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And who is she?

And daughter Ivy will implement it?

Yes

Hmph. You know, I don't think you give yourself enough credit for engineering that way yourself, love.

I think I do all right.

You do just fine. I mean, you almost turned me into a plant before you admitted your plan. You just have to learn to play some cards closer to your chest. But I don't imagine there's a plant poker night, is there?

Maybe. Maybe not.

You would have been a very good plant.

Probably a better plant than a human, yeah. But I do have work to do as a human.

Honestly, given your reputation, I'm a little surprised you gave up so easily.

You would have made a good plant, John. You aren't the Savior of plants.

I prioritize my resources.

[He snorts] I'm not anybody's savior, love.

Yeah, yeah. Well, you had a pretty easy go of it, what with all of those hormones and...well...[he gestures at her] you and such. I can't imagine I would have been a hard target. But hey, I appreciate the...respect?...in not dragging me over to the green side kicking and screaming. ...Even if they'd be good kicks, and good screams.

Believe me that much is obvious.

[She shrugs]You were hardly coerced.

Is it? Because every bleedin' sob story seems to land on my doorstep. [he sighs] You're actually a nice break in how you can take care of yourself and your own problems. May explain why I end up back here so often.

[He laughs] No, I guess I wasn't. Misled as to your goals, but not coerced. [He sighs] And here I thought you were reveling in someone you could touch for a while. Funny thing is, risk taker that I am, I find myself wondering how many times I could get away with falling into your bed and remain on this side of the human/plant line. I'm tempted to see. But I know that one time too many, and I'll have chlorophyll running through my veins for good. Would I know where that line is? Is it worth the risk for a few more times of...[deep breath, eyes closed as he remembers]...that? Best damn game of Russian Roulette ever, I suppose. And if we played, I can only imagine you'd become more of a temptress the closer we got to your goal.

Heh. [shakes his head] But you've moved on to other projects. Ah well. Not a temptation I have to worry about any more, I guess.

You almost sound disappointed, John. The green touched you, didn't it? Let you connect with all the growing things... And now you miss
it. [She chuckles a bit]
But for you it's just game. For me, it means so much more. It's my life work.

Let me show you something. [She leads the way towards the back of the greenhouse and a row of little pots with weak looking frail sprouts sitting under grow lights.]

These babies are hybrids. Mostly plant but just a bit of human DNA. Weak human DNA. The humans don't survive the transformation into hybrids so the seedlings are stunted and break off.

[An odd look comes over his face. The Green had touched him, and what scared him shitless was it felt a helluva lot better than anything Heaven or Hell or whatever else had touched him had. It was seductive. As seductive, or more, than her even. And he didn't know how to feel about that. His was not a world of positive experiences, and he fundamentally distrusted something that felt as good as the Green had.]

I miss connecting with you. [was all he said to that]

[He follows her, hands shoved in his pockets. When she shows him the hybrids, he is not as horrified by her words as he knows he should be. Humans died. But on some level, he trusts they were bad humans. However, let's just overlook the fact that he's letting Ivy play Judge on that front.] I could have become more. I could have survived it. I did, briefly.

[He pauses and continues to look at they hybrids] Your life's work is to create a whole species of hybrids. To be like you. You want to take the world back from the irresponsible apes. And you don't want to be alone. [John looks away from her and the hybrids] And I can't say I blame you for any of it. We've made a right mess of everything.

You could be one of us, John. I've said as much. You made a very good plant.

[She sighs and turns, leaning up against the workbench and looking at the other plants that fill the greenhouse.

The Green accepted you. You were one of us. Connected to everything growing and alive. Connected to me

I made a good plant lover. But a good plant? We've covered that I'm not even a very good human.

[A little shake of his head] It was good. I...liked it. It's that connection to you that's the real temptation, but the acceptance of the Green was nice too. [More than nice. Acceptance isn't exactly something John Constantine has known much of in his time. Heaven wanted to use him. Hell hated him, and with good reason. And humanity...was humanity.]

[But he'd felt things through the connection that he remembers now.] Hey...what happened to...[he gestured vaguely] the seeds. That I planted in you. I...felt them. Until the Green faded in me. Then it felt like they were cut off. That hurt more than anything else...being cut from feeling them, and you.

[The look on her face is sympathetic. She knows that feeling. The occasional time something has interfered and cut her off from The Green... she knows how that feels]

Your seeds are safe in me. I wouldn't let anything harm them any more than any of the other seeds or plants I care for.

[Whether they sprout is another matter alltogether.]

[He nods] Well, there's that at least.

Do you miss the connection to me? Or was it just an experiment?

You were part of The Green John. Now you are not. Every loss is painful for us.

[sighs and rolls his eyes up] Well, I guess that answers that question.

Does it?

Crystal clear. [a little sardonic smile] Don't worry, I've been brushed off before. I'm a big boy. I can handle it.