The wheels rolled on as Su Ming and his two companions blended into the ranks of the German Army, heading towards the incident site.
No matter who looked in from outside the car window, all they could see inside the sedan were faces that epitomized the 'Hydra' standard.
Three assassins, the kind without emotion.
Alarms blared from the airships above, the piercing drone echoing over the city, instantly shrouding all of Paris under the ominous cloud of war. Countless soldiers merged into the traffic from various streets, and all sorts of flying machines began executing aerial blockade maneuvers.
"The German Army's reaction is surprisingly swift; it's as if they were perpetually prepared."
Su Ming spoke while driving, addressing the doctor in the passenger seat, while Holloway rummaged through the car's storage box, discovering an assortment of official documents and a heap of various psychotropic drugs.
"I don't know what's up with the German Army, but I know the car's owner is an addict, heavily dependent on antidepressants. His mind must be a constant hub of chaos, like a bar."
Su Ming rolled his eyes and sighed upwards; is this the time for you to suffer a bout of occupational ailment?
The Mage in the back seat sat with eyes closed, conserving energy for the battle between warlocks. Since the German sorcerers had already appeared, the task of magical confrontation fell upon him.
As they drew closer, Su Ming turned the car into a narrow alley. It was impossible to truly follow the enemy right into the battlefield; the best option was to observe from the periphery.
Not every district of Paris was steeped in an artistic atmosphere; where they were now was even less appealing than Hell's Kitchen in New York.
Sewage flowed freely in the alley, litter and debris were everywhere, a pungent stench hung in the air, and cockroaches and rats scuttled all over.
The large rats here were not afraid of humans at all; on the contrary, they glared at people with a bloodthirsty craving for human flesh.
The only explanation was that they were accustomed to eating humans before, having grown used to its delectable taste.
The symbiote extended its tendrils, carrying the trio up to the top of a nearby building, where Su Ming could hear the suppressed weeping of women inside the room below, as though they were desperately muffling their cries with their hands, too afraid to make any sound.
The rooftop was hardly a safe haven; the various flying machines above could easily spot them, but Su Ming merely wanted a peek at the battlefield to see whom the German Army had surrounded.
One glance was enough to make him slap his forehead.
...............
Over there, at the center of a street intersection where a beautiful fountain once stood, now lay flattened, a group of people moved around the burning ruins.
In the midst of the crowd, three women were entangled in a melee. Inez delivered a punch to Vanessa, who evidently copied Kay's abilities, shrouding herself in armor formed by telekinesis to absorb the blow, and then kicked at Domino from another direction.
Seeing the attack, Domino's innate luck took effect. She avoided the strike in an incredibly coincidental manner and immediately retaliated by firing dual pistols at Inez.
Amidst the fighting and billowing smoke, their squabbles were punctuated with curses and exclamations like 'Green Pool,' 'Hall,' and others.
Deadpool's uniform lay nearby like a rug, with him still inside, crushed by a mighty force, his entire skeleton shattered, resembling a painting—clearly the work of the Outlaw.
Through the pathetic mask, its small white eyes brimmed with despair. With a broken jaw and voice box, Deadpool was unable to utter a word.
Along the crowd's perimeter, others, led by Cable and Little Rascal, established a defensive line, engaged in fierce gunfire exchange with the German Army. Cable's massive gun was immensely powerful, capable of blasting tanks away with a single shot, though he was forced to maneuver constantly for new cover under the German counterattacks.
The mutants fared better; a few defense ability users only needed to dodge the energy beams, while the Secret Guest's great sword sliced continuously through enemy formations.
Though seemingly optimistic, there was an issue.
The Secret Guest's great sword, comprised of her soul, posed a grave threat to magic creatures, yet only rendered intelligent beings like humans and aliens unconscious.
It was a non-lethal weapon.
Furthermore, the Secret Guest's swordsmanship stemmed from self-learning during battles along the Hell Border, primarily against large-bodied monsters, making her strikes broad and unstoppable.
Such a style thrived in favorable situations but suffered in adverse ones on the battlefield.
As for those with no combat prowess within the teams, Weasel, Wade's good friend, adeptly feigned death, hiding in a road-formed crater.
............
"It's Wade and the others..."
The three descended the rooftop, switching equipment in the alley. The symbiote enveloped Su Ming, helping him don the Holy Statue Uniform from the box.
It, too, had learned to use armor for protection. Although it had a self-healing ability, it wasn't devoid of pain. Given the opportunity to avoid suffering, it naturally seized it.
Su Ming was quite satisfied with this; Iron Man's automated armory back home was impressive, but his portable setup wasn't lacking either.
During those brief seconds of gear shifting, he had surmised the situation—it was surely Deadpool caught red-handed by the three women, necessitating joint action after narrowly escaping in London.
Possessing identical maps, Deadpool's group aimed for the nearest spot to London—Paris, using Cable's teleportation device. They likely arrived around the same time as Su Ming's group.
As fate had it, strolling through the streets of the romantic capital, something provoked discord among the women, igniting an internal conflict.
The fight escalated, and Deadpool, caught amid the turmoil, was crushed into a pancake, leading to their encirclement by the Germans.
"I thought we finally lost your loquacious cousin for good, but it seems we'll all have to stick together again..." Holloway despaired, eyes turning numb, as if Deadpool's chattering echoed once more.
The Mage's expression grew grimmer as he retrieved a cloth from the car to conceal his face; facing the German Army in broad daylight, he felt the need for some anonymity.
Sybiote, the sycophantic one, handed Su Ming the great sword. Su Ming gripped the hilt tightly, swinging it and stirring up a gust of wind.
"Alright, here's the plan: I'll lead a surprise attack from our current position, to disrupt their formation, attract enemy attention, and assume command of those three teams."
Su Ming sketched a rough diagram on the ground with the sword tip, indicating enemy and ally positions and assigning tasks to the two.
"Holloway, the Magic Floating Cloak will directly bring you inside the circle. Your mission is to persuade the three women to cease their fight and gather Wade's remains, ready for evacuation at any moment."
The doctor sighed; these women were no Kaecilius, their current demeanor far from composed.
"Why are my assignments always about dialogues and persuasion? Yes, I'm a doctor, but not a psychologist." Holloway sighed helplessly, kicking at the trash with his shoe, as the Magic Floating Cloak enveloped his head once more.
There was no alternative—his head remained unprotected.
Su Ming shrugged; Holloway exuded a unique aura that seemed to reassure others on sight, and his prowess with a pair of revolvers wasn't lacking on the front lines. Naturally, he was dispatched where his skills shone brighter.
Turning toward the Mage, Monac had already shrouded himself with protective spells.
"Monac, your task is to prepare a large-scale smoke magic, assist in defending against possible air strikes, and cast spells if necessary to aid our retreat."
The Magic Prince nodded, already knowing what to do.