49: Second and a half-hand

"What is that? An anti-gravity device made of propellers?"

"Have I suddenly gone back to the Age of Exploration? Why does an aircraft carrier have propellers?"

"We need to completely renovate this fortress!"

Tony had fully entered his zone, his eyes darting around as he pointed at various modules, spouting off ideas for upgrades.

"Um, Replace the energy system with an arc reactor, um, change the anti-gravity propulsion device to clustered energy, enhance the stealth system…"

"And on the deck, I can build an armor storage bay. That way, we can achieve real-time armor deployment…"

"Wait! Tony, hold on!" Seeing Tony take over, Lyon quickly interrupted.

"What? You have other ideas for the upgrades?" Tony now highly valued Lyon's scientific abilities.

"No, I mean, you seem to be misunderstanding something."

"What's that?"

"This fortress—it's not yours yet."

"What? J.A.R.V.I.S. clearly told me you were giving it to me!"

"I said it was a gift for your 40th birthday. Are you 40 yet? You're still a few months away from even turning 39!"

Tony was shocked. "Forty? Are you really going to let this fortress sit idle for more than a year?"

"Of course not. I still have plans for it. The Widow agents still need to use this fortress for now, and besides..."

"So you're giving me a third-hand birthday gift!?" Tony's tone grew serious. "Lyon, what made you so heartless that you won't even give your big bro a second-hand gift? Have I treated you that poorly all these years?"

It was clear he genuinely liked this airborne fortress.

Even though he had spent the entire tour nitpicking and saying he would reluctantly accept the gift, his eyes had been sparkling the whole time.

Like a little boy who had finally gotten the Transformers toy he'd dreamed about for so long.

"Of course not..." Lyon started to respond.

"How about this!" Tony interrupted again. "We split this fortress fifty-fifty until my 40th birthday. Then, even if it's second and a half-hand, you can officially gift it to me!"

Lyon hesitated. "But..."

"Lyon! You can't possibly plan to renovate this entire fortress by yourself, right?" Tony exclaimed, his wide eyes practically boring into Lyon's face.

"..." Lyon, feeling the intensity of Tony's eager gaze, eventually gave in, raising his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. For now, we'll split it—half for you, half for me."

"I'll have the Widow agents stationed here for their missions, task exchanges, and personnel transfers. As long as you don't interfere with their work, you're free to do whatever you want."

Tony's face lit up. "Of course! I promise I won't interfere with those ladies' work!"

"But why do you keep calling them Widows? Did the Red Room specifically recruit widows for training?"

Lyon shook his head. "They were chosen through genetic sequencing from a young age, then sent to the Red Room..."

He briefly explained the dark history of the Red Room.

"Those sick fuckers.." Tony's expression darkened after hearing it. "Training and modifying little girls..."

"First Hydra, then S.H.I.E.L.D., and now the Red Room."

"Beneath the calm surface of this world, who knows how many more evil organizations like this are lurking in the shadows," Tony mused. "Sigh* Introduce me to the girls, will you?"

"And besides, since you're planning to establish a new organization, maybe it's time to give them a new name. You can't keep having a group of young women calling themselves 'Widows' around you, can you?"

"Heh~ That would make you look like some kind of tyrannical medieval lord," Tony teased, showing his usual warm-hearted side.

Lyon nodded. "They'll have a new name in due time."

When the two returned to the deck, the women were still there, basking in the sun and gazing out over the sea of clouds, chatting casually. Their conversations were a bit disjointed, covering every possible topic under the sun.

For these newly freed women, even just sitting like this, with nothing else to do all day, was an immense comfort.

As soon as they saw Lyon approaching, they all stood up and gathered around him. After introductions and some exchanges...

Tony enthusiastically discussed his plans to renovate the fortress.

He even offered to pay the Widow agents responsible for guarding the fortress a salary of $100,000 a month, right up until they were reassigned elsewhere.

However, during their conversation, Tony noticed the women giving him strange looks.

After pressing Lyon several times, he finally found out why — the story of him holding in his pee while in the armor had spread across the fortress, and everyone knew about it.

Soon after, Lyon and Tony quickly bid farewell to the women and left the airborne fortress together.

Tony's departure was partly because he was embarrassed beyond belief and partly because he had to get back and prepare for today's press conference.

If he missed it, Pepper was bound to be mad for quite some time.

Lyon, on the other hand, had had enough sun for the day. He intended to fly straight back to his space capsule to sleep.

By the way, the spaceship's hatch, which had been broken, was finally fixed last week when he managed to haul a new one into place.

When Lyon first woke up, he was overwhelmed with excitement and just wanted to destroy something to test his strength. Unfortunately, the hatch of his space capsule became an innocent casualty. Naturally, he had to repair it himself in the end.

...

Back on the fortress deck, the Widow agents watched enviously as the two men flew away.

"Ou! So cool, they can fly freely like that," Yelena said. "I wonder if one day the boss will make me a suit of armor too. That would be awesome! Just imagine, fire shooting out from your feet, zooming off into the sky!"

Natasha stood nearby, silently staring at the spot where Lyon had disappeared into the clouds.

Yelena noticed her sister's unusual behavior and bumped her shoulder. "Hey, hey! Stop staring. He's already gone. You had the boss all to yourself for hours—haven't you had enough?"

"Hehe.. that's none of your business," Natasha pushed her sister away.

"It is my business!" Yelena stubbornly moved closer again. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "Oh, oh! You two must've… you know, right? How did it feel?"

The other women perked up at the mention of this topic and crowded around, clearly intrigued by the conversation.

"Yeah, Superman's so strong—how does it feel?"

"Tell us!"

"Is it as powerful as a hydraulic machine driving piles? Or as fast as a power drill?"

"We can't handle it! If you don't spill, we're going to die of envy!"

Each Widow agent had turned into a curious little cat, with "curiosity" practically written in their eyes.

Natasha's face turned bashful, and she stretched out her hand, miming a grip in the air: "It's like… flying through the sky… and it never stops… and, so strong."

"Ahhh!!"

"Shit!"

"Natasha, you're so damn lucky!"

"Sob* I wanted him to be mine! My Superman!!"

Once they finally heard what they wanted to hear, the curious Widows completely lost it, with screams and wails echoing all around.

...

Los Angeles, 10 a.m.

Stark Industries Complex.

The press conference began on time.

Pepper stood on stage reading a lengthy speech. It was about a proposal for the rollout of a new energy supply system. However, for now, it was only an initial explanation. The real cooperation would need to be established with various sovereign nations to proceed.

The flashing lights of cameras from the journalists below never stopped, yet they remained quiet until Pepper finished her speech.

They knew they were witnessing a significant event that could potentially change the world. If they performed well, they might one day be remembered for an outstanding article they wrote today, potentially even becoming part of journalism textbooks.

However, after Pepper finished speaking, the anticipated Q&A session did not happen.

Instead, Pepper stepped aside, making room for Tony Stark to take the stage.

"Uh, don't worry, everyone. I'll just say a few words," he said, resting his hands on the podium.

After a brief stir of excitement, the crowd quieted down again, and hundreds of eyes focused on Tony, waiting eagerly for what he would say next.

_________

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