"I know you want to make fun of me, so go ahead and laugh, Howard Stark, the greatest scientist, billionaire, the most handsome rich man in New York, yet he can't find a true love, hahahaha..."
After landing, Howard said to Deathstroke with a blank expression, his tone carrying an indescribable sorrow.
"Did he break down?" Su Ming pinched his own chin, seemingly talking to himself.
"Hey, I'm not having a mental breakdown, I just want to ask you, how can I find a wife?" Howard asked with a roll of his eyes, folding his arms in displeasure.
Su Ming shook his head and led him up the mountain: "I'm a mercenary, not a psychologist, I won't be providing consultation services."
"No, I'm not asking Deathstroke, I'm asking my old friend, Slade." Howard became serious, his small mustache drooping down.
Su Ming glanced at him, not surprised that Howard could figure it out, after all, a smart guy in this era would certainly include him.
"When did you find out?"
"You never tried to hide it from me, business cards, phone calls, timely appearances, the Holy Shield Brotherhood, these are all clues... Why?" Howard followed along, not knowing why Deathstroke brought him into the wilderness, but he knew he was not in any danger.
If the whole United States is in chaos, then being by Deathstroke's side is the safest place.
"Maybe because you're smart enough to know what to say and what not to say." Su Ming replied blandly.
"No, I'm asking you, why can't I find a wife?" Howard waved his hand, seemingly uninterested in Deathstroke's true identity, still pondering his own issues: "I'm almost forty years old, why is it so hard to find a woman who's not with me just for money?"
"Oh, so that's what you're asking... Forget it, I'll introduce you to a psychologist another day, she'll surely help you figure out a lot of things." Su Ming sighed, Howard, in some respects, is also a strange person.
"Is she a woman? Is she pretty?" Howard perked up, as if the previous sorrow had been instantly forgotten.
"She is a woman, and pretty too, but she also really enjoys smashing people's heads with a hammer, carrying over 300 murder charges, with a sentence roughly four centuries long." Su Ming looked up at the distant white mountains, the snow so dazzling under the moonlight.
"Uh, are you sure she's a doctor and not a patient?" Howard revealed an awkward yet polite smile.
"Who says those two identities can't be the same person?" Su Ming asked curiously, Harley could come over to the Marvel side easily, just drive over, and let the Secret Guest transfer her to this era.
"Then forget it, I don't need a consultation, thanks." Howard shook his head like a rattle-drum, not quite accustomed to dealing with real lunatics.
"You're welcome, since you've guessed my identity, as a prize for the first place, I'll schedule you her treatment course, ensuring you'll be all smiles from now on." Su Ming patted Howard's shoulder, making the promise very earnestly.
Howard stepped back two steps: "You're not planning to collaborate with a psychologist to wipe my memory just because I discovered your true identity, are you? So dark, too dark! I won't betray you, trust me!"
A strong wind blew the fine snowflakes on the ground, dry branches made cracking sounds, Deathstroke's red single eye flashed, without any reply, just continued to move forward head down.
"Hey, say something, you're making me anxious like this." Howard circled around from his left to his right, buzzing non-stop like a fly.
"We've arrived." Su Ming changed the topic, raising his hand to point at the cliff not far away.
Howard's eyes turned into dead fish eyes, he obviously saw the four giant heads on the cliff not far away, representing four famous people of the United States.
"We're actually coming to a place like this for a joyride? My god, incredible." He greeted the statue group from afar with a face full of fake smiles like a lousy actor, then his face fell, turning to Deathstroke: "Do you think I'll be excited like an elementary school kid? It's deep winter midnight, you're not bringing me to this kind of place to chop down Christmas trees, are you?"
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Park, also translated as Ruo Xu Mo Mountain, commonly known as Statue Mountain, is a memorial park located near Keystone, South Dakota, directly managed by a congressional agency.
Su Ming watched the direction of the mountaintop from afar, it seemed like someone was moving up there: "Indeed, this year's Christmas tree is not ready yet, but I'm bringing you here to meet another person, someone called 'Root of Hatred'."
"Wait, what's with that code name, a Japanese person? Puberty name syndrome?"
Basically, it's a term for teenage edginess, but there was no such word in that era.
Howard rubbed his own face into deformation, forcefully pressing his cheeks down like a misshapen clay doll.
"Ah, anyway, I just got some intel, a Hydra Leader named Lady Nine-Heads transformed herself into a mechanical monster, and then came to attack the SSR and the United States, I need you to help me deal with her mechanical part."
Su Ming, once again, despite Howard's objections, picked him up, flying straight to the top of the statue group.
Howard was limp, like a noodle being carried, sliding right down in his suit coat:
"I thought Hydra's so-called invasion was just domestic people using their name for rebellion, didn't expect it's indeed those guys, can't they just die quietly? The world has only been stable for a few years."
"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place, that's Hydra. In short, if you want to completely resolve the Root of Hatred, this half-robot, you must destroy all her memory media, you understand, right? If any memory backups are hidden somewhere in the world, she might emerge again in a few years."
Su Ming answered, at this point, he had already seen the woman wearing a robe, her crown shining brightly.
"Then at least put me down and let me hide, with you here I won't need to shoot, right? Let me prepare my tools, alright?" Howard wriggled a bit, watching the empty snow and rocks speed by underfoot, he was slightly panicked.
The enemy has been transformed into fully mechanized, which is technology even the United States doesn't have, bringing unknown weapons on her, it's too dangerous.
Su Ming didn't reply, just glanced at him, Zemo followed Howard, so Deathstroke would realize when looking for himself that Howard could deal with Lady Nine-Heads' mechanical version.
How he learned of Lady Nine-Heads' secret is none of Su Ming's concern, as long as the intel is correct.
As for how Howard will handle a robot he's never seen, well, he'll find out by trying.
So Su Ming carried the man rapidly descending, poor Howard nearly clinging to the woman's back, so close, so intimate.