Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 480 - Ch.480 Green Arrow

The bridge was a lot livelier now.

Though there was no need for a meeting, once everyone gathered in the bridge, they still exchanged a bit of intel.

When Mera recounted what she'd seen in the tomb, Arthur sank into deep thought.

It was almost exactly as Deathstroke had guessed—Poseidon had indeed backstabbed those alien sea gods, and now they were here to take revenge on Earth.

"I mean, if the historical records are true, then the ones who messed up were us."

Arthur hugged his shoulders uneasily, as if pressing down goosebumps on his arms. Fake legends, hypocritical gods—everything made his skin crawl.

"In reality, it's not you who were wrong, but your ancestors," Su Ming said, sitting in a chair, taking off his helmet to light a cigarette. To him, now wasn't the time to debate right and wrong.

Bobo immediately took his side, the chimp detective squatting on a nearby metal table. "One of the Atlanteans' ancestors, along with an Olympian god, screwed over the alien sea gods' interests.

There's no reason the entire world—humans and creatures alike—should pay for it ten thousand years later. That logic wouldn't fly anywhere in the universe."

"Not to mention humanity's already paid too steep a price. Just today, the economic losses worldwide—those long strings of zeros—would crash my armor's computer."

Iron Man removed his helmet too, sipping water to take a break. The ship was now following Deathstroke's orders, heading slowly toward a destination.

Harley was still goofing off with Ivy, sitting cross-legged on the ship's floor. Without looking up, she chimed in, "Ain't it simple? Someone hits me, I hit back. Even if I can't win, I gotta try, right?"

Bobo represented Shadowpact, Harley and Ivy were free agents, and Iron Man's take aligned with the Titans' stance.

Earth was in this mess—the aliens had to pay.

Su Ming tapped the armrest, signaling everyone to listen. "Anyway, as innocent humans dragged into this, it's not over. Someone screwed up in the past—it shouldn't fall on me. The alien sea gods think their fists are big enough to run rampant across the multiverse? Let 'em try."

"Ugh, this could've been settled peacefully. Even fixing their three dead planets wouldn't have been hard," Arthur said, stroking his beard.

He knew Arian and Poseidon were at fault first, and his honest nature left him with a nagging guilt.

But now his teammates backed Deathstroke's view: beat the aliens, make them compensate humanity's losses.

Diana, the Amazon Queen, stayed quiet—it wasn't her place to weigh in—but her head-down knife-sharpening said plenty.

"Arthur, your pursuit of peace is right and noble," Su Ming said, spotting Arthur's wavering and pouring on some chicken soup. "But even if we get peace now, would it just be the less-than-twenty of us enjoying it?"

Bobo's assist came right on cue. "Yeah, Arthur, Earth's got seven billion people turned into fish. For them, peace is way too late."

Mera recalled Atlantis's devastation—hers and Arthur's people, all turned into monsters.

True, heroes fought to bring peace to others, so everyone could live calmly.

But now, there were no "others" left. Peace was meaningless.

"They're right, Arthur. We defeat the sea gods, then we get peace," Mera said.

Barry was a bit puzzled. Why'd the talk suddenly shift to war and peace? Shouldn't they focus on something more practical?

Earth's seawater was in a dynamic balance now—the sea level wouldn't rise further—but as more fishmen attacked, the number of fishified humans kept growing.

The magic to reverse fishification couldn't be mass-applied. What would happen to those people? No one knew.

How was this different from Darkseid turning Earthlings into Parademons to conquer the planet?

As the group debated, Batman walked into the bridge—dressed in green.

Luthor's armor was too recognizable—quick-handed Diana even raised her weapon.

Then they saw Batman's pointy-eared cowl peeking out above it.

"Batman?" Diana blinked, confused.

"It's me." Batman didn't mince words. He strode to a chair and sat down stiffly.

Okay, full-body fractures—definitely the real Batman. Diana lowered her weapon.

"How'd you find us?"

Batman's face stayed blank. "I set an emergency escape coordinate in this armor. It teleports me to the Justice League leader's side. With Ronnie off-world, that's you, Diana."

"Ahem, quick question—if Ronnie and Diana were both gone, where'd you end up?"

Bobo, already gifted a cigarette by Su Ming—Wilson brand, from next door—was puffing away happily.

"Green Arrow's side," Batman said calmly.

Bobo nodded, smirking at Su Ming. "That's the real Batman—plans so deep you can't even guess."

Teleporting to Green Arrow made sense.

If Ronnie and Diana were both off Earth, the Justice League was likely toast. And since Superman's always the first target, Batman hadn't even considered teleporting to him.

Green Arrow flew under the radar, but he was basically a budget Batman—smart, cautious, rich.

Even if the League collapsed and Wayne Enterprises got hit, Batman could still rebuild with Queen Industries' cash.

Speaking of which, Green Arrow was nowhere in that chaos below—none of his crew either. Was he quietly stacking chips? His team was way too intact.

Right now, Green Arrow was leading his squad beneath the sea.

He'd waited in Star City to no avail—the Justice League seemed to forget him—so he kicked off his own plan.

The populace was mostly evacuated, so he took his sister and crew aboard a prepped submarine, using the ocean's cover to move underwater.

He hit Gotham first, hoping to talk to Batman, but he was way too late—Gotham was fully submerged. He only saved two from the Birds of Prey.

Barbara, and his ex-wife, Black Canary.

Huntress and the rest were fish now.

Green Arrow wouldn't slug it out with fishman armies—rescue and run. Same MO in every city, fishing out a few survivors.

Now, aside from Deathstroke's dozen-plus crew, Green Arrow had about the same number.

One side flew cloaked in the sky, the other prowled underwater—neither able to contact the other.

The sub was dead quiet. Green Arrow, somehow, had scored a military-grade vessel and modded it. All you could hear was the faint hum of the engines.

He sat silently in the command room, plucking petals off a small flower like a poet—the last bloom from the surface.

"Remember me, forget me, remember me..."

"What're you doing?"

Barbara stared at him, weirded out. She'd seen too many nutjobs like this in Gotham. Plucking petals for outcomes? Too close to flipping a coin.

Was the pressure that bad? Even a League vet couldn't handle it?

"I'm fine, just wondering why no one's contacted me."

Green Arrow made a helpless face, tossing the petals to the floor.

Barbara narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. The League selectively forgetting Green Arrow wasn't new—did it warrant this?

She turned and shouted, "Dinah, come check your ex—he's about to crack!"

Black Canary wasn't far. Hearing this, she walked over. She and Oliver had been divorced for years—neither wanted to hold the other back.

But they were still good friends.

"Did you take your meds this morning?" Dinah crouched in front of Oliver. He had some depression signs—self-pity, shouldering every blame.

Like when Black Arrow killed someone in Star City, fought Green Arrow, then said, "It's all because of you—innocents died, your fault!"

"All because of me, all because of me..."

Oliver would spiral, genuinely believing it. The more he thought, the more it felt true—Black Arrow only killed in Star City because of him.

Not really. Black Arrow—Merlyn—was just a League of Assassins killer from Star City. Hero or not, he'd kill anyway.

But Oliver often bought it hook, line, and sinker. That's why the Justice League sidelined him.

It wasn't about his combat skills or overlapping with Batman—it was his shaky conviction.

Lots of heroes faced this. Push through, and you keep being a superhero.

Can't get past it? Best case, retirement. Worst case, you turn villain.

But now, thanks to Batman's selective amnesia, the Star City squad's strength was remarkably intact.

"I took my meds," Oliver said, dropping the flower and pulling off his hood. He just didn't know what he could do.

Last time, during the Metal event, he and the Titans played hide-and-seek with the Dark Knights in Gotham's sewers, dodging the whole time.

They ate sewer rats to survive, prepping for a long haul. When they surfaced to scout, they heard Barbatos had been dealt with a week ago.

Green Arrow's stealth was too good—even Batman couldn't reach him or the Titans. They'd just roamed Gotham's underground for a week.

Oliver would never forget Beast Boy Garth's look when he learned they'd eaten rats for nothing.

Despair, sorrow, disbelief.

Or Donna's relief at being the only one tied to the cosmic tuning fork after hearing her team's misery.

Last time, Brainiac nabbed the League to fix his homeworld crisis—leaving Green Arrow behind on Earth again.

Now it was happening again. Oliver was stuck on this—did he even need to be a hero anymore?