Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 352: Ch.351 Splitting Up

Su Ming and Barry chatted a bit more. Barry described what had happened in the Justice League Hall, while Su Ming glossed over the events in space. Whether it was about 'Death' or 'Dream,' that was exclusive intel for himself. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't just hand it over to the Justice League.

"Oh? You mean Batman is paralyzed from the waist down?"

Su Ming smoked a cigarette, stroking the beard on his chin with interest. Barry had the sense that Deathstroke seemed to be a bit pleased with Batman's misfortune, as his tone was quite cheerful.

Nevertheless, Barry still reported Bruce's condition. Deathstroke, being the only reliable tactical leader available, needed complete information to make sound judgments.

"Yes, Bruce's entire skeleton, except for his skull, was shattered. The Final Machine put him back together, but he's still just a regular human. The healing process will be very slow. I estimate it will take at least three months."

"Three months?" Su Ming flicked the ash from his cigarette. That was plenty of time. Forget major events; if Bruce didn't use the Lazarus Pit, he'd probably spend this year's Christmas in a wheelchair.

"He also had a contingency plan. A special Bat-armor. We placed him inside his life-support armor, securing his entire body, but he can only move around using the wheels under the suit—essentially a standing wheelchair. He'll have to stay behind in the Hall of Justice."

Barry sighed, visibly worried. Two of the seven mysterious forces had appeared, and with Batman in this state, he couldn't participate in battle or command operations.

When Barry connected with the Still Force to close the door, he had glimpsed terrifying visions that he couldn't fully comprehend. He didn't even want to believe that could be humanity's future.

Humans had grown powerful, chaotic, and, after unifying the universe, engaged in unrestricted internal strife. Society had become twisted and insane.

The concept of justice had long been forgotten, leaving only desire in people's hearts—unlimited predation of the weak, surpassing opponents, and surpassing oneself.

Killing and plundering, until only one person remained in the entire universe, and everything ended in silence.

This was the true essence that 'Transcendence' brought to humanity.

Barry shared what he had seen with Deathstroke.

Su Ming smoked the half-burnt cigarette, summarizing all the gathered intel. It seemed that the opposing camp now included Luthor and Joker. Including Sinestro, they now had six members.

Given Luthor's perfectionist and obsessive nature, he would undoubtedly recruit a seventh member to match the Justice League. The question was, who would the seventh be?

It certainly wouldn't be the deceased Turtle Man, nor the battered Riddler. They were merely pawns and tools.

Considering that those individuals would undoubtedly complain to Luthor, saying that Deathstroke from another world had bullied them, Luthor might even bring in an eighth person to counter Su Ming. Who could that be?

The fact that the Suicide Squad was currently here wouldn't have escaped his notice. To avoid complications, Luthor might use political influence to have Task Force X recalled. This meant Su Ming would need new allies to handle errands and support roles.

Various possibilities lined up in his mind as Su Ming prepared for everything that lay ahead.

"What about J'onn?" Su Ming asked. If, after Batman's paralysis, J'onn took over command, it would be more challenging for Su Ming to lead the Justice League.

"He's planning to take John with him into space to search for some ancient Martian prophecy. They're currently meeting about it. I'll take you there."

Barry, without any suspicion, led Su Ming towards the conference room. With a flash of lightning, they arrived amidst the crowd.

Batman looked like a mummy in a sarcophagus, fixed inside a heavy suit of armor, unable to move. The suit had multiple braces for his limbs to ensure the bones healed correctly.

Su Ming wondered how Bruce managed basic needs like going to the bathroom—did he just do it in the suit?

At the moment, Batman was assigning tasks in his usual tone: "We should have a few days of respite now. Our opponents need time to reset their plans, so here's what we're going to do next..."

He glanced at Deathstroke as he appeared, his face devoid of expression, as if he had anticipated this.

"Clark will go repair the Moon. Right now, we rely on Geo-Force to maintain the tidal effect, but he can't hold out for long. J'onn, since you're going to explore the Martian prophecy, take John with you, just in case."

Su Ming rubbed his chin. That left Diana, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Barry, didn't it?

Batman himself was now disabled and had been removed from the combat lineup. Though this suit might have some offensive capabilities, it was essentially designed as a wheelchair.

Batman had more instructions to give.

"Aquaman needs to return underwater to deal with some issues in the deep-sea regions. Cyborg will handle the aftermath of Brainiac's homeworld being destroyed, and Barry, you'll be responsible for maintaining order in our respective cities for now. That's all."

In the recent "Justice No More" incident, Brainiac's homeworld, Colu, had exploded into cosmic dust.

Brainiac had a habit of using his advanced shrinking technology to shrink planets and civilizations, storing them in glass jars as decorations.

When Colu was destroyed and consumed by the Omega Four Gods, those thousands of miniaturized planets were released, returning to their original sizes.

It was a catastrophe.

In the limited cosmic space, filled with intersecting gravitational forces, many of these planets collided and were utterly destroyed, causing countless deaths and suffering.

Due to some unknown energy, approaching the area was highly dangerous. Amidst the current cosmic upheaval, investigating the mysterious energy there was essential.

Batman wasn't sending Cyborg there to rescue people—there were hundreds of billions of inhabitants, impossible to save entirely.

He was sending Cyborg to investigate, but he didn't say it outright, because only Cyborg's Mother Box could safely approach the area.

If Batman had told him the harsh reality, the young hero might not have been able to accept it.

Su Ming frowned. This plan left only Diana to guard the Hall of Justice.

Even if he obtained command of the Justice League, it would be purely nominal—Batman had indeed planned ahead.

However, Su Ming had to admit that the arrangements were correct. If he were making the plans, he would do the same. Still, Su Ming was firmly against spreading their forces too thin. With so many second-tier heroes out there, wouldn't it make more sense for each person to take a few sidekicks along, avoiding solo missions?

Last time, it was the heroes acting alone that had nearly been picked off one by one by the Dark Knights. And now Batman was splitting them up again.

Batman was still maintaining his mysterious persona. Unless the heroes asked, he wouldn't volunteer information. But given the current state of Earth, everyone should be mobilized.

With his intelligence, Batman wouldn't do something so foolish. Was he planning to lure Luthor and the others out? Setting a trap with those unaware of it?

Did Su Ming need to find Green Arrow? But that guy never seemed to be much help in major events...

At that moment, Hawkgirl descended from the sky, holding a blue orb in her hand. One of her wings was broken, and she was covered in wounds.

Luthor had used the Doom Key to throw Batman, Superman, and Martian Manhunter back into the Hall of Justice. However, Hawkgirl's Nth Metal provided her protection, and at the critical moment, she had woken up.

Just as Joker laughed maniacally and Luthor was about to touch the Totality, she launched a surprise attack from above.

Like an eagle diving for prey.

Joker took a punch, and Luthor's armor was hammered by her Nth Metal mace. They had no choice but to retreat, or else Hawkgirl would have killed them.

"I took it back from Luthor. This is the Totality."

Seeing her panting, Batman merely nodded. He had anticipated this. Luthor hadn't thrown Hawkgirl away, so she had gone all out to retrieve the Totality for the Justice League.

"Good job. Go get checked up in the medical bay, and take care of Hawkman. The Nth Metal you brought from Thanagar is crucial."