Thor & the Aftermath of the Civil War (Marvel)
Thor sat beside the healer bed, his heart heavy as he gazed upon it's occupant. Tubes and needles riddled Stark's body, a thick cast enclosing his chest. He could see several toes and fingers missing. Frostbite, he knew, from reading the health report that Dr. Cho allowed him access to.
When he had read that report, he had sunk to his knees in despair. He had known that the star in Stark's chest was the result from torture and that he had the dangerous parts neutralized. But he had stared almost uncomprehendingly at how much the torture had weakened his lungs and sternum to the point that whatever had happened in Germany had caused his anatomy to destabilize dangerously. Among his other ailments included a severe concussion, a broken leg, and he had been in a coma since they found him. He had spent 24 hours in the Siberian bunker, in the cold, with Roger's shield lying next to him, his suit powerless, encasing him as a tomb, with a dent in the star that looked suspiciously like the shield.
Once he had digested the report, a memory of holding Stark up by the neck flashed through his mind. And he looked with horror at his hands. For if only super soldiers, an easy conclusion to make, could do this to Stark, what would holding him like that with his strength have done to him?
In his seat, Thor came to a conclusion. One, that he would never have before Hela tore Asgard asunder.
"Lady FRIDAY?" he asked the room.
"Yes, Mr. Odinson?" FRIDAY answered with her Irish accent.
Thor flinched at the last name. He could not use it, not after Hela. Something else he now had in common with Loki.
"It's Friggason now."
"I've updated your information, Mr. Friggason. What do you need?"
"A witness to an oath, if you would."
There was a pause and he heard the unsurety in her voice as she asked, "what does this oath entail and is it a binding one?"
Thor smiled at her suspicion. It was good she seemed aware that Asgardian oaths were done with seidr binding it. She was her father's daughter, Stark should be proud.
"It is binding only for me," he replied. "Stark will not be bound."
There was a pause of silence, he waited.
"You may proceed, Mr. Friggason," came the reply at last.
"Thank you, Lady FRIDAY."
Thor slid from the chair and knelt down on one knee facing Stark. He fisted his right hand above his heart, looked at Stark prone in the bed, and solemnly said, "I, Thor Friggason, upon my seidr and mother's name, name you, Anthony Stark, as my equal. I bind myself to you as shield brother and friend as long as you breathe life. And if your life is taken by another, I will exact vengeance and mourn you with honor for the rest of my lifespan."
At the end of his words, bolts of lightning passed over Thor's body in waves.