Chapter 1
It was over.
Thanos laid dead before our feet, Banner and Hulk wielding our own Infinity Gauntlet gave us the opening, while Captain Marvel and I capitalized upon it and struck him a mortal blow, with my axe finally finding his head.
Vengeance was supposed to feel good, but this, was anything but good. Still, I thought 'at least the fighting was finally over.'
Unfortunately for us, fate had other plans in store.
"No… it can't be," the Sorcerer Supreme uttered, and a moment later I felt it too as the magic ran rampant through the air.
"Strange, what's going on? Don't leave me in the dark here," Stark asked with urgency as an apocalyptic feeling settled within me. Besides our sorcerer the others couldn't perceive the shifts in reality. They could not see the horror that was transpiring.
"Our Universes are falling apart… the fabric of existence is tearing," Strange uttered in a low, almost mournful voice.
"You're serious… okay, we need a plan. Do you have any spells to stop this?" Captain America asked, immediately slipping into the guise of the commander no doubt. Yet I could clearly see the nervous fright upon his face. He was brave, and noble, but when faced with such a cataclysm, he was still a mortal.
"Not for something of this magnitude," Strange replied. Consequently, my eye drifted to the one thing that might yet give us a path through this madness.
"It can't end here… not after we've come this far!" Stark bellowed, and I saw as his eyes flitted to the young Spider who was brought back but a few hours ago. "There has to be - something!"
"There is." I felt all eyes land upon me as I looked upon the two objects that had brought us - and especially me - unfathomable grief and destruction. "The Infinity Gauntlets."
"Even if the Gauntlets could stop it, none of us here have the mastery to use them to that extent," Strange rebuked, and I found myself agreeing. Not even Thanos possessed the sheer willpower required to truly master all six aspects of existence, even with the Gauntlet. Which was why he decided to take the only possible path and wipe out half the Universe.
"We can't control all of existence, but what if we went smaller?" the Ant-Man proposed as my interest along with the others' was piqued. "What if, instead of existence, we controlled time? Go back and stop all of - this," he gestured around, "from happening?"
The Sorcerer seemed to have an epiphany as the words struck him. "The aspect of existence dealing with time is still unfettered," he suddenly spoke, yet his face turned sour after. "But it wouldn't work."
"Why not?" Carol asked, a mixture of annoyance and hope upon her face.
"Existence is unravelling around us, so while it wouldn't normally be a problem, right now the trip through time would kill most people," Strange answered. "Going back would be akin to traveling against a raging river, weaker beings would be ripped apart. But that isn't the only thing. You'd need to have enough willpower and a strong magic affinity to guide the currents of time to your destination."
"That rules out any humans and weaker people," Stark commented, and an unsettling feeling took hold within me.
"No magical affinity for the big guy," Barton added, earning a resigned nod from Hulk and Banner.
"Maybe I could?" Captain Marvel suggested, spurring some slight hope within my heart; hope which was extinguished a moment later.
"No… you have the strength and magic affinity, but no being on Earth has the willpower to traverse these tumultuous currents of time. Even I'm not confident of my chances."
"So we need someone who's tough, has a bunch of wizard juice, and won't ever give up?" Star-Lord asked, and finally the outcome I had resigned myself to occurred.
All eyes were upon me.
"Thor… you're the only one who can do it," Strange said, and his look made me suspect that he knew what my thoughts on the matter were. "You're the only one with all three requirements, strength, magical affinity and willpower."
"You've got the requirements too. You've got those little magic shields… and obviously you're a sorcerer, so magic and willpower are in the bag," I quipped, hoping some mighty warrior we'd never heard of would suddenly turn up. Anyone besides me.
"Thor…" Carol spoke in a low voice as her hand rested upon my shoulder. "It's alright, I know you can do this."
I didn't deserve such faith, not when I had failed everyone else in my life, but her words rang true. It should have been her, it should have been Strange, it should have been anyone else but me… but who else could?
"What more could I lose?"
I let a tired sigh escape my lips as I gripped Stormbreaker and stepped forward. Around me words of encouragement could be heard.
"You can do it God-man," Drax spoke.
"Maybe you can find me and we'll go on an adventure to Nidavellir again?" the Rabbit said, and I smiled. The noble captain truly did know the best encouragement for any occasion.
"If this works, I won't need to go to Nidavellir again."
To the side I could see both Hulk/Banner and Captain Marvel each wielding an Infinity Gauntlet while Strange prepared a rather powerful spell if the size of the incantation circle was any indicator.
"Thor… could you do me a favor once you're on the other side?" Stark asked and I wordlessly nodded. "My parents… keep them safe… please."
The earnest plea felt strange coming from a proud man like him, but that made me doubly determined to honor the promise. Everyone was depending on me.
"Thor… please keep my brother safe and-" her voice slightly broke, "please bring Vision back to me," Wanda pleaded. Hearing her prayer my godly resolve finally returned.
All around I could see people silently praying to me to bring their loved ones back. Star-Lord, Drax, Rabbit, the young Spider, the King of Wakanda. They all had loved ones that were in need of saving, and I knew each of their stories of loss.
Those who were slain prior to Thanos's snap could not be brought back. In going through with this the burden - no - the duty, of their lives fell upon me. As Allfather and Protector of the Nine Realms I would carry this out.
I wouldn't let anyone suffer the loss I endured again. I won't fail anyone this time.
"I am Groot."
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to keep the axe near me at all times," I replied as I laid a hand upon Groot's head producing a smile from him.
"Thor," Captain America uttered as he stepped forward. No words were needed as I grasped his arm and shook it in a final farewell. "You'll finally get the chance to bring your brother back."
Indeed, and wasn't that a memory I'd rather forget?
"I assure you brother, the sun will shine on us again."
'Not this time,' I swore to myself. No more vengeance, no more arrogance. This time I would be the man my family and Asgard deserved.
This time I would be the God everyone needed.
"It's about to begin Thor, you may want to activate your full power; you'll need it," Strange advised and I heeded as furious bouts of lightning surrounded my form and even in the recesses above the barrier dome in space, thunder and lightning began to take hold.
To my right and left Captain Marvel and Hulk/Banner began channeling the power of both Gauntlets into Strange's spell, and as the spell finalized I heard Steve say his final words.
"God watch over us all."
Thor's determination steeled, and suddenly the light consumed him.
Excruciating pain; my body bled, broke, burned and twisted all at once. My form felt strained beyond what the neutron star had done.
Mind-shattering agony; the pain consumed me and I felt time attempt to devour my memories and all I was.
Any man, woman or monster would have quailed at this trial as their eyes would shut and the river of time would deliver them to an unknown period.
But I was no mortal.
My eyes opened as I recalled the last 1,500 years of training, battle and bloodshed I endured. Willpower which mortals could not comprehend filled my soul as I pushed my physical body and my magical affinities well beyond their limits.
Surrounding me was a river of white attempting to devour all I was, only held at bay by the lightning surrounding me and pushing back against it.
But no, I needed more. I needed to take hold of the reins of the river and command it to my destination itself.
And so I pushed and strained and roared with all the fury of a God as all the experiences that defined my fifteen hundred years of existence fueled my willpower and kept me going.
Yet it wasn't enough, and soon the river threatened to overwhelm me.
It couldn't truly end like this could it? Would he fail everyone once again?
"No!" I roared, and the current itself seemed to bend to my will.
"Please… I know the power flowed through my father, and I know it flowed through Heimdall in his last moments! Please…" I prayed.
"Allfathers! Grant me strength!"
As the power surged through, I couldn't feel my own body, and soon the last thing I saw was a golden tower speeding toward me at a near fatal pace.
I awoke with a start, my body wrapped in… the healing cloths of Asgard…
I made it!
I looked around to see a golden colored room, and a bed befitting the royal family, specifically a Prince. Was I in my own room then? Or was it Loki's?
No, I'd recognize my own and Loki's, and it was never decorated in such a manner. What time did I arrive in?
"Oh good, you're finally awake," I heard a voice beside me. "It's not every day that a handsome mysterious Asgardian flies through a portal and shatters the peak of Asgard's royal palace."
"I always thought it could use some remodeling myself," I replied as I rubbed the haze from my eyes.
"Well, then I suppose we agree on something. I always thought it could use more green," the woman replied in a voice that sounded uncomfortably familiar. "Still, Odin won't be too happy about it, and it's a week before my 'coming of age' ceremony too."
'Coming of age ceremony? The only ones who receive a ceremony in the palace are…' my heart nearly stopped as I looked upon my savior.
"I'm Hela by the way. First born of Odin, rightful heir of Asgard and the Goddess of Death. Surviving a fall like that, you must be one too right? So…"
"What were you the God of again?"
A/N: I love Loki I do, but I never read any good Thor stories on this site, and Thor time travel stories are basically non-existent.
So I thought, why not write about everyone's favorite God of Thunder?
And this was the result.
Don't worry about the far-flung time travel though, a time-skip will be coming before we all get sick of ancient Asgard.
Thor will be powerful, and the pairing is undecided, although I still can't decide on whether I should include the TV shows, because in order to do that I'll have to actually watch them.
Quite the chore.