บท 342: Chapter 342: Tony's Insufficient Firepower Phobia
State of Mexico-
After the dark clouds in the sky completely dispersed without any further changes, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought Jane Foster, Daisy Johnson, and Erik Selvig to a temporary base.
Once Jane got out of the car, she immediately asked, "Can I have my equipment and those files back?"
Coulson wore a friendly smile and replied, "Miss Foster, your files can be returned to you after we back them up. I believe it won't take much time."
"But before that, I'd appreciate it if you could share information about that guy who flew away with a hammer, claiming to be the son of Odin, and his companions. We don't know their identities, and much like their arrival, their departure was abrupt."
Seeing Coulson inquiring about Thor's information, the three fell silent for a moment. Then, Jane spoke up:
"As for their identities, Thor has told us about them, but I'm not certain about the authenticity of the information."
"However, they are indeed extraordinary and mysterious."
Coulson asked in confusion, "Thor?"
"Yes, Thor, the hero who destroyed that steel monster at the end."
"According to his own account, he hails from Asgard, and he is the son of Odin, Thor, the god of Thunder."
"Accompanying him are his companions: Sif, and the Three warriors—Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun."
"And the one they were battling was Thor's brother, Loki."
Hearing Jane's account, Coulson immediately took out a children's book that told stories of Norse mythology.
"Is it these characters?"
Looking at the children's book in Coulson's hand, Jane recalled the book that Dr. Erik Selvig had used to refute him two days ago.
"Not exactly the same, but there are significant similarities."
"Bards often modify relationships and background settings based on their interpretations. For instance, in the book, Loki is Thor's uncle, but in reality, he is his brother."
"But they did visit Earth thousands of years ago and left behind mythical legends."
"And for us at that time, their existence was nothing short of godlike."
Daisy interjected, "And even now, these characters have been around for thousands of years."
Daisy's words brought a moment of silence to the scene. Then Coulson spoke:
"Thank you for informing us. Once the data backup is complete, I will have someone contact you and return your belongings."
Jane smiled, "Please do it as soon as possible."
After seeing off the three, Coulson didn't linger; he immediately boarded a plane back to New York.
…
Magical World-
One day of celebrating quickly passed. At this moment, everyone gathered in Merlin's Magic Tower, while Senju Tobirama, having spent his allotted time in this world, returned to his own.
Looking at everyone, Charles spoke up, "Later, I'll send you all back. Continue with the tasks you hadn't finished before."
"Temari, take care of Kankuro. Familiarize him with things over there."
"Because the agency was destroyed, you can either stay at the continental hotel or contact Ginny to stay at the other properties in New York."
Balthazar and David, who were present, pondered upon hearing that Charles Agency was destroyed.
Looking at Charles, Tsunade asked with confusion, "Aren't you returning with us?"
"I have some other matters to attend to. I'll return after handling them. Please inform Ginny and the others for me," replied Charles.
Tony, hearing that Charles wasn't returning with them, looked at him with a slight surprise. However, considering that the battle had just ended and there were still arrangements to be made in the magical world, he didn't inquire further.
After instructing everyone, Charles activated the Merlin's array and transported everyone back to the top-floor meeting room of the New York continental hotel.
In the meeting room-
Winston looked curiously at everything around him. He couldn't understand how these ten-plus people disappeared just like that.
Suddenly, a light flashed in his eyes.
Tony and a dozen others suddenly appeared in the meeting room with a magical array.
"Oh my God!"
With Winston's exclamation, everyone turned their attention to him. Seeing that he was the hotel manager, they all relaxed – he was one of them.
Iruka walked out at this moment. "Manager Winston, what brings you here?"
Adjusting his state, Winston spoke, "Agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. came yesterday, saying they wanted to see Lord Charles or Mr. Stark. Since none of you were here, there was some conflict, but fortunately, it didn't escalate much. After receiving orders, they withdrew."
Tony exclaimed, "S.H.I.E.L.D. is looking for us?"
"Yes, Mr. Stark. I told them you all were not here, and they didn't believe it. They wanted to search forcefully, but I didn't agree. Eventually, they withdrew for some unknown reason."
Iruka commented, "You did well, Winston."
Tony, wearing the Iron Man armor, knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. making such a commotion meant something unusual had happened. However, he didn't investigate here and said, "Well, since there's nothing urgent, I'll leave first."
After saying this, Tony walked towards the rooftop terrace, then flew off into the air, heading for his seaside villa.
Back at the villa-
Tony took off his Iron Man helmet and the two depleted briefcases of ammunition. He spoke to J.A.R.V.I.S., "J.A.R.V.I.S., search for any special events that occurred in the past few days."
"Sir, you have a considerable number of missed communications over the last three days."
"There are 24 missed calls from Pepper Potts, 12 calls from S.H.I.E.L.D., 3 calls from Rhodey, and several voicemail messages."
"J.A.R.V.I.S., play the voicemail messages and search for any special events in the last few days."
With Tony's instructions, J.A.R.V.I.S. played the voicemail messages and simultaneously began searching for global disasters and other special events.
Pepper Potts' voicemail said, "Tony, where have you disappeared to? Natasha said there's an emergency, but we can't reach you."
"Tony, are you playing hide and seek?"
"For heaven's sake, don't make people worry, okay?"
"After receiving this message, please contact me at your earliest convenience."
Rhodey's voicemail: "Tony, where are you? Please respond when you see this message."
Listening to the voicemails, all searching for him, Tony didn't rush to reply. Instead, he waited for JARVIS to finish the search.
Soon, JARVIS's voice sounded, "Sir, I believe this is the information you need."
Looking at the video projected in front of him, Tony spoke, "Play."
In the video, a giant armor wreaked havoc in a small town, unleashing a massive energy beam that obliterated everything in its path—earth, cars, houses—all destroyed.
Next was the battle between Thor and others against the armor, ultimately leading to the destruction of the giant suit.
Watching the video, Tony was stunned for a moment. "What?"
"No way, who built that armor?"
"JARVIS, search for related event information."
"Sir, I cannot find any other information."
Hearing JARVIS's response, Tony calmed himself down and then closed the video.
Lying back in his chair, Tony closed his eyes, and in his mind appeared two scenes: one was the armor from the video, with seemingly endless energy and immense destructive power, and the other was the endless enemies he faced in the battle in the magical world, seemingly impossible to defeat.
For Tony, that battle was the most intense one since he became Iron Man, and the ammunition of three Iron Man suits was not enough. Even with the latest Arc Reactor, Tony had to replace it several times.
The scenes in his mind kept playing, the endless oppression seeping into his mind. Then, Tony suddenly opened his eyes.
"JARVIS, reply to them, say I've safely returned, and if there's anything, they can find me at the mansion."
Then, Tony directly pulled up the 3D design of the Mark series of armors again. This battle made Tony feel for the first time what it meant to lack firepower.
He needed to upgrade the armor, upgrade the firepower configuration. He wanted a combat suit that could stand alone in future battles against legions, not like now, where he couldn't last long before the ammunition was completely depleted.
Top of Form
…
S.H.I.E.L.D. - Triskelion Tower-
The door to Nick Fury's office was pushed open, and Agent Hill walked in.
"According to the latest intelligence, just over ten minutes ago, someone spotted Tony Stark in his Iron Man armor, flying out from the top floor of the Continental Hotel."
Upon hearing Hill's report, the only exposed eye of Nick Fury widened a bit more, and he slammed the documents in his hand onto the desk.
"That son of a gun, we shouldn't have trusted him."
Hill glanced at the infuriated Nick Fury and calmly said, "Sir, I never approved of the Avengers Initiative from the beginning."
"I don't think you can control such a group of people."
Nick Fury looked up at Hill and then regained his composure. "Is Agent Coulson back?"
"Just returned to headquarters."
"Summon him, report on the situation over there."
"Yes, sir."
Watching Hill leave, Nick Fury looked at the opinion report on Tony Stark joining the Avengers submitted by Natasha.
Without waiting for long, Coulson pushed open the office door and walked in.
"Director."
"How's the situation over there? Any new discoveries?"
Coulson organized his words and then spoke, "A significant surprise, which made me realize that the universe is not only inhabited by us Earthlings."
Upon hearing Coulson's words, Nick Fury sat up straight, thinking, "Could it be that extraterrestrial beings from that universe have arrived on Earth?"
Impossible, the Skrulls' extraterrestrial spacecraft stationed in orbit did not detect any information about other extraterrestrials coming to Earth.
Coulson continued, "We encountered figures from Norse mythology, Thor, the god of Thunder, and his brother, the god of Mischief, Loki, as well as the Harvest goddess Sif and the Three Warriors of Asgard."
Hearing that they were not aliens as he initially understood but mythological figures, Nick Fury was also taken aback.
"Coulson, are you sure you didn't make a mistake, and they are mythological figures, not extraterrestrials?"
Then, Coulson provided Nick Fury with all the information obtained by Jane and others and their combat tactics.
Flipping through the mission report in his hand, Nick Fury's gaze fell on the information about Dr. Erik.
Looking at the direction of the other party's research, Nick Fury thought of the cosmic cube in S.H.I.E.L.D., an item with infinite energy. Currently, besides being able to manufacture energy blocks, there hasn't been much progress. He then spoke:
"Coulson, I have a task for you. Invite Dr. Erik to join the Cosmic Cube development project."
"Let him take a look at the cosmic cube; I believe he won't refuse this invitation."
"After Charles Doyle appears, bring the energy block and confirm the situation of Norse mythology."
"See how much this guy, who has extraordinary strength as support, knows about these figures, and how much he knows."
"Yes, sir."
As Coulson left, Nick Fury stood in front of the huge French window, looking at the scenery outside. He then took out a pager from his pocket and looked at it.
Muttering to himself, he said, "The world is getting stranger and stranger. First, magical ninjas, then Iron Man, followed by magical practitioners with no clues, and now the gods of Norse mythology."
"Carol, it seems like something strange is happening to our planet. I have a feeling that in the not-too-distant future, I might really have to ask for your help..."
Nick Fury fiddled with the pager for a moment, then put it back in his pocket and continued with his work.
…
Magical World-
After Charles Doyle used the magic circle to send everyone back to Earth, he saw a portal appear in front of him and he stepped into it without hesitation.
In the Magic Tower, besides the four Merlin Knights guarding the barrier, only Balthazar and David remained.
David looked at his teacher and said, "Master, I think we should bring some magicians back. I heard that senior brother's agency was destroyed."
"But I believe the members of the Magic Guild are willing to restore senior brother's agency to its original state. After all, we also have our rooms there."
Balthazar smiled, "Not only do we need to restore it, but we also need to set up some magic arrays. I don't want to hear news about the residence of the Supreme Merlin being bombed."
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