7. The Return of the Parents

If something happened to the child in the family, no matter how big-hearted Merlin was, he would not be able to spend leisurely time with his girlfriend in another world.

In the early hours of the day, he returned to the mystery house.

And when he came back, Laura was already awake.

However, this girl's performance was very different from her usual expressionless face, she seemed to be terrified.

Holding Merlin's arm tightly with both hands, his eyes were full of sensitivity and uneasiness, as if he had returned to the state when he was just picked up by Merlin.

"The pheromone hormones in her body are somewhat disordered, and it may take a few days to return to normal."

Xuan Lan explained to Merlin in a low voice:

"Pheromones are factors that affect personal emotions. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for them to suddenly become disordered."

"So I suspect that the dark Wolverine Daken who tried to abduct Laura, in addition to inheriting Logan's self-healing and claws, he is also a rare, mutated mutant."

"His special ability is supposed to be manipulating other people's pheromones."

"Um."

Merlin nodded, he gently stroked Laura's long hair, and said softly:

"Look at you poor little one. I just went out for less than half a day, and you were almost kidnapped."

Laura didn't answer, but hugged Merlin's wrist even tighter.

"It's okay, it's all over."

He patted Laura on the head, then took up his pocket watch, checked the time, and said:

"Riwen and Lorna haven't come back yet?"

"They went to avenge Laura."

Xuan Lan showed a smile, and she said:

"The children's affection is really good."

"revenge?"

Merlin pouted:

"I think it's more like venting...revenge is not like that."

"Call the two of them back, don't let them mess around, their actions have no effect other than scaring the snake."

"So, are you going to take over this matter? Master Merlin."

Xuan Lan brushed her hair, she asked:

"Are you going to end yourself?"

"What do you say?"

Merlin leaned on the sofa, he looked at the burning fireplace, and said softly:

"My poor little girl was bullied, almost abducted, and I almost lost a child... And all this is because of a mysterious person hiding behind the scenes, eager to see some father-daughter tricks."

"That pissed me off, Lan."

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, leaning on the sofa with Laura in his arms under the light of the fireplace beside him.

He raised the cane in his hand and carefully looked at the blessed black devil's skull on the top of the cane. Looking at Prince Black Heart's dark eye sockets, he said:

"We once suspected that Logan's chaotic life, including the X weapon program, etc., were all manipulated by a pair of black hands behind the scenes... Now it seems that this guess is true."

"Daken is not a big problem, but the mysterious man next to him..."

"A mysterious man who can repel Googoo, and that weird claw, Daken kept saying that he was going to take Laura to meet the ancestors..."

"'Ancestors'...the word makes sense."

Merlin thought for a moment, he pushed his glasses, and said to the artificial intelligence lady who was always on call:

"Icarus, send a message to Logan who is still in Japan, asking him to find a way to check his family tree and see how far the bloodline of the Hautley family can be extended."

"In addition, tell him our guess that the man behind everything about his chaotic life is likely to be his 'ancestor' in the true sense."

"Maybe that is also a mutant with self-healing factors, and he has lived until now."

Merlin says:

"Give him a direction, and let him stop wasting time on insignificant things."

"Well, the message has been sent."

Icarus quickly completed Merlin's order, and Merlin looked down at the drowsy Laura.

With a flick of his fingers, he threw a sleeping spell on the girl, and then gently withdrew his hand.

He stood up and said to Xuanlan:

"I'm going to take care of something, and I'll be back soon."

Xuanlan sent Meilin to the door, and she asked softly:

"Master Merlin, are you going to show the children what real revenge is?"

"No, I'm just going to end this."

Merlin shook his head and said:

"Children should live the life that children should live. Their hands should be kept clean, to touch flowers and pastries, to stick their hands in mud, and I will do it."

He twisted the doorknob, pushed open the door, and appeared on the rooftop of the New York Heroes Association.

Merlin looked at the city in front of him that was still brightly lit in the wee hours of the morning. Leaning on his cane, he reached out and lit a cigarette.

The surroundings were quiet, but there was anger in Merlin's heart, making him burn with anger.

Revenge roared inside him, making him want to grab everyone in the Hand and turn their heads off...

Those bastards, how dare they stick out their hands...

It seems that he has been too gentle and low-key in the past few years, so that the darkness of this city has forgotten the lessons of the past, those bloody lessons.

A wave of outsiders who ignore the rules is provoking, and they feel that they have a great advantage.

Merlin had to respond to the provocation.

Like those "Raven" stories that used to play out in New York.

But he can't do it himself. With his rank, he really shouldn't get involved in this kind of street gang confrontation, not only because of his style, but also because his every move will attract a lot of attention.

Fortunately, though, he has enough friends to do it for him.

He flicked his fingers, and Icarus quickly sent a message, and a few minutes later, a dark shadow appeared on the rooftop behind Merlin.

Wearing a black cloak, darkness gathered around his body, like the big villain in the comics when he appeared on the stage, "Cloak" Talon stepped out of the shaking darkness.

Appearing with him were the divine man Luke Cage in pajamas, and the female knight Jessica Jones, who was still rubbing her eyes and seemed not to wake up.

Three of the four founders of the New York Society of Heroes came.

The only absent Miss "Dagger" is still working in Gotham, and the situation there is much worse than New York.

In addition to the large-scale deployment of demon hunting agents, there must be some powerful heroes to hold the field.

"Sorry to call you here at this hour, folks."

With his back to them, Merlin raised his head, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said:

"But just now, something terrible happened in this city we guard."

"Some thugs tried to attack and hold a 14-year-old child hostage. They drew their knives wantonly in the dead of night and used the city as their hunting ground."

"When we didn't notice, some arrogant and arrogant outsiders regarded this city as a territory they could control at will, and they tried to provoke the order of this city..."

"The order guarded by us."

"They've infiltrated every neighborhood in New York, and they're going to do it again in New York what they did in their own country."

Merlin burned the cigarette butt in his hand. In the shining fire, he turned around, looked at the three people behind him, and said:

"They've taken action...We, I mean, the guardians of the city, the superheroes, have to do something!"

"Boss, just be quicker."

Jessica Jones yawned, she lazily said to Merlin:

"Just tell us, who is the target? Where is it going? How many are you killing?"

"Don't be so violent, Jessica."

Merlin says:

"The city has dusted up again, and we need to wipe that dust off and make it clean again."

"I am now extending an invitation to you in an official capacity. I invite members of the New York Association of Heroes to participate in the clean-up of the evil 'Hands'."

"The specific target information will be sent to your hands in a few hours, and n.y.p.d. and SHIELD's field department will cooperate with your actions."

Merlin said to the three heroes behind him:

"The goal of the mission is to completely eradicate all the strongholds of the Hand in New York. I mean, since the group of chaotic and crazy people have come, then don't even think about leaving."

"The mission starts at 8 o'clock in the morning, you can go back and have a rest first."

"Yes, sir."

The three nodded, but when they left, Luke Cage suddenly turned around and asked:

"Sir, I have a question. Is the purpose of the cleanup operation against the Hand simply expulsion? Or..."

"Uprooted!"

Merlin's voice became a little colder, and he said:

"Everyone in that organization, from the top down to the bottom, in this city... catch them if they can, but if they dare to resist, then..."

"understood."

Jessica beside Cage responded, and she pushed her boyfriend who seemed to be going to continue asking.

Dragging him, he disappeared into the dark door opened by the cloak.

Women are always more sensitive than men, and Jessica sensed the icy aura emanating from the Chief.

Although Merlin has been talking about this matter in a business-like tone, Jessica knows that things are definitely not that simple...

How could a mere Hand Society get the direct attention of the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

There's a huge difference between the two ranks...

Well, those murderers must have done something that made the chief very angry. Chief Merlin was only unable to do it himself due to his status, so he pretended to be in the hands of the Heroes Association.

Best of all, there's nothing wrong with the thing itself...

It is a matter of course for heroes to fight villains, and members of the association will never have any doubts.

"I heard that Chief Merlin is a very cautious person."

Jessica returned to her bedroom, and she thought about it randomly in her mind:

"If the Hand really messed with him, he wouldn't just send the Heroes..."

"Hey, it's hard for those idiots who messed up the wrong people, but what does this have to do with us superheroes who enforce justice?"

"Who told them to be villains... Hey, they really have no future!"

And on the rooftop of the Heroes Association, after the three left, Merlin was still standing there.

The anger inside him was hard to contain, but he couldn't show it in front of the kids, so he stood there and smoked another cigarette.

Amid the rising smoke, Icarus said to Merlin:

"You didn't control your emotions well, Merlin. When the female knight Jessica left just now, she looked at you very strangely. That smart woman with bad living habits must have already guessed the whole story."

"Guess it, guess it, it's not a big deal."

Merlin took a deep breath of smoke, and in this lonely night, he said:

"I'm just an ordinary person, and I can't act all the time..."

"Are you really going to arrest them all?"

Icarus asked again:

"Judging from the news from Tucker, the Hand seems to be planning to carry out a large-scale operation in New York. The ancient organization born in Japan has almost transferred most of its manpower to North America..."

"Not only in New York, but also in other cities."

"It is very difficult to capture them completely, and it will take a lot of resources to detain them. According to some information about the Hand Association recorded in the database, it seems that all real members of that organization must sign weird contracts. They are hopeless, so why not..."

"Not as good as what?"

Merlin asked:

"Kill them all? Icarus...is that what you want to say?"

"I just spoke from your heart, Merlin, you hate these organizations that only bring destruction and chaos more than anyone else."

Icarus retorted:

"In fact, you also have this idea, but because of some humanitarian thinking and universal principles, you can't say it, I will say it for you."

"You're welcome."

"Well, you are really sharp."

Merlin shrugged, he let out a sigh of relief, and said:

"Yes, I would have wished for every single one of them to die, but it would have been a horrific massacre...my duty does not allow me to do such a thing."

"swish"

A contact number was projected on the lens in front of Merlin's eyes, and Icarus said softly:

"So, someone can do it for you... Aren't 'friends' prepared for this moment?"

Merlin looked at the phone number, he seemed to be hesitating and engaged in a fierce ideological struggle.

After a while, he nodded imperceptibly, and then dialed the phone.

"Hello? Merlin? Why are you calling me at this time? Could it be that you're feeling lonely, so you plan to ask me out for a drink?"

As usual, the slightly hoarse seductive life sounded in Merlin's ears, and the back of a woman who was sitting in yoga meditation in the dark was also projected on the lens in front of his eyes.

With a perfect body line, it is really hard to imagine that she is already the mother of a child.

"Thalia..."

Merlin says:

"I'm going to post a bounty in the League of Assassins."

"Hmm, so you're contacting me today as a guest? What a bummer."

Thalia, who was meditating, opened her arms and posed in a strange posture. Without looking back, she said in a business-like tone:

"Tell me, whose head do you want?"

"The Hand..."

Merlin closed his eyes and said:

"Everyone..."

"Well, that's a big list."

Thalia's tone didn't change, she said:

"There is also some connection between that ancient organization and us. My father once conquered them, but those lunatics worshiped things in the dark too much, so my father gave them up..."

"A group of pathetic dark believers, but they are not easy to deal with. To complete your order, I have to use the most elite forces of the Assassin League, and there will be losses..."

"In other words, your request is expensive."

"So, how much do you want?"

Merlin asked.

Thalia let out a heartwarming chuckle in the dark, and she said:

"No, we don't talk about money... It was you who led me to the path of an assassin, and I haven't thanked you yet."

"I only have one small request. My son, he has had some emotional disputes recently. He is very distressed. Young people are like this..."

"Ruiwen is also a good girl. If she becomes my daughter-in-law in the future, I will be very satisfied."

"Merlin, don't meddle in the children's affairs..."

A few minutes later, Merlin gave a soft "Yes", which was his answer, and Talia's tone became joyful. She stroked the Hidden Blade on her left arm, and said softly:

"Then as you wish!"

"The League of Assassins accepts your reward, all members of the Assassin's Guild..."

"Until it's history."