The torchlight in the castle swayed faintly in the wind, while stale odors slowly seeped into the air from slightly damp corners. Even with a large number of cleaning robots at work, the cracks between the bricks of a stone building could never remain spotless at all times.
Following Adam, the butler in military uniform, through the corridor, Su Ming arrived at the reception hall. A long table covered with a pristine white tablecloth had already been laid out with quite a few dishes.
The master of the castle sat at the head of the table, waiting for his guest. The shadows beneath his green hood completely concealed his face, though he had never had much of a face to speak of in the first place.
"I'm back, Victor."
Deathstroke did not take a seat beside the long table, but he still let the Symbiotes snatch up the roasted suckling pig from the table and stuff it into its mouth full of sharp teeth.
"Sorcerer Supreme, our communication only just ended. Doom suspects you manipulated time again." Seeing that Deathstroke had no intention of eating or chatting, Doctor Doom rose as well and gestured toward the passage behind him. "It seems you do not wish to dine. Then let us talk in the laboratory."
"It's nothing new for the Sorcerer Supreme to manipulate time. Heh. In any case, I still came to see you immediately."
Deathstroke patted the butler beside him on the shoulder, signaling that there was no need to serve him, then headed deeper into the castle with Doom.
"So, tell me about Element Zero. Then I'll decide whether to lend you the Cosmic Cube. You have to understand, that little thing is immensely powerful. I can't just hand it over for you to experiment with."
"Doom understands.