Four Birds
More Batman fic, this one's PG-ish. Many thanks to the talented talking_doll, who was kind enough to Beta this for me.
Four Birds
When Stephanie wakes up, it is to a horrifying blackness filled with voices and movement and things she can’t understand. Days pass in the blink of an eye, and she stands, ready for a fight. She will never admit she is terrified. When someone puts a hand to her shoulder, the automatic response is to grab it and flip them. They go with the flip, changing direction mid air to land gracefully on their feet. Stephanie does not recognise the person, but rather the costume. It is what keeps her from knocking him unconscious. Bright colours, and a familiar “R” symbol.
“Where am I?” she asks.
“You’re dead. I’m sorry.”
“Jason?” she inquires carefully. He laughs.
“I see you have the advantage on me. What’s your name, Robin?”
“Steph. Stephanie Brown.”
“Well Steph, you can call me Jay. I’ve been going by Robin, but it looks like that’s about to get confusing. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m dead, so I guess not. But, I don’t hurt.”
“Do you want to say it? You don’t have too, I already know how you died, but sometimes it helps.”
“I was tortured with a power drill. It was the Black Mask.” He nods.
“I was beaten to death with a crowbar. It was the Joker.”
“I know.”
“I want to show you something. Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she states immediately, because he is a Robin and therefore family, and safe. Real family, not biological.
“Take my hand, and we’re going to jump. It’s just like flying.” She takes it, and they free-fall. Steph reaches for her grapple when Jay does, and shoots where he has, to a small speck of light in the distance. Their grapples shouldn’t reach it, but they do. They are pulled, and Steph readies herself for landing.
When she lands, she needs a moment to recover from the shock. They are in the Batcave. She looks over and sees Tim, Bruce, Dick and Alfred crowded around a computer. She can see them, but she can’t hear them. She does get a look at the date on the computer screen though, it has been months since her death.
“Can you ever hear them?” she asks Jay.
“Sometimes,” he replies, “If it’s something you need to hear.” He sits balanced on a rail, so she moves to join him.
“Come here often?”
“Most of the time. I only went back to that place to find you. Otherwise, I stay in Gotham. I watch over the family.” Steph nods.
“Do you mind the company?”
“Not at all. It’s been lonely. Not that I would ever want more company.” Steph nods, understanding. More company would mean more people dead.
“Do know, I mean you must, but -”
“The red hood? Yes, I’ve seen. I have no idea how that happened. I wish I could stop it, but I can’t.”
“Will that happen to my body?”
“I don’t know,” he replies honestly. Steph leans into his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. So now we wait?”
“Now we wait.”
~
Steph has only just gotten used to the idea of being dead, watching the people move around in the Batcave, being unable to touch them or talk to them. She thinks she will never truly be comfortable with it. It hurts, to not be able to do anything to help. It hurts because they hurt, and Steph feels it, if not with her body, with her soul.
Stephs sits beside Tim as he cries silently in a lonely, unmonitored corner deep within the cave. She wants to hug him, and her heart breaks when she hears, actually hears, him whisper ‘I’m sorry’. Her ghost tears fall, disappearing as they hit the floor unnoticed. A hand touches her shoulder, and Steph buries her face in Jay’s chest. She gives him the hug she wishes she could give Tim. Jason just holds her as she sits there crying long after Tim has left.
~
Steph sits in a child’s room, watching the toddler play with a brightly coloured toy. Steph smiles, and knows she made the right choice. This child, her baby, deserves a better life than she had. Deserves a chance at an actual childhood.
Steph keeps her visits short, and only makes them once a month. The adoptive mother, the Mom, the person who is really a mother to this child is standing in the doorway, keeping a close eye on the youngster. Steph sees the child laugh, despite the fact she can’t hear it. She spent enough time with Cass during life, and enough time in this silent afterlife with no one to talk to but Jay, to be able to guess at what’s happening through body language.
The child sets the toy down to climb onto the bed and bounce. Steph can hear the laugh this time, and sits up to pay closer attention.
“Look Mommy,” shouts the child, “I’m Robin!” The child is gazing right through her to the mother in the door, but Steph smiles anyway. She’ll always remember this moment, even if no one else does.
It is the moment she knows her child is going to be fine.
~
Steph had just come from watching over Bruce’s shoulder as he worked on the computer, the computer being she and Jason’s key source of information on what was going on. Other then watching, that was, and even they couldn’t be everywhere at once. She thought it odd that Tim would be giving his Robin tunic such an intense look, and stops in her tracks when she realises that it was her Robin tunic. Her ears come alive, and she can hear everything. She quickly goes to sit facing Tim, and waits for him to say something.
“Oh Steph,” he sighs finally, “I don’t. I don’t want to just give up on you. I know you’re dead but I still feel like moving on is abandoning you in some way. I don’t even know what to do with these new feelings I’m having. It’s all so strange, I never thought - I never thought about him like that before. I wish I could talk to you, find out how you’d feel about it. You’d probably kick some sense into me with whatever you said; you always did. We used to talk, even before we dated, we talked. I could talk to you like I couldn’t to anyone else, we didn’t have to have any secrets. If you were here right now, you’d probably shout at me for moping.”
“I’m not going to shout at you,” Steph sighed, despite the fact that Tim wouldn’t hear her. “Not that I’m not tempted to, but it wouldn’t help. And you’re still so cute when you mope.” To Steph’s surprise, Tim’s head swung up to stare directly into her eyes.
“Steph?” he choked.
“Erm, hi, I’m apparently temporarily back in order to advise you on your love life.” Steph gave him another glance. “And your wardrobe. Seriously, what happened with the other costume? It was so much better than this new red and black one.”
“My God,” was all Tim could manage. And then he pulled her into a hug. Or tried to. It didn’t really work. None the less, Steph leaned in to make a mock hug, as they couldn’t touch.
“Now tell me, who exactly is this hot stud you’re lusting after?”
“You’re not upset?”
“Tim. I’m dead. I’m not expecting you to waste away your life pining over me. Not that it isn’t flattering, but you’ve got to move on. And you’ve got me interested now, so you have to tell me who it is. And you did say him before, right? I never knew you swung that way.”
“You’re, you’re giving me advice on my love life? My dead girlfriend is giving me advice on my love life. That’s it. I’ve gone mad.”
“Well, if you’re mad, then there’s no reason not to tell me. After all, you’re already talking to me. And I can assure you it’s me. You’re not insane.”
“Alright, Steph. I might as well. I - It’s Dick.”
“Nightwing? Oh, he is fine. And isn’t he available now too?”
“Er, yah.”
“Well what are you waiting for? Go get your well-muscled ass over there and tell him how you feel.”
“You’re not serious. What would he say? What would I say?”
“Well, I might try something along the lines of ‘want to relieve some post fight tension with a bit of sex’, but you’re not that forward. So you go tell him flat out that you have feelings for him.”
“But what if he freaks out? It’s better I keep this to myself.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Jason and I even have a bet going on whether or not he’ll cave and just jump you one of these days. He’s been trying to convince himself to think of you in perfectly platonic ways for weeks. And not succeeding at all. Hey! That’s it! You could just kiss him.”
“God, I can’t believe I’m taking advice from my dead girlfriend to go make out with Nightwing. Wait a second, Jason?”
“Yeah, he’s the one who found me, after I died. He brought me here and we watch over you guys. The red hood is just some weird alternate reality version of him or something, we haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
“My brain is going to kill me here. No one’s going to believe me. I don’t believe me.”
“So don’t tell them. Just go give Dick a kiss. And maybe some hot sex later.”
“You know, I think I just might tell him. Thanks Steph. Wait, can you stay? Can other people see you?” Steph shrugs
“No idea. I usually can’t even hear you guys, unless it’s important. I’m guessing I leave as soon as everything’s said that needs to be.”
“Okay then, I did want to ask… What do you think of Jason?”
“Jason? He’s-” Steph notices the Tim-smile creeping into Tim’s carefully schooled expression. “Timothy Drake, I never knew you had it in you.”
“Yah, well, you go have good sex or whatever it is you do in the afterlife.”
“I never said I liked him.”
“But you do.”
“Maybe.” Steph noticed herself start to drift away.
“Steph! Don’t. I did love you Steph, I do.”
“I love you too Tim. You’re like the brother I never had.”
“Sister,” Tim says, and places his hand on Steph’s shoulder and it actually touches her. Tim’s eyes widen, and she is gone.
~
Or not really gone, just drifting. She watches as Tim shakes his head, and sets the tunic back down. He flexes his hand, staring at it for a moment, and sets off. He is headed towards where Steph last saw Dick. Interesting.
Steph goes back to the glass case that Jay is sitting on, watching Alfred and Bruce talk. She reaches out to grasp his hand.
~
End.
Four Birds
When Stephanie wakes up, it is to a horrifying blackness filled with voices and movement and things she can’t understand. Days pass in the blink of an eye, and she stands, ready for a fight. She will never admit she is terrified. When someone puts a hand to her shoulder, the automatic response is to grab it and flip them. They go with the flip, changing direction mid air to land gracefully on their feet. Stephanie does not recognise the person, but rather the costume. It is what keeps her from knocking him unconscious. Bright colours, and a familiar “R” symbol.
“Where am I?” she asks.
“You’re dead. I’m sorry.”
“Jason?” she inquires carefully. He laughs.
“I see you have the advantage on me. What’s your name, Robin?”
“Steph. Stephanie Brown.”
“Well Steph, you can call me Jay. I’ve been going by Robin, but it looks like that’s about to get confusing. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m dead, so I guess not. But, I don’t hurt.”
“Do you want to say it? You don’t have too, I already know how you died, but sometimes it helps.”
“I was tortured with a power drill. It was the Black Mask.” He nods.
“I was beaten to death with a crowbar. It was the Joker.”
“I know.”
“I want to show you something. Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she states immediately, because he is a Robin and therefore family, and safe. Real family, not biological.
“Take my hand, and we’re going to jump. It’s just like flying.” She takes it, and they free-fall. Steph reaches for her grapple when Jay does, and shoots where he has, to a small speck of light in the distance. Their grapples shouldn’t reach it, but they do. They are pulled, and Steph readies herself for landing.
When she lands, she needs a moment to recover from the shock. They are in the Batcave. She looks over and sees Tim, Bruce, Dick and Alfred crowded around a computer. She can see them, but she can’t hear them. She does get a look at the date on the computer screen though, it has been months since her death.
“Can you ever hear them?” she asks Jay.
“Sometimes,” he replies, “If it’s something you need to hear.” He sits balanced on a rail, so she moves to join him.
“Come here often?”
“Most of the time. I only went back to that place to find you. Otherwise, I stay in Gotham. I watch over the family.” Steph nods.
“Do you mind the company?”
“Not at all. It’s been lonely. Not that I would ever want more company.” Steph nods, understanding. More company would mean more people dead.
“Do know, I mean you must, but -”
“The red hood? Yes, I’ve seen. I have no idea how that happened. I wish I could stop it, but I can’t.”
“Will that happen to my body?”
“I don’t know,” he replies honestly. Steph leans into his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. So now we wait?”
“Now we wait.”
~
Steph has only just gotten used to the idea of being dead, watching the people move around in the Batcave, being unable to touch them or talk to them. She thinks she will never truly be comfortable with it. It hurts, to not be able to do anything to help. It hurts because they hurt, and Steph feels it, if not with her body, with her soul.
Stephs sits beside Tim as he cries silently in a lonely, unmonitored corner deep within the cave. She wants to hug him, and her heart breaks when she hears, actually hears, him whisper ‘I’m sorry’. Her ghost tears fall, disappearing as they hit the floor unnoticed. A hand touches her shoulder, and Steph buries her face in Jay’s chest. She gives him the hug she wishes she could give Tim. Jason just holds her as she sits there crying long after Tim has left.
~
Steph sits in a child’s room, watching the toddler play with a brightly coloured toy. Steph smiles, and knows she made the right choice. This child, her baby, deserves a better life than she had. Deserves a chance at an actual childhood.
Steph keeps her visits short, and only makes them once a month. The adoptive mother, the Mom, the person who is really a mother to this child is standing in the doorway, keeping a close eye on the youngster. Steph sees the child laugh, despite the fact she can’t hear it. She spent enough time with Cass during life, and enough time in this silent afterlife with no one to talk to but Jay, to be able to guess at what’s happening through body language.
The child sets the toy down to climb onto the bed and bounce. Steph can hear the laugh this time, and sits up to pay closer attention.
“Look Mommy,” shouts the child, “I’m Robin!” The child is gazing right through her to the mother in the door, but Steph smiles anyway. She’ll always remember this moment, even if no one else does.
It is the moment she knows her child is going to be fine.
~
Steph had just come from watching over Bruce’s shoulder as he worked on the computer, the computer being she and Jason’s key source of information on what was going on. Other then watching, that was, and even they couldn’t be everywhere at once. She thought it odd that Tim would be giving his Robin tunic such an intense look, and stops in her tracks when she realises that it was her Robin tunic. Her ears come alive, and she can hear everything. She quickly goes to sit facing Tim, and waits for him to say something.
“Oh Steph,” he sighs finally, “I don’t. I don’t want to just give up on you. I know you’re dead but I still feel like moving on is abandoning you in some way. I don’t even know what to do with these new feelings I’m having. It’s all so strange, I never thought - I never thought about him like that before. I wish I could talk to you, find out how you’d feel about it. You’d probably kick some sense into me with whatever you said; you always did. We used to talk, even before we dated, we talked. I could talk to you like I couldn’t to anyone else, we didn’t have to have any secrets. If you were here right now, you’d probably shout at me for moping.”
“I’m not going to shout at you,” Steph sighed, despite the fact that Tim wouldn’t hear her. “Not that I’m not tempted to, but it wouldn’t help. And you’re still so cute when you mope.” To Steph’s surprise, Tim’s head swung up to stare directly into her eyes.
“Steph?” he choked.
“Erm, hi, I’m apparently temporarily back in order to advise you on your love life.” Steph gave him another glance. “And your wardrobe. Seriously, what happened with the other costume? It was so much better than this new red and black one.”
“My God,” was all Tim could manage. And then he pulled her into a hug. Or tried to. It didn’t really work. None the less, Steph leaned in to make a mock hug, as they couldn’t touch.
“Now tell me, who exactly is this hot stud you’re lusting after?”
“You’re not upset?”
“Tim. I’m dead. I’m not expecting you to waste away your life pining over me. Not that it isn’t flattering, but you’ve got to move on. And you’ve got me interested now, so you have to tell me who it is. And you did say him before, right? I never knew you swung that way.”
“You’re, you’re giving me advice on my love life? My dead girlfriend is giving me advice on my love life. That’s it. I’ve gone mad.”
“Well, if you’re mad, then there’s no reason not to tell me. After all, you’re already talking to me. And I can assure you it’s me. You’re not insane.”
“Alright, Steph. I might as well. I - It’s Dick.”
“Nightwing? Oh, he is fine. And isn’t he available now too?”
“Er, yah.”
“Well what are you waiting for? Go get your well-muscled ass over there and tell him how you feel.”
“You’re not serious. What would he say? What would I say?”
“Well, I might try something along the lines of ‘want to relieve some post fight tension with a bit of sex’, but you’re not that forward. So you go tell him flat out that you have feelings for him.”
“But what if he freaks out? It’s better I keep this to myself.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Jason and I even have a bet going on whether or not he’ll cave and just jump you one of these days. He’s been trying to convince himself to think of you in perfectly platonic ways for weeks. And not succeeding at all. Hey! That’s it! You could just kiss him.”
“God, I can’t believe I’m taking advice from my dead girlfriend to go make out with Nightwing. Wait a second, Jason?”
“Yeah, he’s the one who found me, after I died. He brought me here and we watch over you guys. The red hood is just some weird alternate reality version of him or something, we haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
“My brain is going to kill me here. No one’s going to believe me. I don’t believe me.”
“So don’t tell them. Just go give Dick a kiss. And maybe some hot sex later.”
“You know, I think I just might tell him. Thanks Steph. Wait, can you stay? Can other people see you?” Steph shrugs
“No idea. I usually can’t even hear you guys, unless it’s important. I’m guessing I leave as soon as everything’s said that needs to be.”
“Okay then, I did want to ask… What do you think of Jason?”
“Jason? He’s-” Steph notices the Tim-smile creeping into Tim’s carefully schooled expression. “Timothy Drake, I never knew you had it in you.”
“Yah, well, you go have good sex or whatever it is you do in the afterlife.”
“I never said I liked him.”
“But you do.”
“Maybe.” Steph noticed herself start to drift away.
“Steph! Don’t. I did love you Steph, I do.”
“I love you too Tim. You’re like the brother I never had.”
“Sister,” Tim says, and places his hand on Steph’s shoulder and it actually touches her. Tim’s eyes widen, and she is gone.
~
Or not really gone, just drifting. She watches as Tim shakes his head, and sets the tunic back down. He flexes his hand, staring at it for a moment, and sets off. He is headed towards where Steph last saw Dick. Interesting.
Steph goes back to the glass case that Jay is sitting on, watching Alfred and Bruce talk. She reaches out to grasp his hand.
~
End.