I know it's been a while but I've been putting most of my concentration onto writing my book. I come back to this story when I give myself a break, which isn't often lol. This chapter isn't great but it's something. I do actually have a book that I've already written which I'm rather proud of. Its called "A Curse in the Night-Lauren Hulme"

A Curse in the Night

3 weeks ago and 11 years in the future…

Thor knew he had done something wrong the second he had pushed that Norn's damned button. The machine began to whir and hum, increasing in pitch and intensity almost too quickly to fathom. Until it was a high pitched whine that seemed to bury itself in your eardrums.

The vibrations started in the centre of the machine but quickly branched out and spread until the earth beneath them started to quake. Then air around the platform began to shift and twist violently. An electrical charge hung heavy in the atmosphere. It felt like the way his lightning tasted on his tongue. A rainbow of colours shimmered around Bruce and Stark. Reminiscent of the tunnel created by the Bifrost.

All of this happened within the span of a few seconds. One moment they were all there and the next there was only Thor. The light had swallowed Bruce and Stark before he could even move.

"BRUCE"

And that's when the swirling tunnel of light became an omnivorous vortex, sucking in everything in its path like the great vacuum of space. It grew and expanded, reaching towards the ceiling and beyond.

Thor held onto the console with everything he had. But even that was bowing under the might of the vortex. The metal crumpled under his hands and the bolts began to pull up from the floor. Thor called for stormbreaker just in time for the console to completely disintegrate beneath him.

With a roar, he drove Stormbreaker into the ground. A blanket of electricity exploded out when it collided with the concrete but it held fast. His feet lost their purchase on the ground and the only thing keeping him safe was Stormbreaker. Thor's grip on the handle was strong but even his Asgardian strength was failing him.

The might of the abomination behind him was like a fell beast of legend. With an unquenchable thirst for the life around it.

Thor lifted his head to search for a way out and nearly lost his grasp at what he saw. It was like the world had cracked and disintegrated around him. A shattered mirror where reality had once sat. The fabric of existence was unravelling. The Norns beloved tapestry, torn asunder. Splintered pieces of reality were breaking off and falling into the vortex.

The ground beneath Thor's axe cracked and crumbled into ash. With nothing else tying him to this world, he was drawn into the arms of the beast.

oOo

Thor was spat out on the other side of the kaleidoscope from hell. He was moving at such a speed that, when he crashed into the dirt, his prosthetic eye popped out of his head. It bounced seven times before settling in a patch of leaves.

Thor spluttered as he hit the ground and spit out several blades of grass. He flopped onto his back just in time to see the nauseous swirl of colour seal itself up. Like a wound closing, the pieces of existence stitched themselves back together. It disappeared in one final burst of light.

"Well, fuck,"

Thor lay there for an indeterminate amount of time, trying to contemplate just how badly he'd screwed up. He'd ruined everything. The machine was almost certainly destroyed beyond repair and there's no saying what had happened to the very foundations of their universe. Thor had seen as it unravelled around him. Had felt it as billions of destinies were severed.

What if there wasn't even anything to go back to?

It would all be his fault. It was always his fault. He had failed everyone again just by his own stupidity.

Usually Bruce was there to pull him from his spiralling thoughts. A beacon of hope in the pit of his despair.

It was the thought of Bruce that shocked Thor upright. Bruce and Stark had gone through that vortex just as he had. There was a chance they were here too.

Wherever here was.

Thor gazed around at the copse of trees he had found himself in. A forest of sorts. But which realm? Or which galaxy? There was a chance that this world wasn't part of the nine. But he didn't want to contemplate that eventuality.

Though, of the nine, the ones with trees like these were: Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim and Midgard

The sky above him was a bright blue which ruled out Asgard and Alfheim. Thor took a deep breath through his nose. Amongst the green of the forest he could detect hints of smoke and gasoline. Considering Vanir used magic for fuel he was left with Midgard.

Right, Midgard. I know Midgard, I can do this.

Thor climbed to his feet and was overwhelmed with relief when he saw Stormbreaker laying a few feet away. He reached down for it and missed by an inch, grasping onto empty air instead. It took Thor a few seconds to realise that he had one hell of a blind spot and his depth perception was all kinds of fucked.

"My eye!" Thor reached up and felt the hollow socket, where it used to sit.

Thor spun around in a desperate bid to search for the eye. He found it almost immediately. The problem was that it was in the mouth of a strange woodland creature.

It was covered in red fur and had a bushy, white tipped tail. It's face was almost feline but it had the stance and shape of a canine. Thor wasn't sure if he'd ever seen a creature like this before. A strange hybrid of a cat and a dog. Either way, it now held his eye hostage.

"Drop that!" Thor charged forwards.

The creature did not heed Thor's warning and bolted into the forest instead. Thor tried to keep on its trail but it quickly out ran him and disappeared through the trees.

He was all alone and left with only one good eye.

oOo

Millions of miles away in the gleaming kingdom of Asgard a King and his son were walking together. They spoke of a growing power, a disturbance. If trouble was to be wrought then they would have to respond.

Though the young Thor had no chance to respond, as a great light tore through him from the inside out. His body exploded into a cloud of ash and magic and his trusty Mjolnir fell to the ground.

In the frenzy, it landed on Odin's cape and sent the King sprawling backwards.

oOo

Apparently he had landed in the middle of central park. Thor recognised the landscape of New York as soon as he exited the forest. Though he didn't know how that was possible. He had watched the world disintegrate, yet here it was, good as new. Even more confusing was the sheer amount of people.

Thor had not seen so many people congregated in one area since before the snap. They chatted and glided around him. The air was a buzz of excitement and possibilities. With none of the fear and desolation that plagued the remaining survivors.

These people had not witnessed the end of the world, he was damn sure of that.

"Woah, nice prop dude. What movie is that from?" A voice appeared to Thor's right.

A young man was staring at Stormbreaker with awe, admiring the craftsmanship. Thor realised that he probably shouldn't be wielding an axe in the middle of the street but he didn't have his brother's illusions to help him this time. His throat tightened at the thought of Loki and he had to cough around it.

"It's er...It's He-Man," Thor said, saying the first thing that came to mind. It was one of the last things he'd watched before making this fateful trip.

The man's eyebrows drew together. "Wait, wasn't that a sword,"

"No, you are mistaken it was definitely an axe." Thor moved along quickly to avoid any more questions. Leaving the confused man in the dust.

Thor walked for a few blocks trying to orient his thoughts. He needed to figure out what was going on and fast. The looks of suspicion were increasing the more he walked.

On a street corner, Thor stumbled upon an elderly lady reading a newspaper. She sat on the steps leading up to a house.

A newspaper would hold valuable information. It could tell him what kind of world he had found himself in and if it differed to his own.

Thor decided it was worth a shot.

He gingerly placed Stormbreaker against the wall, out of sight from the woman.

"Good day, My lady, I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if I could look at your newspaper." Thor asked as politely as he could.

The woman slowly lowered the newspaper and her eyes widened when she saw Thor. She gave his body an overt sweep before smiling contentedly. "Of course you can,"

Thor grabbed for the offered newspaper and flipped back to the front page.

"STARK TO REVOLUTIONISE CLEAN ENERGY" The headline read and a picture of an unfinished Stark tower lay beneath it.

That's weird. It hasn't been called Stark Tower for years. Ever since the invasion it had been called the Avengers Tower.

With a growing sense of foreboding, he looked at the date April 6th 2012.

Fuck. There was no way that date could be right. The time machine wasn't even completed yet. This shouldn't be possible but there was no denying that his surroundings were different. Just the sheer amount of people-alive and well-should have been enough to tell him that this was no longer a post snap world. He was in the past!

The machine had done its job then. Only it was never supposed to be a one way trip. They were supposed to be able to navigate themselves to whenever they wished and have the ability to come back again. But Thor had nothing like that. By the norns, he didn't even have his eye anymore.

And there was no telling where Bruce and Stark had ended up. They had been sucked into the machine first. It was possible that they were even further back than he was. Or forwards. They could be anywhere in time or space and Thor had no way of knowing.

Thor physically deflated. It took all of his effort not to cave in on himself.

He had done this and he had no idea how to fix it.

The paper all but disintegrated in his fists. "I had been reading that you know," The elderly woman said, though not in a cruel way.

Thor had entirely forgotten that she was there but he quickly moved to apologise. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your paper. I was just caught off guard."

He tried to smooth it out as much as he could before he offered her the ruined newspaper. She took it from him without glancing at it. Instead she focused on him. On his large frame and long beard and on his distinct lack of an eye. Thor wasn't sure what she was seeing but something in her gaze softened.

"You look a little lost, honey,"

"You can say that again," Thor said, dejectedly. He had nowhere to go from here, not unless he wanted to ruin the past like he ruined the future.

"Do you have anyone you can go to?" she asked.

A shadow fell over Thor's face. "Er no, I don't have anyone. I mean there was someone but I don't even know where he is,"

There was a strange light in her eyes. The woman hauled herself up with considerable effort and Thor reached out a hand to balance her. She batted it away good naturedly. "I think you could do with a nice cup of coffee. Come on, I think I may have some cookies to go with them."

"Thank you, My lady but you don't have to do that," Though Thor did feel moved by her offer.

"All this 'My Lady' talk is only making me like you more. But you can call me, Muriel," Muriel then turned and made her way up the stairs "And don't forget that big stick of yours. Wouldn't want anyone stealing it now would we?"

Thor glanced at Stormbreaker. Then against his better judgement, he gathered it up and followed Muriel into her house. Where she began to feed him up with every cookie that she had in the house.

"Now you say you have nowhere to go?" Muriel asked.

Thor paused around his 30th cookie "No, My La-Muriel. I don't have anywhere."

"Well you'll just have to stay here then. We can't have a gentleman like yourself, sleeping rough." she said.

"But you hardly know me. I could be a danger to you, for all you know. A vagrant trying to steal from your good will." Obviously Thor wasn't going to do any of that but this woman did not know.

"Honey, I am an excellent judge of character and I can see someone who needs a helping hand. So you can stay here until you find your feet."

Thor was not one to refuse such a gift.

oOo

Muriel was a charming host. If not a little terrifying at times. She was very strong willed and determined, in spite of her age. Nothing could convince her otherwise once she had an idea in her head. She gave him a room to stay in that she usually kept for when her grandchildren came around. It was modest, yet cozy and Thor settled in rather quickly.

One of the first things she did was offer him an eye patch. It was made out of some kind of hard plastic and had a skull printed on one side. According to her it had belonged to one of her great-grandchildren's pirate costumes. Thor readily accepted the gift and placed it on his eye. There were probably better alternatives but he was content with this one.

And it had a skull on it. Skulls were cool!

He helped her around the house as much as possible, which she was very grateful for. Thor put his superior strength to good use and helped her to rearrange her furniture or to carry her groceries.

It wasn't exactly a glorious battle but Thor still put his skills to good use.

As a thank you, she offered to knit him a sweater. He didn't know how long it actually took to knit garments. He didn't want to overstay his welcome while she knitted for him. However she looked him dead in the eye with a stare that could scare a bilgesnipe and said. "Sweetie, I have the fastest hands in New York. You'll have a sweater before you can say 'bob's your uncle',"

Thor wasn't sure why he would ever say that. He didn't have an uncle, nevermind one called Bob but he allowed her to continue nevertheless.

When she began Thor had to stop his mouth from dropping open. Age had not slowed this woman down. In fact it only seemed to have increased her speed and efficiency. It was almost superhuman the way that she moved her hands. Thor felt like he was watching one of the norns weaving one of their great tapestries.

She completed it in a day.

Thor wore it with pride after that.

One time he heard her on the telephone talking to her grandson Todd. Todd seemed rather upset with the thought that his grandmother had brought a stranger into her home. But Muriel was quick to reassure him.

"Don't worry sweetie, Thor is a delightful guest." She turned to wave at Thor with a smile. Then she turned back around and lowered her voice "He's pretty handsome too. I think he might be one of your people."

There was an audible sigh on the other end of the telephone. "Gramma what do you mean, my people?"

"You know, he's got long hair and he's-Oh what did you call it? Bear-y. He's very bear-y."

"Oh my god Gramma not everyone who has long hair is gay! And you need to stop trying to set me up with people. I appreciate it but you really don't need to do that. I can find people on my own." Todd said

"If I waited for you to find a boyfriend on your own I'll be dead before you do. But nevermind that, why don't you come over?"

Thor wasn't sure what to make of Muriel's intentions but he had a suspicion that she wished to betroth him to her grandson. While he had nothing against him, he didn't know him. He hoped that he could refuse her proposal without surrendering his right to shelter.

But thankfully she didn't bring it up again.

Thor spent three weeks with Muriel and it gave him a lot of time to think. He had debated whether or not he should seek out his former companions. Stark in particular considering that the man was in the same city as him. He desperately wanted to see if his Stark was there somewhere. But he knew that if a second Tony Stark had shown up anywhere in the world it would be global news. And as there had been nothing of the sort, he was left with the conclusion that it was only the Stark from the past that inhabited the Tower.

If he showed up there, he would undoubtedly change the past. That Stark had no allegiance to him. He would most likely think Thor insane. And he did not want to colour Stark's idea of him before he met the Thor from the past. That would be a disservice to his past self.

And he had no idea where Bruce was during this time. He could be anywhere on this planet.

In a bid to preserve this time as much as possible Thor endeavoured to keep himself to himself. And it was going swimmingly until he heard the news on the radio.

"There appears to be an ongoing terrorist attack in Germany. The Stuttgart Gala is now in upheaval as a nameless man savagely attacked one of the attending doctors. It appears that Iron Man himself is there to help contain the danger."

Barely a thought had passed through Thor's mind when he found Stormbreaker in his hand. He could feel the tug of the Bifrost rippling beneath his skin. It called to the desperate part of Thor's mind that yearned to see his brother once more.

He would stay out of the way. His younger self could take over. But he just needed to take a look. Just to know that somewhere out there, his brother still resided. No matter how angry or distraught he was, Thor needed to see him all the same.

It felt like a band had tied around his chest and squeezed. And no matter how much he swallowed he could not dislodge the tight feeling in his throat. A single tear rolled down his face and onto the hand gripping Stormbreaker. Seeing the tear strengthened his resolve and he tore his way out of the house.

He didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Muriel and he hoped he could repay her favour in some way. But with little care for onlookers, he stumbled out onto the street and felt the familiar pull of the Bifrost around him.

In what felt like barely a second, Thor was deposited in the midst of a forest. A forest he remembered arriving in a lifetime ago. If he bided his time and hid himself well, he would be able to catch a glimpse of his former self and his brother.

Though Thor had no idea how he would react at seeing himself in his former glory. That Thor felt so unreachable to him now. He feared that he would grieve himself as well as his brother. Just another heartache to add to the mix.

Eventually he heard the engines of a hovercraft. The whir of the motor blades vibrated through him. His body was an eclectic mix of excitement, fear, desperation and urgency. The longer the moment dragged out, the more Thor feared he would go insane with the sensations.

He was waiting with bated breath for any sign of his past self.

Only for the hovercraft to glide swiftly overhead with no hint of the other Thor anywhere. No hum of lightning or glimpse of a red cape. Even the sky remained blissfully clear

The sudden influx of dread turned his stomach to lead and Thor knew he had fucked up. Clearly he had done something disastrous and now he had altered the past catastrophically.

The sky darkened with Thor's mood and a sharp arc of lightning sliced through the air. He could feel the charge building up in his skin. Thor wasn't going to let himself screw the timeline up even more. He would just have to do his past self's job.

Now how did he do this last time?

oOo

"...So I think I may be betrothed and I have had my eye stolen by a woodland creature." Thor said.

Stark gazed up at him with a look of astonished wonder and bafflement. "That is insane!" Stark then surged forward and wrapped Thor in a hug "But I'm glad you're here man."

Thor leaned into the hug. Even with the metal armour it felt good to hug someone.

"I don't know why you're pleased to see I'm the reason we're in this mess. I've messed up that badly that my past self didn't even show up when he was supposed to."

Stark backed out of the hug and gave Thor a look of concern. "Dude, how is any of this your fault? You pushed the button that I asked you to. This was all a freak accident. Now stop pouting or I'll set Bruce on you."

"Bruce is here too?" He tried to keep the eagerness from his voice.

"Yeah, he's in the chopper," Stark pointed to the hovercraft with a smirk.

Thor gazed towards the hovercraft with a mix of longing and apprehension. But then a doubt niggled in his mind.

"Wait, if you are both here, where are your past selves?"

Stark scratched the back of his neck. "Uh well, our old selves kind of exploded into dust and we're the only versions of ourselves left."

"What?!" That was not how they had explained time travel to him the first time. He would have never agreed to do it otherwise.

"We somehow time travelled within our own universe so now there's only this timeline." Stark took a deep breath "The future's gone, all that we have left is now."