Chapter 35: 35: The Female Agent Under the ...Bed
This time, Coulson didn't answer immediately.
He thought carefully for a few seconds. "I don't think there's any need to suppress Superman."
"And the reason?" Nick Fury, expressionless, stared at the video of Lyon emerging unscathed from the raging fire.
"Even though Superman has only appeared once, and in a very forceful manner by destroying an Eagle military base and ordering a retreat," Coulson began, sharing his understanding, "he didn't harm any innocent people during the process."
"His intentions are very clear, and he even takes the initiative to help oppressed, weaker groups."
"All the local civilians who have interacted with him have an extremely positive impression of him and are deeply grateful."
"So, when you evaluate him comprehensively, he seems more like a benefactor or a judge, with a fairly strong moral compass and a strict adherence to it."
"So.. Faced with such a person, if we were to suppress him, it would likely provoke a strong backlash, creating significant conflict and causing the situation to spiral out of control."
Nick Fury nodded in agreement. This was something he had been pondering over for the past few days.
When dealing with someone as morally principled as Superman, the best approach is to show goodwill.
However, what Fury despises most is this feeling of being things out of his control.
So, even though he had already figured out the best way to deal with Superman...
But he still couldn't resist the urge to defeat or subdue the opponent, bringing him fully under control.
"What if—just hypothetically—if our power was enough to easily defeat him? Do you have any other suggestions?" Nick Fury speculated that if Captain Marvel intervened, she could surely crush this so-called Superman with overwhelming force.
Coulson fell into deep thought again. After carefully considering, he still shook his head. "I still think we shouldn't take action."
"Why not?" Nick Fury frowned, the muscles on his dark face bunching up.
"We haven't fully understood Superman's true abilities yet, Director. If he's really like the Superman in the comics, growing stronger just by being exposed to sunlight..." Coulson took a deep breath. "Then once we take action, unless we kill him, we might face an enemy who grows increasingly stronger and becomes more unpredictable."
"Is that what you believe?"
Nick Fury stared intently at the Superman on the screen, as if trying to peer inside and understand who this person truly was.
The room was silent for a few seconds.
"…I have to admit, you're probably right, Coulson."
"Alright, your mission is concluded. From now on, coordinate personnel to keep an eye on Superman's whereabouts. When he shows up again, try to make contact and bring him in." Nick Fury finally gave the order.
He placed the pager back into the drawer and reminded Coulson, "And remember! Control the online narrative. It shouldn't be overwhelmingly positive or negative; we can't risk provoking this Superman's ire."
"Yes, Director!" Coulson dutifully picked up his files and tablet, leaving without a trace of dissatisfaction over being assigned yet another mission.
Perhaps this is what they call the legendary "innate worker's spirit."
Once Coulson had closed the door behind him, Nick Fury leaned back in his chair and turned to look out the window.
He pulled out a Superman comic from a nearby shelf, casually flipped through a few pages, and then tossed it back onto the desk.
"The world… is no longer peaceful. That plan needs to be accelerated. And regarding agents, we only have one female Level 7 agent. That's not enough..."
...
Beep beep!
Jarvis's gentle reminder indicated that it was time to end another intense sunbath.
Lyon, feeling a bit bored, pressed a button inside the spaceship, opened the hatch, and then listlessly returned to Earth.
Recently, his power had been growing at an increasingly rapid pace.
While sunbathing, every cell in his body felt like it was rocketing forward, the invigorating sensation making it hard for Lyon to stop.
Unfortunately, experiments to test the limits of his body required controlling variables.
So, over the past month, the time Lyon spent absorbing solar radiation in space had been fixed.
Otherwise, he felt he could even stay out in space indefinitely—wherever there was sunlight, that's where he could call home.
In just over a dozen seconds, he was back at his luxurious mansion on the Los Angeles coast.
Lyon pushed open the door and glanced at the time displayed on the electronic screen on the wall.
"It's only four in the afternoon. Tony probably won't be back until seven or eight."
"After finishing the strength tests, I'll just have dinner by myself."
He muttered to himself, setting his plan for the rest of the evening.
Then, he walked back to his room, intending to change into some comfortable loungewear.
But after taking just a few steps, he suddenly stopped, his right foot still suspended in mid-air.
"Hmm? Tony..? You're back this early today?"
'Hmm..' Lyon's ears twitched; he had just inadvertently heard a second heartbeat in the room.
It's important to note that he constantly suppressed his super hearing, usually only hearing what he wanted to hear.
The sudden intrusion of a heartbeat meant that the person was already very close to him.
So close that even with his suppressed super hearing, Lyon could clearly discern a strong, steady heartbeat pulsing rhythmically.
He waited a few seconds, but as expected, there was no response from Tony.
Although Tony often ignored people when he was deep into his experiments, this time felt different.
Because this heartbeat was coming from Tony's room, but it didn't have the same weak, fatigued vibe that Tony usually had.
Lyon narrowed his eyes slightly. Instead of asking JARVIS, he activated his X-ray vision directly.
The world quickly became transparent, layers of barriers gradually fading away.
Lyon's perspective seemed to transform into that of a ghost, sneaking into Tony's room, passing through the massive, soft, warm bed, and he saw—
'Natasha?'
Lyon's expression became strange. 'What is she doing here? And why is she hiding under Tony's bed…'
Under Tony's three-meter-wide bed, in a space of no more than thirty centimeters high, lay a woman with a graceful figure.
Her shoulder-length, wine-red hair was damp and spread out on the floor, her eyes were closed, and her hands rested at her sides as she breathed steadily, like a sleeping beauty.
But considering she was lying on her back under the bed, the scene made it look like Tony's bed had grown a comatose person underneath it.
Lyon was a little unsettled.
Coming home to find the famous Black Widow hiding under his brother's bed—this was just too much to handle.
Why wasn't she hiding under his bed instead? It's enough to make one envious... no, actually, it's enough to make one shudder!
Lyon couldn't make sense of it.
Even if Tony had gone all out and revealed his identity as Iron Man to the military and the political and business communities, that shouldn't have led SHIELD to immediately send Natasha to hide under Tony's bed.
Was this a kidnapping attempt? Or was she planning to climb into bed and engage Tony in battle in the dead of night?
Lyon didn't recall SHIELD female agents engaging in such low-level infiltration tactics.
"JARVIS, has anyone visited the house after I left today?" After considering his options, Lyon decided to ask JARVIS first.
"No, Master Lyon, after you left, I sealed all the entrances," JARVIS responded.
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