The Magician's Apprentice

Hangin' Out With the God of Thunder

"Stephen, are you sure about this?" I asked uncertainly. "You said that it requires massive amounts of concentration, not to mention that you yourself haven't finished studying it completely."

"I have finished studying Telepathy," Stephen corrected, sounding slightly defensive. "Well, the concept, anyway. And I have achieved it multiple times, but like I said, it's not the easiest spell to accomplish. I but I believe you can do it."

"What makes you so sure?" I demanded, torn between irritation and warmth that he had so much faith in me.

"Remember when I first saw you?" Stephen asked. "You managed to defend yourself against some thugs by conjuring yourself a weapon. The fact that you haven't studied magic yet managed to do this amazes me. It shows that you are capable of great feats if you concentrate enough!"

"But Stephen," I said desperately, "I feel like I didn't even try! I just really wished for something to defend myself with! I just didn't want to be easy prey and that's it."

Stephen pondered this for a few moments. "Many people concentrate in different ways," he said. "I believe your way is using your emotions as motivation and energy."

"Okay, sure," I said, mostly to humor him. "Say I actually try. How do I do this?"

"I will show you an image of an Avenger," Stephen said, conjuring a life-sized image of Thor. "You will then put yourself into a state of extreme concentration, almost like you're meditating. Focus on the image and imagine yourself in the same room as them. If you're successful, a projected image of yourself will appear where the person is whom you are thinking of. I can't guarantee how long you will be able to do this, as it all depends on your level of concentration."

"Sounds simple enough," I muttered dryly. "Alright then. You want me to talk to Thor first? What should I say?"

"Ask him where he is, because currently no one knows his location," Stephen said. "And be polite and introduce yourself. And whatever you do—do not tell him Loki is alive."

"All right, all right," I said irritably, although I couldn't ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment. I was curious on how Thor would react to hear that his adoptive brother was still alive.

"Trust me, he'll figure it out in due time," Stephen said. "In the mean time, try to contact Thor. If you're successful, I'll relay this information for the other Avengers."

I sat in the classic yoga "lotus" pose and closed my eyes and concentrated. I focused on the mental image of Thor and imagined my Physical Form drifting out of my body, floating to wherever Thor was. For around five minutes, nothing happened. Then I suddenly felt weightless, and I opened my eyes to see myself in what looked like something from Lord of the Rings:

It was a cave that was lit with flaming torches; the walls looked wet and slimy with moisture, and I could hear distant scuttling and snarling of unidentified creatures in the darkness. Growing uneasy, I looked around in search for the God of Thunder. As I was beginning to hear the distant clanging of what sounded like chains, but before I could locate the source of the noise my Physical Form woke up.

"I did it!" I exclaimed. "I didn't see Thor, but that was because I was only there for less than a minute."

"Less than a minute?" Stephen asked, sounding surprised. "You were gone for almost twenty minutes."

I blinked. "What? That can't be right."

"I bet it's because you were in one of the Nine Realms," Stephen mused. "Are you willing to try again?"

"Of course," I said. I straightened my back and rested my hands on my lap and closed my eyes again, once again searching for the Asgardian god. This time it took less than a minute to return to the cave, which after a second look revealed to be a massive cavern. Another thing I didn't notice was that I wasn't even touching the ground; I was hovering midair.

Once again I heard the tinkling of chains, and I looked up to see what looked like to be a bundle of chains slowly being lowered into the cavern. Bewildered, I willingly flew up and approached the massive knot of rusted links. I was startled to see Thor's head protruding from the bottom of the mass, making me realize that he was tied up in probably hundreds of feet of chains.

It took several seconds for him to notice me. He tilted his head so he could get a better look at me, his expression puzzled. "Hello?" he said uncertainly.

"Um, hi," I said reflexively, and then mentally kicked myself for not thinking on what to say if he spoke first. "You're Thor...right?"

"Indeed I am," he grunted, struggling a bit, causing the chains to rattle again. "I know what you're thinking," he suddenly added, his voice dramatically mournful.

"Er, what?" I asked, caught off guard. This was not going according to plan at all...

"You're probably thinking, 'Oh no, Thor is trapped in a cave!' Well, don't worry, I assure you that this is all going according to pl—"

"Whoa, hey," I interrupted, making a "time out" sign with my hands. As we spoke were gradually lowering, the distant bottom of the cavern gradually growing closer. "I don't care about all that."

Thor frowned, looking disappointed and almost offended. "Then what are you here for?"

"I've been asked to search for you," I said. "The Avengers lost contact with you and are wondering where you are."

"I tried getting into contact with Tony Stark," Thor said defensively, "but I got the feeling that he was ignoring me. I did manage to talk to Bruce Banner, but—"

"Dude," I interrupted exasperatedly. "Where. Are. You?"

Thor frowned, looking like he was wishing for this conversation to take a different approach. "I'm at Muspelheim," he muttered crossly. "It's one of the Nine Realms, and I'm here for something very important, so if you don't mind—"

A deep and rumbling roar interrupted him, and I couldn't hide a shiver. "What was that?" I asked nervously; Thor on the other hand looked strangely unconcerned by this noise.

"Oh, that's Sutur," Thor replied nonchalantly. "He's the giant Fire Demon that resides here. I'm here to steal his head as a trophy, as my father was unable to do so eons before."

"Uh-huh," I said. "Lovely. Anyway, I gotta go. It was fantastic hanging out with you."

I was about to head back to my body when Thor called, "Wait, do not leave!" I paused and gave him an apprehensive look. He cleared his throat and added, "Not until you at least tell me who you are."

"I'm Evie," I said. "Bye."

"Wait, Lady Evie—"

But I had already returned to my body, and before I could make a report Stephen said, "You were out for over an hour. Did you succeed?"

"I think so," I said, stretching my arms. "I saw him and talked to him, although he didn't look like he was in the greatest situation."

"Why? What happened?"

"He was chained upside down at some fiery cave place called Muspelheim, or something like that. He said he was going to kill some demon guy for honor or revenge or something like that."

"Hm," Stephen said, sounding thoughtful. "I heard a great Fire Demon resides here. Odin fought it once, but apparently he didn't win, or Thor wouldn't be down there. This is a good sign."

I arched an eyebrow. "Um, how?"

"If Thor succeeds, which he most likely will," Stephen said, "then chances are Thor will return to Asgard, where Loki currently is."

"Wonderful," I said. "They'll have a family reunion then?"

Stephen chuckled. "I don't think it'll be a happy one. Who do you want to talk to next?"

"I don't really care, honestly," I said. "Thor was a big disappointment. He reminded me of a kid who would pull stunts for attention then complain if he wasn't getting the attention he wanted."

"That sounds like Thor," Stephen said.