Now
The lightning flashed and the thunder rolled, its rhythms shaking Jake Olson to his core. He flew high in the clouds, with Manhattan far below... and he felt more alive than he'd felt before. The body he wore like a costume was not his own... and the hammer he clutched tightly in his right hand had been meant for another... but at this moment and place, he was Thor, God of Thunder.
"Thunder God," a woman woman's cut into his consciousness, carried by a small earpiece radio that Jake wore. "Mind telling me where the hell you are right now?"
"Sorry," Jake mumbled. He flew lower, surveying the city below. He spotted the Daily Bugle and found his bearings. "I've got a bead on 44th and Main. No sign of our targets."
"I hate this damned rain," Susannah Flake mumbled back to him. She was huddled in an alleyway below, tightly wrapped up in a long coat but still getting soaked to the bone. "Can't you make it stop?"
I could, Jake mused, but I'm not sure I want to... not with the way you've been riding me lately. "I'll see what I can do," he lied. A glimmer of headlights below caught his attention. A black van was traveling rapidly through the streets, weaving in and out of stationary traffic. "I think we've found our boys," he rumbled, enjoying the deep voice he carried as Thor.
"I've got 'em spotted, too. Remember: we're short on back-up tonight. I don't want to have to call in the others unless we have to."
Thor didn't respond. Agent 34 had a habit of treating him like a rookie -- which he was -- and he didn't really take kindly to it. He'd been an EMS technician for several years now and had maintained his cool in the face of life or death situations.
He could handle himself under stress.
Thor landed in the center of the street, grateful that the traffic on this area of the road had thinned enough to be almost non-existent. The dark van turned the corner, accelerating when it saw him. Jake raised his hammer high, a burst of electricity sparking around the weapon. He slammed it home on the asphalt, splintering the surface of the road and causing the van to swerve out of control. It slammed into a lamp post, smoke beginning to pour from under the hood.
As the three men began to exit the vehicle, Jake felt his heart skip a beat. None of them looked particularly dangerous but around each of their necks they wore bits of glowing flesh: the driver had a tongue around his neck, pierced through the center; a bulky looking fellow from the rear of the van carried with him two human fingers strung on a chain. "Stay where you are, guys." Thor strode forward, trying to keep his voice level and calm. "Nobody wants to hurt you."
"Screw you, wannabe," the driver said. "You're not Thor and we all know it."
"Really?" Jake asked with a grin. "Then I guess this is what? Special effects?" Jake sent lightning flying from the head of his hammer, striking the driver. A mystic field of energy protected the man but he was still rocked on his heels and looked pained.
"You okay, Chuck?" the man from the passenger side asked. He had a short beard and wild, bloodshot eyes.
"I'm fine, Duane. But I think Mr. Wannabe needs to know why the Three Lokis are the most feared assassins in town."
Before Jake could respond, all three men had raised their hands and unleashed powerful blasts of magic. Jake screamed as the pain tore through him -- since his transformation, he'd been practically immune to harm -- and he fell to one knee.
"Sap's not so tough, is he?" the burly man from the rear of the van said. Now that he was moving closer, Jake could see the man wore a belt buckle with his name on it -- Butch. "Why don't you hand over that mallet of yours, pal -- and maybe we'll let you get out of here with your life."
Jake wheezed as the three men moved around him, blocking his escape. He wondered what was taking Agent 34 so long but the crack of gunfire answered that question. A bullet tore through Duane's left shoulder, sending blood and skin flying from a fist-sized hole. The other two Lokis looked around in shock and Jake took the opportunity to move. "Here you go, Butch: if you want the hammer, then take it." Jake hurled the weapon as Butch turned to face him. It slammed into his midsection, cracking three of the man's ribs and knocking him off his feet. The hammer flew back to Jake's grasp as he made it to his feet again.
Chuck was the only one left standing as Agent 34 moved into view. He raised both hands in submission. "I don't want any trouble."
Susannah pointed her gun at the killer and sneered, "Really? Do you think the 24 people you three have killed in recent weeks wanted trouble?"
Jake saw the thug whispering something and moved to stop whatever was happening. He rushed forward to grasp the man, but Chuck was fading away in a cloud of eldritch smoke. "See you around, suckers," Chuck whispered, laughing.
"Damnit!" Agent 34 whispered. She looked at the remaining men, both of whom were writhing in pain. "Let's get those body parts off them."
Jake did as she commanded, feeling a bit of revulsion as he touched the dead flesh that supposedly belonged to one of the missing Norse gods. According to the intel that SHIELD had received, these things were parts of Loki, Thor's half brother. How they'd ended up on the street was unknown but Jake couldn't help but wonder if it was related to his own transformation. When they'd removed the body parts, Agent 34 dropped them in a black bag and nodded at him.
"Good work, Olson. We'll make an agent out of you yet."
"Actually... I was hoping to talk about that. I like making a difference with you guys, but SHIELD is way too cloak and dagger for me and--" A soft chiming made him blush. "Sorry. Cell phone." Jake stepped away from Agent 34, who took the opportunity to report back to base. "Hello?"
"Jake... is that you?"
"Hannah!" Jake said, remembering that he was still in Thor's body... and thus had Thor's voice. He didn't want to change on the street, though, so he merely said, "Yeah, I have a cold. What's up?"
Hannah Fairmont sighed on the other end of the line. She'd been engaged to Jake long enough that their friends had wondered if the two would ever actually set a date. They had finally done so -- the big day was only three months away -- but she'd grown increasingly frustrated by certain aspects of their relationship. "You told me you weren't working tonight."
"Uh... was I supposed to be somewhere?"
"Yeah. You were. Amanda's play, remember? I waited for you until the curtain opened. She's really annoyed you didn't make it."
Jake ran a hand through Thor's golden locks. Amanda was Hannah's daughter and she'd yet to fully accept Jake in her life. Tonight wouldn't make that any different, he realized. "Is the show over? I can be there in--"
"It ended half an hour ago. What happened?"
"An emergency... they called me in."
"Oh. Well, I can't really complain when my man's saving lives, can I?"
Jake felt awful but he kept his voice level. "Can I come over and make it up to you? Both of you?"
"Sure, Jake. See you at my place."
Jake noticed that the usual "Love You" was absent from the end of her conversation. Turning to face Susannah, he gave a half-hearted shrug. "I have to go."
"You should tell her."
"It's not that easy."
"Whatever you say, hero." Agent 34 looked up into the pouring rain. "Once upon a time, this city had more heroes than you could count. Hell, the whole country did. Then the Avengers and Fantastic Four went away... and we left with a bunch of villains and a whole lot of mutants. Life's short, Jake. Don't waste it."
You don't have to lecture me about making the most out of life, he thought bitterly. I see death everyday.... but the words didn't come out of his mouth.
Because she was right. He was wrong to treat Hannah this way... but how do you tell someone you've become a Thunder God?
Several Months Ago
"He's dead, Jake. Nothin' you can do it about it, man."
Demitrius Collins couldn't do anything but stand aside and watch as his best friend Jake Olson tried in vain to resuscitate the elderly man. The two EMS technicians had arrived too late to do much in the case of the old history professor, but they had burst into his small apartment and been momentarily taken aback by the enormous collection of ancient pottery and crumbling books. The man had been an expert in Norse mythology, but Jake hadn't had time to truly admire the scene. He and his partner had gotten to work immediately, trying to find out just how bad this particular heart attack had been.
"We can't give up," Jake whispered, beads of sweat appearing on his upper lip as he tried yet another set of chest compressions. "Never give up."
Demitrius watched in silence as Jake worked himself to exhaustion. "You can't save everybody, buddy. Sad fact of life."
Jake sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Damn it."
Demitrius knelt beside him, his voice lowering. "C'mon... we need to call back in."
"Life. Such a sad existence these mortals must suffer through."
Jake looked up, confused. Demitrius was immobile and still at his side, looking like a wax dummy of himself. His soft brown skin was covered with a fine sheen of something that glittered... the same coating which was beginning to appear all over the room. "What the hell....?" Jake asked, standing up.
A figure suddenly appeared at his side, making Jake jump. He was a man but one so bizarre looking that Jake took a step away from him in alarm. Since the deaths of so many heroes in the Onslaught affairs, most New Yorkers had come to accept that if you saw an unfamiliar Marvel, it was probably one of the seemingly million or so villains that were running loose. "No fear, young Mr. Olson. I mean you no harm," the stranger said in a voice that dripped sarcasm but no real malice.
"Who are you?"
"You may call me Marnot... and I come bearing gifts."
"What did you do to Demitrius?"
"He's fine, merely slumbering while we speak. The man on the floor is Professor Clinton Marlowe, one of the world's foremost authorities on certain subjects. How he came to have the things I'm about to show you is a story in and of itself... but one that will have to wait for another day. For now, know this: the Norse Gods are missing, the Rainbow Bridge lies shattered and there is none left to defend the realm the Gods call Midgard... not from what is to come. One must take the place of the Odinson."
"I don't understand...." Jake glanced towards the door -- could he make it out before this guy stopped him? Or would he be trapped in some sort of magical 'slumber' like Demitrius?
Marnot moved to a large crate pushed against the wall, hidden beneath the voluminous papers and objects that lay scattered throughout the apartment. The lid to the box opened as Marnot approached, revealing a massive hammer and a belt of some kind. "A mighty Uru hammer... and a belt that will give you strength like that of a God."
Jake walked towards the strange man, compelled by some inner force. "You're... giving me those things?"
Marnot laughed, lifting up the hammer and offering it to Jake. "Take what is rightfully yours, Jake Olson. With the Odinson missing, it is you who will stand before the hordes of the enemy."
Jake hesitated, sensing that this was a moment that would change him forever. He reached out, hand shaking, and took the weapon. It felt surprisingly light in his grasp and he spun it through the air, leaving behind tiny sparks of electricity. "It looks like the hammer of Thor," he whispered, picturing the Avenger in his mind. Like Iron Man, Captain America and all the rest of the heroes who'd died, Thor's image was everywhere these days.
"Strike it on the floor," Marnot commanded. "And feel the change." Jake stared at him, blinking as Marnot began to fade into nothingness. "Do it quick, for my spell will fade in a few moments and your friend will bear witness to whatever occurs."
"Wait! I still don't--" Jake started, but the stranger was gone. The hammer remained in his grasp, however, and Jake found himself strapping on the belt as well... and then he gazed at the floor. Strike it, Marnot had commanded. And feel the change.
Now
"You're making a mistake. You handled the Lokis and the Kon Hargrave mission* went perfectly, Olson. You should be proud of yourself."
(*Depicted in SHIELD # 1 by Curt Fernlund)
Jake stifled a yawn, barely able to keep his eyes open. Agents 13 and 34 were both watching him with bemused expressions on their faces. "I'm burned out," he said. "Between my day job, trying to balance my relationship with my fiancé and all this SHIELD business... I don't have a life."
Sharon Carter -- Agent 13 -- narrowed her eyes. "The first times you went out as Thor were a disaster, Olson. You didn't know how to handle your own powers. SHIELD took you in, gave you training... you're part of something bigger than yourself. Quit now and you're quitting on a country -- a world -- that needs you. The Avengers and FF aren't around anymore, remember?"
"Don't try and guilt me into this," Jake replied testily. His normally handsome face was drawn taut with weariness and his voice carried an edge to it. "Some mysterious jerk shows up and gives me these powers... now SHIELD expects me to be at their beck and call 24/7. I can't do that!"
"Objects of power from the Norse Gods are showing up everywhere," Susannah reminded him. "It's probably related to this Marnot character. We need you."
"You need Thor... I don't know Odin from Adam. I don't have any special knowledge that can help you guys."
Sharon raised a hand to end the conversation. "Fine. Take a leave of absence. But we reserve the right to call on you if we need you. In return, you can get some help from us if you need it. Fair enough?"
Jake thought about it and then nodded. "Okay. But I have to go -- I'm due on patrol with Demitrius."
Sharon and Susannah watched as Jake left the room. "Keep an eye on him," Sharon said. "Whatever's going down out there has something to do with him. I'm sure of it."
Chuck fell to his knees, panting. The tongue of Loki dangled from its chain and he felt himself close to vomiting. Teleporting left his stomach in knots every time.
That wasn't Thor, a voice whispered in his head.
"I know," Chuck agreed. "Punk didn't even talk like him."
His power... who gave him that power?!
Chuck looked around, trying to figure out where he was. He'd teleported almost blind, just anxious to get away from the scene. He hated leaving his friends behind, but it was every man for himself when it came to the cops. "Where in the hell?" he asked aloud, forcing himself to his feet.
He was standing on rocky terrain, the scent of burning vegetation thick in the air. The sky overhead was dark and cloudy, occasionally lit by a flash of dangerous-looking thunder.
You were taken, his invisible companion whispered. This is a trap!
Chuck swallowed hard, wondering if his magic abilities would be enough to handle this. It was one thing to use them to kill people who were defending themselves with just guns or knives... but today was a different matter. First, a would-be Thunder God and now whatever the hell this was? "Who's there?" he shouted, straining to view off into the distance. For miles on end, there seemed to be nothing but rotting grassland and sharp rocks. "What do you want with me?"
"It's what you possess that I desire," a voice rumbled from behind him.
Chuck whirled about, coming face to face with a visage straight out of a nightmare. "Oh sh--"
The being grabbed him from the encroaching shadows, lifting him off the ground and applying pressure to his throat. "Come to me, tongue of the trickster. Come to your better."
Unhand me! a voice commanded as the tongue was pulled from around Chuck's neck. Leave me be!
The being just laughed as he pushed the wiggling tongue into his mouth. He chewed it heartily, swallowing it in bloody chunks. Chuck whimpered as the entity turned his attentions back towards him. "Goodbye little man. May your next life be one more suitable for you... perhaps as a slug or a wiggling worm."
Chuck's life came to an abrupt end as the entity snapped his neck like a twig.
Perrikus the mighty, Dark God of unlimited power and energy, tossed aside the corpse like a discarded bit of trash and turned his massive bulk to face the horizon. Massively tall and muscular, Perrikus wore ebony armor and was amongst the most forbidding of his people. He strode through the dead grounds until he reached a large hill, ascending it until he looked down upon the shattered ruins of Asgard. "We're coming for you, scion of Asgard," he whispered. "And we will burn down everything and everyone that protects you."
Jake grinned as he pulled his ambulance towards Hannah's apartment. "Sure you don't mind clocking me out?" he asked, glancing over at Demitrius.
The slender man with whom Jake spent the majority of his time shrugged. "Nah. You'd cover for me if I was in deep with my girl, so I can do you one now."
"Thanks, man." Jake jumped from the driver's seat after parking. He held a bouquet of flowers in one hand, carrying them towards the front door. He felt really bad for ignoring Hannah and Amanda so much lately... he'd been quiet during the verbal bashing she'd given him the previous night, knowing he deserved it. In the time since Marnot had given him the powers of Thor, Jake had tried to do the right thing but it was growing increasingly difficult. A part of him screamed that he should give up the EMS job and work full-time for SHIELD... but he liked his job and felt it was valuable. Why in the world did Marnot pick me? What am I supposed to do with these abilities? The few times I've managed to avoid the press so far but eventually I'm going to be seen and then everyone will want to know what 'Thor' has been up to. What am I supposed to tell them? Heck, for all I know, the last Thor was just a poor schlep like me....
A thundering explosion sent Jake flying to the ground. He landed atop the flowers, crushing them. As dust settled about him, he coughed and looked upwards towards Hannah's apartment building. To his horror, there was a huge hole in the side of the building -- exactly where Hannah's apartment was located. A figure emerged through the haze of smoke, holding a frail-looking female form under one arm. "Hannah...?" Jake whispered. He struggled to his knees, eyes widening. The woman who held her appeared to be made of pure sand, shifting and moving as the wind blew. Dimly, Jake remembered seeing her in the papers -- an old foe of the original Thor, but he couldn't place her name. Sandwoman? Quicksand? Something like that.
The woman folded Hannah up inside her, transforming her body into a cage. Then she slid down the side of the building at enormous speed.
Jake slammed his fists down on the ground in an attempt to trigger the change, to alter his body from that of slender Jake Olson to muscular Thunder God.
To his dismay, however, nothing happened.
"No," he whispered. "Not now. Please not now!"
Within seconds, Hannah and the villain were gone from sight, leaving Jake with two horrible realizations: 1) his girlfriend was in mortal danger and he was helpless to stop it and 2) someone knew the truth about his identity -- that was the only possible reason to kidnap an admissions worker from the local hospital.
"Marnot," he hissed. "Where in the hell are you?"
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Issue: Jake is confronted by his worst fears as Hannah is held hostage by a deadly enemy! Can he maintain his secret identity or will he reveal the truth to his lover?
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Remember those great Jurgens/Romita Jr. issues of Thor that spun out of Heroes Return? Good stuff. Now forget all that. It was revealed in SHIELD # 1 at Avengers Reborn that Jake Olson was running about as 'a' Thor, so I've kept to some of what we learned from the Marvel version... but a lot of what's to come is my own creation. So will Jake turn out to be a not-so-nice guy as the 'real' Jake Olson was at Marvel? Will Demitrius be an undercover cop? Is Marnot one of Odin's ravens? All of that is possible... or I might go in completely new directions on some of that.
Thanks go to Doug Bookey and Gary Jones for convincing me to give this a try. My Thor isn't the same one you're familiar with and the various mysteries surrounding him are ones that will turn your idea of who and what a Thor series should be on their ears. What can you expect down the road? Here's a few teasers:
-
Jake's first trip to what's left of Asgard
-
The fate of Loki
-
Thor Girl
-
The all-new Whizzer
-
A Masters of Evil grouping with one purpose: to kill Thor!
-
The Enchantress
-
Jake Olson vs. Don Blake!
Let me know what you thought of the issue -- and what you'd like to see in the future!
Barry