This is a series of one-shots picked out of my main story History of the BatFamily. They should be easy enough to understand with just a general understanding of the family. I'll try and give some subtle explanations here and there. Each chapter will be unique and there isn't really an overarching story here. Time frames should be very evident in each story.
To everyone who came here from History, welcome! This is where a lot of the fluff and drama that was supposed to be in that story went. It turned into more of a general info dump than anything else, which is still useful to newcomers. Anyway… I just got back to school so things might slow down for a month or two. Don't give up hope, everything will be finished!
"Spoiler, pay attention." The harsh growl of the Dark Knight jostled Stephanie from her daydream. Well it was more like a nightdream at this hour. She'd been thinking about finally nailing a batarang target at 50 feet and how impressed everyone would be.
"Yeah, sorry Bats." The costumed teen vigilante hopped down from her perch atop a shipping crate. "What was the plan again?"
He gave her a stern Bat-glare. "Team one infiltrates the warehouse and breaks up the drug compound inside. Team two holds the perimeter and catches any stragglers. You and Robin are Team two."
Spoiler smiled under her mask. The amount of time she got alone with her boyfriend on missions was slim. Glancing at the boy wonder, Spoiler was dismayed to see him as stoic as ever. Orders from the Bat would do that to him. Outside of the job he could be a great guy, but right now he was a real soldier.
"If Spoiler and I are out here, who's going in with you to deal with the guards?" Robin crossed his arms. He was used to being the one who Batman always trusted to have his back.
"The new Batgirl. You two have seven minutes to get into position. Don't let anyone get away." With that the Bat turned and slipped into the shadows of the docks.
A new Batgirl?! Since when? Stephanie knew that Oracle had held that name ages ago. At least five years. Then something terrible happened and now the red-headed hacker was confined to a wheelchair. Batgirl was a legend even in the vigilante community, not just anyone could pick up the name.
Steph quickly pinned Robin to the shipping crate he was leaning against. "Hey, what do you know about this new Batgirl?"
"Uh, not a lot. She's pretty new, just a couple weeks in costume. But she's some kind of fighting prodigy. Insane skills." He was squirming being so close to her. It was nice to have this power.
"Does Oracle know?"
"Yeah. She was the one who recommended the name."
Their coms beeped. "Five minutes. Move. Now." The Bat didn't sound pleased. Spoiler reluctantly let Robin slide away from her and shrug before grappling away. Realizing that she too would need to find a better vantage point, Spoiler grappled away in the opposite direction.
She'd worked with Oracle and the Birds of Prey for a while now. Even though she still didn't know everyone's real names, she felt like at least they trusted her on some level. Batman had even asked her along on this mission. Well, as crowd control but still. She was in the circle, or whatever that phrase was.
Never once had Oracle even hinted at letting someone else use the Batgirl identity. And now this usurper just waltzes right in like it's nothing. She must really be one hell of a prodigy for Oracle to take to her so quickly. Steph had only recently learned that Oracle's real name was Barbra. And it's not like she was even allowed to call her that over the coms.
Spoiler had just made it to a good perch on a loading crane when gunfire rang out inside the warehouse. Not twenty seconds later she spotted a man running for his life down the edge of the pier.
"I got one over here." Spoiler called in her attack as she shot a line to an adjacent crane and swung down towards him. Using all of her momentum, Spoiler knocked him flat on the concrete. Then quickly zip tied his hands together and hauled him over to a post which she used to secure him.
"What the…the hell was that? Twenty guys gone in a second! Like they were shooting at smoke. No one moves that fast!" He was babbling.
"Yeah, yeah. The big scary Bat. I've heard it before." Spoiler was just about to grapple away.
"No not Batman. I've seen him work before. This was…somethin' else. The damn angel of death." The look in his eyes was not only of fear but of awe. Okay. Fighting prodigy, she was.
When Stephanie finally met the elusive new Batgirl, it was at Barbra's loft/headquarters. Both of them were there for patrol orders that Barbra would never give out over the coms. It was always something about cyber security and required personal interaction. Really it was just to establish a sense of community among the vigilantes of Gotham.
Steph immediately recognized the Batgirl motif even if it was significantly altered for the new wearer. She was standing just a few feet behind Barbra, watching the information specialist whirl through drifts of data. Her costume was honestly off-putting. Bats was intentionally scary, but she was just plain spooky.
"Spoiler, good. You've got sectors 9 through 12 tonight. I'll be on coms and Batgirl here is your nearest backup. You two know each other, right?" Barbra turned to address the young heroes.
"Only by reputation." Spoiler crossed her arms and starred down the newer hero.
"Well then today's a good a day as any." Barb smiled. She knew Stephanie would come around eventually, she just had to see the person behind the Batgirl mask.
After throwing another glare at Batgirl without any response, Spoiler walked to the terrace and grappled to the adjacent building. Silently, the new vigilante followed.
The night was fairly uneventful. A few minor skirmishes and one robbery but nothing that memorable. Spoiler spent most of her time trying to hail Robin on the coms without anyone noticing. And she failed miserably.
The purple hooded kid-vigilante was sitting on the ledge of a high rise when she felt a presence behind her. Batgirl stood in the shadows not two feet away.
"Jeez. Give me a warning when you sneak up on me would ya?" Spoiler was startled but didn't want to show it too much. Instead of responding Batgirl simply extended her hand towards the ledge as if asking permission.
"It's not my personal ledge. Sit if you want." Spoiler wasn't pleased to have the company of this specific bat.
"You are mad at me." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Batgirl's voice wasn't anything like Spoiler had imagined it would be. She sounded… peaceful.
"Well, yeah I guess. You show up out of nowhere and just start prancing around as Batgirl. That name means a lot you know!"
"You want it." Batgirl tapped her insignia on her chest. Stephanie was a bit embarrassed.
"I…uh…yeah, yeah I do. I've known Oracle for over a year now. Why didn't she say anything to me?"
"She says you are immature." Coming from Batgirl it didn't sound like an insult, just a fact.
"Yeah, I've heard that before." Spoiler pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Everyone says that."
"I need to be immature."
"What?" Spoiler cautiously glanced at the other hero.
Batgirl shook her head. "Speaking is hard. I just started."
"You just started…speaking?" Now Spoiler was definitely weary. This girl was not normal. Not even vigilante-normal.
Batgirl waved her hand in dismissal. "Fun. I need to be fun."
It took Stephanie a second to figure it out. This girl seemed to be very uptight and reserved, almost as bad as Batman. No doubt Barbra was trying to get her to lighten up a bit. So, the two of them got partnered up with the hopes of Stephanie working some of her trademark charm to get through to the other girl. For once her attribute of being a bad influence was paying off!
"If there's one thing I can do better than any bat, it's fun. Stick with me and you won't regret it." Despite everything, Stephanie was looking forward to corrupting this innocent soul with cheesy movies, video games, annoying song lyrics and pulling pranks. Batgirl, after all, was a just name, what did it really matter?
Stephanie immediately launched into a tirade of potential shenanigans while Batgirl quietly listened. It seemed natural for them, one jabbering away and the other silently contemplating.
"We are friends now." This sounded more like a question, hesitant and slow.
"Yeah, I guess you could say we are." Stephanie smiled under her mask.
In one swift motion, Batgirl removed her cowl. Tousling her short black hair, she simply stated: "Cassandra."
Spoiler likewise pulled back her hood and removed her mask. "Stephanie."
The duo smiled like Cheshire cats. They knew that despite their differences, they were both genuinely kind people. In this line of work, that trait was hard to come by.
Stephanie stood and pulled her mask back in place. "First order of business: ice cream."
Cassandra looked puzzled. "No eating on patrol."
"Oh, you little bundle of innocence. Come on, we're gonna gorge ourselves on unnecessarily sugary dairy products."