Naturally, I don't own anything, lol. Batman, Joker, Batgirl, all up-coming characters are property of DC. Sorry if it's short, I'm terrible at intros, more to come soon! Oh, and don't worry, I don't do mushy Joker lovefest, he's a bastard and we all know it. Rated M for swearing, violence, and who knows what else.

There's something that I just got to say to you
These are the worst times that I ever knew
And all my troubles are because of you
And your pathetic crew

Every time I see you on my TV screen
I wanna' disappear or run and scream
And your existence is the worst bad dream
that I ever knew

Everybody say
Hey, clown
We're gonna' put you in the ground

- Hey Clown by Firewater

I always liked the moments when Gotham was quiet - quiet as a city could be, anyway. When it was just people and cars and swearing, no guns and no explosions. Simple, city sounds.

Always interrupted.

I shifted my weight as the crunch of breaking glass trickled from the alley to my left, a break-in, more than likely. Duty calls, at all hours.

Without a sound, I slipped from the ledge and onto the ground, a darker and larger shadow landing neatly beside me. Quickly, but silently, we moved towards the noise of murmuring and cussing - I knocked a strand of fiery red hair out of my face with a huff of annoyed air. It was 3 in the morning, and here I was, slinking through a back alley like a hobo. I should be asleep, I had so much paperwork on my desk, untouched. Going to me hours to finish tomorrow.

We found the broken window, glass littering the ground, without trouble. Strangely, though, we couldn't hear murmuring anymore, or footsteps. With practiced ease, I sailed through the empty window, rolling and crouching with barely a scuff. Even still, he moved quieter, somehow, signaling me to stay behind him. Typical, girls always need protecting right? I rolled my sapphire eyes at his back, slipping my hand over a Batarang, just in case.

Voices, men, by the sound, whispered down the hall, and we made quick work of sidling up to a closed door, listening intently.

"So, yeah, that's the whole deal. "

"Seriously? Dude, I didn't sign up for all that shit, I just wanted to make some extra cash."

"Well, shit, what do you want me to say, sorry? He knows all our names, guy's got a damn good memory, and we have to show up."

"But…why is he back? Why now?"

"Look, I don't know, just, be there, alright? All of you - I dunno' what would happen if we didn't, but my hands are officially clean, I let you all know. So, up to you. I wouldn't try to cheat a madmen, just saying."

Fingers made their way into my peripheral vision, counting down from five, and I sunk low on tense legs, waiting. As the black gloved fist closed, heel met door and we swarmed in, the group of men swearing as they struggled to get up from chairs, pulling out guns and knives a-plenty.

"Fuck, it's Batman!" one yelled, firing terrible shots that sailed way over my head. Batman lunged at him in particular, and no one could miss the sickening crunch as the thug disappeared into a mass of cape and muscle. Keeping up the pace, I spun on my heel and cracked one guy across the face with my reinforced boots, blood and teeth dotting the floor. Another one tried to swing at me, and I deftly ducked under and greeted his nose with my palm, followed by a kick to the man parts.

The rest ran, but to my surprise, Batman didn't leap after them, even grabbed my arm to stop me from doing it - instead, he picked up the last guy I dropped by the front of his bloodied shirt, lifting him clean off his feet.

"Who's back?" Batman growled, shaking the half-conscious man for emphasis. The guy tried to laugh, or something, just ended up coughing and spitting red on the floor. Batman sighed, though when he did it sounded more like a snarl, "Check his wallet."

Lost, but curious, I reached into the man's back pocket (definitely not a pocket I wanted to reach in, by the way), and carefully opened the cracked, brown leather wallet. Business cards, gum wrappers, condoms that had never seen the light of day, and…a card. Batman pulled the card out, dropping the loser to the ground, who scurried off after his buddies.

"Is that…" I started, trailing off more out of want for not saying, rather than effect. The big guy exhaled a whoosh of tense air, holding up the card for me to see.

A Joker.

"He's back."

. Morning.:.

"Babs, can you get this for me?"

I stopped a few steps past the Commissioner's door, walking with a sigh backwards until I could see the man himself, phone on either ear, with a folder held in an outstretched hand. Crossing the room in a few strides, Gordon smiled gratefully as I took the manila nightmare (as I called them), and I flashed a light-heated glare - he laughed, knowing I didn't mean it. If anything, I wish he gave others more work, poor 'ol Dad was going to die in a mass of paperwork and phones one day.

As I left his office, I glanced down at the folder, my heart sinking - another one. Another old Joker file - every station in the city had been digging out their old stuff as Joker cards turned up all over the city, in the pockets of his old henchmen and co., a very bad omen.

No one had scene the Clown himself in 3 years, we had all hoped he'd have disappeared. Looks like not.

I had never been up against the purple suited man, Bruce hadn't started teaching me the ways of Batman'ing it till a year ago, and he had just started letting me go out on patrols with him a few months ago. The media called me "Batgirl", how lame is that? Ah well, could be worse, I suppose. What did they call that burglar lady, Catwoman? Gotham comes up with some strange names.

"Ms. Gordon, a moment?"

I looked up to see Alfred, in the station of all places, standing beside my cubicle. My eyes darting around the room, I gestured to the door, biting my lip nervously.

"They just let you march in here, Alfred? Isn't it odd for Bruce Wayne's butler to be hanging out with the police?" I questioned, only stopping once we got outside and onto the sidewalk.
"You know I wouldn't of come unless it was important, " he replied with a smile, sticking his hands into his jacket pocket. Was cold, should of worn a coat myself.

"Mr. Wayne…Barbara, you've been such a help to Mr. Wayne. I know it's hard for you, juggling working for your father, and then your…other job. But, with you know who back, I don't know if…I don't know if Batman can do it again. I don't know if he can take it again. Joker took from him last time, took so much, he almost took everything. I need you to be careful, and watching, and to be ready for how this may turn out. It isn't going to be pretty."

"I know." It's all I could say, all I could promise.

He nodded, hailed a taxi, and left - I went back inside.

I barely got a foot in the main office before every television in the building, which we always kept on the news, flickered out and came back on, showing a dusty, concrete-walled room with a "Congratulations! It's a boy!" banner in the background.

A familiar face walked onscreen, and somewhere in the building a coffee cup dropped and smashed, along with gasps and the screech of pushed back chairs.

"Gotham, Gotham - guess who's back!"

My phone buzzed, and I had a super-delayed reaction before I snatched it off my desk and flip it open, barely registering it was Bruce calling.

"Are you watching this?" he asked hurriedly, the gruff edge to his otherwise smooth voice showing who was really driving the mental-Wayne car right now. I breathed an affirmative noise, unable to look awake from the TV just like every other person in Gotham right now.

"I know you've all missed me so much - especially you, Batty-boy! And I couldn't just ignore my most adoring fans, now could I? What kind of circus show would I be, huh? So! In honor of my return, I got you a little present! I'm a good guy, I know, I shouldn't have, you're welcome!" the man on camera rambled with a laugh, running a purple-gloved hand through his greasy, green-tinged hair, tongue darting out over red-painted lips, "So, here you go - honey, I'm home!"

The transmission cut, black screen perfectly in time with an explosion that rocked the floor - naturally, my own coffee jumped and clattered the floor before I could catch it, spilling lukewarm brown all over my green shirt.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." I growled, my cell quiet, mainly because Bruce had hung up - I snapped the phone shut and rushed to the window everyone was gathered around, the street outside smoky and...raining?

It was raining Joker cards.

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
Cause the circus is coming to town
Cause the circus is coming to town

- The Circus by Firewater