Riley was no fool.
Although she and Valentina had gotten along reasonably well during this time, she knew that Valentina hadn't fully relaxed or trusted them. Vandal Savage may not have shown up personally, but he was surely aware of what happened daily. Riley wanted to prove her value in staying by Su Sheng's side—not by betraying him.
If she told Valentina that Firestorm required two people, it would be tantamount to betraying Su Sheng.
"I'll have the person for you in three days!" Valentina finally said after some thought.
"Don't let the master know," Riley reminded her.
Three days later, in the afternoon.
While Su Sheng was deeply engrossed in his studies, Valentina took Riley to a warehouse located far from the villa. Beneath the warehouse was a basement with excellent soundproofing.
Riley saw Laurel tied up. She was wearing a yellow and black outfit, fastened to a cross-like structure on the wall, her hands and feet secured by iron rings. Her head hung low, and she seemed unconscious.
"It was a bit troublesome capturing her. She had a group of... partners dressed as fancily as she is. They were discovered by the CIA, so whatever you plan to do, you better do it quickly," Valentina warned.
Riley nodded.
Valentina turned to leave but had only taken a few steps when she heard Laurel's voice.
As the night wore on, Riley returned to the room, feeling helpless and a bit exhausted.
Laurel was tougher than she had expected!
"You've changed."
Su Sheng put down his book and looked at Riley, chuckling softly.
"Huh?" Riley was stunned and nervous.
"You've become a bit darker. Why make things hard for another woman? I could hear her screams from so far away—Laurel really got a bad deal," Su Sheng said with a laugh.
Thud!
Riley knelt down immediately. "Master, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hidden it from you."
"Get up. What are you doing? I'm not mad at you." Su Sheng waved his hand with a chuckle. "I'm actually quite pleased with your initiative, but your interrogation methods are a bit crude. Although harsh, they're inefficient."
"I... I didn't know what else to do," Riley explained in a low voice.
"Learn more from Valentina, or visit the Gulag camp to see how they handle prisoners. Maybe you could transition from being my pillow to being my assistant?" Su Sheng suggested with a smile.
"I'll do my best not to disappoint you, master," Riley responded happily.
But after a moment, Riley hesitated and said, "But master, I might have gotten us into trouble. Valentina was spotted during the capture. There were her partners and people from the CIA!"
"If you let her go now, will they drop it? Will they stop coming after us?" Su Sheng asked.
Riley shook her head.
"Since it's irreversible, focus on achieving your goal. Besides, you're my pillow; nothing will happen to you unless I lose interest. And..." Su Sheng paused, smiling brightly. "Congratulations on giving yourself a new lease on life. I'm now looking forward to the surprises you'll bring me."
Riley breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she had done the right thing.
In Su Sheng's world, anything unchangeable gets discarded, and Riley firmly remembered that.
The next day.
Riley asked Valentina to take her to the Gulag camp.
Meanwhile, Su Sheng went to the basement of the warehouse.
"Hi, long time no see," Su Sheng greeted Laurel with a smile, clicking his tongue at her disheveled appearance.
Riley had indeed changed.
Her past environment, her experiences, and the influence of spending time with Valentina had nudged Riley toward becoming a bit of a villainess. Just look at how hard she had treated Laurel!
"What do you want?" Laurel weakly glared at Su Sheng and demanded.
"If I told you I forgot about you and it was my pillow who brought you here, would you believe me?" Su Sheng asked casually, moving a chair to sit in front of her.
"You think I'd believe that?" Laurel scoffed.
Su Sheng shrugged. "It doesn't matter if you believe it or not. I was thinking last night: if Dr. Manhattan can predict the future and fled because of me, it means he must know everything I'm doing to find him. But he still ran away. Do you know what that means?"
"It means that nothing I do will make him appear unless I become stronger and develop more abilities to find him."
"The funny thing is, he must know that too, but he couldn't stop it, so he had to run. Because if he showed up and tried to stop me, I'd succeed! He could only run and try to delay the inevitable."
"Look, even someone as powerful as Dr. Manhattan could only run away, unable to change his fate of failure. What are you even fighting for?"
Su Sheng slowly stood up and unshackled Laurel's hands and feet as she watched in a daze. Once free, Laurel stumbled and stared at Su Sheng in confusion. "Are you really going to arrest me?"
Su Sheng shrugged and looked her up and down without responding.
In her uniform, Laurel looked much more alluring. It's true that gender equality can be a joke—men in tights are seen as weird, but for women, it enhances their charm.
After a moment of silence, Laurel asked, "Where is this? Can I leave now?"
"You're free to come and go, but this is Soviet territory. I'm afraid it'll be hard for you to get back to the U.S. dressed like this. And once you're back, with your personality, you'll probably still be under investigation as if nothing happened, right?" Su Sheng said with a light smile as he walked over to a nearby table, sweeping the items off it and moving it in front of Laurel.
"What are you doing?" Laurel asked, puzzled.
"I can arrange for someone to take you back, but I need to find something for you first. For example..." Su Sheng suddenly grabbed Laurel, pressing her down on the table. With one hand, he tore at her uniform.
Laurel was startled.
She tried to break free but suddenly felt an electric current surge through her body from Su Sheng's touch, leaving her lying limp on the table, unable to move.
"This is how your mother was when she was a superhero, dressed in uniform, pressed on a table, and..."
"No…"