A/N: Reviews would be very much appreciated, as they let me know if people like the direction I'm headed in. They also let me know where I can improve and what I'm doing well! Please and thank you for reading this far, and I hope you all enjoy! -E
Pressing the button on the side of the phone to turn the screen back off, Thor sighed in the darkness of his apartment. Pausing for a moment as if deciding how to proceed, he turned the screen of his phone back on, pressing down firmly on one corner of the phone to turn the flashlight on. Blinking and then squinting in the sudden light, he quickly looked for a pair of socks and shoes to put on before leaving. "Something" loose in the tower would have been strange enough without Natasha being missing from the tower. And the fact that she had gone missing from her own apartment? Stranger and stranger still. Thor tugged on a pair of thick black socks before shoving his feet lazily into his shoes, his breakfast on the kitchen counter now completely forgotten about. Setting down his phone quickly on his bed, Thor pulled a sweatshirt over his head and slid his arms through, pressing his lips together slightly. He knew he ought to be more worried for Natasha's sake, yet something about the entire situation seemed… More off than just a simple missing person, even if it was her. Tony hadn't exactly made any effort to describe this "thing" that seemed to be running around the tower, and Thor wasn't sure what to think. Part of him wanted to believe that this whole thing was simply a trick or a joke. That seemed like something that Tony would do. Would he be so extravagant to kill the lights in Thor's apartment, though? Were they even out in the entire tower? He tried glancing out his darkened bedroom window but couldn't see anything outside. Sighing again and picking the phone off his bed, he figured he may as well go and check things out, just in case.
Shining the light from his phone, Thor made his way to his front door. Ignoring the keys next to the door, he headed out, not bothering to lock his door behind him. The trip over to the Barton's apartment was short, just a few short halls and down a single flight of stairs and he stood at their front door, feeling a little ridiculous. The lights may be out in the entire tower - or least of all the parts near him - but that didn't mean Tony was telling the truth… If he broke into their apartment and they were in the middle of sleeping, that could end very poorly for all three of them. He could picture the misunderstandings and fight ensuing as he tried to explain what he was doing there. Shifting his weight back and forth between his feet, he shone his light down both sides of the hall, deciding what to do next.
Hadn't he been here before a thousand times in his life with Loki? Hadn't he been the butt of every single trick or joke that he ever pulled, making him look like a complete fool? What was he doing here? Was he going to be made look like a giant idiot in front of everyone again? Had he learned nothing over the last several centuries? Thor stood, motionless for several long seconds as he argued with himself silently.
Deciding it was better than doing nothing, he decided knocking loudly first would be a good first course of action. Pausing, he called out their names, knuckles still against the door.
"Clinton!" He paused, listening intently to the silence. "Natasha!" He knocked louder, his knuckles stinging slightly from the impact on the heavy wooden door. He tried several times to jiggle the knob to open it, but it refused to budge. Rocking back on his feet slightly as he was met still with only silence, Thor stuck his tongue in his cheek as he thought of what to do. After several quiet moments seeming to last forever, he stepped backwards into the hall, turning the flashlight on his phone off and stuffing it in his pocket. "Fine," he sighed, rolling his sleeves higher up his forearms, stepping back and forth quickly between both feet as though preparing to run. "Stark, have it your way."
With only a second's hesitation, Thor charged, yelling, shoulder first into the wood door, cracking it into several large pieces and falling to the floor, Thor falling with it. Grunting softly, Thor brushed himself off and got to his feet, squinting around in the darkness. Pulling the phone back out of his pocket, he turned his light back on, wincing slightly from the sudden brightness.
"Clinton? Natasha?" He called again, hoping still that this would all be some joke. As he made his way further through the apartment, however, he got the edging suspicion that this may be all too real. "It's me, Thor! I'm, uh, sorry if I've woken you— and, um, about your door,— which Stark promised he would fix, by the way!" Thor called out, just in case they were here. He got no reply. Swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat, he continued, shining his light over every possible surface, looking for… Anything, he supposed. He wasn't exactly sure what he should be looking for, other than signs of forced entry (besides his own). As far as he could tell, everything seemed normal and where he assumed things should be. Walking into the doorway of the bedroom, he paused. "Guys, Stark said the funniest thing, sorry to wake you, but—" stopping mid sentence, he had pointed his light towards the empty bed. There, he noted that the linens were half on the floor, one of the pillows dangling off the side. The charging stand for Clint's hearing aids was knocked onto the floor and the dresser had clothes spilling out of it, as though someone had quickly and accidentally grabbed more than one thing and never bothered to put the rest back in neatly. None of this seemed half as alarming to Thor, however, as the deep black scorch marks his phone illuminated. Stretching from the ceiling to the carpet in the corner of the room, Thor realized very quickly that he recognized the pattern the marks had made on the walls, he had seen them dozens of times in the past. Eyebrows furrowing in confusion as to what it would be doing here… His confusion very quickly turned to panic, however, when he realized what this would mean. Spinning on his heel, Thor searched the room quickly, his eyes wide.
"Clinton! Natasha!" He called, much more urgently than he had before, taking off back into the empty apartment, searching any possible spot he could have missed that they could have been hiding (if that were even possible).
Reaching the splintered door again and with shaking hands, Thor dialed Tony's number. Squinting up and down the hall as he entered it, he waited for the call to go through.
"Odinsssssssssssonnnn…." A deep, dark voice whispered, surrounding him in the otherwise silent building. Inhaling sharply, Thor spun around, his phone slipping from his fingers and onto the floor with a loud thud. Staring, unblinking at the dark pits for eyes the creature had against its too-pale skin, Thor froze as its hot breath hit his face. After a few seconds, he could hear Tony's quiet voice from his phone.
"Thor! Got any news for us, buddy?" There was a pause and the creature grinned, its pointed teeth illuminated from the phone light below them. "Thor! Hello? Are you there?" The creature let out a low laugh before taking a step forward, its large foot with claws instead of toes crushing the phone beneath it. Its cold hand gripped Thor's throat tightly and began to squeeze as Thor struggled against it, finally seeming to remember how to move again.
"Let — me— GO!" He struggled to get out, trying to dig his short nails into its already bloodied claws to get it to let go. "You know — who I — am!" The world was starting to dim further and his head was starting to spin. Thor coughed roughly. "I know—" he coughed again. "—Your—" Gasping for breath, Thor felt a rush fall over him as he lost consciousness in the creature's grip.