Marvel Team-Up #7
A Hitch in Time!
Walking through the streets of Manhattan, Peter Parker is lost in thought until he hears the screams of a woman being mugged. With no time to change into Spider-Man, Peter kicks off his shoes and leaps into action. He easily incapacitates the muggers and is surprised to see that the woman involved is trying to flee the scene. When Peter tries to stop her, she tells him that she doesn't want to get involved. Peter is frustrated but allows the woman to leave. This entire exchange is observed by Thor who tries to encourage the youth not to get too upset. Peter is glib with the thunder god, testing his patience. Suddenly, the sky begins to change, inverting to a negative color. Quick thinking, Thor begins swinging Mjolnir creating a protective vortex around the pair. When the vortex dissipates, Thor and Peter are the only two unaffected in a now inverted world.
While Thor takes in the scene and questions what mystical force was responsible, Peter changes into Spider-Man. Just as Spider-Man finishes changing into costume, they spot a group of strange armored soldiers walking about the city. Thor finds them familiar and identifies them as foes, leading Spider-Man into battle. As they battle the warriors, Thor recognizes their leader as the troll known as Kryllk. As the two heroes battle Kryllk's army, the troll explains that what he has done to Earth is merely the staging grounds for an attack on Asgard. The heroes are restrained, and Kryllk shows off his means of accomplishing this goal, the Dark Crystal. When Thor and Spider-Man tries to strike back, Kryllk and his minions suddenly teleport away. Spider-Man asks Thor who their foe is, and the thunder god explains that Kryllk attempted to conquer Asgard centuries ago, only to be stopped by his father Odin.
Their next move takes them to Avenger's Mansion, where the team is also frozen like everyone else in the city. They quickly use the Avenger's computers to track the energies of the Dark Crystal to Asgard. Since he has been exiled from his home, Thor sends Spider-Man to stop the crystal, while he goes to Kryllk's hideout. Traveling through a vortex created by Thor, Spider-Man quickly arrives in Asgard. He discovers that it is in the same situation as Earth. Meanwhile, Thor arrives on a planetoid near Jupiter where Kryllk has set up operations. Feeling vibrations emanating from beneath his feet, Thor uses Mjolnir to smash down below. There he finds Kryllk and his army standing guard before the Dark Crystal. The thunder god fights through the soldiers, but when Thor tries to attack Kryllk himself, but the villain is protected by the aura of the crystal. Kryllk explains that he found the Dark Crystal deep below Asgard and that it told him the secrets of the universe, secrets that Kryllk intended to use against his hated enemy Odin.
While back on Asgard, Spider-Man has also found a Dark Crystal, as well as more of Kryllk's minions and Kryllk himself. Spider-Man begins fighting his the soldiers, and takes note that Kryllk is not even paying attention to him, as though he has having a conversation with someone. When Spider-Man tries to strike Kryllk his fist passes right through his foe. Although it has no apparent effect on Kryllk in Asgard, his physical form near Jupiter suddenly screams in pain and vanishes. Suddenly, the Watcher appears with Spider-Man, and explains that the Dark Crystal belonged to him and that Kryllk had stolen it to tamper with the time continuum in an attempt to destroy Asgard. With the threat now over, the Watcher teleports Spider-Man and Thor back to Earth. Returning to his observatory on the moon, the Watcher ponders how fate allowed Spider-Man and Thor to combat this threat.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Iron Man, Watcher
