Hello! Please enjoy this first chapter. Spanish translations are at the bottom.

She moved back the video as she studied it more. Strange. Strange to see this video unedited now. What really happened to him. What could have been but wasn't. Zod was still his biological father...but it wasn't supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be his traits that flowed through the being that was Superman. He wasn't a scientist and he wasn't some hero...he was a warlord. A very bad one at that. What made him so bad? Well you weren't very good at it if you cause your own planet to blow up killing everyone including yourself along with it. No...you needed people to rule to be a warlord. Zod? He was...he was definitely his father. The way he walked, the way he talked, that unmistakable arrogance of a man who knows full well what he is. Her pale hand turned back the dial again. What if...what Zod never showed? What if this Jor-el was his father instead...what then?

"I don't recall giving you permission to look at this." His voice made her jump out of her skin. But not out of fear...ok maybe a bit. But it mainly of surprise and of his damn ability to sneak up on her like that. The human girl looked over to Hernan. He wasn't entirely mad. Not happy, but not mad. The way he walked was exactly like that Zod. Like he demanded the respect of all. You didn't have to like him, but you damn better respect him.

"You didn't. But you didn't say I couldn't either." she said not even wavering before looking back at the screen. She was younger than him. By how much? Neither of them paid attention to it. He was basically a God. A being from another planet. What was his lifespan compared to hers? He moved his hand through her ginger hair moving it from one side to another. To anyone else...this might have scared them. But for them? For them it was normal and the woman did not shudder or show any signs that this was out of the ordinary for one of their conversations.

"I was curious." Her pale lips pursed as she paused the video at the moment where General Zod is about to inject his DNA into...well...an egg. All three of them were in the video frame. General Zod, Jor-el the scientist, and finally, Lara...the wife and mother. The source of Hernan's good side...at least that's what she figured. "I wanted to see...see the what if. See the father you could have had. See what you could have been…"

He didn't say anything as her voice drifted off as she looked into the eyes of Zod. Yes...that was definitely his father. That look was unmistakable...she'd seen Superman give that look to criminals a thousand times. She got that look once. "...I wondered if I'd like you if your father was the scientist."

"And?"

"I think I might hate you if you were any different. If you were some goody two shoes, I wouldn't be here." Her hazel eyes met his blue ones. How tall he was compared to her...it helped with his intimidation factor. "For one, I'd be in a jail or dead."

"Good." With that he kissed her on his lips with a force she hadn't felt in a long time. He was a force of nature when in this kind of mood. Passionate, strong, but still responsive to her. All it took to get him to stop was a hit to his chest. Well a very hard hit this time.

"I don't recall giving you permission to do that," she said softly when he finally parted lips with her.

"I don't recall you saying I couldn't." The smirk on his face. He was such an arrogant bastard. Always had been. Probably always would be.

"Luego, Hernan. Luego." She said in almost flawless Spanish. Well...flawless to her. He'd always find something to make fun of. Even it wasn't really there. Hernan was a lot of things. Passionate, confidant, strong, and probably the most important one, an arrogant prick of man that had a VERY large ego. Also, he could be funny.

"Multa. Más tarde. Mi habitación, a las diez."

"Qué? ¿No tengo que decir? Once."

"Diez, senorita. No quisiera que usted tenga otra noche sin dormir." His voice was somehow smoother in Spanish than it ever was when he spoke English. The back of his hand just gently brushed against her face in a way only he ever did. Gentle, caring, but not too much to confuse what they were to each other. "Kirk, you needed something?"

Her eyes darted away from Hernan to Kirk Langstrom...aka the Batman. He wasn't that much older than her...maybe 5 years. 10? She never really asked him his age. Then again...he drank blood so who knew. Tall, but not as tall as Hernan. He didn't seem too bothered about how close Hernan and her were standing together. That or he simply hid it well.

"Actually I needed to talk to Ms. Gordon." Kirk's voice was not as smooth as Hernan's. Not that he was bad at speaking. No, he just didn't have the same confidence. He spoke honestly and to the point. Barbara couldn't actually remember ever hearing anything besides monotone in his voice.

Hernan took a step back before leaving the room giving Barbara a small wave. "A las diez, Gordon. Don't be late."

All Barbara could to was huff as he left. He could be such a prick at times. She ruffled her ginger hair as she looked back at the video. Zod was still staring back at her, yet to her it seemed like he had the biggest smirk on his face. Fucking Kryptonian. She barely noticed when Kirk ended up next to her. Vampires...light on their feet. "Was I interrupting anything?" He asked softly.

"No. Nothing that hasn't happened before. He just likes his games. I let him play them." Barbara couldn't help but mumble the last part. Let him? It made it sound like she didn't enjoy them as well. "So, science project?" Kirk just simply nodded. "Right." Barbara turned off the video before walking towards the living room.

"With the new data, I think we're pretty close on an actual cure. That or the very least on the way there." Halfway to the living room, she grabbed her lab coat. Her hair was already in a ponytail by the time they reached the console. With a few press of buttons holograms with different graphs and images of data were surrounding them. "As you can see it's making our job easier, but it isn't the ace in the hole...or whatever that saying is."

"It never is."

"If you can get me some fruits bats from southern Africa. The Congo would be your best bet. I'd tell you specific species, but I think a large sample from different species would be best. Also...the lab needs more rats." Barbara couldn't help but glance over at Kirk. He was actually paying attention. She could remember the days when her clients did nothing but point guns and demand results. Or get lost by her ramblings. Kirk kept up. "I can feel it, Kirk. I think we're close. 50% if everything goes as planned."

"50%, huh?" As always he seemed skeptical as ever.

"It's better than before. But! I have something that's actual results." Barbra swiped in a new piece of data. Blood work.

"What's this?"

"Synthesized blood. I know you already make some, but I've made-"

"Improvements."

"Yeah. I've made a sample. It should have more what you actually need from blood...and hopefully tastes better." Barbara tossed Kirk a test tube. It was gone in a second. Maybe he was that thirsty. "I hope you like it. I just wanted to give-"

"How'd you meet him?" Barbara head turned at the question. Kirk just kept looking straight ahead. "How'd you meet Hernan?"

"...Five years ago…" Barbara said softly. "God, I'm gonna need a drink. I don't think I've ever told another living soul this story."

This wasn't how her life was supposed go. Her father was a cop. A good cop in Chicago. She wasn't supposed to be in Mexico of all places staring at Superman in a warehouse full of dead bodies. It was supposed to be a year abroad before doing the whole college thing. Well that year turned into two. Two very wild and crazy years filled with drunken nights, debt, and a lot of tequila. The extra year? You can thank that to the village she lived in. It was poor and was constantly raided by both the cartel and government. There was no way she could just leave like that. The cartel used them for money and then the government came because well...the cartel. Hypocrites. Come after the bad guys, but be no help at all to the actual problem. No. Barbara Gordon couldn't leave. She wouldn't leave. But what could a so-called science geek do to help? Sell product. Pot, coke, and any other drug felt were safe on the street. Not that coke was safe, but it wasn't as bad as some others. That's at least the reasoning she gave herself. Barbara Gordon made rules though. She was doing this to help people. To get the village it's own money supply. That's it. No guns, no killing other gangs. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way.

Her right hand man certainly didn't see it that way. He was always quiet in public, but when it was just them? When it was just them talking...he got loud. He was tall, fit and knew how to exactly threaten people enough to make them listen before any "action" was needed. Not that she would ever authorize any action. She didn't even start carrying a gun till recently. At Santiago's request. While she didn't give orders to kill...that didn't stop the other cartels. 'You're the one making the product' he'd always argue. 'If you die then everything dies'. He wasn't wrong. She made every product. Every single bag. This was about helping the village. She wasn't going to be responsible for someone dying over bad product. No way.

But even being careful doesn't stop violence or prevent takeovers. It surprisingly was very easy to lose control. So very easy to forget who you are. The day it happened...oh she could never forget. No matter how much wanted to, she couldn't forget. Couldn't forget the day she saw a little girl gunned down because she just happened to be on the street when a gang decided to do a drive by. Isabelle. That was her name. A 7 year old. What happened next...she couldn't quite recall. Scrambling all around her. She just held that little girl in her arms. The next day, the rival cartel was no more. Their heads were removed from their bodies. In the past 6 months, it just got worse and worse. Barbara no longer took care of the front end of the business. She just focused on making the product. Santiago was taking hold more and more every day. But she barely noticed. She ate breakfast, made product, ate dinner then went to bed. That was her routine everyday till today. Today? Today she had to tango with Superman.

He was tall. Very tall. Taller than what she ever thought he would be. It was honestly a miracle he hadn't killed her and everyone in the warehouse. She wasn't even supposed to be here today. Santiago had said everyone was taking a day off. Barbara had planned to sleep in, till a little girl showed up at her hut. Asking why she was here when her brother went to work. Strange. Why would he be required to go in if she wasn't there? She was the boss. When Barbara entered the warehouse she was greeted by what looked like an army preparing for war. Cameo gear with more guns than she had ever seen. Rocket launchers, M7s, AK-47s. And in the center of it was Santiago...giving orders.

"What the fucking hell is going on?" Barbara yelled. Everyone stopped what they were doing, but none looked nervous. If anything...they looked sad. Santiago just stepped down from where he was giving orders. The kind soul she used to know...was clearly gone.

"You shouldn't have come here. I told you to stay home."

"You told me everyone was taking the day off. What the fuck do you think you're doing here?"

"Going to war."

"War? With who?! The government? Another Cartel? This isn't what you signed up for. This isn't what I wanted. I-"

"You're not in charge anymore. Damn shame you had to find out this way." He didn't hesitate. He didn't hesitate to raise a gun at her.

"Don't do this," she hissed. "We were supposed to help, not turn into what we were fighting against."

"Nice knowing you Babs." The gun fired...she heard it fired but the bullet never hit her. She never knew exactly what happened in that split second or how he got in front of her. Her eyes had been closed and only opened when she heard something metal clank to the ground. One the ground was the bullet squashed. In front of her? The man known as Superman. Normally she'd have a thousand questions, but there was no time. Only a split second of silence before Santiago yelled for them to fire. He didn't move from his spot. Superman took every bullet and nothing fazed him. They would have used the rocket launchers on him if he hadn't blown it up when they were busy with the normal gunfire. Then there was a calm silence when they ran out of bullets. The calm silence before he spoke. He spoke simply and with conviction. The entire room knew what was going to happen next with just two simple words.

"My turn." Barbara never found out how many people died in those first seconds. Frankly she was worried about herself...and her own problems. She moved behind a box and for the first time actually drew the gun that was at her side. She could hear Santiago yelling at the others to shoot Superman down.

"I trusted you!" she shouted catching his attention. "We were friends!"

"Friends? You come down you high ground and try to fix everything. As if we needed some perra blanca imperialista-"

"Don't! Don't you fucking dare! You KNOW I was never like that. I never...god fucking asshole!" They were having an argument over gunfire and Superman taking out everyone else. He used her. She could see it so clearly now. They met after she first got the idea to help. Santiago said he could help get the idea off the ground. And he did. He was the logistics while she was in control of the product as the group as a whole. But as things picked up...he got more aggressive. He wanted her to create more. They could make more money that way. She was never concerned about money. She just wanted the Cartel and government to leave them alone. That was it. Barbara eyes darkened as she started to remember Isabelle. It was becoming so much more clear. "You told me your friend's sister needed picking up…. I got held up. Tell me you didn't...Tell me you fucking didn't send some child as bait…"

"... I got the result I wanted." And that's when she snapped. It was blur of how many people she shot dead before she got to him. The bald man she knew as Santiago actually looked scared. Maybe he was scared of the fact of the Man of Steel had left him completely alone. As if he left him on purpose to die last. Santiago was backed against the cold steel wall when she finally pointed the gun at his head. She cocked the gun as she heard the last screen before silence. "...you don't have have the guts. You NEVER had the guts, perra."

"I hope it was fucking worth it." The gun went off and finally the place was completely lifeless except for Barbara Gordon and Superman. She was covered in the blood of old comrades and friends. When she finally turned around there was Superman. Looking at her with conviction. What his emotions were that moment she would never know...or ask. All Barbara knew was that she was dancing on a tightrope. Live or die. For some reason she dropped the gun and closed her eyes. "I...I knew every single person here. I promised that we'd change their lives for the better. That'd we stop the violence...not this. Not-"

"De dónde eres?" He asked.

"Chicago, señor." she said simply. With that he grabbed her and they left. He didn't say anything more than that. And he didn't need to. His decision was clear. Why he didn't kill her...she wouldn't know for a couple years. All she knew is that Superman gave her another chance at life.

"I found out later that they were planning on taking over a government building. A lot of people would've lost their lives." Kirk just simply nodded. Barbara looked down at the table. 3 shots of tequila. She was on her fourth. That story...was something she never told a living person ever. She wasn't sure how much the government knew either. It all happened before the Justice League. The news reports on that day were that Superman took out one of the most dangerous cartels in that section of Mexico. She looked over at Kirk. It seemed he was mulling over the story. It was a fantastical tale wasn't it? A 21 year old starts and ends a cartel. Strange the roads life takes us.

"Was that the last time-"

"No" she said downing another shot of tequila. "I saw him a year later...that's another story...one I don't need to drink for." she said with a smile. That story...she would tell that story to anyone who asked. Her eyes looked up at the clock. 5 minutes to ten. "I'll have to tell you that story tomorrow. I need to start getting ready for bed."

Kirk just nodded as Barbara got up. She took a breath. Back in the day she could do at least 5 before even starting to get tipsy. By the time she got to Hernan's room he was already taking his coat off. That coat really did add to his...allure. It gave him sort of a...different presence in a room when he didn't have it. "Getting started without me?" she murmured closing the door behind her. He gave her one look and she could already sense a slight disappointment in him.

"You're drunk."

"No del todo. Yo sólo tenía cuatro." Barbara said moving to close the distance between them.

"Solo cuatro?" He asked as he removed he let her hair down. Ah. Yes. Definitely he was disappointed that she was slightly drunk.

"Only four, Hernan. Not my fault you can't get drunk. I can leave if you're so-" Before she could even think of actually turning around he grabbed her waist and pulled her into a kiss. Not long, but more to prove a point.

"Not necessary. Just have to change my plans."

"So you'll let me top for once?" she said with a smirk moving to sit on the bed.

"You think you can top me?" He moved in. Putting one hand near her head so she was now lying down on the bed. Barbara just smiled up at him.
"I don't think they will be a day where you let me top you." she moved her hands to his belt. "Besides I like where I am."

With that she kissed him. Passionate, and hungry for the Man of Steel.

"Good." He said. Barbara just smirked as she continued to remove his belt.

"Good."

1 "Later, Hernan. Later"

2 "Fine. Later. My room, at ten."

3 "What? Don't I get a say? Eleven."

4 "Ten, Miss. I wouldn't want you to have another sleepless night."

5 "At ten, Gordon. Don't be late."

6 "Imperialist White Bitch"

7 "bitch"

8 "Where are you from"

9 "Not drunk. Tipsy. I only had four.

10 "Only four?"