At that moment, Steve and Sam Wilson finished their pool game and walked upstairs together, chatting as they came.
"If I'd known the mission would turn into a full-on battle, I definitely would've called you in," Steve said.
He was referring to the recent raid on the Hydra remnant base.
"Nah," Sam replied with a shake of his head. "Honestly, I didn't want to go. I've got my own case right now—some strange missing-person reports down in Hell's Kitchen."
Sam clearly had no interest in flying off to some frozen battlefield with the Avengers. Staying home sounded much better to him.
Nearby, Rhodey was still talking nonstop, but it was obvious that Karl and the others were only half listening.
The awkward silence around him made Rhodey look a little embarrassed.
Gradually, most of the heroes moved upstairs.
After all, they were famous superheroes—if they stayed downstairs, civilians would constantly surround them with questions.
Eventually that got exhausting.
---
On the second floor, everyone relaxed together with drinks.
Clint even performed a few flashy magic tricks, dazzling the crowd and earning enthusiastic applause.
"Thor," Clint said, holding his glass while pointing toward the Mjolnir resting on the table, "is it true that anyone worthy can gain the power of the God of Thunder?"
"You're all welcome to try," Thor said proudly. "Oh—but Karl is excluded."
Just thinking about Karl casually lifting Mjolnir always irritated him.
The hammer seemed to like Karl even more than it liked Thor himself.
It was Thor's eternal pain.
Karl simply shrugged.
For him, all he had to do was raise a hand and Mjolnir would fly over automatically.
No lifting required.
---
After Thor's invitation, everyone became curious—especially the men present.
Clint immediately stood up and walked to the hammer.
"Barton," Steve teased, "if you can't lift it, we're going to laugh at you for the entire year."
"I've seen this kind of scene before," Clint said confidently as he grabbed the handle. "It's just a hammer. What's the big—"
He pulled.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
He even tried kicking it while pulling.
The hammer didn't move an inch.
"Ready for your silent judgment?" Tony laughed.
"Then you try," Clint shot back. "If you lift it, I'll be your bodyguard for a year."
Tony stood up dramatically and walked over.
"Well," he said, "I never back down from a challenge."
Gripping the hammer with both hands, he continued talking.
"This is obviously a physics problem. Everything can be lifted—it's just a matter of finding the right method. By the way, if I lift it, do I get to rule Asgard?"
Ever since Tony visited Asgard, he had been rather fond of the place—especially its beautiful women.
He pulled hard.
Nothing.
"I refuse to accept this."
Tony tapped the arc reactor in his chest.
Nanotech vibranium armor instantly formed over his arms, creating a pair of Iron Man gauntlets.
With the extra strength boost, he tried again.
Still nothing.
Even when he activated the repulsor thrusters on his arms—
Mjolnir didn't budge.
"I'll help you," Rhodey said, equipping the War Machine gauntlets.
The two of them pulled together.
The result remained the same.
The hammer didn't move in the slightest.
---
Next up was Bruce Banner.
He climbed onto the table and grabbed the hammer with both hands.
During the Battle of New York, Hulk had already experienced Mjolnir's power.
If Hulk couldn't lift it, Bruce obviously couldn't either.
"RAAARGH!" Bruce suddenly roared.
Everyone's faces changed instantly.
Except Karl.
For a moment they all thought Hulk was about to appear.
But Bruce burst out laughing—it was just a joke.
---
After the men failed, even the women tried.
The results were obvious.
No one could lift the hammer.
Not even move it.
---
Finally, Steve Rogers stepped forward.
His expression was calm.
He didn't believe he could lift it anyway.
Casually gripping the handle with one hand, he gave it a small pull.
The hammer… shifted slightly.
Thor's smile froze instantly.
However, the tiny movement was so subtle that no one except Thor and Karl noticed it.
Not even Steve himself realized it.
The hammer trembled once—
Then became completely still again.
Steve shrugged and let go.
Thor's smile slowly returned.
---
"Karl," Gwen asked curiously, "didn't you say you could lift the hammer? How do you do it? Is there some trick?"
Her question was exactly what everyone else wanted to know—including Thor.
All eyes turned toward Karl.
Karl sighed.
There was no real trick.
His thunder power had simply conquered Mjolnir, forcing the hammer to acknowledge him.
"There's no secret," Karl said.
"Mjolnir is a magical artifact. To lift it, there are basically two ways."
Everyone leaned forward.
"First," Karl said, pointing at Thor, "be recognized by the hammer, like Thor."
"Second…"
He spread his hand.
"…conquer the hammer completely."
Mjolnir immediately flew from the table into Karl's palm.
Purple lightning crackled across its surface.
Karl spun the hammer casually.
In his hand, it felt as light as air—completely different from the immovable weight everyone else experienced.
He tossed it back to Thor.
Thor caught it, and the purple lightning instantly shifted back to its familiar blue thunder.
---
"So does that mean Karl can rule Asgard?" Helen Cho asked curiously.
It was the first time she had seen someone other than Thor lift the hammer.
Karl waved his hand dismissively.
"That's just nonsense. Asgard's ruler is Thor alone."
"That whole 'whoever lifts the hammer rules the Nine Realms' thing was just something Odin made up to motivate Thor."
Karl knew the truth.
There had never been any real rule like that.
It was simply one of Odin's tricks to push Thor and Loki to grow stronger.
---
"I still think there's some kind of fingerprint or genetic recognition system built into that hammer," Tony said.
"As long as you have Thor's DNA you can lift it. Unless… you let me study it for a month."
Now Tony's real intention appeared.
He wanted to research Mjolnir.
Thor, of course, immediately rejected that idea.
He was the God of Hammers—and nobody was separating him from his hammer.
"Actually," Thor said confidently, tossing Mjolnir into the air and catching it again, "the reason is very simple."
"You simply aren't worthy."
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