Chapter 173 – Allen vs. Drowned Brucie
Since Diana didn't have the ability to breathe underwater, Allen handed over the Green Lantern ring so she could move freely below the surface.
There simply wasn't enough time to prepare an oxygen supply.
The Justice League was tied up dealing with a murder machine, and Atlantis was in the middle of a war. No one had the time to deliver equipment, so this was the only option left.
Besides, Diana could conveniently return the Green Lantern ring afterward, saving Allen an extra trip.
It was just a Green Lantern ring—Allen wasn't about to steal someone else's property. But if he ever got the chance to rob all the Corps in the emotional spectrum, he'd gladly wear a ring on each finger.
"Wah... so pia-scary..."
Seeing the Drowned hoisting Aquaman into the air with her trident, Allen quickly crouched and clung to Diana's thigh, explaining, "Your Highness, I've always been a coward. I can't handle bloody scenes. Lend me your crotch as cover, would you?"
Diana glanced down at him helplessly. "Do you just have a thing for thighs?"
"N-no, not at all... I'm a gentleman!" Allen sprang up in protest. "I just like living under protection!"
The sudden appearance of the two caught Brucie completely off guard.
She recognized Wonder Woman—but the version she'd fought before had been male. And as for Allen, his face rang no bells.
"You here to save him?" Brucie asked offhandedly.
In the ocean, she was confident she could solo the entire Justice League. Two more opponents would just be slightly more troublesome.
"Of course... not. I don't even know the guy."
Allen stepped forward, hands on his hips. "Let me take a good look at you."
He pointed at her and, wearing a look of realization, said, "Trident in hand, dark armor, sexy and wild black fishnet stockings... hehehe... You must be the Blood Queen of the Predator Clan!"
Who?
Blood Queen?
Everyone present was completely baffled—none had ever heard of such a name.
Brucie flung Aquaman aside with a trident strike and sternly corrected him, "My name is the Drowned, one of the Dark Knights, final haven of the dead."
"That's too long. I'm not remembering that."
Allen put on a cheeky, bashful face. "Brucie, can I have your fishnets? Don't get me wrong—I just wanna make a cup of stocking milk tea. Promise I won't wear them."
"No."
Then Brucie suddenly realized something. "How do you know my name?"
Allen grew even more bashful, scratching his head. "I read your doujinshi."
"What?"
Brucie had absolutely no idea what he meant, her mind a blank.
Suddenly, a golden lasso lashed out in a sneak attack.
While Brucie was momentarily stunned, the Lasso of Truth coiled tightly around her.
"Amazonian bastard—woman—do you really think you can restrain me?"
Brucie nearly said it out of habit. In her universe, all Amazons were male. She had once fought the Wonder Man and knew the Lasso of Truth couldn't hurt, only bind.
She immediately grabbed the lasso with one hand, intending to yank Diana in and finish her off.
Diana gritted her teeth and held firm at the other end, genuinely stunned by Brucie's brute strength.
"Your Highness, you don't mind this position, do you?"
At some point, Allen had climbed onto Diana's back, legs wrapped tightly around her waist like a snake. With a sweet smile, he leaned in close. "You're the first woman willing to carry me. Bebe~"
No one agreed to carry you, dammit.
You climbed up there yourself!
Annoyed, Diana snapped, "Are you insane? Get down here and help!"
Normally she wouldn't mind the antics, but this was a battle—life and death. She had no patience for Allen's foolishness.
"Princess, just admit it—you've been spying on my private life. Otherwise, how would you know I'm a lunatic with a hint of mania?"
Allen remained cozily nestled on her back, his expression pure bliss.
"Ugh... you're impossible."
Diana was getting genuinely pissed.
Allen wouldn't flake out at a critical moment. Why was he suddenly acting up like this? Suspicious, she asked, "Did you fall for Batwoman or something?"
"Shit, don't insult my taste."
Allen's voice grew serious. "Your Highness, to prove my love for you, I've decided to take you to the moon. We'll stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun."
"What?"
Diana had no idea what stunt he was pulling now.
Then, Allen raised his hand. The twisted Green Lantern ring released a beam of green light that manifested a massive rocket.
"Divine Land-500, ignition countdown."
"One..."
Flames burst from the rocket's base, propelling it upward.
In an instant, the palace ceiling was smashed open.
The rocket rocketed toward the sea surface, dragging Allen, Diana, and Brucie along with it.
"Damn it!"
Brucie instantly realized their true aim—to get her out of the ocean.
Ever since her genetic modification, she had developed a new weakness: a severe aversion to light.
She swung her trident, trying to break the Lasso of Truth.
Obviously, it didn't work.
The Lasso of Truth was a divine artifact—not something you could snap so easily.
"STOP!"
Brucie roared, spitting a jet of seawater from her mouth in an attempt to douse the rocket's engines.
"Dear passengers, please fasten your seatbelts. This Sun Cremation Cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Allen controlled the rocket in a snaking trajectory, easily dodging the water attack.
Meanwhile, back in Atlantis' palace...
The severely wounded mother and son stared blankly as the rocket carried the trio farther and farther away.
"Arthur, is that man one of your Justice League teammates?" Atlanna asked weakly.
She had meant to say the guy seemed a bit off, but since he'd come to help, she opted for a more polite phrasing.
"He's not a League member. Not even a hero. He's just some lunatic from Arkham Asylum."
"..."
Aquaman Arthur clutched his wounded abdomen, too injured to worry about the ongoing battle. It felt like his guts had all been shredded.
Soon, palace guards arrived to tend to the mother and son.
…
Boom!
From the calm ocean surface, a rocket suddenly blasted upward.
The three passengers hanging off it, tangled in bizarre positions, soared out of the sea and into the sky.
Allen clung to Diana's back, his legs coiled tightly like constrictor snakes. One hand kept the rocket materialized, while the other gripped the edge of her Champion's Tiara.
"You're choking me—my outfit's about to come off!"
At Diana's reminder, Allen wrapped one arm around her pale neck.
Meanwhile, Diana held onto the Lasso of Truth with one hand, and with the other, used the Green Lantern ring to conjure a protective barrier, blocking Brucie's high-pressure water jets.
The moment they left the sea, Brucie's expression changed dramatically.
Her vision blurred, and she felt the moisture rapidly leaving her body.
The farther she was from water, the weaker her control over it became.
Every power is bound by basic laws—if she could create matter from nothing, she wouldn't be following Barbatos; she'd become a god of creation herself.