Coming out of the door once more, they arrived in Gotham.
Su Ming was somewhat familiar with the flower market here, although he had been searching for flowers on Earth -11 before, which was slightly different from here, yet the general city planning was somewhat similar.
Only Bo Bo kept looking back worriedly about his bar as they emerged from the alley.
They casually grabbed a few ghostly, nocturnal characters on the roadside — Black Mask's underlings. After finding out the flower shop's location, they hung them at the police station's entrance.
Then Su Ming found the flower shop, broke the door effortlessly, took the goods, and walked away.
After consuming these onion-like plants, they became temporarily immune to Circe's Transformation Magic. Without this major threat, Su Ming could easily deal with her.
"Circe from the Main World, should be living on Aiyu Island in the Mediterranean, right?" Su Ming asked Diana.
The Female Hero was constantly touching her forehead as if sensing something alive stirring in her mind.
Hearing the question, she perked up: "Yes, Aiyu Island, it's not devoid of creatures, but it's quite dangerous as well."
"What's up with you? That imprint?" Bo Bo noticed her pale expression.
"No, nothing. Let's hurry and get going." Diana smiled and denied it. Such minor inconveniences weren't much for an Amazon Warrior.
Su Ming glanced at her and currently, neither his cloak nor strangulation detected anything unusual on her.
Having accepted the benefits from Hera, Deathstroke couldn't possibly tarnish his reputation. However, as long as Diana didn't leave his sight, he was confident in ensuring her safety.
"Albella."
The Female Mage understood Deathstroke's intention; she seemed slightly tipsy, having downed her fourth bottle of whiskey tonight, she was beginning to feel sleepy.
Right after the group passed through the Hell Teleportation Gate, they saw Circe fully armed, standing coldly at her cave entrance, staring at them.
She wore a sleeveless black uniform, baring her pale arms and legs, resembling a cape-wearing swimsuit. Her red hair fluttered amidst the omnipresent lightning.
She was truly a Dark Arts Master, excelling at harnessing the power of lamentation and desire hidden deep in people's hearts. When she exerted her full power, the Mediterranean would be engulfed in gales and gigantic waves.
"How dare you! Coming to my domain to offend me!" She raised her hands high, purple Witchcraft Lightning pouring into her palms, her eyes radiating purple brilliance.
"Circe..." Diana stepped forward intending to say something, knowing Circe despises men the most.
"Shut up! With just a flick of my finger, I could turn your companions into beasts, licking at your battered flesh on the jagged stony beach! I won't allow our story to continue!"
Diana removed her Starlight Crown, revealing her forehead: "I'm here to seek your help."
Generally, people couldn't see the imprint, but Circe was different. As a follower of Hecate, one using Primitive Witchcraft, the crescent mark shone brightly in her eyes.
"Celestial Queen Hera... Hecate gave you a mark..."
Circe was shocked; she who once flew amidst the Wildstorm slowly descended, chanting a spell, her uniform instantly transformed into a woman's long suit, her long red hair becoming stylishly short.
"Sorry, I thought you came looking for fun. I'm thousands of years old, and wearing a sexy uniform to play house and brawl with superheroes kills time pretty well." She walked towards Diana with a self-mocking expression: "But now doesn't seem to be game time, Witchcraft Moment is upon us."
She strode over, ignoring Diana's struggles, hugging her and nuzzling her hair with her face.
"Oh, poor Diana... Things are going to get very bad from now on."
Su Ming watched their embrace, feeling slightly awkward.
Before the New 52 Rebirth, Circe was a full-on villain; she even turned Diana into mud, killing countless Amazons.
But now it seemed she had a good relationship with Diana?
However, now wasn't the time to explore the relationship between the two women; Circe's claim that things were getting worse indicated she indeed knew something the group didn't.
"Come, everyone, please come in, rest a bit, and have some food at my place."
She warmly grasped Diana, smiling at Su Ming and Bo Bo, signaling them to follow her.
Su Ming and the gorilla exchanged a glance; could the rumors be wrong, that Circe didn't hate men?
But since she intended to talk indoors, the seaside wasn't a conducive communication environment with tide sounds, entering her cave to look posed no issue.
Moly was eaten, so nothing to worry about.
In the island's center, there was a spacious rock cave, reminiscent of the Bat Cave, filled with her collections.
As a Warlock, her tastes differed from Batman's. Besides magic props and a multitude of books, she also had various musical instruments.
Such as a harp, piano, flute, and even a glittering phonograph.
Clumps of beautiful crystals, about a person's height, provided lighting, their emitted light rendering everything fantastical.
Of course, she wasn't lacking in modern appliances either. She had everyone sit by the table waiting, then busied herself retrieving various dishes from the refrigerator, heating them in the microwave.
It was sumptuous: roast chicken, suckling pig, seafood salad — everything was complete.
She also brought out red wine, pouring each a glass.
"Circe... I've read every version of The Odyssey, this wine..." Bo Bo raised an eyebrow, swirling his goblet, hesitant to drink it or not.
In the books, anyone who drank Circe's brew was poisoned, at best turned into beasts or livestock, at worst turning into black foam directly.
"Rest assured, Bo Bo, this wine comes from California — I haven't even touched it." Circe presented a plate of ham cushioned by plenty of lettuce.
"Ahem, thank you for your hospitality, Circe." Diana took a small sip of wine, also nibbling a bit to show goodwill: "But now isn't the time to feast and revel."
"But they seem pretty relaxed."
Circe pointed to Albella, constantly clinking glasses with Su Ming; the two were eating and drinking heartily, occasionally sharing a dirty joke about angels, filled with joyful camaraderie.
Diana sighed helplessly; for a moment, she didn't know what to say.