fictionpage Chapter 40 Exchange
Chapter 40 Exchange
Chapter 40 Exchange
"You know, the dirty green servant."
Poison Ivy saw Bane looking down with his grey-white eyes at the green vines tightly wrapped around him.
"All of this is useless to me."
A sickeningly sweet sound came from the vines. Poison Ivy broke out in a cold sweat. She stretched out her hands, and dozens, even hundreds, of roots and other plants grew from the ground, reinforcing the already bound body of the zombie Bane.
But this did not stop the zombie Bane from moving.
The plants turned black and withered under the corrosive influence of decaying blackness, then the zombie Bane exerted a slight force...
Click.
The enormous monster strolled along slowly:
"Poison Ivy. Right? Can I call you Ivy? I heard that's what they call you."
呲!
A gunshot rang out.
Several layers of tree-formed shields rose up from the ground beside Ivy in just a few seconds. The electric current fired by the surge effect gun could only barely penetrate the first layer before it became powerless.
Botanist Jason Wood lay beside them, barely within Poison Ivy's protective circle, his eyes closed, like a real dead tree.
Poison Ivy and Killer Croc stood back to back, their eyes fixed on Deathshooter standing next to the zombie Bane.
His once barely handsome face had now been completely replaced by decay and maggots.
Interlocking canine teeth grew from his lower jaw, and strands of dark red, rotting flesh hung from it. Compared to this horrific sight, his grayish-white eyes were the only recognizable feature on his face.
The Cheshire Cat, even in this state, still wears her mask; perhaps this is a sign that she still retains a sliver of self-awareness, Poison Ivy is unsure. But such a faint sense of self is utterly incapable of shaking the decaying darkness, and therefore utterly useless.
The jagged, sharp fangs pierced her jaw, tore open her swan-like white neck, and left a patch of black, foul blood on her delicate collarbone.
The ventriloquist had lost his glasses and was holding a Thompson submachine gun. His once cherished Batman doll was now lying on the ground.
Insect segments protrude from his mouth.
They were all parasitized by the Black Rot, just like that guy named Bane. Poison Ivy had heard of him, the mastermind behind releasing herself and her fellow inmates from Arkham Asylum, and now they were all slaves to the Black Rot.
Without the protection of the red of all living beings and the green of all things, they are utterly vulnerable to the relatively powerful decaying black in this region.
Then, and finally... was the last thing she wanted to encounter:
Harley Quinn.
"No……"
Poison Ivy lowered her hands.
Harlequin's red and blue twin ponytails had come undone, and black blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth, which was particularly glaring against her chemically bleached skin.
And the dark green plant armor that Poison Ivy meticulously wove for Little Harry...
It has also been completely dyed black.
In the end... you still couldn't protect anyone, Ivy. But you still have a chance to salvage something.
She saw the monster, covered in grotesque muscle blocks, extend its hand towards her: "We can make a deal."
"All we need is you. The representative of the Green of All Things. This woman and your companions are irrelevant. You call her Harley Quinn, right?"
"You care about her."
"And we just happen to not need such an ordinary mortal."
Two voices rang out simultaneously from the zombie Bane, the two hunters from the Rotten Black saying in unison:
"Let's make a trade, one for many."
You know very well that neither the parasitic growth of decaying blackness nor the permeation of the verdant green of all things is an irreversible transformation. We only want you. This woman named Harley Quinn will open her eyes in a few hours, unharmed, back in her home.
"And you, you need to come to us... join the Black Corruption... trust me, don't be afraid. The purification process is wonderful."
Killer Croc whispered to Poison Ivy, "Damn it, Ivy, you wouldn't actually do something that stupid, would you?"
The green lizard lowered its head, opened its mouth, and racked its brains for something to say to persuade Ivy. Never before had it resented its poor eloquence so much.
He hadn't used his brain in a long time, so much so that when he needed to, his mind went blank and he couldn't utter a single word.
Finally, he said sullenly, "You shouldn't have joined the Corrupt Black; it wasn't the right way."
After saying that, Killer Crocodile tried to break his own teeth.
Poison Ivy gave him a forced smile:
"I know what you're trying to say is, 'Even if I sacrifice myself, they won't let Harley go.'"
Or perhaps you're saying, "Death is the very nature of decay and darkness; how could they possibly defy their own instincts?"
So you knew all along!
The killer crocodile nodded its head like a woodpecker: "That's exactly what I wanted to say!"
"If that's your concern, then perhaps we can explore a different trading method."
Zombie Bane pointed to Jason Wood, the plant master, who was lying on the ground, unable to resist.
"We understand that you don't want to come here; you don't yet understand the darkness of decay."
"How about switching to someone else?"
"That guy lying on the ground, his name is Plant Master, right?"
"You've already betrayed him once before, so why not a second time?"
"What's that saying? 'Either don't do it at all, or do it to the end.'"
"Since you're already enemies, aren't you? There's no better deal than exchanging the lives of your friends and comrades for the lives of your enemies."
Even though Killer Croc considered himself to be of low intelligence, he sensed that things were going terribly wrong.
Ivy looked like she was about to be persuaded.
"Ivy, you absolutely cannot..."
"I've made up my mind."
Then Killer Croc heard Poison Ivy say, "This is the last resort."
"I'll trade you for Harley."
Killer Croc felt like he was going crazy.
He understood. He understood what Poison Ivy was thinking. She couldn't abandon Harley, nor could she convince herself to betray the Botanist, so that damned urge to sacrifice herself surged within her, making her act like a fool and throw herself into the jaws of a beast!
He opened his mouth, and then felt his tongue get tied in a knot.
"Oh shit."
He said.
He saw Poison Ivy scatter the surrounding greenery, open her arms, and slowly walk away from him toward the decaying darkness.
"Wait...wait a minute!"
Killer Croc called out to Poison Ivy, his mind racing.
"It's not that there's no chance! We still have one last chance! Batman! Ivy! Batman is on our side this time, he's not the enemy, he..."
Killer Crocodile was at a loss for words. He stammered for a long time before finally saying:
"Batman always solves everything—Batman always wins!"
Even though Bane the zombie was unable to make facial expressions due to necrosis of his facial nerves, Killer Croc was still very certain that the other party was angry.
His greyish-white eyes gleamed with a malevolent light.
"Huh? This is your hope? Placing your hopes on others?"
"I'm so disappointed."
"Even if Batman comes—what can he do? He's just a coward who runs away."
He said, "Batman can't change anything..."
But the next second, he was bitten on the back by a huge dragon's mouth.
Batman!
(End of this chapter)