"How does it feel?" Leon asked curiously.
Tony paused. "No strange odor…"
Leon rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Did you expect me to mix in floral musk or gym-sock fragrance?"
Tony laughed, tapping his helmet. Then he grew serious.
"It feels incredible. Even for my current baseline, the enhancement from this armor is significant."
"Defense goes without saying. As for strength and speed—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
A fading afterimage lingered where he had stood.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, Tony appeared beside Leon and threw a punch.
Leon didn't move.
Bast—ever at his side—reacted instantly. She raised her palm and caught the blow cleanly.
Her heels slid back half a centimeter.
Leon casually placed a hand against her back, stopping the recoil.
"You can't even push back a girl?" he teased. "Big bro, you sure you've still got it?"
"Yeah? Try taking your hand off first."
Tony scoffed.
"As you wish."
Leon shrugged and withdrew his support.
With a snap of his fingers, he opened a portal to the Arctic Ocean—remote, uninhabited, ideal for testing power without unwanted spectators.
"Bast. Spar with him. No holding back."
"Yes, Master."
She nodded obediently.
Tony hovered upward and flew through first. "Perfect. Just what I wanted."
Bast stepped forward—only to feel Leon catch her ankle mid-stride, lifting her leg into an elegant high-kick posture. His other arm circled her waist, steadying her.
"Master?"
"Shh."
"Give Tony something real. But Mark VII's Living Adamantium might be a bit rough on your claws."
Before she could respond—
Leon leaned in and kissed her.
Her eyes widened slightly, a flicker of pain crossing them.
Because this wasn't just a kiss.
He simultaneously activated Super Self-Regeneration, guiding a thread of Living Adamantium from his own skeletal interface—flowing in liquid form through their contact point.
The metal traveled into Bast's body, coating her skeletal structure in an ultra-thin layer of adaptive Living Adamantium.
Reinforced.
Sharpened.
Yet flexible enough not to hinder growth.
Her claws gleamed brighter—deadlier.
Perhaps, Leon mused, he should eventually outfit all his "companions" with Living Adamantium gear.
No need for bulky armor.
Functional elegance was better.
Their lips parted.
Bast breathed lightly, fingers gripping Leon's shirt as her now-silver claws left shallow creases in the fabric.
The sensation she had just endured—sharp, metallic, electric—made her brow tighten for a moment.
But compared to Leon's own full Adamantium skeletal reinforcement in the past—
She had handled it far better.
"You endured that well."
Leon stroked her silver hair gently, brushing near her elfin ear.
"If you win… you get a reward."
"Any request."
He blew lightly against her ear. It twitched like a restless wing.
Her cheeks flushed—but her gaze hardened.
"Yes, Master."
With absolute resolve, Bast stepped through the portal.
Leon didn't follow.
Through her senses, he could observe everything.
Instead, he moved behind Helen Cho, wrapping his arms around her in a familiar embrace.
Chin resting on her shoulder.
"Helen… looks like that fight might take a while. So maybe we—"
"No."
She cut him off immediately.
"I have work to do. Go play with your little wildcat."
"Oh? Are you jealous?"
Leon pressed closer, shameless.
"I—I'm not!"
She folded her arms and turned her head away, classic textbook denial.
Leon's playful side ignited.
He began lightly tickling her sides.
She burst into laughter.
"Stop—! Leon! I can't—!"
The chair rocked—
Snapped—
And in the chaos, Leon maneuvered them both downward, cushioning her fall beneath him.
Thud.
They locked eyes.
The mood shifted.
Helen closed her eyes instinctively.
Leon leaned closer—
Then she remembered something.
She quickly placed her hands over his lips.
"What's wrong?"
"I—I'm on my period. It's not a good day…"
She turned her face aside, flushed.
Leon paused.
Then gently turned her back toward him.
He kissed her forehead.
Soft.
Sincere.
"I know."
No desire.
Just warmth.
The faint scent of perfume mixed with sweat lingered in the air.
…
Two and a half hours later—
One refused to lose.
The other couldn't afford to.
The Arctic Ocean witnessed a nuclear-scale detonation.
Leon sensed it instantly.
Two portals opened in the sky.
Tony—his Mark VII reduced to a minimal protective layer—tumbled through one.
Bast—her maid uniform shredded nearly beyond recognition—fell through the other.
Crash.
Tony slammed headfirst into the floor, neck twisted at an alarming angle.
He didn't get back up.
Bast, on the other hand—
Was caught midair in a bridal carry.
Leon had positioned her portal directly above himself.
Aside from some soot on her cheek, she was largely unharmed.
He held her effortlessly.
"…So?"
Leon raised an eyebrow gently.
Bast, breathing slightly heavier than usual, looked up at him.
"I won."
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