Su Ming and his crew piloted the spaceship back to Earth without much trouble, though they arrived a bit late to the scene.
With global communications cut off, there was no way to lock onto Barry's position.
Fortunately, earlier, while clearing the ancient tomb, Barry had triggered a Speed Force storm. This unnatural phenonon was picked up by Iron Man's armor sensors, allowing the cloaked ship to sneak over.
Upon arrival, they saw the need to dive underwater to fight. Ocean Master had summoned a massive, motley crew of heroes to besiege the trio.
If it ca to underwater combat, only Su Ming, Black Alice, Nightshade, and Blue Devil could go—anyone else would be mutated by the water.
But bringing the Shadowpact trio along would just get in the way. Even with four people down there, they couldn't take on so many heroes plus Ocean Master.
So Su Ming morphed into an unfamiliar fishman form, slipping solo into the alien reinforcents, biding his ti.
He needed to take out mage-types like Zatanna first. Su Ming could tank hits, sure, but they were in a tomb—if a big spell went off, everyone would be buried alive.
When he saw the enemy retreating, if ra had lent him her Hard-Water Sword, Ocean Master and Black Manta would've been dead n.
But they slipped away too fast, and ra's weapon was magical—unusable by a land-dweller. The idea was a non-starter.
So Su Ming stayed undercover, only surfacing to help after confirming Ocean Master and crew had truly fled.
And right off the bat, he sent the main universe's Deathstroke flying.
Su Ming had no personal beef with him, but both wearing the sa uniform? That was raw, unfiltered rivalry—stealing his gig, basically.
That shield bash would probably keep the main Deathstroke self-healing for a day or two.
He'd noticed it while infiltrating Blood Reef: the fishn had no real way of identifying each other. The whole setup was riddled with holes.
Turning into a Captain Arica-style fishman was a similar play.
No one knew him, so identity didn't matter—just another fishman.
He'd been slacking at the back of the pack, then struck at the critical mont, instantly turning the tide.
Their mages were taken down by sneak attacks, unnoticed, and next up were the super-powered heroes.
But then Su Ming spotted Lobo—Main Man Lobo—which was a bit of a surprise.
The guy's an alien—how'd he turn into a fish too? No matter, as long as the purple water still didn't affect symbiotes, it was fine.
Lobo's strength was solid, but wildly inconsistent. At his peak, he could swim in the sun; at his weakest, any random thug could take him down.
He'd tangled with the main Deathstroke before—about a fifty-fifty split.
Su Ming wasn't giving him a chance. The God-Killer shield reverted to its original form, and a flurry of rapid strikes dropped Lobo to the ground.
Self-healers could take a hard hit, no problem. Plus, if he didn't move fast, who knew how long this cave would hold?
Barry sat in the protective barrier, resting. When Deathstroke blocked the tomb chamber door, he knew they'd survived.
These fishn were no match for the alternate Deathstroke. It was like he had every one of their weaknesses morized.
Precise tactics, a razor-sharp morphing weapon, top-tier defense, and endurance—Deathstroke could fight this hundred-strong mob all day!
But at that thought, Barry tilted his head, scratching it with his lobster claw.
Weird—where'd this "all day" idea pop from? A fishification side effect?
Deathstroke wouldn't waste ti pointlessly—he wasn't fighting all day. He bashed enemies with a golden staff, then turned and pointed upward.
Superman got it instantly. Years of working with Batman had honed his skills at charades, reading looks, and gestures—basic stuff, right?
He blasted the ceiling open incompatible vision. The flying heroes were all down, courtesy of Deathstroke—flying out now was the best move.
As they shot out of the barrier and broke the sea's surface, they saw a sailboat-styled alien ship hovering above. Diana and Arthur were on deck, watching them.
Wonder Woman tossed out her Lasso of Truth, pulling their water bubble onto the ship. The group finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Superman's powers were slowly recovering under the sunlight. ra was a bit drained, but Barry's condition was the worst.
Su Ming erged from the cave, hamring down a gigantified Giganta chasing them. She crashed into the water, shaking the earth.
He boarded the deck, his Cloak of Levitation returning to normal size, unfurling in the air to shake off seawater.
"So, Barry, was I tily or what? Pretty touching, huh?"
Barry leaned on the railing, his half-fish face eyeing him. "Touching, sure, but earlier would've been nice."
Su Ming shrugged. What could he do? They hadn't pinned down their location earlier—without that, it was all for nothing.
"I don't have the Speed Force. Anyway... you usually into shrimp pizza?"
"Huh? Why ask that?" Barry looked baffled. "I'm more traditional—cheese, bacon, that sorta thing."
Su Ming pointed at Barry's left hand, now a big claw. "Thought you were a shrimp fan. New look?"
"No, I'd rather stay human. Also, what I turn into doesn't tie to what I like to eat, does it?"
Barry slumped, suddenly exhausted. Why'd he feel so tired? Why did Deathstroke love these la jokes that begged for a coback?
Su Ming leaned in closer, whispering, "Relax, Barry, it's fine. The fishification's reversible. Look at the mages here—who're you tight with?"
Barry was closest to Raven, naturally. The Titans were Justice League diehards. Shadowpact, by comparison, was more distant.
But Raven couldn't cast a spell to undo Toyman's curse—she was a dinsional demon princess, tapping a different hellish power, not borrowing from Toyman.
The sa went for Enchantress. In the end, Nightshade was the only one who could cast it.
Still, Su Ming had to ask. Monts like this revealed who Barry was chummy with—any hidden secrets or unshown comic panels?
Then Deathstroke would log those secrets, saving them for a clutch blackmail mont later.
But aside from Barry's pre-Flashpoint wife and current girlfriend being different people, his closet was pretty skeleton-free. He just glanced at the mages present and shook his head.
"Nah, I'm not that close with them—except Zatanna and Constantine. But she's a fish now, down there."
"Yeah, I saw her. Smacked her in the back of the head—she'll be out for about four hours," Su Ming said with a grin, like it was nothing. "Anyone else?"
Barry opened his mouth, then sighed. "Nope."
"Tch, Nightshade, co help!"
Su Ming had been crouching to chat with Barry. Hearing this, he let out a disappointed grunt and called Nightshade over.
She'd cast plenty of spells today—debt wasn't a worry anymore. Worst case, once the flood receded, Superman could fetch her so rabbits.
When Toyman had explained curse-breaking magic, Nightshade was there. She knew what to do now.
There were too many fishified heroes below—she couldn't pay that price. But just saving the Flash? Doable.
Bringing the Speed Force back to the Justice League would boost their fighting power exponentially. Her own costs? Call it a sacrifice for the world.
After a short incantation, Barry recovered instantly. A bite to eat, so water, and he'd be good as new.
"Thanks—you saved my life."
Barry nodded at Nightshade, happily rubbing his left arm. Being human again felt great.
No more shrimp festivals or free crawfish for him—crabs were off the nu for a while too.
But now Nightshade was stuck with Superman's bleeding-heart syndro. He wanted to save the fishn below, and she had to explain a ton to soone clueless about magic.
It wasn't that she didn't want to help—it was the magical loan shark rates!
So Nightshade didn't reply to Barry's thanks, just gave a wry smile and a nod.
Su Ming hooked an arm around Barry's neck, dragging him toward the cabin.
"Hey, we're bros—no need to thank . Next ti I'm scrapping with Batman, just back up, alright?"
Barry yanked off his cowl with a deadpan look, ruffling his ssy hair. "..."
Why'd it feel like he'd boarded a pirate ship? Why fight Batman? Isn't he your boss?
Su Ming didn't explain, instead abruptly pulling Barry behind a corner.
Up ahead, Aquaman and ra were locked in a heated makeout session.
"Got your phone?" Su Ming asked.
"Heh, yeah." Barry forgot his earlier qualms and pulled it out.
Information age, baby—first things first, snag a short video.
Below, Arian's flooded tomb lay subrged, countless knocked-out heroes floating like dead fish. anwhile, ra and Arthur kissed passionately.
Tsk tsk—if those folks below saw this later, they'd probably lose it.
"Nice, good shot. Send a copy later," Su Ming whispered to Barry before stepping out, strolling right up to the oblivious couple and tilting his head for a close-up view.
Honestly, it felt a bit like watching Beauty and the Beast—the R-rated version.
Aquaman might rock a big beard, but he was younger than Barry—not even thirty. In the League, only Cyborg was younger.
It took the engrossed pair half a minute to notice a one-eyed guy looming super close, practically in their faces.
"Ahem!"
Arthur let go of ra, hands flailing before awkwardly rubbing his back, avoiding eye contact.
"What're you doing here?"
"Nothing, just watching the show. Carry on," Su Ming said, waving it off. "Need a room? No bed, but at least there's a door."
Arthur's face darkened. The world's in peril, you're hardcore spectating—how's he supposed to keep going?
"No need. Are we having a eting? We'll be right there."
Su Ming nodded with a grin, watching them walk hand-in-hand to the bridge.
This isn't the Justice League—what eting? Just wait for my orders.
So far, the Life Force and Tears of Extinction hadn't reacted badly in close proximity. That proved the Tears didn't embody "death" as a concept.
What Su Ming wanted—and had Barry record—wasn't Atlantean bodily fluid exchange, but intel and experints.
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