The Dark Knight Rises (Revised)

Taking Gotham Back

 When I came to I saw that I was in John's apartment. I looked around but couldn't hear anything. I had a cool cloth on my head and a bandage on my ribs. I began to slowly sit up and John walked in the room. "Easy now! Easy!" He said and rushed to me. He helped me sit up and sat beside me then held me. "I'm so glad that you're okay." He said. "I have to help Batman." I said. "No you don't." Bruce said as he walked in still dressed in his bat suit. "You're injured Bruce." I said. "I always knew it was you." John said. "You did?" We both asked. "Well come on. Bruce is here, Batman dissapears, Batman's here Bruce dissapears. I think most of Gotham's population are not that keen on sight and mind."

"That's what makes you an excellent Detective."

"Impressive observance John."

"Thanks."

"I need you to lie low for a little while."

"No! You need me out there!"

"I'll do fine on my own." He argued and started to leave the room. "You need me!" I shouted. "Stephanie! No!" He argued back. He left the apartment building through the window and I looked at John. "Robin..." I said. "You can help me!" He said and smiled. "We'll get the boys from the orphanage out and try to get them out of Gotham City across the bridge to safety. Okay?" He said. "Sounds like a plan." I agreed. I got dressed and we headed out. I blended in, being in casuals. But I didn't want to blend in. We got the boys out and he sent a few to tell people to flee. We traveled across to the bridge and I was in the bus by the window beside John. He held my hand and looked at me. "He'll be alright." He assured me. I briefly smiled and leaned on him. The boys in the bus began to chant a little tune about us. It made me smile. The kids stopped when the bus stopped and I lifted my head and looked. John stepped out and I followed. A S.W.A.T. member was warning us not to pass. He's ordered to shoot anybody down who tries to pass. John argued back that they're a bus full of little kids. The man was still not letting us pass. John began to walk forward and was being warned. I watched and they shot at his feet. I gasped then hollered his name. He started to walk further and was still warned. He got his feet shot at more. "JOHN!" I cried out. He was standing still. I seen his heel lift. "ROBIN JONATHAN BLAKE!" I screamed out. He stepped his heel down and came back then told the boys to go back into the bus. "But that's not going to help with the blast..." The bus driver said. "I don't care! You get back in there too!" He said to the driver. The driver listened and got back in. "Don't ever scare me like that again Robin. I can't lose you." I said to him. "You won't. You won't lose me." He said and held me. "Are you two getting in here too?" The driver said. Just then we could hear an odd sound. I looked to my right as John looked to his left. Batman was flying his new machine. The one I saw the other night. We watched it fly towards us and go up and over the bridge. He was flying way out towards the ocean. "He's going to drop it into the sea! That's smart!" I said and ran to the other side of the bridge. John followed. "He is Gotham's hero." John said and smiled. I smiled and watched on to see a big wave go up or something. We watched as it exploded mid sky and the flying machine exploded as well. Fire in the sky falling down to the sea. "No!" I cried out. John grabbed me and held me tight. He turned me away from the scene and I began to cry on his shoulder. He held the back of my head and my back. "What are we going to do without him?!" I asked. "I don't know." John said.

 We had a tombstone put beside Bruce's parents in a tiny graveyard kept by Wayne Manor. Lucius began to leave and John kissed my cheek. "Take all the time you need." He whispered to me and began to walk away. "I failed you. Master Wayne. And I'm so sorry." Alfred said before shedding a couple tears. "No, Alfred. You didn't." I encouraged him. "While you were gone, Bruce and I had a little argument. And I left him. On his own. If I hadn't..." He stopped. "Alfred, regardless if you were here or not...you're not to blame for this. Okay?" I said and hugged him. "Thank you Stephanie. You are a darling." He said and briefly smiled. We both walked out of the graveyard and I closed the gate. Looking at the tombstone one last time. Life changed after that. I began to stay with John in his apartment and Alfred went on a trip to Milan, Italy. I went back to Wayne Manor with John one afternoon and walked in through the bat cave opening. "There's something I want to share with you." I said to him. "Wow. This place is pretty cool." He said. I held his hand and walked on the water with him. We stood on a platform as it began to rise. It rose and the bat suit in it's chamber rose. His computer system beside it rose from underneath too. I sat in the metal chair and logged on to a telecom. I called Lucius Fox and John looked over my shoulder at him. "Glad to see you've decided on my idea." Lucius said. "Yes. I hope he's up for it too." I said. "Up for what?" John asked. "Look behind you." Lucius said. John stood and turned around. I turned around in the chair to see two chambers lifted and contained a new Batgirl suit and a black and deep maroon red color on it. Cape and hood included. John stepped forward to it. There was a bird-like insignia built in the chest, wings spread. Like ours but his own. "You want me to join you?" He asked and turned around. I was holding a black masquerade looking mask with a deep maroon tribal bird design on the top part that I designed myself.  "Yes Robin, please be a part of this team." I said. He walked towards me and gently took the mask from my hands. He turned it around and placed it on his face and looked at Lucius and I. "How does it look?" He asked and smiled. "Like you're meant to be in it." Lucius said. He tied the back and I smiled and hugged him. "So what will we be? Batgirl and...?"

"Robin."

"Just Batgirl and Robin?"

"Nope."

"Then who else?"

                                                                      The End

A month later, we were still training for combat, hand-to-hand, versus weapons and how to disarm a weaponed opponent. John was amazingly quick to learn it and I learned fast too, but was a bit slower than John. I blamed the whole gender thing. Making both men laugh. I was excersizing beside John and Bruce was watching us like a Boot Camp Sargeant. "Master Wayne, this came for you." Alfred said and brought a letter on a tray. John and I sat up and looked. "What is this?" Bruce asked and took it. The envelope had a green question mark on it. "That's odd." I said. Alfred left and Bruce opened it carefully, pulling out a single piece of paper. He read it then looked at us. "It's a riddle." He said. "When is a floor just like a puzzle?" Bruce said. "I don't know..." I answered. The floor caved in underneath of us and we fell all the way down into the water in the bat cave. I surfaced and Bruce did after. John surfaced beside me and shook his head then ran his hand down his face. "When it's in pieces..." John answered the riddle. "This way." Bruce said and began to lead us swimming to a ledge. "Leaving so soon?" We heard somebody say. We all turned around to see a man in an emerald suit with violet gloves and masquerade mask. He has flaming red hair under his violet and emerald bowler hat. His tie was black with a green question mark. He twirled a purple cane with gold accents and and Emerald stone for a handle then leaned on it. "Riddle me this trio, what always comes but is never here?" He asked. I looked at John and Bruce and they looked at me then him. "Tomorrow!" Bruce answered. "Good thinking! You have a quick mind!" The man said and tucked his cane under his arm and applauded. He walked around on the platform and twirled his cane around. "Now riddle me this..." He said and faced us. "What is square, rich people have one and has what everybody wants?" He asked and watched, waiting for an answer. We were all thinking. I was in thought then I looked at Bruce with wide eyes. I turned to the man in the suit. "A safe!" I said. "Oooh! This little knockout has a good mind in that pretty little skull!" The man said. "I'll give you a knockout!" John said and began to swim to the platform. "Bye bye!" The man said and threw down a small ball. Green smoke billowed up and John covered his face when he made it to the ledge. When it cleared the man was gone. "We'll find that colorful fairy." Bruce said and helped me climb onto the surface. He climbed up with my help and we looked at John. He was holding a card in his hands. "Another riddle?" Bruce asked as we approached him. "Yeah. It says "What loves to riddle, always outsmarts you and will never be defeated? Turn over for answer." He said and turned it over. "The Riddler." He said and looked up at us.