Only immortal Chapter 2
Not that she had belonged in the first place. Before taking on the mantel of Batgirl, she was the girl wonder, or Robin as the media had known her by. However, that just ended in pain and disaster.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Steph had made her rounds around the skyline of the city. After training for years with the world's greatest detective, it was just easier for her to move around the city through the alleyways, or off the rooftops. She actually preferred it. The silence of roaring city gave her time to think. Most of the time her memories traveled back to the times that she spent being Batgirl.
When most people think of the good old days, they normally went back to the time when they were in high school, but Stephanie thought of the time when she had the chance to feel the wind rush through her vivid blond hair when she would swing from building to building. Those were the days.
Now her life consisted of living out a simple life as a bartender at a local karaoke bar, working for one of her friends. Even after almost five years of not wearing the cowl, she still craved the sensation of helping those who needed her. To suffice her addiction she would use most of the money she earned from working, to help give it to the homeless people around the city.
She wanted to help fight again-she would if she was given the chance, but she felt that it was best for Cincinnati if she just stayed in the shadows. Heroes drew villains, and that was just something that the city did not need now.
Now and again, she would have the urge to go back to Gotham, and visit the ones that she had called family for so long, but there was always something that pulled her away. It could have called it a hunch, but she felt that she did not belong anymore. Not that she had belonged in the first place. Before taking on the mantel of Batgirl, she was the girl wonder, or Robin as the media had known her by. However, that just ended in pain and disaster.
Still she could not come to forgive herself for leaving her family behind leaving them with the pain of her death.
The smell of gasoline and dried up cigarettes filled her nose, as she creped her way through the dark alleyway. The only light that showed was from a street light that was off in the distance, but the moon was full, illuminating the city with its soothing light. Stephanie hummed as she walked, kicking a rock around with the sole of her black worn out Chuck Taylors. The more noise that she made the less she seemed alone in the darkness of her own mind.
She huddled her body close to the eggplant colored hoodie that she was wearing. Crossing her arms over her chest, she trapped the heat inside of her. The night was bitter freezing; it was as if she was locked inside a freezer. Her teeth chattered as she ambled on through the black concrete sea that she was standing on.
Her walks home were becoming longer and longer each night she felt like, as the weather was getting worse by the day. The frigged wind and snow that blew through the city froze her bones, and her mind fogged up. That was probably why it took her longer than normal to notice that there were footsteps following close behind her.
She focused on the force of how the heavy metal sole of the shoe as it stomped against the dark black pavement. The person surely wanted her to know that they were there.
The steps were getting more booming as she was getting closer to her apartment. All Stephanie could think about was what she was going to have for dinner. The assailant, if that was what they truly were, she could have taken down with one quick punch to the throat, and that would have been the end of the story.
Turning toward her apartment, she stood looking up at the old tattered brick building in front of her. She asked herself if she should just deal with the stacker now, and get it over with or what until them later. However before she could even make up her mind, a plume of smoke went up around her. It blanketed the area around, as she feel to the ground with a thud. The smoke invaded her lungs, and fogged up her vision.
It took only seconds for the gas to be whisked again by the incoming wind, but that did not help Stephanie in the least. She tried moving her body up off the ground, but even the weight of her own body was too heavy for her week arms now to pull herself up. Her arms felt like gummy worms, and her feet were not even functioning though to move themselves.
She choked. "What do you want?" The attacker progressed sluggishly toward her kneeling down in on knee. Bleed rushed down the side of her forehead, as she looked up at the hooded man that was knelt near her.
He responded with a chuckle stroking her blond hair out of her eyes. His hand was clovers with a grey armored glove and so was the rest of his body. The armor was skintight and reminded her of what Batman had worn. It was all a dark grey in color, and was covered with a kaki jacket. "I haven't seen you in years Jay. Where have you been?" Stephanie spat at him as he brushed her hair.
Even though his face was covered by a crimson red hood, she could tell that he was giving her a smile. He wiped away the spit from his jacket and moved one arm under her legs and the other around her waist.
Numbness covered her body as he picked her up bridal style. At that moment, she could not figure out what he was doing. She had not seen him since there last run in, which was almost four years ago. He lived where ever the world toke him, some days he lived in Asia-some days he lived in Gotham, but she had never seen him around these parts. However, the one thing she really could not figure out was what he wanted from her. She was not Batgirl, and she was keeping on the down low so that she did not have to deal with things like this.
She was content living the simple life and that was truly all she ever really wanted. But seeing Red Hood again still brought back so many memoirs for her teens.
"Relax Blondie, I a'nt goin' hurt ya." He pulled her up caring her half-numb body in his arms, as her limps hung down like a rag doll. Stephanie squinted -anger blazing in her bright blue eyes. She scowled as he walked down the alley with her.
"Relax-relax, how do you expect me to relax when I can barely feel any part of my body and some mad man is carrying me. Where are you taking me?" She told him harshly as she tried pulling her arms up, with no prevail.
"Whoa, I'll explain everything in a minuet. Seriously relax." He spoke calmly to her, as she rolled her eyes at him.
She nibbled on the delicate flesh of her bottom lip as she was getting the feeling back to her arms. "I could scream. You know that right Hoodie?" She smirked.
He snickered. "You know I could just shut you up, but I am being nice." The feeling in her arm was coming back as she just kept him talking. First, she wiggled her fingers out of numbness, them she started moving her hand slightly.
"Yeah if this is what you call nice I would hate to see you when you are being mean." He shook his head with another laugh seeping for his lips.
"Let me tell you, you don't want to see that." As all the feeling got back, she pulled her arm up pulling the top of his hood down, causing him to throw her body on the ground.
Flopping down she, quickly got to her feet finding herself staring back at a now angry Jason Todd. His helmet off rolling back and forth in a pile of snow, Jason always kept an extra mask on under his helmet, but this was still a lot more then most people saw of him.
He stood up giving Stephanie a snort as she got in a ready position to fight. "Tell me, what do you want form me Jason, Now!" She demanded.