It was Su Ming and his symbiote, Stranglehold.
Before the suicide attack at Place de la Concorde, he had already sensed sothing off. Cable's words had been right, leading him to speculate that his enemy might also be a ti traveler.
If Deadpool's friends and girlfriend could travel to this era without the Ancient One intervening, then perhaps... his enemies had arrived in the sa way.
If his opponents ca from the future, it would explain their awareness of the current situation. With a "strategy guide" in hand, they'd have a clear view of everything, including the German forces' strength.
After all, he himself had the sa idea of harnessing advanced technology.
Luckily, he ca from another universe, so his enemies' "Marvel strategy guide" wouldn't have any information about him.
Disguising himself as Captain Arica to fight Red Skull and Zemo, leading to Zemo's untily death, must have caught his opponents off guard.
This created a "temporal divergence point."
If he pretended not to notice anything, the enemy, aiming for their larger goals, would likely attempt to fix the situation, aligning the world with its original tiline. They might do sothing like resurrect Zemo or bring the second Zemo into play prematurely.
At a temporal divergence point, choosing to steer events back toward a known path was what ti travelers instinctively preferred to do.
That way, they were working within the frawork of "history" they knew. People always tended to trust what they were familiar with—this was just human nature.
And ti worked in a similar manner.
By changing sothing at a critical temporal point, the world would automatically adjust events around that change.
As for insignificant points in ti, they were best left untouched, as tampering with them could exponentially increase the chances of unintended consequences.
For example, if soone traveled back in ti and gave their young grandfather a futuristic computer, they might return to the future to find themselves a rich heir or part of a tech dynasty.
But if they ddled further, perhaps by killing their grandfather's handso neighbor, Old Wang, they might co back to find themselves erased from existence, wiped out by a ti paradox.
With this in mind, Su Ming set a trap based on ti theory, betting on whether his hypothetical enemy would co to "clean up the ss."
Though he appeared to have left the square, in reality, he rely turned a corner and used Stranglehold to cloak himself, lying in ambush at the site of Zemo's death, waiting for the enemy to show up.
Could it be Red Skull? After all, he orchestrated the bomb and should have been nearby to watch the fireworks, right?
But no, Red Skull had survived so long not because of his strength but because he was as cunning as a fox and as cautious as a dog.
After setting off the bomb and seeing from a distance that three figures were engulfed by blue light and black mist, he imdiately retreated, not even bothering to check the scene.
Red Skull also took his soldiers from the cordoned area, pretending as though nothing had happened.
Su Ming slowed his breathing and waited patiently in the shadows of the alley. He had plenty of ti.
And then he saw him—a Hydra leader he had never seen before, and he knew imdiately that he had caught the enemy's tail.
He stalked the Hydra agent silently, observing as he picked up Zemo's weapon and badge, delivering them to Zemo's son and initiating the rise of the second Zemo.
Su Ming imdiately locked onto his target.
He analyzed this individual's behavior. Noticing that Blue Glove instinctively avoided fire and smoke, Su Ming set controlled fires at intersections along Blue Glove's route after leaving Zemo's ho, using them to herd him into a trap.
Blue Glove didn't wander into this place by chance—every move he made was orchestrated by Deathstroke.
"Stranglehold, take them."
Su Ming's thought was transmitted to the symbiote, which sprang up from the ground like a Venus flytrap, wrapping around Heine's guards from below.
The symbiote sprouted sharp spikes and serrated edges, cocooning the guards in black pods and making quick work of them.
With a squeeze, the guards were turned into swiss cheese, and the sealed cocoons let no sound escape.
Heine, however, was quick to react, rolling out of the trap just as Stranglehold struck.
But from behind a nearby dumpster, Deathstroke lunged out, bringing a golden greatsword down on Heine's head.
Heine's blue hands morphed like putty into two beams of energy, which acted like lightsabers, pushing back against Su Ming's attack with repulsive force.
It was worth noting that Su Ming's leaping strike carried imnse power, enough to crack the pavent beneath Heine's feet, yet Heine's legs didn't buckle.
"The Force? A deity? Another ti traveler? Thanks?"
With every word, Su Ming swung his sword again, while Heine silently fended off the attacks.
But Su Ming's questioning wasn't ant to confuse the enemy—it was to deduce his opponent's capabilities.
The enemy's thods seed rooted in science rather than divine or magical power.
He had a seemingly human body with strength comparable to a superhuman combined with a symbiote.
As Su Ming spoke, Heine's face remained expressionless, his gaze steady, his heartbeat unchanged, and his resistance to force unwavering—no sign of emotion.
From this, Su Ming narrowed down his suspicions. This being appeared human but was, in reality, a highly advanced humanoid machine.
A crimson eye on Su Ming's mask glowed in the darkness—he had found the enemy's weakness.
"A robot? What a piece of junk."
With a powerful shift of his arms, the Godslayer transford from a greatsword into a massive hamr, pressing down on Blue Glove and forcing his body to bend unnaturally backward.
"I am not a robot! I am a synthetic being! Don't compare to those soulless machines!"
Blue Glove struggled frantically, trying to roll away, but the symbiote, after spitting out so skeletal remains nearby, slithered over and wrapped around his legs.
Ah, so he's a synthetic being... got it.
This is the weakness of a ti traveler—they love to lecture "natives" and correct their understanding of things. It's practically a universal trait.
"Heh, a soul? Once I take you apart, let's see if your soul is square or round. You're finished."
Su Ming swung the hamr down, smashing the Hydra agent into the ground like driving a nail, each strike sinking the enemy deeper.
Stranglehold acted like a loyal sidekick, spitting at the enemy while clinging to Su Ming's back. It had been exploring Su Ming's mind and finding many amusing mories, and now it could detach partially from its host.
As long as it maintained a connection to Su Ming's spinal cord, it no longer needed to cling to him constantly. It could beco a pet-like creature, a small cat or dog, walking alongside him.
After a series of loud impacts, only Blue Glove's head and hands remained above ground; the rest of his body was buried.
Stranglehold lted into a liquid form, one end connected to Su Ming while the other wrapped around the enemy's neck like a serpent.
On the cold ground, its head twisted toward Su Ming as if asking, Can I eat him now?
But there was still one crucial piece of information missing. This synthetic being was rely a foot soldier, lacking the intelligence or power to orchestrate global sches. Su Ming needed to know who was behind the scenes.
He transford the Godslayer back into a greatsword, pressing its tip against the enemy's forehead. Removing his helt to breathe in the cool night air, he spoke calmly to the head lying on the ground.
"Is your master an idiot? Didn't they install a self-destruct function in you? Or do you not understand what sacrifice ans?"
Blue Glove flailed his weaponized arms, eyes blazing with rage, as if he wanted to devour Su Ming whole.
But buried in the ground as he was, he lacked the ans to do so. The surrounding pavent had been compacted by Su Ming's sheer strength, leaving him firmly stuck.
"You fool! How dare you insult the King of Kings! You're dead!"
"Well, I got what I needed. Stranglehold, dinner's served."
The black creature bared its jagged teeth, lunging forward with a crazed grin.
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