"Dr. Holland, the world needs your help." Batman's voice was flat and hard. He had no patience for people who abandoned their responsibilities and let the world spiral into chaos.
Though it wasn't a popular saying in this world, Batman had always embodied the principle that with great power comes great responsibility.
Having power but refusing to use it—to him, that was pure cowardice.
The middle-aged man turned around. His face was lined with exhaustion as he regarded the three uninvited strangers.
He didn't recognize Zatanna. Swamp Thing's memories weren't fully integrated with his own, and after two years of self-imposed isolation since regaining his human form, he'd never met Thea either. The only one he recognized was the legendary Batman.
"I knew you'd come eventually. You want Swamp Thing's help, but I can't do it anymore—I really can't. The Green has abandoned me. They're punishing me... All of this is my fault. I never wanted it to be this way..."
The middle-aged man was clearly in pain, his words tumbling out incoherently. He obviously understood the crisis facing the world. His good nature tormented him every second, and his heart yearned to stop this catastrophe. But without Swamp Thing's powers, he was just an ordinary middle-aged man.
Swamp Thing had once helped Thea purify her bloodline, giving her crucial early assistance. Though the help had ultimately come from Xanadu's guidance, Thea still remembered that debt. She didn't want to pressure him too much.
She grabbed Batman's arm before he could punch the man. "Doctor, you might not remember me, but I still need to say this—even if you can't transform into Swamp Thing right now, you can still help. We need the ecological restoration serum you developed. If we spray it globally, we can temporarily halt the spread of the Rot."
"You're planning to solve this with technology?" Batman perked up immediately. Technology was good—that was his specialty!
"It's only containment," Thea clarified. "I need time to find the real cause. And the dosage has to be precisely controlled. Letting the Green spread unchecked across Earth would be just as bad. Bring the doctor to the Batcave—you don't mind, do you?"
Batman wanted to object, but he didn't have much choice. Thea explained her plan to Dr. Holland.
"You know about the Rot too? Who are you?"
Thea didn't have time for lengthy explanations. She teleported the three of them to the Batcave, where Batman immediately pulled Dr. Holland into research on how to standardize and mass-produce the serum. Hand-crafting it one batch at a time would take forever—the flowers would wilt before they finished.
Zatanna, who'd been expecting an epic magical battle, was thoroughly disappointed. Using technology to solve the problem? Not cool at all.
Meanwhile, Thea began making calls to world leaders. All major biopharmaceutical companies around the globe would halt their current operations to focus on producing the serum.
Logistics teams began coordinating raw material distribution, and several rocket centers started preparations. Once production was complete, they'd load the serum onto rockets and spray it from the air.
Batman, that ridiculous overachiever, truly lived up to his reputation. By the time Thea finished coordinating everything, he'd already worked out the production process. Major biotech companies, including Wayne Enterprises and Queen Consolidated, immediately began mass production.
This was an ecological war. There was no need to wait—they manufactured in batches and launched in batches. Green serum began raining down across the globe via rockets. Superman soon joined the effort, carrying several-ton containers of serum to drop over the worst-affected areas.
The effect was immediate. Plant life exploded into rapid growth, automatically suppressing the spread of the Rot.
For three solid hours, not a single supernatural incident occurred anywhere in the world.
World leaders celebrated. This plague-like phenomenon was terrifying—it could infect ordinary people, which meant it could infect them too. They were living comfortable lives; who wanted to become shambling corpses?
While they celebrated, the group in the Batcave remained grim-faced. This was only the first step. They still hadn't found whoever was pulling the strings, and they couldn't guarantee the serum would maintain perfect balance with the Rot. Without formulas or theories, how could Batman calculate the equilibrium point? It was impossible.
Thea felt a bit guilty for putting such an unreasonable demand on Batman. She turned to Dr. Holland. "That Parliament of Trees thing, or whatever council it is—they should know the full details of this crisis, right? Or they could let you become Swamp Thing again. If you reconnect with the Green, you should be able to understand how everything developed."
Dr. Holland's expression remained troubled. "I don't know where you heard about the Parliament of Trees, but I have to tell you—if they don't contact me, I can't enter that realm. And neither can you."
Thea smirked inwardly. A few tree spirits weren't that impressive. It was just a pocket dimension.
These things called the Green and the Red felt similar to the Source in her perception. They were probably wild Source energy from eons ago that had, over countless years, merged with part of Gaia's will and awakened their own consciousness, becoming something else entirely.
Now they'd become part of the world's foundation and could no longer be absorbed. Thea could trace them back through the Source to find the pocket dimension, but that would be troublesome. She had a better way.
"If I give you some of the Green's power, you can reconnect with them, right?" Thea asked the middle-aged doctor.
"You still don't understand. They've rejected me. They've withdrawn my power. I want to help, but I can't—"
Thea raised her hand, cutting him off. The Green was impressive, but not so impressive it could steamroll the entire universe. Besides, it's not like you're the only one who can do this.
Dr. Holland looked like his whole family had died. He probably thought he was the only one who could commune with the Green.
Thea contacted Poison Ivy, who was in Gotham. She arrived at the Batcave quickly—this was her second visit.
Poison Ivy still didn't dare look directly at Thea, but that didn't stop her from staring at Zatanna. The fishnet-wearing magician caught her attention, and their eyes met across the room, exchanging some unspoken meaning.
"Doctor, you see—she also has the Green's power, doesn't she?" Thea asked confidently.
The middle-aged man's eyes went wide—not because of Ivy's appearance, but because of her essence.
Though it was somewhat strange, Poison Ivy definitely possessed a genuine connection to the Green. To his eyes, she shone like a beacon.
He'd discovered Ivy's anomaly, and she'd noticed his unusual nature as well.
"Thea, why did you call me here?" Ivy asked.
"This guy—see if you can transfer a small amount of energy to him," Thea said, pointing at the doctor.
Poison Ivy had no idea about the Green or any of this. In Thea's understanding, Dr. Holland was an official employee on the payroll, while Poison Ivy was like a hacker who'd swiped an access card. Now that Holland had been fired, he wanted to go back and apologize to his boss, but they wouldn't even let him through the door to explain. So the last resort was to use Poison Ivy's help.
Though they'd obtained power through different means, the essence was identical. Ivy could transfer a bit of chlorophyll to Dr. Holland, and he could extract the usable Green from it.
"This is enough. I've found the entrance to the Green." The doctor's body suddenly sprouted vines, and ancient patterns appeared on his face. Remembering his mission, he didn't waste energy on physical transformation but immediately reached out to the Green.
With just a moment's concentration, he made contact with the other side. Using this small amount of Green, he opened a gap.
"Let me see what this Green really is!" Thea had been tracking his mental signal the whole time. As soon as Holland opened the crack, she unleashed her divine power and forced her way in.
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Hey everyone, I'm back!
Gotta admit, I really needed a break. Even though I didn't rest all that much, I did get to go out a bit, travel around, and do some shopping. And yeah… I may or may not have spent money every single day—my wallet is definitely crying right now. ;_;
Anyway, jokes aside, taking this break made me realize I need to set aside a little more time for myself outside of work and school. Because of that, I'll be adjusting my upload schedule. New updates will go live at 7:00 AM (New York time), which is 12:00 PM UK and 10:00 PM Australia.
I've also decided to take one day off every week on Sundays to rest and recharge.
As for extra chapters: if you enjoy the story, you can send power stones—every 50 stones unlocks one bonus chapter. If that's not your thing, you can also support me on Patreon (irisbenton). I currently offer 10-day, 20-day, and 30-day early access tiers.
Thanks so much for reading and for all the support—I really appreciate it!