The Dark Knight(mare) of Gotham City
In which Bruce & his 'bat-family' are really vampires.
So excited about this story, even though I'm warning you now, this story jumps around time wise. This is meant to be told about Stephanie Brown, so the back stories of Bruce, Dick, Barbara & Jason will be told to her by the characters themselves.
Again, just a warning, I don't have an extended knowledge of the characters. The only things I know are what I've seen from 'Young Justice' and assorted comics. Anything else I add comes from Wikipedia. I know Stephanie's part in Young Justice amounted to her needing to be rescued by the team, but as I looked up information on certain characters, I was impressed by her background in the Batman comics.
And before you ask, Jarvis was Alfred's father. Also, no he's not a dirty old man, he just doesn't have many people to talk to on a daily basis. (So please don't think bad things about him.)
Anyway, the prologue was the only chapter told entirely from someone else's point of view. Since this story is told from Stephanie's p.o.v., it'll take some time to get to everyone else's past. Please bear with me. I will give you a brief story timeline later though.
Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten. I just had the thought for the fanfic that is all.
Chapter 1: Stephanie meets the Manor and Jarvis (And they both like her)
It was days like this that she felt as if the world was against her. Sure she tried to keep a sunny disposition, and stay cheerful. But some days, she felt so lonely and depressed. It was days like this that she cursed her deceased father Arthur Brown and wished he had just kept his narcissistic attitude to himself instead of stealing. And then there had been the loans from the mob. Really, what had he been thinking?
She sighed, as she leaned against her stalled 1956 Packard Caribbean. She knew she needed to get away from Gotham, and especially to get away from the Falcone family. She knew if she could get away from Carmine Falcone, she might stand a chance of living to see her nineteenth birthday, let alone her twentieth and so on. So it stood to reason that two miles away from the interstate that would guarantee her freedom, that her car (formerly her dad's) would stall and leave her stranded two miles away from freedom. And it looked like storm clouds were approaching from the west. Great, just what she needed.
She stood next to her car for another couple of minutes while mentally reaming her father out on his stupidity. She looked down the road as it came around a curve, looked back under the hood of the car, and mentally started reaming herself out too. Sighing again, she eased the hood back down and started to walk down the road to at least see what was around the curve. If there were any homes out this far, she would ask if she could stay the night and call a mechanic to see if one would come in the morning. She didn't have much money left, but she would offer as much as she could to whoever let her spend the night. Or she could offer to do chores, maybe that would do it. As caught up in her thoughts as she was, she didn't see the small dip in the road until she tripped.
Now she knew the world was against her, because she had almost twisted one of her ankles and had ruined the only good pair of shoes she had left. Sighing once again, she took her heels off and carried them with her as she continued down the road. After coming to the curve, she looked back to her car, dismayed that she hadn't gone more than 50 yards away. She turned back around and walked a few feet further down the road when she saw it. A driveway that led to a wrought-iron gate. It took her a few seconds to realize there were two roads, the first leading a long distance up to a house on the hill. The second, she realized, lead to the interstate.
She stood there routed to the spot for a few minutes more, before she realized, the 'house' was no house, it was a manor. And the only manor located this far from the hubbub of Gotham City was the old Wayne Manor. A chill ran down her spine as she eyed the gate. Her mother, a fairly religious woman, had always warned her not to go anywhere near the Wayne Manor. She had been told that anyone who entered there was never heard from alive again, because their souls became trapped there for all time.
Even so, she knew she had to take her chances. Maybe if she showed proper respect and that she really had no other options, the haunted manor would let her take shelter there for the night. Maybe, she could just take refuge in one of the many smaller buildings on the property. She hazarded a glance back the way she came from, and thought, 'Maybe I'll just see if they have a telephone and call the mechanic in the morning. I'll just sleep in the car tonight.' Nodding to herself at her decision, she turned to go back to the car, only to stop in her tracks as she heard a loud, nerve-grating creak.
She slowly turned back to the iron gate, and saw that it had started to open, seemingly on its own. More than slightly freaked out, she slowly back away and eased her way back towards her car. Once she was around the curve she heard the same loud squeak and took off running towards her car. Once she got to the car, she wasted no time getting in and slamming the door behind her. She sat there, her heart pounding loudly and painfully in her chest for a few minutes as she attempted to get her breathing under control. She fought down the urge to panic as she slowly breathed in and then out. After getting her breathing back to normal, she looked around the car and laughed at herself.
"Well that was brilliant Steph, you're scared of a little wind." Still laughing to herself, she realized, there hadn't been any breeze. Beginning to panic again, she startled when there was a sudden gust of wind that rocked the car. Looking behind her, she saw the storm clouds were moving in faster, and thought about whether it was a good idea to sleep in the car after all. A few minutes of indecision was abruptly ended when she heard the first clap of thunder a few miles away. "Alright, there's nothing for it. I'm gonna have to go to the manor whether I want to or not."
Gathering her courage, she hastily got back out of the car and went to the trunk to grab her suitcases. When she saw she was still carrying her heels, she opened the smaller of her two suitcases and jammed them in. She picked them out of the trunk and slammed the lid shut. She grabbed her coat from the inside of the car, put it back on over her dress and picked her suitcases up. Shutting the driver side door with her foot, she squared her shoulders and braced herself for what she thought might be the last night of her life.
She walked back towards the gate, only to find it had indeed shut after she had run. She put her suitcases down, and attempted to fix her hair from where it had fallen down earlier. She barely touched the gate, when a jolt of electricity (she supposed, she hadn't been shocked before) and her mother's warning once more played in her mind. Deciding she was gonna take her chances with the storm in her car, she grabbed her suitcases one last time and started to walk back to the car. She heard the gate start to creak again and this time she turned to see it had opened a small crack. Something told her to run away from the gate, but somewhere deep inside her something else told her, this would lead her to her destiny.
Shaking her head to gather her courage once more, she reached out a hand to touch the gate, only to get a sense of, humor? As if the gate was alive or sentient and thought she was being ridiculous.
"Alright, you silly girl, it's just a gate. How can it be amused? Just go in and get this over with." She pushed a little more and was rewarded with the gate opening enough to permit her in. As she walked through the gate, she felt a sense of foreboding. Like someone was watching every move she made. Someone very dangerous, who didn't want her on the property. A loud creak and slam had her jumping and turning around so fast she almost made herself dizzy. The gate had closed behind her. Suddenly she felt as if she had become a prisoner and she couldn't escape. She turned again and headed up the long pathway to the front door.
As she made her way to the door, she was surprised to see lights on in the manor. She took a quick around and saw that there were power lines. And a telephone pole. 'Good, I can call out from here and get a mechanic.' She started to feel a bit silly about getting so worked up over nothing. She saw someone moving around in the foyer area and mentally slapped herself. If there were lights in the manor and they were on, then of course there would be someone living here.
'I wonder why everyone thinks no one lives here then.' She thought as she walked the last few feet to the front door. As she walked up the steps, she realized her feet were hurting and thought it was because she had been walking barefoot for quite some distance. Once she stood at the top of the steps, she placed her suitcases down beside her, shook her hair one last time in an effort to look halfway decent and grabbed the large brass knocker. 'A bat? How unusual.' She knocked three times to make sure whoever was inside heard her.
She didn't have to wait long. The door opened to reveal a rather tall man with a short mustache looking somewhat surprised. When he saw her, he quickly composed himself.
"Hello, Madam. How might I be of assistance this evening?" His accent sounded British. Still somewhat surprised to see a living, breathing man, she almost didn't reply.
"Oh, I'm very sorry to bother you, sir. It's just that my car stalled a short distance from here. And I was wondering if I might be able to borrow your telephone to call a mechanic?" she stated as politely as she possibly could. He glanced at her somewhat surprised, and quickly looked down at her suitcases before looking back at her. She felt slightly guilty for not mentioning her suitcases. "Well, I also wanted to know, if it was possible if I could spend the night? If not, that's alright; I can sleep in my car."
The British gentleman, who she now noticed was wearing a nice suit, looked somewhat distraught? He schooled his appearance and asked her instead.
"Madam, I would be most delighted to lead you to the telephone. But, if I may ask, how did you get inside the gate?" 'What type of ridiculous question is that? Somewhat annoyed, but trying to maintain her politeness, she replied.
"I came in through the front gate of course." And, was it her imagination, or did he look slightly green at that? His seeming paranoia quickly turned to shock, which quickly turned into a small smile.
"My apologizes, Madam. However the front gate has been locked for some time now. The only way inside is through the side gate over there." He pointed to his right, and showed that there is indeed a gate to the side. "Never the less, please forgive my rude manners, and follow me inside, Madam." And he lead her through the entrance way. She glanced back and saw that he was staring at the front gate with a look of shock. As she was about to say thank you, her stomach decided it needed food, and gurgled rather loudly.
"I'm very sorry about that sir. I guess I was in such a rush to leave Gotham City, that I didn't eat anything all day." At that, the British gentleman started, somewhat scandalized.
"Good gracious, Madam. Why did you do such a thing? One mustn't go all day without eating. Follow me please. I shall fix you up a splendid dinner. The telephone is just this way." He paused and realizing she was carrying her suitcases, tutted loudly, taking them from her hands.
"Madam, do forgive my manners. Master Wayne is often gone away on business trips, and ashamed as I am to say it, I have become rather lax about my duties as butler of the manor. Master Wayne doesn't like to have any uninvited persons in the manor when he is away, but I am quite certain that he wouldn't be against you spending the night, Miss.?" So he was a butler, that's what she had thought.
"Oh, please, don't call me madam, it sounds strange. My name is Stephanie Nicole Brown. You can just call me Stephanie, sir." that must have amused the butler, because he began to smile.
"It's not 'sir', Miss Stephanie. My name is Jarvis. Jarvis Malcolm Pennyworth. And it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now the telephone is through the door on the right." He said as he pointed down a hallway that lead to the left. "And the kitchen is through the door on the left. I'll just set these right here, and fix you dinner, and then I'll see you to a guestroom."
"That's very kind of you Mr. Pennyworth, but I don't want to get you in trouble with your boss." She turned to go toward the door which led to the telephone. She picked up the phone and heard the switchboard operator ask who she wanted to call. After saying she needed to speak to a mechanic, she waited a minute until the phone started ringing. She explained who and where she was and explained what had happened to her car. The mechanic said he wouldn't be able to get there that night because of the big storm approaching, but would be there first thing tomorrow.
She thanked him and hung up the telephone. She turned and walked towards the kitchen and saw Jarvis fixing what looked like a stew.
"Miss Stephanie, the stew is almost ready, if you don't mind waiting a few minutes. Please sit down at the counter, if you'd like. What would you like to drink? We have, milk, orange juice, fresh-made sweet tea, water or if you prefer, we have spirits." She shook her viciously at the mere mention of alcohol.
"No thank you Jarvis. I'm not old enough to drink, and I'd prefer not to anyway. I'll take some tea if that's alright."
"Tea it is Miss. Stephanie. Slice of lemon on the side?" She nodded her head. "Anything else?"
"No thank you Mr. Pennyworth, this is fine." She sat down at the counter and watched as he poured her tea into a glass and carefully pulled a lemon from a bowl on the counter. She watched as he cut the lemon in two and cut a round slice off. A sudden loud thunderclap had her jump and turn behind her to look out the window. She felt extremely ridiculous for being so jumpy; after all it was just a storm. She shook her head again before returning to look at Jarvis. He was carrying her tea over to her, and placed her tea right in front of her.
"Don't worry Miss. Stephanie; the storm should pass through rather quickly. So there is no need to fret." He quirked his head to the side before he asked. "Miss. Stephanie, do forgive me if I seem rude, but, are you quite alright? You look rather tired and pale." She lowered her head, to attempt to avoid his clear gaze.
"It's nothing too serious, Mr. Pennyworth. I'm just recovering from a cold. I'm fine, other than being tired. I promise I'm alright." She lifted her head to see Jarvis looking at her with a look of sympathy.
"Very well, Miss. Stephanie. However, after dinner, I must insist that you retire for the evening once you have settled in to the guestroom. I have just aired out a number of rooms today, and I believe I know the room that you should spend the night in." He turned and walked back to the stove. Stephanie shook her head quickly, before replying.
"Mr. Pennyworth, please there's no need for such a fuss. I'll be content with any room you will let me stay in. I'm going to be leaving tomorrow afternoon, so there's reason for you to dote on me this much. Trust me, I truly appreciate you letting me spend the night." She looked away as she felt her cheeks warm up. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you and Mr. Wayne's kindness. I don't have much money, but I'd like to be able to do something in return."
Jarvis moved to remove a bowl from the cupboard. He turned to her again and simply asked,
"Would you like some bread or crackers with your stew?" Stephanie shook her head, "Are you sure you wouldn't like anything else to eat? It's no trouble at all."
"No Mr. Pennyworth, I'm certain that I don't want anything else. The stew smells so good; I know I won't need anything else. But thank you just the same." Jarvis nodded and moved back to the stove. He dipped a rather good portion into the bowl before retrieving a spoon and carrying it to the counter. "Aren't you going to eat too, Mr. Pennyworth?"
"I will eat later this evening. I still have to tidy Master Wayne's study. There is no need to worry about me, Miss. Stephanie. And, please, you may call me Jarvis. As for repaying Master Wayne, he is a billionaire. There is no need to worry about repaying him, he certainly won't mind." She chuckled as she started to eat.
"If you insist. Wow, this stew is delicious, Mr., I mean Jarvis. I'm not much of a cook, but I wish I could cook like this. Thank you for taking such good care of me." She stopped talking to continue eating. Jarvis chuckled.
"The truth, Miss. Stephanie, is that when Master Wayne and his sons aren't here, there aren't many people for me to speak too. I hadn't realized I missed socializing this much. Nevertheless, perhaps after you finish eating, you should head straight to bed. Or if you'd prefer, I could draw you a bath if you decide you want to freshen up before you go to bed. You should get as much sleep as you can so you are well rested tomorrow." Stephanie, who had been eating while Jarvis spoke, stopped when he mentioned the bath. She really could use a bath.
"That's not necessary for you to have to draw me a bath. However, do the bathrooms in the manor have showers? If it's alright, I'd like to take a shower before bed."
"All of the bathrooms do indeed have showers and bathtubs. Now once you're finished eating, I'll show you to your room. And, it's no trouble at all, Miss Stephanie."