Sniffling as wiped her nose on the sleeve of the sweatshirt she had practically been manhandled into, Steph looked up at the bloody skyline for a minute, wedging the battered notebook on her knees. Of course they wouldn’t let her leave the cave in the Robin suit after firing her. But… Still…
Shivering lightly as a breeze passed over her, she hugged herself a little tighter. She should go back inside. But she didn’t want to deal with… Steph life right now either. Neither life was going well for her and she just wanted to –
Jump a mile as a cape draped around her shoulders.
Letting out a yelp, her hand reflexively swinging towards the ‘assailant’ – who had already sidestepped the blind swing – Stephanie froze.
It took her a moment to realize she was looking at a Batgirl. But this wasn’t Cassandra. This one was blonde. And in purple. With her jaw slowly falling open, the Batgirl spoke.

“Ok, pull it together. You were just Robin. I’m just spoiling things for you.”

Gasping and scrambling to her knees, Stephanie pointed at her, the Batgirl that just spoke with her voice. Made her joke.

“But… you… I..”

“Yeah, We’re me. Hold it together babe. This isn’t the weirdest thing you’re gonna encounter, I promise you.”

Stephanie clutched at the cape around her like a lifeline, her eyes wide and confused as the Batgirl continued.

“I need you to listen to me. And listen to me carefully. You DO NOT need to prove yourself to Batman. At all. Ever. You don’t need his approval. You don’t need his attention. You Do. Not. Need. Batman. Are you listening to me?”

Shaking her head, Steph puffed indignantly.

“Just because you’re me doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do!”

Groaning, as if it was the expected response, the Batgirl grabbed Stephanie by the elbow and dragged her through the window, pulling at her suit. As she raised the midriff, Steph caught sight of some marks and scars she recognised – the c-section scar hadn’t faded much over time, it seemed – but dozens of others. Reflexively averting her gaze as the entire top half of the suit was removed, the Batgirl standing in front of her in a sports bra, she looked her future? in the face, frowning lightly as she took in the baby-fat free features, marred with faint scars, her nose off center from repeated breakages. The Batgirl pointed to a scar above her left breast.

“You’re two days away from making the biggest mistake of your life, Steph. Trust me when I say it’s not worth it. Hundreds die. Including you. After days of torture. And he still doesn’t approve of you after you come back. It’s not something you can force. Don’t die for that man. Give yourself a better story.”

After a beat of silence, blinking back confused, frustrated tears, Stephanie moved to pinch at the scar, to prove to herself that it was real. That the Batgirl was real. With her fingers on the older bullet wound, she looked at the newer one in the center of her chest, her voice soft and shaky.

“...How many times do I die? Does it hurt?”

Inhaling slowly, the Batgirl swallowed hard, trying to force a smile.

“That’s more spoilers than I’m comfortable giving you, kiddo…”