The dinner was booked at a secluded private kitchen in Manhattan, hidden in the attic of an old building, with warm yellow light wrapping around the wood-colored tables and chairs, and the night view of the Hudson River visible outside the window.
When Emma arrived, Logan was already sitting by the window, not wearing formal attire, just a black shirt with two buttons open at the collar, cuffs casually rolled up to his forearms, biting on a cigar while looking at the menu.
The lines of his profile were rugged, unexpectedly exuding a casual sexiness under the light.
“You’re quite early.” Emma pulled out a chair and sat down, taking off her jacket and draping it beside her, revealing the silk slip dress underneath, with delicate shoulder lines and deep clavicles, “I thought you’d be half an hour late.”
“When a beauty treats, how dare I be late.” Logan pushed the menu over with a smile at the corner of his mouth, “Order whatever you want, you’re paying anyway.”
Emma gave him a look, but didn’t decline, lowering her head to flip through the menu.
The waiter came to take the order, and she familiarly named a few dishes and added a bottle of well-aged red wine.
After the waiter left, she raised her eyes to look at Logan, her fingertips gently tapping on the tabletop: “Seriously, regarding the Red Devil, thanks to you. This guy has been haunting me for a long time, and someone else really wouldn’t be able to handle him.”
“A small matter.” Logan flicked his ash casually, “With just that little teleportation ability of his, bullying ordinary people is fine, but when he runs into a tough adversary, it’s not enough.”
Emma smiled with pursed lips: “The way you praise yourself is somewhat similar to Tony Stark.”
“Don’t smear me like that.” Logan scoffed, “I’m much more low-key than him. That guy can’t wait to carve the four words ‘I am very awesome’ on his forehead.”
The two chatted desultorily, from the old scores back in the Hellfire Club to their respective lives now.
Emma talked about the annoying things in the company, while Logan complained about Tony immersing himself in the laboratory every day risking his life, and incidentally grumbled that someone always came looking for trouble during his vacation.
After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere gradually changed.
The warm light fell on Emma’s face, softening her usual cold and glamorous edges, the corners of her eyes tinged with a faint red, and her gaze towards Logan carried a hint of moisture.
Logan was never any sort of gentleman to begin with; his former girlfriend was pretty, and the atmosphere was just right, so there was no reason to put on airs.
He reached out, his fingertips gently brushing the back of her hand resting on the table.
Emma didn’t dodge, instead looking up at him, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
“Are you full?” Logan’s voice lowered a bit, carrying a slight hoversomeness soaked in smoke and alcohol, “If you’re full, change places?”
Emma looked at him, suddenly smiled, and reached out to hook his finger: “Logan, you really don’t beat around the bush at all.”
“We’re all adults, beating around the bush is so boring.” Logan smiled openheartedly, “A matter of mutual consent, right?”
Emma didn’t speak, just picked up her bag and stood up, motioning for him to follow.
Her hands were very cold, her fingertips slender, and he held them tightly.
Early the next morning, when the sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, Logan was awakened by the vibration of his phone.
He squinted and groped for his phone.
It was a message sent by Tony, with only one sentence: “Hurry to the lab, I’ll show you something good.”
Logan scoffed and casually tossed the phone back onto the bed.
Without thinking, he knew that guy’s armor must have been built, and he was in a rush to show off.
Rustling sounds came from behind; Emma had also woken up, propping herself up on her arms to look at him, her hair scattered on the pillow, carrying the laziness of just waking up.
“Who is it?” Her voice was a bit hoarse.
“Tony, that guy has nothing to do.” Logan turned over and ruffled her hair, “I have to go, the boss is calling.”
Emma nodded, neither asking him to stay nor acting coy, lifting the quilt to get up and go to the bathroom: “I have to go to the company too, there’s a meeting in the afternoon.”
After washing up, the two went out one after the other.
Logan mounted his harley, and Emma got into her sports car, waving briefly at the intersection before driving off in different directions.
There was no reluctance to part, nor any extra admonitions; they were both adults who knew it in their hearts, and anyway, there was plenty of time ahead.
Logan twisted the throttle toward Stark Tower, muttering to himself inwardly.
This vacation was busier than going to work.
Saving people, killing Mutants, accompanying women, even sleeping in couldn’t be done in peace.
Arriving at the 66th-floor laboratory, as soon as the door was pushed open, Tony’s excited voice was heard.
“You’re finally here! Come over and take a look!”
Logan walked in with a cigar in his mouth, immediately spotting the silver-red armor standing in the center of the laboratory.
The lines were smooth, with full metallic texture, exquisite beyond countless times compared to that pile of scrap iron in the cave.
The mark ii stood there steadily, the arc reactor on its chest glowing with a pale blue light, particularly striking in the spacious laboratory.
Tony was wearing a set of work clothes, his face stained with a bit of grease, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, like a child who had gotten a new toy.
He walked around the armor, his tone full of pride: “The mark ii, all-titanium alloy shell, supersonic flight, built-in Jarvis auxiliary system, firepower system still being tweaked, but more than enough to deal with ordinary militants.” The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
“It looks the part.” Logan leaned against the door frame, leisurely smoking his cigar, glancing at the armor with a slightly bantering tone, “I just don’t know if it looks good but is useless.”
Tony’s face dropped: “Looks good but useless? Do you know how much effort I spent on this thing? Let alone ordinary bullets, even a tank cannon might not be able to pierce its shell.”
“Is that so?” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Then fly one for me to see?”
“Fly it is!” Tony couldn’t stand being provoked the most, and immediately walked behind the armor, lifted the mask and climbed inside.
The moment the mask closed, two white lights lit up at the eyes of the armor, and Jarvis’s voice sounded synchronously: “The mark ii startup is complete, all systems are operating normally.”
As soon as the words fell, two flames spewed from the soles of the armor, and it slowly rose, hovering steadily in mid-air.
Tony’s voice came out from the armor, carrying a hint of showing off: “See that? Smooth takeoff and landing, controllable altitude, can fly up to thirty thousand feet at most.”
He maneuvered the armor to circle twice in the laboratory, deliberately posing a few handsome postures, extremely smug.
Logan watched him show off, the corners of his mouth twitching straight.
This guy, how old is he, acting like a child.
“How is it?
Awesome, right?” Tony landed in front of him, his tone full of smugness, “With those two tricks of yours, maybe you can’t even pierce my armor now.”
“Is that so?” Logan smiled, smiling with ill intent, “Can’t pierce it? Not necessarily.”
“If you have the ability, give it a try!” Tony stiffened his neck, “Don’t say I’m bullying you, hit it however you want, if you can make me sway even a bit, you win.”
He had confidence in his armor; with the hardness of the titanium alloy plus the buffer layer, even if Logan had great strength and sharp steel claws, it was impossible to easily break through the defense.
Logan didn’t speak, just reached out and made a virtual grip towards the armor.
The next second, Tony felt something was wrong.
A strange resistance suddenly came from the joints of the armor, as if they were tightly jammed by an invisible force.
He wanted to raise his hand, but his arms didn’t move at all; he wanted to take a step, but his legs were like they were welded to the ground.
Even the reactor on his chest began to heat up slightly, and the prompt sound of current disorder kept ringing in his ears.