Hello, everybody. I want to say this is not my first story and that I do have experience prior to this at writing. I am however new to this universe and its challenging and ingenious setting. It's been a while since I've read a Thor comic or seen anything with him starring in it, but I'm doing research and trying to portray the character correctly as I remember him. There will be changes to his personality because he's not the same person, yet is... You'll see.
I do not own or know any of the following:
Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Tom Cruise, 98 Degrees or any other celebrities. I also know nothing of their sexual orientations.
Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and all related characters.
The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series or the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
The Vampire Chronicles, Tales of the New Vampires, The Mayfair Witches, all series written by Anne Rice.
Power Rangers series.
Dune series is by Frank Herbert
Harry Potter book series is by J.K. Rowling.
Star Wars is copyright by George Lucas.
Buffy & Angel television series.
Star Wars Star Trek, Star Trek TNG, Star Trek DS9, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek the New Frontier, Enterprise television series, movies, and novels.
I enjoy hearing feedback from people. If you have any to offer such as comments or any thoughts toward the story you may reach me at Mighthammer@yahoo.com
Chapter 2
Adam floated almost a foot above the floor bathed in electric blue light. Slowly, his body started to change, becoming more defined and well built like that of someone who weight lifted for years. A grunt issued from his lips as his skin stretched to accommodate his bigger muscles. His casual clothes vanished from his body. Replaced by a skin tight, black suit, a red cape including red arm bracers, a golden belt, and long red boots. His hair grew longer till it fell to his shoulder blades. Adam floated down head bowed, his feet lightly touching the floor. He lifted his head and a silver helmet complete with wings adorning both sides materialized on his head. As he opened his eyes, they flashed from their normal green before turning a bright sky blue.
Adam quickly closed his eyes as pain suddenly hit him. His breath left him left his body in whoosh. Actually it was knocked out of his lungs by something he had never felt before...not like this. It felt like someone had taken a red, hot iron poker and shoved it through his skull. He collapsed to his knees, mouth open in a silent scream of agony as the pain continued. Flashes of memories filled his mind, coming too fast for him to sort out. Images came in a continuous stream. He didn't know how long he was in that position, trapped within the slideshow of memories, but minutes or it could have been it hours later it finally stopped.
Adam's breath came in short pants as he kneeled in that position on the floor catching his breath. The memories had inserted themselves in his mind and didn't seem like they were going away. But they were... incomplete. Not all of the memories were there, but one thing Adam could account for and that was his identity. His true identity. He could remember who he really was. Who he had been in his past life and who he still was...
"I am Thor..." said Adam aloud to himself, as if he was trying to assure himself of this fact. His eyes looked straight-ahead not focusing on anything ahead of him. Instead they were distant, looking on past memories that were still righting themselves in his mind. "Bloodson of Odin, Lord of the gods of Asgard. Thunder God of the Aesir--"
Adam shook his head cutting off the rest of the titles forming on his lips. He was Thor and yet he was Adam. More he was Adam but in Thor's body with a handful of Thor's memories. Adam was the dominant personality, but Thor's ideals, mannerisms, knowledge, and power was inside of him.
"It is a lot to take in at once," said a voice from above him.
Adam lifted his head quickly, startled at the new voice. His eyes widened at the tall, imposing figure standing before him. The man was dressed in shimmering, silver robes and he looked down at him with an expression he couldn't make out. Adam racked his brain for a name. He knew this strange man. It was there in his mind. It was in his 'new' memories. Then like a freight train the name hit him.
"Odin! Father..."
The god smiled down upon his son fondly. He nodded his head at the address. "It is good to see you, my son. It has been a long time since we last saw each other."
Adam found himself talking without even thinking. The words just flew from his mouth without a moment's hesitation. "As I remember it is no fault of my own. You were the one who sent me here."
Odin's one eye dimmed with sadness. "I have not forgotten but do not be angry with me, Thor. I am the King of the Aesir and as king I have to make choices that I do not always agree with. The law is the law and even you, as my heir must follow it. When you broke the Compact I had no choice but to punish you." Odin smiled slightly. "As you can see I found a way of getting around your punishment."
Adam stood up as the pain in his body slowly ebbed away. "The ring..."
"Yes, the ring. Your hammer, Mjolnir, I sent with you when you were reborn into the body you inhabit now. I turned it into a ring in hope that you may one day find it and slowly ease you back into godhood."
Adam looked down at his hand but the ring he had put on was gone from his finger. If his father was telling the truth then-- he looked down at his side. Mjolnir, the enchanted hammer was secured surely to the golden belt adorning his waist. The ring from the shop had been his hammer. That meant the ring had been his after all.
"I am not returning to Asgard if that is what you came here for," said Adam with confidence. His memories and Thor's memories were slowly merging together. "I was sent here for helping the humans and that is what I will continue to do now."
Odin shook his head. "No, my son. You shall not have to return to Asgard. Your heart is to good to leave the humans without getting the chance to help them. I know this. That is why I will allow you to stay and help them..."
Adam looked to his father in disbelief. His father actually was going to let him stay on Earth. He may not have all his memories of his time as Thor, but he clearly remembered that Odin was not a man that allowed feelings for family to allow him to break the law.
"Why? The Compact clearly forbids all gods from interfering in human affairs. "
"Why, you ask. True you are a god... but you are also human in a way. Which means human affairs are -your- affairs too. By stamping your hammer on the ground, you may change from Adam Justiss to Thor by will alone. I must warn you Thor -- you are not up to your full strength. As you know, your powers come from Asgard as well as Midgard, both you haven't been divinely connected to in years. It will take a while before your powers are back to their fullness."
Adam just stared at his father. He had never realized Odin was so sneaky. He had been planning this whole thing from the first time he announced his sentence for breaking the Compact. Adam thought over what his father said and paused considering.
"Midgard?" he asked the word nowhere in his incomplete memory.
Odin frowned at the question, looking concerned as he gazed at his son. "Midgard is the name we Asgardians call the realm of Earth. You once knew this. No matter, your memory is incomplete but with time it will be fully restored along with your full powers."
Adam stepped forward and suddenly hugged Odin. His father tensed in surprise at the action. The old Thor wouldn't have just suddenly hugged Odin out the blue, but this was a new Thor. A Thor who had spent twenty- seven years as a normal human with no memory of his past. Odin got over his surprise and wrapped his arms around his son. Adam stepped back giving his father a long look.
"Thank you, father," he said. It was all that he needed to say. His father understood how much protecting humanity meant to him. It was what he spent most of his time trying to do when he lived in Asgard.
Odin stepped back and gave Thor a small smile of farewell. "I will see you again, my son." Odin's body glowed silver and turned transparent before quickly disappearing in a flashing twinkle of light. A teleport, a bit flashy one, but Odin was king of the Asgardian gods and it was expected.
Adam felt his shoulders slump once Odin teleported away. The strong image he had been putting up dropped. His father had been right. He had been disconnected from his power focal points for too long and he felt the effects. Tiredly, Adam went to a knee and tapped the butt of his hammer against the hardwood floor. Closing his eyes he willed himself to change back into his mortal form. There was a build up of light that came from the hammer enveloping his body, hiding his form from view in a shinning curtain of blue light.
The light retreated leaving a tired Adam, who was kneeling, on the floor breathing raggedly. He stood up and quickly grabbed the end of the couch near him. A wave of vertigo hit him suddenly because of standing up so fast. That and combined with his tiredness was not a good thing to have at once. Adam walked sluggishly around to the other side of the couch and collapsed onto the comfy cushions. Adam's body wasn't prepared for suddenly having godhood thrust upon it so suddenly so it was working in overtime to compensate for the sudden changes and the low energy reserves weren't helping speed the process along any.
Adam's head hit the pillow and his eyes closed against his will. Within moments he was fast asleep succumbing to the enthralling call of sleep that hovered on the edge of his consciousness.
-
-
- 'Ring'
-
'Ring'
'Ring...'
Adam opened his eyes blinking rapidly at the harsh bright light that drifted in through the large window of his living room. He gave a deep groan and let out a loud yawn that echoed slightly in the room. The ringing of the phone brought him back to earth and jumping slightly at the sharp ringing he half jogged to the phone and answered it.
"Hello," he said into the receiver.
"Where the fuck have you been?!" replied a worried, biting voice.
Adam took the phone away from his ear wincing at the loud tone. It was his best friend and cousin, Ritchie. He and Ritchie were the same age and with them growing up near each other they had been the best of friends all through their lives. People said they looked and acted like brothers more than just cousins which was true. The only difference between them was whereas Adam had blonde hair, emerald eyes, and fair features; Ritchie took more after the Irish side of the family with his red hair and bright green eyes. Their personalities were similar also, since they spent so much time with each other.
"Ritchie, calm down for a minute and tell me what you're talking about," said Adam slowly as if speaking to a child.
"Don't take that tone with me. I'm not a child."
Adam could almost see the pout on his face right now. "What do you mean where have I've been. I've been home."
"Well, I've been calling for a day and a half now and you didn't pick up one time. So of course I assume you're not at home. Now why didn't you pick up the freaking phone? What's deal with that?"
Adam bit his bottom lip as he did sometimes when confronted. It was a nervous gesture he had done ever since he was a child. 'I must have been really tired if I slept that long,' Adam wondered in his mind. 'I'm lucky it wasn't a week the way I was feeling.'
"Something must have been wrong with my phone," he lied, with what he hoped was a normal tone. "I didn't even hear it ring, Ritch."
Ritchie paused for a moment and Adam wondered if he bought the lie. After the pause Ritchie started to speak again. "Okay, well I guess I should have just came by then. Anyway, how about coming to the place tonight?"
Ritchie was the owner of an establishment downtown called Cowboys. It was a hangout place that featured a bar, dancing area, and a place where people could hangout and watch TV and play pool. It was a phenomenal place and business was very good. It attracted a good crowd on weekdays but on the weekends the turnout was always enormous. Ritchie while also being the owner was also one of the bartenders that worked the bar. Bartending was his original job before opening Cowboys and he liked it so much that he didn't want to give it up.
Adam didn't know if he wanted to go out tonight. He didn't want to pass out from exhaustion again. He closed his eyes and felt that most of his energy had been recovered since the change. Adam could steadily feel the power growing inside himself. The process was going slowly but it was actually growing nonetheless. His tiredness had disappeared and Adam was feeling better then earlier so he answered positive.
"Sure, Ritch I'll be there tonight."
"Awesome! I'll see you later then. Bye cuz."
"Later."
Adam hung up the phone and plopped back down on the couch. 'Where the hell is my hammer?' he panicked silently, quickly looking around, all on the floor and in the cushions of the couch. A ray of light drifted in through the window and Adam stopped catching a glint of flashing silver. He looked down at his hand and eyed the ring that had mysteriously reappeared on his finger.
"Well fuck me," he said slowly understanding dawning plain on his features. Mjolnir, his hammer, was the ring and the ring was his hammer. When he turned into Thor the ring would turn into Mjolnir and when transforming to Adam, the hammer would return to its ring form. "When did my life turn into some bad SCI FI movie. All I need now is an alien invasion or maybe people who slide into parallel worlds."
The ringing of the doorbell chiming throughout his house interrupted his musing. He walked into the entrée foyer and opened the door. A gasp made it's way from his lips as he stared at the person before him. Brian stood there grinning shyly and unsure in front of the staring Adam.
"Hi, I was wondering if I can use your phone," Brian began smiling politely. "Mine hasn't been connected yet and I can't for the life of me find my cell."
Adam mentally slapped himself. 'Don't drool on the ground,' he thought. Smiling widely he opened the door wider. "Come on in. I know how it is to lose a cell. I misplace mine all the time."
Brian grinned as he walked into the house. Adam closed the door behind Brian, as he said, "Glad to see I'm not alone in that department." They laughed while walking into the living room where the cordless phone laid on coffee table.
Adam returned to his seat on the couch turning his attention to the Television, watching another incarnation of a dramatic reality show. Discreetly as Brian talked to someone on the phone, Adam watched the shorter man with careful eyes. Brian was simply breathtaking to Adam. He had only met few men that he would ever truly call beautiful. Brian was one of those few. Brian caught Adam's eye and gave him a smile as he continued talking on the phone. Adam may have recently regained his powers and memories of godhood but at Brian's open smile, he blushed like a fucking schoolgirl.
'Get a hold of yourself, Justiss,' he said internally. 'You don't want him thinking that you're into him.' He was but Brian didn't need to know that. It wouldn't be good for a famous straight musician to find out that his next door male neighbor crushes on him.
"All done," Brian said suddenly, sitting the phone down on the table.
Adam jumped not even noticing that Brian had wrapped up his phone conversation. "Oh, well..."
"Yeah, so..." Brian said trailing off the same as Adam. They both looked at each other then down at the ground shy smiles on their faces.
"Do you want to go with me to a bar downtown?" asked Adam suddenly in a rush. Inwardly he groaned, he hadn't even meant to ask the question. It had just came out against his will. 'By thunder, I really need to think before I talk.'
Brian blinked in surprise. A smile lighted his face after a pause and he answered, "I would love to."
Adam sighed inwardly glad that Brian hadn't told him hell no or to fuck off. "Okay then, meet me here at about ten till ten and we'll go from there."
"I'll be here," smiled Brian. "It's a date then."
Adam's mouth dropped open as Brian gave him a smile then turned walking out towards the door. Did Brian really mean what Adam thought he did? Did Brian think that tonight was going to be a real date? Or did he just mean that friendly like?
'No, Brian didn't mean it like that,' Adam chastised himself. 'He's straight so I might as well not even think of him like that. Nothing good can ever come from chasing after straights.'
Adam got up from his seat and ran upstairs to his room. His room was the largest room in the house. As it was the master bedroom. The whole room was done in a black and white theme picked out by Adam himself. He went to his walk-in closet, which could have been another room in itself, since it was so large. Adam felt like he was going on his first date the way he was going on trying on clothes decided what looked good and what didn't. He wanted to dress up but not appear too dressed, making it seem like he had thought about what to wear but didn't spend a lot of time deciding. But in reality he spent hours deciding. His nerves were playing tricks on his normal composed and centered personality. He hadn't felt this nervous since he was a teenager going on a date.
Nine thirty that night, Adam sat in the kitchen of his house checking the mail on his laptop. His Publisher and his Agent were both still wondering what his idea was going to be for his next book. The sequel to his first book called 'All Stars are really Angels in Heaven'. It was a fantasy novel filled with magic, action, and a bit of romance to keep the romantic at hearts satisfied. The book had gained popularity fast. It was now on the bestseller list and signally won four prestigious awards. Adam was very proud of his work. He wasn't Steven King famous but he hoped that one day he would have the honor of being that well known.
The doorbell rang and Adam jumped in surprise. Sending the email he was typing he quickly ran out of the kitchen. Stopping in the hallway he checked himself in the tall mirror that hung on the wall. He was wearing blue jeans, a long blue and white striped shirt, a white suit jacket, and a dark blue baseball hat.
'Here I go,' he thought, grinning in greetings as he opened the door. Brian stood there a full grin on his face. He was dressed in clothes that spoke of how suave he was.
"Ready to go?" asked Adam after finding his voice.
"You know it," replied Brian, as Adam locked the door of his house joining Brian outside in the cool night air. They got in Adam's car, which was a silver BMW, and drove off into the night.
They talked about different things as they drove down the highway that led straight to Cowboys, which lay downtown in the city. Dallas was bustling with activity this time of night on the weekend. People were out club hopping and walking along the streets as if it was day. Cowboys was its usual packed place as it usually was on weekends. People filled the place, dancing, playing pool and watching the TV's, or at the bar. Adam led Brian through the laughing and young bodies to the bar counter. Two females and two males dressed all in black worked the long dark counter, moving around each other with a seasoned ease.
Adam walked up to one of the bartenders who had a small flock of young girls fawning over him. Adam smiled walking towards his tall, red head cousin and best friend. The women found another play toy as Ritchie turned his attention toward Adam.
"Hey, cuz!" Ritchie yelled over the loud noise.
"Hey, yourself," grinned Adam. "Nice turnout tonight."
Ritchie smiled and shrugged. "The crowd is just like STD's. I don't ask for them to come, they just do."
Adam and Brian both cracked up laughing at his joke. Ritchie for the first time fully noticed Brian. He stuck out his hand and said, "Hey, I'm Ritchie. Who are you?"
Brian shook the offered hand. "Brian, I'm a friend of Adam."
Adam smiled as Brian introduced himself as his friend. Ritchie didn't recognize Brian from the Backstreet Boys and only nodded as the shorter man introduced himself. Adam was about to ask Ritchie something but a group of loud frat boys came to the bar. His cousin was going to be busy for a while, so Adam waved to Ritchie as he led Brian to a section of the building where the televisions and pool tables were kept. It was upstairs in a big room that was well lighted and watched covertly by security to make sure that things didn't get out of hand.
"This is a nice place," said Brian as they sat down on a couch that was stationed back against a wall. The TV's in the poolroom were all turned on and playing different channels.
"I come here often to hang and talk to Ritchie," smiled Adam.
"So... How long have you two known each other?" Brian asked with a look in his eyes that Adam couldn't read. It was kind of guarded and yet hopeful, Adam couldn't really tell.
"We've known each other our whole lives," Adam replied with a carefree shrug. He was about to ask why do you ask when suddenly the televisions in the room suddenly changed from their different programs and all now showed a new image. Someone turned the volume up and Adam grew worried recognizing an urgent news report when he saw one. A news anchorman sat at a desk with a solemn face.
"Sorry to interrupt your regularly scheduled program... An American Airline has just reported as being headed toward the city of Dallas with no control of altitude or speed. All of the facts haven't come in, but it is believed that the plane's engines might be out. The plane will have no choice but crash into the middle of downtown..."
Adam touched the ring on his finger softly. Looking down at the silver ring on his finger then up to the news coverage, he knew what he had to do.
"Brian, I'll be right back," he said in a rush without even stopping. Brian said something, but Adam was already out of the door at a run. Adam raced through the backdoor of the building leaving through the emergency exit. He exited into the alley in the back of Cowboys. Adam looked both ways then raised his ring to the night air. The stars twinkled in the sky as the ring glowed with an electric blue light. Adam was enveloped in the light and after a few seconds the light left, leaving Thor, God of Thunder, in Adam Justiss' place.
'I hope I'm not too late,' he prayed, then took off into the night.
To Be Continued...
**************************************** Hope you guys liked this chapter. It took me a while to get it where I really liked it. I hope it came out right.
I enjoy hearing feedback from people. If you have any to offer such as comments or any thoughts toward the story you may email me at Mighthammer@yahoo.com
Other stories you can read in the Tales universe:
"Tales of a Real Dark Knight" "Tales of a Superhero Band" "Tales of the New Phoenix" "Tales of a Young Mutant" "Tales of a Human Spider" "Marvel Knights"