Earth-717: Thor Vol 1

Chapter 10: Brigandir

Jane was shoved into a seat by Kurse, who sniffed her multiple times before walking away. Jane knew that there was nothing she could do to escape, so she did not bother to put up a fight. She instead started mentally taking stock of everyone and everything inside of the giant orb chamber. Almost a hundred Elves were there, with one of them operating the piloting mechanisms of the Cryptorium using the holographic display screens.

Jane then watched as Malekith approached her. She took the time to visually absorb all of his features. His ghostly white hair. His piercing blue eyes. The blackened metal that made up the left side of his body, and the bone lines that glowed blue underneath. He spent a few moments looking her over, before reaching out and rubbing the back of his left hand on the side of her face.

She shivered as he touched her.

"Be not afraid," said Malekith. "You are quite safe now. I have no intention of harming the vessel that carries my beloved wife."

Jane scoffed.

"So I'm just supposed to be peachy that my body's getting taken over? Yeah, right."

Malekith laughed to himself before gesturing for Aeltri to walk over. As she did, Jane shot her a furious glare, which was promptly ignored. Another Dark Elf approached, holding a small silver bowl of black ashes. Aeltri grinned as Malekith gazed into her eyes.

"Now, Princess Aeltri . . . ."

Malekith dipped both of his hands into the bowl, caking his fingers in ashes. The Dark Elf with the bowl then backed away. Taking a step forward, Malekith held his palms in the air over Aeltri's face. She stood still, eagerly anticipating the ritual which was about to occur. Malekith smiled as he then pressed both of his thumbs against Aeltri's cheeks, which caused several magical energy bubbles to materialize, circling the air around the two Elves.

Aeltri shrieked in pain as her cheeks lit up with magical energy.

"Receive my imprint . . . . my mark . . . . my curse . . . ."

Jane winced as she heard Aeltri continue to scream.

"Receive the Sigil of Malakhas, my sigil, my legacy . . . . and become my family."

Malekith let go of Aeltri's cheeks, and the energy bubbles disappeared. Aeltri took in a deep breath as the same sigils that were on the cheeks of the other Light Elves in the room formed on her own. Opening her eyes, she then grinned with delight.

"You will never know fear again, Princess Aeltri," said Malekith. "Instead, your enemies will know fear of you. Your gifts were never meant to be hidden. They were meant to be embraced, the way my people embraced our gifts."

Aeltri started chuckling under her breath.

"And when the new universe is born with the power of the Aether . . . . when we take control, and you become the Queen you were always meant to be . . . . your people will realize why they were right to dread your power."

"My mother comes first," said Aeltri, smiling with satisfaction. "She will suffer for all of the anguish she has put me through. All the years of hiding, of repression . . . . all my time as her prisoner."

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Jane kicked at Aeltri's ankle.

"That's what this is about?!" scolded Jane. "You're just mad at your mom? You kidding?!"

Malekith and Aeltri both turned to look at Jane with raised eyebrows.

"Everybody gets mad at their parents! Everyone! Just a part of growing up! Doesn't mean you have to do all . . . . all this!"

Aeltri sneered at Jane before stepping in front of her. With cold eyes, Aeltri then lowered her knees to place herself at eye level with Jane.

"You think you know me so well, do you, Jane?"

Jane held her head back, feeling like Aeltri was invading her personal space.

"Then tell me . . . . why were you surprised when I betrayed you?"

Jane narrowed her eyes, but did not say anything. Aeltri stood back up, smirking at her. Malekith then turned as he heard the Dark Elf who was piloting the Cryptorium speak up.

"We have reached Brigandir."

"Set us down," ordered Malekith. "Our new universe starts here, today."

Thor furiously smashed away the rubble that had barricaded the entrance to the temple, repeatedly and wildly swinging his hammer to do so. After breaking his way through the rocks, he rushed inside to find both Sif and Faradei collapsed on the stone floor. He ran up to Sif and knelt beside her, grabbing the back of her head.

"Sif? Sif!"

Sif's eyes remained closed. Thor pressed his ear against her breast, listening for her heartbeat. He then placed both of his hands on her face, gently slapping her cheeks.

"Sif!"

Still receiving no response, he let her fall back to the floor, before putting Mjolnir on the ground next to him. Holding both of his hands together, he then raised them above his head. He slammed them down together on her chest, and her eyes burst open as she gasped for air.

Thor smiled with relief as Sif coughed, her eyes darting around the room as she regained her bearings. She then reached up and brushed her open palm against Thor's face.

"Thor . . . ."

Thor seized Sif's hand, squeezing it to show her that he was real.

"Yes. Yes, Sif, 'tis I."

"Thor . . . ."

Sif breathed in and out several times. Thor then heard a groan from the other side of the room, and turned his head to see Faradei slowly pushing himself off the floor.

"Faradei! You live!"

"Thor," said Sif.

Thor turned his head back to Sif.

"Thor, l-listen to me . . . . we are betrayed."

"What? Where . . . . where is Aeltri?"

"W-With . . . . with Malekith."

Thor's eyes widened with shock.

"What?"

"She turned on us," explained Sif, taking deep breaths between phrases. "Gave Jane to him . . . . pledged herself to him . . . ."

Thor looked through the entrance of the temple with a worried expression.

"Jane . . . . she . . . ."

"We can still save her," said Sif. "We can stop him. Stop Aeltri . . . ."

"Sif, you are wounded. You . . . ."

Sif interrupted Thor by seizing his hand with hers.

"As are you, but will that stop you from doing what you must?"

Thor took in a breath before answering her question.

"No."

"Then neither will I."

Thor nodded before helping Sif to her feet. Faradei wiped off his face before stumbling over to them. Thor saw that Faradei was about to faint again, and so held him up by his shoulders, allowing Faradei to lean his weight against his body. Faradei then regained consciousness again, as several tears slipped down his cheeks.

"P-Pri . . . . P-Princess . . . ."

"Faradei?"

"She . . . . s-she . . . . she turned on us, on me . . . . I . . . . it's all . . . . all my fault."

"No," said Thor. "No, 'tis not."

"It is," insisted Faradei. "She feared the end of our quest . . . . having to return home . . . . to her mother. To that life she so despised. A life of fear . . . . I never wanted to take her back, but what was I to do? What was I to do?!"

Thor turned Faradei's face towards his own.

"You have done nothing but help your friends, good Faradei. Aeltri's choice is not your doing."

"But I was supposed to protect her!" yelled Faradei. "'Twas my responsibility to keep her safe, even from herself! I failed!"

"Not yet," said Thor.

Faradei raised an eyebrow.

"We can find her, find Jane, and save them both. Speak to her, and see if you can show her the error of her ways. Perhaps she need not be lost to Malekith forever."

"I can only hope," said Faradei.

Thor, Sif and Faradei all walked out of the temple, and then looked to the skyline, in the direction the Cryptorium had taken off. In the far distance, they could see the top of Brigandir.

"The dark tower," said Faradei. "Malekith returns there, no doubt."

"We cannot reach it on time by foot!" exclaimed Sif.

"We need not travel by foot," said Thor. "We require stealth no longer. Grab hold!"

Thor pulled both Sif and Faradei close to him. Sif eagerly wrapped her arms around Thor, while Faradei did so more awkwardly and with some hesitation. Once they were both holding on to him, Thor started spinning Mjolnir.

"Do not let go," joked Thor, before launching into the air.

Malekith walked to the centre of Brigandir's roof, with Jane being pushed into position next to him by Kurse. The Cryptorium was hovering just to the side of the tower's edge, and Aeltri and over a dozen of Malekith's followers were also present. Malekith held his hands out in front of him as he surveyed the tower.

"Brigandir. The great, dark tower. My domain."

Malekith turned around to face everyone else.

"This was where I made my final stand against that vile devil, Bor. The Asgardian who thought himself better than I, when he had committed terrible atrocities that no one knew the number! It is fitting that this be the place where my new universe is born."

"New universe?" asked Jane. "Well, this place could use a decorator."

"One of his many crimes was that he butchered you," said Malekith. "My dearest Ciridylia."

The lines on Jane's face softened, as she was stunned by what Malekith had said.

"He killed you. Slaughtered you as if you were common livestock. And he did the same to our . . . . our children. Do you remember?"

Flashes of two young Dark Elves appeared in Jane's mind. She grasped at her forehead as the images repeated.

"Our son, Astos . . . . our daughter, Delia. Do you remember how they died?"

Jane saw the images of the Dark Elf children explode into dust, and she fell to her knees as her head relentlessly throbbed. Malekith arched his back down, holding his hands in front of him as his tone grew more violent.

"Do you remember how Bor destroyed our family?!"

"YES!"

Jane's eyes burst open, her pupils covered with red mist. Malekith's eyes gleamed as he saw Jane's hair start to take on the same ghostly hue as his own. The Aether swirled around under the skin of her face, as it started to seep into her brain to finish the transformation. Malekith gently cupped the bottom of Jane's chin with his left hand.

"In a few minutes, my darling, we will be together again."

Suddenly, Kurse let out a roar, pointing into the distance.

"Malekith! Look!"

Everyone turned to look where Kurse was pointing. They could see Thor flying towards them from over the range of nearby mountains. Malekith sneered. Aeltri frowned. Jane sighed with relief.

"Send out the Harrows!" ordered Malekith. "Keep him back! Ciridylia needs only a few minutes more, and then the Aether will be mine!"

A squad of several Harrows disembarked from the Cryptorium, and headed towards Thor. They started firing red lasers at him, and he swerved back and forth along his flight path to dodge the incoming projectiles. Faradei groaned in fear as Thor narrowly avoided the barrage of laser fire. Flying between a pair of Harrows, Thor then closed in on the tower.

"Sif!"

Thor swung his left arm forward, tossing Sif off of him. Holding her arms out at her sides and stretching out her legs, Sif soared through the air towards the top of the tower. She then unsheathed her sword, and used it to skewer a Dark Elf through the stomach, breaking her fall. Flipping over him, she then flung him forward as she landed on her feet.

Kurse bellowed before charging towards her. After Sif kicked away another Dark Elf, she braced herself for Kurse's attack. He swung down with a hammer fist, which Sif sidestepped before landing a roundhouse kick on his face. Leaving himself open, Kurse was then stabbed in the chest by Sif's sword. Unperturbed, Kurse knocked Sif's sword away, forcing her to spin around and slash at his knees.

As Sif and Kurse continued to duel, Thor tossed Faradei towards the tower with his other hand. Faradei curled himself into a ball as he missed the roof and instead landed on the circle balcony that denoted the perimeter of the lower floor. A handful of Dark Elves jumped off the roof and landed on the lower balcony, ready to attack him.

Faradei pulled out two daggers, quickly tossing one that landed in the throat of one of the Dark Elves. Faradei tossed another, which was deflected by the sword of his intended target. Drawing a larger blade, Faradei then started blocking sword attacks from three different Dark Elves. Staying on the defensive for a few moments, he then let out a wide horizontal slash, forcing his enemies to take a step back.

Pulling out another dagger with his free hand, Faradei then swung his two blades at different angles, creating an unpredictable assault that continued to stagger his foes. Swinging down with both blades to disarm one of the Dark Elves, he then stabbed the Elf in the chest with the dagger. As he pulled the dagger away, he launched a kick against another Dark Elf, knocking her off the edge of the balcony.

More Dark Elves jumped down to try and subdue Faradei, but Aeltri simply looked down, watching the battle. She gulped as she observed Faradei's battle prowess slowly overtake his opponents, but she did not join the fight.

Flying around the tower, Thor was pursued by a squad of Harrows, all using their rapid-fire lasers to try and shoot Thor out of the sky. Smirking to himself, Thor suddenly halted his forward flight, and one of the Harrows soared up to him. Swinging his hammer around his left side, Thor hit the Harrow square in the pilot chamber, blowing apart the whole ship.

Another Harrow launched a salvo of heat-seeking missiles, which Thor countered with a lightning blast from Mjolnir. Destroying the missiles, the lightning blast then struck another Harrow, damaging its flight mechanisms. This caused it to spiral out of control and smash against the side of the tower, jostling everyone on it.

Kurse was staggered, and Sif jumped at him to slash across his chest. Kurse growled at this before landing a punch to her gut.

"Bah!" shouted Kurse. "Petty wench! I want the Odinson! I want the God of Thunder!"

Kurse followed up with several more punches, knocking Sif towards the edge of the tower. She then was forced to use her shield to deflect a magical attack from one of the hostile Light Elves, giving Kurse another opportunity to punch her. Her face bloodied and bruised, Sif refused to give up, jabbing Kurse with her shield before slashing vertically along his waist.

Kurse groaned in pain, grabbing at his side. This gave Sif a chance to cartwheel laterally, obtaining more room to manoeuvre. Blocking two magic blasts from other Light Elves, Sif then charged one of them down, cutting open her stomach. Stepping back to dodge a sword swing, Sif then performed a spin attack, decapitating two Elves at once.

Having regained his composure, Kurse charged at Sif, intending to skewer her with his tusks. Hearing him roar, Sif turned and placed her shield between the tusks on Kurse's face, slowing him down. Kurse then tried to seize Sif with his hands, but she lowered herself to barrel roll between his legs.

"You wanted the God of Thunder?!" asked Sif.

Kurse blinked and turned around.

"You'll have to settle for the God of War!"

Sif put all of her strength into an aerial double kick, with both of her feet colliding against Kurse's chest. The mighty Dark Elf yelled as he was launched off the edge of the tower, tumbling hundreds of metres to the ground below.

Having crushed most of the Harrows, Thor grabbed the last one out of the sky with both hands before heaving it at the Cryptorium. The explosion caused by the impact sent the giant orb falling out of its hovering position, and it slowly careened towards the ground, breaking apart as it did so. Satisfied with the wreckage, Thor then landed on the roof of the tower, next to Sif. Both of the Asgardians then looked at Malekith, who was still hunched over next to Jane.

"It's over, Malekith!" yelled Thor.

"I agree."

Malekith then turned around, and both Thor and Sif gasped upon seeing him. The iron side of his body was healed, and his entire form glowed with a dark, reddish aura. Looking down at the person next to him, Thor saw that Jane was unrecognizable, and appeared to have fully taken on the form of Ciridylia.

Malekith held both of his arms out.

"The Aether is MINE! Today, a new universe will be born, and the old one swept away! Come, Odinson . . . . and face your EXTINCTION!"