Marvel: I am Iron Man

Rainbow Bridge, yet another Rainbow Bridge.

The Rainbow Bridge appeared twice in one day, bringing two groups of extraterrestrial visitors—and there was more than one of them.

There were four people, three men and one woman. Tony, of course, recognized them at a glance.

The woman at the head was Sif, Asgard's most valiant warrior. Her face was beautiful and resolute, her eyes clear yet sharp, her long black hair flowing over her silver armor, and a longsword hanging at her waist.

Then there's the burly Asgardian Volstagg, whose large belly is reminiscent of the future chubby Thor.

Finally, there's Fandral and Hogan, one a dashing nobleman, the other a silent warrior with a cold exterior but a warm heart.

These four are the Warriors Four of Asgard, the most elite group of warriors in Asgard, and Thor's brothers who have risked their lives for him.

Jarvis: "Mr. Uninvited guest, presumably from an extraterrestrial civilization..."

"No need to presume, I know. Also, let them in, Jarvis," Tony said.

The door opened automatically. Tony waved to the others, "Looking for Thor?"

The four looked at each other. After exchanging glances, Sif stepped forward: "Yes. Heimdall said Thor is here, and we have important matters to discuss."

As she spoke, she looked around Tony's spacious living room.

"Where is Thor...?"

"Uh, he's a bit busy right now." Tony gestured inside, "but you can find him there."

So the four warriors went inside.

Then they saw their invincible Asgardian prince, Odin's son, Welthor, holding a small white tool in his hand, rapidly tapping the buttons on the tool with his thumbs.

On the holographic projection screen in front of him, a tiny figure with its back to him was jumping around and fighting fiercely.

"Oh, my friends, I'm so happy you've come!"

Although Thor said he was happy, he kept his eyes glued to the screen and didn't even turn his head to look away.

"But please forgive me, the battle is at a critical moment and I cannot leave my comrades..."

As he spoke, he even shouted into the game's microphone, "Brothers, hang in there! Victory is just around the corner!"

Tony figured that this was probably the first time in his life his teammates had been matched with such an engrossed player.

The four warriors looked at each other in bewilderment once again.

It seems like Thor is busy with something very important, but they just can't figure out what it is...

Sif said, "We're here on something important. Heimdall saw it, but since the King of Gods is still asleep and unable to make a decision, he decided to send us to inform you..."

Thor finally put down the controller and turned his head seriously after hearing this.

He realized that the information his friends had brought was probably very important.

"What is it?"

"Invaders, Thor," Fandral said. "There are invaders from outside the Nine Realms, and they're in the vicinity."

Thor blinked. "Wait, you mean around here...where? Midgard?"

The four warriors nodded in unison.

Tony initially thought it was just a domestic matter between Asgard and the other side, but unexpectedly, he found himself caught in the crossfire and asked, "Earth? You mean Earth has been invaded?"

"Soon."

Sif and he exchanged a glance.

"Heimdall saw a team approaching Midgard, which you mortals call 'Earth'," Sif said. "Heimdall said that judging from its size, it should be a small team on some kind of outpost reconnaissance mission."

Thor asked, "Who? Who dares to invade the Nine Realms?"

"The Chitauri," Volstagg said.

Tony frowned upon hearing the name.

The Chitauri, the group that visited Earth and fought a major battle in New York in Avengers 1, are Thanos's henchmen.

As seen in later MCU films, the Chitauri not only helped Thanos invade Earth during the Battle of New York, but Gamora's home planet in Guardians of the Galaxy was also destroyed by the Chitauri when she was a child. They were one of Thanos's important military forces.

However, in Avengers 1, it should have been Loki who acted as a go-between, using the Tesseract to bring the Chitauri army to Earth through a portal.

But Loki should still be imprisoned in Asgard, and the Battle of New York in the original comics didn't happen this soon...

Could it be that they didn't use a portal, but instead traveled directly to Earth via interstellar travel?

"The Chitauri reconnaissance team is expected to arrive in Midgard today," Sif said. "Heimdall has pointed out the exact coordinates."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Thor immediately stood up. With a flick of his wrist, Mjolnir, which was hanging in the living room, flew into his hand in a flash.

Thor turned to Tony: "My friend Stark, would you like to come with us?"

All four warriors looked surprised.

"Him?" Sif looked Tony up and down. "No offense, but he just looks like... a mortal."

In the minds of the Asgardians, mortals are people who need protection, so fragile that a gust of wind could blow them away.

Thor laughed heartily: "My new friend is unlike any mortal you know. Trust me, my friends, he's no less formidable than any Asgardian warrior."

The four warriors looked at each other again.

No one refuted Thor's words, but the others all looked unconvinced.

Tony, of course, wouldn't care about such trivial matters. He looked up and said, "Jarvis, give me the Mark 7."

Jarvis responded, "Coming, sir."

The hidden foyer opened, and the Mark 7 armored vehicle, in its flight cockpit configuration, spewed out, its tail flames billowing. It landed in the center of the living room, accompanied by a hydraulic hiss and a crisp "click" as metal modules unlocked, and the cockpit structure quickly activated.

The smooth hull split and folded outwards along the seams, revealing a precise skeleton and armor plates emerging from within. Breastplate, backplate, armplates... the flight cabin stretched out like a Transformer, unfolding from a folded backpack into a gold and red steel giant, standing firmly on the ground.

Tony approached, and the armor immediately unfolded automatically from his back, locking onto him as soon as he entered. Each component engaged with a heavy, reassuring metallic clang.

The HUD lit up in front of him, and Iron Man, fully dressed, turned around, his body accompanied by the sounds of metal parts rubbing together and mechanical joints turning.

Vostagg: "Ha, a suit of armor!"

None of them said it aloud, but at that moment, the same thought was about the Destroyer.

The Destroyer is a magical armor that guards the vaults of Asgard; in a sense, it could be considered an exoskeleton. Odin wore that armor when he conquered the Nine Realms in his youth.

Now that Odin is old and rarely goes to the battlefield in person, the Destroyer armor has become the gatekeeper of the treasure vault, and has been in a state of magic-driven, unmanned operation for many years.

"Alright, guys."

Thor stepped forward and put his cloak back on.

"Now, let's go and meet those ignorant barbarians from out of town!"