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"You just mentioned General Dreykov. If I'm not mistaken, he's the leader of the Red Room, right?"
In Natasha's horrified gaze, Lyon effortlessly broke free from his restraints, the ropes that bound him snapping into several pieces and scattering on the ground.
"So that means you're still under the control of the Red Room."
Lyon stood up and dusted himself off. "That doesn't make sense. At this point in time, you should be..."
Before Lyon could finish his sentence, he looked down.
In that instant, Natasha, without a moment's hesitation, launched an attack—even though she was facing someone strong enough to easily snap high-strength polyethylene ropes.
Her movements were so swift, like a spider pouncing on its prey.
It was as if the moment she made her move, her opponent was already caught in her web, unable to escape.
Facing Lyon, who was clearly much stronger than her, Natasha's attack was viciously aimed at his vital points.
Using speed to overcome strength—this was her technique, honed through countless encounters, to defeat more powerful foes as a woman.
Her fists, elbows, and knees struck Lyon almost simultaneously, truly pushing her body to its limits.
However, this usually effective surprise attack faced a crushing defeat this time.
"What the.. " Natasha's face was full of shock.
Lyon, who looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, managed to block all her attacks with even greater speed!
And he did it with just one hand!
That hand casually grasped her fist, and no matter how much strength she used, she couldn't break free.
It was as if it wasn't a hand holding her fist, but a cold hydraulic clamp.
Natasha's expression shifted to one of uncertainty.
But her extensive combat experience quickly kicked in, and she reacted instantly.
She pushed off the ground with both feet, attempting to step on Lyon and dislocate her own joints to escape.
"Hey! Don't do that—I don't want your resistance to accidentally lead to me tearing you in half!"
To Lyon, Natasha's body was as fragile as a piece of paper.
If he wasn't careful with controlling his strength during physical contact, the result could only be described as gruesome.
As he spoke, Lyon enveloped Natasha in a bio-force field, worried that an accident might destroy Tony's bedroom.
But Natasha wasn't aware of this.
She only noticed that the previously calm Lyon, who had remained unflustered under her storm of attacks, suddenly showed a change in expression.
This made her feel a twinge of doubt.
Could it be that he was afraid of her getting hurt?
Who exactly was the real super-agent intruding in someone else's home here?
Natasha couldn't figure it out.
But the next moment, a tremendous force surged through her arm.
"Ugh!" Without any ability to resist, she was instantly pinned against the wall.
This time, no matter how hard Natasha struggled, she couldn't move an inch.
She tried to use yoga techniques to escape, or even considered dislocating her arm to survive... Several times, she attempted to find a way to counterattack by injuring herself.
But in the face of the overwhelming power behind her, all her efforts were in vain, like an ant baring its fangs at a giant.
Gradually, her gaze changed, becoming one of sorrow, despair, and perhaps even relief.
She almost involuntarily raised her right hand, curling her middle finger towards the inside of her wrist, trying to trigger a circular device on it.
"What are you trying to do now?"
Suddenly, her neck was grasped, and a large hand gently pinched it, causing her to lose consciousness instantly.
"It seems this is the only way to make our big boobed Black Widow calm down for a while."
Lyon caught Natasha's limp body as she fainted, adjusted her position, and carried her out of Tony's bedroom.
"Master Lyon, I'm glad you're alright," Jarvis immediately expressed concern. The electronic devices in the bedroom had been destroyed by Natasha, so he had no idea what had happened inside.
"Cut it out, Jarvis. You know nothing could happen to me."
"But ensuring your safety is my duty," Jarvis replied. "Would you like me to call the police and hand this intruder over to them?"
"No need. I think there's more to this than meets the eye. This intruder seems to have some secrets. I need to take her down and investigate."
Lyon admitted his curiosity.
Why did the Marvel storyline, which should have followed a linear progression, take an unexpected turn with Black Widow?
Could it be that this world isn't the Marvel Cinematic Universe designated as Earth-199999, but rather a branch universe like those in 'What If...?' ?
But that seems unlikely, given that the characters he's encountered so far look almost identical to those in the movies.
With these thoughts in mind, Lyon walked down the stairs. "By the way, when Tony gets back, remind him to order takeout. I'll probably be in the lab all night."
"Understood, Master Lyon," Jarvis responded considerately, "Shall I turn off the surveillance in the lab for you?"
Lyon's expression darkened. "Keep it on! All of it! What do you think I'm going to do?"
"As you wish, Master, the condoms are in the third compartment of Master Tony's room or would you prefer to give her a pill after—" Jarvis replied in a completely neutral tone.
"Shut up. I'm just going to run a check-up on her."
Lyon carried Natasha into the lab, cleared the workbench with a sweep of his right hand, and laid her down on it.
He then removed his jacket and put on a pair of medical gloves. His movements were slightly clumsy, like those of an amateur anatomist, reminiscent of a medical student performing their first dissection.
However, despite his amateurish demeanor, once he activated his X-ray vision, he became the best in the field.
"First, a full-body scan. Let's see..."
"Oh wow! Great figure! Natasha lives up to her reputation—narrow shoulders, curvy hips, very attractive... Ahem, let's check other areas first."
Even with his blood rushing towards his lower region he remained in control while taking deep breaths talking to himself that he wasn't the type to take advantage of others.
He cleared his mind of distractions and quickly got into the zone, his gaze penetrating Natasha's skin to reveal the muscles and fascia beneath.
"Hmm, her body seems fine—no bombs, no poison packs... Ah, there's a tracker in her right leg!"
"And besides that, this device on her wrist—it's a self-destruct mechanism?"
Lyon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So, she was actually trying to activate the self-destruct device to commit suicide?"
"Resorting to suicide when a mission can't be completed—that's an extreme course of action, definitely not Natasha's style."
In the movies, Natasha Romanoff would sacrifice herself to save others or protect her comrades. But when facing an unbeatable enemy, she wouldn't even consider giving up, let alone taking her own life.
"So, has she been brainwashed?"
He recalled the "Black Widow" movie from his previous life, where Natasha's sister was controlled by the Red Room through chemical means.
But that was a storyline set ten years later.
At this point in time, Natasha shouldn't even be under the influence of the Red Room anymore.
Lyon's gaze shifted to the top of Natasha's head.
He carefully examined the intricate network of blood vessels and brain tissue, but he couldn't find any issues.
"Is it that my X-ray vision isn't advanced enough, or is her brain really not under anyone's control?"
Faced with a puzzle he couldn't figure out, Lyon felt an eager excitement rise within him.
He quickly brought over a series of specialized instruments from Stark Industries' labs, including a microscope, a brainwave scanner, and a neural reader.
The massive machines formed a circle around the workbench.
Lyon rubbed his hands together. "Now it's time to test what I've learned over the past few days."
In the days after dealing with the Ten Rings, he hadn't just been sunbathing.
In his spare time, he had occasionally studied some biology.
He just hadn't expected that this knowledge would come in handy so soon.
Lyon first dismantled the bomb and tracker on Natasha, then began extracting cerebrospinal fluid and brain cells for study.
"Brain functions normal, neural nodes normal, synaptic transmission normal..."
He meticulously checked each aspect, his hands moving so quickly over the instruments on the workbench that they seemed to leave afterimages.
For one particular cell slice observation, he only needed to glance at it to memorize the entire image, then immediately proceed to the next analysis.
Sometimes, when he encountered unclear details, Lyon would have JARVIS search online for relevant papers.
Throughout the research process, Lyon's knowledge in the field rapidly expanded.
He couldn't help but silently thank Natasha Romanoff.
This remarkable female agent had, without charge, lent her brain to help him both experiment and learn. In just an hour, he had grown into a proficient neuroscientist, biologist, and brain specialist.
What an extraordinary spirit of selfless dedication to science!
"Oh! I found it!" Lyon suddenly shouted with joy as he bent over the microscope.
He could confidently say that even basking in the sun every day didn't bring him as much satisfaction as this moment.
There's nothing more fulfilling than reaching the pinnacle of a field in a short amount of time and solving a complex problem through one's own efforts.
"What did you find, Master Lyon?" JARVIS was ever the perfect assistant.
"I found the cause!" Lyon said, a bit excitedly.
"Natasha's brain structure and tissue are all fine."
"But in her cytosol, I found a foreign biochemical substance!" Lyon printed out a brain scan image. "This biochemical substance is affecting her basal ganglia, which in turn influences her consciousness!"
"If my judgment is correct, she actually still has her self-awareness, but it's been divided into several parts by the drug. Some of these parts follow others' commands, while others are her own thoughts."
"This chaotic consciousness allows her to maintain logical thinking but lose emotional judgment, making her obedient to others' commands!"
"The person who developed this biochemical substance is truly a genius, but also a demon!"
Lyon cleared the table again. "Next, I'll need to create a targeted inhibitor. Who knows, when she wakes up, we might get an unexpected surprise!"
He looked like an excited child playing doctor-doctor.
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