If There's Grass On The Field

[Poison Ivy]

Though bent on her current objective, Pamela couldn't fail to notice when the Green Lantern redoubled his pace until he was in stride with, if not slightly ahead of, her. Typical. Men, she thought scathingly. Even in the face of something so severe as the well-being of every precious flower, bulb and root on the planet, and this "hero" was still most intent on the purpose that had driven him to New Bludhaven in the first place. How infuriatingly callous and selfish. So focused on his own devices that he couldn't comprehend the bigger picture.

Of course, that was what was wrong with most of humanity, Pamela reasoned. They simply could not understand the cause that kept her going. Coincidentally the same drive that put her into conflict so often with the so-called heroes of the world. Everyone was simply too dim and self-centered to grasp it. Poison Ivy did not attempt to conceal her loathing for the individual that strode through the dunes alongside her. He continued preaching, warning of how once this conflict was resolved nothing would have changed between them.

Exactly. Nothing would change. She would still make him into so many pounds of fertilizer as soon as he'd outlasted his usefulness. Poison Ivy was having a difficult time focusing on plans of revenge with the pressure of the situation at large. Not enough so that she didn't continually shoot the Lantern looks of unadulterated loathing. Enough so that once he saw fit to cease his insufferable prattling, he addressed the issue of her gaze. Pamela smiled in a truly eerie way at his comment. "For now," was all she said in a dangerous sweet tone.

The Green Lantern wasn't able to mull over the statement overlong, however. Within the next few strides the unlikely pair crested a dune and looked on... Up ahead was an outcropping of rocks, like a single, lost, dwarfed plateau that rose suddenly from the sands of the desert. Poison Ivy looked at the rock formation and knew assuredly, through some intuition or another that it was not natural. Had only recently appeared, but did a good job of looking more or less ancient. "There it is." Ivy's declaration was whispered in a low, furious octave.

[Hal Jordan]

The gravity of this situation was serious and Hal was not taking things lightly, but he'd come to face a number of threats that seemed to hint at the world's end and every time he (as well as others) have been able to put a stop to it. While the Lantern obviously cared for the planet and would do everything in his power and more to ensure that some foreign threat would not succeed against it, he still had other priorities and at the moment the main was Poison Ivy. Swamp Thing had placed faith in the both of them and though Hal wasn't entirely sure how they were going to end this threat he knew that Ivy would be of some use if Swamp Thing so said she would be. The only part that was left needing doing was to figure out how that'd go.

It was unfortunate that Hal did not trust his partner for the evening because now that meant not only did he have to worry about this unknown force that sought to rid the world of one of its essentials, he also had to vigilantly keep an eye on the woman who was supposedly watching his back. This was a disaster. Her two word reply to him gave Hal a slight chill between his shoulders but the Green Lantern shook the feeling almost immediately, besides there was something was just a little more pressing to deal with at the moment. Stopping his walk at Ivy's side Hal stared out at the rock formation that seemed to vastly out of place in the middle of the clear desert. At the foot of the sand hill they topped lay a rim of jagged rock that protected a smoother surface in the center. With a slightly furrowed brow Hal pointed his ring at the plateau below and performed a quick scan.

::Sentient non-terrestrial being in proximity:: Hal frowned as his arm dropped back down at his side. "Yeah, I guess that is it." Just as the words left Hal's lips there came a great breeze, its strength threatening to knock both individuals upon the dune off kilter, and then came the rush of the same red mist that had floated mysteriously about Ivy's haven. Settling himself in a new stance Hal quickly threw his arm up once more, this time creating a green construct to stave off the mist that loomed toward him. The Green Lantern groaned as an emerald bulldozer drove forth sliding down the side of the sand tune. A line of dozers formed side by side, forming a wall that pushed back on the crimson death mist. "Climb on my back." He commanded to the plant woman as wisps of the plant killing fog slipped between his constructs. "We're gonna go say hi to the sentient non-terrestrial being."

[Poison Ivy]

Poison Ivy pondered if they might have the element in surprise against the monstrous force that had taken residence in this barren heartland. There did not seem to be anything of note stirring around the plateau, at least. If luck would have it, they might be able to use stealth to arrive at the heart of the problem. Against Pamela's better judgement, of course. Had she had her choice, she would have lain siege on the rock formation with every shred of power that she possessed. Venue and experience stood abreast against her, though.

Venue because, Mother Nature or not, she could not inspire enough monstrous growth in this desert to forge a formidable offensive. Experience because Poison Ivy knew if her babies met with the crimson mist, they would shrivel and perish without being given a fighting chance. Pamela was deep in thought, eyes almost closed because they were slits of concentration. Just when schemes began to develop in her cunning mind, the brief moment of peace ended. The Lantern was playing with his bulky bit of jewelry one moment, and the next?

"You blew our cover!" Ivy rounded on the Green Lantern furiously. Anger couldn't stay tangible toward the hero, however, because even if the crimson mist had begun surging forth from the plateau, he brandished his power suddenly to oppose it. As unexpectedly as the mist had ensued, suddenly a phalanx of emerald bulldozers began pressing the substance - that seemed more solid than it at first appeared - back towards the craggy facade of the plateau. Pamela had half a mind to refused the Lantern's order.

The vines twined around her forearms extended and started lashing at the air like enraged serpents. Then her defiant eyes met the wall of burgundy vapor, and turned into indignant stubbornness. The botanist strode around the Lantern, looped her willowy arms around his neck and twined her legs around his torso. Pamela leaned forward and whispered in the hero's ear. "Let's.

[Hal Jordan]

She blamed him for blowing their cover, why was Hal not surprised? Of course the independent, master of nature could not just say a warm thank you to Hal for stopping the mist that threatened to knock her out once again, and maybe worse. "Tch," Hal smacked his lips but paid it all very little mind, after all they were about to face some strange creature that wanted to end the planet; there was little question as to how it would respond to two beings from said planet. Though Ivy was a tough one to work with and already was beginning to blame him for anything not going their way he was glad that she climbed onto his back without qualms, it made things a heck of a lot easier.

Hal's protective aura spread itself to encompass Poison Ivy's form as well as Hal quickly lifted off of the desert ground. The red mist had completely washed over his tonka constructs and were just inches from collided with the hero and villainess. "Uh oh." Hal glanced downward to see that the destructive clouds of red had now lifted to the air and traveled vertically, apparently it could be directed any which way. Luckily for the two on this mission however the mist was unable to get through a Green Lantern's safety measures. But things would be just a wee bit tougher on them if the mist didn't give up at some point. Facing the hidden big bad while still trying to stave off extra terrestrial herbicide wouldn't be a walk in the park.

"When we get close enough to the plateau, I'm gonna drop you. You deal with our visitor as best you can, for as long as you can, and I'll try to figure out how I'm going to stop this poisonous mist." Swamp Thing had wanted Ivy from the get go, right? Maybe that meant she'd stand a better chance against this alien if there wasn't the poison for her to worry about. And hey, if they failed at any of this then Hal would just blame it on Swamp Thing's poor prep. "Here we go." Hal commented just before reducing friction between himself and Poison Ivy, causing the woman to slip cleanly from his back and down onto the rocky plateau below. As a gift from Hal his protective aura remained around Ivy even as she separated from him.

[Poison Ivy]

Had the current climate not been so pressing, and Pamela's thought been so bent toward this crimson menace, she might have taken the opening that the Green Lantern provided her with. He did it for the sake of victory. A stratagem that, in the moment that they were in, was second nature him. The Lantern was a hero, after all. After taking to the air, Poison Ivy felt the clever little aura that protected her ally smoothly flow to encompass her as well. For the first time Pamela could feel actual body heat, and the fabric of the Lantern's suit beneath her own skin. How simple it would have been to fill that skin-tight barrier with pheromones. Poison, even?

Surprisingly enough, the thought didn't even cross Pamela's mind. That form of petty malicious vengeance was below her, given the state of things. Poison Ivy's gaze was narrowed and warlike. She didn't pay any mind to the encroaching crimson tide, but was focused utterly on the plateau so close at hand. She knew that that was where the source of all of this was. The Green was dead in this small area of the world. Pamela felt cut off from her power, but that did not mean she was defenseless. She was now a beacon of the Green. It's champion and mistress, sent to combat this threat.

Poison Ivy would not fail.

She heard what the Green Lantern said, but it barely made it through the haze of fury that had clouded over her mind. Pamela was dropped as her companion made a brief sweep over the edge of the rock formation. The experiments that had turned Ivy into what she was did not merely extend to the influence of flora. Her body was strengthened far beyond that of a mortal woman. Pamela landed with surprising agility on the flat expanse of the plateau's top. Now she could see that the top of the formation was not featureless. At the heart of the level was what looked like a mismanaged tumble of obsidian and coal.

Poison Ivy paused long enough to recognize the Green Lantern's protection was still around her shoulders, and then she strode forward purposefully. The vines around her forearms spiraled over her entire body, weaving a full body suit of thorns and stretching beyond, swirling through the air around her like whips. Pamela paused halfway to the mound of black materials, and for good reason. It had begun to glow. Like coals being warmed by a steady flame. Ivy widened her stance, ready for whatever grotesque monstrosity came from the structure - if the pile itself was not her enemy.

And Pamela's arms fell limp to her sides.

One slab of the thing rose, showing light within and a silhouette moving against it. That same slab slid seamlessly back into place, showing what was behind this crimson mist. He was gorgeous. As ravishing as Pamela was, this man - this creature - was inspiring, and as other-worldly as Mother Nature was, he was ethereal. The creature's skin was an ashen gray, turning steadily to obsidian as it traveled down the plains of his willowy arms and legs. His hair might have been blond and sweeping away from his angular face, only they were made of pale golden flames moving in a way that no fire could.

The being did not wear a scrap of clothing, but the curtails of smoke that rose from his forearms and calves sustained his modesty - though Poison Ivy wouldn't have minded seeing more. Never had she been so stopped by a man - if one could even call the manifestation before her a man. "You have come," he said. His tone carried more than it should have and resonated in several layers. "My Queen." Pamela blinked. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind this seemed wrong... But then there was a veil of smoke surrounding her that stemmed from the man's hand, and her eyes turned from furious green to dazed gold.

"Come to me." And Pamela did. With each step her physicality transformed. Her skin lost color, turning a green that was almost black. Not only was she changing by her own power, but the smoke still clouding around her began weaving new garbs out of nothing, defying all laws of logic. Poison Ivy mounted the tumble of strange matter, and took the outstretched hand of the alien. Now she wore garbs that covered her from collar to feet very similar to the leotard that was so famed for wearing. Only this was created of black leaves powdered with ash and glowing cheery-red and yellow on the edges from flames that did not move.

The leaves swept up her neck and framed her face, so that her hair - a much darker shade of auburn now - flowed out from above it. "Yes... my love." A smirk tugged at the features of the alien, and he slipped his hand around her hips so that stood abreast, looking out at the crimson tide. "You will be my vessel to undoing this world," he said softly. "You shall turn on what you once protected, and I will change you. The perfect mate. We shall rule this world as should be. Queen Ivy and King Stygian!" Pamela allowed Stygian to rest his cheek on her brow. "Of course, my love."

Stygian frowned. "There's just one thing stopping us." Ivy looked up, confused through her stupor, and her King gestured to the figure rimmed in emerald light flying out above the mist. Pamela smiled darkly. "Allow me, my King."