Multiverse: Deathstroke

Su Ming's helmet visor had night vision capabilities, allowing him to see what was inside the evidence bag.

A strand of hair.

More precisely, it was a green, curly strand of hair, resembling instant noodles.

Bobo put the evidence bag into his pocket. "I think even without analyzing this hair for chemical content, Batman would remember very well what this green hair means."

"This does indeed have to do with Luthor. Circe was also under his orders. It looks like she's joined the opposing team."

Su Ming nodded. There were no other clues here, and even the Joker's green hair was something Bobo had plucked from a crack in the rocks.

The follicle at the end of the hair was fresh, indicating its owner had left not too long ago.

"This is good. A mythological witch has taken a stand against us. I've been meaning to see just who's stronger between her and me."

Albera was still her usual unenthusiastic self, as if she wasn't worried at all, lowering her head to light a cigarette.

"Strange. Why are you being so proactive? It's odd hearing such fighting spirit from you." Su Ming raised an eyebrow.

Albera thought about it for a moment. "Alright, I'll go wash my face by the sea. It seems the seven deadly sins of Hell can still affect me."

The sorceress walked out of the cave, heading towards the jagged, rocky shoreline, while Bobo and Donna both looked at Su Ming, waiting for his plan.

Su Ming and the others originally came here to consult Circe about Hecate.

And Diana had likely returned here for the same reason—to find Hecate and also her team.

There were no signs of a fight here, suggesting that Circe had deceived Diana once again.

From this, it seemed that the lie must have also been related to Hecate; otherwise, Diana wouldn't have been so easily fooled.

Hecate's goal was already known to him—her current objective was to destroy the three pillars of the magical world.

So Circe's plan was likely to deliver Diana to Hecate, letting Diana and Deathstroke's team clash with the Witch-Mother, leaving both sides weakened.

Vivian had also told Su Ming that the fifth marked individual had powerful magic capable of countering her prophetic spells.

Circe fit that profile perfectly. She was a daughter of Titans, a follower of Hecate, a sorceress, and a powerful ancient witch.

She fit the description almost too perfectly.

Circe being the fifth of the Witching Hour was highly probable.

Su Ming quickly explained his theory to the others, letting Batman also listen in.

After all, the Joker appearing here meant that Luthor was likely involved, though there was no way to confirm it—Luthor didn't have a hair loss problem, or at least not anymore.

"There are only two places Diana could've been tricked into going: Shangri-La or Olympus."

Su Ming gave his conclusion.

Batman remained silent, which Su Ming took as agreement.

"I'll make a call. The gods there all know Diana. If she's reached Olympus, someone must've seen her."

Donna held up her small red phone, which looked very similar to Diana's.

"I'll wait for your result." Su Ming nodded, indicating for her to do what she needed.

It wasn't clear who Donna called, but after a brief conversation, she shook her head at Su Ming.

"She didn't go there."

"Tell those gods to stay alert. Olympus will likely be Hecate's final target. For now, we head to Shangri-La to bring Diana back."

Su Ming immediately assigned tasks to the group, and Albera, who returned from the beach, reported seeing large cat-like footprints.

Since Luthor's crew had shown up here, Cheetah following along was normal. Though it was surprising she had held back from attacking Diana—likely, Luthor had promised her something big.

Su Ming felt like he'd never walked through so many portals in one night. It was always the same few places, back and forth.

When they returned to the bar again, Tracy still hadn't started cleaning, prompting another scolding from Bobo, which made her cry once more.

They entered through the front door, exchanged a few words, and then exited through the bar's front door again.

The scene before them changed from the streets of Athens to the ruins of Shangri-La.

It seemed they were a bit late. In the sky above, two enormous figures were locked in battle.

One was a tall, elderly woman with three heads and six arms. The other was a glowing woman's face.

It was Hecate, battling the local deity, Goddess Kushna.

Though it looked like some sort of water curtain projection or some new 3D movie tech—massive, towering women—it all seemed dreamlike, unreal.

However, the destruction they caused was very real. The city and castle, previously devastated by Dawn, were now ablaze again, with raging fires lighting up the sky.

Su Ming leapt onto a nearby city wall, surveying the situation. He soon noticed, in a corner of the city—perhaps where a garden had once been—a purple figure was relentlessly pursuing Constantine's group.

Diana was under control, which was not good news.

Constantine, Zatanna, Swamp Thing, and Deadman—all of them were there, except for Shazam and Banshee. This was almost the entire original lineup of Justice League Dark.

They had all once been incredibly powerful, but times change.

With magic failing, Zatanna was the first to be rendered useless. Her backwards spells now only summoned the Reversers.

Next was Swamp Thing. Black Orchid had gone to assassinate the Parliament of Trees, engaging in a fierce battle with Deathstroke. Though Su Ming had tried to minimize the damage, more than half of the Green's representatives had died.

Then came the chaos in Heaven and Hell. Constantine, being a Hell contract holder, was affected even worse than Albera, leaving him unable to even attempt spellcasting.

Finally, Deadman—his power source, his deity, was locked in a struggle with Hecate, leaving his powers useless against the controlled Diana.

"Tsk, who would've thought Swamp Thing would end up like this?"

Su Ming wasn't in a hurry. His mission was to protect Diana, making sure she didn't die.

Right now, she was happily hunting others down—not in any real danger.

Barry once called Swamp Thing a "walking green apocalypse." Under normal circumstances, even if the entire Justice League faced him, unless Superman and Barry went all out and eradicated all plant life on Earth, Swamp Thing could hold his own against them.

Anyone who could face off against the seven core members of the Justice League head-on was definitely a heavyweight in the universe.

Of course, it didn't help that neither Diana nor Aquaman could bring themselves to kill him back then.

But things were different now. Under the Witching Hour's influence, Diana's exposed skin glowed intensely with purple light, and the trinity symbol on her head was dazzling. She flew at them, slashing repeatedly, each strike lethal.

The mark had greatly amplified her power, and even Swamp Thing could only use vines to help the others flee, with no courage to face Diana head-on.