Far beneath the city of Boston is a chasm so large it could house a small city within its gaping maw. For centuries this chasm has been home to a fastatic collection of subteranean species, creatures that have never seen the light of day.
He is Thor, God of Thunder and Lord of the Living Lightning. His is the power to bring the light of the heavens wherever he goes.
To the writhing masses now cowering before him the light means pain, burning through their thin eye lids and bringing agony. As one they retreat from it. Large, small, fearsome or cowardly they are, as the Odin Son suspected, all vulnerable to the light. And like a living sea they part as Thor walks through their ranks with Mjolnir held like a blazing torch and approaches the cowering mortal who only moments ago called for his death.
"So Mole Man T'would seem you are not so bold now eh?" Thor said chastisingly as he took hold of the end of the small man's cape and lifted him several feet off the ground so that they were now eye to eye.
The crowd of creatures howled their fury when Thor touched their leader but howl was all they could do in the face of the light.
Noticing this instantaneous reaction Thor leaned in close to the Mole Man and said: "Speak now Mortal and do not dare lie to me. For I would now how you who are clearly not one of these creatures, have convinced them follow you so faithfully? Tell me now by what sorcery you have become their master?"
"There is no sorcery here but yours you surface dwelling savage!" The Mole Man barked with all the courage he could muster. His breath was as foul as a Rock Troll's and Thor involunarily curled up his nose as the smell washed over his face but it was the words that offended more than the odour.
"Savage?" Thor's voice boomed in disbelief "You who doth offend the senses, who do hide beneath the Earth, who have struck at the mortals above unprovoked, destroyed property, injured hundreds....you would call the God of Thunder a savage?"
"You are quickly trying the limits of my mercy mortal." He added with a firmness that made his intentions clear and made the Mole Man shudder in trepidation.
Still was he the Mole Man though and still was he ruler of this subteranean realm. Though he feared this blonde invader terribly, he would not betray that fear, he would not be bullied, not here.
Summoning up his strength he retorted:
"If you are truly a being of mercy then douse that infernal light....please...my moloids, they can't take, they are in pain. Douse the light, and I will speak. I promise you will have nothing to fear from my minions if you do this."
"I have naught to fear from your minions in any case Mole Man." Thor boasted
"But very well, though they your monster did attack the surface I will not see these beings suffer until I am sure they are deserving of it." The Thunderer said as he lowered Mjolnir and let its light dim down and go out so that the chamber was once more illuminated only by a low ambient glow.
The creature recovered instantly and many of them quickly took on a hostile posture and began inching towards Thor. But these stopped in their tracks as the Mole Man uttered a command to halt.
"Well invader?" The Mole Man asked expectantly and with an upturned head and in response the God of Thunder let go of him and let him drop to the cold stone floor.
"Take not that tone with me Mortal for you have done me no favors." Thor said evenly "Now tell me who you are and what your purpose is."
"Very well mighty one." The Mole Man said with only mock seriousness "My story is a tragic one and though I'm sure the recounting of my sorrow will only serve to bring you amusement, it seems I have little choice."
With a sigh the Mole Man began to recount his tale. He told the Thunderer how he had once lived on the surface and how his fellow humans had shunned him and mocked him to due to his strange appearance and small size.
"I hated them just as they hated me and left society and civilization entirely. Utilizing my unparralleled genius I planned to create a new home for myself beneath the city. I would be reborn like some new Phantom of the Opera." The Mole Man continued, having at some point subtly changed gears from lamenting to ranting.
"But this was not to be, for here miles beneath the Earth I discovered this nation of moloid primitives. With my intellect it was a simple matter to not only gain acceptance, but inevitably become their supreme leader. They are my people and I am satisfied, or was rather."
"Now the surface world threatens our very existence. The fools above now power their city with a geothermal reactor. They run their mp3 players and their television sets while we suffer daily from the tremors and the cave ins."
"But I do not understand strange one, I know of the geothermal plant and it is many miles from here. While I am aware that such power producing activities can cause stability in the surrounding land, I cannot see how it can affect you so dangerously?" The Thunder God wondered
"That is because you are blind to Earth surface dweller!" The Mole Man sneered, not realizing that he had insulted the Son of Gaea's relation with his mother and fortunate that Thor saw as much and decided to let the matter drop.
In any case the Mole Man was perhaps more desperate for human contact than he would care to admit, for he was clearly enjoying the extended interaction and was already speaking again, this time with the aid of a crude map he wasdrawing into the dirt beneath his feet.
"The dry steam released by the process is not only causing instability below the plant here." he said pointing with his cane "But is also causing reverbarations on this small fault line here."
"It is this underground line that's plaguing us. It carries the tremors eastward and ever deeper towards us. Every day it gets worse, the surface dwellers know about it, they must, but it is so far beneath the Earth that it has no effect on them them and so they don't care. Well today I showed them the consequences of their actions. My giants can't destroy the geothermal plant because it emissions make the surrounding ground toxic to them, but they can, and will destroy the city of Boston. With the city gone there will be no need for the power plant, and we will be free of those who live above forever." The Mole Man finished his tale with a dramatic raising of his fists before turning to face Thor
"Now that you know the story you know that our lives are threatened and we will not be denied. So stand aside or.."
"Your plan is flawed Mole Man." Thor interjected with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"What?" The Mole Man blurted angrily but Thor ignored him and laid out the situation and the resolution.
"Your plan is flawed because your anger has blinded you to the true nature of your fellow mortals. The humans above will not be driven from their homes anymore than you will. Even if you destroy them, others will take their places, they will hound you endlessly, they will war against, and eventually, they will destroy you." Thor said evenly, impassively.
"Let them try!!" The Mole Man growled threateningly but Thor remained calm.
"But it will not come to that for the God of Thunder has a solution for your problem." he said.
"Do not toy with me outsider! If you think to kill us and be done with it you will not find the task an easy one." The Mole Man hissed defensively but Thor only let out a laugh as a response.
"Kill you? No little man, you and yours have nothing to fear from the God of Thunder. The solution to your problem is as simple as it obvious. I will move the fault line." Thor said without sarcasm.
"You...can do that?" The Mole Man asked disbelievingly.
"I can and will Mole Man and when I do so you will return to your life of peace here below and never again trouble the city above, or you can be sure that next time I will not be so merciful." The Thunder God said loudly enough for all to hear whether they could understand him or not.
Without waiting for a response the Thunder God leaped from the chamber and, hurling mystic Mjolnir befor him, began tunneling towards the fault line. After all what need had he of their answer? The God of Thunder does not ask, he commands.
It took only moments to find the edge of the fault. It was easy to identify where the Earth was under stress and had recently shifted. Now came the difficult part. Having tunneled a chamber for himself facing the miles long rock edge, the Thunder God held his mighty mallet before him and began to work his godly will through its magics. Whispering an ancient prayer to his Mother he focused, seeing the fault line through his hammer and willing it to shift, and as the gods did command, so did the Earth move.
The strain was incredible but Thor would not be found wanting and soon he had redirecting any harm away from the Mole Man and his people. Thus satisfied the Thunder God made haste for the surface and the sight of the monster's original attack.
There he recieved the raucos applause that were his due and quickly set to work aiding the repair crews while crowds of mortals watching, oohing and ahhing at his strength AND his looks.
With this complete the Son of Odin took to the sky and disappeared into the clouds.
******
An hour later Doctor Donald Blake gingerly made his way to Jane Foster's apartment with a bottle of wine tucked under his arm.
It was only as he neared the front door of the apartment did he realize that it had been forced.
Panic took a hold of his soul and he rushed through the open door as quickly as his lame leg would allow.
To his horror the apartment had been ransacked and on one wall there was a message written in blood that chilled him to the bone
I HAVE
YOUR WOMAN
STORMBRINGER
