The rain had soaked the four people's uniforms, and the surroundings were completely dark. They stood there in the gale. Finally, it was Briss who spoke first, gazing at Su Ming with blue eyes under the mask, as if trying to read his thoughts.
"Barry speaks highly of you, but I still can't trust you."
"No need to trust, just pay up."
Su Ming's state was fluctuating; absorbing memories was somewhat uncomfortable and made him question his identity, but it didn't affect his thinking. He knew she wouldn't trust anyone—not Sid, not even him as Deathstroke, and probably not even Barry entirely.
Cindy's previous contract executions were impeccable, with a 100% completion rate, which could reassure Briss. For a smart person like Batwoman, if Su Ming offered to help for free, she would overthink it. Better to charge for the service to guide her line of thought.
Sure enough, after Su Ming said this, Briss's expression eased significantly. In fact, she was insecure, except when it came to her wealth, which she had confidence in.
Since DeathStrokes wanted money, that made things easier.
"Alright, I'll write you checks, fill in anything below 30 million."
"That's too little—30 million each for Cindy and me, and we want only cash or gold."
This price was exorbitant. The Deathstroke of the Main World helped fight the evil Justice League of Earth-3, the Crime Syndicate, and Lex Luthor only paid him 2.5 million.
Yet the more they haggled now, the more secure it made Briss feel because she knew what the world was facing, and she didn't have many choices.
Briss looked at Su Ming, her lips tightly pressed, rain falling between them. She spoke after a while: "You seem to be deliberately trying to reassure me, but you don't understand me at all... Still, 30 million each, deal."
Such wealth—30 million sounds like 3 dollars.
Briss didn't waste any time; she tugged her cape and headed to the roadside. In the distance, two lights were approaching rapidly, like ghostly flames in the night. Su Ming nodded at Cindy, who also stepped forward. Although full of calculations, for now, their goals aligned.
"Get in."
The lights turned out to be the pitch-black Batmobile, remotely driven here by Ah Fu. It's well known that the Batmobile has only one seat; Briss climbed into the driver's seat, her black cape tracing a beautiful arc, wet with water.
"Where are we going?" Barry asked, shielding his eyes from the rain to look into the distance, although all he could see was rain.
"Home first, there's something we need to discuss, and I need to prepare," Briss replied without lifting her head, fiddling with switches and buttons in the cockpit like piloting a plane.
"Shall I take the two DeathStrokes ahead and wait for you?" Barry gestured towards them, wiping the rain off his face.
Briss pressed a few buttons in the cockpit, and the massive trunk of the Batmobile opened, revealing four seats that extended slowly: "The trunk's meant for transporting prisoners and wounded, sit inside, we'll move together."
Transporting prisoners... so it's a cage, really, Su Ming thought, narrowing his eyes inside his helmet as he looked at Briss and then Barry.
He boldly climbed into the trunk and settled in. As the seats slowly retracted, he found it not only spacious but also lit. There were drinks and emergency foods secured at the sides of the seats, along with several first aid kits.
Handing a biscuit to Barry, who immediately started eating it.
Running at super speed consumes a lot of energy, so Speedsters rarely gain weight. Once they use Divine Speed, they are almost constantly hungry.
.......
The vehicle sped along, the sound of air friction against the body was audible. Barry was chatting with the two, loud and giddy, sharing stories from his past.
Cindy's impression of him greatly improved, and she stopped thinking about how to take out the Speedster. They chatted along the way, discussing differences between the two worlds, while Su Ming quietly organized his memories, fingers unconsciously tapping his gun.
When the trunk opened again, they had returned to the Bat Cave.
The Bat Cave was completely renewed; not only were the previously damaged instruments replaced, but even the tables and chairs were new. The mechanical dinosaur's remains were gone, and the previously chaotic mess, the black footprints everywhere, were wiped clean, shiny enough to reflect images.
How did Ah Fu clean everything up alone? Magic, perhaps?
"Alright, you didn't bring us here just to have a meal, did you? What's the situation? Time is of the essence now." Su Ming addressed Briss, noting she seemed leisurely as she pressed the intercom to ask Ah Fu to prepare a second dinner.
Briss removed her helmet, shaking out her long black hair, and then began taking off her gloves:
"I don't know about your situation, but a lot happened today, and I need to review Gotham's surveillance and news for this month."
Su Ming and Cindy exchanged glances, removing their helmets and looking at Barry, who had shed his uniform and appeared to have taken a shower, changed into new clothes, and put on slippers....
"What made you think to investigate the Pyramid?" Su Ming asked Barry.
"Because Hawkman and Hawk Woman constantly reincarnate. In the Main World, they were once an Egyptian Pharaoh and Queen, so we wanted to find N Metal in the Pyramid." Barry said, seated on a chair, towel-drying his hair.
"N Metal can be used, but it falls short against Barbatos."
Su Ming spoke of comic knowledge; in the comics, Batman's son wounded a Robin Hound of a Laughing Bat with Green Arrow's N-Metal Arrow, leading them to believe N Metal could defeat Barbatos.
But how much Dark Energy could a Robin Hound contain? Barbatos himself was a god, in a completely different league than a Mad Robin.
"Yeah, you mentioned before at the lab that N Metal wasn't right, but Green Arrow clearly saw N Metal gravely injure a Mad Robin." Barry said, perplexed, pulling the towel away.
Su Ming wasn't in a hurry, he removed his gloves and weapons, placing them on the table, then slowly sat down: "Indeed, N Metal can manifest Dark Energy; Promethium can absorb Alien Energy. But these substances aren't strong enough to deal with ordinary Dark Creatures yet can't eliminate Barbatos."
"So what do we need?" Barry urgently asked.
"X Metal."
"Where is it? What is it?" Barry scratched his head, never having heard of it.
"It's the material used to forge many worlds, you might say it's the primordial substance of the Cosmos." Su Ming explained his hypothesis; the comics hint but don't explicitly state: "It's located somewhere in the Dark Multiverse, in a place called the World Furnace, which is also where Barbatos originated."