Ability fusion

The alarm was still blaring, and the red dot on the monitor kept flashing. The ice in the ventilation shaft had spread to the third section of the pipe. Tony stared at the screen, tapping his fingers on the edge of the control panel.

"This is not a drill."

Ye Mo stood beside him, his palm pressed against the metal wall, the chill spreading from his fingertips, but not towards the ventilation shaft. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "Never mind what's outside for now, the thruster issue isn't over yet."

"Are you sure?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "The ice over there is freezing faster than the Fridge."

"That's why I need to figure this out first." Ye Mo cracked his knuckles. "If a real fight breaks out, we need a backup plan. Right now, you're flying too directly; the enemy can easily spot you."

Tony laughed. "You think I'm too easy to beat?"

"It's not that I'm complaining, it's the truth." Ye Mo walked to the center of the training area, raised his hands, and a semi-transparent block of ice instantly solidified on the ground, with blue light seeping out from inside, like freezing a ball of electricity.

"This isn't ordinary ice," he said. "I combined Ice Manipulation with Telepathy and adjusted the molecular density. It can withstand high temperatures for at least ten seconds."

Tony leaned closer to examine it, then tapped it, making a crisp sound. "Sounds pretty hard. But what are you planning to do with it? Stick it into my exhaust nozzle as a silencer?"

"More useful than that." Ye Mo lifted the ice block into the air and broke it into two small pieces. "I'm going to turn it into a propulsion aid device and install it at the front of the thruster nozzles on your armored legs. When it fires, the ice core releases cold mist, forming a mixed flow of hot and cold air. It will not only increase speed but also interfere with infrared tracking."

Tony stroked his chin. "Sounds like riding a motorcycle in winter without thermal underwear—exciting!"

"If you don't want to try, I'll take it apart right now."

"Who says I won't try?" Tony turned and walked to the workbench. "Give it to me, let me see if your 'mutant ice' can withstand Iron Man's exhaust flames."

Ye Mo handed Tony one of the ice cubes. Tony paused for a moment when he took it, "Isn't it cold?"

"The surface is shielded against low temperatures, so heat can't get in, and cool air won't dissipate," Ye Mo explained. "You can think of it as an external module with a built-in cooling system."

Tony nodded and began disassembling the armor's leg components. Screwdrivers, a miniature welding gun, and an energy-conducting ring were laid out one by one. His movements were practiced, and he kept talking. "What do you call this ability? Ice Mage? Arctic War God?"

"Mr. X will do."

"That's so unoriginal." Tony tightened the last screw. "I think it should be called 'Ice Maker Hero,' it sounds more down-to-earth."

Ye Mo rolled her eyes. "Don't call me when you've fallen and turned into an ice pop."

"What?!" Tony patted his armor. "I'm a man who can fly."

After he finished speaking, he activated the system, and the armor automatically assembled into place. With a soft click, the MK armor fully covered his body, and the helmet glowed red.

"Ready?" Ye Mo took two steps back.

"Come on." Tony stood still, preheating the nozzles on his legs, the buzzing sound gradually increasing.

Ye Mo clasped his hands together, and two ice cores were precisely embedded into the front of the armor's nozzle. In an instant, blue light flashed, and cold mist swirled out, forming a standoff with the flames that were about to erupt.

"First test, low power," Ye Mo reminded.

"Understood." Tony pressed the start button.

Boom!

Flames erupted, instantly engulfing the ice core. Everyone thought it would explode, but instead of melting, the ice released a ring of cold mist from the intense heat, like an ice ring around the flames. The propulsion force didn't decrease; instead, the convection between hot and cold generated additional thrust, pulling Tony forward violently, almost causing him to crash into the wall.

He steadied himself and slid for three meters before coming to a stop upon landing.

"Holy crap!" He took off his helmet, his eyes gleaming. "This thing's awesome!"

"How is it?" Ye Mo walked over.

"Faster, more agile, and the infrared signal is down by thirty percent!" Tony pointed to the data panel. "That charge just now was 0.7 seconds faster than usual. Don't underestimate that little bit of time; it's enough to kill someone on the battlefield."

"Then let's add some more ingredients." Ye Mo took a breath, sweat beading on his forehead. He knew the Ice Manipulation was entering its cooldown period, but he still raised his hand. "Next time, I can try extending the ice into a slide in the air, and you can parachute in directly."

"Then you'll have to get me a ski," Tony patted him on the shoulder, "Or maybe we should just rename him Snow Warrior?"

"If you dare say that in front of the media, I'll change your armor to pink."

"Threatening me?" Tony laughed. "Have you forgotten who I am? Iron Man, the most handsome man in the universe."

"He's also the most talkative person in the universe." Ye Mo sat down to regulate his breathing, his hands trembling slightly. That burst of attacks had taken a lot of energy, but he still had a smile on his face.

Tony stopped joking and looked down to inspect the ice core residue at the armor's interface. The data was stable, with no cracks or energy leaks.

"One more time?" he asked.

"No." Ye Mo shook his head. "I need ten minutes to recover. And..." He looked up at the monitor screen, "The ice outside has started to climb towards the main control area."

On the screen, the ice layer in the ventilation shaft has crossed the third section and is extending towards the passage connecting to the training area. The speed is not fast, but it is continuous.

"Still no sign of him?" Tony asked.

"No." Ye Mo narrowed his eyes. "It's like an automatically triggered mechanism, or a preset program activated by some kind of signal."

"You think it's Hydra?"

"I don't know." Ye Mo stood up. "But the signal frequency they left behind last time was related to Hellfire. Emma Frost said they have a kind of ' Environmental Memory Ice ' technology that can be automatically activated under certain conditions."

Tony frowned. "So this ice is aimed at us?"

"Not necessarily." Ye Mo walked to the control panel and brought up the structural diagram. "It could also be a trap, luring us over to investigate. But the problem now is that it's getting close to the energy core."

The two exchanged a glance.

"Should we cut off the power first?" Tony asked.

"No." Ye Mo quickly operated the system. "The main control system relies on constant temperature operation. Once the power is cut off, all defense mechanisms will fail. Moreover..." He pointed to a corner of the screen, "Look here, there are weak current fluctuations at the edge of the ice layer."

"Is someone remotely controlling it?"

"It's more like a feedback signal." Ye Mo zoomed in on the image. "It's collecting our reaction patterns. Every time we get closer, its spread path adjusts."

Tony sneered, "Playing mind games?"

"Then let's play along to the end." Ye Mo took a deep breath and raised his hands again. This time he didn't use his full strength, but only condensed a thin line of ice on the ground, leading straight to the bottom of the surveillance camera.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

"Reverse marking," Ye Mo said in a low voice, "Let it think I can't detect it, but I've already locked onto the direction of its signal source."

The tip of the ice line was slightly bluish, like a probe piercing the air.

"Once it goes a little further ahead, I'll trace it back along the ice line to find the source," he said. "But for now, we need to make it think everything is normal."

Tony understood, put his helmet back on, and asked, "Shall we continue the testing?"

"Yes." Ye Mo nodded, "Let it watch us work and lower its guard."

Tony activated the thrusters, flying at low altitude and shuttling back and forth in the training area. The ice core operated steadily, its trail of cold mist tracing arcs. The efficiency value on the data panel continued to rise.

As Ye Mo observed, he subtly adjusted the angle of the ice line. His breathing gradually became steady, and he began a new cycle of Ice Manipulation.

Suddenly, Tony stopped.

"Hey," he pointed to the screen, "The ice has stopped."

Ye Mo looked up.

On the surveillance footage, the spreading ice layer did indeed stop at the corner of the passage, only five meters away from the main control area.

Still and motionless.

"It's not a malfunction." Ye Mo stared at the ice. "It stopped on purpose."

"What's the meaning?"

"It's waiting," Ye Mo said in a low voice, "Waiting for our next move."

Tony sneered, "Then let's not keep it waiting too long."

He raised his arm, aimed the palm-mounted cannon at the ice, and a charging notification sounded.

Ye Mo raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't fire," he said. "If we fire now, we'll be following the script."

Tony sheathed his weapon. "So, what are you planning to do?"

Ye Mo looked at the still ice and slowly revealed a smile.

"Let's not touch it," he said. "Let's pretend nothing happened and keep practicing."

He raised his hand again, and another high-density ice core formed.

Tony understood, grinned, and said, "Okay, so you're acting?"

"Yes." Ye Mo tossed the ice core to him. "Pretend you haven't noticed anything amiss and continue testing the thrusters."

Tony took the ice core and put on the armor.

"Once it thinks it's safe, we'll stab it in then," he said.

"Clever." Ye Mo cracked his knuckles. "Just like how we dealt with Obadiah last time."

"You tricked me last time." Tony activated the system. "This time, I'm getting my revenge."

Buzz--

The thrusters roared again, flames and cold mist intertwined, and Tony flew low over the training area with a smooth trajectory. Ye Mo stood still, the ice core in his hand slowly rotating, but his gaze never left the still ice.

A minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

The ice remained still.

Tony completed a high-speed attack and deliberately stumbled upon landing.

"Ouch!" he cried, "This ice is a bit slippery!"

Ye Mo laughed along in agreement.

Just as the laughter subsided.

The still ice finally moved.

Slowly, it continued to crawl forward along the crack in the ground.