Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 232: Ch.231 Employment

Chapter 232: Ch.231 Employment

In the end, Su Ming managed to suppress the urge to cut Wade's vocal cords, and the symbiote's constant nagging was pushed back as well. Despite Deadpool's endless chatter, he still provided some useful information.

First off, Wade had come from the future, likely because his teleportation belt malfunctioned again. This meant that, in the normal flow of time, Su Ming and Wade would eventually cross paths in the future.

Secondly, Deadpool knew Su Ming as his cousin and kept interacting with 'invisible' audiences, which implied that Wade might indeed have the ability to break the fourth wall—or maybe he was just acting crazy again.

Lastly, Wade was fully equipped and armed, presenting himself as a combat-ready ally.

"It's weird. My phone has no signal. I remember my telecom provider promised global coverage," Deadpool mumbled, scratching his head through the mask while fiddling with a smartphone. "Hey, Slade, can I borrow your phone? I need to log into the Deadpool Club's homepage. My cousin from another universe just became Sorcerer Supreme after killing Doctor Strange, and I want to throw a party."

Su Ming stared at him coldly and exhaled slowly. "It's 1942."

"Do you like bacon or cheese pizza? I—" Deadpool kept rambling, but then he suddenly froze, the eyes on his mask turning into large white ovals. "Wait... 1942?"

"Yes, 1942."

"You mean, like, Earth's 1942?"

"Yep. Historically speaking."

"Shit!"

Deadpool frantically tapped the black-and-red button on his belt, trying to restart it, but it emitted a burst of sparks, followed by a cloud of black smoke.

An electric shock coursed through Deadpool's body, causing him to spasm uncontrollably before collapsing on the ground. That was the price for punching delicate equipment, and there wasn't anyone around to fix it.

Now things were awkward.

The black smoke from the malfunctioning belt seeped out from the edges of Su Ming's umbrella, only to be quickly whisked away by the strong winds. The whole street seemed to fall into a strange silence.

"Oh no, I've destroyed the universe's hope! I'm a sinner!"

Wade dramatically rolled over, kneeling in the puddles, raising both hands to the sky as if awaiting divine punishment.

The wind and rain swirled around him as he shook his head in despair. The scene felt oddly like a funeral, complete with the sound of mournful music playing.

"Turn off the music player, will you?" Su Ming sighed, yanking Wade up from the ground. "What kind of mercenary brings a music player on a mission?"

"I just wanted to set the mood. You know, atmosphere is important. Didn't you feel the remorse and despair I was expressing?" Deadpool shook his head dramatically as he explained.

"No."

Under Su Ming's murderous gaze, Deadpool finally turned off the music coming from the small player hidden in his pouch. It was an old MP3 he'd picked up at a thrift store and modified for powerful speakers and a long-lasting battery. He'd also illegally downloaded some classic tracks recommended by Star-Lord.

"Well, this is a mess. I somehow ended up in 1942 London..." Deadpool scratched his chin, crouching on the ground as if deep in thought. But just when Su Ming thought he might actually be thinking seriously, Wade's crazed mind took a detour. "Wait, there aren't color TVs in this era, are there?"

"Enough nonsense. Tell me what's going on with you. Why are you using a time-travel belt? Don't tell me it's because you were bored." Su Ming wasn't having any of it. He immediately pulled a chokehold from behind, silencing Wade's ramblings. "Or I'll crush your windpipe, let it heal, and crush it again... on repeat."

This left Wade helpless. "What do you think my windpipe is, bubble wrap?"

"I was looking for Thanos—cough, I mean Thanos," Deadpool said, his words slightly muffled as his mask bulged at the mouth, revealing his tongue sticking out.

Su Ming loosened his grip slightly. Wade didn't have the strength to fight off the symbiote's hold. "What do you want with Thanos? Wait, have you gotten married yet?"

"Oh, no, not yet. Vanessa's been acting all secretive lately, so I haven't seen her much. Do you think—"

Su Ming quickly tuned out Wade's rambling after learning that his search for Thanos had nothing to do with a jealousy-fueled rivalry over Death. Instead, Wade had gotten his hands on Cable's time-travel device, which made Su Ming realize which timeline Deadpool had come from. The rest of Wade's babbling didn't even register.

"Get back to the part about Thanos."

"Uh, yeah. Basically, Thanos killed my good friend, so I'm tracking him down to settle the score." Deadpool gasped for breath, wriggling his fingers around his neck to make room for air.

Su Ming nodded and released him. The 'good friend' Wade was referring to could only be a select few, and given Thanos' involvement, it was most likely the Infinity War timeline—or something similar to the movie version.

"So you were using your teleportation belt to find him, but Negasonic Teenage Warhead's tech seems a little shaky, and you ended up in this era instead."

"Uh, yeah, that's about right. The belt is usually reliable, though it acts up now and then. Guess it picked the wrong time to malfunction."

Holloway, off in the distance, was listening with great interest. Having already learned quite a bit about the future from his interaction with Two-Gun Kid, he was now curious about Deadpool's phone, fascinated by its compact design.

Meanwhile, Monarch was slightly wary. Time travelers, like extra-dimensional gods, posed significant threats to the world. He was secretly using magic to report this to the Ancient One.

Su Ming patted Wade on the shoulder, giving him a moment to catch his breath, while casting his gaze toward the distant street.

"Alright, come with me. Since you're here, lend your big brother a hand."

"But I wanted to find Dr. Pym to fix my belt..." Deadpool scratched his chin thoughtfully, his uniform soaked from the rain, making him itch all over.

"I'll pay you. You know, back in this era, a good car only costs about 500 dollars." Su Ming pulled a stack of cash from his bag and tossed it to Wade—about one or two thousand dollars, enough to serve as an initial down payment.

Deadpool instantly turned serious. He lifted the corner of his mask to lick his thumb and started counting the bills. "Say no more. Who do you need me to kill? We're mercenaries, but we're also family. No need to get all awkward about money."

Su Ming had expected this. Wade earned money quickly but spent it even faster. He could blow through millions of dollars in a single night at a nightclub, doing who-knows-what.

The Guardians of the Galaxy often took advantage of him, with Star-Lord being the worst offender. Every time he returned to Earth, he latched onto people to take him out, claiming he needed a tour guide to understand modern society.

They'd all go out for lavish meals, but none of them had Earth currency, so it was always the Earthlings who picked up the tab.

Tony Stark was the most frequent victim, as he had plenty of money and didn't care about losing any. Deadpool came second, since he was always gullible enough to foot the bill.

"Not in a rush to fix the belt anymore?"

"Nope. I think Peter can wait a bit longer. He's already dead, right? Thanos isn't going anywhere; I can deal with him later."

"Alright. By the way, since you're from the future, do you know where Namor is right now?"

"Uh, Namor? That fish guy who hates humans and always reeks of fish? The one with the evil-looking pointy ears? You never told me about any World War II stuff. What did you do back then?"

Well, for Deadpool, it was in the past, but for Su Ming, it was the future. Who knew what he'd get up to?

"He's missing. We're trying to find him."

"Why would you want to find him? That guy's mouth smells worse than a public restroom that hasn't been cleaned in years, and he reeks of fish. Plus, he's got no money. I don't like him."

Su Ming didn't particularly like Namor either, but reality didn't always bend to one's preferences.

"That's exactly why. If you don't want a world full of people like Namor in the future, you'll need to help me now."