I originally planned to destroy the Red Room so I could write a few more chapters and pad the word count.
Suddenly, it was discovered that Lynn had helped Natasha with the Red Room...
What else can it do besides flat push?
I really can't think of a way to increase the sense of conflict; it's not exciting at all.
Lynn's fighting spirit is indeed lacking right now...
Lynn leaned back on the sofa armrest, his fingers unconsciously twirling a copper coin he had brought back from Kathmandu. Natasha sat opposite him, the box of antidotes Yelena had left behind beside her.
"I don't know where the base is."
Lynn didn't try to be brave; he genuinely didn't know. In his memory, the Red Room was an aerial fortress floating above the clouds, but its exact coordinates had never been made public, and even if they were, aerial combat platforms wouldn't stay in one place for long, so remembering coordinates for a moving object was meaningless.
Yelena stood by the window, clutching a small jar of now-cold black tea. Hearing this, she frowned. "So you can't find it either? Then the things in this box are completely useless."
"It works," Lynn said. "I can't find it, but not everyone can't. We just need to try a different approach. It'll be a bit more complicated, but we'll find some people first."
Natasha looked up at him. She was waiting for him to finish speaking.
Alexei Melina.
Lynn slammed the copper coin on the table. "They used to be core members of the Red Room. Melina was a former Black Widow agent, Alexei was Red Guardian. Only they definitely know the coordinates of the airbase. So whether you want to see them or not, you have to go."
Yelena couldn't hold back any longer and sneered, "You want me to go find those two bastards? You want us to beg them for help?"
"It's not about begging. It's about getting back what they owe you long ago."
Lynn spoke calmly. He paused, then added, "I can go in your place, but some things only make sense if you do them yourselves."
Natasha remained silent for a long time. She looked at Yelena, Yelena turned her face away from the window and didn't speak. Natasha then nodded. "Let's go to the prison first."
In Russia, Lynn opened a portal in a birch forest two kilometers from the prison. The sky was overcast, the wind howled like knives along the ground, and frost clung to the branches. Yelena, wrapped in a thick jacket, followed Natasha briskly forward.
Lynn followed behind, his hands in his pockets. He knew he had no intention of making a move. Natasha and Yelena knew that kind of place better than he did.
He also understood that Natasha preferred to resolve the matter herself.
Lynn didn't go in. He waited on the outside, constantly monitoring their condition with his mental senses. About forty minutes later, a loud noise came from deep within the prison.
Another ten minutes or so later, three figures appeared in the direction of the main entrance.
Natasha walked in front, Yelena behind, and a man who was difficult to describe was sandwiched in between.
Alexei Shostakov, the Red Guardian.
His beard now almost covered half his face, his belly was protruding, his prison uniform was torn and the threads were turned outwards, and blood was still flowing from the knuckles of his left hand.
He paused for a moment when he saw Lynn, then grinned and let out a loud laugh.
" Natasha, is this the helper you found?" He walked up to Lynn, looking him up and down with a mocking tone. "This kid's skinny and skinny. Can he even handle it?"
Lynn wore a nonchalant smile and didn't reply. Natasha kicked Alexei from behind. "Enough talk. Get in the car."
The car was an old SUV that Lynn had borrowed from a nearby town. The four of them squeezed into the car and headed towards Saint Petersburg. Lynn drove, Yelena sat in the passenger seat, and Natasha and Alexei squeezed into the back. Alexei's mouth never stopped the whole way, from how bad the soup in the prison canteen was to how glorious the Red Guardian were back in the day, and he occasionally tried to strike up a conversation with Lynn.
Lynn's response was perfunctory, glancing at Natasha in the rearview mirror every now and then. She didn't say much, turning her head to look at the snow-covered fields outside the car window. Yelena stared at the birch trees rushing past the car window, ignoring Alexei.
The car eventually stopped at a very remote farm.
The house was old, but clean. Lynn was the first to get out of the car, not rushing inside. Natasha and Yelena stood behind him, the three of them staring at the half-open door. Alexei was the last to emerge, brushing the snow off his trousers, and strode up to knock on the door. " Melina! I'm back!"
The door opened. A tall woman dressed in casual home clothes appeared in the doorway. Melina Vostokov. She looked much gentler than Lynn had imagined, like any ordinary middle-aged woman living in the countryside. But when her eyes swept over Natasha and Yelena, a quick, almost imperceptible fluctuation appeared in them.
"Come in, everyone."
The house was nicely heated. Several people sat around the old wooden table in the kitchen, where several cups of tea and a small plate of bread were already laid out. Melina didn't ask anything, but just kept pushing the hot tea towards them.
She glanced at Lynn a few more times. Lynn was wearing a dark gray coat, and he didn't exude any hostility or seem like a soldier.
She tried to speak to Yelena, but Yelena didn't respond. She then looked at Natasha.
Lynn didn't sit down. He took a few steps toward the window, as if watching the snow scene outside.
In fact, his attention was always on Melina.
He quickly noticed that Melina had gotten up to retrieve something from a hidden compartment in the kitchen. The movement was so quiet that it was masked by the sound of the kettle. Lynn tilted his head slightly.
"No." Lynn raised his hand, and a pale golden light silently landed beside Melina, like a thin veil, pressing down on her wrist. Melina paused for a moment, then stopped moving.
"You want to contact the Red Room." Lynn turned around, his tone so indifferent it wasn't even a question. "Your daughter's back. Natasha and Yelena are sitting outside. Your first instinct is to grab the transmitter? You sent them away once before, do you want to do it again?"
The room was utterly silent. Only the kettle hissed on the stove. Melina slowly withdrew her hand and looked at Lynn. There was no panic in her eyes, only a weariness of being publicly exposed.
"Who are you?" she asked.
" Lynn, the most mysterious magician in SSC. Nice to meet you." Lynn smiled at her, but the smile wasn't very friendly.
Alexei didn't look at Melina, only lowered his head, his large fingers gripping the teacup as if he wanted to crush it. Yelena glared at him, then at Melina, finally burying her face in her arms. Natasha remained silent for a long time, then spoke in a steady voice, "You two owe us an explanation. Now."
Alexei spoke first. His voice was much softer than before. "We... we couldn't resist. An order is an order. Dreykov wanted to take you away, and none of us could stop him. I wasn't that strong. Neither was Melina." He raised his face, his eyes bloodshot and filled with a dried-up sense of guilt. "We could only let you go. I'm a failed father. I'm useless. I don't deserve it."
Natasha didn't speak. Lynn sat down beside her and said for her the words she herself might have found difficult to say to Alexei, "The past can't be changed. But it's not too late now." He paused, looking at Melina, "If you're willing to help them this time, maybe tomorrow will be different."
Another long silence filled the room. Finally, Melina turned and went into the inner room, emerging with a yellowed aviation chart. Several areas were circled in pencil, their numbers marked on it. Yelena was the first to rush over to look. Lynn glanced at it and recognized the airspace where the Red Room air base had once operated. He nodded.
That evening they had a hearty meal at the farm. Alexei drank a bit too much and slammed his fist on the table, saying he would teach Dreykov a lesson about the Red Guardian. Yelena rolled her eyes and scolded him for being noisy. Melina sat beside them, clearing away the dishes while whispering something to Natasha.
Lynn leaned against the window, watching this scene unfold, without intervening.
After dinner, Lynn opened a portal in the house. The cold wind rushing in through the doorway made him shiver, and on the other side of the door was a pitch-black night sky.
The aerial base hovered in the distance, all its thrusters shut down, with only a few rows of indicator lights flickering in the night. Lynn stepped across first, followed closely by Alexei, then Melina Natasha and Yelena, their expressions sharpening again in the cold wind.
The base's deck was vast, and the wind made it difficult to stand. Lynn sent out a few strands of his senses to confirm Dreykov's approximate location, then nodded to them. "As planned. You go and draw attention. Natasha and Yelena enter through the ventilation ducts. I'll keep watch from the deck."
Alexei grinned. "You little mage, just standing here drinking the wind?"
Lynn laughed and patted Alexei on the back, "Go ahead. Let me see if the legend is true."
Alexei and Melina said nothing more, turned and ran deeper into the base.
Natasha and Yelena exchanged a glance and then left.
The wind howled across the empty deck, whipping up tiny ice pellets that rustled softly against our clothes.
The entire aerial base is suspended tens of thousands of meters above the clouds, surrounded by an endless sea of dark clouds.
He glanced up at the churning clouds in the distance, the copper coin between his fingers spinning gently.
He could clearly sense every heartbeat and every breath in the base; countless lives, imprisoned for many years, were finally given the chance to break free of their shackles tonight.
Lynn stood alone at the edge of the deck, fully extending his mental perception.
The wind was strong. He slowly closed his eyes and heard gunshots, crashes, Natasha and Yelena's breathing as they crawled in the ventilation ducts, and Alexei's deafening roar after smashing the glass. Like many threads extending in his mind, they wove into a tightening net.
He opened his eyes. Natasha was under control; it was his turn to enter.
Lynn raised his hand, and a portal opened before him. On the other side, Dreykov stood with his back to him at the command console, facing Natasha, who was being held captive by Taskmaster. Lynn stepped through. He stood in front of Natasha, slowly raising one hand, and a shield opened, separating Taskmaster and Natasha. Wind rushed in through the opening, making his coat flutter loudly. He looked at Dreykov.
"You conquer the world with pheromones? Such despicable methods would make even Hydra shake its head."
Dreykov turned around, his pupils contracting slightly. Lynn didn't give him a chance to retort. He flipped his palm, and a fine red mist condensed and swirled between his fingers, eventually forming a dark red vial. He threw it at Natasha.
"Then, wake her up."
Natasha caught the vial and, without hesitation, walked toward Antonia was restrained by the shield.
Lynn didn't move; he simply stood quietly between Dreykov and Natasha.
Natasha walked up to Antonia, who was under the control of the shield, and without hesitation, activated the potion, spraying the red mist onto her face.
Antonia's body froze instantly.
Antonia's consciousness gradually returned under the influence of the drug.
She slowly raised her hand and removed the mask herself. Beneath the mask of the Taskmaster was a young, pale face with empty eyes, which then slowly focused and landed on Natasha's face.
"I..." Her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
"Don't rush, take your time."
The commotion outside grew louder and louder. The doors were smashed open from both sides at the same time, Yelena led a group of Black Widow who had just rushed out of the lower decks into the command center.
The women looked disheveled, but the light in their eyes was no longer the empty, mechanical light. Some were still wearing their training uniforms, while others were wrapped in coats they had snatched from the locker room. They spread out in a fan shape, surrounding the entire control area.
Dreykov stood motionless beside the command platform, his body still bearing the faint golden light left by Lynn.
The few spots of light flickered faintly, as if breathing, freezing all his movements in place. His mouth could still move, but he no longer spoke. His plans, his pheromone empire, the future he envisioned, shattered completely that night.
Yelena stepped to the front, gun in hand, and spat at Dreykov. Several Black Widow looked over, their eyes shifting from fear to anger, and finally to a deathly coldness.
Lynn avoided those gazes. He stood near the door of the command post, his hands in his coat pockets, watching quietly.
After a few seconds, he slowly walked to Natasha's side, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear.
"I've already contacted Coulson and sent him the coordinates. This aerial fortress, and everything else, are their responsibility. As for those Black Widow— " He glanced at the women who had just regained their senses, then turned back, "Can you handle them?"
Natasha looked at him and nodded slightly. She knew Lynn had disliked this kind of scene ever since the Battle of New York.
"You go back first, it's alright. I'll be back as soon as I'm done."
Lynn took two steps back and opened a small portal beside him. On the other side of the portal was the warm kitchen of the New York apartment. Before stepping inside, he glanced back at Natasha.
"I've prepared dinner at home and am waiting for you. Don't stay up too late."
"I know, everything's fine here. Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as possible."
After Lynn left, the room fell completely silent. Natasha stood between Antonia and Dreykov, her gaze fixed on Yelena.
"Gather everyone here and count heads, make sure no one is forgotten."
As she spoke, she walked toward Dreykov. The rest was his business.