Disclaimer: I had a dream...where I owned all the DCU properties and it was glorious. But then, I woke up and realized the only things I own are my OCs. Damn reality.

Ch. 2: Gotham Nights

"Hey hombre. What took you so long man?" asked one man from the shadows. The other, looking suspiciously over his shoulder, hurried to meet him in a dark corner of Gotham.

"My mamá man, she's one suspicious lady. Afraid I'm going to go down the same path mi hermano did. Don't want to lose my free meal and room, ya know what I mean. You got the goods?"

The first man gestured the second to come nearer. On closer inspection, a box became obvious. The first man lifted it up and started to hand it to the second one.

"Man, you ain't afraid that th' new chick, that Puma's gonna show up?" asked the second man nervously glancing around the deserted street.

"Nah, she's just some myth, like the Bat used to be before he got busted," responded the first man nonchalantly, but still glancing at each of the shadows around the pair.

"I don't know man, mi primo, he swears he saw her last week busting up the Hernandez brothers at the docks. According to him she was fierce."

"When is your primo ever reliable?" the first man countered as he handed over the box. Suddenly, he stopped and glanced around once more. "Did you hear that?" he asked as he dropped the box and pulled out his gun.

"Damn right I did," the other man responded nervously as he grabbed his gun and pointed it randomly at the shadows surrounding them. "Were'd it come from?"

"Don't know," responded the first man, keeping a wary eye all around him. Unfortunately, he didn't look up.

So suddenly that neither man had a chance to react, a shadow burst from above and knocked the first man over. Punching him first in the gut and then in the face, the shadow made sure that he wasn't going anywhere before turning to the second man, who was pointing his gun at the shadow.

"Drop the gun," the shadow warned him as he held the gun shakily.

"You…You just get away from him or I'll…I'll blow out your brains!" the man threatened nervously. Before he realized it, the gun was out of his hands, his nose was bleeding and he was on the ground.

"Be a good boy and don't move," the shadow purred. "I need to send a message through your buddy here. The cops will be here shortly and they'll take good care of you, I promise."

Moving back to the first man, the shadow knelt down beside him and whispered into his ear, "Tell Jaguar I'm coming for her. And tell her that she should be more careful about where she ships her drugs. She keeps misplacing them in my city."

The man on the ground shivered. "Don't know what you're talking about. There's no Jaguar." Before he realized it, a blow rattled his head.

"Don't play games with me estupido. You're in the wrong position. Just be a good boy and pass along my message to Jaguar. I'll know if you didn't." With that, the shadow swiftly joined the others as the police sirens screamed closer.

Back on the rooftops, Catalina García, better known as the Puma, watched the scene below. She was around 15 and had lived in Gotham ever since she was six. Crime had always been bad in the city, even under the Bat. Ever since he had disappeared, however, it had gotten worse. This was the third drug deal she had broken up so far this week. How the hell did Jaguar get this powerful so fast? Better question, how's she getting all this past the Coast Guard. No way it should be this easy, Cat wondered to herself as she watched the police officers book the two men she had apprehended.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh on them?" came a voice from behind her.

Cat schooled herself quickly, telling herself that there was no need to jump. Turning slowly, as if she had originally heard the newcomer, Cat faced her new companion and looked her over. The woman standing before her was around five foot two, with long red hair. She had a cowl covering her face, with a long black cape with yellow lining. Her yellow boots added very little height to her short frame. She looked like a female Batman, just not as gloomy and depressing.

"I endorse using force on criminals," the woman continued, studying Cat. "But what you used on the last man was a little too harsh in my opinion."

"So the Bat's got a sex change," countered Cat, ignoring the last remark. "Is that why you've not been around for the last five years?"

"No, and stop changing the subject," Batwoman snapped at Cat. "There was no excuse for what you just did. You don't need to beat up the perps that bad."

"For your information Bat-Lady, I used what force I needed to in order to send a message," Cat answered. She shouldn't be letting this woman get the better of her. "And I don't need to defend myself to you. It's not like you've been on the street for the last couple of years fighting these bastards. You've had a nice long vacation to watch Gotham go to hell." The woman looked at Cat with a slightly shocked expression and took a step back. Before anything else stupid flew out of her mouth, Cat turned around and leapt off the building, using her years of gymnastics training to catch herself on another rooftop and took herself far from the woman who had managed to unnerve her so much.

Barbara Gordon looked at the retreating figure of a young girl in a black costume, slightly shocked at the girl's reaction to her. So who was this girl that seemed to claim the city as her own? She seemed resentful, not that Babs blamed her. There had been no one protecting Gotham ever since…ever since the accident. She really needed to check in with Bruce before she took any further action in regards to the girl. With that thought, she shot out her grappling hook and swung into the night.

The patrol took up what was left of the night and by the time Babs got around to visiting the Batcave dawn was rapidly approaching. Fighting back yawns, Babs reflected on her first night back in Gotham in cape and cowl. Gotham had seemed bad when she had flown in the week before, but seeing it from her old perspective up on the roofs told her how bad her city had devolved in the years since she had left. The girl was right when she said that Gotham had descended into hell while she was gone. Damn you Drake, she cursed to herself as the approached her destination.

"So you finally decided to come and visit me," came a distinctly male voice from in front of a computer as Babs swung into the cave.

"I needed to get my feet back under me old man," Babs responded as she made her way to the computer console where her former mentor was seated. Seeing him for the first time in years was a shock. She had known that the thugs from the President had beaten up him pretty bad, but she had never realized how badly he had been hurt. He had ordered her out of Gotham right after the incident, when he had still been in the hospital recuperating. She had heard rumors of course, how Gotham's most eligible bachelor had met with a tragic accident but she had always thought they had exaggerated a little. How wrong she was.

His left leg stuck out at an awkward angle, making walking extremely painful even with a cane. His face, still handsome after all these years, was lined from enduring both the physical pain of his leg and the mental pain from the knowledge that he could no longer protect his city. Still, his eyes shone with determination and the fact that he was down here monitoring his city showed that he was still the same man who had once donned the cape and cowl of the Batman.

"So what made you decide to come back, even when I specifically told you to stay in Europe?" asked Bruce, not missing a beat.

Babs sighed. "My dad needs me. These last few years as commissioner haven't been easy on him. The government keeps putting pressure on the city to allow that American Legion, or whatever those damned lackeys are called, to have a base here in Gotham to combat the drug trade and the mobs. It's all my dad can do to keep the mayor and the rest of the city to agree with him that the Legion isn't wanted here in Gotham. You know," Babs smiled at Bruce wryly, "that he's still loyal to the idea of Batman, even though he hasn't been around in the last four years."

"Are you going to let your dad in on the secret?" Bruce asked. "You know that could cause some serious problems. If the government ever found out…"

"I know what they would do. Why do you think that I waited some time before going out as Batwoman for the first time? I don't want them to connect the return of Barbara Gordon to the return of the Bat. To tell the truth Bruce, I don't know if I'll tell my dad yet."

"At least you're honest about it," replied Bruce, before returning his gaze to the computer screen. "So let me fill you in on the situation at hand here in Gotham since you left…"