Survivor | T. Drake

[07]

All she had wanted was a normal life. But normal was too much to ask for the people living in Gotham.

She was hiding in the rafters of the building her father was using as his hideout. She had texted the location and sent a tip off to the police about Cluemaster's activities who unfortunately happened to be none other than her father.

Stephanie hadn't wanted things to come to that point but a lot had happened in the past few months for her to finally make up her mind and decide to turn her father in. She had been working in close contact with the GCPD's commissioner by spoiling Cluemaster's plans so that they would catch him. She used a burner phone so that her identity wouldn't be revealed and she took extra caution not to directly get involved with the vigilantes overlooking the city.

Commissioner Gordon may be smart but he wouldn't bother looking for her identity as long as the information he got was correct. Batman, on the other hand, would track her out in a heartbeat if he came to know of her anonymous stunt.

So she made sure to avoid the Bat at all costs, escaping before he showed up and leaving no traces for him to investigate the source of tip offs to her.

Stephanie still remembered the night when everything had changed for her as the truth of her broken family was revealed to her. She had been just six when she had woken up in the middle of the night to see Batman about to take her father Arthur Brown in for the crimes he had committed.

But seeing her look at them fearfully, the vigilante had relented and given Arthur a last warning before leaving. Nothing came back to normal after that.

It made Stephanie more aware of what was going on with her father, figuring out a pattern to his disappearances and his worsening behavior towards her and her mother. It led to a divorce between her parents and despite her custody being given to Crystal as the primary caregiver, Stephanie used to visit her father often as her mother was busy with her demanding shifts at West Mercy Hospital. 

Now that she had learned that her father was the elusive Cluemaster, responsible for causing trouble in Gotham alongside his allies including the Riddler, she intentionally stayed with her father often to figure out his plans and tip him off to the police. 

She waited for the right moment, hearing the approaching footsteps of her father and a few others who he was conspiring with. She knew Commissioner Gordon would have acted upon the clues she had left for the police and without a doubt, Batman would show up any moment.

Surely, it didn't take long for the Caped Crusader to show up. Stephanie quickly made her escape, sliding down the rafters to a hidden trap door that helped her get out of the building.

The last thing she heard was her father's exasperated yell as the vigilante smashed in through a window, tackling the criminals on his own. The distant sounds of the police mobiles could also be heard in the distance and Steph quickly took the turn to a side alley, hiding behind the dumpsters in a place that offered a view of the entrance of her father's hideout.

She watched as the police later brought out the criminals including her father who was quite furious that his plan had been compromised. Seeing him yell at the officers made her flinch and she ducked deeper as if to avoid being seen there at all costs.

A part of her reprimanded her for putting her father in that situation but she shut down that tiny accusatory voice immediately.

She knew she had done the right thing. If she hadn't made the vigilantes and the police stop Cluemaster, havoc would have been unleashed on Gotham quite soon.

***

Tim had managed to convince Black Mask into letting him leave the villa a few times to visit his father. The Gotham news mill had been churning and the mysterious disappearance of the young Drake boy could certainly attract the public's attention and it would prove to be a difficult situation for Black Mask later on.