The waves crashed against the breakwater, and in the night, they appeared as dark splashes. The sky was covered with clouds, and almost at the moment one looked up, a torrential downpour began.
The rain splattered against the armor, gradually taking away the warmth. The icy streams washed over everyone as if crying for the city.
Su Ming raised his hand, and the rain immediately flowed down his elbow, with everything afar obscured by the curtain of rain, leaving only the sound of rustling.
Green Arrow's silhouette loomed not far ahead, appearing intermittently, as if the dark green might disappear from sight at any moment.
Su Ming glanced at Diana beside him. She pulled up her hooded cloak, walking beside Su Ming, while Bo Bo walked next to her, lifting a corner of the cloak against the rain.
The global flood was expected to cause climate anomalies, but previously Su Ming had traveled through several places that were perfectly fine.
Yet, oddly enough, once he brought Green Arrow along, the weather suddenly changed, and Seattle was hit by torrential rain. Could it be such a coincidence? This was too unfortunate, wasn't it?
For Su Ming, wind and rain were just minor issues, at most disabling his electric magic. But for Green Arrow, obstructed vision and strong winds made archery disadvantageous.
Just looking at his struggling silhouette in the storm, Su Ming felt a pang of heartache. This was beyond just hardship; it was the ultimate image of a hero's demise.
"By bringing him along in our actions, do you think we'll get him killed?"
Su Ming lowered his head to ask Bo Bo, whose gaze was equally solemn. The sound of heavy rain seemed to give Bo Bo a sense of foreboding.
The gorilla pondered for a moment, silently looking at the road: "Perhaps we should first head to New York, find Lady Shangdu to tell Oliver's fortune."
"Isn't it said that after the Inverted Man rose to power, witchcraft fortune telling became unreliable?" Diana's face was marked by rain, her lips appearing even more alluring.
Bo Bo nodded quickly, his dark eyes narrowed, trying hard to see through the rain: "Yes, that way we can secretly pay a little more, have Shangdu say some pleasant things for Green Arrow, that's terminal care...."
Diana rolled her eyes. This gorilla was too wicked, why did it sound like Green Arrow was doomed?
Su Ming felt Bo Bo wasn't wrong. Injuries non-lethal for Batman could truly be fatal for Green Arrow.
For instance, Batman was poisoned in the Owl Court's underground palace, had his ribs shattered by Zero Claw, and even his intestines were out, consumed Amber Gold by accident, creating many hallucinations.
Even with such injuries, Batman forcibly walked out of the labyrinth, through the sewers across Gotham, back to Wayne Manor's back door, collapsing only upon seeing Alfred.
Another instance was when Luthor used Destruction Dream to smash Batman severely, leaving him a mess. White Dove found only a heap of Bat Suit debris then, a normal person would have died long ago.
But Batman simply repaired himself with the Final Machine, donned a set of Power Armor, and restored his combat ability....
Is this something ordinary people can do?
So Batman's weaknesses only exist at the mental level, trying to defeat him by destroying his body is nearly impossible.
Just like Oliver, despite having some Assassin Alliance training, his skills are truly at a normal human level.
Were Batman's injuries transferred to him, he'd surely die.
Historically, he's fainted from excessive blood loss, lost mobility after fractures, became discouraged by setbacks.
Yet Oliver is a good person, loyal to friends, able to trust others. Batman would never casually hand Wayne Enterprises over to someone out of friendship, but Green Arrow dared to.
Unfortunately, it didn't end well, he trusted the wrong person.
This time, the group went to his doorstep. Before the conversation, Su Ming could feel Oliver had numerous doubts and wariness towards Deathstroke, but simply because Diana trusted Su Ming, he believed without hesitation, neglecting many crucial questions.
Despite experiencing so much darkness, he still trusts others, a most valuable hero trait.
Perhaps to Su Ming it seems a bit foolish, yet he doesn't recklessly judge others' heroic deeds, only watching his silhouette struggling in the storm.
At least this time, Su Ming ensured his safety.
Faced with a global crisis, it's not that superheroes haven't suffered casualties, not everyone has Nightwing's backing, able to find Midnite Strange Doctor for treatment while severely injured and near death.
The flood on Earth had minimal civilian casualties, a hero's sacrifice was what ensured this. Only Batman knows how many third and fourth-tier heroes worldwide died, or went insane at that time.
The dark green cloak swayed in front of the three, water droplets splashing off the edge, Oliver raised an arm to counter the strong winds from the sea.
For Deathstroke and Diana, this wind was as slight as someone blowing on armor; but for Oliver, even taking a step was challenging.
He propped his elbow in front of his eyes, squinting hard to see ahead, but this wind came at the worst time, possibly hindering the overall plan, making him a bit anxious now.
Su Ming just wanted to see Oliver's determination, to see if he still had the drive to move forward. It wasn't about making him suffer; a hint was enough. Hardships don't work on the Deathstroke Squad.
He took off the cloak from his back, giving it the most complex command in history, the Magic Floating Cloak rubbed the collar with one corner lifted, as if it were thinking.
Then it suddenly grew large, forming a long tunnel shaped like a '冖', covering them all underneath, naturally including Oliver.
The top cap blocked the rain, and the draping fabric at the sides blocked the wind, making it seem like they were walking in a tunnel.
"Walk slowly, Oliver, don't fall into the drainage ditch. You should know that floodwaters have great force; it's possible to be swept away along with manhole covers," Bo Bo crawled out from under Diana's cape and shouted to Oliver ahead.
Green Arrow was still drenched, he stopped and wiped his face with a bitter smile: "Well, it seems I've gone too long without superpowered teammates, forgot that storms aren't much to you guys."
Su Ming shrugged. He could easily have the cloak form a '口' shape for them to just sit inside and guide, but the goal now was to make Oliver feel useful, not to let superpower and magic beat him down.
"Come on, let's walk together. Even if you're scouting, there's no need to go so far ahead." Su Ming caught up with Oliver, and the cloak also adjusted in size at the right time: "Even battlefield sappers don't go as far ahead as you."
Oliver reached out and touched the cloak, realizing this wasn't something technology could achieve, so maybe Otherworldly Deathstroke was also a mage?
"I get it, honestly, if it weren't for needing to squeeze through some alleys, we could just find a car."
"Don't worry, you're my teammate now. Batman isn't fond of taking care of teammates, but I'm different. Just say how you want to do it, and I'll figure it out for you."
Su Ming patted his shoulder, with rainwater seeping out in the process. Diana looked touched after hearing what he said.
"We now have a big umbrella, though I haven't been here for quite some time, and the floods have collapsed some houses. I'll need to familiarize myself with the route again." Oliver just smiled and nodded, quickly bringing up the mission.
"This is easy." Su Ming readily agreed, reaching up to touch the floating cloak above: "Grow big, become transparent."
Indeed, the Magic Floating Cloak could grow, shrink, and change color. Naturally, it could become colorless as well. The super-sized cloak directly shielded half the dock beneath it, and now the view was unobstructed.
Su Ming gestured with an inviting motion, indicating that Green Arrow could continue to lead the way.
Oliver was slightly surprised but soon resigned: "Alright, you could've brought out the magic artifact before we became soaked, I don't mind being looked down on by mages at all."
"You haven't faced a big crisis for a long time, getting a bit wet to feel the atmosphere can be considered as a warm-up." Bo Bo immediately spoke up for Su Ming, even though it was unclear how Deathstroke felt, the insightful Bo Bo always found reasons acceptable to both sides.
Oliver pulled down the gorilla's cap, forcibly covering his eyes: "What warm-up, I'm freezing now! I haven't even had a hot cup of coffee since getting up."
"That's easy too." Su Ming directly pulled out several small white cups from the backpack, handing one to each person, and amidst the howling winds and rains outside, everyone smelled the aroma of coffee.
Yes, this was black coffee bought from Stormwind City, not only did it not spill in the silk pouch, but it also stayed hot whenever you brought it out.
The effect was to restore mana value, probably useless in DC, but coffee is coffee, isn't it?
"Is this even possible?"
Oliver looked at the small white porcelain cup in surprise, the rising heat inside was indeed top-grade coffee, and not some illusion technique.
Bo Bo, without any hesitation, took it, turning the cup to sip gently at the side: "Of course it's real, the mystery of magic is beyond your imagination, but don't think too much, just drink."
Diana also took her coffee, the warmth making her smile slightly as if the crisis had gone farther from them: "Acting with him is indeed more relaxing than with Bruce."
Hearing the praise from the gorilla and Diana, Su Ming held his own cup, his mask pulling back to reveal a reserved smile, and then he pulled a few more things out of his backpack.
"Haven't eaten yet? I have roasted quail and wild boar meat here, want some?"
"..."
Oliver took the coffee and roasted quail, not sure why, he just felt like there was a halo behind Deathstroke, so dazzling!
Unknowingly, the tense operation bizarrely turned into a countryside picnic, especially with the wild storm nearby, waves crashing against the shore. Yet, under protection, everyone was unscathed, even enjoying the spectacular view the storm brought.
Oliver took a sip of coffee, it was hot, but it felt better than ever.