Natasha lingered in the garden.
She wasn't really interested in the garden at Rodrix Manor; she just wanted to hold Pamela back.
In her view, of those likely to fall for Shiller's bait, Pamela was the most dangerous because she was the youngest and her obvious excitement was abnormal.
It's well known that taunting and flirtation are adults' games. Immature teenagers are restrained from such acts by laws and morals. The primary reason is that if they act impulsively, the progression of events will undoubtedly be far more disastrous than that of adults.
A hot-blooded teenager won't care about laws, morals, or even human limitations. They would do whatever they want, ready to rage at any point, acting like volatile ticking bombs.
So although Natasha was worried about Strange, Loki, and herself, they were all, after all, adults. Even if something happened, it would just be like her previous encounter with Shiller. At most, they would both die.
But if Pamela really took action, things wouldn't be that simple. This beautiful girl, whose mind was boiling, obviously had strong powers. If Shiller intended to put her on the chopping block, the commotion they would cause might level the entire street or even the whole city.
So Natasha sharply realized that her primary task at the moment was to single out Pamela.
Her idea was good, and her measures extremely effective, as Pamela couldn't resist such a beauty. With Black Widow's charm fully engaged, the only thought left in Pamela's mind was—searching for the nearest bed.
Unfortunately, nothing is scarier than a pig-like team mate. Just as Natasha was chatting with Pamela about her college life, she heard Nick's voice in her earpiece.
"Thor called me again. He demanded his brother emails him right now. Hurry up and find Loki. It would be impolite if he is late."
Natasha couldn't tell Nick right now that she had only seen Loki's blood. Because if Nick sent someone to find Loki, it would probably irritate Shiller, and if she was distracted for investigation, no one would manage Pamela.
So all she could do was to press the mini-device in her palm subtly to reply to Nick, asking him to calm down. But before two minutes had passed, Natasha saw Coulson peeking on the porch.
Natasha really wanted to shake Nick's water-filled head, but when she considered that almost nobody else in their universe except her could realize Shiller's danger, she knew she could not waste even a second cursing Nick.
Natasha smiled at Pamela and said helplessly, "My colleague is in charge of the security for this banquet. He seems to be having some problems. I need to leave for a moment, not more than a minute, if you won't mind…"
"Go. I'll wait here for you. Beauties always have privileges." Pamela mimicked Shiller's words
Natasha turned around with a calm appearance, not forgetting to smile at Pamela. However, she had already mentally cursing a hundred times.
"Don't come to the backyard!" Natasha urged Coulson, gritting her teeth.
"What's wrong? Who is that little girl? She looks familiar."
"That's Pamela Ashley. It doesn't matter who she is. My plan has reached a critical stage. Don't ask what plan it is. Find a way to send Nick away. Also, help me watch out, don't let anyone enter the garden."
Coulson was confused, but Natasha had always been mysterious. He didn't ask anything else. Watching Natasha's retreating figure walking into the garden, he shook his head and left to do his own business
As soon as Natasha returned, she noticed Pamela looking up at the main building of the manor. She looked in the same direction and was surprised to see Shiller talking to Stark on the balcony of Shiller's bedroom.
Upon closer examination, she noticed that this Stark was not the one she knew. She was sure it wasn't him because even though they had arrived at the manor and the banquet hadn't officially started yet, Stark had specifically asked Cobblepot for a resting room to take care of Pepper. So he wouldn't appear in public.
This Stark was in a more garish suit, with both hands resting on the balcony, seemingly arguing with Shiller passionately.
Natasha saw a vine climbing up under the balcony, obviously Pamela was eavesdropping. She also didn't want to miss this chance. She adjusted the shoulder strap of her skirt and under this action, a nearly invisible nano eavesdropping drone flew to the side of the balcony at high speed and attached itself to the wall.
Stark stood in front, with his arms spread open on the balcony, almost blocking the entire balcony. Shiller was standing behind him, steeped entirely in shadow from the room.
"Multiple personalities? Dissociative identity disorder? How do you expect me to believe all this nonsense? Is a psychiatric disorder your excuse for evading our connection?"
"I'm afraid my profession doesn't allow me to do so." Shiller's voice was low and slow, and came from afar when transmitted through electronic equipment.
"This is your answer all the time." Stark nodded, "Evading the topic, never answering any question directly."
"I'm sorry." Shiller replied, "But I'm still glad you were invited to this banquet."
Stark pursed his lips. He eventually turned back, staring at Shiller's eyes, "Since you have so much confidence in your professional degree, why don't you analyze me?"
"Because I feel sorry for you, that's why I won't do it." Shiller gently shook his head, lowered his eyes, the darkness of the room intensified the shadows under his eyelashes, and the window to his soul was completely closed, revealing no emotions.
"If I use psychoanalysis as a weapon, no one could resist it. On the contrary, you would open your hearts and search for the truth from me, but by the time the blade pierces, it would be too late."
"Do you think I'm the type of person who avoids reality?" Stark's emotion was clearly agitated, reflected even through the tremor in his voice, a hint of hysteria.
"The one avoiding issues is not me, but you." Shiller put one hand on the door frame, looking at Stark and said: "Obviously, the biggest problem you are facing right now is not our relationship, but you are using this to blur other issues, do you really still want to entangle yourself with this?"
"Just that the other problems simply refuse to give me a chance to solve." Stark snorted coldly, then turned away contemptuously, "They huddle together, priding themselves on justice. I didn't expect your answer to be so mediocre, 'communication is the only way to solve the problem', huh?"
"I've told you, you don't want another stab." Shiller stepped forward and put a hand on Stark's back, not looking at him, but staring at the ivy in front of the window, "Your blood is nearly dried up."
For that, Stark appeared to have completely collapsed, like a falling fort, crushing from the inside, gradually collapsing to the outer edge, constricting, recoiling.
"It's all because of you." Stark tightly gripped the railing of the balcony, teeth clenched, staring at Shiller.
Shiller did not say anything like 'you were bound to appear', he simply said: "For this very reason, you were invited."
Shiller walked to Stark's back, but by this time Stark had no confidence to give his back to anyone else, he turned around somewhat hurriedly, leaning his body backwards, his waist tightly against the railing, staring at Shiller's face.
The distance between them was not far, probably only half a step, Stark believed he had made the worst decision in his life. He walked in at his weakest moment, only to find that those waiting for him weren't understanding and helpful friends and family, but a beast that was far more horrifying trouble than his original cosmos.
"Tell me first, what happened to you."
Just as Stark was about to speak, Shiller added: "Of course, this is not a necessary process for psychoanalysis, but I think you may need to talk, and I'm willing to listen."
Stark looked away.
"I guess you can imagine, huh? The group of superheroes united to deal with me. After all the disasters, it was inevitable."
"The new city, a fusion of New York and Gotham, was reduced to ruins. After that, the mages found that some of the building fragments emitted an unusual power, a dark and elusive force."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. also obtained the same fragments, and more deadly, the Osborn Group got samples. This was not difficult, was it? The ground is full of experimental material."
"And that idiot Osborn claimed it was all my conspiracy. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation all supported his view, and the Congress also needed someone to take responsibility for all the disasters."
Stark took a deep breath, closed his eyes, eyelids constantly shaking, seemingly not wanting to recall, and then he spoke.
"Three days after the disaster ended, the world focused on New City, public outrage, public opinion boiling, I was arrested on the morning of the fourth day, being charged with 162 crimes including human extinction, and I did not resist."
New City, the Special Criminal Detention Cell at the FBI Headquarters, 10:00AM.
"Tell me, how is she doing! Tell me!!!"
Stark clung to the railings, roaring at the outside. He looked pale, his hair was disheveled, and his clothes were covered in scratches and dust, clearly not having had a chance to groom himself since the end of the war.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Stark, Miss Pepper Potts developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the war. The last few hours of desperate fighting were too brutal and had significantly affected her mental state."
"Where's the doctor? Where's the doctor from Stark Group?!"
"For investigation purposes, temporarily no doctors can serve the Stark Group. However, for humanitarian considerations, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the FBI still allow Miss Potts to receive some medical aid during the investigation."
"She's hurt and in a pretty bad state right now. You assholes, get her to the hospital!! You promised me!!"
"Please don't get too emotional, Mr. Stark, your interrogation hasn't started yet. You should understand, every word you say here could potentially be adverse evidence against you in court, and right now probably not many lawyers are willing to see you."
Stark clinched the rail, closing his eyes. He lowered his head in some kind of breakdown, his other hand resting on the desk, slowly clenching into a fist. Then he said, "I want to see Captain America."
"I'm afraid that's impossible, sir. You have been diagnosed by doctors from the Elderly Association Hospital in New York as having serious manipulation tendencies, this is why you're being held in a special cell. To ensure the fairness of the court evidence, you currently don't have the right to meet and communicate with anyone except lawyers."
Boom! Stark slammed his fist on the table, but the guard only warned, "You better not have any violent behaviors, otherwise you might be put in a stricter cell. We'll have the right to impose physical and pharmaceutical restrictions on you... "
"Why didn't you resist?" Shiller's question gradually brought Stark back to reality.
He was silent for a long time, but finally said: "For Pepper."