章節 41: Natasha Romanoff
Liam finished his breakfast, contemplating about a plan. Once he had thought about one, he glanced at the time and smirked. "Today's going to be a big day. I can't wait for tonight," he murmured to himself, rising from his seat. "Let's see more of Los Angeles. I'll be back by midday—can't afford to miss such a beautiful hotel staff," he added, smiling slyly. "Is this what love at first sight feels like?"
He left his room, making sure the door closed loudly behind him, took the elevator to the ground floor, and stepped outside. Meanwhile, Natasha Romanoff followed after him when she finished hiding some more bugs in his room.
----
"The target took the bait. He suspects nothing," she reported to Fury. "He mentioned something about a 'big day' today, but nothing specific."
"Good work," Fury responded. "See if you can find out more."
"Understood. He's just left the building; I'll follow from a distance."
After which the call got disconnected.
'He's just a kid dominated by hormones, this will be quite easy.' Romanoff thought.
-----
Liam wandered through nearby shops and visited tourist attractions, seemingly enjoying himself. 'She's probably following me,' he thought, amused. 'She won't just stay in the hotel, but with so many people around, I can't spot her. She's smart, no hostile intent… Guess I'll stick to being more cautious.'
After a few hours of sightseeing, Liam returned to the hotel and went up to his room, where he changed into the new clothes he'd purchased earlier. Humming a tune as he adjusted his appearance, he looked in the mirror and admired his reflection. 'Perfect. Now to open up to her just enough to make this believable.'
He called room service. Minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. Liam opened it immediately, catching the server—a beautiful woman with red hair—by surprise. "Hi, please, come in," he said warmly.
She nodded, appearing 'shy' as she carried the tray in. "Here's your order, sir." She kept her gaze averted.
Noticing this, Liam turned slightly, keeping his eyes on her hands as they quickly tossed a small device somewhere in the room. 'True spy skills,' he mused.
"My name's Liam. May I know yours?" he asked, still looking away.
"Sophia," she replied, her voice soft.
'This really feels like a drama,' Liam thought, internally rolling his eyes.
He thanked her for the food, and as she prepared to leave, he called out. "Wait."
She turned, glancing up briefly before her gaze shifted to the ground.
"Do you… want to join me?" Liam asked, lowering his voice to add a hint of nervousness. 'A masterful performance,' he thought, inwardly grinning.
The woman hesitated. "I don't think my boss would like that."
"I'll talk to him if needed," Liam said hurriedly. "And if he fires you, I've got connections that can help you find a new job."
After a moment, she nodded. "Okay, then."
They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Liam spoke up. "How's your day been?"
"It was good. How was yours?" she asked politely.
"It's been nice. I went sightseeing and picked up a few things. The usual," Liam answered. Noticing her expression shift slightly, he changed the subject. "You know, I'm only here for a week before I have to leave again for quite some time."
He could feel her interest at this but saw she kept her head down.
'Time to toss some bait.' Liam thought.
"There's something beautiful hidden in this world—something like magic," he began. "It was once thought to be a myth, but with all the strange things happening lately, I think it's real."
Her gaze lifted as she had a small laugh. "Magic? I wish there were things like that out there."
"It exists," Liam said quickly, "though it's kept secret by those who know."
"If it did, maybe my mom wouldn't be sick with cancer," she murmured, her smile fading.
"Although I can't help with that," he replied, "I can prove to you that magic exists. Tonight, a rare phenomenon is going to take place in this room. I'll be studying it all week, and if you come by later, I'll show you."
"But you said it was secret," she reminded him.
"For someone as beautiful as you, I'd make an exception any day."
She blushed but looked pleased. "Thank you… but I don't have a shift tonight, so I'm not sure I can come."
"I'll make it worth your while," Liam promised. "Please, come by."
She hesitated, then smiled warmly. "My full name is Sophia Vega. What time should I come?"
"Four-thirty. It should start between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m."
She nodded, then glanced at her walkie-talkie as it started making sounds. "Sophia, where are you? We've got multiple food complaints, get back down here."
"I have to go," she said, tucking the device back. "I'll see you later."
"Perfect." Liam smiled as he watched her leave. 'That's one half of the problem solved. Now, I have to keep her distracted during tonight's fight, forcefully if needed,' he thought, locking the door.
-----
"The target seems to have taken the bait fully," Romanoff reported to Fury. "He's invited me to witness some kind of 'magic event' tonight at 4:30. I request backup in case anything goes wrong."
"Permission granted. Backup's on its way," Fury said.
"Poor kid," she muttered after ending the call. 'Falling headfirst into a trap.'
Hours passed quickly as Liam prepared the room, arranging a romantic table with two glasses of wine, candles, and a fine dinner setup. Finally, at 4:30, there was a knock at the door.
Liam opened it, grinning as he saw her standing there in an nice dress. "Hello, Sophia. You look even more beautiful than before."
She gave a shy smile. "You look quite handsome yourself."
Liam gestured for her to enter. "Please, take a seat. Dinner will be here shortly."
They sat and engaged in small talk, both playing the role of shy, smitten acquaintances. Soon, hotel staff brought out appetizers, and their conversation grew more relaxed, gradually moving into stories about their lives.
After an hour, she asked, "Was this the magical event you mentioned? Or is there more?"
'Time for the cherry on top.' Liam thought, grinning internally.
"You are my magical event," Liam replied, revealing a small jewelry box with a delicate gold necklace.
She looked at it, shocked. "Stop, that's way too valuable!" she protested.
'It's a knockoff anyway.' Liam thought.
"Nothing is too valuable for you," he said, grinning.
Blushing, she accepted the necklace, slipping it around her neck just as her phone buzzed. She ignored it the first time, but when it buzzed again, she excused herself. "I have to take this really quickly," she said.
"Of course," Liam replied as she stepped away.
"It's going smoothly," Romanoff muttered, answering the call. "What do you need?"
"Emergency—backup requested at Stark Industries Headquarters immediately!" came the response.
-----
Very difficult part for me to write (especially since it's my first time writing something like this.) , hope you enjoy this little drama. Next chapter the fun will start. :)
(A.N): It's not difficult to maintain an act if you know the steps a person will most likely take, especially for Liam who has of course already lived a life. I will get into this more the next chapter.
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Also, if todays chapter was not your taste, let me know (also what you didn't like please). In this way I can improve the best.
章節 42: Obadiah
"Emergency! Emergency! Need backup at Stark Industries Headquarters!" Coulson's voice cut through the silence. "Romanoff, we need you to come in."
"Are you kidding? I'm working," Natasha replied, annoyed.
"This takes precedence," Coulson insisted.
"For fuck's sake, Coulson," she muttered, slipping her phone away and putting on a sorrowful expression as she walked back into the room.
Seeing Liam, still seated and smiling, she muttered to herself, "Almost got to the point where I could get more information. Ah, well. There's still a week left to continue."
Liam looked concerned, standing up as Natasha approached. "What happened?"
"It's my mom. Something's come up," she said, voice filled with 'sorrow'.
"Is she alright?" Liam asked.
"She had another episode. I have to go," Natasha said, turning to leave.
"Let me take you to the hospital, then," Liam offered, while summoning Incursio around him.
"No need, I'll go there myself," she replied, not looking back.
Liam cast the Eldritch Constraints spell, creating a whip, and smiled. "What a shame. I was enjoying this farce."
Natasha felt chills go down her spine, she rapidly turned around but it was already too late.
In an instant, the whip wrapped around her legs, binding them together. Liam pulled hard, causing her to fall to the ground.
Caught off guard, Natasha barely registered what had happened. She glanced back and saw Liam in full armor—a massive gray suit with a red spear in his right hand and a sizzling, orange whip in his left.
"What are you doing, Liam?" she asked, her voice filled with 'panic'.
"You can drop the act," Liam said coldly.
"What do you mean, act?" Natasha asked, feigning confusion. "Liam, what's going on? How did you change all of a sudden?"
"I told you to stop the crap. I can't let you assist Coulson right now."
While he spoke, Natasha tossed electric shock pads at him. Liam didn't move as they hit him. "Electricity of this level has no effect on me," he said calmly. Bullets then hit his visor, bouncing harmlessly off.
"Bullets don't work either. You should stop struggling," he warned.
"What do you plan to do with me now?" Natasha asked, visibly frustrated.
"Nothing," Liam replied, crushing her phone in his hand.
"How did you figure it out?" she asked, still bound.
"Not hard, considering the amount of bugs you planted in my room."
At that moment, an explosion rang out from outside.
"You're going to stay quiet and watch the battle with me," he said, dragging her closer and lifting her up. She punched at his visor, but it didn't work, her efforts were useless against his armor. Once things had quieted down, Liam looked down at her.
"Are you done?" he asked.
Natasha didn't respond, taking it as confirmation, Liam used Neontote to create a hole in the wall.
"What are you doing?" Natasha asked.
"We're moving to a place closer to the fight," he replied.
"We are on the 18th floor, how do you want to get there in time? I can show you a shortcut down if you drop me." she said.
Liam smirked, standing at the edge of the hole he had created. "No need, we'll take the fast way down," he said, stepping off the building. Natasha instinctively shot a grappling hook, but he cut the line before it could pull her up. She struggled in his grip, but nothing worked as they fell.
They landed on a 12-story building, then Liam sprinted forward, leaping onto a nearby 10-story building. Finally, he landed on a building just three stories tall, stopping with a clear view of the Stark Industries entrance and roof. Liam set Natasha down, still constrained, and looked down at the street below, to see Pepper exiting Stark Industries.
'Just in time.' Liam noted. Liam could see Iron man still somewhat far away, Pepper's mouth moved as she held her hand at her earpiece. 'She's probably talking with Tony right now.' Liam thought.
The ground started shaking, a massive metal suit clawed itself up from under the ground.
"The Iron Monger." Liam said.
Iron Monger emerged, aiming his machine gun at Pepper. Tony was almost there. Tony's voice called out over his speakers, "Stane!" successfully getting Iron Monger's attention. He turned and opened fire on the approaching Iron Man.
Tony maintained maximum speed, colliding with Iron Monger's waist, and their momentum drove both of them through two walls, crashing onto a highway. They flew through the back of a truck before hitting the ground. Because of the impact from the ground, both suits were pushed away from each other.
Liam watched closely from his spot. 'In the movies, no civilians had been harmed, but this world might be different.' He thought. Romanoff muttered something about helping civilians, but he ignored her, confident they'd survive.
(From here on is the the same fight from movie, this is the last time where there's almost no changes. You can skip until the end if you don't want to reread it.)
Iron Monger picked up a car with a family inside, smirking as he faced Tony. "I love this suit!"
"Put them down," Tony warned.
"Collateral damage, Tony," Obadiah sneered, walking closer.
Tony activated his chest ray, blasting a powerful beam that sent Iron Monger flying into an abandoned car. Tony caught the car, setting it down slowly, though the vehicle sped off, driving over him in because of fear and panic.
The car dragged Tony a few meters before he freed himself, lifting the back up to push it off him. He looked up, only to see Iron Monger charging at him, using his repulsor to jump over a car in his way.
The two stood face to face again. A motorcyclist approached, wanting to speed past them but Obadiah knocked the rider off by picking up the bike and swung the bike at Tony.
The impact sent Tony flying, smashing into an abandoned car, landing right in front of a bus.
Obadiah closed in, stomping on Tony and lifting him up. "For 30 years, I've been holding you up," Obadiah growled, slamming Tony into the ground and stepping on him.
"I built this company from nothing!" He lifted Tony again, holding him above his head before slamming him down into the bus.
Tony head hurt from all the impacts and could barely react. Obadiah took a few steps back and launched a missile, the explosion send Tony flying into the air. Struggling, Tony managed to stabilize his armor and use his repulsors.
"Impressive, Tony, you have upraded your suit," Obadiah said, walking over. "But I've made some upgrades of my own." With that, he propelled himself upward, both suits flying into the sky.
Watching from below, Natasha glanced at Liam. "Why aren't you helping Tony? Obadiah's done countless illegal trades and caused thousands of deaths."
Liam looked at her, noticing the burns on her hands from attempting to remove her bindings. He crouched beside her.
"Interesting how you know about those trades. Let me ask—why has SHIELD let him operate for so long?" he asked. "Besides, someone else will handle him. I'm not needed for this."
In the sky, Tony's suit was barely holding up. "Seven percent power, sir," Jarvis warned.
"Just put it on the screen, stop telling me." Tony replied in frustration, racing to gain altitude.
But he was too late; Obadiah caught up, grabbing Tony by the leg and dragging him down.
"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced than yours in every way!''Obadiah laughed, raising his machine gun.
Tony looked at the frost gathering on Iron Monger's suit and smirked. "How'd you solve the icing problem?"
Obadiah paused, caught off guard. "Icing problem?" His suit flashed warnings as the systems froze.
''Might want to look into it," Tony said, knocking on Iron Monger's helmet. The giant suit let go and started falling towards the ground.
Tony looked at the Iron Monger falling, he heard the warning coming from Jarvis. ''2 percent power.''
Tony began to descend in bursts. ''We are now running on emergency backup power.'' Jarvis said, before crash landing on the roof of Stark Industries.
He slowly stood up and opened his mask, calling out, "Pepper.''
''Oh my god Tony, are you okay?'' He heard over the helmet.
''I'm almost out of power. I got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there." Tony responded.
After saying that he heard a loud thump, Obadiah reappeared, growling, "Nice try," and swung a fist at him.
Tony ducked under the first blow and put up his left hand, he noticed too late that his left-hand repulsor was broken. Obadiah's next punch hit hard, sending him flying backwards.
Tony managed to stabilize himself using his right hand and left leg repulsors, before charging in to land a hit on Iron Monger.
But Obadiah caught him, squeezing Tony.
"Jarvis, status report!" Tony gasped.
"Repulsors offline. Missiles offline," Jarvis replied.
Tony screamed, "Flares!"
The flares activated, blinding Obadiah. Tony used the smoke to hide behind an air conditioning unit.
"Pepper," Tony whispered into his comms.
"Tony,'' she screamed.
"This isn't working. We need to overload the reactor and blast the roof," Tony said.
''how are you going to do that?'' Pepper asked.
"You're going to do it," Tony whispered. ''Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I give you the go, you are going to hit the master bypass button and fry everything up here.''
"Okay.'' Pepper said, as she walked into the Stark Industries building again. ''I'm going in now.''
''Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time,'' Tony said.
Pepper found the circuits and started flipping the switches. Meanwhile, Tony jumped onto Iron Monger's back. ''This looks important.'' Tony said, ripping out wires from its neck. Obadiah blindly grabbed Tony and flung him onto the glass panels above the reactor.
Obadiah opened his suit, grabbing Tony's fallen helmet. ''I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply loving this suit.'' He sneered, crushing Tony's helmet.
Obadiah continued as he walked closer to Tony. ''You finally outdid yourself, Tony. You made your father proud.''
"It's ready Tony! Get off the roof, Pepper shouted.
Obediah broke the glass under Tony, causing him to hang above the arc reactor.
''How ironic, Tony. Trying to rid the world of weapons, yet you gave it its best one ever!'' Obediah laughed. ''Now I'm going to kill you with it.''
''Pepper!'' Tony screamed, after Obediah fired his first missle.
''You ripped out my targeting system.'' Obediah noticed.
Tony shouted down to Pepper,''Time to hit the button!''
''You told me not to!'' Pepper screamed back.
''Hold still, you little prick.'' Obediah said, aiming his arm at Tony as he walked forward.
"Just do it!" Tony shouted.
''You'll die!'' Pepper shouted.
Pepper hesitated, but Tony insisted, "Push it!"
Pepper hit the button, activating the reactor. As Obadiah raised his rocket for a final shot, a red blur pierced through his head and armor. The reactor activated, sending Tony flying through the air. While Obadiah's body stumbled forward and fell, crashing into the reactor below.
-----
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