Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 127: Ch.126 The Fall

Chapter 127: Ch.126 The Fall

Martian Manhunter had awakened, and with his cooperation, the rest of the battle could be handled by Su Ming.

J'onn was powerful, but his weaknesses were equally apparent. As an alien cop and a former member of the Justice League, he was a paragon of morality and compassion—a hero who wouldn't kill.

Not only that, but he was also a consummate good guy. In the past, his method of dealing with villains was to stand there and let them punch him until they were exhausted.

Once the enemy was too tired to fight, he'd use his telepathy to initiate a heartfelt conversation, often leaving the villain in tears, filled with remorse and ready to reform.

He had adopted many stray cats, and if it rained in a city, he'd fly there to check if any cats were getting wet. He also had many goddaughters, having raised many young heroines with tragic backgrounds.

It's almost unbelievable that the Blue Lantern Ring, symbolizing hope and compassion, never sought him out.

Unfortunately, his fate was also tragic. Every person he ever loved died, and during the New 52, he discovered he was actually a Martian weapon designed to destroy Earth. When this pre-programmed psychic directive activated, he had no choice but to comply.

His friends in the Justice League, whose values completely conflicted with his, were now his enemies—something he dreaded.

So, after being forced to fight a few times, he eventually took his own life.

In the *Brightest Day* event, he was resurrected by the White Lantern but has mostly remained in seclusion in recent years, spending his days cooking for a few adopted girls, watching TV, and eating Oreos.

This was his first time coming out of hiding in a long while because the world was facing a dire threat. However, something went wrong, and he ended up captured.

It was likely that the Nightmare Batmen used his greatest fear—fire—against him. His experiences on Mars had left him with a deep trauma. If he was set on fire, his entire body would go limp, and he'd be unable to use any of his powers.

"Can you still phase and turn invisible?" Su Ming asked. J'onn had just come down from the tuning fork, so it was inevitable that he'd been affected, but his green skin made it hard to tell if he'd aged.

"I'm fine. What do you need me to do?" J'onn flashed his bright white teeth in a smile that was more dazzling than Barry's, probably because of the contrast with his green skin.

Su Ming frowned. Despite J'onn's reassuring smile, Su Ming could sense that his condition wasn't as good as he claimed, both from his tone and his overall demeanor.

So, Su Ming placed his greatsword horizontally between them, removed his glove, and pressed a glowing spot on the sword, causing the metal to flow and soften, reverting to its original X-Metal form.

"Take this drop of liquid, focus on it, and think of some happy memories from the past."

Without hesitation, Martian Manhunter touched the droplet. As he recalled the joyful times he'd spent with his friends, the smile on his face grew even brighter.

Although it was just a single drop of silver liquid, Su Ming could feel J'onn's energy rapidly rising, quickly restoring him to his peak state.

The droplet remained the same size, seemingly unchanged, as J'onn returned it to Su Ming.

Su Ming had expected this result. In the comics, the Justice League had used a single drop of this liquid to connect with all of humanity, lifting Earth back into the Light Multiverse. The energy contained within this tiny bit of metal was immense, more than enough to replenish J'onn's depleted reserves without diminishing.

Casually, Su Ming pressed the X-Metal droplet back onto the greatsword, where it reformed into a star-shaped dot. He then removed a few silver grenades from his chest and handed them to Martian Manhunter.

"Fly up there using your phasing and invisibility powers, attach these grenades to the back of Barbatos' robe, pull the pins, and then get out of there."

"Sure, Barbatos doesn't count as a person, right?" J'onn asked, looking to Batman for confirmation.

Even though Barbatos had haunted him for decades in his nightmares, Bruce still couldn't definitively classify the Dark God. Was he not human? Perhaps a bat? Or maybe something else entirely?

Su Ming dismissed the question. "Don't worry, do you really think a few grenades could kill Barbatos? With his size, these grenades would feel like static sparks to a normal person."

J'onn and Batman accepted this explanation. Large size usually meant significant durability, and for a multiversal entity like Barbatos, being killed by a few grenades would be ridiculous.

Of course, Su Ming's grenades were standard-issue American pineapple grenades, with X-Metal applied only to the raised sections to ensure each fragment had maximum lethality.

The explosion should be enough to injure Barbatos, but the real fight would still depend on Su Ming.

As Martian Manhunter began to turn transparent, his clothes and blue cape disappeared into thin air. However, due to its unique properties, the X-Metal grenades didn't phase with him.

So, Su Ming and Batman watched as the grenades floated out of the cave, seemingly ascending into the sky on their own.

Fortunately, the grenades were small, and Barbatos likely wouldn't notice them.

"Can I use some of that X-Metal liquid?" Bruce asked, anticipating that he might need extra energy to save Cyborg. "I'm not sure why, but after we left the World Forge, I can't manipulate the X-Metal like you can."

Su Ming nodded readily, hearing the sound of a cash register *cha-ching* in his mind.

At the same time, he speculated that it had something to do with the strength of their souls. His own soul was double the strength of anyone else's, allowing him to perform feats others couldn't. He had noticed this earlier but hadn't mentioned it.

Revealing this to Batman wasn't an issue; Bruce would find out eventually. Besides, the X-Metal inside Su Ming was his true trump card.

Su Ming generously handed over a droplet of X-Metal to Bruce, who successfully used it to revive Cyborg. The process was somewhat akin to oiling a sewing machine.

But while robots had their perks, they also had their drawbacks. Upon waking, Cyborg needed to run a full system diagnostic. In that nightmare, his Mother Box had almost rebelled, even trying to detach itself from him, leaving him uneasy.

Ignoring Batman and Cyborg, Su Ming crept to the cave entrance to observe the situation above.

The timing was just about right.

A sudden, intense explosion echoed, and a bright silver light illuminated the entire battlefield like a starburst. All the dark creatures screamed in agony, shielding their eyes.

Barbatos was no exception. Countless shards of X-Metal had pierced his back, embedding deep into his flesh. While the wounds were minor, it felt as though his body was filled with hundreds of tiny stones, causing excruciating pain and stiffening his entire form.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been a significant problem. However, he was still locked in a power struggle with the Silver Sorceress on the other side.

In that brief moment, the Silver Sorceress seized the opportunity, her power surging as Order Magic began to alter the local reality.

The silver energy seemed to transcend space and time, dispersing Barbatos' dark light and striking him directly, forming phantom hands that grabbed his neck and violently yanked him down.

Finally, Barbatos was torn from the tuning fork, plummeting at breakneck speed.

Su Ming immediately vaulted out of the cave, sprinting toward the spot where Barbatos would land. Several other heroes, whose origins were unknown, made similar moves, but Su Ming was the closest.

Suddenly, Barry appeared behind him, lifting him up. Although Barry was still a bit shaky after vomiting for so long, he managed a sheepish smile at Su Ming.

"Sorry, I'm late."

"No, your timing is perfect."

"Oh, just like I said, I'm always on time."