#So steph's body us a husk till a magic guy puts it back

[tumblingxelian]

Thaaaank youuuuu  😭

Leslie rezzing Steph through science is now my default HC for what happened these days (Though Eldritch Gotham is also still good & could have played into it even). 

Yes, I hadn’t even noticed that but Steph being the hero she always wanted for others is iconic of her. Yeah Cass can like, ‘see’ something is off but can’t quite place it but having pretty much all your insides replaced by harvested organs metal bones and your muscles revitalized by venom definitely throws a body off ya know? (Let alone all the nerve damage) 

Honestly all the options you outlined are so interesting and I think all bring good potential! 

Venom likely has had some effects on Steph’s mind and muscles which may even play into why it took so long to come back, beyond the whole process of you know, raising the dead. Being leery of groups like Cadmus getting their hands on her makes sense too. I especially think it’d be a strong mixture of Steph wanting some control over the situation and not trusting Bruce in general cos wow did he mess her up. Plus, fearing the others reaction in a kind of “I’d rather they resent than pity me.” kind of thinking. I also imagine the process of coming back was deeply traumatic and something she doesn’t like getting into as well; though for the purposes of this idea it might make more sense for her to remember, especially given the autopsy scar. 

Also yeah Bruce 100% proves it with that bullshit, its just so very ‘him’ ya know?

This would be after Jason came back, as the bat boys trip came after all that and was the reason Cass was alone in Gotham. Though honestly she could come back during Under the Red Hood too, either to Gotham or even Blud as Cass & Robin were operating there at the time. (Dick was also in the Mafia for six months after she died before being recruited by Slade, so there’s plenty of time) 

Also love the phrasing there with “From one undead creature to another”; Jason would get the literary Frankenstein’s monster reference :D Cass doing it could be very cool as well, honestly I always want to see her confront that Bruce’s mishandling of Stephanie was cos of his projecting Jason onto her and thus deciding Bruce’s takes on her can’t be reliable and she has to make her own calls. 

As it is I was mostly thinking after Bruce realized she was dead, dead, he kind of freaks out and goes to track down Leslie but might kind of crumple a bit (Especially if this is UTRH) while others arrive at the manor to see Steph howling and breaking things because holy shit the last thing she needed was her bodily autonomy violated right now Bruce! 

But as you say there’s so much you can do with this, - Thank you :) - and Bruce locking Steph up while he tries to figure out what to do does also feel very him, so a break out would be cool and aaaahh, so many ideas, so many ways it could go, so many relationships to explore! 

Glad I inspired some thoughts, thank you! 

Sorry but just had a fic idea I think you'd appreciate.

Long story short, its when Bruce & the boys were on their holiday, Steph comes back to Gotham and surprises Slade before he can kidnap Cass letting them bail.

Bruce and the boys come back early & Leslie's 'faked' autopsy report and such come to light and while Cass (Who is more feeling something is sus than angry) & especially Tim have some complicate feelings them seem OK with things going back to normal.

But Batman kidnapped Green Arrow, so of course he'll want to do tests. Stephanie seems to avoid being alone with him under any circumstances though and he does recall her being able to sneak up on him so sneaking up on her is hard without a fight.

So, cos Alfred's softened on her a bit and she's willing to take food from her... Well she ends up drugged and knocked out as it wasn't taking its full effects. Cue Bruce's invasive medical inspections starting and stopping not long after.

Cos one, Steph's body is just a mass of scar tissue, ruined nerve endings and flayed muscles, Its a miracle she can move without screaming let alone fight as well as she can. Two, he's quick to find the autopsy scars; cos it turns out she did die, but Leslie put her on ice once she was no longer having a breakdown, injected venom into her brain later and basically went, as Steph or Jason would say "Dr Frankenstein on my insides."

Cue Bruce kind of having a breakdown in various different ways and Steph also being violently angry in a "Who gave that bastard the right!?" kind of way. Not sure after that.

Ohhhh myyyy goddddd 😭 Leslie resurrecting Steph through science, Steph showing up to save Cass like nobody was able to do for her, something wrong with Steph/what Leslie did to her as they feel the need to hide it... Like, say, what are Venom's side-effects, huh?

Or do they want to keep it hush hush bc they're afraid of the shady government organization?

Or is it her being de-anoned after her death, with the memorial service and all that plot, makes her want to keep some control over what over people know about her? Or she's just - the process of coming back was so traumatic that she literally blocks it all out, even came up with a story of helping Leslie in Africa? And, like, she believes it herself.

Or maybe Bruce just doesn't deserve to know it. And he proves it, by using Stephanie's trust to Alfred to drug her and basically vivisect her.

Just, remind me, was that before Jason's comeback or after, I am bad with timelines. But inserting Red Hood into this plot - like maybe he is the one who helps Steph to sneak out of the Bat-lab. "From one undead creature to another".

Or should it be Cass? It took her time, but she finally accepted that she doesn't care how Steph is back, the most important thing she's back.

There's like. So much that you can do with this!!!