Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 112: Ch.111 Land of Dreams

Thanks to Barry's Speed Force, the group managed to disappear into the Dark Universe before the enemy arrived. In the last moment, Su Ming even felt like those beings filled with dark energy had almost touched the wings of their aircraft.

Those beings once lived in the destroyed worlds of the Dark Multiverse.

To call them the living wouldn't be accurate, nor the dead. They existed by relying on dark energy, surviving in the cracks of the Dark Universe, and became slaves to Barbatos.

"Huff... huff..."

Barry was gasping heavily. They made it, though they didn't know exactly where they were. At least they were far from their enemies. He had never tried turning a plane into a cosmic treadmill before. The energy consumption was enormous; he felt like his liver hurt from all the running.

Su Ming got out of the pilot's seat. In this kind of universe, there wasn't any concept of up, down, left, or right—not even direction. He was just sitting there for appearance's sake.

Diana was at the back of the plane, taking care of the two "old men," Batman and Superman. Both of them had been drained of decades of their lifespans, used as batteries. They had spent decades in nightmares, where their despair and the emptiness after constant failure had become dark energy, draining their vitality.

But now they were awake, at least conscious.

"Where are we?"

Bruce leaned against the cabin wall and peered outside the window. All he could see was pitch-black darkness.

He now appeared hunched over, his hair completely white. His Batsuit hung loosely over his frail, withered body, but he was slowly regaining his usual calmness.

"This is some destroyed Dark Multiverse world. There's no mass, no time, nothing. This is just an empty shell left after Barbatos consumed everything. We're hiding here from his minions," Su Ming said as he removed his helmet, looking at the aged Batman. Even though he knew that this unnatural aging could be reversed, he couldn't help but feel some melancholy for the fading of a hero's prime.

"...That makes sense. But who are you?" Batman turned his head, no longer looking at the shattered world outside. He had already seen enough of such cruel scenes during his decades in nightmares.

The man in front of him was wearing the Deathstroke uniform, but his height, weight, and age didn't match. He needed to verify this stranger's identity.

"I'm a Deathstroke from another world, and right now, I'm on your side," Su Ming said briefly. Time was limited, and he didn't want to go into too much detail. Just telling Bruce the point he cared about most was enough.

Bruce was skeptical, but he could see that Barry and Diana trusted this Deathstroke. In their current situation, that was enough.

Although he still doubted whether he had fallen into another dream, he didn't voice it, choosing instead to keep his suspicions to himself and observe quietly.

"What's our next objective?" Diana relaxed, her expression softening. The presence of Batman and Superman made her feel much better. After all, the Justice League was complete with both brains and brawn.

"We've saved Superman and Batman. We're just one step away from final victory. We need to find the World Forge, obtain the X-Metal, and then send Clark to take down Barbatos head-on," Su Ming shrugged. The earlier experiences were actually the most dangerous, but now that the big guns of the Justice League had been saved, he could sit back a little and play support.

Seeing Barry and Diana turning their gaze toward him, Bruce was a bit confused. He didn't know the location of the World Forge. Why were the three of them looking at him?

At this moment, Superman also woke up. But seeing the three silently waiting for Batman to speak, he swallowed his own questions and joined the waiting group.

"The problem is, I don't know the exact location of the World Forge," Bruce said.

"Exactly, you don't know," Su Ming nodded, acknowledging the truth, "but your new friend does. Wasn't it he who told you about Barbatos' existence?"

"You mean Dream, Daniel, right?" Batman, tormented by his nightmares, recalled the voice that used to echo in his dreams. Even though those memories seemed so distant now, he remembered the voice that often spoke to him in his sleep.

"Yes, you just need to call his name. He'll take us to his homeland, the Dreaming, and we'll head to the Eternal Forge from there." Su Ming explained.

Only Bruce could contact Dream while awake. That's the kind of treatment only DC's favored son could get.

Just hearing the word "dream" gave Batman a headache, but Barry knew Deathstroke was telling the truth. He looked at Bruce with eager eyes, as if saying, "It's all up to you, it's all up to you, it's all up to you."

"...Dream! Daniel! Get us out of here!"

Bruce couldn't take that look any longer.

He immediately shouted for Daniel. A soft mist enveloped the group, dreamlike and surreal. The surrounding scenery twisted and transformed, and they found themselves in an enormous library.

Looking up, they couldn't even see its top. Each level was filled with bookshelves, like a Tower of Babel storing all of history.

"We're here," Su Ming sighed in relief. For now, they were safe. "This is the Dreaming."

"Looks like a giant library," Barry commented, casually picking up a book. He found that it detailed the story of a superhero from another world.

"Correct. It's both memory and dream. This place records the history of all worlds," said a towering, humanoid figure made of smoke. He appeared before the group, wearing robes made of swirling, psychedelic mist—the embodiment of dreams.

He answered Bruce's question, then turned his sightless eyes to the others, especially Su Ming. Dream seemed puzzled, as his records did not contain any history of this person.

"You clearly had the power to save us!" Bruce attempted to grab Dream, but dreams are illusions. He only grasped a handful of smoke. "You let us get lost in nightmares for decades. You have no idea what we went through!"

"No, you were not lost," Daniel turned to look at the library, where some of the books were already on fire. This was Barbatos' power invading. The burning books represented the erasure of certain heroes' histories.

"Then join us. Together, we'll fight Barbatos," Bruce stepped closer, his aged face resolute.

"No, I do not exist in the real world, so I cannot fight alongside you," Daniel replied gently, expressing his helplessness. "But I can help you. I can give you the most powerful weapon—a story."

With a wave of his hand, their surroundings shifted, and they seemed to be standing among the stars. Countless constellations formed, spinning to create an image.

"A long, long time ago, at the birth of the universe, there were two brothers—"

"Cough, cough!" Su Ming interrupted, stepping forward. He wasn't here to listen to stories. "Sorry, Daniel, I've told this story before. Can we skip to the part where you send us to the World Forge?"

"???"

Dream was stunned, while Barry nodded beside him, confirming that he had indeed heard the origin story of the Monitor, Anti-Monitor, World Forge, and Barbatos before.

Besides, Su Ming had already told them that the X-Metal was the key weapon against Barbatos.

Normally, Barry loved gossip and stories, but right now, the Eternal Forge's flame could go out at any moment. He didn't want to waste time.

Su Ming didn't have a great impression of Dream. When Bruce was in the prime universe, Daniel's power over dreams wasn't enough to reach him completely. But with Barbatos coming, Daniel had panicked and delivered scattered, vague warnings in Bruce's sleep.

The result was that Bruce understood only half of it, going on a wild quest to gather "metals" and ultimately falling into Barbatos' trap, becoming the doorway for his invasion.

You could say that Dream shared some responsibility for the current multiverse disaster.

Not that he had any ill intent—it was just a well-meaning mistake that went terribly wrong.