Chapter Text
계절에 흩날려
She had been one of the many people rushed into the West Mercy Hospital’s emergency room that night.
A bomb had gone off at Gotham First National Bank. One that had not only destroyed the entire foundation of the bank itself, but had also managed to spread and damage up to a 5km radius of building’s surroundings.
It was an absolute disaster.
One of the worst Gotham has seen in a while, which was saying a lot considering the city’s reputation. Almost all emergency services in Gotham were alive and scrambling to put out the massive fires that had broken out as a result of the bomb’s initial denotation. It was like racing against a ticking timebomb. The longer the emergency services took to curb the fire, the higher the death toll was rising – countless of lives were still at risk.
From the rubble, she was one of the few lucky people dug out by firefighters and sent for immediate medical attention. Normally, medical professionals would respect the cowl, and would leave it on during any emergency medical procedures (obviously due to the fear of what the Bats would do to them if they ever found out that one of their own had been unmasked without consent). But at a time like this, all form of formal procedure went out of the window. They had to act fast to stop the internal bleeding inside her head, so they unmasked her.
She was lucky to be alive after coming into such close contact with the bomb – she must have taken some form of cover during the denotation process, but there was no way she couldn’t come out of being crushed by a building unscathed. Her body laid on the operating table, damaged and in desperate need for medical attention.
By the end of the night, with the overflowing amount of bodies that had been brought it, they eventually lost track and had completely forgot about their unmasked patient. Their minds elsewhere as they rushed to do their inclined medical duty to save as many lives as they possibly could.
ER Nurse Crystal Brown stared down at the purple and black bagged costume in her hands before looking back to the owner’s face. She felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. It was like the Gang War all over again, only this time, she might actually lose her daughter for real.
She always had her suspicious about the identity of the new blonde Batgirl roaming around Gotham, but she had faith in her daughter. She had faith that Stephanie had turned her back on the vigilante lifestyle like she had promised her, hanging up her old Spoiler costume and was more focused on furthering her studies now. Clearly, she had been gravely mistaken, her hands unconsciously clenched the costume.
“Nurse Brown,” A voice pulled her from her thoughts, she slipped the costume behind her back, obscuring it from the vision of the younger nurse who had called for her. “Do you remember which patient it was that we had to unmask during the emergency surgery?” she asked her.
“No, I’m sorry, Annie.” She lied right through her teeth. “Why? Is it an urgent matter?”
“Nah, the other nurses just wanted to see who could remember. It’s not every day we get to unmask a Bat, you know.” And there it was.
Crystal bit the inside of her mouth, controlling her emotions to not give anything away. “Well, considering it’s a Bat. She’s probably long gone by now.” She reasoned.
“True,” said Annie. “But rumour has it that her injuries were pretty severe. If we’re lucky, we might actually be able to put an ID to her while she’s out.”
She was almost afraid to ask, “And then what?”
Annie shrugged before replying offhandedly, “Dunno.” Lie. “Anyway, I’ve got to run my rounds.” Annie turned away, starting to leave, but not before one last glance at the top of the empty bedside table.
The moment she was out of hearing range, Crystal approached the ward’s door, shutting it firmly close before locking it. She rested her head against the door, feeling as if the weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulders.
She knew what Annie was playing at, and honestly it wasn’t surprising considering the amount of corruption within the Gotham Crime Police Department as it was. If one institution was compromised, it wouldn’t come as a shock to her that there would some form of corruption within the Gotham medical system either. It was rare. No, almost unheard of to unmask a Bat but it had been done last night. However, as luck would have it, the influx of patients last night meant that without her cowl, Batgirl was just another patient amoungst the crowd.
Crystal had to admit, she got lucky last night.
She was lucky to have been there for the emergency surgery and historical unmasking of Batgirl, and she was grateful that her maternal instincts had kicked in. It had led her to immediately bag the costume before concealing it in her own clothes as she single-handedly carted her daughter away to a private room to rest. She had intentionally made sure that all records of the procedure last night did not identify her daughter as Batgirl, listing her down as a ‘Civilian’, and she would like to keep it that way.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t control the rumour mill that had spread across the healthcare staff, which was probably what had sparked Annie’s ‘check-ups’. Knowing the background of some of the staff here, there were probably more than few people going around, spotting for a Batgirl costume.
Her tired eyes flickered at the costume in her palm, the symbol of the bat, the ‘protector’ of Gotham glaring right back at her. “No matter how much I try to protect her, your crusade always ends up pulling her back in.” whispered Crystal, her eyes looking back at her daughter – her daughter’s face. It brought tears to her eyes. “This time it’ll be different.” She whispered as she walked towards her, reaching out as she stroked her daughter’s face.
This time nobody was going to leak her daughter’s identity to the press again.
It had happened before, the first time when Stephanie Brown had ‘died’ but she wasn’t going to let it happen again. There was no way she was going to let her daughter become a scapegoat for last night’s events, not when she had been following orders. Whenever incidents like these happened, everyone needed a scapegoat. Someone to blame, and who better than the vigilante who was right in the middle of it all.
‘Not on my watch.’
“How is she?” asked Doctor Johns, picking up the clipboard at the side of her bed.
Over the course of the night, and to further blend her daughter into the mass of West Mercy patients, Crystal had transferred her daughter into the main ICU ward. One that was more crowded with people. Amoungst them, she was just another unfortunate victim of the fire that had broken out.
His tired grey eyes glanced over at the patient, he almost winced from all the visible bruising and bandaging he saw. ‘She must have been closer to the detonation point.’ His eyes shifted as he flipped over at the notes. ‘Burns of varying degrees, most were third-degree and some were fourth-degree.’
“She’s still the same,” responded Crystal. “Her vitals have not changed.”
It was clear to the man that Nurse Brown had not left this patient’s side all night. As odd as it was, he couldn’t say he was surprised considering the severity of her condition, physical appearance aside. From the report, there had been quite a bit of internal organ damage and a lot of broken bones as well. ‘Aside from that… wait,’ his eyes narrowed in specifically as he focused in on one part of the report, ‘These results…’ His hands moved to grab the pen in his white coat pocket.
“Doctor Johns?” Crystal raised a brow as she watched the man write.
When he was done, he held the clipboard out for her to take. “Send a sample of the patient’s blood to the lab for the following tests.”
“Understood.” Replied Crystal, taking the clipboard before tucking it under her arm.
“Do you know who this patient’s emergency contact is?” asked Doctor Johns, his eyes looking back at her face. “I might need to arrange a consultation with them after I review the tests results.”
“That would be me.” Answered Crystal. “She’s my daughter.”
Doctor Johns’ orbs widened as he stared at her. “What was she doing in that part of town last night?”
Crystal looked over at her daughter, she had prepared for questions like this. “She was visiting a college friend last night. She was on her way home when…” Her voice cracked as she tried not to think about it. She had seen the news coverage this morning about what happened last night, it was an absolute nightmare. The details, the fatality rate… it was too much. And to think that her daughter had been right in the center of all that, it made her sick to her stomach.
He sensed her discomfort, “It’s alright. You don’t have to continue, Nurse Brown.” He placed a comforting arm on her shoulder, his eyes sympathetic.
He was a father himself; he knew the pains of trying to raise a child in a city like Gotham. It wasn’t easy, especially when people could be at the wrong place at the wrong time more frequently than you’d think. You can try so hard to keep them safe but sometimes… uncontrollable things just happen.
‘Oh god,’ he mentally winced as he recalled what he had just instructed her to do. If his suspicions were true, he didn’t know how he was going to have to break it to her. Then again, she was a trained nurse. One look at those tests and she would already know what he suspected. “It’ll be alright. She’ll pull through this.” Never in his life had he felt so guilty about lying to a fellow colleague.
“I know she will.” Whispered Crystal, her eyes glancing over at her daughter’s comatose form. “And when she does, we’re going to have a very long talk about some things.”
떨어진 꽃잎은
Everything hurt, and it sucked.
Her blue eyes flickered for a moment, wincing as they adjusted to the light. ‘Bright…’ she instinctively shut them again. ‘Too bright.’ Her head hurt, she felt so out of it. God, how long has she been out for?
“Stephanie?”
That voice was fuzzy, her eyes opened once more as a face appeared in her peripheral vision. Slowly… everything was starting to come back to her. She knew that voice.
“Mo-m?” There was a pause. She couldn’t really move her neck, but her eyes darted around her surroundings, “Where?”
Crystal had never felt so much relief in her life before, “Shhh, it’s alright, Stephanie.”
Words could not describe the emotions that she felt right now.
It had been weeks, two months since Stephanie had fallen into a comatose state. For days, she waited. At one point, Stephanie was moved again, away from the ICU ward into one of the private rooms. The staff had wanted to give Crystal a space for her to be with her daughter, she was grateful for that. In all honesty, she had never been a religious person before but Crystal prayed for a miracle – prayed for her daughter to open her eyes and wake up again. Just like she had done so before.
She was terrified.
Over the past two months, she had been told to prepare for the worse. Her daughter’s fourth-degree burns, they had been life-threatening and could have ended her if they had not treated her in time. But just because they treated her wounds in time, it didn’t ensure that she would come out of this alive. She had been told by her colleagues to prepare for potentially having to bury her daughter (again), only this time, permanently.
Or, if her daughter was to miraculously wake up, prepare for her to not remember.
Amnesia.
It was a stretch but still a possibility from the amount of trauma her body had gone through. However, considering her daughter’s first two words… she was fine. She remembered, and she was alive and here with her right now. ‘And that’s all that matters.’ Her mind didn’t dare think further, “We’re going to be alright.”
“Ah, Miss Brown.” A voice pulled her attention away from her mother, she couldn’t really turn her head but the man had walked to her side, into her vision. “I’m Doctor Johns, you’re in West Mercy Hospital.”
“Are you mad at me?” It came out as a whisper.
Immediately, a silence settled between them. Stephanie was almost afraid to look at her mother, but she couldn’t exactly look anywhere else at that point, she had a broken neck for goodness sakes. Besides, she knew she’d have to ask. She had to know, she remembered that night clearly, maybe a little too clearly.
“Very.” Replied Crystal, her eyes meeting hers. Stephanie flinched under the gaze her mother sent her, but she soon relaxed as it softened, “but you’re alive, and that’s all that matters right now.”
She felt relieved. Now the main question, “So… has my identity been, you know?” ‘Compromised? Known? Revealed to the public?’ Any other word that followed along that line of thought. She had to know.
“No,” She let out a breath that she hadn’t even been aware that she was holding. Her mother shook her head, taking her bandaged hands into hers, “I made sure of it.” The words ‘this time’ were left unsaid but Stephanie could hear it in the back of her mind.
She couldn’t even begin to imagine what her mother had gone through, all the things she had to endure when her identity as Robin had been leaked to the press. It must have been hell for her, all the reporters and members of press constantly tailing her, begging for an interview. The worst part, it must have taken at least a few years until it all blew over.
“So, that’s why he thinks I was civilian.” Said Stephanie, her mind drifting back to when Doctor Johns had briefed her about her condition. She had been terrified that the man would drop his formalities at one point and just straight up call her Batgirl. She couldn’t tell if he had been pretending for her sake or if he really didn’t know, but it was a relief that her mother had helped to conceal her identity. “Thanks, mom. I owe you so much.” She let out a smile as she grinned to her mother, or at least she tried too.
It didn’t last very long.
The look on her mother’s face. It had darkened but not in an angry sort of way – it looked sadder, as if her mother was at a loss. “Mom? What’s wrong?” asked Stephanie, her hands squeezing her mother’s lightly.
Crystal bit back a sob, her mind flashing back to a conversation she had with Doctor Johns.
‘She has to know.’
‘I’ll be the one to tell her.’
“Stephanie,” Crystal began, her eyes meet her daughter’s. “When you came in that night, we performed an emergency operation on you.”
Her daughter nodded in a way, recalling the briefing that Doctor Johns had given her before. “It went well, you treated what had to be treated.” The look on her mother’s face silenced her.
“You nearly died, Stephanie.” The ‘again’ was left unsaid, but it was still there. For a moment, Stephanie thought her mother was going to reprimand her again like she had when she had gotten her to stop being Spoiler but Crystal didn’t, instead, she moved on. “But there was something else that we found out.”
The mask of strength that Crystal had put on began to crack.
“Doctor Johns… " She tried.
“We f – “ She really tried but she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t find the words to say it. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her.
“What is it, mom?” asked Stephanie, her voice much quieter this time. She was nervous, scared. She didn’t know why, but there was just this feeling her in her gut – it wasn’t good news.
“I’m so sorry, Stephanie.” Crystal broke into tears; she cupped her face as she leaned into her daughter’s resting form. “I’m so sorry.”
“Tell me.”
“You ha– “
For the first time in forever, Stephanie Brown felt her world come crashing down.
홀로 남아 외로워
It was supposed to be a short break.
A sort of reward for himself considering that he had wrapped up his case a few days earlier than everyone else had expected him to. It was nice, gave him a small sense of satisfaction and a little bit of time to gather his thoughts. It wasn’t very often that Damian Wayne had time off for himself. Then again, when did he ever really take time off?
If he had to be honest, there was once a time where he was set in his ways, patrolling every night, with or without a partner. Working tirelessly to keep up to his father’s expectations, doing everything he could to please the man who never fully trusted him, despite the fact that it was his blood that ran through his veins. It irked him, and only drove him to push himself to do better, and he was like that for a while. It wasn’t the life a ten-year-old should have, and she had been very vocal about it to him.
Their acquaintance had started off badly, but in the very short amount of time that he had known her, she was one of the few that had treated him as he was – Damian Wayne, a child, and a human being. Not ‘Robin’, the son of the great Batman. Not ‘Ibn’, the grandson of Ra’s al Ghul, the ‘supposed to have been’ heir of the League of Assassins.
No, Stephanie Brown had seen him for who he truly had been.
A child.
One who had grown up too fast in a world too harsh.
He had been deprived of a normal childhood, trained as an assassin from a young age, and as much as he hated to admit it, he had been grateful for the blonde’s attempts to give him ‘the normal full childhood’ experience. They had been fun, and taught him that it was sometimes alright to take breaks from their vigilante lifestyle once in a while.
It brought a ghost of a smile to his lips to remember, but it never lasted long because he always would remember what happened next.
She left.
She quit.
She had walked away from the mantle that she had previously worked so hard to prove to everybody that she was worthy of wearing.
And then, she was gone.
She had left Gotham, and nobody, not even Barbara Gordon nor Wendy Harris could find her.
It was always something that had bothered him for so long, and as much as he denied it, it had hurt him a little.
During their bonding time, he had grown to see her as a sort of sister figure, so for her to walk out of his life all together without a word, it was like a betrayal to him. It had bothered him so much that he had slowly gone back to his old habits – sneaking out to go on solo patrols, pushing himself to his limits and throwing himself more and more into his role as Robin.
But as time had passed, even he couldn’t deny that the weight of his old habits was finally starting to wear him down, so he stopped. He made little adjustments, taking short breaks here and there, but only enough to refresh his mind and gather his thoughts. Perhaps, he couldn’t help but think sometimes, just like how she might have wanted him to do.
‘We’re only human after all.’
The vibration from his smartphone alerted him of an incoming call, he paused in his walk, pulling it out and answering. He didn’t have to look at the caller ID to know who was calling from the other end, “Yes, Gordon?”
He was out of Gotham, out of America completely. Only a few people knew of his solo mission in Brussels, and he sure as hell was certain that his father would be too busy dealing with League business right now to check in on him. Grayson, it could have been a possibility but the man had already called in earlier that day, and the rest of his brothers? Please, Damian was doubtful they would ever bother reach out to him for anything.
“Damian,”
“What do you want, Gordon? The case has already been solved.”
“I know, but there’s been a new situation.” From his silence, Barbara took it as her cue to continue.
A string of high-profiled robberies in Paris.
An almost untraceable digital trail of money being transferred out of wealthy accounts into the accounts of less fortunate. Honestly, it didn’t seem that big of an issue to him. If someone was stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor, good for them. “So, somebody decides to play Robin Hood, so what?” Said Damian. “Isn’t this something that the local authorities should be dealing with?”
“It normally would be, if the coding used to carry out these digitalised attacks weren’t so similar to my own.”
That certainly caught his attention, he could understand why it had caught her attention. “And you could not have gotten Drake to investigate this?” When it came to coding, he hated to admit it but Drake was one of the best.
“Tim is busy with the preparations for the upcoming Wayne Enterprise Annual Charity Gala.”
“Typical.” Damian muttered under his breath with a hint of disdain.
Choosing to ignore his comment, Barbara continued, “Besides, you’re already in Europe, Damian. Paris is only a two-hour train ride away from your current location. You’re the closest one out of all of us, and it shouldn’t take you very long to figure out.”
“-tt-” He didn’t like it, and he knew that he would have to cut his vacation short for this sudden mission but he understood what was needed from him. “Fine, I’ll have it investigated.”
Stepping out of Gare du Nord Station, Damian made it his first step to get a base set up for the remaining of his time in Paris. Being the son of Bruce Wayne, he had chosen to stay at a luxury five-star hotel within the heart of Paris, with all his expenses being paid by his father’s card. Was Bruce aware of this? He probably was but had decided not to care nor chose to comment about it.
Upon opening the case file that Barbara had sent to him, his green eyes narrowed as he immediately noticed a pattern.
‘The Seine.’
Dark green eyes flickered over the murky brown waters of the river that ran through the city of Paris before gazing back at the bank before him. The last one to have reportedly fallen victim to the digital robbery.
His gaze flickered to the right, where he could vaguely make out the previous banks that had been robbed before this one. Whoever this Robin Hood was, they had been robbing banks on this side of the Seine. ‘Which means… one of the banks on this side should be next.’ He looked to his left.
‘But which one?’ There was more than one this time, more options for Robin Hood to hit from.
He would have to look back at the case file and see if there were any other connections between the banks. At first glance, he had established the obvious but perhaps there was more to it than he had initially thought.
From where he stood, Damian took a moment to survey his surroundings, more specifically the people that passed by. Whoever this Robin Hood was, it was clear enough to him that they were the smarter type of thief to scout out the site before taking a strike. He watched the afternoon flow of people make their way to their destinations. They all looked like blurs to him, except for one that caught his eye.
‘I know that face.’
Every cell in his body froze as the world around him slowed down, he stared. There was no way.
As if feeling his gaze, she turned as blue eyes clashed with green.
“Brown.”
He watched in stunned silence as she paused in her steps, walking over to where he stood before standing across him. Her eyes flickered over him, as if she was analysing him.
“Damian,” She began, “you’ve gotten taller.” Her piercing blue eyes did a look over once more before she grinned as if she hadn’t ghosted him all those years ago, “much taller.”
He didn’t know what came over him, he hugged her.
“Woah…”
He didn’t know what had come over him.
All those years of concealing his emotions, holding back the hurt, the pain and the betrayal he had felt when she left – it just all faded away. The mask he had held up for some long, it just finally cracked. It was like he was eleven years old again, and all he wanted right now was to hug her again, to know that this was real.
That she was real.
And she was.
Damian hugged her tighter, he felt her body freeze up for a moment but then she seemed to take it with stride as she wrapped her arms around him, or at least she tried to.
‘Damn, he got so tall.’ Stephanie bit back a smile, she hated to admit it but it looks like she was going to have to actually look up at him this time. ‘It must have been at least six years since I’ve last saw him,’ she glanced more closely at Damian’s face. His eyes shut, but just by looking at his face, she could tell, ‘he definitely takes more after Bruce than Talia.’
‘Did she get thinner?’
That was the first thing he noticed when he embraced her. He pulled back and now it was his turn to do a look over. She was slightly skinnier than he remembered her being but it was hard to tell from the layers of clothing she wore beneath her black trench coat.
‘Her hair,’ It was still blonde but it was shorter now, but lighter. Based on the roots of her hair, he easily deduced that she had bleached it to a lighter tone than it was originally. Her make up… the layers of foundation that she now wore, it was slightly heavier than what he had seen her wear in the past.
From what he remembered; Stephanie never really wore make up in the past. She didn’t see a point it in since it would get messed up some way or another when she had to go out and fight crime. On the rare occasions that she did, it was never more than a simple lip tint or gloss. She hadn’t bothered with the rest of it, but it was different now. From his current observations, she had put a lot more effort into her appearance as he glanced between her perfectly drawn in eyebrows to the prominently dark red lipstick on her lips, ‘she even contoured.’
As he looked more closely at the texture of her skin, it suddenly hit him.
‘Her skin…’ Scarred, but not the typical scar that often came along with fighting crime at night. Those often came in the form of knife nicks and stabs. No, these looked more like… ‘Burn scars.’
He suddenly remembered that night.
Damian had read the reports in the cave, the scene reports, the first initial medical reports – everything. He read them all, and he knew very well how close she had been to losing her life, again. He was willing to bet that those burn marks had left her self-conscious and that probably the reason why she had taken measures to conceal the scars on her face, and the rest of her body. His green eyes drifted down to the red and black striped scarf wrapped around her neck.
Wait, a minute.
“Is that Drake’s scarf?”
Stephanie perked and grinned up at him. “Oh yeah, he’s never getting this back. It’s really warm, and I like it way too much to return it to him.”
“-tt-“ He rolled his eyes. He couldn’t say he was surprised by that response. It was a very Brown-like answer.
“So, what brings you here to the city of love, Dami?” asked Stephanie, a teasing smile on her lips. He frowned; he could practically see the mischievous glint in her eyes. “Loneliness?”
Oh god.
“Or maybe, you’re looking for a little something, like, maybe a lover?” She was wiggling her eyebrows at him now. You would think that six years would have matured her mentality at little bit but clearly somethings didn’t change. It was a nice though.
“Don’t be preposterous, Brown.” Said Damian, he crossed his arms across his chest as he stared back at her. He must have been a head taller than her now. “I am here on a short break.”
At his response, Stephanie smiled even more. “That’s great, Dami. I’m glad that you’ve been taking better care of yourself and know your limits now.” She was glad to see that some of her efforts had paid off.
A thought came to mind, Damian frowned slightly. “Why are you here, Brown?”
“I live here. Paris is my home now.” Answered Stephanie, he didn’t detect a lie. He filed away that little piece of information for later as he watched her eyes light up again. “Tell me, Dami, have you ever been to Paris before?”
He tsked.
“Of course, I’ve been to Paris before,” replied Damian before adding, “but I guess I never really got to enjoy the city itself very much.”
In the past, his visits to Paris had always been in passing. Either it was due to a mission or a case that took a sudden turn, which lead them to Paris. It was always short visits, but it was still long enough for him to remember and appreciate the city from above, although, he grudgingly had to admit that he had never taken the time to explore it from the ground, which was probably what Stephanie had been hinting to.
“So, you’ve never really been to the museums?”
“I have been to the Louvre.”
“And the lesser known museums? The lesser known sites?” she asked. “You know, the ones you actually have to walk into and can’t look at from a vantage point above like a bird.”
Damian didn’t respond.
Stephanie grinned.
“Well, come on then! Let me give you a walking tour along the Seine!” She told him with open arms as she gestured to the river beside them. “It’ll be great, Dami. You’ll get to experience the city from a local’s perspective.” Exclaimed Stephanie as she started walking.
“Since when were you a local, Brown?”
“Um, since I moved here last year?” He took note of that as well. “Hey, I’ll just be giving you the same tour that my friends gave me when I first arrived.”
“And how credible can you say those tours are?” asked Damian, but his feet betrayed him as he trailed after her.
“Incredible, Dami. Absolutely incredible.” He almost rolled his eyes again at her comeback. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”
슬프도록
It was weird.
She had never thought that she would ever see him again, not after she walked away from it all. Then again, she was living in Paris. She had considered that there was always the possibility of running into them, outside of the cowl at least.
This was the ‘city of love’ after all, and a very popular luxury tourist hotspot too. She couldn’t say she’d be very surprised if she ran into Bruce Wayne, playboy extraordinaire, on a date. Or even, Dick Grayson.
Tim Drake? It was less likely to run into him since he had taken on a more active role in Wayne Enterprise. From what she’s heard, Red Robin has been making less of an appearance now but it was still unlikely that Tim would ever leave Gotham. Jason Todd, the Red Hood. Well, she had never really interacted with him very much during her time as a vigilante but she seriously doubted that he would be the type to leave Gotham either, not without a reason at least.
In all honesty, she had gotten the same impression from Damian, which was probably why she was so surprised to see that out of all the people from her past that she had to run into again, it was him.
In Paris of all places.
Her blue eyes flickered over to the child, no – teenager now, who stood off to her side. As she watched him, she couldn’t help but wonder how much of him has changed since they last saw each other?
His greens were fixated on the painting of Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night Over the Rhône’ before him, his attention completely focused on the work. Damian stood in silence; his arms crossed behind his back as he appeared to resonate with the piece before him, as if he saw something that others didn’t.
They were currently in the Musée d’Orsay, one of the many popular museums in Paris.
In a way, you could say that she had compromised.
Sure, she had wanted to take Damian around the lesser known gems in Paris, but the way his eyes lit up when she had pointed out the museum, especially when he spotted the poster of the Van Gogh exhibit, she knew that she had to take him in here to see it. The boy was a painter, he loved art. That much she could still remember. It had been one of his many hobbies and perhaps greatest talents, not that she would ever tell him that, but he probably already knew it.
“It’s amazing.”
“Hmm…?”
“I’ve always seen these paintings in my books but I could never have imagined them to be so much more remarkable in person.” Said Damian, his eyes never moving from the piece.
Stephanie smiled, she understood that feeling. She had the same impressions when she had first visited the museums around Paris, there just so much more beauty in things when you could see it first-hand.
“Perhaps I was wrong,” Damian turned to look down at her, “maybe this walking tour of yours wouldn’t be such a waste of time after all.”
She felt her lips draw into a fine thin line as she watched him turn and walk away to look at the rest of the exhibit. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t grown so much after all. “Brat.” Muttered Stephanie, folding her arms as she walked after him.
‘Wait a minute… that painting is in this museum.’
A smirk found her way onto her lips.
She had remained quiet, letting Damian compliment certain artworks as they had made their rounds of each exhibit. As they had gotten closer and closer to a specific exhibit, Stephanie could not help but chuckle to herself. She was going to have fun with this. When they had finally arrived, she wrapped an arm around his back as she pulled him closer to the painting.
“Okay then, appraise this beautiful piece of work then Mr. Expert,” exclaimed Stephanie, perhaps a bit too loudly that it had caught the attention of various other visitors.
“Brown!” hissed Damian, his face morphing into one of thinly veiled horror.
Ah, it was fun.
“Oh, come on, Dami,” she continued to tease as she gestured to the painting. “No need to be shy. You’re what? Sixteen, seventeen years old now? I’m sure you’ve had some sex education classes already in school, or I hope that Bruce or Dick has given you some.” She really hoped he got the birds and the bees talk, if he hadn’t at this age of life, she would really be concerned. “There’s nothing to be ashamed off, and besides, you did say you were an ‘expert’.” By now, a small crowd had gathered around them. Some were there to look at the piece, others were probably waiting to hear what he had to say. “Tell me about this painting then.”
A moment passed but he didn’t speak, so she stepped in for him.
“’L’Origine du monde’ by Gustave Courbet,” explained Stephanie, “also known as ‘The Origin of the World’.” By now, her eyes stared at the piece before turning back to look at him. “It was quite a revolutionary painting when it was first unveiled at its time. It really pushed the limits of what was presentable in art at that time.”
“I can see why.”
“Not to mention that there was huge mystery in regards to the identity of the painting’s model, and to whether this was an individual piece or perhaps a part of a larger collection.” She told him, “Until now we still don’t know the answers to that.” Her blue eyes turned to look at his face, she smirked. “Aw, is this little painting making you feel uncomfortable, Dami? Is that a hint of red, I see?” God, he hated her sometimes.
“Don’t patronise me, Brown.” He glared at her.
Stephanie simply laughed in response as she steered him away from the painting, another crowd starting to form around the painting. “Alright then, we’ve still got a few more floors to go.” She lightly tugged him towards the stairs, but not before whispering to him, “But seriously, they did give you the talk, right?”
He winced; he did not need to having this conversation with her right now. “Yes, I’ve had the talk before.” Various times actually, and at least by three different people. One from both his parents, and Grayson, all who probably didn’t have any right to give it to him considering their circumstances.
“Are you embarrassed by the painting?”
He froze as he stared at her, did she honestly think that it was the painting that had stunned him? Did she think he was some sort of prude? “I am not embarrassed by the painting, Brown. I was more irritated that you had put me on the spot like that, especially in front of all those people.”
Stephanie shrugged, “Does it really matter who sees you?”
“Yes,” admitted Damian. “You’d be surprised how many people could recognise me as Bruce Wayne’s son. It may damage my reputation and ruin my chances of inheriting Wayne Enterprises in the future.”
That made her laugh, “And does Tim know of these ambitions to take Wayne Enterprise away from him?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Drake hadn’t already made plans to counter them.” Remarked Damian, “but nevertheless, it will be mine. It is my birth right after all.”
“Man, I really wish I could be there to see Tim’s face if that ever happens.”
Damian smirked, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to tell you when I plan on executing my masterplan but it won’t happen for a few years first.” She nodded.
He didn’t miss the way her seemed to look away, saddened despite the grin she wore back on her lips.
“Brown.”
“Damian.” She responded, she pointed one perfectly painted purple finger nail to the freshly made crepe in his hand. “You better eat fast before your strawberry sauce spills onto your clothes.” She told him as she moved away from the crepe truck and up the stairs, gesturing him to follow her. He wordlessly did so, as he had for most of the day.
When they got up to the top, they stood at a tourist spot next to the Musée de l'Homme, looking out at the sparkling Eiffel Tower that illuminated brightly across the dark sky. There were many people who had gathered to the same location, most taking standard touristic photographs. Stephanie sat down on one of the steps that looked out towards the tower, she patted the spot next to her for him to sit, he obligated.
It was night now. They had managed to only cover half of what Stephanie had initially wanted to show him, but that may have been due to Damian’s insistence to observe and appreciate every painting in the museum before they left, cutting down the hours of daylight they had remaining. But in the end, she had managed to get him to walk all the way here. Yes, she made him walk on foot across Paris to the Palais de Chaillot. It was a walking tour, despite the snide remarks he made along the way, he had to deal with it.
He was cold, he didn’t understand why she had to take him all the way here. The Eiffel tower was 324m structure, it was huge and currently lit up. Honestly, Damian didn’t understand the blonde girl’s perseverance to see it from ‘the perfect spot’ as she had exclaimed. It was massive, they could have been anywhere else in the city and they still would have seen it. “Why are we here, Brown?”
She held up a finger to him, “Wait for it…” She glanced down at her phone as she watched the time pass until a new hour came. “There we go!” The lights on the Eiffel Tower began to shimmer and flicker, sparkling even more brightly as usual. “Viola! Free lightshow by the Eiffel Tower!” She smiled as she watched his expression, her lips tilted upwards before she brought her phone out, snapping a photograph of them.
For a moment, neither of them said a word, both content in the sight in front of their eyes as they watched the lightshow until it ended. “It’s nice isn’t it, the view.” She murmured beneath her breath, her hands working to cut her chocolate drizzled waffle.
“It is.” He took bites of his crepe; it was delicious and warm.
“It’s a drastic change from Gotham.”
Gotham.
“Brown,” Stephanie turned to look at him, his face looked more serious now.
Damian wanted answers, and he deemed that it was now the appropriate time to get them. For the better part of the day, he had held back for the sake of the reunion, but now that a significant amount of time has passed and they had gotten more comfortable around each other again, he wanted to know – no, he deserved to know. “Why did you leave?”
She looked at him before glancing around. There were quite a few people around them, but most were too absorbed in their own conversations, their attention completely turned to either their friends or the Eiffel Tower. Nobody really seemed to recognise them, or be paying attention to them, which was good. ‘Guess I saw this coming.’ Stephanie sighed, turning away as she cut another piece of waffle. She knew that it was inevitable that the past would be brought up, especially her resignation. “Well,” she began before shrugging, “I was going to get fired anyway.”
‘Fired? Oh…’ He recalled her last mission. “You don’t know that for certain. Perhaps father coul– “
“This is B we’re talking about, I’m pretty sure, Dami.” She cut him off with a pointed look, her blue eyes held him in spot as she continued, “there was no way I could come out that without being fired.” That mission had gone disastrously, it was a nightmare. She winced just thinking back about it. “Besides, he’s done it before… what’s stopping him from doing it again?”
“We could ha – “
“But would you?” asked Stephanie. “Would you have defied your father’s orders? Not after trying so hard for years to gain his trust and acknowledgement?” He didn’t reply. She got him there, and they both knew it. “You wouldn’t dare, Damian, and I don’t blame you.” At that age, he was still trying to gain his father’s trust. She was right, there was no way he would have defied his father’s orders. “You all have too much to lose.” She told him. “Besides,” Her eyes shut as she let out another sigh, “he was sort of right… it was my fault.”
Green eyes sharply narrowed, “What happened that night, Brown?”
He had read the reports, but these had all been reports from an outsider’s perspectives, or his father’s. It was evidently clear to him that they had all held a sense of bias in their interpretation of the events that went down that night, but he still wanted to know what happened that night from her perspective, to hear her side of the story. After all, there were always two sides to a story.
“Gotham went up in flames.”
He already knew that. That night had become another sore part of Gotham city’s tragic history, one of many.
“The worst part is that I know I could have stopped it but if only I had managed to defuse the bomb in time, then maybe I could have prevented the…” The words all came tumbling out in a rush. She remembered, she remembered how close she had been to getting there but the culprit, the mastermind behind the attack – the culprit had made sure to delay her. “He had planted the bomb beneath the bank’s foundation, but he and his accomplices had stayed at a level near the top of the building. I was given the impression that it was just an attempted robbery. Nothing more than that.”
“We all had that impression.” He had seen the footage of the initial confrontation from Oracle, he had seen everything that Batgirl had seen that night. At first, they all seemed like the typical bank robbers, their hands caught trying to pry the main vault open but at a certain point during the confrontation, Batgirl’s communication was disabled during the fight, cutting off the rest of the footage. There had been at least ten minutes of blank space and radio silence between the last recorded image and the estimated time of denotation.
A lot could happen in ten minutes.
“But I didn’t know about the bomb until their leader finally fessed up, and then I tried to get down there as quickly as I could but he had the entire building full of men waiting to delay me… and before I knew it, everything was just going up in flames.” She hadn’t even realised that her body had been shaking until Damian placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, he gave it a soft squeeze. She took a deep breath, forcing her eyes shut as she tried to calm herself down. “It happened so fast… everything happened too fast,” whispered Stephanie, her hands gripping the now empty waffle plate.
Her eyes gazed out into the city landscape, but it was clear to Damian that she didn’t see the city in the distance. “When the flames first came, I remember trying to find a way to put them out to stop the spreading,” Her voice was soft now. “I tried calling the comm, I tried to reach out to whoever was available nearby,” she bit her lip, the memory still clear as it was six years ago. “But nobody came…” The last part came out softer than the rest as she shook her head.
He felt his heart sink, he hadn’t realised. “Your line went dead before the blast…”
She nodded, “I figured that was the case.” She shut her eyes and tried to quell the memories that were resurfacing, “But I could have contained it…” she told him, turning away to look at him straight in the eye.
He didn’t need to hear the rest to understand what she meant. “The fire wasn’t your fault.” Said Damian, his hand still on her shoulder as he met her gaze and held it. “The spreading wasn’t your fault. It’s was simply an unfortunate consequence.” And it really was.
He knew that as a fact.
He had gone and analysed the site himself, him and Drake both had. Following the end of the fire, they had both individually made the decision to take a look at what remained at the scene of the crime. From an investigation at the devastation, they had both understood that the initial flames set off by the bomb had been contained to the bank itself, but because it had been planted beneath the foundations, it had spread and reached some of the old wires and circuit boxes leftover from the old city structures that had been built over in recent years. Once the flames reached those, it had been game over. Everything had gone downhill from then on, but it could have been avoided.
“It was an accident that could have been prevented if the city council had done their jobs properly.”
“But I’m guessing that B didn’t look that far into it did he?” asked Stephanie, breaking him from his thoughts.
Damian closed his eyes; it was his turn to let out a frustrated sigh. “No… but Gordon, Drake and I have mentioned it to him.” Multiple times. They had been very vocal about their findings, yet…
“And being the typical man that he is, he ignored it.” Supplied Stephanie, she could already tell from his expression that she was right. “It’s fine.” She told him, turning away from Damian, her eyes looking up at the stars this time. “He wouldn’t have let me back anyway. They took of my cowl that night.”
She waited for a response, a sort of reaction from him. It came out softer than she would have expected.
“I know.” He heard the rumours of an unmasking at West Mercy.
That was all he could say on the subject, and she had expected as much.
“There was no way he was ever going to let me back after that, Damian. It would compromise everything he had built, and it would have compromised the rest of your identities.” And she knew that she would have never been able to live it down if anything were to ever happened to them. “So, yeah, I guess you could say I decided to leave before he could fire me.” There was a silence between them before she continued. “Honestly, I don’t think I could have handled it if I got fired, again and I wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind back then.” A sad smile found its way onto her lips, “I had a lot of things going on.”
Damian found himself nodding, hearing it from her own words, he could understand where she was coming from but still…
“Why leave Gotham?”
She could have stayed, and would have easily been able to return to her civilian life once she had fully healed from her injuries. He didn’t understand why she had to leave and disappear on all of them.
Stephanie looked at him, and then she shrugged. “Because why not, Damian. Gotham, as much as love Gotham… it didn’t feel right to stay there anymore.” She admitted. “Staying in Gotham, it would have been living in a constant reminder of my failure, especially since the city itself was still recovering.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “I guess I just wanted a fresh start, and my mom agreed with me.”
It was an acceptable answer for him, “So you left and decided to cut ties with us.” There was a bitterness to his words, one that Stephanie immediately picked up on.
“I did what I thought was the best for both parties at the time, Damian.” She shot back at him. “And it’s not like you guys tried to reach out to me anyway.”
‘But we did try. We just couldn’t find you… until now.’ “So, you left,” he reaffirmed, “where did you go?” He folded his arms; he was going to get the full story out of her. After all, he deserved to know where she went since he had spent almost an entire year looking for her – not that he would ever tell her that.
“Well, after I dropped out of Gotham U, we moved across the country to California for bit.”
Damian raised a brow, that reminded him of something, “Do you even have a degree, Brown?”
“Of course, I do,” Stephanie responded, mildly affronted. “I happen to have a degree in music composition.” She told him proudly.
That surprised him slightly, “Music?” He never recalled a single memory where she had ever expressed a slight interesting in the performing arts, or music at all. Then again, he did recall hearing her hum on various occasions during the course of the day.
Stephanie rolled her eyes at his reaction, “Don’t look so surprised, Dami, only Tim was aware that I used to play the piano as a child.” She told him. “I guess you could say I was re-evaluating a lot of things in my life after I left Gotham and eventually rediscovered my passion for music,” Stephanie smiled, recalling the feeling of the cool white piano keys beneath her fingers. “Even then, it took me a while to find it.”
“I see, so you completed your studies in California.”
“Oh no,” laughed Stephanie, “I didn’t even think about going back to school at all until I was in Japan, and even then, it took me around a year before I actually enrolled into a course in Korea.”
“Explain.”
‘God, he sounds so much like Bruce,’ Stephanie rolled her eyes at him, “Well, California was nice and all for a while but I guess I didn’t like it very much, so my mom decided to send me to some of her relatives in England.” He could feel a headache coming on from just attempting to follow her story. “And while I lived there for a while, I came across a volunteer teaching programme in Japan.”
“Which is how you ended up on the other side of the world,” ‘And out of our reach.’ Damian concluded.
The blonde nodded back at him. “From there, I guess I just got swept up in by the culture and life there, and I kind of started playing music again. One of the teachers who I worked with recommended this music composition programme in Korea, gave me a recommendation letter and off I went.” She smiled back at him.
“So, you have no regrets leaving Gotham...”
“No.” Said Stephanie, her eyes meeting his before turning to look away. “I don’t have any regrets at all.” She knew it wasn’t the answer he probably wanted to hear from her.
He remained silent, letting her words sink in. “And Paris?” asked Damian, she turned back to stare at him. “How did you end up here?”
At that, Stephanie laughed. “Oh, a classmate from University got a job here and asked me to move in with her so that her rent would be cheaper for her.” At that, her blue eyes lit up. “Oh my god, Dami, I need to tell you about what happened when we first arrived, it was crazy!”
Damian shook his head, “Really, Brown? You couldn’t even survive a week here before getting in trouble? Typical.”
“Hey! It wasn’t my fault she lost the key down the elevator gap!” Protested Stephanie, but from the grin that adorned her lips, he knew she wasn’t mad at him. She was just amused as he was.
In a way, he was relieved.
He didn’t get the answers that he had wanted to hear from her that night, but at least he finally heard her side of the story, it gave him some closure and he was glad to know that at least she had gotten some too. Perhaps, it was truly time to put the past behind them and move forward.
애월리
She walked him back to the hotel.
She felt obligated to do so, after all, she did technically pull him off the street and make him walk all over Paris today. “Damn, and I still had so much planned.” Sighed Stephanie before glancing to the teen beside her. “How much longer are you going to be in Paris for?”
“I leave tomorrow night.” Answered Damian, his brows forming a thin line as he mentally swore. He had gotten so wrapped up with Stephanie’s appearance that he had almost lost sight of the main objective for coming here in the first place. “But I’m afraid that I have things to attend to tomorrow.”
They stopped at the hotel’s entrance.
A sad smile adorned Stephanie’s face, “Oh,” she told him. “Well, if you do change your mind, Dami, you can find me on the bridge next to the Notre-Dame tomorrow at 11am.” She smiled as she ruffled his hair.
“Thank you, Brown. I will keep that in mind.”
His eyes widened as she suddenly embraced him in a tight hug, “Take care, Dami.” She whispered before pulling away. With a simple wave, she turned and blended into the night time crowd. Then, she was gone.
Damian sat at his desk; the case file laid out before him.
He knew there was a pattern linked to the Seine, and he had already established that. Now, there was only a matter of finding a link between the robbed banks which would help him narrow down exactly which bank the Robin Hood would strike next, and maybe even when. He brought up the security footage, of the night each bank was robbed.
It happened quickly, but there was a moment when the footage flickered. Whoever this Robin Hood was, they were good, better than the average street robber.
Green eyes narrowed as he replayed the footage before he spotted the flicker again. It lasted less than three seconds but it was enough for him to understand that Robin Hood had looped the footage to make it appear as if they had never there at all. This only went on to confirm his suspicions that Robin Hood must have scouted the scene before making their move.
He pulled up the security footages from around the bank during the day, speeding it up as he watched it, looking for anything particular. From the corner of the camera screen, he spotted a woman in a brown coat passing by, her head wrapped with a green head scarf but what was most particular to him was that red and black striped scarf. He knew that scarf, but not the person. Shrugging the thought away, he dismissed it before watching the other footages.
In another security footage from another bank, he saw it again.
A woman in a green petit coat with a short black blob haircut whose eyes hidden by a pair of large sunglasses that framed her face. Around her neck, she wore the same red and black scarf. It could have been a mere coincidence, but his line of work, mere coincidences like that didn’t exist.
He pulled up the footage from the final bank, and now that he knew what to look for, it didn’t take long before he spotted him. A woman with a red and black scarf, a very familiar scarf.
Damian let out a curse beneath his breath as he grabbed his Robin costume. He was out of the window within seconds. How could he have been so blind?
He mentally scolded himself, the answer had been there from the very beginning, staring so clearly in his face.
“Is that Drake’s scarf?”
“Oh yeah, he’s never getting this back. It’s really warm, and I like it way too much to return it to him.”
The more he thought about it, the more it was starting to make more sense to him.
“It normally would be, if the coding used to carry out these digitalised attacks weren’t so similar to my own.”
His feet pattered across the rooftiles as he ran towards the Seine.
“Hey, do you mind if we stop here for a while, Dami? I just need to make a quick withdrawal.”
He knew exactly who Robin Hood was.
애월리
She stood with her back towards him.
She wore a purple hooded cloak of some sort. It looked nothing like her former Batgirl costume but just by looking at that shade of eggplant purple, he knew it was definitely her as he landed onto the rooftop.
Spoiler turned briefly, before giving him a friendly wave. “Oh hey, Robin. I thought you’d catch on.” Said Stephanie, an electronical device that looked like a phone was held in her hand, it was connected to the computer mainframe that she stood beside. Now that he got a clearer look at her, he could see that she wore a black and purple costume, her face half concealed by a black mask (Batman Eternal costume). Her gloved fingers worked quick, tapping away as she glanced between the device in her hand and Damian.
His eyes narrowed as his hands moved for a birdarang, “Step away from the security circuit, Brown.” Warned Damian.
“Shhh, no real names in the field, Robin.” She hushed him before quickly adding, “Its Spoiler, by the way.” A birdarang flew past her blue eyes, landing mere inches away from her face. She pulled the wires from the mainframe. “Okay, I get it.” She held up her hands mockingly to show that she was empty handed, electronical device aside. “No need to get all violent bird boy.”
His stance remained tense despite the fact that he knew he would easily be able to outfight her, but still, he couldn’t let his guard down. She had been a Bat after all. “It figures. The only way somebody who could have replicated a code with a digital trail similar to Oracle’s would have to have been somebody close to her, somebody who trained under her.” His eyes narrowed at the device in her hand. “You’ve been the culprit behind all the recent bank robberies. You’ve been looping the footage giving authorities the impression that this was an online digital attack when you’ve actually been at each bank on the night of the attacks, hacking their mainframes and carrying out the transfers.”
Spoiler nodded, “Yep, that’s pretty much it.”
She wasn’t going to deny it. Honestly, she didn’t think that it was that hard of a mystery to figure out. Hell, she was surprised she had managed to get this far without being caught.
He gritted his teeth, “Why? Why are you stealing from all these people now?”
“Well I wouldn’t really call it ‘stealing’.” Replied Spoiler, she was met with a hardened glare. ‘Okay, a different approach then.’ “Is it really ‘stealing’ though, Robin?” She asked. “Because I see it more as ‘returning’ what was taken.” She placed a hand on her hip as it was now her turn to stare him down. “Tell me, Robin. How much do you actually know about the ‘victims’ of these robberies?”
There was a heavy emphasis on victims, because really, they really weren’t victims at all in her eyes.
“Enough to know tha–“
“And that’s where you’re wrong, Robin.” Corrected Spoiler. “They happen to be the real thieves in all of this. In fact, I’m actually doing the police a huge favour by giving back the money they stole from the real victims of the Blanche insurance con.”
“Do you even have proof for any of this, Spoiler?”
“Of course, I do, Robin. How else would I know who were the main perpetrators and victims of the entire con were?”
The Blanche insurance con.
He had heard about that incident from the news coverage on it, but there had not been much. From what he understood, it was a group of people who had come together to create a false insurance company, conning various people out of millions through the form of fake insurance policies. The con had taken place across the wide span of three years, and had only recently been discovered.
He was under the impression that the case had been dealt with by the local authorities, but if what she said was true, it appears that authorities had swept it under the rug. Therefore, he could understand why she felt the need to intervene, but still… “I understand where you’re coming from, Spoiler,” Spoiler nodded as she watched him. “But I’m still going to have to ask you to stop what you’re doing.” He firmly told her. “Your actions are doing more harm to the initial investigation than good.”
“It’s a shame then, Robin,” said Spoiler, as she looked at him disappointedly. “But you’re too late.” She tapped on her screen before flipping it over for him to screen.
Complete: 100%
“The deed has been done, and I believe that its time for me to go.”
Robin took a fighting stance, “And what makes you think that I’m going to let you get away with this, Spoiler?”
Instead of answering, Spoiler looked at him with a thoughtful expression, as if something had dawned upon her. “You know, Robin,” she said, her eyes glancing back up at the stars, something that he noted she did a lot lately. “In retrospect, maybe I did have another reason for stealing their money from them,” that caught his attention. “Maybe I just did it because I wanted to. You know, because why not? I might as well do something with my life before it’s over.”
He never saw the smoke bomb coming.
He ran through the smoke to the edge of the rooftop where she had previously been standing but she was already gone, and he couldn’t see any trace that indicated which direction she had gone in. ‘Dammit!’ He scowled, ‘she played me again.’
She had him trapped since the beginning.
하늘은 서글퍼
Why?
There was something about her answer that had left him feeling unsettled, uneased by it all. He didn’t like it. There was something missing to this puzzle, something that Stephanie was not telling him.
Once returning to his hotel room, he checked the digital money trail. Like all the previous instances, the money had been transferred from the wealthier accounts to the less fortunate. He cross referenced the names of the people who had lost money across to those that gained money.
She had been right.
The funds that she had been transferring out of their accounts had been profits they gained illegally from the fake insurance policies that they had been selling. She had simply been returning the money had been taken from them.
But there was something that still unsettled him, he didn’t know what it was but he could feel it in his instincts.
He searched her up, cross referencing her name against every French database. Maybe he could find an address and pay her a visit tonight, get some more answers out of her. There were a few hits… but one stood out more than the rest.
‘Stephanie Rose Brown’ – a former Institut Curie Hospital patient.
Institut Curie Hospital, he pulled up information regarding the hospital.
He felt his blood run cold; it was a cancer treatment centre.
Before he knew it, he was digging deeper into the institute’s medical database, pulling out her entire medical history as suddenly everything starts to make sense to him now. Finally, all the pieces were slowly falling into place.
The first diagnosis, it had been made six years ago by West Mercy Hospital, Gotham’s Doctor Philip Johns.
He hadn't seen it from her initial West Mercy Hospital reports because he had only been focused on reading those related to the fire, he had made a huge mistake in overlooking this. Then again, he never recalled ever seeing it this report in existence until now. He chose to read further.
Lymphoma.
She had just been nineteen years old, but she was non-symptomatic. According to the medical notes from Doctor Johns, there had been no immediate concern to treat the cancer right away. The doctor’s main goal had been to first help her recover her mobility and deal with her third- and fourth-degree burns. However, due to a lack of facilities and resources at West Mercy Hospital, Stephanie was transferred to a specialist hospital in California under Doctor Johns’ recommendation. ER Nurse Crystal Brown had to request a period of leave to care for her daughter who could barely walk by herself with crutches.
“ –we moved across the country to California for bit.”
Three months after checking into a cancer centre, under one Doctor Harry Newman, Stephanie underwent a skin grafting procedure to replace the skin she had lost to her third- and fourth-degree burns. After two months of healing after following the procedure, she started physical therapy to regain motion in her left leg and other areas tightened by contractures. Her physical therapy had last for almost two years but by then, the first signs and symptoms of her lymphoma were appearing.
Itching.
Feeling tired.
Drenching sweats at night.
As mundane as they were, Doctor Newman had noted that these were some of the first few symptoms that Stephanie were experiencing towards the end of her physical therapy. Now that her physical health was much stronger now, they made the decision to start treating her lymphoma.
“California was nice and all for a while but I guess I didn’t like it very much, so my mom decided to send me to some of her relatives in England.”
Her lymphoma was of a relatively low grade and still relatively new. Therefore, it was in England at another cancer treatment centre that Stephanie underwent radiotherapy under the supervision of Doctor Sarah Scotts. By this time, Nurse Brown had already returned to work at West Mercy Hospital in Gotham, but she had listed a distant relative of hers as Stephanie’s emergency contact in England.
Stephanie received radiotherapy for around a year, and for a brief moment, it had looked like the treatment was working.
Until it didn’t.
“I came across a volunteer teaching programme in Japan.”
Within a few months, she had been sent to another cancer centre in Osaka, Japan. One that specialised in lymphoma and was cheaper in its medical expenses than the USA and England. Stephanie underwent a four to six-month treatment of oral chemotherapy in combination with radiotherapy. She had responded positively to the new treatment plan, and within a few months had been given the clear that she was cured. However, under Doctor Hirotaka Shigehiro, she was advised to remain in the centre for a while longer to be monitored.
According to corresponding records he had found, it was during this time when Stephanie was allowed to volunteer part-time at one of the local Japanese primary schools as a music teacher. Within a few months, she was completely free.
“One of the teachers who I worked with recommended this music composition programme in Korea, gave me a recommendation letter and off I went.”
She had enrolled in a two-year fast track music composition degree programme in Korea.
The course had been taught under an English basis, and had compressed the amount of assignments and work needed in order to graduate but she had done it and completed her studies. From travel records, it was evident that during the two years of her studies, she had returned to Osaka every so often for regular check-ups with Doctor Shigehiro.
“ –a classmate from University got a job here and asked me to move in with her so that her rent would be cheaper for her.”
She had been in the clear for two years.
She had been cured, free… until a few months ago when a yearly check-up showed signs of a relapse. It was in Institut Curie Hospital, where she had restarted her previous cancer treatment – a combination of oral chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But this time, it wasn’t working as well as it had in the past.
Two months ago, the cancer had become terminal.
“I might as well do something with my life before it’s over.”
The sudden realisation hit Damian like a ton of bricks.
Stephanie Brown was dying.
내리는 빗물처럼
At 10.57am the next morning, Damian found himself ascending the stairs to the metro entrance. His hands in his coat pocket as he following the flow of tourist that were making their way towards the iconic Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris.
After the events of last night between Spoiler and Robin, he didn’t expect her to see her waiting for him like she had promised the evening before. But Stephanie had always been a rather unpredictable character at times in his eyes, and true to his suspicions, there she was.
She stood on the bridge nearest to the cathedral, her back leaned against the bridge’s banister as she calmly watched the Seine’s current flow gently beneath her. Her blue eyes flickered over as she spotted his approaching figure, lighting up as it did. “Oh, hey!” She smiled as she waved him over to her as if she hadn’t just stolen 32 million Euros from right under his nose last night. “Fancy seeing you here!” She teased with a smile as he came to stop in front of her. “So, would you like me to continue the once in a lifetime incredible Stephanie Brown tour of Paris?” she asked, grinning. “We can go to the Latin Quarter of Paris, I heard they have great bistros and a zoo.” She pointed to an area on the other side the Seine from where he had come from.
He knew that it wasn’t the right time to bring up last night, or what he had found as well. From the expression on her face, it was clear to him that she was unwilling to approach the subject currently as well. He tsked, but muttered a soft “Fine.”
Stephanie beamed back at him. That was all she needed to here before pointing towards the Notre-Dame, “And off we go!"
Damian raised a brow in mild confusion, she had pointed the other way just now, why was she pulling him in the opposite direction now? “Where are you going? I thought we were going the other way, Brown.”
“We are,” answered the blonde, “but I think you need a photograph with the Notre-Dame first, Dami.” Said Stephanie as she lightly tugged at his elbow whilst proceeding to drag him in the direction that she wanted them to go.
“Don’t be absurd.” He did not need a tourist photograph.
She rolled her eyes at his statement; he was willingly letting her pull him. “Oh, come on, Dami. Who doesn’t want a video of themselves belting out to the opening song of ‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’ in front of the actual thing?”
It was a good two hours later when they had finally sat down at a small corner bistro for some lunch.
In the short space of time that they had spent together that morning, they had visited the Notre-Dame, where he had proceeded to (rather embarrassingly) record Stephanie’s overexaggerated attempt of a recreation of the opening scene to ‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’. It had amused him greatly but he was even more pleased when they had proceeded to quickly leave just as quickly as they had come.
After that, they had spent the remaining of their time in the Latin Quarter of Paris as the blonde had taken the lead. She took him to the zoo at Jardin des Plantes, and it did not disappoint. It was an old-fashioned zoo from the 1800s that had survived through the French Revolution, as Stephanie had informed him, it was the second oldest zoo in the world. Following the zoo, they had gone to visit the Natural History Museum since they were in the same area – only to discover that the museum itself was not a single building, but rather a collection of museums, that consisted of the Gallery of Mineralogy, Gallery of Palaeontology and the Grande Gallery of Evolution.
By the time they had completed touring the entire museum as a whole, it was coming close to 1pm, which was when the blonde suggested that it was lunch time.
“Here,” She placed a bag in front of him.
Damian raised a brow curiously as his green eyes narrowed in on the item. He hadn’t seen her buy it; she must have grabbed it in one of those overwhelming souvenir shops that he had refused to step foot in on their way to their destination. “What is this?” He asked, suspiciously. He picked it up, ‘Extremely light but stable’.
“A gift!” declared Stephanie, her face practically beaming now as she smiled at him as he unbagged the item. An expression of disgust on his face as he stared at the item. “Oh, come on, Dami. Everyone who visits Paris needs one cheesy Paris souvenir in their life at least?”
“A lincense plate though?” he asked, incredulously. It was a startling bright shade of purple. The words, ‘I LOVE PARIS’ printed in boldened white cursive font. Behind the words was as an image of the Eiffel Tower on the right side, on the left, there were images of waffles, crepes and baguettes. All in all, it was a horrific item, one that he would never be caught buying himself. “And what exactly do you expect me to do with this abomination?”
Stephanie tapped her chin lightly, “Well, you don’t have to put it on your own car,” she told him before smirking, “You could always put it elsewhere, like you know,” he saw a familiar mischievous glint in her eyes before she whispered lowly, “the Batmobile!”
“-tt-“
The idea of his father driving around in the Batmobile with the abomination attached to the back amused him greatly, but he doubted that he would even be able to get within a close enough proximity of the vehicle without being caught. But still, it didn’t exactly have to be his father’s vehicle… perhaps Drake’s car would bike would be more suitable for this item. Yet, the thought of giving this gift away left him slightly unsettled. As atrocious as it was, it was still a gift from her – her final gift.
“Order what you want, Brown.” Said Damian, placing the item back into its bag. “This meal is on me,” He decided that he would keep the gift, “consider it a thank you and payment for your ‘tour’.”
“I told you you’d enjoy it.” She told him, but she didn’t refuse his offer to pay as she picked up her own menu and glanced down at the items. He did the same.
It was only after the waitress had left them when he felt that it was finally time to approach the topic. From the way that Stephanie fiddled with her glass of tap water, he knew that she knew it too.
“Brown,” He began, catching her attention, “why didn’t you tell us? About the cancer.”
Her fingers stopped fiddling as she set the glass aside before clasping her hands together, “So, you know.”
“You didn’t exactly do a good job hiding it.” He folded his arms across his chest, “although, considering that I was only able to find anything starting last night, it was an intentional move on your part.” His green eyes narrowed as he stared at her.
Her blue eyes met with his as she shrugged, “You’re not wrong there. I did hide my data after I left Gotham, covered my tracks pretty well if I must say so myself.”
“You used Gordon’s own codes to hide from her in plain sight.”
“It was a simple matter, I knew what she looks for when she carries out her searches, and how she goes about doing them. I guess you could say that it was finally time for the student to become the master.” Said Stephanie, proudly.
“Until you messed up and you found yourself on Oracle’s radar as a criminal.” Stated Damian.
“Or… I just stopped trying to hide everything.” Supplied the blonde, a small smile playing on her lips. “I figured that five or six years would have been long enough for you guys to stop looking for me, and I kind of was right.” She told him, “although, I never expected that they would send you of all people. Didn’t think you were the type to ever leave Gotham.”
“I was in the area.”
“Oh, I heard, well done in Brussels.” Congratulated Stephanie. Just because she wasn’t one of them anymore, it didn’t mean she didn’t keep track of their movements every now and then. Especially when they were spotted in Europe.
“But why get yourself involved with the Blanche insurance con, why would you risk getting caught after hiding under our radar for so long?” asked Damian, finally steering the conversation towards the direction he wanted.
He watched as her gaze dropped, and suddenly she was fiddling with glass cup again. For a brief moment, he wasn’t sure if she was ever going to reply him until she finally did, “Because Claire.”
‘Claire?’
She didn’t meet his gaze, but Stephanie continued to speak, “When I told you, I moved here with a friend, I wasn’t lying to you, Damian.” Her eyes met his, holding them as she spoke. “She is one of the sweetest people in the world. One of the kindest, and most selfless… and – “ He could tell where this was going, it wasn’t that hard to connect the dots.
“She was a victim of Blanche insurance con.”
Stephanie nodded, her hands clasping tightly around the item in her palms, her body tensed as she gripped the glass. “Like most of the victims, they used the information collected from the fake insurance policy to access her personal information, and from that they took everything from her bank account, leaving her in complete financial ruin.”
He could hear a hint of restrained anger in her voice when she spoke. There was a bitterness to it.
“Within half a year she fell into a downward spiral of depression because she couldn’t see a way out of it all. She had lost her old job shortly after they stole her money, and she struggled to secure another form of employment after. Her debts just keep rising no matter what she tried to do,” her blue eyes saddened. Stephanie bit her bottom lip as she took a moment to try and find the right words to continue, “but it was too much so, she finally gave up fighting at all – she slit her wrist and tried to drown herself in our bathtub.” She had whispered the last part, her eyes dropping down to stare at the water in her cup.
She could still remember the scene so vividly.
She had gone out that morning for her usual run like normal.
Normally, Claire would have come along to join her in her morning jogs but lately, she hadn’t been doing so well lately. The brunette tried to hide it behind one of her forced smiles, but Stephanie could tell that her friend was struggling behind that strong facade. No matter how much she had tried to hide that she was suffering, behind her closed bedroom door in the two bedrooms flat they shared, Stephanie could hear her crying at nights. She had tried to talk to her about her inner turmoil, she tried to help her as much as she could but Claire always denied it.
And for a moment, it actually looked like things were going to get better – Claire had managed to secure a part-time job, and for once, things were actually looking up. So, on that fine Tuesday morning, she had decided to cut her jog a little shorter than usual and pick up a small cake for her friend, to celebrate her luck. She had been excited to see Claire’s face light up when she sees that she had bought her favourite red velvet cake.
Instead, she found a missing kitchen knife and a suicide letter in Claire’s bedroom, with the haunting sounds of the running water echoing throughout their flat from the bathroom.
She had broken the door down before pulling her friend out from the bathtub, her hands moving fast to grab the side towels, wrapping them around her slit wrist to stop the bleeding. She called the emergency services before administering CPR, her hands moving to her friend’s chest. She had been so caught up with trying to resuscitate her friend that she hadn’t even heard the medics come in until they pulled her aside to take over.
They had managed to save her, and she would eternally be grateful to them for saving her friend’s life but still, the memory of the incident left a scar on her mind because deep down she knew… “If I hadn’t managed to get there in time, I know that she wouldn’t have made it.” Stephanie admitted grimly before chuckling to herself. She thought back to his initial question. “I guess you could say something snapped inside of me after that incident.”
“You wanted revenge.”
Revenge was a strong word in her opinion but given the circumstances that she had presented to him, she could understand why he would think so. “You could see it that way, but I saw it more as a retribution for the victims who were silenced.”
“There is an ongoing investigation, Br – “
“An investigation that was set up to fail from the start,” She cut him off sharply, her eyes narrowed as she frowned. “It’s all a ruse, a setup, to show the public that they’re working on it but they’re truly not. Since the start of the investigation, nothing has been done. They’ve only helped in covering up for the people who were involved.”
“So, you decided that your best course of action to take would be to steal back the money they had stolen through a series of illegal digitalised attacks.” Stated Damian, bluntly.
“It’s swift and gets the job done. No one gets hurt.”
“And you made this decision by yourself? You didn’t think to bring up this issue of corruption in the investigation to a higher level of authority?” he questioned.
“And how much weightage would my testimony hold? They wouldn’t even bat an eye at me.” Stephanie shot back defensively. She knew that they would never listen or even bother to process her complaint. In their eyes, she was just an outsider who lived in the country. She didn’t vote in their elections, so why would she get a right to say anything in how they ran their justice institutions. Besides, who knows how long it would take for them to even bother glancing at her report, it could take ages and time wasn’t something that she exactly had much left of.
It was Damian’s eyes to narrow, as he snapped back at her. “You mean just like how you refuse to bring up your medical condition, Brown?”
That caught her off guard.
For a moment, neither of them spoke as a tense silence enveloped around them.
Stephanie leaned back in her chair, her hands dropping off to her sides, “Well, what even is there to say.”
“Why didn’t you tell us,” She could see the hurt in his green eyes, the look of betrayal as he continued to speak, “we could have helped you, Brown.”
‘Helped me?’ “And what would have you guys done?” She asked him, leaning forward onto the table now, her arms folded across each other on the table. “Dami, after that incident, I’m pretty sure that B and the rest would have wanted nothing to do with me anymore. In fact, he was probably glad I chose to retire from the mantle myself. It saved him the words of having to fire me.” She told him.
“... we could have,” replied Damian, but once more, Stephanie cut him off.
“Sure, you, and maybe Cass? You guess may have helped me, but the rest? Absolutely no way, especially not if it would be going against the big bad Bat.” Said Stephanie, confidently. She wasn’t going to lie, she had thought about the possibility of telling them, of revealing her condition to them in the past but she had to also be logical about it.
She wasn’t one of his kids, like Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass or Damian. She wouldn’t even go so far to call herself a trusted family friend like Barbara, or someone he had approved of wearing the bat like Duke. All in all, she was probably nothing more to him that his adopted son’s annoying ex-girlfriend, who was stubborn and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Bruce Wayne had no obligation to help her out, if anything, it was her that kind of owed him for keeping her alive in this vigilante thing for so long, despite all her mess ups.
“Damian, Bruce never liked me to begin with and he never really intended on ever taking me on as a protégé. In retrospect, he only agreed to take me on as Robin to use me as bait to get Tim back.” She admitted bluntly. It was harsh, but it was one of the realities that she had come to realise and accept. She had been a tool, and that was probably the best way to describe their relationship at the end of the day. “I didn’t fit in like the rest of you guys. I never did.”
“Brown…” He couldn’t find the words to deny it.
She was tired of this conversation; it wasn’t how she wanted to remember this day, “come on, Dami, you and I both know that it’s the truth.” Said Stephanie, her blue eyes holding him. “B doesn’t owe me anything, and its fine, I don’t expect anything from him.” She told him. “I’ve got more serious things to think about.”
She didn’t have to say it, but it was clear that she was final talking about the elephant in the room. The one topic she had been dancing around every time he asked her as he had pointed out previously – her cancer.
She was back to nervously fiddling with the glass. ‘I guess since we’ve gotten this far,’ she decided that she might as well come clean and tell him everything.
“You know, I’ve come to peace with my situation.” Said the blonde, a sad smile on her lips. “At first, I was desperate you know, to find a way to cure myself, to get my life back… and I did.”
Damian nodded. He recalled her medical records. Her first combination treatment of oral chemotherapy and radiotherapy had been successful in curing her lymphoma.
“And I was in the clear for around two years. But you know what they say, with things like this… it really is unpredictable.”
He didn’t say anything.
“Damian, you’ve seen my records, you know that my cancer is terminal now.” She told him, frankly. There was no point dancing around the truth now.
“Yes,” he replied.
“These treatments aren’t cheap, Damian. My mom has enough problems as it is, and I can’t keep expecting her to pay for my medical expenses when I know for a fact that I’m still going to die in the end.” She looked away; her gaze found the sky as she stared up at the passing clouds.
His eyes widened as he understood the underlying implications of her words, “You – “
She nodded, confirming his suspicions herself, “I was the one that made the decision to stop getting treatment last month. My mom doesn't know yet but the doctor gave me two months left to live, Damian.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she refused to let him have a say, holding up a hand to silence him. “I know what you’re going to say, and my answer is no. You probably think I’m being rash about this, even stupid but at the end of the day, it’s my decision to make.”
“Brown,”
She took a deep breath before facing him, a grin breaking out on her face, a stark contrast from the mood before. “Can we please drop it now, Dami? I really don’t want you to remember our last day together to be like this.” She pleaded softly.
The weight of her words sunk in, and he simply nodded. They dropped the topic. No matter how much he wanted to discuss further, it was clear to him that she had already made her decision. He could see it in her eyes, she was done. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore and he would respect that. “Our order is finally here.”
“About time, I’m so hungry after all that talking.” She told him, grinning as the waitress placed her order down in front of her. “Thanks for paying, by the way.”
After their meal, the blonde had happily picked up their initial tour as she continued to lead him around. It was only towards the end of their tour when he noticed something, “what song are you humming, Brown? It seems to be the only song you seem to know.”
Stephanie rolled her at him, “I know other songs.” She insisted, “but if you must know, this song was a Korean song that I had to play during one of my final performances and I guess you could say it stuck with me.”
“It’s a shame that I couldn’t hear you play.” And he meant it. He was slightly envious that Drake had heard her play before.
“It is indeed,” she stopped as she turned to face him, a sad smile on her lips.
They were back on the bridge, the very same spot that had met at this morning. Suddenly, it hit him – this really was goodbye, and she knew it too. She held her arms out for a hug, he didn’t hesitate to embrace her as he clung tightly onto her. He didn’t want it to end this way, it wasn’t fair but there was nothing he could do about it. “I don’t want you to die.” He finally whispered as his composure broke for a second, he allowed himself to show a sign of weakness but he still refused to cry.
Stephanie hugged him tighter, “I know, Dami.” She replied before pulling away, cupping his face softly. ‘Damn, no more baby fat to squish.’ But she looked him in the eye, “but sometimes things happen in life. It’s just the natural course of life because we'll all die in the end.” She told him, dropping her hands.
Life wasn’t fair.
She knew that. In fact, she’s always known that since she was a kid growing up in one of the worst parts of Gotham. This cancer was just another kick to the face, and another harsh truth that some people just didn’t win very much at the lottery of life. But as much as she hated how hopeless her situation was, she wasn’t going to mope around and cry about it – she accepted it and she decided to move past it by making the most of her time left.
“Goodbye, Damian Wayne,” said Stephanie, sincerely. “It was lovely to see you again and I really did enjoy spending time with you,” she told him honestly, “so please. Please don’t get in my way.”
Stephanie Brown may have been done with life, but that didn’t mean that Spoiler was.
She ruffled his hair one last time, and then without looking back, she turned, gave him one final wave and she left.
He didn’t stop her, her didn’t call out to her. Instead he watched her go. He decided that he would let her complete her final mission.
That was the last time Damian Wayne saw her alive.
울고만 있네
He couldn’t let it go, not matter how much he tried, he had to know.
He made a call the next night as he sat waiting in Brussels Zaventem airport to embark on his flight back to New York City. “I need you to do a favour for me.” His eyes staring out into the night sky, his voice low. “Don’t worry, you will be paid well for your services.” He waited for a response.
“Good, now I’ll need you to watch someone for me.”
“And the codes used for the robberies?”
It had been a few days since his return to Gotham. He hadn’t outright been avoiding Oracle, but he hadn’t exactly made it his priority to seek her out either.
They were in the cave now.
Damian turned briefly; his arms crossed as he stared back at Barbara, the current Batgirl, but for tonight, she was Oracle. “A mere coincidence.”
Barbara raised a questioning brow, pulling up a screen that revealed two more hits following his departure from Paris. “And you didn’t do anything to stop them?” she asked.
Damian tsked looking away, “I was asked to investigate the coding, Gordon.” He shot back at her. “There were no instructions or indications that these robberies had to be stopped.” He told her. “Besides, I was on holiday. If you had wanted a full and proper investigation, Gordon, like I had said before, send someone else.”
Barbara’s eyes narrowed, “Well, I’m sorry that I ruined your holiday but I thought it was pretty obvious enough that these robberies needed to be stopped.”
“Then maybe you should have gotten somebody else to do it.” Barbara gripped the handle of her chair as she glared at the youngest Wayne. She was practically seething but Damian proceeded to continue, “also, if they local authorities are that incapable of solving the case for themselves, I would be more worried about the state of the corruption in the institution.”
He tossed her a pen drive, she caught it with one hand before raising a brow at it. “And what is this?”
“Something you clearly missed when compiling the case file, Gordon.”
In it was every piece of damning evidence he had complied against those who had taken advantage of the less fortunate.
“Maybe next time, you should do more research on a case before sending me on a useless investigation.”
With that, he left.
He had nothing more to say in regards to Paris’s Robin Hood.
꽃들은 피고 또 지듯
It had been over a little two months after their final meeting when he received the message one solemn morning, the day before the Wayne Annual Charity Gala.
‘06:55 – She’s gone.’
’06.56 – Passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her roommate had found her in her bedroom.’
He shut his eyes before briefly glazing over the rest of the messages that came flooding in.
’06:56 – They’re sending her body back to Gotham tonight.’
’06:57 – Her funeral is planned for tomorrow at Gotham Cemetery. It’s planned to start at 2pm, and might last until the evening.’
’06:57 – My condolences.’
His fingers typed a quick response before he tossed the phone aside. A feeling of emptiness washed over him; he didn’t know how to feel. He knew that this day would eventually come. It would be a lie to say that he had not been counting down the days she had left, and when she had made it past the two-month mark, he had prepared himself for the worse.
Still, now that it had actually happened… he didn’t know how to feel.
His green eyes glanced to the set of oil paints on his desk, his fingers twitched as he moved towards his paints. He grabbed his sketch book, flipping it over to a blank page as he closed his eyes.
He let the emotions overwhelm him as he let his mind take him back to the last memories he held of her from their time strolling along the Seine – from the last laugh to the final smile he saw on her lips.
“You didn’t deserve the life you got.”
He dipped his brush, and began to paint – his final portrait of Stephanie Brown.
보내는 마음
When he woke up early the next day, he had put on his best suit.
As he adjusted his black tie, his green eyes glanced over to the drying painting on his desk. There was a brief moment of silence before he looked out at the dark grey clouds that had started to adorn the sky, it was almost fitting for today’s occasion. As he glanced out the window, he could see Alfred’s aged figure directing the catering service towards the main kitchen for tonight’s main event.
From outside, the butler’s gaze met his and held it briefly before turning away to speak to the head caterer.
Turning away, Damian grabbed his black coat, putting it over his suit. He took a matching black umbrella before shutting the door behind him. His eyes drifted to the watch strapped to his wrist, the time read 12pm. ‘Good.’
“Isn’t it a little too early for you to be dressed already, little D?”
He didn’t bother to turn as he continued to walk in the other direction, “I am not in the mood for games right now, Grayson.”
He heard steps come up from behind him. “Is everything alright?”
He turned before staring back at his older brother, “I am perfectly fine, Grayson. Now if you would stop with this useless interrogation, I am late for an appointment.”
“Woah, I wasn’t interrogating you. I was just asking.” Replied Dick, but the young teen was already walking towards the main door. “Hey, don’t come back too late tonight! You know you’re going to need to make an appearance too.”
He was met with the slam of the main doors, Dick winced. “Geez, what rained on his parade?”
As Damian turned, he was met with Alfred.
“Going somewhere, Master Damian?” asked the elder man, a raised brow as he took in the youngest Wayne’s attire – an all-black suit.
Damian brushed past him, “Out, Pennyworth.”
The elder man made no move to stop him, he had plenty enough to worry about right now and besides, Damian was no boy anymore. He knew his responsibilities and Alfred trusted that he knew what to do. “Do be sure to return before the start of the evening, Master Damian.”
“-tt-“
바람에 전해주오
It was a quiet affair.
Considering the fact that almost nobody knew about her condition, he wasn’t surprised that he could count all the attendees on one hand only. There was that, and then there was also the fact that it had started to rain during the start of the ceremony.
He stood at a distance, but close enough to be counted as an attendee. As he listened to the priest talk, his green eyes glanced over and looked at each attendee. Closest to the priest and white coffin was Crystal Brown, her body shaken with grief as she tried to hold in the cries that were pouring from her mouth. Beside her stood a man, he placed a supportive arm around the woman. Damian recognised his face from Stephanie’s medical records, he was Doctor Johns.
Doctors Johns had sent him a questioning look, clearly curious to know why the son of Bruce Wayne was in attendance but dared not say anything as his attention was focused on supporting his colleague. Across from the pair, on the other side of her coffin, there were two females who looked to be either same age as Stephanie, or slightly younger. Both were crying, the brunette moved to wipe her tears.
It was when she lifted her wrist that his green eyes caught the scars of slit cuts, ah – this was Claire.
This was her roommate, so the girl beside Claire must have been another university friend of theirs. After completing his quick survey of the attendees, his eyes focused back to the priest, but the words didn’t register in his ears. Instead, he listened to the heavy pattering of the rain that came pouring down on his umbrella as he watched solemnly as the funeral proceeded.
It was after when they had lowered her casket when Claire had spotted him.
“Excuse me,” she said, as she approached him cautiously from her beneath her own black umbrella. She had an accent to her voice; Norwegian he would guess. “Are you Damian Wayne?” she asked him.
He stared back at her, “whose asking?”
She looked a little hesitant to continue the conversation but she bit her bottom lip and decided to anyway, “I’m Claire, I was Stephanie’s roommate until her passing,” she explained. Her hands moved to grab her purse, she opened it and started pulling out a CD for him to take. “She asked me to give this to you if you ever came to her funeral.”
That stunned him. She had left him something.
“I don’t know what is on it, but she had spent the last few weeks working on it until…” she didn’t need to finish, they both understood the importance of the item in his hand. It was the last thing Stephanie Brown had ever worked on.
Damian nodded, “Thank you, Claire.”
“It’s the least I could do for her after she saved my life.” Whispered Claire, before she nodded and turned to re-joined her friend who had gone to speak to Crystal Brown.
He watches her go before his eyes land back to the item in his hand – a gift. A real gift, not like the cheesy license plate that she had given him in Paris, which hung in the back of his closet, but a real final gift.
She had actually made him a final gift.
He needed to see what she had left for him.
The Wayne Annual Charity Gala held at Wayne manor was in full swing by the time he had returned.
It had begun two hours ago, but that didn’t stop people from arriving to the prestigious event late. Damian watched as cars continued to pull up to the main doors, the cameras of journalist going crazy despite the terrible weather that had decided to grace the evening.
He didn’t care anymore.
He stepped out of his car, he didn’t bother to open his umbrella as he let the rain drench him wet. For a moment there was a stunned silence before there was flurry of camera clicks and snaps, he could hear them calling his name, yelling out questions about his sudden late arrival. They were all trying to grab his attention but he blatantly ignored them, choosing not to wait for Alfred to open the door for him, instead, opening it himself.
He stepped through the doors and right into the heart of the Wayne Annual Charity Gala. ‘Of course, Drake would choose this place to be the main area.’ He rolled his eyes as he disregarded the looks and whispers sent his way.
“Oh my! Isn’t that the youngest son?”
“Not only is he late, but look at the absolutely deplorable state he is in?”
“Isn’t he ashamed of himself? How dare he embarrass Bruce like this?”
For whispering, they were doing an absolute poor job at doing it. He could hear everything little thing they were saying about him right now, and in most circumstances, he would have cared about their opinions of him as a Wayne heir.
But not right now.
His fingers tightly grasped at the CD that he had placed in his coat pocket. Right now, all he wanted to do was watch what she had left behind for him.
“Little D,” said Dick, immediately coming over to his youngest brother from across the room. The man himself dressed dapperly in a white and navy-blue three-piece suit for the occasion. “What’s wrong? What happened to you?” He asked, his eyes scanning over his brother with concern.
“I am fine, Grayson.”
“Damian,” his blue eyes hardened, refusing to believe him.
“I am fine, Grayson.” Damian turned to head to his room. Dick wasn’t willing to let him go just yet; the older man had questions for him so he reached out to grab his arm. He never expected the teen to react so violently to the action. “I demand that you unhand me, and leave me alone!”
Dick flinched from the harshness of his tone, “Damian, I –“
“Can you just shut up, Grayson? I just came back from a funeral.” He snapped in a fit of impatience, yanking his arm out from his eldest brother’s grasp. He simply didn’t have it in him to care anymore. “I just had to bury one of my friends, I just want to be left alone to mourn.” He hissed angrily before turning away to head to his room. “Now leave me alone and go back to your little ball.”
As he walked away, there was deadly silence that remained in the main hall as nobody had dared to speak up during his little outburst of anger.
“Oh dear, Master Bruce is not going to be pleased with the front-page tomorrow morning.” remarked Alfred, dryly as he watched the youngest Wayne stalk off to his room.
“Yep,” said Jason, as the older grabbed another drink from the tray Alfred carried. The man himself was dressed in a well-fitted black and wine-red suit. “Best gala ever.” He stated, taking a sip of his drink. “Man, I should come to these fancy things more often if get to see that little Demon spawn make a mess of Replacement’s ball.” He laughed, his blue eyes glancing over to Tim who looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown from Damian’s little display. Bruce stood beside him, whispering words of assurance to calm the younger man down, but his expression didn’t hide his disapproval either.
Alfred didn’t have to reply Jason to make his displeasure known.
“Nobody is going to talk to him?”
“Well, Master Damian did say that he wanted to be left alone.” Replied Alfred.
The moment he entered his room, he grabbed the CD and tossed his coat aside.
He made his way towards his desk where his laptop was, popping the CD cover open, he didn’t hesitate to slot the CD in as he watched as a video appear.
The initial screen was black but soon opened up to reveal none other than Stephanie, she appeared to be setting up the camera as her eyes focusing on adjusting the camera until it was straight. She was sat in front of a keyboard, behind her was a purple bed. She must have filmed this from her bedroom. Looking at her now, her face was skinnier, her eyes were more tired – you could tell that she was truly near her end but yet, she still forced herself to smile at the camera.
“Brown…”
“Damian, if you get this then it means that Claire has sent out my final wishes. Don’t cry, Dami, I want this to be a happy gift for you.” She spoke into the camera as she grinned at him. “You wanted to hear my play, didn’t you? Well, tada~ Welcome to a private concert, for you and only you, Damian. It will be my very last concert, so be grateful you damn brat.”
With that, the music started to play.
He recognised it – it was the tune she had been humming throughout their time in Paris.
The scene cut away, but the music continued to play. Replacing his visage of Stephanie was a series of videos, or photographs that had must have been taken on her phone.
His heart froze, it was from all those years before, before she had retired. He had always known that she had made some recordings of their little trips, but he never realised that she had kept them all these years later. The images of the past were soon replaced by some of the videos and photographs she had captured during their final day together in Paris. Some he knew that she had taken, and others, like the one of how watching the Eiffel Tower light up, he hadn’t even noticed.
He didn’t realise he was crying until he felt the hot tears roll down his cheek.
For the first time in forever, Damian Wayne let himself cry.
He really missed Stephanie Brown.
첫눈이 내리면
When morning came the next day, Alfred was mildly reluctant to collect the paper outside.
He could already imagine the front-page news, it probably had something to do with the young masters’ little anger tantrum. So, it came to a surprise for him to discover that it was not Damian’s teenaged tantrum that had made front-page headlines, but rather his paid obituary to his rumoured secret lover?
The aged man had raised a brow as he scanned over the story, of course it was written by that Vicki Vale.
‘Damian Wayne’s Secret ‘Lover’ Dead?’
It was no secret that Damian Wayne, the youngest son of Gotham’s eccentric billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, was spotted in Paris two months ago with a mysterious blonde. Onlookers say that they had been spotted visiting local tourist spots around the City of Love, and that the mysterious blonde had even escorted him back to his hotel that night.
[Insert photograph, blonde’s face was obscured but Damian’s was in clear view as they hugged by a bridge.]
However, after a little blow up at yesterday Wayne Enterprise Annual Gala, it was revealed that the young heir had blown off his family’s gala in favour for a funeral. The Gotham Gazatte has even confirmed that the young Wayne had called yesterday to pay for a complete one-page obituary spread for his recently deceased friend, including a photograph of an oil painting portrait he had painted himself.
From the looks of the image, it looks like this friend is very likely to be the Damian’s mysterious blonde from Paris –
Alfred read no more as the aged butler flipped over to the obituary that Damian had paid for. His eyes widened as he felt his breath get caught in his throat, for a moment he forgot to breath.
‘Stephanie Rose Brown’
Died: 25 years old.
An Angel that was taken away too soon.
You courageously fought a silent, long and hard battle for the past six years with lymphoma, you triumphed once but it came back with vengeance and won. I will always be grateful for your presence in my life. You showed and taught me many things about this world. It’s tragic that our reunion was cut short, but may you rest in peace at last. After all, the past year was must have been the most painful for you.
Goodbye, Stephanie Brown. - Damian Wayne.
A picture stared right at him.
It was an image of an oil painting portrait one that must have captured her very last moments – she looked happy. There was a sort of twinkle in her eyes as her lips were pursed together into a ghost of a smile.
(Portrait painted by Damian Wayne.)
“Oh my…”