The Darkest of Knights

"Tell me Mame." Karmy said folding her hands on the table and looking at the little girl as she ate. "You 'daddy'," she put air quotes around her words. "Why him? There are people out here, like Cyrah and myself. Who would like to help you. I've delt with one of Slade's apprentice's before and, wlel don't get me wrong, but what's a sweet little girl like you doing with a dude like him?" she kept a smile on her face as to not provoke Mame to do anything. None of them really needed a fight on their hands right now.

The young blond stopped for a moment, staring down at her plate as she used her napkin to clean the sticky off her mouth. Surely she could explain this like a decent human being, she might not be anything close to decent but somewhere deep within her was a normal child waiting to burst forth. No.....That was a laughable concept and it made her smirk just to think about it.

" You good guys...You heroes think you got it all worked out huh?"

She pushed her plate away towards the foam box that held the cheeseburger she had ordered for Slade. She looked directly into Karmy's eyes, the deep intense crystal blue boring like molten ice into the hippiy's soul. She laced her fingers together and let out a deep sigh, unable to withstand the suppression of her psychosis anymore.

" You look at me and see a puppet don't you? A willing apprentice? I chose him because he got it, he saw my downfalls and my empty vessel of a body and witnessed something he could mold into an actual person. Have you ever given a thought that some people don't have destinies? They don't get the right to a greater meaning to their life, they float through time like the hollow shells they are and wither and die without changing anything"

The child stood up suddenly, grabbing a hold of her foam box and took a deep breath, craning her head back to look up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. This hurt to admit but do it she would.

" I'm not special, I have no secret powers or special abilities that differentiate me from everyone else...I'm a fifteen year old blond American girl.....Thousands of others can say that......But I am alone, and I will die with no greater purpose given to me....But for now....With what little time I get outside in the world with everyone else...I'm gonna do something fantastic"

The girl turned to smile down at the two of them before exposing a strange orangish capsule stuck between her fingers, she cocked her head to the side and pinched it, suddenly a great gush of fear toxin began to spew about the diner. Mame had been saving that for something more important then just an escape, but hell she couldn't see any other way out of this.

So with a quick leap and sprint she was escaping through the concentrated fear inducing gas that drenched the now screaming customers and employees with its glorious self. Most of it lingered around Cyrah and Karmy, and Mame was not immune to it either. As she fled out of the building grasping her food box she began to scream, her body fading into invisibility as she raced down the ally a few buildings over. She had escaped, that was her intent, but god damn was she f*cking frightened.

(DX!!!)

"I'm just trying to help you!" Karmy managed to shout to her before the gas claimed her and begun it's affects. She saw Cyrah fall to the ground screaming before she herself fell and her own screams drowned out anything around her, well, besides the hallucinations of course. First came the snake's, their smooth underbellies crawling all over her as she screamed and screamed.

And then, just when she couldn't scream anymore, she opened her eye's and screamed again as the men in white started to surround her, their tools flashing brightly in the florescent light of the diner. Dr. Foster stood over her and next to him was Casey. Except, blood was spilling out of Casey's mouth, nose, and eye's as he stared down at his sister. He knelled down to her level and stared into her eye's. Flashes of her time in the Instituted filled her mind as she looked into his eyes.

They tied her down to the table and placed to odd head gear on her head just as they would always do.
Flash
She screamed as the needle was pushed into her veins and her nerve's felt like they were on fire.
Flash
She fell to the ground as the soldier stood over her in a fighting position. "Get back up."

Karmy lay on the floor, her body convulsing and screams erupted from her lungs as the toxin continued to ravage her systems. She could no longer think. The white's of her eye's was all that anyone could see as she continued to scream. Her mind was starting to break.

Cyrah's mind was still a jumbled up mess from when Corben got her, so when the fear toxin got in her, having never been exposed to it ever before, it was like the floodgates of hell were opening in her mind. She saw him... she was back on that operating table, feleing the gear rip her apart, fixating that cheap metal to her body, watching various peices of herself get carted away...

But she had to compose herself. Although it was the one thing that terrified her most, Karmy's own screams of terror made her fight it. Ben WASN'T here, Karmy and her Father had destroyed him. but the blood, the knives....

It wasn't real. She continued ot fight it, to purge it from her mind, as she got to her feet. true, she was bitterly biting back the urge to break down and blast a hole between her eyes to get the images out, but she had to help Karmy first. Her abilities with this skill were next to nill after ben's experiments, but she still had it. She locked eyes with Karmy, chanting the word 'calm' as best she could, hoping to snap Karmy out of it, still seeing the horrid images in her mind...

Karmy really didn't 'see Cyrah. The toxin was making her see an android ready to blow her brains out or slice her open or anything really. But she did see her eye's. Once their eye's were locked, Karmy began to calm down a little, but since Cyrah wasn't at full power due to her own hallucinations, they weren't out of this yet. Karmy's body still shook as she tried hold onto her sanity, for however long that was.

Dick, Barbara, and Alice gathered around a table in the Wayne Manor upstairs in a room known as the CB. Dick himself didn't know why it was called the CB, just that Bruce had called it that whenever he needed to do "adult" talk with anyone that had to deal with recent cases or missions. He now had his cup of tea curled in his right hand, talking with his best friends. Barbara. Damn why hadn't he stayed? The more time he spent with her the more he regretted all those years apart. He decided to put that aside. For now. "So the usual M.O. for Gotham. " Dick said raising his cup to his mouth, "Murderers, rapists, and thieves." He steamed, drinking his herbal tea. The taste reminded him that Raven was on her way. Alice volunteered on picking her up but with the lack of her car she would have to borrow his car. "Let's get to the point." Barbara said. "Police think that Dick Grayson," she said pointing at him, "is one of Batman's targets... The Riddler informed the police on his theory that The Batman is a criminal and has been working with my father and splitting the money they get from each crime that they crack together." "Which is complete bogus." Alice added. "Of course, I got the information from Arkham's database and they bought every word, but this only begs the question." Barbara said lifting a mug of coffee, "Is it safe to go in the cowl?" Dick looked behind himself casually and then back to Barbara. There was a slight pause in the conversation, Barbara looked at Dick expecting a response. "So what are you telling me?" Dick asked "We need to start cleaning up the streets again. Three well known crimes--excluding all the crimes the media doesn't pick up--in the last twenty-four hours, why? Cause The Batman isn't on patrol. I'm hiding from the cops and I've been hiding for four whole days now. When was the last time you saw the Bat Signal in the sky? The citizens of Gotham have nothing to look up to anymore. They have nothing to say 'we have a protector, a mediator to give the weak and defenseless a chance'. Babs really, I need to be in the suit. When was it safe to be in the suit in the first place?" He argued.

Barbara massaged her temples, "You can't Dick, you just can't. Not now at least." She advised. "So what do you want me to do?" He asked, "You expect me to just wait by the sidelines?" "No." Barbara answered. This surprised him, he could have swore she would have said something along the lines of that's exactly what I expect you to do. Leaning back in his chair, he had his index over his lips in thought. "So, what then?" He asked. Barbara motioned Alice, who got up to turn the TV on, "I recorded this to show you that you have a fan base." She said pressing a button on the television so it played back what she had recorded.

A news reporter, male, black short hair, in his 40's was talking to the camera. "Thank you Alaska," he said referring to the snippet that Alice didn't record, "we're here at The Gotham City Police Department's jail, where short time criminals are apprehended for several days, so you won't find The Penguin here. Though a group of peculiar vigilantes are serving up some time for their deeds in actually stunting police development in The Batman Case. Here we have John Steinbeck, Hi John can you tell us why you're here?" He asked approaching a man in black hockey gear, he was overweight and yet he was in with several others who were more fit but in the same garb. "We're here because we believe that Justice is Not Served! He saved my life, he saved my business, he saved my family! We're all here because he saved us at one point in our lives, and Batman; I don't know who you are but if you're watching this let me say it now; I believe in The Batman. There's no way he would have killed the Commissioner out of cold blood like that." The reporter nodded, "And here we have Jim Conti, the one who started this regime, can you tell us why you did this? You're causing more and more citizens to go out of their way at night to risk their lives for this escapade." Jim a pretty well built man but still in a ridiculous costume said, "This city has given me so much, its time to give back; I'm willing to take that risk sir, for the good of our city. We all want to fight for this city as Batman does. In the end, what's the difference between Batman and I?" In a mocking tone the reporter said, "Well The Batman isn't wearing hockey pads."

Dick's spirits significantly rose, but was a little confused. "So are you telling me to put on a hockey mask?" He asked Barbara, who was smiling broadly. "That's exactly what I want you to do."


Raven was waiting in the same seat she had taken when the train had first started up, reading a novel she had picked out of the bookstore not two days before her sudden trip, she finally got up to stretch her now fatigued limbs from sitting down too much. Raven was use to waiting for hours on end, she was use to reading hours on end, it was peaceful but it had been over twelve hours of nothing but sitting and reading. A young man who looked like he played D&D all his life stepped out with a cart of food came walking down the isle of the car, Raven had heard him struggling to get the cart out of the kitchen door from whence it came. His knees were buckling and his spine shaking as he approached the beautiful woman in the cloak and tights, his voice shook and cracked as he asked if she cared for anything. Raven only had a smile to offer him, "I'm saving my money in case I need it; but thank you." She said, the boy looked down, no doubt trying to peek at her legs; "I'll uhh..- I'll buy you something." He offered with another shaky voice. His messy orange hair covered his eyes and his freckles. He must have been in his 20's, and he looked so food depraved it was almost pathetic. Almost. "I'm fine, really." Raven said stretching her arms unintentionally. "Oh oh.. Uh, uhm. Okay sure." He said continuing his walk down the isle. "Its a uh... it's a long trip." He encouraged holding up a tuna fish sandwich, "I'm aware of that." She said taking her seat again, flipping open her book once more.

An hour must have passed when he popped his head back out, "You sure you don't want a bag of chips or something?" He asked.


Alice had left the CB when the time came to pick Raven up, leaving Dick and Barbara the only two in the room. He was looking at her intently. She was gathering papers and her laptop, random items that she was going to carry back to her room. "Can I help you with those?" He asked her. "No I'm fine. Thanks though." She said picking everything up and walked to the door, Dick followed her. They walked in silence as they walked, at the door she stopped and turned to Dick. "Uh, I'm missing a photo in my diary. You wouldn't happen to know where it is would you?" She asked. "Oh. Oh yeah, I have it." He said reaching into his shirt pocket and revealing the picture, she picked at it with her index and middle finger delicately and opened the door, walking in. She turned around to face him again. "Well?" She asked.

"Well what?"
"Are you coming in or what?"
"You-... You mean it?"
"Don't play stupid, Pixie Boots."
"Why are you still calling me that?"
"Cause," she said placing her things on a desk and walking to him, still by the door.
"You're the same 15 year old boy I know and love."
"I was 16."
"Same thing." She said leading him in and closing the door.
"Babs."
"Yeah?"
"Something has been on my mind recently."
"What's that?"
"You know that ring I gave you?"
"All those years back?"
"All those years back."
"What about it?"
"Where is it?"

Barbara sighed, her hand brushing up to her neck then down the collar of her shirt, fetching a necklace out of it. She fully disclosed the ring he gave her, attached to the necklace. She never once distracted her eyes from his. "You never took it off." He exhaled. She hugged Dick, embracing him tightly she buried her face in his chest. "Y'know." She started her voice beginning to break in excitement, "Nicole is in the Batcave with Wintergreen and everyone else." She said to him. "What's that supposed to mean?" He whispered to her. "Its supposed to mean Nicole is in the Batcave with Wintergreen and everyone else." She said.

"So how far is the train station?" He asked her.
"Give or take, about twenty-five or thirty minutes."
"So Alice will be back in about fifty or sixty?"
"Yeah."
"Do you love me?"
"Yeah."

"Wait a minute......" Crimson said. "we are not getting involved in anymore of this police crap." "But-" Nano began to say. "No buts!" We are going home and resting! "we need it anyway" Nano responded with a grudging ok and they both headed off for home.

When they got there, Nano attached himself to his recharge port, and Crimson sat down in his room to medatate and recharge his powers. After an hour or so, Crimson looked at the clock and saw the time he thought, "i still got time...." So he quietly opened the window, jumped out and headed for gotham cemetary.

[Winterbutt XDDD]

Still casually flitting about behind Ivy, for a while they had been stopping petty theives and minute crimes. But it was all stuff Batman could have done blindfolded in ten minuites. He looked at Ivy. "Hey, Dollface, mind if I ask you something? Why do we still do this. I mean, here. Gotham has Robin, Batman, Batgirl, and even Alice. Do we need to add ourselves to that mix, or are we jsut fith wheeels?" He asked her. He waited for an answer, floating a bit closer to Ivy.

It was too delicious of an opportunity to pass up- the 'black car' that had followed them turned into the fearsome form of Metallo. Like a kid eagerly snatching up his haloween candy, Metallo Grabbed the two girls amidst their panic attack. The other patrons of the resturaunt were also panicing and shreiking, so just to Metalo's luck, he went largeley unnoticed. Snatching the two up, he re-formed into the Car, and sped off. He knew the two would still be too dumbfounded by the fear toxin, which meant now he had just the hostages he needed...

Karmy couldn't figure out where she was, everything was a whirlwind of her worst nightmares and the passing lights of the city as they moved at speeds she had a hard time comprehending. The light's were having an effect as a strobe light would an epileptic. She had begun to scream again since Cyrah's hypnosis no longer kept her in a calm state of mind and she tried to move but found that she couldn't. She could worry about that later though because she found Dr. Foster standing over her grinning wickedly as he reached down for her and everything went black.

Crimson had been walking for a block or two when he finnaly arrived at Gotham cemetary. he looked at some of the headstones untill he came across one with a black rose engraved on the front. the headstone read:

Jane Rose
1993-2008
Beloved daughter and sweetheart.

Crimson kneeled by the stone and said, "Hey, rose.....it's me, Crim." "i know your probably having a swell time up there.....just thought i'd come by and visit you and talk" Crimson began talking to the stone and looking up at the sky every so often. "Well....i'll let you get back to doin what you were doing." Bye......my love" Crimson said as he pulled out a black rose from his pocket, placed it near the gravestone, and started walking back home.

Metallo drove with his catch to a secluded section of town, and saw to it they were 'comfortable'. [He tied them up in a warehouse in the warehouse district] afterwards, he became his car form again, and sped off towards wayne manor. One there, he formed a robotic arm, and tossed a manilla folder out the window towards the door, the words 'OPEN IMMEDIATELEY' on the front in big red letters...

November 9, 2031
5:30

Alice pulled to the front of the train station and walked out of Dick's car. She stood looking for Raven as soon as the train let its passengers off. Raven, of course, was on the second floor waiting for everyone to get their belongings and get off. When enough time had passed she picked up her messenger bag and walked off, book in hand. Raising her head she saw the girl she had once fought so long ago. Smiling and waiting for her to get in the car.

In the car and driving back they engaged in conversation.

"How have you been Raven?"
"I've been as good as I can be with two idiot guys I have to baby sit constantly."
"Haha, Tim and Vic?"
"Red Robin and Cyborg, yes. How has Robin been?"
"Robin: Nicole; or Robin: Dick?"
"My friend."
"Dick has been good. He said he's really excited to be seeing you again."
"He'd better be. This is my second time coming here in the past four days. Money's getting tight."
"Is it?"
"I suppose since you're living off of Wayne's inheritance you're not feeling it as much as we are."
"I guess not."
"I still can't believe you're driving me to see Robin. Or Batman now I guess."
"Why's that?"
"I have this issue with Slade's apprentices."
"Is that so?"
"The Teen Titans had issues with you. I can't believe The New Titans helped you better than we did."
"The Teen Titans never had Karmy."
"Right. You were ruthless against us."
"Don't remind me."
"You know of Terra?"
"Enlighten me."
"Have I got a story for you."

[BS posting oPo]

Metallo drove off down the road, the ransom letter delivered, his hostages tied up nice and tight, and the stage set for him to wipe out the Riders. The brass at STEAM was going to be VERY happy with his next progress report...

As Zero flew about with Ivy, they eventually happened upon the dinner, people running about shreiking, the wall smashe din, and the scene just a general mess. "Oh boy, here we go...." Zero sighed as he landed with Ivy....

(Characters off to whoever needs them. Will be back -possibly- later tonight.)

(Hurray BS posting :D)

Three time's in four days is just way too many times to be gassed with fear toxin. Seriously.. Karmy lifted her head but immediately put it back down due to the fact that every movement sent her head reeling and she felt like she was going to vomit. That probably wouldn't have been a smart move because she could feel something preventing her mouth from opening. If she did hurl, she would drown in her own sick. Where was she? She tried to move her hands but they were tied tight behind her back. As she lay trapped, she tried her best not remember the images from the previous fear toxin attack but she could feel the scream rising in her throat.

Metallo's ransom note read as follows:



To the Midnight riders- i'm sure SOMEONE that reads this will be able to pass this on to them

At approximateley fiteen hundred hours this afternoon, I acquired two interesting specimens:

A picture of the unconcious Cyrah and Karmy tied together followed.

By nineteen hundred hours, the three midnight riders will have arrived at warehouse B-6 in the south district. If the riders are but a single SECOND late, they had better bring body bags, as I will destroy both on the spot and be gone. The same applies if they bring backup. If anyone accompanies them or assists- and I WILL know- then I will destroy the hostages also.

You're on the clock, riders.

Alice pulled in the drive way letting Raven out. Her stories on Terra had reminded her of her time with Slade.

10 years ago

20 year old Alice Mau kicked in a door to a building, the police tried to run, she sprayed them with her 9mm submachine guns. Back at Titan's Tower the alarm sounded. "Trouble!" Starfire yelled. "Its Malice!" Nightwing said gearing up. "How do you know?" Beast Boy asked running out with Cyborg. "He's got a new crush!" Cyborg mocked. "That is not true!" Starfire yelled. "Let's just get this over with." Raven moaned "It doesn't matter, we're getting calls about Civilian Casualties, we have to hurry!" Nightwing pressured.

Present Day

"C'mon," Raven urged "we can't waste this entire post on your flashback." "Oh yeah, sorry." Alice said walking out and locking the doors. Upon walking into the Batcave she met with John, Luna and Robin discussing the ransome. "What's going on?" Alice asked. "Where's Batman?" Raven questioned.

Casius was somewhere emotionaly between just shooting stuff and wetting his armor. "It don't matter where the Bat is- they have my daughter and my almost- daughter, so YOU-" Casius pointed to Luna "Are going to go get my son and his girlfriend on your communicator, get over there, and kick this guy's ass. Got that?" Casius said, his tough exterior betrayed by his nervous shivering.

"Sh*t, are you serious!?" Zero asked over the com. Him and Ivy exchanged worried glances. Things at the diner were more or less under control, so they could leave now if they had to. But anyone that WANTED to fight them must be pretty sure of their chances. But there weren't really any options. "We'll meet you in the south district in five, ok?" Zero said. Without waiting for a reply, he used his powers to warp him and Ivy outside the warehouse area, both waiting nervously for Luna to show up.

Deleted cause it's not needed XD

Luna, Ivy, and Zero all entered the Warehouse in tandem. Sure enough, there was Karmy and Sarah.... and Metalo. Still in his 10-foot robot form from earlier that day, he emerged from the darker parts of the Warehouse. "Early. And I sense no backup- i'm quite impressed." Metallo said, an eeire look in his face. "Now, if you don't mind, i'm on a schedule, so if you could all just hold still and die like good little heroes, I promise it'll be quick." Metallo sneered, firing a rocket at the Riders...

Slade's body finished charging, and not a moment too soon. The moment it finished, he got in and went off to find Mame. To his suprise, she was approaching the general direction from a nearby alleyway. He was a little suprised- he expected her to bail to him. Emerging from his hiding spot, he approached her. "Anything eventful happen?" He asked in a monotone voice.

"Hi, you're... Batman's uh. daughter?" Raven asked shaking her hand, just then Dick and Barbara came down from the elevator. "Hey what's going on?" Dick asked confused at the stress that was going on. "Karmy and Cyrah have been captured." Alice informed them shaking her head. "Something about Metallo--the guy I can over--and the Midnight Riders. I don't know what they want with them."

The exhausted blond scrambled towards the metallic body of her mentor, her eyes were wide, tried tears caked her pale cheeks as she panted and drooled frantically. The foam take out box was crushed to her chest, the fries and burger within squished up into one great big delicious mash.


Th fear toxin had worked its way through her body, but she was still petrified, in her eyes she was completely invisible, the foam pressed into her chest mostly to reassure her that she hadn't disappeared. She literally ran into Slade, hiding her shaking frame against him as she tried to calm her breathing. Mame ground her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut, she could feel him, the cold metal, the sound of his voice and the way it carried through the air, vibrating like a engine inside her head.

" I...I....I.......f-fear.......toxin...used.........to...escape"

Ivy phased to wind, her ultimate defense. You can't exactly hit the breeze, but she could easily hit you. With this in mind, she dodged the rocket, preferring to phase through the ground and appear behind Metallo. Her arm solidified into stone, hefting a punch towards him.

Metallo was suprised by the sudden punch from behind. Suprised, but not stunned. "Hmm, not bad, not bad, but let me see you try and dodge THIS." He barked, and he released dozens of rockets out, them spewing in evey given direction and arcing for the riders, zero bareley able to keep the rockets heading for him at bay with energy blasts as the fast projectiles hurtled for the other two...

Slade was at a loss for what to do- the child was incapacitated and afraid, he couldn't very well leave her like this, but he had no antidote to speak of. With himself being immune to most poisions, he seldom had a need for them. The only course that remained was to fight it. "Conserve your strength, child. Obtain control- the images you are seeing are illusions of the toxin. You must break the mist of fear if you are to recover from it." he said, trying to encourage her to mentaly break free of it.