"On the Divine Mountain, with the gods, that Earth Sea King, that prisoner."
The Turtle People was tied by the True Want Lasso, forced to speak the truth, not just speaking, but also pointing towards the distant dark shadow faintly visible on the water's surface.
It was a coral reef emerging from the sea, the dwelling of the gods.
Diana looked back; it was quite a distance. Flying over would be too conspicuous, but rowing a boat would be too slow.
However, these Sea Race boats were bigger and more spacious than the one she had taken earlier, so she decided to switch to the new boat.
Just as she drew her weapon, intending to silence the Alien Sea Race, a voice suddenly echoed from above.
"Hey beauty, need a lift?"
She looked up and saw Deathstroke's head floating in the sky.
She closed her eyes and rubbed her eyelids with her other hand.
Am I hallucinating... Why am I seeing Deathstroke's head flying in the sky? Must be dehydration symptoms.
"Come on, hurry up." Deathstroke called to her again.
Don't listen, this is a common issue sailors face, like the Sea Demons or Sirens, masters of illusion, possibly present among the Alien Sea Race.
They read one's thoughts and take the form of the person one is thinking of. Once you go over, you'll fall into their trap.
Su Ming pursed his lips, seeing Diana dazing on the rickety little boat below, still holding onto a... turtle?
Didn't anyone ever tell her not to mess with a turtle's head? This scene is really quite unsightly.
Su Ming was just peeking out of the spacecraft door to talk, considering this was the enemy's base, sneaking in is preferable, even for an attack.
So he had the warlocks release an Invisibility Magic to hide the sailboat-like spaceship.
Resulting in the Steel Armor locking onto Diana's position. Upon arrival, seeing her in a daze.
Though the female warrior standing in the mist-covered sea looking bewildered does possess an artistic aura, is now the time for art?
He jumped out of the cabin door, his cloak helping him land on the little boat.
Without further ado, he dealt with the turtle in her hands, can't leave it sticking its head out indiscriminately!
"Wake up? Get on my ship quickly."
He chopped off the turtle's head and clipped the Lasso of Truth back onto Diana's belt.
"Is it really you, Deathstroke?"
"Uh, if you want me to prove it's me, let's skip that." Su Ming sighed; that's an impossible task: "But we need to go save Arthur now, are you in?"
Diana scrutinized for a while, even circling him twice, touching his armor.
N Metal and Prometium Metal alloy, they're real, Godslayer and Nightfall, also real…
Diana instantly got excited, throwing a punch at Su Ming: "You dare appear before me again!"
Recalling Deathstroke's deception, especially her previous sentiments, made Diana even more furious.
She didn't care about anything else, just intending to knock him out and lock him in a little black room for a while.
But Su Ming grabbed her hand directly, their punches and palms crashing and stirring waves upon the sea.
"Earth is on the brink of destruction; we can discuss personal matters later."
He once again played the card of righteousness.
After all, Diana knew nothing, so whatever he said, she believed?
Yet Diana seemed insane, trying to headbutt him, blocked again by Deathstroke's animated cloak.
If punches didn't work, nor headbutts, then a kick it will be, she just wanted to hit Deathstroke once to vent.
But Deathstroke seemed determined not to let her strike, catching her ankle with his other hand, making her perform a tilt like a dance, leaving her powerless.
"Stop fooling around; I'm telling the truth, Earth is truly in peril."
"I won't listen! I'll give you a beating for deceiving me!"
Diana shook her head fiercely, pursing her lips, looking very displeased.
Not only did he deceive her hug but peek under her skirt, and things didn't develop the way she imagined, recalling it all left Diana feeling both ashamed and angry.
"Diana? You two... what are you doing?"
Just at the moment when the two twisted and grappled, Donna emerged from the spaceship. She originally intended to check on her sister, but not expecting to find her seemingly 'intimate' with Deathstroke.
Donna felt quite complicated inside, couldn't help but speak out to interrupt them.
Diana glared at Deathstroke, stood straight, and retrieved her arms and legs.
In front of Donna, she had to maintain her sisterly composure, no longer being unreasonable or entangled. She also took flight, embraced Donna, and tidied her hair.
"Your spacecraft? Take me up there."
Donna glanced at Deathstroke and disappeared into the sky with Diana.
Su Ming checked the small boats on the sea, disposed of the bodies, and sank the boat before returning inside the spacecraft.
As the main force of the Justice League, Diana's presence significantly boosted morale, especially for the Titan Squad, who seemed to have found a reliable ally.
With newfound energy, they stood tall, and Garfield reverted to an unrecognizable animal gait.
Yet when Deathstroke silently entered the bridge, the atmosphere turned serious again, and Garfield quickly turned back into his human form. He found a stick and some scraps of cloth from somewhere and started mopping the floor.
Meanwhile, Donna was briefing Diana on what happened after she lost contact, including Earth being submerged and the current state of Paradise Island.
Of course, she mentioned Deathstroke as well, though intentionally or unintentionally, she only said that he saved Earth and the Titan Squad, without mentioning her own part.
Diana was at a loss for what to do.
Having just boarded the spacecraft, she was hungry and thirsty, and before she could even sit down and catch her breath, Donna had already spoken a heap of information and intelligence.
So what could Diana do?
Not to mention the lack of understanding of the situation, even if she did, planning was Batman's past responsibility, wasn't it? Though she could lead armies, her planning was often not thorough enough or too slow.
Besides, with Deathstroke here, there was no need for her to worry, right?
"Just as you were before, stay as you are now; anyway, I need to rescue Arthur." Diana glanced at Su Ming, hinting: "This time you must save Arthur; the problem lies in the ocean, and he's key to solving it."
Su Ming knew she referred to the issue with the Cosmic Tuning Fork from before, but times change; back then, the Universe had problems, so it was naturally necessary to save Ron and his combat strength.
Now it was obviously Atlantis and Poseidon causing problems; if they didn't rescue Arthur, who would take the blame in the future?
"Rescue him; you say rescue him, then we'll rescue him."
Su Ming responded nonchalantly, and at that moment, the secretary sent for hot water earlier returned.
Diana had been missing for nearly a day, and though the cosmos clearly lacked water sources, there was some water here, yet seawater was undrinkable.
Even superheroes can't go without food and water; the ship had a humidifier, making it easy to get water; just have Bo Bo find a pot to boil it.
"Diana, it looks like you've come to see me again, Gorilla." Bo Bo found a shell container from somewhere and handed the fresh water to Diana: "This water, like my bar's liquor, tastes awful; just manage with it."
Diana was quite satisfied with Deathstroke's response, feeling that her opinion was valued. She said to rescue Arthur, and Deathstroke agreed, leaving her content.
She was indeed thirsty, so she took a few sips from the shell. Honestly, the water was tasteless, distilled and filtered.
The Forgotten Bar's liquor was clearly much better than this.
Bo Bo naturally wouldn't say that Deathstroke was planning to rescue Arthur anyway.
Just let Diana believe so; after all, team unity was most important.
As for whether anyone would reveal the truth afterward, what did that have to do with Gorilla?
"Arthur was captured by enemies, three Sea Gods. He's trapped on a coral reef a dozen kilometers ahead." Diana wiped her mouth and immediately started talking about the rescue mission: "I just heard that the Sea Gods seem to be heading to Earth, and many alien sea races are gathering in that direction too."
Seeing Diana return to normal reassured Su Ming; if she'd kept dwelling on past issues, he could only send Harley to keep her occupied.
This was better; they could deal with things as they arose later.
"The Sea Gods are just a minor issue; I've already defeated one. However, finding Arthur deep in the coral reef is challenging; I don't want to search for him while facing attacks from a horde of alien fishmen."
Megan stepped up. She finally found an opportunity to prove herself: "Let me go; I can use phase ability to turn invisible, sneak in, find Sea King, and return to inform you of the location."
However, Diana shook her head: "Thank you, Megan, but that won't work. We're dealing with three gods; your phase ability and even our current invisibility are not entirely safe."
"Yes, if you're discovered, they could relocate Arthur through the sea monsters or capture you...not good." Bo Bo also disapproved of the plan.
"Then let's blast them into the sky! Haha!" Harley appeared, having been squatting on the ground drawing with Poison Ivy's vines: "Hi, Dai Dai."
"Harley, what are you doing here?" Diana was slightly puzzled; it was strange seeing Harley alone without the Suicide Squad.
Harley smiled, throwing herself into Diana's arms: "Batman and Amanda negotiated a deal, and I was released without charges."
Afterward, Harley secretly winked at Su Ming.
Diana was even more perplexed; Harley had committed too many crimes in the past, deserving life imprisonment, yet Amanda released her?
Though if Batman were involved, Diana didn't think much of it, as it was impossible to predict his actions anytime.
The only ones aware of the truth were Harley, Su Ming, and Poison Ivy, and naturally, none of them would speak out.
Batman knew the truth, but Deathstroke impersonated him to trick Harley out of the Celestial Eye Association, making it irrelevant what Batman himself said.
The focus was on how Amanda Waller and the United States government perceived things; they would only believe Batman did it.
The evidence was overwhelming; numerous eye-witnesses and physical proof showed 'Batman' taking her away; it was irrefutable.
Batman could only endure it in such circumstances, and as long as Harley stayed out of Gotham, he wouldn't really care.
Su Ming began removing his armor, considering Harley's recent escape story a hint, and he had an idea brewing.