Black Orchid #2 (1993)

In her dreams, the Black Orchid begins to sense the pain of her sisters, particularly the fear of a littler one. She calls out to it, and embraces it as it joins her in the tree.

Luthor and his men arrive at Philip's lab, and they discover that Philip has died of both his beating and asphyxiation. In trying to investigate his computer files, they found that they were wiped as soon as they tried to access them. Thorne's reports of "flower women" were confirmed, but his mad attempts to destroy them left Luthor's men with nothing to work with. They are already rotting, and the weed-killer he spilled is doing its job on them. Annoyed, Luthor decides that it would be best if nobody ever saw Carl Thorne again. As Luthor leaves, Black Orchid wakes, and discovers that Phil is dead. She apologizes for her part in his death and says goodbye.

She and the little one fly off, and she soon learns that her new friend has stronger shared memories with Susan than she. Luthor, meanwhile, demands an APB to all staff, searching for these flower women.

Black Orchid watches as Luthor's men throw Carl into the river, and considers letting him drown. Still, too many people have died - including her sisters - and she rescues him, despite knowing that saving him today will only bring more pain. After leaving him to wake up on his own, she and the little one - who insists on being called Suzy) - return to Phil's house to learn what they are, and what Phil intended them for. On the way, Suzy asks if she can call her new friend "Mommy", and the Black Orchid agrees.

After taking all they could from Phil's home, they disguise themselves as humans using the wigs and costumes in Susan's old room, and buy two tickets to Gotham City. On the train, she reads through the notes and is drawn to three names: Jason Woodrue), Alec Holland), and Pamela Isley. Woodrue, according to Phil's notes, is in Arkham Asylum.

Upon their arrival, they discover that Arkham has a no visitors policy and Jason Woodrue is no longer there. With Alec Holland dead and no address for Pamela Isley, they decide to return to Gotham and hope that they can find someone out there who knows something.

Waking, Carl's mind is beginning to crack, and he stumbles his way to Park Street, laughing to himself that today is actually the date of his anniversary with Susan. Approaching a warehouse, he punches in the door combination, which is the date of that anniversary - June 15th, 1977. Laughing to himself, Carl has kept the PLO shipment that he stole from Lex Luthor in this warehouse for years.

Black Orchid leaves Suzy in a tree in Slaughter Swamp while she does more investigating. She notices that the girl's personality has changed significantly in just a few hours. The longer she has been alive, the more the residual memories of Susan's that she had have faded, and she has become more like a real little girl.

After searching for hours around Gotham for Pamela Isley, Black Orchid is accosted in an alley by the Batman), demanding to know what she is doing in his city. Awkwardly, Black Orchid explains that she doesn't know her name - only that it is not Susan, and that Pamela Isley or Jason Woodrue could have helped her find out who - and what - she is. Batman is able to deduce that she is somehow related to the Black Orchid vigilante he had heard of before. He agrees to help her get into Arkham, where Pamela resides now, but warns her to be careful around her.

Suzy, meanwhile, encounters a man named Dan in the swamp, and naively agrees to go and see some kittens with him.

With Batman's vouching for her, Black Orchid is able to gain access to Arkham and make her way to see Poison Ivy. She is led by the Mad Hatter) through the asylum's halls until she reaches the woman's cell in the basement. Pamela remembers Philfrom College, and realizes that this visitor must be one of his plant-human hybrids. Though they had known each other, their relationship had only been platonic. She would use her feminine wiles to manipulate him into doing things for her. Woodrue had been their professor, and was working on his doctorate in his spare time. They, Alec Holland, and his wife Linda) were all interested in botanical science. Though Alec and Linda had wanted to feed the world with their studies, Pamela had wanted other things. Black Orchid interrupts Pamela's story to ask who and what she is, but the madwoman refuses, reminding her that she is trapped there, and that she would give anything to be out. It is she who needs the help, not this hybrid. Outside the cell, the Hatter explains that Ivy's merely bitter, and not especially grateful. He, on the other hand, believes in helping people. Black Orchid is moved by this, and offers him a gift - an orchid. Gleefully, he rushes off to tell his friends Deever) and Dumphrey) of his gift.

Dan, meanwhile, sells Suzy to a man in a truck.

In the graveyard, Black Orchid sighs and sits by herself, until Batman appears, to express his hope that she found what she was looking for. She explains that she has no chance of finding what she needed, because Isley wouldn't help, Woodrue's gone, and Holland is dead. Batman stops her, realizing that the Holland she is speaking of is the Swamp Thing). She goes on to explain that she is not the Black Orchid he knows. Susan Linden was killed. She is merely her sister, of a kind; a plant-woman. Still, what she is, and why she is, is a mystery. Understanding, Batman suggests that she see the Swamp Thing in the Louisiana swamps. If he wants her to find him, she will find him.

Black Orchid returns to Slaughter Swamp to find that Suzy is missing, while Lex Luthor prepares his labs for the girl's dissection in 16 hours. Carl, meanwhile, plans to use the PLO shipment - a cache of powerful weapons - to kill Luthor.

Desperately, Black Orchid seeks out Suzy, calling for her. She tries to follow the girl as best she can, but she eventually runs out of energy, and plummets from the sky.