Thor Ragnarok, page 1
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
© 2017 MARVEL
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First Edition: October 2017
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Library of Congress Control Number 2017946352
ISBNs: 978-0-316-41331-2 (paperback), 978-0-316-41568-2 (Scholastic ed.) 978-0-316-41332-9 (ebook)
E3-20170926-JV-PC
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
PHOTOS
THOR: RAGNAROK: A NEW STORY CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
EPILOGUE
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THOR
CLICK HERE FOR A BONUS STORY FEATURING THOR AND THE HULK!
CHAPTER
First there was the heat. It radiated everywhere—the sound of flames crackling, the smell of sulfur and smoke lingering in the air with every breath.
His breath. That came second. Thor drew in several big breaths as he tried to get his bearings. Every exhale bounced back onto his face quickly, letting him know he was in a confined space. A coffin?
Third were the chains. He was bound head to toe in heavy iron chains. They held him tightly, fastened at his feet. He was shackled, hanging upside down, and a wooden box meant to hold a dead man was all that was separating him from an unknown, raging fire.
In short? Thor had definitely had better days.
He flexed slightly, testing the strength of his bonds. They didn’t give. Thor inhaled the hot air into his lungs and flexed with all his Asgardian might. His muscles strained. Suddenly, he felt the chains begin to bend until, with a sharp CRACK, they flew off him. With a loud boom, the exploding chains blew open the box, sending pieces of wood splintering in all directions. Thor flipped in midair and landed on the ground below. He was free… or so he thought. Looking around, he realized he had only traded one small cell for a much larger one.
Brushing back his long, tousled blond hair that had become as unruly as his beard of late, Thor surveyed his surroundings. He was in a large cavern. Dark stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and ground. The walls, though dark in color, seemed to dance. Thor narrowed his gaze and peered closely at the shapes moving across the surfaces, and realized there was fire inside the walls themselves.
With that, Thor understood where he was: Muspelheim.
When he turned his attention to the center of the room, his suspicions were confirmed. A large throne rose from the ground. It was dark and foreboding. And it was far too large for the skeletal figure that lay slumped upon its seat. Thor, his armor worn, beard grizzled, and cape slightly torn, wondered how much better he looked than the being before him.
“Demon!” Thor cried out. “Reveal yourself. I have freed myself. Now I seek audience with my captor.”
His words echoed through the chamber hall. The skeleton looked at him with its empty eye sockets. No reply.
After a few moments, however, Thor began to hear the sound of rushing wind. The echo became a mocking laughter as it rushed toward the skeleton on the throne. Slowly, fire began to glow from within its bones. Suddenly, there was a fiery aura entirely surrounding the skeleton as it began to sit upright in its throne.
A voice boomed from the skeleton. “The son of Odin wishes to see me?”
“Well, that is certainly an improvement,” Thor noted, a wry smile crossing his face.
“You may have escaped your prison, but you shall never escape Muspelheim alive.” The skeleton laughed at Thor.
“Even after being held captive and strung upside down, I believe I can handle a bag of bones such as yourself,” Thor replied.
Just then—from the walls, the ceiling, the floor—the entire cave lit up as the skeleton caught fire and began to grow. It expanded in size, filling the throne and transforming into a deadly creature of pure flame. It leaned forward and continued laughing at Thor, its maw gaping wide open with evil mirth.
Thor gazed upon his captor, recognizing his fire-filled countenance, though he hadn’t before. “Surtur. At last. This look suits you much better, I must say.”
“You dare mock me in my own chambers?” Flames shot out in all directions at Surtur’s wrath. He rose from his throne, a flaming giant towering above Thor. “I was to bring you to Odin when I returned to Asgard and show him how far his son had fallen. I had hoped to return you alive, but no matter. With or without you, I shall retrieve the Eternal Flame stolen from me by Odin centuries ago.”
“I haven’t been back to Asgard in some time, but I doubt my father would strike such a deal. That Flame is locked deep away for the protection of the Nine Realms.” Thor began to smile.
“I see no reason for you to smile, son of Odin,” Surtur growled. “You have no hope of escape.”
A slight pounding began to thud, coming closer and closer. Looking around, Surtur’s eyes widened. “What is that sound?”
Thor’s smirk expanded into a wide grin, and he held out his arm. “Hope.”
With that, the ground below him exploded, and his trusted hammer, Mjolnir, flew into his outstretched hand.
“You wish to return to Asgard, demon? I shall bring you myself.” Thor crouched, holding his hammer close to his side, about to leap. With a mighty flex of his powerful legs, he launched himself directly at Surtur. “No need for all of you to come, though. Just your skull!”
With a swift movement, Thor swung Mjolnir and connected with Surtur’s jaw in a powerful uppercut, knocking the demon back and off his feet. Thor landed deftly on the ground, readying himself for another attack. Surtur roared in shock and pain. Flames began to grow around him as he summoned the fire. With a gesture of one bony, flame-encased hand, the wall of fire went flying directly at Thor.
Thor began to spin Mjolnir, faster and faster, whipping up a windstorm. The wind created a protective dome around him as the flames from Surtur’s attack passed by him. The wind extinguished another attack as Surtur hurled a fireball at Thor. The fire demon became more and more enraged.
Without warning, Thor ran toward the giant Fire Lord, and at the very last second, slid between his legs. Swinging his arm, he used Mjolnir to knock Surtur’s knobby knees out from under him, causing the villain to fall to the ground with a scream.
Thor stood above him, holding Mjolnir.
“The next time you wish to see Asgard, do not use the god of thunder as your bargaining chip. Even flames can burn, Surtur.” With that, he lifted Mjolnir high, and the air around him began to crackle. Then, from above, a magnificent bolt of lightning surrounded Surtur and struck Thor’s foe in the chest. Surtur screamed in agony.
Thor stood above the Fire Lord’s head, ready to deliver the final blow, when something caught his attention in the walls. It was one pair of eyes, and then another, and another. Dozens of eyes began to flicker. The flames that had seemed earlier to dance in the walls suddenly gained form. Humanoid fire demons appeared and began to spill from the walls in droves! A screeching noise caused Thor to look up and see the demons descending from the ceiling as well. He felt the burning touch as more grew from the floor, grabbing at his legs.
Thor’s shock wore off quickly as he turned to face his foes, who greatly outnumbered him. “Your father has fallen, yet the minions come forth to try and finish what he could not? Sorry, but I am done playing games here.”
Looking up, Thor cried to the heavens, “Heimdall! The Bifrost, please,” expecting the usual beam of rainbow energy to appear and transport Thor onto the bridge that allowed passage out of and into Asgard. But there was nothing.
Thor cried out again to his friend on Asgard who controlled the bridge. “Heimdall? Heimdall?!”
The demons rushed Thor and quickly engulfed him, piling upon him two stories high. They cackled in their apparent victory. Thor’s echoes pleading for the Bifrost rang plaintively through the halls of Surtur’s lair, unanswered.
CHAPTER
The Rainbow Br idge of the Bifrost, which looked out onto almost all of creation itself, linking each of the Nine Realms, gleamed brightly with cosmic energy. The gilded domed observatory, from where the bridge originated, rose out of a platform at the edge of Asgard. The bridge itself spilled forth from a giant opening, usually guarded by Heimdall, the all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian who normally directed it with a powerful sword in the center of the dome.
But at the moment, the sword that opened the Bifrost was missing. And so was Heimdall.
A glow from the center of the Bifrost’s controls, which Heimdall would have activated to bring those in need back to Asgard via the Bifrost’s magical properties, pulsed. And pulsed. And pulsed.
“This?” said a voice from just outside the dome. “This is only one of the most powerful items in all the Realms. And Odin has entrusted me with it.”
The voice did not belong to the mighty Heimdall, who never left his post. Instead, a bald man with a slight sneer that was meant to be a smile was showing off to two Asgardian women. “ ‘Skurge,’ Odin said to me, ‘you are far more suited to guard the entrance to Asgard than that traitor Heimdall,’” the man bragged. “That’s when he gave me this sword.”
“You must be a brave man to be given such a great responsibility,” one of the Asgardian women said. Pleased with himself, Skurge thought that his attempts to impress them were clearly working.
“Oh, the battles I’ve seen. They would chill your blood. The beasts on Vanaheim had four heads each. Yet I stood my ground and fought them back. I believe that’s why he rewarded me.” Skurge smiled. “Come, let me show you a view like you’ve never seen before.”
With that, Skurge and the two women continued on, none of them noticing the beacon pulsing insistently, someone clearly calling on the Bifrost for assistance.
In Muspelheim, a mound of fire demons continued to pile onto the spot where Thor once stood. Surtur began to recover from the bolt of lightning to his chest and rose from the ground, emitting a shriek of glee. His laughter was cut short, though, as the outer ring of fire demons was suddenly flung backward off the pile, shaken by a rumbling. Without warning, Mjolnir burst forth from the top of the mound, sending fire demons flying in a volcanic fashion.
The hammer flew around the room, ricocheting off the walls and ceiling, knocking back fire demons left and right. Surtur watched in horror as victory was seemingly once again snatched away from him. He ducked as the hammer flew back toward where the fire demons had overpowered Thor, only to see the Asgardian standing there, no worse for wear, catching Mjolnir in one outstretched hand as it returned to its owner.
“I believe my visit to your realm has come to an end, Surtur. I prefer milder climes.” Swinging Mjolnir, Thor flew up and burst through the top of the cavern.
Thor landed heavily on the ground and once more called out to Heimdall for the Bifrost. He was perplexed. Never had his request been denied; his friend was always at the ready to send him the means needed to return to Asgard. His thoughts were interrupted by a rumbling sound. Perhaps it was the Bifrost, opening to him at last? Turning, he saw the source of the noise, and his heart sank.
Where he’d hoped a beam of energy would alight from above and envelop him to take him home stood a mighty fire dragon, easily one hundred feet long and full of rage. The beast bellowed, and flames shot forth. Thor jumped out of the way to dodge the attack and, directing Mjolnir toward the sky, flew upward to escape the beast’s wrath. But the dragon took to the skies to follow the hero. Thor dodged burst after burst of flames that shot forth from the dragon’s mouth.
Swiftly, Thor spun in the air and charged the dragon. Catching it off guard, he delivered a blow that knocked the dragon backward. As the dragon fell, Thor continued to pummel it as it crashed into the ground. At last, back on Muspelheim’s surface and standing above the dragon, Thor held Mjolnir over the defeated creature’s head.
“Only those worthy may lift the mighty hammer Mjolnir, foul demon-spawn.” He dropped the hammer on the dragon’s head. Struggling, it could not raise its head from under Mjolnir. “Clearly, you are not worthy.”
Thor turned his attention to the heavens once more. “Heimdall! The Bifrost, please. I am quite finished here.” He waited a moment, but nothing. His attention turned away from the dragon, he didn’t notice the beast slowly begin to swish its deadly tail.
“That was beautiful,” marveled one of the Asgardian women as they reentered the dome of the Bifrost.
“Oh.” Skurge chuckled. “That was nothing. I have an even better view for you if you ladies wish to join me—”
The other woman pointed at the pulsing from the Bifrost controls. “Is that normal?”
Skurge paled. “Uhhhhh, of course. Yes. You are”—he frantically searched for the sword that controlled the Bifrost, which he had carelessly tossed into a corner after he’d finished displaying it to the women—“are about to see… Ah! There it is!” He grabbed the sword and ran to the controls. “Would you like to see the Bifrost in action?” His face contorted into his version of a smile as he inserted the sword and turned it. The Bifrost’s center began to spin as its immense energy powered up.
“Whoof!” Thor was knocked off his feet by the dragon’s tail. The beast had been inching ever closer as Thor waited for the Bifrost and Heimdall. Suddenly, his face was mouth level with the dragon. He saw flames begin to form. Grabbing Mjolnir, Thor leaped from the ground seconds before being burned to a crisp, and took to the skies once more.
The dragon, now freed from the hammer’s weight, followed in pursuit. Ahead, Thor at last spotted the familiar swirling of Bifrost energy. It was about time! He sped up, the dragon fast on his heels. As the opening cleared, Thor zoomed through it. The dragon’s head entered the Bifrost a second later.
“Are you ready to witness something none but the luckiest on Asgard have ever seen?” Skurge was almost sweating with excitement and the chance to brag before two of the most beautiful Asgardians he had ever entertained. This Keeper-of-the-Bifrost thing sure did have its perks.
The Bifrost opened, and immediately Thor came flying through!
“Close it! The Bifrost! Now!” Thor bellowed, sliding to a halt in the center of the dome. As Skurge twisted the control, the head of the flame dragon entered through the Bifrost… and was quickly severed from its body by the gate’s closing. The decapitated head slid across the floor of the dome and landed at the feet of the two women, who screamed and promptly fled.
Thor could barely contain his rage as he turned on this stranger before him. Standing at full height, covered in dragon’s blood and singed from his fight with the fire demons, he strode toward Skurge. “Who are you and where is Heimdall?”
Skurge tried to stand tall, but the sight before him made his spine and legs not want to cooperate. He cleared his throat, attempting to speak with some authority. “I—I am Skurge, Keeper of… of the Bifrost.”
“Some ‘Keeper’ you are. Did you not hear my many calls?” Thor was nearly toe-to-toe with the Asgardian, who was still attempting to remain brave.
“I was… attending to other business.”
“So I saw.” Thor looked around. “You claim to be the Keeper; where is Heimdall?”
Skurge scoffed before he could stop himself. “That traitor? Banished.”
“Traitor? Heimdall? Never! Who laid such claims?” Thor was shocked.
Skurge smiled. This was the one part he liked to say to anyone who would listen. “Why, by Odin himself. And it was Odin who named me Keeper of the Bifrost, as reward for my service and—”
“Odin? I think not,” Thor interrupted. He turned and flew off in the direction of the palace.
Skurge ran after Thor but slipped in a puddle of dragon gore. “Wait! Only I can announce you to Odin! ’Tis his orders!” Covered in muck, Skurge gave up trying to run after Thor, who was by then but a small dot on the horizon of Asgard.
Skurge groaned. He hoped he wouldn’t lose his job because of this.
CHAPTER
And so Loki, ever clever, was able to outwit the Dark Elf Malekith and save all of Asgard, though it meant sacrificing his life for his home, his father, and all the Nine Realms. The end.”
