"You just mentioned General Dreykov. If I remember correctly, he should be the leader of the Red Room, right?"
Under Natasha's horrified gaze, Leon easily broke free from the restraints. The ropes that bound him snapped into several pieces and fell to the ground.
"That means you're still under the control of the Red Room."
Leon stood up, dusting himself off. "This doesn't make sense. At this point in time, you should be..."
He trailed off, his thoughts interrupted.
The moment he lowered his guard, Natasha launched her attack without hesitation—despite knowing the man before her was strong enough to break high-strength polyethylene rope effortlessly.
Her movements were swift, like a spider striking its prey. The moment she acted, it was as if her opponent had already fallen into her web, unable to escape.
Faced with an obviously superior foe, Natasha's attack was brutal, targeting vital points with precision. She had defeated many stronger enemies using speed to overcome strength, a technique honed through countless battles.
Her punches, elbows, and knees came in rapid succession, using every ounce of her skill and agility.
But this time, her trusted strategy failed.
Shock filled Natasha's face.
Leon, who appeared no older than seventeen or eighteen, blocked all her attacks—
With just one hand.
That single hand caught her fist effortlessly. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free.
It felt as if she were trapped in an unyielding hydraulic press.
Natasha's expression twisted in doubt and confusion. Yet her battle-hardened instincts kicked in instantly.
She pushed off the ground with both feet, attempting to flip over Leon and force him into a vulnerable position.
"Hey! Don't do that. I'd rather not accidentally tear you in half," Leon warned.
To him, Natasha's body was as fragile as paper.
One miscalculation in controlling his strength, and the result would be... gruesome.
As he spoke, he enveloped her in a bio-force field, preventing any further damage—to her or to Tony's bedroom.
But Natasha didn't know that.
She only saw one thing: Leon, who had been calm throughout the encounter, had suddenly changed his expression.
Confusion clouded her mind.
Was he... afraid of hurting her?
Who exactly was the intruder here?
Natasha couldn't understand.
Then, a powerful force surged through her arm.
In an instant, she was slammed against the wall, utterly defenseless.
She struggled, using every trick she knew—attempting yoga-like contortions, considering self-inflicted injury to create an opening. But none of it worked. The overwhelming force holding her in place rendered all her efforts meaningless, like an ant resisting a titan.
Slowly, her expression changed—from determination to sorrow, then to desperation, and finally, a quiet resignation.
Almost instinctively, she raised her right hand, curling her middle finger inward toward her wrist, trying to activate a hidden device.
"What else do you want to do?"
A firm grip seized the back of her neck. A light squeeze, and everything faded to black.
"Looks like this is the only way to get our dear Black Widow to stay quiet for a while."
Leon caught Natasha as she collapsed. Adjusting his hold, he picked her up, pushed open the bedroom door, and walked out.
"Master Leon, I'm relieved to see you unharmed," Jarvis chimed in. Natasha had disabled all electronics in the room, leaving the AI blind to what had transpired inside.
"Come on, Jarvis. You know nothing can happen to me."
"Ensuring your safety is part of my programming," Jarvis replied. "Shall I alert the authorities and have the intruder taken into custody?"
"No, this isn't that simple. There's more to her than meets the eye. I need to study her." Leon's curiosity was piqued.
Why was Natasha's story deviating from what he knew of the Marvel timeline?
Could this be a parallel universe, like one from What If...?
That seemed unlikely. So far, the characters he'd encountered looked identical to their cinematic counterparts.
Descending the stairs, Leon made a mental note. "Oh, and when Tony gets back, tell him to order takeout. I'll be in the lab all night."
"Understood, Master Leon. Would you like me to disable the lab's surveillance equipment?"
Leon's face darkened. "No, turn them all on! What do you think I'm going to do?"
"As you wish, Master," Jarvis responded without emotion.
"Shut up. I just want to check her condition."
Upon reaching the lab, Leon set Natasha down on the workbench. He cleared some space, then slipped on a pair of medical gloves.
His movements were a bit stiff, resembling a medical student preparing for their first dissection.
Yet, despite his inexperience, his abilities more than made up for it.
"Alright, let's start with a full body scan."
His enhanced vision cut through layers of skin, muscle, and bone with ease.
"Huh. Your physique is impressive, Natasha. Perfectly balanced proportions... Ahem, focus! Let's check for hidden devices."
Clearing his thoughts, Leon examined her thoroughly.
"No explosives, no poison capsules... Oh, what do we have here? A tracker on her right leg. And is that... a self-destruct device on her wrist?"
Leon stroked his chin. "Was she planning to kill herself?"
That didn't align with the Natasha he knew.
In the movies, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save others, but she never gave up when facing an unbeatable opponent. Suicide simply wasn't her style.
"So... was she being controlled?"
Memories surfaced of the Black Widow movie from his past life. Natasha's sister had been brainwashed using chemical manipulation by the Red Room.
But that was supposed to happen a decade from now.
Leon focused his gaze, analyzing Natasha's brain layer by layer—examining blood vessels, neurons, and tissue structures.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Is my resolution not high enough, or is there no external control?"
Dissatisfied with guesswork, Leon sprang into action.
He retrieved advanced medical instruments from Stark Industries, including microscopes, magnetoencephalogram scanners, and brainwave analyzers.
Machines hummed to life, encircling the workbench.
Rubbing his hands together, Leon grinned. "Time to put my recent studies to use."
After dealing with the Ten Rings, he'd spent his downtime learning biology. He hadn't expected to apply that knowledge so soon.
First, he disarmed the tracker and explosive.
Then, he extracted cerebrospinal fluid and brain cell samples for analysis.
"Brain functions—normal. Neural pathways—intact. Synaptic transmissions—unaffected..."
His hands moved with practiced speed, leaving afterimages as he worked.
When he encountered unclear data, he had Jarvis cross-reference research papers.
Leon smirked. "Thanks, Natasha Romanoff. Your brain is a wonderful learning tool. In just an hour, I've practically become a neuroscientist."
Then—
"Oh! I found it!"
Excitement filled him.
Nothing compared to the thrill of solving a complex problem through sheer intellect.
"What did you discover, Master Leon?" Jarvis inquired.
"The source of the issue!"
Leon projected a brain scan. "There's no structural damage, but I found a foreign chemical in her cell fluid. It's targeting her basal ganglia, altering her consciousness!"
"She still has self-awareness, but it's fragmented. Some parts obey orders, while others retain independent thought."
"The person behind this drug is both a genius and a monster."
Clearing the desk again, Leon cracked his knuckles. "Next step—creating an antidote. When she wakes up, we might just get some unexpected answers..."
…
💎 Support this novel with Reviews & Power Stones! 💎
…
✅ Check out my Patreon for +30 extra chapters 📚 on all my fanfics! 🎉
🔗 [p@treon.com/LordMerlin]
🙏 Thank you for your support! ❤️