Multiverse: Deathstroke-Chapter 428: Economics Lecture

Upside-Down Man tilted its head, sliding upside-down through the air a bit, bringing its face close to Su Ming's helmet.

"This is only half the energy stolen from me. Naturally, I'll take back the other half—the whole universe."

"And then? You'll head back to the endless void, spending an eternity in darkness and loneliness?" Su Ming tossed out a hypothetical, riffing off its words.

Upside-Down Man smacked its big mouth, its shark-like layers of sharp teeth glinting with a harsh light.

This human in front of it had a point.

It wasn't just pissed because its energy got jacked— a big chunk of it was being stuck outside the Wall.

Hundreds of thousands of years with no way to see the vibrant world inside, no way to enjoy what the thieves enjoyed.

That nearly drove it nuts. If it weren't a concept but a living thing, it'd probably have offed itself by now.

But now it was in—did it really need to turn the inside of the Wall into the same chaotic mess as the outside?

Even with all that power reclaimed, it'd be no different from before.

It stuck a finger in its mouth, mimicking humans biting their nails—it was thinking.

"You make a good case, but just let the thieves enjoy what they don't deserve? Your human take's too self-centered."

Su Ming shook his head, eyeing the white, oversized face inches away. "Not quite. Ever heard of equivalent exchange?"

"I have. I've been digging into human history lately. It's a trading method evolved from bartering—values don't have to match exactly, but as long as both sides agree they're equal, it works."

Upside-Down Man had clearly done some homework. Su Ming started wondering if Doctor Fate had tipped it off.

But as long as it knew 'trade,' that was enough.

"Upside-Down Man, I'm here to negotiate terms."

For some reason, after that Marvel trip, he kept feeling the Supreme Sorcerer vibe creeping closer.

Now he'd instinctively dropped that classic line.

Even his own mouth twitched—was this a FLAG or what?

Upside-Down Man curled its arms and legs to its chest, balling up in midair. "Can you speak for this world? If so, I'm willing to hear your terms."

"I can absolutely represent this universe." Su Ming's heart skipped, and he reached into his pack, pulling out the gem Doctor Manhattan gave him—Ancient One had called it a world's seal of approval.

He didn't know it himself, Ancient One wouldn't spill, but Upside-Down Man might just get the occult vibes.

He gripped the gem, holding it up for Upside-Down Man to see.

"A multiversal energy singularity. Looks like you're legit... Weird, how's something like that in the hands of a puny human?"

Upside-Down Man's words still weren't exactly charming. Sure, to it, humans were small fry—it's a concept, after all.

But saying it to a human's face? Rude much.

Su Ming's fingers behind his back nearly signaled—barely held back at the last second.

"Let's skip who's qualified and talk 'cost' and 'interest rates' instead."

"Go ahead."

Upside-Down Man squatted upside-down in the air with keen interest, tongue lolling as it listened to Su Ming's pitch.

Its magic energy was too intense—after summoning it, Zatanna passed out cold.

Su Ming just glanced at her faintly, flexed his toes, and with a gentle nudge, kicked her over to the wall.

"Great. First off, everything I'm saying ties into the complex economic systems humans have studied forever. If you want more fun, you've gotta play by human rules."

Upside-Down Man nodded. It had no objections—magic in this world was basically its call now, and it just wanted some kicks.

"Keep going. I can calculate what I'll gain, human-style."

"Then we've already hit a key consensus."

A red glint flashed across Su Ming's visor. Playing by human game rules? Easy peasy.

One call from Batman could summon the world's top financial team—there'd be a money plan perfect for this magic loan shark.

"Hm, consensus. Fun word."

Upside-Down Man grinned, like it forgot it ever clashed with Su Ming and Zatanna.

"To get profit—aka your perks—it'll mostly come from what others owe you. So we've gotta start with debt and credit."

Su Ming morphed into a Wall Street broker, rattling off an economics crash course for Upside-Down Man.

Deathstroke's a lone merc with no agent—not just contract law, he's a whiz at finance too.

The original body's soul had all sorts of know-how, fused into Su Ming now—he launched into the lesson like a pro.

Upside-Down Man was all curiosity, diving headfirst into the sea of numbers.

Lots of it didn't click, but it sounded badass.

Like this 'compound interest' the human brought up—supposedly the mightiest force in human society.

Sure, trading between a mage and a magic concept was new to Su Ming too.

But next door's playbook worked fine—match White Magic's cost setup, and the sorcerers here would buy it.

So Su Ming threw in stuff like installment plans, collateral loans, debt proxies—the works.

When Upside-Down Man heard that if someone's debt hit a cap and they didn't pay, it could not only reclaim all their magic but also toy with their body however it pleased—

It drooled with glee.

Su Ming figured it meant 'tears of joy,' but this form had no eyes.

Upside-Down Man was genuinely stoked. Now sorcerers casting through it had to borrow power—and repay a bit extra by the deadline.

It'd grow stronger over time without lifting a finger.

It was all in.

But it didn't realize this tied it to the DC world—win together, lose together.

The Wall's interior was too fun—it'd bring all its 'capital' here, lending across the multiverse.

If all its users died off, though, it'd bleed out big-time.

So when outside threats hit, it'd have to pitch in to keep its lending gig humming.

The fun could roll on forever.

It fell right into Su Ming's trap, clueless—those math algorithms had it dizzy.

Still, Su Ming had to admit Upside-Down Man had a knack for torment—its loans were straight-up usury.

But it was near-monopoly now. Don't like it? Good luck finding options.

Heaven, Hell, Mephisto's crew—you could pick.

But who's got those creds?

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Angel or demon bloodlines gatekeep 99% of folks, and Mephisto's fae or beast blood magic turns you into a Man-Bat knockoff.

Anyway, Upside-Down Man took anything it deemed fair payment—blood and guts? Fine. Extreme emotions? Sure.

Human feelings, thoughts, souls, flesh—all currency to settle the tab.

And since it was way stronger than Hecate ever was, the whole magic scene leveled up.

Wild, primal magic flooded the DC world—it's a high-magic multiverse now.

What used to conjure a cup of water now pulls a bucket—huge edge against future crises.

Of course, Zatanna's power spiked too—backward magic's got that perk. She could pound Constantine into the dirt later.

She unleashed the key spell—she deserved the payoff.

As for Su Ming's cut, he wasn't forgetting himself. As the 'magic' concept's middleman, he'd snag his share of the 'take.'

He only wanted one ten-thousandth of the 'interest'—payment for his 'flawless' advice—plus he'd help Upside-Down Man spread magic worldwide.

That's equivalent exchange too.

Upside-Down Man had been hearing big numbers—now this tiny fraction? It barely thought before agreeing.

Su Ming's slice would stay with it as 'magic,' drawable anytime he wanted.

No chants or gestures needed—just pick a target, and Upside-Down Man would bypass him, blasting it with magic.

Super-strong spells were off-limits—this magic world was its baby, and it wasn't repeating Hecate's flop.

So world-altering mega-magic? No dice. Su Ming's got a 'petty cash' deal—each spell capped at a limit.

After haggling, Su Ming swapped all his 'spell slots' for big fireballs.

With so many casters borrowing from Upside-Down Man across the multiverse, that one ten-thousandth was still a terrifying chunk of power.

He felt like his backdoor spellcasting gig was a bit warlock-ish—pacting with a demon.

If only Vishanti would greenlight this setup—but that three-faced jerk wasn't as gullible as Upside-Down Man.

Just as he was smirking, teaching Upside-Down Man how to shake hands, a golden beam shot at him. Su Ming blocked it with Godslayer, swatting the magic apart.

Looking up, he saw Nabu hovering nearby.

"I don't approve of what you're doing."

Su Ming sneered, signaling Upside-Down Man to give him a sec for some human drama. The Cloak of Levitation lifted him slowly.

"Do I need your approval for anything? Nabu, who the hell are you?"