Faux DC! - Vertigo Titles - Swamp Thing #11

It had taken a few days for the Swamp Thing to regain his body. And it hadn 't been a pleasurable experience. The pain had been nearly too much for him to take as his limbs had rejuvenated. And the throbbing of his brain melding itself back to life had been excruciating.

The fear that he had, of his mind still being split in a waging war between sanity and insanity, still remained. It was the one thing that he had scared him the most, and now his terror remained.

For now, until he could find a cure, he would simply have to live with it.

And staring into Abby 's eyes as he returned to life had been enough to keep him going.

"Abby, " his weakened vocal chords chortled, "it 's so good to see you. "

"You too, " she replied. "Have you returned to normal? "

For a moment, he considered telling her about his mental state. But there was no reason to continue worrying her. Not now, anyway.

"As normal as I 'll ever be, " he told her.

"Who is this Pilate Voorhees you told me about? " she asked. "It 's one of the last things you told me before you died. "

"He 's a terrorist, " said Swamp Thing. "He 's infecting the bayou with toxic waste. And I 'm one of the things that he 's bent on destroying. "

"Toxic waste, " breathed Abby. "Is that what did this to you? "

"It 's possible. It was either toxic waste or corrosive acid, or a combination of both. Either way, it did its job, didn 't it? "

"No, " said Abby. "It didn 't. You 're back from the dead. "

"It won 't be the last time he tries to stop me, " Swamp Thing told her. "He 's already sent an assassin twice to try and kill me. And this last time he succeeded. I 'm not sure how much more I can take. At least, not for now, that is. "

"What are you going to do? "

"I think it 's time I left the swamp, " he said. "I have more problems than just Pilate. " He sighed, and then told her: "I 'm afraid I 'm losing my mind. "

Abby leaned forward on her knees. She hugged him around the neck.

"But I 'm afraid for the bayou 's existence, " he continued. "Without me, I fear that it might not be able to stand up to Pilate 's intent on destroying it. "

"Are you sure he wants to destroy it? " she asked. "From what you 've told me, he 's only hell-bent on destroying YOU. "

Swamp Thing considered this for a moment. "You have a point, " he said. "But it still doesn 't soothe my fears. " He sighed. "Two people have already died trying to stop him. Not to mention my own self. "

"You have to do what is right for you, " she told him. "If you 're not well, you won 't be able to stand up to him. You need to go and get your mind right. "

"Yes, " he said. "You 're correct. "

He stood back on his feet. He placed his hands on Abby 's face, tracing her features.

"You 're so beautiful. "

Abby blushed as she looked up at him.

Swamp Thing bent down and, gently, kissed her on the lips.

"I don 't know what I 'd do without you, Abby, " he said. You 've always been such a constant in my life. "

She smiled. And then she put her hands over his. Slowly, she pulled away from him.

"Unfortunately, " she said, "it 's still not right for us to reconcile. I need time. "

"Time, along with my heart, is still one thing I have left to give. " He smiled down at her. "Take as much as you need. "

Abby turned her back on him.

"I 'll always love you, " she said.

"And I 'll always love you, " he replied. "No matter what may happen. "

She stood there for a moment. A tear coursed down her cheek. And when she turned back around, the Swamp Thing was gone.

It was hotter than hell.

As a matter of fact, it was Hell.

"What have I been summoned here for? " asked Goregog. "What purpose does this serve? "

He looked at the three beautiful and naked women standing before him. Their names were Agony, Ecstasy, and Climax. Behind them, seated in flaming thrones, was Hell 's triumvirate: Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Belial.

"For such a lowly being, " said Agony, "you are very forward. "

"That still doesn 't answer my question, " replied Goregog.

"Are we not right to believe that the name Jimmy Coffey means something to you? "

Goregog took a step backwards. The name definitely meant something to him. He hadn 't heard it mentioned in ages.

In centuries past, Goregog had battled Mr. Jimmy Coffey. That was when he was a soldier in Hell 's infantry. Coffey had always been a thorn in his side. He 'd never been able to defeat him; on any level. Try and try again, Coffey had thwarted him. Goregog had made himself a pact that he would one day carry out his vendetta against Coffey. But it had never come to pass. Hell 's triumvirate had forbidden him to continue his personal war with Coffey. To quote them, he was making "Hell look bad. "

"What of it? " asked Goregog.

"After eons of silence, we believe he 's back, " said Agony. "And he 's a trouble we don 't want to have to deal with again. "

"So why call on me? " replied Goregog. "Is this a way to humiliate me? You know damned well that I was never able to neither capture nor torture his soul. "

"We 're willing to give you one more chance, " said Ecstasy. "If you so wish. "

Goregog laughed. There wasn 't anything he could want more than another try at defeating Jimmy Coffey. But he watched his forked tongue. This was a chance to see what Hell 's triumvirate wanted with him.

"And if I should do this? " asked Goregog. "If I should bring his soul to you, what do I get in return? "

"Is victory not enough for you? "

"Not anymore, " said Goregog. "I 've lost face to that bastard son more times than I can count. If I 'm to put myself in the line of fire, once again, I want something for my troubles. It must be something eternal. "

"And what do you suggest? " asked Climax.

"I want his body, " Goregog offered. "I 'll deliver his soul to you in return for his human vessel. "

"You mean you want to leave Hell? " asked Lucifer.

"Yes, " Goregog told him. "I want my release to walk eternally. "

For a long moment, the throne room was silent. All that could be heard were the crackling of flames as the triumvirate 's guards breathed out-and-in their damned souls.

"Grant it to him, " said Beelzebub.

"You have heard, " said Climax.

"And if I should fail? "

"You soul won 't be worth shit, " said Agony.

The throne room laughed.

"Done, " said Goregog. He flashed a smile full of his fangs. "I 'll bring you Jimmy Coffey 's soul. "

The man was trying to rape her.

Tefe had been walking through the train yard. Overhead, the night sky was bible black and bruised with purple streaks. Stars twinkled and winked at her.

And that 's when the man attacked.

He had burst out from between two trains.

"Okay baby, " he said. He was brandishing an evil looking knife that glinted as it caught the moonlight. "It 's time for you to give up that beautiful looking body. "

Tefe could smell him as the wind gushed towards her. He smelled of rot gut booze, stale cigarettes, piss, and unwashed body. It nearly made her throw up.

"You 'd be best to leave me alone, " she told him.

"Look at you, you little spitfire, " said the man. He swooshed the knife through the air. "I don 't think you 're in any position to tell me what to do. "

That 's when he attacked.

He took Tefe off-guard. He crashed into her, knocking them both down to the hard-packed ground. She felt her breath explode out of her lungs.

As he ripped open her shirt, exposing her small breasts, he put the knife to her throat. She felt it carve into her soft skin. The blade made a minor cut, and she could feel her own warm blood cascade down onto the floor of the train yard.

"Oh yeah, " he said. "This is going to be good. "

And that was the signal that Tefe had had enough.

She forced her arms into two verdant limbs. Her right arm twisted around the man 's neck, pushing him back. And her other grabbed him by the crotch, squeezing.

She lifted him into the air.

"You 're right, " she said, "this IS going to be good. "

She smashed the man back against one of the trains. He dropped his knife. And then she slammed him back, again. By the time she was finished with him, he was stone cold unconscious.

Tefe was out of breath as she finished with him. She sucked the limbs back into her arms.

Fixing her shirt back the best she could, she wiped away the thin streaks of blood dripping from her throat. For a moment, she wondered how many other women the man had raped. Hopefully, after his little experiment with her, she 'd be the last he ever tried.

She walked down the line of trains until she found one with its doors open. She climbed aboard the cargo car and leaned back against its wall.

"It 's nice to see you here, honey, " said a male voice.

Instantly, Tefe grew her arms back into branches. They wavered about in the dark car.

"Oh please, " said another voice. "Don 't hurt us! "

Hearing the plead in the voices, Tefe recognized that these two wouldn 't be any harm to her. She allowed her arms to replace the vines.

"Who are you? " she asked.

There was the flicker of a lighter, and Tefe saw the two men sitting across from her in the car. They were both skinny and appeared to be well groomed.

"I 'm David, " said the taller of the two men. "It 's a pleasure to meet you. "

"And I 'm Bruce, " said the other. He looked the more scared of the two. "Who are you? "

"I 'm Tefe, " she told them. "It 's my pleasure. "

David turned off the lighter. The cab was immediately masked in shadows.

"What are you two doing here? " she asked.

"We 're just riding the rails, " Bruce told her. "Much like you, I 'd suppose. "

"Are you running from something? " David asked her.

"You could say that, " replied Tefe. "I 'm just searching for who I am, I guess. Not to mention this is one good way to see the country. "

David laughed. "I agree with you. That 's what Bruce and I are doing. "

"If you don 't mind me saying, " Tefe told them, "neither of you look like you need to be stowing away on a train. "

"You don 't either, " Bruce said.

"Well & " Tefe shrugged.

"You can laugh if you want, " said David. "But we 're both millionaires. We 're just taking in the land for free. It 's a bit of excitement, you know? "

"I guess. "

"We wanted to have one adventure before I pass away, " Bruce told her.

"You 're dying? " Tefe asked incredulously.

"Yes, " replied Bruce. "AIDS finally caught up with me. "

"Oh. "

"If you haven 't guessed by now, " said David, "we 're lovers. I hope that doesn 't offend you? "

"Nope, " replied Tefe. She thought about Abby and the Swamp Thing making love. "I 've never had a problem with anyone loving anything. "

"Excellent, " said Bruce. "That makes me feel comfortable. "

Suddenly, the train began to rumble. They could feel the wheels beneath them starting to turn.

"Here we go! " said David.

Tefe smiled. This was going to be one fun journey.

And the train kept rolling into the night.

"Incinerate the body. "

Pilate watched as his guards carried out the order. They loaded the corpse of the Weed Killer onto a gurney and carted him out of the lab. It didn 't disgust Pilate watching him go. Already the assassin had failed him twice, and that was once more than he usually allowed.

Gustav attempted to tell him something as he left the lab, but Pilate brushed past him. He didn 't want to hear anything regarding his company or its accomplishments or failures on this day.

Instead, he retired to his personal suite.

There, bare-breasted and bound over his favorite leather chair, was Lilly.

"Aren 't you glad I got you out of that filthy cage? " he asked. Lilly nodded. She couldn 't respond with the ball-gag in her mouth. "I 'll treat you so much better. "

Stripping off his clothes, Pilate continued: "One day, "I 'll make you an immortal. I 'll give you anything you want. "

She looked at his disgusting nude body. She could see his emaciated ribs and the erect penis that poked out of its nest of gray and curling pubic hair.

He ripped off her thong panties and stared at her from behind.

"But for now, " he said, "I 'll take what I want. "

And with a thrust, he entered her.