The first Ninja Soldier charged into the enemy ranks and cut down three thugs, only to have the bad luck of being forcibly sent back by a madman holding a grenade. More and more Ninja Soldiers stormed the enemy position, slaughtering them to the last man.
"It's over," Luke said quietly as he watched the Ninja Soldiers wipe them all out.
"Looks like there's no loot for us, unless you want their guns and stuff. With any luck, we might find some loose change." Watching the carnage below, Luke spoke to Punisher while having the Ninja Soldiers quickly loot the bodies.
"Forget it. I'm more used to my own," Punisher said indifferently.
"Your strength exceeded my expectations, too. I only knew your ability was useful for infiltration or assassination missions. I didn't expect it to be this powerful in a head-on fight."
Punisher recalled seeing several Ninja Soldiers work together earlier, blocking the incoming bullets outright and standing firm amid the hail of gunfire.
He had seen a few people with bulletproof bodies, but this was his first time seeing anyone cut down every bullet with weapons.
Deadpool: There's plenty you don't know.
"There's plenty you don't know," Luke joked. He had the Ninja Soldiers take a few guns and some ammunition, then left.
After parting with Punisher outside the city, Luke went to a hotel in the bustling heart of the Big Apple. Once he checked in, he used up that day's ad boosts. Looking at his remaining dark energy, he increased the number of Ninja Soldiers to 200, because the improvement in their strength had exceeded his expectations.
He had thought being able to block fire from nearly ten rifles was impressive enough. He hadn't expected them to be able to work together and literally carve a way out through a hail of bullets.
But with such clearly defined roles, how did these guys communicate?
Luke had never seen them speak in the cartoon, either. Most of the time, a glance was enough for them to understand one another.
Luke summoned a few Ninja Soldiers and asked them about it.
The Ninja Soldiers stared at one another for quite a while. Luke couldn't bear watching any longer and could only send them back to the Shadow World.
Luke shook his head and started playing video games in the hotel. Coulson had gotten his account banned yesterday, but it had been unlocked today, so he could play again.
After playing for a while and getting slaughtered, Luke had a sudden idea. He summoned a Ninja Soldier, taught him the controls, and had him play. He discovered that the Ninja Soldier's coordination was ridiculously good. All ten fingers performed their own duties on the controller as if they had minds of their own, pulling off keyboard-and-mouse moves with a controller.
His physical capabilities and reaction speed were identical to Luke's, too. Combined with those nimble fingers, he managed to rack up an even better record than Coulson.
Then why am I still getting slaughtered?
Satisfied, Luke let the Ninja Soldier play for him and wondered how much he could earn by having Ninja Soldiers take account-boosting jobs.
After a good sleep, Luke sat up and found the Ninja Soldier still playing for him.
He sent the Ninja Soldier back and opened his match history. Feeling very smug about the string of matches in which he had slaughtered everyone, he took a screenshot and posted it on the social media account he had just registered.
'Coulson liked your post.'
Before long, Luke received a notification that someone had liked his post.
He opened it and saw that it was Coulson. Luke thought for a moment. It seemed S.H.I.E.L.D. still wanted to mend its relationship with him.
Luke replied, "You're being paid with taxpayers' money. Shouldn't you get back to serving them?"
Coulson replied with a sweating emoji, then stopped responding.
Got you slacking off, didn't I?
Luke stretched in front of the floor-to-ceiling window to greet the morning sun.
A dart suddenly pierced the tempered glass in front of him and embedded itself in the wall behind him.
Luke turned around in surprise. This was the twentieth floor. What kind of dart could fly all the way up here?
Noticing a note attached to the dart, Luke took it off and read it. The message was from Bullseye.
Oh, that guy.
Luke recalled what Bullseye looked like: a bald man with a target-like mark on his head.
Bullseye possessed superb throwing skills. Even a paper clip could kill in his hands. He was Kingpin's top fighter.
Still, although Bullseye had the hallmark of a powerhouse, he wasn't all that strong. Only his masterful assassination skills were formidable. But Luke had decided to have a few Ninja Soldiers hide in the shadows today to catch S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, so keeping an eye out for one more person was no trouble.
The note contained some bullshit threats and promises intended to make him join Kingpin. Luke threw it straight away.
What a joke. It's already 2010. Tony will be kidnapped this year, and the age of superheroes is about to begin. Switching sides now would be like buying Samsung shares one second and having its phones explode the next.
Ignoring the little note, Luke prepared to go out and find some fun.
He messaged Coulson on his phone, asking him for a few of Kingpin's hideouts to play around with.
Coulson responded quickly and sent over several addresses. Luke checked them and found they were all in other cities.
He had never been to those places, so he couldn't draw portals to them. Even traveling in stealth would take several hours, and he felt a little too lazy to move. Luke simply looked for some fun nearby instead, to see whether he might stumble into a damsel-in-distress scenario.
"So, why is it you?"
Luke tossed an unconscious thug aside and looked at the woman playing helpless in front of him.
He had come to rescue a damsel in distress, not these little punks.
Natasha was dressed fashionably, looking every bit the stylish city woman. But Luke was a man who knew the plot, and he said, unmoved, "Why did Egghead send you?"
"Who's Egghead?" Natasha kept up the act, wondering when her information had been exposed.
Not particularly interested in playing any more games with S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke sighed.
"Ms. Romanoff, the renowned Black Widow. Drop the act."
"Fine. I don't want to keep pretending, either. And I have to say, Egghead is a very fitting nickname." Natasha sighed, preparing to go back and have a proper fight with the intelligence staff.
"Of course. Countless people agree on that," Luke quipped.
Natasha chimed in now and then, and somehow the two began discussing Egghead's egg-shaped head, leaving the intelligence staff listening in on the other end afraid they would be silenced for good.
After receiving word from the Shadow Ninjas that there were no other agents nearby, Luke asked in puzzlement, "Why did you show up alone?"
Natasha didn't suspect Luke of bluffing and said directly, "Egghead told us yesterday that we didn't need to keep watching you. All the agents around you have been recalled. But I found this."
While marveling at how quickly Natasha put what she learned into practice, Luke watched her drag a man out of the shadows.
"Holy shit, Bullseye?" He hadn't expected Bullseye, who had only just passed him a little note, to turn up caught red-handed a moment later.
"You know him?" Natasha asked in puzzlement.
How does this guy know everything? Didn't the intelligence department say he didn't know anything?
So what exactly does he know, and what doesn't he know?
Developing a headache, Natasha sighed and irritably kicked Bullseye as he lay on the ground.
"Fury sent me to find you today, and I spotted this guy throwing a dart your way, so I just knocked him out and brought him over."
As a future member of the Avengers, Natasha was no slouch. She was even stronger than many superheroes, so it wasn't particularly surprising that she could catch Bullseye.
"You didn't have to bring a gift."
Luke took out his phone, snapped a photo with Bullseye, and sent it to Punisher. After receiving a message saying he would be right over, Luke spoke to Natasha.
"Anything you need me to do? One good turn deserves another." In truth, Luke was bored and wanted to find some fun.
"Fury sent me to try to seduce you into working for us. Although the original plan has failed, the outcome is still good. At least you're willing to help us now."
Natasha took out her phone and left Luke a number, then gave him a flirtatious glance and left.
"I'll contact you when there's a mission. Coulson is busy with some more urgent matters right now."
Luke saved the number under Natalie, then waited in the alley for Punisher to arrive.
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