by Marvel Press
“Just a skirmish,” he said, lying. “Likely nothing to fear.”
“Your eyes betray you,” Frigga said to her husband. “They always have.”
Odin smiled at his wife, then turned his attention to Jane. “Take her to her chambers. I will come for you as soon as it’s safe,” Odin instructed.
“Take care,” Frigga said to her king.
“Despite all I have survived, my queen still worries over me,” Odin said as he touched her cheek gently.
“It’s only because I have worried over you that you have survived,” she replied. Odin gave her one last smile, then strode down the corridor with Sif close behind.
“You two have a very special relationship,” Jane said to Frigga as she watched Odin leave.
“We trust each other,” Frigga said as she grabbed a sword from one of the Einherjar and led Jane to her chambers.
Inside the palace throne room, there was a huge CRASH! As the smoke began to clear, Einherjar troops rushed inside to investigate, their swords drawn. A door had been blown off the wall and lay in pieces. The Einherjar moved closer to the dark hole in the wall but all they saw inside was blackness. Suddenly, tiny blasts emerged from the blackness, forming miniature black holes near the Einherjar. The guards were instantly sucked into the black holes, lost forever to the darkness.
The remaining Einherjar looked up, horrified. From the blackness of the hole, they saw twenty glowing yellow eyes peering out at them. All at once, the Dark Elves attacked with an unexpected ferocity. Savage and brutal, the Dark Elves cut down the Einherjar to make way for their leader. Malekith exited the ship and surveyed the scene, lifting a pistol and destroying Odin’s throne.
Back in the dungeon, the battle was almost over. After nonstop fighting, Volstagg, Fandral, and Thor were down to the last few escapees. Volstagg smashed a Marauder into one of the brick walls, Fandral slashed at prisoners with his sword, and Thor slammed two Marauders at once. As the last prisoner fell, the dungeon finally grew silent.
“How did they get out?” Fandral asked.
“Perhaps they can tell us,” Thor said. “Round them up. One to a cell,” he instructed.
But before the warriors could act, they heard a muffled explosion from above them. They looked to one another as the sounds of battle echoed once again through the dungeon. Then, turning to the side, they saw an Einherjar lieutenant rush toward them.
“Sire!” the guard yelled to Thor. “We are under attack! Dark creatures—I’ve never seen them before!”
Thor turned from the Einherjar and locked eyes with Loki, who sat motionless in his cell. Thor glared at his brother then shut down the energy barrier and entered his cell.
“What have you done?!” Thor yelled.
“Read, mostly. Pythagoras,” he said. “Earlier I had a bowl of gruel,” Loki said sarcastically. Thor stood mere inches from his brother’s face, seething with rage. More explosions occurred aboveground, and Loki glanced upward. “Don’t you think you ought to look into that?” he said. Thor scowled at his brother, then strode off toward the stairs. Loki watched his brother leave, a hint of guilt in his eyes. What had he done?
Inside the palace, Malekith wiped out more and more Einherjar as he made his way toward Jane’s chambers. The doors swung open and Malekith entered. Frigga raised her sword and stood her ground. “Stand down, creature, and you may still survive this,” she ordered. In the background, Jane hid behind a heavy curtain near the balcony.
“I have survived worse, woman,” Malekith said. He was out for revenge, and nothing was going to stop him, especially not her.
“Who are you?” Frigga replied, her sword still raised.
“I am Malekith, and I will have what is mine,” the Dark Elf said as he made his way through her chambers. Frigga quickly spun around and swung her sword at Malekith’s face, slashing him on his cheek. Malekith pulled his blade to strike back, but Frigga was too fast for him, and knocked Malekith’s blade out of his hand. “You have a fine blade,” Malekith said, genuinely impressed.
Frigga pressed forward, pointing her sword at Malekith’s throat and pushing his back to the wall. “It’s not the blade, but the woman who wields it,” Frigga said.
Malekith smiled, then looked past her. Frigga turned, but she was too late. Kurse was already behind her, knocking the sword from her hand. Malekith moved between them and advanced toward Jane.
Malekith got closer to the earthling, and as he lifted his blade, ready to strike, Odin and Sif burst into the room, surrounded by a phalanx of Einherjar.
Odin raised Gungnir and unleashed a massive burst of white energy, knocking everyone back. Malekith got to his feet as Kurse continued to hold on to Frigga, who struggled against the monster’s massive strength.
“Your bravery will not ease your pain,” Malekith replied threateningly.
“I’ve survived worse,” Frigga said, repeating Malekith’s own words back to him. But Odin had heard enough.
“Release her!” the Allfather yelled. He stamped Gungnir on the ground and it crackled with energy. “Release her or burn!” Odin screamed.
“Ah, the son of Bor,” Malekith said. “I believe we have already met your queen,” Malekith teased.
“I said release her, elf!” Odin demanded.
Malekith stared at Odin for what felt like an eternity. His time had finally come. A sour, sinister smile played around the corner of his lips. “Then you will face the same choice I did,” Malekith said, momentarily reflecting on his own decisions. “What will it be, Asgardian? Your wife or your world?”
Frigga and Odin stared at one another. It was a no-win situation. Odin could not let Frigga die, but he also could not let Malekith have Asgard.
“What are you prepared to do for the people you love?” Malekith hissed.
As if in response, a huge thunderclap rang out, followed by a streak of lightning. Speeding through the palace was Mjolnir! The hammer smashed into Kurse with all its might, causing him to drop Frigga to the ground. It hung in midair a moment, then spun back to Thor, who was now standing in the doorway, angry and ready to fight.
Malekith lunged for Frigga, and Thor raised his hammer to the sky. He called down the lightning, which hit Mjolnir and then ricocheted off toward Malekith. The lightning bolt struck Malekith in the face, scarring him and knocking him down to the ground. As Frigga ran toward the safety of Odin and Thor, Kurse got to his feet and grabbed Malekith, who was still clutching his face in pain. The two Dark Elves then jumped off the balcony into the Asgardian sky. Thor raced to the balcony’s edge, and saw the two elves land atop a waiting Harrow, which rushed off at full speed and disappeared into thin air. Thor raised his hammer to call down more lightning, but Odin steadied his son’s hand. The enemy had escaped. The battle was over.
It was time to assess the damage. They had been attacked from within. Their defenses were down, and the palace was in ruins. Many Einherjar and innocent civilians now lay dead. It was time for the king and prince of Asgard to be with their people.
EPILOGUE
THE FUNERALS started the next day. Asgardians lined their rocky shoreline, each carrying a light that they would then release in honor of their fallen dead. Odin, Frigga, and Thor led the procession, followed by Sif, Volstagg, and Fandral.
“I like this not,” Volstagg said. “War is not the time for public ceremonies. Or lights,” the warrior said. But this was the Asgardian way. They would pay their respects for the ones they lost, then the battle would begin again. A battle for Asgard. And now that Jane Foster was involved, a battle for Earth.
In the back of the procession, among the surviving Einherjar, was Jane. She had all the eyes of Asgard upon her.
As the ceremony ended, Thor walked over to Jane, kissed her hand, and assured her that everything would be all right. He then moved away and spoke to Odin, Sif, and his fellow Asgardian warriors. Thor was forming a war council, and he was going to take the battle to Malekith, and all the way to Svartalfheim, if need be. The Da
rk Elves would not triumph, and Malekith would pay for his crimes. Thor swore this to himself, to his war council, and to the people of Asgard.
Thor spun his hammer faster and faster until he was rocketed up into the sky. He overlooked his home world and thought about what had happened and what was about to happen. Tomorrow a new fight would begin: a fight for Asgard, for Earth, and for the universe. And at its center would be the Mighty Thor.
Thor gripped Mjolnir and allowed a small smile to come to his battle-worn face. It would be dangerous, but the battle would be glorious, and Thor would not stop until he—and Asgard—were victorious. But that is a tale for another day.…