Marvel: I am Iron Man

Earth, New Mexico, the site of Thor's hammer impact.

Tony stood in the center of the SHIELD temporary camp, issuing orders with great enthusiasm.

"You... you there, yes, you. Pull up the raw waveforms from both sensors and overlay them to see the phase difference. If it's environmental electromagnetic interference, filter it; if it's the hammer's own pulse harmonics, write it down..."

An engineer peered out from behind a piece of equipment and called out, "Mr. Stark! We tried scanning the hammer handle with the phase array you suggested, but the feedback is unclear..."

While he was speaking, Tony had already walked to the main control panel and pushed aside the original operator: "Of course it will be unclear. This parameter and this frequency band are full of redundant interference. You have to tune to this range..."

He quickly entered a long string of frequencies into the control panel. The engineer on the other end also quickly followed the instructions, and a much clearer waveform soon appeared on the screen.

Several researchers nearby let out quiet gasps of amazement.

"Oh, and there's Zone Three!" Tony shouted as he left the control panel. "Your setup looks like it's from the 80s. If the energy recoil is high-frequency, that wire you put there is just for decoration. Use distributed capacitive coupling. I've uploaded the plan to the shared server; the folder is called 'Stop Asking Stupid Questions.' Someone, get that done right now..."

"..."

Half an hour ago, Tony Stark arrived at the S.H.I.E.L.D. camp with Agent Coulson.

Half an hour later, he had become the camp leader. Even Coulson, following behind, was stunned, looking like a servant.

In fact, no one assigned Tony any position. He just walked in naturally, said a few words when he saw a problem, and mentioned a solution whenever he thought of one...

...Then, he didn't know how it happened, but now everyone in the entire camp would naturally come to him for instructions whenever they encountered a problem or needed to make a decision. It seemed that he had just naturally become the leader here.

Agent Coulson followed behind, watching, but didn't say much in the end.

Even though he couldn't offer much help, Coulson went to make Tony a cup of coffee during that time.

Fine, I'll just follow along. As long as the task is completed, that's all that matters.

...

...

Beyond Earth, in Jotunheim, one of the Nine Realms, lies the kingdom of the Frost Giants.

Despairing white and gray dominated this world. The sky was a dome made of lead blocks, and fine, sand-like ice crystals endlessly swirled in the boundless snow and ice.

Laufey, the ruler of Jotunheim and a frost giant, slowly opened his dark red eyes, looking at the young and handsome visitor before him with displeasure and vigilance.

The newcomer wore a golden helmet with deer antlers, a green cloak, and carried a scepter. He had a hooked nose and a handsome face that was slightly thin.

Laufey recognized this man. He came from Asgard, a kingdom that was his enemy, and was also a prince of Asgard. His name was Loki.

The prince of the enemy nation arrived here alone, before his king. Laufey narrowed his eyes, as if he sensed a conspiracy.

He raised his thick, ice-blue arm to stop the restless frost giants behind him, then spoke in a voice almost as cold as the air of Jotunheim: "You have one minute to explain your purpose, prince of Asgard, before my people can no longer restrain themselves from tearing you to pieces."

"I'm here to seek cooperation," Loki said.

Laufey and the giants behind him burst into laughter, as if they had heard the biggest joke ever.

"Just recently, you and your brother brought those Asgardian fools to my territory and caused trouble. And now, you want to talk to me about cooperation?"

Laufey stood up. His frost giant form was like a small mountain in front of Loki, and standing up made him appear even more imposing.

But Loki remained unmoved: "I have never approved of their actions, especially my brother. He is foolish, impulsive, and never thinks before he acts. That is why I need your assistance."

Now, Thor has been banished to Midgard by an enraged Odin, stripped of his divine powers, and is now merely an unarmed mortal. This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Don't you want to avenge your Frost brethren who were slaughtered by Thor, and to deliver a heavy blow to Odin and to Asgard?

Laufey hesitated for a few seconds.

This is an enticing idea. Thor is a top-tier fighter even in Asgard, and there have been many conflicts between Jotunheim and Asgard in the past, during which Thor did indeed kill many of their brethren.

In fact, just a few days ago, Thor secretly ran off to Jotunheim without Odin's knowledge and killed many more frost giants.

The mighty Thor is now as vulnerable as a mortal, presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we can kill Thor, it will not only avenge Jotunheim and Laufey himself, but also deal a significant blow to Asgard.

The problem is that this intelligence, this idea, should not have been proposed by the man before us—the second prince of Asgard, one of their archenemies of Jotunheim, and Thor's brother.

Laufee sensed an even stronger conspiracy.

"Why would you want to kill Thor?" Laufey asked.

"Because, like I said, Thor is a fool. I don't think it would be a good thing for Asgard if he inherited the throne." Loki looked annoyed. "But Odin only has eyes for him, as if being able to swing a hammer, blow the wind, and summon a few lightning bolts could suddenly turn him into a wise king."

"Ha, so you want the throne." Laufey laughed.

That makes sense. It's all too common for a prince with no chance of advancement to collude with foreign enemies for a throne that was originally out of his reach. Laufey can accept this motive.

Loki continued, "Furthermore, if you're willing to cooperate, I have another bargaining chip I can offer... this."

He flipped his hand and magically summoned something. A small, heavy black box landed lightly in his palm.

But the moment Laufey saw the small box, his icy breath seemed to freeze, and the group of frost giants behind him couldn't help but stir restlessly.

"The Frozen Treasure Box!" Laufey couldn't help but exclaim softly.

That box was once a family heirloom of Jotunheim, the source of the Frost Giants' power. If released at full power, this small box contains the power to freeze an entire planet, or even the entire Nine Realms; it is the ultimate ice artifact.

However, Jotunheim was defeated in the war, and the Ice Casket was stolen by Odin, that old bandit, and has been sealed in the treasury of Asgard ever since. This matter has always been Laufey's deepest resentment.

At this moment, the artifact was only a step away from him, right in Loki's hands.

Loki carefully and gently opened the treasure box, revealing a small crack. Immediately, a torrent of icy blue water gushed out and poured into Laufey's body.

Laufey involuntarily let out a loud "Ahhh!" as he felt a chill that penetrated to the bone spread throughout his body. Frost formed on his already icy blue skin, and the magic of ice and snow overflowed from his body, swirling and circulating around him.

Laufey looked at Loki in surprise: "You..."

Loki had already closed the box and said with a smile, "I've also given you a little bit of the magic of the Ice Box—though only a little, I think it's enough to show my sincerity."

If we can reach a mutually satisfactory cooperation, and the final result satisfies both of us, then I am willing to return the Frost Treasure Box to its rightful owner.

Laufey felt the immense icy magic coursing through his body, stared into Loki's eyes, and gazed at him for a long time.

After a dozen seconds, Laufey managed to squeeze out a single word through his icicle-like teeth: "Okay."