On the morning of the wedding day, it started with a light rain, but not enough to gather too many dark clouds, leaving the sky clear. After the sun came out, the ground and walls of the cathedral became a bit mottled, with the crevices in the walls wet from rainwater, still presenting a deep black, as if threading through the needle of history.
Although the church building remained quaint and solemn, the flowers lining the entire street beautifully offset the serious atmosphere. Before dawn, a large number of fresh flowers were arranged at the entrance of the cathedral and along the street, mostly white hydrangeas, gardenias, and peonies, with some eustomas and lilies near the entrance. The fragrance of the flowers was carefully blended, not pungent or overpowering, with a subtle natural plant aroma.
The wind carried a humid scent, mingled with the smell of grass and soil, and as people arrived, a silent and lazy ambiance spread. Some people felt serious and nervous, while others were just yawning and sleepy.
The first part of the wedding was not prayer or greeting guests, but promotional photography. Guests were led by agents to choose locations inside the cathedral for photos, guided by lighting and photographers to pose—Batman included.
Little Superman was somewhat interested in photography initially, but the process was mundane: stand here, pose there, adjust if not right. Sometimes the wind blew the hair out of shape, requiring a redo of the hairstyle. After a while, he lost patience.
But if he wasn't taking photos, he'd have to find something else to do, like Shiller, who had slipped into the kitchen to help. Little Superman wanted to go too, but the kitchen was too important—without cooking skills, entry was barred. The only task without a technical barrier was greeting guests at the entrance.
Coincidentally, Little Superman wanted to inquire with Primary Universe Batman about where the Batman he knew had gone, so he approached the cathedral entrance to chat with Primary Universe Batman.
Little Superman had learned from experience this time and avoided saying nonsense, trying not to use the reader's omniscient perspective when considering Batman. But unfortunately, he wasn't someone who could keep secrets, especially with Primary Universe Batman, who skillfully led him into a thunderous conversation until he let something slip.
Despite the mishap, Batman was the unluckiest, having worked half the day to steer the conversation around, only to want to cover Little Superman's mouth immediately upon hearing what he was saying. It goes to show, walk by the river often enough, you'll get your shoes wet—cause and effect. Your karma is me.
As for the Batman known to Little Superman, Primary Universe Batman actually had a hunch but chose not to disclose it due to certain reasons. He merely told Little Superman they'd investigate.
"Where's your Superman? Didn't he come?" Little Superman asked.
"He's stationed at the Justice League Headquarters," Primary Universe Batman replied. "The security of the Primary Universe is crucial, and we can't be careless."
Little Superman nodded. Batman's responses were matter-of-fact—other people might find them dull, but Little Superman was skilled at finding topics to talk about himself, sometimes not needing anyone to respond, happily chatting away.
When Little Superman was mentioning he'd lost his Battleworld invitation, he suddenly heard a noise, turned, and saw a truck turning the corner.
"Oh, is that the delivery truck for the food?" Little Superman looked over and said.
"The food arrived last night," Batman said. "It should be guests arriving, preparing to welcome them."
Little Superman was surprised; he had arrived this morning in a stretch limo from the Rebirth Alliance, as did most guests—how was anyone arriving in a truck? If there were too many people to fit in one vehicle, why not deploy a few more cars instead of packing them in a truck?
As Little Superman was inwardly ridiculing the Rebirth Alliance's overzealous cost-saving, the truck stopped at the cathedral entrance. The door opened, the ground trembled, then trembled again, and when a Tyrannosaurus Rex's head peeked out, Little Superman went cold.
What was he saying? What was he saying?!! Just knew those damn writers would pull this kind of lousy plot!!!
Little Superman immediately wanted to leap into the air, but felt a hand pressing on his shoulder—Batman seemed to anticipate his reaction, shaking his head at him.
Little Superman hesitated; how could he forget he had Batman beside him? A mere Tyrannosaurus Rex was no match for Batman—Batman surely had a strategy.
Moreover, this was in front of the cathedral; if he started fighting with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the wedding site would be a mess again. The fresh, beautiful flowers at the entrance were just placed, covered in dew—if damaged, the Rebirth Alliance would chase him down.
Little Superman had no choice but to follow Batman toward the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Clenching his fist in secret, ready to punch the beast if necessary, he watched as the enormous head gently lowered, with Batman reaching out to stroke its nose.
"You've finally arrived, their teleportation portal was too small. Glad you made it in time. By the way, where's your girlfriend?"
The massive Tyrannosaurus Rex sidestepped, and another slightly smaller head peeked out. Both dinosaurs felt cramped inside the truck's cargo hold, so the larger one stepped off the truck, followed by the smaller one.
These two Tyrannosaurus Rexes were substantial—the male was over four meters tall, larger than any known Tyrannosaurus Rex on Earth, while the female was more slender, yet roughly the same height. Their necks and heads are close together, displaying intimacy.
"Please come in," Batman said.
From the moment Batman started conversing with the T-Rex, Little Superman was puzzled. Glancing towards where Batman indicated, "Come in? Into where? The cathedral?"
While Little Superman was still bewildered, he felt himself pulled back, instinctively stepping back. Then the two Tyrannosaurus Rexes rushed past him, entering through the cathedral's main door.
"They... it..." Little Superman stammered.
"That's Batman." Primary Universe Batman explained patiently, "You should know about the mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex I have in the Batcave, right? Due to some accident, the Batman of this universe is now possessing that dinosaur."
"Isn't that a bit too unexpected?" Little Superman's eyes widened, "How did it turn into a Tyrannosaurus Rex?!"
But soon he realized this wasn't the most surprising thing, because a moment later, a car drove up and entered the church. If you didn't know better, you'd think all the parking spaces outside were full, so it had to park inside the hall, but upon asking, it turned out this car was also Batman.
Little Superman looked at the doors of the church, and couldn't help but think: it's a good thing the ceremony hall in the Fusion Universe has gotten bigger, allowing all sorts of demons and ghosts to enter. If it were as big as a normal church, these unconventional Batmans would only be able to watch from outside the windows.
Fortunately, the next Batman who arrived seemed more normal, except his face was a bit pale. He shook hands with Primary Universe Batman using tentacles... wait, tentacles?
"Where's Iron Man?" he asked.
"What's up?" Primary Universe Batman asked.
"He sent me a message in Battleworld saying there were some matters. Where is he?"
"He should be inside the church, go in and look for him." Primary Universe Batman said.
He also walked into the church. Little Superman kept looking back, wondering if the tentacles he saw were an illusion. It felt like he was too awake from waking up too early today, or his tuxedo was too tight, causing him hallucinations.
Iron Man was waiting in the reception room on the second floor of the church. Seeing that tall, thin figure walk in, he stood up and said frankly, "Are you ready? Can we start now?"
Batman shook his head and said, "The timing of the ritual is important. We can draw the array and set up the materials in advance, but the summoning ritual must start at the designated time."
Iron Man sighed, "I'm just worried that we won't manage to hit the perfect timing for his arrival."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Batman said, "Although I'm not familiar with the Eye Demon, I've met his relatives and even talked to Nya about this last night. There shouldn't be any issues."
"That's good." Iron Man said, "We only have this one chance, and if we don't time it right, it'll be a complete mess."
"I'll start drawing the array now." Batman said, looking around, "Where should I set it up? Here?"
"No, we'll go to the attic. Follow me." With that, Iron Man led Batman upward, soon arriving above the hall, specifically right above the large cross in the hall. Batman lowered his head to arrange the offerings while Iron Man looked down through the circular window, seeing the courtyard had already become busier.
Although chairs and tables had been set during the rehearsal, the tablecloths and decorations were not yet finished, and agents were bustling about. Carter, carrying a blooming pot of flowers, walked forward on the lawn in the courtyard. Suddenly, he heard someone call him, and upon turning his head, saw Captain America standing under the porch.
Carter paused, but his colleague had already taken the pot of flowers from his hand and motioned for him to go over. Carter sighed, put his hand into his jacket pocket, and walked over to Captain America.
"You skip breakfast whenever you get busy." Captain America handed an energy bar to Carter.
Carter took it, unwrapped it, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed, and then wiped his mouth, "Do you need something?"
"I'm sorry about the stuff online." Captain America said, "I've explained it multiple times, but they don't listen. Nick said he would protect your privacy; have you been recently harassed?"
"I haven't had time to check." Carter said, "I've been busy recently and haven't used my personal phone. You know I don't like going online, so whatever people say online doesn't concern me. You don't have to apologize."
"Do we really have to be like this?" Captain America couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know what else you want." Carter looked at him and said, "We're already divorced, and now we're just reverting back to how it was before we started dating. We weren't that familiar back then, were we?"
"Sorry." Captain America realized his loss of control, "I just thought maybe we could still be friends."
"Friends don't pick busy times to cause trouble." Carter said, then turned and left.