Authors Notes: This three part tale originally was posted at the DC2 website as a back-up feature in issues 4-6 of the on-going Suicide Squad title (DC2 details in my profile). For continuity sake, this story takes place directly after SUICIDE SQUAD I: BANG AND BLAME.
Black Orchid/Susan Linden- Powers include flight, near invulnerability, persuasion powers, and master of disguise. She has no memory of anything about her life before she assumed the role of Black Orchid.
Previously in Suicide Squad…
Three members of the Suicide Squad were sent to find an assassin who was targeting a world leader. Manhunter, Vixen, and Black Orchid were tracking the elusive killer and the assault team he kept company with. Black Orchid found out it was the killer for hire, Deadline and he was after President Marlo of Qurac. Black Orchid took down Deadline but was unable to warn the others in time before Vixen, Shaw, and herself were caught in a blast caused by Deadlines associates when they blowup an entire section of the hotel they were staked out in.
Manhunter and the badly injured Vixen returned to theUnited States.While in France, Black Orchid received a mysterious message which prompted her to renew her search for the truth about her past and who's involved.
The Suicide Squad: Black Orchid -
Nothing but Flowers - Part One: Estranged
Soon-The End
The Black Orchid does not exist. It isn't a real flower. For many, it is the unicorn of the orchid world. A mythical beast with an entire assortment of stories, hopes, and dreams built around the possibility of their existence. Susan Linden questions her existence everyday. She has hoped and dreamed for the day when she would finally have the answers to the questions she has spent years looking for. Who is Susan Linden? Who is the Black Orchid?
Susan lay on the floor clutching the open wound at her side. She's afraid if she lets go her insides will spill out onto the floor next to her. It may not matter. There is so much blood. How can there be this much blood? How can someone live while losing this much blood? She finally had the answers she was looking for. She knows who she is and who was responsible for what she has become. She finally had the answers about her life. Now she was going to die…
Now
Manhunter, Vixen, and Orchid were sent on a mission to find an assassin who was hired to kill a world leader. Their search led them to France. Black Orchid took down the killer known as Deadline. But it was his associates who took down the three of them. They nearly leveled a hotel in the process. Vixen used her powers to save Shaw and it cost her dearly. Susan got out of the incident with a sprained ankle and a few busted ribs.
A short time later, Mark Shaw and Mari McCabe were picked up from the local hospital outside of Bordeaux, France by the squad's medical team. Vixen was stable but still in critical condition. Mark stayed by her side as they loaded her into the plane. They were heading back to the states but Black Orchid would not be joining them. She had other plans.
A few hours earlier she had received a message on her PDA that disturbed her a great deal. She has looked at it over a dozen times since.
Glad to see you're alive Suzy. Maybe now you will stop wasting time and get to the business of taking back your life again. Once you have found it, that is. Steel has been lying to you. He has known for sometime now the answers you have desperately been seeking to find. You are so close now. Please hurry home. Love, your sister.
It was from an unknown sender but the message was loud and clear. Take back her life. Find the answers. Confront Sarge Steel!
Then
The man looked up at the stunning woman who stood across from him. She had walked into his office not thirty seconds ago. He stood behind his desk taking in her long legs, blonde hair, and mesmerizing blue/grey eyes. After a brief moment he regained his composure and sat back down at his desk. He motioned her to do the same in the chair across from him.
"Are you the private detective who goes by the name of Clayton Stoner?" She said in a soft voice that had a hint of southern draw to it.
"Depends. Did my ex-wife hire you to track me down from River City?"
"No. I do not know your wife or River City."
"Good. It's nasty and unforgiving. The city's not too bad though." He said half smiling as he found himself staring into her green eyes. He shook his head and thought to himself that he must be slipping. Her eyes were blue just a few seconds ago weren't they?
"I want to hire you." She said as she sat down in the chair across from his desk. "I want you to find a missing person."
"Who is this missing person you are looking for, Miss?" He said sitting down in his chair facing her.
"Me." She responded without hesitation.
Now
Susan had learned over the past several years to use her powers quiet well. It was easy to physically change into any person she sees. It takes effort and concentration to become that person. Mimic their behaviors and mannerisms. It's true she preferred to hide in the background most often but there are times when it was required to stand out and be noticed. Times like these when she needed to get from one place to another as quickly as possible.
After a few days rest in France, Susan found her way to the airport lounge. It was only a matter of minutes before she found a drunk American pilot who was on a layover in Paris. A half hour later he was in a hotel room with a bottle of champagne and a French prostitute. This was twice in the past week that Susan used the same identity to get what she wanted. This time things went smoother. The American pilot was passed out within minutes. Susan stole his over night bag and his identification and was hitching a ride on a plane back to the United States ninety minutes after that. When the pilot wakes up, all he will find is a picture of his wife on the pillow next to him.
Susan was slightly uncomfortable taking such bold moves to acquire travel arrangements. But she wanted to make sure Sarge Steel never saw her coming when she confronted him about what he knows.
Then
The Private investigator, Clayton Stoner, found it extremely difficult not to laugh as he responded to the young women who sat across from him.
"You want me to find you?" he said rubbing the palms of his hands across his eyes. "Are you serious?"
"I am most certainly serious." She said as her tone changed and eyes appeared to change again, this time to a dark amethyst.
"Well, I believe you are." Clayton said as he leaned back in his chair. "Now you want to explain to me what it is you want to hire me for? This time start from the beginning."
"I guess you could say it began a few days ago. I woke up in a hotel room outside of Metropolis. The first thing a saw was the alarm clock on the nightstand next to the bed. It was 10:17 a.m. I didn't know how I had gotten there. I lay there for almost five minutes unable to move."
"Had you been hurt physically or otherwise?" Clayton asked.
"No. I don't believe so. I was just afraid to move. You know when you first wakeup and it takes a few minutes for things to come back to you? Well, It's been almost a week now and I am still stuck in those first couple of minutes of the day. I did finally get out of bed and began to search the room for clues as to who I was or why I was there."
"So you are telling me you have no memory what so ever of anything that happened to you prior to a week ago?"
"That is correct. I found nothing in the hotel room except a fresh change of clothes and $4.27 on the dresser. That seemed odd to me at the time but I filed it away for the time being. I wasn't in panic mode like you might imagine someone would be in the same situation. I was calm as my mind took in my surroundings and I thought of my next move. I turned on the television but couldn't find a remote control to change the station so I left it. I then picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed the hotel operator. I asked them who was checked into the room I was in. I could instantly recognize the awkwardness in her voice as she said I was the one who checked in. Of course I responded by asking her my name. There was a short pause. I knew my question confused her and I immediately changed my tone and everything else clicked into place."
"What do you mean, everything clicked into place?"
"It's hard to describe but I knew what to say and how to say it. I put her at ease but at the same time got her to reveal the information I was looking for."
"Interesting. So what did you find out?"
"She told me I had checked in the middle of the night, alone. I paid cash for the room which accounted for the change I found but nothing to explain why I was there."
" What hotel were you at? Did you ask if they had a credit card number for a security deposit?"
" The Bessolo Hotel on the outskirts of Suicide Slum. No they didn't require a deposit for the room."
"I don't imagine they would. So did you get any information that might be useful?"
"Yes. She did tell me my name. Susan Linden."
Now
Susan abandoned the airline pilots' identity after arriving in New York. She quickly assumed a female identity and found a payphone. She sat her PDA on top of the phone and punched in a few codes. The Caller ID on the other end of her call would appear to be any phone number she wanted it to be. In this case it would be a number Sarge Steel wouldn't question. The call to Steel lasted less then a minute. He was on his way.
Susan sat patiently on a park bench reading a newspaper. The Suicide Squad's incident in Washington was no longer front-page news. She found a follow-up story on page nine. President Marlo's death was also quickly forgotten, as was his newly formed country of Qurac. The cabinet leaders had chosen a new leader before the body was cold. If Marlo was so important how could he be replaced so easily? Susan looked up as Steel sat down next to her.
"I wondered why my daughter would call me and ask to meet me outside of my office here in New York since she left for a trip to Florida this morning?" Steel said as Black Orchid continued to read the newspaper. "I am glad you made it back in one piece Suzy."
"Why were we sent on a mission that was doomed from the start?" Susan asked Steel without taking her eyes off the paper she held in front of her.
"It wasn't, Suzy. There were just things that occurred that were unforeseen."
"Which things? Deadline and his bunch tracking us every step of the way or Marlo being the target and still getting killed?" Orchid questioned, finally putting the paper down and looking over at Steel.
"Susan if you are going to continue to scold me, please lose my daughters appearance. It's bad enough when she yells at me when she is really here."
"No more garbage missions…Daddy" Susan sarcastically replied, still maintaining the appearance of Steels daughter.
"Eiling has been dealt with. It won't happen again." Steel responded. "Take as much time off as you need and I will contact you when something comes up."
Susan subtly changed her appearance to someone more comfortable before continuing, "Any new leads on my past lately?"
"Susan we have gone over this before. Everything we found led to dead ends. I thought you gave up on…"
"No!" she said interrupting him, "You said there was nothing but dead ends. But you know something don't you? That's why you quit looking isn't it?"
"Where is this coming from? Was it the mission that got you this upset?"
"You have only seen me upset once and you remember what happened then don't you? Now I suggest you tell me what you know right now or I go to Washington and tell the President everything I know about what one of his closest advisors has been up to right under his nose. Maybe they can get you a cell next to Eiling?"
"Glad to see you are not upset." Steel replied, with a forced smile on his face. "The reason I didn't tell you everything we found was because I knew you would react like this and the consequences would be…"
"Right now I would be more concerned about the consequences of you not telling me."
That gave Steel reason to pause. He knew what she was capable of. Hell, he taught her how to lose herself into someone else. He taught her how to be ruthless, even kill if necessary. Would she be capable of killing him right here if provoked? He quickly concluded the answer was yes.
"A few months back the NSA search program Echelon, came across something that was flagged and sent to me. It was about project Black Orchid. It came from Lex Corp in Metropolis. That's all I know."
Susan slowly stood up and began to walk away. She stopped after a few steps and turned back to face Steel. "Three thing before I go. If I find out you are lying about this, I will kill you. If you send someone to try and stop me, I will kill you. Lastly… I quit."
Then
"Susan Linden huh?" Clayton Stoner said as he pulled his chair closer to his desk. He began to type in the name on his computer. "Now we might have something to go on."
"Well there is more." Susan said hesitantly, "Something happened when I left the hotel room. Something you need to know before you continue."
"What would that be?" he said as he stopped typing and looked up at her.
"Well, after I hung up the phone, I decided to go down stairs and see if I could talk to anyone else who might have seen me come in the night before. I showered and changed into the clothes that were in the room. I checked the room one last time, turned off the television, and then headed down toward the front desk. It was shortly after noon and there seemed to be quiet a few people coming and going. As I got on to the elevator there was whispering and a few people were pointing at me. I quickly hit the button for the first floor. When I reached the first floor the door opened and a couple of men were waiting to get on. I looked at them and forced a smile. One by one their look changed as their eyes widen at the sight of me. I quickly passed them but out of the corner of my eye I could see them standing there watching me as I headed towards the front desk. I reached the desk and the girl sitting there pointed her finger up at me as she wrote something down. She began to ask me what I needed when she looked up and saw me she stopped talking."
"OK, why was everyone acting so strangely? Are you sure you weren't just being paranoid?"
"No it wasn't me. Well it was me but not in the way you are thinking. After a few seconds she finally spoke again and asked me if I was her. I said her who? She replied with, are you Paris Hilton?"
Clayton was unable to control his laughter this time and he laughed so loud he startled himself. This was not what he was expecting. After a few moments he was able to contain himself again. "Now don't get me wrong. You are a very attractive young woman. But beyond the tall slender figure and long blond hair, you look nothing like Paris Hilton."
"Well I was confused at first myself until I remembered seeing Paris Hilton on the television in the hotel room." Susan said leaning into the desk closer to Clayton, "Close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to."
"Ok." Clayton chuckled while he closed his eyes, "This can't get any stranger then it already is."
Susan sat there quietly and focused. After a few seconds she said, "Alright, open your eyes."
Clayton opened his eyes. He couldn't quiet register what he saw. But, he continued to stare at the women sitting across from him who now looked like a spitting image of the hotel heiress, Paris Hilton. Things had certainly taking a sharp turn towards stranger!
Now
Black Orchid was back where it all began just a few short years ago, Metropolis. She hasn't been back since she was forced to leave town and head to Las Vegas. She spent months searching for clues to explain how she became the Black Orchid. Now she stood in front of the door of the man who would give her the answers she was seeking. She checked her earpiece communicator before she entered.
"Thorn, are you there?" She whispered.
"Yeah, Orchid. I am here." The female voice in the earpiece responded. "I am searching the lab now. Security is pretty lax even if it is after midnight. I don't like this."
"I am getting ready to go in. Let me know what you find." Susan said as she reached for the door handle.
Susan had a plan. Confront Lex Luthor while her friend; Rose Forrest searched the lab for information regarding the Black Orchid project. She met Rose during a case she was working on. Rose's father was a Metropolis police officer until members of a criminal organization gunned him down. Rose had a breakdown afterward which resulted in her personality splitting in two. By day she was Rose Forrest, grieving daughter. By night, she was the costumed vigilante, Thorn. They worked together to topple the organization that killed Roses father. All the while, Rose never became aware of the dual life she led. But afterward, Thorn vowed to help Susan if she ever had the need. When that need arose, Orchid called her.
Susan open the door the Lex Luthor's office. She saw a man sitting thirty feet away from her at a desk. The room was dark until the man reached over and turned on a small light. . She walked toward him not saying a word until she stood at the edge of his desk.
"Lex Luthor? What can you tell me about the Black Orchid project?"
The man smiled at her and pointed to a phone that sat in front of her on the desk. It began to ring. She reached down and picked it up.
"My sincere apology's for being so dramatic Susan but this was your colossal plan? Come in here and confront the man behind the monster? I thought I had gotten rid of you for good when I forced you out of town years ago?" The man on the other end of the phone said.
"Who is this?" Orchid said looking down at the phone and then up at the man sitting across from her.
"This is Lex Luthor of course." He said, "The man in the room with you isn't me. Did you think I would allow you to waltz right in here brazenly and rough me up till you had your way with me?"
Susan looked up again and there was no one at the desk. She spun around as her eyes scanned the dimly lit room to no avail.
"By the way, the man isn't really a man. She is able to impersonate people, just like you can. Pretty convincing isn't she? Her name is Sasha Green but you can call her Myriad, just before you die!"
The phone went silent just as a rapid blur approached her from her left side, driving her across the room until she hit the wall and slid to the floor.
To be continued…