| Synopsis
| - Unexpectedly, Swamp Thing discovers that Batman was overtaken by The Rot, and has since been chained up in the Batcave under the vigilant watch of Barbara Gordon. She had done this at someone's request, just in case a cure was ever found. As it turned out, Batman had been expecting Alec to arrive, and Barbara shows him a video in which Bruce Wayne, still in the early stages of his infection, begs Swamp Thing to finish the little work that he could begin.
Barbara agrees to lead Alec to their destination, using the better night-vision afforded her by the use of the Man-Bat Serum, which has also protected her from the Rot by connecting her to The Red. Though she and her companions had begged Bruce to take the serum himself, he injected her with it instead, against her will. He had already been infected by then.
A year ago, Abby Arcane had travelled all the way back to Blestemat and Anton Arcane's castle, hoping to contact the Parliament of Decay and take up the mantle of Avatar of the Rot in her uncle's stead. She was too late, however, and Arcane prevented her from making contact.
Since Gotham City fell to the Rot, the water was poisoned and it was only those with a connection to the Red or Green who could survive it. Barbara leads Alec through the city's tunnel system to the only place secure enough to protect those without any such connection: Arkham Asylum. Thanks to a green bio-laser barrier surrounding the building, the Rot has been kept out, with the further aid of former prisoners who were able to withstand the Rot's ravages standing guard.
In a back room, Barbara reveals that Batman had been working on a version of the Bio-Restorative Formula in vast quantities, which, when complete, would drain into a special container underneath the lab. Thanks to his own composition, Alec is able to complete a version of the formula which is especially aggressive - moreso than any other version - which can be used as a weapon against the Rot. Unfortunately, Alec's presence at Arkham has drawn Arcane's hordes, including the massive Giganta, who begins breaking down the barrier protecting the innocent people inside.
A year ago, Arcane was too great a match for his niece. Thanks to her rejection of her intended mantle as Avatar, he was able to take it. It was only by she and Alec's reluctance to accept their destinies that he gained this much power, and now it was far too late to stop him.
When the container below the lab filled, Alec and his companions were able to fight their way to America's heartland, where Arcane's stronghold lies. There, a vast army of Rot-infected metahumans exists to defend that stronghold. Fortunately, Batman left a gift for Alec; a massive tank-like Bat-Bot, capable of using weaponized Bio-Restorative Formula. Alec, meanwhile, has equipped himself with the harness that Bane used to use to inject himself with Venom, filling it instead with the formula. The population who once lived in Arkham are also equipped with weapons capable of blasting out weaponized formula, presenting a formidable force against Arcane's own. As he launches his attack, Alec hopes that, somewhere, Abby is still alive.
One year ago, Anton Arcane gleefully presented the Parliament of Decay with Abby's head, torn from her body by the spine.
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