Multiverse: Deathstroke-Chapter 490: Making a Move

"The tide’s turned. The Justice League’s gaining ground. Wrap up our mission, Black Manta. I’m pulling you back now."

Luthor, monitoring the battlefield, saw the League breach Earth’s barrier with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash unscathed. He issued Black Manta new orders.

Ditch the foolish sea gods, grab the Tear of Extinction, and run.

Luthor knew Superman best. With Metropolis submerged, the Man of Steel was a simmering volcano.

The sea gods might land a sneak attack, but with the League united, Batman watched everyone’s backs.

In this scenario, the three sea gods combined wouldn’t stand a chance against the Kryptonian alone.

"..."

"You hear me?" Black Manta didn’t respond. Luthor, confident in his comms, pressed again.

"Yes, Lex, I hear you loud and clear."

A muffled voice came through, distorted by Black Manta’s helmet.

But in truth, Black Manta had secretly goaded the sea gods into infusing the Leviathan with the Tear of Extinction, creating the Death Kraken. What could he possibly report to Luthor now?

The Justice League always had hidden cards. Even a sunken city like Atlantis could sprout rockets. What was he supposed to do?

Black Manta disabled his teleport beacon. He had a new plan—no longer Luthor’s pawn.

The Death Kraken was right there. Control it, and he’d rule not just Earth, but the universe.

It was stronger than the sea gods, stronger than the League. One touch from it could turn any planet into a lifeless puddle.

Gazing at the blood-red tentacles in the sky, Black Manta’s ambition burned hotter. He’d wanted to destroy Atlantis for ages. This was his chance.

He eyed the three sea gods’ backs. They stood at the ship’s bow, facing the League, oblivious to him.

The League, too, saw the sea gods as the primary threat. Even Arthur spared him no glance.

The ships were closing in, near enough to hear each other’s voices.

"Sea gods, surrender. We can guarantee your safety," Arthur shouted.

Imprisoned for ten millennia, the sea gods loathed captivity above all.

"Poseid, unleash the Kraken," General Riptide barked. If imprisonment awaited, they’d rather go down fighting.

Poseid pressed the bone collar on his neck. Instantly, the static tentacles thrashed wildly, cracking the red barrier.

The Kraken began its slow descent toward the sea.

It seemed to drift lazily, but its massive size created an optical illusion. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"No! We can’t let that thing touch the water!" Arthur knew what it was.

He didn’t grasp the mechanics, but he knew the consequences.

No matter what, it couldn’t reach the sea.

"Justice League, stop it at all costs," Batman ordered. Every flying hero surged forward.

They unleashed their strongest attacks to halt its descent, but it was futile. The beast’s defenses were staggering.

Even Superman’s heat vision only scorched its skin. Barry circled it at super-speed, finding no weak points.

It resembled a colossal octopus fused with sea urchin, sea cucumber, and coral—yet lacked their vulnerabilities.

The size gap was stark. To the Kraken, the heroes were specks of dust.

"No good, Batman! Think of something!" Superman called out.

But trouble brewed on the ship. As the sea gods activated the Kraken, they charged at Batman, Arthur, and other non-flying, non-speedster heroes.

The sky grew ominous, poised for a chaotic brawl across the ships’ decks.

Then, Black Manta struck, plunging a black-gleaming dagger into Poseid’s back.

The white-bearded sea god let out a scream and collapsed, convulsing.

Manta crouched, snatching the bone collar from Poseid’s neck, struggling to drape it over his bulky helmet like a shawl.

"Manta! What are you doing?!" General Riptide roared. They hadn’t fallen to the League, but to a former ally.

"Doing? Heh, what I should’ve done days ago." Manta touched the bone collar. "My dagger, like Cheetah’s claws, is coated with the Tear of Extinction. I’ve got the collar, I control the Kraken. Now, kneel to Earth’s new god!"

"You’re no god! You’re a pirate!" Riptide and Lonefin, enraged at their friend’s death, ignored the League and charged Manta.

"Spare me. Everyone’s a pirate at heart." Manta flung two daggers at the sea gods. As a mercenary, throwing weapons was his specialty. "I’ll help you kneel—with a nice, loud scream first!"

Knives, crossbows, harpoon guns—Manta wielded them all with lightning precision.

Captain Lonefin, leading the charge, aimed to strangle Manta with his octopus-like arms but took a dagger to the heart.

"Aaagh!"

As Manta predicted, he wailed in agony and collapsed, dead.

The second dagger was meant for Riptide’s chest, but Arthur intervened, blocking its path with his palm.

Manta’s promethium dagger, laced with the Tear, pierced Arthur’s hand—his invulnerability gone—and struck Riptide’s chest.

Deflected slightly by Arthur’s hand, it wasn’t fatal, only wounding Riptide severely.

Arthur felt the Tear awaken his latent life force, resisting its effects. After a brief stiffness, he pulled Riptide back to the League’s ship.

"General," Arthur said, eyeing Manta warily.

"The Death Kraken... you must stop Manta," Riptide gasped, realizing too late that Luthor had used them.

Everything had gone wrong.

"Uh, are we still fighting?" Beast Boy whispered to Raven. They were supposed to kill the sea gods, but two were dead, one half-alive. Why did the situation keep shifting?

Raven rolled her eyes, pulling up her hood. She didn’t talk to idiots.

Couldn’t he see Mera glaring at Arthur’s hand? It kept rubbing the alien sea goddess, and Mera’s eyes were practically sparking.

Even if fighting resumed, it wasn’t the Titans’ turn.

Arthur was just instinctively checking Riptide’s poison spread, using his life force to counter the Tear’s decay, not copping a feel.

On the battlefield, he was a pure warrior, no ulterior motives.

"Manta?! What’s going on? We secured the Anti-Monitor and the Extinction Force. The oceans aren’t our plan. Open the teleporter! Don’t—"

Luthor’s voice crackled in Manta’s earpiece, unprepared for Manta’s madness.

"I’m not opening it. What can you do? You say the oceans don’t matter, but I say they’re mine! Earth’s seas and every ocean in the Multiverse!"

Luthor was livid. A mere Black Manta dared defy him?

"How dare you?!"

Manta cut the comms casually. "Sorry, Lex. We’re done."

He ordered the Kraken closer to deal with the League, but it barely obeyed, descending slowly.

"You can’t control the Kraken. Only Poseid could," Riptide said hopelessly, clutching her wound. "It’ll destroy every planet, every lifeform—including you, Manta."

Manta didn’t buy it. One hand on his helmet, the other on the collar, he mimicked Poseid’s commands.

"Kraken, kill these pests on my deck!"

The Kraken ignored him, its tentacles spreading like roots, nearing the sea.

"No! Obey me! Why won’t you listen?!" Manta tried again, to no avail.

No matter how he screamed, the Kraken did as it pleased.

"Damn it, you’ll doom the universe!" Arthur propped Riptide against the railing and charged Manta. "Mera, take the others to stop the Kraken."

Arthur lunged, trident in hand—returned by Riptide—ready to skewer Manta like a grilled fish.

Manta, watching him, fired red energy beams from his helmet’s goggles, sweeping the deck.

Arthur raised his trident to block, refusing to dodge. Behind him was the wounded Riptide, who’d seen her error and needed to live to restore Earth’s seas and its fish-turned humans.

Not to mention the Titans and Shadowpact kids. Aquaman wouldn’t budge.

As he braced for impact, a golden shield appeared before him, followed by a black cloak and greatsword flashing past.

The red beams snuffed out. Deathstroke stood in front of Arthur, shield in hand.

"Seriously, you swing that forked toothpick one-handed and never thought to pair it with a shield?"

Deathstroke shook his head, morphing the shield back into a curved blade, ribbing Arthur. Just a steel fork—who said it needed two hands?

Arthur exhaled, scratching his head with a sheepish grin.

For some reason, Deathstroke’s return eased his tension. Clearly, Deathstroke had a plan for the Kraken.

If he didn’t, would he be standing here cracking bad jokes?

Manta, however, despaired at Deathstroke’s arrival. The gap in power was vast—he couldn’t win.

Luthor had footage of the otherworld Deathstroke’s fights. Sinestro and Grodd faced him, got battered, and nearly died.

It wasn’t just combat skills—strength, speed, healing, tactics, experience. The mercenary gap was huge.

In undocumented battles, Deathstroke even killed concepts like Hecate. Unthinkable.

Manta backpedaled, eyeing the League’s deck warily, trembling as he activated his comms. "Luthor! I’m ready, get me out!"

Luthor’s cold laugh crackled through. "Sorry, Manta, bad signal here. Zzt, crackle. You hear that? Hanging up."

High-altitude winds howled, the ship’s sails flapping.

Facing Deathstroke, twirling his greatsword with a flourish, and Arthur, smugly basking in his shadow, Manta’s heart sank into darkness.