Exchange

"You know, filthy green servant."

Poison Ivy saw Bane looking down at the green vines tightly wrapped around him with his gray-white eyes.

"None of this is useful to me."

A teeth-grating sound came from the vines. A bead of cold sweat trickled down Poison Ivy's temple as she stretched out both hands. Dozens, even hundreds, of roots and other plants grew from the ground, reinforcing the zombie Bane's body one by one, which was already wrapped up like a dumpling.

But this couldn't stop the zombie Bane's movements.

The plants turned black and withered under the corrosion of The Black. Then the zombie Bane exerted a little force...

Crack.

The enormous monster slowly paced forward:

"Poison Ivy, right? Can I call you Ivy? I heard that's what they call you."

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Several layers of shields made from trees rose from the ground beside Ivy within seconds. The electricity fired from the Pulse Wave Gun barely pierced the first layer before losing its power.

Plant Master Jason Wood lay beside them, barely within Poison Ivy's protective range. His eyes were tightly shut, and he looked just like a truly dead tree.

Poison Ivy and Killer Croc stood back to back, staring intently at Deathshot, who stood beside the zombie Bane.

His once barely handsome face had now been completely replaced by rot and maggots.

Interlocking fangs had grown from his lower jaw. Strands of dark-red rotten flesh hung from it. Compared with these horrifying sights, his gray-white eyeballs had somehow become the only thing on his face that was still remotely presentable.

Even in this state, Cheshire Cat was still wearing her mask. Perhaps that was a sign that she retained a sliver of self-awareness, but Poison Ivy wasn't sure. Yet such a feeble sense of self could never shake The Black, so it was useless.

Jagged, uneven fangs had pierced through her lower jaw and torn open her swanlike white neck, leaving a patch of black, filthy blood at her petite collarbone.

Ventriloquist had already lost his glasses. He held a Thompson submachine gun, while the Batman doll he had once treasured most had been thrown onto the ground.

Insect limbs protruded from his mouth.

They had all been parasitized by The Black, just like that man called Bane. Poison Ivy had heard of him—the mastermind who had released himself and his fellow inmates from Arkham Asylum. Now, they had all become servants of The Black.

Without the protection of The Red and The Green, they were utterly helpless before The Black, which was stronger in this area.

And then, at the very end... came the person she least wanted to encounter:

Harley Quinn.

"No..."

Poison Ivy lowered her hands.

Harley Quinn's red-and-blue twin ponytails had come loose. Black blood seeped from the corners of her mouth, standing out sharply against her chemically bleached skin.

And the dark-green plant armor Poison Ivy had painstakingly woven for little Harley...

had been completely dyed black.

"In the end... you still couldn't protect anyone, Ivy. But you still have a chance to make up for some of it."

She watched the monster covered in revolting lumps of muscle extend a hand toward her. "We can make a deal."

"All we need is you, the avatar of The Green. This woman and your companions are irrelevant. You call her Harley Quinn, right?"

"You care about her."

"And as it happens, we have no need for an ordinary mortal like her."

Two voices sounded from the zombie Bane at the same time. The two Hunters of The Black spoke together:

"Let's make a deal. One for many.

"You know very well that neither the parasitism of The Black nor the contamination of The Green is an irreversible transformation. All we want is you. This woman called Harley Quinn will open her eyes in a few hours and return home unharmed."

"And you will come over to our side... join The Black... Trust me, don't be afraid. The purification process is wonderful."

Killer Croc said quietly to Poison Ivy, "Damn it, Ivy, you're not really thinking of doing something that stupid, are you?"

The green lizard lowered his head and opened and closed his mouth, racking his brains for something that could persuade Ivy. He had never hated his poor eloquence as much as he did today.

He hadn't used his brain in a long time. When he finally needed it, his mind went completely blank, and he couldn't say a single word.

So, in the end, he muttered, "You shouldn't join The Black. That's not the right way."

The moment Killer Croc finished speaking, he wanted to break his own teeth.

Poison Ivy gave him a strained smile.

"I know what you want to say is, 'Even if I sacrifice myself, they still won't let Harley go.'"

Or perhaps you want to say: "Death is The Black's nature. How could they possibly defy their own instincts?"

So you knew all along!

Killer Croc nodded like a woodpecker. "That's right! That's exactly what I wanted to say!"

"If that's what you're worried about, then perhaps we can change the terms of the deal."

The zombie Bane pointed at Plant Master Jason Wood, who had collapsed on the ground, completely unable to resist.

"You don't want to come over to our side. We understand. You still don't understand The Black."

"Then how about someone else?"

"That guy lying on the ground is called Plant Master, right?"

"You've already betrayed him once. What's wrong with doing it a second time?"

"How does that saying go? Either don't do it, or see it through to the end."

"After all, you're already enemies, aren't you? Using an enemy's life to exchange for the lives of your friends and companions—there couldn't be a more worthwhile deal."

Even though Killer Croc had never thought much of his intelligence, he could still tell that the situation seemed terribly wrong.

Ivy looked as though she was already close to being persuaded.

"Ivy, you absolutely can't..."

"I've decided."

Then Killer Croc heard Poison Ivy say, "This is already the last resort."

"I'll trade myself for Harley."

Killer Croc felt like he was about to go insane.

He understood. He understood what Poison Ivy was thinking. She couldn't abandon Harley, but she also couldn't bring herself to sell out Plant Master. So that damn urge to sacrifice herself surged in her heart, making her throw herself into the jaws of a wild beast like an idiot!

He opened his mouth, then felt his tongue tie itself into a knot.

"Damn it,"

he said.

He watched Poison Ivy disperse the green plants around them, spread her arms, and slowly move away from him, walking toward The Black.

"Wait... wait!"

Killer Croc called out to Poison Ivy, his mind racing.

"It's not hopeless! We still have one last chance! Batman! Ivy! Batman is on our side this time. He isn't an enemy. He..."

Killer Croc ran out of words. He stammered for a long while before finally saying:

"Batman can always solve everything—Batman always wins!"

Even though the zombie Bane could no longer change his expression because of the necrosis of his facial nerves, Killer Croc was still certain that he was furious.

His gray-white eyes flashed with a vicious light.

"Huh? That's your hope? You're placing it in someone else?"

"How disappointing."

"Even if Batman comes... what can he do? He's nothing but a coward who ran away."

He said, "Batman can't change anything..."

But the next second, a gigantic dragon's maw clamped down on his back.

Batman!