"It wasn't my fault. They were bad people, and they were in the middle of doing bad things. I just stopped them, didn't I?"
Half an hour passed, and Steve was still a bit fuzzy. Su Ming pulled the butt of the spiked cigar from his mouth, tossed it out the car window, and watched the glowing stub drop into the Potomac River, which ran straight out to sea.
"Right, that's right. Since you can talk like that, keep talking."
Su Ming squinted happily at his handiwork. See? He'd just twisted stubborn, overthinking Steve right around.
Even though Steve was wearing the Star-Spangled Banner Uniform, most of the time he preferred to go against the United States. He refused to take part in wars he believed were unjust, and he wouldn't do missions that obviously had a Dark Man tint to them. You could say he operated on a higher level of interventionism.
With his simple, honest moral code, he tried to make the world a better place. That was his fundamental motive for becoming a Superhero.
Very subjective, very stubborn—but as long as there was a way to "persuade" him, there was no need to worry he'd go off the rails.
The good news now was—there were plenty of mushrooms.
Steve shook his head. He felt a little dazed, but inside he felt much better. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong; he'd just killed some bad guys.
He just didn't know if the public would understand. But even if they didn't, he could still face a thousand fingers pointing at him. That was what a Hero was supposed to do.
"What was I saying again?" Steve felt a little spacey. He looked out the car window at the world of snow outside. The car was driving along the road by the river; not far below the roadbed was the widening river surface, which meant they were nearing the river's mouth.
Su Ming glanced at him with a smile, then turned his eyes back to the road ahead. "You were just saying it's been a long time since you went out with me to see the sea. Remember how I used to bring you and Baki to the seaside all the time? You liked the rocky shore more, and he liked the sandy beaches better, hehe..."
"He didn't like the beach; he liked the girls in swimsuits on the beach, hehe." Steve laughed too. Right, that's what they'd been talking about.
"Yeah. It's a pity it's the wrong season now, and we don't even know where in the world his travels have taken him." Su Ming's tone was full of melancholy, like an ordinary old man reminiscing about the old days.
Steve seemed to have completely forgotten how many people he'd killed—or rather, he was no longer hung up on it. He patted Su Ming's shoulder reassuringly. "Just as well I've been discharged. I've got a lot of time coming up. I'll go look for him."
"Oh? And here I thought you put that outfit on to go to a Halloween dance." Su Ming smiled and pointed at Steve's uniform.
"The military and Congress want to broaden the Cold War, to clash with the Fur Bear by invading Vietnam. I know this War is born out of different ideologies, but the justification is ridiculous. It's like the American people are living happily, the Fur Bear's people are also living happily, and the two sides go to War over whose happiness is greater... The ones who suffer will only be the common folk. War only brings misfortune and Hate. I absolutely won't take part in that kind of dispute."
Steve took a deep breath. He was powerless to stop those people back home; all he could do was keep himself out of it.
The United States after World War II had changed so much he could hardly recognize it. It felt like it was quickly becoming the enemy of the past. Hegemonism saturated every level of the Federation.
"Fair enough. But if you can't find Baki and you don't plan to go back to the army, what are you going to do?" Su Ming stopped the car and went to stand on the river embankment. The winter sea always seemed so calm; there weren't even any birds in the sky. "Want to come work at Wilson Enterprises?"
"Haven't thought it through yet. Maybe I'll become a comic artist. I really liked comics when I was a kid—you know, western Dual Gun Hero stuff." Steve also got out from the passenger side and stood next to Su Ming, lifting the Shield in his hand. "But I have to return this Shield to Howard first. This is state property. Do you know where he went?"
"He went to Cuba to scout locations for a zoo." Su Ming said it with complete calm.
"What?! That lunatic—what is he thinking? No, I've got to go rescue him." Steve, who'd been planning to leisurely watch the sea, was shocked. He rushed back into the car in a panic. "Let me borrow the car. I'll see you later."
With that, he drove off.
Hmm, hopefully when Steve gets to Cuba he remembers to take off the uniform. Otherwise Howard might still be under the radar, but if the Star-Spangled Banner shows up...
..........
Su Ming returned to Kama Taiji, took a tour around his territory, then went back to the tearoom and sat quietly, sipping tea.
Watching the snowflakes drift slowly down outside the window, settling on the plum Flower Branches and burying every trace of red, he closed his eyes.
In fact, he'd considered having Steve run for president. That way, the trajectory of the 40K World Line could be brought closer in line with the storyline of Earth 1610, allowing the world to undergo subtle adjustments on an unnoticed level and, in the Future, impersonate some other Cosmos and slip away unscathed from the great event of Multiverse Fusion—but it seemed that plan wasn't going to work.
Even though Steve had "gotten over it" himself, the public wouldn't forgive him in the short term. So for a long while to come, all Su Ming could do was quietly develop his own power and wait for the big era to arrive, then activate his backup plan.
Worlds are all driven by imagination and emotion. The root that drives events forward in the DC World, Su Ming was now certain, was all kinds of "desire." As for what pushes things along on the Marvel side, it should be all kinds of "love and Hate."
This isn't like the other Cosmos at all. In the worlds of the Demon Hunters and the Transformers, the World Will is cold and indifferent, with this "you pay, I work" kind of chill. That's also where the principle of equivalent exchange is the most straightforwardly embodied. The feeling there is almost the same harsh reality as the Earth where Su Ming lived in his previous life.
Ferren in DND, on the other hand, is order wrapped in chaos. It looks like a total mess, but it always runs in an orderly way according to the rules laid down by the Gods.
As for Azeroth, the feeling there is very strange. It's like there's something that's always watching everyone, yet when you really try to think it through, you can't see anything at all.
Right now he's only figured out most of the world rules, but if he wants to sum up his own system and strengthen the universality of his power across different worlds, he still lacks a few key pieces. There's a long way to go.
"Master, the New York Temple reports that an Alien aircraft has crashed in Maine." Hamill walked into the tearoom, interrupting Su Ming's thoughts.
Su Ming sighed and set his teacup down: "Master White can't handle this kind of thing himself? Just do it the usual way. If the Alien can use Transformation, then have it turn into a human form and live out its life under permanent surveillance. That's fine."
"The situation is special." Hamill replied simply, and at the same time secretly took Su Ming's teacup.
"Tsk, I was planning to go check out some other worlds. I still want to hit the shops and buy some Advanced handbags." Su Ming stood up, and the black-and-yellow Armor replaced his casual home clothes: "Open the door. By the way, what do you think if I give King the codename 'Sesame'?"
Hamill's facial muscles twitched. Go shopping and buy handbags? Isn't that what women like to do? And what Mage uses a codename like Sesame?! Don't force in this 'Sesame open the door' tall tale of a gag!
But he didn't show it. He just planned to remind King to pay more attention to the Supreme Mage's mental health in the future. At the same time the Teleportation Gate was already ready. Through it you could see a small fighter-jet-like craft stuck diagonally into the shattered ice of a forest pond in Maine's winter woods.
Muddy water had splashed everywhere and was slowly freezing; a thick patch of snow had been gouged away.
Even though he was called White, the actual Great Mage was a Black Man, waiting on the other side of the Teleportation Gate. Beside him was a tall, green tight-suit-wearing blonde woman with blue eyes, clutching a wound and leaning against a tree behind them.
"Kree People, huh. Looks like it's her."
Su Ming nodded to Hamill, then stepped into the Teleportation Gate, instantly shifting thousands of miles away.
"Master." Master White saw Deathstroke arrive and bowed with very stiff, respectful formality, then his whole body dispersed like a bubble.
He can't leave the New York Temple, so this was long-distance projection Magic, used to relay messages or to scare people.
Su Ming took off his Mask, revealing a friendly smile just like The Ancient One's: "Kree People from Hala, welcome to Earth. But you didn't make an appointment, so I came in person."
But the woman just looked puzzled. She touched the control panel on the arm of her Star-Spangled Banner Uniform: "Is that a Symbiote? And isn't Earth territory of the Xi'a Empire?"
"You're right, it's a Symbiote. You've got a good eye. As for Earth… Odin says Earth is his territory; the Skrulls say Earth is theirs; those Birdmen from Xi'a say it's theirs; and you Kree claim sovereignty here too. But in reality? None of you has the guts to actually occupy this place. The answer's pretty obvious, isn't it? Earth is the turf of the humans, and I'm the Supreme Mage, Earth's protector."
As he spoke, the cloak carried him slowly into the air, spreading out like a giant bird. In the sunlight it cast a huge shadow that enveloped the Alien.
"Then are you the leader of Earth?" The Kree woman really was worthy of being a member of the Empress's Personal Guard—she kept her cool.
"No. But whatever I say, no one dares disobey." Su Ming finished his pose and landed back on the snow, casually pulling out a cigarette. He lowered his head to light it, took a drag, and gazed into the distance with a far-off look.
Maybe it was the confidence she felt from his posture. The woman pressed her stomach and walked over: "I want to request political asylum and join Earth's faction."
"Looks like the Supreme Wisdom really has moved against the Royalist Faction. But Queen Pa'am doesn't plan to sit there and wait to die. You came to Earth with a very special mission." Su Ming idly patted the tall pine tree beside him, sending the snow left on it drifting down beautifully with the wind.
The woman's expression turned shocked and guarded. She fought the urge to reach for her gun and asked suspiciously, "How do you know that?"
"The Supreme Mage knows everything. Compared to me, the Supreme Wisdom's abilities are like a firefly's light." Su Ming leaned on his intel advantage and hammered away at her with patter: "I also know your name is Mary Earl, and that you're First Captain of the Queen's Personal Guard. Pa'am sent you to Earth to pave a retreat route for her, trying to use this planet to leverage a standoff against the Supreme Wisdom."
Mary reached to her waist for her gun, but before she could move, a pitch-black Giant Sword rested on her shoulder, forcing her to raise her hands in surrender.
Yeah, all that political-asylum talk was just a cover. She was here to build a branch base for the Empress Kree.
In the home star system of the Capital Hala, Pa'am is basically no match for the long-prepared Supreme Wisdom. She's planning to retreat to the backwater Solar System and use Earth's special nature to drag Asgard, the Xi'a Empire, and the Skrulls all into the mess.
But this plan should only be known to the Empress herself and Maryelle. If this self-proclaimed Supreme Mage Earthling really knows everything, then…
Is he a Cosmic God?