"That's not me!" Lyon tried to argue.
But the bright, grinning cartoon face on the wall left him feeling powerless.
At that moment, the sound of a heated argument echoed from afar.
Lyon, with little Sherry by his side, stepped out of the elevator, his eyes sweeping over the walls. He could almost feel the veins in his forehead starting to throb.
The ground floor of this building spanned over 10,000 square meters. All the small workshops and offices that once filled the space had been demolished. Now, only the central reception desk, two transparent glass-walled lounges for visitors, and the straight, towering elevators remained.
The design was said to have come from one of the Widow agents.
She had previously managed a multinational design company for the Red Room. When tasked with designing this building, she focused on simplicity, mindfulness, and openness, leading her team to draft the plans overnight.
Now, standing inside, Lyon had to admit the building's design felt spacious and calming, evoking a sense of peace.
But what was with all the colorful cartoon art covering the walls?
Didn't the elaborate, multicolored designs feel out of place in the minimalist glass rooms?
The most important question was—why were all the drawings of Superman?
And why did they have Lyon's face on an underwear-wearing Superman?
"Ugh..."
Lyon took a deep breath, covering little Sherry's eyes, feeling like his reputation was about to be irreparably tarnished.
Looking toward the far end of the first floor, he saw a group of Widow agents gathered together, arguing.
Lyon extended his super hearing.
"That drawing is wrong! Listen to me, the boss's chest muscles aren't that small—I've checked personally!" Yelena's loud voice carried over the group.
"And in this Superman versus Batman mural, the boss should be drawn like this—with his biceps crushing Batman's head! Full of power! It would look amazing!"
"No, no!" someone argued back. "We already painted a mural where Superman's biceps are crushing Wonder Woman's chest. This one should show Superman using his lats to slam into Batman!"
"That's a good idea!" several people agreed.
"Alright, let's paint that, so when the boss comes, he'll get a big surprise!" Yelena pumped her fist excitedly.
"Surprise? Yelena, you want to define for me what counts as a surprise?" Lyon's voice sounded from behind them.
He descended from the air, holding Sherry.
"Of course, the surprise is all the carefully... uh..." Yelena trailed off as she turned around, meeting Lyon's not-so-happy gaze.
"Um.." She could sense impending doom.
She stammered, "Well, the surprise is... um... whatever you say it is, boss."
Lyon, imitating Natasha's habit, gave her a light smack on the forehead. "The real surprise would be if you didn't pull these stunts on me!"
"But, boss, don't you like Superman? That's why I painted so many," Yelena said, looking a bit wronged. "I painted them all with care."
"Is this supposed to be me? Have you ever seen my uniform look like this?" Lyon questioned, pointing to the murals.
Yelena paused for a moment. "Ah! I get it now!"
Lyon resisted the urge to shout, What the hell do you get?!
"You get it? Really?"
"I do! You don't actually like wearing underwear, not like in the comics!" Yelena clapped her hands as if she had just solved a mystery.
She raised two paintbrushes. "I'll change the underwear right away!"
Lyon's vision nearly went black.
What does she mean I don't like wearing underwear?
Where does she come up with this stuff?
And there's a kid here!
He glanced at little Sherry, who was staring wide-eyed, her mouth forming an 'O' as she looked back and forth between Lyon and the Superman on the wall.
"Don't listen to this nonsense!" Lyon pinched Sherry's cheeks gently, tugging them playfully. "Her brain has some issues."
"Oh, oh!" Sherry nodded repeatedly, her cheeks puffed up from the pinching.
Lyon shook his head and looked back at Yelena. "I'm starting to regret making you the second Black Widow in command."
"Why, boss?" Yelena's eyes shimmered with confusion.
"Because I'm afraid that one day you'll corrupt the other widows with your antics!"
Lyon waved toward the other widows. "I don't have many demands. You can decide how to decorate this place on your own, but there will be no more murals of my face! No images of me in any form!"
The dozen or so widows nodded in agreement, though some seemed a little disappointed...?
"Yelena, you come with me." Lyon sighed as he led Yelena, who kept exchanging glances with Sherry, into the elevator.
Aside from the first floor, which Yelena had turned into what looked like a DC fan club, everything else seemed normal.
The widows worked in harmony, with some operating mechanical arms to install alloy panels.
Some of the widows were holding lithium drills, needle-nose pliers, and wearing protective masks as they worked on repairing electrical circuits. Over a hundred people were hard at work, all incredibly skilled in their tasks.
Lyon walked with Sherry, greeting the widows one by one as they passed. Eventually, he left Yelena in charge of helping Sherry with her identity paperwork.
As the two were leaving, Sherry quietly asked, "Are Brother Lyon's muscles really that beautiful?" Yelena nodded vigorously, like a bobblehead.
'Ugh..' Lyon pretended he neither saw nor heard this exchange.
For the remainder of the day, Lyon wandered around the building, helping the widows with any tasks that needed an extra hand.
As for Sherry, she had already been won over by Yelena. After finishing their tasks, the two of them ran around the building, playing hide and seek.
Perhaps because of her age, the young girl was well-liked by the widows. When they looked at such a lively girl, it was as if they were seeing themselves before they had been sent to the Red Room.
Whenever it was Sherry's turn to find Yelena, the widows would give her subtle hints to help. This continued until evening, when everyone gathered for dinner. After that, Lyon took Sherry home.
"Bye bye, sister~ Brother Leon said that we will move to New York in a while, and I will come to see you then!" Sherry said, reluctantly parting from Yelena.
Yelena cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Little Sherry, I'll miss you! Boss, hurry up and move to New York!"
"No, you'd better stay away from Sherry. Whenever you meet her, just make sure to turn your back on her," Lyon replied, half-joking, half-serious.
He couldn't understand how Yelena and such a young girl like Sherry had become such close friends.
Was it because their mental ages were similar?
Yup, that's right!
"Huh? Boss, why are you like this..." Yelena slumped in disappointment.
After another quick flight through the sky, Sherry, who had spent the entire day playing, was still full of energy, cheering and screaming.
When they got home, Lyon set Sherry down but suddenly perked up, his ears twitching. He put a finger to his lips, signaling Sherry to walk quietly.
The two of them tiptoed to the stairwell.
Two heads, one small and one small, poked out from the corner.
In the laboratory, Pepper and Tony, wearing only vests, were intertwined, their heads twisting back and forth.
"Wow~ Is that Uncle Tony's new friend?" Shirley has seen Tony do this action with many people.
"Hmm... I think that lady may be Tony's only friend in the future." Leon touched his chin.
"He seems serious this time."
These two had never acted so intimately before. It was clear their relationship had made a breakthrough.
Lyon could tell at a glance that Pepper had just experienced the effects of the SS2 serum.
It is estimated that Tony took advantage of the time when the strengthening was over and Pepper was moved to finally confirm the relationship.
"Ah, it looks like our playboy is about to settle down," Lyon sighed.
'So, does this mean that all the wild times Tony had back in the Resident Evil world were his last single-man adventures?'
As the two downstairs became more and more passionate, Lyon quickly covered Sherry's eyes and retreated upstairs.
"Let's head to the room for a story, Sherry. Nothing to see here, just two seals fighting over grapes."
After putting Sherry to sleep, Lyon figured he could finally get a rare, peaceful night's rest at home.
But clearly, he was a bit too optimistic.
Two people, each with the strength of dozens of tons but without a bio-field, were engaged in intense activity at home. The noise was so loud that it felt like the entire floor was trembling, making one worry whether the luxurious villa would collapse at any moment.
This wasn't just two seals bickering—it was more like two elephants dancing and singing.
Lyon tossed and turned in bed, finally giving up and flipping out of bed in frustration.
He realized it was time for him to move out. With Tony and Pepper confirming their relationship, they deserved their own private space.
Not to mention, the commotion they were making was too much for anyone else to endure.
Lyon decided that tomorrow he would talk to Tony about moving out. As for tonight, he would return to the Resident Evil world to soak up some sun.
He had considered taking Sherry with him, but the little girl was sound asleep, completely unaffected by the shaking and the noise. She was even smacking her lips and shifting positions in her sleep from time to time.
In the end, Lyon decided to head to the Resident Evil world alone, planning to spend a few months basking in the sun before returning.
With his current strength, the energy required to traverse between worlds had become less than a thousandth of his physical capacity.
So, without hesitation, he chose to return to the moment he had just left, his figure disappearing from the Marvel universe.
_________
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