Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 3: Ch.2 My Own Reflection

Just as he was walking toward the door leading down to the stairs, the door suddenly burst open with a "bang," and a very imposing figure walked up from the doorway.

Su Ming's first reaction was that the person Deathstroke was supposed to meet had arrived.

But a gust of wind blew through, shifting the dense rain a bit, and the neon lights from Wayne Tower illuminated both him and the newcomer.

He realized something was wrong.

The person opposite him was wearing the exact same armor, with identical weapons and equipment, except they were slightly shorter, about 1.7 meters tall.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

As if by instinct, relying on his body's muscle memory, he reached behind and grabbed a baton. With a twist and a press, the previously retracted short staff extended from both ends, firmly gripped in his hand, and he took up a combat-ready stance.

This was Deathstroke's beloved weapon, a staff with powerful electric shocks and tranquilizer darts on both ends. Many times, clients liked Deathstroke to capture targets alive, bringing them back for the client's personal amusement.

The person in front of him did the exact same movement!

If he hadn't seen the person come through the door, Su Ming would've thought he was looking into a mirror. Their synchronization was perfect, from the speed at which they assembled their staff to the posture they assumed.

"Who are you?" X2

Both of them asked simultaneously, their voices distorted into hoarse, demonic whispers by their masks.

"I am Deathstroke." X2

Once again, they spoke the exact same words, making the tension between them even more palpable. Gripping their weapons, they circled each other in a hollow ring.

The rain poured down in torrents, and neither of them spoke further. They each kept their distance, quietly observing. It's a habit of a martial arts master to carefully watch their opponent before a fight.

Although he didn't know what the other was thinking, Su Ming was certain that his own thoughts were racing faster.

"What's going on? Another me? Or did a whole bunch of people transmigrate at the same time, and we all became Deathstroke? Or... is this the real Deathstroke, and I'm just a cosplay enthusiast? But my current physical attributes and mental speed are undeniably beyond human levels."

Of course, in the DC universe, there were many people with such physical prowess and combat skills, some even better in close combat than Deathstroke. But they all had their own names and didn't need to wear yellow-and-black armor to impersonate Deathstroke.

Thanks to the legendary nine-times faster thinking speed of an ordinary human, Su Ming had considered all these possibilities within fractions of a second, but discarded them.

Now, the situation was at a standstill. If he retreated, his footing would become unstable, leaving him vulnerable to an attack. Turning his back to leave was even more impossible—exposing one's back in Gotham never ends well.

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"So I have to fight? If I defeat the other person, I can leave!"

Needless to say, the thought appeared simultaneously in both their minds and was quickly accepted, causing them to take the same actions at the same time.

"Bang!"

The metal staffs collided mid-air, their strengths evenly matched, causing each of them to take a step back, splashing water at their feet. They moved quickly, pointing the tips of their staffs at each other, wary of a follow-up attack.

"Huff..." Su Ming let out a silent sigh of relief. Thankfully, he had also inherited Deathstroke's combat experience. It was like a natural extension of his body, allowing him to fully utilize the fighting potential of this body. With these skills and moves, at least his life was somewhat secure.

The person opposite him seemed to be thinking the same, not pursuing the attack, as if also considering their tactics.

"If the person across from me is fully functional, just wearing a Deathstroke-style helmet, it would be very difficult to adjust to the missing right-side vision. My attack should focus on their right side, exploiting their blind spot. The nose blocks part of the view, so the right leg is the best target!"

Immediately, Su Ming formulated a strategy in his mind. He twirled the staff in his hand and aimed it at the opponent's right leg.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

The staff whistled through the air, slicing through the rain, shattering the droplets mid-flight. The two black shadows, wrapped in neon colors, created two perfect vacuum arcs, colliding once again.

"Clang!"

Their staffs clashed mid-air again. It was clear both had aimed for the other's right leg while also guarding their own. So, the result was another draw.

Since both had put in a lot of force, they used the momentum to spin and unload the energy, crouching down with one hand on the ground and the other holding the staff behind their backs like a scorpion's tail, ready to fire the tranquilizer darts from the staff.

But when both splashed into the muddy water, seeing each other in the exact same position, they knew the plan to use tranquilizer darts to catch the other off guard had failed.

"Damn it, just arrived in the DC universe and already dealing with such a confusing situation. It's obvious we're both Deathstroke, with the same memories and habits. Maybe we could talk? Both of us are enhanced fighters and martial arts masters. If we keep fighting, we could go at it for three days and nights without a victor and create a lot of noise." Su Ming thought to himself, realizing that his plan to knock down the opponent and escape was no longer feasible.

"Wait!" X2

Both spoke at the same time again. Su Ming inwardly rolled his eyes. It seemed the other person had some concerns as well and didn't want to keep fighting. The key point was that there was no money involved in taking down such a strong opponent—mercenaries don't do business without profit. No grudge or emotion is worth more than cold, hard cash.

"Put down your weapon, let's talk!" X2

"You put it down first!" X2

"Let's do it together!" X2

Su Ming was exasperated. Everything they did was synchronized—this was freaky.

Even though he was just an ordinary person from another Earth, not the real Deathstroke, this mysterious synchronicity was unnerving. How much influence had Deathstroke's original body had on him? Had even his thinking patterns become the same?

"No, I've never been in a real life-or-death fight before. In the past, even when I got involved in gang conflicts, I was just drifting through life, never dealing with anything truly dark. So, I relied on Deathstroke's experience, adopting his mindset and tactics. I'm still myself, at least for now, aware of my own identity and situation."

While these thoughts ran through his mind, both he and the other person dropped their weapons simultaneously.

"Clang!"

Both staffs were thrown into the rain, splashing onto the filthy rooftop water. The two stood facing each other, rain pouring down like a small waterfall from their masks.

"Talk!" X2

Seeing that they had spoken the same words again, Su Ming desperately tried to shake off the influence of Deathstroke's thinking patterns. He raised a palm, placing the other hand against the palm.

"Stop, stop. Let's not do this whole 'mind-meld' thing anymore. This is the creepiest experience I've ever had. Can I speak first?"

"By all means," the other Deathstroke seemed relieved as well, grateful they could finally communicate.

"I'm a mercenary, code name Deathstroke, real name Slade. But you can call me Su." Su Ming briefly explained his background. Since he wasn't sure which parallel universe this was, he didn't share too many other details.

"Interesting. I'm also a mercenary, code name Deathstroke, but my real name is Cindy." The other Deathstroke awkwardly touched her helmet.

Deathstroke, unlike other masked figures, had black-and-yellow armor that served as a warning, like a bee's colors. His identity wasn't secret—everyone knew that Slade was Deathstroke, a legend in the mercenary world.

And it made sense. If you were shrouded in secrecy, how would you get any business? At the very least, future clients needed to know how to find you.

"What's going on? Did the military clone me from my blood?"

Su Ming knew Deathstroke had a military background, and his genetic enhancements came from them. Not to mention, clones were rampant in the DC universe, with countless factions possessing cloning technology.

"No, I don't think we're clones. The person who performed my bio-enhancements has long been dead, and there was only ever one dose of the enhancement serum."

The Deathstroke who called herself Cindy touched the lower right side of her mask and flipped it off, revealing her face.

Su Ming felt a headache coming on—this Deathstroke, Cindy, was actually a woman.

She had short blonde hair, a cold yet beautiful face—a typical American beauty. The only flaw was the black eye patch over her right eye, indicating blindness.

What confused Su Ming even more was that she looked to be in her twenties, not an older woman.

If she was the female version of himself, she should be over fifty, right?

With that thought, he reached up and fiddled with his mask, finding a barely noticeable catch. Pressing and sliding it aside, he removed his helmet as well.

Cindy was visibly shocked, clearly unable to understand something.

Su Ming looked down at the water puddle. Although the rain distorted the reflection, he could still tell that he was very young, with short, golden hair and a handsome, slightly rebellious face. He had a light stubble and a black leather eye patch over his right eye. As he touched it, he could feel there was no eyeball underneath. He had undoubtedly inherited Deathstroke's younger body.

The problem was, in the old stories, Deathstroke's right eye was shot out by his wife. In the New 52 universe, it was Batman's son, Damian, who gouged it out. But in any case, a twenty-something Deathstroke should still be a soldier in the army, single and not yet a mercenary.

So what's the deal with this timeline? And how did I lose my eye?

"A man? You're a man?" Cindy's expression was cold, but her voice carried disbelief.

Su Ming felt just as confused. Deathstroke becoming a woman—that wasn't right, was it?

"Is being a man strange?"

"Men as strong as you are very rare. Among super-powered beings, the only one I know of is Wonder Man."

Cindy walked over to the large 'W' logo of Wayne Enterprises, pulled out a cigar, and lit it. She seemed to need some nicotine to think through what was going on.

Su Ming walked over as well. The tension between them had dissipated. What were once personal questions had now become a shared confusion. As Cindy pulled out a cigar from her pocket, Su Ming also retrieved a small cigar box from his suit. They stood side by side, silently puffing smoke.

When Cindy mentioned Wonder Man, Su Ming immediately knew which world this was.

It was one of the many parallel universes in the DC multiverse: Earth-11, a world ruled by the Amazons. Here, all the superheroes and supervillains were gender-swapped versions of their original selves.

Batman had become Batwoman, Superman was Superwoman, Aquaman was Aquawoman, Flash had become Lady Flash, and Cyborg was now Cyborg Woman. Joker had become a court jester, Penguin was now the Penguin Woman, Two-Face had turned into Two-Faced Lady, and even the League of Shadows had become the League of Dancers.

The important thing was, those who were originally female remained female. Harley Quinn was still the Harley Quinn you knew, Poison Ivy was still Poison Ivy, and Black Canary was still Black Canary. But instead of being romantic partners or teammates with the original heroes or villains, they were now just best friends or "gal pals."

This bizarre world was a strange creation, and Su Ming couldn't help but think that the DC editorial team really had some wild ideas.

In this world, men had always held a lower status, and it wasn't until modern times that the concept of gender equality had begun to emerge. However, even now, women still led in the workforce, while men were often the ones taking care of the household. It made sense, though—the highest level of leadership in this world was Amazonian, and they were all women, so the government was also predominantly female. They were stronger and held more power, vastly outpacing men.

The only strange exception was the original Wonder Woman, who, in this world, had been transformed into a man known as Wonder Man. He was the only male superhero known to the public.

Unfortunately, from Su Ming's perspective, Wonder Man was quite odd. Raised by Amazons, it was hard to take him seriously. Could you imagine a muscle-bound man wearing Wonder Woman's costume? It was absurd.

To Su Ming, he couldn't even begin to have a conversation with a man dressed like that.

"The Cindy beside me seems to be the real Deathstroke of this world. I must have brought over Deathstroke's body from another parallel universe. And because of the dimensional rift, I've been affected by time fluctuations, which made me younger."

He quickly came up with a hypothesis in his mind, and at the moment, it seemed highly probable.