44: Tony: Are you coming home tonight?

"I seem to have arrived... at the wrong time?" Natasha said, pointing towards the door as both Lyon and Dreykov turned to look at her.

"NATASHA! YOU! You brought Superman here! You damn—"

Slap!

Dreykov, upon seeing Natasha, was consumed by rage and began to curse her. But before he could finish his insult, Lyon slapped the back of his head so hard that Dreykov's skull smashed into the table, and his brain matter splattered everywhere.

"This guy talks way too much—so obnoxious—and with that disgusting demeanor, I couldn't resist giving him a slap."

Lyon wiped the blood that had splattered on him onto Dreykov's clothes.

He glanced at Natasha. "You don't mind that I killed him, right?"

Natasha casually shrugged. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

"But how did you do it? He mentioned something about pheromones."

She walked over to Lyon. "That pheromone prevents anyone from attacking him. We've all experienced it. Why weren't you affected?"

Lyon grabbed Dreykov by the collar, tossed him to the ground, and fired heat vision from his eyes, instantly reducing the mastermind to ashes.

"That pheromone couldn't even last a second inside my body. How could it possibly affect me?" Lyon dusted off his hands, brushing away imaginary dirt. "The guy was just delusional."

"Unless it's some kind of mental or magical control."

'Otherwise, trying to control a Kryptonian who has been soaking up the sun for over half a year? That level of power was far from enough.'

Natasha looked at the pile of ashes that had once been her former superior, her mouth slightly agape.

"Heat vision, huh, yet another miraculous ability."

"I'm getting used to being amazed by the incredible things you show off."

She smiled silently. "So, treasure boy, what's next? How do you plan to surprise me again?"

"But before that, you can tell me how you'd like me to repay you. I'll agree to any terms."

"Natasha, do you realize your tone right now sounds like a thirty-year-old career woman heading to a bar after work, looking for a handsome male model to help her unwind?"

In the room, there was a large screen. Across from it, on a desk, there was an embedded control panel.

Lyon walked over to the desk and began to experiment with the panel.

"If you really want to repay me, why don't you get the Widows to switch over and work for me first?"

"But the first step is to lift the control imposed on the Widows around the world."

"Happy to help." Natasha stood by Lyon's side, watching his actions.

"Let me first check on the situation with the Widows on the Helicarrier."

"Cracking the system and locating the list of Widows worldwide is up to you, alright?"

"That's easy," Lyon said confidently, but as soon as he spoke, a red interface popped up on the screen, prompting for palm print recognition to unlock.

"Palm print recognition?"

Lyon tried several times but couldn't bypass it.

'And the fucker is now turned into ash..'

"...Seems like I was a bit too hasty earlier. Maybe I should have kept Dreykov alive a bit longer."

He then pulled out his phone. "But I still have J.A.R.V.I.S. He can handle this system."

Lyon connected his phone to the control panel using a data cable, and soon J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice filled the room through the speakers.

"Master Lyon, Mr. Stark asked me to inquire if you'll be home tonight?" J.A.R.V.I.S.'s first words were explosive.

A dark line appeared on Lyon's face. "No, tell him not to mess around while I'm not home, or I'll have Pepper push him to get back to work tomorrow."

"Very well, I'll relay your message to Mr. Stark."

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice paused for a moment before continuing, "He also asked me to remind you, if you're not coming home tonight, to take precautions and be careful not to get tricked by bad girls."

Lyon smacked his own face with his hand. "He should worry about himself first. That childish old man still thinks I'm just a kid. Come on, when I was three, I was more mature than him."

"Pfft~ ahem..." Natasha couldn't help but laugh.

Lyon shot her a deadly glare, and Natasha tucked her red hair behind her ear, avoiding his gaze.

"Next time, I'll introduce you to that childish Stark. You'll definitely find him boring too," Lyon muttered.

He turned, ready to have J.A.R.V.I.S. begin hacking the Red Room's system.

But suddenly, he felt a soft touch against his cheek, gone in an instant.

When he looked over, Natasha had already backed up to the door, waving her hand. "Honestly, knowing one childish Stark is enough for me."

With that, Natasha ran off, disappearing around the corner outside the door.

Lyon stood there, stunned. "Another childish one?"

At that moment, J.A.R.V.I.S., who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up, "Congratulations, Master Lyon."

"Congratulations for what?" Lyon asked, puzzled.

"Congratulations on finding your fourth girlfriend."

J.A.R.V.I.S. said, "Your previous three girlfriends only lasted half a month before they broke up with you, all thanks to the checks issued by Mr. Stark."

"I hope this time you can have a lasting relationship."

Lyon's memories were stirred. He closed his eyes in frustration. "Isn't that because Tony is always convinced I'll get swindled, emotionally and financially? He keeps saying things like 'keeping it physical is enough!'"

"Every time I just start dating someone, after a few nights together, he waves his checkbook!"

"Damn it, he's killing my youth!"

"But the facts show that those girls were indeed after your money," J.A.R.V.I.S. sided with Tony.

"Mr. Stark merely did what Ms. Pepper normally does for him."

Lyon pouted. "It's always a million-dollar check—who wouldn't take the payout and leave?"

"So, do you plan to stop Mr. Stark from paying the breakup fee this time?"

"No need, because Natasha and I were never going to be together anyway."

Lyon glanced at the corner of the room, where Natasha was still hiding, eavesdropping.

"But your relationship seems to be progressing smoothly," J.A.R.V.I.S. couldn't comprehend the complexity of emotions.

Lyon shook his head. "It's different."

He explained, "From the beginning, I knew that what Natasha needed wasn't love but a sense of belonging."

"She grew up in an environment steeped in tragedy."

"Her foster parents were undercover agents posing as a couple, so any notion of family was just an illusion."

"When that fake family was dismantled, she was sent to the Red Room for training and transformation."

"The painful training and grueling assassin career left her with no sense of identity."

"She's like a drifting leaf, floating aimlessly in a vast sea."

"And what that drifting leaf truly lacks is a shore to land on and take root."

"The shore should have other leaves too—perhaps all unsteady, but together, bustling and full of life."

"The shore, really, is a place of belonging. It's not a person, but a family with brothers and sisters."

"So Natasha doesn't need a lover; she needs a place where she feels like she belongs."

"We won't be together."

Lyon, who understood Natasha's past and future, was well aware.

Natasha, of course, would have people she liked and close friends.

But she would always maintain an appropriate distance from everyone.

That sense of detachment was her disguise to protect herself.

It was also what she relied on to maintain her relationships.

Thud!

Suddenly, a sound of something falling came from outside the room, followed by the chaotic sound of footsteps gradually moving away.

Clearly, Natasha, having been seen through, had panicked and hurriedly left.

"Master Lyon, Miss Natasha was just outside," J.A.R.V.I.S. reminded him.

"I know," Lyon nodded.

"You understand her so well—is it that you like her but don't dare get closer?"

"My dear J.A.R.V.I.S.! What you're describing is something only Tony would do. I only admire Natasha."

"So, you're not planning on being with her?"

"My relationship with her can be simple. For example, we could just have heartfelt conversations late at night."

Jarvis: "Based on Mr. Stark's behavioral logic, late-night heartfelt conversations tend to turn into noise-making activities."

"That's one way to put it."

_____

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