Multiverse: Deathstroke

Just as Su Ming was watching the show, the enormous golden face in the sky spoke. It manifested two massive arms, struggling against Hecate's assault, while questioning her.

"Why do you want to destroy me? I, Rama Kushna, have long guarded the boundary between life and death, guiding the dead to a place of peace. I have never interfered with your matters."

The colossal voice echoed across the sky. Even if Su Ming didn't want to listen, he had no choice—this mountaintop broadcast had only one channel.

And the show was something like Godzilla or Ultraman, but the key difference was that both of these monsters could talk. It was just too noisy.

"You haven't done well enough, my sister." Hecate's massive form, also conjured by magic, was clearly more experienced in turning the intangible into something tangible compared to the Reversers. "The world is about to be destroyed, and magic will only be a burden. I will burn it to the ground and find something better to replace it."

Su Ming and the other three stood on the city wall, listening to the conversation between the two goddesses.

"Oh, that's actually not a bad proposal. After all, mystical forces aren't limited to just sorcery." Albera seemed to agree with Hecate's point.

Su Ming remained silent. After all, Albera was aligned with Hell. Abolishing sorcery didn't affect her—it was easy for her to say without concern.

Most other sorcerers probably wouldn't see it that way.

"What are you thinking?" Bobo looked up at Deathstroke's face, though all he could see was the chin.

"I'm thinking about what Luthor hopes to gain by pushing this." Su Ming pointed to Diana and then to Hecate.

"What does he hope to gain?"

"Yes, there's always a motive behind an action, right? But I can't see what benefit Luthor could possibly gain from this." Su Ming quietly listened to the conversation of the goddesses.

Bobo stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Motive was an essential part of criminal theory. Even the most deranged serial killer had motives—like wanting to eat someone's liver or make a vest out of someone's skin. Those were motives.

And now, no one knew Luthor's motives—or rather, they only knew a very vague concept: 'destruction.'

What did that destruction mean? What benefit would it bring him? There were no clues.

Hecate had now regained the portion of her power from Witchfire, which accounted for a fifth of her complete form.

The power within Diana was used to control her actions.

The other two portions were still hidden by Deathstroke.

Hecate wouldn't be working for Luthor—only Circe might. And this magical benefit was likely something aimed at Circe.

This was probably Luthor's payment to Circe in exchange for her services.

But what role did Nabu play in all of this?

Su Ming glanced at the pensive chimp. He knew too little about magical matters, and if Bobo couldn't come up with anything, then it was unlikely anyone would have a reasonable theory.

"Aren't you going to save Diana?"

Turning his head, he saw Donna looking at him with a pitiful expression, like an abandoned animal, staring at Su Ming.

Su Ming bared his teeth, shaking his head slightly. "Right now, Kushna and Hecate are almost evenly matched. I could go down and try to control Diana, but if I do, Hecate will undoubtedly reclaim the energy from Diana, giving her an overwhelming advantage against Kushna. Everyone would be in trouble."

Albera, watching the sky, nodded in agreement. "Deathstroke is right. If any of us were hit by Diana as she is now, we might not die instantly. But if the giant Hecate strikes, none of us could withstand it."

"So what should we do?" Donna seemed at a loss, holding her shield and sword as if she didn't know what to do.

"There is a plan, though I can't guarantee it'll work." Su Ming looked at the others, seeking their opinions. Albera didn't mind; if she died, she'd just end up in Hell, which was as familiar as her backyard.

The chimp looked down at the Nightblade in his hand and agreed to give it a shot.

Sometimes, even hopeless endeavors needed to be undertaken. Besides, this was a fifty-fifty chance. He thought of the Dark Knight—if there had been a slight chance of success back then, he might not have died in the Oblivion Bar.

Donna nodded more eagerly. The sooner Diana was saved, the sooner she'd feel at ease.

Su Ming smiled. Great—everyone agreed, but he hadn't voiced his own opinion.

If something went wrong, it wouldn't be his responsibility. He'd let someone else take the fall if it failed.

He quickly pulled out his phone, dialing a few numbers. Before he could even speak, a red figure appeared beside him.

"Uh, you're really proactive this time?" Su Ming heard the phone ringing right next to him and hung up, exasperated.

"Oh, Batman just upgraded the Hall of Justice's tracking algorithm. Now, even if you're in a place like Shangri-La, shrouded in magic, he can calculate your approximate location based on your previous movement speed and trajectory, along with psychological analysis and logical reasoning."

"Stop. That's enough. I only use this phone temporarily anyway." Su Ming hooked his arm around Barry's neck, patting his shoulder, acting as if they were good buddies.

There was no choice—against an amped-up Wonder Woman, they still had to rely on old tactics to gain an overwhelming advantage.

"Have you eaten?"

Barry greeted everyone with a smile, then curiously looked around. Surrounded by flames, he didn't know what to say.

Looking at the Eastern-style city walls and streets, he couldn't help but ask a customary Eastern greeting.

"Not yet." Su Ming also answered habitually, pointing towards Diana, who was chasing the mages below.

Barry sucked in a breath. His attention had been on the giant figures in the sky—he hadn't noticed Diana's altered state.

"Is that a new makeup product?" Barry hissed, looking at the purple-glowing, black-eyed Diana, choosing to make a joke first.

"It was a gift. See that giant over there? Apply this purple night cream, and you're no longer yourself."

"Pfft." Barry covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. Diana's current state was quite different from usual, and the expressions on Swamp Thing and Constantine, who were fleeing ahead of her, were priceless.

"Ahem, she's a traditional Amazon. She doesn't use such 'corrupting' items as makeup."

Donna, seeing that Deathstroke and Barry were off-topic, looked like she'd given up on life as she reminded them from behind.

And why was the Flash so chummy with Deathstroke? She had no clue.

"Ahem!" Barry held back his smile, rubbing his face before looking at Su Ming. "Alright, so the plan is to subdue Diana first, right? What's the strategy?"

"Remember the Atom? Same strategy."

Su Ming took a deep breath, placing a hand on Barry's shoulder, feeling the Speed Force begin to spread once again.

"Ugh."

Barry dry-heaved, and Su Ming nodded. It seemed Barry had vivid memories of the Atom. That would work just fine.