Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 22: Ch.21 Decoding Complete

Clap, clap, clap.

Vika clapped her hands enthusiastically from the sidelines. Her beautiful face was nearly as red as her hair, and her chest was heaving with excitement.

"Bravo, Mr. Deathstroke! You're the strongest warrior I've ever seen!"

Su Ming slung the shotgun back over his shoulder. Taking down the dinosaur hadn't been much of a challenge, and any pain from the earlier impacts had already faded thanks to his healing abilities.

"Even if you shout for an encore, I'm not going to perform again for you. Finish up your broadcast. Once we get the intel, we're out of here."

There was no point getting tangled up with this woman. Otherwise, she'd keep coming up with endless questions and demands. Su Ming only wanted to use her good luck to achieve his goal, without getting too involved.

"Oh, fine. But can I take a piece of the dinosaur as a souvenir?" Vika asked hesitantly, expressing her desire.

Su Ming turned and started walking towards Barbara and the others. With Oracle's skill level, the decryption should be almost done.

"Do whatever you want. But if you think being in the Batcave will let you trace Batgirl's identity through her suppliers, you can forget it. She's not that stupid."

"Hmph."

Vika stomped her foot. She didn't understand why her thoughts kept getting seen through, but she was a reporter. What did face and reputation even mean?

Wearing high heels and a tight skirt, she wobbled over to the mechanical dinosaur's wreckage. She pulled out a huge eyeball and reached into the crack on its head, yanking out a piece of hardware still connected to some wires.

Su Ming didn't bother stopping her. Vika's curiosity outweighed everything else, almost to the point of pathology. But she knew very well where other people's boundaries were.

She was smart too. She probably already realized that neither Su Ming nor Cindy had any intention of killing them.

He came up behind Barbara's wheelchair, watching lines of code flash on the large screen, illuminating the faces of the three people present. He couldn't understand what was going on, though.

"The dinosaur is dealt with. How's it going here?"

"Almost there," Barbara replied without turning her head, typing rapidly on the keyboard and control panel, inputting something. "Open sesame."

A brand new image appeared on the big screen. It was a high-angle view of Gotham, and Miller's spatial reasoning told him this was the perspective from a gargoyle on the roof of Wayne Tower, where a camera had been installed.

Beyond that, the Bat-database was always linked to various departments, syncing data from all over.

"She's monitoring the entire city."

Barbara murmured, awestruck by the multitude of scenes in front of her. As she familiarized herself with the system, she realized that Batgirl had surveillance cameras all over the city.

She understood Batgirl's motivation but couldn't fathom the necessity. With such a high density of hidden cameras, there was nothing in Gotham that wasn't known to her.

From luxurious private rooms in upscale restaurants to the rundown bridges where the homeless lived, Batgirl was watching everyone like potential criminals. Some of the cameras were even pointed directly at Gordon's home.

Su Ming patted her on the head to bring her back to reality. "Welcome to the Dark Knight's world. Yes, she's exactly who you think she is."

"This is insane. I don't know if what she's doing is even good. She's invading everyone's privacy, whether they're criminals or not." Barbara frowned, struggling to accept it. She'd always thought of Batgirl as someone like herself, someone who harbored goodwill toward the world.

But it made sense if you thought about it. Batgirl never appeared in the daytime because her heart was only full of darkness.

"To Batgirl, there are only two kinds of people in Gotham: 'already criminals' and 'not yet criminals.' She doesn't trust anyone."

Cindy sneered from the side. She didn't like the Bat's style. Technically speaking, even though she went around killing people, at least she believed in contracts. She felt she fit society better.

"Even my father? He's always supported her," Barbara said, her grip tightening on her wheelchair's armrests, her gaze vacant.

"Yes, even your father." Su Ming sighed. The Batgirl of the Dark Multiverse was even darker than the Batman of the main universe. He tried to comfort her, "To Batgirl, your father is just someone who's unlikely to become a criminal—a low-level threat. Although she considers Gordon a friend, her concept of friendship is different from most people's. Batgirl always has a backup plan, just in case."

Barbara stared blankly. She didn't know what to think, but compared to Batgirl, Deathstroke was a world-renowned villain, a symbol of bloodshed.

"No, that's just your speculation."

"Maybe. But I've heard a story. Why don't you listen to it?"

Cindy had heard Su Ming talk about Barbara's unique situation and had seen her power on the network. There was no way she could let her side with the Bat now. She jumped in.

Barbara looked at her, eyes full of curiosity. From what she'd seen on this computer, she already had a sense of what kind of person Batgirl was, but she didn't want to believe it.

Cindy picked up her helmet and sat on the control console. "It's about the time after your incident, when Gordon and Batgirl caught the Joker. Gordon raised his gun at Joker, but Batgirl stepped in front of the barrel."

"What does that prove? That Batgirl has a thing for Joker?" Barbara snapped, agitated. The mere mention of Joker's name made her tremble like a scared rabbit.

"If it were me or Su there instead of Batgirl, we wouldn't have stopped him."

Cindy grabbed the armrest of Barbara's wheelchair, pulling her closer, looking into her big blue eyes. Barbara's fear was slowly replaced by Cindy's own reflection.

"That's because you don't care about the law!" Barbara turned her head away, refusing to look at Cindy. Her slender fingers left the keyboard and wrapped around her chest, as if she felt a chill.

"That's because I know Gordon wouldn't have shot!"

Cindy grabbed her face, forcing her to turn back and face reality.

"Both I and Batgirl have memorized Gordon's entire career record! We have a complete psychological profile on him! We know what kind of person he is! Emotion doesn't make him lose control. Gordon does what a cop should do! But what about Batgirl? Do you think she stepped in front of that gun out of trust?"

Barbara was speechless. She didn't know the exact circumstances of that event, but when she woke up in the hospital, Gordon was despondent. He only told her that he was a cop first, and then her father.

He cried as he apologized, and Barbara didn't understand back then. She thought Gordon was just sad about her legs.

Now, learning the truth, Barbara realized he'd refused to kill Joker because it was his own decision. It had never been about Batgirl.

Gordon's despair wasn't just because of her. He realized Batgirl never trusted anyone.

He'd been a cop in Gotham for over thirty years, working with Batgirl for more than a decade, and she still didn't trust him. Even though he thought he was keeping her secret, it was really just what she allowed him to know.

Batgirl always had her own plans.