"Whew, just in time for dinner. Perfect—we can begin today's discussion."
Within the grand castle in Latveria's capital, Su Ming dropped into a chair and let out a long breath. He picked up the golden goblet on the table and sampled the locally produced wine.
It really was an enormous goblet. Of course, for the ruler here, this capacity was designated as a "large cup."
Candles burned along the long table, but seated across from Deathstroke was not a beauty, but a man draped in a green cloak and wearing a mysterious iron mask.
"Doom has waited a long time for you. It seems things went smoothly on your end. Now we can discuss the Afterbirth."
Doctor Doom waved a hand, signaling for his butler to withdraw. What he was about to say was not meant for just anyone's ears.
The butler in a green military uniform set down the wine bottle, bowed to the guest, and left with a smile. His hair loss was severe—enough to rival Coulson's.
Once he had left, Doctor Doom placed both hands on the table and rested his chin upon them before continuing.
"The preparation of Element Zero has succeeded. Doom extracted it from the boundary between reality and illusion, allowing it to remain in 'that instant.' But now, Doom requires some ideas. How should it be applied in actual combat to strengthen our power and Cosmic Authority?"
"Mm, I understand all that, but do we really need to talk from this far apart?"
Su Ming fell silent for a moment, then gestured with his fingers at the distance between them. They were seated at opposite ends of the long table, the sort of extra-long table used for castle banquets. The distance between them was over fifty meters.
Doom had not expected him to