Two more months passed.
The final remnants of HYDRA on Earth were wiped out by the Men in Black.
Not only their "surface-level" forces but even the deeply hidden AI Zola and the scattered groups attempting to resurrect HYDRA's origin, "Hive," were ferreted out by Lyon and taken down by the girls.
Now, even if Lyon extended his super hearing to the limit, he couldn't hear any real HYDRA agents conspiring in secret anymore.
Of course, plenty of people still claimed to be HYDRA and committed crimes in its name.
But such individuals were more of a problem for local law enforcement than for superpowered intervention, leaving Lyon with nothing to worry about.
For now, HYDRA had been completely annihilated.
Lyon and Tony had avenged their families.
They had broken the knives that killed their loved ones and severed the heads of their murderers. All the anger in their hearts was buried alongside HYDRA's corpses.
On this rainy day in Los Angeles, Lyon and Tony stood side by side under a black umbrella before the graves of Howard and Maria Stark.
The two moved in unison, placing white bouquets beside the gravestone.
After a long silence, they each wiped the inscriptions on the gravestone before leaving the cemetery together.
Tony couldn't even remember the last time he had come to visit the graves.
Lyon, however, visited every year.
He understood Tony.
Whenever Tony looked at the gravestone of Howard and Maria Stark, guilt would well up within him. He'd become angry at himself, feeling unworthy of standing there.
But today, Tony remained unusually calm.
Lyon thought to himself that he had been right all along—Tony had grown up suddenly, right at this moment.
Looking back over the past seven months from Tony's perspective, he truly had been through more than enough.
He had narrowly escaped death in Afghanistan.
Returned home only to be betrayed by his uncle, Obadiah.
Then single-handedly resolved the threat of the Ten Rings in the Middle East.
He even went on to save an alternate world that was almost destroyed by his brother, becoming Superman in the process.
Later, he finally came to understand the genuine love his father, Howard, had for him.
In the end, he destroyed the mastermind behind his parents' deaths—Hydra.
The past seven months had been more eventful and colorful than all of Tony's previous 38 years combined.
Through these events, Tony truly saw himself clearly, found what he wanted to do, and achieved inner peace.
If this were a movie, his character arc would have been fully developed by now.
The story could end here with a perfect conclusion.
The end credits and soundtrack could start rolling.
"I've decided to develop the Avengers," Tony said as they walked away. "What about you? What's your plan going forward?"
"I've already told you," Lyon replied casually, though his goal was clear. "To become stronger, keep getting stronger, and enjoy the process of growing stronger."
He tilted the umbrella slightly and looked up at the sky, where billions of raindrops fell into his eyes, resembling the myriad beings of the world.
"I want to see the highest view, converse with all that exists above, chat casually with the First Firmament, call Eternity my friend, and have the Beyonders refer to me as their equal."
Lyon continued walking forward. "I guess you could call that my ultimate dream."
"Huh?" Tony looked utterly baffled. "Who are you even talking about?"
…
A few days later, Lyon packed his bag, ready to leave New York.
He had everything arranged and was about to embark on his journey to Kamar-Taj.
The MIB's current task was to take over the various Hydra bases.
They were also responsible for returning kidnapped children and other "experimental subjects" found in the bases to their respective families.
Just handling this would keep them busy for a month or two.
Meanwhile, Sherry was practically becoming Natasha and Yelena's adopted daughter. With the sisters looking after her, Lyon didn't need to worry.
On the business side, the network company was being managed flawlessly by Natasha.
The superhero management company run by Yelena was also thriving.
Since news spread about the MIB working under Superman, their superhero company received full green-light permissions across all domains from countries worldwide.
Hundreds of company branches were successfully established.
Previously, companies worldwide exploited the challenges of enforcing international copyright laws, selling pirated merchandise of Iron Man and Superman.
But now, most of those knockoffs had vanished without a trace.
On the surface, only the superhero management company remained, exclusively operating official merchandise for the two superheroes.
Rumor had it that Yelena was planning to produce a movie titled Superman vs. Iron Man to further boost the IP's popularity.
Even Tony had gotten involved, acting as a part-time scriptwriter.
The plot revolved around Iron Man misunderstanding Superman's intentions and inventing kryptonite to defeat him.
In the film's climactic battle, Superman, weakened by kryptonite, called out for his mother, Maria, in desperation.
Coincidentally, Maria was also the name of Iron Man's mother.
This realization struck Iron Man, making him see Superman as a living, breathing human being rather than just an alien.
The two immediately put aside their differences, made peace, and went on to form the Avengers together.
When Lyon read the script, he nearly lost control of his facial expressions from sheer disbelief and promptly demanded a rewrite.
Speaking of Tony…
Lyon couldn't help but feel a little concerned about this guy.
The real Ten Rings' agreed deadline was approaching.
By his calculations, it should be tomorrow or the day after.
So, before departing on his journey, Lyon flew back to the beachside mansion in Los Angeles to check on things.
But as soon as he stepped into the Stark mansion, from the entrance to the living room, the floor was littered with masked corpses.
Tony was calmly sitting amidst the pile of bodies, reading a beige letter as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Tony, what's this… were you attacked again?"
Lyon glanced at the scene and immediately deduced that the men had died from hand-to-hand combat.
Someone with immense strength had brutally shattered their internal organs with sheer punches.
The carnage was ghastly and difficult to look at.
"The way these people died… it's as if you specifically hired them as warm-up practice before a duel…"
"Don't tell me you've finally decided to ditch the suit and embrace the title of Muscle Man? Are you now solving your problems with bare fists and street brawls?"
"It's Iron Man!" Tony rolled his eyes as he stood up. "I'll use my latest suit to defeat that martial arts lunatic!"
He handed the letter to Lyon.
"These guys barged in while I was in an online meeting. They started attacking right away, but apparently, they were just here to deliver this."
Lyon skimmed through the letter quickly.
[Respected Mr. Tony Stark,
Today marks the final day of our agreement.
Your name has become well-known to me recently.
Taking your head now would be an exceptional honor.
Out of respect for your contributions to the world,
I grant you the privilege of choosing your final resting place.
At noon today, I shall arrive on time to send you off.
Signed: Xu Wenwu ]
"Well, at least this time he's using formal language and isn't speaking from such a high horse," Tony shrugged. "Even though he's still talking big about taking my head, I suppose that's some progress."
Lyon casually destroyed the letter. "I thought his 'one month' meant 31 days, not 30. And apparently, he started counting from the night he first attacked you."
"But clearly, his intelligence network isn't very reliable—he still hasn't figured out the connection between Superman and Iron Man."
Among the upper echelons of various governments, only a handful had pieced together that Superman's true identity was Lyon Stark.
Otherwise, Tony wouldn't have so easily ascended to the position of director of the "New S.H.I.E.L.D."
To be honest, after discovering Lyon's true identity, those in power had breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Compared to a Superman like Clark Kent, an ordinary civilian, they much preferred Lyon Stark.
The Stark family was already part of the elite upper echelon, the established beneficiaries of the system.
There was little chance they'd upend the world order suddenly and unpredictably just because they had gained more power and influence.
For most, it was like having an even flashier eagle emblem on their flags. Life could continue as usual without drastic changes.
As for Xu Wenwu, his luck was running thin.
Historically, he had once been an unstoppable force in Asia, a figure to be reckoned with.
But after finding true love in Kunlun's Daluo Village more than a decade ago and retiring to live a quiet life with his wife, his once-vast network of influence had disintegrated entirely.
It wasn't until his wife's death that the once-disheartened martial artist finally made his "return as the Dragon King."
However, in just a few short years, it was impossible for him to reclaim his former glory.
Failing to uncover more details about the Hydra incident in time was understandable.
"Maybe he's just not afraid of Superman at all?"
"I mean, it's you who gave that speech about fucking the 10 rings."
"Well, then I better wear a condom, heh." Tony, ever eager to take on strong opponents, was motivated. Only when the enemy is strong enough can he appear more powerful.
With a wave of his hand, his Mark IV armor promptly flew out of the chamber and assembled around him.
"Let's head to that place where you tested your strength last time. It's far from the city—perfect for a fight."
"By the way, 'high noon' should mean exactly twelve o'clock, right? I didn't get that wrong, did I?"
___________
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