Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 84: Ch.83 Death

Su Ming and Red Death slammed into the ground. The scorching golden sand burst into the air like an explosion, then fell like rain. Fine sand seeped into the gaps of their armor, and both of them spat out a mouthful of blood simultaneously.

Su Ming's injuries were not light. The damping of his Promethium armor was subpar, causing his regenerative cells to scream like crazy, demanding him to devour the person in front of him immediately. A torrent of memories flooded his mind—he remembered Slade's family life, his comrades, and acquaintances.

In a dense rainforest, before donning his black and yellow armor, he was engaged in a fierce firefight with a group of dark-skinned people. A large python coiled on a tree branch above, coldly watching the humans below.

In an endless swamp, his body riddled with bullet holes and burning with fever, he was being carried by Wintergreen toward a rescue helicopter, while a group of bizarrely dressed indigenous people armed with automatic weapons pursued them from afar.

In a dim, dilapidated laboratory, wearing an olive-green T-shirt, he was strapped to an operating table. A transparent liquid emitting a dazzling glow was injected into his arm.

These similar scenes kept appearing in his mind, at first just like still photos, then they came alive, playing like a movie. Finally, the perspective changed to the first person.

These vivid scenes were his own memories, so clear that the pain they brought surpassed his bloodthirsty urges, putting him in a bizarrely calm state.

He released his grip, undoing the Lasso of Truth, watching as Red Death's blood dyed a patch of the desert red, then rapidly seeped into the ground.

"Cough... Pfft." Su Ming removed his helmet and spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. Although his uniform had deflected the grenade shrapnel, the shock from the explosion was real and fully absorbed. The pain from his ribs was incessant, his vision was filled with a red haze, and he could only maintain his sanity by gasping heavily.

But the plan succeeded. On Red Death's charred chest, the Bat Gold protruded like a stake through a vampire's heart, piercing his heart.

The immense impact drove the sharp Bat Gold further into Red Death's chest cavity. In the end, he was still just an ordinary person, and although Speed Force users recovered quickly, it was far from enough to avoid death from a pierced heart.

He wasn't dead yet, but the Bat Gold was expelling the dark energy within him. When all the energy was exhausted, these injuries would be fatal for anyone.

Barry appeared beside him in a flash of red lightning. He had stopped the Speed Force storm by running in reverse, and those auto-killer battle cars had also stopped where they were, having lost their Speed Force drive.

"You did it, Slade." He looked at the quietly lying Red Death on the ground, breathing heavily, speaking to Su Ming in a complicated tone.

He didn't want to kill, nor did he want to see anyone die, but if he were in Su Ming's place earlier, he couldn't think of any peaceful solution.

"You'd better stay back. I'm worried you might recharge him." Su Ming struggled to sit up, reached out to remove Red Death's mask, confirming the kill.

Red Death looked extremely gaunt, due to malnutrition from overusing the Speed Force. At this moment, blood was flowing from his seven orifices, and he stared blankly at the darkening sun in the sky.

The red lightning flowed out of his body and into the ground, and the black smoke rising from the Bat Gold wound was almost invisible. Su Ming estimated he had only a few seconds left.

A phantom image flickered across his face, like a soul leaving the body. His face, originally a scarred Bruce Wayne look-alike, twisted and changed. His blood-stained red armor also transformed, turning gold.

Barry, who was about to move away, was stunned by what he saw.

"Wait... he looks a bit like me."

Su Ming wiped the blood off Red Death's face, turned it to look closer. Red Death's sky turned black and yellow.

"That's right, this body is the Earth -52 version of you. Remember this: 'Clashing outfits aren't scary; whoever's costume is thinner is the one who's embarrassed.'"

"But..." Barry tilted his head, raised a hand, signaling to pause: "Wasn't he supposed to be Bruce?"

"That's true too. The Speed Force is very capricious." Su Ming endured the pain in his chest, sat on the sandy ground, slowly pulling out a cigarette, lit it and put it in his mouth: "Red Death is the fusion of Batman and Flash from Earth -52. You know, the Speed Force is almost impossible for a normal person to harness. That Batman wanted the Speed Force, so the Speed Force merged them together. He can be either one of them."

Barry moved closer, watching the dying person on the ground. He felt a pang of sorrow.

Su Ming exhaled a puff of smoke, his chest burning with pain. He thought for a moment: "The twisted Batman's soul died with the dark energy dispersing. You can come closer now. That Barry was a good guy too."

"How much longer can he live?" Barry hesitated for a moment, then crouched beside Su Ming.

"At this rate of blood loss, at most ten seconds." Su Ming gave a number. Normally fatal wounds were mitigated by the Speed Force and dark energy, allowing Red Death to live a little longer, but he was beyond saving.

The insane Bruce was gone, his body gradually taken over by the other Barry, who had been trapped in a corner of his mind, watching helplessly as Red Death committed atrocities with the Speed Force.

Now, though he was dying, he finally felt freedom and relief. Maybe for a superhero, the right thing to do when becoming a threat is to end it all.

"Thank you, Deathstroke." The Flash, wearing Red Death's armor, spoke. As he opened his mouth, a flood of blood and fragments of internal organs spewed out.

Su Ming sighed, stood up, patted the dust off his butt, and walked towards the Sword of Ares that had fallen in the desert: "You two talk. Time is short."

Red Death looked at the other Barry, struggling to turn his head. He saw the familiar red suit and the lightning emblem on Barry's chest.

A shy smile appeared on his stiffening face, identical to Barry's, but the loss of Speed Force made him look decades older.

"Main Earth's Flash, I'm sorry. I've done terrible things."

Barry crawled closer, dragging two bloodstained trails in the red sand, grabbing Red Death's hand. Golden lightning spread from his body onto the shattered armor.

"We all know it wasn't you. You were just forced into it."

"The Speed Force is useless now. I'm like a leaky bucket, your power is wasting away."

Red Death spoke calmly. He had accepted everything. His family and friends had all died when the Speed Force destroyed Earth -52. Now, he was on his way to apologize to them.

"No, you're just like me. I believe you're a good person. It's all because of that insane Batman." Barry shook his head, the Speed Force lightning on his body becoming more intense, but he could feel it sinking into Red Death's body like a stone into the sea.

"Bruce was my good friend. He was just..." Red Death closed his eyes, speaking with difficulty, "He was deceived. Too bad I'm not good with words, I couldn't persuade him."

"You did your best." Barry was panting heavily. He had first traversed dimensions, then raced against Red Death, and later stopped the Speed Force storm by running in reverse. He was severely exhausted, the Speed Force lightning on his body flickering on and off.

"I didn't do enough. I'm sorry, other me, we wrecked your Central City." Red Death coughed. He could see them now, his family beckoning to him in the Speed Force: "Cough... Be careful of Barbatos, he's too powerful."

The Speed Force on Barry's body finally disconnected. He couldn't hold on anymore. He could only grip Red Death's hand tightly, expressing his determination.

Red Death opened his eyes and looked at the distant Central City. Part of it had been destroyed in the earlier battle, but many buildings were still intact. Under the dim sunlight, the high-rise buildings reflected colorful halos, just like Central City's nickname, the Gem City.

He smiled, not knowing exactly what he was describing: "So beautiful... I'm home."

The hand covered in ceramic armor slipped from Barry's grasp. Barry was too exhausted to even hold onto it.

Red Death lay quietly in the desert outside Central City.