Avengers: Destiny Arrives

Forging Stormbreaker

The plan was simple enough, Thor thought as he rode on top of the pod while Rocket piloted it. Get the giant rings moving, ignite the dying star, forge the weapon, and be back on earth in time to claim Thanos's life.

"Look, I admire the self-confidence, but I don't think you're getting the scientifics here," Rocket expressed from the pilot's seat. "Those rings are gigantic. If you want to get them moving, it's going to take something a lot bigger to yank them loose."

Thor smiled at Rocket's words. "Just leave it to me, rabbit."

Rocket put his face in his hands. "Leave it to you? Buddy, you're in space. All you got is a rope and-"

Thor took hold of the cable and began to swing the pod around in circles. With each rotation, the pod's momentum grew tenfold. Rocket braced himself.

"A rope and the strength of a god," Thor shouted before slackening his grip ever so slightly. The pod shot out from Nidavellir with Thor holding onto the rope and trailing behind it. "Now fire the engines!"

Rocket complied and the pod was shooting forward with a combination of rocket power and the force of a god. As the pod moved toward one of the rings, Thor reached down and slammed a hand into the surface of it. His fingers tore into the metallic surface of the ring as he dragged across it, raking up chunks of the ring in the process. He then slammed both feet into the ring and took hold of the rope with both hands. Soon, he was at the edge of the ring. Having gained a foothold, he dug his feet further into the metal, locking his body into place.

The sound of ice cracking was music to Thor's ears. But it wasn't enough. The ice needed to shatter before he'd be happy. "More...power...rabbit!" he roared up at the pod.

"You got it!" Rocket shouted as he accelerated to the max. As he did so, Thor kept his grip and foothold and the ice shattered as he'd wished.

"Well done, boy!" Eitri shouted out to him.

The rings began to spin freely now that they were no longer encased in ice. As they did so, they realigned into the necessary configuration, awakening the star. The iris that encased the celestial body slid open, lighting up Nidavellir.

Thor leaped from the spinning ring and landed on the windshield of the pod. He knocked and smiled at Rocket before pointing to the star. "That's Nidavellir!" he triumphantly announced.

Rocket rubbed his eyes and stared at the core of the home of the dwarves. Awakened and free, the star unleashed a massive ray of stellar heat through each of the rings until it had reached the forge. Reignited, the forge glowed brightly, illuminating Eitri's smile.

But then the star suddenly stopped shining. The mechanism that allowed it to unleash its power upon the forge snapped shut and Nidavellir was once again bathed in darkness.

"Damn it!" Eitri huffed. "The mechanism is crippled! When the iris is closed I can't heat the metal to forge the weapon."

Thor stared at the iris, then followed the path the star's stream of heat would follow to reach the forge. "How long will it take to heat?" he asked as a very clear plan formed in his head.

"A few moments," Eitri answered. "Maybe longer. Why?"

Thor stood up on the hull of the pod and glared at the iris. "Because I'm going to hold it open," he gruffly replied.

Eitri shook his head. "No, Odinson! That would be suicide!"

Thor shrugged his broad shoulders. "So is facing Thanos without that ax," he remarked. Not waiting for EItri's response, he leaped from the pod, directly to the star's iris.