"How can the legendary Dwarf King not have a pair of flexible hands?" Homelander stepped through the portal first.
"Follow me. I'll find someone to install the best pair in the entire Universe for you."
"As you command."
Eitri followed Homelander through the portal.
...
On the other side of the portal was Vought Tower in Manhattan, New York.
Homelander brought Eitri directly to Tony Stark's laboratory.
But after the door slid open, the laboratory was empty.
Various instruments were in standby mode, with only a few cleaning robots tidying the floor.
"Skynet, where is Tony?" Homelander asked.
"Sir." Skynet's holographic projection appeared in mid-air. "Mr. Stark is not at Vought Tower."
"Where did he go?"
"Mr. Stark felt that the laboratory at Vought Tower was too small and could not meet the research and development needs of his new project," Skynet replied. "He has relocated and built a new 7,000-square-meter laboratory near V.G.D. Headquarters."
"Send me the coordinates."
After receiving the coordinates sent by Skynet, Homelander opened the portal again.
The two stepped out of the portal, and their eyes were met with a massive, grand hangar.
When Homelander saw the scene inside the hangar, he couldn't help but whistle.
On both sides of the wide hangar, two rows of six steel armors stood neatly.
But these were definitely not the skin-tight suits Tony used to wear, nor were they the plus-size Anti-Hulk Armor.
Each of these six armors stood over twenty meters tall.
The sturdy mechanical joints and the heavy thruster arrays mounted on their backs exuded the unique sense of oppression that comes from giant objects.
"Cool..." Homelander couldn't help but exclaim.
"Who's praising me?"
Tony Stark, holding a plasma welding torch, slid out from the ankle of one of the mechs.
He stood up, just about to say hello, when his gaze fell upon the tall and imposing Dwarf, Eitri, beside Homelander.
Tony was startled and subconsciously took half a step back.
"Oh, shit, Anthony, did you go to the Land of Giants? Or did you feed this guy a Super Mushroom?"
Eitri looked down at this human who was only as tall as his knee and let out a heavy snort.
"Hey! Tony, you need to show some respect. This is the Dwarf King of Nidavellir, Eitri. The top forging master in the Universe."
"You call him a Dwarf?"
Tony smiled speechlessly, then his gaze fell on Eitri's metal-wrapped severed wrist, and he put away his frivolous expression.
"It seems the peer competition for this master forger is quite intense."
"Not peers. But I brought him to you because I need you to help him install a custom-made pair of top-tier prosthetics. Is that difficult?"
"Is that all? I could do it with my eyes closed." Tony snapped his fingers. "I guarantee they'll be ten times more flexible than his original hands."
Eitri was noncommittal about Tony's confidence: "I hope your little toys can withstand the impact of forging."
Homelander ignored the professional rivalry between the two and pointed to the six giant mechs around them.
"Aren't you going to introduce your new toys to me, Tony?"
Tony immediately became excited, spreading his arms exaggeratedly to showcase his masterpiece.
"Anthony, that new material you provided, called Moon God Titanium Alloy, is simply top-notch!"
"Using it to make those small-sized suits is a complete waste; it was born to be used for giant mechs!"
Tony pointed to one of the mechs: "The properties of the Moon God Titanium Alloy allow the body to remain as light and lethal as an assassin while maintaining its massive size, and it's even as sturdy and durable as a main battle tank, ignoring the strikes of conventional weapons."
"These are my latest developed Veronica 2-7 Mech Warriors."
"They are not only equipped with the latest Arc Reactor arrays but can also adapt to various extreme battlefield environments in the Universe. Whether it's a vacuum, high radiation, or a high-gravity Planet, they can move freely."
"Interesting. So, what are you planning to do next? Go to the Pacific Ocean to fight monsters?" Homelander asked curiously.
"This is an order. It was placed by that old spy who has so many secrets that even the secrets themselves have secrets," Tony shrugged and said.
Homelander's brain turned a circle before he realized. "You mean that... Nick Fury?"
"Bingo!" Tony snapped his fingers.
"That old guy has had terrible luck in space recently. When his S.W.O.R.D. was expanding its outposts in space, they were attacked by strange creatures."
"The Skrulls serving in the military identified the creature and provided intelligence; it's an evil species called the 'Brood'."
Tony pulled up a space image.
In the image, a group of terrifying arthropods with spikes and blade-like insect legs.
"Fury, that old guy, is now being targeted by the Brood Queen of that species and is being chased all over the Universe with his S.W.O.R.D. fleet.
"He originally wanted me to build a few sets of heavy War Machines suitable for space combat and send them to him for emergency aid."
Tony spread his hands. "As it turned out, while we were having a holographic communication, he had sharp eyes and saw the Veronica 2 test unit I had just finished assembling behind me. That old guy's eyes went straight, and he insisted on having these giant mechs."
"I didn't mind; I just happened to need to conduct live combat tests in extreme environments, so I made him six of them at once."
Homelander looked at these six behemoths, slightly surprised: "In such a short time, you built six of these big guys all by yourself?"
Tony chuckled and said, "Of course I couldn't do it alone. However, I found a good helper."
"A helper?"
"It's your little fan, the pajama baby who likes to swing around the streets with ropes, Peter Parker." Tony explained.
"When I went to the Hero Academy to substitute for Banner, I discovered this little genius. This kid has a quick mind, especially when it comes to giant mech transmissions; he has very good ideas. So I let him come here to work part-time as an assistant."
Is this what they call the inertia of the plot? These two went around in circles and actually ended up together anyway... Homelander muttered to himself in his heart.
"Congratulations on finding a good helper, Tony."
Homelander nodded with a smile, congratulating Tony.
"I'll leave Eitri to you. Both of you are the top craftsmen in your respective fields."
"During this time, you can have a good exchange; perhaps you can spark something that will shock the Universe."
Homelander smiled meaningfully, then turned and left, leaving Tony and Eitri staring at each other.
...
Deep in the Universe, Sanctuary II warship.
Inside the bridge, Proxima Midnight knelt on the ground, clutching a cold corpse tightly in her arms.
That was her husband, Corvus Glaive.
"Great Thanos... We have failed."
***************************
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