Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 20: Ch.19 Guest of the Batcave

The car continued to lurch and sway on the muddy road, with the three passengers in the back constantly bumping into things. Every now and then, the large man, Pete, let out a pained groan.

"Oh!"

"Ah!"

Su Ming had the impulse to tell him, "Stand still!" but he decided to pretend he hadn't heard it.

He couldn't help but silently criticize, thinking: With all the money Bryce has, why doesn't he fix this road outside his house? When it rains like this, even the Batmobile must have a rough ride.

Cindy seemed very familiar with the area. She skillfully navigated left and right, turning onto a small path covered by dense trees and vines, making it almost impossible to see what lay ahead.

Countless branches and vines slapped against the windshield, with some even slipping through the window, hitting their armor and splashing water everywhere inside the car.

Su Ming stayed quiet, merely putting his helmet back on. Since Cindy had said this was the way, there was no reason to doubt her.

Following the barely visible mountain path downwards, they soon reached a small ravine. Due to the storm, the water level had risen dramatically, with torrents of yellow mud flowing downstream.

For most people, attempting to proceed would be suicidal. If the car stalled, they'd all be swept away by the floodwaters, carried to the ocean to feed the fish.

But Cindy didn't hesitate. She simply shifted down a couple of gears and drove straight through the raging waters. After a few minutes, she pulled the vehicle into a cave.

Inside the cave, the terrain was much smoother. A concrete road stretched straight into the depths of the mountain, with dim lights hanging from the high cave ceiling, illuminating the path.

After driving for a while, they reached a large steel door. It had clearly been blown apart the last time she'd come here, with twisted blackened metal curled at the sides.

Unconcerned, she parked the filthy van right next to the gleaming Batmobile, turned off the engine, and patted the partition behind her.

"Arrived. Now, who here booked the one-day mystery tour?"

Su Ming jumped out of the car, removed his helmet, and finally breathed in some dry air.

After stretching his limbs, the first thing he did was head straight to the Batmobile. He had admired this super toy in the movies for a long time, and now it was right in front of him.

Taking off his gloves, he touched the cold steel machine. The Batmobile, meticulously maintained by Alfred, looked as good as new. The sleek black paint glistened, and every edge and detail was stunning.

At the rear, a massive turbine engine and bat-wing-like tail fins added to the vehicle's menacing and elegant design. The wide, anti-slip tires and elongated body made it far superior to Cindy's old, battered Jeep.

Although slightly different from the movie version, probably due to this being a parallel world, Bryce's Batmobile here seemed even more like a weapon.

"Don't bother. I tried to take it for a spin last time, but I couldn't even open the hatch."

Cindy approached. If the Batmobile's wings were removed and it had a few stripes of orange paint, she'd be all for it.

"It's probably controlled by the computer system here. Both Batman and the butler are really good with that tech," Su Ming said, tapping the car's glass as he put his gloves back on. "If you really want, next time you might get to drive it. After all, now you've got the best computer genius with you."

Cindy glanced over at the group climbing out of the TV station's van, where Pete was still gagging from car sickness.

"You mean Gordon's daughter?"

"Yeah, that's right. Even though in your world she's a bit behind, her talent is undeniable. She's one of the best hackers in the world," Su Ming confirmed.

"And in your world?"

"Tch, you'd never want to mess with her in my world. If you even think about it, within minutes there'd be dozens of people, each as tough as Batman, coming after you."

Su Ming chuckled. Not to mention the Birds of Prey, even the Justice League would come knocking.

"Hmm, seems like she's valuable. I'll make sure to stay on good terms with her. Might need her help in the future," Cindy mused, rubbing her chin as she watched Barbara being carried off the van. "That is, if we have a future."

"We should still have time. Now that we're in the Batcave and with Barbara here, gathering information won't be a problem."

The other three finally got out of the van, looking around in curiosity.

Even though the lighting in the cave was dim, with only faint illuminations here and there, once Pete turned on the camera lights, they could clearly see the shining metal platforms embedded into the cave walls at various levels. Rows of instruments and computers filled the space, but the Batmobile in the center was by far the most eye-catching.

"Oh, this place is amazing! Quick, start the camera. I need to film a special report!"

Vika immediately got excited, instructing Pete to set up the camera while she pulled out a mirror to fix her makeup.

Though this wasn't his territory, Su Ming didn't mind. He spread his arms wide and addressed the group. "Feel free to make yourselves at home, everyone. Welcome to the Batcave! Oh, but Vika, stick to the same rules as before when filming, alright?"

"Mhm, mhm."

She nodded without hesitation, though whether she truly listened was anyone's guess. However, seeing Pete's panicked nodding, it seemed like everything would be fine—after all, he was the one operating the camera.

"What should I do?" Barbara asked, still a bit confused. She hadn't expected the place Su Ming mentioned to be Batgirl's secret base. Did they know each other? And could this place really hold clues to her father's whereabouts?

"Oh, come with me. There's a server here. If you can hack through its security firewall, you'll have access to all of Gotham's information."

Cindy led her to a row of computers. A massive monitor, almost the size of a wall, was surrounded by smaller screens. Hundreds of buttons covered the control panel, each identical to the next, with no clear instructions. That had been Cindy's main obstacle before.

Barbara quickly examined the massive machine, found an external port, and connected it to her laptop, starting the hacking process.

"How's it going?" Cindy asked.

"Too early to tell, but so far, so good. Batgirl's external firewall is pretty solid, but her defenses against physical connections are lacking," Barbara said, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

She silently apologized to Batgirl, but there was no guilt in her heart—this was for her father.

Su Ming nodded and gave her space to work. He didn't bother hovering around the server, choosing instead to explore the Batcave. Since this was his first time here, he wanted to see how it compared to the comics.

An empty cylindrical glass case stood nearby, inside of which was a black mannequin. It was likely where Batgirl stored her suit, though it seemed she'd taken it with her. However, the mannequin's chest was comically oversized. Su Ming gave it a poor review for its unrealistic proportions.

A spiraling staircase led upward, most likely connecting to the Wayne Manor study. To access it, one would need to play the piano in the study.

A surgical table sat nearby, likely where Alfred frequently patched up Batman. The butler was practically a jack-of-all-trades.

A giant dinosaur model stood tall in the cave. It looked like a toy, but Su Ming knew that in the comics, it was actually a security feature—an animatronic T-Rex programmed to injure intruders without killing them.

Wait—something felt off.

"Cindy~!" Su Ming called out over his shoulder, "Did you take care of the dinosaur here?"

Cindy, who had been chatting with Barbara to improve their rapport, responded nonchalantly, "What dinosaur?"

"Emmm..."