American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

The vines that had been spreading out wildly quickly retracted.

They intertwined and wove together, eventually converging on Xiuen's left shoulder, transforming into a sunflower the size of a palm.

The golden flower plate looked like a delicate little face, glaring angrily at Xiu En.

"You rootless idiot! What are you doing running around like that!"

Although she's smaller, Pamela Ivy's presence hasn't diminished at all.

The sunflower's two leaves were placed on its hips like hands, and the flower head trembled with her tone of voice. Golden pollen even sprayed onto Xiu En's face with her roar.

"Do you know how difficult cross-dimensional projection is? I thought some weird collector had turned you into a glowing specimen! I was ready to tear this house down and use you as fertilizer!"

Xiu En wiped the pollen off his face. Instead of getting angry, he grinned and stuck out his finger, mischievously poking at the sunflower petals.

"Don't be so irritable, Pamela. Look at me, I'm perfectly fine, and I even have upgraded clothes now. Who knew you'd react so strongly?"

"A big reaction? Ha! If someone plowed up your backyard like a field, would you think that's just a big reaction?"

Zatana rushed into the back garden, still covered in the lingering magical sparks.

Her top hat, which had just turned into a dove, was back on her head, though it looked crooked, clearly indicating that she had just gone through a fierce battle in the front hall.

The female magician looked at the mess on the ground.

The once neatly arranged mandrakes were now either pulled out and thrown on the ground, or frightened into burrowing into the soil with only a few leaves remaining. The precious moon orchids were even more jostled and bent over by the rough vines.

"That's a snow lotus from the Himalayas! It's a seed left over from the time of Merlin! Oh my god, even my mandrakes are too scared to chirp!"

Zatana tenderly helped up a herb that was pretending to be dead, then suddenly turned her head, her emerald eyes burning with a flame of demand, staring at the flower on Xiu En's shoulder.

"So this is your plant friend? Should I be glad her real body didn't come, or should I rename my Shadow House to Tropical Rainforest?"

"Hmph, that's because they're too fragile."

The sunflower immediately turned its flower head around, showing no sign of backing down against Zatana.

Although it was just a flower, the spiritual power it exuded, even subtly distorting the air above the plant, made Zatana involuntarily tighten her grip on her wand.

"And you, magician. If you hadn't made this dilapidated house as solid as an iron barrel, even blocking the detection of natural forces, I wouldn't have had to resort to such crude methods."

Ivy's voice was full of disdain for so-called magic.

"What do you intend to do by hiding Xiu En in this alternate dimension filled with false light and shadow and the smell of decay? Are you going to use him for some vulgar performance that's called dismemberment but is actually just ripping people into pieces?"

"That's magic! It's art! And he's safe here!"

Zatana laughed in exasperation, and a dangerous purple light flashed at the tip of her wand.

"And speaking of vulgarity, don't you think it's even more impolite to just leave these vines lying around in someone else's yard?"

"I think instead of blaming each other, we should first assess the repair costs."

Bruce, still holding that glass of red wine, strolled over leisurely as if he were taking a leisurely walk on his own estate.

He glanced at the still tense standoff between the man and the flower.

He walked up to Xiu En and looked down at the sunflower.

"Pamela, I must say, this form is much more pleasing to the eye than your usual prickly self. At least you look more cheerful this way, even though it's completely at odds with your dark personality."

"Shut up, Bruce. Say one more word and I'll let this flower take root in your nostril."

The sunflower suddenly turned its head, and its two leaves made a throat-cutting gesture.

"Also, don't think I don't know you're the one who led him astray. Ever since Xiu En followed you, he's either fighting or on his way to a fight."

"Alright, alright, let's all keep quiet."

Xiu En felt a slight soreness in his shoulders, wondering if it was from being weighed down by the flower with its excessive spiritual energy.

He gently patted Sunflower's head, then shrugged at Zatana, who looked pained.

"Since it's all a misunderstanding, let's move on. Pamela was just worried about me."

He then pointed to the herbs on the ground.

"As for these... perhaps I can help? Or maybe Pamela can help? After all, she's a plant expert, and she might be able to help your precious herbs grow better? Consider it compensation for your emotional distress."

Zatana raised an eyebrow, looking at the sunflower that, though still proudly trembling its leaves, was already radiating a faint life energy that was beginning to nourish the surrounding soil.

"Alright, for Bruce's sake, and if she can really revive my thousand-year-old snow lotus."

The female magician snapped her fingers, and several exquisite rattan chairs and a steaming tea set appeared out of thin air.

"Since you're here, let's have some tea. I think we really need to talk about that thing about Xiu En that makes the Shadow House uneasy, and that unreasonable life force we just saw."

Zatana picked up the silver teapot, preparing to pour a cup of Darjeeling tea into the suspended teacup.

However, the amber liquid did not obediently fall into the cup; instead, it flowed horizontally to the right as it left the spout, eventually spilling onto the carpet.

"Well, it seems my tea set has also learned to rebel."

Zatana's tone lacked humor, and her wand suddenly lit up, causing the once cozy back garden scene to tremble.

The sky was no longer the gentle afternoon simulated by the Shadow House; through that thin magical barrier, the outside world appeared an unsettling dark red.

The familiar Tower of Venn remains, along with the ever-present overcast and rainy clouds, and only a huge red moon hangs in the sky.

"Miss Nature, while I admire your dedication to Xiu En, your forceful entry just now seemed a bit excessive."

Zatana put away her wand, her face unusually pale.

She turned around and looked at the three people and one flower who were still somewhat confused about the situation.

"Congratulations everyone, we're no longer in the original Gotham. The spatial tremor just now knocked the Shadow House away from its original dimensional anchor point. We're probably drifting into a crack in some parallel universe, or maybe it's just another Gotham in another world."

Bruce put down the empty glass he hadn't even had a chance to drink from, his gaze instantly sharpening, that Batman-esque scrutinizing look immediately coming into play.

"Can we go back?"

"Of course, as long as you give me time."