[FIC] Back to Before (1/32)
Title: Chapter One: Back to Before
Pairing/Characters: Stephanie Brown/Jason Todd
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 1350
Continuity: This takes place after The Revenge of the Red Hood arc of Batman and Robin. Stephanie hasn't been Batgirl for that long.
Summary: Stephanie is going around on her nightly sweep of Gotham when she runs into a group of thugs doing things they shouldn't be. Then, just as she's about to leave, someone who she may or may not be familiar with shows up...
Disclaimer: DC's characters, not mine.
It was Oracle’s fault she was in this situation in the first place. If she had at least given her a warning as to what she was getting herself into, things might have ended up a little differently. But for some reason that didn’t happen. And she was stuck fighting a dozen thieves or so alone. Batgirl was handling herself pretty well all things considered. The first two went down pretty quickly. Their reflexes weren’t the greatest and their timing was a little slow. A single strike to the gut took the both of them out. The third man, the only one with a visible weapon, a crowbar, came at her from behind while the fourth and fifth charged at her from the front. They were defeated just as easily as the first two, thanks to the Batarangs in her utility belt.
She wasn’t so lucky with the next four. They had her surrounded and attacked swiftly. She was overwhelmed at this point. It was almost as if they were prepared for this. Something in her utility belt might have helped her defeat them, but she was out of Batarangs and everything else would have caused too much damage. The largest one of the group managed to land a punch in her chest. Her breath seemed to escape her and before she was given a chance to catch it, two fists clenched together were thrust into her lower back, sending her flying into the ice cold brick wall.
Within five more rounds of punches from the men, she was on the ground. Luck didn’t seem to be on her side that night. That is, until she heard a voice in her head, telling her not to give up. Batgirl was always good at motivating herself when she needed to. She stood up and decided to take more control over this battle. The men who decided they were going to beat up on Batgirl were going to get a piece of her mind… and of her fist. They each hit the ground within seconds, moaning in pain. She quickly turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the remaining three men standing, ready to come at her.
“C’mon boys. Show me what you’ve got.” Taunting always seemed to work well when she was fighting groups of men. There was just something about a girl in a Batsuit stepping all over their masculinity that really got their egos bruised. They charged at her one by one and were quickly dealt with. This mission wasn’t as difficult as she thought it might be. That is, until she heard some movement behind her, and then a loud thud. Whatever happened, she was on her guard.
In the corner of her eye, she could see one of her Batarangs on the ground. In a split second it was whizzing toward the noise. She didn’t hear it collide with anything. Did someone catch it? It wasn’t possible, was it? It was dark and all was still.
“I someone there?” She questioned the darkness, ready and anticipating any danger that would possibly come her way. The young blonde woman in the bat costume took a step forward into the night. All of the men were out so she quickly ruled them out.
Are there more of them?
“Yes, there is someone here, Batgirl. I’m pretty sure you might have even heard of me.” A young man, stepped out from the shadows into the moonlight. He was tall and well built. He was wearing an outfit that was all too familiar to her. It was Jason Todd; also known as the Red Hood. What was he doing out here? Was he looking to start something with her.
“Red Hood?” Her anxiety subsided, but she was still on alert. A visit from Jason Todd could only mean one thing. Trouble.
“So you have heard of me. How delightful. I’m honored really.” He took another step forward and then looked back at the bodies all around them. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Batgirl interrupted him.
“What do you want?” She remained stern and unwavering. It was her job to make it clear to him that she wanted nothing to do with him. On the interior of her cowl, Oracle’s voice could be heard coming through her communicator.
“Did I just hear you right? Did you just say Red Hood?” She sounded worried. And she very well had the right to be worried. If the Red Hood wanted trouble, then trouble was what he was going to get. And with Dick and Damian doing their own thing at the moment, if she needed any help, she wouldn’t be getting it from any of the other Bats.
“Yeah, but don’t worry. I think I’ve got things under control…” Batgirl was trying her hardest to seem confident, but something just didn’t feel right about this meeting.
“Is that old Batman on the other line? Or might it be young Batman?” If the red hood wasn’t completely covering his head, Batgirl could see the sinister smile smacked across his face. He was too cocky and she couldn’t stand it at all.
“It’s Oracle if you must know.” Oracle’s voice was still coming through the communicator, but Batgirl was tuning her out so that she could focus on the task at hand: figuring out what in the hell Jason Todd wanted with her and why.
“Ahh… Oracle. I haven’t heard her voice in a long time. Tell her hello for me will ya?” He continued making confident, arrogant strides over toward her, and in turn, she took steps backward. The more distance between them, the better.
“And what makes you think that I would do something like that…” she paused for a moment, trying to let him know that she was completely under control of the situation. Or at least make him think that she was under control… “Hood.”
The Red Hood finally stopped in his slow pursuit of her. He was in the dead center of the alleyway, the light from the moon reflecting on his helmet. Inspecting the bodies all around them, he began clapping. “Good work, Batgirl. I see Batman taught you well.” She clenched her fist in frustration. He was going to try and get under her skin and she didn’t like it. “But you know, before you let your guard down, you could at least make sure that none of your enemies are going to get back up and shoot you.” He threw the Batarang that Batgirl had thrown unknowingly at him minutes before at one of the thugs. Who had a gun in his hand aiming it at Batgirl.
“Ah… thanks.” She was hesitant to give him any gratitude. Something was up.
“Anything to help out a fellow vigilante. A friend of Bruce’s is a friend of mine.” His laugh was menacing and unpleasant. “Now would you mind if we went somewhere a little more comfortable to chat?
“I would, in fact, mind. Now if you don’t mind, I have other places to be and other crime to fight. Thank you for helping me out. See ya.” She escaped into the shadows and began running between buildings, hoping to lose him as quickly as possible.
Just as she pulled out her grappling hook, she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her backward onto the ground. “I wasn’t done talking you know.” It was the Red Hood. Again. And he didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
“Did you really have to pull me back that hard? Jeez.” She scoffed as she picked herself back up, brushing last week’s leftover garbage. She figured that she might as well give him the time of day and hear him out. She knew that Barbara wouldn’t approve, but for some reason she didn’t feel threatened by him.
“Now, about that more comfortable place…” He said, removing his mask to reveal a handsome chiseled face that had been somewhat worn from years of battle and trauma. Batgirl could tell that that night was going to be a long night.
Pairing/Characters: Stephanie Brown/Jason Todd
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 1350
Continuity: This takes place after The Revenge of the Red Hood arc of Batman and Robin. Stephanie hasn't been Batgirl for that long.
Summary: Stephanie is going around on her nightly sweep of Gotham when she runs into a group of thugs doing things they shouldn't be. Then, just as she's about to leave, someone who she may or may not be familiar with shows up...
Disclaimer: DC's characters, not mine.
It was Oracle’s fault she was in this situation in the first place. If she had at least given her a warning as to what she was getting herself into, things might have ended up a little differently. But for some reason that didn’t happen. And she was stuck fighting a dozen thieves or so alone. Batgirl was handling herself pretty well all things considered. The first two went down pretty quickly. Their reflexes weren’t the greatest and their timing was a little slow. A single strike to the gut took the both of them out. The third man, the only one with a visible weapon, a crowbar, came at her from behind while the fourth and fifth charged at her from the front. They were defeated just as easily as the first two, thanks to the Batarangs in her utility belt.
She wasn’t so lucky with the next four. They had her surrounded and attacked swiftly. She was overwhelmed at this point. It was almost as if they were prepared for this. Something in her utility belt might have helped her defeat them, but she was out of Batarangs and everything else would have caused too much damage. The largest one of the group managed to land a punch in her chest. Her breath seemed to escape her and before she was given a chance to catch it, two fists clenched together were thrust into her lower back, sending her flying into the ice cold brick wall.
Within five more rounds of punches from the men, she was on the ground. Luck didn’t seem to be on her side that night. That is, until she heard a voice in her head, telling her not to give up. Batgirl was always good at motivating herself when she needed to. She stood up and decided to take more control over this battle. The men who decided they were going to beat up on Batgirl were going to get a piece of her mind… and of her fist. They each hit the ground within seconds, moaning in pain. She quickly turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the remaining three men standing, ready to come at her.
“C’mon boys. Show me what you’ve got.” Taunting always seemed to work well when she was fighting groups of men. There was just something about a girl in a Batsuit stepping all over their masculinity that really got their egos bruised. They charged at her one by one and were quickly dealt with. This mission wasn’t as difficult as she thought it might be. That is, until she heard some movement behind her, and then a loud thud. Whatever happened, she was on her guard.
In the corner of her eye, she could see one of her Batarangs on the ground. In a split second it was whizzing toward the noise. She didn’t hear it collide with anything. Did someone catch it? It wasn’t possible, was it? It was dark and all was still.
“I someone there?” She questioned the darkness, ready and anticipating any danger that would possibly come her way. The young blonde woman in the bat costume took a step forward into the night. All of the men were out so she quickly ruled them out.
Are there more of them?
“Yes, there is someone here, Batgirl. I’m pretty sure you might have even heard of me.” A young man, stepped out from the shadows into the moonlight. He was tall and well built. He was wearing an outfit that was all too familiar to her. It was Jason Todd; also known as the Red Hood. What was he doing out here? Was he looking to start something with her.
“Red Hood?” Her anxiety subsided, but she was still on alert. A visit from Jason Todd could only mean one thing. Trouble.
“So you have heard of me. How delightful. I’m honored really.” He took another step forward and then looked back at the bodies all around them. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Batgirl interrupted him.
“What do you want?” She remained stern and unwavering. It was her job to make it clear to him that she wanted nothing to do with him. On the interior of her cowl, Oracle’s voice could be heard coming through her communicator.
“Did I just hear you right? Did you just say Red Hood?” She sounded worried. And she very well had the right to be worried. If the Red Hood wanted trouble, then trouble was what he was going to get. And with Dick and Damian doing their own thing at the moment, if she needed any help, she wouldn’t be getting it from any of the other Bats.
“Yeah, but don’t worry. I think I’ve got things under control…” Batgirl was trying her hardest to seem confident, but something just didn’t feel right about this meeting.
“Is that old Batman on the other line? Or might it be young Batman?” If the red hood wasn’t completely covering his head, Batgirl could see the sinister smile smacked across his face. He was too cocky and she couldn’t stand it at all.
“It’s Oracle if you must know.” Oracle’s voice was still coming through the communicator, but Batgirl was tuning her out so that she could focus on the task at hand: figuring out what in the hell Jason Todd wanted with her and why.
“Ahh… Oracle. I haven’t heard her voice in a long time. Tell her hello for me will ya?” He continued making confident, arrogant strides over toward her, and in turn, she took steps backward. The more distance between them, the better.
“And what makes you think that I would do something like that…” she paused for a moment, trying to let him know that she was completely under control of the situation. Or at least make him think that she was under control… “Hood.”
The Red Hood finally stopped in his slow pursuit of her. He was in the dead center of the alleyway, the light from the moon reflecting on his helmet. Inspecting the bodies all around them, he began clapping. “Good work, Batgirl. I see Batman taught you well.” She clenched her fist in frustration. He was going to try and get under her skin and she didn’t like it. “But you know, before you let your guard down, you could at least make sure that none of your enemies are going to get back up and shoot you.” He threw the Batarang that Batgirl had thrown unknowingly at him minutes before at one of the thugs. Who had a gun in his hand aiming it at Batgirl.
“Ah… thanks.” She was hesitant to give him any gratitude. Something was up.
“Anything to help out a fellow vigilante. A friend of Bruce’s is a friend of mine.” His laugh was menacing and unpleasant. “Now would you mind if we went somewhere a little more comfortable to chat?
“I would, in fact, mind. Now if you don’t mind, I have other places to be and other crime to fight. Thank you for helping me out. See ya.” She escaped into the shadows and began running between buildings, hoping to lose him as quickly as possible.
Just as she pulled out her grappling hook, she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her backward onto the ground. “I wasn’t done talking you know.” It was the Red Hood. Again. And he didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
“Did you really have to pull me back that hard? Jeez.” She scoffed as she picked herself back up, brushing last week’s leftover garbage. She figured that she might as well give him the time of day and hear him out. She knew that Barbara wouldn’t approve, but for some reason she didn’t feel threatened by him.
“Now, about that more comfortable place…” He said, removing his mask to reveal a handsome chiseled face that had been somewhat worn from years of battle and trauma. Batgirl could tell that that night was going to be a long night.