The Avengers team from the Prime Universe didn't feel discouraged by the loss of the Main Universe Iron Man; they immediately plunged into their work. However, it wasn't as Coulson said, "going out to the cosmos to weed" — now in the Multiverse, many superheroes are gathered here, so such trivial matters naturally have others to attend to without needing the labor of The Avengers. Coulson just didn't want to directly reject them, so he made up this excuse.
As for why they wanted to refuse, the Main Universe Captain America saw it much clearer than Iron Man. This group couldn't be considered as a pack of defeated dogs, but could indeed be called a bunch of defeated soldiers. Even if the Genetically Modified People have a decent recovery ability and no injuries on their bodies, their weapons won't automatically repair themselves. Even if they brought some ammunition, it still needs time to be replaced.
Just as they were about to find somewhere quiet to take a break, a girl wearing pink and white tight clothes, looking a bit like Deadpool, jumped in front of them:
"Hey, you all doing alright? You're from the Prime Universe, right? The registration spot is over there, don't get it wrong. If needed, I can take you guys there."
"Hmm, hello, m'am." Captain America walked up, shook her hand, and then said, "Registration spot? So all the superheroes coming here must register? Well, it makes management easier in that case. No need to trouble you to take us, just point us in the right direction, thank you."
"No problem, you can call me Gwen. The registration spot is right over there; you'll see the New Warriors Team when you get there."
The Avengers from the Prime Universe followed the direction she pointed and quickly saw some unfamiliar faces: Nightingale and Speedball from the New Warriors Team were registering names, Squirrel Girl was using a computer, and Fungi Man was dozing off to the side.
Seeing people coming over, Speedball immediately stood up and said, "Finally, you're here! You're the only ones left, come over and register."
Saying that, he handed each of them a form to fill out. Aside from writing down their abilities, the form also required them to write down the equipment and supplies they needed. The Main Universe Captain America hesitated for a while and checked everyone's forms separately, making sure everything was correct before handing it over.
"Oh, heavens, your equipment has worn out terribly; you must have just come through a fierce battle?" Speedball said. "Looks like you need to head to the equipment department to get gear first; you may need some customized space combat equipment. Take this registration form, turn right in 200 meters, circle around the flower bed, and you'll see a building with a blue roof. Go there to pick up your equipment. Circle around this building, and there's a hospital and pharmaceuticals department; you need to go there to collect medicine. Across the way is a training room simulating space environments. If you want to use it, you can, but I'd suggest you first take a rest in the accommodation area at the back..."
Robert babbled on, handed each one a stack of documents, indicating the direction they should head.
The Avengers from the Prime Universe hadn't quite figured out what's happening — because usually, their battles don't require such procedures. After a fierce battle, they'd just go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and casually mention it, and ready equipment would be sent over. Even if some things S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't handle, they'd always go find Iron Man; Stark would have a way.
Yet Captain America from the Prime Universe adapted well to this situation and even joked, "This really reminds me of my army days. You wouldn't know, any useless stuff could be bought casually, but useful things required at least ten reports. Even if approved, good things were always issued very slowly. I've heard of someone who had to go to war barefoot due to boots arriving too late..."
Dr. Banner cooperatively laughed, then he said, "Actually, we should've brought more supplies. After all, under such hurried circumstances, the equipment prepared was probably standard issue and might not suit us."
"I wasn't so reliant on equipment. When I first went to war, I didn't use a shield, you know; it looked too strange, making you look like Don Quixote. Back then I was like them, wearing a helmet and army boots, holding a gun charging onto the battlefield; later on, I figured out a set of cold weapon combat methods."
As they spoke, they were already in front of the building with the blue roof. Testing the waters, Captain America from the Prime Universe pushed the door to see if anyone was inside, and to his surprise saw a familiar figure standing by the weapon rack. This moment pulled Captain America from the Main Universe into old memories.
"My god, Howard, what are you doing here?!" Main Universe Captain America incredulously walked over and tightly hugged his old buddy, almost squeezing Howard out like toothpaste.
"Oh, you damned bastard," Howard cursed, "You haven't changed a bit, I warned you not to touch my expensive custom suit! And certainly don't hug me like a drunk grizzly bear!"
"It really is you," Main Universe Captain America said in disbelief, "I thought I was seeing illusions, but I knew there couldn't be anyone else as fussy as you in this world—except for your son."
"Spare me," Howard said, "As soon as there's a whiff of war, you rush in. Alright then, your Shields are on that wall; pick a material you like yourself."
Howard pointed to a nearby rack. It was a giant building resembling a cathedral, with aisles of racks filled with equipment, even floating in the air — though those looked like mage-exclusive weapons.
Stranger still, each rack had a Spider Man perched on it. As Captain America from the Prime Universe approached, he saw the Spider Man from his universe physically "out-debating" all other Spider Mans, jumping onto the rack he was heading to, not forgetting to shout back at the others: "This is our universe's Captain America! I'm supposed to be the one to welcome him! You can't take this from me..."
"Glad to see you've regained your vitality, Spider Man," Captain America from the Prime Universe smiled at him and said, "So where is my weapon?"
"This way, Captain," Spider Man pointed to the rack below him and said, "All your Shields are here, need me to give you an introduction?"
The Main Universe Captain America came around the other side and said, "Aren't they just Shields? What's there to introduce... My God, what are these?!"
"These are shields," said Spider Man, "prepared for different Captain Americas from different universes. We're in the Prime Universe, where everything is more balanced, so I suggest you use the Vibranium-enhanced version."
Spider Man pointed to one of the shields from top to bottom. Main Universe Captain America also noticed the Stars and Stripes Shield hanging right in the middle, which looked no different from the style he usually used, except it was brighter and the metal emitted a subtle sheen, making it look very appealing.
Main Universe Captain America reached out to take the shield from there, and as soon as he held it, he weighed it with some surprise and said: "Why is this thing so light?"
"Because it's hollow," Spider Man excitedly explained to him, "this shield uses a special alloy of Vibranium and Molten Steel from this universe, which reduces the weight while increasing the shield's toughness, greatly reducing the user's burden. Of course, I know this weight is no burden to you, but it has some functions that might be used in space combat."
Main Universe Captain America also noticed some differences at this moment: there were some buttons on the shield's handle, seemingly corresponding to different functions. He reached out and pressed the first one, and the whole shield unfolded in a very complex and elaborate manner, becoming very thin but tripling its original size, pretty much able to cover Captain America completely.
Main Universe Captain America tapped the shield with some concern and said: "It's so thin, can it really withstand impact? Is the cushioning effect still there?"
"Of course, it's pretty much the same as before. This is Howard Stark's latest work, so the quality is undoubtedly guaranteed."
"I didn't expect the shield would have a day of upgrade and replacement," Main Universe Captain America said, shaking his head.
"There's still the most important function you haven't used yet, try placing it on the ground and stepping on it," Spider Man said.
Main Universe Captain America, half-skeptical, placed the shield on the ground, stepped on it like a skateboard, with one foot slightly ahead near the handle, and then discovered that his back foot seemed to press something. With a gentle kick, the entire shield shot out like an electric skateboard.
Fortunately, Main Universe Captain America had good balance, leaning back sharply but stabilized his posture forcefully, even quickly grasping the essence of this surfing, making a big loop inside the armory.
"I knew you were the best! Captain! You're even better at it than them!" cried Spider Man.
"When I was coming, I was thinking about how to solve my power problem in the universe, this thing's pretty handy indeed," Main Universe Captain America looked pretty pleased, he patted the shield after restoring it and said, "Howard sure does have a way."
"There's more, there's more," said Spider Man, "try throwing it."
Spider Man pointed to the other side where there was a shooting field, with two dummies standing in the middle. Main Universe Captain America flung the shield, accurately hitting one of the dummies, but it didn't return, it just hovered there, then suddenly opened up, sending the dummy flying.
"Wow, nice ranged technique," Main Universe Captain America waved his fist. But a more surprising scene occurred: after sending the dummy flying, the shield flickered once and then directly teleported back into his hand.
"This incorporates some magic tech," said Spider Man, "there's a battery compartment behind your handle, with a miniature magic ark reactor and a magic core that can provide around 40 hours of endurance. This gives the shield some magic attributes, allowing it to withstand pure energy attacks and also teleport back to your hand, preventing the shield from being stolen."
"Incredible," Main Universe Captain America really admired it and said, "Is this also Howard's work? He surely keeps up with the times."
Spider Man touched his nose and said: "I'll be honest, you may not like hearing this, Captain, but I have to say—this is the research result of the Main Universe Iron Man."
Main Universe Captain America widened his eyes and said: "Tony?"
"Yes, this universe's Iron Man knows magic, so he applied magic to many mechanical devices..."
"Given he has this tech, I'm not surprised. What surprises me is that he'd be willing to use this tech to create a shield for me."
"Yes, of course. Using Tony's technology comes with some side effects—just you arrived too late and missed him gathering all the Captain Americas to show off for two hours. If it weren't for having to head to the front lines, he might have showed off for two days."
Main Universe Captain America couldn't help but cover his forehead: "Tony is still Tony."