(Swamp Thing I #6) - Interpol took Matt off the Swamp Thing case, saying he was too personally involved. Abby was relieved because she was worried his obsession could have consumed him, but Matt was furious. They were sent to Burgess Town, Vermont, to investigate the mysterious town where no resident had ever registered with the government, or paid taxes. They found an idyllic town, and met Mayor Klochmann, who explained that he built a utopian town populated by robots of his own making. He modeled them after people he read about in obituaries, perhaps to give them a second chance at life. His robots were programmed without the baser parts of human nature; they knew only love and trust. Mr. E and the Conclave, the true murderers of the Hollands, arrived in town seeking to use Klochmann’s abilities for their own ends. The Conclave abducted Matt and Abby to learn more about Swamp Thing, and sent them off in a Gotham bound helicopter. The Conclave task force killed Klochmann, but he was avenged by his robots, who suddenly found that they could feel hatred.

(Swamp Thing I #7) - Mr. E transferred Matt and Abby to an abandoned warehouse, and had Dr. Hammerschmidt torture them for information. They refused to budge, and were eventually rescued by Swamp Thing. Matt demanded to know why a monster like Swamp Thing kept saving him, but Swamp Thing left in search of Mr. E.

(Swamp Thing I #9) - Matt and Abby spent quality time on a secluded beach, and Matt wondered if his hatred was blinding him to what Swamp Thing actually was. Abby told him right and wrong were difficult concepts to objectively define, but before he could soul-search some more Matt was called back to Washington by Captain Brad Sampson of the Agency of Interstellar Discovery.

(Swamp Thing I #11) - Matt and Abby returned to Louisiana, and told Swamp Thing they wanted to learn more about him. Swamp Thing was suspicious, but before he could decide on Matt’s motivations, he had to save the pair from a mutant alligator. They were then beset by the Conqueror Worms, who knocked Swamp Thing out with a psionic blast, and spirited away Matt and Abby. Matt and Abby awoke in New Eden, a domed city under the swamp, where they were in the company of several other prisoners. The ruler of New Eden was Zachary Nail, a madman who wanted to start a new civilization, and kidnapped people to serve as his populace. Matt and Abby helped their fellow prisoners escape, but when they had Zachary helpless they learned that the Conqueror Worms were only using him, they were not his servants. The Worms also wanted to see a new civilization thrive, one that would serve as livestock for them. Swamp Thing arrived to battle the Worms, but Zachary had gone mad after seeing his dreams shattered, and set off the nuclear reactor that powered his city. Ruth, one of the prisoners, tried to reason with him, but he shot her dead. Her boyfriend Jefferson Bolt rushed Zachary, prepared to kill him, but Swamp Thing, realizing time was limited, knocked him out, and led the survivors out of New Eden right before it exploded with Zachary inside. Swamp Thing left Matt, Abby and the former prisoners, but when Bolt woke up he swore revenge on Swamp Thing for preventing him from avenging Ruth.

(Swamp Thing I #12) - Matt and Abby attended Ruth’s funeral, and Matt suggested to Bolt that working with him could help him take his mind off his grief. Matt wanted him to help him track down Swamp Thing, and after a fiery argument that Abby had to break up he convinced Bolt that his hatred of Swamp Thing was as irrational as Matt’s once was.

(Swamp Thing I #15) - Matt, Abby, and Bolt, hired Luke, a local tracker, to locate Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing was annoyed that Matt didn’t get the hint that he didn’t want to be found, and fled into the swamp. A fierce storm kicked up, and Swamp Thing was struck by lightning. He was found by Father Jonathon Bliss, who brought him back to his ramshackle church, and revived him. Bliss had gone mad, and turned to black magic when his congregation left him. He’d summoned the demon Nebiros, whose essence was in a transcendental globe pending the location of a suitable host. Bliss lured Swamp Thing into a false sense of security, and then performed a spell that let Nebiros inhabit his body. Nebiros, in Swamp Thing’s form, captured Abby, Matt and Luke, and ripped out Luke’s soul. Bliss explained to his captives that Nebiros would bring about Armageddon, forcing mankind to repent and turn to god. Matt made him see the error of his ways, and Bliss tried to exorcize Nebiros, but the demon was too powerful. Matt escaped his bonds and destroyed the transcendental sphere, casting Nebiros from Swamp Thing’s body. Nebiros and Swamp Thing fought, but Nebiros’ otherworldly form could not sustain itself on the earthly plane without a host. Bliss offered himself up, but he was too weak a vessel, and was incinerated. Bliss knew full well what he was doing, and Nebiros’ consciousness was scattered across the universe. Swamp Thing, Matt an Abby left the church, only to witness Bolt being kidnapped and taken aboard a Conclave helicopter.

(Swamp Thing I #16) - Swamp Thing agreed to help Matt and Abby find bolt, and they boarded a flight to the Caribbean, with Swamp Thing hid in storage. A skyjacker ruined their carefully laid plans, and Swamp Thing was forced to reveal himself to save a stewardess’ life. Swamp Thing and the skyjacker tumbled from the plane, and landed in the ocean. Matt told Abby they had to stick to their plan of finding Bolt, and he assured her that Swamp Thing could take care of himself.

(Swamp Thing I #17) - Swamp Thing, Matt, and Abby all arrived on the Caribbean island where the Conclave had Bolt stashed away. The Conclave imprisoned Matt and Abby alongside Bolt, and they learned that Mr. E was resurrected by the Conclave‘s scientists, but was left crippled. E no longer wanted the secret of the bio-restorative formula, he only wanted Swamp Thing dead. Swamp Thing was hot on E’s trail, and E used a remote video screen in his stronghold to demand Swamp Thing confront him, or watch his friends die. E revealed his long term plans to Matt and company, Dr. Pretorius had invented the Ultra Cerebralociter, which would destroy the minds of every capable leader on Earth, which would allow E to set himself up as world emperor. E hoped his robotic sentries would kill Swamp Thing before he entered his inner sanctum, but Swamp Thing persevered and confronted his hated foe. With Linda’s death still tormenting him, he picked up E’s wheelchair and smashed him into the Ultra Cerebralociter. Loose wires electrocuted E, and his rampaging robotic sentries destroyed the rest of the Conclave. Swamp Thing and his allies left the island by helicopter, but ran out of fuel and were forced to crash land.

(Swamp Thing I #18) -Swamp Thing and company crashed in south Florida, and came upon Serenity Village, which Matt described as a geriatric Disney World. Swamp Thing was confident they would be fine on their own, and made his way into the swamp, not caring that it was Florida, and not his home base. Swamp Thing was attacked by four-armed devils, and managed to kill them, but he realized Serenity might hold danger for his friends, and rushed back. He found Matt, Abby and Bolt held captive by Aubrey Trask, the leader of the elderly at Serenity. He was in his physical prime, and explained that he resented being sent off to die in a retirement him and began studying the occult to make himself young again by draining the life force of Serenity’s real administrator. He was going to sacrifice Swamp Thing’s friends to restore the youth of his fellow retirees, but his visiting son, Nicholas Trask, burned the Ebon-Tome that gave Aubrey his powers. The strain of returning to his original age killed Aubrey, and Swamp Thing and his friends reflected sadly on the pitiful scene of Nicolas standing over his dead father.

(Swamp Thing II #67) -Abigail and Swamp Thing frolicked in the bayou, and she commented that things were getting dull, and maybe she could watch him beat up a super villain. Swamp Thing assured her that he intended to use his mind to resolve future conflicts, not his fists. He asked Abby if she’d be satisfied with her material existence after seeing Heaven. She knew what he meant, but told him she wasn’t quite ready for that journey yet. Abby wanted to visit town to see Chester and Liz, and asked Swamp Thing to see if the Sprout had found a host yet, as she’d gotten a little attached and wanted to know that his retirement was assured. On the way to town Abby saw Roy Raymond of “Incredible But True” asking a local about Swamp Thing and getting the cold shoulder. Abby hitched a ride to Houma with the local, named Labo, and he told her he didn’t talk because of the bountiful harvest Swamp Thing brought to his land.

(Swamp Thing II #68, 69) - Abby called on Liz, and after a lot of persuasion, managed to get her to leave the house so they could visit the post office. Abby was pleased to see Liz was making a bit of progress thanks to Chester. At the post office Abby picked up several checks from the state treasury, disability checks for Matt Cable. Abby was taken aback by a flood of memories about the D.D.I. and General Sunderland, and nearly had a breakdown. Liz comforted her, and they realized that what kept them together was the horrible experiences they’d gone through. Abby handed the money over to Chester to start up his eco-group. She didn’t want the money, but wanted to see it support a good cause. Chester bought a motorboat that he used to bring Abby back to the bayou in. He’d also gotten her a load of survival gear, even though she assured him that she never needed any help getting by in the swamp. Chester admitted that he had strong feelings for Liz, but was waiting for her to feel more mentally stable before he made a move. He asked Abby how she could always be so confident about Swamp Thing returning to her unharmed, and she assured him that she just knew. In the Green Swamp Thing resisted the Parliament of Trees forcible attempts to make him join them by remembering his love of Abby, and the way she kept him tied to humanity.

(Swamp Thing II #70, 71) - While Swamp Thing made love to Abigail, John Constantine was checking in with his contacts, mystical and otherwise, to learn how the presence of two plant elementals was disrupting nature. He pieced together that nature was now at war with itself, resulting in a severe electro-magnetic disturbance. The Parliament needed a new body for the Sprout, and nature was conspiring to create situations where a proper plant elemental could be formed. Constantine learned that a plane would crash in a fiery wreck in Slaughter Swamp, a perfect opportunity for the creation of a new Swamp Thing. John visited Swamp Thing, and although Abby wanted him out of their lives, he told them of the damage Swamp Thing was doing to nature, and Swamp Thing agreed to help him find Sprout a body. Constantine made sure not to tell Swamp Thing that a planeload of people would have to die alongside the man getting the “Alec Holland treatment.” Swamp Thing prepared to retrieve the Sprout from its’ hiding place on the moon, and promised Abby he would be home soon. Abby realized that what he was doing was exceedingly difficult, there were more ways to create a failed elemental than a successful one.

(Swamp Thing II #72) - Swamp Thing confided in Abby about how desperate his situation was. Unless he abandoned her for the Parliament, the natural world would continue to go haywire. He started to regret what he set in motion by sparing the Sprout, feeling he was to full of his own power to have heeded the Parliament’s warnings. He also told Abby he didn’t know what the end result of his actions would be, and when Abby begged him to think of a way to solve things without leaving her he admitted that thinking was not his strong suite since he inherited the impeded brain function of the mortally wounded Alec Holland. Swamp Thing promised he would not give up on finding a solution, took the Sprout, and left Abby in search of Constantine, who he hoped would help.

(Swamp Thing II #73) - Abigail woke with a feeling of foreboding while John Constantine learned from his occult network that nature continued to rage out of control and that the Parliament had chosen Swamp Thing’s friend Chester as the next plant elemental. He approached Chester to make the situation look more palatable even though Chester had heard about John through Abigail and was convinced that he lived to manipulate and hurt people. Swamp Thing and Abigail appeared and forbade Chester from sacrificing himself, and bound the Sprout’s essence to Abby so it would be safe while he figured out a solution. John told Abby that Swamp Thing was messing with planetary magic beyond his control, and that he wanted to remove himself from the situation.

(Swamp Thing II #74) - Swamp Thing found John Constantine lying under a bridge, near death. He used his body to create an exoskeleton for John, and his tendrils braced John’s body, healing him, and entered his brain to search for damage. Swamp Thing learned every detail Of John’s quest to heal the Green by consulting his occult contacts. One Amazonian shaman foresaw Abigail giving birth as a resolution to the Green’s civil war. In Louisiana Abby was being attacked by the renegade Wild Thing, another synchronistic event that led to a fire and the chance of the birth of a new plant elemental, and Swamp Thing came to her aid, destroying the renegade. This freed the Parliament committee members Bog Venus, Kettle Hole Devil, Ghost Hiding In The Rushes and Saint Columba, whose minds Swamp Thing had trapped within Wild Thing. They initially attacked him, but Swamp Thing brokered a peace by telling them of the Greens on other planets and other galaxies. They left Earth for the stars to pursue their own individuality, and to escape the consequences of the Green’s civil war on Earth. Swamp Thing was determined to devour and destroy the Sprout to save Earth from the fallout of the Green’s war, and he sent Abigail home so she wouldn’t have to witness it. Swamp Thing came close to committing the deed, but found he didn’t have the heart for it.

(Swamp Thing II #75) -Swamp Thing could see no resolution without destroying the Sprout, and prepared to eat it, but Abby stopped him. She told him she’d risk anything for the Sprout because of a certain feeling she had, but Swamp Thing reminded her that the entire planet was at stake. He could see no way around his dilemma, so Abby suggested he expand and evolve his vegetable brain until he came up with a solution. Abby drifted off to sleep, and Swamp Thing allowed his brain to grow and change, putting him in contact with Earth itself. His mind contemplated the entire universe until he had a vision of the future where other elementals would succeed him, clothed in flesh, not vegetation, and realized being reborn in a womb could heal the Sprout. Abby hacked away Swamp Thing’s newly evolved brain, telling him he’d been silently contemplating for a month and a half. Swamp Thing told her he had a solution…she was going to have his child.

(Swamp Thing II #76) - Abigail’s mind was reeling, and she wanted someone to talk to, so she visited Chester and Liz, only to find that Liz had overcome her neurosis and was starting a rmantic relationship with Chester. Abby was overjoyed by the development, but fund Matt’s hospital bills piling up in their mail, and wondered why the D.D.I. wasn’t taking care of him. She visited Matt in the hospital, and talked t his comatose form. She was old-fashioned, and still in some way considered him her husband even though she was in love with Swamp Thing. Hoping for a sign, Matt’s wedding ring slipped from his finger, and she took it, thanking him. Swamp Thing took control of John Constantine’s body, and met with Abigail at their home in the bayou, telling Abby he would use John to sire their child, and the Sprout would be reborn in her womb. Abigail was dedicated but tentative, not trusting Constantine, and remembering when her uncle Anton had possessed Matt Cable during their marriage. She also loathed Constantine, but Swamp Thing told her that it had to be John, because the synchronicity storm had drawn the two of them together. Abigail offered her wedding ring, and Swamp Thing eagerly accepted it, proving it was not one of Constantine’s tricks. Swamp Thing probed John’s bloodstream to make sure he was disease free, and found that despite his promiscuity he had lucked out. He briefly detected the demonic taint of Nergal in his blood, but didn’t realize it for what it was. They consummated their union, and the Sprout entered Abigail.

(Hellblazer #10) - John’s spirit wandered the astral plane, when the demon Nergal realized he’d broken his promise to prevent nature and man from merging by assisting Swamp Thing. Nergal pursued him through the astral plane, and he was forced to retreat into the Green, and from there into his own body, as Abby finished making love to it. She was disgusted, and left, telling him they had no further business. John asked Swamp Thing if he fought Nergal in the Green, and the elemental responded that Nergal fled, but warned John that his revenge would come, and he mentioned Newcastle.

(Swamp Thing II #77) - Abigail grew distant from Swamp Thing, admitting she was bothered by how, and with who they conceived their child. She ran off to get perspective, but in Houma she met one atrocious couple after another. A pair turned on by the thought of her and Swamp Thing, and asking to enjoy her company, and a man filled with misogyny by his girlfriend’s rejection, leading to an attempted attack on Abby. She was at a bus stop, about to leave town, when she met John Constantine, who convinced her to have a drink with him. She admitted she hated him and his manipulations, but he told her they were both ordinary people manipulated by the supernatural. They got drunk, and spent the night in a hotel room. Abby was amazed that John held her, and never tried to take advantage of her. She told him he was impossible to figure out. John said she talked in her sleep, and he knew she wanted to go back to the bayou. They returned to Swamp Thing, and John watched the couple lovingly embrace before heading off.

(Swamp Thing II #78)- Swamp Thing entered Abby’s body to investigate the health of their child, and gave her the gift of sending her astral form to Heaven. Abby met Alec Holland again, and was thrilled to tell him, f her pregnancy with “her” Alec. Alec showed her a vision of Earth, where his wife Linda was being reborn as a boy. Alec told her that gender was assigned to flesh only, not souls. They shared an embrace before Abby had to depart. Swamp Thing was pleased looking in on his child, and returned Abby to her body, but his own had assumed a feminine form. In a sympathetic pregnancy he’d made himself a woman pregnant with himself. Abby helped him through the difficult labor, and the newborn Swamp Thing briefly considered being raised by Abby as his mother before growing instantaneously into a man.

(Swamp Thing II #80) - Abigail started nesting, which Swamp Thing accepted as typical mammalian behavior while pregnant. He crafted furniture for their home so their baby would feel comfortable. Abigail sensed that now that she was content and overjoyed with their life he’d tell her he had to leave, like so many times before. He admitted he wanted to go to Brazil to make sure the Parliament would cause them no more trouble, and Abby reluctantly agreed to let him go. Swamp Thing visited the Parliament to let them know he’d solved the problem with Sprout Alex Olsen told him that had been the Parliament’s plan all along, to create a human plant elemental. Swamp Thing resented the fact that he’d once again been manipulated by the Parliament, and put through hell because of them. Alex warned him that the elders foretold his end was coming, via an attack from extraterrestrial invaders. Swamp Thing refused to listen anymore, and returned home to Louisiana. He started panicking about the Parliament telling the truth, and since Abby wasn’t home he made a wedding ring for her from his own body to symbolize their love, should anything happen to him He connected with the Green, and as the Parliament predicted the Dominators, who were part of an invasion targeting Earth, used a matrix disruptor network to fling Swamp Thing into Earth’s past. Abby returned to their home and broke down in tears, seeing that their entire home had died, and her husband was gone.

(Swamp Thing II #81) - The Dominators learned that a new elemental, the Swamp Thing’s unborn child, was growing in Abby Arcane’s belly that contracted Widowsweed to kill her. Abby was captured, but Widowsweed revealed that she was a mother as well, and wanted nothing to do with the Dominators, but only used capturing Abby as a ruse to find the remains of her mate, who’d crash-landed in Houma over ten years ago. She located her husband, the Stalker’s from Beyond’s craft in the Louisiana bayou, and put his body aboard her ship, mourning her love. She left Abby behind, telling her to take great care of her child. Superhero Guy Gardner saw the craft fly off, and not caring about Widowsweed’s intentions, shot it down.

(Swamp Thing IV #1-3) - Swamp Thing abandoned Abby to return to nature. He made himself a mountain in Colorado, but she followed him, and climbed the mountain to enter the cave of his face. He rose up as a being of lava, and reminded her that he was no longer her Alec Holland. Abby told him there had to be a reason elementals always had a human template, they needed a tether to mankind. Swamp Thing told her he’d long past moved on, and needed no connection to man. She pointed out that the avatars he created for himself were still in humanoid form, and thought he was trying to convince himself of something he didn’t believe. Swamp Thing told her about his recent journey to the Green, where he learned that Tefe had made it into a mirror of a human city, with plants turned into anthropomorphosized entities, and he was furious. Swamp Thing rebuffed Abby, who met up with John Constantine. Constantine said every mystic sensed an elemental war coming between Swamp Thing and Abby, and he’d reanimated Alec Holland, and imbued him with the remains of Swamp Thing’s human side in hopes of reuniting them.

(Swamp Thing IV #4-6) - John tracked Tefe to Germany, and Abby begged for a moment of her time. Tefe had claimed her birthright as a flesh elemental of the Red thanks to the tutelage of Sargon the Sorcerer, and claimed Swamp Thing had already demanded she relinquish her powers. In truth Sargon had animated a rock golem to impersonate Swamp Thing, and fully turn Tefe against her father. Tefe blamed Abby for screwing her up, and told her she wasn’t interested in apologies or explanations. She was convinced Abby was on Swamp Things side, and warned her not to get in the way of her battle. Abby wept when she saw what her daughter had become. When the real Swamp Thing confronted Tefe she gave him no chance to talk, but immediately attacked him. He’d healed the Green, and wanted to work with her to restore the elemental balance, but she was fully in Sargon’s sway. Sargon was using his ruby of life to tap Tefe’s elemental power to achieve godhood. Swamp Thing was forced to slay Tefe, and absorbed the power of the Red. Constantine sent Alec to confront Swamp Thing, and as he held Tefe’s charred form he damned Swamp Thing until Swamp Thing incinerated him. This freed the human side of Swamp Thing’s mind from Alec’s form, and it reunited with Swamp Thing’s elemental power. He had a human template once again, and was back to his old self. He saw what he had wrought in battling Tefe, and was horrified. Swamp Thing used the power of the Red to resurrect Tefe, who was clearly traumatized by her death. With all the elemental powers concentrated in one being, Sargon could tap into all of them, and turned Swamp Thing’s powers against him. Constantine anticipated this, and knew that Swamp Thing’s newly rediscovered humanity could defeat Sargon. Swamp Thing dispersed all of the elemental powers from his own form, confident they would all find worthy champions, and he disappeared into the Green. Without a power source to tap Sargon sputtered, and cursed Swamp Thing for denying him godhood. Abby knocked him out by clubbing him over the head with a branch. Constantine used Sargon’s rub y of life to reform Swamp Thing as an earth elemental in Louisiana, but Abby said she had had enough, and just wanted to get away and give her daughter a normal life.

(Swamp Thing IV #9-12) - Tefe told Abby she was trying to find her father, and Abby, who could no longer remember most of her relationship with him, begged her to stop, saying his world was madness. The only reason Abby was still in Louisiana was because it was the only place she felt she belonged, and she started a relationship with Jake, a blues musician. He wanted to know her better, but she refused to talk to him about her life, and said their relationship was purely about companionship and love making. Arcane traveled to Earth from Hell through the Green using a tuber Swamp Thing had once given to Sallie, a swamp girl, and the damage to the Green affected Tefe, causing her to vomit and hemorrhage, so her friend Zaina had to call her an ambulance. Abby got a call from the hospital, and rushed over with Jake. Abby sat by her daughter, begging her to wake up while Zaina got to know Jake in the waiting room. Arcane had brought his demon lover Josephine with him, and wanted her to possess Tefe's body. He was disappointed that she no longer had the powers of her birthright, but still found her an acceptable host. Swamp Thing followed the demons, bursting into the hospital. Abby blamed Swamp Thing for bringing more madness into her life, and Swamp Thing felt hurt, saying he was only trying to help safe Tefe, and slunk away. Arcane kidnapped Tefe, leaving behind a message saying he was at the local cathedral, so Abby changed her mind and asked for Swamp Thing's help. Arcane was also being pursued by the demonic bounty hunter Brother Walker, who'd brought Sallie with him, but Arcane's time in Heaven allowed ghim to manipulate the holy power of the church, allowing him to shrink Walker to the size of a bug. Abby and Swamp Thing arrived, and Arcane used his power to possess Swamp Thing's body, forcing his mind and soul into Josephine. He apologized for betraying her, but said that if he simply expulsed Swamp Thing's soul he would have simply grown another body from the Green. Arcane bartered with Walker, convincing him to take Josephine to Hell, and Swamp Thing with her, in exchange for unshrinking him. As Josephine / Swamp Thing was dragged to Hell Sallie sacrificed herself, being swallowed by Josephine, and allowing Swamp Thing to grow a new body from the tuber she still had on her. Swamp Thing formed his new body, and grew tendrils to thrust Arcane into the pit after Josephine. Swamp Thing said goodbye to Abby and Tefe, saying he could not stay with them, and brought Sallie's body to the swamp, where he allowed it to consume her whole.

(Swamp Thing IV #13, 14) - Swamp Thing had seen Jake at the hospital, and gleaned that Abby cared for him. In his dreams he briefly formed a body in Jake's apartment using one of his houseplants, terrifying Jake. Jake begged Abby to explain how she knew Swamp Thing, but she rebuffed him, saying she wanted to be alone. He pleaded to meet Swamp Thing, but she shut the door on him. Tefe snuck out to tell him her mother loved him, which was why she pushed him away, and entering a world of monsters would bring him no peace. Jake's father Ray disappeared into the swamp, and he asked Tefe to ask for her mother's help. Abby relented, but told Jake to wrap his mind around the fact that Swamp Thing was her husband and Tefe's father. Tefe wanted to accompany them, but Abby said it was important she make the trip just between her and Jake, and Tefe stormed off. Abby and Jake found Swamp Thing, who said he was happy Abby was moving on with her life, and after she appealed to whatever was left of his human side he agreed to find Ray. Swamp Thing found an extradimensional creature posing as a preacher had formed a congregation, and was using their faith to power his abilities. He planned to fly his followers to the moon, where a portal to his own dimension awaited, but Swamp Thing prevented Ray from going.

(Swamp Thing IV #21, 24) - Tefe celebrated Abby's 50th birthday with her with signs and balloons. Abby started thinking about Swamp Thing, the great times they'd had, and how he'd appreciate the fiery young woman Tefe was becoming. Swamp Thing's mind reintegrated, and he regained his elemental powers. As a birthday present he appeared to Abby in her garden as a clump of roses.

(Swamp Thing IV #25, 26) - Abby was thrilled to see Swamp Thing after a year with no contact, and recognized the change in him, and how he was acting like a human again. She wasn't sure if her life needed anymore complications, but asked Swamp Thing to spend the night and hold her. When she woke he was gone, but had created a beautiful and unique garden for her, with a message formed from wood saying he'd wait for her until she was ready to call on him. She went to work at the women's shelter, meeting with runaway Candy, who refused to stay at a shelter. To keep her safe from falling into the hands of predators Abby offered to let her spend the night at her house. Abby saw potential in Candy, and didn't want to see her give up, hoping she could inspire her by showing her Swamp Thing's garden. King Toad sent his sons Bob and Nerk to wreck havoc in Houma, and they attacked Abby and Candy. She fought them off, but Nerk killed her Candy, and Abby reflected that she missed the wonder Swamp Thing brought with him, but death also seemed to follow him.

(Swamp Thing IV #27-29) - Tefe returned home to see the evidence that her father had visited. Abby was curled up in the garden, and told Tefe how the Toad King's children almost killed her, and her daughter embraced her. Nerk, wanting revenge on Abby for injuring him, found explosives at a construction site, and set them off, turning Houma into a blazing inferno. Abby and Tefe responded, and when Nerk threw explosives at Abby Swamp Thing saved her. Nerk said he believed in dying for his cause, racing into a crowd of police officers with explosives, but Swamp Thing decapitated him before he could harm anyone else. Swamp Thing combated the blaze in Houma with hardwoods to break the fire, and moisture-filled plants to absorb the heat. Abby realized she wanted to be back in the swamp and be a family again. Tefe was with her friend Zaina, and said after they'd had a long talk she'd meet up with her parents. Back at the camp Toad King had been freed by Woodrue the Floronic Man, and still had Woodrue's ear. Woodrue reformed his body, demanding his "friend" Swamp Thing appear before him. Tee-Toni demanded Toad King and Woodrue leave the camp, and after the King slashed him with his claws he responded by stabbing him. Woodrue freaked out about violence which he said was sure to upset Swamp Thing, and instinctively shot wooden spikes up from the ground, killing Tee-Toni, and wounding Toad King, who wandered off. Swamp Thing left Abby's side to confront Woodrue, chastising him for bringing violence to the swamp. Woodrue pleaded that he stopped doing bad things and was full of good, but Swamp Thing said he saw no evidence. Swamp Thing's rejection shattered Woodrue's psyche, and he again split into miniature versions of himself with incomplete minds and fled into the swamp. Swamp Thing mourned Tee-Toni, realizing the irony in his promise to the man that he'd keep him and his kin safe from harm. Swamp Thing destroyed the rest of Toad King's children, having the earth swallow them up. News reports flooded in about upcoming military action in the swamp sponsored by MGC, and Swamp Thing said he was prepared to retake his role as the swamp's protector, and Abby and the refugees stood by him.