Chapter 36: Natasha: Lynn, Don't You Dare Hit On Elsa
Inside Tony Stark's villa.
Lynn found himself looking at a young woman with a high, fiery orange-red. Her face was bright and pretty, and her figure was slender yet perfectly curved.
But it was the blue jeans she wore, tracing the line of her hips, that made her truly enticing.
Lynn immediately grabbed a martini and stepped forward, introducing himself with perfect, gentlemanly charm. "Hi, beautiful lady. I'm Lynn Hall. You can call me Lynn. I'm with the Manhattan precinct."
Elsa, seeing a man who was tall, strikingly handsome, and impeccably dressed, smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Elsa Bloodstone. I'm currently the only vampire hunter in the Bloodstone family. Hunting vampires is kind of my life's work."
[Image: Elsa Bloodstone]
She offered her hand, and Lynn naturally took it.
Her hand was soft, almost impossibly so, as if it had no bones.
'If such a hand were to give me a handjo—...'
Ahem.
Lynn suppressed the erotic thought and smiled. "I heard Natasha mention she knew a couple of professionals who deal with vampires. I just wasn't expecting one of them to be so young."
"Oh, and by the way, has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"
Nearby, seeing Lynn already making his move on Elsa...
...Clint Barton leaned in toward Natasha. "Are you sure this 'expert' you called in is reliable? Seems to me like he's just here to pick up women."
Natasha just shrugged.
Bruce Banner, who was at a console with Tony, running data through a private satellite, chimed in. "If Natasha and Steve both vouched for him, he's probably fine."
As he spoke, Tony Stark tossed a handful of dried blueberries into his mouth.
He offered the bag around. When everyone but Bruce refused, Tony popped a few more. "He's young. It's normal. You, on the other hand, Clint... it's about time, don't you think? You should find a girlfriend."
"And you, too, Banner. You also need a girlfriend."
At this point in time, besides Natasha, none of the Avengers knew that Hawkeye was already married with kids.
Bruce Banner just gave a bitter laugh. "I think I'll pass. I don't want to hurt anyone. Besides... if a monster got married, who knows what kind of monster his kid would turn out to be?"
"Oh, come on."
Hearing Bruce's self-deprecating words, the other Avengers all frowned.
Even Steve clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't talk like that, Bruce. You're one of us. You're not a monster."
"Thanks."
Bruce nodded silently, but as he watched Lynn and Elsa laughing and chatting, a flash of envy crossed his eyes.
'If... if he hadnd't been hit by those gamma rays... if he hadn't become a monster...'
'Maybe... maybe he and Betty would be married by now. Maybe they'd even have a kid.'
Lynn, sensing Banner's gaze, gave him a small nod of acknowledgment.
He then turned his full attention back to Elsa.
"There's really such a thing? I always thought stuff like a witch's crystal ball was just fake."
"Of course it's real!"
As the sole heir to the Bloodstone line, Elsa Bloodstone had been raised almost exclusively by her family's steward.
She might be twenty, but she was surprisingly naive.
Perhaps it was because she'd had so little contact with normal people. Most of her time was spent using portals to hunt vampires all over the world.
So she was... "pure." As in, she had no ulterior motives.
So much so that Lynn easily learned that the two most important treasures of the Bloodstone family were the Bloodstone on her necklace, which granted her powers...
...and the Oracle Stone, hidden in her castle's vault, which could predict the future.
"Elsa, if that stone is really so powerful, doesn't that make you a prophet?"
"Before every mission, you just use the stone to see what happens. Wouldn't that make everything you do a guaranteed success?"
Elsa leaned back lazily on the sofa, her posture showing off every one of her perfect curves. "It's not that crazy. The Oracle Stone can't be... 'activated'... on command."
"It only glows and gives a hint when something really major is about to happen."
As they were talking, Natasha walked over with a tray.
She handed them both a glass of cocktail, smiling. "What are you two talking about?"
Before Elsa could answer, her phone rang.
She gave them both an apologetic look and stepped away to take the call.
"You need to dial it back."
Natasha shot Lynn a look. "The Bloodstone family... they were once the most powerful, most influential family... and they have rules. Anyone who... gets 'involved'... with a Bloodstone, must take the Bloodstone name."
"In other words, if you manage to talk Elsa into bed... you have to marry into her family. And you can never be with another woman for the rest of your life."
"Otherwise, you will face the Bloodstone family's most severe punishment."
"For real?"
Lynn looked skeptical. "What century is this? You're telling me that's actually a thing?"
"Why else do you think..."
Natasha shrugged, sinking lazily into the sofa. "...she's twenty years old, and... still a virgin. Don't you think that's a little rare?"
Once he was sure Natasha wasn't messing with him, Lynn nodded. "Got it. I'm just gonna... go see how Stark is doing with that search."
He immediately got up and walked away.
When Elsa returned, she saw the witty, charming Lynn now standing with Tony Stark, discussing something with a serious expression.
She sat down next to Natasha. "Natasha, what do you think of Lynn? Oh my gosh, he's so funny and charming. If he were willing to join my family, it would be so much fun!"
Natasha looked at Elsa's bright blue, star-like eyes.
She shook her head. "He's not for you, Elsa. He is absolutely not the kind of man who stays with one woman for long."
Just then, JARVIS's voice filled the room. "Sirs, based on the parameters Dr. Banner has entered, I am detecting a matching energy frequency in Miami."
Hearing this, the team's entire demeanor changed, all traces of leisure gone.
"Miami? I didn't think vampires would hide out there. Natasha, did you bring the Quinjet? If not, I can have JARVIS scramble my private plane."
Before Tony could finish, Elsa Bloodstone stood up. "I have a faster way."
She held out her hand, and the Bloodstone on her necklace began to glow.
The next second, a swirling, blood-red portal opened in the middle of the room.
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