"I don't really like battlefields like this."
On a distant high-rise, Deathstroke sat on the edge of the rooftop, drinking beer. Strangle wielded all sorts of weapons and fired anti-air attacks into the sky. It knew what its host meant, but those words were clearly meant for Doom beside him.
Doctor Doom was, after all, a sorcerer. Getting from Latveria to New York was merely a matter of opening a Teleportation Portal.
Given New York's current situation, it would be bad if anything happened to the pregnant Susan, even if the odds were tiny. So Deathstroke had called him.
While Deadpool, the Spider-Woman Alliance, and the Annihilation Swarm were fighting, Doom had already gone to the Baxter Building, knocked out Susan, who had stubbornly refused to leave, and sent her to a castle on the other side of Earth.
Only then had he returned, folding his arms as he watched the scenery with Deathstroke.
His enemies were merely American politicians and the military. He held no grudge against civilians, but that did not mean he would do anything to save them. On the contrary, he was observing how the Annihilation Swarm fed.
Through observation, he discovered that these insects ate people headfirst, unlike most predatory animals.
When Earth creatures hunted prey, they generally preferred suffocating methods like biting the neck. Even when humans killed one another, strangling the target was the first choice when no tools were at hand.
Predators that directly chewed a prey's head like chocolate candy barely existed, aside from the Symbiotes on Deathstroke.
Hearing Deathstroke's words, he gave a soft laugh.
"Do tell."
"I prefer walking through darkness on cold nights, breathing slightly damp air, methodically eliminating enemies at close range. When the scent of blood fills my lungs, it gives me the same refreshing rush