Justice Continues: Prologue

Justice Continues: Prologue
Story takes place in the Young Justice universe of the future which also takes place in Vanessa Land. Read artist comment for more information
Words in this font are flashbacks

On patrol with Batman. It was one sentence that Stephanie felt she would never get used to saying. It had been nearly a year since she had found out who the true Batman was. It had been only five months since she became Robin.

Where did it all start? With her criminal father Cluemaster. The girl had some how gotten in her head that she could help Batman stop her father by becoming a masked vigilante of her own and leaving Batman clues on what to do to stop Cluemaster.

Overall it went well. Cluemaster was sent to jail and Gotham had one less villain to worry about. But Batman had caught up to the young girl pretending to be hero and forbid her from pursuing this 'career' any further.

But Stephanie was never the type to listen.

A few days later Batman noticed the girl jumping over roof tops. The girl had even chosen a name.

"Spoiler." She told him "I tried to 'spoil' my father's plans so why not a fitting name like Spoiler?" she said giving him a wink.

The dark knight held a scowl on his face. "Go home Stephanie." He said turning away "I don't want to see you out in that costume again."

He pulled out his grappling hook and aimed it at a nearby building top. The grappling hook shot out and hooked onto the edge of the roof.

He then felt a tug on his cape. "Let go Stephanie."

"It's Spoiler" she announced. "You need me."

"How so?"

"That Nightwing guy you some times pair up with seems to spend more time in Bludhaven. Batwoman seems to have her own agenda and you know…I don't know what happened to that Robin guy." She had been too young when the last Robin was around.

Batman frowned at this reminder. His last Robin. Jason Todd. A street kid who tried to steal the tires off the Bat-Mobile. He had so much potential but so much anger. The boy had been lost at the hands of the Joker.

Spoiler could sense the tension "I…should I apologize for that?" she asked.

"Go home Stephanie." He repeated as he ripped her hand off his cape. Spoiler winced slightly from his grip and started rubbing her hand once he let go. "And stay there."

His final words before he flew into the night.

She never listened. Time and time Batman would tell her to give it up. There was a time when he even told her what happened to Batgirl. He never gave away Batgirl's identity but he had given Stephanie the information that she had been shot and paralyzed.

Stephanie still didn't listen. Batman told her stories of other heroes who had been lost.

She didn't care.

It went on for another year. The girl running around as Spoiler, helping the people Batman couldn't. The people he couldn't help were the people hurt by smaller crimes. Such as a snatched purse, some one trying to steal a TV. She once got some one trying to steal Styrofoam peanuts. That was an odd day.

Batman over time seemed to like the girl's company. He corrected her on mistakes she had made and even gave her assignments on what to do in Gotham. He was growing to appreciate the girls help.

It went all down hill the week her father escaped from Arkham.

It's heart breaking when you come home from school, getting pumped up to go out for patrol. When you open the door and see your mother on the floor. Standing over her is your father. With a gun in his hand.

If Batman hadn't been watching her Stephanie didn't think she would have survived. Before Cluemaster could even take a step forward the dark knight bust through the window and took him down.

But why couldn't he have saved her mother in time?

The phone rang. It echoed through out the entire Gotham Police Headquarters. Commissioner Gordon had finished asking the young girl questions. There wasn't really much to ask though.

Stephanie just walked through the door and saw her mother on the floor. It was easy to guess the rest of what happened.

She had no other relatives. What was she supposed to do?

She remembered the bright light that seemed to fill the building as playboy Bruce Wayne walked through the door.

She stared at him as he talked to the commissioner. She saw him look her way a few times and even saw Gordon nudge his shoulder in her direction.

It wasn't long before Bruce Wayne walked towards her and sat next to her on the cold bench.

"I'm sorry about your mother." He started.

"Yeah? So am I." she said. She knew about Bruce Wayne. I mean he was apparently the savior of Gotham. Besides Batman that is. She knew that he had adopted two kids. One was in college and the other she thinks had died.

Wait…did he want to adopt her?

"Can I ask why you're here Mr. Wayne?" though she felt like she knew the answer.

"I want to help." He said placing a hand on her shoulder. "I want you to come live with me in the manor."

"As what?" she asked sounding skeptical.

He smiled slightly "As nothing. I have adopted two other children. I just want to help you through this and if you have no one to stay with you are welcome at the manor."

"Thanks Mr. Wayne but…I'll have to think about it."

He nodded "Of course"

She ended up moving into the manor the very next day. It didn't even take a day for her to figure out the big secret.

"You're Batman." She said looking away from all the gadgets and devices to look at him.

"I didn't think you'd figure it out so quickly." He said standing there in his Batman costume.

"Well when Alfred willingly lets you play with the grandfather clock that leads to the Batcave you're gonna find out!" she said.

Bruce chuckled as he glanced at his butler Alfred. The butler just held a tiny grin on his face.

"You're Batman." She said again "Wow, I always wondered how Batman got a new car every year."

"I've been meaning to ask you," Batman started "Despite what has happened with your mother…are you willing to return to the Spoiler persona?" he asked.

"No."

Bruce blinked. He had expected her to say yes. With how much she argued with him to remain a costumed hero he didn't expect the sudden no.

"I'm guessing the two other kids you adopted became Robin right?"

He knew where this was going. In his mind he yelled to himself 'Find a way to escape! Smack the tea out of Alfred's hand! Create a distraction!' but that was out of character.

"I want to be Robin."

"Stephanie-" "No, I've been basically working by you this entire year. I'm your ward now. I'm practically your kid now!" she argued.

"I want to be Robin. I can be Robin. Train me to be like the others."

He frowned "It won't be easy."

"I didn't expect it to be"

Thus the first girl wonder was born. Batman trained her for months in the way of being Robin before letting her out on the field.

It seemed so long ago since he said 'Today is the day' to her and she was able to finally come out with him on patrol. She had even taken down Harley Quinn that night. It was awesome.

"Robin." She heard Batman say "We're going get in the car."

She had been too lost in thought to realize they were leaving the abandoned alley way. "Coming." She spoke up jumping into the passenger seat.

The vehicle started moving as Batman started up the car that everyone knew about. The sacred Bat-Mobile. The car of all cars. The one no one could ever find or see as it raced down the streets or stayed parked in an alley way.

Only one person had even been able to find it. Only one.

"Hey Batman," Robin broke the silence as she always did.

"Yes Robin?"

"Is Night-…we're in the car I'm using real names!" she declared. Batman didn't argue. "Is Dick coming over for Christmas?" she asked. It seemed like a question out of an old Christmas special.

It was like a question that the little kids asked about their missing parents or their moved out siblings.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Batman questioned.

"I don't know…" the girl questioned "Could be that fight you had with him last year. Or the one that you had during my birthday or heck should I bring up the fight you had last week?"

Batman sighed. Stephanie seemed to remember every fight he and Dick had. Every detail about it. What the fight was about, what started the fight, what might have been thrown during the fight…basically she knew everything.

"We won't fight." He promised.

She didn't believe it "Lies. Lies I say."

He just shook his head "Stephanie just trust me."

"I will trust you when you and Dick stop fighting about every single thing. Seriously. It's annoying. Babs and I are tired of breaking it up."

"You won't have to break it up this year and Barbara should be spending time with her own family." He said. He always wondered why Barbara would spend a small amount of time with her family and then come to the Wayne Manor for a Christmas dinner.

Even Kate would come later on in the even. Kate was better known as Batwoman to them.

"Fine, I believe you" she said crossing her arms as she looked out the window. Not like you could really tell what any of the blurs were though. "But if I have to break up another fight I am seriously returning your gift."

"Of course you will." He said not phased by this "I think you will like the gift I have for you though."

"Is it a pony?"

x-x-x-x-x

Stephanie at one time was Spoiler and during this time there was another troubled youth on the streets. One who had it harder. One who wanted to leave it all. One who couldn't stop all the madness by putting on a cape and playing hero.

"Come on Mama Mia!" Richard said walking closer to the youth "I love you. You know I do." He was too old to love her. He knew that. She knew that. Yet she still kept running back to him.

Mia. A troubled child as mentioned before. Ran from an abusive home after her mother had died. With no where to go she ran to a man named Richard. A man who sold her out for money.

"Then why do you keep sending me to creepy old guys?" she asked. She wasn't much older then thirteen and yet here she was. So young and yet she knew so much about the world and how it worked.

"Oh no! You are not starting that again!" he said angrily.

"I am starting that again." She said glaring at him. "I'm tired of it Richard. I feel like you don't love me at all."

He returned her glare as he reached for the knife in his coat pocket. He grabbed Mia's wrist and held her against a wall "I wanted to make this quick Mia! I wanted to cuddle with you and make you feel like a freakin' princess before we had to go here!"

"Go where? Richard what are you doing?" she asked scared as he held up the knife and got ready to strike her with it.

"Please don't." she begged him looking fearful.

"Sorry Mama Mia but this is how it's got to go down." He said gripping the knife. Mia panicked and as he swung down she caught his wrist.

Richard tried to force down the knife but Mia managed to hold it back. She quickly kneed him in the stomach causing him to let go of her and double over.

She pulled the knife from his hand and glared at him "I should have seen this coming." She mumbled clutching the weapon. She just eyed him some more "Hold out your hand."

"What?"

"Hold out your freaking hand!" she yelled. Seeing the knife in her hand he slowly held out his hand "What are you going to do?"

Before he could react she clutched his wrists and swung the knife. She cut him in-between his thumb and pointer finger. He screamed in pain as he held onto his hand.

"Hurts right? It's fixable though but it's a painful operation. My mom had to have the same one when she cut herself making my dad a sandwich." Mia threw the knife halfway across the room "Don't come after me Richard. Just don't."

She then headed for the door and never looked back.

"It's time for practice" Mia perked up when she heard Oliver's voice. In his hand he held her bow and arrow.

"Right." She nodded slowly standing up. She headed over to the coat rack and grabbed her jacket. She slipped it on and looked at her guardian.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she smiled as she zipped up her jacket "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing that would concern you Ollie."

He just frowned but didn't question her. "Come on then." He said leading her outside to the firing range they had set up in the back.

The snow lay flat on the ground and even more rained down upon them. Even in hr jacket Mia shivered "Its way to cold for this." She said

Oliver smiled "That won't matter to the bad guys when we're out on patrol."

"I know" she huffed taking her bow and arrows from him. "But I still hate the cold. I want a new jacket for Christmas. This one starting to lose its warmth."

"It's what?" he chuckled. "It's warmth! It's just not providing enough heat anymore!" she argued.

Oliver just shook his head "Maybe if you ask Santa-"

"Really Ollie? Really?"

"I thought it sounded funny."

"It's not."

"If you say so."

Mia just ignored him as she grabbed an arrow and positioned herself to fire the arrow at the target.

"No fighting this year with Roy okay?" she said keeping her eyes on the target.

"What?"

"No fighting please. It's a miracle he still comes around anymore. Just promise me. No fighting. Okay?"

He just sighed "I promise kiddo."

Mia smiled as she released the arrow "Good"