American Comics: Trading Tom Cat

In no time, he controlled Mark One to break out of the Ten Commandments base, then turned around and fired a shot at the Ten Commandments armory, instantly triggering a series of massive explosions throughout the base.

The Mark I, barely managing to escape the blast radius, began to disintegrate in mid-air, slamming Tony Stark heavily to the ground.

In no time at all, Jason, pushing his chair, slowly appeared in front of Tony Stark.

Tony Stark, looking quite disheveled but even more excited, was initially delighted to see the newcomer, but soon couldn't help but start complaining.

"Why are you all so clean? Did all those bullets fly around you? Your targets aren't any smaller than mine, this doesn't make sense!"

Locke said calmly, "If I don't allow them to hit me, then naturally they won't be able to hit me."

Tony Stark couldn't help but twitch: "This is even less scientific!"

Locke ignored him; what did science matter anyway?

After glancing at the shattered Mark I, Locke lifted Tom up.

"Good boy Tom, go and examine that pile of garbage; you might find something useful."

Tom leaped to a piece of Mark I 'wreckage' and began to play with it with great interest, reaching out his paws.

Tony Stark, sprawled lazily on the ground, chuckled. "Buddy, while that big thing isn't exactly cutting-edge technology, it's still a cat, isn't it?"

Before Locke could say anything, Tom was already displeased. How dare they look down on Tom!

Tom turned around and dashed into the still-exploding base.

Tony Stark's mouth dropped open. "Dude, am I hallucinating? That cat's legs turned into wheels?"

"Also, there's still an explosion going on there!"

“Even if you die, Tom won’t die,” Locke said calmly.

Tony Stark was about to retort, "What do you mean he'd die and the cat wouldn't?"

Before he could even speak, Tom reappeared in front of everyone.

He reached out and pulled out a hammer much bigger than Tom himself, then reached behind him and pulled out a pile of materials.

Tony Stark's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?! Where did these things come from?!"

No one paid him any attention; everyone's attention was on Tom.

Tom picked up a hammer and started banging away at a pile of materials, eventually turning them into a Mark I in full view of everyone.

Tony Stark looked at the newly appeared Mark I, then at the Mark I fragments beside him.

"This is not scientific!!"

Ignoring Tony Stark, Tom looked at his creation, pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, and thought it was a bit ugly.

Tom banged on the Mark I again, and the big, clunky Mark I was transformed into a Mark II.

Tony Stark: ? ? ? ?

Locke looked the newly appeared Mark II up and down: "Tom, the color is a bit ugly. Let's paint it with some color, like the blue you're wearing."

Tom nodded upon hearing this, and then proceeded to hammer the Mark II until it was painted blue.

Tony Stark's vision went black, and he almost fainted on the spot.

"Huff, huff..." Tony Stark's breathing was heavier than a bellows.

"I don't believe it! It's a hallucination! It must be a hallucination!"

"Hey cat, come here! Come here! You think you can knock the miniature nuclear reactor out of my chest too?!"

Tom tilted his head and glanced at him twice, then looked at the small nuclear reactor, and then swung the hammer again, giving the blue-painted Mark II a good whack.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, a Mark II quickly transformed into a luminous object that seemed to contain boundless energy; it was none other than a small nuclear reactor.

"Fuck! This is not scientific!!!" Tony Stark couldn't catch his breath, and his vision went black instantly; he fainted on the spot.

"Go check on that guy, don't let him just disappear."

However, there was no movement.

Locke turned around and saw that Jason had also fainted and was now blowing bubbles.

He shook his head; he couldn't even withstand such a small impact.

Locke had no interest in sending the two unconscious men back. He took out his phone, dialed a number, and it was answered after only one ring.

"My dear Natasha, would you be interested in doing something worthwhile?"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: What is Real, What is False?

Night falls in a castle.

Locke gently swirled the wine in his glass, as if waiting for something.

"Bang bang bang..." A slow, deliberate knocking sound rang out.

"Please come in~"

The door opened, and a curvaceous figure appeared in the doorway, leaning against the door frame, displaying her alluring curves.

"Did you send those two guys back?"

"of course."

"Is Baldy going to send you to infiltrate Tony Stark's territory next?"

Natasha's expression changed slightly: "Locke, you seem to know a lot of things?"

“I had a feeling before that even though you’re not a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., you know more about S.H.I.E.L.D. than many veteran agents.”

Locke sat up, looking at the alluring Black Widow with a half-smile.

Are you sure you want to ask me questions like this?

Upon hearing this, Natasha smiled seductively, walked alluringly to Locke, and sat directly on his lap.

Without any hesitation, she snatched the wine from Locke's hand and leaned down to kiss him.

Locke didn't waste his hand either, and casually placed it on her waist.

After a moment, Natasha looked up and said, "Now, can you answer my question, my dear?"

Locke hooked the other man's chin with one finger: "Of course, you're still as charming as ever."

Feeling Locke's increasing pressure and his increasingly hot breath, Natasha's smile became even more captivating.

“Darling, it’s not gentlemanly to be in such a hurry. Answer my question first.”

"The view is different depending on the height you stand at."

“Natasha, I don’t have any ill feelings towards that bald-headed guy. On the contrary, as the king of spies, I think he is qualified. He is extremely paranoid and always suspicious of everyone. These are all excellent qualities of the king of spies.”

"However, he made a mistake, a fatal mistake. His vision was too narrow, so when others stood at a higher level and looked down on him, all his thoughts, ideas, and even the wisdom he was so proud of would be laid bare."

"He stands too low and tries to grasp too much, so in many ways, in the eyes of many people, he is actually more like a clown."

Seeing Natasha's complex and thoughtful expression after his words, Locke's actions became even more drastic once again.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Natasha's breathing also changed.

"One last question, please answer my last question."

"Honey, you really have a lot of questions."

"Unfortunately, I don't want to answer that now."

"If you want to know more secrets, go find that bald-headed guy and have him transfer you to my side. As a senior agent, you have that authority."

.........

The next day, around noon, Natasha finally woke up from her exhaustion. Feeling discomfort in every part of her body, Natasha couldn't help but curse angrily.

"Damn it, it wasn't very human before, and it's even less human now!"

She leaned against the wall to get up, walked to the wardrobe, and gently pushed it open, revealing rows and rows of luxurious women's clothing.

"Damn it, how many bitches has that bastard hooked up with here? He actually prepared so many women's clothes!"

While complaining, Natasha started picking up clothes one by one and comparing them. As for her original clothes, they had long since become tattered beggar clothes.

Natasha didn't close the wardrobe until she had chosen an expensive yet comfortable dress.

Looking outside, Natasha saw the sun was already starting to set, and she began to grumble again: "That bastard, I knew I wasn't wrong. By the time we finished, it was almost dawn, and that bastard still told me it was a street lamp!"

After her full recovery was complete, Natasha, looking beautiful, walked out of the castle. She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly remembered that she had left her communicator in the castle. That bastard had thrown it far away because he thought it was in the way.

However, as soon as she turned around, Natasha's figure suddenly froze. Her bright eyes narrowed abruptly as she stared intently behind her, her eyes unblinking, her entire body tense and stiff.

The castle, where they had lived not long ago, was now disappearing, melting away rapidly like paper on fire.

Natasha's agent instincts kicked in instantly, and she rushed forward at the fastest speed she had ever seen. She grabbed a piece of wood and snapped it off with all her might.

The next moment, everything vanished completely, as if it had never existed, except for the piece of wood in her hand.

After an unknown amount of time, Natasha's body finally regained its suppleness. She took a deep breath and walked a few steps forward, where a communicator stood quietly.

Natasha's eyes glazed over for a moment. She subconsciously looked at the clothes she was wearing. They were indeed new, and the price tag was still on: $18000.

A chill ran through Natasha for no apparent reason. What was real? What was fake?

"Is this the height you're standing at now, Locke Payne?"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: That's something no human could do.

S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, in the director's office.

Natasha was carefully and solemnly recounting everything that had happened. As a veteran agent, she could even repeat every word Locke had said yesterday. Of course, aside from some particularly confidential matters, agents also have their own privacy.

After a long, long time, Natasha stopped talking and handed a small package to Baldy. The package contained the piece of wood that Natasha had finally managed to break off.

Has it been tested?

"It has already been tested and is just ordinary wood. If there is anything special about it, it is that this piece of wood is very new. According to a professional carpenter, it is a piece of fresh wood that was separated from a living tree less than a month ago."

"The others?"

"The clothes are also new. I found the exact same new style in a luxury women's clothing store, and the price was exactly the same."

Before the bald-headed man could ask again, Natasha continued to answer.

"The gastric juice test is done, and the food—red wine, steak—is exactly what I remember eating."

The bald-headed man rubbed his head. After so many years as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., what hadn't he experienced? He'd never experienced anything like this before!

"Fuck! What did he do?!"

"Illusion? Or some kind of spatial ability?"

"No! Director, I think neither of these guesses is accurate."

Instead of questioning him, the man with the bald head said, "Natasha, tell me your guess."

Natasha pursed her lips and spoke in an incredibly complicated tone.

"I suspect that there is no part that is true and no part that is false, or that all the statements are both true and false!"

"continue."

"After I entered the castle, everything there was real. After I left, or more accurately, from the moment I stepped out of the castle, everything became fake, except for what I was wearing."

Silence, long silence.

I don't know how much time passed before I heard the deep voice of the man with the bald head.

"Natasha, that's not something a human could do!"

"But isn't this the closest guess to the truth?"

Silence fell again, and after a while...

"Natasha, you can go down now."

"As for your request for a transfer, let me think about it some more."

"Okay, Director."

.........