Chapter 101 – Oath of Loyalty

The next day.

Inside the Assassin Alliance base.

Smith Dole had left with a party of three yesterday, but returned today with six people.

In the lab, Bulma complained:

"Smith-oniisan, you promised to take me out for a walk. When are you going to keep that promise?"

Clinging to his arm, Bulma pouted. Smith awkwardly patted her head and replied:"In a couple of days."

"In a couple of days I'll take you to meet an interesting friend. He's one of the few geniuses of this world — a real inventor."

Bulma didn't care at all about any so-called inventor. What she cared about was Smith taking her out on what she already considered a date.

"You said it. You better keep your word this time."

Smith nodded:"This time, I won't break it."

Bulma's smile blossomed wider. She was already fantasizing about her date with him, and the mention of some genius was already forgotten — after all, who could be more brilliant than this young lady?

"Smith-oniisan, the battle power detector you asked me to develop is ready for mass production."

"The first generation can only measure up to 150 battle power — beyond that, the device will burn out, but it won't hurt anyone."

"I removed the x-ray and life-force scanning, and accordingly the wide-area detection is also gone."

"To measure someone's battle power you now need to aim manually with your eyes."

"I kept the communication function, and we can still monitor conversations if someone uses it. I also added anti-tamper features — if someone tries to take it apart or hack it, it explodes."

Hearing Bulma's improvements, Smith smiled. The result was even better than he expected.

"As expected of Bulma. You're a genius."

Bulma's smile grew even brighter at his praise. She glanced at the blonde girl strapped to the stretcher and asked:"Smith-oniisan, who's this sister you brought back?"

Smith explained:"Bulma, this is Yelena."

"She has a neurotoxin implanted in her brain, making her a puppet. Can you research a way to undo it?"

Bulma released his arm, rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, and said:"I'll give it a try. Can't promise yet."

Smith knew once she agreed, it was as good as done.

"I'm counting on you, Bulma."

"I have a meeting to hold. I'll leave you to it — and in two days, I'll definitely take you out."

Watching him leave, Bulma turned back to Yelena with a serious look and began thinking.

…

Smith walked straight to the conference room.

Inside, Natasha's little family was already waiting. Pushing the door open, he sat at the head of the table and said:"Yelena is with my scientist now — she's a real genius. I believe she'll be able to develop an antidote for the neurotoxin."

"Melina, you helped develop the virus. Do you have any ideas for an antidote?"

Smith wasn't only thinking of Yelena — there were still all those Black Widows controlled through the platform.

Melina shook her head:"I may have been a Red Room scientist, but I was never allowed near antidote work. Even I was controlled and couldn't raise a hand against him. If I knew how to undo it, you wouldn't even have seen me alive today."

Smith nodded."Then let's wait for our side to develop it."

Natasha spoke up:"Smith, thank you for saving my whole family, for letting me know the truth and finally taking my revenge. Such a great debt… we have no way to repay it. The only thing we can do is swear loyalty and hope you'll take us in."

The three of them — Natasha, Melina, and Alexei — stood, knelt on one knee before him, and said in unison:"We offer you our loyalty."

Apparently, they had discussed this amongst themselves while Smith was away.

Melina had even learned from Natasha about Smith's background and the ideals of his Assassin Alliance, and found herself deeply drawn to its code of conduct — a kind of atonement for her own past. Together with Alexei, they decided to seek Smith's protection.

For Natasha, having lost all trust in S.H.I.E.L.D., Smith's side seemed like a better place to be — and besides, destroying the Red Room fit perfectly with the Alliance's mission, so she didn't bother questioning whether there had been deeper calculations behind his help.

Looking at the three kneeling before him, Smith smiled faintly.

It hadn't been in vain — all his running around for Natasha's sake paid off without him even having to open his mouth.

"Very well. I accept your loyalty."

…

Meanwhile, at Stark's villa, Tony had already removed his battered armor and changed into casual clothes.

Pepper had left in anger after seeing the bullet-riddled armor and arguing with him.

Looking at his suit, full of battle scars, Tony said:"Jarvis, repair and repaint the armor. How long will it take?"

"Two hours, sir."

"Then get to work, Jarvis."

Once he'd given his orders, Tony thought of what happened to Yinsen — he should let Smith know. He also wanted to spar with him and see how his armor stacked up against a superhuman.

Tony went upstairs, picked up his phone, and dialed Smith's number.

Smith had just accepted Natasha's family's loyalty when his phone rang. Seeing it was Stark, he answered.

"Hey, Smith Dole."

"Hey, Tony Stark."

"Smith, remember we said when I finished my new armor we'd spar? How about tonight?"

"This time let's not go to the desert — my villa's grounds are good enough. What do you say?"

Hearing Tony's words, Smith was intrigued. He also remembered he'd promised to take Bulma out, so he simply agreed.

"Sure. I'll come by later — and I'll bring a friend."

…

(End of Chapter)

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