In the command center of S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the flashing red dots on the global map gradually extinguished, and finally only a signal on the Greenland ice sheet remained that continued to strengthen.
"The energy reading has exceeded the threshold!" Maria·Hill's voice sounded with a sense of urgency, "Greenland The abnormal energy under the ice is causing large-scale glacier movement!"
The holographic image of Tony·Stark appeared in the command room, "Banner and I analyzed the energy pattern. This is not an offensive weapon, but more like some kind of... awakening program."
Bruce·Banner added, "The energy signature does not match any known technology, but a faint Asgard energy signature was detected."
Thor Hold Mjolnir tightly. "In Asgard records, Midgard buries Guardians from ancient times. But if it is awakened by mistake..."
Suddenly, the main screen switched to the live scene of Greenland. A huge gap opened in the ice, and a huge structure made of unknown metal was slowly rising, with ancient runes engraved on the surface.
"Friday, zoom in and analyze those symbols." Tony ordered.
"The symbol is 82% similar to the ancient characters Asgard, but is older. In translation...'Guardians', 'sleep', 'balance'..."
Strange's portal opened in the command room, and he walked out quickly. "Kamar-Taj's monitoring shows that global magic energy is flowing to Greenland. That structure is absorbing magic energy!"
"Absorb magic energy?" Natasha frowned, "What is the purpose?"
"I don't know," Strange said with a solemn expression, "But if it is not stopped, it may cause a global magic imbalance."
Avengers acted immediately. Tony and Rhodes took the lead in flying to Greenland, Steve and Natasha organized ground troops, and Thor and Strange prepared to deal with threats on the magical level.
Greenland On the ice sheet, the huge metal structure has completely risen. It is not like a weapon, but more like an ancient altar.
The runes shone with a faint blue light, and the surrounding ice continued to shatter due to energy fluctuations.
"Energy burst detected!" Rhodes warned, "But not aggressive..."
An energy beam shot out from the center of the altar, shot straight into the sky, and then spread into a huge energy network in the air, covering the entire sky above Greenland.
"It is changing the composition of the atmosphere," Banner said remotely. "The oxygen content is decreasing and the proportion of nitrogen is increasing... This will suffocate most living things!"
Thor summoned thunder and lightning to bombard the energy network, but the lightning was easily absorbed. "It is absorbing my energy!"
Strange tried to use Bands of Seraphim to bind the altar, but the magic energy was also absorbed. "No, it is getting stronger!"
The altar suddenly changed its mode and began to emit a low-frequency vibration. Electronic equipment around the world was affected at the same time, communications were interrupted, and the power system was paralyzed.
"Global blackout!" Hill reported, "Even Helicarrier's backup power supply is failing!"
Tony's armor's power dropped sharply. "It is absorbing all forms of energy! If this continues, the earth will return to the Stone Age!"
Just when Avengers was at a loss, the altar suddenly stopped moving. All the runes were extinguished at the same time, the energy network dissipated, and global power gradually restored.
"What happened?" Steve asked in confusion.
The monitoring of Tony shows. "The energy direction has changed... it is locked in the direction of Malibu."
On Malibu Beach, Xiao Han's sunglasses slid down slightly. He felt the energy fluctuations trying to interfere with his sunbathing, as if someone was constantly knocking on the boundary of his perception.
"Annoying." He muttered to himself and adjusted the sensitivity of Super Hearing to filter out most of the energy fluctuations.
But a few minutes later, a stronger energy pulse directly impacted Stark Villa's protective shield.
The automatic sprinkler system in the garden suddenly burst, and the alarm of Tony's collection of antique cars blared.
Xiao Han's drink glass vibrated slightly, and the ice cubes in the glass made a small clinking sound. He put down the glass, a trace of displeasure flashed in his eyes.
"Stark," he contacted Tony through Friday, "Turn off your junk."
"It wasn't us!" Tony explained hurriedly, "It was that ancient device. It locked you for some reason!"
Xiao Han's Super Vision instantly penetrated the mainland and locked onto the altar on the Greenland ice sheet. He saw that the altar was being recharged and was preparing to launch a larger attack.
"Last warning," Xiao Han's voice turned cold, "Turn it off."
"We tried it!" Banner interjected, "It's immune to all known attacks!"
The altar suddenly fired a blazing energy beam, heading straight for Malibu. Xiao Han didn't even get up, with a flash in his eyes Heat Vision intercepted and detonated the energy beam midway.
The shock wave generated by the explosion shook the ice layer of Greenland violently.
"It's still learning!" Banner exclaimed, "It's analyzing your energy characteristics!"
A red light similar to Xiao Han's eyes began to appear on the surface of the altar, and the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
Xiao Han finally stood up. "It seems that some people just can't learn to be polite."
He instantly appeared above Greenland, overlooking the altar below. The altar seemed to sense his arrival, and all the runes lit up at the same time, sending out a provocative pulse.
Thor flew to him. "Be careful! It can absorb and imitate any energy!"
Xiao Han did not respond and landed directly in the center of the altar. The altar immediately tried to absorb his energy, but found that it could not be shaken at all.
"That's it?" Xiao Han said contemptuously, stamping on the surface of the altar.
The cracks spread rapidly with his feet as the center, and the runes were extinguished one by one. The altar let out a final wail, and then became completely silent.
"It... is so broken?" Rhodes said in disbelief.
Tony scanned the remains of the altar. "It is completely ineffective. But why were our previous attacks ineffective?"
"Because it is not absorbing energy," Banner suddenly realized, "But identifying the type of energy. Only energy that is pure and powerful enough can destroy its core structure."
Strange inspected the remaining runes. "It says 'Haven's Guardian'... According to Kamar-Taj's records, this is a device used in ancient times to maintain the earth's energy balance."
"So it's not a weapon?" Natasha asked.
"No," Strange shook his head, "It may be automatically activated due to sensing the earth's energy imbalance. But why is it locked Xiao Han..."
Tony suddenly thought of something, "Is it because he has used his abilities frequently recently and changed the energy field of the earth?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Xiao Han, but he had disappeared.
Back to Malibu Beach, Xiao Han adjusted the position of the beach chair. His Super Hearing caught Avengers's discussion, but he didn't care.
"Next time you wake up casually," he said calmly, looking in the direction of Greenland, "I will throw you into the sun."
On the ice sheet, deep within the remains of the altar, a rune flickered faintly, and then went out completely. And somewhere far away in the universe, another identical device seemed to have received some signal, and a faint light began to glow on its surface.