No matter how chaotic it was before, the wedding ceremony finally began. The guests entered in succession, and the process at the front went very smoothly. Everyone recited the Bible together, and when the hymns echoed in the church, there truly was a touch of sacredness.
However, some adjustments were made to the process. Because the Defense Tower role played by Bruce really proved effective, he decided to linger a bit longer to prevent any unexpected events that might occur next. The roles of bridesmaid and groomsman were changed to Raven and Dick from his universe.
When the bride and groom entered, as the tall doors of the church opened, everyone was astounded by Starfire in her pure white wedding dress.
During previous rehearsals, Starfire had never worn the full wedding dress. Following Shiller's advice, her dress was not a vintage style with a large hoop skirt, but a fishtail dress with a long train. The most breathtaking part was her veil. Instead of being pinned at the back of her head, it was an extremely long silver-white sheer fabric, spread like a flowing galaxy, gently swaying with her movements.
Starfire's skin was red, and she herself was like a cluster of flames. The white wedding dress on her did not seem like attire, but more like snow falling on lava, instantly melted by her fiery presence, making the fire more intense, the red more vivid.
In just that short distance from the door to the podium, the groom Dick couldn't help but glance at her several times. But Starfire stared straight ahead without looking aside. Her expression was not as relaxed as during the rehearsals, but somewhat stern, looking not like she was heading towards a happy life, but as if she were a seasoned warrior heading back to the battlefield.
However, since the atmosphere of a Catholic wedding is somewhat solemn, the guests below were also very serious; the Father had an even more solemn expression on his face, so no one felt that there was anything wrong with Starfire's attitude. Even Dick restrained his smile and stood solemnly in front of the podium.
"Today, by the divine will, we are to witness the marriage of these two young people. You shall join hands to spend your lives, work together, welcome new life, share in God's grace with your family, redeem your sins..."
As the Father was making the final proclamation, suddenly, a bright light streaked past the window, followed by a loud boom. The entire church and ground trembled slightly, and everyone turned in unison toward the direction of the sound.
No one was surprised by this; the first half of the wedding proceeding so smoothly was already unexpected, and without some unexpected occurrence, the superheroes would feel uneasy.
Little Superman was not as composed as the other superheroes. The jolt of the church startled him; seeing something amiss outside, he zoomed out in a flash. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the massive crater in front of the cathedral.
Little Superman was stunned; was he a Seer? The dinosaur attack, vegetables beating people, might be acceptable, but a meteor crashing down, and you tell me this is not the hand of fate in motion???
At this moment, the church's doors opened, and Starfire in her wedding dress walked out slowly. There was no surprise on her face; her eyes were fixed on the center of the crater, where a spaceship lay quietly.
The side of the spaceship bore a very distinctive mark, one that only Starfire recognized among all the people present as the emblem of the Tamaran Star.
Dick chased after her; he first glanced at Starfire, then at the crater. He didn't recognize the emblem, but seemed to realize something, "This can't be..."
"Blackfire," Starfire called out loudly, "come out, I know you're there."
Dick took a sharp breath; he understood. Blackfire was Starfire's sister, a woman who had coveted Starfire's throne since her birth. The time they spent together in an alien lab had driven her insane, and even after Starfire rescued her, she showed no gratitude, relentlessly hunting down Starfire.
The Teen Titans had encountered her several times. The Tamaranian naturally possesses superpowers, and Blackfire is extremely deranged. They had suffered significantly in her hands, only managing to drive her off Earth by exerting their utmost efforts, never expecting her to appear at this moment.
Dick turned to look at Starfire. No wonder the entire wedding ceremony saw her so solemn. It seemed she had already anticipated that Blackfire would come to disrupt the wedding.
Dick found it a bit strange why Starfire hadn't mentioned it earlier, but upon reflection, none of the people present were surprised by this twist. They had all long anticipated some disturbance; even he himself felt a vague unease, so whether to mention it or not made no difference.
If anything, no one was expecting a smooth and peaceful wedding. Everyone knew this was a battle, and the wedding acted as the battle horn, sharp enough to be loud.
With a bang, the entire spaceship shuddered; followed by a beam of light, Starfire's eyes began to emit light, her red hair glowing, and she transformed into an entity of burning flame. Everyone could feel the unparalleled fury from the energy waves she emanated, those long-repressed feelings finally unleashed at this moment.
"Come out, Blackfire!" Starfire roared, "From Tamaran Star, you've been pursuing me without understanding what you're doing. My sister, come out! Face me!"
The wind swept over the church spire, as if harmonizing with her; dense clouds pressed down, the energy whirlpool shot straight to the sky, and a colossal battle was on the verge of breaking out.
But in the next second, the spaceship's hatch opened, and a figure stumbled out. Her steps were unsteady, very embarrassed, and she fell to the ground before taking two steps. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Starfire's sister, Blackfire!
She was a tall Tamaranean, with a female appearance, slightly paler skin, long purple hair draped over her back, and dressed in a tight black and silver uniform. However, she was very disheveled now, with several rips in her suit, and her hair was covered in dirt.
A wisp of unknown dark energy wound around her wrist, making it impossible to lift the great sword in her hand, as she cursed something harshly, but clearly had no strength other than to move her mouth.
Starfire was also bewildered by this sudden scene. Her sister had a considerable talent, even having absorbed energy in the lab. She was relentlessly pursued to Earth; Starfire's solemnity stemmed from being prepared to perish with Blackfire and end it all. But what was the situation now? Who had beaten Blackfire?
The person who walked out of the spaceship answered her doubt, or perhaps not, as more humans awkwardly ran out of the spaceship at that moment.
This group seemed ordinary; if not for the owl-shaped masks on their heads, they were standard fragile humans from head to toe. Could they have beaten Blackfire like this?
"The Court of Owls!" Dick gritted his teeth. If Blackfire was Starfire's nemesis, then the Court of Owls had a deathly feud with Dick. The Court liked to capture members of the Grayson family, turning them into Talons, and since his grandfather's generation, many family members had fallen victim. The Court of Owls was the criminal organization Dick hated the most.
Dick's chest heaved up and down. At that moment, one hand rested on his shoulder, and he turned to see the face of Primary Universe Batman. Dick tried hard to suppress his anger but couldn't completely contain it. He really wanted to jump down and give those people a good beating.
However, he quickly realized that these members of the Court of Owls weren't very at ease either. They were even more disheveled than Blackfire; she at least had a weapon and enough strength to curse, while they had nothing besides retaining a human shape.
They could barely cover themselves, one seemingly having a stomach stab wound with intestines spilling out, another missing half a face, and one half a body corroded by something unknown. It was clear Blackfire didn't cause this.
This small spaceship had no shortage of experts. Behind the Court of Owls members emerged a group dressed in robes. Primary Universe Batman recognized them: Eagle Owl Priests, clergy wielding Barbados's dark energy.
Primary Universe Batman looked back at the Cross. In that instant, Jesus blinked; Primary Universe Batman was sure it wasn't an illusion. It seemed this was related to the Nameless Bat again.
Strangely, these priests didn't look well either, their robes tattered and stained with blood. One had an arm chopped off, and another crawled out.
This time, Starfire recognized it. These wounds clearly were caused by Blackfire's great sword. It seemed they had a battle, and Blackfire cut down these robed figures, while these mysterious men also roughed up Blackfire.
Starfire keenly sensed an intensely repugnant dark energy on the priests, strong enough to make her uncomfortable even from afar. No wonder it could defeat Blackfire.
From the severe conditions of the three parties, everyone could see that this spaceship had just experienced an intense and thrilling space battle.
Soon after, two Lokis emerged from the spaceship, one ahead of the other. The first was a black-haired girl, followed by a young man; neither was harmed, although they were followed by a helpless-looking Thor. Now it was clear why they fought.
Female Loki flew out of the crater, gracefully landing beside her brother. After a spin, she changed into formal wear, and God King Thor touched her head.
The other Loki was also led away by this universe's Thor. It's not that he didn't want to attend the wedding; the God of Mischief wasn't suited to be in the same place as Batman. With Batman around, Thor could indeed call Loki "my foolish brother."
Dick finally couldn't hold back, jumping into the crater first, and throwing a punch at the Court of Owls members' faces. An agent quickly rushed to stop him, not to protect the members, but mainly because Dick was still dressed in the groom's attire; soiling it would ruin the photos later.
Starfire was comparatively calmer, but only before entering the crater. She remembered to take off her veil and lift her skirt, walking briskly to Blackfire and snatching her sword.
"When you came to ruin my wedding, you didn't expect to end up so pathetic, did you?" Starfire fiercely stabbed the great sword beside Blackfire's head, "It's a pity; I wanted a well-fought match against you."
She released her grip, standing in the crater, looking back at the massive Cross in the cathedral, her gaze complicated. After a long sigh, she walked over to take Dick's arm.
"Let's go back."