Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 395: Ch.394 Another Victory

"Arabella and Wonder Girl, lock down the skies! I'll handle things on the ground! Bobo, you... you just stand back and clap!"

Su Ming quickly shouted his commands. If one-on-one didn't work, it was time for a group assault. That was the true spirit of superheroes. For a moment, he even felt like he was becoming someone noble.

Superman, Captain America, and other honorable heroes seemed to channel through him. He wasn't fighting alone—he was not alone!

Being part of the battle was, of course, a good thing for Donna. She had just eaten an ice cream, and now needed to burn off those calories.

As for Arabella, she was being paid, and had no hesitation about getting involved.

Only Bobo, the detective chimp, looked even more dejected. Why could everyone else fight while he became a spectator?

Actually, it wasn't that Su Ming discriminated against chimps; the key was that Bobo truly had no combat capabilities. His role was outside of combat.

Bobo's super intelligence allowed him to quickly master all kinds of advanced technology. For example, the last time they used the Monitor ship, the "Ultima Thule," capable of traversing across multiverses, he figured out how to operate it in just ten minutes and even traveled to multiple universes to gather reinforcements.

More importantly, after just ten minutes of understanding, he dared to cross multiverses with an unfamiliar ship. He was indeed full of courage.

And because he spent a lot of time with the previous Night Master and the Shadowpact, Bobo had a comprehensive understanding of the magical world. He knew more types of spells, sorcerers, and magic items than even Arabella.

One could say that aside from combat, Bobo was a jack-of-all-trades.

Su Ming always liked his team members to have complementary abilities, so that when facing any situation, someone could offer expert advice.

His team existed to solve missions, not to be a bunch of brawlers.

Combat skills? Su Ming had plenty. Whether his teammates could fight or not didn't matter.

"I never care if my teammates can fight—no one fights better than me, anyway."

That's how confident he was.

Black Orchid was a second-tier power. Though both she and Swamp Thing were defenders of the Green, she was less focused than Swamp Thing, who was completely devoted to the Green. She also served the Red, representing animals.

Both sides certainly held back with her, so her power was always mediocre.

She was stronger than Poison Ivy, sure, but she could not compare to someone like Superman or Flash, who could change reality if they felt like it.

However, now that the Witch's Mark had given her witchcraft power, even just one-fifth of this power was enough to shake this once-tranquil rainforest to its core.

Several members of the Parliament of Trees had already fallen. Su Ming never knew that plants could scream in agony, and now these piercing screams seemed to echo directly in everyone's hearts.

Where was Swamp Thing? Normally, if anyone hurt the Green, he would come running immediately.

He was doing a terrible job as a defender.

While swinging his now-scythe-shaped Godslayer, Su Ming thought about the reinforcements that were supposed to be here.

Swamp Thing could transport himself from one plant to another in an instant, even across interstellar distances. He should have been the first to arrive, but it was clear now that something had gone wrong.

If Swamp Thing were here, wielding the power of the Green, dealing with Black Orchid would be much easier.

But he wasn't. The Parliament of Trees could only wail without making any attempt to help.

Arabella remained in place, sitting on a branch, throwing a fireball to block Black Orchid's movement whenever she tried to take to the sky.

As for Donna, this Wonder Woman look-alike, she wielded a sword and shield to protect Arabella, making sure the sorceress wasn't hurt by Black Orchid's beams of witchcraft.

Finally, Su Ming saw his chance. Black Orchid had almost finished cutting down the trees around her.

With a thought, Stranglehold began handing him the molotov cocktails from his backpack, one by one.

Though, if things caught fire, Stranglehold planned to bail.

They had made ample preparations before coming here. Since Oblivion Bar couldn't reopen for a while, Bobo generously provided all the alcohol in stock.

Su Ming had mixed it with some detergent and soap, creating makeshift incendiary weapons.

Thanks to the connection between chemistry and alchemy, sorcerers also opted for chemical cleaning products. Now, he simply used a lighter to ignite the molotov cocktails, throwing them to block any potential movement paths for Black Orchid.

There were many ways to deal with plant-based opponents. For example, there was the herbicide that Batman had—extremely effective.

Or Mr. Freeze's freeze gun—also a plant killer.

Or Ratcatcher's army of rats—those rodents could chew through anything.

And of course, one of humanity's favorite primal elements: fire.

If this wasn't the Parliament of Trees' lair, dealing with Black Orchid would be much simpler. Two close-range fighters could keep her occupied while Arabella released a large-scale fire spell to finish things.

But for now, Su Ming had to wait for Black Orchid to clear an open space herself before implementing his fire tactics.

And if Swamp Thing asked about it later, those trees weren't cut down by Su Ming or his team. So there would be no blaming him.

He moved quickly, throwing a series of molotov cocktails from carefully calculated angles, simultaneously surrounding them both in a raging sea of fire.

If Black Orchid still wanted to change her form to escape Su Ming's attack, she now had nowhere to move.

Before she could use witchcraft to extinguish the flames, Su Ming had a very brief opportunity to strike.

"Got you!"

With help from the cape, Su Ming quickly appeared at Black Orchid's side, grabbing her throat with his hand.

She immediately tried to shapeshift her purple body to escape, but Su Ming wasn't giving her the chance.

"Let go of me! The old shall be eliminated!"

"Godslayer!"

She screamed at him with hateful curses, but his expression didn't change.

He commanded the Godslayer to form a large, ice-cream-scoop-like contraption, encasing the woman who was spewing purple flames in a metallic shell.

The Godslayer quickly sealed her in. Now it looked like a giant egg, with just a handle on top.

He couldn't see what was happening inside, but holding it in his hand, he could feel something struggling desperately.

Su Ming slammed the giant metal egg against a nearby tree twice, and things seemed to quiet down inside.

But he didn't think for a second that Black Orchid had been knocked out. She was still a superhuman, after all.

When buying ice cream in Maia, Su Ming got the inspiration. Two hemispherical iron plates clamped together could scoop ice cream, so why not use it to catch someone?

Against targets without vacuum-breathing capabilities, especially those without proper combat skills, this move worked well.

As a plant-based being, Black Orchid couldn't perform photosynthesis in complete darkness, so if she was locked in a sealed container...

After ten minutes, he'd open it and have a docile, skin-tight-suit-wearing heroine.

The only tricky part was finding the line between keeping her unconscious and accidentally suffocating her—Su Ming didn't have much experience with that.

Luckily, Black Orchid had regenerative powers, so she'd be the perfect test subject.

The first time, he'd keep her in there for ten minutes and then open a small gap to check if she was dead. If she wasn't even unconscious, he'd extend the time.

He didn't need experimental data—trial and error would eventually lead to the truth.

Donna landed from above, looking like she had something to say but couldn't find the words. Su Ming's methods were gentle this time. She even liked the ice-cream-scoop thing.

But...

Why did it feel like she hadn't done much again? Dressing up as her sister—was she just here as a mascot?

Of course, Su Ming wasn't aware of her thoughts.

If he had known, he would have told her that even if she were replaced by Diana, she'd just be standing back and protecting the sorceress in situations like this.

Nothing could be done—after all, both of them were shield-bearers.