As expected, Deadpool, whom Aunt May thought had already fled, returned and was now lurking in the bushes in front of Peter's house.
He was holding two clusters of dead branches beside his head, as if they were some sort of camouflage, but his butt was raised so high that from above, his position was completely exposed.
Su Ming easily pried open the stuck window with Godslayer, came out with Little Spider through the window, and casually hauled up Wade in his absurd disguise. The three of them headed towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
To be honest, Su Ming didn't know where S.H.I.E.L.D. was operating from these days. Nick Fury loves nothing more than setting up branch bases, and nobody knows how many bases he has.
But seeing Peter shoot out his Spider Silk, swinging towards downtown, and Wade, hearing they were headed to S.H.I.E.L.D., started eagerly chattering nonsense. So, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters must be in New York now?
Su Ming didn't show that he was unfamiliar with the route; he just slowed his speed, following Spider Hero.
It must be said, present-day New York is just right for Spider Hero activities. The skyscrapers make swinging an easy mode of travel. If it was decades earlier, where the city was dotted with small three- or four-story buildings, swinging around wouldn't have worked at all.
But doing too much vigilante work has given Spider Hero some aftereffects. Even when hurrying along well, if he hears any noise, he would stop to check it out, wasting quite a bit of time on what should be a short journey.
However, after a few minutes, they reached the top of a high building. Peter pointed downward: "This is the new Three-leafed Wing. The previous one in Washington D.C. supposedly got damaged due to a gas explosion. Seriously, they have so many Special Agents, yet even cooking in their own base can lead to explosions. I really don't know if S.H.I.E.L.D. can keep the public safe."
After saying that, Peter tilted his head and sighed, looking a bit disappointed.
Su Ming and Wade exchanged a glance. Probably only a child like Peter would believe that Three-leafed Wing's mishap was truly a gas explosion.
"This building doesn't have any markings, and I remember it used to be an office building for some company." Wade walked to the edge of the rooftop, leaned over to look down, quickly pulled back, and weakly flopped into Peter's arms, saying very feebly, "Ugh, it's so high, I'm afraid of heights."
"That's disgusting! Get up, off! Off!" Peter immediately recognized Deadpool was faking it, so the two began to play-fight again.
Su Ming paid no mind to the two of them, who were like elementary schoolers when it came to roughhousing. Perhaps it's their unique way of strengthening their bond.
So as the two started wrestling, he took a few steps around the rooftop. Below, the bustling city was illuminated brightly, and on Christmas Eve, the entire city was dressed up like a Christmas Tree adorned with lights. The air even smelled of eggnog and gingerbread.
This building's design could barely be called unique; it's made up of the main structure and two slightly shorter towers connected to it, but it certainly doesn't qualify as Three-leafed Wing, likely just a temporary substitute.
At that moment, the rooftop door swung open, and Bald Nick appeared clad in black leather, wearing an eye patch. If it weren't for the fact that his other eye still had some eye white, Su Ming wouldn't have seen him at all.
Fury had become even darker.
The rooftop almost had sensors buried in every inch of space. As the three landed, they were detected, and Fury, after analyzing recent events and preparing plans, came up.
Su Ming shot a glance at the Black Braised Egg. Not only was Fury darker now, but he also seemed to be better at projecting confidence, evident from how he's striding. He walked up confidently, though the closer he got to Deathstroke, the shorter his steps became.
He cast a glance at the two having a snowball fight, then chose to walk up to Su Ming and whispered, "Where have you been? With the Thanos incident, I thought Earth was doomed."
Su Ming rotated his neck, his armor making a metallic creaking sound. He lifted his hand to pinch some snow off the railing: "I've always been here. Throw Deadpool out, Thanos has never been the real issue."
Fury said nothing, as if digesting some intel, but behind him, Natasha, with her little finger discreetly moved in her coat, greeted Su Ming.
Apparently, she's still stealthily working with S.H.I.E.L.D., and still as youthful and lively as ever.
"Did I hear someone say my name?" Deadpool, using Old Tree Root to fix himself to Peter's back, turned his head towards this side expectantly.
"Not your concern." X2, Su Ming and Fury almost simultaneously rebuffed Wade's nonsense.
The little eyes on Wade's mask squinted; he was about to point out a blind spot, but Spider Hero took advantage of it, took him off, and tossed him on the ground, then pulled a crucifix lock on him. Wade immediately started slapping the rooftop surface, "I'm gonna die, gonna die!"
Fury wasn't particularly fond of Deadpool or Spider Hero; both are too unserious. He shook his head helplessly and looked at Deathstroke's mask: "We've known each other for decades, can't you just leave me and S.H.I.E.L.D. alone? It's Christmas Eve; let me go home in peace."
"I thought super agents don't celebrate Christmas?" Su Ming squeezed the snow pile in his hand into a small stick, balanced it on his finger, and let it dance in the rooftop's strong wind.
"No, we don't celebrate Christmas, and I don't have a home." Fury replied with no expression: "But you need to understand what it's like for someone who inexplicably turned to black ash a few days ago and inexplicably came back to life."
Su Ming took a bottle of wine from his belt, treating it as a Christmas gift and consolation for the death Fury endured: "I don't have time to understand how you victims think because there are 4 billion people on Earth in the same predicament as you."
Fury knew that once Deathstroke appeared, he wouldn't relent easily. He just attempted the emotional card, and as long as he was convinced that Deathstroke was still acting benevolently during this encounter, then everything would be fine.
The wine bottle in hand spoke volumes about Deathstroke's attitude; though it didn't gain any substantial benefits for S.H.I.E.L.D., a bottle of wine is still a consolation prize.
"What are you here for? But I must declare first, S.H.I.E.L.D. has no plans against you or Deadpool; whatever happens before is completely unrelated to us." Fury put away the wine bottle, carried his hands behind his back and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Su Ming looking over the city under the nightscape.
Only that his physical nature was obviously not as good as Deathstroke's; being blown by the strong wind, he was still a bit wobbly.
"Don't be nervous, Nick. It is Christmas Eve, I've come to bring you Christmas gifts." Su Ming also carried his hands behind his back, sensing the cold wind blowing through the gaps of his armor.
"I don't believe you." Fury replied calmly. Based on previous statistics, 80% of what Deathstroke said to him and S.H.I.E.L.D. was false.
Su Ming chuckled: "It's true today, because Spider Hero and Deadpool want to find Santa Claus, which is why we came here."
"You could clearly help them; I know you have a mysterious intelligence network under you." Fury touched his beard. He's dealt with many masked individuals, but over the decades, Deathstroke remains the biggest threat.
"So now I'm in a vacation mode; I won't be providing assistance to them. Just consider me a person wanting to observe small animals up close." Su Ming inserted the snow stick into Fury's armpit, looking completely relaxed.
Fury simply stared at him, eventually nodding slowly: "Natasha will keep up with you guys, staying in touch."
"I don't want her. Deadpool and Little Spider can't move when they see beauties; give me Coulson." Su Ming knew Fury was probing around about him and Natasha's relationship; this Black Braised Egg is pretty good; he's figured out the Mage's essence that nobody can be fully trusted.
Fury walked towards the rooftop door without looking back, his black trench coat's hem fluttering: "Coulson died in the line of duty; I miss him too."
He quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Su Ming smiled under his mask; it seems the Newbie Village Chief in the 40K Universe not only exists but also is alive. Black Braised Egg proceeded with the Tahiti Plan and Secret Avenger Program, really thrilling.