Multiverse: Deathstroke

Su Ming glanced at Poison Ivy. She was just as distracted by the revelation of his male identity, lost in her thoughts for a moment. Taking advantage of this, he bypassed Poison Ivy and walked directly to the sofa, sitting down.

The sofa was filthy, stained with dark red clots and dried alcohol spills. Under the colorful lights, it made the place feel more like a seedy club. Sitting there, his black and yellow armor didn't quite blend in with the surroundings.

"Let's exchange information. How exactly did the Joker tell you to find Batwoman? Then I'll tell you my side."

He looked at Harley, hoping for some concrete information.

Harley looked back at him, curious. No man had ever dared sit this close to her before. But at the mention of the question, her expression immediately changed, as if she was about to cry.

"Ah, well, that's a long story..."

Harley agreed to his suggestion, and without caring whether Su Ming wanted to hear it or not, she started to spill her heart out, speaking in a tone full of grievances about her and the Joker's relationship, and how from the moment the Joker first laid eyes on Batwoman years ago, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about her.

In her stories, innocent, sweet Harley just wanted to join in the fun, but the nasty Bat always bullied her. And as Harley's good friend, the Joker didn't care. In fact, the Joker wanted to play with Batwoman alone and didn't want Harley around anymore.

This left Harley feeling confused and wronged, but she was a strong woman, so she grit her teeth and endured again and again.

Su Ming quickly realized that Harley had her own agenda. If he hadn't read so many DC comics and watched the movies, deeply understanding that besides being a famous mental patient, Harley Quinn was also an expert in torture and a master psychologist, he might have thought he was talking to some princess from a fairytale.

Pure, beautiful, kind, strong, optimistic, and clever—in her narrative, Harley and the Joker were the two most perfect women in the world, while Batwoman was just "that stalker hanging upside down from rooftops," sneaky and always touching the Joker inappropriately, with lustful eyes.

In her entire speech, there was practically zero useful information. The only thing Su Ming learned was how Harley and the Joker had met in this Earth-11 universe. The rest were Harley's personal recollections and opinions.

Not only was she telling her story, but she was also subtly probing, trying to find common ground in their conversation, gauging whether Su Ming shared her views or had similar experiences. She was attempting to piece together a psychological profile of him.

Beneath Harley's manic exterior, she never lacked intelligence. The combination of psychiatrist and mental patient identities in one person gave her double the pleasure.

"Alright, let me stop you right there. You can stop trying now. I'm from a parallel universe's Deathstroke, so my brain works just as fast, if not faster, than normal people's. Trying to psychoanalyze me would be a waste of time."

Su Ming interrupted Harley just as she was about to launch into a story about her and the Joker playing pranks on the Penguin. Time had passed too long already, and her stories seemed endless.

He stretched his stiff neck, turning to glance behind him. He noticed that at some point, Cindy and Poison Ivy had sat down on another sofa, enjoying their drinks and listening to the story with great interest.

Well, it seemed that even in this world, women's love for gossip was universal.

"Oh, I see. You're from a parallel universe." Harley nonchalantly shifted the topic, abandoning her previous mind games. "Kinda boring... I thought you and her were wearing matching outfits, like you two were a couple or something."

Saying this, Harley gave an ambiguous look and hooked her pinky finger in the air suggestively.

"So, hearing about parallel universes doesn't surprise you? Did Cindy's last invasion make quite an impression?"

Su Ming didn't take the bait. Whether he admitted or denied her insinuation, Harley would lead the conversation wherever she wanted, steering him away from the answers he sought.

"Yeah, it was quite the show," Harley said, springing to her feet and twirling in the air like a ballerina, striking a pose like she was taking a bow. "Even though the main battle was in Metropolis, the explosions were so massive, Gotham could see the fireworks clear as day. Beautiful, really. I could almost hear the residents screaming in despair."

At this, Cindy spread her hands as if to say, "See? She's nuts."

Su Ming kept his expression neutral and suddenly said, "So, you must be thrilled to know the world is going to be destroyed soon?"

"Mm-hmm, yep." Harley nodded enthusiastically, like a student being praised by her teacher. "Why do you think we're celebrating here?"

Su Ming smiled inwardly. The plan had worked. He'd tricked Harley into revealing that she did, in fact, know about the impending destruction of Earth.

"Wait a minute—are you telling me you invited me to celebrate this?" Poison Ivy suddenly stood up, glaring at Harley in disbelief, looking like she was ready to spank her.

"Huh? Didn't I tell you? Puddin' told me the world's gonna end, and we're all gonna die."

Harley tilted her head, confused as she looked at Ivy. Had she really forgotten to mention that?

"You said your house was empty and invited me over to party, and it turns out it's because the world's ending? If Earth is destroyed, how will my plants survive?"

Poison Ivy shouted, clearly upset. She didn't care about her own life, but her plants absolutely had to survive. Harley rushed over, patting Ivy's smooth back to comfort her, like soothing a cat.

"Oh, come on, we're all gonna die anyway. After that, you won't even see the plants die, so you won't have to be sad, right?"

That kind of crazy talk obviously didn't help, and Ivy just squinted at her.

Su Ming then asked, "Don't you have any spaceships or something? You know, living in outer space wouldn't be a bad option."

In DC's various worlds, there weren't just spaceships, there were entire alien races. The Justice League even had a space station called the Watchtower, which orbited Earth.

His question, however, drew a unified response from the three women:

"What's a spaceship?" ×3

Though their tones were different, it was clear that none of them had any concept of such technology.

"Emmm, it's a ship that takes people beyond the atmosphere, allowing them to live outside Earth," Su Ming explained as best he could.

Cindy and Ivy looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Harley, on the other hand, lit up, gazing at him like she'd finally found a kindred spirit.

"I knew it! Ships can fly! Hehehe, I'm not crazy!"

Being validated by a clear lunatic—what did that say about him?

It turned out that in this Amazon-ruled world, everything was still based on the ways of Themyscira. They believed more in the power of gods than in science. As for science? It was just a lie meant to deceive the common folk.

The Earth was the center of the universe. Why leave it? And if you practiced hard enough, you could fly on your own anyway.

Could science make you immortal? Could science keep you young forever? What science couldn't do, divine power could.

So in this world, there weren't even planes. If you wanted to fly... how about a magic carpet?

For Su Ming, this news was a headache. No wonder Earth-11 was doomed to destruction by a massive tsunami. This was all part of Barbatos' plan. He'd undoubtedly noticed the lack of spacecraft here and saw this world as a perfect catalyst to push Bruce toward the darkness.

Su Ming and the others were now desperately trying to cut the fuse to the dynamite, but without Bruce, it was all pointless. They had no leads, and the key figure, Bruce Wayne, had vanished.

"I can't just sit here waiting for death. If Earth is destroyed, my plants won't survive either. I have to do something."

Poison Ivy had no intention of indulging in Harley's sweet talk and welcoming a "beautiful and cozy death." She was determined to fight back.

"Hey, you said you're from a parallel universe. Can you go back? Maybe take me and my plants with you."

"Nice idea, but unfortunately, I can't even get back myself."

Su Ming bluntly revealed their predicament. If he could escape, he would have persuaded Cindy to run with him long ago. Why should he care about Earth-11? The problem was, they were stuck on this sinking ship with no way off.

Poison Ivy's hope was dashed, and she began pondering again. She glanced at Harley, who was idly playing with her hair, as if nothing they'd said mattered to her.

"By the way, did the Joker tell you how the world is going to end?"

"No, but she seemed pretty serious, so it must be true."

Su Ming had no idea how Harley could read anything serious from the Joker's chaotic letter, but apparently, she knew Earth was doomed. How it would happen, she didn't know.

"Probably because of the war, right? Those underwater guys have been fighting the Amazon Council for a while now." Ivy leaned against Harley, her energy drained. As one of the world's most famous environmentalists, she didn't seem to care much anymore. "This war isn't something we can stop. If they use weapons of mass destruction, it'll destroy the world. The Joker must have foreseen it."

Harley, meanwhile, was contentedly stroking Ivy's hair, plucking a leaf from her head and trying to place it on her own, though no matter how she arranged it, it didn't quite fit. It lacked the natural beauty of Ivy's style and just looked like a stray leaf had landed on her head.

"Maybe, who cares? I'm actually curious about what dying feels like. I'd like to experience it."

As Harley and Ivy began fooling around again, Su Ming shook his head.

"Have fun, we're leaving. Oh, and one more thing—the world will be destroyed by a massive flood."

With that, he pulled Cindy along, casually grabbing a bag of chips from the table as they left. By the time those two sobered up tomorrow, they might take the situation a bit more seriously, especially when cleaning up the mess of body parts downstairs.

Cindy, holding her helmet, allowed herself to be led a few steps, still able to hear Harley and Ivy's whispered conversation behind them.

"A flood? Is this from the Book of Revelation?" Ivy asked.

"Mm-hmm, like Noah's Ark." Harley mumbled in confusion.

"No, silly, it's Noah's Ark," Ivy corrected.

"Hmph, I'm not dumb. Bite me!" Harley teased.

The two of them burst into giggles again, playfully wrestling on the sofa. Harley didn't care about life or death, and Ivy, now that she knew the disaster would be a flood, seemed strangely relieved. After all, seaweed and aquatic plants were still plants. As long as there were plants, she didn't care if she died.

Cindy sighed, walking alongside Su Ming back into the hallway. The blaring music continued, and she felt somewhat helpless.

"So what do we do now? We're completely out of leads."

Su Ming pulled out a rope, tying it to a nearby pipe. After testing its strength, he grabbed hold of it and jumped out of the window, the cold rain once again chilling his blood.

The flashy, colorful environment they had just left behind was really only Harley's self-hypnosis. The threat of death still loomed over them.

Their car had been destroyed, so they had no choice but to walk and talk.

"You said you've been to the Batcave. What about Wayne Manor?" Su Ming asked as they scouted the area for transportation.

"Of course. But not just her—her old butler is missing too."

"Could they have been kidnapped?"

"No, the security systems were still intact. Every room was spotless. No signs of a struggle. She left on her own, and she took the butler with her."

"In the Batcave, there's a system that monitors all of Gotham. Did you try it?"

"Yeah, but we'd need her two eyeballs and a handprint to activate it."

They had already walked quite a distance, nearing the edge of the circus' territory, but still hadn't come up with a solution. Just then, Su Ming spotted a mode of transportation.

It was a pile of unicycles, haphazardly stacked against a wall, glistening in the rain.

These were circus property, likely belonging to the people Su Ming and Cindy had taken out earlier. They hadn't wandered far from the spot of the encounter.

Regardless of the universe, Joker's gang members always had a flair for theatrics, even when killing—like riding unicycles while shooting people with apples on their heads.

"Can you ride one of these?" Su Ming grabbed two of the unicycles from the pile, handing one to Cindy.

Cindy took it and wobbled for a moment before quickly stabilizing. With Deathstroke's physical abilities and sense of balance, it only took her a few seconds to master it.

Su Ming quickly figured it out as well. Not only could he ride smoothly, but he realized that if he had a few apples or balls, he could easily juggle them while riding.

With their superhuman strength propelling the unicycles, they moved almost as fast as a car. The only downside was the lack of a windshield—the pouring rain drenched them directly.

His skin could feel the cold of the armor. The thick promethium metal was always reliable, but the black and yellow armor was steadily draining his warmth, as if it was trying to turn him into a cold-blooded person inside and out.

"Now, how about telling me where we're heading? Because I'm pretty sure you don't know your way around here," Cindy reminded him as they rode side by side.

"Uh, you're right," Su Ming admitted. He didn't know Gotham's streets at all. He couldn't even pinpoint where Batwoman's home or company was located. "But we do know Bruce took Alfred and fled, which means she's trying to protect her friends and family. However, there's one person she definitely wouldn't take with her."

"You mean..." Cindy nodded slightly, the red monocular of her mask glowing under the streetlights.

Su Ming confirmed her guess, glancing into the alleyway at the lurking black shadows. He drew his gun to scare them off before continuing.

"Now, we're going to find him and make a big splash. Force Batwoman to come out and save the day."

"Heh, I like that plan. The other moves were too subtle for my taste. This way—follow me."