This story probably won't make a whole lot of sense unless you're familiar with Robin 80-87. The long and short of it is, Steph accuses Tim of cheating and breaks up with him. She then goes around being a dick and doing a bunch of crazy things to prove Tim lied. A few issues later in Robin 87, Batman makes the monumentally out of character decision to show her the Batcave and tell her Tim's secret identity without consulting Tim. Tim and Steph get back together, and everything she did before that is swept under the rug, never to be mentioned again. I really didn't like how that went down, so I wrote this
Disclaimer: I don't own or profit from anything belonging to DC. Title taken from Blondie's "One Way or Another"
Warning: This fic criticizes the story decisions in Robin 80-87. It also criticizes TimSteph, and how that relationship was handled within those issues. If you are not comfortable with that, this is your chance to turn back now.
"How long until the stitches come out?" Tim asked.
"Another week." Star sighed. "Then there'll be several more weeks until I'm allowed back on my board."
"You'll be back at the skatepark before you know it." Tim said.
"I dunno. Mama almost didn't let me out of the house for this." Star gestured, encompassing the table booth in the small diner, Tim, and her two other friends, Davis and Chelsea. "She insisted I bring Tito along when I finally persuaded her."
"I heard my name. You talking shit about me Star?" Tito, Star's younger brother, slid into the seat next to her.
"Always, squirt. I was just telling the guys you're my new bodyguard."
"Chillax, Star." Chelsea said. "It's only been a few days. Give her some time to be overprotective. She can't keep you inside forever."
"Yeah. I'm just glad she let me hang with you guys."
Tim was just glad to see her moving and laughing. She seemed so small, bleeding on the pavement, her bold personality and confident smile vanished in the wake of the shootout. Tim hadn't known her for long, but he was grateful for the chance to continue their budding friendship. Even more grateful she didn't become one more person he failed to save.
Tim was also glad to get a break from his own problems. It didn't pay to be Tim or Robin at the moment; between school problems and girl problems, he was being pulled every which way. Hanging with Star was easy, relaxing in a way interacting with his girlfriend hadn't been for weeks. Well, ex-girlfriend.
Tim didn't have a girlfriend anymore. At least, he was pretty sure that's what "keep your life to yourself" meant. Dick, his resident expert on the fairer sex, had confirmed it. Steph hadn't spoken to him in two weeks, no matter what Tim tried to appease her. She'd stopped picking up the phone. Last time he went to her window, she threw her chemistry textbook at his head.
The thought of Stephanie made his heart ache. He missed hanging out with her on patrol, bouncing quips back and forth as they took down crooks. But something else had crept in, in the intervening days. Something that sparked with angrily ended phone calls and shoes to the head. Indignation. Resentment. Tim hadn't done anything wrong. Steph was being unreasonable, assuming he cheated just because he wanted to protect a friend from his civilian life. If Tim was completely honest with himself, he was sick of trying and being met with nothing but rejection and more baseless accusations.
He was done trying, period.
"Why the long face?" Tim broke out of his thoughts, realizing Star's question was directed at him.
"Huh? Oh. Just thinking about my girlfriend. Well, my ex-girlfriend actually. We've been going through a rough patch." Ex-girlfriend rolled off his tongue more easily than expected.
"That's what this little powwow's all about." Star said. "Getting our minds off recent events." Tim felt a twinge of guilt.
"I'm sorry Star. You just got out of the hospital, and here I am moping about my ex."
"Don't sweat it, Tim." Star waved him off. "We've all been there. If you wanna vent, we're all ears."
"Speak for yourself." Davis said. "I came here for the curly fries, not to listen to some rando's problems. No advice from Sage Dave until we get more information."
"What's your deal, Tim?" Chelsea asked. "You've been hanging with Star a lot lately, and we don't know anything about you, except that you learned how to thrash from the master."
"Guys…" Star warned.
"Relax, we're not gonna interrogate him. Just want to cover the basics. So Tim, school, sports, favorite superhero?" Davis said. "Gotta give us something before we listen to girl problems."
"Favorite superhero?" Tito scoffed. "Why's that a question?"
"Brentwood, I used to do tennis, and Robin's pretty cool," Tim said. So sue him, Tim thought Robin was great before he ever took up the mantle. He was used to the twenty questions; changing schools every other year as a kid had made him the new guy more times than he cared to count.
"Brentwood? Oh ho, that's that fancy boarding school in the Commons, right?"
"I'm with Tim on my favorite superhero." Star said, neatly redirecting the conversation before it could lead to uncomfortable places. "Robin is cool."
"You're just saying that cause he saved your life." Davis said.
"Well yeah."
"Eh. I saw him in action at the riot last month. He's kinda shrimpy. Now Superman on the other hand…"
"Where's your Gotham pride, man?" Star teased.
"I'd like to meet Huntress," Chelsea said. "Badass lady in leather? Sign me up. What about you, Tito? Got a favorite superhero you'd like to talk to?"
"No thanks," Tito said. "I've met one, and she was fucking crazy. Far as I'm concerned they all are."
"What, here in Gotham? You've met Batman and Robin?"
"No, someone else. Spoiler."
"The purple chick?"
"When was this?" Star asked.
"A few days ago. You were still in the hospital," Tito said.
"Well you can't just leave us there." Chelsea said. "What happened?"
Everyone leaned in. Tim followed suit, relieved to be out from under the microscope. It was always fun to hear what people had to say about vigilantes. The mythos surrounding Gotham's vigilantes was vast and varied, and no one would question his interest when everyone had questions and stories of their own. Tito flushed over having the whole table's attention, but he found his bluster and started talking.
"Okay, so this was like a week ago, right? I was walking home from visiting Star, when I was stopped by the Roslyn gang. I tell them, get away! I ain't joining no gang! But they pull me into the alley for a chat." An intake of breath was the only indication of surprise around the table. Being stopped and harassed by gangs was practically a rite of passage in Gotham.
"Before they could get very far, this chick jumped down and started wailing in them. They start shooting. I wasn't scared, but I ain't stupid either. I get the hell out of there. Problem was, she wasn't after them — she was after me!"
Tito gestured broadly, nearly knocking over his zesti. "I thought she was in a gang at first! She was wearing this freaky purple cloak thing. I couldn't see her face 'cause it had a hood. She jumped on me, and was acting like she was gonna punch me or something. Me, I'm yelling, cussing her out with everything I got cause I don't scare easy."
"Why'd she go after you?" Tim interrupted. What on earth? Was this some new villain impersonating the Spoiler? Why attack a random kid though?
"She thought I was Robin!" Tito exclaimed.
"You got something to tell us Tito?" Davis laughed, socking Tito lightly on the arm. The others laughed, oblivious to the way Tim went still.
"Why'd she think that?" Chelsea asked.
"I have no idea man! She just jumped at me after I got away from the gangbangers. Yelling about how she finally knew my secret."
"You do kind of look like him." Star mused, reaching out to ruffle her brother's dark hair. Tito swatted at her hand.
"I don't look like that jerk."
"The guy who saved your sister's life's a jerk?"
"Robin's cool I guess, but you won't catch me singing any praises." Tito said. "That Spoiler chick was crazy. I want nothing else to do with vigilantes. Bunch of weirdos."
"I mean, you're not wrong." Chelsea said. "You have to have a screw or two loose to go out and fight crime in spandex."
"Yeah. Most of them clearly have more courage than sense." Davis said.
"Any idea what she wanted from Robin?" Tim asked.
"I don't care what she wanted." Tito said. "Just that she stays far away from me. I'm done with vigilantes."
The table went quiet as they all nursed their sodas. The waitress came back with their orders, and they were soon stuffing their faces with over salted fries.
"Speaking of weird people, how about that nurse who wasn't really a nurse?" Chelsea prompted, as soon as the waitress walked away.
Star laughed uncomfortably. "You mean that girl who broke into the hospital and impersonated a nursing student? She took care of me. Kind of." Star looked at the expectant faces of her friends. "Okay, she was a total weirdo and I have no idea what was going on there."
"Some chick pretended to be your nurse?" Davis asked. "Meh. Not the weirdest thing to happen in this city."
"Not by a long shot." Chelsea agreed.
"Not the weirdest thing, but it always feels bigger when it happens to you, yanno?" Star said. "She told me her name was Robin. And then when some lady recognized her at the hospital, she called her something else. I think she said Stephanie?" Star shook her head. "Papa was about ready to call security on her."
"What'd she look like?" Tim asked. He had a sinking feeling he already knew the answer.
"Some blonde white girl. Kind of generic, I honestly couldn't tell you more." Star said with a shrug. "I should have known she was a weird one. She was always muttering to herself when she thought I wasn't listening."
"Man, why do all the crazy people end up in the medical field in Gotham?" Davis groaned.
A blonde girl named Stephanie. Tim tuned out as the conversation shifted, mulling over what he'd heard. She broke into the hospital, disguised herself as a nurse… why?
His first instinct was to dismiss Tito's story. The kid was thirteen, and hardly a reliable witness. Tim should at least ask Steph what happened, if anything happened at all, and keep an eye out for an imposter. Clones and shapeshifters could impersonate anyone; Tim had firsthand experience with both. He would wait for more information before drawing conclusions… If it wasn't for Star's story. Tim didn't know Tito that well, but despite the short time they'd been friends, he had a pretty good grasp of Star's character. Straightforward, teasing but no nonsense. She had no reason to lie or exaggerate. He could ask Babs to pull up the security feed from the hospital, just to confirm, but he had a feeling it would be a waste of time.
Put together, Tito and Star's stories painted quite the picture of what Steph was up to lately.
Steph tried to follow him. She tried to attack him, and it was sheer luck that she had the wrong guy. Tim wanted to believe it was a random crook, causing mayhem to soil the Spoiler's good name. His logical side knew better. There was too much evidence to ignore, on both sides of the coin; too much to be coincidence or an outside influence. Stephanie was angry with him. Stephanie wanted to know his secret identity. Stephanie had the costume to do it. Costumes, Tim corrected. If she was pretending to work at the hospital, that meant she probably borrowed her mother's nursing uniform. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that it was her.
It wasn't like this was the first time Steph tried to figure out who Tim really was. It was the first time she actually had a connection to his civilian identity. Steph probably thought she could find Robin by sticking close to Star. She had the right idea; Tim had dropped in to give Star flowers the day after Star got out of surgery. He was lucky Steph wasn't there.
Tim could understand the motive, but what he couldn't parse was why Stephanie would go to such lengths to do it. He sipped his zesti contemplatively, ignoring the brewing headache that always started when his vigilante and civilian lives converged. A sudden burst of laughter from the kids around him startled him out of his thoughts, reminding him of where he came here to have fun and make friends. He and Stephanie had been broken up for two weeks now. It wouldn't hurt to push the problem out of his mind for a little longer.
He could figure it out later.
Tim didn't get any time to follow up on the Stephanie problem. The next few days were a blur of fights and exhaustion. There was Lagoon Boy and his monstrous, scaly friend Spotty. Then Danny, who turned out to be even more abnormal than the average Brentwood guy. Kobra, King Snake. Fricken Yetis, and if Tim wasn't so tired that one really would have thrown him.
As it was, he forgot to check in with Batman. It didn't even register when his tracker was smashed. All he could do when he got back to Gotham was fall face first into his bed, exhausted beyond thought.
Stephanie knew what this was really all about.
When Batman first showed up, she was sure she was in for another round of lectures. You aren't trained and I don't approve and blah blah blah. Batman still thought he was the boss of vigilantes in Gotham, when the Spoiler was living proof that he had no business trying to control them. To her utter shock, instead of trying to run her off, he asked for her help.
Batman asked the Spoiler for help. Clearly, Batman was finally seeing her worth.
He'd shown her his car. Which was so cool, and Steph wasn't even interested in cars. Birdboy probably started drooling when he first saw this thing. So here they were, driving through Gotham in a vehicle that looked like it came right out of a movie or the thirtieth century.
Robin was nowhere in sight. Probably off with his little girlfriend, a vicious part of her whispered. Steph scowled. She should have just decked him when she had the chance.
"So uh, what's the deal Batman?" Steph asked, breaking the silence.
"Robin hasn't reported in for thirty six hours. His tracker isn't responding."
"You can't find him?" Robin was always swooning over Batman's detective skills, going on and on about how he had so much to learn the guy. Clearly he wasn't all he was cracked up to be, if he couldn't find his own lousy sidekick. Then again, Steph wasn't having much luck either. All her leads on his real identity had turned into dead ends, and now her mom was mad at her on top of it all. Even when they were broken up, the Boy Cheat was causing her trouble.
"I've checked everywhere that Robin should be and haven't found him."
"Do you think he's out as a civilian?" Steph asked. If anyone knew who Robin really was, it was Batman. If he was so worried about his sidekick, maybe he wouldn't mind letting Steph learn his real name.
"No."
"Are you sure? If you tell me his name, I could go looking at his school or something."
"No." Yeesh, talk about a man of few words.
"C'mon." Steph pressed. "We're dating, he wouldn't mind if you tell me his real id. It'll help us find him."
The fancy car must have autopilot or something, because the Bat turned to give her a long, icy glare, made all the colder by the blank white lenses of his cowl.
"You are not dating." Batman said. "I asked you here because you are familiar with many of the places he could be. Once we've searched those places for answers we are done here." She could practically hear the 'go home Stephanie'. Man, she was getting sick of that. Instead of pushing the familiar issue of her vigilante career, Steph stuck to her goal: getting Boy Backstabber's name out of the big bad Bat.
"If you can't find him as Robin, then clearly he isn't out as Robin." Steph said. "I can go places you can't and ask around."
"No."
"What's the big deal? Why can't you just tell me his stupid name?" Steph was whining, she knew she was whining, but she was sick and tired of Batman and his secrets. Robin wouldn't have even had the chance to cheat if she knew who he really was, and it was this jerk's fault she didn't.
"Robin keeps my secret, and he has proven he is more than willing to protect it with his life. I will not give his away on a whim." Batman said, deep voice ringing with finality.
"Well what if he wants you to?"
"Then I will ask him. Until then, this topic is closed, Stephanie."
"Well when you put it like that…" Steph trailed off. The car lapsed into silence, broken only by the steady thrum of the engine.
Great. Just great. Now she had nothing. No leads, no leverage. The Boy Cheater wasn't going to come clean on his own, and she still didn't have anything to force a confession out of him with.
"Robin reporting in." Tim said. "Approaching sixth street, possible gang activity and a trade going down between the Bandidos and the Roslyn crew."
"This is purely an information gathering mission." Batman's voice crackled over the comm. "Do not engage."
"You got it, B." Tim's disappearing act had scared Bruce more than he expected. It'd been four days since he and Bruce debriefed all of Tim's crazy adventures with Lagoon Boy and Danny, and Bruce was still acting like a mother hen. Tim could live with the hourly check ins. He was just glad Robin wasn't confined to Batman's side for the next month.
"Well look who's back."
Spoiler stood on the edge of the roof, purple cape fluttering in the faint breeze. It was the first time he'd seen her in weeks, and his heart clenched at the sight.
"I'll call you back, B." Tim said, and turned off the comm.
"Steph." Tim said, then corrected himself. "Spoiler."
"That's nice, huh?" Steph said. "Being able to use either name."
Tim resisted the urge to pinch his nose, the familiar frustration bubbling up. "I can't tell you my real name. Batman's orders, Spoiler."
"Why the hell not?" The white lenses of her face mask were narrow slits.
"I told you why." Tim said. "I've only really asked you for one thing since we started dating. I asked you to respect my privacy. It's not just my secret. A lot of people could be hurt, or even killed, if my identity gets out."
Steph rolled her eyes. Tim couldn't see them under her mask, but her whole head moved with the motion, making her derision clear.
"Yeah, yeah. Your own girlfriend isn't important enough to tell."
"That's not it and you know it."
"All I know is that you're not the boy you said you were. If you really cared about me, you'd tell me, Batman's orders bedamned."
"Steph, I can't. You said you were okay with not knowing. I asked you, twice, when we first started going out!"
"Well maybe I changed my mind."
Tim threw his hands in the air. "Why didn't you tell me then? Every time I tried to bring it up, you shut me down and told me it was fine. We could have talked about it."
"Like you want to talk about your other girlfriend? Don't think I've forgotten about her, you two timing louse!"
Tim choked on air. She still thought he was cheating? This wasn't about his identity at all. "Star is just a friend. I never cheated on you."
"Like I should trust the guy who won't even tell me his name. You could be literally anyone under that mask, Boy Jerk. You think I'm stupid?"
"I don't, but don't you think you're taking this all too far? You've been acting crazy Steph. Stalking my friend, attacking people." He hadn't forgotten for a moment all the things Star and Tito told him. A quick search of the hospital's security footage had proven at least one of their stories true.
"How'd you— your little girlfriend told you, didn't she?"
"She's not my girlfriend, but that's beside the point."
"Beside the point my ass. The point is you're a cheater and a liar."
"I did not cheat on you. You just decided I was cheating and refused to let me explain anything."
"What was I supposed to do? I thought you were off stabbing me in the back with that little witch!"
"Why would you think that?"
"You're a liar. I can't trust a thing you say, so I set out to find my own evidence." Steph scoffed. "You weren't going to come clean on your own. You won't even tell me your real name."
And we're back to square one, Tim thought with a sigh. This argument was going nowhere. He was tired and frustrated, and most of all, heartsick. The urge to backtrack was there. Tim could feel it on the tip of his tongue, ready to push out and apologize for getting angry, for upsetting Steph. He was tired of fighting. He missed his girlfriend.
He should just do what she wanted, a little voice inside him urged. Admit to the story she concocted, and do what he could to salvage their relationship and smooth things over. It was the same voice that whispered during fights with his dad.
For one of the few times in his life, Tim fought it.
"If there was ever a chance I would tell you," he said, "it's gone now. We're done, Stephanie."
"What?" Steph actually took a surprised step back. "What do you mean?"
"I'm breaking up with you." Tim said. "Officially, this time."
He couldn't trust Steph, not as his girlfriend or with his secret. Her actions over the past few weeks had proven that. If all she wanted to do was berate him for something he didn't do, Tim had no reason to stay.
Tim pulled out his grapple and walked to the edge of the roof. If he was late to the gang meetup Batman would be pissed. He'd wasted enough time here.
"Where do you think you're going? We're not done here!"
"Goodbye Steph."
Tim launched his grapple, ignoring Stephanie calling out behind him. He jumped, letting the wind and the line catch him.
A part of him ached, and probably would for a while. Steph was his first real connection in the world of vigilantes. Someone his age he could talk to and laugh with. But Tim had Nightwing, and Oracle, and his friends in Young Justice. She wasn't his lone source of affection and camaraderie anymore. He didn't have to cling to her when she wasn't treating him right.
He felt light. It was probably just the upswing, leaving him weightless as he searched for the next grapple hold before he began to fall again, but he could attribute some of it to what he just did.
He felt free, and had a feeling he'd be okay.
This is more of a vent fic than anything. I really hated Robin #87