Tony leaned closer, studying the expo model in Ethan Blake's hand with clear curiosity. "Hey, man," he asked, tapping the edge of the model with a finger, "does this thing have something to do with that new element you mentioned?"
Ethan ignored the question entirely. He set the model down on the table and spoke calmly, as if Tony weren't even there. "J.A.R.V.I.S., scan this and generate a digital wireframe. I need a working projection display."
"Understood, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied immediately.
A thin beam of blue light swept across the model. Within seconds, a three-dimensional wireframe projection hovered above the table, glowing softly in the air. The structure of the Stark Expo grounds appeared in meticulous digital detail.
"Scan complete, sir."
Tony stared at the floating projection, his brow slowly knitting together. His usual playful arrogance faded as he leaned forward, studying every line of the structure.
Ethan pointed to the center of the projection, highlighting the main exhibition hall. "Take this location as the nucleus—"
"Remove all the walkways," Tony interrupted suddenly.
He stepped closer to the hologram, eyes fixed on it with intense concentration. "Get rid of the landscaping too. Bushes, trees… parking lots, exits, entrances. Strip all of it away."
J.A.R.V.I.S. began modifying the model instantly.
Tony continued speaking, his voice growing steadier as inspiration took hold. "Use the pavilion framework as the structural outline. Then construct neutron and proton arrangements based on that pattern."
Watching Tony slip into full problem-solving mode, Ethan quietly stepped back. He had already given the crucial hint, and that was more than enough. Anything beyond that would only drag him deeper into Stark's endless engineering experiments.
The wireframe projection kept simplifying under J.A.R.V.I.S.'s adjustments. Sections of the expo grounds vanished piece by piece until only the central structural framework remained.
Gradually, the shape transformed.
What floated in front of them was no longer a building layout. Instead, a glowing blue atomic structure hovered in the air, its particles orbiting in a precise and elegant pattern.
Tony stared at the atomic model silently. His expression softened, something complicated flickering in his eyes.
"It's been twenty years since he died," Tony murmured under his breath. "And he's still teaching me."
"Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, analyzing the structure, "this element appears capable of replacing palladium in your arc reactor. Unfortunately, current technology does not allow it to be synthesized."
"Is that so?"
Tony smiled faintly. Despite J.A.R.V.I.S.'s conclusion, the weight that had been pressing on him for weeks suddenly felt much lighter.
Seeing that Tony had already figured it out, Ethan clapped his hands once as if finishing a routine task. "Looks like you've found a way to deal with the palladium poisoning. In that case, I'll be going. See you."
He turned and walked out without hesitation.
There was absolutely no way he was giving Tony time to stop him. If Tony had even a few seconds to think, he would definitely rope Ethan into becoming unpaid labor for the entire project.
According to the original timeline, building the device needed to synthesize the new element required a particle accelerator. Tony had eventually torn half his house apart just to assemble one.
Ethan had no intention of being dragged into that madness.
Tony watched the door close behind him and blinked.
"This guy didn't even give me a chance to say thanks," he muttered, shrugging slightly.
Then Tony froze, a small frown appearing on his face.
"Wait… did I just see that look again?" he murmured to himself. "Should I call him back?"
He considered it for a moment before shaking his head.
"Forget it. Guess I'll just relive the glory days of hard work."
But even as he said that, Tony's entire demeanor had changed. The exhaustion from weeks of slow poisoning had been replaced with a spark of hope.
For the first time in a long while, he finally had a solution.
Meanwhile, Ethan was in an excellent mood as he left the mansion.
Tony's palladium poisoning had reminded him of something important. That particular crisis belonged to the timeline of Iron Man 2, and that meant another event was happening around the same period.
The arrival of Thor.
More specifically, the events of Thor's first appearance on Earth.
As Ethan walked, his thoughts drifted to another universe entirely—the magical world described in Harry Potter.
In that world, magical creatures were defined in a very particular way. Any creature born with inherent magical abilities could be classified as a magical beast.
Take the Veela, for example. They possessed intelligence comparable to humans, yet because they were born with innate magic, they were still categorized as magical creatures. Their hair was even valuable enough to serve as a core material for powerful wands.
If Veela qualified as magical creatures, then logically…
Why couldn't Thor qualify too?
Thor was a member of the Asgardian royal lineage, a direct descendant of the All-Father Odin. His command over thunder and lightning wasn't learned or acquired—it was something he had been born with.
That power was completely innate.
By the magical world's classification standards, Thor absolutely fit the definition of a magical creature.
Which meant something very interesting.
Thor's hair could theoretically serve as the core material for a wand.
And not just any wand core either. Compared to Veela hair, the hair of a literal god of thunder would almost certainly produce something far stronger.
Ethan estimated the probability of success at around eighty percent.
If that worked, he wouldn't need to kidnap Stephen Strange anymore just to force the Ancient One to appear.
The Ancient One was known for being calm and reasonable, but that didn't mean she was weak. On the contrary, she was an entity standing firmly at the Godfather-level of power.
As long as the Ancient One was alive, even someone like Thanos would hesitate before invading Earth.
Provoking someone at that level for no reason would be extremely foolish.
If it was possible to avoid making an enemy out of such a figure, Ethan preferred to do exactly that.
The problem was timing.
The story of Thor's arrival on Earth lasted only a few days. If Ethan missed that window, the next time Thor would appear prominently would be during the Battle of New York.
And Ethan had no intention of waiting that long.
Fortunately, he remembered something important.
Phil Coulson had been assigned to monitor the situation surrounding Thor's hammer.
Coulson had even handed him a business card during their last meeting.
After returning home, Ethan searched around the living room for a while before finally discovering the card wedged deep in the crack of his sofa cushions.
He pulled it out, brushed off the dust, and dialed the number printed on it.
Before Ethan could even say anything, Coulson's voice came through the phone.
"Mr. Blake, what can I help you with?"
Ethan paused for a moment, slightly surprised that Coulson had immediately recognized him. But the surprise faded quickly.
For an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D., identifying a caller's number was probably the simplest task imaginable.
"Agent Coulson," Ethan said casually, "I have something I'd like to ask you about. Is that okay?"
"Of course, Mr. Blake. Go ahead."
"I'd like to know whether you've recently been assigned a mission involving guarding a hammer," Ethan asked.
"A hammer?"
Coulson sounded genuinely confused.
"Looks like you haven't," Ethan said thoughtfully. He wasn't disappointed though; it simply meant the event hadn't happened yet. "In that case, if you do receive such a mission, make sure to notify me as soon as possible."
"Uh… Mr. Blake," Coulson replied awkwardly, "even if I did receive such a mission, I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. I can't casually disclose mission details to civilians."
"Don't worry," Ethan said with a small smile. "Your director will approve it."
"Well, if the director approves, then it wouldn't be a problem," Coulson admitted. "But Mr. Blake… could you at least tell me what kind of hammer you're talking about?"
"A god's hammer," Ethan replied lightly. "Alright, Agent Coulson. We'll talk again later."
Then he hung up.
Somewhere else on Earth, Coulson stared at his phone in confusion.
After the call ended, he immediately contacted Nick Fury and carefully repeated every word Ethan had said.
"You're telling me," Fury said slowly over the phone, "that Ethan Blake claims a god's hammer is about to appear, and that I'll assign you to guard it?"
"That… seems to be the implication," Coulson replied.
"I see," Fury said calmly. "If such a mission appears, I'll assign you to it. And when it happens, you can inform him."
With that, Fury hung up.
Coulson sighed as the busy tone echoed in his ear.
He looked down at the phone and shook his head helplessly.
A dignified Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent like him had apparently been reduced to the job of guarding a hammer. Even if it was supposedly the hammer of a god, at the end of the day it was still just a hammer.
....
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