And here's Chapter 2 of "On the Darkside." Please read and review! Also, I should've mentioned last time, I don't own any of these characters, of course. I do own my shirt. And this laptop. And…sorry. All those "I don't owns" get boring after a while.

Klarion and Greta: On the Darkside, chapter 2

"So tell me, Miss Stephanie, how did you first meet my—uhm, I mean Klarion?" The girl took a sip of hot cocoa.

"Well, I was on patrol, as Batgirl, you know, and happened across a truly horrific scene. Someone, or something, had ripped a pimp's heart out. I followed the blood trail right to Klarion, but, as it turns out, he wasn't the killer. It was all a kind of comedy of errors, so to speak, involving the, the side effects, I guess you'd say, of certain spells. What about you?"

The girl shook her head. "I'm told I met him before, as a ghost, but I hardly remember any of it. That was before this time, understand. Then, on Halloween, he summoned me from my grave…..it wasn't exactly an entirely positive experience, but, I'll admit, I had a certain amount of fun." She briefly smiled a positively feral smile, then sobered again. "Before that….I seem to remember him, but nothing definite. Just bits and pieces, you know. Nothing that makes any sense." She fell silent.

The silence stretched a bit. Then Stephanie spoke up. "Ah, I'm sorry to hear about….you know."

"Yes, thank you. It all seems so….unbelievable to me. And yet…." Stephanie saw a single tear make its way down the side of her face. Greta sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I mean, how could he-*"

At that precise moment, Klarion popped back in. "Hm. Now that's curious."

"What?"

"He's gone. Apparently, Jason Blood's been kidnapped."

Stephanie gasped. "Kidnapped? Are you sure?"

"Well, his house has been broken into. There were definite signs of a struggle. He's not there, and there's no indication of a body or anything. I think it safe to say whoever broke in probably took him with them, in whatever state he was in. Don't you?"

"Ohmygod. Yes. We'd best alert-*"

"Stephanie. Remember, this is Jason Blood we're talking about. I doubt any normal assailants could have done this, or would even want to. I'm reasonably sure Gotham's constables would be useless."

"Well, we have to do something." She paused. They were both looking at her. "Oh! Oh, no you don't! Not me! That's not my field anymore!" They both continued to look at her. "No. Repeat enn oh. I'm not in that game anymore. Besides, I have a job to go to in," here she looked at her watch and gasped, "…that I should've been in to an hour ago! I'm late! I'm….I'm….." The two continued to look at her, and her shoulders slumped. "I'm…calling in sick."

…

Batgirl looked over her two friends. They'd need something, something to keep them from being so easily identified. Greta had her hood, and her clothing was so nondescript that she could easily be lost in a crowd. Still, better safe than sorry. She rummaged around and found a mask that obscured most of the girl's face. "There. Now, if anyone asks who you are, we'll just say…."

"It's a Secret?" Greta smiled beneath the mask.

"Exactly."

Klarion, now, posed another kind of problem. "You can always switch back to the blue skin, but your clothes…"

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing. If you're going to a Class of 1692 Reunion party. Everybody'll be calling you 'the Pilgrim.' And you know how you hate that. So. Let's see…." She sized him up. He wasn't built anything at all like Robin or Nightwing.

"Here, Miss Stephanie, please. Let me." Greta took Klarion by the hand and led him over to the sizeable closet Stephanie kept. Superheroes, even former ones, usually kept a good stock of a wide variety of clothes. Greta picked out a thin tie, white button-down shirt with a high collar, long black jacket with pointed sleeves and pants to match. "Here. Try these on." She pushed him into the next room.

From the next room: "Perfectly good clothes, these are; my mother made 'em. Good fabric." And "I feel like a popinjay…." But he soon emerged, clad in the garments she'd picked out. "Well? How do I look?"

Greta surveyed him, hands on her hips, smiling. "Perfect. Part goth, part formal, part old school, all dangerous. It suits you perfectly, Klarion."

He straightened his tie, nervously. "Teekl? What do you think?"

"Meh." Teekl never could understand what it was with humans and clothes anyway.

"Well, anyway. I guess we're ready." He raised his hands to begin the teleport spell…

"Wait, wait," Batgirl interrupted. "Just a minute." She took out a small pill out of her utility belt and dry-swallowed it. "Dramamine," she said, to their looks. "I remembered. From last time."

….

Not only had the place been broken into once, it apparently had been since Klarion had last come there. There was additional wreckage that hadn't been there before. "Klarion, you didn't do this did you? That's what I thought. On your guard, everyone, and look sharp. It's probably safe to assume we're being watched." The trio moved into the interior of the brownstone as one entity, with Batgirl scanning the area for traps and clues. "I don't like this one bit. Feels off. Klarion, did your uncle have any enemies?"

"Plenty. Including me. But, to be honest, this doesn't feel like their work."

"Why not?"

"No magic. None whatsoever. Most of 'Uncle Jason's' enemies are magic users of one degree or another. I can't think of any who'd just smash the door in. Besides a really desperate salesman, I mean." Teekl was on his shoulders, standard battle formation they'd developed through many years of chaos. Now he jumped down and started batting at a piece of paper they'd overlooked.

"Hm." Stephanie picked it up. "Hm." It was a package's postage sticker.

"Found something, Miss Step—I mean, Batgirl?" Greta was curious.

"Possibly. Blood apparently received a large package recently. I mean, look at the postage. And I don't see any sign of the package. Which means-*"

At that exact moment, something big hurtled at them from the shadows.

….