InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Baddaboo, Baddaba.... BOO!"

steph brown has a (spoileralert) wrote in rooms,
@ 2015-02-07 14:45:00

Entry tags:

!dc comics, *log, selina kyle, stephanie brown

gotham u: steph/selina
[Stephanie was trying her hardest to adjust, to learn this Gotham. Maybe a different girl -- a blonde bat -- would have dove right into crime fighting and patrolling, but that wasn't this girl's schtick. (Not yet, anyway. Who knew what this place might bring?) No, right now this Steph had different priorities. Namely, finding out who was here and what the sitch was. Sure, Eddie had said that her father had been dead for a long, long time in this Gotham, but that didn't mean anything right now. She wanted proof, and Nigma wanted her to go away anyway, so why would she believe him?

A niggling voice in the back of her mind told her that he was right, that he was trustworthy though. The memories tucked away in the back of her brain from another woman told her that he was good. And yeah, Steph couldn't help believing that. She couldn't help believing that all these people were good. Even the Bat, or at least this Bat. Maybe it was that pesky hope that she could never really shake. That unwavering faith that people, deep down, could have redeemable qualities. (See: Arthur Brown.)

She almost didn't go out that day to find out, but she wasn't satisfied. She had googled Brown, Cluemaster, anything relating to him, but all she got were some dated articles about her dad and then some about her. Or the other her. Whatever.

So, she got bundled up, and she made her way to the university. Classes had already started, and she'd gotten emails from professors asking about a "medical leave," so she assumed that it was fair game to go there. The campus itself was teeming with students, and for the first time since she arrived here, she felt real familiarity. Not a fleeting, vague remembrance of a life that wasn't hers. She felt herself unspool as she strolled along the path, purple hat on top of blonde hair bright among the blue-slate cityscape and snow coating the campus. Guard down for once, even if maybe it shouldn't be.]

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gotham u: steph/selina

spacecowboys
2015-02-08 05:03 am UTC (link)

[Gotham U wasn't the kitty cat's normal territory. Far from the East End, and far from the Egyptian, but there were two little statues she wanted to see. Horus and Anubis were visiting the history department. A grant, and there would be an event that evening to display the lovers to anyone who could pay the thousand dollar entrance fee - for charity, of course. And Selina? Selina was still proving herself to the Don, and so this? This was a nice little recon mission. And later tonight? She'd prove that she was more thief than lover of the Bat.

But, for now, she was strolling. Denim-encased legs and a cinched jacket in emerald. Her heels clicked, and she was lost in thought as she went. Oh, nothing serious; she'd already had all her heavy doubt moments about her current endeavor. No, now it was just a ping of nothings against her skull. Holly's future. Iris' presence. Bruce's absence. Etc. Just momentary things, and nothing that stuck very long. It was very old-school her, before little attachments in this place. Surface things, and that was the best way to survive in Gotham.

New year. New plan.

She almost didn't notice the blonde up ahead; she certainly didn't recognize her at first. But a few steps closer, and Selina's lips curved in a warm smile that she had to tamp down. Eddie's words replayed in her mind - if they were going to do this, then they needed to do this.

But, she was a curious kitty cat, so she closed the gap between them with heel-click casualness.]

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spoileralert
2015-02-08 10:08 pm UTC (link)

[Stephanie felt someone closing in on her, could hear the click-clack of a pair of heels more expensive than she could ever dream of affording. She dismissed it for a moment, unconscious roll of her shoulders seen through a black wool peacoat, but then the person came closer and closer. Wheeling around, the blonde narrowed her blue eyes for a moment before they widened. Sure, it wasn't the same woman, but there was always something enigmatic about each iteration, she assumed. Every single Cat had a je ne sais quoi, didn't they?]

Selina Kyle? [She didn't bother whisper it, but she didn't shout it at the top of her lungs either. A step back, eyes narrowed and arms across her chest. Her head tilted to the side, blonde hair spilling over her shoulder.] What are you doing here?

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spacecowboys
2015-02-09 03:28 am UTC (link)

[Selina smiled when the kitten said her name. There was something soothing to the narcissistic kitty cat about the fact that the blonde girl knew her. Selina might not like all the little iterations of herself, but at least she hadn't encountered stories about even one version of herself that was a nobody. Now that? That would've been depressing.

Her smile was lush and warm, and it was hard to look at this little blonde and not think of her Steph. Older, younger, the little blonde bat had managed to flap her wings into Selina's affection, even with all the fights and squabbles. And she was more willing to accept iterations these days, was the cat; something was better than nothing.

She looked the girl over in the same way she'd looked Eddie over days earlier; looking for signs that she was happy now, looking for any of the misery from before. But that step back, that appeased her. Cautious, careful, and this little girl didn't like her. Interesting.]

Am I that dangerous?

[And, no, she didn't answer that particular little question.]

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spoileralert
2015-02-09 10:46 am UTC (link)

[Misery was not present in her face because she had no awareness of what to be miserable about, at least not at the moment. Of course there were things to be sad about, but suspicion trumped that. Sadness? That could wait for later. That could wait for quiet moments in her mom's empty home where she would mull over having no one of her own here, and not being a Stephanie that the people here wanted.

But now? That could wait for later.

The lush, warm smile almost disengaged her, but she coiled her arms around her a little tighter. A smirk, however, appeared across her face, and maybe, maybe there was a tiny chuckle.]

I tend not to be big fans of people who kidnap me, tie me up, throw me in a safe, and theeennn hand me off to the one person I didn't want to go to.

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spacecowboys
2015-02-09 03:45 pm UTC (link)

[The little blonde bat smirked, and the little blonde bat chuckled, and that confidence was familiar, like warm milk and scratches behind the ears. Oh, it was different, and it had the emotions of youth behind it. But Selina still remembered this particular kitten young, before all of the hotel's age-up, age-up more games, and there was something soothing about youth and do-overs, especially for someone that had been so unhappy.

It was the same way she felt about Dickie, young now and no longer crying about parenthood and a failed relationship that he couldn't seem to just let go of, and maybe none of them were made for love and happy endings.

This was, after all, Gotham.

She'd tossed her own silly dreams for anything resembling forever off the docks, into that murky Gotham water. It was for the best.]

Tsk. So touchy. It doesn't sound like I hurt you, did I? [She arched a brow. Stephanie's story interested her more than most stories about other Cats. Because Stephanie wasn't actually talking about another Cat, was she?] What did he do once he had you, kitten?

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spoileralert
2015-02-09 06:12 pm UTC (link)

[Love and happy endings were whispered in the back of her head, in memories of a marriage coming apart at the seams and love failing in the face of so much hardship. And Stephanie had that idealistic, suburban dreams that she would have something different than her divorced mom and dad. Than the divorcees she had in her memories.

But again, that was for later, and she was so young, right? Happy endings weren't even a factor in her life when she wasn't being hunted by money-hungry jackasses or trying to figure out if it was even worth it to try and fit in.

She rolled her eyes, still smirking.] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe you didn't, but you sure as hell weren't going to hesitate to hand me right over to the people that want me. [She waved a hand. Water under the bridge. At least for now. She laughed again, and shook her head.] Threw me in an apartment in the Narrows with another one of his bats. Harper Row? She here? [Steph hadn't seen her on the journals, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.]

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spacecowboys
2015-02-10 04:03 am UTC (link)

[Selina's little moment of believing in love and happy endings was long gone. She was starting to accept that this was it, and that this is what it was meant to be. It made it easier than the feel of burrs beneath the skin, and she wasn't made for that kind of sting. But the little blonde bat, ah, she remembered a different kind of anguish there; she was glad it wasn't looking back at her now. Whatever they'd all lost, she liked to think that Eddie and Steph won a kind of peace that they didn't have before.

Whether that was positive or negative thinking? The kitty cat had no idea.

The kitten rolled her eyes, and Selina chuckled at her side. She walked again, more steps and the click of her heels on the ground.] Wasn't I? [A pause.] No. I don't know anyone named Harper Row. [Her next pause was longer, more deliberate.] And you're sure your Bat was trying to destroy his little city? That's news to me. What was your Riddler like?

[She knew. Oh, she knew, but she wanted to hear it all the same.]

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spoileralert
2015-02-10 10:08 pm UTC (link)

[Stephanie fell in step with the Cat, scuff of black Docs against the sleek concrete. The quad was filled with students ambling or rushing in alternating fashions to their next destination. Most paid little mind to the little blonde and the brunette knockout moving between them, though a few bros went completely slackjawed at the kitty cat. Of course. Steph gave them flat looks before turning back to Selina.]

Guess she's not here then? [A shrug. Steph barely knew Harper, but she thought the girl was alright enough. Stubborn and naive as hell about their precious Bat, but alright. She didn't worry about it, instead blinking a few times at Selina's question like she didn't really feel like articulating why she mistrusted the Bat again. But, she did. Why the hell not?] I dunno what it's like here, but there? Bruce Wayne funded everything the Bat did. And Bruce? Was the one telling my father what to do and how to take the city apart piece by goddamn piece. Was the one who wanted my head on a platter because I saw too much. [And wasn't that enough not to trust the Bat?] How could you trust someone who worked with people like that? He's a bad guy trying to look like a good guy.

[Steph tried not to pull a face, but the Riddler was a touchy subject. Not for that man, but for the one that was here now. Yeah, he pissed her off, and she had so many misplaced memories and vestiges of feelings for a man she didn't really know.] I never ran into him thankfully, but...he was brutal, I guess?

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spacecowboys
2015-02-11 12:35 am UTC (link)

[The last time Selina had walked these concrete paths? Was when she was a much younger kitten. She'd been going to see the baby bird, and she'd disrupted his class and made him chase her into the hallway. Even with everything that came after, with all the hate that had taken root beneath the little Talon's wing? It was a good memory, and she let herself remember for just a second. Maybe it was all the talk of wishes, or maybe it was the feeling of things slipping between her fingers, and she had no way to do anything to stop it; whatever the reason, she let the memory stay until the little blonde spoke again.]

Not that I know of, but I don't know anything about what the little bats are up to. [And for once, for once, she wasn't exaggerating. No purr, no lies, and with Eddie gone? She'd fallen out of that loop so quickly that it made it very clear who had been keeping her in that little winged family to begin with. But the little girl at her side talked about Bruce like he wasn't the Bat, and Selina just chuckled in the end.] I'm a bad guy who's willing to look bad, and you're still talking to me, aren't you?

[But, yes, Eddie back home was brutal, and Selina's steps slowed as the building drew near. Slow, slow, slow, stop.] So, what is it you do now, Stephanie?

[Oh, she shouldn't care, and every day that went by? She was developing her own little agenda more and more and more. But she cared for the little girl beside her - young or old, angry or not - and she was curious. If there wasn't a family of bats in Stephanie's future, then what was there?] I promise not to kidnap you and lock you in a safe, if you tell me. [She pretended to consider.] Well, unless I absolutely need to.

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spoileralert
2015-02-11 01:55 pm UTC (link)

[Stephanie's blonde eyebrow quirked up in a little bit of surprise. She surmised that Selina was in the loop with the Bats, especially here, so it took her off guard to know that she just wasn't. She didn't ask -- it looked like a fresh wound -- but certainly the kitty cat could interpret what the expression meant. Surprise, a little confusion, and curiosity. Stephanie flipflopped between believing the innate trust she had lived with her whole life because of another woman, and knowing that the man that they all followed was involved in things he shouldn't be. But this Bat seemed more trustworthy. There was that.

And at least she wasn't the only one outside the loop, then.

Steph stopped, gravel skidding underneath heavy boots, and she looked up at the older woman at her side. There was consideration, and there was another round of laughs at the cat's joke.] I'll take your word for it. I've got a feeling that you aren't a pinky swearing type of girl. [She went quiet for a moment, blues on emerald greens, and then she sighed. A roll of her shoulders, and a pause before she really answered.] You -- the other you -- pointed out almost immediately what all of...me running around was about. Dad. [And wasn't that the crux of so many problems in Gotham? She scoffed, rolling her eyes.] I did it all for my dad. To prove to him that I could be just as good as him, that I was good enough for him. That's why I became Spoiler. [She rubbed her cold hands over her arms and then shoved them in her pockets. Feeling a little more tense.] So now that he's apparently-- [Dead, but she didn't want to say it. She just waved the word off.] I don't know what to do. I really don't.

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spacecowboys
2015-02-11 06:03 pm UTC (link)

[Selina deliberately ignored that surprised look the little blonde bat bestowed upon her. She was growing into it. Into the feeling of not being part of the little winged family, just like she was growing into the changes in Marvel. They would be part of her fur soon, and it would be like nothing had ever been different. It was an old, old skill for the kitty cat, adaptation, and it was one she'd never managed to quite lose the hang of.

But, no, the little blonde certainty wasn't the only one outside the loop.

Stephanie mentioned pinky swears, and Selina chuckled.] No. Not even when I was your age, kitten. [Pinky swears, they were a bad idea in Gotham orphanages. But what Stephanie said next was interesting. Interesting, because she assumed Stephanie had always known about her daddy issues. But the little blonde she'd known had fought as hard to prove herself to her daddy as to a certain Bat. Maybe that's how she went from purple hood to black cowl, and this girl just hadn't made it that far yet.

Selina hmmmed, and she looked back at the building with her entire reason for visiting. It was deliberate, that look of impatience; in reality, she was thinking.

Two fingers beneath the little blonde's chin, tap, tap, and then the kitty cat backed away.] Prove yourself to the Bat. Or, better yet, kitten? Prove yourself to you.

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spoileralert
2015-02-12 02:57 pm UTC (link)

[Stephanie smiled without thinking at the kitten, a warmth washing over her with familiarity for a woman that in another life she'd considered a best friend. Defenses melted away, and Selina could see a softness in the little girl's blue eyes that hadn't been there yet. A soft smile, and Steph didn't even jerk her chin away in teenaged defiance when the other woman touched her. She just looked, and maybe, just maybe, she suddenly felt a little better about being in this Gotham. It was silly, of course, and surely it would bite her in the ass later. But for a moment it was okay.]

What if I told you that I thought you were cooler than the Bat? [A smirk. She wasn't lying. But she considered Selina's advice for a moment.] What if I don't know what I'm supposed to prove myself to be?

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Re: gotham u: steph/selina

spacecowboys
2015-02-12 03:23 pm UTC (link)

[Selina chuckled.] I'd think you were right. [It was an easy purr, light, and she shook her head as the chuckle faded. The softness in the little blonde's eyes, she hadn't seen that in a long time. It was strange, wasn't it? Seeing someone often, and you got used to the changes this city, this life wrought in them. Stephanie had gotten older and older, more and more unhappy, and Selina couldn't help but hope that this little bat didn't have to go through that. Oh, it was stupidly optimistic for Gotham, but the softness in Stephanie's gaze made Selina think that maybe it could be different this time. This once. For this girl.]

I'm terrible at advice. [She was. No, she was awful at reading people. They weren't like safes to be cracked, and she got it wrong so often with the older version of this young woman.] But, kitten? Just follow your feet. Be where you are, and just prove yourself to be you. The little girl in purple that I knew? She started out wanting to prove herself to men, but she ended up becoming a force herself, because she wanted to be a force.

[It was a lot of words strung together for someone who was treading the wrong side of Gotham's bats and birds lately, by choice, and Selina nodded to the building over Stephanie's shoulder.] Go to school, kitten. I have places to be.

[She turned, but she slowed after a few steps; when she spoke, she didn't turn.] If you need anything? A place to stay? A friend? Look up Holly Robinson. She's in a loft off Robinson Park.

[Then click, click of heels as she walked away.]

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