"You joined the club when you put that Bat on your chest."

Stephanie had been scarce when the bullets started to fly, only reappearing when the group came together down in the Batcave. When chaos erupted, Steph had simply, calmly, walked down to the Cave. There was a checklist when Wayne Manor and/or the Cave were attacked, and someone had to go through each step. Steps to ensure secrets weren't compromised during the attack. Then she began pulling all information about Mr. Freeze from the single greatest information gathering system the world had ever seen, the power of knowledge focused into the screens of the Batcomputer. 

Yet for some reason, Steph felt like she was preparing the Batcave for war. 

"Kate, follow me?" She half expected the red head to decline. Fortunately for them both she didn't, instead following Steph down a few levels connected by narrow, steep, steel stairs. "My father is Arthur Brown, the Cluemaster. He enjoyed a fantastic successful crime spree in the city until this demon in the dark called the Batman ended that ride shortly after it first appeared in the city."

The stairs ended at a great metallic door; it may have looked more like a blast door, but in truth it was a vault door. One of several in the Cave, this one the most recently added. Impossibly thin rays of brilliant blue light came from what appeared a single pen sized lens above the door, one single perfectly straight line expanding into three, then nine, then eighteen, and on it went until Steph's body was completely encased and scanned.

The entire thing took all of five seconds, the ground shaking as the massive door began to open with surprising quickness.

"He promised to return to my mother and I. He never stayed; lesson learned. Depend on no one but myself." The first image revealed past the door? The purple armored suit of the current Batgirl standing upright in the polished steel stand. The vault had twelve such vertical stands, all the others closed tight. Steph moved to the one just next to the one holding her suit, manicured and high glossed fingernail tipped fingers dancing over a touch pad, unlocking it so tiny hydraulic motors moved to open the stand, revealing a Batwoman suit that appeared just like Kate's own.

"I became a costumed vigilante to stop the Cluemaster; the Spoiler, I called myself. A vigilante on my own, with my own methods and rules. Supported by no one--and I never wore a Bat, point of pride." When Steph's big blue eyes rose to finally look at Kate, they might have been shining just a little brighter than normal. "What a joke. It was futile, of course. Somehow, someway, we all end up in the shadow of the Bat. If you want to fight it, fight it. We all walk our own roads. He understands that. So long as you don't become a problem, he's happy to let you walk it."

With just the barest of hints at it upon the corners of her mouth, Steph smiled. "Let me guess...surprised your secret wasn't so secret? Don't be. What began as a cutting edge crime fighting computer in this cave has grown to be the best network for information collection and analysis; augmented by unknown billions, his own unmatched genius, and even alien technology........so with that in mind," Steph felt herself grin, her hand motioning to the suit. 

"It may look like yours, but improvements have been made. It's lighter, and better armored now. Ditto the utility belt; more durable and also lighter. Small arms fire, melee weapons, all better protected against. I spent a week scanning you in class to make sure the physical measurements would be exact. To be honest, Bruce didn't know about this suit until recently...I was planning on revealing myself and offering this as a gift. You know; so you wouldn't die, and I wouldn't lose one of my only friends."

Before the emotion there became too obvious in her eyes, Steph turned away from Kate, looking at the Batwoman suit displayed instead. "I didn't change the design, though Lord knows you could use a splash of color." It was a gentle, if honest, tease. "The belt's empty, the pull out drawers built into the back of this space house most our arsenal of belt gadgets. I guess 'pick with Freeze' in mind goes without saying."