I just finished reading a brand-new favorite Harlequin romance novel, "His Bride with Two Royal Secrets" by Marcella Bell. Exquisite, a marriage of convenience that turns into something more, and a plan to bring down the husband's tyrannical father. It's gonna be the novel inspiration for this story along with fics.

Still know nothing fully in-depth about Stephanie Brown, but enough to have this tale get by, so I thought of something

Title: Vows of Revenge by Dani Collins.

Chapter Two

Promises of Revenge - Part One

Bruce Wayne really did hide everything well, did he? Not that anyone should be surprised anymore, the pro he was.

"What...now?" Cassandra whispered, horrified and allowing Damian to move closer towards her just as she did the same.

The headlines wouldn't cease ever since that day, and what they found from the Batcomputer was hell on earth unleashed. It started with Dick and everything they never knew about, which released the can of worms. Stephanie could only cover her mouth, Cass sobbing without sounds, and Damian snarled and hissed with vengeance.

"...let them capture you, let Luthor KILL you."

"I was trying to SAVE people!"

"I trained you to live, and I watched you die!"

Dick NEVER faked his death, to begin with. He could have told them everything, that Bruce made him go undercover, but he was a martyr. He was another Robin - former, in his case - to end up dead in the long list of Batman's soldiers while the man himself "thrived" on. Lex Luthor did the job of shoving the pill down Dick's throat, then revived him after the bomb was dismantled, but now this. None of them saw the corpse, for it had been a closed-casket funeral; how could they have let this happen?! No doubt Jason never knew this, and if he knew should she see him again, she could imagine the loathing and regret he'd feel.

Bruce made Dick fake his death so he could send him to Spyral. Something Dick never wanted in the first place. He even mentioned all their names, knowing how much it would murder them.

Bruce gaslit him to make him the villain, while the true villain maintained his reputation as the hero he no longer was. He wanted to talk about sacrifices when everyone else gave up who and what they loved while getting nothing in return. While he willingly gave everything up and relished victory over having friends and loved ones to fight for?

Stephanie had to pause the footage. She didn't have the strength to watch anymore, maybe some other day.

"...monster."

"I'll take it to Jon's father," Damian announced, foaming at the mouth, figuratively speaking. "He'll take my word over the Batman. He'll see it with his own eyes."

One word, none other than "Superman", and the Man of Steel himself was here to witness the monstrosity in this safehouse of Damian's which he'd had thanks to his mother's influence.

~o~

People on social media raged against the banishment of Red Hood by Batman's hands, whilst the GCPD itself let the case go cold in a few months.

Batman is a monster, one snarled on Twitter, because now I don't feel safe! What if I inevitably do something that triggers him and he assaults me for the wrong reasons?

Another attacked that one personally: Your fault for getting his attention then.

That person got a comeback not from the one they verbally assaulted, but from someone else. Says the one who obviously lives in a privileged area or in a part that doesn't get attacked by the bigger-scaled rogues a lot! Wash your mouth with soap before you think of opening it.

All in all, people were losing faith in the Bat. That had to be a sign, right? Yet at the same time, it was scary because of the criminal element who were starting to calm down before the storm.

Videos posted by people from the Narrows and Crime Alley unleashed the worst expletives while burning it through that the Caped Crusader never stepped foot in their neighborhoods unless something truly went on a grand scale; not once did he swoop in and save them while they were mugged, raped, or being murdered. Red Hood gave a bigger shit. Now F%#& Batman was a popular trend on the web that couldn't be put back in the box.

~o~

The digging had been done thanks to Tim's help, and eventually, right after showing him the footage once Stephanie was sure to trust him fully with their rebellion, the horror on his face was imminent as his faith in Batman was shattered forever.

"I never...I never got to tell Dick I was sorry. We..." He choked on his words and his coffee at the same time.

You two looked like "brothers" on the outside, but there's never been real healing. We've all been screwed over and manipulated, but some of that lies within each other. Damian isn't trying to kill you anymore, Jason's eyes opened up after the Pit rage decreased, but Dick just thought everything would magically be okay one day.

Now Dick is gone.

Although, she had plans for that since she hadn't seen him for ages. She had to do it discreetly, though and had no idea where it would go from there.

"We're gonna tear Bruce's world apart," she announced. "Using the evidence we have on him. Damian plans to take it up with Superman, and then we can get the League's attention without the Bat over our shoulders. While that works, someone has to reach Talia al Ghul."

Shock and dismay, combined with hesitancy, came first, but eventually, the deal was done. A lot of work needed to be done, and they listed everything off while in Tim's safehouse this time:

Damian needed to be taken out of the house, but that would require good lawyers, and who would be willing to take him in.

Someone had to protect Crime Alley and the rest of Gotham while evading Batman.

And that leaves our lives outside the capes. This war has been Bruce's, not ours, but it's our home. We're Gotham's blood, not him.

Stephanie Brown understood where Jason Todd came from because she had a lot in common with him - abusive sperm donors and moms who loved us but turned to drugs to cope with the hardships - and kept quiet just to keep B off her ass. They could have become the best of friends, but the asshole forbade it. Those days were over, and not just in her head.

Bruce was going to get a new public enemy number one someday, but it wouldn't come from the rogues.

It began when the Justice League was given the proof of Batman's deeds, along with the newly discovered evidence as to why the Penguin was shot. The blank didn't kill him, but while he was in surgery and still alive at the time, it was leaked out that an old hired hand who luckily escaped his payroll snuck into the hospital and KILLED him while making a "mistake" during the procedure, getting away scot-free and covering his tracks until Oracle found out.

Gotham's corrupt system meant that he was free to go, on a plea bargain joined with probation. One of the few times the renegade Batkids could call a blessing.

On that day of the jury's decision, outside the courthouse, there were more Batman haters and cheers for the Penguin's death. Some also called for Red Hood justice and the Bat's expulsion from "our city".

It took a few weeks and careful planning, but eventually, the Justice League held a press conference and announced everything to the world.

~o~

She visited her mom in rehab when the news broke on the news, Superman's statement rocking everyone.

"We don't condone working with abusers of any kind - not even when it's a friend." Anyone close to him, except Steph herself because the boys were tighter with him than she'd been, could see that he was withholding his betrayed emotions. "The League intends to vote on whether or not to keep him around as soon as possible, and if anyone spots him - victim and criminals alike - just shout my name, Superboy's, or Supergirl's, and we will come running, whether he has Kryptonite or not. And to keep yourselves safe, people of Gotham, consult with your local lawmakers and with each other for defense measures. The rest of us in the Justice League is still there for you, and so are the younger heroes around the country and the world."

And wasn't that a sign of hope? Only the worse in terms of riots in the streets, namely in Crime Alley and the Narrows, would be posted everywhere. Graffiti of F%#& Batmanand OUR CITY, NOT THE BAT'Smade their way nearly everywhere, along with similar signs in protests taken to the streets. Civil rights? They were basically told "screw you" without words.

The ones defending Batman were the one-percenters and privileged middle-class who said they felt safe, and surprise, surprise, Brucie Wayne had to put himself in that position.

They all got rotten tomatoes and the likes thrown at them in response, and attacked on social media, too.

Crystal whistled as she reclined in her chair, in the room she was given; her daughter sat opposite her. "Well, I'll be damned. Not that I'm surprised in the slightest," she muttered, shaking her head. "Bet everyone in the Alley is in a riot. Been seeing some of that on the screen."

Nothing's getting fixed overnight, but it's a step.

Tim Drake, a couple of months later, announced he was returning the Wayne name and getting away from Bruce, right after taking his sweet time to free Drake Industries and establishing his independence, thus delivering massive blows to Wayne Enterprises stocks.

He didn't get anything as worse as Dick and Jason, but no one could ever forget the blow to his face after Selina left Bruce. That solidified Alfred's status as the enabler.

~o~

"Stephanie Brown - or Spoiler?"

"Talia," she answered readily. She was still within the safehouse while Cass and Tim were busy out on patrol, doing their best to mitigate the damage caused by Batman's actions, and from everything they brought back to her while she busied herself with her studies, now considering doing classes online while going into the hospital for work when it called for it. Future plan, at least, when this current year was over.

Damian's mother regarded her on the phone screen, this being his connected, secured, and secret line between only the two of them when his sperm donor was unaware. "I have several ideas as to the nature of this call, Miss Brown," she said. "One of whom concerns my son - both of them."

This was the first time she was hearing this, so Stephanie had to ask. "Jason...you consider him one of your own, like Damian is?"

Talia nodded, plum-wine lips pursed. "My father brought him back to life out of guilt for the deal with the Joker, but upon his resurrection, Jason while in survival mode escaped Ra's al Ghul's grasp. His army searched and failed to find him, but I did. I kept him safe and nurtured him back to health, trained him, and helped him get back to Gotham. I did not know the full extent of the story behind the appearance of the new Robin then - Timothy - and neither did he. I failed in that regard." And there was no way in hell you could fake the sorrow in her eyes and voice, classy at its finest and genuine. "Nonetheless, I'm proud of the man he is now if Wayne refuses to see it." That meant Bruce saw the child Jason was, and not who he was now. That was bullshit that happened to other people every day, and he thought they were exempt all because they sacrificed what they wanted as human beings. Wasn't that who and what they were in the end, human?

The answer was yes. No if, and, or but.

"You wonder where he is now. I cannot divulge if his attacker intends to come and retrieve him for what he deems as 'proper punishment'," Talia said, voice cold as ice and powerful as the sword she wielded.

Stephanie quickly shook her head. "No, we're leaving Bruce. We're all turning Gotham against him, but he also did that himself." She smirked. "You should look into it sometime, Talia."

A smirk. "I intend to. Then in answer to your question, he's safe in my care. Unfortunately, he's in a coma, and there is no telling when he will wake up."

It seemed as if the world had come to an end.

When this got back to the Justice League, then that son of a bitch would really be in for it now. She knew how the others were going to react once she told them as soon as the call ended. "Talia," Steph said after a long pause, "we got stuff going on here at home, but I have a life of my own that's good for me. Someone has to keep your son safe, and the one who could have continued doing that has amnesia and wants nothing to do with his old life. We can't force him into anything, so we're all Damian has..." She took a deep breath.

"...and Jason needs us, too. We had every chance there was to get to know him - actually, not completely true. I should have been his best friend the most. We have a similar background. He and Tim are on good terms, Cass likes him and knows how much killing cuts into him every time he has to do it. Dick still is his big brother, no matter what."

Talia's face softened by the time she was done speaking. She took everything without an interruption or air of judgment. "What's done is done, but you'll be helping him now. I fear the worst now that the man he'd once trusted has betrayed him this way. I fear he would wish for death to come and claim him." Stephanie closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose, scared to her core at THAT. "Is there anything I can do for the lot of you until we meet face to face?"

Stephanie knew she was going to hell for this, but just because she lost faith in Batman's way, it didn't mean she wouldn't give up helping people. That meant starting somewhere without getting the blood directly on her hands - until she was ready.

The bloodlust was always there, suppressed, and now it was beginning to come out in a small way. A long time coming.

"First thing I want to be done are the deaths of Black Mask and Cluemaster - the man who nearly caused my death, and my father who doesn't deserve the title, like Jason's didn't...and now Bruce."

Next chapter shall be a continuation of this one, as hinted by the title. Ideas, please!

Can someone tell me what became of Roman Sionis after issue six or seven of the RHATO Rebirth run? After Jason gained Artemis and Bizarro? I know he was rendered semi-comatose and in the care of Ma Gunn. (demon face)