John Doe Part 5: Finale (Patreon)

Chapter 5

Another day, another scalding hot shower after Dean woke her up early so 'they' could have fun before he left for work.

Frankly she'd barely even been there, she just felt strung out, like a husk, only the knowledge she needed to check on her mother driving Stephanie out of the sweat tainted room and back home.

Her mother was awake, Stephanie found, as she stepped through the front door to see her mother watching TV.

Except when the woman's head didn't turn, Stephanie repressed a sigh, 'Awake, but not present, great,' that could mean anything from more screaming, to totally disconnected or sobbing.

Shuffling into the room, her bruises and cut covered with her home made concealer, she squatted down next to her mother, "Mom?"

Crystal slowly turned from the TV and reached out, hand brushing along the make up and into her hair, "You came home?"

"Of course," She whispered, cradling her mothers hand, "I need to make you breakfast."

Crystal sniffled and slowly leaned forward, burying her face in Stephanie's hair, "I'm a good mother, aren't I? You... You understand, don't you? I'm doing my best!" She sobbed.

Anything the nasty, Arthur parts of her wanted to say were quickly cast out as she slowly stood up and cradled her sobbing mother, "I know mom, I know, you're a great mom, the best I could ask for, and much better than I deserve."

If Crystal registered what she said, it barely showed as Stephanie lulled her mother to sleep on the couch. Barely kept awake herself by sheer hunger, Stephanie staggered into the kitchen to pull together whatever remnants she could into a meal.

Barely fed and watered, Stephanie left her moped behind and walked to school with energy she didn't have.

And then she found out it was closed while the police swept the entire building for drugs and weapons.

Suffice to say, she didn't stick around long enough to be asked questions and the moment she was home, Stephanie collapsed onto her bed with nary a thought, save a name.

'Bruce.'
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She knew she was dreaming, because Batman and Robin were here, black and gold capes swirling like maelstrom. They defeated her fathers goons, her teacher, and anyone else her mind could supply aside with flashing fists and karate kicks.

She stared up at them, too small for her own body as Robin glanced back and grinned at her, "Hey, don't worry, you're safe now. These guys won't hurt you ever again."

And the silliest thing was?

She believes him.
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Stephanie awoke around two and while hungry at least she felt rested.

Parkouring down the stairs, she spied her mother still asleep on the couch and set about calling the hospital to double check her shifts and sighed in relief.

'I still have plenty of time to prep mom's dinner, set an alarm, or three, and slip out without raising suspicion!'

After all, she still had a case to work on, and that meant accessing the Gotham City cemetery records.

'Gods, I hope they are accessible to the public,' she thought, pulling her moped out onto the street and speeding away.

As it happened they were not...

However the public library did have obituaries and with a long list of names of people in the right age bracket tucked under her arm, she sped off to the cemetery proper.

Yes it was a longshot, that the people who buried the kid had used a real grave, but even if that thread wasn't worth tugging, chances were there'd be records of 'something' happening that night, right?
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Sneaking into Gotham Centenary was not that difficult as night began to fall, 'If a guy who crawled out of his grave can do it, so can I!' She thought, cheerily launching herself over the black iron fence with a theatrical flip.

The autumn wind rustled her cape and the clouds covering the moon denied the long line of tombstones ominous shadows. But for all the grass was well tended and the graves clean, one couldn't shake the barren feeling from a place meant to house the dead.

The cemetery offices were nice enough to look at she supposed, near the heart of the graveyard, with a tidy little shed, each had sturdy padlocks on the head bolted doors.

It took Spoiler less than a minute to pick her way through the locks and only two minutes of strategic leaping, rolling and climbing to not only avoid the cameras but to crane them in such directions that even if they started moving they wouldn't see her.

'No alarms, which is nice,' she hummed, flicking on the flashy looking computer and groaning as the request for a password came up.

"All right, let's work our through our options then, shall we?" She murmured, gloves squeaking as she popped her knuckles.

It took her twenty minutes to get the password figured out, apparently the owner was a big Billie Ray fan and kept a discography in their second draw, who knew?

The name of every 'tenant' was kept in an easy to access spreadsheet, which made finding the cleaning schedule similarly simple. Names for the 'owners' of the plots however is trickier, but ultimate she finds it in the banking files.

'Paying for funerals, why does that feel so ghoulish?' See wondered, slapping CTRL-F and typing in Bruce.

Only five names turned up. None of which had buried anyone in the time frame she was looking for but the closest was...

'No way,' she thought.

Spoiler opened a search page and nervously keyed in the name, 'Jason Todd'.

There weren't many pictures, weird for a celebrity, but several magazines had some embedded as did the obituaries several months out of the range she'd been looking at.

She sucked in a gasp, heart thumping in her chest at the sight of the boy in a school picture, grinning proudly at the camera in a bow tie, dark curls framing sharp features, slim eyes and a sturdy, but small frame.

'This is impossible.'

And yet here it was, and she did live in Gotham...

Spoiler barely even bothered to flick off the computer, snatching up her satchel, all the evidence contained within feeling like an anvil she raced out to the shed.

She didn't waste time with locks, jamming a knife into the padlock and delivering a violent blow the metal pressed hard and finally snapped, and Spoiler flung the shed door open, frantically pulling out shovels , spades and more.

The grave wasn't hard to find, one of the nicest in the graveyard, an angel that in the dark seemed to loom almost menacingly. 'I'd hate to wake up to that watching me,' she thought unbidden, gut churning as she tossed her tools down and began tugging at her formulas.

It was dark, at the heart of a graveyard, the window was blowing her cape around so much she would look like a specter and Spoiler was beyond being worried about capture at this stage.

'Two drops and seal the cap,' she thought, looking at the directed mini explosive now clutched tight in her hand.

She had exactly three, on reserve for if she needed to blast a lock off something or an air hole into a wall. A single throw and the explosion would disperse over the surface it crashed against, creating a small, explosion that 'mostly' travelled in one two dimensions, rather than three.

It was a favorite of her fathers and she'd be remised if she let it go to waste on crime alone.

Stepping back, Spoiler aimed the first capsule and as the wind looked to be picking up in the distance, she threw it, timing it to a strong howl and watching as the earth was kicked up in a violent blast.

'Almost a foot,' she thought, waiting a few seconds before tossing the next and the next, each blast digging a little deeper until she was nearly four feet down, with the dirt compacting against the sides of the hole.

Spoiler snatched up her shovel and jumped into the hole, chest heaving as she dug frantically, one mantra running circles in her mind. 'If you're in there Todd, I am so fucking sorry for this!'

It was nearly twenty minutes before she hit what she guessed was six feet and Spoiler felt the shovel crack against aged wood. Tossing it aside, she reached out of the hole and began tracing her shovel along the wood, slowly creating an outline on the coffin until.

Her knife sunk into the dirt.

Dirt that should have barely been covering a coffin lid at this point; dirt that when frantically shoveled away revealed an empty coffin.

Spoiler could feel the pitter patter of rain on her shoulders and as lightning flash she looked up at the angel above, her stomach churning, her heart ice.

'Its him.'
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Spoiler fills in the grave, but not before taking dozens of photos, maybe more, enough to convince herself she's not crazy.

Her whole body thrums with unspent energy, adrenaline pumping but with nowhere to go as a yawning chasm opens in her chest.

'This is cruel,' she thought, returning the tools on auto pilot and racing for the gate.

"Mr. Wayne, your son is alive. He woke up in his own coffin, clawed his way out and is now in a coma he might never wake up from."

'Its almost too cruel.'

And yet... 'If it were my kid, I'd want to know, to be there for them when they needed me, no matter what.' She didn't know if that was universal to all parents, and frankly she doubted it, but she had to try, for Jason.

When she gets on her bike she doesn't even consider going home; instead she swerves out onto the road, her satchel and the evidence within locked inside and pressed tightly to her side as she speeds towards Gotham Mercy.
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Its almost too easy to slip in through the window, the floor remains quiet and humdrum; Jason is silent but for the faint sound of his breathing.

The shutters are closed and Spoiler stares at the bed bound boy, phone in her hand almost shaking as she pulls up the picture she'd taken of his school photo.

'Its him, it really is him,' her mind repeats over and over again.

Instinctively she takes his hand and squeezes, "Jason? Jason Todd," She intones gently.

There's a tremor, a pulse, a flickering of the eyes and tension in the hand, so subtle she might have imagined it, but she can't have!

Frantically flicking to the phones video recording setting and she leans down and presses record, head leaning against hers she whispers, "Don't worry Jason," another tremor, "I'm gonna find your dad, I'm gonna find Bruce and bring him to you."

She hits stop and lets out a shudder, absently patting the boys hand before moving on to ruffle his long curls, "I'll find your dad, Jason, I promise."

But first she had to organize her evidence.
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Organizing the evidence, pictures on top of the files and folders, a slide show of the grave photos and the recording and more pictures takes the rest of the night and bled over into early morning. 

But maybe she was just stalling? How do you tell someone their long dead son was alive and in a coma without just being thrown out or punched in the face?

The sun has risen hours ago and she was beyond drained, emotionally, physically, but something in her burned with energy. The case was nearly closed and if anyone had the resources to help Jason, to at least ensure he was cared for, it was Bruce Wayne.

'Of course how to break it to him is still in question.' she mused, head leaning back against the as she stared at the wall. "Wonder if I should just hand this all off to Batman and let him do it?" She frowned at that, "No way, that'd take too long, this needs to be done today," She whispered.

Going to his house was the obvious option, but even ignoring the distance, rich people had crazy security and everyone heard about the unfortunate would be thieves who came face to face to a butler with a shotgun.

Wayne Enterprises would seem like a crazy call, but her upbringing reared its occasionally useful head yet again when when came unbidden.

'Places like that only worry about being robbed at night, no one expects a daylight heist,' and if she was careful she could just walk through the offices to her destination.

Spoiler wasn't used to being lucky, but for Jason she'd give it a shot.

'Now, let's just hope have the fuel for the trip.'

As it happened, she didn't, and the prices were terrible.

'Oh yeah, I'm feeling lucky.'
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'Bruce Wayne must be confident, his security doesn't even use guns,' Stephanie mused, bedecked in her Spoiler pants and boots, but the rest of her outfit covered by a green top and brown jacket. Her evidence folder and phone clutched tightly in her grasp as she flitters through the early hustle and bustle of the towering skyscraper.

Were circumstances different she might have felt self conscious, but right now her goal was solely on getting to the top office. Bruce Wayne wasn't known to be a smart man, but he usually spent a few hours a day at the office at least, especially since the death of his son, or so the Gotham Gossip Rags said.

As it was a smile and a bounce in her step kept most from paying her much mind as she silently slipped through the halls, up the steps and finally ground her way into a grand foyer, with a massive W logo, a pretty secretary and and a glass doored office behind the redhead.

"Are you lost, young lady?" the secretary asks, not unkindly.

Stephanie can hear a security guard coming out of a nearby door and shakes her head, "I'm exactly where I need to be."

Then she books it for the door, the woman screeching in shock, but Spoiler has already torn it open and slammed it shut before any can truly pursue her. Rolling along the floor, she tossed back a resin capsule and sees it strike true, sealing the door with a sticky chemical that would give her the time she needed.

Then, a darkly familiar voice growls out, "What are you doing here?"

She looks to see Bruce Wayne, Gotham playboy staring at her with sharp, speculative eyes for but a moment and then he shoots out of his chair as if in delayed shock.

"I' not here to hurt you, Mr Wayne, I, I found something you need to see," she said hastily, as the sounds of shouting behind her echoed and people strained to pull the door open.

"Oh, oh," he says cheerily, "So this isn't a hostage situation, haha that's a relief. What can I do for you young lady?"

'Like flipping a switch,' she thought, before racing forward, pulling files free and bringing up the slideshow. "This is going to sound crazy but... I found your son, I found Jason."

The switch flips again and something baleful and furious flashes across his eyes. "Is this some sick joke?"

"No joke, I know this sounds crazy, but look!" She disperses the folders on his desk, pictures and images he just isn't 'seeing'.

He slams his hands on the desk, "My son is dead, how dare-"

She holds up the phone, the recording of her at Jason's bedside playing.

"Don't worry Jason. I'm gonna find your dad, I'm gonna find Bruce and bring him to you."

Glass is cracking behind her and Spoiler flashes through the phone, showing the empty grave, the night he crawled out of his grave and Bruce Wayne looks like he'll be sick, eyes frantic and nearly deliriously wild.

"I... I...."

"He's alive, sir, and he was asking for you, Bruce, My dad, over and over again but he can't wake up and the nurses can't hide him forever. He needs you, Jason needs his dad, now!"

The door opens with a violent crashing of glass and Bruce Wayne is shouting, "Stand down!"

"But-"

"Which hospital, where is he?" He asks frantically. 

"Gotham Mercy, Room 636" he doesn't even let her finish, literally vaulting over the desk and racing out the door.

Spoiler gives chase, avoiding running down the steps and merely leaping down between the floors like Bruce clearly wants too but can't.

"I'll meet you there!" She shouts, pulling her mas over her face and racing for the door.
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Bruce Wayne has a fancy car, Spoiler has a crummy moped. Only one of them can duck and weave between traffic.

Her grappling hook is thrown before she even knows what she's doing and she drags herself into Jason's room.

His empty room.

'No, no NO!'

"Where is he!?" She roars, flinging open the doors into a throng of confused looking orderlies and doctors, who rear back in fright. "The patient, the boy who was here, I found his dad, where is he!?"

Lita is there, and she's the only one who isn't eyeing the exits, as she gasps, "You found Bruce?"

"Yes, and he's arriving, where is Jason?"

There are heavy foot falls echoing in the hall as Bruce Wayne barrels his way into the room, "My son? Where is my son?"

Lita is the first to shake off the shock, tugs out her phone and thrusts it into his face, cringing, "He, he woke up early this morning and, the security cameras caught him leaving but no one even knew to stop him."

His chest is heaving, Bruce's eyes are wild with suspicion and fury and fear as he staggers back, "My son, my son," before turning to run, Stephanie in hot pursuit and barely keeping up.

"Hey, wait up, I can help!" She called.

"Why did you leave him Spoiler?" He snapped in an all too familiar cadence.

'No one should know who Spoiler is, I'm never on the news,' she thought absent, gears turning and slotting into place.

The voice, the skin tone, the strong jawline and frame, enough money to make it work, the switch in tones and of course... The dead son, the dead Robin.

"Ooh," she gasps under her breath, still trailing after him as Bruce Wayne, as Batman nearly tears off his care door and leaps inside.

Spoiler leaps in after him and slams her hand down on the stick shift.

"What are you doing?" He almost howls.

"Stopping you from being an idiot, Batman," She hisses, and the shock must freeze him because he actually lets her get a word in.

"Listen, I just figured it out but I know damn well people will be talking about this. And if Bruce Wayne the billionaire finds out his son is alive but missing and then Batman tears apart the city looking for him. People will figure it out."

He makes to speak, but she slaps a hand over his mouth, "Listen to me! There's vigilantes aplenty to take to the rooftops, you have fucking Oracle. But right now Jason needs his dad, not Batman, that's who he was asking for, Bruce, my dad!"

He's frozen solid for a solid moment that seems to hang in eternity before his shoulder crumple and he rasps, "Your phone, I need to call Oracle, I need the files."

She hands it too him without complain, and asks, "Where should we start looking?"

He's dialing as he answers, "If Jason doesn't go home, he will likely go to his old school, the library, or wander around Park Row and the Bowery, those are the places he knew best."

"My back yard, I'll start looking there," she says, shuffling to the door.

"Wait," He intones sharply, before pulling open a secret glove compartment, "Oracle, I need you to access the data on this phone and find him, call in everyone." He's passing her a small microphone and ear piece, with a silver grappling gun and nods to her as she folds her fingers around them.

"Its real, it has to be. Please Oracle," he sounds like he's begging.

Stephanie takes his hand and whispers, "We'll find him," and then flings herself out the car door, grappling hook stashed in her coat as she puts in the ear piece and sprints to her moped.

Its just as she begins speeding towards the Bowery that Spoiler hears a mechanical voice echo in over the ear piece.

"I can't believe this, but Spoiler, if you found him... Thank you..."

'Don't thank me yet,' she thinks, revving the engine.

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Spoiler is launching herself across rooftops, swooping across streets and bounding over walls, fire escapes and pipes, seeking long curls and sharp features in one of the most decayed parts of the city.

A quiet sort of chaos has taken over the coms, all she knows is that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, Nightwing obviously, are searching places like Jason's favorite library and old school, while an 'Agent A' waits at home.

The Birds of Prey have been deployed and she even swooped by a purple clad woman with a crossbow at the point where Bowery and Crime Ally intersect, while the faint hum of a motorcycle can be heard on Black Canary's end.

Its not yet, bedlam in the streets, Oracle has told them that word is spreading but nothing is yet confirmed enough for people to be 'seeking' Jason Todd.

'But we have to find him before they do start,' she thinks, and at that moment she sees a flash of eye-catching white, clean and pristine like it was from a hospital ducking into an alleyway.

She grapples over and watches as silent foot falls disappear into a dilapidated building and she dares to hope.

Hopping down near silently herself she sees him, a boy, fifteen or sixteen, with dark curls, a sharp chin and slim eyes, now open to reveal a piercing blue. He's hunched up against the wall, but staring at her, no, her cape absently.

Stepping inside she whispers, "Jason?" He twitches, alert and aware, but suspicious.

She ignores her coms going wild and kneels down, shuffling along the floor as he watches her, warily.

"Robin?" She asks and she now has his full attention, but he's shaking, words struggling to fall from his lips as tears well in his eyes.

"B... D... Dad?" He's not looking at her anymore, but that doesn't matter.

Spoiler takes off her cape and drapes it around his shoulders and is pleased to see him relax a little.

"Its gonna be OK, Jason, I'm gonna take you to your dad, just follow me, K?" She offers her hand and slowly, tentatively, he takes it.

"They're pulling up outside," Oracle whispers into her coms.

Spoiler nods and guides Jason to his feet and down the creaky stairs, forcing open the stubborn door with her leg and she can feel it when Jason sees them, him.

Bruce and Dick Grayson, standing on the street, watching the building, eyes wide with hope and desperate, yearning need, Jason's hand slips from her and she trails behind, just close enough to be sure he doesn't fall.

Her cape billows around him and Jason flings himself into Bruce's waiting arms, sobbing, "Bruce! Dad!" Tears streaming down his face as the larger man bundles him up in his arms, tears welling in his own eyes.

Dick stands there, stunned, but Jason's hand shoots out, gently tugging on his arm, and the younger hero falls to his knees, whispering "Little Wing," under his breath as Jason is embraced by his family.

She cant say for sure, but if someone asked her, Stephanie would say that looked like love.
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Epilogue:

Its been over a month since Stephanie stumbled on Jason Todd in the Gotham Mercy hospital.

Its been nearly three weeks since Spoiler discovered his identity and returned him to his family.

Its been a little less time than that, since she was introduced to the Bat-Cave & the Clock Tower.

The media circus hasn't quite died down, but Wayne money, connections and years of experience are apparently smoothing out the ruffles as best as one can expect.

Dick is filling in for Batman, when he can bring himself to part from his little brothers side. Bruce refuses to leave Jason's side at all, as the famed Martian Manhunter, a sorceresses names Zattana and a Titan named Raven helped heal Jason's mind.

Nightwing, Oracle and Black Canary have also been helping with her training, equipment and even ferrying her to and from their hidden bases. 

She tries not to think about the speculative look Black Canary gave her upon seeing Dean or the fact she caught Oracle looking up rehab clinics.

It is on a day like what is becoming many others, that Spoiler wanders through the Bat-Cave and sees Robin, or Tim as she now knows. He's sitting on the edge of one of the platforms overhanging an abyss, legs dangling and he looks... Pouty.

"What's up monkey butt?" She asks cheerily, drawing a surprised snort.

"Where did you hear that one?"

"No clue," she shrugs, "So, what's up?"

Tim sighs, head hanging low, "I could have solved this weeks ago, all of it, we could have avoided so much mess if I'd just..."

"Listened to me?" She says cheekily.

He has the good grace to look away and not try to justify himself , instead muttering, "I almost cost them Jason."

"Uh, no?" She cuts in, flicking the back of his head, "Like, yeah you didn't listen to me, but that doesn't make you responsible for everything that happened after, Oracle didn't listen either."

"Still though, I could have and now he's... He's getting better, so..."

"Are you asking if you're gonna have to give up Robin?" She gets it, sort of, Robin is... Robin is hope and light and defiance in the face of Gotham's horror, in some ways it means more than the Bat.

"Selfish huh?" He sighs.

Spoiler shrugs, "I mean, I get it, but here's my tip. Don't bother thinking about stuff you can't change right now, leave that for later."

"What just ignore it?"

"Hey remember what happened the last time you didn't listen to me?" She asks jokingly, "Just give it a shot, focus on the now and everything else can come later. Who knows, everything might work out for everyone."

He snorts, "I'll keep that in mind," he pulls himself up and groans, "I gotta get back to Brentwood, later Ste- Spoiler," he corrects, "See, I'm listening."

"That you are," She answers, offering him a fist bump before he departs.

Its only when Tim has left that she hears Dick approach, dressed in a casual shirt and pants he's smiling as he says, "Steph, Jason would like to meet you."

She can't say yes fast enough.
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After seeing someone come back from the dead, one might think surprising her would be difficult. But the opulence of Wayne manor succeeded and Steph found herself craning her neck to stare at every gleaming ornament and pristine portrait as she followed Dick to Jason's room.

Dick's grinning, but she senses no leering or mockery in it, just joy as he pushes the door open, "Someone's got a visitor~" He sang.

"The novelties' gonna wear off eventually, Dickie," Counters a cheery voice that is familiar and not familiar.

"Never happen," Dick says, dropping down on the bed at Jason's side, Bruce Wayne on the other, with Barbara and Oracle hovering close.

Jason looks just as she remembered, curls and all as he meets her gaze, "Hey, Stephanie Brown right?" He holds his hand out, "Apparently I owe you a lot."

She smiles and takes it, "Hey, just doing what heroes do, and you can call me Steph."

His smile brightens and he answers, "Then, Steph, call me Jay."

"Its nice to meet you, Jay."

And there it is, written in the span of three days, I hope this proved fun!

Some notes on what follows all this:

1. Crystal is sent to a good rehab clinic and there's whispers of family therapy if things are ever going to stabilize.
2. Dean is arrested on several charges that will get him locked up for a long time, and was also savagely beaten by Huntress.
3. Canary helps Steph work through her feeling on the topic and also is Steph's foster caretaker, overseeing her training and livelihood with Barbara.
4. Bruce donates a metric ton of money to Gotham Mercy, Lita finds her home, car and debts all paid off and Bruce Wayne's phone number in case she ever needs 'anything'.
5. Jason's recovery involved a lot of telepathic interaction with Bruce, Martian Manhunter and Jason, so Bruce knows how and why Jason died. Jason knows how Bruce tried to avenge him and felt in the wake of his death, and generally with a supportive environment, he doesn't go anywhere near ideas like Red Hood. He may eventually reclaim Robin, or take up Red Robin given its nature as being designed out of love by Bruce, but that's unclear.
6. Also at some point soon, Steph or Barbara, or Jason probably stumble on Cass and the family grows again, because Cass also deserves nice things.