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Gaia Grain

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Real Identity: Not Applicable
Appearances (BTAC Comics): The Offer Part One, The Offer Part Two, and The Offer Part Three
Powers/Skills: Weather Resistance, Exponential Growth, and Genetic Manipulation

Gaia Grain was a project of Ra's al Ghul's botanists for the better half of a century. In the present, it was perfected. Named after the goddess of life, it is designed to grow anywhere, from the icy slopes of the Siberian steppes to the rolling dunes of the Sahara Desert. It could flourish in any place and during any season. It was also engineered to be effortlessly modified to simulate any food texture or taste. Ra' al Ghul wanted to use it as a miracle food to eliminate world hunger. During a dinner with Talia al Ghul and Bruce Wayne, Ra's unveiled the grain to Wayne. Wayne thought it was too good to be true but to his surprise, the grain was used on their dinner, from the wine to the lobster thermidor. Ra's believed the grain would be crucial for Earth as it neared eight billion inhabitants. Wayne was skeptical. Ra's implored him to take a sample and analyze it. He claimed he was sincere and as death approached, he wanted to make things right and leave this legacy to his heirs, Talia and Wayne. Wayne still thought it was crazy but Talia believed her father's organization and Wayne's will and connections could do a lot of good.

Upon returning to Gotham, Batman asked Poison Ivy to find out if the grain was safe. Ivy was not amiable at first and cited Batman being somewhere below a weed whacker in her book. Harley urged her to help. Ivy informed Batman the Gaia Grain has a remarkable rate of growth, overtaking her greenhouse in one day from just a small dose of her own special plant food. Harley hacked her way through the grain in search of Ivy. Ivy corroborated what Batman was told, the grain was capable of flourishing in the most hostile environment and seemed to be an inexhaustible food source. She admitted whoever created it was a miracle worker. Ivy shot Harley in the face with a spray bottle then continued with a concern of hers. A strange, almost defensive sensation came from the grain whenever she touched it. It resisted forming a bond with her unlike all forms of vegetation. Batman asked her to keep trying. Harley stated using the grain for baking. Some time later, she informed of a fascinating discovery. He found it every enlightening. The Gaia Grain was engineered to mutate after the fifth generation seed and at that point, it would produce a chemical designed to alter the human genome and cause sterility. Ra's clarified ninety percent of the populace would live long and natural lives in a world with space and resources to accommodate them. Talia countered no children would be born. Ra's revealed unaltered grain would be given to her and those deemed worthy would give birth to the next generation of Earth's masters. Batman reiterated his suspicions the offer was madness. Ra's repeated he was offering him the world. Talia countered the offer was on his terms and he defined it and it was all just a chess game to get what he wanted.