The Swamp's Betrayal

"They're coming," Plant Master announced, moving from the doorway of their cabin to a large stone outside. Professor Goldblum and Poison Ivy were at a table beside the stone. The old professor was wearing a gas mask and synthesizing tubes of light yellow potions. 

"I can feel it!" Poison Ivy clacked away at a keyboard. "They're getting closer!" She picked up a vial, shook it, stirred it with a rod, and placed it in a box. "Would you stop fidgeting? I need to concentrate," she snapped. "We won't have these instruments once we're in Louisiana. We need to synthesize more raw materials!" 

"Hurry," Plant Master urged, his voice a low rumble as he sat on a nearby stone. "They're coming." 

.... 

"We're here. C'mon, this way." Harley pointed towards a log bridge that extended across the swamp. "I bet Poison Ivy's hideout is right across this." Robin stepped onto the bridge, followed by Deadshot and the others. Adam gave Harley a meaningful look. "Really, Harley? You think we'll find Poison Ivy just by crossing this bridge?" 

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Harley nodded quickly. Batman continued to stare at her.

"Um... what's up?" 

Stare-- 

"Hahaha?" 

Adam offered a cryptic smile and also stepped onto the bridge, much to Harley's relief. She deliberately lagged behind, muttering to herself, "3, 2, 1."

Boom! 

A mass of vines and tree trunks erupted from the water, the wooden bridge instantly transforming into a writhing, serpentine creature, ensnaring everyone. "What the hell?!" It all happened so fast. Deadshot instinctively drew his weapon and fired, severing several vines that reached for him. But the collapsing bridge threw him off balance, and he was soon bound tight. 

Buzz, buzz, buzz... 

Harley Quinn cartwheeled away, narrowly escaping. "Don't waste your energy, Count Vertigo. I know your powers are stronger the closer you are. You need something dense with tightly packed molecules to help conduct that sonic voodoo in your head." "But now you're separated from your water source, which is a great conductor of sound. At this distance, you can't do a damn thing to me," Harley taunted, gesturing towards the murky water below. 

Ms. October displayed impressive agility, contorting her body to dodge several vines before teaming up with Cat. The two women's blades flashed, severing the surrounding vines with swift precision. But the next moment, the wood beneath them demonstrated the meaning of "an old tree can still bloom." Their feet entangled by the roots, the two women were quickly captured. 

"Why... why?" Ms. October struggled, held fast by the vines in front of a massive tree. The tree trunk split open, revealing a dark, gaping hole. 

"What the hell are you doing, Harley Quinn?!" Robin shrieked. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted her!" He sounded on the verge of a hysterical breakdown, secretly clutching a plastic explosive behind his back. 

Only Adam and Dogwelder remained unfazed, allowing the greenery to crawl over them and bind them like cocoons. Harley crossed her arms, a smirk on her face as she looked at Adam. To her surprise, he didn't seem surprised at all. 

"Harley Quinn, what are you playing at?" 

"What am I playing at?" Harley suppressed a strange feeling in her chest. "Just what you wanted, dummy. Because it's Thursday. And Thursdays are usually crazy." Poison Ivy and Plant Master, sensing their trap had been sprung, finally arrived on the scene. 

"Harley?" Poison Ivy said, surprised. Harley Quinn skipped over, her voice dripping with sickly sweetness. "Hi honey! Sorry about hangin' with Bats, but I had to make these guys think I was on their side so I could lead them here, right into your trap. You can go ahead with your plan! Pretty clever, huh?" 

Poison Ivy approached, staring blankly at her, as if unable to believe the words coming out of Harley's mouth. But then, Harley leaned closer and whispered, "Pammy, please drop this crazy plan. It's really, really not gonna work out. Don't turn us all into vegetarians. There have to be other ways. You're messing with the ecosystem and people don't know it yet. I'm sure I could get you a light sentence when you go to trial, 'cause your heart's in the right place, even if you do kill a few people, but please just drop the plan. Pammy, my little cutie pie, please, please, please drop it!" 

"What? No! Harley, the Earth is dying! I'm not destroying it, I'm saving it! Saving it from those who exploit and abuse—" 

Harley's face fell. "I've been surrounded by those humans my whole life, but we can change them, prune them, shape them, like a gardener. I don't want to, but I have to—" 

Harley sighed dramatically, tears welling up in her eyes. "Well, you can't say a girl didn't try." 

She leaped back, two weed killer micro-capsules flying from her hands. They landed on the trap and exploded. The massive trees toppled with a groan, freeing Ms. October and Deadshot. 

Poison Ivy: (⊙_⊙)? 

Harley's sudden betrayal left her speechless. "Special herbicide. You gave it to me, remember? Red." Harley explained, "I figured I owed them one after that lollipop incident." Poison Ivy immediately lunged, seizing Harley by the throat. "I thought we were friends!" 

"Red, friends don't let friends kill seven billion people, you—" 

"Uh-oh." Harley saw Ivy's fist rising. 

Bam! A punch landed squarely in Harley's eye socket, sending her reeling. "Red! I'm helping you!" 

Then the two women fought together. 

"Grrr!" 

Plant Master joined the fray. Deadshot scrambled to his feet, grabbing two freeze grenades and hurling them. "Damn it, let's go!" 

"Wait." Adam stopped him. "Hold on." 

"What are you doing?" 

Deadshot stared in disbelief as the frost bombs exploded against Plant Master, creating a burst of ice that instantly vanished, leaving the creature unharmed. "Just wait. Remember? Herbicide." 

"What are you—". Deadshot didn't finish his sentence before rain began to fall. A light green rain fell, melting the trees and corroding holes in Plant Master's body. He shrieked in agony. Deadshot turned to hear Batman say, "What are you fighting for? I'm flooding this entire area with herbicide, so much that even their breath will smell like weed killer." 

... 

My name is Bane. Wherever my tombstone lies, I am running towards it, exhausted. While I chase lightning and put out fires, wearing myself thin, Batman gathers his strength, enjoying this grand spectacle, leisurely waiting at the center... waiting to defeat me at my own grave. 

I know I should pursue the true mastermind, the cold and calculating figure at the heart of this chaos—Batman. But to reach him... I must first face this storm head-on. I am Bane, and I am taking action. There is no time to rest, no time to delay.

.......

"Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review. Thank you for your support!" 🤞