Chapter 71: Beautiful!
"Tony, you're already a grown-up Iron Man, you have to learn to protect yourself!"
Lynch sighed, teasing in a tone like a father scolding his useless son.
Tony, who had narrowly escaped death, took a few deep breaths. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes in annoyance and complained, "Do you always show up at moments like this?"
He knew that Lynch, who had saved him at the last moment, had probably been aware of the big fight here for a while and could have easily dealt with all the trouble. For some unknown reason, however, he hadn't stepped in earlier.
Lynch's face remained calm, with a look of pride as he said, "Heroes always appear at the end."
He wouldn't say that just a minute ago, he was enjoying a romantic time with Natasha.
Lynch, who was also in New York, had noticed the commotion at the Hammer Industries Expo as soon as it started but hadn't intended to interfere.
As he said himself, these trials and setbacks were part of Tony's journey from a selfish, arrogant playboy to a true superhero, Iron Man.
Yes, that was the reason. Any other absurd excuse like "a romantic night is precious" was not something Lynch would admit to.
However, as Lynch and Natasha were reaching the peak of their evening, Natasha's communicator suddenly beeped, almost making Lynch lose control of his strength.
Lynch suddenly remembered that, in the original storyline, Natasha was Tony's assistant and played a significant role during the battle at the Hammer Industries Expo. But…
Since Natasha hadn't joined Stark Industries because of him, Coulson had taken over Tony's assessment mission, and Natasha wasn't at the expo tonight—she couldn't help Tony.
So, Lynch had to step in and rush to the scene at the critical moment to save Tony.
"Hey, watch out!"
Rhodey's sudden shout rang out.
"Whoa—"
War Machine, still in a power struggle with Iron Man, activated its weapon system. A small missile flew towards Lynch, trailing smoke.
Huh?
Not targeting Tony Stark but me?
Lynch was a bit surprised but didn't hurry to deal with it. He just stood still and watched the missile.
In his eyes now, this missile was as slow as a snail. Eventually, Lynch grew tired of waiting for it to fly over and simply stepped forward to grab it.
And then something strange happened.
As Lynch held it in his hand, the small missile made a buzzing noise before stopping altogether, without any sign of an explosion.
Huh?
A dud missile?
Oh, I remember now.
This missile was called "Ex-Wife," the one Hammer Industries installed on War Machine.
No big deal.
What do we call this?
This is called using strength to diss an ex-wife!
Holding the delicate missile, Lynch seemed to hear Justin Hammer's deep, dark curse: "My ex-wife, worth nothing!"
Come on, doesn't everyone have a story?
Don't be fooled by Hammer's clumsiness; he's actually a guy with a story!
"Hammer Industries?" Tony recognized it at a glance.
"Yeah..."
After a moment of silence, Rhodey's dark face turned even darker.
"Rhodey, I'm really sorry."
Lynch tossed the missile aside and walked toward War Machine.
"You can't control that suit, so I'll have to take it apart. Please don't blame me."
Hearing this, Rhodey instinctively tried to run away, but unfortunately, he couldn't control War Machine.
Watching Lynch, who was eager to dismantle the armor, Rhodey was on the verge of tears.
You're sorry? You don't look sorry!
Look at yourself in a mirror—you're smiling from ear to ear!
"No, no, no!"
Rhodey shouted in despair, as War Machine, instead of retreating, charged forward at Lynch.
You're looking for trouble, aren't you?
Oh wait, the person in War Machine isn't the one actually controlling it—it's Ivan Vanko.
So that guy wants me dead, doesn't he?
With no choice, Rhodey shouted a warning to Lynch:
"Lynch, take it easy!"
Lynch heard and looked at him with an odd expression.
Why did that sound so weird?
In a flash, the silver and black War Machine, embodying the aesthetic of mechanical violence, roared through the air, hurtling toward Lynch like a meteor.
And Lynch?
He was just about 6'2'' tall, looked no older than 24 or 25, and was wearing slippers—resembling a young man recently graduated, struggling to find a job and evicted by his landlord.
Anyone seeing this would feel sympathy for the poor guy.
But not Rhodey in War Machine.
"Bang!"
In just a second, the meteor shattered.
Lynch met War Machine head-on, enveloping it in a flurry of movements with both hands.
He didn't need to knock War Machine down with one punch because he'd already learned how to do that when he first arrived in this world, as a "young" Superman.
Now, he had grown, become the teenage version of Superman, and it was time to do something more fitting for his current self.
Like dismantling War Machine by hand because a mech is every man's romance!
So taking it apart made perfect sense, didn't it?
Just like that, when War Machine flew past Lynch, it disintegrated like a clay statue crumbling.
"Aaaah!"
Rhodey screamed in fear as the steel suit disintegrated piece by piece, leaving him in just a tight suit, looking defeated as he hovered in mid-air.
"What on earth just happened?"
He was utterly baffled.
"You can ask Tony to reassemble it for you."
Lynch kindly suggested.
Just then, the sound of flying Iron Soldiers filled the sky.
"Bang, bang, bang—"
Within two minutes, one Iron Soldier after another fell from the sky, staring coldly at the three of them.
"Tony, what time is it?" Lynch suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Tony blinked, then replied, "Three minutes to nine."
Lynch nodded, unsurprised, and gently cracked his neck.
"Do me a favor."
He looked at the surrounding Iron Soldiers and calmly said to Tony.
"What favor?"
"Tell me when it's half a minute to nine—I promised Natasha I'd be back by then."
"...Alright."
With the conversation over, Tony watched as one Iron Soldier after another seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand, twisted into a ball, and then—
Two terrifying beams of red light flared, followed by deafening explosions and shockwaves!
As Tony and Rhodey scrambled to dodge the aftermath, Lynch had already flown to Hammer Industries and grabbed Ivan Vanko, along with his carefully prepared revenge mech and secret weapon.
But in front of Lynch, all this seemed ridiculously childish.
It turned out Ivan and Justin Hammer weren't all that different.
Carrying Ivan, Lynch quickly returned, now with Hammer in his hand too—who he'd just caught on his way.
All this took only 30 seconds, yet the bundle of dozens of Iron Soldiers was still exploding in a massive fireball.
Lynch hovered in mid-air, took a deep breath, then exhaled, releasing a powerful gust of icy wind.
"Whoo—"
The cold wind, mixed with frost, extinguished the flames. In seconds, everything was quiet again.
Dropping the two villains on the ground, Lynch landed lightly.
The two groaned as they hit the ground; Hammer even threw up, making Lynch feel disgusted.
"Tony, I've left them here—I'm off."
Lynch waved to Tony and turned to leave. Natasha was waiting for him.
"Bye, see you tomorrow."
Lying on the ground, Ivan opened one eye slightly as he heard Lynch leaving.
"Oh, by the way."
Lynch, who was already mid-air, turned back to Ivan, who was pretending to be unconscious. A device floated out from Ivan's body.
"All the Iron Soldiers can explode—this is the trigger."
Seeing his last chance at revenge exposed, Ivan finally lost it, jumping up and shouting at Lynch in frustration.
"Still mad?"
Lynch sneered and tossed the trigger back to him.
"Go ahead, try it."
Ivan burst into hysterical laughter:
"Tony Stark, I'll blow your woman to pieces! Let you feel the pain—"
As he spoke in excitement, he pressed the button.
But...
In the dark night sky, colorful fireworks lit up, accompanied by loud bangs, making it clear to all of them that these were the Iron Soldiers that Ivan had intended to use to cause casualties.
With a smirk on his lips, Lynch sneered, "You have no idea what..."
"Lynch, it's nine," Tony's voice cut off Lynch's speech.
"Bye—"
Lynch's voice lingered, but he had already vanished into the night.
In a luxurious Manhattan apartment.
This was one of Lynch's residences, just a rental. Knowing about the coming battle of New York, he had no interest in buying property here—even though money to him was just a number.
Natasha turned around, sensing his arrival as Lynch sneaked in through the window.
"You're late."
The room was dark, with just a trace of moonlight on the bed, accentuating Natasha's bare, radiant form—seductive yet pure.
"Did you see the fireworks earlier?"
Lynch grinned.
"I did."
Natasha smiled as if she knew exactly what Lynch was trying to say.
"Beautiful?"
He landed beside the bed, resting one arm, gazing at the masterpiece of creation before him.
"They were beautiful."
Natasha's smile was as enchanting as the moonlight.
"They were for you."
Lynch leaned in, kissing her soft lips.
After a long while, their lips parted.
The two of them leaned against each other, panting softly. Natasha's beautiful eyes flickered.
Her large eyes stared at Lynch, who was just inches away. Her lips moved slightly:
"Will there be a day when you fly away and never come back?"
Lynch's breath caught, and he blinked twice, saying nothing.
After a long pause, he rolled over, pinning her beneath him, looking straight into her eyes and said:
"No, I will always fly to wherever you are."
[AN- sorry guys, was a bit sick. Will continue to post from now on]
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