Bruce raised an eyebrow slightly, looking somewhat surprised. He quickly sized Deathstroke up and down, then said, "How much did the person who hired you to take this pay you? I'll give you double."
"I don't take repeat jobs." Deathstroke's hand gripped the hilt of the sword on his back. Bruce added, "Did he tell you that you'd be dealing with a magician?"
"Of course. He paid accordingly."
Deathstroke began striding toward them. Bruce gave Zatanna a look. Her reflexes were the complete opposite of her long-term strategic abilities. Without even raising a hand, she said directly to Deathstroke, "Ereht pots!"
Deathstroke stopped dead. Bruce spread his hands as though letting down his guard and said, "They definitely didn't tell you that you'd be facing this kind of mage..."
Zatanna let out a breath of relief, but then she saw Bruce flick one hand twice to the right. It was the retreat signal they had agreed upon.
Without a second thought, she opened a portal and vanished from Oblivion Bar with Bruce. In the very second they disappeared, two sharp flashes of sword light cleaved the bar apart.
Zatanna brought Bruce to her home. In the instant before they vanished, she had seen Deathstroke charging at them with his weapons raised. Clutching her chest, she said in disbelief, "How is that possible?! How could he not be bound by my reverse-speech magic?!"
"Deathstroke is the strongest mercenary in the world. His mission success rate is one hundred percent. Many believe his powerful combat abilities and masterful use of multiple weapons are the secrets to his success, but I know that isn't the key."
"I once wondered how exactly he managed it, so I conducted a series of investigations. Later, I discovered that his real strength lay in intelligence. As long