Chapter 553: Seeking the Red
Thea knew the brutal truth but showed no embarrassment. She left the Green with an expressionless face. The environmental damage was already done—there was no point dwelling on it. Better to focus on the present.
Back in the Batcave, Swamp Thing, having regained his power, could now sense the detailed state of the entire natural world. Using the information he provided, Batman could finally create rough dosage charts for the spray, suppressing the Rot without letting the Green run too rampant.
The immediate crisis was basically resolved. Finding a way to make the Rot back down became the new challenge.
According to Swamp Thing's feedback, the Rot kept counterattacking with varying intensity, making it hard to predict. Both Thea and Batman suspected someone was controlling it from behind the scenes.
Analyzing the cause, finding the mastermind, then beating them into submission—this was Batman's tried-and-true method from over a decade of operating in Gotham.
The approach might be crude, but this process could handle ninety percent of the world's toughest problems. Thea didn't have a better solution at the moment.
The only trouble was: where was this enemy?
"Abby might be able to help me open a passage to the Rot?" Swamp Thing suggested tentatively.
"Absolutely not. The time differential between the Rot and our world is too extreme. The Green flows at the same rate as us because it's all plant life, but the Rot is composed of the dead. I don't think they need time at all. Forget that idea—don't you dare go in there!" Thea immediately shot down his suggestion.
In the original timeline, this champion of the Green and the Red's chosen warrior, Animal Man, had both been hotheaded youths who'd charged into the Rot yelling about counterattacks. The time ratio there was one minute to one year.
Because they'd taken most of the Green and Red's power with them, by the time they emerged, they discovered that the balance had shattered. The entire world had been corrupted by the Rot, becoming a Rotworld. Just one year had passed outside, but Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash—all dead. "Tragic" didn't even begin to describe it.
Thea absolutely would not allow such a brainless move.
The Abby that Swamp Thing mentioned was another tragedy. She was Swamp Thing's lover but also the earthly avatar of the Rot. The two had enacted nature's version of Romeo and Juliet, ultimately both abandoning their human identities to become part of the natural balance.
Thea vaguely knew about this person. She didn't ask for details, but Batman would never let such information slip by. Who was Abby? Where was she? What was her full name? What did her ancestors do? He peppered Swamp Thing with questions until the creature was thoroughly confused.
"This person is important. She should be kept under protective watch," Batman concluded. His interrogation technique was skillful, easily extracting considerable information from Swamp Thing. He immediately recognized the implications.
Thea supported the suggestion. Not going to the Rot and protecting Abby weren't mutually exclusive. These female leads all had pathetically weak combat ability but loved courting death. If Abby died, it would mean the Rot gained another powerful champion, making things even more difficult.
Zatanna, who'd been idle the whole time, took a photo of Abby and volunteered to fetch her.
Meanwhile, Thea began considering the Red. In the original timeline, Animal Man represented the Red. In this timeline, she didn't know if he was keeping a low profile or simply hadn't officially adopted the Animal Man identity yet—she couldn't find any relevant information online.
"Doctor, try contacting the Red. We need its power," Thea said.
"We're not from the same power source. How am I supposed to contact them?" Swamp Thing's voice was deep and rumbling. He thought Thea was joking.
"The Red represents life force. Leaving humans aside for now, wild animals definitely eat plants. Maybe you can work something out from that angle. Otherwise, with the entire human population to search through, we'll never find the Red," Thea explained.
Seeing he still didn't understand, she broke it down further. "Look, large animals eat small animals, small animals eat plants—that's our ecosystem, right?"
Swamp Thing nodded. Thea continued, "If a small animal eats a plant but doesn't digest it before getting swallowed by a larger animal, theoretically you could sense the movement of life through those undigested plant materials. Through this biological network, you might find traces of the Red."
Thea had never tried this herself. She could only offer a rough approach—Swamp Thing, being a doctor, would need to figure out the specifics. His intelligence should be up to the task.
Swamp Thing concentrated hard, like he was charging up an ultimate attack. After a long while, he said uncertainly, "I'm getting faint responses, but... I'm detecting two targets."
Animal Man and his daughter? That was Thea's first thought, but she immediately realized she was wrong. Swamp Thing continued, "One is in Southern California. The other... seems to be in San Francisco?"
Two targets appearing confused Thea, but when confused, she simply stopped thinking about it. Whoever they were, she'd bring them back first.
Batman strongly objected to bringing so many unrelated people to the Batcave. What the hell—this is turning into a tourist attraction! Haven't you noticed Batgirl and the third Robin don't even dare come in anymore?!
Thea realized he had a point. Constantly using the Batcave wasn't appropriate. Her identity wasn't secret, and she had plenty of facilities. They agreed to meet in Metropolis instead.
Two years ago, Queen Consolidated had purchased a massive complex in Metropolis with every type of entertainment and training facility. The original plan had been to recruit members and run it as a luxury club, but Metropolis had never been peaceful, so it had never officially opened.
With her vast resources, Thea had initially forgotten about it. Later, driving past one day, she'd realized the building's location and architectural style bore a striking resemblance to the Justice League's Hall of Justice from the future!
The place was still sitting vacant. She gave them this address—located in the western part of the city center, not far from the Daily Planet headquarters, with beautiful surroundings, convenient transportation, and comprehensive facilities.
Thea told them to meet there, then she and Batman split up to search for their respective targets.
Swamp Thing transformed his body into countless plants, able to provide both of them with rough directional guidance. Poison Ivy, noticing Zatanna hadn't returned yet, excused herself and flew off wearing her yellow ring to help.
Thea headed to San Francisco while Batman took the Batplane to California.
Swamp Thing's sensing was vague. Finding a specific person in a modern city was extremely difficult. Thea didn't rely entirely on him—her AI continuously scanned San Francisco for any animal-related anomalies during this period.
Unfortunately, it came up empty. This district wasn't wealthy, and the poor didn't have the habit of uploading their daily lives to the internet. Gideon expanded the search parameters several times, but the results remained the same. What doesn't exist can't be found, no matter how intelligent the AI.
Which superhero lived here? Thea thought hard but drew a blank. There were simply too many superheroes, and this was a real world—many wouldn't stick to one city like their lives depended on it.
Swamp Thing's guidance ended at a massive slum district. Batman's search had also hit a dead end. Searching for someone without a name, gender unknown—even the super-intelligent Batman faced a challenge.
Thea activated her invisibility and began wandering the area. The local police had no records of any superhero activity here, making her suspect her target probably wasn't Animal Man.
Whoever possessed the Red had to be a mutant. She searched through records from nearby hospitals. Beyond lamenting that healthcare costs were highest where people were poorest, she found nothing.
Out of desperation, she pulled out Clotho's compass. Unfortunately, with so few search parameters—no name, no gender—the compass spun uselessly and found nothing.
By the end, Thea was completely lost. Who am I looking for? Where should I go? Her head full of philosophical questions, she wandered aimlessly through the district.
Fortunately, Gideon's search capabilities pulled through. The police had nothing, the hospitals had nothing, but finally it found a clue on a forum.
"Rare tropical disease, unknown serum? This has to be him!" Thea felt a small thrill of excitement. Gideon had found a photo of a somewhat handsome young boy with a distinctly green face that looked rather off. Thea recognized him—this was Beast Boy from the Teen Titans! Though he looked several years younger than she remembered.
This kid was hard to find! (Gideon: *I* found him...) Instead of going to a proper hospital for his illness, he'd trusted some medical facility's "free treatment" offer and gotten injected with even more questionable serums, finally turning completely green and escaping from the lab.
With a face to work from, the search became much easier. The massive satellite network activated, running facial recognition through street cameras everywhere. Thea pulled out the compass to confirm the direction. Three minutes later, she was standing outside a small house.
She knocked gently. No answer. Activating her super-vision to see inside, she smiled with amusement. Using a bit more force, she pushed the door open and walked in.
The house had a strong lived-in feel. Bread was baking in the oven, and a plate of sausages sat on the living room table. Yet the house was completely silent.
"Anyone home?" Thea decided to play along with his little game.
The house remained utterly quiet. Only her footsteps could be heard.
"Come out, Garfield Logan. I don't mean any harm. World peace needs you! ...Little frog, I'm talking to you. I'm right, aren't I?" Beast Boy had the ability to transform into any animal. After a few circuits around the small house, Thea reached his hiding spot.
He'd turned into a frog and hidden in a pile of clothes. Unfortunately, under Thea's super-vision, it was completely useless.
Thea had to admire his transformation ability. Probably because he was young, the animals he became also had a certain youthful quality. Right now, she thought the frog he'd become looked quite adorable!
Human and frog stared at each other for several seconds. Thea's smile was radiant as she extended a slender, jade-white finger and poked the frog's head. Natural frogs were never this clean—obviously fake. This kid still lacked experience!
Beast Boy seemed to think he could still fool her. To demonstrate his ordinariness, he even croaked twice. Thea found it increasingly amusing, repeatedly pushing the frog's head down. He'd lift it back up, and she'd push it down again, utterly entertained.
Beast Boy got annoyed at being toyed with. Abandoning his disguise, he transformed into a gorilla with a loud whoosh, roaring at this strange woman who'd invaded his home with what he hoped was a fierce expression.
"Wow!" Thea's eyes lit up immediately. Unlike Grodd, that big, brutish, dirty gorilla, Beast Boy's small ape form perfectly matched her aesthetic. Most importantly, he was clean, and his green fur was nice and smooth.
Like lightning, Thea whipped out her phone and took a selfie with herself and the little ape in the same frame.
The camera flash startled Beast Boy for a moment. Then, realizing what had happened, he became even angrier. Despite being less than a meter tall, he jumped up, trying to slap Thea's face.
Thea didn't take him seriously at all. She pushed him back down with one hand and snapped two more photos.
If Beast Boy had been a few years older with some combat experience, he would've realized her strength far exceeded his limits—in other words, he should run. But right now, his mind wasn't mature. This was peak adolescent stubbornness. Can't beat her? Still gotta fight!
Deciding the gorilla wasn't working, he transformed into a kangaroo, a rhinoceros, a hippo, and a wolf. But the result was the same each time—Thea pinned him down and took photos.
What he thought were fierce, intimidating forms looked to Thea like a little kangaroo, little rhino, little hippo, and little wolf—all radiating an aura of adorable stupidity that shot straight to the heavens.
Thea genuinely loved small animals. She was good friends with Aquaman's companion Ya'Wara, who'd given her many exotic pets. Little tigers, little lions—her Star City estate and Metropolis villa were both full of them.
Wonder Woman's assessment was that this was typical behavior for a spoiled rich girl from the big city. In short: boredom. In the Amazons' eyes, animals of any size were enemies.
Thea felt incredibly fortunate right now. Thank goodness she came to San Francisco. Thank goodness she'd encountered an even younger Beast Boy. As he aged, the animals he transformed into would grow proportionally larger, and they wouldn't be cute anymore.
Forget about the Rotworld crisis—she'd deal with that later. To preserve this beautiful moment, she kept teasing Beast Boy, capturing his especially cute or human-like expressions on camera to enjoy later.
Like right now—the kid had transformed into a bear. Of course, to Thea it looked more like a little bear. Practically boiling with rage, Beast Boy extended his two short, thick front paws in what he hoped was a threatening display.
"Too adorable!" Thea immediately ran behind him, pinned his paws, rested her chin on his head, and used her Mage Hand to control the phone, frantically snapping dozens more photos.
Seeing the floating phone, Beast Boy's reason finally returned somewhat. He realized this woman had supernatural abilities, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
An almost human expression of fear on the little bear's face only made Thea more satisfied. She used psychic power to restrain him, crouched beside him, made a peace sign, and took another dozen photos.
Retrieving her phone, she reviewed the results. Really quite excellent. Thea planned to show Wonder Woman next time, to foster the warrior goddess's love for small animals. Thea had always considered this her responsibility.