Disclaimer:All characters, storylines, etc are property of DC Comics. Be warned that spoilers will follow and there may be some uncomfortable details described in the chapters ahead. Adequate warning will be given.

Author's Note: To me, Stephanie Brown has always had that untold story. The one you catch glimpses of, but never really delve into. We continue to learn more, but who was she, really? So she wasn't super strong or super intelligent. What was important was her heart, and her determination, and following through with what she believed to be the right course. Sure she was stubborn; I think we all have been in our lives. But the events leading up to her death at the hands of Black Mask, how did they shape her? Now that she's returned officially, taking up the role of Batgirl, how much has she changed?

The following story centers around the events that lead up to her death, and is one consisting of significant events in her life, ones that will delve more into who Stephanie Brown really was, what made her Spoiler, Robin, and ultimately Batgirl, yet she always kept true to herself. Each chapter will be another point of her life, a significant event.

Your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated and most welcomed. : -)

Thank you.

Give me a reason to believe that you're gone
I see your shadow so I know they're all wrong
Moonlight on the soft brown earth
It leads me to where you lay
They took you away from me but now I'm taking you home

I will stay forever here with you
My love
The softly spoken words you gave me
Even in death our love goes on

Some say I'm crazy for my love, Oh my love
But no bonds can hold me from your side, Oh my love
They don't know you can't leave me
They don't hear you singing to me

And I can't love you, anymore than I do

- Evanescence "Even in Death"

The Last Light

Prologue

Am I scared?

Of course I am. No one wants to die. Not really.

The pain I feel now fades as the last light appears before me. The pain in my shoulder from where he shot me.

The pain from the hours and hours I hung there, suspended by chains, subject to Black Mask's torture.

Is that where I'll go? Into that light? Do I deserve to?

I don't want to go. I don't want to leave Tim.

But maybe it's time.

I screwed up enough in this world. Think God would forgive me? I wouldn't.

Messed up childhood? No kidding! Wouldn't you if your dad was a third-rate criminal?

I already failed as Robin. Apparently not good enough.

I had to prove my worth. I just wanted to prove that I could be Robin. That I could be part of that legacy.

Will Tim miss me when I'm gone? Will Bruce? Or will they be glad to get rid of me? Did I fail them completely?

I just wanted to make the world a better place. A safer place. A place where kids wouldn't have to have the childhood I had.

There's that light again. Am I going?

There were two completely different worlds.

One was outside, where the sun was attempting to shine through the clouds that hovered above Gotham City. There was never really any sunshine in Gotham, a reddish hue always seemingly blanketing the tall, metallic, stone city. An ominous feeling filled the citizens of Gotham, yet they had no way to pinpoint exactly why. Different smells wafted through the streets lined with cars, some with broken windows in the shadier areas of the city, and others that were shiny and new closer to where the richer citizens lived. The smells were fouler in these darker areas, traced back to the sewers that could be reached by various access points. The areas where smart people didn't venture unless they had a death wish, and the few citizens who did walk the sidewalks moved quickly and kept their faces hidden in coat collars or heads covered by hats. The gang war had wrecked devastation upon the city. The clocktower lay in ruins, just a heap of rubble after the massive explosions that had ripped it apart. The vigilantes who had helped save so many lives were gone now, leaving the police to sift through what was left.

The lower life of Gotham, those who survived only on stealing, murdering, and corruption, they remained in the even darker areas, the areas between buildings, and the areas Gotham's finest tended to visit more often. Trash littered the streets and walkways, windows were broken out of buildings and other buildings were almost completely boarded up. Not more than a few blocks away from this dangerous area was a massive park that covered the heart of Gotham, a park that was not safe once the red light faded, with a few homeless people sleeping on benches or beneath bridges that arched over canals nearby. A mother played with her son near a playground where several other children and their parents were, looking happy despite the steady decline of the city around them. That was a childhood that could never happen for some. A childhood that was out of reach and pushed out of mind for so many of Gotham's vigilantes. Something worth fighting for in one vigilante's mind, a girl who had vowed not to let other children have to grow up with what she had to, but that would come to an end.

The second was inside, where death and despair hovered in the air. Dr. Leslie Thompkin's clinic, where so many lives were saved, yet the one lying on the bed now would not be so lucky. The air was sterile and only contained the slightest scent of someone's lunch that had been served down the hall in another dark-paneled room. Nearly everything was a mixture of the dark panels and gleaming white and silver, from the walls of the room, to the tiled floor, to the last machine that was connected to the young blonde girl who lay covered up to her chest in a white sheet. This machine was the only thing proving that she was alive, the steady beep of her heart rate continuing, but it wouldn't be for much longer. A few more minutes at most.

Her features were calm, thanks to the large amounts of painkillers that pumped through her veins, despite the dark purple and red bruises that covered the majority of her body. Broken bones had been set, but the internal bleeding continued, the damage too great. Most of the bruises hidden under yards and yards of blood-stained bandages that bound the young girl's ribs, arms, legs, and head. These bandages had been placed to protect the jagged cuts, stab wounds, and gunshot wound in her left shoulder that still had yet to heal. Smaller bandages had been placed over smaller cuts, mostly on her face, a face of a girl who many, especially her high school teachers, would never have thought could have been associated with the vigilante who now sat next to her.

Most people who had heard of the Batman or who had actually seen him would never have thought he could be emotional. He dealt justice swiftly and locked away Gotham's most dangerous villains. He appeared to be virtually emotionless, almost like a statue where nothing seemed to have an effect on him. Even when he had swept into the clinic, after an urgent call from Leslie, his features were stony and his voice gruff.

Except this. Except now.

He sat next to the bed, his face in his hands, raw emotion wrenching through him, not wanting to see what his failure had cost him. She had had a full life ahead of her, and now that would never be realized. He had felt pain before and he was no stranger to it, but this time it was as if the flood gates had opened, crashing through the dam that had once been impenetrable. He was alone with the heart-wrenching pain and anger that threatened to consume him, emotions that he had barely controlled around the people in the waiting room and Leslie.

Perhaps there was medicine out there that could have saved her but that treatment would not happen here. Leslie Thompkins was one of his true friends, someone who had attended medical school with his father, one who knew who he really was beneath the mask, as well as Gotham's other vigilantes. She had been there the night his parents had died, and had since opened up her own free medical clinic to help those in need. Leslie had done what she could to help save Stephanie, but there was no more that could be done. Once again he was unable to do anything to save someone who was important to him. It was as if the night when his parents had died was happening all over again, except this time he was the adult watching a young girl die because he hadn't been there to help her. She had been so tough, stubborn, and so full of spirit and life. Despite what she had gone through, she always had time for a smile, and while she wasn't the most dependable person or a very good sidekick or good at following orders, she fought for what she believed in, and her determination had pulled her through so many rough spots in her life. Now she lay there, pale as the sheets that surrounded her, save for the discoloration of the injuries she had suffered at the hands of the villain Black Mask. Injured to the point of death and he could do nothing.

While he was caught up in his own thoughts, Stephanie was drifting in and out of consciousness, unsure as to what was real or was was surreal. She had heard the footsteps, so faint to her ears. It seemed as if sounds were softer now, fading just like the light that was just at the edge of her vision. She opened her eyes slightly. It hurt to open them, the bruises swelling them mostly shut. Her blue eyes met his. Batman's. He was there, he had come. There he was, sitting at the beside, pain visible in his features, features that were so often cold and impassive. Only those who really knew him could tell the difference; could tell when he really was feeling something. She didn't know what to say or think. She hadn't expected him to come, not after she had failed him so miserably. After she had brought destruction to Gotham.

This was one of those moments where no words were spoken, but every possibly emotion that could be felt embraced the two individuals alone in that hospital room. Pain, loss, acceptance, fear, anger...

"Batman?"

Her voice was but a whisper, pain apparent in her voice, both mentally and physically. To her the pain from her wounds still ached and she couldn't move more than a small amount without feeling something twinge and send white-hot stakes of fire shooting through her body. But that pain was nothing compared to the worry, the feeling that she had let Batman down, and that she had failed in bringing Black Mask to justice, failing to save Orpheus' life, a man who had been cut down in front of her.

"Shhh, you shouldn't try to speak Stephanie. You need to save your strength."

Yes. It really was him; she could hear his voice, spoken quietly but still there. Was he angry with her? She could see him there, just barely, even as she shut her eyes to continue to speak. She had to make sure no one else took the blame for what she had done. If it was the one of the last things she did, she wanted to make sure Batman knew she was sorry, for everything.

"But I screwed up so bad. It was me. All me. I started this war."

"I know, but there's no need to worry about it now. We took care of – "

His words barely registered with her as she cut him off. He had been right all along. Could she do nothing right anymore?

"You were right to fire me. I'm such an idiot." She swallowed slightly, the pain a faint reminder of the suffering her body had gone through. Stephanie forced her eyes open ever so slightly so she could look him in the eyes. The man she had wanted to prove her worth to; the legend she had hoped to be a part of, and in the end had let down. Even Tim…she had let him down. She felt tears trickle out of the corner of her eyes as her features grew sad. "Does Tim hate me?"

"No, of course not. He adores you. Always has."

She felt a small measure of relief in Batman's words, her eyes watching as his lips moved when he spoke, the hard lines that so often defined him beginning to soften as he sat there, speaking with her. What else had she not told him? Was there anything else that she wanted to make sure he knew before…yes…before that light came for her. It was so close, she could almost feel it, almost see it right there on the edge of her vision. It was calling to her, but she didn't want to go, not yet! Her daughter needed taken care of. She had to make sure she would be okay.

"I have a baby. Did you know that? She's not mine anymore but – "

"Don't worry, Stephanie. She'll never want for anything, I promise."

His words were soothing and she felt herself relax once again, but not fully. No, there was still one more question she had to ask. One more question she needed the answer to. Everything was beginning to go darker, to grow dimmer, and she felt so tired. It was difficult to keep her eyes open, but she did, because she had to know. She had to know if he thought she had failed him, because that failure tore through her heart. She had wanted to be Robin so badly, to fight alongside Batman and be part of that vision, helping to make Gotham a place where children could grow up without fear. But had it been a lie? She whispered her next words, almost tentatively, pain still creeping its way through every nerve of her body, despite the medication she had been put on.

"Batman?"

"I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere."

She heard his voice, although her vision was beginning to blur ever so slightly. The voice that could have such a hard edge, but was soft now, reassuring.

"When you let me be Robin…it wasn't just some kind of trick, was it? A way to get Tim to come back? Or your way to show me I wasn't cut out for the job?"

"Stephanie, I – "

Her words came out slowly, and even as he spoke, she continued. She had to know, if nothing else, his answer to her final question.

"Was any of it real? Was I ever really Robin?"

"Of course you were."

A soft smile appeared upon her lips, despite the amount of effort that it took to form that slight curve. She closed her eyes, whispering her words. "Good." It was all she had really needed to hear, that she had truly been a apart of it and had done something. It was all that mattered in the end, because everything leading up to this point, all the pain and torture and heartache, in the end she had still been Robin. "Then I was really part of it….part of the legend. Even if it was only for a little while. No matter what, no one can take that away."

"No matter what."

His words confirmed her thoughts and her own words, and finally she felt at peace. A warmness seemed to spread through her body and then it began to cool, but she felt so sleepy. She was quiet for a few moments, allowing his words to sink in, the words that meant the world to her, more than he would ever know.

"I think I need rest now…"

"You bet. I'll be here, watching over you."

She never heard his last words as the darkness crept through her mind, the pain fading as a cool sensation filled her body, her mind finally at ease, her heart beginning to slow, and then finally stop.

They say your life flashes before your eyes as you die.

I think it's time…


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