Chapter 1:
"So this is the mighty Thor? I'm underwhelmed."
"Well, then you better get whelmed, vile creature!"
The golden-hair of Thor flowed about as flawlessly as his punches down onto the dome of a large troll beast. The God of Thunder could not recall off hand when this battle had started. All Thor cared about was a good scrap, and this troll offered it, as trolls tended to do.
The Troll, in no mood for the sophisticated art of knuckle brawling, hoisted up his club and bellowed. Thor dodged the wild swing from the club. The golden-haired Asgardian introduced his knuckles into the forehead of the troll and caused him to smash down onto the ground.
A flying rock received a blunt force from Mjolnir. Electricity rattled around Thor. The troll grunted and charged Thor. The two exchanged punches with Thor getting the better of the exchange. A swinging double axe handle to the top of the head rammed the troll down to his knees and took him out of the battle.
When there was one troll, there were likely more. Two other nasty creatures charged forward and made their attempts to go at Thor. Thor dispatched one of the trolls by hoisting said troll up in the air and tossing the foul beast from afar. The other troll grabbed Thor and tousled with him.
The troll's foul breath immobilized Thor for only seconds. Thor smashed into the chest.
"There is a lovely invention on Midgard called a breath mint. I suggest you look into one."
Thor blocked the troll's foul breath with a well-placed fist to the mouth. Another loud crack and the creature crumpled underneath Thor's assault. Thor ripped the fist from the mouth and broke out into a smile. Which only widened when more trolls charged.
A figure dropped down from behind and smashed one of the trolls down to the ground. Thor smiled and viewed the dark-haired maiden rush into battle. She slid underneath the swing of the club which almost took her head off before coming back around. The woman smashed into the face of the troll.
"You had a scrap with these trolls, and did not invite me? I'm hurt, Thor."
"Ah, Lady Sif, so nice to see you," Thor said. "Let us send these foul beasts packing."
"Yes! Let's!"
The leader of the trolls rose up to his feet and he was fuming. No one could ever have an even angrier look upon their faces, that at the same time, made them look even more angry.
"You will fall at my feet, Asgardian!"
The troll bellowed and rushed Thor. Thor did not back down. The troll's brutish attempts did little to phase the God of Thunder. Thor smashed down upon the troll and knocked the creature around. Shot after shot rocked the troll until Thor swung for the fences and bashed Mjolnir down upon the creature's head.
Sif finished rocking the rest of the trolls with a vicious series of attacks. One smashed face first into the ground and she bounced up. The moment Sif stood up, the other trolls got the hint.
"Well, they eventually understood they were foolish to pick a fight at that," Sif responded. "Why were they here?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. I think one of them just saw that I passed and decided to make a name for himself. And it just escalated from there."
A moment passed, and Thor leaned towards Sif who smiled. There was nothing like a good scrap which really got the blood pumping and perhaps opened the door for other activities.
"How about a drink to celebrate our victory?" Thor inquired.
"I would be delighted."
"And there I was, with my fellow Avengers. We had our backs against the wall, as the Chimera had been summoned. We fought boldy and valiantly, and managed to fight the creature. Our brave efforts summoned the architect of this vile beast and it was only the one and only, the infamous Morgan le Fay. Who, as it turned out, had been trying to use the Avengers as bait to draw out her once lover and associate, Doctor Doom."
The people at the bar, including Sif, sat around. Sif would have preferred a much more intimate get together with Thor, but perhaps the moment would pass.
"Now, we stopped her vile plan, although it was a blow to the ego to be nothing but a pawn in such a glorious game between two chessmasters. There would be other times where I would encounter Doom. Normally, he does battle with the quartet of heroes known as the Fantastic Four, but given how world-shattering the maniac's plans tend to be, we have had a quarrel with him a time or two."
Thor drew in breath and everyone hung on his every word.
"And now, let me tell you about the time where the pizza delivery man was replaced by a Skrull. Which had been the harbinger of an alien invasion which had…."
A glorious tune began to play in the bar which caught Thor's attention.
"Ah, it appears that someone from Midgard appears to have contacted me. I do hope it is not those fine folks from Microsoft again, claiming that there is something wrong with my Windows. I keep assuring them they have not been shattered or damaged in any way."
Raucous laughter echoed from the patrons of the bar. Thor waited for the laughter to die down before he picked up the cell phone.
"Thor?"
"Ah, Lady Darcy, what can I do for you?" Thor asked.
"There's a situation here….with Jane. It's best I tell you this in person."
"Ah, well, I'll be there as soon as possible," Thor said. "A situation has arised with Doctor Foster."
"Then, we better go deal with it," Sif said.
Thor frowned. Darcy would not be calling unless it is serious, and Thor hoped that Jane had not gotten entangled in some villain's plot.
A portal opened and it brought Thor and Sif outside of the apartment of Darcy Lewis. While it would have been easy to portal inside, Thor learned a long time ago that it was a faux pas to enter someone's home without their consent. A lesson many Asgardians had not learned, but that was beside the point.
Thor knocked on the door. It opened and Darcy opened the door. She looked as lovely and buxom as ever, but Thor only spared the most courtesy thought of her beauty as he joined Sif.
"Oh, thank...well thankfully you're here."
For some reason, to Darcy, it felt odd to thank god, when there was an actual god, and a goddess as well, standing on your doorstep. Just seemed completely weird.
"You called, is Doctor Foster in trouble?" Sif asked Darcy.
"We found a strange alien metal," Darcy said. "A few weeks ago, and we've been studying it. It's unlike anything I've ever seen anywhere on Earth. Hang on, I have a sample right here."
Darcy moved over to the kitchen table and showed them the sample. In the form of an ax and a helmet. Sif looked a bit baffled, but Thor's eyes widened when he laid eyes upon it.
"By Odin's beard," Thor gasped. "I recognize that metal. I once saw a winged warrior from another world wield it in the form of a mace. But alas, the dire situation prevents me from doing the full tale justice."
Thor took a moment to regain his bearings. Sif knew there was more to the story.
"So you discovered the metal," Sif prompted. "What happened after that?"
"Jane said she was following another lead," Darcy continued. "But, she hasn't checked in a few days, and that's out of character for here...and there's something else….I didn't think of it at the time. Thought he was being a creepy stalker, but it might be serious."
"Who?" Sif asked.
"Benji from the office, he's an intern, but he was acting really weird," Darcy commented. "He was asking a lot of questions and he cornered Jane in the parking lot."
"Something tells me this was more than a violation of Jane's personal space," Sif said.
"Quite," Thor said. "It appears that this Benji had less than pure intentions in mind, when dealing with Doctor Foster. And I fear he may have made some move to do her harm."
Thor's hand clutched around the handle of Mjolnir.
"Jane could not shake her, no matter what," Darcy said. "Thought he was just being socially awkward, but there's just something even more off than him. I've got his address if you want to….."
Sif wasted no time taking the address from Darcy's outstretched hand.
"Just….he's a man, a weird man, but a man nonetheless," Darcy said. "He doesn't seem like the mastermind type, although he's our best chance at figuring out what happened to Jane."
"Yes, we'll do what we can to get a confession from Benji," Thor responded darkly.
Benjamin Peterson, nicknamed Benji, waited for the pizza delivery man. A loud knock on the door caused him to rise to his feet. He opened the door and came face to chest with Thor.
"Hello, friend. I have a few questions to ask you."
Benji screamed and rushed as fast as his legs could carry him to the nearest window. But outside the window, another Asgardian, a woman blocked his exit. She hoisted Benji up over her head and walked him back into the room to deposit the man on the couch.
"Easy, Sif, he looks like the type to bruise easily," Thor said. "Friend, you have some explaining to do."
"I haven't done anything!" Benji yelled.
"People who are innocent, don't try and jump out of a window to escape," Sif said. "We know you've been talking to Doctor Jane Foster. The question is, what do you know about her disappearance?"
"I don't….Doctor Foster, I've never heard of her, never met her," Benji said.
Thor smashed his hammer lightly down on the table to make Benji jump. All of the dishes on the counter rattled. Sif grabbed his shoulder and pressed tightly to him.
"We both know you're lying," Sif said. "The question is why."
"Because, they'd kill me!" Benji yelled.
"Death is easy compared to what can be done to you, if you don't tell us soon," Sif told him.
"Yes, friend, we will go about our day if you tell us what happened and where we can find Jane Foster."
"Fine, it's AIM. I've been in contact with them, and they promised to get me a good job, if I did them a couple of favors!"
Thor's expression darkened. AIM, well that was a problem. Advanced Idea Mechanics had been a thorn in the side of the Avengers for quite some time. Scavengers, who took technology and appropriated it for their own means.
"I was supposed to find out the information, but when I couldn't get Doctor Foster to tell me anything, they escalated their plan and abducted her!" Benji yelled. "I know there's a facility outside of New Mexico where they might be holding her. I swear, I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
The pathetic man on the couch wilted.
"If you're honestly sorry, you will tell me everything possible about AIM," Sif said.
"Right, right, oh, I'm going to die for this!"
The man's voice cracked. Thor almost felt sorry for the man, almost but not quite, given how he was an architect of an abduction of a woman who he held so dear.
Stealth had not been an Asgardian strong suit. But, right now, Sif and Thor walked out into the desert. Appearances indicated the facility was abandoned.
Thor heard a small crackling of energy. For a human, this would hurt, walking through this field. However, Thor and Sif walked through the field without a sting.
"It appears they're here, AIM," Thor whispered.
In full force, AIM had been bringing something up from the ground. It was a dusty shield and one of them looked pleased, about as much as a many in a beekeeper costume could.
"They have more of the Nth metal," Thor said.
"Is that what it was called?"
"That is what she called it, yes," Thor said. "Although, these fiends have their….."
Drones above caught Thor's attention. Thor reared back and smashed into the drone to cause electrical sparks to fly out of it. Sif dodged the blasts from the second drone and smashed down onto it hard, to rattle it. One pivot allowed Sif to take out the third drone with a stabbing motion from her sword.
"Well, stealth is done, they know that we're here."
"Yes, and I've been itching for a rematch with you."
Thor turned his eyes to the imposing form of Crusher Creel, better known as the Absorbing Man. Clutched in his hands was a small sample of the alien metal.
"Creel," Thor said. "I see you've sufficiently licked your wounds after your last battle."
The Absorbing Man laughed and held a small scrap of metal in his hand.
"This is unlike anything I've ever seen in my life. And it will be the last thing the mighty Thor sees in his."
The Nth metal absorbed into the skin, and caused a strange energy to emit from the Absorbing Man. Thor and Sif braced themselves for a fight.
The Plot Continues In the Next Chapter.