Tuber

Clack.

Bane's Mask fell to the ground.

The black-and-white mask, though shattered, had remained firmly fastened to Bane's head until now—

At this moment, it came loose.

And Bane's self... fell into darkness along with it.

[Warning! Warning! Anchored item detected:]

[Bane's Mask]

[Description: This was the mask that fell from Bane's face after he endured the assault of an army twenty thousand strong, infection by Joker Toxin, and erosion by The Black. Along with this mask, which fell into the mud and was defiled, Bane's purely proud self was also cast down. You might be able to use it to summon a Batman from a parallel universe.]

Chen Tao had nearly forgotten that the Alfred Protocol existed.

[But would a being summoned by something defiled truly possess a pure and flawless identity?]

["No! Damn it, is this... the laughing gas controlled by that jester called Joker? Hahahaha, I'm dying laughing! How could that be?

I, Bane, would never be poisoned by such a low-grade toxin... Aha—hahahaha! I am the super Warrior, Bane! Awooooooo—"]

[Warning! Warning! Batman No. 52 is too far from the anchored item. Find a way to possess it immediately!]

Chen Tao's gaze locked onto the mask beneath Bane's feet. He let out a breath, then turned and whispered a few words to Robin.

The power of The Black spread through the forest. Trees wrinkled and rotted. A tree beside Harley Quinn transformed right before her eyes into a pile of foul-smelling, decayed wood.

The squirrel in the tree and several other nameless small animals fled in panic. Their tiny heads could not understand why they had suddenly suffered such a calamity.

Just as Harley Quinn reached out to save the little animals, Deathshot fired without hesitation and blew one of them apart.

"Hey—you—"

"Take a good look—"

Harley turned her head and saw the squirrel, which had been cute and harmless moments ago, let out a shrill, deflating scream. The animal raised its head as worms crawled over its hole-riddled face. Insect legs, slick with mucus, pulled themselves out of its body one by one and unfurled. It looked like a giant spider. Then the little monster suddenly leaped at Harley Quinn—

Bang!

Deathshot fired again, then strode forward and pulled a flamethrower pistol from behind him, setting it ablaze.

Seeing the squirrel scream and howl as it rolled across the ground in the flames, he took two steps back and said, "I've never seen anything this bizarre in my life."

Poison Ivy said nothing. She raised a hand, and vines rose from the ground, climbing over Harley Quinn's body and forming a suit of vine armor around her.

"Harley, be careful." Poison Ivy gritted her teeth.

"Don't let anything like that touch you. The vines on your body carry the power of The Green. They can protect you temporarily."

Deathshot said from the side, "Why don't you make one for me too?"

Poison Ivy ignored him.

"Sniff, sniff. Little Red, thank you!"

Harley Quinn hugged Poison Ivy. "You're the best!"

"So why can't you make one for me too? I'm afraid of dying as well."

"Get lost."

The two women said it together.

The lush greenery withered rapidly under the power of The Black. The huge zombie Solomon Grundy watched the darkness spread to his feet. His gray-white, ugly face wrinkled, revealing a look of disgust.

"Grundy hates this!"

Chen Tao said quietly to Poison Ivy, "How much more of The Green's power can you gather?"

Poison Ivy glanced at Plant Master.

Plant Master, who had fallen to the ground earlier, had at most lost his ability to resist temporarily because his body had been corroded by the herbicide solution. He still needed another agent of The Green—her—to bind him with vines.

Now, however, his face looked as though he were on the verge of decay, like a hundred-year-old old man whose life was nearly over and whose flame was about to go out. The once-burly body and the thick green leaves on his cheeks had all turned withered gray-black.

This was all Batman's doing. Chen Tao felt somewhat awkward, but he immediately cast the emotion aside.

Poison Ivy released the vines covering Plant Master Jason Wood's mouth. "Jason, we need your help!"

Chen Tao cut in with a question. "Where are the tubers on Swamp Thing's body?"

"I... can feel the power..."

Zombie Bane spread his mouth open. Even while being eroded by The Black, Joker Toxin was still taking effect. "Ha! Ha! Ha... heh heh..."

"What's going on?"

Another voice rang out from Zombie Bane's body. "The three of us are the Three Hunters. How could a mere toxin made by mortals..."

"Enough. Stop making fools of yourselves. The decaying forces of nature haven't completely taken control of this body. Part of him is still alive, protected by The Red. There's no time to explain. Prepare to deal with the enemy!"

Bang!

The gray-white giant zombie's fist slammed into Zombie Bane's face, sending his head snapping upward. Yet Zombie Bane showed no pain whatsoever. He laughed happily, then gave Solomon Grundy a hug.

"Fool, prepare to receive the power of the Country of Decay..."

"???"

"Solomon Grundy is a giant zombie who is neither alive nor dead. The power of the Country of Decay is useless against him." Chen Tao spoke quietly to Poison Ivy. "But we can't count on this mindless creature to defeat our enemies for us."

"I know, I know! I'm looking already, so stop rushing me!"

At that moment, Plant Master had been laid flat on the ground. Poison Ivy used the power of The Green to slice open his plant body, while Killer Croc helped search through Plant Master's stomach.

Of course, they found nothing.

Poison Ivy grew anxious. She stood up and walked over to Plant Master, then grabbed his face.

"Damn it, Jason! Do you realize how serious things have become? The Black is already right in front of us, and you're still fighting me?"

"Is this it?" Killer Croc suddenly shouted. He held out a lump of somewhat hard green material, its surface coated in a sticky layer of green slime.

Poison Ivy turned around. "That's the residue left after Jason fully absorbed the nutrients from the food he ate."

She turned back to Plant Master. "Think carefully. No matter how much we fight among ourselves, we're all members of The Green!"

"That's emotional blackmail." Plant Master let out a low, angry snort. "Traitor!"

"Urgh!" Killer Croc stood there, dumbfounded, for a moment before nearly throwing up.

Forcing down his disgust, he did not toss Plant Master's thing aside. Instead, he stuffed it back into Plant Master's body.

I'm not putting up with this crap!

"Jason! We're friends. We..."

"Enough. Look!" Chen Tao interrupted Poison Ivy.

He suddenly exerted force and turned Plant Master's head toward the battlefield, where Solomon Grundy and Zombie Bane were pounding each other with their bare fists. Deathshot and Cheshire Cat were firing furiously at Zombie Bane. "If The Black wins, we all die!"

"And before I die, I'll definitely throw you to that monster first!"

Plant Master fell silent for a while...

Then he vomited up two tubers.