Post by Stephanie Brown on Sept 27, 2015 16:34:31 GMT -5
Subject Facts
Full Name: Stephanie Brown
Codename:
Age: Eighteen
Gender: Female
Archetype: Vigilante
Aliases: Steph, Stephie, Girl Wonder, 'Fay Wray'
Marital Status: Single
Affiliation: Batfamily
Subject Attributes
Meta-Human Abilities:
Unless you count her ability to talk at 100mph or be an impossible nuisance, section not applicable.
Standard Abilities:
Detective
Peak Human Conditioning : Steph possesses near-peak athletic strength and endurance of a woman who regularly engages in intensive physical exercise, and her physical attributes exceed that of most amateur athletes.
Master Acrobat : Spoiler is thought to be one of the more agile vigilantes in Gotham, and she is a prodigious natural athlete. Having trained in the field since she was a child, she is proficient in numerous gymnastic feats, and has a great knowledge of free running. Her time aiding Robin and Batgirl have only served to hone her already impressive skills.
Martial Artist: Stephanie Brown has studied martial arts for a number of years, and began learning before even donning a cowl. Already proficient in Judo and Savate, her recent training sessions with Batgirl and Robin have left her talented in Capoeira, Boxing, Wing Chun, Jujutsu, Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do and Bojutsu, bolstering her skills to a formidable level. She is also knowledgeable enough to take bits from each art form and combine them to over come threats, using them in conjunction with her acrobatic skills. This mish-mash of styles makes her a rather tricky opponent, wild and hard to predict - although she remains less competent than other members of the Bat Family despite her mean round-house right crosses. It is important to note that said martial training also includes knowledge of an array of weapons - her preference being the bo staff.
Tactical Analyst: Stephanie is a brilliant tactician, although only, it seems, when she thinks on her feet. She relies on natural intuition, timing and her ability to rapidly adapt to change to plan her attacks during a fight.
Tough: Steph has a rather high tolerance for pain and punishment, and seems unable to 'stay down.' She can take incredible beatings and still has it in her to pull herself back up and keep fighting. It's not so much an ability as a mind set, and it can work both in her favour and against. At any rate, she's liable to take hits from bruisers twice her size and still come back swinging.
Costume Designer: As Spoiler, Stephanie was used to designing and fixing her own costume and has thus had to become incredibly proficient with a sewing kit.
Paraphernalia:
Batgirl costume: Stephanie's costume is simple; a black, Kevlar-enforced bodysuit (accented with eggplant purple), a cowl, designed to have numerous 'vision capabilities', and a cape, made of a very similar polymer to the Batman's, allowing it to become a parachute or gliding aid should the necessity arise. Her most commonly used weapons include a bo staff, light and durable batarangs and the enforced plates worn about her forearms and shins. In order to cover larger distances, Stephanie has access to a motorbike,fitted with a range of non-lethal weapons in order to escape from or engage in high speed chases. Like most of the city's night-stalkers, she carries her own model of the utility belt and it contains:
Folding bo-staff: Hidden upon her person when used, her folding bo-staff is a lightweight titanium alloy to allow for ease of transportation. Appearing only as a handle at first, a quick flick of a button extends the ends to create full sized, yet light, combat staff.
Batarangs: Simple, lightweight metallic discs, a cross between wing-dings and traditional batarangs. They be thrown one handed with ease.
Bolas: Weighted wires used to trip opponents. While not a constant feature in Steph's arsenal, she has carried them on occasion and has found them most useful in chases.
Communication Device: A military grade two-way earpiece, allowing her to communicate with other vigilantes.
Grapple gun: Key to any vigilante, the grapple gun carried by Steph is a similar mark to those carried by Robin and Batman. It is possessed of a strong, durable line and can carry her weight and a little extra.
Subject Weaknesses:
Only Human: Steph is merely human, and as such, has extreme physical limitations when compared to other superheroes; especially given her small stature. Even with rigorous training, she lacks any supernatural or meta-powered defense, and thus is prone to all the ailments that come with being human.
Gadgetry: Her Batgirl persona is created entirely by a suit, her weaponry and gadgets made through human engineering and base technology. As such, all the items she carries are fallible; they could possibly malfunction and they could well be broken. Without her belt, without her gadgets, she is little more than a girl in costume, and would be fairly easy for a well-trained opponent to overcome.
Relative Inexperience: Well trained as she is, Steph can still make mistakes. She can still misread situations, she can still make the wrong decision. As such, she often blames himself for her failures, and can be somewhat self-critical when in combat situations, feeling 'lesser' when compared to the likes of Batman and Robin, their experience making their jobs far easier.
Stubborn : Steph is hideously stubborn. Once she has made up her mind about something, there are few, if any, that can get her to change her opinion. The worst part? The more people argue, the more she resists – no matter the logic involved.
On the Fly : As mentioned above, Steph is incredibly stubborn. Unfortunately, this means she has a tendency, despite being human, to stubbornly throw herself into situations as if she were a Kryptonian (her constant bruising suggests she isn't). In order to combat this, she has developed a somewhat uncanny ability to 'think fast' and improvise plans on the spot. While this usually works for her, there are time's it goes hideously badly (War Games anyone?) She is also much less prepared for most situations than the rest of the Batfamily, setting her apart from them quite obviously.
Feelings: Stephanie has strong feelings for a variety of people she works with - most notably Tim Drake. They have an incredibly complicated relationship, something that is true of many others she calls friends and acquaintances. While she is often capable of ignoring and overcoming emotional conundrums, there are times they can be played upon by those opposing her.
Double Life: Stephanie Brown isn't just Batgirl - indeed, she's also a student and a daughter, and she needs to fulfil both those roles as well as fighting crime in a bat mask. Managing her time and making sure people don't work out her identity can be very complicated, and in truth, her vigilante activity can make it incredibly difficult for her to feel 'normal.'
Subject History
Stephanie Brown is a Gothamite, plain and simple, as were her parents before her. Born into the Burnley district to Arthur and Crystal Brown, she has rarely, if ever, left the city. Crystal Brown, her mother, was a nurse at Gotham Mercy General Hospital while her father, Arthur, hosted a small-time game show that, unfortunately, was cancelled soon after Steph was born. Struggling to support his family, Arthur turned to a life of crime, becoming the costumed criminal known as the Cluemaster – a mediocre villain at best, often destroying his own handiwork by leaving clues at the scenes of his crimes. This, in turn, meant he spent much of his young daughter’s early life behind bars, locked away in Blackgate Prison. During this time, Crystal developed an addiction to prescription painkillers, using them as a way to dull the hurt she felt at his abandonment.
Thus, Stephanie pretty much raised herself. She kept herself busy and matured far faster than most. She was an apt cook at an early age and knew where and when to leave the house and wander the streets alone, taking up a range of extra-curricular activities to busy herself, filling the void she felt was left at home. She started acrobatics at an early age, and it is something she would continue with throughout the course of her life. She found herself to be a fast learner, taking to sewing, dancing and sport (of which her favoured, surprisingly, was football. Girl had a cannon for an arm.)
For nearly 11 years Arthur Brown was away from his family, and upon his return, swore to both Crystal and Stephanie that things would be different. During that period, Arthur became something of a model citizen, invested in Stephanie’s upbringing, got a job (the first he’d had since he’d lost his game show) and started to pay for things he felt would benefit Steph’s future. One of these investments, perhaps the one Stephanie loved most, was piano lessons. Already dextrous from sewing, the youngest Brown flourished, loving creating music of her own.
However, Arthur’s criminal connections would darken the Brown’s doorsteps once more. Even though retired from his life of crime, Stephanie was often left in the care of babysitters. It just so happened that a certain sitter, one of Arthur’s former associates, attempted to abuse her, both sexually and physically. She fled, able to escape without much damage, but upon her return the man was gone – and she later found out that he had ‘committed suicide’ under rather mysterious circumstances. Stephanie always suspected her father, a much quieter man after the incident, had something to do with it, though to date it has neither been confirmed nor denied. Stephanie gave up her piano lessons, as due to the incident, she was unable to be alone in a room with a male (her teacher’s gender) for almost a year.
Unfortunately, the incident also seemed to have a negative effect on Arthur Brown, who returned to his former masked villainous identity soon after. His job suffered knowing that he’d brought about Stephanie’s very near incident, and he was cycled through a number of posts before once again being fired. He became a fly-by-night type character, trying to pretend to be normal father material in the day, Cluemaster at night, hoping to hide his relapse from his family.
Steph, however, was not to be fooled. Her time raising herself had left her more than a little savvy, and while she was only around 14, she knew full well something was wrong. Following him one evening, she found that he was once again committing crime, but that his trademark clues were no longer being left. Furious, Steph resolved that he had to be brought to justice, especially as she knew what his actions had done to her mother – and decided that it would be her job to catch him. Sewing a costume for herself, Stephanie began leaving clues at his crime scenes for the authorities under the title ‘Spoiler’, hoping to draw their attention to him.
It was during this period that she had her first run in with Tim Drake – Robin – who believed she was the criminal. Moving to apprehend her, Stephanie hit him with a thrown brick and made her escape – leaving proof that it was her father, not her, that was Tim’s intended target. Using the information she had left, Tim was able to find her and work with her, the pair foiling her father’s plot, returning him to prison. She agreed, somewhat unwillingly, to retire her Spoiler costume and return to living civilian life. She went back to highschool, studied (kinda), took up martial arts classes and found herself romantically involved with a young classmate.
It wasn’t to last. A year or so at school later, Arthur Brown took part in a mass escape from Blackgate. Hearing of his involvement on the news, Stephanie was quick to re-don the outfit she’d never disposed of. Once again, she teamed up with Robin (who had expected her to return to a life of vigilantism) and was able to recapture her father far more effectively than she had in previous years. However, following on from the incident, Stephanie came to realise that she couldn’t stop being Spoiler. It was a part of her – and much to Tim Drake’s annoyance – she refused flatly to give up the identity.
She would go on to work with Robin a number of times, generally because he felt the need to check up on her. Despite frequent requests for her to stop what it was she was doing, Stephanie constantly refused, believing she had every right to wear a cape and cowl as he did. Eventually, fearing for her safety, Tim began helping her – supplying her with armaments she wouldn’t otherwise have access to, at least hoping to keep her safe if he couldn’t get her to quit. She became known for foiling small time gangs and thugs, occasionally aiding Tim with larger organisations. Indeed, the pair became incredibly close (some would call it a relationship) even despite her commitment to her ‘real life’ boyfriend and the fact she had not a clue who Robin was beneath his mask.
It was soon after she found that she was pregnant with her class mate’s baby, ending what was beginning to be a very successful vigilante career. She was only 15. Abandoning her due to fear of what a child meant for his future, her boyfriend moved both house and school, Steph left to cope alone. It was this act that finally reconnected her to her mother, Crystal, who had, to that date, never truly kicked the prescription drugs and Steph had never truly forgiven her. Working together, Crystal and Stephanie proved they were a strong mother/daughter team, and with the odd bit of help from Robin (always in costume), she was able to get through the pregnancy.
She knew upon finding out that she was going to have the child, and around halfway through that she was going to give it up for adoption. Stephanie knew full well that she was not ready to raise a child and wanted better for her unborn than the life she’d had, although toward due date, she did begin to have some second thoughts. Both her and the child survived labour, Steph refusing to hold her newborn for fear of wanting to keep it. She gave it away without knowing if it was a boy or a girl, deciding that giving the baby to a loving family who were ready was better than anything she could have managed. She was supported fully by her mother.
On returning home, Stephanie did her utmost to return to her former shape as quickly as she could. Hoping to return to her vigilantism, she worked tirelessly to get herself in shape – although it looked like once again the fates were against her. While cleaning out her maternity clothes, Crystal found her Spoiler costume and feared instantly Stephanie was following in her father’s footsteps. She quickly banned her from nightly activities, and Steph promised that she would abstain from her nightly rounds and focus on catching up on school work. However, she was able to keep her costume, saying that the trust they’d formed between them should be strong enough for her mother to take her word for it.
Trust. Kind of a funny thing.
While Steph did begin working on upping her grades, she also found that she couldn’t keep her promise. Indeed, the lure of returning to her Spoiler personality was too great. Only weeks after telling her mother she wouldn’t, Stephanie found herself becoming Spoiler yet again, the realization that she couldn’t rest while there were those in danger and in need hitting her hard. She soon started teaming up with robin once again, and this time drew a greater attention from the Caped Crusader himself. With a little bit of tutelage from the Dark Knight himself (and a few others here and there) Stephanie flourished once more. She and Robin were a team again, and she was getting ever better.
Her world was rocked a little when she not only discovered Robin’s true identity, but also that he was being forced by his father to ‘quit’ his vigilante activities, as her mother had suggested she do. While they were able to reconcile at first, a further wedge was driven between the pair when, following a visit to his school, she found him kissing another girl. Feeling devastated and betrayed, Stephanie sought out Batman and demanded that he train her as Robin, knowing full well there was a vacancy in the position.
He agreed – although it was a short lived mantle. While she aided him fighting a number of criminals, she refused to follow his orders in order to save his life while fighting the assassin Scarab, and unable to trust his new protégé, Bruce fired her, forcing her to retake her Spoiler identity to prove her worth.
In an event come to be known by many as ‘War Games’, Stephanie took one of Batman’s plans – the calling of a gang meet. However, for it to work, she lacked one vital component – the identity of one of the mobsters, one ‘Matches Malone.’ Unfortunately for her, Stephanie had failed to realize it was an alias used by Batman. Without him there to oversee the meeting, chaos broke loose. An all-out war was waged over Gotham and the city reeled from the impact and brutality. Steph, trying to right the wrongs she’d caused, was captured by the Black Mask, beaten, tortured, and was left for dead. Something that she came far too close to.
Indeed, many of her acquaintances believed she had died, Batman included. She was seen passing away at a hospital by the Caped Crusader, her last question to him being ‘was I really Robin?’ He replied with a simple ‘Of course.’ However, her death was a ruse, instigated by one Leslie Thompkins, a way of showing Batman how dangerous his war against crime was, and the effects it had on the young people he threw into the field. Steph was taken to Africa to recover, along with Leslie, and there she let time heal her wounds.
She was, of course, unable to stay away from Gotham for long. Her time in Africa, in which she ended up fighting a vicious witch doctor and saving villagers from problems wherever possible, merely cemented that she was supposed to be a vigilante – that she was supposed to wear a cape and cowl. Thus, she returned to her hometown, once again taking the mantle of Spoiler and once again trying to prove herself to the man that cast her out. She enrolled in the same school of Tim Drake, and the two reconnected, once again crime fighting as a pair.
However, shortly after her return, Batman vanished without a trace. Searching for him, Tim asked for Stephanie's aid - and she agreed, though worked to secretly sabotage his attempts at finding his mentor, The Dark Knight having left Spoiler with strict instructions to do so. While it hurt her to betray her love and friend, she did as Bruce requested. Together, they defeated the Sprang Bridge Soldiers, but uncovered nothing as to Bruce's whereabouts. The pair continued their search - and over time, Robin discovered Stephanie's deciet. It caused Steph to doubt herself as a crime fighter once more, and she vowed to live a life free of her Spoiler identity.
As the past had already shown, it was not a vow she would be able to stick to.
Indeed, finding herself drawn to investigate an active crime scene, Stephanie was forced to stop the criminal Nocturna fleeing. It was in doing so she realised crime fighting was a part of who she was, as she had acted without thought. Meeting with Tim Drake - who was planning on leaving Gotham - Stephanie explained that she didn't have it in her to give up, and would contine fighting in his stead.
However, she would not do so as Spoiler. Indeed, shortly after Drake's departure, Cassandra Cain - then Batgirl - felt disiullusion at the disappearance of Batman. Following a brief team up against commong street thugs, Cain removed her attire and handed it to Brown, suggesting that she wanted the mantle no longer. With that, she seemingly vanished from sight, leaving her costume and utility belt to her best friend.
Barbara Gordon, The Oracle and most experienced member of the Bat-family in Wayne's absence, was not instantly pleased at the transition of power. However, following working together to foil both Scarecrow and Livewire, the former Batgirl became a mentor to the newest incarnation, helping Stephanie manage crime fighting and her first year of college. She saw a new costume designed for the youngster, and since has provided her services.
As Batgirl, Stephanie has fought numerous criminals, reunited with the Red Robin - Tim Drake emerged from hiding, and has aided Bruce Wayne on his return, helping to build Batman Inc.
Subject Interview
Steph yawned loudly, stretching her arms up into the air, before smacking her lips together and blinking her heavy eyelids. It wasn’t the first time, since mid-day around twenty four hours previous, that she wished being a vigilante didn’t interfere with sleep. Sat in a booth at Ma’s Diner, her slumped shoulders and messy pony tail pointed to a girl who’d not rested well, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she fell to the side, used her purple hoodie as a pillow and curled up if anyone would stop her having a quick nap. Mmmmmm nap. Indeed, the devoured plate of waffles before her – which had gone from being a stack to being but one – sat heavy in her stomach and made her feel the warm, full sensations that lent themselves to being one of the main causes of mid-day drowsiness.
And it wasn’t even mid-day.
She had no-one to blame but herself. Steph had tried leaving the life of the vigilante behind numerous times, and no matter how many time she promised herself 'enough was enough' - it wasn't. She always returned to the cowl. It was quickly becoming her life - period - and trying to be a studious student, a loving (and honest) daughter and one of Gotham’s midnight defenders just wasn’t going according to plan. Something had to give – and apparently it wasn’t going to be her masked alter-ego. Especially not now she had accepted the mantle of 'Batgirl.'
Bye bye good report cards, hello to my world of bruises.
Feebly raising a hand, she managed to attract the attention of one of the waitresses in order to procure the strongest cup of coffee she could, and when it came, drank the treacle-like beverage with a grimace. It was – to put it simply – disgusting. It was thicker than milkshake and without the milky goodness. But at least the caffeine kick should have been strong enough to keep her eyes open long enough to start her paper. Or so she hoped.
As she sipped, she cast her eyes around those seated at other booths, her natural inquisitiveness getting the better of her. At a few places she saw couples, holding hands and talking in whispers while at others there were builders and workmen gearing up for the day with highly greasy meats and fried eggs. And finally, her eyes came to rest on what could only be described as a supermodel – with well – a glass of water. Typical.
Steph couldn’t help but jealously eye for a good few moments, looking the woman over from head to foot – rich curls and perfect features, before glancing at her perfectly-fitted clothing. She then looked down at herself – baggy vest top, tight ripped jeans, damaged sneakers and beneath? No real curves to speak of – unless you counted her barely c-cups, thick thighs and total lack of abulousness. Oh – and there were purple-blue blotched bruises that littered her person too. How could I forget them? A sigh left her lips and she shook her head, her messy ponytail wobbling from side to side. This is the reason I am single. And that’s before we start on the pasty complexion and panda eyes.
Author's Notes
Player Alias: Star / Kory
Other Characters: Starfire/Koriand'r, Cassandra Sandsmark/Wondergirl, Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn
How did you find ARFD?: Long time member!
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