Chapter 66: A Tempting Offer

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"Helping other people is the best way to make up for your mistakes."

- Kenshin Himura, (Rurouni Kenshin)

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< (Atem POV) > 

"All in a day's work," I muttered with a pleased smile as the last of the Iron droids were taken into custody by Hammer Industries for 'immediate disposal' before Shield or the army could get a chance to get involved in this mess. After all, there was no way I was going to let any of those guys get even a quarter mile near this tech. 

"Sir, our clean-up crew has finished retrieving Ivan Vanko's body. Shall we proceed with triggering the explosion to erase any remaining evidence?" Zoya's telepathic message reached me.

"Yeah sure, go ahead. Ensure that all remnants of his armor and the arc reactor's technology are thoroughly eliminated. Investigations into the subject should yield nothing but charred remains and scrap metal," I replied through our telepathic link as I watched the cops and ambulances finally reach the scene while the victims and their families tried to recover from what might be the worst nightmare of their lives. 

Observing the chaos unfolding in New York City within the Marvel universe, I couldn't help but cynically think to myself that such incidents would soon become commonplace in this bustling metropolis. It even seemed to me, that today's events might actually serve as valuable training for the inhabitants of the city who are soon going to face much worse disasters and situations than this.

"Hey, Mr..." Descending from the sky encased in his iconic red and golden armor, Tony Stark hesitated momentarily, probably failing to recall my name. "I'll just stick with 'sugar baby' for now," he quipped with a casual tone, before expressing his gratitude. "By the way, thanks for today. For a moment there, I almost feared I wouldn't make it," He confessed, his gaze drifting towards Pepper Potts engaged in what looked like a professional conversation with news reporters nearby.

"I don't know what I would've done if I lost someone close to me again. So really, you have my genuine thanks. You did me a solid two times now, which is something because I generally don't accept favors." A successive nervous chuckle escaped him as he attempted to lighten the mood with humor after realizing that he might be showing his emotional side to an outsider. "Guess this incident will leave me with one hell of a case of PTSD, won't it?"

"Don't fret over it, Tony. I simply did my part to advance my vision to build a more peaceful world, as we discussed in that video conference. You recall that, don't you?... "And you may call me Atem. That's my true name, well at least the name everyone likes to use." I revealed.

"Atem? Like the so-called God King, those zealots in Neo Genosha rave about?" Tony chuckled, seemingly dismissing any connection between the names as merely a coincidence.

"Exactly like that," I confirmed, maintaining my enigmatic smile.

"... Shit, you are the same guy, aren't you?" The genius billionaire asked with a tired sigh, his weariness evident in his voice.

"Yep." 

"...Would it make a difference if I said I didn't mean any offense by my previous words, or should I brace myself for some hired guns come tomorrow?" he asked, half-jokingly.

"HAHAHA. As much as I appreciate the humor, Tony, I assure you, I'm not foolish enough to entertain such notions, especially with someone who most probably possesses an entire army of highly advanced weaponized armors and other such high-tech weaponry." I quipped after having a hearty laugh.

"Don't act like you don't have parts of my technology as well. The Badassium I designed; one of your researchers hinted at the idea of it hiding in one of my father's smart city project models even before that wannabe pirate came and locked me up. Even if you don't have my exact armor designs, I am sure that your company at least knows how to make the basic version of the arc reactor, doesn't it?" Tony guessed, not knowing that his estimation was closer than what he would like it to be.

His mention of one of my researchers giving him a hint about Badassium even before Nick Fury caught me slightly off guard. But it wasn't enough to surprise me. So, Forge had indeed delivered on the task I assigned him. I made a mental note to reward him accordingly – perhaps a promotion or increased funding.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Tony," I replied evenly. "Meta Enterprises focuses primarily on investment banking, internet ventures, and technology. While we did invest in your energy endeavors, direct involvement in the energy sector isn't our forte. Regardless, I must excuse myself now. My absence for quite some time has a crowd of people waiting for me, and I need to attend to them before they get impatient and start getting violent." I jested. "Let's schedule a meeting later to delve further into our business interests and ongoing collaboration." I ended our conversation with a respectful nod at him which he returned before I headed towards the woman who had been hiding till now, trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.

"Natalie Rushman, right? Vanessa told me about your amazing skills and performance in the company. But I have to say with what you did today, I am more than just impressed." I praised her courage. "Tell me, as just an ordinary woman, were you not afraid of what could have happened there? What motivated you to take a gamble on your life and try to infiltrate the HQ of Hammer Industries without any... meaningful backup? Even most men don't have as big balls as you to do what you did today." I asked before taking a quick mental scan of the place to make sure that Tony's bodyguard Happy Hogan wasn't listening to our conversation. The man had the ego of a child, and I didn't want to make him cry by insulting him in the open.

"Oh umm..., h-hello sir. N-Nice to meet you too. I am a big fan of yours." Natasha slightly bowed her head, doing her best to act like a normal girl who was suddenly taken aback by the charm of her handsome boss as she subtly gave me a once over, her eyes lingering on my abs for a few seconds longer than necessary.

"I-I did what I did to try and stop the Iron drones from doing more damage as well as aid the ordinary civilians that were caught in their onslaught." She started while carefully observing the expressions on my face to gauge my reaction.

"But of course, the most important reason of all was that I wanted to see if I could somehow procure Hammer Industries' Iron droid and Arc Reactor technology for Meta International before the government could intervene, which I, unfortunately, failed at." She lied flawlessly without batting an eye. "Moreover, I thought that I would be helping the company if I could eradicate any incriminating data linking Meta International to the attack before the government got involved. After all, the company's aversion to negative publicity is common knowledge... I am sorry if I made a mistake." The femme Fatale concluded, offering a seductive bow that accentuated her curves, displaying her bountiful assets through the slit in her dress. 

It seemed that Natasha had assumed the role of a devoted corporate employee, feigning admiration for her superior in the form of a crush and could do absolutely anything to rise through the corporate ranks which even included the possibility of having an affair and sleeping with her boss—a tactic, though clichéd, was immensely effective in ensnaring young, arrogant CEOs such as myself. 

Now, I could easily play the part of a disinterested person who was not at all moved by her charms as most of the asexual protagonists from those Chinese fanfictions do after reincarnating in a world like Marvel or DC... but what was the fun in that? If she was offering herself up to me on a silver platter, who the fuck was I to say no to that?

"Oh, it appears that you are quite a remarkable and dedicated employee, aren't you?" I remarked with a lecherous smirk. "I think I can use someone as talented and ambitious as you. You were Vanessa's secretary before, right? Well, from now on, you will be working for me instead as my personal secretary attending to matters of a more... intimate nature," I declared, while placing my hands on her ass to give it a rub, relishing the opportunity she presented.

Initially, I anticipated resistance from her given the portrayal of her character in the movies. However, in the very next moment, she surprised me. Rather than removing my hands from her ass or distancing herself from me, she subtly pressed her bubble butt further into my palms, allowing me to feel the softness of her form.

'Well, I guess that should be expected considering how she was raised from birth as a Russian super-spy, trained to employ any means necessary, including her sexuality, to accomplish her missions at all costs.' I thought to myself while pondering if all the other Widows also shared similar traits as her.

Based on intelligence gathered from my own spy network, including sources like Mystique within Shield, as well as intel provided by Zoya following her successful digital infiltration of key Shield installations, including bases like the Heli-carrier, it became evident that Fury had dispatched his most skilled operative, the Black Widow, on a mission aimed at surveilling me and extracting any important information that could be useful for them against me.

This decision, influenced by advice from his mentor Alexander Pierce, indicated that the Black Widow wasn't merely a pawn of Shield but an unwitting conduit for Hydra's interests as well. Both factions relied on her for intelligence about me, yet unbeknownst to them both, they had just effectively handed over one of their best weapons straight into my hands. So, it was my duty to express my heartfelt thanks to them by using her to the best of my capabilities.

At that time, Fury remained oblivious to the immense remorse that he would experience for deploying his best and most premier agent into the clutches of a voracious adversary like him.

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