Across the vastness of time and space, in the fabled home of the Norse Gods, the golden city of Asgard, some familiar figures are gathered behind the throne room of Odin. In this small area, Odin, Sif, the Warriors Three, the Grand Vizier, and Thor all encircle the seated form of the Silver Surfer, as the latter sits on a large slab in the middle of the floor. He has his head held in his hands, as he moans out in pain. Loki looks on, as he leans back against the wall, observing what is happening with great interest.

“In truth, it troubles me to see thee thus,” Thor comments, looking down at the Surfer, who continues to look down, through his hands.

“Aye,” Odin remarks. “But he hath no heart of a warrior in his thin frame.”

Loki scoffs at the remark, then feels the need to explain his unintentional reaction. “Nay,” Loki agrees. “His people, from Zenn-La, are known to be scientists, not warriors. Although the Surfer served the world-devourer, he is no exception.”

“’Tis true,” Fandral agrees. “Although the women of Zenn-La can be quite passionate,” he adds with a knowing grin.

Sif rolls her eyes, turning away from Fandral, and looking over to Thor. “Who injured him thus?” she asks. “He appears able to get up, but continues to writhe in pain.”

“Aye,” Thor agrees, “but even more when he seeks to tell us what happened.”

“Thor is right,” the Grand Vizier adds. “Whenever he seeks to speak the name of he who did this to him, he is wracked with another round of intense pain—as if the mere memory of the event strikes him with unnatural terror.”

“Could this be the work of the villain?” Volstagg asks, as his teeth tear through a large chicken leg. He is unable to finish his train of thought, however, now that his mouth is full.

“I think what the voluminous one is suggesting,” Hogun offers, rolling his eyes, as he looks over in the direction of Volstagg, “is that the villain was seeking to keep his identity a secret thus?”

“Aye,” Thor offers. “Perhaps this is the case. However, I suspect that the villain responsible is the very one that struck such terror in his former master’s heart that he did seek my assistance in defeating him.” Silver Surfer looks over at Thor, his eyes meeting the thunder god, as he nods slightly, fearfully.

“I can scarcely think of a threat so vile that thou wouldst ally thyselves with the world-devouring madman to overcome it,” Fandral muses.

“It matters not,” Odin speaks with authority, as the others all turn to look over at him. He walks over to the Surfer, gesturing to the silver-clad figure.  “We are but wasting time with this approach. Let the mystic energy of omnipotent Odin be cast upon him, so that the truth of his injuries can be revealed. No matter how powerful the silence imposed on the Surfer, nothing can defy the will of Odin!” With that, an energy beam leaves Odin’s hand, bathing the Surfer in its brilliance, as he slopes backward, entranced in Odin’s power.

When Odin’s power washes over the Surfer, images start to flow from the Surfer’s mind, breaking free of their prison and appearing before the Asgardian’s present.

Surfer is shown flying through space, propelled with his surfboard, when he is attacked by twin beams of great force. The attack knocks him from the surfboard and sends him reeling through the cosmic vacuum of space.

The Surfer manages to stop his descent, mentally calling for his surfboard to return to him. He attempts to re-mount the board, when he is attacked by a hail of meteoroids. The Surfer falls back, desperately clinging to his quivering board, as he tries to retain his consciousness.

As the Surfer drifts off into unconsciousness, he looks over to see the identity of his attacker. Through blurry eyes, he looks over, seeing a planet moving towards him…a planet with piercing, penetrating eyes!

At this point, the Surfer screams a loud-pitched scream, and falls back against the slab holding him from the ground. Thor quickly reaches over, catching the Surfer’s frail, metallic form.

“What a pathetic weakling,” Loki muses, scowling over at the Surfer’s form, even as he starts to recover. Loki looks over his shoulder, sneering at the Surfer, and Thor. “Why should we waste any time with this thrall of the world-devouring madman?”

“While it is true that I served Galactus in the past,” the Surfer responds, looking over at Loki. In his eyes is a look of recognition, but he cannot place it. He has seen Loki before, but he feels as if his mind is clouded, unable to determine where he has seen Loki before, even as Loki’s eyes peer over at him, mystic energy exchanging between the two of them. He hesitates, then remembers his train of thought. “Even though I served him in the past, I no longer serve him.”

“Nor does anyone else now,” Loki retorts. “He is dead, you silver-clad oaf!”

“Enough!” Odin’s voice booms out, as his massive arms stretch out between Loki and the Surfer, who is even now starting to get to his feet. “Thy bickering avails us nothing. We are not here for the Surfer’s benefit…or thine, Loki!” He looks over at Loki sternly. “We seek only to stop someone from using Galactus’ ship for nefarious purposes.”

“Aye,” Thor adds, nodding. He then turns to the others. “And, from the visions that Lord Odin has extracted from the mind of the Surfer, it is clear that the one we seek is who I suspected… EGO, THE LIVING PLANET!”

INTERLUDE

With that, we turn out attention across the cosmos, to the very object of their discussion. Stretched out on a planet in the vastness of space is Firelord. His arms are held fast, embedded into the side of mountains, even as ice surrounds his prone body, some of it collecting on his lips and under his nostrils.

“Who has brought me here?” Firelord demands, even as consciousness slowly returns, and he gradually starts to get a better understanding of his surroundings.

He tries to move away from his current position, but soon becomes aware that he is unable to move his arms and legs. As this realization continues to dawn on him, he grows increasingly irate. His renowned temper starts to rise quickly to the forefront, as his eyes are ablaze with his anger. His eye sockets shoot out fire, which melts some of the ice on his face. But, none of his anger outburst results in any improvement in his condition, as he continues to be imprisoned on the mountain, which seems to shift and grow more dense around his arms and legs with each movement on his part. The result is that each movement, instead of extricating him from his prison, only makes that prison all the more secure around his body. This just makes him all the more enraged.

“WHO?!” he screams, looking around, his head moving from side to side.

“WHO?!”

“WHO?!”

There is no immediate response to Firelord’s bellows of intense rage, which makes Firelord all the angrier. As his anger grows all the more intense, he shoots twin beams of fire from his eye sockets. The flames shoot across from the mountain where Firelord is contained, streaking across the landmass where Firelord is contained, until they sear into an iceberg several miles away, on an icy lake in the distance.

“For the answer to your question,” comes a voice that seems to be near him, but to echo all around him all at once, “you need to but look around you. You are being held by all that you see.”

Firelord is surprised by the sudden sound of a voice, and he is unable to locate its precise location. His senses seem to reel at the very attempt. “I do not know how you are able to hold me here,” he utters. “Nor do I know how you can keep yourself from my sight…!”

“I have done nothing to hide myself from your sight,” the voice responds. “I have made it quite clear who I am, and what I am. I am all that you see. You are being held here by the will that controls the very nature of this world. You are being held in place by all that you see…controlled by a single mind.”

“I see no reason to crouch a direct question in riddles,” Firelord shoots back, growing increasingly irritated by his current situation, mixed with his utter inability to do anything about it.

“I see,” the voice responds. “I had imagined that you would understand who was holding you. It has been some time since I’ve seen you—as long as it’s been since I last saw your former master. But, surely, you haven’t so soon forgotten me?” With that, a sudden image appears before Firelord. It is an earthen image, green and sporting a beard. The image walks up to Firelord, who looks surprised to see him. “As with other corporal beings, it is sometimes necessary for you to have a point of reference. It has been some time since I have been around other humanoids. I have been spending my time away from others, but perhaps now you recognize me? Perhaps now you remember that I am EGO, THE LIVING PLANET?!”

“But why have you brought me here?” Firelord asks. “And how long do you intend to hold me here?”

“The latter depends entirely on you,” Ego replies. “As to your former question, I am seeking your help.”

“My help?!” Firelord asks, surprised to hear it. “How could I help you? The last time I saw you, you had laid Galactus low, sending him fleeing across the cosmos. He sent me to find Thor, to get the help of the thunder god in overcoming your threat.”*

[*A brief recount of the storyline originally told in Thor #225-228.]

“As you undoubtedly know,” Ego responds, as he stands before Firelord, “your former master has met the fate of all power-mad tyrants. He has been slain by the Skrulls. As a result, though, there are those who are seeking the secrets contained in his ship. This search will result in a power struggle that could wreck the very cosmos.”

“You are now interested in the survival of the cosmos?” Firelord asks, surprised. “The last I recall, Thor helped Galactus—a rarity in itself—defeat you because you posed a threat to the universe!”

“I was stricken by temporary madness at the time,” Ego replies. “But there could be no greater threat to survival than that posed by your former master, who is responsible for countless deaths. He tried to consume me in the past, but I always fought him off. One of those times, aided by Thor. ** However, now, I must be the first to find the ship, before it falls into the hands of…the others. The powers they could then unleash might cause untold damage.”

[**See Thor #160-162 for this exciting tale.]

“But how can I help you?!” Firelord asks. “And how do I know that you won’t use the powers for your own ends?”

With that, Ego lets a slight smile cross his face, as he moves closer to Firelord, who struggles fruitlessly to free his arms.

END OF INTERLUDE

Back across time and space, in the eternal realm of Asgard, Thor stands with the Surfer, as the Warriors Three, Sif, Odin, Loki, the Grand Vizier, and Balder all look on with interest. Thor has helped the Silver Surfer to his feet, even as the Surfer’s board lies on the ground beside him.

“Based on what we hath learned from thee,” Thor explains, “and on what hath concerned the all-father himself, we must seek out the world-devourer’s ship.”

“I agree,” Silver Surfer adds, as he tries to maintain his balance.

“Thy help would be most useful in our quest,” Balder comments. “But are thou able to travel? Thy appearance is frail, and it looks as though thou could offer little in the way of assistance at the moment.”

“Or at any other moment,” Loki chimes in, scowling at the Surfer.

Ignoring Loki’s comments, Thor turns to the Surfer. “Well, Norrin?” he asks. “Are thee well enough to travel…to help us find Galactus’ ship?”

“My injuries will heal,” the Surfer responds. “I have little choice. I will accompany you.”

TO BE CONTINUED...

First, I’d like to offer my thanks to everyone who voted for this book in the Marvel 2000 Annual Awards. For those who haven’t seen the results, they can be found here. Specifically, Thor tied on Best Title, and I was honored to be runner-up (behind Chris Munn) for Best Writer. One of the things I appreciated the most, though, was the fact that the Thor vs. Ulik fight presented here was the runner-up for Best Fight. I take pride in my fight scenes, and I appreciate the support of the fans who also enjoyed that one (and, hey, coming in second to JLA/Avengers is certainly nothing to be ashamed of!). This title also scored with Best Moment, with Asgard’s celebration of its victory over Galactus. There are some really good writers and projects in those awards, and I certainly want everyone to know that I appreciate your support, and the support of the editorial staff at Marvel 2000. It’s a great place for a fan fiction writer to be. Once again, thanks for your votes, and thanks to the editors for their support. I hope to continue to be able to keep you interested with the storylines here.

Your comments, questions, suggestions, and other input are always appreciated and welcome. I can be contacted at earth2jsa@yahoo.com. Now onto the one review to print this issue.
 
Dear Jeff,

I have to confess to not being a Thor fan because of how some writers portrayed Thor as way too arrogant and boastful about his powers. But you have shown that Thor can back up any claims he makes.

You have given me insight into what a great and noble warrior he is and how it’s possible that he could very well be as iconic as Superman.

Edward Sampson

Thanks, and I’m glad this series is working for you. Thor hasn’t been shown up to his potential for some time, and I hope you continue to like my portrayal of the character.

Jeff Melton