The Darkest of Knights

(LOL CASIUS XD!!)

Quinn, still struggling to get out of the chair, tried to remember what she was talking about. "I don- I don't remember!" she couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember?! So she took a wild guess. "Was it.. You?" and she flinched away, expecting to get hit by the ruler.

(!!!!! The awesome has just exploded my brain. Sorry. *Picks at gray matter dripping from her head.)

Astro blinked at Sky. This was a response he often got after those stupid astrasl projections. They drained him mentally, and physically. "Fine, fine." He said, waving a scratched hand at her. He grit his teeth slightly. Leaving his body against a rough alley wall had some consequences, he reminded himself as he eyed the cut hand.
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Ivy landed with Zero. She was excited to see Robin, especially knowing Batman couldn't be much further. A conversation with him was all she needed to know if he had done the murder or not, and it was so close to her grasp...
---
Poison Ivy eyed Karm's body, noting a slight twitch. Nightmares. No wonder, after all the girl had been through, who wouldn't have nightmares? The villainess didn't particularly care, though. She was straining her mind for an excuse. The dream, whatever it was, could be another oppurtunity to put Quinn closer to her. Then again, she could blow everything off, laugh and say, "Just a dream!"

Or, a sneer worked its way to her face as she thought of this one, she could kill her right now.

"Ok, he already looks pissed off so let's pick him off from a distance" Nano said. You remember that move we leared?
"How could i forget?" Crimson said.
The 2 then stood back to back, Nano stretched out his mechanical arm, palm spread out and crimson did the same by pressing his arm against his.
They both took careful aim and said "GEMINI THUNDER!!"
A red and blue blast of entertwined energy erupted from their hands and headed straight for cinderblock.

Poison Ivy flinched. What if...what if the girl were to wake up, in the middle of her murder? No...there was no possible explanation for holding a knife to the throat of your 'Best friend'. Unless, that is, she completely threw the best friend idea out the window. After all, isn't this what she had wanted? This...girl, Karmy, Quinn, whoever, helpless and at the twisting hands of the villainess herself? The ease and control of a temporary sidekick, that she'd have the pleasure of killing? Pleasure all the more sweeter after this supposed best friend murdered her only friend?

Isn't that what she wanted, revenge?

She knew she couldn't kill the girl then and there. She still had much to do with her. Even if Quinn did recover her memories as Karen or Carla- or whatever the hell her name was, Poison Ivy didn't care- she'd still have made Quinn go through some...tasks to help Poison Ivy. Not to mention worthy attacks on the Riders. Who knows how long she could keep Quinn under her control, if she could keep up this charade?
Unless.....the girl's dreams...the redhead realized with a shock. A memory returned to her.

Arkham Asylum, Group Therapy 10 AM

"Well then," a clearly shaken and jittery therapist replied in a cracking voice, after hearing Killer Croc's vivid and detailed tale of murder. A smile was on the villain's face, Scarecrow's as well. Fear was something Scarecrow wanted to instill in all, and even if he hadn't created the fear in their therapist, it was entertaining to watch. A distant dreamy look played on the blonde's face, her name one Poison Ivy still couldn't recall.

"Moving on," the therapist began, clearing her throat as her voice broke again, "Let's talk about dreams."

The blonde's face popped up, a twisted grin on her face that would send a chill down any normal human's spine. "My dreams are pictures." She began, "I hear this ringing that won't stop, and pictures flash through too quickly for me to see." The therapist, who had practically leapt in her seat at Mame's smile, calmed at the relatively normal dream.

"Dreams are quite interesting. Symbolic, you could say. Some believe dreams are cleansing of the mind, emptying all memories of the day and maybe lifetime. It is for that reason they also help recover memories, some think. Others have shown belief in dreams being messages, warning from the past, clues from the future...." The therapist was trembling less now, more confident in her words. Poison Ivy rolled her eyes, reclining into her chair, and wondering if she could get past the guards and to the nearest window.....

Poison Ivy was stuck on that sentence. She replayed the therapist's cool, intelligent, sure words, in her head, again and again.

Dreams recover memories.

Her eyes flickered back to the now stirring body of Quinn. One swipe was all it'd take to kill the disoriented girl, especially now in her groggy sleep. Poison Ivy couldn't help but notice that, in her cruel nature. But a much more alarming thought crept into her mind. If the girl remembered....

She just might have to.

"Quinn?"

Quinns eyes flickered open as she struggled to wake up. Her vision fuzzy, she sat up slowly in the hammock and looked around. A patch of orange near by caught her eye she strained to see who it was. "Poison.. Ivy?" she asked groggily. "Wha happen'?" Her whole body felt heavy and she really wanted to go back to sleep. The affects of the DMT plant still lingered. "I had.. A weird dream." and she told her about it.

Poison Ivy smiled. Split second decision: Bring Quinn closer to her. "That memory makes sense. The Seven Days That Shook The World was a tiring time. I can't begin to tell you about that." She came up with the perfect idea. "Say, that girl, Alice, was it? She's blonde. So was a friend of our's. Harley Quinn." The villainess explained, not skipping a beat. "It'd make sense. You can't remember Harley much, so you replace her with somebody that robot girl showed you pictures off, since the memory is fresher." The redhead had ripped the pictures apart, but had come across one with Quinn and Mercy.

It all fit so well together. How could Quinn not believe her?

"YOu got your name from Harley, you know. It's why you joined me. I remember. You only said one sentence, 'I want to kill the Midnight Riders.' And it's understandable." A sly smile worked onto her face. Everything falling into place perfectly. Saying this would put Quinn even more against the Riders.

"After all, they're the ones who killed her."

Alice knew she could be Karmy now. She knew it. It wasn't an if. No matter what the circumstances she could beat Karmy. But she stopped worrying about that a while ago now, she use to worry about it but she knew the rigourous training she had been through for 13 years with Slade, 4 years with books and teachers, and 2 years with Batman himself. Altogether that's nearly 20 years of her life in training; Karmy was raised by a band of insomnic hippie vegans. What she did wonder about was how old Rose was, and how long she was in training with her father. She was fast, ninja-like, almost slippery. Every time she thought she would land a hit on her she seemed to have disappeared and ended up somewhere else. It was like she was fighting Redeemer again. That or her old associate Rift, though she never fought him. She was struggling to stay flawless with her, she felt as if she met her match..

"Robin come in. We need to meet with Zero. What time did you say we'd meet? Where?" Batman asked, the sun coming down.

Quinn looked wearily up at Poison Ivy, trying to comprehend what she was saying. Was she right? It would make sense but.. She put a hand to her head and tried to remember but she only got flashes. She did remember Harley. She remembered her burning to a crisp. And she remembered her throat bleeding terribly. "I.. You're right." Quinn said groggily.

Poison Ivy nodded. "Have I been wrong yet? Now, really, you should head back to sleep. You never know what you'll need to be well rested for." She assured Quinn, lightly nudging the girl back into her hammock.

"Unless," she mused, "You want to head into town and pull a few crimes!" She laughed. Yes, she had used the phrase before. It would fool Quinn into thinking she had dreamed up some memories. Make her think, "Oh, I made up that phrase."

Just to cement the idea, Poison Ivy added, "You do remember that phrase, don't you?"

"Oh yeah.." Quinn said rubbing her eyes. "Crime means... Errands." she remembered from... earlier? Oh well, besides, she didn't want to go back to sleep anymore. She was feeling better. A bit. "Sure. Uh. To where though?" she asked.

"How's about the bank? We could get some money, and head out to town for some fun." Poison Ivy smiled. "Of course, we'll have to use my account...."The account of stealing, she meant.

"Oh, uh, sure!" Quinn said and slipped out of the hammock and stood up. She immediately became light headed and swayed on the spot.

"Here." A sharp snap followed as Poison Ivy broke off a sturdy looking branch from a tree. The cut was clean, enough that Quinn wouldn't get splinters from using the stick as a cane. Besides, Poison Ivy noted, the branch looked sturdy but it was wilting on the inside. Already dead. "Use that to support yourself." She advised Quinn.

"Orrr..." Quinn took the stick and twirled it in her hands. "It could make a fancy dancy fighting stick!" she spun it around in her hands and accidently smacked her self in the forehead. "Ow."

Seab was slightly clenching the seat of the car when John first sped off, but the original shock was gone now.
"I'm starting to feel like I should of drove myself." he muttered to himself when he saw John grin as he sped off.

Poison Ivy snickered. "Follow me." No way could Quinn make it out of the forest without the plant obsessive woman's assistance, so of course she'd have to lead.

"Although, if your dancing is as bad as your aim, maybe you'll scare all our enemies off." She quipped.

"Hey! That was some of my fighting skills." Quinn stated. "Not dancing." she huffed. "Pfft... Why are we walking? I can just portal us there." and she snapped her fingers.

7:00 pm
Sunset
Warm Breeze

"Meet me at Grim Alley then. Alice and Batgirl can handle things here." Batman told Robin rather dryly still hugging the walls, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Batgirl looked at the carnage and mayhem from a rooftop; glancing at Officer Bard who was knocked out began to wake up. He saw the silhouette of Batgirl, she saluted to him and jumped off the building to where the action was. "B-Batman! I saw the Bat!" He said reaching for his radio, he discovered it was gone! "Aww crap!"

Poison Ivy was shocked to find herself in the middle of Gotham. "Well done, Quinn." She praised, quickly swerving to hug the nearest wall. Nobody would notice the woman with red hair in a leotard made of plants....right?

Oh, she was so dead.

Quinn, who just stood out in the open, looked at Poison Ivy curiously. "Why are you doing that?" she placed her hands on her hips. "The bank is right there. Why don't we go in already?" she said and started to head for the building.

"Right, Quinn, you better let me handle this. Stay outside." Poison Ivy ordered quickly, jogging into the building before Quinn could. She twirled to the front of the line and did the usual routine.

Mind control the male cashier, get money, waltz out before anyone could notice. "Let's go, quickly." She murmured, taking Quinn by the hand and dashing away. "I hate this part of town." She lied in explanation.