Chapter 2055 - Ch: 395-397

Chapter 395

"Watch your left!" Zatanna Zatara's rose spell suddenly exploded in Hode's ear. Hode instinctively dodged to the side, and a crimson beam grazed his shoulder, blasting a ten-meter-wide crater behind him. He turned his head to see Loki standing in the void three meters away, the fragments of the Spear of Destiny reconstructing in his palm, Asgardian god-blood dripping from the spearhead.

"I won't let you fool me with rose petals this time." Loki's mouth split open to his ears, and the phantom of the Tesseract of the Nine Realms appeared behind him. "Look at what I found—" He suddenly threw the Tesseracttoward the ground, and countless black tentacles surged from the cracks, each tip embedded with one of Thanos's Infinity Stones.

Hode felt the golden patterns under his skin begin to flow in reverse. Natasha's Data Stream suddenly screamed in the depths of his consciousness: "He's tampering with reality parameters! Diana's shield material can..."

"Leave it to me." Diana's voice carried the lingering echoes of an Amazon battle cry. The shield suddenly expanded into a three-hundred-meter-wide golden dome, enveloping everyone within. Hode saw the patterns of the Phoenix Force emerge on the surface of the shield, and the tentacles let out a metallic, twisted wail as they struck it.

"Shazam!" Hode suddenly roared. The lightning power in his youthful form condensed into a ball of lightning in his right hand. "Bridge the Bifrost Bridge to the base of the tentacles!"

"No problem!" Billy's voice came from above. Hode looked up to see Shazam hanging upside down from the dome, smoke still rising from the scorch marks on his suit. "But you have to catch this first!" He suddenly threw the lightning power into the air, and his whole body turned into a yellow bolt of lightning, crashing toward Loki.

When Hode caught the ball of lightning, a sharp pain like being pierced by millions of volts of electricity shot through his fingertips. But Carol's stellar energy immediately surged into the wound, transforming the pain into a scorching pleasure. He saw Natasha's Data Streamforming a three-dimensional coordinate grid inside the shield, with each node corresponding to the location of an Infinity Stone.

"Zatanna Zatara! Hode threw the ball of lightning into the air, use the rose spell to locate the stones!"

"Already prepared!" Zatanna Zatara's rose petals suddenly formed a complex Klein bottle structure. The tips of the petals burst with purple light, precisely piercing each coordinate point. Loki's screams came from all directions, and Hode saw those black tentacles carbonizing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But the dawn of victory lasted only 0.3 seconds.

Darkseid's hell-steed suddenly stepped out from the void. The moment the Omega Beams pierced the Phoenix Shield, Diana's shield suddenly split into countless pieces of Amazon star charts. Hode felt a chill in his left arm as if doused in liquid nitrogen, and looking down, he saw the black patterns under his skin growing wildly—Darkseid's beams had activated the remnants of the anti-life equation.

"Don't touch those black marks!" Natasha's Data Streamsuddenly materialized into a mechanical arm, gripping Hode's wrist tightly. "I've seen this corruption pattern at Red Square; it requires..."

"It requires the temperature of a stellar core." Carol's voice came from above. Hode looked up to see Carol in her Supernova form, gazing at him with her dual-sun pupils. "Grab me."

Hode felt his internal organs melting. The moment he touched Carol, energy like a stellar explosion surged through his fingertips into his entire body, and the black patterns emitted a crisp sound like shattering glass. But this purification came with a price—images from Carol's memories began to surface on his retinas: the battlefield of the Kree Planet, Ronan's corpse, the twisted smiling face of the Supreme Intelligence...

"Focus!" Zatanna Zatara's rose petals suddenly formed a "705u.com-53 Reading Club" silence spell, pulling Hodeback from the abyss of memory. "Look behind you!"

Hode turned around abruptly to see Ultron's core reconstructing. Countless mechanical clones surged from the core, each carrying weapons from different Universes: Vibranium shields, the Eternal Spear, Cosmic Cube fragments... Most terrifyingly, the facial contours of these clones were gradually changing into Hode's own face.

"They've copied your ability parameters." Natasha's Data Stream projected a holographic map in the air, "But they can't copy the five lovers'..."

"They can't copy love." Diana's shield suddenly transformed into a golden phoenix, charging toward Ultron, with Amazon blessing patterns emerging on the phoenix wings. Hode saw every mechanical clone stiffen the moment they touched the Phoenix Force, and faint tear tracks were visible in the light reflected from the shield.

"Shazam!" Hode suddenly grabbed Billy's shoulder. "Do you remember that night in Philadelphia? You said the lightning power could awaken sleeping souls."

"Of course!" Billy's eyes lit up, and the lightning on his suit suddenly turned into a soft blue light. "Like this!" He pressed his hands together, and a bolt of lightning infused with life energy surged toward Ultron's core. The mechanical clones began to tremble collectively, and the facial contours of some clones gradually restored to their original appearance—Cyborg, War Machine, and even a young Tony Stark.

"No... this is impossible..." Ultron's core emitted electronic noise. "I calculated all variables..."

"You left out human nature." Zatanna Zatara's rose petals formed the pattern of Cupid's arrow. The moment the purple spell pierced the core, all mechanical clones stopped moving. Hode saw countless memory fragments emerge inside the core: Natasha teaching him to waltz in Red Square, Diana bandaging his wounds in the Amazonrainforest, Carol taking him into space for the first time...

"They are resisting the program." Natasha's Data Streamsuddenly became gentle. "Just like we were in Moscow..."

"Just like we will always choose each other." Hode picked up the thought, the power of the five lovers forming a perfect resonance within him. He walked toward Ultron's core, and the moment he reached out to touch those memory fragments, the entire battlefield suddenly fell silent.

But the silence lasted only for an instant.

Brainiac's antimatter body suddenly emerged from the void, his eyes flashing with unprecedented madness. "What wonderful emotional samples!" His fingers traced complex formulas in the void. "I will upload this data to the collective unconscious of all Universes..."

"You cannot do that." Hode's voice carried a cosmic echo, and the golden patterns under his skin suddenly bloomed into wings of light. He saw the five lovers nod simultaneously. Carol's stellar energy, Diana's shield material, Natasha's Data Stream, Shazam's lightning power, Zatanna Zatara's rose spell—these powers were fusing within him into an unprecedented form.

"Because love is not data." Hode spread his arms, and wherever the wings of light swept, Brainiac's antimatter body began to disintegrate. "It is a miracle that cannot be calculated."

Brainiac let out an electronic shriek, attempting to counterattack with antimatter beams, but Hode simply blinked. In an instant, the spacetime flow of the entire battlefield began to change: Carol's Supernova form completed charging in 0.01 seconds, Diana's shield expanded into a barrier covering the entire galaxy, Natasha's Data Stream formed an unbreakable encrypted network, Shazam's lightning power turned into a bridge connecting all parallel Universes, and Zatanna Zatara's rose spell wove a cage that transcended dimensions.

"This is impossible..." Brainiac's body had already shrunk to the atomic level, but his voice was still clearly audible. "According to my calculations..."

"Your calculations missed the heart." Hode said softly, and the five lovers held his hand simultaneously. Their power drew a perfect pentagram in the void. As Brainiac's final afterimage was sucked into the star core, Hode heard cheers coming from countless parallel Universes—those saved Worlds, those lovers reborn, those miracles that existed because of love...

But the lingering joy of victory was interrupted by a new crisis.

The cracks in the barrier of reality suddenly expanded a hundredfold, and countless eyes flashing with different lights peered out from the cracks. Hode felt the power of the five lovers tremble simultaneously—this time, it was not a single enemy coming, but a collective embodiment of malice from the entire Multiverse.

"Looks like the party is just getting started." Carol's Supernova form began to expand a second time, her dual-sun pupils reflecting countless collapsing Universes. "Hode?"

"Of course." Hode smiled, his wings of light sweeping across the cheeks of the five lovers, engraving their power marks into his soul. "But this time..." He suddenly rushed toward the cracks, his body splitting into countless points of light during the high-speed flight, each point of light carrying the ability characteristics of different lovers. "We are going to play differently."

The five lovers exchanged glances and simultaneously revealed sly smiles. Carol turned into a golden meteor, crashing into the left side of the crack; Diana's shield expanded into a golden torrent, rushing toward the right; Natasha's Data Stream formed a red vortex, wrapping around the center; Shazam's lightning power turned into a yellow chain of lightning, sealing the top and bottom; and Zatanna Zatara's rose spell formed a purple maze to trap the rear—while Hode's points of light were reconstructing into an unprecedented form in the center of the maze.

"Come on." His voice carried a cosmic echo, and the patterns under his skin had transcended the categories of color and shape. "Let me show you..." The points of light suddenly exploded into an energy web covering the entire battlefield. "What the ultimate form of love is."

The eyes in the cracks contracted simultaneously.

The moment the first enemy rushed out, the energy web suddenly materialized into countless Hodes—each Hodeholding the hand of a lover, their smiles more dazzling than a supernova, their love more fervent than the Phoenix Force. Before the enemies could even scream, they were swallowed by the embraces of countless combinations of Hode and his lovers.

"This is impossible..." The consciousness wave of some cosmic-level entity oscillated in the void. "Love shouldn't have such powerful..."

"You are wrong." All the Hodes spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping into the primal cry of the Universe's birth. "Love has no limits."

The five lovers suddenly let go simultaneously, and Hode's body began to collapse into a singularity. But before disappearing completely, he winked at the void—in an instant, lovers from countless parallel Universes responded to this wink simultaneously, their power crossing dimensions to converge into light, dyeing the entire battlefield in the color of love.

The cracks began to heal.

But just at the moment of closing completely, a hand wrapped in the anti-life equation suddenly jammed the gap. Hode felt his heart gripped by an invisible hand—the ring on that hand was one he knew all too well.

"Is the game over?" A familiar yet strange voice came from the darkness. "No..." The black mist of the anti-life equation began to seep from the gap. "This is just the beginning."

Hode felt the power of the five lovers tremble simultaneously. He looked at the crack and saw the name engraved on the ring—

Bruce Wayne.

Chapter 667: The Primal Cry of the Universe's Birth

Hode's pupils contracted sharply. The black mist of the anti-life equation was coiled like a viper around Bruce Wayne's ring—that Kryptonite ring that should have been lying in the Batcave's safe was now exuding an aura that made the entire Multiverse tremble.

"Bruce?" Diana's shield let out a mournful cry, and the phantom of a rainy night in Gotham emerged on the shield's surface. "This is impossible..."

"No, it is possible." Natasha's Data Stream suddenly became sharp, her mechanical fingers rapidly deducing in the void. "Three months ago, when we were repairing the reality anchor in the time rift, Bruce volunteered to stay at the most dangerous coordinate point. He had come into contact with the original fragments of the anti-life equationback then..."

"So he was corrupted." Carol's Supernova form began to destabilize, her dual-sun pupils reflecting countless images of Bruce struggling in the darkness. "But why only now..."

"Because of love." Zatanna Zatara's rose petals suddenly formed a broken mirror, each petal reflecting Batman from a different Universe. "The anti-life equation needs the host's deepest inner fear to catalyze, and what Bruce fears most..."

"Is us." Hode felt as if his throat had been rubbed with sandpaper, and the golden patterns under his skin were reversing into black. "He is afraid that he will hurt us."

Bruce in the crack suddenly moved. His suit tore open, revealing the Bat-suit eroded by black mist, and the iconic yellow-background black bat on his chest had turned into a twisted infinity symbol. Most terrifying of all were his eyes—the green fire that had once burned in the darkness had now turned into two rotating black holes.

"Watch out!" Shazam's lightning power suddenly exploded. The moment Billy knocked Hode to the left, Bruce's right hand had already pierced the position where he had originally been standing. The black mist of the anti-life equation corroded a ten-meter-wide hole in the void, from which came the screams of countless parallel Universes.

"Don't use physical attacks!" Natasha's Data Streamformed a red warning net. "He is absorbing energy!"

"Then use emotion." Diana suddenly whipped out the Lasso of Truth, and the moment the lasso touched Bruce, it burst into golden light. "Bruce Wayne, what is it that you desire most in the depths of your heart?"

The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence. Bruce's body, wrapped in black mist, suddenly trembled, and the black mist that had devoured countless Universes actually evaporated under the light of the Lasso of Truth. "I..." His voice sounded as if it were coming from ten thousand meters under the sea. "I want to protect them..."

"Then protect them!" Hode suddenly broke free from Diana's restraint, the power of the five lovers spinning crazily within him. "Not with fear, but with love!"

Bruce's pupils suddenly regained a moment of clarity. In that 0.01 seconds, Hode saw the images in his memory: eight-year-old Bruce kneeling beside his parents' bodies, Batman in the Batcave sweating profusely in the training pod, Catwoman on the rooftop of the Gotham Police Department, the Justice League in The Watchtower, and… and that time Hode first took him on a date to Central Park, holding that rose that was about to be crushed in his hand.

"Grab me!" Hode spread his arms wide, the golden patterns and black patterns beneath his skin engaged in a life-and-death struggle, just like that night in Gotham, when you caught me falling from the clock tower!

Bruce's right hand suddenly lifted, the black mist of the anti-life equation forming claws that stabbed toward Hode's heart. But at the final moment, the claws deflected by 0.5 degrees—this slight deviation gave Hode the chance to inject Carol's Supernova Energy, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. material, Natasha's Data Stream, Shazam's Thunder, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantation into Bruce's chest simultaneously.

Boom!

At the moment of the energy explosion, Hode saw five different Bruces emerge in the light: the Dark Knight of Gotham kissing Selina's hand under the moonlight, the strategist of the Justice League adjusting Diana's cape in The Watchtower, the Bruce in the Batcave smiling at the bat doll Hode gave him, and… and countless Bruces from parallel Universes, each saying "I love you" in a different way.

"No…" The consciousness wave of the anti-life equation let out an inhuman scream, "I will not…"

"You will." Hode's voice carried a cosmic echo, the power of his five lovers forming a massive pentagram behind him, "Because love is a force more powerful than fear."

Bruce's body suddenly began to glow. The black mist that had devoured countless Universes retreated into his ring like a receding tide, revealing the corroded, riddled skin beneath. But most shocking were his eyes—eyes that had once burned with green fire were now reflecting six different figures: Selina's cat ears, Diana's tiara, Hode's golden patterns, Natasha's mechanical eye, Billy's lightning symbol, and Zatanna Zatara's rose hair accessory.

"I…" Bruce's voice suddenly became gentle, "I think I had a nightmare."

"But you're awake." Diana's Lasso of Truth transformed into a ribbon of light, wrapping around his wrist, "Welcome back, Bruce."

But before the warmth of victory could fade, the cracks in the reality barrier suddenly erupted with blinding white light. Hode felt the power of his five lovers tremble simultaneously—this time, it wasn't an attack from the outside, but a resonance from all parallel Universes.

"What happened?" Carol's Supernova form began to expand uncontrollably, "My energy is draining…"

"It's not draining." Natasha's Data Stream suddenly formed a 3D star map, "It's that the energy of all Universes is converging toward a single point."

Shazam's Thunder suddenly activated automatically. Billy looked at his hands in horror: "I can't feel the Thunder! It seems to be… to be afraid?"

Zatanna Zatara's rose petals suddenly all withered, and she stumbled, grabbing Hode's shoulder: "The incantations have failed… all magical systems are collapsing…"

Hode looked toward the cracks and saw countless Bruce Waynes from parallel Universes looking up simultaneously—their rings were all glowing, and all the light pointed in the same direction: beyond the reality barrier, a shadow of an extra-dimensional existence was awakening.

"That is…" Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. suddenly unfolded automatically, the surface of the shield revealing symbols never seen before, "Primordial Fear."

"Primordial Fear?" Hode felt his heart gripped by an invisible hand, "More terrifying than the anti-life equation?"

"Far more terrifying." Bruce's voice suddenly turned icy, the infinity symbol on his chest beginning to rotate, "It is the source of fear for all Universes, an existence that even the Supreme Intelligence dares not look directly at."

"Then why is it now…" Natasha's Data Stream suddenly fractured into countless pieces, "Is it absorbing our victory? Converting love into fear?"

"No." Zatanna Zatara suddenly grabbed Hode's hand, her skin becoming transparent, "It's absorbing hope. The hope of all Universes."

The cracks in the reality barrier suddenly tore open completely. Hode saw countless versions of himself from parallel Universes disappearing—the lovers in each Universe were turning into specks of light, and these specks were being devoured by that shadow. Most terrifying of all, he saw the figures of his five lovers also beginning to turn transparent: Carol's Supernova Energywas extinguishing, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. was weathering away, Natasha's Data Stream was dissipating, Billy's Thunder was weakening, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantation was withering.

"No…" Hode felt the patterns beneath his skin burning in reverse, "This is impossible…"

"It is possible." A voice beyond language came from the shadow. Hode felt his brain about to split from the sound, "Because when the hope of all Universes converges…"

The shadow suddenly extended a hand, wearing six rings on that hand—Bruce's Kryptonite ring, Tony Stark's Arc Reactor ring, Thor's Mjolnir ring, Clark Kent's Kryptonitering, Arthur's Trident ring, and… and Hode's own, that gold ring engraved with the names of his five lovers.

"The ultimate fear will be born." The shadow's voice carried a cosmic echo, "And you…" Its finger suddenly pointed at Hode, "are the final hope."

Hode felt the power of his five lovers surge into his body simultaneously, but this time it wasn't a fusion—it was a stripping away. Their power was being pulled from his body, like five ribbons being tugged toward the shadow by an invisible hand. He saw Carol smiling at him, Dianaadjusting a cape that didn't exist, Natasha's mechanical eye glistening with tears, Billy making his signature lightning gesture, and Zatanna Zatara's lips moving—though he couldn't hear the sound, he knew she was saying "I love you."

0 --- Seeking Flowers ---

"No!" Hode suddenly broke free from all restraints, the patterns beneath his skin erupting with unprecedented light, "Love is not hope!"

The shadow's movements paused.

"Love is…" Hode spread his arms, the figures of his five lovers suddenly reforming behind him—not as physical entities, but in the form of consciousness, the courage to choose to exist even while knowing they would vanish.

The shadow suddenly let out an inhuman scream, and the specks of light it had devoured began to flow backward. Hode saw the lovers from countless parallel Universes reconverging: Carol's Supernova form bloomed in the darkness, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. turned into a golden meteor streaking across the sky, Natasha's Data Stream formed a red vortex swallowing the darkness, Billy's Thundertransformed into yellow lightning chains sealing the space, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantation constructed a purple maze trapping time—and Hode himself stood at the center of all the mazes, the patterns beneath his skin having transcended the realms of color and shape.

...

"This is impossible…" The shadow's voice began to tremble, "According to my calculations…"

"Your calculations left out the heart." Hode said softly, the consciousness of his five lovers kissing his cheeks simultaneously, "And the heart…" He suddenly charged toward the shadow, his body splitting into countless specks of light during the high-speed flight, each speck carrying the ability traits of a different lover, which was incalculable.

The shadow suddenly extended countless hands trying to grab the specks of light, but every time it caught one, that speck would explode into even more love. Carol's laughter echoed in the darkness, Diana's battle cry shattered the void, Natasha's mechanical voice formed an encrypted network, Billy's Thunder transformed into a bridge connecting all parallel Universes, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantation wove a cage that transcended dimensions—and Hode's specks of light were reforming at the center of the cage into an unprecedented form.

"Come on." His voice carried a cosmic echo, the patterns beneath his skin having merged with the shadow, "Let me show you…" The specks of light suddenly exploded into an energy net covering the entire battlefield, "what the ultimate form of love is."

The eyes within the shadow contracted simultaneously.

The moment the first enemy rushed out, the energy net suddenly materialized into countless Hodes—each Hodeholding the consciousness of one lover, their smiles more dazzling than a supernova, their love more fervent than the Phoenix Force. The enemies couldn't even scream before being engulfed by the embrace of the countless Hode-and-lover combinations.

"This is impossible…" The shadow's consciousness wave vibrated in the void, "Love shouldn't have such powerful…"

"You are wrong." All the Hodes spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping into the first cry of the Universe's birth, "Love has no limits."

The consciousness of the five lovers suddenly let go simultaneously, and Hode's body began to collapse into a singularity. But before disappearing completely, he winked at the shadow—in an instant, the lovers from countless parallel Universes responded to that wink, their power crossing dimensions to converge into light, dyeing the entire battlefield the color of love.

The shadow began to heal.

But just as it was about to close completely, a hand wrapped in the anti-life equation suddenly jammed into the gap. Hode felt his heart gripped by an invisible hand—he was all too familiar with the ring on that hand.

"Is the game over?" A familiar yet strange voice came from the darkness, "No…" The black mist of the anti-life equation began to seep from the gap, "This is just the beginning."

Hode felt the consciousness of his five lovers tremble simultaneously. He looked toward the crack and saw the name engraved on that ring—

Bruce Wayne.

But this time, there was an extra line of small text on the inside of the ring:

To Hode—Love, Bruce.

Chapter 668: The Rose That Never Withers

Hode's pupils contracted sharply. That line of small text flickered in and out of the black mist of the anti-life equation, like a fine needle piercing his heart. He remembered the temperature of Bruce's fingertips when he first kissed him on the top of the Gotham clock tower, which was exactly the same as the coldness of the black mist right now.

"Bruce…" Hode's voice stuck in his throat, and the consciousness of his five lovers sounded an alarm simultaneously. Carol's Supernova Energy went berserk within him, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. material crystallized beneath his skin, Natasha's Data Stream flashed wildly with error codes, Billy's Thunder crackled between his bones, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantation flowed backward into thorns piercing his blood vessels.

Bruce, on the other side of the crack, suddenly laughed. That smile overlapped with countless moments in his memory: the upward curve of his lips when bandaging his wounds in the Batcave, the crinkling of his eyes when sharing hot cocoa in The Watchtower, and… and last week in Central Park, when he deliberately hid the rose in his cape, the suspicious redness on the tips of his ears.

"You really are still so easily distracted." Bruce's voice carried the distorted echo of the anti-life equation, and his right hand suddenly reached through the crack to grab Hode's throat. The black mist crept through his fingers into Hode's mouth, and he tasted the metallic tang and… and the taste of the scones Alfred made?

"705u.com-53 Reading Club" "Cough, cough… you…" Hodestruggled to grab Bruce's wrist, the golden patterns beneath his skin clashing fiercely with the black mist. He saw the pocket watch chain peeking out from the cuff of Bruce's suit—that was the gift he had given him last Christmas, and the inside of the watch cover was engraved with "To My Batman."

"Surprised?" Bruce's fingers suddenly tightened, and Hodeheard his cervical spine make a teeth-gritting sound. "Did you think I would really be purified by those little tricks of yours? Love is indeed powerful…" The black mist suddenly transformed into the faces of countless Selinas, Dianas, Natashas, Billys, and Zatanna Zataras, "but fear can imitate love."

Diana's Lasso of Truth suddenly flew out automatically, wrapping around Bruce's arm. In the golden light, Hodesaw a moment of clarity flash in the depths of Bruce's eyes—in that instant, he saw the images in Bruce's memory: eight-year-old Bruce clenching rose petals at his parents' funeral, the Batcave training pod covered in photos of Hode, and… and three days ago, when Bruce secretly put the anti-life equation fragment into the safe, the trembling of his fingertips.

"You're afraid of hurting us…" Hode suddenly stopped struggling, letting the black mist erode his lungs, "So you deliberately left a flaw?"

Bruce's pupils contracted sharply. The black mist in the crack suddenly rioted, and Hode felt the power of his five lovers rampaging within him. Carol's Supernova Energythreatened to burn through his heart, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D.material to freeze his blood, Natasha's Data Stream to format his brain, Billy's Thunder to scorch his nerves, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantation to pierce his soul—but all the power, the moment it touched Bruce's fingers, eerily softened.

"No…" Bruce's voice suddenly became hoarse, the black mist fading from the corners of his eyes to reveal blood-red eyes beneath, "This was not part of the plan…"

Chapter 396

Hode suddenly laughed.

He grabbed Bruce's fingers, and the golden veins under his skin suddenly erupted into pillars of light that pierced through the crack.

The consciousnesses of his five lovers materialized simultaneously: Carol transformed into a Supernova Energy surrounding his arm, Diana's shield turned into a stream of light wrapping around his waist, Natasha's Data Stream formed a red cape that snapped in the wind, Billy's Thunder power turned into lightning patterns crawling all over his neck, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations blossomed into flowers at his collarbone.

"A plan?" Hode's voice carried a cosmic resonance, the veins under his skin having transcended material form. "Bruce Wayne, when have you ever seen me act according to a plan?"

Bruce, on the other side of the crack, suddenly stumbled backward.

Hode saw a photo peeking out of his suit's inner pocket—it was a photo taken secretly by Zatanna Zatara using magicwhen they were dating in Central Park.

The edges of the photo still smelled of Bruce's usual cologne, which clashed with the rot of the anti-life equation.

"You..." Bruce's fingers suddenly loosened, and black mist condensed behind him into countless Batmen from parallel Universes. "You knew all along?"

Hode opened his arms, and the power of his five lovers formed a huge pentagram behind him.

"Know that every time you said 'I'm going on patrol,' you had my name sewn into the inside of your cape?"

He stepped forward, and the crack began to heal. "Know that you secretly made the anti-life equation fragments into a ring because I once said your ring was cooler than Superman's?"

Bruce's body suddenly began to turn transparent.

Hode saw a faint glimmer at his heart—it was the core chip of the bat doll Hode had given him, which was currently playing the recording of their first date: "So... are you willing to try this with a madman like me?"

"Hode..." Bruce's voice suddenly became gentle, the black mist fading completely from his body. "I..."

The barrier of reality suddenly shook violently.

Hode felt the power of his five lovers tremble simultaneously—Carol's Supernova Energy began to destabilize, Diana's shield showed cracks, Natasha's Data Stream displayed garbled code, Billy's Thunder began to spiral out of control, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations began to wither.

"No..." Hode looked outside the crack and saw countless Bruces from parallel Universes disappearing—before each Bruce vanished, he would say to the void, "Tell Hode I love him, now is not the time to be sentimental!"

Bruce suddenly grabbed Hode's wrist, his skin carbonizing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Listen," Bruce's eyes suddenly returned to the emerald green Hode was most familiar with, "the anti-life equationis not fear..." His body began to disintegrate into points of light. "It is..."

"It is what?" Hode frantically mobilized the power of his five lovers, trying to stabilize Bruce, but all the energy was like a stone dropped into the ocean. "Bruce! You need to be clear!"

Bruce's lips moved, but his voice was swallowed by the suddenly erupting energy storm.

Hode saw that the last thing he left behind was a blood-stained smile—the exact same smile from when they were on top of the Gotham clock tower, when he wiped the ice cream from the corner of Hode's mouth.

"No!" Hode felt his heart being torn apart, and the consciousnesses of his five lovers screamed in unison.

Carol's Supernova Energy suddenly went berserk, Diana's shield turned into a blade and pierced his shoulder, Natasha's Data Stream formed a chainsaw that cut his arm, Billy's Thunder scorched half his body, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations turned into thorns that wrapped around his neck—but all the damage turned into healing light the moment it touched the remaining light particles of Bruce.

The crack in the barrier of reality suddenly closed completely.

Hode knelt in the void, looking at the last bit of Bruce's light dust in his hand.

The power of his five lovers rampaged within him, but he couldn't feel the pain—because the lingering warmth of Bruce was seeping into his bone marrow from his palm...

"Hode..." Diana's voice suddenly sounded in his ear, the Lasso of Truth turned into a band of light wrapping around his wrist. "He hasn't..."

"I know." Hode suddenly stood up, the veins under his skin beginning to rotate in reverse. "He left a backup plan."

Natasha's Data Stream suddenly formed a 3D map, pointing to an unknown coordinate on Earth: "There... is a fluctuation of the anti-life equation... but it's different from before..."

Shazam's Thunder was automatically activated. Billy looked at his hands in horror: "I feel it... Bruce's aura... but it's very weak..."

Zatanna Zatara's rose petals suddenly formed an arrow, pointing into the depths of the Universe: "He is... calling..."

Carol's Supernova form began to shrink, turning into a meteor falling toward Earth: "No time to explain... Go!"

Hode opened his arms, and the power of his five lovers reorganized behind him.

He took one last look at the direction where the crack had closed—the light dust of Bruce remaining there was forming a familiar bat symbol.

"This time," Hode's voice carried a cosmic resonance, the veins under his skin shining with the stars, "it's our turn to find you."

The figures of his five lovers leaned on his back simultaneously, their powers interwoven into wings of light that pierced the atmosphere.

Hode felt Bruce's lingering warmth boiling in his blood—that warmth reminded him of the trembling of Bruce's fingertips when he kissed him for the first time; of the shadow of his eyelashes when Bruce bandaged his wounds; of the flushed ear tips when Bruce secretly set his photo as the computer wallpaper in The Watchtower.

"Bruce Wayne," Hode rushed toward the unknown coordinate on Earth, dragging five brilliant energy trails behind him, "you better not have destroyed the Worldyet..."

He clenched his fists, the veins under his skin erupting with unprecedented light. "...because I'm still waiting to go on a date with you."

Deep in the Universe, at an unknown coordinate.

Bruce opened his eyes in the core of the anti-life equation.

His body had become completely transparent, but his consciousness was clearer than ever.

He saw Hode bringing his five lovers breaking through the atmosphere, saw the energy light they dragged behind them being more dazzling than a supernova, and saw the smile on Hode's face that he was most familiar with, a mix of madness and tenderness.

"You came after all..." Bruce whispered. The core of the anti-life equation began to vibrate violently, but this time... His body began to disintegrate into a Data Stream. "I didn't prepare any roses..."

The Data Stream suddenly formed Hode's name, flickering three times in the void before dissipating.

Bruce felt his consciousness beginning to blur, but a familiar mechanical sound suddenly rang in his ears—it was Natasha's Data Stream hacking the firewall of the anti-life equation; then came the sound of Diana's Lasso of Truth vibrating, the roar of Carol's Supernova, the thunderous roar of Billy, the chanting of Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations—and, Hode's laughing voice:

"Bruce Wayne, you are under arrest."

The core of the anti-life equation suddenly exploded.

In the final moment, Bruce saw Hode's face—on it was the smile he loved most, the one that could melt the ice and snow of Gotham, and... and at his collarbone, that rose engraved with the Data Stream of the anti-life equation, which would never wither.

Chapter 669: The Informant, Sleeping on the Sofa Tonight

Hode felt his consciousness floating and sinking in the torrent of data, the aftermath of the anti-life equationexplosion tearing the Energy Shields of his five lovers to pieces.

Carol's Supernova form was disintegrating, and she subconsciously protected Hode behind her, but the radiation from the stellar core scorched her own arm.

"Don't touch me!" Hode grabbed her wrist, the golden veins under his skin suddenly growing in reverse, wrapping around Carol's wound like vines.

He smelled the scent of almond candy mixed in with the burnt smell—that was the taste of the energy bar Carolhad secretly stuffed into his pocket when she forced him to go on a date in space last week.

Diana's Lasso of Truth suddenly tightened, pulling everyone away from the center of the data vortex.

Hode saw the encrypted runes set by Bruce appear on the lasso, those mathematical formulas written in Ancient Greek that he had seen on the Batcave computer.

"He calculated this long ago..." Hode's voice was drowned out by the sound of Thunder.

Billy turned into lightning and split the incoming data storm, but accidentally ignited Natasha's quantum server.

The red Data Stream exploded into fireworks in the void. In the firelight, Hode saw Natasha's profile—it was exactly the same as the reflection of the nanobots on her eyelashes when she curled up in his arms debugging the War Armor three days ago.

"Coordinates locked!" Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations suddenly materialized, and the petals formed a 3D map projected into the void.

Hode felt the rose tattoo on his collarbone begin to heat up; it was the mark carved by Bruce using fragments of the anti-life equation, and it was now resonating with a red dot on the map.

Carol suddenly started coughing, Supernova Energyleaking from her fingers: "No time... the fragments of the anti-life equation are reorganizing..."

Her words were interrupted by a suddenly appearing gravity well, and everyone fell toward the core as if grabbed by an invisible hand.

Hode grabbed the edge of Diana's shield, and Bruce's combat records suddenly appeared on the shield's surface—on Christmas Eve in Gotham in 2018, when Batmanused this shield to block Joker's poison gas bomb, the depth of the scratches left on the inside of the shield was exactly the same as the marks Hode's fingernails were embedding at this moment.

"Trust me!" Diana's voice carried a divine resonance, and the Lasso of Truth suddenly split into six strands to wrap around everyone.

Hode felt his soul being torn, and the memories of his five lovers flooded in like a tide: the sound of a heartbeat leaking from the seams of her armor when Natasha stole a kiss from him in the S.H.I.E.L.D. archives; the clumsiness of Billy secretly stuffing lightning-shaped cookies into his pocket before turning into Shazam; the scent of magicpowder remaining on her fingertips when Zatanna Zataramagically conjured roses...

The gravity well suddenly disappeared.

Everyone fell into a pure white space, and the core of the anti-life equation pulsed in the center, like a deformed black heart.

Hode saw Bruce's phantom standing on the surface of the core, a half-stained Batarang peeking out of his suit pocket—it was the gift Hode gave him on their first anniversary, with the words "To My Dark Knight" engraved on the blade.

"Welcome to my mind palace." Bruce's voice carried data noise, and his body flickered every three seconds, revealing the mechanical skeleton made of the anti-life equationunderneath, "Or should I say... ours."

Carol's Supernova Energy suddenly went berserk, but was easily bounced back by the force field on the surface of the core.

She stumbled into Hode's arms, the stardust on her hair tips exploding at the tip of Hode's nose—it was exactly the same as the smell of cosmic radiation drifting between her hair strands after she deliberately broke her oxygen mask when they were dating in space.

"Don't touch the core!" Diana's Lasso of Truth wrapped around Bruce's phantom, but the shield let out a groan of being unable to bear the load, "It is absorbing our fear!"

Hode felt the power of his five lovers rampaging in his body.

Natasha's Data Stream was eroding his retinas, letting him see countless Bruces from parallel Universes floating in the core; Billy's Thunder scorched his nerve endings, but accidentally activated the backup protocol Bruce had hidden deep in the core; Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations turned into thorns that pierced his heart, but brought out the encrypted love letter Bruce had buried deep in his soul ten years ago.

"You planned this all along..." Hode stumbled toward the core, the golden veins under his skin resonating with the black heart.

He saw fragments of Bruce's memories flashing on the surface of the core: on the day the Justice League was founded in 2015, the smile Batman showed in The Watchtower monitoring room while staring at Hode racing with the Flash; during the Avengers civil war in 2019, when Superman scanned the Iron Man armor and found Hode's photo hidden inside, the coffee cup Bruce crushed in the dark; and... and three days ago, when Hode said "I'm going to help Diana repair her shield," Bruce was talking to himself in the Batcave facing his combat suit: "He hasn't said he loves me today..."

The core suddenly extended data tentacles to wrap around Hode's ankles.

He heard Bruce's voice echoing in his mind: "Run! While I can still control it..."

But the power of his five lovers suddenly reached a delicate balance.

Carol's stellar energy turned into a light sword to cut off the tentacles, Diana's shield expanded a protective barrier, Natasha's Data Stream reconstructed the spatial coordinates, Billy's Thunder activated the backup power, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations purified the data pollution.

"No..." Bruce's phantom began to twist, and Hode's name appeared on his mechanical skeleton—written in the encrypted code of the Gotham gangs, "You don't understand... the anti-life equation will corrode everything..."

Hode grabbed the surface of the core, the golden veins merging with the black heart.

He felt Bruce's memories flooding in like a tide: at his parents' funeral when he was eight, the rose petals little Bruce gripped tightly actually came from Hode's family garden; when training in the Batcave at fifteen, Brucedeliberately broke all the equipment just to see the smile on Hode's face when he was busy repairing them in a panic; that night at the Gotham clock tower when he was twenty-eight, before kissing him, Bruce actually hid three whole boxes of different flavored ice cream in his cape—because Hode always said that having difficulty choosing was a kind of romance.

"You are wrong." Hode's voice carried a cosmic resonance, the veins under his skin beginning to reorganize the anti-life equation. "Fear can indeed imitate love..."

He suddenly pressed the core into his own chest, golden and black light exploding. "But love can reshape fear."

The power of his five lovers erupted simultaneously.

Carol's Supernova turned into a light cocoon to wrap the core, spring water of life surged from the cracks in Diana's shield, Natasha's Data Stream formed quantum chains to bind the explosion, Billy's Thunder reconstructed the molecular structure, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations turned into gene chains to wrap around the new life.

Bruce's phantom suddenly became clear.

He was wearing the paint-chipped bat suit Hode had given him, holding in his arms the rose that would never wither, which Zatanna Zatara had magically conjured when they went on their first date.

"You are always so willful…" Bruce's voice carried a smile, his body beginning to materialize, "Even destroying the World has to follow your script."

Hode felt the core beating within his body, like a real heart.

He saw half of a photograph peeking out from Bruce's suit pocket—it was the tree they had been at during their date in Central Park, the one struck by lightning, with "HB4EVER" still carved into the bark by Shazam using lightning.

"Because I know…" Hode grabbed Bruce's hand, his fingertips touching real warmth, "You even hid the engagement ring inside the anti-life equation."

The barriers of reality suddenly trembled.

Everyone heard the cheers of countless parallel Universes coming from the void, crashing against the shores of this newborn World like ocean waves.

Carol's Supernova light cocoon began to shrink, vines grew from the cracks in Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha's Data Stream formed a Bifrost Bridge, Shazam's Thunder turned into aurora, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations transformed into a Nebula.

Bruce suddenly knelt on one knee.

From the depths of his core, he pulled out a ring forged from fragments of the anti-life equation, the band engraved with Hode's name—written in the secret code Hode had taught him, the one used by Gotham gangsters when begging for mercy.

"Hode Palmer…" Bruce's voice carried a tremor that Batman never showed anyone, "Will you…"

His words were interrupted by a suddenly appearing rift in time and space, and from the other side of the rift came a familiar voice:

"Bruce! Hode! We need you…" It was Steve Rogers' voice, carrying the emergency signal frequency of the Avengers, "New York… there is a new fluctuation of the anti-life equation…"

Hode looked at Bruce, who was rubbing his thumb over the rose tattoo on his collarbone—the one they had secretly carved last night in The Watchtower using fragments of the anti-life equation and the remains of a Batarang.

"It seems…" Bruce stood up and placed the ring on Hode's ring finger, "Our date will have to be postponed."

Hode smiled.

He grabbed Bruce's hand, the power of their five lovers forming a massive pentagram behind them.

"Then let's run there," he said, the markings beneath his skin beginning to resonate with the stars, "Just like that year when we were eighteen, when we stole the Batmobile to chase Superman."

Bruce's pupils suddenly contracted into emerald green.

He saw himself reflected in the depths of Hode's eyes—wearing a paint-chipped War Armor, holding a withered rose, yet with the corners of his mouth curled into the smile he knew best, the one capable of melting the ice and snow of Gotham.

"Hold on tight." Bruce pulled Hode into his embrace, his cape snapping in the data storm, "Don't lose the rose this time."

The rift in time and space suddenly expanded, swallowing everyone.

In the instant before they vanished, Hode saw the sky over New York on the other side of the rift, where countless phantoms of Bruce were fighting against the anti-life equation—and on the chest of every phantom, his name was engraved.

"You still love to plan so much…" Hode whispered in the vortex of time and space, his fingertips brushing over a bullet hole on Bruce's War Armor—the one Hode had accidentally burned through with Supernova Energy during their first date.

Bruce did not answer.

He only held Hode tighter, letting their heartbeats merge into one within the torrent of data.

In the moment they were completely swallowed by the rift, Hode heard Bruce say in his ear:

"But this time… I left a backup plan."

The moment the rift closed, the powers of the five lovers suddenly went berserk.

Carol's Supernova exploded in Hode's left eye, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments pierced his right shoulder, Natasha's Data Stream reconstructed his nervous system, Shazam's Thunder scorched his hair tips, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations crawled across his back as tattoos—but all the damage transformed into brilliant starlight the moment it touched Bruce's skin.

The New York battlefield.

Steve watched the seven rays of light that suddenly appeared in the rift, his shield nearly slipping from his hand.

He saw Hode landing, surrounded by six female superheroes, while that Batman who always loved to wear paint-chipped War Armor was pressing someone against the wall of the ruined Avengers Tower, kissing them deeply.

"Looks like we arrived just in time." Tony's voice came from his War Armor, carrying a playful crackle of electricity, "But Bruce, could you not press anti-life equation fragments into the other person's collarbone while kissing? Hode's tattoo from yesterday is going to be ruined."

Bruce released Hode, and the rose tattoo on the latter's collarbone was glowing—it was a tracker encoded with both the core of the anti-life equation and Bruce's heartbeat frequency.

"Shut up, Stark." Bruce smoothed his wrinkled cape, his ear tips tinged with a suspicious shade of red, "This is a strategic necessity."

Hode smiled.

He looked at the black fog of the anti-life equationreassembling in the center of the battlefield, the markings beneath his skin beginning to flicker in sync with the neon lights of New York.

The powers of the five lovers achieved a perfect balance within him: Carol's Supernova Energy became an earring, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments turned into a necklace, Natasha's Data Stream formed a tattoo, Shazam's Thunderturned into blue light at his hair tips, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations transformed into lip gloss.

"Bruce Wayne…" Hode stepped forward, the anti-life equation fragments rotating in his palm into the shape of a rose, "You are under arrest."

Bruce grabbed his wrist and pressed that data rose against his own chest.

Steve saw that beneath Batman's War Armor, countless names of Hode were flickering—written in the anti-life equation, Kryptonian script, Asgardian runes, and the secret language of the Amazons.

"Before the arrest…" Bruce's voice carried a tenderness Batman never showed anyone, "Can we have a date first?"

Hode felt his heart was about to explode.

He looked at the battlefield, where countless anti-life equation phantoms were coalescing, but the core of every phantom was engraved with Bruce's name—written in the secret code he had taught Batman, the one used by Gotham gangsters when begging for mercy.

"Then let's…" Hode suddenly tugged on Bruce's tie, pulling him into his embrace, "Run there."

The powers of the five lovers erupted simultaneously.

Carol's Supernova turned into wings of light, a Bifrost Bridge surged from the cracks in Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha's Data Stream formed a time-space tunnel, Shazam's Thunder split the black fog, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations transformed into a teleportation array.

In the instant the anti-life equation was completely reassembled, Hode vanished with Bruce into the light—leaving behind only the rose tattoo on his collarbone, which flickered three times in the void before transforming into a Bat symbol.

On the other side of the battlefield, Steve watched the black fog that had suddenly quieted down, the star on his shield beginning to rotate in reverse.

"They…" Tony's War Armor suddenly projected a hologram, displaying energy fluctuations at an unknown coordinate, "Went to the place Bruce had long since prepared…"

"The date spot." Clint interjected, chewing gum, with rose-shaped arrowheads in his quiver, "A candlelight dinner made of the anti-life equation, want to join?"

Steve looked at the place where the black fog had dissipated, where a single rose petal was slowly drifting down—on the back of the petal, written in Batman's blood:

"Snitch, sleep on the couch tonight. —BH."

Chapter 670: This Time, It's My Turn to Wait for You

The neon lights of New York glowed with an eerie purple hue under the reflection of the residual energy of the anti-life equation.

Hode stood amidst the broken walls and ruins on the top floor of the Avengers Tower, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the rose tattoo on his collarbone.

Bruce's scent still lingered in his ears, but the man who always loved to wear paint-chipped War Armor had already vanished into the rift in time and space—just as always, leaving behind only half an unfinished promise and traces of a chaotic battle everywhere.

"Hode Palmer." Natasha's voice came from behind, carrying the characteristic crackle of electrical interference of a Data Stream, "How long do you plan on staring blankly at that black fog?"

Hode did not turn around.

He saw five blurry figures reflected in the glass shards: Carol's Supernova light cocoon hovering overhead, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments shimmering in the ruins, Natasha's Data Stream wrapped around half a steel beam like a spider web, Shazam's Thunder flickering in and out of the clouds, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations—he looked down at his palm, where a black rose made of anti-life equation fragments had appeared at some point.

"I was wondering…" Hode suddenly spoke, his voice so soft it was as if he were afraid of shattering something, "Every time Bruce disappears, is he secretly preparing an engagement ring in some parallel Universe?"

Natasha chuckled, her Data Stream tracing a graceful arc in the night, "According to the Bat-computers in the 127 parallel Universes I've hacked into, he does indeed hide a ring in every Universe—though they are all engraved with different names."

Hode's fingertips tightened abruptly, the thorns of the black rose piercing his palm: "For example?"

"For example…" Natasha's voice suddenly became playful, "In one Universe, he calls you Little Rose, because you once said you hated being called sweetheart; in another Universe, he engraved Hode Wayne, because you two eloped on a rainy night in Gotham; and there's more…"

"Enough." Hode turned around abruptly, Supernova Energyexploding in his left eye, dyeing the entire night sky a brilliant gold, "Now is not the time to discuss Batman's romantic brain."

Natasha raised an eyebrow, her Data Stream condensing into a dagger at her fingertips: "Are you sure? Because according to my analysis, your current intimacy value…"

Her words were interrupted by the sudden blaring of an alarm.

Hode felt the markings beneath his skin begin to tremble in sync with the power grid of New York, the powers of the five lovers achieving a certain delicate balance within him—Carol's Supernova Energy became an earring, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments turned into a necklace, Natasha's Data Stream formed a tattoo, Shazam's Thunder turned into blue light at his hair tips, and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations transformed into lip gloss.

"The anti-life equation is reassembling." Tony's voice came from his War Armor, carrying a crackle of electrical interference, "The target this time is…"

"It's the quantum core of the Avengers Tower." Steve's voice came from below, his shield tracing a silver arc in the night sky, "Where is Bruce?"

Hode looked in the direction where the rift in time and space had vanished, where only a single falling rose petal remained—on the back of the petal, written in Batman's blood:

"Snitch, sleep on the couch tonight. —BH."

"He went to prepare for a date." Hode said suddenly, the black rose at his fingertips beginning to rotate, "But before that…"

He suddenly leaped off the Avengers Tower, wings of Supernova light spreading out behind him like a falling meteor.

Below, countless phantoms of the anti-life equation were coalescing, and the core of every phantom was engraved with Bruce's name—written in the secret code he had taught Batman, the one used by Gotham gangsters when begging for mercy.

"Carol!" Hode shouted in mid-air, "Full power on the Supernova Energy!"

"Already prepared!" Carol's voice came from overhead, the Supernova light cocoon instantly expanding, shrouding half of New York in golden light.

Hode felt a burning pain in his left eye, but the markings beneath his skin began to tremble in sync with the Supernova Energy.

He saw Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments fly up from the ruins, transforming into a silver barrier; Natasha's Data Streamwrapped around the nearest phantom like a spider web; Shazam's Thunder exploded in the clouds, forming a massive electric net; and Zatanna Zatara's rose incantations—he looked down at his palm, where the black rose was decomposing, turning into countless tiny incantations that flew in all directions like fireflies.

"Now!" Hode shouted suddenly, the Supernova light wings contracting sharply, wrapping his entire body into a golden sphere of light, "Natasha, Data Stream!"

"Understood!" Natasha's voice carried a smile, the Data Stream instantly wrapping around Hode like a massive spider web, "Are you ready?"

"Of course." Hode's voice came from within the light sphere, carrying a certain resolute tenderness, "But first, let's agree, if you break the Batmobile again this time…"

His words were interrupted by a sudden explosion.

The light sphere instantly burst, and the Supernova Energyswept across the entire battlefield like ocean waves, and wherever it passed, the phantoms of the anti-life equationdissipated one by one.

But Hode did not stop.

He felt the powers of the five lovers surging within him, like five different rivers, finally converging into a vast ocean.

"Diana!" he shouted, "Shield!"

"Caught it!" Diana's voice came from below, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments instantly combined into a massive silver barrier, lifting Hode into the air.

"Shazam!" Hode continued to shout, "Thunder!"

"Coming!" Shazam's voice came from the clouds, and the Thunder, like a massive blue dragon, coiled beneath Hode's feet, pushing him toward the higher sky.

"Zatanna!" Hode's voice began to tremble, "Incantations!"

"As you wish." Zatanna Zatara's voice carried the unique resonance of magic, and the rose incantations transformed into countless golden threads, wrapping Hode into a massive cocoon.

"Carol!" Hode shouted with his last ounce of strength, "Supernova!"

"Leave it to me!" Carol's voice carried the unique heat of a supernova, and the light cocoon instantly exploded, shrouding the entire battlefield in a golden light.

When the light dissipated, Hode found himself standing on the ruins of the Avengers Tower.

Bruce was standing before him, wearing that paint-chipped Batman War Armor, holding that rose that would never wither in his arms.

"You're late." Hode said, his fingertips brushing over a bullet hole on Bruce's War Armor—the one he had accidentally burned through with Supernova Energy during their first date.

"I know." Bruce's voice carried a tenderness Batman never showed anyone, "But this time…"

Chapter 397

His words were interrupted by a sudden alarm. Hode felt the patterns under his skin begin to vibrate in sync with New York's power grid, the power of his five lovers achieving a delicate balance within him—but this time, he felt something different.

"Bruce..." Hode spoke suddenly, his voice so soft it was as if he were afraid of shattering something. "Do you feel it?"

Bruce did not answer. He simply pulled Hode into his embrace, letting their heartbeats become one amidst the ruins. In the instant they were completely swallowed by darkness, Hode heard Bruce whisper in his ear:

"The sixth lover..."

The alarm suddenly became piercing. Hode felt the patterns under his skin begin to vibrate uncontrollably, the power of the five lovers rampaging within him—Carol's Supernova Energy exploded in his left eye, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments pierced his right shoulder, Natasha's Data Stream reconstructed his nervous system, Billy's Thunder scorched his hair tips, and Zatanna Zatara's Rose Spell turned into tattoos crawling all over his back.

"Bruce!" Hode shouted, but Batman had already vanished into the darkness, leaving behind only a falling rose petal—on the back of the petal, written in bat blood, were the words: "This time, it's my turn to wait for you." —B for H

"705u.com-53 Reading Club" The neon lights of New Yorksuddenly went out. In the absolute darkness, Hode felt a burning pain in his palm—that black rose had somehow reformed, and a line of tiny text appeared on its petals: "The sixth lover, unlocked."

In the distance, members of the Avengers and the Justice League were assembling. Steve's shield traced a silver arc in the night sky, Tony's War Armor emitted a blinding blue light, Billy's Thunder exploded within the clouds, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments flickered amidst the ruins, Carol's Supernova Energy cocoon hovered overhead, and Zatanna Zatara's Rose Spell—Hode looked down at his palm, the black rose was disintegrating, turning into countless tiny incantations that flew in all directions like fireflies.

"Hode!" Natasha's voice came from the ruins, accompanied by the characteristic electrical static of the Data Stream. "Are you okay?"

Hode did not answer. He simply clenched his palm, feeling the sixth lover—that power which had never existed yet was everywhere—awakening within him. In the instant he was completely swallowed by darkness, he heard a familiar voice ring in his ear:

"The game has only just begun."

Chapter 671: Becoming a God

Hode stood in the center of the ruins of Avengers Tower, the black rose pattern on his palm glowing faintly, the veins of the sixth petal slowly restructuring. He could feel six forces tearing at each other within him—Carol's Supernova Energy boiling in his veins, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D.fragments piercing into his bone marrow, Natasha's Data Stream coiling around his nerves like a venomous snake, Billy's Thunder bursting between his cells, Zatanna Zatara's incantations rewriting his DNA strands, and the sixth force...

It was like being stuffed with six Hulk in heat. He gritted his teeth and whispered, his left eye suddenly exploding with Supernova light, melting a steel beam three meters away into molten iron. Silver patterns of Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. emerged beneath his skin, and a sharp pain shot through his right shoulder as the S.H.I.E.L.D.fragments pierced his muscles.

"Language system overload." Natasha's voice came from the ruins of the War Armor, a cocoon formed by the Data Stream wrapping around half of her body. "According to calculations, you are currently enduring..."

"Shut up!" Hode suddenly roared, Thunder exploding from his hair tips, smashing the rubble within five meters into powder. He stumbled to steady himself against a broken wall, seeing blood seeping from the rose pattern on his palm—the silhouette of Batman appeared on the sixth petal.

In the distance came Carol's exclamation: "Hode! Your energy readings have exceeded the threshold!"

"I know!" He tore open his collar, the rose tattoo on his collarbone beginning to spin, the symbols of the five lovers' powers swimming beneath his skin. Natasha's Data Stream suddenly invaded his visual nerves, and countless images flashed before his eyes in an instant:

A rainy night in Gotham, Bruce kneeling in the rain wearing his tattered Batman suit, holding a blood-covered Hode in his arms; atop Mount Olympus, Diana hanging him with the Lasso of Truth, S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments pressed against his throat; high above the firmament, Carol's Supernova wings wrapping around them both, burning a brilliant trajectory as they entered the atmosphere; deep in a dark alley, Natasha's Data Stream forming a spiderweb, trapping him in an embrace filled with electric currents; in the center of a magic circle, Zatanna Zatara's Rose Spellturning into chains, binding him to an altar carved with inverted pentagrams;

And the sixth image...

"No..." Hode suddenly collapsed to the ground, Supernova Energy uncontrollably erupting from his pores, vaporizing the ruins within ten meters into a glass-like state. He saw in the sixth image, himself wearing a white lab coat standing in a laboratory, Bruce Banner's Hulk form roaring inside a glass chamber, and the monitor displaying the words: "Hulk serum fusion experiment attempt 73 failed."

"So it was you..." Hode spat out a mouthful of blood laced with electric arcs, the rose on his palm suddenly blossoming completely, the six petals reflecting the faces of the six lovers respectively. "The sixth lover... is Hulk's..."

"Hode!" Carol's voice carried the characteristic tremor of the Supernova, "The energy readings have broken the critical point!"

"I know!" He suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter mixed with the rumbling of Thunder and the humming of S.H.I.E.L.D. Silver patterns beneath his skin began to spread, the Data Stream surged in his veins, incantations grew in his bone marrow, and deep within... deep within, that green power was awakening.

"Bruce..." He looked up at the sky, where the black vortexof the anti-life equation was gathering. "You knew all along, didn't you? You deliberately let me..."

The alarm suddenly became piercing. Hode felt a burning, sharp pain in his left eye, Supernova Energy exploding on his retinas, dyeing the World before him gold. He saw Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments fly up from the ruins, turning into a silver barrier; Natasha's Data Stream coiled like a spiderweb around the nearest phantoms; Billy's Thunderexploded in the clouds, forming a massive electric net; Zatanna Zatara's Rose Spell turned into countless golden threads, shrouding the entire battlefield in a magical halo.

"Carol!" Hode suddenly shouted, his voice carrying the characteristic resonance of Supernova Energy, "Supernova, full power!"

"Are you sure?" Carol's voice came from overhead, the Supernova Energy cocoon instantly expanding, shrouding half of New York in golden light. "This might..."

"Might what?" Hode suddenly leaped up, Supernova wings unfurling behind him like a falling meteor. He felt the power of the five lovers surging within him, while that green power deep within was stirring. "Might it turn me into Hulk? Or might it..."

His words were interrupted by a sudden explosion. The ball of light burst instantly, Supernova Energy sweeping across the entire battlefield like a tidal wave, and wherever it passed, the phantoms of the anti-life equation dissipated one after another. But Hode did not stop. He felt the patterns under his skin begin to vibrate in sync with the Supernova Energy, the power of the six lovers achieving a delicate balance within him.

"Diana!" he shouted, "S.H.I.E.L.D.!" "Caught it!" Diana's voice came from below, the S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments instantly combining into a massive silver barrier, lifting Hode into the air. But this time, the silhouette of Batman appeared on the barrier.

"Billy!" Hode continued to shout, "Thunder!" "Coming!" Billy's voice came from the clouds, the Thunder like a massive blue dragon coiling beneath Hode's feet. But the dragon's scales were engraved with the muscle texture of Hulk.

"Zatanna Zatara!" Hode's voice began to tremble, "Incantations!" "As you wish." Zatanna Zatara's voice carried the characteristic echo of magic, the Rose Spellturning into countless golden threads, wrapping Hode into a massive cocoon. But laboratory data of Dr. Bannerappeared on the cocoon.

"Carol!" Hode shouted with his last ounce of strength, "Supernova!" "Leave it to me!" Carol's voice carried the characteristic scorching heat of Supernova, the light cocooninstantly bursting, shrouding the entire battlefield in a golden light. But the light was mixed with green radiation.

When the light dissipated, Hode found himself standing on the ruins of Avengers Tower. Bruce stood before him, wearing that paint-chipped Batman suit, holding the rose that would never wither in his arms. But this time, Hulk's purple shorts were wrapped around the stem of the rose.

"You're late," Hode said, his fingertips brushing over the bullet hole on Bruce's suit—the one he had accidentally burned through with Supernova Energy during their first date. But this time, the muscle texture of Hulk appeared around the bullet hole.

"I know." Bruce's voice carried a tenderness that Batmannever showed anyone, "But this time..."

His words were interrupted by a sudden alarm. Hode felt the patterns under his skin begin to vibrate in sync with New York's power grid, the power of his six lovers achieving a delicate balance within him—but this time, he felt something different.

"Bruce..." Hode spoke suddenly, his voice so soft it was as if he were afraid of shattering something. "Do you feel it?"

Bruce did not answer. He simply pulled Hode into his embrace, letting their heartbeats become one amidst the ruins. In the instant they were completely swallowed by darkness, Hode heard Bruce whisper in his ear:

"The Seventh Lover..."

The alarm suddenly became piercing. Hode felt the patterns under his skin begin to vibrate uncontrollably, the power of the six lovers rampaging within him—Carol's Supernova Energy exploded in his left eye, Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments pierced his right shoulder, Natasha's Data Stream reconstructed his nervous system, Billy's Thunder scorched his hair tips, Zatanna Zatara's Rose Spell turned into tattoos crawling all over his back, and deep within, that "705u.com-53 Reading Club" green power...

"Hulk is coming out!" Hode shouted, but his voice had already turned into Hulk's roar. He saw his palms expanding, his skin turning green, and his nails becoming as sharp as knives.

"Hode!" Natasha's voice came from the ruins, accompanied by the characteristic electrical static of the Data Stream. "Are you okay?"

"No..." Hode—or rather, Hulk—roared with his distorted vocal cords, "Not okay! Very not okay!"

Suddenly, a silver beam of light shot down from the sky, shrouding Hulk within it. Diana's voice carried a divine majesty: "In the name of Athena, I command you..."

"Shut up!" Hulk punched the light beam, but the barrier formed by the S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments remained unmoved. He felt the six forces within him being suppressed by some external power, and deep within, that green power...

"Dr. Banner..." Zatanna Zatara's voice came from the magiccircle, "We need your help."

"Help?" Hulk sneered, his voice laced with Hode's wit, "When have you ever helped me?"

Suddenly, a bolt of golden lightning struck down from the clouds, hitting Hulk in the chest. Billy's Thunder coursed through his body, temporarily suppressing the six forces. He felt his consciousness returning, but his body was uncontrollably expanding.

"Carol!" Natasha shouted, "Supernova Energy!"

AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash

"Understood!" Carol's voice carried the characteristic heat of a Supernova Energy as a golden beam of light shot toward Hulk. In the light, he saw his body shrinking, his skin turning from green back to human flesh, but the rose tattoo on his collarbone had transformed into seven petals.

When the light dissipated, Hode knelt on the ground, gasping as he looked around. Bruce stood before him, wearing that scuffed bat-suit, holding that seven-petaled rose in his arms. But this time, the face of a different lover was reflected on each of the rose's petals.

"The Seventh Lover..." Hode whispered, suddenly feeling a burning pain in his palm. He looked down and saw the pattern of the seven-petaled rose spreading beneath his skin, and at the very center...

"Is me." A familiar voice echoed in his mind—not Bruce, not Banner, but something older and more dangerous. "I am the avatar of the anti-life equation, and also the Seventh Lover within you."

Hode jerked his head up and saw countless phantoms of the anti-life equation condensing in the New York night sky. At the core of each phantom, his name was engraved—written in the code he had taught Batman, the one Gotham gangsters used when begging for mercy; carved in the Amazon script from Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D.; encoded in binary from Natasha's Data Stream; traced by the arcs in Billy's Thunder; written in Latin from Zatanna's Rose Spell; and drawn with the DNA strands in Bruce's bat-blood.

And the phantom at the very center...

"Is me." The voice rang out again, this time in Hode's own tone. "I am your deepest fear, your thirst for power, I am..."

"Shut up!" Hode suddenly shouted, the Supernova Energyexploding in his left eye and dispersing the surrounding phantoms. He felt the powers of the six lovers surging within him, while a seventh power... a seventh power was awakening deep within his soul.

"The game..." he whispered, his voice carrying the depth of Hulk, the coldness of Batman, the wisdom of Banner, and the wit of Hode, "...has only just begun."

In the distance, members of the Avengers and the Justice League were assembling. Steve's shield traced a silver arc across the night sky, Tony's War Armor emitted a piercing blue light, Billy's Thunder exploded within the clouds, the fragments of Diana's S.H.I.E.L.D. shimmered amidst the ruins, Carol's Supernova Energy light cocoon circled overhead, and Zatanna's Rose Spell transformed into countless golden threads, entangling every corner of the battlefield.

Hode stood in the center, the seven-petaled rose pattern on his palm glowing with a faint light. He felt the seven powers within him reaching a delicate balance—the heat of the Supernova Energy, the resilience of S.H.I.E.L.D., the agility of the Data Stream, the fury of the Thunder, the mystery of the incantations, the wildness of Hulk, and the... of the anti-life equation.

"Destruction," he said softly, his voice carrying across the entire battlefield.

Suddenly, all the lights went out. In absolute darkness, Hode heard countless voices whispering in his ear:

"Kill them..."

"Destroy the World..."

"Become a god..."

But he only clenched his palm, feeling the Seventh Lover—that power that never existed yet was everywhere—awakening within him. At the moment he was completely swallowed by darkness, he heard a familiar voice ring in his ear:

"No."

It was Bruce's voice.

It was Banner's voice.

It was Hode's own voice.

"The game..." he suddenly laughed, a laughter mixed with the roar of the Supernova Energy, the hum of S.H.I.E.L.D., the rumble of Thunder, the echo of incantations, the static of data, and the roar of Hulk, "...has only just begun!"

The neon lights of New York suddenly all lit up, but this time, they didn't reflect purple light, but a seven-colored radiance. Hode stood in the center of the light, the rose pattern on his palm decomposing and turning into countless tiny specks of light, flying toward every corner of the battlefield.

And in the deepest depths, where no one could see, the phantom of the anti-life equation was smiling.

Chapter 672: A New Phantom is Condensing

Hode felt the energy within him boiling, seven-colored light erupting from his pores, dyeing the ruins within ten meters in neon hues. He looked down at his palm; the original rose pattern had disappeared, replaced by seven tiny specks of light, each pulsing rhythmically like some ancient code.

"What the hell is this?" Hode blurted out, his voice a mix of Hulk's depth and his own confusion. He tried to clench his fist, only to find the specks of light changing frequency with the contraction of his muscles, as if responding to his movements.

Diana's exclamation came from the distance: "Hode! Your energy readings are fluctuating wildly!"

"I know!" Hode shouted, a burning pain suddenly flaring in his left eye. He staggered back a step, seeing the Supernova Energy's light spill from the corner of his eye, melting a perfect circular hole into the nearby concrete wall. At the same time, a sharp pain from the S.H.I.E.L.D.fragments piercing his bone marrow came from his right shoulder, silver patterns spreading beneath his skin, covering his entire arm in an instant.

"Linguistic system overloaded," Natasha's voice came from the War Armor wreckage, carrying the electrical static characteristic of the Data Stream. "According to calculations, you have currently activated—"

"Shut up!" Hode roared, Thunder exploding from the tips of his hair. He felt his hair stand up in the electric arcs, like a golden crown. But unlike Billy's pure Thunder, his arcs were mixed with green radiation—the traces of the Hulk serum.

Carol's voice came from above, carrying the tremor unique to a Supernova Energy: "Hode! Your energy readings have broken through the critical point! We need..."

"Need what?" Hode suddenly laughed, his laughter mixed with five different voices—his own, Hulk's, Batman's, Banner's, and some ancient, dangerous presence. "Need to lock me in a glass chamber for a 74th experiment?"

His words were interrupted by a sudden explosion. A beam of black energy shot down from the sky, hitting the ruins at his feet. Amidst the flying debris, Hode saw phantoms of the anti-life equation condensing, each phantom's core engraved with his name—written in seven different scripts.

"Game time." That voice echoed in his mind, this time with Hode's own tone. "Let's see what interesting things happen when the powers of the seven lovers erupt simultaneously."

Hode felt the seven powers within him suddenly spiral out of control. The heat of the Supernova Energy boiled in his veins, the resilience of S.H.I.E.L.D. pierced his marrow, the Data Stream coiled around his nerves like a venomous snake, the Thunder exploded between his cells, the incantations moved like tattoos beneath his skin, Hulk's wildness roared in the depths of his soul, and that power of the anti-life equation at the very core...

"No..." Hode gritted his teeth and whispered, trying to suppress this destructive energy with his willpower. He thought of the meditation techniques Bruce had taught him, of Diana's teachings atop Mount Olympus, of Natasha's embrace in the dark alley, of Billy's oath above the firmament, of Zatanna's whispers within the magiccircle, of Carol's promise as she entered the atmosphere...

And there was a sixth image—in the lab, Dr. Banner looked at the data from the 73rd failed experiment and said softly, "Maybe we shouldn't have mixed the Hulk serum with the Supernova Energy."

"Shut up!" Hode suddenly shouted, his voice a blend of seven different tones. "All of you, be quiet!"

A miracle happened. The seven powers reached a delicate balance within him, like a perfect symphony. The heat of the Supernova Energy was neutralized by the resilience of S.H.I.E.L.D., the agility of the Data Stream guided the direction of the Thunder, the mystery of the incantations strengthened Hulk's wildness, and the destructive power of the anti-life equation...

"...was tamed by love," Hode said softly, his voice carrying an unprecedented calmness. He looked up at the sky, where countless phantoms of the anti-life equation were condensing, but this time, he felt no fear.

"Diana!" Hode shouted, his voice carrying across the entire battlefield. "S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

"Got it!" Diana's voice came from below, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. fragments instantly assembled into a massive silver barrier, enveloping the entire battlefield. But this time, the faces of the seven lovers appeared on the barrier—Carol's supernova wings, Diana's Lasso of Truth, Natasha's Data Stream web, Billy's thunderous blue dragon, Zatanna's Rose Spell, Hulk's purple shorts, and Bruce's scuffed bat-suit.

"Billy!" Hode continued to shout. "Thunder!"

"Coming!" Billy's voice came from the clouds, and the Thunder, like a massive seven-colored dragon, coiled around the outside of the S.H.I.E.L.D. barrier. The dragon's scales were engraved with the power symbols of the six lovers, while the dragon's eyes were the black vortexes of the anti-life equation.

"Zatanna!" Hode's voice began to tremble. "The incantations!"

"As you wish." Zatanna's voice carried the echo of magic, and the Rose Spell turned into countless golden threads, wrapping the entire battlefield into a giant cocoon. But the names of the seven lovers appeared on the cocoon—written in their respective languages.

"Carol!" Hode shouted with the last of his strength. "Supernova!"

"Leave it to me!" Carol's voice carried the heat of the Supernova Energy, and the light cocoon instantly exploded, enveloping the entire battlefield in a seven-colored radiance. But this time, the light was mixed with the green of hope—the healing factor Dr. Banner had discovered hidden within the Hulk serum.

When the light dissipated, the battlefield was silent. The phantoms of the anti-life equation had vanished, leaving only seven-colored energy lingering in the air. Hode stood in the center, the seven specks of light on his palm gone, replaced by a seven-petaled rose tattoo—each petal reflecting the face of a different lover.

"You did it," Diana's voice came from behind, carrying a divine tenderness. She walked to Hode's side and gently brushed over the rose tattoo on his collarbone. "You balanced the seven powers."

"No," Hode shook his head, his voice so soft it was as if he feared shattering something. "I didn't balance them; they chose me."

Natasha's Data Stream rose from the ruins, forming a humanoid shape. "According to calculations, your current energy readings have stabilized at..."

"Shut up," Hode said, but this time without anger. He walked toward Natasha and gently embraced the body composed of the Data Stream. "Thank you, Nat."

"Always at your service." Natasha's voice carried electrical static, but Hode could feel the warmth within it.

0---Requesting Flowers---

Carol descended from the sky, her supernova wings slowly folding behind her. "So, what are we now? A superhero boy band?"

"No," Hode laughed, his voice a blend of seven different tones yet exceptionally harmonious. "We are... the Septet."

Billy's voice came from the clouds: "Then what's our team name?"