The two of them had come a long way, and now it was time to settle in.
"We'll live here from now on," Malrick said as he landed in Brooklyn with Sherry.
In truth, he had already purchased this New York residence along with the organization's headquarters building. The address was just a few blocks away, nestled in a quiet residential area.
Malrick had bought out an entire luxury apartment complex with spacious, open-plan units. The building stood 26 stories tall, with four units per floor. Specifically, he'd asked Natasha to help consolidate the four units on the 16th floor into one expansive space, which he intended to use as his temporary residence.
Now, Sherry had moved in with her luggage.
As for the other floors, they were freely assigned to the Widow agents. Not many of them lived in New York, so this setup was more than enough to accommodate them.
Malrick gave Sherry a brief tour of the apartment, showing her the functional areas and assigning rooms.
After settling in, the two of them left for the building.
"Yay! I get to see Sister Yelena again so soon!" Sherry cheered excitedly.
Malrick playfully tapped the top of her head. "You little rascal. What's so great about Yelena? Don't let her fool you."
"But Sister Yelena is really nice. She looks so warm when she smiles."
"Warm?" Malrick thought back to the goofy grin Yelena always gave him. It did look sincere. Honestly, what kind of trouble could someone like her even cause? Her brain ran on pure instinct—too blunt to be anything but honest.
"You can learn her good traits—her combat skills, sure. But don't copy the way she thinks."
"Oh, okay." Sherry nodded obediently.
The headquarters wasn't far from the apartment.
In a flash, Malrick brought her to the top of the building.
Coincidentally, Natasha was there at the time, cleaning with a few of her fellow agents. When she spotted him, she wiped her hands and walked over with a document.
"Equity transfer for Pioneer Tech?" Malrick took it and flipped through. "Nice work, Nata."
"I saw the aftermath yesterday," she said with a grin. "You really did a number on their president."
"Especially that split kick—beautiful execution."
"How's Killian?" he asked.
"Locked up," Natasha replied, wiping the dust off her face with a towel. "I contacted the authorities through Stark's channels. Sent them both the evidence and the man himself."
"Shouldn't be long before the news comes out. He'll be doing over ten years."
Malrick tucked the document away. "Honestly thought you'd kill him."
"If it's avoidable, I'd rather let the law handle it," Natasha said with a wink. "Besides, Stark's influence ensures a fair sentence. Otherwise, yeah—I might've done it myself."
"Fair enough," Malrick said with a nod.
Natasha had taken more lives than she could count over the past decade. She wasn't one to pull the trigger unless it was necessary anymore.
She glanced down at Shirley. "So, who's the little one? Are you going to introduce her?"
Then she leaned in and whispered, "She's not one of those surprise nieces, is she? The kind you didn't know about until recently?"
Malrick chuckled. "No, she's adopted. Temporarily registered under Tony's name."
"You know how it is. I'm not even nineteen yet—can't legally adopt anyone."
"This is Sherry." He gave her hair a gentle tousle. "Sherry, this is the Natasha I told you about. She lives just downstairs from us. If you ever need anything, she's right there."
"Okay!" Sherry smiled shyly. "Hello, Sister Natasha! Sister Yelena told me about you yesterday. She said you're amazing!"
"Yelena mentioned me?" Natasha squatted down, immediately charmed by the girl's manners.
"She and Yelena have already hit it off," Malrick said with a shrug. "They spent all day yesterday playing hide-and-seek."
"Classic Yelena," Natasha sighed. "She really does act like a child sometimes."
"Come on. Let's find her. I've got something to discuss with both of you."
They took the elevator down to the first floor.
Overnight, the murals had been completely changed.
It was still Superman battling DC heroes—but now Superman's face had been redrawn with a cartoonish cleft chin.
As soon as the elevator opened, Yelena skidded dramatically into view.
"Welcome, boss! What do you think of the new mural?" she grinned wide, practically glowing with excitement. Her arms spread wide like she was unveiling a masterpiece.
"It's definitely better," Malrick said, amused. "But you should probably throw in some heroes from our universe."
"Our universe?" Yelena tilted her head. "You mean Iron Man? Isn't that a little plain if he's the only one?"
"There'll be more soon enough."
He motioned toward the elevator. "Come on. Let's head to the underground lab."
The elevator continued down and stopped at the second basement level.
This area had already been renovated last week by the Widow agents. Now, access required Jarvis' authorization.
The doors slid open to reveal a completely different world.
Rows of circular lights blinked on one after another, stretching into the vast depths of the space.
The whole floor gleamed under bright, artificial light, resembling an open-air platform more than an underground level.
The lobby, dominated by a sleek white palette, spanned over 10,000 square meters. Glass panels segmented the space with clean, precise lines.
As they stepped out of the elevator, the group took in the sight—modern domes, pearl-white marble floors, and rows of spotless workstations, each glowing with holographic projections.
Compared to this tech-filled marvel, the mural-painted first floor seemed downright outdated.
No one would guess the contrast—just one elevator ride between two entirely different worlds.
"Wow!" Sherry's eyes went wide with wonder. "Even the secret labs in Raccoon City weren't this cool!"
"It's like stepping into the future," she breathed.
"Then let your sister Yelena show you around," Malrick said, patting her head.
Yelena's eyes sparkled. "Come on, Sherry! This whole place was designed by the boss himself. Tons of hidden rooms—perfect for hide-and-seek!"
"Really? Sister, take me there! Brother Malrick, we're going!"
The two of them dashed off together, their laughter echoing through the high-tech halls.
Natasha watched them go, pressing a hand to her forehead. "What can I even say? Yelena's old enough, but she fits right in with elementary schoolers."
"Honestly," Malrick replied, "maybe that's a good thing. Means the Red Room didn't leave too many scars… Actually, no, I take that back. She's just plain childish."
"I don't think she's ever going to grow up."
Natasha paused and turned serious. "Now that they're gone... Malrick, you sent Yelena away on purpose, didn't you? There's something you want to say to me."
---
I used Shirley instead of Sherry in the previous chapters, My bad.
_
More Powerstones = More Chapters = Everyone's Happy.