Multiverse: Deathstroke

The brightly lit communications room was a chaotic mess, with chairs and desks knocked over. Cindy was clearly displeased with Su Ming's lack of progress.

Even through his mask, Su Ming could feel her disdainful gaze, as if mocking him for being unable to handle a mere teenage girl.

He was helpless. What was he supposed to do? Resort to torturing a disabled teenager? Perhaps the old Deathstroke would have, but he wouldn't.

Su Ming pulled up a chair and sat opposite Barbara, the crimson lens on his mask staring directly at her.

"The phone lines and internet are open now. You can call your dad. Don't worry, I won't kill him this time."

Barbara seemed skeptical. "You're just her sidekick. I want her to promise me that. She's a mercenary, right? She knows how to keep her word, doesn't she?"

Cindy couldn't help but chuckle. The idea of Su Ming being her sidekick greatly amused her. Barbara was clearly insightful; of course, she, the woman, was the stronger of the two.

If Barbara weren't disabled, Cindy might have smacked her hard for the comment. "You haven't noticed that I'm the one in charge here, have you?"

Barbara studied the two of them. They had the same equipment, the same tone, and even the same bloodstains on their suits. How was she supposed to tell who was in charge?

She shook her head honestly. "I can't tell."

Su Ming sighed and stood up, moving to the door to keep watch. He gestured for Cindy to take over. He needed a moment to himself.

Cindy, without hesitation, took the seat Su Ming vacated. She smugly removed her helmet and lit a cigar, lounging in the chair as if she were sitting comfortably at home.

"Alright, I promise. Not only will I not harm Commissioner Gordon, but I'll also do my best to ensure his safety."

With Cindy's assurance, Barbara pulled a small red phone from her pocket and dialed a number. But as the line rang and rang with no answer, her expression darkened.

She tried again several times, but the result was the same: "The person you are calling is unavailable."

Cindy wasn't surprised. It seemed things were as Su Ming had predicted. Since these black-suited people had come to kidnap Barbara, they had surely gone after Gordon too. From a societal value perspective, Barbara was just a high school girl, but Gordon was an important figure in the city.

"It can't be… His phone must not be with him," Barbara muttered, pressing redial again.

Cindy leaned back in the chair, casually smoking her cigar. "Keep trying, but you're just wasting time. Every second Gordon is in captivity, he's in more danger."

Barbara's hand froze mid-dial. She didn't know what to do. But then, she set her phone aside, placed her laptop on the table, and began typing furiously.

"What's she doing?" Cindy asked, watching Barbara's frantic typing. "Does she think that'll help her find Gordon?"

Su Ming, leaning against the door, was cleaning his staff. He had been a bit rough when knocking out the sobbing men earlier, and it was stained with some vomit.

"She's probably hacking into Gotham's mobile service providers, using triangulation from cell towers to pinpoint Gordon's location."

"Oh?" Cindy touched her eyepatch, a bit annoyed that Su Ming knew something she didn't. "Is tech stuff common where you're from?"

Su Ming didn't know which version of Deathstroke this body belonged to, but as for himself, he had seen enough crime dramas during his time as a security guard to know this trick. He couldn't do it himself, but he'd seen it done enough times.

"Not really. We have our own strengths. I'm sure your knowledge of mythology is far superior to mine."

Su Ming reassured her, as working together meant complementing each other's abilities.

Cindy, no longer bothered, took the compliment in stride. Even super soldiers didn't need to know everything.

But then she couldn't resist poking fun at him. "You know, your methods are a lot softer than the other Deathstroke's. Your moral standards are higher—like a little angel."

A little angel…

What an odd, effeminate term. Was that how men were described in this world? Su Ming wanted to go home, or at least back to a world he understood. It wasn't that he was against equality, but this world's gender dynamics were confusing and disorienting.

Even Barbara sneaked a glance at them, perhaps thinking she had uncovered yet another strange secret about their relationship.

Still, when it came to her area of expertise, Barbara was highly focused. The sound of her typing never stopped.

A few minutes later, she hit the Enter key. The attack command she had just written successfully hacked into the server of Wayne Enterprises' subsidiary, the company that provided her father's mobile service.

She stretched her shoulders, waiting for the results, no longer looking as tense as before. Instead, she rubbed her fingers together anxiously.

Cindy pointed to the laptop, cigar in hand. "Welcome to the world of crime. If I'm not mistaken, hacking into someone else's company servers counts as espionage."

Barbara's face froze, the weight of being labeled a criminal by Deathstroke making her feel exposed and ashamed.

Yes, this wasn't the first time she had used her hacking skills. In the past, she had hacked into various websites—not for nefarious purposes, but to improve her programming techniques.

She had hacked her school's network, local convenience stores, and even Gotham PD to see what her father was doing at work.

But she had always been cautious. Hackers weren't well-regarded in this world. Technology and the internet were still relatively new here, and the media often portrayed hackers as online terrorists.

Not even Gordon knew about her activities. She was afraid he'd throw her in jail if he ever found out. So, all this time, Gordon thought his daughter just liked computers, maybe video games.

Now, in her panic, she had instinctively hacked into the service provider's servers to find clues. Only now did she realize what she had done.

"I—"

Barbara's face flushed with embarrassment. She wanted to explain, but the evidence was clear.

Su Ming shook his head, knowing Cindy's comments weren't helping the situation.

"Alright, she's just messing with you. Who cares about laws? Are we going to stand in court and testify that the police commissioner's daughter is a hacker?"

Barbara stole a glance at her unconscious colleagues. In a way, she was relieved they had been knocked out. If they knew, the gossip would spread through the entire department like wildfire.

Su Ming removed his helmet, seeing Cindy enjoying her cigar. He was tempted to light one himself but suddenly realized something.

"You took the bet from the doorframe earlier, didn't you? That's why you were so eager to deal with the signal jammer."

Cindy triumphantly twirled the cigar in her hand like a magic wand. "Yep. This is your cigar. And I must say, it tastes different from what we have here."

"Men…"

Barbara's expression became one of horror. She felt like she had uncovered the ultimate secret: there were two Deathstrokes, and one of them was a man!

Could she even survive knowing this much?

Su Ming was growing accustomed to people's shocked reactions upon discovering he was male. In this world, men were synonymous with weakness, while Deathstroke was known as a world-class powerhouse. Seeing such contrasting identities in one person was bound to be hard for anyone to process.

"The results are in. Are you just going to stare at us like that, or are you going to check the screen?" Su Ming nudged Barbara's laptop, which now displayed a string of coordinates beneath the code.

"Oh, right." Barbara adjusted her glasses, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "This is the series of cell towers my father passed by. By comparing these with Gotham's city map… He went to Arkham!"

"Arkham?" Cindy rolled her head, toying with her helmet on the table. "That place calls itself a mental health facility, but it's more secure than a fortress. They've got armed guards patrolling around the clock, gunboats, armored vehicles, and K9 units. There's no way the black-suited people would make a move there."

"Right. At 12:03, he left Arkham, crossed the bridge, and was on his way back. The last signal shows his location here."

Barbara pointed at the screen with one hand while zooming in on the map with the other, triangulating to a specific street.

Cindy leaned in for a closer look. Her mind immediately conjured a detailed map of Gotham, more comprehensive than the police's. She even knew the locations of shady addresses, like black market arms dealers, smuggling rings, and hidden League of Shadows outposts.

After studying the map, Cindy shook her head. "Gordon's route makes sense. He crossed the bridge, went through the northern tunnel, and was on his way back to the station. But with today's rain, the tunnel might be flooded."

"Whose territory is that?" Su Ming asked, joining the discussion but seeing nothing significant on the map.

"It's a tricky spot—technically no one's territory," Cindy replied, tapping the map at different points. "Here, here, and here belong to Black Mask, Red Hood, and Two-Face."

"So Gordon's last known position is right where all three territories meet. No man's land," Su Ming concluded.

It was like something out of The Three Kingdoms. No one could claim the area, as any attempt to take it would cause the other two to team up against them. So they left it as a buffer zone.

As a result, it was one of Gotham's more peaceful areas, though minor gangs occasionally caused trouble.

"What do we do now?" Barbara knew where Gordon was but had no means of reaching him. She anxiously looked to Su Ming and Cindy for answers.

Su Ming raised an eyebrow. "Can't you just call Batwoman? She's got to have a phone, right? Let her handle the rescue. We've got some business to discuss with her anyway."

"We don't have her number. Normally, she just shows up when the Bat-Signal is lit. But… she's not in Gotham. Batwoman left," Barbara admitted, her voice filled with despair.

Both Su Ming and Cindy frowned. Could Batwoman have already gone to kill the Sea Queen?

"Where did she go?" Cindy pressed. If she hadn't gone far, maybe they could catch up to her.

"I don't know… She came to our house that night to talk to my dad, but I only heard the second half of the conversation. She said she was leaving Gotham for a while because there was some danger. She wanted to take us with her, but we refused, so she left alone. My dad knows where she went—he heard the first part."

Cindy slumped back in her chair, looking to Su Ming. It was his theory that this world was in danger, so he should know what was going on.

But Su Ming was just as clueless. Batwoman knew there was danger, something big enough to make her flee. Could she have known about the multiverse crisis? But how would she know, stuck in the Dark Multiverse?

Then there were the black-suited people trying to kidnap Gordon and Barbara. What were they up to? Gordon was important as Batwoman's ally, but beyond that, he didn't seem particularly special.

Both women looked at Su Ming, expecting answers. Barbara seemed on the verge of tears.

"How did you usually handle this? Once you pinpointed a phone's location?" Su Ming pushed the laptop closer to Barbara, hoping she had a plan.

"I… I didn't. Usually, I was just messing around. When I got to this point, I'd stop."

Barbara's expression was completely honest. In this world, she wasn't the Oracle from other universes.

"Alright, listen to me. Start hacking into Gotham's traffic system. Pull up surveillance footage from the area where his phone stopped moving."

"Okay!"

Barbara discreetly wiped away her tears, adjusted her glasses, and began rewriting the attack script to access the Department of Transportation's servers.

At least they had a lead now.

A few minutes later, she successfully pulled up footage from the relevant stretch of road. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was just rain and empty streets—no people, no cars.

She glanced at Su Ming for guidance.

"The footage has been tampered with. They're using a loop of prerecorded footage to cover their tracks," Su Ming leaned in closer, noticing something odd. "This rain is too light. It must have been recorded around 10:30 PM, and then it's been looping ever since. Go back a bit, and let's see what happened before that."

Barbara rewound the footage to 10:30 PM, and the three of them watched the screen intently.

Suddenly, the footage flickered.

"There. Stop." Su Ming pointed. "Slow it down and play those three seconds again."

But the result was disappointing. The last thing captured on the recording was a shadowy figure wearing black gloves. No identifying details.

"Well, looks like we'll have to visit the scene ourselves," Cindy said, picking up her helmet and giving Barbara a reassuring pat on the shoulder before heading toward the door.

Su Ming had no other ideas. To figure out where Batwoman had gone, they had to find Gordon. He was their only lead.

"Take me with you!" Barbara suddenly blurted, grabbing Cindy's arm. "I can help, like I did just now. I need to save my dad."

"No. You can hide in the armory. By morning, the day shift officers will be back, and you'll be safe."

Cindy rejected the idea immediately. It was already difficult to move around in the storm, and bringing along someone in a wheelchair would only slow them down.

But Su Ming saw it differently. Even if Barbara wasn't Oracle-level yet, her computer skills could be useful. Plus, once they rescued Gordon, would he trust Deathstroke's word? If Barbara was with them, it might make things easier.

"I think we should take her. She's still in danger. Hiding in the armory won't help if the black-suited people come back."

"She's not like us. She can't even shoot. How's she supposed to survive an attack?" Su Ming tried to reason with Cindy, gesturing toward the unconscious officers around them. The day shift officers wouldn't be any more competent. "If we save Gordon but Barbara gets captured, we'll be stuck helping him rescue her. We're on a tight schedule."

Barbara wanted to point out that she could shoot, but Su Ming frantically signaled for her to stay quiet, so she held her tongue.

Cindy thought it over and sighed. She didn't know why, but she kept letting Su Ming convince her.

"Fine, you can come. But don't expect me to push your wheelchair."

Despite her words, Cindy donned her helmet, accepting the new plan.

Su Ming shrugged at Barbara, then put his helmet back on. He pulled a blue police raincoat from behind the door and tossed it to her. "Alright, grab your laptop and wireless card. Let's go find a car outside."