Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 23:13:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tony Justiss <mighthammer@yahoo.com>
Subject: tales of a thunder god - 5

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.

SM: Alternate Reality series is copyright Strike Fiss.

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 5


	In a large office room sat a handsome man behind a wooden desk. He
sat leaning back in a high-backed chair with a pensive look upon his young
face. He was dressed in a white, business suit perfectly tailored to his
form. Closing the door behind her entered a young woman dressed similar to
him only her suit was a different cut. Nervously, she sat down in the chair
facing the desk. She handed him a sheet of glass cut into the form of small
rectangle.
	"Here is the information you wanted on Thor, sir," she said.
	The man punched invisible buttons on the data glass watching as
information appeared in glowing numbers and letters on the clear surface.
He frowned as he quickly speed read the information. The aid had done well
by acquiring the intel. Putting down the data glass he let out a sigh. This
was not what he needed at the moment. An unexpected anomaly in the form of
a God was not what he had expected at all.
	The man took a breath. "I want all of the members who aren't focused
on the search for the keys to focus their efforts on Thor and Fate. Bring
the Dallas servers online and if you have to reroute other servers to take
up the slack."
	"But sir," the woman said distressed. "ALL the servers? I don't
think--"
	The man waved a hand cutting her off. "Who is the Director?"
	The girl straightened her shoulders and nodded quickly. "You are."
	The man smiled. "Now, I also want constant surveillance kept on the
Judge and the other keys that are on Earth. If it comes down to it we just
have to break our non-interference rule and stop him ourselves. We are too
close now to the Omega Point to have the universe or all of reality be
destroyed in Armageddon. We must keep all seven keys from coming together
or we're fucked."
	The woman stood up. "I'll get to it." She left the room quickly.
	The man placed his face in his hands letting out a tired sigh. "The
Earth is too close now," he whispered. "We can't let Armageddon happen."
	If Fate and Thor were trying to stop Armageddon also, then they would
get all the help they could from the Omega Web. Neither the Earth
nor the universe would go to hell as long as they were still active.


***

	Ritchie sat on a small sofa watching the movie play on the plasma
flat screen hung along the wall. Behind him on the longer sofa sat Brian
and his cousin Adam. It was Sunday night and the three of them were
gathered in Adam's house watching the latest romance movie that had just
been released to DVD. For the fifth time since the movie started giggling
could be heard filling the room. Sneaking a glance behind him, Ritchie
looked to his cousin and Brian who shared the sofa. Brian was lying down
with his head on Adam's leg. Absently, Adam ran his fingers through Brian's
hair. Ritchie could bet that Adam didn't even know he was doing it. Both
men were laughing at some shared joke that he couldn't hear.
	A grin made his way onto his face. He knew that his cousin liked
Brian. It was obvious enough. One could see it in his eyes when he was near
Brian. Ritchie wondered how those two didn't have a clue. Come on. Friends
didn't run their fingers through each other's hair and lie on the other's
laps.
	To him it was plan as day. They liked each other. He wouldn't be
surprised if those two were in love already.
	But there was something holding those two back. Fear. Neither knew
how the other felt. Adam thought Brian was straight and Brian probably
thought the same. Ritchie took another glance at them. Identical smiles of
content were on their faces as the movie played on.
	Oh yeah, they were definitely somewhere near the love stage. It was a
miracle that those two could be so oblivious to the hidden feelings of the
other.
	Ritchie found a smile coming to his own face. He never thought his
cousin would ever fall in love with a boy band singer. He had known all
along that Brian Littrell was the same Brian of the Backstreet Boys but had
downplayed his reaction when first introduced to him. They both probably
thought that he had no idea who Brian really was. Shows what they know.

	Adam sat on the couch his gaze trained on the movie but his mind was
wandering. Tomorrow night was the night he was scheduled to meet Fate at
the Boardwalk. He may have appeared happy and content at the moment but on
the inside he was a bundle of nerves. How could he truly enjoy the day
knowing that Armageddon might come soon?
	"You okay, Adam?" asked Brian looking up at him with those bright
blue eyes.
	Adam put on a happy smile. "I'm fine, Brian."
	"You looked like you were a hundred miles away a moment ago. You've
been doing that a lot lately. What's up?"
	"Nothing. I just have some things on my mind."
	Brian frowned. "Anything I can help with."
	Adam shook his head. "No. Its nothing you can help me with. I'm fine
though, so don't worry about me. Okay?"
	Brian didn't want to drop the subject but he could tell that Adam
really didn't want to talk about it. Resigned he nodded his head turning
back to the TV. He squeezed Adam's thigh and the blond looked down upon him
with a smile. Brian grinned back happy to get a smile from Adam.
	Ritchie watched all this with a raised eyebrow. And those two
couldn't see it, he thought. They were so into each other it was a wonder
they didn't have any clue.
	Adam narrowed his eyes in Ritchie's direction, sending a suspicious
look to the back of his red haired head. His cousin had been giving him odd
looks all night long. Ritchie thought he hadn't noticed but he had. It was
kind of easy to tell when you could feel eyes pinned on you. Adam
recognized the secretive inquiring glances. His cousin was up to something
or he knew something that Adam didn't.
	An hour later the movie ended. The credits rolled down the screen as
some cheesy good feeling music pumped from the speakers. Adam moved letting
Brian get up to his feet.
	"That was a sweet movie," Brian yawned, stretching his arms toward
the ceiling.
	"Sweet enough to give me cavities," echoed Ritchie belting out an
accompanying loud yawn.
	They laughed and seeing how late the time was they decided to depart
for the night. Adam walked his cousin and Brian to the door. He was a
southern boy at heart and he had his manners no matter what his new found
memories told him.
	"See you later, cuz, B'," said Ritchie.
	"Later, Ritch," replied Adam both Brian, watching as the red head
waved to them before turning around walking to his car parked on the curb
in front of the house.
	Brian leaned against the frame of the open door. Adam found the stare
the shorter man was giving him a little unnerving. It was like Brian was
looking into him past everything on the exterior and into his soul. Adam
returned the soul meeting the blue gaze head not breaking eye contact. The
moment was broken by the sound of a nearby car alarm going off. Brian broke
the connection first turning his gaze to the ground. He dug his hands into
the pocket of his ripped blue jeans suddenly looking so shy.
	"Ummm... I had a good time tonight," said Brian. "Thanks for inviting
me over."
	Adam smiled heart fluttering in his chest. "You're a friend of course
I would have you over anytime."
	Brian smiled shyly. "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
	"Bye."
	Brian turned around walked down the steps of the porch. He waved
again then turned around to continue walking down the sidewalk. Once the
door closed, Adam leaned back against it eyes closed. A took a moment for
his heart to stop its rapid beating. It had a habit of doing that whenever
Brian got too close. The feelings Brian invoked within were really starting
to get to him. There was no way that he could be able to stop himself from
kissing the other man soon. Lust, want, adoration, respect, friendship,
even... if he allowed himself to think it... love. All these emotions
swirled inside of him at the mere thought of Brian.
	He had to tell Brian his feelings or he would probably never get the
chance. Like it or not Armageddon was around the corner and he might not
get the chance to tell him... ever.


	Adam stood on top of a building in the downtown district known as the
Boardwalk. He was in full god mode, the form of Thor and not Adam stood in
the cool night hair, wind blowing his long blond hair and cape behind him.
His arms were crossed as he stared up at the stars twinkling in the clear
night sky. He had no idea how Fate was going to locate him. He had just
said meet him at midnight at the Boardwalk. He never designated a specific
place however.
	"You came."
	Adam spun around coming face to face with Fate. How the other man
found him he had no idea. He must have used a locator spell which was
simple for him to do, judging by his use of power he was a very, very,
strong magic user. Crossing his arms Adam regarded Fate coolly.
	"Nice to see you showed up."
	Fate shrugged nonchalant. "I always make my appointments. Now lets
talk. How about we drop the superhero forms so we can talk without any
distrust. So what do you say? I show mine if you show yours."
	Adam rolled his eyes at the perverted innuendo. Giving a curt nod he
agreed. Both went through the motions of powering down. Fate made his hands
into a triangle held to his chest. Closing his eyes a purple glow
surrounded his body. His Fate uniform faded away leaving him clothed in a
pair of khaki slacks and a tight plain gray shirt. Adam opened his eyes
feeling the change finish, leaving him in his mortal form.
	Sweet Ghea was the thought that passed through Adam's mind as he laid
eyes on Fate, well the true face of Fate. Without the mask covering his
face, Adam could see him for who he really was. The man before him had the
face of an angel. Deep sea green eyes, high cheekbones, and thin lips made
his face look model-esq. His long auburn hair fell to his mid back and
instead of taking away from his looks it added to them.
	"Hello, when not preventing the destruction of the world and all of
reality, I'm Jared Stevens."
	Adam smiled warming up to the easygoing personality. "I'm Adam
Justiss."
	Jared lost his smile getting straight to business. "First so that we
know a little about each other how about we share stories." Without waiting
for Adam to agree he started talking. "In the universe there are many
immortal beings and spirits that people on this world are not aware of. Two
of such beings are non-corporeal races known as the Lords of Chaos and the
Lords of Order. Diametrically opposed forces who polarize the opposite
spectrum of magical politics, between them exist a war fought with pawns
and servants. To make a long story short a couple of years ago, I was given
the powers of one of the Lords of Order, Nabu.
	"I was just a coming into my power warlock then but now I'm one of
the world's most powerful sorcerers. My job is to prevent the Lords of
Chaos from using humans as pawns and to fix mystical threats and anomalies
that exist beyond normal human perception. I'm what the Lords of Order like
to call an Agent of Balance."
	Seeing this as his cue to start Adam took a breath beginning his own
story.
	"Centuries ago, I was born to the king of the Aesir gods of Asgard,
Odin, and the Earth goddess Jord. As I grew up I became a warrior, a
warrior for humanity and the champion of the Aesir. Years ago, I challenged
our sacred rules called the Compact, which are ancient laws and pacts set
and followed by all gods no matter what race.
	"One of the strictest laws of the Compact is that after the Twilight,
which is the sundering of the gods from Earth, no god shall interfere in
human affairs unless he seeks to forfeit his life. I broke the law and
interfered. As punishment I was erased of all of my memories, powers bound
and reincarnated into the body you see now. It was only about week and a
half ago that I remembered who I truly was. My powers were unbound and I
was free to become Thor, god of thunder, once again."
	Jared moved to the ledge and took a seat. "Let's get right down to
it. I already told you about the keys and what could happen when the powers
of the universe get together."
	Adam nodded. "I remember. Anything can happen. Half being the
destruction of the universe the other half being hell itself becoming our
daily life."
	Jared's face was blank as he spoke.
	"Only when the seven keys are gathered together will Alpha Armageddon
start. That is when the universe will become play-dough and the natural
laws that we take for granted are thrown out the fucking window. The
destruction of the universe or reality is Beta Armageddon. I'd rather have
the universe destroyed then all of reality personally," said Jared calmly.
Too calmly.
	"Why would anyone want to start Armageddon?" asked Adam desperately
wanting to know why. The idea of someone actually wanting this to take
place was incredulous.
	"I told you that when that much power is focused in one place the
universe will become unstable. Up will be down, down up. Everything will be
fucked. The cosmos itself will be as palpable as dough. Whoever holds the
winning key, will be able to make a wish. You can't even begin to conceive
what kind of wish could be made with that power. The host of the key would
literally have the power of God. They could easily wipe out time, tear
apart the cosmos, or even reset the universe and turn it into what they
want."
	Adam understood now. Taking a deep breath he cleared his mind of the
dark thoughts the topic was bringing. He paced back and forth in a line
with Jared following him with his eyes. Finally he said,
	"That is what the Judge's master wants isn't it?"
	Jared let out a heavy sigh. "Correct. The Judge's master is ancient.
He has many titles and names... Dark Master of Strife, the One, God
Emperor. Older than even humans, his true name is Dahok. Billions of years
ago, when pure demons -not the hybrid demons of now- freely walked the
earth Dahok was the strongest among them. He was a monarch and warrior
widely loved yet widely feared. His kingdom was built on the blood of all
lesser demons. None could beat him for he was the strongest among the Old
Ones. Eventually, rival demons came together in an unparalleled coalition
murdering Dahok.
	His body was destroyed but his spirit remained living. Nothing that
dark and evil can simply die and go into creation. His spirit lives on now
without a body. His acolytes live on too. Even after all these years there
are those who still worship his evil and might. Can you imagine how
powerful someone would have to be to still have worshipers even after
billions of years of absence? With one wish given to him what do you think
it would be?"
	It didn't take Adam long to put two and two together.
	"Oh fuck."


	In a circular room painted entirely snow white was a steady clicking
sound. The sound came from the tapping of keys being pressed rapidly by a
group of young men and women. They sat in armchairs before complex looking
computers lining the walls around the entire room. In the middle of the
room was a glass column that showed flashing numbers and foreign words
running up and down its clear surface.
	With a hiss the door slid open. In walked the director of this
operation and entire foundation in which these people belonged. Moving
aside his black hair that covered his face like a curtain he walked to the
flashing column.
	"Report?" he asked an aid whom stood next to the column recording the
blinking information on the data crystal he carried. The aid wore a white
lab coat and a pair of framless square glasses.
	The aid stood at attention. "Sir, reports are in. So far we have used
the satellites to scan the earth for the remaining keys. The data came back
and we managed to triangulate their locations down."
	"Give me their locations then," said the Director. He spoke with a
voice that belied his twenty-five years. When one was the director of one
of the most powerful and secretive groups on earth one had to grow up fast.
	The aid was a young man with cornstraw colored hair and smattering of
freckles covering his tanned face. "The Ankh of Anubis is in the Dallas,
Texas. Excalibur is London, England. The Key of Justice is in Seattle,
Washington. The rest of the keys are not on earth."
	The Director, or more commonly known as Chad Sterling, nodded a
thoughtful look worn on his face. Holding up a hand he said, "So that means
the Keys of Order, Hope, and Justice are all accounted for and currently
safe." With each name spoken he ticked off a finger.
	"We can't forget that Dahok now has the Key of Knowledge."
	Chad nodded frowning.
	"Yes, I haven't forgotten he has obtained the Book of Eternity. That
leaves the Keys of Power, Purity, and Time still out there somewhere in the
universe."
	"We already have the new zero systems scanning the cosmos for the
remaining keys. It will take a while to triangulate their exact locations
because of the vast distance and the zero system is only a prototype. But
according to prior matrix holographic simulations we have run, we shall
have an eighty-five point nine-nine five chance of finding the remaining
keys before Dahok."
	"Have you compensated for the neutron emissions or spatial warps that
might interfere with readings?" asked Chad.
	The aid nodded quickly. His blond hair fell into his eyes at the
action. With a quick sweep he tucked the hair behind his ear.
	"Yes, Director Sterling. That has already been thought of us and the
parameters have been put into the search program. It's currently running at
a ninety-ninety point nine percent efficiency rate so everything is going
smoothly."
	Chad didn't smile or show any signs of happiness at the positive
news. The aid fidgeted slightly under the scrutinizing gaze but finally
Chad gave him a nod.
	"Very good, Matthews," said Chad. "Do not take my lack of happiness
to heart. When Armageddon is around the corner one tends to smile less
until it's passed."
	Matthews grew serious also, his face becoming determined. "Do not
worry, sir. All the Omega Web agents are doing their best to help in anyway
they can. We all realize that Armageddon must be stopped at all cost. We
can't let all of our endeavors be in vain. The Omega Point must be reached
if humanity is to survive in the universe."
	That must have been the answer Chad was looking for because he smiled
and some of the tension in his shoulders disappeared.
	"Its good to see we are on the same page," he said. "When the results
of the scan come in have them delivered to my office immediately. I also
want the surveillance reports the agents in Dallas sent on Dr. Fate and
Thor."
	Chad gazed around the room looking at the people running from station
to station then to those typing at the data consoles with furious paces.
Satisfied with the way things were going he walked out of the room through
the sliding door.


	The Judge kneeled in front of the shadow covered throne. On the floor
before him lay the golden covered Book of Eternity. It seemed to shine in
the torchlight of the vast hallway.
	"Here is the Key of Knowledge. That leaves only six more to go."
The shadows seemed to throb as a cold disembodied voice spoke from
the darkness.
	"My time is almost near. I can almost smell the flesh of rotting
corpses and tortured souls suffering in eternal agony. The humans will once
again be the primordial ooze they once were and all shall worship me once
again."
	The Judge smiled pleased that his master was satisfied.
	"Yes, my lord. Only six more. Then your time will come... From the
darkness you shall destroy."
	A chilling, cold laugh filled the room.
	"The Earth will bleed, the rivers will run red, and the sky will rain
down death... Oh yes, my coming is at hand..."

To Be Continued...

*******************************************
As you can tell this was a more informative chapter then action oriented.
Mainly to move the plot along and keep you interested. You can owe the keys
and omega web to Chris Stover aka Christopher Fiss, who writes excellent
stories.

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"