Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 18:23:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tony Justiss <mighthammer@yahoo.com>
Subject: tales of a thunder god - 9

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.

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.

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 George Lucas.

Slayers is copyright Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi, Kadokawa Shoten, TV
TOKYO, SOFTX, Marubeni

Xena: the Warrior Princess and Hercules: the Legendary Journey is copyright
Universal Studios


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 9


	Kenneth rubbed his arms, feeling the biting wind through the leather
jacket he wore. How he hated the winter months. Especially, living in the
Upper East of the United East, it always got cold faster than the rest of
the continent. Lucky them. Yeah right. It was midnight, and the sun had
long ago set. The moon was the only source of light in the sky and the
stars were hidden behind a cloud of perpetual darkness. His boots cracked
the ice coating the sidewalk he strolled down. Kenneth glanced at his watch
again.
	His wife was all alone with their baby at home. He bit his lip,
stopping in midstep. Up ahead was Wimbledon Park. If cut through it he
could make it to the flat quicker, than walking the way he was currently
taking. But no one walked through the Wimbledon Park at night. Too
dangerous.
	"Fuck it," he muttered, taking a chance, he left the safety of the
street lamps and crossed the street into the green grounds of the park.
	God, it was too fucking dark in this place. Kenneth's head swiveled
left then right, trying to watch the shadows clinging to the trees
bordering the narrow path. Kenneth froze in his quickened stride. He
glanced at the bench next to him then behind him, looking for the unknown
noise he just heard.
	"Who's there?" called Kenneth, trying to put as much badass into his
voice as possible.
	The voice came then, sounding like something from a nightmare. It
touched his insides, invaded his mind, made his skin crawl. It was
something otherworldly. Something not natural, evil. "Your brain couldn't
even comprehend the correct way to pronounce my true name."
	Kenneth glared into the dark. Finally, a cloud moved and a ray of
moonlight lit up the area.
	He saw him.
	There, standing saw calmly on the path was a tall man. He had to be
taller than six feet, the way his bulging muscles protruded and stretched
the suit he wore. The suit was skintight and it had silver etchings running
up and down it, forming into complicated patterns. A cape with a flared
collar adorned his back and his skin was whiter than snow. It had no color.
His jet, black hair and blood, red eyes made him seem like a vampire
straight from a Bram Stroker novel.
	"Who the fuck are you?" asked Kenneth, keeping his voice strong, even
though he was starting to feel frightened.
	The man smiled revealing fanged teeth. "I am the Judge."
	Kenneth half smiled. "That's cool. Listen I have to go. It was nice
talking to you though."
	"Not so fast."
	Kenneth froze, feeling his blood run cold. "What do you want from
me?"
	Judge shrugged. "You."
	Kenneth narrowed his eyes, checking his fear he gave into anger and
survival. He ground his hands into fist and his floppy blond hair began to
whip around on its own, not by the wind, but by some unseen power. Slowly,
his green eyes bled to inky black.
	"If you want me," Kenneth smirked. "Come and claim me. Trust me, you
fucked up, Mister. I'm not some regular joe."
	The wind began to blow now and sparks of purple light jumped from
finger to finger. "I'm a mutant."
	A threatening smile split his face. "And a Witch."
	He raised his arms and with a yell, beams of ruby colored light
blasted from his palms. They split the air at the speed of light, hitting
the Judge before he had time to react. The effect was like being hit by a
comet. The beam of concussive light continued plowing into the being, with
no ending. The Judge futile attempts to block the blast were pitiful. The
burning light covered his body, and agonized screams erupted from his
throat, filling the air.
	"Uggghhh!" Kenneth yelled, throwing more of his energy into the beam
before cutting it off.
	He smiled slightly; eyes still black as he gazed at the smoke filled
area that the Judge once stood in.
	"Take that fucker," he gasped, trying to suck air back into his
lungs. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped as he stared at the smoke.
"No!"
	"I must admit," said the deep, rich voice. "That was good."
	The Judge appeared from the smoky area, suit still in excellent
condition and only the edging of his cape smoked slightly. The only sign of
the powerful blast hitting him. He grinned, eyes glaring red as he looked
at Kenneth with small amusement.
	Kenneth clenched his teeth together; quickly he began to chant
loudly.
	"Night is day, day is night,
 	I call upon power of the
 	Moon in my plight, hear me
 	Oh radiant light, and burn
 	My victim brighter, than
 	Cassiel's Infernite!"
	A beam of white light shined down from the sky, enveloping the Judge.
It covered his body, and energy and flames of white light zapped and hit
him at all sides. He stood stone still with his arms crossed. The smile on
his face was eerie. He stood there as if a force that could send the Empire
State Building up in flames wasn't bombarding him.
	Kenneth stared in disbelief.
	"Dammit," he swore, powering off the energy he was putting into the
spell.
	His eyes slowly lost their blackness, as the power of the magic he
was channeling drained out of him. That spell was seriously bordering dark
and it took too much.
	The Judge smirked. "You've had your turn. So now its mine."
	One second he was there and the next, he was an inch away from
Kenneth. The young man shivered, feeling the cool breath ghosting over his
skin. The Judge's hand shot out, grasping Kenneth around the throat. He
gasped and fought as his body was easily lifted a foot off the ground.
	"Hmmm..." the Judge muttered, cocking his head to the side. His blood
red eyes seemed to flash for a second then without warning he dropped
Kenneth onto the ground.
	"Ow!" Kenneth cried as he landed hard on his ass. The ice covering
the ground was damp and he could feel the coolness seep into his denim
jeans.
	The Judge glared down at Kenneth, fangs showing and eyes glowing.
	"You are not Justice."
	Kenneth shook his head. "My name is Kenneth."
	"The power I felt from you, I thought for sure you were Justice,"
muttered Judge, talking more to himself than Kenneth.
	 The young man bit his lip, wondering if the being would see him if
he ran. Gathering his courage, he got to his feet, and shot off the down
the path. He screamed as the Judge suddenly ghosted in front of him.
	"Goddess Hecate, work thy will," Kenneth began to chant in a rush.
	The Judge's fist shot out, hitting Kenneth in the gut. Instead of
stopping, his fist pierced flesh, internal organs, and emerged from his
back, large intestine coiled around it. Kenneth felt pain like no other
race up and down his body, centering on his torso. He tried to scream or
yell, but only red blood gurgled up, coating his chin and mouth.
	With an almost slurping sound, the Judge withdrew his fist a confused
expression on his face.
	"I forgot how delicate you mortals are," he sneered. "Soon, all will
be as it was. Humans will be the muck at our feet, demons will worship, and
Dahok will again be a god to the gods."
	He stopped his monologue, and looked down at Kenneth, noticing him
for the first time.
	"Still alive," he said. "I can fix that."
	'I'm sorry, Baby. I'll watch over you,' Kenneth prayed silently.
The last thing he saw was a booted foot coming toward him, before his
head was crushed in.


	Adam was dressed in a pair of denim jeans, a white dress shirt with
a black duster over it. Jared was dressed similar except his jacket was
leather and his shirt was blood red, looking good with his long, auburn
hair. The early morning sun threw not quite warm sunshine onto the downtown
area. The streets were not crowded as it was in the early morning, close to
six thirty.
	"You know I've never been to Seattle before," said Jared, as they
walked down the street, watching cars and people pass by.
	Adam smiled. "My memories still aren't complete, but I remember more
and more all the time. I can recall this entire area once being inhabited
by Native Americans. They are really a wondrous race. They understand the
delicate balance between the Earth and all of its inhabitants, probably
better than even some gods."
	Jared gave a low whistle, looking at Adam with a long look. "I
sometimes forgot how 'really' old you are."
	Adam laughed, punching him on the shoulder. He knew that sometimes he
talked funny, making comments that didn't fit his age, but the old memories
of his were integrating with his currents ones.
"Shut up. You know what they say; you only get better with age."
	"Riight," Jared smirked.
	Suddenly, Adam cocked his head. He could hear something exploding,
almost two or my four miles away. Jared couldn't hear it, but Adam could.
His hearing was godly, along with the rest of his attributes.
	"Hey, what's that?" asked Jared, as the sound finally reached his
ears.
	Adam frowned narrowing his eyes at the sky, where a thin trail of
black smoke was drifting into the clouds. Without even a thought they
ducked into an alley and transformed. Jared's transformation into Dr. Fate
was similar to Adam's into Thor. There was a build up of light and stars
seemed to cover his body, shielding it from view. The stars then formed his
suit and trench coat. With a flash, his half helm appeared in his hands,
and he covered his head with it.
	Thor smiled at Fate. "Ready to go?"
	Fate nodded. "Anytime." He looked at the crystal he had attuned to
the Judge's power. It glowed with a violet light. "Its him. We better go
before he finds another key."
	Adam rose into the sky, his hammer held in his hand in a sure grip. A
moment later Jared joined him in the air. Adam had to blink once, as he
looked at Jared again. Instead of his trench coat a pair of beautiful,
white, angel wings graced his back. They flapped softly, making no noise as
they kept him afloat.
	Adam shook his head. "You really have to explain those to me one
day."
	"It's a long story. Let me assure you," half smiled Jared.
	He decided he would just take his word for it. Turning toward the
direction the smoke was coming from, they flew off at an incredible speed.
Not too fast however, they didn't want to accidentally whined up on the
other side of the planet.
	As they came upon the scene, they gaped in open astonishment. The
entire section surrounding a four-block radius was completely destroyed. A
bomb may have well gone off, judging by the effects of the desolation.
	"Oh shit," Adam cursed, moving quickly to the side, as a black car
soared directly into the spot he hovered in.
	It lost its momentum and descended. With a fiery explosion it hit the
roof of a tall building, covering the top of it in flames, completely
incinerating the upper floors.
	"What the fuck was that!" yelled Jared.
	"Look!" Adam pointed.
	On the streets was a being they recognized. The Judge was like a
walking tornado. He didn't seem to be looking for anything, only causing
random destruction seemed his goal. Without even grunting, the Judge lifted
a car and threw into the thirteenth floor of a building. Seconds later,
flames gushed out from the shattered windows.
	"Lets go do what we do best," said Adam.
	Jared raised his eyebrow, but Adam couldn't see it behind the mask.
"What, let him get away with another key?"
	Adam sighed. "Come on." He flew down to the street.
	Landing lightly and silently, they touched down directly in front of
the Judge's road of destruction.
	The Judge laughed, as he saw them land in front of him. "I was
beginning to wonder if the little god and the balance bastard would show
up."
	Adam frowned, looking himself over. "I'm not little. I'm six foot
six."
	Jared rolled his eyes. "You are so easy."
	"I think it's about time I annihilated you two," said the Judge. He
walked over to a fire hydrant and picked it up. A second later, it hurtled
through the air at them.
	Adam caught it. "You have to do better than that."
	A pair of white and black cars flew at them. Dr. Fate threw up his
hands and a force field of purple light materialized in front of tem. The
cars hit the shield exploding on impact, sending debris and metal bits
flying everyone. As his arms dropped to his side, his shield faded away.
	"Let's see how he likes this," said Adam, going to a knee.
	He stamped the end of his hammer against the ground, then raised it
to the air. Immediately, a visible cyclone of whirling wind appeared. It
turned on its side and flew at the Judge. The torrent of wind grabbed him,
and carried him back, throwing him into a toyshop a block away.
	"Kick it into overdrive!" yelled Jared.
	In an eye blink, Jared had the Ankh of Anubis in hand. The long staff
topped with the golden ankh gleamed in the sunshine. Adam held his hammer,
Mjolner, in a strong grip. Nodding at each other, they unleashed their
power. The air lit up as currents of blue lightning and beams of golden
light, rained down on the toyshop. The earth quaked and buildings shook
from the after shock of the devastating, combined attack. They focused
harder, turning up the power. The light got brighter almost blinding, and
the ground started to shake harder as if angry. The building holding the
toyshop imploded, throwing dust into the sky. Still they continued their
attack.
	Finally, they powered off their attacks. Not moving, they only stared
at the destroyed building, which held the toyshop. Looking through the
smoke, they glared at the rubble, searching for the body of the Judge. They
knew he wasn't dead. He was tougher than that.
	"What's going on here."
	They turned around.

	"Your suite is ready Mr. Stark."
	"No need for such formalities. Call me, Tony," replied Tony Stark,
smiling charmingly at the woman behind the corner.
	The lobby of the Jean Luc Hotel was pristine and practically
sparkling. There was a reason it was ranked as one of Seattle's and
Americas most expensive and luxurious hotels. Tony was not out of place in
his thousand-dollar suit that was tailored perfectly to his body. A body
that was in great shape for someone going on their thirty fourth birthday.
What else would one expect from a multi billionaire?
	"So what time do you get off?" Tony asked, running a hand through his
long, black hair.
	The woman behind the counter smiled shyly. Her cheeks flushed a rosy
hue. "I get off at nine."
	Tony winked. "Well, how about we--"
	His eyes widened as he caught the reflecting image showing in the
mirror over the girl's head. He swiveled around and cringed, watching as a
car was thrown into the building next to the Jean Luc Hotel. The resounding
explosion shook the glass doors.
	"Oh, my god!" the receptionist shrieked.
	Several people's screams joined hers. Tony frowned watching the tall
being dressed in black, stalk down the city's streets causing untold
amounts of destruction in his wake.
	Grabbing his suitcase, he sprinted to the nearest restroom, loosening
his tie along the way. He jetted into the unoccupied room locking the door
behind him. Immediately, Tony opened the briefcase and smiled at its
contents. He pressed a hidden button on his watch and metal armor parts,
rapidly flew from their resting position in the briefcase. Tony stripped
his clothes off revealing a silvery cat suit, inlaid with blinking lights
and wires. The silvery suit's magnetic charge turned on and quickly the
armor pieces flew around him, then one by one they snapped into place onto
him. Really, the process didn't take more than two minutes.
	Snapping his helmet into place, Tony's voice activated the suit's
computer system.
	"Computer activate armor."
	"Iron Man armor activated and all systems brought online."
	The suit powered to life and information whirled behind the helmet's
eyepieces. Tony clicked his heels, and the rocket jets built into the feet,
fired to life. He soared out the building in a blur.
	He was a blur of red and gold in the air as he flew to the center of
the chaos. The bright effects of energy attacks lit up the air for miles.
He frowned, seeing not one but two men. With a thought the jets power
lowered, slowly bringing him down to the ground. He landed behind the two
men, his iron clad feet barely making a sound.
	"What's going on here?

	Adam turned around, hammer at ready. He raised his eyebrow looking
the figure before him over. The man or whatever was dressed in a stylized
suit of gold and red armor. He looked like a modern knight, but you know
sans sword.
	"Who are you?" asked Jared.
	"Iron Man. And you are?"
	"I'm Dr. Fate and this is my partner Thor."
	Adam cleared his throat. "We don't have time for this." He turned
back to the rubble. With a wave of his hammer, wind picked up clearing away
the smoke that clung to the area.
	"Where is he?" muttered Jared, staring hard at the destroyed
building. There was no sign of the Judge or a dead body.
	"Who is who?" asked Iron Man.
	"I think they mean, me."
	They stilled at the voice that suddenly echoed up from nowhere and
yet came from everywhere. Suddenly, a blur sped past them. Jared raised his
staff but the blur slapped him into a car, and continued racing on. Adam
wound back his arm and punched the blur. To him the blur wasn't fast, he
could the see the Judge as if he was moving in slow motion.
	"Take this!" yelled Adam, punching the Judge.
	The Judge hurtled backward knocked right off his feet. It didn't
matter how powerful he was. Thor still had the strength of a god.
	As he accelerated backward, the Judge grabbed at a lampost and used
it to swing back around. Using the momentum he already had, the Judge
picked up even more speed. Adam didn't even see the ball of black matter
thrown at him, till it knocked him up into the air. He soared into the
clouds, the ball of blackness carrying him along.
	Iron Man aimed his palms at the Judge, as he sped toward him. He gave
a grunt as his repulsor rays kicked to life. The beams of white light hit
the Judge, knocking him back, a foot, a yard, then a meter.
	He frowned behind his helmet as the Judge, held up a hand to the
rays. That shouldn't be possible his mind and the computer in his armor
told him, only in lit up, blinking numbers and equations.
	The repulsor rays splattered off his hands and deflected into the
air. Slowly but surely, the Judge walked forward holding back the rays of
white light.
	"You humans really are a pitiful race, like cockroaches." the Judge
smirked. He grabbed Iron Man's smoking, gloved hands, and the power flow
cut off. He ripped of Iron Man's helmet, revealing Tony Stark's sweating,
fear filled face. "Such emotion on your face. It's captivating. I do
believe this is what you humans call fear."
	"Go to Hell," spat Tony, glaring.
	The Judge cocked his head. "I've been there and to places you
wouldn't began to imagine. I'm older than your entire race. I was alive
when your species was nothing but muck on the ground. You sparkled and
stank and was nothing but a gleam in the eyes of lower demons."
	"You talk too much," Tony sneered.
	The Judge gripped his throat and raised him into the air. His toe
tips barely scrapped the ground, as he wailed around, the air cut off from
his lungs. The Judge narrowed his eyes and looked closer at Tony, his red
eyes searching the frightened blue eyes before him.
	"Justice," the Judge breathed amazed. He gave a low, long laugh. "I
can't believe. I didn't find justice but justice came to me. How amusing."
	"Put him down!" yelled Thor, helping Jared stand up.
	The Judge laughed. "Oh, I don't think so." His blood, red eyes were
filled with amusement. "You see, this mortal is the Key of Justice. I'll be
taking him."
	Adam's eyes widened in realization and horror. "NO!"
	The Judge smirked at the battered heroes. In his raised arm was the
choking form of Tony Stark, still trapped in the grip of the old, demon
lord. His blue eyes turned toward them, pleading and filled with fear. If
he had ability to talk he would have choked out what the hell was a key of
justice.
	"Let him go!" yelled Jared, raising his staff. "Moon, Earth, Stars,"
He began to chant, his hands glowing a vibrant purple.
	"Armageddon is at hand. Prepare for reformation," the Judge stated.
	In a flash of white light he was gone. Tony Stark was gone with him.
The only sign that the Judge had been here was the destruction around them.
It looked as if a large bomb had gone off.
	"Dammit!" Adam cried, punching his fist against the wall of the
building next to him.
	The entire building shook as a larger than man sized hole appeared in
the wall, where his fist impacted. Jared stood with the help of Adam,
favoring his swollen ankle.
	"He has two Key's now. Only five left and time is running out," Jared
muttered. He looked to the sky a sad expression on his face. "May god have
mercy on all our souls."


To Be Continued...

*******************************************
Dum, dum, dum. Looks like Iron Man is the Key of Justice. I bet that was a
surprise. The other keys will come as a surprise, too. Some will be new
while others will be very familiar. Don't forget to email me. I love to
hear feedback, and also check out the other stories in the Tales universe.

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"