Multiverse: Deathstroke-Chapter 450: Busy Batman

"Evacuating civilians is commendable, but it doesn't solve the problem."

Garth stopped his teammates, arms crossed over his chest. He had a plan.

Just as they were talking, Starfire got called away by Batman over the Hall's intercom. Now every hero fast enough to fly had other assignments.

But Batman sent the Titans a more qualified babysitter.

The new overseer showed up almost instantly, tasked with making sure Batman's orders were followed to the letter.

"But Batman said—"

"Batman, always Batman! I'd had enough of him back when I was with the Teen Titans. Why else would I ditch the team for college?" Garth clawed at his hair in frustration, scalp tingling at the mention of Batman. "And you, lady—who are you? What gives you the right to boss me around?!"

The green-skinned girl didn't get mad at all. "I'm Miss Martian, from Young Justice. I'm joining you now as your liaison."

Garth had kinda guessed it. He'd been off the team for years, but that green skin screamed Martian Manhunter's kin.

So what? His big bro Aquaman was a Justice League big shot too, and now he was missing, and no one was looking for him!

So Garth turned to Donna beside him, but the warrior woman was spaced out, worrying about Diana.

"So, what, the Titans have a nanny now?"

Donna sighed. She felt her teammate was still so childish. "Now's not the time to dredge up old grudges, Garth. Come on, let's talk over here."

Mimicking Deathstroke, Donna hooked Garth's neck and dragged him aside.

That left Miss Martian, M'gann, standing there alone.

Sure, she was 40 this year, but by Martian years, she was still a kid. What nanny...

M'gann rolled her eyes a little. Did green skin make her look that old? But showing her true White Martian form might freak people out.

White Martians weren't just tougher on human aesthetics—they were notorious as super-villains. M'gann was one of the rare kind-hearted ones.

That's why she took on her uncle J'onn's green skin look—a friendly disguise.

"What a scrappy kid. He doesn't fight every day at school, does he?" M'gann muttered to herself, glancing at Donna hauling Garth off.

Raven stepped over to chat with M'gann, aiming to smooth things over.

Raven didn't talk much usually—sorcerers always had that mysterious vibe—but she was a good girl too, not wanting to see a fellow justice-seeker upset.

"Garth's one of the Titans' OGs. He's not usually like this—just too worried about Aquaman. M'gann, I'll apologize for him."

"No worries, I get it. He's a good guy."

M'gann smiled and shook her head. She had all of Martian Manhunter's skills, but like J'onn, she kept herself in check, not poking into people's minds willy-nilly.

Right now, though, she kinda wanted to peek into Batman's head—see if he didn't trust her, which is why he wouldn't let her use telepathy for comms.

With her uncle gone, she could totally link every hero on Earth. Why not let her?

Truth was, Batman was just protecting her. Some stuff the League dealt with was too dark for kids.

Earth was a mess right now. Lots of heroes saving people were suffering themselves.

Not every hero was top-tier—some grassroots types weren't mentally tough enough.

Batman's comms earpiece was buzzing with all kinds of profanity and desperate yells right now.

"F***, turned into a f***ing fish again! Shitty fishmen, come lick grandpa's balls! Die already!"

"We... f***, Earth's screwed. I can't save everyone, boo-hoo..."

"Son of a b****! Why bother saving anyone? Let's all just off ourselves! This is an apocalypse flood!"

"Justice? Where's the justice? I'm done!"

Everything sounded chaotic and hopeless. Just hearing their voices and words told you these heroes' mindsets were basically shot.

Not everyone could see their loved ones turn into fish-headed freaks and still let it go to save random crowds.

Plenty went near-mad just watching their parents or spouses morph into fish.

Batman could hear their despairing cries and, through the Watchtower stashed on the moon, see real-time footage—misery after misery playing out before his eyes.

He and Martian Manhunter could face it stone-cold, but M'gann couldn't. It was like poison to the mind. If her telepathic link touched these broken heroes, she'd feel their despair firsthand and crack.

He couldn't let Miss Martian use her mind-link. If it came to that, it'd be limited to the League heavyweights still on Earth—Barry and Clark. They were tough enough.

Batman stayed deadpan. No time to comfort these hurting heroes—just pile on more tasks.

They started cursing or damning him, but Batman just repeated his orders.

Saving the world was priority one. Mourning or sympathy could wait—formalities later. They could vent their rage at him, curse all they wanted, as long as they kept saving people.

He was Batman. He didn't need anyone's understanding.

Meanwhile, in Star City, a mustached guy in full gear swung between high-rises on grapple lines, sporting a League comms device, fending off fishmen and rescuing folks.

His squad was tight—everyone had their role. Star City's situation was still manageable for now.

And he was waiting on Batman's orders.

His will was ironclad, body in peak shape, ready to answer the League's call and hit a bigger battlefield anytime.

But Batman seemed to have totally forgotten him. He started wondering if his comms were busted.

Aside from that one time fighting underground ape-men when Batman brought him along, why'd he get sidelined after?

Back to the Titans still in the Hall of Justice—water was pooling outside already. If they were leaving, it had to be now.

"Honestly, I think that dude's got a point," Beast Boy chimed in on M'gann and Raven's chat, siding with Garth.

"Agreed," Steel pitched in. She was Steel's niece—y'know, the guy who made himself a silver suit with an "S" on the chest, sometimes called "Steel Superman."

But Steel or Steel Girl, they were both scientists—no natural powers, all high-tech armor. They were Iron Men through and through.

Miss Martian shot a look at green-furred Beast Boy. You guys can have opinions, but Batman gave orders—you just follow them.

"I don't agree!"

"Everyone's busy saving people all over, so why's no one tackling the fleet up there? Aren't they the root of this?"

Beast Boy actually found M'gann kinda relatable—both green, after all—so he laid out his thoughts. Like Garth said, wouldn't hitting the ships up top be better?

"Yeah, we've got the League's teleport room. With a little tweak, I can turn it into a point-to-point jump container," Steel added, clearly pro-raid too, even tossing out a fix for the lockdown issue.

"Absolutely not! Saving civilians is the top priority right now. Rescue coordination's already a nightmare—even quantum comms are nearly jammed by the enemy. We need to get out there and save people!"

Miss Martian doubled down as the overseer. As long as she was around, the Titans weren't pulling any stunts.

Donna calmed Garth down. Talking warrior-to-warrior, they clicked fast.

Like, save people for a few hours first, then hit the aliens. The ships were locking down Earth—they'd still be there, right?

Garth thought it over. Fair point. Plus, Batman couldn't complain, and he wouldn't have to clash too hard with the team.

So he figured he'd apologize to Miss Martian, and they'd all head out to save folks first.

But right then, Batman's voice crackled through M'gann's earpiece.

"Miss Martian, report to the control room ASAP. Urgent mission."

"Wait, I'm over here—"

Before she could finish, Batman hijacked the League teleporter and beamed her out.

For one, enemy interference on comms was getting worse. Batman had everyone's next tasks lined up, but he needed real-time links with Barry and Clark—M'gann's powers were key.

For another, the Titans were still the same old Teen Titans kids—naive enough to think the Hall didn't have bugs.

Every word they said, every thought in their heads, was laid bare to Batman.

Batman wasn't stopping them.

Deathstroke said he'd hit space, then vanished after snagging the ship. Latest intel had him clashing with Clark at a Peruvian resettlement camp—some civilians weirdly burned to death.

Clark left all mopey, then started hitting Batman with odd theology questions—"Is God's wrath real?" "Are Bible stories true?"—stuff way out of Batman's wheelhouse. He ignored it.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Deathstroke rallied Shadowpact—a crew of occult pros. Even Batman couldn't guess what he was up to.

Then the ship he loaned Deathstroke got its trackers and bugs ripped out by Bobo. Enchantress and Nightshade's magic cloaked the ship's very existence.

Deathstroke was ready—sorcerer tricks hid them all. M'gann's telepathy, League tech—none of it worked.

Like always, Deathstroke cut ties one-way.

Now the Titans wanted to run a decapitation play, break Earth's lockdown. They weren't kids anymore—Batman figured they could give it a shot.

With Donna and Raven there, their lives weren't at risk.

But Batman had his own plan. He was hunting the "faucet" the aliens were using to flood Earth. Once he found it, he'd send Superman and Flash to handle it.

The Titans hitting the enemy fleet would make a perfect distraction for his east-west feint, so Batman didn't hesitate to use them.

For all those reasons, Batman pulled Miss Martian back, letting the Titans run free.

"Huh, just like that, she's gone."

Beast Boy shrugged, staring at the empty spot, a bit bummed. Rare to meet another green-skinned person—he'd wanted to chat more.

"Where'd M'gann go?" Donna frowned, puzzled. She knew that white flash was League teleport tech, but why'd Batman yank the overseer now?

"She just up and left."

Raven toyed with her hair. She'd streaked some purple into it, giving her short cut a trendy, mysterious vibe.

"Probably some big 'Justice League' business," Beast Boy squinted, snarking. Not a single Young Justice kid was left in the Hall—they were all out saving people.

M'gann was gone, no overseer. Garth's old plan sparked back to life.

The Titans quickly got on the same page, ready to head skyward.

And Donna, out of nowhere, thought of Deathstroke. If he were here, what would he choose?