Loki's tale was branded a lie by Su Ming.
He got the plan right but botched the outcome, tipping Su Ming off.
Loki dropped terms only Su Ming knew—Warhammer 40K, the Emperor, the Golden Throne—making his story seem credible. So why call it a lie?
Because the Ancient One deemed Su Ming utterly devoid of magical talent, incapable of casting spells. Su Ming's question to Doom was a deliberate trap to test this.
The Ancient One, wielding the Time Stone, had glimpsed the future. Though she couldn't see Su Ming directly, observing those around him revealed no trace of magic. In every timeline, in every possibility within the Marvel universe, Su Ming couldn't cast spells. On this, the Ancient One was more trustworthy.
Thus, the cost of Earth's defense array couldn't have come from him.
Loki and Doom claimed Su Ming bore the array's burden, wasting away into a flesh heap. That was the glaring flaw.
Forget whether Su Ming was noble enough to sacrifice himself for Earth, refusing to shed the burden even as it consumed him. Would that be him? Sounds more like Captain America's shining virtue.
His scheme for Vanaheim was a fallback to ditch Earth if self-preservation demanded it. Being tied to Earth forced him to fight for its survival at times—unpaid labor, a weakness.
Moreover, Earth's defense array, powered by the three Sanctums and Kamar-Taj, bore most of its side effects. Only a fraction fell to the Ancient One and the "Nameless One." Doom and Loki, skilled sorcerers, clearly didn't grasp the unique mechanics of Vishanti magic, passed orally among Sorcerers Supreme, inscrutable to outsiders.
The burden wasn't as heavy as imagined. The Ancient One lived over 800 years, fated to die but enduring centuries. If she lasted 700 years, could Su Ming only manage 60 or 70?
Even if he foolishly shouldered the cost, Loki's timeline underestimated X-Metal. The material that forged DC's multiverse wouldn't be drained by a single Marvel planet. Su Ming had displayed X-Metal's power in the future, seen by Doom and Loki, but they only saw what he wanted them to see, misjudging its limits.
It's like tossing a pebble into a pond—the ripples return amplified, and Su Ming caught the distortion clearly.
Even Lex Luthor, from X-Metal's origin, didn't know its full potential. Paired with the Emotional Spectrum Rings, Luthor saw Su Ming wield it to fire potent energy beams, but its ceiling remained unknown. On an alien Sea Clan ship, Su Ming learned it could destroy a parallel universe.
He felt weakened then, but far less than he let on—pure theater. Let others know you hold a "nuke," but don't specify if it's hydrogen or neutron. The unknown is scarier.
Setting traps starts with misdirection, right?
The pit dug for Luthor was apparently reused in Marvel's future, catching the clever ones first. How ironic.
Loki knew Su Ming could exit the multiverse but not what aid he could summon from beyond—a second flaw. Sit on the Golden Throne? Never. If he's to be a living corpse, the Frozen Throne comes with a helm.
Most damningly, they seemed unaware of Su Ming's superhuman healing. Even if X-Metal bones were consumed, his calcium ones would regrow.
In one brief exchange, they exposed countless holes. Trusting them was impossible.
Their acting was subpar compared to Batman's seamless deception. As a mercenary, Su Ming's rule was trust no one. He selectively trusted a few—Barry, Diana, and Aquaman in DC; Gin and Magik in Marvel. Others, like the X-Men, might earn it later, but not yet.
He knew Doom was his target—dedicated to Earth now, but a villain through and through. Arrogant, Doom rarely lied, but he'd do anything if needed.
Loki? One true sentence in ten was generous. Lying was his nature, like eating or breathing. Whether cursed by the universe or Asgard's fate, Loki lied—instinctively or deliberately.
With the universe in crisis, Loki deployed his tricks like a skunk's spray or a squid's ink.
Before they could grasp how Su Ming saw through them, he ordered the attack: Magik on Loki, Hamir and him on Doom, Ciri to "watch" Valeria, keeping her from running.
His black greatsword swung at Doom's waist. Su Ming had positioned himself close earlier, ready to tangle with the spell-casting turret if things went south.
"Victor, how long did you and Loki wait for me?"
".How did you know?" Doom asked.
Doom's true ally was this Loki. During the civil war among the Illuminati, Dark Cabinet, New Avengers, and X-Men over multiversal conflicts, only Doom took real action.
He allied with Loki, whose deception cloaked Doom's moves. Tricking Su Ming into their scheme would give them an edge against future foes.
Doom was willing to cooperate, but his priorities came first.
Su Ming parried Doom's question with a slash at his legs. "I'm more curious—what made you think I wouldn't notice? Where'd your confidence come from? The storybook?"
"It wasn't supposed to go like this," Doom said, unleashing a barrage of colorful spells from his armor.
"Sorry, stories don't control me," Su Ming replied, using his Cloak of Levitation as a shield, the potent magic rippling harmlessly.
In that brief defensive window, Doom cast a phase spell, projecting himself into the astral plane—immune to physical attacks, temporarily safe.
"You cannot defeat Doom," he declared, straightening with newfound composure.
Su Ming smirked, scratching his face and tapping his sword. "You forgot something critical."
Doom's gaze snapped to Valeria, now on Ciri's lap, shoulders pinned. The witcher idly stroked her golden hair like petting a cat. Valeria's expression screamed resignation—Doom never treated her like a child, but her tiny limbs were no match for escape.
As Doom moved to pull Valeria into another dimension, Hamir's prepared spell—a spatial anchor—locked her in place, foiling Doom's plan.
"Despicable," Doom spat. "Using a child as a hostage."
"Who set the trap first? Besides, she's your hostage against the Fantastic Four. Disappointed you didn't fool me? Enough talk. Choose: return from the astral plane and behave, or abandon the girl and run."
Doom glanced at Loki, faring worse. Magik's teleportation, masterful white magic, sharp blade, and superior combat skills had him dodging like a leaf on a blade's edge.
"If I'd shaken your hand, would you have let your guard down?" Doom asked, resolve hardening.
"Maybe. Your excuse was flimsy—you claim to fear nothing, yet worried about a handshake's curse? That's illogical. You didn't want to lie, meaning this whole thing was a scheme you reluctantly joined."
Doom's head tilted, his meaning unclear. "You win this time, but it's not over."
With that, he self-destructed—a high-end Doombot, not the real Doom.
Doom's habit of referring to himself in the third person wasn't a quirk but a trap. It blurred whether you faced the man or a bot. By staying in third person, a Doombot's deception didn't count as Doom lying.
As the astral fireworks faded, spatial ripples swept the room. Su Ming shook his head regretfully. Doom's cooperation would've simplified things, but capturing Valeria sufficed. His goal was the time machine, which she could operate. Plus, she was leverage against Reed.
"Scared, kid?" Su Ming asked, swatting Ciri's hand from Valeria's hair—she'd been about to braid it.
Ciri pouted, glaring.
"Is fear useful?" Valeria countered with a half-smile. Knowing Su Ming was Deadpool's cousin, she'd guessed his style. Mercenaries don't kill without reason, especially kids—it'd make them a laughingstock. Her safety was assured unless she provoked him.
"Fair point. The world's a mess—heroes are busy with their civil war, your parents are fugitives. Guess it's up to us villains to save it."
"But you just drove off Uncle Doom," Valeria said.
"He's off chasing other plans. You were just a chain to bind Franklin, not central to his scheme."
Su Ming figured she'd understand. In a cosmic crisis, her abilities paled next to her brother's.