| Synopsis | - 7.8894E8
- In the swamps, Swamp Thing approaches Lady Jane and asks her what it is like to be rooted within the Parliament. She responds that it is like being embraced by one of the oldest and most accepting of families. It is to know peace and to know a freedom that transcends death.
- Back in the swamp, Swamp Thing plays with Tefé until he is suddenly struck by sharp pains. Calling for Lady Jane, he discovers that The Green is suffering a great injury and is calling him for help. Unfortunately, he has promised not to leave. Lady Jane responds that shirking his responsibilities as protector of The Green will not teach Tefé how to be a proper elemental.
- In New Jersey, Constance Sunderland and Dr. Binwey unleash the monster that used to be Winter upon a toxic waste site. They watch as the creature downs a barrel of toxic waste. Sunderland wonders what happens to the creature's own waste, but Dr. Binwey brushes it off. They stand to make a substantial sum of money based on the patent for these things. Suddenly, though, Winter decides he wants to escape. Sunderland's men try to shoot him down, but he is impervious. He kills Dr. Binwey, forces Sunderland to escape, and then wanders into the woods.
- However, despite these joys, the Parliament does not have love as humans know it. This in mind, he admits to her that he promised not to leave his family until the threat from Anton Arcane is past. Lady Jane responds that the promise was unwise, because he is the sole protector of The Green, and to be what he is and to have his daughter what she is, he cannot expect to live as humans do. Unseen, Abby overhears their words.
- Dr. Binwey at Sunderland's labs begins performing experiments on Winter, turning him into a horrifying monster; a man whose body can process toxic waste as nourishment.
- Swamp Thing has an idea. He creates a double of himself, instructing it to take care of things until he gets back, and then he searches for the source of the trouble, leaving the double behind.
- In Houma, Abby meets with her friend Chester, who reveals that he intends to go back to school, finish his degree, and become a biology teacher. However, in order to do that, he will have to move to New Orleans.
- In Louisiana, Abby Holland begs her husband the Swamp Thing to promise that he will stay with her and their daughter Tefé. She begs him not to answer the call of The Green and the demands of the Parliament of Trees. Reluctantly he promises, knowing full well that his responsibilities to The Green are paramount.
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