The moment of farewell has arrived, and naturally, this lunch cannot continue. With the help of a few people, Barry welded Briss's treadmill to the roof of the Batmobile, connecting various pipes to the car's engine.
Briss then changed the car's permission requirements on the console, gifting it to Su Ming and his companion. At Su Ming's request, she also gave him some gold jewelry for pocket money.
With everything ready, Su Ming secretly slipped the Divine Power Silver Bracelet to Cindy, who knew how to handle it.
"Goodbye, Cindy." Su Ming hugged her to say farewell, their black and yellow armor clashing with a sound.
"Goodbye, Su, it was a nice operation." Cindy patted his back, feeling a bit nostalgic, shaking her head with a smile as she let go.
"Although operating with teammates is nice, don't bring Holly on such dangerous missions. She's not as capable as I am." Su Ming joked with her, knowing he must leave as the mission wasn't over; he had to head to the Main World to face Barbatos.
"Alright, it seems you've seen through me again, haha." Cindy shrugged, showing a helpless expression, and then looked at Su Ming, her face calming: "Take care."
"You too." Su Ming glanced at Briss and Ah Fu talking with Barry not far away, and lowered his voice: "If those two get too violent, Briss might take action in the future. You could lend a hand to ease the situation."
Cindy slightly nodded, raising one eyebrow: "If the price is right, a 'Sharp Claw of the Owl' might kill them on their way home from the theater, letting their child be haunted by bats fluttering in the alleys, and the richest man in Gotham would find this child."
"Uh... whatever makes you happy."
Su Ming smiled, shaking his head, the two of them exchanged a knowing glance without saying more, for she already had a plan.
Next, Su Ming shook hands with Briss and Ah Fu in farewell, prepped his gear, and got into the driver's seat. His tasks were simple: just start the engine and keep revving it in neutral.
The key to crossing dimensions lay with Barry.
He climbed onto the treadmill on the car's roof, took a deep breath, and assumed a starting position: "Well then... we're off, Briss, and Cindy and Ah Fu."
Everyone nodded, Barry flashed an embarrassed smile, then turned to face forward, his expression growing serious.
The golden electric light enveloped him once more as he sprinted on the treadmill. As his speed increased, the Divine Speed began to flow through the pipes, spreading over the entire car.
Then, the colossal Batmobile, along with its two passengers, vanished from the Bat Cave, without sound or image, as if they had never existed.
Cindy sighed, knowing that Su Ming had told her the Main World was merely a stopover for him; he was going somewhere even farther, and she probably wouldn't see him again.
But she had to continue her life, returning to the solo mercenary career. Briss's funds were ready, all in unmarked old bills. She could take the 60 million with her upon departure, and if she weren't a Super Soldier, she wouldn't be able to carry these two large bags of money.
This money would allow her to take a break. Perhaps she could visit Egypt to enjoy the Nile's scenery, or try hot springs in Iceland.
"Since that's the case, I'm off too. Your Gotham probably won't have business in several decades."
Briss turned to glance at Ah Fu, who nodded slightly and answered: "The members of the Owl Court are mostly Miss Wilson's major clients, this time..."
Batwoman nodded, her expression unemotional as she stared at Cindy: "If there's any problem, I'd expect you to provide after-sales service... but for now, Ah Fu will take you to the dock, and my private yacht will take you wherever you wish to go."
Cindy gave a smirk, put on her helmet, and reassembled her weapons: "You'd better prepare money, mercenaries charge extra for after-sales service."
..........................
The following developments proceeded as Su Ming had planned. Two days later, the Sea Queen's Fear Venom dissipated. They thought the Owl's estimation of the Fear Venom's duration was incorrect and celebrated jubilantly.
With a stroke of luck, they immediately escaped the island. The Sea Queen, under the spell of 'love,' carried the Hero away like a dolphin, directly taking him back to Paradise Island amid their intimate circumstances.
After explaining their relationship to the Amazon Queen and the threat lurking in the darkness, they recounted their experiences from recent days, including the blood writing in the garden and the abandoned Zombie Dragon on Dinosaur Island as evidence, despite the absence of the fake version of himself. But the plan was enough to astonish anyone.
While the Queen found their passionate relationship somewhat odd, it was not surprising since both had the Olympian Pantheon's bloodline, and infatuation was like a genetic predisposition.
Facing an unknown external threat, the Queen and the council indeed brainstormed various solutions. At this moment, Sea King's residence on Paradise Island demonstrated goodwill, so both parties engaged in genuine peace talks. Both races had absolute monarchy; once the Sea Queen and the Hero decided, nothing could change.
Their races merged; any noncompliant stubborn individuals were discreetly executed, and past histories were obliterated.
The Amazons and Atlanteans had always been one family, as close as sisters. Wars? Conflicts? They never existed.
The newly merged race dubbed themselves Olympians, and the world was truly unified. Though injustice and darkness persisted, at least peace finally descended; it was a good beginning.
The newly established Olympian regime's first order was the manhunt of a cult known as the Owl Court. The reason was unclear, but the bounty on the television news was shockingly high; anyone who could provide leads was promised various benefits.
Unfortunately, later people found out that only a TV station's female reporter in Gotham almost consistently received the rewards, as cultists seemed as common as roadside weeds, and those she reported were never wrong.
With these bounties, she launched her own documentary series, "Deathstroke on the Blade," distributing it secretly. The unique narration and perspective garnered high praise, even boosting the business of this mercenary. However, it also led to the emergence of many new assassins, rekindling concerns over Gotham City's security as the documentary's backdrop city.
.................
Su Ming didn't even manage a reaction. In the previous second, he was inside the Batmobile, waving goodbye to Cindy outside the window.
The next second, the Bat Cave outside his window transformed into boundless yellow sand, flowing like a meat grinder, dragging their car toward a bottomless abyss.
"Why is it a quicksand pit? Barry?!" Su Ming immediately engaged the gear, battling against the sand. Thankfully, the Batmobile was solid, and its tires had good traction: "Where is this?"
After dimension traveling, Barry felt a bit weak. He lay on the car's roof, listening to the engine's roar, glancing back at the massive black hole in the desert.
"I thought you knew. The time point we're returning to in the Main World, to avoid triggering the Flashpoint Effect, can only be the time I left!"
"So this isn't Egypt? It's Midtown?!" Su Ming recalled a comic's plot, realizing it was the outskirts of Midtown underground, where the Red Death Demon challenged Barry to a duel.
Forget the Flashpoint Effect; arriving here already triggered a butterfly effect. Now, he could only strive to steer this change toward a positive outcome.
"Yes! We're underground in Midtown. The quicksand whirlpool behind us is formed by the Speed Force Storm. Anyone sucked in loses time until they die!" Barry clutched the cockpit's glass, shouting to Su Ming.
Su Ming was speechless. He had just experienced his longest night in Gotham and now immediately had to face a mutant Batman from the Dark Knight Order. It was truly troublesome.
He gripped the steering wheel, flooring the gas. Ahead was a glowing area, presumably an exit to the surface. He drew the Fire God Sword with his other hand, cut a hole in the cockpit roof, and let Barry in.
"Where's the Red Death Demon?"
"The time spent in the Multiverse doesn't reflect in the Main Universe. So, when he steps out of the Divine Speed and returns to this point, it will be at this time point too." Barry squeezed in next to Su Ming; the Batmobile's cockpit had limited space, leaving them both cramped.
Before a second passed, a heap of various vehicles appeared dozens of meters behind them, engine roars filling the air, and the Bat radar's alarms blaring on the console.
"Well, I see him. He's behind us."