Loki's story was judged by Su Ming to be a lie.
He got the plan right but the ending wrong, hence Su Ming detected it.
Some terms originally known only to Su Ming, such as the 40K Universe, Emperor, and Golden Throne, appeared in Loki's words, making it seem highly believable. So why did Su Ming decide he was lying?
Because Su Ming was deemed by The Ancient One to have no magical talents whatsoever, incapable of ever casting a spell. Su Ming deliberately asked Doom such questions to trigger this verification.
The Ancient One would have used the Time Gem to peek into the future to say such things. Even though she can't see his true form, by observing people around Su Ming, it's easy to judge whether there's magic involved.
On any timeline and possibility within the Marvel World, Su Ming cannot cast spells. In this matter, The Ancient One is deemed more credible.
The source of that cost could only be the Earth Protection Array.
Loki and Doom claimed Su Ming reduced himself to a puddle of flesh to support the protection array over the world, which is clearly a flaw.
Not to mention whether Su Ming is truly that altruistic to protect Earth, drained himself almost to death without dropping the burden.
Would that still be him? It would probably take Captain America to be that noble, wouldn't it?
Remember, his plan for Warnerheim is to abandon Earth and run when self-preservation is needed.
Days bound to Earth sometimes force him to contribute to its survival. Such unpaid labor feels unpleasant, turning Earth into a vulnerability.
On the other hand, Earth's protection array consists of the Three Great Temples and Kama Taiji. Earth itself bears most side effects; only a little burden remains shouldered by The Ancient One and 'Nameless'.
Doom and Loki are adept in magic but clearly lack understanding of the specific workings of Vishanti Magic. Its operation is passed by word of mouth between generations of Supreme Mages, remaining unknown to outsiders.
This burden isn't as heavy as one might imagine. After all, The Ancient One has lived over 800 years. Though death is inevitable, if she can manage over 700 years, would Su Ming only last six or seventy years?
Even if Su Ming got possessed and decided to carry this cost, Loki and Doom's timeline grossly underestimates X Metal, a material that can create the DC World Multiverse. How could it be drained by a single planet in Marvel?
Su Ming must have demonstrated X Metal in the future. Doom and Loki saw, but only what Su Ming wanted them to see, thus creating a misunderstanding of the metal's capabilities.
It's like throwing a stone into a pond. Now the ripples return magnified, and Su Ming, realizing this anomaly, receives it distinctly.
Even Luthor, from the metal's place of origin, couldn't fathom its limits.
Add X Metal with the Ten Rings of Emotion, Luthor only saw that Deathstroke possessing it could release immensely powerful energy beams, but beyond this, he doesn't know its upper limits.
When used on an Alien Sea Race starship, Su Ming realized it possessed power capable of destroying an entire Parallel Universe.
At that time, though he indeed felt a bit weak using such force, it was nowhere near as feigned as it outwardly appeared. It was an act.
Just letting others know you hold a 'nuclear bomb' suffices; there's no need to specify whether it's a hydrogen or neutron bomb. The unknown is scarier.
Preparing to fool someone? Misleading is merely the first step, right?
The pit dug for Luthor seems to have been copied again in Marvel by his future self. Indeed, it's the smart ones falling into pits first; truly, the unpredictability of life...
Moreover, Loki knows Deathstroke can leave the All-Powerful Universe but doesn't know what help he might obtain outside. Unable to describe the unknown, this is another flaw.
Su Ming would rather sit on the Frozen Throne than the Golden Throne, as both entail being a living dead, but the Frozen Throne comes with a helmet.
The most crucial point: these two seem unaware that Deathstroke has a super healing ability, meaning that even if X Metal bones get consumed, his calcium bones would regenerate.
In this brief conversation, they revealed so many flaws, making it truly hard to believe them.
Honestly, these two aren't great actors; their performances, in Su Ming's view, aren't as natural as Batman's.
As a mercenary, there's a rule: never trust anyone.
Su Ming is bold due to his skill; he may selectively trust some but the number is quite limited.
In the DC World, only Barry, Diana, and Sea King are trustworthy; everyone else is not, especially the Bat.
In Marvel, only Gin and Secret Guest can be trusted for now. Others can't, perhaps someone from Zhongsi Academy, but that's for the future.
Su Ming initially knew that his contact was Doom, although he appears committed to Earth, he is indeed a villain.
Doom is proud, disdainful of deceit, but when necessary, he can do anything.
Not to mention Loki, if one in ten of his statements is true, it's considered good, irrespective of the era, regardless of his core nature—lying is his instinct.
Just like living requires eating and excreting, Loki's existence cannot separate from lies. Whether intentional or not, a world's curse or the Immortal Palace's fate, Loki has always lied.
Under the current cosmic crisis, Loki would instinctively lie like a skunk sprays or an octopus inks.
Before they could decipher how Deathstroke saw through them, Su Ming ordered an attack.
Lianna is dealing with Loki, Hamill and Victor are dealing with Doom, Ciri is 'watching over' the little girl, preventing her from running around.
The black Great Sword swung sideways at Doom's waist. Earlier, Su Ming intentionally got close to Doom so that he could entangle the Magic turret at the first sign of change.
"Victor, tell me how long you and Loki waited for me?"
"...How did you find out?"
Actually, Victor's real ally at this moment is Loki. When the Illuminati and Dark Cabinet, New Avengers, X-Men, and other forces erupted into civil war due to differing attitudes towards other universes, only Doom actually took action.
He allied with Loki because only the person best at deceit could help everyone ignore Doom's existence, facilitating his actions. And having Deathstroke fall into the trap would be advantageous in future confrontations.
Doom indeed wants to cooperate, but his priorities always come first.
Upon hearing Doom's inquiry, Su Ming swung his sword at Doom's legs: "Actually, I'm more curious about what made you think I wouldn't figure it out? Where does your confidence come from? A storybook?"
"It shouldn't be like this." Doom used the magic recorded in his armor, and a series of colorful lights and shadows flew towards Su Ming.
"Sorry, stories can't control me." Su Ming directly used the Magic Floating Cloak as a shield. These powerful spells only caused some ripples.
However, during this brief defensive gap, Doom successfully cast Phase Magic, projecting himself entirely into the Star Realm, with physical immunity. He was temporarily safe.
"You cannot defeat Doom." He straightened up in the air, freeing himself from the embarrassing chase of the warrior's close pursuit.
Su Ming smiled indifferently and leisurely scratched his face, then tapped his Great Sword.
"Then you clearly forgot something crucial."
Doom's eyes narrowed, and he immediately turned to look in Valeria's direction. The little girl was now perched on Ciri's lap, firmly held by the shoulders. The Female Demon Hunter was gently stroking her golden hair, like petting a cat.
The little girl looked helpless. Doom never treated her as a child, but in fact, when she tried to run away, those little arms and legs truly performed at child level.
Just when Doom planned to drag Valeria into another dimension, the magic Hamill had been preparing all along, Space Anchor Magic, landed directly on the little girl, causing Doom's plan to completely fail.
"Despicable." Doom cursed at Su Ming: "Using the child as a hostage."
"First of all, weren't you the ones who set the trap? And she was originally your hostage against The Four Wonders. Disappointed that you didn't trick me? Enough talk, make a choice: come out of the Alternate Dimension and behave? Or abandon the little girl and escape alone?"
Doom glanced at Loki's situation. He was in an even more troublesome predicament than Doom. The Secret Guest possessed teleportation abilities, mastery in White Magic, sharp weapons, and excellent martial arts skills.
Loki was in danger in her hands, like a green leaf rolling around on the blade.
"If Doom had shaken hands with you earlier, would you have relaxed your guard?" Doom had made his decision.
"Perhaps, because your excuse was so poor. You said you never felt fear, yet were worried about the consequences of shaking hands with me? That logic doesn't hold. The answer must be that you were unwilling to lie, the whole matter was something you didn't want to do, a deception."
Doom's head shook slightly, unsure of its meaning: "You win this time, but the matter isn't over."
After speaking, Doom exploded. This was an Advanced Destruction Robot, not his real body.
Doctor Destruction always liked to refer to himself as Doom, not an indication of low intelligence, but rather a trap. This way, people couldn't distinguish whether they were facing Doom himself or a Destruction Robot.
The robot incessantly talked about how Doom did this and that, always speaking in the third person. This way, even if the robot secretly killed someone, it wasn't Doom lying or deceiving.
Watching the fireworks of the Alternate Dimension dissipate in front of him, the spatial ripples brushing over the room, Su Ming regretfully shook his head.
If Doom had cooperated, things could have been easier. But capturing the little girl was enough, as his goal was the Space-Time Machine.
The little girl also knew how to use the machine, and with her in hand, he could negotiate terms with Reed...
"Little girl, are you afraid?" Su Ming brushed away Ciri's mischief on Valeria's head. She seemed to be planning to braid the girl's hair.
Ciri pouted, glaring at him.
"Is fear useful?" Valeria smirked, looking at him with a questioning glance. Actually, upon hearing that the person in front of her was Deadpool's older cousin, she could guess what sort of person Deathstroke was.
Mercenaries don't kill for no reason, especially not children, otherwise they'd be a laughingstock among peers.
Her life was guaranteed as long as she didn't deliberately seek death.
"Alright, the world is now in chaos, all the heroes are busy with civil wars, your parents are being hunted, it's us villains who have to save the world."
"But you just drove Uncle Doom away."
"He's gone to find another way, or rather, he's always over there. Your involvement in his plans is optional, just a chain to restrain Franklin."
Su Ming thought the little girl should understand, because that's simply the truth.
When facing a crisis involving the survival of the entire cosmos, her abilities compared to her brother's were insignificant.