The Suicide Squad: Black Orchid -
Nothing but Flowers - Conclusion: The Only Thing That's Real
Now
Black Orchid watched as Philip Sylvia's entire body began to shake. She wondered how long it would take before blood would begin to seep out of his body. She could stand there and watch him die but it wouldn't be enough. She needed to know the truth.
"You now have twenty-six seconds." She leaned down and whispered into his ear.
He attempted to speak but he was unable to utter a sound. Susan reached out and pressed two fingers into the side of his neck. Doctor Sylvia gasped for air and began to breathe again.
"If I let go of this spot on your neck your body will begin to shut down again. If you tell me everything I want to know I can reverse the process entirely. Choose your words carefully, Doctor."
"Who…who are you? What do you want from me?" He managed to utter under labored breath.
"You were in charge of the Black Orchid project at Lex Corp, yes?"
"Yes." He answered.
"After being fired you changed your name and began to work for Wayne enterprises under an assumed named where you expanded on the project yes?"
"Yes."
"See how easy this is?" She said reaching up with her other and patted him on the cheek. "Now here comes another one that may be a little tougher. What was the purpose of the project?"
He didn't hesitate as he answered her. "I was told to create the perfect spy. Someone who could change their appearance at will and uses pheromone powers to persuade those she could get close to…"
"Why me? Why did you choose me to experiment on?"
"I…I…don't know who you are. There were so many."
"How many?" Susan demanded.
"Eighty, maybe a hundred girls. I lost track. They kept dying." He began to cry "But she kept sending more girls until I couldn't take it anymore. I left and went into hiding. But she found me and sent you here to kill me."
"Her? What is her name?"
"I never wanted any of this!" He said finding it harder to speak.
"The person who ordered you to perform the experiments, tell me her goddamned name!" Susan screamed. Susan leaned down as he muttered a name.
"Please God forgive me." He pleaded.
Susan spoke softly into his ear "God is going to have to wait. Where you are going you will have to face each and every innocent girl who's lives you stole. Maybe, just maybe one of them will forgive you."
She stood up and released her fingers from his neck. "I am not sorry when I tell you that I lied. There is no way to reverse the death touch. But know this, your death will be mild compared to what I have in store for her."
Black Orchid left Philip Sylvia to die alone in his home as she disappeared into the Gotham City night.
Then
Three weeks had passed since Susan Linden encountered Batman in Gotham city. Clayton Stoner noticed a severe change in Susan. She would disappear for days on end and then return like nothing had happened. When he pushed her to tell him where she was or what she was doing she would respond with, 'I was working'. She was no longer interested in working on cases with Clayton.
Clayton watched as Susan came into his office and sat down across from him at his desk.
"Clay we need your help." Susan said.
"By the we I assume you mean you and the other female vigilante you've been roaming the streets of Metropolis with these last few nights?" Clayton responded, without looking up at her. "Why don't you ask Superman for help?"
"Superman? He is a figured head in this city! He flies high above the city looking down on us. But he has his head so high in the clouds he never sees the true crime that exists. Even if he did, I am sure he would feel it was above him in his god-like state!"
"Susan I was joking. But it does seem that your new friends influence is rubbing off on you."
"Thorn is not a friend. We understand each other. We want the same thing for our city."
"And what would that be?" Clayton asked finally looking up from his computer. "Now your dogging this cities greatest hero and taking to the streets in that crazy purple get-up to defend your city. Did you forget why you came to me in the first place?"
"Of course I do, but thing have changed. I am more focused. I have a purpose for the first time and I am doing what I was meant to do. I am the Black Orchid!"
"Suzy, I can understand and appreciate what you are trying to do but you are going about it the wrong way. Busting low-level street thugs and smashing up hideouts in hopes of catching bad guys isn't working. All you are doing is stirring up a hornets nest with no forethought of getting stung."
"That isn't true. Thorn and I have been working our way up from the bottom. Moving upstream looking for the bigger fish. That is why I came to you for help. We found one, possibly the biggest fish in the pond. Henry Ballard."
"Henry Ballard? The U.S. senator?" Clayton quickly answered back.
"Word is that he is the top dog in a group called the 100. The 100 is…" Susan began to say.
"Stop. Just stop right there. Do you think in my line of work that I wouldn't know who the major criminal organization is here in this city? I am able to operate and survive by avoiding anthing connected with them."
"We want to take them down." Susan replied. "And I need you to dig up everything you can on the seantor so we can prepare our next move."
"Your next is move is to not draw anymore attention to yourself and just walk away from the whole thing."
"I can't do that and you know it!"
"I understand that your friend or whoever, lost her father when he got himself murdered because he stared to get too close to the 100. Revenge is a powerful motavator but you do not need to get yourself killed beause of this. Walk away now!"
"We will shut them down with or without you. I am asking you as a favor to get us the information we need so we are better prepared. Isn't that your number one rule, always be prepared."
"No. My number one rule is to stay alive." Clayton paused, "Okay I will look into this guy for you on one condition. If afterward I discover that this is too big for the two of you to handle, you will consider holding off for the time being?"
"I won't make any promises but I will consider it."
Now
Paris, France 4 a.m.
"I fear zat you are in over your head fille." The woman said before striking Black Orchid from behind. Susan turned and faced her attacker. It was a tall woman dressed in a tan and burgundy costume with a hood trailed off like a tail. It was a stupid mistake. She was so focused on getting inside the building that she never saw her coming.
Susan had now been awake for nearly thirty-six hours. After getting the name from Philip Sylvia, she was on a plane to Paris France. Everything had come full circle. She was in France just two weeks ago when she received the message that sent her on a journey to discover the truth about who she was and how she became that way. Now she stood outside the corporate headquarters of Revson, a major Parisian perfume company. The intel she uncovered led her to believe that the woman she sought out was inside this building. All that stood in her way was a crazy french woman with American superhero envy.
Susan easily dodged the next assualt as the woman charged past her.
"You are American, no?" The woman said as she spin back around, "Well, you will find zat France has her own defender. I am zee Crimson Fox and you will not be allowed to continue yor criminal intentions anymore zes…"
Susan charged the Crimson Fox and punched her in the jaw, stopping her midsentence and knocking her to the ground. She watched to see if she was going to get back up. When she determined that Crimson Fox was down for good, she continued to search for a way to enter the building unnoticed.
Then
Thirty minutes ago she received a call from Clayton on her cell phone. He uncovered information that linked Senator Henry Ballard with not only the 100 group, but his previous election campaign was financed by Lex Luthor. The fear in his voice was something Susan had never head before. She imediatly raced back to the office but it was too late.
Susan looked on from a distance as the office building of Clayton Stoner investigations burned. She watched as the Metropolis fire department attempted to contain the fire but the four-story building was engulfed in flames. It was her fault. He warned her that she shouldn't get involved with the 100. But she didn't listen and forced him to get involved as well.
Susan moved closer toward the building but was stopped by a police officer, "Sorry miss, it's too dangerous here."
"But I work in that building!" She yelled. "My…friend could have been in there."
"Well for their sake, I hope not today. Witnesses said they heard an explosion as the building went up. No one alive is coming out of that building now."
Susan contemplated what she was going to do next when there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw a man behind her with a hooded sweatshirt on, pulled tightly around his head and face.
"Clayton!" she said with relief in her voice.
"Suzy there isn't time." He said pulling her close to him, "They are probably watching us right now. It's time to cut our losses."
"I don't understand. We need to go after whoever did this."
"No. It's much bigger then even I imagined. They won't stop until we are both dead. You have to leave town now."
"I am not leaving without you. We will go together and when the time is right we will come back and fight."
"It's too late for me Suzy. I don't have any fight left in me. We need to separate. Use my contact in Vegas. He can set you up with a new life there where you can be safe."
"What about you?"
'I will be fine. I can disappear where no one can find me. Promise me Suzy you will do this for me."
"I've ruined everything. Your business, your life, everything." Susan uttered as she fought back the tears as they welled up in her eyes.
"No Suzy, you didn't. I only wish I could have helped you more. Now do what I said okay? I want you to wait a few minutes after I am gone. Then leave yourself and don't look back."
There wasn't anything left to say. Clayton was gone. Susan turned around and waited a few minutes and then she too disappeared. She hadn't noticed but someone had been watching her. That person continued to follow her long after she left Metropolis that night.
Now
Black Orchid quickly moved through the Revson building toward the top floor. Adrenalin carried her up each flight of stairs. Does the woman she is after know that she's here? She must know by now. It's almost as if she lead her here.
Susan reached the top floor and swung the door open from the stairwell. She braced herself as she went down the long hallway and through the doorway into the only lit room on the floor. Susan stopped when she saw the woman she was after, with her back turned looking out the window.
"Constance D'Aramis!" Black Orchid shouted out to the woman.
Then
It was nearly three am on a Wednesday and the crowds in the casino had died down. A man sat down at the empty $100 minimum blackjack table. He smiles at the dealer as he pulled out a handful of chips and placed a stack in front of her. The woman didn't look up as she dealt him his cards.
"Been doing this long?' He asked while motioning her to give him another card.
"I've been here all night if that's what you mean." She replied, flipping over another card in front of him. "Bust."
"It's hard to imagine a world that exists outside of Las Vegas." He said casually as she dealt him another hand. "But there is of course. I personally believe that everyone has an important part to play in it. You just have to know your role. Do you know your role…Susan?"
The dealer finally looked up at him and smiled, "Sorry sir. My name is Monica."
"Of course, of course." He said waving off another card. "Well, the Susan I heard of knows how to impersonate anyone and can kick ass with the best of them. She disappeared a few months back after some bad stuff went down in Metropolis."
Her smile faded and she began to panic and looked around the room.
"Don't worry Susan. I am sure with your instincts you would have pegged me for a hostile long before I sat down if I was. But I am not." He said reaching over and pulling the glove off of his left hand to reveal a mechanical limb. "My name is Sarge Steel and I am here to offer you a job."
Now
The woman turned around to see Black Orchid staring at her from across the room. "You don't have to be so dramatic Suzy. I just watched you beat-up my sister across the street. Her and that silly costume. Crimson Fox, please!"
Susan stood there and watched as the woman walked over and sat down at the desk across from her. "Have a seat Suzy, we have a lot of catching up to do."
"You know I came here to kill you." Susan said in a low discerning voice.
"Did you now?" Constance replied as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms "Are you sure? I mean of course you may have thought that at first but now you're not so sure. You are home now Susan. You are home."
"I am going to give you only one chance to tell me everything."
"And then what? Kill me like you did Doctor Sylvia? You won't have to torture me Suzy. I will gladly tell you everything you want to know."
Black Orchid took a few steps towards Constance and sat down across from her.
"There you go." Constance smiled
"What are you doing to me?" Susan said in a daze after she realized she had sat down. There was something familiar in the air that was suddenly clouding Susan's mind.
"Something I have been doing ever since it appeared I had finally succeed with your creation, I have been testing you. You see, my sister Vivian may have a rosy view of things but I understand and appreciate the complexities of the world. I may appear to be a woman content to run her own perfume company, but I am a woman of vision. All I needed was the perfect instrument to help me reshape the landscape of global power. It took nearly three years before we had our first real success but alas there you were. With my design, Doctor Sylvia had created the perfect spy."
Susan clinched her fist but she was unable to move out of the chair.
"But I had to make sure you would be able to perform any task I required of you. So I decided to let you lose to see how you would adapt in the world. I admit at first I was somewhat disappointed. But after the incident in Metropolis sent you into hiding I decided to help you get on track. I fed information that found it's way into Sarge Steels hands, which eventually led him to you. From there I must say I have been impressed. You have become everything I could have hoped for." Constance stood up and walked around to where Black Orchid was seated. "The test phase is now over which is why I contacted you a few weeks back. Now it is time for you to fully embrace what you were created for Suzy."
Susan slowly rose from her seat and stood face to face with Constance D'Aramis.
"I… would rather… die." Susan finally said. With a blurring motion, Susan reached up and put her hands around Constance's neck and slowly began to squeeze. "But I am taking you with me."
Constance struggled against Black Orchids grasp, "You are stronger then I gave you credit for." Constance chocked "I emitted enough pheromones in this room to over take ten men."
Susan picked the flailing woman up by the neck and threw her across the room. "I am really sorry it has to be like this Suzy." Constance shouted as she pulled herself up off the floor.
Susan shook her head as she attempted to fight off another wave of pheromones in the air. She felt dizzy and barely able to stand as she slowly moved toward Constance. She heard a noise behind her and turned around to see Constance's sister charge toward her. Susan was unable to move out of the way in time and as the Crimson Fox lifted her right hand to reveal razor sharp claws on her costume. She watched as the woman slashed into her with her claws. The pain was more then she could bear as she felt her flesh tear open. Everything began to go black as she hit the floor.
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…
Epilogue
"…I remember when
I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that time…"
Susan gradually awoke to the sound of a woman singing. She blinked a few times as her eyes began to focus on her surroundings. The singing continued as she slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much"
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Probably!"
Susan looked around the small dark room. Where was she? She slowly stood up and felt a twinge on her right side. She moved her hand across her hip and toward her stomach. It hurt to the touch. The wound had scared over. Had she recently been operated on? Why couldn't she remember anything? She listened as heard the woman continue to sing.
"Come on now
Who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are?
Ha ha ha!
Bless your soul
You really think you're in control
Well,
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
Just like me!"
She took a few steps and put her hand against the wall. The singing came from the other side.
"Why…why are you singing?" she asked.
"Ahh, you are awake!" The woman said through the wall. "It's get so dreary in here. It's almost numbing when I can't hear the birds chirping or the plants growing. Singing usually passes the time. My name is Pamela by the way. What's yours?"
Susan thought for a moment before she answered. "Susan, I think?"
"Well Susan, welcome to Arkham Asylum."
"Arkham Asylum?" Susan asked. "How did I get here? Why can't I remember?"
"That would most likely be our gracious hosts. They like to keep their pets submissive. But lucky for me I have a friend who is a doctor. Her name is Harley and she's coming to get me out soon. I think a good old-fashioned road trip is in order. Care to join us?"
Susan again thought for a moment before she answered. "Sure. That could be fun."
The end, for now!
Authors Notes: Lyrics from theGnarls Barkley songCrazy-written by: Cee-Lo (Thomas Calloway)