Chapter 8: The Mighty Thor

At a massive Science Symposium in Greenwich England, the guest speaker was walking back and forth nervously. The speaker, noted Astrophysicist Jane Foster, was pacing back and forth backstage, going over her notes for the presentation.

"In conclusion," she read off, "while our previous understanding of the Einstein Rosenbridge was up to this point, the ramifications of its newly discovered existence could affect the scientific community for generations to come," she took a breath before turning to her intern, Darcy Lewis. "How was that?"

"Nice read," Darcy commented. "But you might wanna work on your delivery. You sound stressed."

"That's because I am stressed. I am about to go out there and introduce a scientific phenomenon that up until recently, had only been present in science fiction. There's a lot riding on this."

"Relax, you'll do fine. You and "Donald" have been working on this for, what, a week? You'll be fine."

"I'm glad you brought him up," Jane noted. "He was supposed to be here half an hour ago. Where is he?"

"Hey, remember who we're talking about. Has he ever let you down before?" Jane paused, unable to answer. "Exactly. Trust me, he'll be here."

Darcy walked off, leaving Jane huffing in response.

"Wherever you are," she said to seemingly no one. "You better be kicking butt."

…

Meanwhile, countless miles away on the woodland world of Vannaheim, a great battle was taking place. Marauders had laid waste to a nearby village, causing its inhabitants to flee in terror. Only the timely arrival of the army of their neighboring world, Asgard, prevented the invading force from overwhelming the villagers. Soldiers clashed against marauders in numerous smaller battles spread across the wide stretch of chaos.

Amidst these fights were several notable warriors of Asgard, including Balder the Brave, one of Asgard's most loyal soldiers adorned in silver armor and swinging his sword at some oncoming foes. Fighting by his side in red and silver armor was Lady Sif, captain of the Valkyries and the fiercest female warrior in the Nine Realms. She managed to block a laser blast with her shield before swinging around and slicing through a second marauder in rapid succession.

"This is becoming disastrous," she bemoaned, engaging in another combatant. "Where is he?"

"He'll be here," Baldur insisted, running his sword through a marauder. "Be patient."

"Hard to be patient with a hundred warring marauders ready to take your head off!"

She charged forward, holding up her shield and ramming through several marauders while swinging her sword at others. As she did so, she came into contact with three other warriors of Asgard. Fandral the Dashing in green garb, a goatee, and a rapier-like sword in hand that he used to run a marauder through. Standing next to him was Hogun the Grim in blue armor with a goatee and wielding a mace, which he used to bash a marauder in the face. Flanking both of them was Volstagg the Voluminous, sporting purple armor and fending off several more marauders with his signature battle ax.

"Having trouble, Sif?" Volstagg asked, striking a marauder in the gut with the blunt end of his weapon.

"I'm completely fine!" she insisted, swinging her sword at a marauder.

"We'd be done by now if 'he' would show up," Hugun remarked, jabbing his mace forward at a marauder.

"He'll be here," Volstagg reassured. "Has he let us down before?"

"My point exactly," Baldur remarked. "We just need to hold out until he arrives."

"Easier said than done," Fandral remarked, swinging his sword in a fancy manner.

He then grabbed a marauder's arm, causing him to aim his energy pistol in another direction before taking him out. Volstagg swatted another marauder away with his ax before grabbing another and slamming him into the ground. Hogun dodged several sword strikes before using his mace to shatter the blade. He then swung the mace at the marauder's face, knocking him to the ground. Baldur meanwhile used his own sword to block and deflect numerous sword attacks before shoving him off and kicking him into two more marauders, knocking them to the ground. Sif meanwhile, simply stepped backward with each swing and strike a marauder dealt her before swinging her shield at his face, knocking him out.

As she turned around, she came face to face with a marauder with a laser rifle aimed at her. Before he could get out a shot, however, a massive surge of energy shot down at him, causing Sif to step back. She smiled, recognizing the energy as the Bifrost, the bridge between realms. Out from the Bifrost, a metal hammer flew out, taking out several marauders in rapid succession. Just before the hammer came into contact with Volstagg, it stopped short, suddenly flying back to the Bifrost. The Bifrost then dissipated, revealing a man in silver armor with bare arms and wristguards, a flowing red cape, and a silver helmet with wings who took hold of the hammer as it sailed back to him. This was the Mighty Thor, the prince of Asgard and one of the greatest warriors in the nine realms. As a group of marauders came charging at him, Thor ran forward and leaped into the air, raising his hammer high before striking it down on the ground hard, causing the marauders to tumble as a result.

"I knew you'd show up," Baldur remarked, blocking a blade as he conversed with Thor.

"I was afraid I kept you waiting," Thor retorted.

"Nonsense," Sif responded, swinging her sword again. "We had this completely under control."

"Is that why everything's on fire?"

He swung his hammer out, knocking a marauder back into the side of a hut. Another marauder tried grabbing him from behind, but Thor just elbowed him before grabbing him and tossing him into a small group of marauders, knocking them all to the ground. Seeing a group of Asgardian soldiers were in trouble, he threw his hammer out, sending it sailing through the air and nailing several marauders in rapid succession. As Thor waited for his signature weapon to return, Sif looked over and saw a marauder aiming a harpoon weapon at him. The marauder fired, prompting Sif to raise her shield to catch the harpoon before it made contact. Thor turned to see the result, causing Sif to smile in response. Thor smirked back as he reclaimed his hammer, raising it up as lighting generated from it before shooting out, sending a stream of electricity to take out the marauder.

Just then, there was a loud roaring sound, causing all fighting on the battlefield to stop. Thor and his allies looked around, trying to find the source. Thor turned to a group of marauders, seeing them break ranks for something to pass through. Eventually, that something turned out to be a massive creature made out of rocks wielding a giant club.

"A Kronan warrior…" Thor recognized, gripping his hammer.

An Asgardian soldier rushed up to try and take on the warrior, only to get batted away by its massive weapon. The Asgardian warriors winced in response.

"All yours," Sif remarked.

Thor just gripped his hammer as he walked forward, slowly approaching the Kronan as it loomed over him.

"Hello," Thor greeted.

"You will not live through this day, Asgardian," the Kronan promised. "Armies have crumbled at my mere approach. I have crushed countless warriors within my hands. You stand no chance of survival. Surrender is your only option."

"Very well… I accept your surrender."

The Kronan and the marauders all laughed in response to that. Thor just shrugged as the Kronan gripped his club in both hands, ready to bring it down on him. As he did so, Thor just grabbed his hammer by its leather strap on the end, spinning it increasingly fast. Moments before the Kronan could bring his weapon down, Thor swung his hammer up, hitting the Kronan and shattering him into pieces. The other marauders all gasped in shock as their prized warrior literally crumbled to pieces before them, leaving Thor to place a hand on his waist with a smug expression on his face.

"Anyone else?" he asked.

After a moment, the marauders all threw down their weapons in surrender, much to the delight of the Asgardian warriors.

"Perhaps next time, we should start with the big one," Fandral remarked.

…

It didn't take long for the Asgardian forces to round up the remaining marauders, cuffing them and readying them for transport to the Asgard dungeons. Thor was overseeing the affair, making sure everything was in order.

"It seems you all have things in hand," Thor noted to Baldur and Sif.

"Why?" Sif noted. "Have somewhere else you need to be?"

"As a matter of fact," Thor replied, tossing his hammer to himself before looking up. "Heimdall, if you don't mind."

The Bifrost suddenly opened up, engulfing Thor and carrying him away before either of them could respond.

"And there he goes," Baldur remarked.

…

Back in Greenwich, Jane looked down at her watch, seeing that her speech was about to start soon.

"Come on, Thor," She muttered. "Where are you?"

Suddenly, there was a loud boom coming from outside, causing Jane to perk up. She ran over to the back exit and opened the door, seeing the Bifrost deposit Thor outside, how dressed in a casual business suit and holding an umbrella that was in truth a disguised Mjiolnir. He turned toward Jane, smiling at the sight of her.

"Jane!" he called out heading over. "Am I too late?"

"Uh… no, we still have a few minutes. But where were you?! We were supposed to meet up before to go over the speech."

"I know, I'm sorry, but Vannahiem was under siege. Marauders were laying waste, villages were being torched, countless innocents were suffering. I had to put an end to the slaughter."

Jane paused a moment before replying. "Well… I guess that's a good excuse. But you still should've called or… something."

Thor chuckled. "I suppose. Perhaps I can make it up to you after the seminar?"

Jane smiled at the concept. "I think we can work something out."

The two stood there, smiling at each other. They most likely would've stayed that way were it not for the sound of Darcy clearing her throat to get their attention.

"Not that I have a problem with you two staring longingly into each other's eyes," she commented. "But don't you two have a presentation to… you know, present."

"Right," Thor replied, turning back to Jane. "shall we?"

"Indeed," Jane replied, taking his hand as they went back inside to astonish the scientific world.

…

Another one done. Another reason for retooling some of these solo chapters is not only to show what the main heroes are like but also their current positions in the world. For Thor, it's dividing his time between different worlds. and you can be that will come into play later.

Thor

Voice Actor: Chris Hemsworth

Appearance: look from Age of Ultron with the winged helmet