Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 141: Ch.140 Victory and Bargain

Chapter 141: Ch.140 Victory and Bargain

"Want to hear a joke?"

The Joker thrust his dagger forward, but the Batman Who Laughs sidestepped it. He wanted to strike back at the Joker, but Su Ming's scimitar was already swinging toward his fingers.

The Batman Who Laughs had no choice but to pull back and dodge. Though he wouldn't be injured, the sheer force could disarm him. If Su Ming managed to reclaim the black sword, it would spell danger for him.

The Joker, seemingly oblivious to the giant sword that nearly sliced through his head, lunged forward again, attacking recklessly as if he had nothing to lose.

"Not interested? Then how about a magic trick, Uncle Joker style? Hahaha!"

The maniacal Joker stumbled, looking like he was about to collapse under the Batman Who Laughs' sword. But then, with a slap to his chest, the yellow flower pinned to his suit squirted a stream of green liquid.

Somehow, the Joker managed to aim it perfectly, hitting the Batman Who Laughs right in his wide, grinning mouth.

The Batman Who Laughs coughed twice, and his attacks slowed. With Barbatos defeated, his protective dark energy had significantly weakened, making the acid feel like burning coals in his mouth and flooding his lungs with liquid.

However, the acid, which could turn a person to bone and reduce metal to slag, could only achieve this much. It didn't inflict any substantial harm.

"Would you like a refill, sir? How do I look? Do I resemble your butler?"

The Joker kept spewing nonsense, asking ridiculous questions. Instead of using the flower again, he directly aimed his dagger at the Batman Who Laughs' face.

He hated that face, hated that grin, hated the way this impostor mimicked both Batman and himself.

He hated everything about this guy...

The Batman Who Laughs brought his sword across to block the strike, giving Su Ming an opportunity.

Su Ming clapped his hands together, and his two blades instantly transformed into a long, golden staff shaped like a question mark, resembling the kind shepherds carry in Europe, only larger.

As the Batman Who Laughs focused on defending against the Joker, Su Ming swung the staff from the side, hooking the Batman Who Laughs.

"Retract!"

The staff rapidly shortened, pulling Su Ming closer at high speed.

Su Ming was already fast, and the Batman Who Laughs was struggling to keep up with him alone. Now, with the Joker constantly pestering him with gadgets and words, Su Ming finally found his opening.

The Batman Who Laughs initially thought Su Ming was trying to seize his weapon, giving him a chance to strike accurately.

He swung his massive sword directly at Su Ming.

Su Ming didn't dodge; he let the sword slice into his shoulder.

The armor was breached, his deltoid muscle was half-severed, and several blood vessels were cut.

But his clavicle stopped the blade with a sharp clang.

Then, instead of grabbing the sword, Su Ming clasped the blade with one hand and delivered a punch to the Batman Who Laughs' chest with the other.

The Batman Who Laughs didn't bother to dodge—what could a punch do?

He decided to pull back his sword and strike again.

But he made a fatal mistake, as Su Ming revealed his trump card at that moment.

Four long spikes suddenly sprouted from Su Ming's knuckles, piercing through his gauntlet and gleaming with a silver-white light as they drove into the Batman Who Laughs' chest.

It was X-metal.

If Su Ming was going to emulate Wolverine, how could he forget this move? Logan had three claws per hand, but Su Ming had one more.

And if he wished, he could make spikes sprout from any joint in his body, though it would turn his armor into Swiss cheese.

He had pretended to want his sword back, and the Batman Who Laughs assumed that the rest of Su Ming's weapons were harmless, splitting his attention between Su Ming and the Joker.

Because the Joker represented more unpredictability and uncertainty, his bizarre laughter and words were hard to ignore.

The Joker, though unaware, had merely been a distraction for Su Ming.

Seizing his chance to get close, Su Ming played his trump card and succeeded in his strike.

Four silver spikes pierced through the Batman Who Laughs' chest, puncturing his heart before protruding out his back.

Then, with a thought, Su Ming retracted the X-metal spikes, and dark blood spurted from the wounds, draining the Batman Who Laughs of life and power.

The dark energy began to dissipate, and the Batman Who Laughs collapsed to the ground.

"Such a treacherous tactic... cough, but you've made a huge mistake."

The Batman Who Laughs clutched Su Ming's armor, staring at the dark ceiling of the Batcave, where countless tiny, gleaming eyes watched him.

Those were the bats.

He wasn't satisfied. There were still things left undone.

"What mistake did I make? I don't know, but you certainly made a big one."

Su Ming brushed away his hand, picked up the Twilight Sword, and ignored the Joker's crocodile tears. Calmly, he said to the Batman Who Laughs, "I once told a grunt something, and now I'll tell you the same thing... Don't! Mess! With! Deathstroke!"

With that, Su Ming didn't wait for any response and swung his sword, chopping off the Batman Who Laughs' head.

"Eek! Good, good! Hahaha!" The Joker clapped, tears of laughter streaming down his face. "A perfect piece of art! I want it! I want it! Deathstroke, sell it to me!"

"What do you want? The dagger?"

Su Ming frowned. The Joker was a lunatic with ever-changing whims, but the dagger wasn't for sale—it was a souvenir from Earth -11.

"Dagger? Oh, you mean this? I don't want it; here, take it back. I prefer bats over birds."

The Joker tossed the Promethium dagger back to Su Ming without hesitation. He knew the dagger was sharp, but it wasn't to his liking.

"I want this. I'll preserve it, talk to it every day."

He eagerly bent down, picked up the severed head of the Batman Who Laughs from the ground, and cradled it in his arms, ignoring the black blood staining his purple suit.

He then placed the head on his shoulder, next to his own, and forced a smile onto the Batman Who Laughs' face, gleefully showing Su Ming.

"Look, now I can smile with two mouths."

The Joker looked at the head with its spiked helmet and then at the twitching, headless body, bursting into maniacal laughter.

In the end, he had won. The last one laughing is always the best, and once again, chaos and madness had triumphed.

They made his smile... unique.

As for this copycat, the next time Batman comes to play with him, he'll make sure this head is in a dark corner, watching as a mere spectator.

Let it envy him, helplessly.

Hahaha!

The head was of no use to Su Ming. He didn't need such a bloody trophy to collect his payment from the Justice League. This was the Batcave, after all, and Bruce would definitely review the surveillance footage when he returned.

Indeed, sometimes mercenaries need to leave some evidence—like an ear, a hand, or a head—to prove the mission's completion and verify the identity of the target.

Such proof is how you get paid; it's a professional necessity.

But Batman wasn't going to stiff him—Bruce didn't understand money, had no interest in it. And since the Joker wanted the head, his money was as good as anyone else's. Selling to both sides wasn't a problem.

There have been cases in the mercenary world where multiple people place bounties on the same target, so you can take all the contracts and cash in on all the rewards once the job is done.

"Oh? How much are you offering?"

With this big event concluded, Su Ming needed to prepare for the future. More money was always better.

"How about an IOU? Haha, no, that won't do..."

The Joker clutched the head tightly, eyeing Su Ming warily, as if afraid he might snatch it away. "Here, I'll give you something good in exchange, hehehe."

Something good?

What could the Joker possibly have that's worth anything? His blood?

True, his blood contained the Dionysian factor, which could enhance Su Ming's healing ability, but the side effects were too severe—it could drive someone insane.

Besides, the Joker himself wasn't aware of the Dionysian factor; he only used his blood to make Joker Venom.

Laughing gas?

It could make people laugh themselves to death—potent, sure, but not as versatile as Scarecrow's fear toxin. Scarecrow's toxin was more widely available and could be purchased almost anywhere.

After pondering for a moment, Su Ming realized that the Joker did have one thing he might be interested in: the Joker's purple car with a smiley face painted on it.

Though its appearance was odd, the car itself was a high-performance vehicle with a supercharged engine, nitrous oxide boosters, and a full suite of onboard weapons.

It was like a James Bond car with a quirky skin. While not as good as the Batmobile, it was still quite impressive.

If the Joker was offering that in exchange, then this deal would be a huge win.

"Alright, stretch out your hand and close your eyes. I'll give you the treasure, hehehe..."

The Joker reached into his suit pocket, fumbling around before secretly clasping something in his hand.

Su Ming narrowed his eyes, like Batman would. Was this an electric shock button? Was the Joker planning to pull that trick on him?