Put on a dashing suit, and style your hair like a grown-up...
No, Coulson doesn't need to style his hair much because his hairline is always shaped like a smile.
Listening to bullets pinging off the shelter, with arrows and energy beams flying overhead, and seeing Coulson still maintaining his appropriate smile, Su Ming couldn't help but admire him a bit.
After all, he's just an ordinary person, facing such near-desperate situations, and seeing Deathstroke can still immediately find the right mood to fake a smile, it really isn't easy. Su Ming likes people who are devoted to their work.
As for what kind of person Coulson is, whether he's like those nice guys in the countless novels Su Ming read in his past life...
How could it be?! Not only is he a Level 8 Agent at S.H.I.E.L.D., but he also served in the Army's Ranger Team and went to war. He was trained hand-in-hand by Nick Fury, so there's no way he'd be the traditional type of good person.
Some agents have weapons like a stone-cold face, such as Nick Fury and Amanda Waller. Others seem to wield incredibly friendly smiles, like Phil Coulson and Eta Candy.
When you compare them, you see the clue: S.H.I.E.L.D. and Celestial Eye Association's leaders are always stone-faced, black men, while their trusted subordinates and disciples always carry a smiling white face.
This is the good cop, bad cop routine.
The Shield Squad is the victim here; they actually don't feel much affection for Fury, it's more about executing higher orders. Sometimes, there are small tiffs because Braised Egg's orders seem too ruthless.
This is when Coulson steps in, starting with some 'heartfelt' private talks followed by 'family-like' warmth. Once the smile is out, these young ones trust him implicitly.
Then, Fury's all sorts of dark tasks are smoothly executed.
'Fury asked me to kill a traitor, someone I was really familiar with. I wasn't keen... But Coulson said it was for the good of everyone. So I killed them. Strike quickly, so they wouldn't suffer.'
That's how Daisy explained it to Iron Rider about turning a traitor into pulp.
'Fury wants us to steal from the White House, which I thought was inappropriate, not to be done rashly... But Coulson said it was to protect the President, so we went ahead with the theft. It's better for those confidential messages to be managed by Shield anyway.'
Mimic Bird recounted this to Hawkeye after successfully getting their hands on it.
But to say Coulson is profoundly dark doesn't necessarily hold true. He just works properly; that's the life of a special agent. To deceive the enemy, first you have to fool your own people. Not to mention how many opposing forces there could be lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D.
At least Coulson never led his team to certain death, nor threw them under the bus. For agents, he's already a rather good commander.
"Good afternoon, Agent Coulson, how have you been recently?"
The earplugs formed by Strangulation retracted into the helmet as Su Ming leaned against the shelter, sitting beside Coulson and patting his thigh as if they were old pals.
"Mike! May! Buy us some time." Coulson ordered the two individuals behind another shelter, the black man and Asian woman promptly nodding, using their remaining ammunition to keep the only drawbridge sealed.
As a few enemies were knocked off the bridge, falling into Endless Abyss with their screams stretching long before fading away, Coulson turned back to smile at Deathstroke: "Not too great, as you can see. How about you? What's been keeping you busy lately?"
"This is 1956, you must've read the history, knowing I'm here doing nothing, right?" Su Ming smiled, tossing him a cigarette: "No point in probing into time travel issues. Nick Fury's superspace operation manual might be copied from me. Let's speak candidly."
"I don't smoke, the doctor says my heart and lung functions aren't great." Coulson wasn't embarrassed after being exposed, politely returning the cigarette: "Now my squad is stuck here, can you figure out a way to move us somewhere safe? At least not right at the battle's center."
Su Ming put away the cigarette, not intending to help freely: "What? Planning a retreat? Looks like your mission isn't complete yet."
"No, it's not yet time to withdraw, but the ultimate winner of this battle will certainly be Longevity People. We just need to wait for them to determine the victor, then seize the Gravityium from them."
Coulson generously divulged his plan, his smile still flawless, eyes genuinely earnest.
However, the black-and-yellow mercenary shook his head, knocking his finger on the dilapidated building used as a shelter:
"If I were you, I wouldn't be so certain. Do you know whose territory this is? And who are the remaining factions?"
Coulson didn't poke his head out from behind the shelter, not being a restless young man anymore, just smiling to ask: "Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Aha." Su Ming extended a finger, wagging it, emitting a low chuckle: "Your current issue is a chargeable service now— tactical guidance fee, and Fitz and Jemma's life-buying fee, shall I quote a price?"
Coulson took a deep breath, realizing that his plan to transfer command wouldn't allow him to get assistance for free had been unraveled, but all he needed was to keep smiling.
"What do you want?"
"A bit off your three giant stones for me, and the design plans of your Harmony Fighter's engine for a look."
Su Ming opened his mouth without hesitation; this is a win-win condition. After all, in this situation, it is evident that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Squad does not have the capability to obtain the Gravityium.
"I can let you see the engine blueprints, but only the booster engine." Coulson first agreed to half of the condition, then said with a troubled expression: "However, regarding the stone issue, because of the trans-temporal displacement protocol, I don't have the authority to let you access them."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Squad has three huge stones, and they possess some special effects.
One can transport people to a desolate planet in the cosmos, another involves time travel, and the last one might be related to dimension or parallel worlds.
You don't need a complete stone; even a small cut-off can forcibly trigger their effects with shock waves or energy. A palm-sized stone, combined with scientific equipment, can transport several people together, which is quite marvelous.
The first two are not very tempting; Su Ming is eyeing the last one because it signifies the possibility of taking others to a parallel universe. All it needs is to adjust its controllability and safety. Also, if its mechanism can be studied, it would greatly help the adjutant's technological level.
Su Ming also smiled and patted Coulson on the shoulder: "It's 1956 now; what year did you join S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"1991, summer, I had just finished the Gulf War back then." Coulson answered almost without thinking.
"In that case, cut a bit off the edge of the stone for me; I'm just borrowing it temporarily. I'll personally return it to Fury in 1991. If we follow time logic, you never really lost them." Su Ming proposed a compromise.
Coulson fell into deep thought, his fingertips slowly groping the grip on his pistol's non-slip grid.
And the scientific duo, who had just finished celebrating their reunion with their teammates, were silently shaking their heads at Coulson, indicating he couldn't agree to the terms.
"Alright, I agree, but only a small piece of leftover material. I think you know what those stones mean." Coulson did not hesitate any longer. Unlike the scientific duo, who were idealists, Coulson was more concerned that Mike and May were running out of bullets.
After all, the group members are special agents, not warriors, and can't be carrying ammo crates during missions. Speaking for himself, he usually only carries six magazines, which is considered excessive.
If the enemy's tide breaks through the direction, there's no doubt that Deathstroke and his aides can retreat unscathed, but for the S.H.I.E.L.D. Squad, only Daisy might survive.
Daisy's superpower cannot be used infinitely, and the intense vibrations also have a counteracting force on her arm bones. Although using Jemma's small inventions can reduce adverse effects, it's not entirely exempt.
It seems that all along, she hasn't mastered using her legs or tongue to emit shock waves, only her hands.
"No problem, you should know, I am much more trustworthy than my cousin."
Su Ming touched the floating cloak beside him. Hearing Deathstroke mention Deadpool, Coulson could only show a bitter smile.
"Are you going to tell me what to do now?"
Just thinking about Deadpool makes Coulson feel queasy, so he quickly shifted the topic and his train of thought.
Su Ming began drawing out the terrain map he saw from mid-air with the Godslayer on the ground: "Of course. Now we are like everyone stranded on a small island in the vast ocean. Although there's a retreat path, you want treasures from other islands, can I say it this way?"
Coulson nodded with a smile. Next to these spindle-shaped high towers is the abyss, not even better than the ocean.
"First of all, you can confirm the Gravityium is in the hands of the Longevity People, right?" Su Ming confirmed the intelligence. There aren't many Longevity People on the battlefield, but they wear peculiar dark blue robes, and their weapons paired with various strange technologies look quite formidable.
But they don't mean to kill, but persistently aim to leave the battlefield, so they're temporarily entangled.
"We can't fully confirm because that's history, and..." Coulson became a bit more serious, though there were still smile lines at the corner of his eyes.
"And history can be changed." Su Ming picked up the conversation. He, of course, knew this himself. Since seeing the tens of millions of possibilities of the future, he still hasn't fully digested it: "So your priority is to confirm where the Gravityium is, how to acquire it, and how to evacuate once obtained."
"That's right, got any ideas?" Daisy slid in with a swoosh from behind a cover, joining the discussion smoothly.
She had no gun in hand, instead sporting a pair of gleaming silver arm bracers.
"Hey, Skye, how's your dad been feeling lately?" Su Ming greeted her with a grin, offering a Powerful Beverage as a token.
Daisy pursed her lips slightly, not answering the question at all. Her father, having injected his self-developed Monkey Version Super Serum, has never been in a good mood.
Agitated, irritable, and mad, words cannot describe her father's mental state. Dr. Hyde, aside from his normal skin color, has a mind not much different from a raging Hulk.
Though holding a grudge against Deathstroke is one thing, her body was honest. She reached out her small hand and snatched the soda.
With a 'pop' sound, a brief shock wave directly shot the bottle cap off. She drank a sip cheerfully, and the carbonation made her eyes curl like crescents.