American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Although Xiu En muttered something, his body betrayed him by not moving. He even slightly increased the output power of his aura, turning himself into a large, constant-temperature hand warmer.

"Hey, since I'm basically providing heating for you guys, don't you have anything to eat? Even expired chocolate would be fine."

That's enough.

The sunflower on Xiu En's shoulder trembled, seemingly unable to tolerate Xiu En's undignified begging behavior any longer.

"You humans only know how to destroy, but you don't know how to use this land."

Pamela Ivy's voice carried an air of arrogance.

Several green vines extended from the roots of the sunflower and crawled into the damp cracks in the wall next to it.

Just a few seconds later, clusters of plump mushrooms emitting a faint fluorescent glow suddenly sprouted from the moss-covered wall.

"This is a variant of the luminous matsutake mushroom. It is non-toxic and tastes like chicken."

Ivy said coldly.

"Eat it, and stop this luminous object from making those embarrassing stomach growls."

The rebels stared wide-eyed, as if they had witnessed a miracle.

Xiu En unceremoniously picked a mushroom, wiped it casually, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Hmm! It tastes a bit like chicken! It would be even better with some cumin."

"Damn it, you idiot glowing thing, cook you and eat you!"

Bruce watched this scene unfold without intervening.

He sat down in a wobbly chair and gestured for Jason to sit down as well.

Tell me about the current situation.

Jason said:

"Bane controls all the water and electricity. He turned those two islands into his private hunting grounds. The city hall is his throne, where there's a huge machine that can vaporize venom and distribute it throughout the city via ventilation ducts..."

"So if we don't wear gas masks, we'll end up looking like those green gorillas?"

Xiu En interjected.

"Not entirely. Some people develop resistance, and some people die."

Jason's eyes dimmed for a moment.

"Catwoman... Serena, she tried to steal the blueprints for that machine but got caught. Bane is going to execute her at the celebration tomorrow night."

Bruce tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

"Tomorrow night. Time is running out."

The sunflower on Shuen's shoulder suddenly turned, and the eyes simulated by the flower's stamen stared at Jason, who was wiping his gun.

"Is Serena also a catwoman in this world?"

Pamela Ivy's voice carried an unusual hesitation.

"In my world, we were street urchins growing up. She stole milk, I stole bread. We slept in the same cardboard box and covered ourselves with the same newspaper. If she's Catwoman, what about me in this world? If she gets caught, won't I react?"

Xiu En turned his head and looked at the sunflower that had lost some of its pink petals due to its emotional state.

Jason Todd paused in his movements.

He looked up, his gaze strange as he looked at the talking flower, then glanced at the silent Bruce.

"Uh, you mean Poison Ivy, right?"

Jason chuckled.

"In this damned world, there's a botanist named Pamela Aisley. But she's a loner, a weirdo, living deep inside Gotham Park, killing anyone who dares to set foot in her territory. As for Serena?"

He shook his head.

"As far as I know, they were complete strangers, and Poison Ivy even attacked her a few times. When Serena was captured, that plant woman was still attacking lumberjacks over a few felled trees."

"A stranger."

Ivy's voice lowered, like a flower withering instantly from lack of water.

The sunflower petals drooped limply over Xiu En's shoulders, and the green leaves clung tightly to the collar of his trench coat, as if they were his only support.

"How could it be a stranger? If it weren't for me, who would warn that idiot not to step into the trap? Who would bandage her wounds when she was hurt? If she were alone, how scared she must have been in that cage."

Xiu En felt a dampness on his shoulder. He didn't know if plants could cry, but the sadness was so intense that even the mushrooms in his mouth lost their flavor.

"This isn't right. The script for this world is wrong."

Ivy suddenly raised her head, and several sharp thorns burst forth around the flowerpot—a sign of anger.

"Shuen, I'm going to save her. Not just because she's a catwoman, but because! I won't allow any Serena from any other world to die alone in that muscle monster's cage."

Xiu En sighed, swallowed the last bite of mushroom, and patted the crumbs off his hands.

"Although I have little interest in saving a complete stranger, especially one that's big enough to break Batman."

He stood up, the light emanating from him swaying with his movements, casting long shadows of the surrounding resistance members.

"But, since he's your friend!"

Xiu En snapped his fingers, and a faint golden light danced at his fingertips.

"I'll take this job. For Miss Ivy's tears!"

Bruce leaned against the hood of the Batmobile, listening quietly.

He stood up straight, his black cloak fluttering in the wind of the underground passage.

"Then it's settled."

He walked up to the rebels' rudimentary tactical map and pointed to the location of the city hall.

"Bain thought he had won. But he forgot one thing."

Batman's voice was deep and powerful.

"He's never beaten me before. But this time, I have a helper."

Jason put on the bright red helmet, concealing his complex expression.

"Hopefully your helper will be stronger than your old back, you old man."

Bruce took off his helmet, revealing his young face.

"Don't worry, my back is very strong."

Jason Todd's sigh was very soft. Although he had realized before that something was wrong with these people and that Poison Ivy was not Poison Ivy at all, he still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he actually saw Batman's young face.

He looked at Bruce's face, which didn't look much older than his own and didn't even have a wrinkle. This face even had a damn human glow. He seemed to want to say something harsh, but in the end he just tucked the red helmet under his arm.

"Fine. At least this proves one thing."

Jason took a cigarette out of his pocket, put it in his mouth but didn't light it.

"Perhaps I'm not dead yet in that world, or maybe I haven't had a chance to die. How enviable."

Hugh leaned closer, staring intently at Bruce's face without any hesitation, then turned to look at Jason's weathered and scarred face.

"This is going to be fun. Hehe... Maybe I shouldn't call you 'boss,' I should call you 'Brother Bruce' instead? After all, your skin looks better than mine."