"Let's go~ young man, it's time to show them your RoboCop!~"
Tony patted the shoulder of "Er-Ha Unit 1" with a smile and turned to board the interior of the Quinjet.
Luca, who was remotely controlling from the lab, didn't mind the nickname Tony gave the armor. However, the actual pilot, Aurantius Haro, seemed quite dissatisfied with the name. It took two quick steps and headbutted Tony's back.
The helmeted head made of E-Carbon alloy collided with the Mark suit's titanium-gold alloy, producing a loud duang! The impact made Tony stumble as he stepped onto the ramp.
He lifted his faceplate helplessly and looked back at Haro.
"Hey, kid, save some face for Uncle Tony!"
"It's Er-Ha! It's Er-Ha!"
At this moment, Hawkeye, prompted by a look from Nick Fury, proactively asked: "Tony? Aren't you going to introduce this... uh, new teammate?"
"And why does he repeat every sentence twice?"
Well, although Luca had set a combat voice behavior mode for Haro, perhaps due to the influence of the item's conceptual power, or simply because Luca's programming was lackluster, the voice system was constantly glitchy.
Fortunately, Luca's own remote control could override the voice system. He spoke up through the machine: "Um, you can call me Haro. As for a detailed background check? I don't think now is the time for that, is it?"
As Luca spoke, Nick Fury had already taken the pilot's seat of the Quinjet. For some reason, Loki had decided to open the portal to Jotunheim in the Brooklyn district, just outside Manhattan Island. However, Brooklyn was still within New York; for a Quinjet, it was a distance that could be covered in an instant.
Black Widow was distributing wireless communication devices to those without armor, while Captain America took the lead and looked at Thor.
"Thor, tell us the characteristics of our enemies. Any weaknesses?"
Thor's expression turned serious, and he spoke rapidly: "Frost Giant civilization is primitive; they rarely use high-tech weapons, but special individuals master frost magic. Their physical fitness is outstanding—their strength is particularly immense, even exceeding that of an average Asgardian warrior. However, due to their race, they dread fire; high temperatures can weaken their combat effectiveness..."
Thor paused here. He felt the biting chill that was starting to affect everyone even inside the Quinjet, and a flash of worry crossed his eyes.
"But judging by the current situation, they have likely retrieved the Casket of Ancient Winters, an artifact capable of creating an eternal winter."
That said, Thor couldn't imagine how the Casket, stored in the Palace Vault, had fallen back into the hands of the Frost Giants. Had Asgard... Impossible! If something happened to Asgard, Heimdall would have notified him!
Shaking off the pointless worry, Thor said solemnly: "If the Casket of Ancient Winters has truly fallen into their hands, it will only take an hour or two for them to use that artifact to completely freeze the entire Earth!"
The cabin fell into a deathly silence. Everyone's expression was more serious than ever before. Even Luca, who was only remotely controlling a robot, knew that he had to go all out now.
Damn it! It's a timed mission!
Thor said "one or two hours," but that referred to freezing the entire planet! If these Frost Giants were allowed to act, New York would be finished much sooner. Luca wanted to see tomorrow's sun, not "The Day After Tomorrow's."
---
Back at the tower, Luca was still listening to Thor's doomsday briefing through the remote link.
Gwen, who had been left behind by Tony, had led Erik Selvig and Jane Foster—the two poor souls suddenly dragged into this—to the test bench where Tony and Banner monitored spatial fluctuations. Although monitoring might be meaningless now, they really couldn't help with anything else.
After settling them, Gwen returned to Luca's side. Seeing him fully focused on "listening," she didn't disturb him. She picked up the White Haro from the floor and sat down, her eyes filled with confusion.
White Haro was a replica Luca had built specifically to pilot the "Er-Ha Mecha." However, due to time constraints, much of the data hadn't been calibrated, and it lacked many of the conceptual attributes of the Aurantius Haro. That was why Luca had to let the original Aurantius Haro take the field.
Feeling the cold, somewhat rigid White Haro in her arms, Gwen felt a chill in her heart as well.
My arrival was a mistake...
In her own world, she had accidentally killed her best friend, Peter Parker. In Miles Morales' world, the particle collider that caused her to cross over almost destroyed everything. Now, in this world, she was facing yet another world-ending crisis.
Gwen felt like a jinx; wherever she went, death and destruction followed. A sense of deep despair and powerlessness enveloped her. Rather than waiting here, she would rather rush to the front lines, even if it meant dying in battle against those giants.
However, just as Gwen felt her spirit sinking into the mud, a voice woke her up.
"Hey! What are you dazing for at a time like this?!"
"Go help evacuate the civilians in the building!"
"Don't look at me like the battle is far away. Damn it, the stuff Tony builds has a habit of being a target. With a bullseye this big, the fight might just end up here in a bit!"
As he spoke, Luca shouted at the ceiling: "JARVIS! Tony must have left some anti-air facilities in the Avengers Tower, right?!"
"Yes, Mr. Aurantius. Mr. Stark gave you high-level temporary authority before leaving. Would you like to open the shelter spaces on basement floors three to five?"
"Open them! Stop talking and just open them!"
"Very well, sir. Additionally, the parking lots on basement floors one and two have excellent seismic and disaster-proof functions. There are currently only a small number of Stark employees and construction workers in the building; the shelter space is vast. Based on your speculation, I suggest proactively taking in more nearby civilians for refuge."
Hearing the conversation between Luca and JARVIS, the light returned to Gwen's eyes. It seemed she had found what she needed to do.
But before she could move, Luca snatched the White Haro from her arms. Ignoring her expression, he commanded the White Haro:
"Er-Ha, make a call for me. Contact Auntie Shamila!"
---