This is an AU idea I came up with a while ago. What if instead of trying to prove herself as Robin, Stephanie went to Catwoman? Thus creating a world without War Games. The original AU also included Selina adopting Jason Todd and basically becoming the "Child Services" of broken Robins. (Yes, eventually Damian would have been added.) If you want to read that AU, I'd suggest keeping an eye on quipquipquip's fanfiction account, because I know she's working on her own version of that. I don't feel comfortable enough with my knowledge of Jason's canon to properly write him.
Steph and Selina are two characters that are really important to me. They deal with a lot of tough situations that make them more relatable than a lot of heroes. They also have a lot in common, as will be touched on in this chapter. One recurring thread is of course, Black Mask, so he will be showing up in this fic.
Also, Holly, because Holly's awesome.
The kid shows up at her door with a duffle bag at the asscrack of day (roughly six in the morning). She's freshly showered and practically bushy tailed , putting on her best puppy eyes as she says,
"Bruce kicked me off the team."
Selina is not amused by any part of this situation. She went to bed sometime around four thirty and therefore looks like a wifebeating joke crossed with a hedgehog.
"'s early."
"I see that, but you know, 'If you want a job you gotta show up bright and early to show them that you're serious!' My mom used to always say. Well, not my mom actually, my career councilor. But, there have been worse moms than women taught to work with Gotham's troubled youth."
Yappy little thing. Nervous chatter that she does not have the patience to deal with.
"If I say yes to whatever you're asking will you please stop talking and let me go back to bed?"
Nervous, the blonde girl nods hard and makes a zipping motion over her mouth.
"Good. Now, either go home and come back closer to evening, or help yourself to the sofa. Cupboards are yours, volume stays under 20. Watch Bullwinkle or something."
Selina slinks (more like gracefully drags) herself back to bed leaving the front door open. Stephanie steps inside gingerly as if expecting to be chastised for breaking some unknown rule. Silence. A ginger tabby rubs against her leg. Cool.
As refreshed as she'll ever be, Selina returns to the world of the living. Her ears are greeted by the screechy wauling of Holly and their new house guest singing along to Spice Girls.
Coffee. Lots of it.
Resembling more of a zombie than a seductress, she passes them on the way to the pot. Stephanie looks reluctant to continue singing, but Holly elbows her and keeps dancing.
"Yellow men in Timbuktu colour for both me and youuuuuu! Kung fu fighting! Dancing Queen! Tribal spacemen and all that's in between!"
Caffiene refreshing and fixing her senses, she grooves along to the music. Holly turns it off after they have sufficiently spiced up their lives.
"I learned how a bill becomes a law!" Stephanie tells her.
"Schoolhouse Rock is still on TV?"
"I pay extra for the Retro Channel so I can watch She-Ra." Holly informs her.
Selina nods, not really listening. Clearly Holly and Stephanie are peas in a pod because they begin excitedly reciting lines from a product-driven 80s cartoon. She was too busy working streets and shady heists in that decade to watch TV.
Suddenly, she feels much older. Damn kids.
"Robin, let's head to the gym. I need to see what you can do."
The girl practically swells at Selina calling her that. She doesn't have to guess to know the poor kid doesn't get a lot of positive reinforcement anywhere, let alone from Batman. She'd talk to Bruce about it, however unlikely him listening is.
Selina has to show the kid how to tape her fingers properly. Self-taught bad habits. Still, she's got a good swing. A lot of raw power being thrown at her. The style is muddled and remixed, but she recognises enough moves to guess who taught her to properly throw a punch.
"You sure you don't want to apply for the job of Purple Canary? I'm sure the fishnets would look good on you."
Crack. Right to the fucking jaw. Her eyes stream. Shit, she didn't see that swing coming. Her mind reels. Was it the banter making her slow or is Stephanie just incredibly unpredictable.
"Oh my god I just broke Catwoman's jaw. I am so sorry. Here, I know first aid!"
Selina lifts a hand to stop the younger woman fretting over her.
"Just surprised me is all." She cracks her jaw for emphasis.
Stephanie still insists on getting some ice in a towel for her. They take a water break leaning against the ropes of the ring.
"Okay. Good. To um... answer your earlier question, Dinah sent me on my merry way about a year ago. Something about being too busy and dangerous situations in Jakarta."
"Ah, the 'Dear John' letter of Superheroes. 'I don't want you to get hurt by my lack of secret identity! I'm trying to seem heroic when I really just don't feel like dealing with the responsibility of caring for someone anymore. It's better if we keep the masks on.'"
"What was that last one?"
"You'll find out when you're older."
"Little late for that. Learned about the birds and the bees right around my third trimester."
Selina's whole body goes tense. This girl can't be a day over seventeen and she's already had a kid. The older woman takes a good look at the former Robin for the first time. The hard look she sees in all the street kids she takes in is mirrored in those blue eyes. The look of survival and shame. Deeply embedded hatred for a system that treats her like shit. More than that though, she knows the exact look. Depressed mother, abusive father. A little girl who begs her friends to let her sleepover on week nights so she doesn't have to go home to the yelling. Or worse. The silence.
Her figure is small, and her muscles built for necessity. No Wayne approved training regiment. Curves fill out her T-Shirt and track pants. It's likely the girl's been fighting off unwanted advances since a young age. God, she just hopes the pregnancy was result of consent. Younger bodies recover from child birth faster, but the baby is present in the flare of her hips. Just a kid making that kind of sacrifice. Yes, Stephanie Brown is tougher than any first glance could detect.
"Bruce and his world of imaginary laws will never understand. The anger and helplessness of those who have to survive by any means necessary. The grey spaces between his black and white."
Stephanie looks confused for a moment, but nods, if only to get points by agreeing.
Her moves are lacking in precision what they make up for in power. Ted Grant would be proud of such a swing. However, the kid leaves herself open to attack way too often and wears herself with the wrecking ball strategy. Therefore, Selina has to teach Stephanie what a cat must be best at.
Dodging.
They start with some aikido throws and a little tai chi to show her smoother, more defensive martial arts. Stephanie is quite the eager pupil and throws her all into every technique they practice.
"Okay, hit the showers. There's a diner across the street that serves good pie."
Baked goods are going to work well for positive reinforcement it seems. Selina smiles into her water as she watches Stephanie scarf her second slice of Blueberry ala mode.
"This is the greatest pie in the history of pie."
This kid is so clearly a Robin it makes her heart ache. Well, that and the Robin she reminds her most of is currently on the lamb after returning from the dead. Angry, impulsive, joyous, full of wonder at the miracle of human consciousness. She never stood a chance being this similar to Jason Todd.
"I almost killed Zsasz."
"Oh yeah?"
"Mmhm. Was in the process of shoving his nose into his brain when the boss man dragged me off him."
"So he gave you the boot."
"Waited for 'strike three'."
"Wonder how many lives would have been spared if you succeeded."
"Lots. Can't become judge, jury, and executioner though. Who am I to make that decision?"
"He has indoctrinated you well."
Stephanie shrugs her shoulders and wipes her mouth on her sleeve.
"Yeah, well, he's a jerk, but he's got a few things right."
"Letting someone who cannot be rehabilitated like Zsazs continue to run around is dangerous and irresponsible. It's how he makes himself feel less at fault for the lives lost."
They sit and digest the heavy silence occasionally interrupted by clinking plates and other patrons.
"The more you love someone, the more you want to hit them with a brick." Stephanie finally says.
Selina hasn't laughed this hard in a while.
See that box down there? It's lonely. You should talk to it.
-B