"Beep beep!"
Steve, who was examining the patterns on his Shield by the roadside, looked up. The sound of the car horn not far away snapped him out of his thoughts once again, and he saw the person in the car was looking at him.
Decades had passed, but this person's appearance hadn't changed at all—the short stubble and the lone eye covered by a black leather eye patch, although appearing quite intimidating to outsiders, only felt kind and familiar to Steve.
"Godfather." Steve stood up, his head and shoulders slumped; he even felt too ashamed to face anyone.
"Get in the car, kid." Su Ming gestured to him, opening the passenger door.
This car was also picked up, just from someone else's home. Strangulation was very skilled at changing keys; all it took was to let the body flow into the keyhole and then harden.
"I'm waiting for Peggy, she's still at the White House." Steve pointed to the opposite side of the street, where the Star-Spangled Banner still flew over the ruins.
"She's not going anywhere; you don't need to be so inseparable that you always keep an eye on her, do you?" Su Ming showed a helpless smile; at least for these few days, Peggy surely had no time. Now, with the tug-of-war among SSR, the federal government, and the military, they're relying on her.
Whether they can get better reorganization conditions after disbanding is very important to everyone at SSR, because being infiltrated by Hydra means SSR will bear the blame. What Peggy can do is to find a way to share the blame before Congress finalizes the verdict.
Whether it's shared with the FBI, CIA, or other departments depends on whether she can get a hold over them or offer an appropriate price.
The SSR Director was proven to be a spy and has died; other top officials also suffered heavy losses in the rebellion at Caspian Camp Headquarters. Now, the only people who can speak up are Captain America, Agent 13, Howard, and Fury.
Steve has retreated into himself; Howard has... gone traveling; Fury is a Black man.
Thus, communicating with the upper echelons falls solely on Peggy.
This inevitably involves a lot of scheming and interest swaps, and it must take much time.
Being at a disadvantage isn't the real trouble, according to Su Ming's experience; it's the blame-sharing conference that follows the disadvantage that's truly troublesome.
No matter the organization, big or small, stability requires someone dedicated to taking the blame.
Justice League remains relatively stable because Little Flash, Bat, and Superman specialize in taking the blame, often competing to bear it. Once Justice League suffers a setback, the trio's first words at meetings are usually, "It's my fault."
First take the blame, then discuss how to solve the issue. That way, everyone doesn't carry any psychological burden.
Meanwhile, on the Marvel side, the Avengers have had several internal conflicts, as have Mutants, and even Hydra has experienced internal wars. This often stems from poor communication and the desire to shirk responsibility, leaving no one to take it, creating friction between each other.
In Su Ming's view, the only good solution is not to let yourself end up at a disadvantage in the first place.
Steve looked at the ruins not far away, then at the eyes of the person in the car. He gave a bitter smile and obediently sat in the passenger seat, letting Mr. Wilson start the car and take him to an unknown direction.
Actually, Su Ming came to see Steve partly to check on his situation, but more importantly, to protect him. The United States during wartime needs heroes, but in this Cold War era, the needed heroes are preferably anonymous ones.
Steve is too famous, which might be a bit of an eyesore to some people.
But having a major capitalist like himself backing him provides some deterrence—this is the power of wealth.
"I saw it on TV, so I specially came to find you." While driving, Su Ming continued talking to Steve.
Now, if you're not careful, Steve would be lost in thought staring at his Shield, as if greatly shaken.
How should I put it? It's probably a side effect of the serum, 'the better the good, the worse the bad.' To put it bluntly, Su Ming thinks Dr. Erskine's serum amplifies stubbornness in a disguised manner, making the brain less agile.
From a positive angle, it can be said to have strong willpower, unwavering determination. But using a negative word, it's stubbornness.
Steve and Red Skull are typical examples; two known users of the SSS Serum, both exceptionally stubborn and rigid.
"I killed the wrong person; I'm not worthy of being a hero."
Captain America sighed, appearing very downcast, but simultaneously looking at Su Ming with a hopeful gaze, wanting to hear the Godfather's thoughts.
After all, he is an elder.
Su Ming had anticipated this; he took out two cigars, tossed one to Steve, who declared he doesn't smoke, but it didn't matter—Su Ming forcibly shoved the cigar into Steve's mouth and lit it.
"You killed quite a few Americans, I saw it on TV, but in my view, it's not a problem." Su Ming contentedly put away his lighter, lighting his own cigar.
"Cough cough..." Steve just coughed, his face wrinkled.
Su Ming's eyes flashed; forcing Steve to smoke, especially cigars, was because they were customized Hydra versions!
Initially, those foolish guys planned to use this cigar to control Dr. Jin, but Deathstroke intercepted, and the cigar fell into his hands. After all, it's a specialty with Wilson Enterprises' 'W' logo on it; he kept it just to set up Steve now.
For someone as stubborn as Steve, Su Ming reckons even if he talked himself dry, he might not convince him, so better to just use drugs.
Simple, direct, and effective.
Captain America benefits from the SSS Serum; his metabolism is fast, but just holding this 'mushroom smoke,' makes the drug work quickly.
Normally, Steve doesn't smoke, naturally unaware of what a typical cigar should taste like, and wouldn't pay attention to why there's a crack like a knife cut on the cigar. This thing doesn't need to be inhaled into the mouth; just holding it in his mouth and inhaling the spores through his nose means he's affected.
So within just a few seconds, Steve's gaze became dazed.
"Raise your hands." Su Ming started to test the effects.
Sure enough, Steve raised both his hands with the Shield, like he was holding a pot.
"Alright, raise your feet."
So Steve raised both his feet.
Seeing the effects were satisfactory, then Su Ming could carry out his plan within the cigar's burning time.
He began teaching Steve to talk as though teaching elementary school language: "Now repeat after me—heroes should beat the bad guys and save the good ones."
"...Beat the bad guys, save the good ones," Steve repeated blankly.
"Among Americans, there are bad guys and good guys." Although things aren't that simple and one can hardly judge a person's goodness, only by stating it plainly, can someone like Steve understand.
"...There are bad guys and good guys," Steve repeated with a blank stare.
Su Ming continued teaching: "You've killed only bad guys, even though they were Americans, you did nothing wrong."
"...I did nothing wrong," Steve repeated.
"Great, repeat these words a hundred times," Su Ming nodded with satisfaction, thinking that the young can indeed be taught; brainwashing is simpler than doing laundry.
"Great, repeat these words a hundred times," Steve genuinely 'repeated' this sentence.
"No, I didn't mean for you to repeat this phrase!" Su Ming paused, flicking his head with the hand holding the cigar.
"No, I didn't mean for you to repeat this phrase!" Steve, without changing his tone, mimicked him.
Su Ming sighed; although it's not going so smoothly, he accompanied Steve to recite it several hundred times...