Glittering golden magic circles unfolded layer by layer. The entire process was seamless, smooth as flowing water, and so natural that it left no trace to follow.
By the time everyone realized something was wrong, a massive shield had already taken shape in full view of them all.
"Targeting system disabled."
A glaring red light suddenly lit up across the faceplate, and JARVIS's warning sounded. With its eyes gone, the weapon system of Tony's suit instantly shut down.
"Who are you?"
Following the sound of footsteps, Peter and Connors, whose senses were the sharpest, almost turned back one after the other. They saw two people dressed in black had appeared less than ten meters behind them at some unknown point, silent and unnoticed.
One of them was a tall man with a dark complexion, but he stood respectfully beside the other: a bald woman with a gentle face.
At the sight, both Peter and Connors were startled. Neither of them dared to be careless. Without hesitation, they moved to block the newcomers.
"You don't need to be nervous. I am Fenris's friend."
Seeing Peter aim his web-shooters at her, then noticing Connors casually flex his enormous claws, the Ancient One gave them a friendly smile.
"I mean no harm. I'm only telling you that Fenris is currently undergoing a deep metamorphosis. It would be best not to disturb him."
"If you act now, you won't be helping Fenris. You'll be hurting him."
"Why should I believe you just because you say so?"
Peter's wariness did not ease in the slightest. Instead, his body grew even tenser.
"You do not need to believe us. In any case, the Master had no need to explain herself to you."
Mordo's expression was stiff as he spoke to the two of them without the slightest courtesy. "We are not discussing this with you. We are informing you."
Even as he gave the warning, he did not forget to look at the Ancient One with deep respect.
The smallest details revealed true mastery. The Ancient One truly deserved the title of Sorcerer Supreme. Just from that single use of magic earlier, she had already surpassed him by an unknowable distance.
Yet these ignorant fools actually dared to bare their teeth and claws in front of the Ancient One.
Looking at the people before him, Mordo's face remained unchanged, but faint disdain stirred in his heart.
"You..."
Peter glared at him angrily.
Connors, however, fell silent all at once. His gaze moved back and forth between the artificial sun and the Ancient One.
That mysterious connection he shared with Fenris made him trust the Ancient One's words a little more.
However, the common sense of a scientist was also telling him that no matter how much he trusted Fenris, no matter how unreasonable Fenris's past feats had been, the temperature at the core of thermonuclear fusion followed real physics.
No living thing could survive in an environment capable of melting steel with ease. The later they acted, the greater Fenris's danger would become.
Besides, he could also faintly sense the agony Fenris had endured just moments ago, agony that would have easily driven anyone else insane.
"What should I do?"
For a moment, Connors's tightly clenched claws loosened, and he was torn.
"Sir, the method used by the newcomers bears an extremely high resemblance to the dimensional portals most commonly used by Fenris. The energy signatures of both cannot be analyzed through existing scientific methods."
JARVIS's analysis came through.
At the rear of the crowd, Tony looked at the magic circle slowly rotating over the surface of the artificial sun, his brows deeply furrowed.
"Say that in plain English."
He glanced at the Ancient One in the distance, and a strange irritation and unease settled over his heart.
For some reason, although she was clearly standing right there, she gave Tony the feeling that she was impossibly far away, as though she were not a person at all, but a bottomless abyss.
"Sir, there is no available information on this person. However, preliminary analysis suggests that Fenris and this individual's methods overlap to a high degree in certain areas. There is a very high probability they originate from the same source."
"That doesn't prove anything. What if she's actually Fenris's enemy and is using this method to stop us?"
Tony's thoughts raced, his brilliant mind spinning rapidly.
"In addition, the temperature at the fusion core has already increased by nearly a thousandfold."
JARVIS continued his analysis. "Based on the physical data Fenris has displayed so far, he should be absolutely incapable of enduring this level of heat. His probability of surviving in that extreme environment is nearly zero."
"So if we destroy it now, Fenris might still survive?"
As JARVIS's data appeared one after another before his eyes, Tony's expression turned deeply uncertain. "But if we choose to listen to this woman, Fenris will most likely die."
"Yes, sir. It depends on whether you are willing to believe her."
JARVIS's voice sounded again. "There is no movement inside. Time is limited. You need to make a decision as soon as possible."
"Damn it!"
"I'm not buying any of this mystical crap!"
Tony gritted his teeth, looking as if he had decided to go all in. "All I know is that Fenris is one of the few friends I have."
"If this person has bad intentions and I end up hurting Fenris because of her, I'll never forgive myself."
Since the automatic targeting system had already failed, Tony made his decision and abruptly opened his faceplate. "JARVIS, manual visual targeting."
"Yes."
JARVIS responded at once.
The next moment, Tony's shoulder armor, arm armor, and chest armor opened at the same time. Dozens of micro-missiles extended from inside the suit.
"Stark, what are you doing?"
Connors immediately noticed Tony's movement and looked at him in confusion as Tony suddenly made his move.
"Connors, you're a scientist too. You know exactly what I'm doing."
The thrusters in Tony's legs ignited, launching him into the air. He spoke coldly to Connors. "What if these two are enemies? I don't care about evolution or metamorphosis. I just want Fenris alive."
"If none of you dare to make the call, then Tony Stark will."
"Even if Fenris comes out and blames me, even if he hates me for it, I'll accept that."
"At worst, I'll build him a few more suns myself to make up for it. Connors, move!"
Tony dodged around Connors without hesitation and aimed every weapon he had at the artificial sun deep within the laboratory.
"Whoosh!"
Dozens of missiles let out piercing shrieks. After a brief burst of acceleration, they slammed precisely into the thin shield the Ancient One had placed.
"Boom!"
Bright flames mixed with a thunderous explosion. Several shock waves erupted at once, sweeping outward.
For a moment, the already ruined laboratory building became even more unstable beneath the bombardment, teetering on the verge of collapse.
"Did it work?"
Tony steadied himself against the impact, staring straight ahead without blinking.
However, as the smoke and dust dispersed, that golden glow remained as steady as a mountain, not even dimming in the slightest.
The cicada-wing-thin shield had remained completely unharmed despite the chain of explosions. Its intricate patterns still rotated quietly across its surface.
"How is that possible?"
Tony's eyes instantly widened.
He knew the power of those missiles better than anyone. They were absolutely not comparable to the industrial garbage Justin Hammer manufactured, yet they could not shake that layer of defense at all?
(End of Chapter)
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