As soon as we'd said our goodbyes in the apartment, I knew I was on my own. I wanted to prove myself, not only to the rest of the team - which Thor had decided to name the Revengers, because apparently we all wanted revenge for whatever reason - but most of all, to myself. I wanted to know I could do things I'd never done before and wasn't going to go down without a fight. 

I didn't want to be a Becky in distress. 

Bruce managed to find one of Natasha's stealth suits on the abandoned Quinjet and had told me to put it on, saying it might 'come in handy' later. Either way, the fabric was way too tight and hot to wear on a planet like Sakaar where the sun seemed to be permanently shining. I could literally feel drops of sweat dripping down my back and into my squished underwear as I raced through the mass of people outside. Despite the warmth, I was grateful to be out of the sparkling outfit I'd been wearing before, as it stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd.

Thor had given me his cape before I left. He'd ordered me to put it on, telling me it would help me earn the trust of his friends in the dungeons. They had all seen him wear it, and seeing me with it would, according to Thor, prove my true intentions to them. The thing was way too long, but I did as told. The easier it would be to convince Korg and his friends to come with me, the better. We were running out of time, not a minute could go to waste. 

I made my way back through the city's crowded streets, coughing as I ran through thick puffs of green chalk people were throwing in the air to celebrate and honor the missing Hulk. I ignored their shouts of despair, the explosions of green fireworks, and the sounds of horns blowing, and elbowed my way through the scene as fast as my feet could carry me. 

I almost felt bad for these people. 

I snuck my way into the Grandmaster's palace, which - with all the guards outside looking for Thor and the Hulk - was surprisingly empty. Thankfully, there was no sign of Sakaar's unpleasant leader anywhere in sight, nor was I spotted by any of his awful minions along the way. 

The arena was adjacent to the Grand Palace, which stood right in the center of the city. I barely managed to sneak past two guards, who had their backs turned to me as they faced a large window overlooking the spectacle outside. After that, I managed to find the gladiator cells without much trouble. 

Dozens of alien-like creatures sat behind bars, all locked up probably for the remainder of their days. Most of them would fight each other to the death or be turned into the Grandmaster's slaves, a prospect that couldn't help but make me feel slightly sick to my stomach. 

It also didn't take me very long to find Korg, who stood over seven feet tall and had skin made up entirely of rocks and pebbles, clumped together to form a protective exterior layer over his body. I shivered when I saw the texture of it up close, but ignored it bravely and walked up to him anyway. The thought of my team, the Revengers, waiting for me to return with Korg in tow, allowed me to push all and any hesitation to the side. 

"I'm looking for Korg," I whispered through the bars when he saw me, "Are you him?" 

He rose from the floor. "Who's asking? I know you're asking, but is it just you or is there somebody else too?" I frowned at this odd line of questioning but nodded. 

"The lord of thunder sends his regards." 

I pressed the button to the little device Bruce had given me earlier, the same remote that had shut off Thor's obedience disk that morning. 

Korg's disk stopped glowing immediately and he picked it off his skin, tossing it to the side without a second glance. I mentally high-fived myself at my small success, but immediately stopped when I remembered what we had to do. My work was far from done and I'd seen enough movies to know that getting cocky always ended in disaster.

"The revolution has begun! Come with me, Sparkle tits. I know where we can find our weapons." Korg told me with a smile.

I almost made a comment, but rolled my eyes instead. Word in Sakaar travelled fast, apparently, and my appearance had not gone unnoticed even here in the dungeons. 

A little, four-foot-tall insect-like creature with knives for hands joined us quickly. As it turned out Korg had a friend called Miek. Miek was the insect-looking thing. Also quite unpleasant to look at, but not any less friendly. 

I went around all of the cells with my new companions in tow and switched off most of the prisoner's obedience disks, only leaving the ones behind that were either passed out drunk or severely injured. Together, with a group of nearly fifteen captured aliens, Korg, Miek and myself fought our way to the armory, where Korg shoved two large stun guns in my hands, before arming himself with a big cannon-esque contraption.

Miek didn't need a weapon. His hands were knives. He couldn't hold one even if he wanted to. He was like the Sakaarian version of Edward Scissorhands.

"I've never fired a gun before," I said, my voice shakier than my hands which held the guns, "How do they work?" 

"Me neither," Korg said with a dumb grin, "Here. I think you could use this."

I swallowed hard when I saw what Korg held in his hand. I tightly gripped the item in my hand and nodded, sending him a comforting smile as a way to say thanks before quickly sliding it on as best I could. 

My heart pounded in my chest when we fought our way through the Grandmaster's palace, desperate to make it to his garage before the guards outside were alerted of what was happening inside the palace. I thankfully didn't have to shoot anyone, as the rest of the prisoners had done the job of finishing them off before I even got the chance. They surrounded me like a shield. The guards didn't stand a chance against their talons, tentacles and makeshift weaponry. 

The bodies of at least a dozen dead guards littered the hallways behind us, but we weren't slowing down. I wasn't a very big fan of murder, but for the love of Gods, I'd done it before, and even though I swore I'd never do it again, running through this maze of a palace with almost the entire planet against us; I couldn't help but to consider changing my mind just for the sake of saving my own ass and those of my friends. 

We made our way up an elevator, which had to have been the most awkward experience of my life. Fourteen of us, all varying in shape and size crammed into one small elevator that placed the world's worst iteration of Britney Spear's 'Hit me baby, one more time'. Apparently, she was known even on Sakaar. For some reason, this didn't surprise me. The Grandmaster seemed like the type of guy to be a Britney fan. 

We ran to the Grandmaster's private garage, taking down several more guards as we went. As soon as we blasted down the doors, I could see Thor standing next to a huge, sleek starship whose name, The Commodore, was etched onto the side in bright orange spray paint. 

He hovered over Loki's body as he lay on the ground writhing in apparent agony. Thor looked deep in thought while his brother convulsed at his feet, pain written all across his pale features. I could see Thor tossing the obedience remote down beside his brother, who had clearly lost his trust once again, but it was already too late. 

The doors on the east end of the garage opened, setting off blaring alarms to alert the palace of our unauthorized visit to the garage and the imminent departure of the Commodore. 

"Come on!" I yelled at the men - if one could call them that - behind me. We ran past passed-out guards, ignoring the sirens blaring all around us while we watched Thor nearing the ship. 

"Thor!" I yelled out, hoping he would hear me over the high-pitched alarms going off. 

Leading the army I'd created less than ten minutes ago, I sprinted towards the Norse God with his cape flying behind me, a beacon of red. Still holding the guns in my hands, I ignored the moaning Loki and ran past him straight for his brother. 

He saw us eventually, stopping dead in his tracks when he laid eyes upon all of us, a bunch both ridiculous and badass at the same time. The much taller man immediately pulled me in for a hug, squeezing me tight against his plated armor while he rubbed the back of my head with his right hand. 

"You did good," He breathed in my ear, "Come on, let's go. Banner should be here any minute." 

I beamed. It had been a long time since anyone had treated me with such tenderness. 

I quickly ordered the men to get the hell on the ship, but they were too busy fighting off guards to hear me. Only Korg and Miek were close enough to me to hear what I said and so they were the only ones following after Thor, who'd grabbed my hand and started to drag me along with him onto the aluminum steps.

We had to leave as soon as possible, seeing as though guards began to flood the garage, surrounding us from every direction. With their guns pointed straight at us, I knew the only thing holding them back from firing us into oblivion was the Commodore, a ship that must've cost the Grandmaster a fortune to construct and ages to complete.

It didn't take Thor long to get the damn thing to start and before the hatch was even closed, we were already in the air. I let out a breath as I strapped myself into my seat. 

The first two ships out of the garage swooped around us, locking their weapons on us. I grabbed onto Thor's shoulder in anticipation of getting blasted by their cannons, but they never fired. 

From above us, flying in another ship much smaller than ours, Bruce had taken out both ships. He stuck out his thumb towards us and urged us to follow him to the outskirts of the city, where we could all come together on the Commodore before our final departure. 

We seared through the city in tandem. From the rearview, I could see the Grandmaster raging hell on the escaping prisoners. I hoped they would be okay, but for the time being had to accept the fact that their staying behind was probably the only reason why we had made it out alive at all. They had sacrificed themselves so we could get out. 

"Put your seatbelt on," Thor ordered me, "This is going to be a bumpy ride." 

"Open the doors!" Bruce yelled through his intercom.

Looked quickly looked over the console, before flipping a switch. Banner stepped up his game, pressing the accelerator to go as far as she could possibly go. He maxed out his throttle until he finally flew directly under us, before closing his eyes and pressing a single red button. 

Banner was ejected from his ship, momentarily soaring through the air at a vast speed before crashing onto our ship with a loud bang. His ship pathetically fell to the earth below, followed by a loud explosion that confused the men that had been in his pursuit. My heart skipped a beat, but I managed to exhale steadily when I saw that Banner had landed on our ship in one piece and that he was still alive and - for the most part - well. 

I may not be a very big fan of the Hulk, but Banner's a pretty cool guy. 

Edited: May 23rd, 2023.