Su Ming stood not far away with his arms crossed, with the Fire God Sword that had long been retrieved strapped to his back. The sand whipped up by the breeze rattled against his armor, making a rustling sound.
He held his helmet, placed it back on, and some data appeared on the visor inside. He was trying to find a new car since the situation for both of them wasn't good, and they had to head into Midtown for a brief rest.
This kind of unprepared battle was not his style.
He first walked over to Barry, who was staring blankly at a corpse, patted his shoulder, and then bent down to pull the Bat Gold Ore from the chest of the Red Death Demon.
"Let's go. There are others in the Dark Knight Order we need to deal with."
Barry stood up shakily: "Even if Briss hadn't become the Drowned, there would be a Drowned in another part of the Dark Universe. The Dark Knight Order still consists of seven people, right?"
The body of the Red Death Demon gradually turned into electricity, dissipating into the air, leaving only a human-shaped indentation gradually filled by yellow sand.
He met the fate all Speedsters eventually do, returning to the Speed Force.
"That's right. The Laughing Bat just needs a counterpart for everyone in the Justice League, making it his game, so there are definitely seven in the Dark Knight Order." Su Ming wiped the blood off the ore carefully and put it away again; it was the only weapon he could use at the moment.
Barry sighed, rarely showing a worried expression. He understood that even if they saved Earth -11, another dark Earth would suffer. It all seemed meaningless.
Despair, oppression—the main tone of the Multiverse is like this, never influenced by any individual's will.
But to save more worlds, the fight must go on.
"What's your next plan?"
"I need some food to self-heal, and you've exhausted your Speed Force. We need a brief rest, and then we need to deal with those Nightmare Batmen, gathering the Justice League to take on Barbatos."
"We need intel. Most of Earth is ravaged by war right now, Barbatos has summoned monsters from the darkness," Barry said, sharing what he knew. Things had started to worsen before he left, and the status of the Justice League was unknown.
"I know." Su Ming turned and walked towards the cars to see if Briss's Batmobile was repairable: "But Midtown is temporarily safe. The Laughing Bat and the Tyrant are currently with Barbatos in Gotham."
Barry nodded, understanding that Deathstroke also needed to keep fighting for survival, and his stance hadn't changed. He was willing to continue fighting alongside him.
"Alright, I'll check on the car."
Briss's Batmobile and the Red Death Demon's Batmobile had collided earlier. It seemed the Speed Force enhancement hadn't turned them into a comet hitting the Earth; they simply stalled, maybe they could still be repaired.
Barry dismantled the Cosmic Treadmill from the Batmobile, rewired it, and used parts from the Red Death Demon's car to replace the broken ones. About ten minutes later, the Batmobile was up and running again.
"Alright, Slade, let's move into the city." Barry shouted to Su Ming, who was smoking a short distance away, from inside the cockpit.
Su Ming discarded the cigarette butt, put on his helmet, climbed onto the Batmobile but didn't enter the cockpit. Instead, he clung to a groove, riding it like one would a horse: "You're not expecting me to sit on your lap, are you? Drive."
The car started moving again, with no Speed Force holes to disrupt it, and soon they were in Midtown.
The roadsides were littered with destroyed cars and buildings, and some mummy-like bodies lay by the roadside, victims of the Speed Force Storm, who lost their time and died instantly.
Even Barry, usually talkative, found no words to say now. But as the vehicle moved deeper into the city, the damage gradually lessened, and they occasionally saw people hiding in the shadows of buildings or in their homes, peeking out nervously through gaps in curtains or makeshift covers.
Midtown hadn't been built with a Dark Tower, because the Dark Knight Order had handed it over to the Red Death Demon, who had initially planned to destroy it with a Speed Force Storm.
"Turn left at the next intersection." Su Ming tapped on the glass.
"..."
Though unsure why, Barry followed his instructions and turned left at the next intersection.
It was a mundane street, strewn with belongings left behind during people's frantic escapes. An ice cream truck had knocked over a fire hydrant, and water was gushing out incessantly.
After proceeding about 500 meters further, Su Ming tapped the glass of the cockpit, indicating to stop.
He first jumped off the rooftop of the car, massaging his chest, feeling a bit stuffy. Then he walked into a nearby alley, pushed aside a pile of blocking garbage, revealing a trapdoor on the ground with a rusty padlock.
Su Ming pulled out a gun and fired, hitting the brass-colored lock that spun away. He opened the door and descended naturally.
"What is this place?" Barry appeared beside him.
"Whew... a secret hideout of mine..." Su Ming fumbled along the wall and turned on the lights. This was more than a basement; it was a safehouse: "To be precise, it's the hideout of this world's Slade."
"Hmm... I can understand Vayne Mansion having Bat Caves beneath it, but why do your Deathstroke safehouses from different worlds all end up in the same spot?"
Su Ming shut the door behind him and ventured into the room, which not only had ample food but also enough weapons and equipment.
"It's no coincidence but calculation," Su Ming remarked, removing his helmet and uniform, finding some pain relief spray to apply to his wounds: "My hideout is nearby. Though I didn't know where your world's Deathstroke would hide, our thought processes are alike. By factoring in all surrounding buildings, considering various factors like concealment and traffic convenience, and including the underground area, one can naturally deduce it."
"Well, I suppose you're half an owner here, so can we eat the stuff here?" Barry removed his hood, catching a breath.
Su Ming shrugged. It's not like this stuff belonged to him: "Of course, feel free to eat. You can take whatever you like."
"Oh, you're quite generous." Barry appeared on a chair immediately, opening a can of Spam, digging in. For storage convenience, the food here was mainly military-grade cans, offering only Spam and bean cans as options.
The Holy Statue Uniform wasn't damaged, only a bit chipped. After checking, Su Ming put it back on and then opened a side cabinet, replenishing hot weapons.
Grenades, rocket launchers, automatic rifles, grenade launchers—all were taken out.
Even if these weapons couldn't directly harm the Dark Knights and monsters, they still had their uses.
Once he was fully armed, he strolled to the chair opposite Barry, took a deep breath, opened a can of meat, and quietly ate.