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Protectors Of Blüdhaven	By : TheEbonyRaven Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 3808 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own Batman or any related characters. They all belong to DC Comics and their affiliates. If I owned them, well, let's just say the New52 would have gone rather differently. I don't make any money from this. So please, do

Chapter List
- 1- Chapter 1: Raining Cats And Dogs (and Bats)
- 2-Chapter 2: Look What The Cat Dragged In
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    A/N: So, this fic has been floating around my hard drive for a bit over a year now. I was writing it as my take on how to bring Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain into the New52 (and fix the butchery done to Selina's book in the New 52). And while Steph has made some appearances in the last few months, who knows when we'll finally see Cass.
So here we are, a bit of a coming-of-age fic for our young heroines under the guidance of Selina Kyle. It's set around the time following Damian's death, and while it starts in Gotham it won't be long till we get to Bludhaven.
So without further ado:
Chapter 1: Raining Cats And Dogs (and Bats)
Midtown, Gotham City
          Thunder echoed like a low growl in the distance as the late-night thunderstorm worked its way into the city leaving the summer air muggy. A soft drizzle had already begun to fall, pattering on the roof around them. The large raindrops tapped on Stephanie Brown’s purple hood, but she barely noticed it. A knife wound near the ribs tended to have that effect.
          Stephanie panted in the humid air as her right leg strained – she was pretty sure a bullet had grazed her calf. Fortunately, she had her right arm – the one that wasn’t currently pressing down on her knife wound – over the shoulder of her fellow female vigilante, Black Bat.
          The other young woman – her features hidden behind a black bat-eared mask and her body covered almost entirely with black clothing, the only exception being a yellow outline of the Bat symbol on her chest stitched in by hand with a yellow thread – was in much better shape than Stephanie. ‘Well, except for that bullet wound in the shoulder, but she got that saving my butt.’
          Stephanie’s purple hoodie rustled as she was forced to lean even more heavily against her few-weeks-long companion, but Black Bat didn’t seem to notice the weight. Stephanie opened her mouth to speak, wincing as that pulled at her bruised lips, and she tasted a burst of the bitter, metallic flavor of blood from the inside of her mouth.
          “So…. That didn’t go so well,” she muttered, looking over the rooftop covered with crumpled bodies and discarded guns ranging from pistols to fully automatic rifles.
          “Could have been worse. More people.” Black Bat spoke – her voice low and somewhat husky – in her usual clipped, strangely pausing manner.
          Stephanie had often thought of asking her about it, but didn’t want to touch any nerves. She had gone through elementary school with a girl who had speech problems, and the teasing she had received from many of the kids had left her extremely sensitive to any mention of it. Stephanie had only met Black Bat four weeks ago, and didn’t want to accidentally step on any potential landmines just yet.
          Stephanie nodded to her friend, the exertion of their fight leaving her feeling hot under her black ski mask and she could already feel her blond hair was matted with sweat against her head. This had certainly been a near-catastrophe, and Black Bat was right: if there had been any more people they hadn’t initially seen, things could have ended much worse on their part.
          The two of them had been in the midst of a stakeout, watching an arms deal go down between two gangs that had a momentary cease-fire between them. When Stephanie saw the Four-Fingers bring out a dozen or so trembling, scared, and already-bruised girls – some of them looking to be her own age of seventeen and several quite younger – her vision had gone red, and she swung through the window with fists flying.
          ‘All because I keep leaping before I look,’ Stephanie thought, cursing under her breath. Her impulsiveness would probably be the death of her, someday, and more often than not it ended badly and caused her much more work than it was worth, but she just couldn’t help it. Beaten women, especially, touched off her impulsiveness – it brought back the helplessness she felt every time her father raised his hand in drunken anger to her or her mother.
          To be fair though, occasionally things turned out good – after all, that same impulsiveness and getting in over her head had led to her meeting her new friend. And while Black Bat wasn’t the most talkative, she was definitely a badass, and she had come to not mind Stephanie tagging along with her every night.
-=<=(__)=>=-
One Month Ago – Foundry Row, Gotham City
          Stephanie grunted as her boots hit the top of the next rooftop and she turned her landing into a short somersault to help diffuse the force when she felt one of her boots skitter out from under her on the gravel of the rooftop.
          As she regained her balance, she couldn’t help but grin under her ski mask at the stomach-flying-through-her-mouth falling sensation and the fact that she managed to stay upright. Stephanie had started this vigilante bit a little over six months ago and she was getting much better at this. Years of gymnastics didn’t hurt either.
          The evening had been relatively peaceful, knocking out a few muggers, stopping a man from entering the jewelry store he’d just broken into, and nabbing a drunk as he staggered up to his car and tried to get in – that last she’d knocked out and left in the back seat of his car to sober up.
          Overall, it had been a good night, made better by her good mood. She had just attended her high school graduation ceremony the day before – held a bit late this year on the second of June because of all the snow days that had been racked up over the unseasonably cold and snowy winter. Finally, she had finished that chapter of her life, and was more than ready to move on. Stephanie had managed to get accepted into several colleges, and most of them had scholarships for low-income families like her own. She’d decided on a city far enough away that it was a bit of a drive, but still close enough that she could come back on weekends if she wanted, or even on short days.
          A small – very small – part of her almost wished her father had been there at her graduation. Even if Arthur Brown was a mean drunk – and, as she had found out shortly before donning her homemade costume for the first time, also a third-rate supervillain who used the name of ‘Cluemaster’ – he was still her dad, and that small part of her still loved him. But it was for the best that he hadn’t been there – he was locked up (something she had played a role in after foiling many of his schemes with her new crime-fighting identity, the Spoiler), and her mom was happier when he was gone. Stephanie suspected she was even considering a divorce, and she wouldn’t blame her one bit.
          Now, she just had to decide whether she would get a dorm room or find somewhere renting out rooms near campus, and then spend the bulk of her summer trying to acclimate her mother into accepting the fact that her baby was really leaving the nest. And, truly, that would likely not even be enough. Stephanie fully expected to have to pry her mother off with a crowbar to get her to let her stay on her own. And bribe her with weekly visits. And while back in Gotham with her, probably eat more of her mother’s waffles than even she – Stephanie the Queen of Fluffy Waffle Goodness – could ever imagine eating.
          Deciding whether or not she wanted to continue this – running around in a costume, fighting crime – was the Big Decision, though. She liked it. She had started just to screw with her dad and his criminal activities, but she had found she enjoyed everything about this. Helping others, saving lives, protecting people who couldn’t protect themselves. She was pretty sure she’d continue this in college, the only thing she worried about was how much time she would be able to spend out each night with everything else that would be going on.
          A shrill scream broke the relative calm of the night, as well as the train of Stephanie’s thoughts as she felt a burst of adrenalin surge through her. Her head whirled in the direction of the scream, and she started running across the next roof. A second scream – louder this time and followed by sobbing – allowed her to pinpoint its origin, and two more hops across gaps between buildings and a solid two story drop that she used a fire escape to navigate brought her to the roof of a red-brick building overlooking a narrow alley. The streetlight within the alley was sputtering and dim, but just barely cast enough light for her to see a woman in her twenties on the ground. A man who looked like he had probably played linebacker at some point in his life slapped the woman across the face, rocking her head to the side. His other hand fumbled with her pants as she begged him to stop.
          Stephanie acted without a thought. She leapt from the building and used the second level of fire escapes as a springboard to propel her the rest of the way down, and directly into the man’s unprotected back. Her knee led the way, and just about sank into one of his kidneys. He croaked loudly and fell forward, nearly on top of the woman, and then managed to find enough air in his lungs for a short scream of pain.
          “Get out of here, I’ve got him,” Stephanie said to the terrified woman, who hesitated for a moment and then staggered to her feet and ran down the alley.
          Moments later, around the corner of the opposite end of the alley, four more men – just as large and muscular as he was – stepped into view. As one, they shouted when they saw a purple-clad figure with her knee in the back of their writhing friend.
          “Crap,” Stephanie muttered as she got to her feet and she slid into a defensive stance as they neared her. “Note to self – next time make sure that crazy, very muscular man doesn’t have friends nearby before you try to introduce him to your knee.”
          The first man to reach Stephanie – Shorty-With-Buzzcut, she named him instantly – swung wildly at her face. He clearly had not fought much before because the telegraphing of his move was enough that anyone with eyes and a brain would be able to dodge it. Stephanie ducked easily under his swing, and drove her other knee between his legs. He joined his friend on the ground a split second later.
          That left three, and the sight of two of their own on the ground drove them harder. The first – Dragon-Tattoo Guy, who yelled out “Bitch!” at her as his friend fell – barely missed her with his fist, so close she felt his knuckles pushing her hair to the side as she whirled out of the way. She was forced to turn the move into a second dodge as Nose-ring Dude kicked out at her. Only for her to meet the fist of Torn-Up-Ear Man.
          Every ounce of breath in Stephanie’s body seemed to stream out of her lungs in one giant burst as the man’s large fist buried itself in her stomach and literally lifted her off the ground. She tumbled backward as she landed, arm already gripping her stomach. She heard a high, squeaky, rasping noise and promptly realized it was her own mouth as her body tried desperately to regain the air that had been so painfully extracted from her.
          She barely saw the next fist, and only managed to turn it into a painful glancing blow across her back that sent her to the ground. Even as she managed to pull in enough air to continue to function, her vision was spotting at the edges, and she knew this very likely was going to end with her in the ICU or a body bag.
          Neither came to pass, however. Nose-ring Dude, who was raising a leg up above her, about to slam his foot down on her face, suddenly crumpled to the ground in complete silence. The next moment, she saw a blur of black-clad limbs and lithe body moving like a miniature tornado between the other two, effortlessly dodging each attempted strike while landing bone-jarring hits on them.
          The whole thing couldn’t have taken more than two or three seconds, Stephanie realized, her mind still struggling to comprehend the speed of movement she had seen. And then the figure stopped, still in a ready stance, and Stephanie got her first good look at the person in the dim light of the alley.
          A slender figure, no taller than Stephanie herself, was silhouetted in the light. Jaw-length black hair and the telltale curves beneath the form-fitting dark shirt told Stephanie that her savior was female. She was graceful, not just in her previous movements but also in her stance, and it – together with the sight of her thin, well-muscled limbs – reminded Stephanie of a ballerina. A ballerina that could apparently beat down men three times her size with seemingly little effort.
          The young woman turned, relaxing her stance when no one else emerged into the alley, and padded on silent booted feet over to Stephanie, giving the blonde a better look at her. Across the small curve of her breasts, it looked as if she had crudely stitched a yellow bat symbol into the black shirt. That or some sort of bird, Stephanie wasn’t entirely sure. As the girl knelt down Stephanie could see the mask she wore, covering the upper half of her face - bat ears sticking from the top, which confirmed her symbol was likely supposed to be a bat as well. The mask was open below her cheekbones, and revealed a slender jaw and expanse of skin that looked light brown – almost the color of butterscotch – in the dim light.
          Stephanie felt something inside her chest turn warm when she realized this girl – woman – didn’t appear to be much more than a year older than she was. Someone else, another girl her age, was doing the same thing she was. Oh, sure, there was that Robin kid, and some others around the country, but the only female she really knew of even close to her age was Batgirl who – the single time they met – she guessed was in her early twenties.
          The other girl leaned a little closer, dark brown eyes peering at her through the cut out eyeholes of the black mask. “Hurt?” the girl asked in a low voice that sounded like it wasn’t used much. “Need… help?”
          The question made her remember the brutal punch she’d taken, and her brain took that hint and decided to remind her of the pain with her next breath. She winced and forced herself to take a shallow breath. “Yeah, hurts a bit,” she gritted out.
          The dark-clad girl looked around the alley once more, and then knelt down next to her. Long-fingered hands covered in gloves pried Stephanie’s arm away, and gently felt around her stomach and ribs. Stephanie hissed, both in pain and in her surprise, at the sudden contact from the sure-fingered girl.
          “Not broken but… bruises.” She told Stephanie, looking her in the eyes.
          Stephanie forced a small smile as the girl’s fingers left her stomach. Said fingers then wrapped firmly around her arm as the girl helped her to stand. The movement sent another jolt of pain through her, but she tried to force it down as she stood as straight as possible.
          “What’s your name?” Stephanie asked as the girl steadied her.
          The dark-haired girl cocked her head for a moment and stared at her with an intensity that made Stephanie feel like her soul was being examined by the girl’s dark brown eyes.
          “Black Bat,” she finally said.
          Stephanie grinned. “Nice! I’m S-“ She stopped herself just as she was about to automatically say her real name. “Spoiler. Nice to meet ya, Black Bat.”
          Black Bat looked warily at her, likely only able to see her mouth and her baby blues through the holes of the ski mask. “You are… like me?” The girl asked, a corner of her lips crinkling slightly.
          “Um, yeah! I mean, the whole crimefighting thing, not that cool kung fu stuff you just did,” Stephanie smiled brightly at the other girl. “I just took some free self defense classes at the gym and a few lessons of karate this year when I could afford it. You look like you’ve been training for years.”
          Stephanie looked her up and down for a moment. “So, are you, y’know, with the whole ‘Bat-team’? I see you’ve got that symbol thingie,” Stephanie said, gesturing toward the girl’s chest. “Are you, like, one of Batman’s sidekicks? Or are you going solo like me?”
          Black Bat’s mask shifted, and Stephanie could see thin dark eyebrows scrunch down below the top part of the mask’s eyeholes. The dark haired girl looked at her, and Stephanie could see confusion in her eyes. “Side… kick? Why would I… kick Batman?”
          Stephanie gaped at her for a moment, and then a soft giggle escaped her lips. Black Bat jerked back, a hurt expression flitting across her face. Stephanie’s eyes widened, and she raised a gloved hand and set it on the other girl’s arm as she shook her head.
          “Oh! No, I wasn’t laughing at you, just at… nevermind, I’m sorry,” Stephanie said contritely, not wanting to cause her new friend leave because she’d hurt her feelings. She wasn’t sure, but she guessed that English was probably not the girl’s first language. “Sidekick isn’t kicking someone, it’s… they’re a partner to someone. Like Robin is to Batman.”
          Black Bat seemed to relax slightly, and moved closer to Stephanie once again. “Oh. Thank you. Then… not a ‘side kick’. I have seen Batman but… not a partner.” She looked down and touched her hand to the symbol on her chest. “I made this. Wanted to be like him, help people. I’m… ‘going solo’?”
          Stephanie flashed a smile at her use of her own words. “Cool. I’ve never seen Batman before, but I met Batgirl once.” She chewed on her lip for a moment. “Hey, Black Bat, would you want to not go solo anymore? I mean, maybe we could team up together and do the whole crime-fighting stuff as our own team?”
          The dark-haired girl frowned and her eyes flickered over her. “You… are slow.”
          “Hey! What? No I’m not, I’m really fast.”
          Black Bat cocked her head and stared pointedly at where Stephanie had her arm holding her stomach still.
          Stephanie flushed a bright red and was thankful for the ski mask that hid it. “Geez, everyone’s a critic,” she muttered. “You’re right, I’m not trained or anything, but I’m pretty good at this. I’ve been doing it for months now, and I’ve caught a lot of bad guys, even a super-villain.”
          ‘Sure, he wasn’t a great one, and he happened to be my dad, but she doesn’t need to know that just yet,’ Stephanie thought as the other girl continued to study her.
          She finally threw up her hands when the girl remained silent. “Fine, we don’t have to team up if you don’t want, but I’m going to keep doing this on my own anyway. I just thought it would be neat, a whole ‘two teenage friends fighting together against injustice’ sort of thing. I know you’re better than-“
          Black Bat shifted almost too fast for her to follow, and mirrored Stephanie’s earlier action by laying a hand on her arm. “Sorry. We are… friends?”
          There was a tone of longing in the dark-haired girl’s voice as she said that last word, and it tugged – hard – at Stephanie’s heartstrings. It was something she had been hearing in her own voice after her own ‘friends’ back at school had essentially abandoned her a few years ago.
          “Um, sure, we can be friends, Black Bat,” she said, “I mean, if that’s what you want… if you don’t want we don’t have to be or anything.”
          Black Bat gripped her arm tightly with the hand she had rested on it, as if afraid Stephanie was going to run away. “Friends,” she said solemnly, her eyes staring directly into Stephanie’s own.
          Stephanie nodded, and reached down to lay her hand over the one gripping her arm. “Friends.”
Black Bat relaxed her grip, but kept her hand there. “Spoiler… For ‘team up’ you would be… my sidekick?” She asked softly.
Stephanie’s smile at those words would likely have been blinding if they were under something other than street light. She’d been thinking more like straight up partners, but she could tell this girl knew her stuff when it came to kicking the stuffing out of bad guys. ‘Hmm, what was it again? No hitting gift horses? No… Probably best to not do anything mean to gift horses – whatever, that’ll do.’
          “Sure, I’ll be your sidekick, and you can teach me some of those moves, and make sure I don’t get myself killed, and I’ll watch your back. It’ll be fun!”
          “You… will learn… become faster? Train?” Black Bat asked, her tone serious.
          “Sure.” Stephanie said willingly. “I’d like to learn more. I kinda tend to get in over my head.” She chuckled, looking at the still-inert bodies around them.
          “Okay. We will try.”
          “Deal.” Stephanie stuck out her gloved hand, and Black Bat awkwardly raised her own to shake it – Stephanie could have sworn she heard her bones creak from the grip.
          Black Bat let go of her hand and then gestured at the roof of the building Stephanie had leapt from not long before. “Meet there. Tomorrow night.”
          “Alright,” Stephanie said as Black Bat turned to leave. “Oh, wait-!”
          When Black Bat paused, Stephanie grabbed the other girl in a quick hug, and she felt her stiffen at the contact. “Thanks. Y’know, for saving my life and everything. Sorry, I don’t normally go around hugging people I just met, but… Just… thanks.”
          She pulled back and saw the right corner of the girl’s mouth curve upwards in slight smile. “Welcome,” she said, and seconds later was lost in the darkness outside of the small ring of light provided by light of the alley.
          The grin on Stephanie’s face lasted well through the rest of the night as she gave sharp kick to groin the stirring would-be rapist, and then she too disappeared into the darkness.
-=<=(__)=>=-
Present Day
          That had been the start of a very fruitful new partnership, and friendship. Black Bat had taught her something new every night: she showed her how to fall, how to take even a surprise spill without getting hurt – which, considering her rather dubious past relationship with gravity was a very good thing. Stephanie had given her another set of eyes and ears and another pair of fists and feet – though untrained. Stephanie had also bought her a new black shirt, and stitched in a much more prominent and less-messy yellow bat outline for her – the warm, awkward hug that her new friend initiated had made it more than worth the hours of work and the many needle-marks on her fingers from the task.
          “Sorry, B.B.,” Stephanie said, enjoying the huff that the other girl made at the shortening of her code name. “Guess I still have to work on my leaping-before-looking stuff,” she continued, as Black Bat maneuvered them around three unconscious men who were tangled in a heap of limbs.
          “Yes. Almost died. But you fought well, and-“
          Suddenly Stephanie could feel the corded muscles of the girl’s back tense up underneath the arm she had over the girl’s shoulder, and then Black Bat’s head snapped around to look to the side as she palmed several throwing stars.
          “What?” Stephanie asked as she limped forward a step and turned so she could look in the same direction.
          A tall, broad-shouldered figure stood at the edge of the light, a long black cape enshrouding the near entirety of his body. And below a black cowl – complete with tall bat-ears and white eye-lenses – was a deep, angry frown on the face of the man wearing it.
          “Well, crap.” Stephanie said, summarizing every moment of the night up into those two words.
-=<=(__)=>=-
A/N: Well, hope you liked the first chapter. Next one will deal with Batman, and our girls’ first meeting of Selina.
So, see you guys next chapter, please give me feedback!
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Protectors Of Blüdhaven