Hello all. This is my get-it-out kind of story. It's been going around and around in my head for days, so I just churned it out. There's an alternate title at the bottom, but it gives everything away.
I don't own any of the characters within this story.
Be aware: I am an Australian. Spelling may not match the American.
It was a simply-edited video, one that even years later was adored mostly because of what it was about.
Shall we watch it?
%%%
First scene: a chair with a cheap sketchpad resting on it.
A young blonde enters the view and writes something on the first page.
Sitting down, she grins at the camera and holds up the sketchpad.
"Hey!" she says, "This is for you. I know we haven't properly met yet, so here goes. I'm Stephanie Brown, most people call me Steph. You, however, will probably call me…"
She gestures at the word on the first page.
"So," she continues, "this video is for you. I'm going to use it to show you how I told everyone about you. I'll edit it, of course, so the order you see the reveals in won't be the order they're told in. It's for good reason, don't worry. So, let's get started."
The scene goes dark.
%%%
Second scene: A kitchen.
An old man stands at the counter holding the sketchpad bearing a phrase.
"Introduce yourself." Steph says from behind the camera, "You can look at the word after you do. Go on."
"Very well, Miss Stephanie." the man says, "I am Alfred Pennyworth, butler to the Wayne family. Whoever you are, rest assured you shall be in capable hands if I am involved with you. Will they know, Miss Stephanie?"
"Yep. They'll be in on the Big Secret. Don't worry."
"Very well, then. If you, sir or madam, choose to follow the footsteps of the Bats or their ilk, I will assist you to the best of my abilities. Is that enough, Miss Stephanie?"
"Yep. You can look now."
Alfred turns the sketchpad around and goes utterly white.
"My word, Miss Stephanie!"
Scene goes black.
%%%
Third scene: a rooftop.
A male and a female, young adults at best, stand together. They are each holding one side of the sketchpad.
"Hi!" the female says, "I'm Kara. This is Kon. We're Supergirl and Superboy. I'm one of Steph's best friends. I hope we get along when we meet."
She jabs the male.
"Hey! What do you want me to say?" he demands.
"Something about yourself." Steph says, again off-screen.
"Ok. I'm Kon. I split my time between Smallville in Kansas and Metropolis, with weekends in San Francisco with the Titans. Yeah, Steph told us you'll know about the hero stuff. Maybe we can hang out when we meet, you know? Go cruising or something."
"Or something." Steph jokes.
"I can teach you all kinds of stuff from around the universe." Kara adds eagerly, "I've seen so much of the universe."
"Ok. That's good. You can look now."
Kara and Kon flip the sketchpad to look at what is written there.
"Steph!" Kara squeals, lunging at the camera.
Kon catches the video camera and spins it around so Steph and Kara are visible.
Kara is hugging Steph and squealing in delight.
Kon turns the camera back so his face fills the screen.
"Forget what I said about cruising." he says.
Scene goes black.
%%%
Fourth scene: a room full of computers.
"Come on, Babs." Steph cajoles, "Just a few words. Play along."
"I have work, Steph. And so do you."
A gloved hand comes into view with the sketchpad.
"At least hold it. Please? Let me get this shot."
Babs sighs and turns towards the camera.
She takes the sketchpad, not looking at the word scrawled on it with marker pen, and waits.
"Introduce yourself. They know you're Oracle, by the way."
"That's a security breach, you know. Too dangerous. Even on camera."
"Please. No one outside the circle will see this."
"Something up?" a person off-screen asks.
The camera swivels to reveal a blonde woman in a black leotard and a brunette woman in a black-grey-and-purple outfit.
"Dinah! Helena! Hey. I'm just getting Babs to introduce herself for someone secret. Want to introduce yourselves too? They know about the hero thing."
"Ok." the brunette says, "I'm Helena. Huntress by night. Can't wait to meet you. Hey, let me see what you're holding O."
The blonde sighs and says, "I'm Dinah. Black Canary. Meta, ass-kicker, married to Ollie Queen. Babs, join in. Play along."
The camera swivels back to Babs, who is smiling slightly.
"Alright." she says, clearly humouring them, "I'm Barbara Gordon. Call me Babs. I'm the original Batgirl, now Oracle. I can still fight. My father is currently the police commissioner of Gotham, so don't try anything."
"Thank you." Steph says, "Now, look at it."
Babs lays the sketchpad on her lap and stares.
"What's it say?" Helena asks.
Dinah peers over Babs's shoulder and says, "Huh. Hand me that pen, would you Helena?"
Helena hands over the pen and sees what's written.
"Me too!" she insists, and then adds something else when Dinah is done.
The sketchpad tilts upright again in Babs's lap to reveal new writing.
Screen goes black.
%%%
Fifth scene: a trapeze in a cave.
"Come down from there, Dick!" Steph insists, camera tilted to view the man swinging on the trapeze.
"Why?" he asks.
"For an introduction. I can't do it if you're up there."
"Yes you can. Who am I introducing myself to?"
"Someone."
"I can do it from up here."
"But the sketchpad with the writing on it is down here."
"What writing?"
"You can't see it until you introduce yourself."
"You drive a hard bargain, Batgirl. Sure you don't want that job Bruce offered you?"
"I already work as his lackey at night. No need to do so during the day."
"Not a lackey."
The man jumps off the trapeze and manages three somersaults on the way down before landing on his hands.
"Show-off."
"I'm a circus brat. I was born a show-off."
"Eh. True. On your feet so you can hold this."
He holds out a hand, remaining inverted.
"Really?"
He waves his raised hand.
She sighs and hands over the sketchpad.
"Hello." he says, tilting his head so he can see the camera, "I'm Dick Grayson. Real name Richard, but no one calls me that. I was born in a circus and moved in with Bruce when I was ten. I won't explain why on camera. Wait until we meet in person, ok? And maybe I'll teach you trapeze when we meet."
"Nightwing…"
"Yes?"
"Never mind. Ok, you can look now."
Dick turns the sketchpad to view what's written there, and promptly loses his balance.
Scene goes black.
%%%
Sixth scene: an office overlooking Gotham.
A man sits down at the desk and goes to turn over the sketchpad.
"Nuh-uh, Bruce. Flip it up but don't look. Introduce yourself." Steph says, the camera wobbling slightly.
"Stephanie…" Bruce begins.
"Play along. Everyone else has. You're the last one. And the person this is for is in on the secret." she insists.
He stands the sketchpad up on his desk and says, "I am Bruce Wayne. Batman. I expect nothing but the best from you when we meet."
"Give a few years to get there, Bruce."
"I do not accept second rate. You know that, Steph."
"Really? You put up with me pretty well."
"We are not discussing this here. Are we done?"
"Ok. Read it."
Bruce turns the sketchpad around and sees one word.
"You have access to my credit card." he tells Steph, "I expect only the best for this one."
"Really? Awesome."
Scene goes black.
%%%
Seventh scene: a factory.
A red blur is visible.
"Hold still, Bart! This camera isn't that good!" Steph scolds.
The blur resolves into a red-haired teenager.
"Here. Don't look at it yet."
The sketchpad is handed to him.
"Whatdoyouwantmetodo?" he asks, speaking quickly.
"Slow down. I don't speak speedster."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Introduce yourself. They're in on it."
"Ok! Hi! I'm Bart! We're going to be awesome friends. Maybe I can tell you stuff about the future!"
"Not too much."
"Just a little?"
"Maybe. Ok. You can look now."
He does.
"Thisisthebestthingever!"
"And if only I could understand you…"
Scene goes black.
%%%
Eighth scene: a bedroom.
A man is lying on a bed, apparently sleeping.
Steph gently places the sketchpad next to him.
"This is Jason Todd, Red Hood." she says softly, "I had a lot of trouble getting this one, so hopefully he stays asleep."
A hand with a single finger raised appears from under the pillow.
"Go away, nosy little Bat." he grumbles, "You woke me up."
"Just read the sketchpad, Jason."
He turns the sketchpad and takes a few bleary seconds to decipher the scrawl.
"Shit."
Scene goes black.
%%%
Ninth scene: a computer with a Skype session open.
A young woman is visible in the Skype window.
The sketchpad is propped up next to the screen.
"Ok, Cass. I'll show you the words in a second. Just say hello and tell the person I'm doing this for who you are." Steph says, her hand visible steadying the sketchpad.
"Why?" the woman asks.
"Just because."
"I am Cass. Black Bat. Live in Hong Kong now. Did live in Gotham. I hope we meet in good ways, no bad ones."
"You will, don't worry. Ok, see if you can read this…"
The camera is obscured by the sketchpad.
After a minute, Cass says, "I will call Babs. Get flight home."
Scene goes black.
%%%
Tenth scene: a study.
A boy scowls at the camera, sketchpad in his lap.
"Come on, Little D." Steph says, "Just introduce yourself."
"Brown, I will not participate in this asinine game." the boy insists.
"Ok. So I'll do it for you. This is Damian Wayne. He's the youngest known son of Bruce Wayne. I'm not saying he's the youngest, because we're not too sure about that."
"Brown…"
"Ok, ok. He's currently Robin. And he's a little demon. Don't worry, he's not going to bite. Ok, so you can look now."
Damian views the sketchpad, then takes a pencil from the table behind him.
Drawing a line through part of the text, he holds it up again.
Scene goes black.
%%%
Eleventh scene: a table covered with the contents of a handbag.
"Come on, Mum." Steph begs of a woman onscreen, "It'll only take a second."
"I'll be late for work, sweetie." the woman argues.
"A second."
"Fine. Give it here."
"Ok. Cool."
Steph hands over the sketchpad, text down.
The woman holds the sketchpad up and says, "I'm Crystal Brown, Steph's mum. If you ever get hurt, I can patch you up because I'm a nurse. Is that enough?"
"Plenty. Now look."
Crystal flips the sketchpad, takes one look and reaches for the mobile phone on the table.
She calls someone and says, "Breanna? I can't make it to work today. You won't believe what my daughter just told me."
Scene goes black.
%%%
Twelfth scene: a library.
"Here, Tim. Hold this. Don't look at what it says just yet." Steph says, handing a young man the sketchpad as he walks into view.
"Is that my video camera?" he asks, holding up the sketchpad.
"Yep. Just introduce yourself. This person knows the secret, so don't worry about faking it."
"Ok. I'm Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne. Adopted son of Bruce Wayne. I'm also Red Robin, and Steph's boyfriend. I don't know who she's doing this for, but apparently you're important enough that she's raided my bedroom for this video camera. What's on the sketchpad, Steph?"
"What they're going to call you. You can look now."
Tim turns the sketchpad around, takes a moment to read what's written there, and then faints.
"Huh. Tim? Tim?"
Scene goes black.
%%%
And so ends the video, made for a very special person.
What did the sketchbook say for each person? Well…
For Steph herself, it said Mummy.
For Alfred, is said (Great) Grandpa Alfred.
For Kon and Kara, it was Uncle Kon and Auntie Kara.
For Babs, is was Auntie Babs. Helena and Dinah annotated it with Zia Helena and Aunt Dinah.
For Dick, it was Uncle Dick.
For Bruce, is said Grandpa.
For Bart, it was Uncle Bart.
For Jason, Uncle Jason.
For Cass, Auntie Cass.
For Damian, it initially said Uncle Damian. He crossed out the Uncle.
For Crystal Brown, Nanna.
And for Tim, it said Daddy.
So, the alternate title for this one? A Video Camera and a Sketchpad (how Stephanie Brown told everyone she was pregnant).
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