Disclaimer: I do not own "Swamp Thing" or any of its characters. This story is purely a work of fan-fiction. No profit is being made from it.

Swamp Thing stared intently at a conical flask filled with clear liquid as it was heated by a Bunsen burner. Abby Arcane stood a few yards away also watching curiously.

The two of them were in Swamp Thing's hidden lab. Located inside a giant tree, the walls and floor were wooden with numerous leafy creepers growing up the walls. In one corner was a bookshelf and in another was a large hole that allowed sunlight and fresh air to enter. There was also a wooden table covered with chemistry apparatus that Swamp Thing was standing at.

After a moment the solution changed colour to reddish brown. He removed the flask and turned the flame off.

"So far so good" he said. "Abby, pass me the ninhydrin and the acetone."

"Right away Alec" Abby replied. She handed him two containers, one filled with white powder and the other with clear liquid. He accepted the containers and carefully sprinkled some of the powder into a third container. He then added some of the acetone and gently swirled it until the powder had dissolved.

"This is just like the good old days" he said wistfully.

"I know" she agreed. She had often helped out at Alec Holland's lab before his mutation into Swamp Thing.

He poured the ninhydrin solution into the reddish-brown liquid. It changed colour again, this time to a deep purple. That was exactly the reaction they had hoped for and they both smiled.

Just then they heard the lift coming up from the ground level. Created by Swamp Thing, the lift was made entirely of plant material. It consisted of two green platforms connected by four vines that formed the lift car. Attached to the base of each platform was a vine that lowered or raised it.

The lift rose up into view. Aboard it were J.T. and Delbert, two boys who had recently befriended Swamp Thing. J.T. was African-American and Delbert was Caucasian with ginger hair.

"Hi Abby, hi Swampy" said J.T. as they hopped off.

"Hi boys" said Abby. "What brings you here?"

"Well we have to write a report for school on the local wildlife" J.T. replied. "We were hoping that Swampy could show us around, point out all the different species, you know."

"Sorry boys but I'm working on a very important experiment right now" said Swamp Thing.

"What kinda experiment?" Delbert asked.

"A cure for my mutation" he replied. "I think this time could be it."

"Wow, so you could go back to being human?"

"That's right."

"Whoa that is important" said J.T. "Forget what we just said. This is way bigger than some school report."

"I appreciate that J.T., but education is important too" said Swamp Thing. "Abby, maybe you could help them."

"Are you sure Alec?" she asked.

"We've completed most of the major steps. I can handle the rest of it myself."

"Okay then."

"Is that safe? I mean if we run into Arcane's goons and they see us together…" said Delbert.

"Don't worry" Abby reassured him. "My stepfather's transducer is malfunctioning. He's ordered his henchmen to stay out of the swamp until it's repaired."

"Still, make sure to stay away from the Arcane plantation just in case" Swamp Thing advised.

"We will. I'll see you later Alec" said Abby.

"See you Abby, boys."

"Bye Swampy" said Delbert.

The three of them got onto the lift and waved to Swamp Thing as they descended to the ground level.

"Now can you tell me what that is?" Abby asked.

She pointed to a white bird with long grey-black legs, a deep yellow beak and a long neck. Around its eyes were featherless patches of bright green skin. It was standing motionlessly in a lake close to the shoreline.

"It's uh, a heron" Delbert guessed.

She smiled. "Close. It's a great white egret. Those green patches mean it's the breeding season."

The egret suddenly jabbed its beak into the water with a splash. It caught a fish which it promptly ate.

"That was cool" said J.T.

The egret then turned and waded over to a nearby reed bed. As they watched they saw another egret sitting on a nest. It promptly stood and moved back to revel three fluffy chicks which began to squawk loudly. The newly arrived egret opened its beak and moved its head forwards. The nearest chick eagerly jammed its own beak into its parent's.

"What's it doing?" J.T. asked.

"It's feeding its chicks" Abby replied. "The parents take turns incubating the eggs and caring for the young while the other hunts for food. They feed the chicks by regurgitating food into their beaks."

"Ugh, that's gross" Delbert cried.

Abby laughed. "Not to the egrets. To them it's perfectly normal. And it's something your reports will have to include."

"Got it" replied J.T. The boys hurriedly jotted what they'd learned on notepads. A little while later they started to move on.

"Hey what's that?" Delbert asked. He pointed to a trail of bubbles on the surface of the lake.

"That's an alligator" Abby replied casually.

"A gator!" the boys exclaimed.

"That's right. The bubbles are caused by methane gas being stirred up as it moves along the lake bed." Noticing the boys scared looks she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Alligators don't normally attack humans unless they mistake them for species they normally prey on" she explained. "As long as we stay away from the water and don't antagonise it we'll be fine."

"Are you sure about that?" Delbert asked nervously.

"Come on Delbert, don't be such a fraidy-cat" J.T. teased.

"I ain't a fraidy-cat" he protested.

Abby raised her hand, signalling them to be quiet. "Wait, do you hear that?"

They stopped bickering as they heard the same thing she had, the sound of a propeller.

"Hide" Abby whispered.

They all took cover in the undergrowth. A few minutes later the source of the sound appeared. Abby relaxed a little as she saw it wasn't her stepfather's Bayou Blaster, just a regular airboat. That relaxed feeling disappeared as she saw five alligators lying still on the deck. The boys saw it as well.

"Hey, what are those guys doing here? It's not gator season" said Delbert.

"Those men are poachers" Abby replied.

There were three poachers. All of them were tall and burly, with tanned and weathered faces. One of them wore blue dungarees and a red bandana. He had long black hair and a thick beard. The second was operating the fan. He was clean shaven with short blond hair and wore army fatigues. The third also wore army fatigues. He had short black hair and a neatly trimmed black beard. As they watched he picked up a barbed treble hook attached to a line and flung it towards the bubble trail.

"What'd I tell ya boys? Plenty o' gators in this area" he said.

"I'll show you who's a fraidy-cat" Delbert muttered.

Abby realised what he intended but before she could stop him he marched out of hiding and stood right in front of the poachers.

"Hey stop that! You ain't allowed to hunt gators at this time of year" he yelled.

The poachers were surprised but their faces immediately hardened. The blond one steered their airboat close to the shore. His two comrades jumped aground.

"Come here kid" Dungarees growled as they seized Delbert's arms and started dragging him back to their boat.

"Hey let me go!" he cried as he struggled futilely.

Abby covered her mouth in horror. J.T. gritted his teeth.

"Leave him alone!" he yelled as he also ran out, hoping to startle the poachers enough that they would let go of Delbert. Unfortunately they did not. Instead Fatigues kept hold of him while Dungarees let go and charged him. Realising his mistake J.T. tried to run but Dungarees was too quick, catching hold of his arms in an iron grip.

"Stop! Let go!" the boys cried as the poachers began tying their hands behind their backs. "Help!"

"Shut your whining brats!" snarled Fatigues. "No one's gonna ruin the set-up we got going here."

"Hold on boys" Abby whispered as she carefully backed away, moving as quietly as possible. "I'll get Alec."

Once she was sure the poachers wouldn't be able to see her she turned and ran, moving swiftly and sure-footedly over the treacherous swamp terrain.

"There. Finished" said Swamp Thing as he held up a phial of clear liquid. "It's as ready as I can make it. All that remains now is to expose some of my cells to the formula and see if it has any effect."

Before he could get started he heard Abby's voice calling him.

"Alec! Alec!"

Concerned he hurried onto one of the outer platforms. Abby stood below, gasping and panting for breath. Clearly she had been running for some distance.

He immediately extended and enlarged his arm to lift her into the air and up to the platform. Once her feet touched the wooden surface he let go.

"Abby, are you all right?"

"I'm fine" she replied as she started to get her breath back. "But the boys are in danger."

"What?"

"We came across poachers at Dark Water Lake. The boys were caught" she explained.

"I see. Don't worry Abby, I'll save them" he reassured her.

"Please be careful."

"I will."

Swamp Thing jumped from the platform. As he fell his body seemed to unravel as he transformed into a cluster of roots. Upon landing he immediately burrowed under the earth and set off, leaving a trail of raised soil behind him.

J.T. and Delbert whimpered fearfully as they dangled in mid-air, suspended by a rope from a tree branch over the deep waters of the lake. The boys had been tied back to back, with rope wrapped around their torsos and pinning their arms to their sides. They had also been gagged with filthy rags tied around their mouths.

"MMMPH! MMMPH!" they grunted. The boys squirmed against their bonds trying to get free but it did no good.

J.T. noticed a trail of bubbles coming towards them across the lake's surface. He recalled what Abby had told them and his eyes bulged. He instantly stopped moving, terrified of breaking the branch. Delbert however couldn't see what his friend had and so kept struggling.

"MMMPH! MMMPH!" J.T. cried, frantically shaking his head. Delbert managed to look over his shoulder just enough to see the bubble trail. He too stopped moving.

The poachers had parked their airboat several yards away. They watched with evil grins, enjoying the boys distress.

"That was a good idea to use live bait. I bet it'll get us the biggest gator yet" said Dungarees.

"Yeah" the blond guy agreed.

The bubble trail came to a stop right below the boys. Both of them looked down, their eyes filled with terror.

A writhing mass of green tendrils burst up from the lake's surface. J.T. and Delbert's fear was instantly replaced by relief as they realised who it was. Most of the tendrils wrapped around them while one broke away from the others. Its tip hardened into a sharp thorny spike and it stabbed forwards, slicing through the rope that secured them to the branch. The tendrils then carried them over to the bank while the thorn-tendril cut them free. Once the boys were safe the tendrils disappeared below the lake's surface.

"What the blazes was that?" Fatigues exclaimed.

He got his answer as the mass of tendrils surfaced in front of them. The green threads twined around each other and coalesced into the towering figure of Swamp Thing. He glared menacingly at the poachers.

"I'll give you one chance to give up and come quietly."

In a panic they raised their weapons and fired but Swamp Thing merely formed holes in his body, allowing their shots to harmlessly pass through.

"Let's get outta here!" Fatigues cried.

They started the engine, turned the boat around and started to speed off. Swamp thing reached out, his arm elongating and growing in size. His giant hand closed around the airboat's propeller and he lifted the entire boat into the air. The poachers screamed in terror as he turned the boat to one side, dumping them unceremoniously onto the muddy ground.

"Get em' Swampy!" J.T. and Delbert yelled.

He dropped the boat back onto the lake and raised his other arm. His fingers extended into long tendrils that wrapped around the poachers, gagging them and binding their arms and legs together. Now it was their turn to grunt and struggle uselessly against their bonds.

Satisfied that they weren't going anywhere Swamp Thing stretched his body out over the lake like a rubber band. He gripped a branch and simply retracted his lower body. His feet touched down on the ground and he let go of the branch. J.T. and Delbert ran up to him.

"That was awesome Swampy!" J.T. exclaimed.

"Yeah! You really showed them." Delbert agreed.

"Thanks guys" he replied. "Now are you boys okay?"

"We're fine" said J.T. His expression turned sheepish. "Uh, Delbert. I'm sorry I called you a fraidy-cat."

"It's okay. I'm sorry too" Delbert replied. "If I hadn't rushed in like that we wouldn't have gotten caught."

Swamp Thing chuckled softly. "Well it sounds like you both learned a lot today. Come on, let's get Tomahawk to round up these guys."

"You got it!"

Some time later, after he had contacted Tomahawk the game warden and had him pick up the poachers, Swamp Thing was back in his tree lab. He was looking through a microscope at cell samples he had exposed to the formula. Abby stood beside him.

"Anything?" she asked anxiously.

"Nothing." He sighed deeply, his imposing figure seeming to slump like a wilting plant. "No reaction at all. The formula had no effect."

"Oh Alec" she said sympathetically, placing a hand tenderly on his shoulder.

"I was sure this was the breakthrough I'd been looking for" he said sadly. "But it was all for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing" Abby said, her tone firm but gentle. "At least you tried. And even if it wasn't the result you hoped for, you've still learned from it. You taught me that anything we learn from has value."

He lifted his head. "Thanks Abby" he said with a small smile. "And you're right. I will take what I learned from this and keep on trying until I finally become human again."

"And I'll be with you every step of the way" she said reassuringly.

"I know Abby. I know" he replied gratefully.