stark will be damned if he's afraid of a rollercoaster ride.
"..." They all looked at one another for a moment before reluctantly following in Tony's footsteps.
Taking out a small piece of paper, the guard starts reading in a bored tone.
"Please stay seated and keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. The Grandmaster is not responsible for any maiming, dismemberment, or decapitation that may or may not occur during your welcome experience. Please note, that any defacing or destruction of the ride itself, including but not limited to littering, explosions, projectiles, and the excretion of bodily fluids will result in your swift and imminent death. Please enjoy your stay in Sakaar."
"What?! Wait-" Pepper exclaimed as the ride activated, driving them into the pitch-black entrance.
Before Pepper could continue speaking, suddenly, the walls lit up showing a perfect image of the universe, as if they were flying through space on a roller coaster.
It looked so real that it shocked each of them into silence.
While the trio was enjoying the view, a soothing female voice appeared.
"Fear not, for you are found. You are home, and there is no going back. No one leaves this place." As the voice spoke, music reminiscent of the movie Charley and Chocolate factory started playing in the background.
Instantly, metal bindings shot out of the cart and wrapped around each of their wrists and ankles, trapping them in place.
"Tony!" Pepper called out as she and Rhodes struggled against the metal straps.
"Relax." Tony said calmly as a small collection of formless metal dripped out of his arc reactor and fell toward the cart.
Only moments after fusing into the train cart, the bindings retracted and the metal returned to the arc reactor, as if it were alive.
"See, no big deal." Tony says confidently.
"But what is this place? The answer is Sakaar!"
The tunnel walls change quickly, showing images of Sakaar's place in the infinite Cosmos.
"Surrounded by cosmic gateways, Sakaar lives on the edge of the known and unknown."
Images of the wormholes that cover Sakaar's atmosphere appear in perfect clarity, exciting Tony even more than he already was.
This place is like a dream come true for him
"It is the collection point for all lost and unloved things. Like you. But here on Sakaar, you are significant. You are valuable. Here, you are loved."
"What the hell is this brainwashing propaganda bullsh*t?" Rhodes blurted out incredulously.
"And no one loves you more than the Grandmaster!"
The tunnels images change again, revealing the Grandmaster, in silhouette, arriving on Sakaar all alone.
"He is the original. The first lost, and the first found. The creator of Sakaar and the father of the Contest of Champions."
Suddenly, videos of the Grand Arena were shown, depicting awe-inspiring battles to the death between all sorts of alien races.
The crowd roared and cheered, filling the tunnel with the excitement of battle.
"Where once you were nothing, now you are something. You are the property of the Grandmaster..." The soothing voice sounded like a fanatic at that moment.
"What the actual f*ck is this crazy sh*t..." Pepper, who rarely ever cursed, let out her innermost thoughts.
"This place is crazy." Rhodes muttered as he readied himself for a fight.
'I knew it!' Tony thought as he found his reason to act.
"...Congratulations! You will meet the Grandmaster in five seconds."
The images around the tunnel begin speeding up. Chaos, violence, and confusion mixed in with the Grandmaster's face filled the surroundings.
Pepper, who was already beyond bewildered, looked on the verge of panic at this point.
After all, she isn't used to high-stress situations like this.
Her life is rather mundane for a CEO of a trillion-dollar company. She didn't have the Avengers experience of Tony or the military experience of Rhodes to help her through this.
"Prepare yourself. Prepare yourself. You are now meeting the Grandmaster!"
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-Mirror Dimension-
"Remember when I said there'd be some unsaid additions to the restrictions?" Genie said hesitantly.
"Yeah, why?" Peter raised a brow in question.
"Well, for those that ask for something especially greedy, like yourself, a trial will appear for each wish." Genie explained as he morphed into a professor and a chart appeared behind him. "See this? Anyone that asks for a wish that could lead to power higher than the Djinn granting it would need to be tested."
"Why? Who made that decision?" Peter asks in annoyance.
He just wanted his wishes already...
"It ain't me, kid." Genie holds up his hands to show his innocence. "You can thank the pr*cks that enslaved me and my people for this one."
Genie broke character for just a moment, showing his true feelings about his predicament before reverting back to his chosen persona.
"Right, so how does this work exactly?"
A/N: 1651 words
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