Work Text:
Bruce always said to study the enemy; to know thy enemy. That’s what Stephanie Brown decided to do … or rather agreed to do. She knew if Bruce and Kai-Li were aware of her plans tonight they would have talked her out of it. Well, Kai-Li would have talked her out of it. Bruce would have vetoed it.
“Peek-a-boo!”
However, Stephanie was curious about the Cats of Gotham City’s East End. Specifically, the one trying to whisper in her ear like she did to him when they first met.
She draped her cape over her body and smirked. “Someone’s trying to hide their bad breath.” Turning around, her eyes met the eyes of Catwoman’s protegee: Catlad.
“Oh pardon me for being a gentleman,” Catlad said, hand on his chest. “I could have whispered in your ear with hot dog breath. On second thought, I’ll save that for Baby Bat .”
Baby Bat , the little nickname he gave Kai-Li, or Batgirl as only Catlad knows her. Everyone, especially Katana and Stephanie herself, had a field day when they first heard Catlad refer to Kai-Li as Baby Bat . Save for Bruce, of course.
“So what’s the plans for our date Tweety-Bird?”
That was Catlad’s nickname for Stephanie, who he only knows as Robin.
Stephanie poked his shoulder playfully. “Not a date, Kitty Kat. If Batman ever finds out about this, especially if he were to think this a date, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Catlad nodded. “I’ll just pretend it’s one then.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Then I hope you can pretend and keep up with me.”
---
---
Catlad remembered the day he first met Robin. It was sometime after his first encounter with Baby Bat … and her parents . Weeks? A Month? He couldn’t remember how long ago it was, but he did remember being … enamored by her sight. He confused Robin for Batgirl because the former wore a headband that was pointed at both sides on the top, giving her a similar silhouette to Batgirl.
The same tactics he used on Batgirl the first time they met did not work on Robin. The teasing, the Catwoman-esque witty banter, and the use of capoeira were useless against Robin because she sent the same tactics right back to Catlad.
And her tactics worked on him.
---
---
Selina would be impressed by her… Catlad aka Tim Kyle thought as he continued after Robin. This thought was something he had as far back as when he and Robin took down Dragon Cat’s Dojo a few weeks ago. Selina Kyle was an amateur gymnast in high school; as The Catwoman she could very well be a gold medalist.
Tim mused, that maybe one day Selina would get to see her in action and judge for herself .
---
Stephanie looked over her shoulder to see if Catlad was keeping pace. That cheshire cat grin of his gave her an answer. He was doing better than the first time they crossed paths. Better than the second time they teamed up against a group of Jokerz attacking a little girl from Gotham Academy. Catlad was a great fighter but seemed to lack confidence (a few weeks ago). Of course, he didn’t show it vocally, but Stephanie could tell by the leaps and swings he would make.
Let’s see what he can do now… Stephanie looked back at Catlad; her smirk making him tilt his head to the side. She grabbed her grapnel and changed direction; hopping off the rooftop, shooting off the hook in the grapnel, and swinging away.
After landing on a different rooftop, Stephanie turned around to see Catlad, swinging toward her with his own grapnel.
“I thought you Cats swung by rope darts and bullwhips?” Stephanie asked.
Catlad smirked and blew on his grapnel as if it were a smoking pistol. “A gift from my Aunt Harley .” He pointed toward her gloves. “And it looks like you Bats borrowed our idea of using clawed gloves.”
Stephanie looked at her glove, smiling and checking it as though she could see her filed nails. “Game recognizes game.”
Catlad placed his hands on his hips. “Batman didn’t say that.”
Stephanie smirked. “I did. Just now. Besides—” She wiggled her fingers menacingly. “If Batgirl and I catch you looting these babies will come in handy for another round of tickle torture .”
Catlad cringed and held himself. Stephanie wished she could have pulled her phone out fast enough to capture the moment and show it to Kai-Li later. It was nice to know that Kitty Kat had a weakness they could exploit … well, a second weakness.
“So what’s your story?” She noticed Catlad had calmed down from her playful threat. “You know, Batgirl has her parents . How did you get involved with Bat-Dad ?”
Stephanie played with her hair and pursed her lips.
Catlad held his arm. “Sorry, if it’s too personal—”
“No, it’s fine.” Stephanie sighed. “Just … painful.” She felt bad about saying that because Kai-Li’s parents were worse than her one parent.
The two sat down on the ledge. They sat down on the wings of a bird gargoyle carved on the tip. Neither of them faced each other, only looking out toward Gotham City, specifically the Gotham Heights area.
“This used to be my home. I used to be the Friendly Neighborhood Vigilante of Gotham Heights. In a way, it is still my home and I am still protecting the Heights, but I started all of this because of my father—” Stephanie stopped herself from saying too much, and it helped that Catlad punch down on his side of the bird-gargoyle.
“Sorry,” He apologized.
“No, by all means,” Stephanie reassured. “I felt the same way when my father, a supervillain, decided that he rathered be a criminal for life instead of a loving father to his daughter … and a loving husband to his wife.” This time Stephanie punched a part of the gargoyle. “A husband who forced his wife to overdose on her anxiety medicine that she had to take due to all of the stress he caused her.”
Catlad looked at her. She could see from the corner of her eye that his lips were moving. If the conversation was reversed, she’d have trouble finding words too.
“I … I could say that I know what it feels like to have a father forget about you; to abandon you without a care in the world …”
Stephanie looked at her hand, noticing that Catlad was holding it. She looked at him.
“But …” He bit his bottom lip and Stephanie could have sworn a tear fell down his cheek. “A father is supposed to treat their wife like a queen … and a daughter like their princess. It’s just sick that so many people in this city turn to crime in disregard for their families. I can sympathize when they do it for their families, but to become the next Black Mask, or Falconi, or Two-Face— How can anyone promise to love someone with all their heart and just … just …”
Tears ran down Catlad’s face. It was a surprise for Stephanie to see him like this. She’s seen him emotional when they fought Dragoncat and his dojo; even Kai-Li said that he gave her parents a powerful speech about family. However, she never expected to see the playful sidekick to The Catwoman tear up like this.
It reminded her of when she and Batman defeated The Cluemaster , her father: Arthur Brown . How Stephanie wanted to kill him for killing her mom; for all the pain Brown caused their family being Cluemaster. In the end, it was Brown who caused his own death as he caused the death of his family.
And when she broke down crying on her father’s blimp, Batman was there. The Dark Knight; the Caped Crusader; pulled Stephanie into a hug her father had never given her.
She did the same thing for Catlad; he did the same thing for her.
“I’m sorry for the tears,” He squeaked out.
Stephanie squeaked a chuckle. “I’m crying under my mask too.”
Catlad pulled away slowly. “I … I need to get back to the East End. To Alleytown.”
Stephanie nodded. “I should get back to … the Batcave.”
Catlad whipped a tear from his eye and Stephanie played with her cape. They weren’t expecting this playful evening to turn into … comfort. A comfort she felt after becoming a part of the Bat-Family.
Stephanie has Kai-Li, Barbara, Yatsu, Dick, Alfred, and Bruce; Catlad has Catwoman … Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. A trio many would never consider motherly or affectionate, but given how Catlad defends them anytime a thug calls them out of term they mean a lot to him.
“Catlad?”
He looked at Stephanie.
“Before I go I want to tell you something someone once told me,” Stephanie wiped at her nose, “A family found is still a family bound. We may not be connected by blood, but the branches of our own found tree connect us.”
Catlad made a noise, rubbed his nose, and smiled. “We found our families. All on our own. Small and big; maybe a little broken. But still good.”
Stephanie grinned and shook her head. He paraphrased a quote from one of the greatest animated movies to come from Disney . And … it couldn’t be more true.
No more words were necessary. Both costumed teams went their separate ways.
A night that turned out different than what Stephanie expected, and she assumed the same for Catlad too.