DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these properties.

Somewhere in Gotham..

There were a group of mercs standing guard in a building. In the distance one of them thought he saw something. Ever so thin, ever so sharp Batarangs came hurtling from out the air and cut the goons down without a sound before they could raise alarm, as intended.

A caped figure started walking, right out in the open, as though she were out for an evening stroll. . The forbidding silhouette of bat-like ears rose from her ebony cowl. A mane of curly red hair tumbled passed her shapely shoulders. A winged emblem adorned her chest.

She'd been heard about, rumored about, speculated about. But no one had ever seen her clearly in day or night. No one.. until now. Fist clenched, she loomed over the down hoodlums. All secured with black plastic zip ties now. The driving rain washed their blood down the open drain.

Her investigation led her to this run-down building. Chain linked fences guarded wooden pallets piled high with miscellaneous bales, crates and bags. A sudden wind whipped up the litter around her knee-high boots.

Batgirl glanced around the squalid dive. It was cramped and smelled like mildew. She slipped her night lenses into position in her cowl, and took a cursory scan of the area around her.

Two mercs were moving in her direction and she waited for them to pass. Then she darted out into the hall and sprinted for the stairs.

She made her way across. Reaching the next floor, she quickly located the room in question. The door was locked, so she sprayed explosive gel on the bolt, set it off. There was a sharp bang and the door swung open.

Cat-Co Worldwide Media had depicted Batgirl as nothing more than a dangerous vigilante with a hidden agenda. The problem was, she worked on her own, outside the law.

A merc waited for her like a hungry wolf. A body of whipcord muscle. From the looks of him, his features weathered by life spent mainly outdoors. His hair was dark, sweeping back from his forehead in a wave. Balanced carefully on the balls of his feet, his center of gravity low, but his fists were up, ready to unleash a flurry of punches at moment's notice.

"The disk." Batgirl insisted.

A leering grin stretched across his face. "I wouldn't try going after it, if I were you."

She spun into a crouch and furious brown eyes flashed menacingly. She ducked and weaved, evading the worst of the Merc's blows, while tossing a mix-up of surgical jabs and left haymakers.

Batgirl fought like a demon, striking out with ruthless speed and precision. Drunk on the thud of her fists. Arms were twisted, legs knocked out from beneath their owners, broken teeth sent flying, one after another, battered bodies hit the dirt like stones.

Cutting their losses, the injured hoods turned tail and ran. She savored the sight before holstering her Batarang. She wanted them to get away. To tell their boss, whoever he is, that the myths were true.

Besides, this one's on the up and up.

She analyzed the shrapnel fragments. A depleted uranium shell. Military grade. Hard to get. Extremely expensive. Which means it's only used by a select few. She recognized the signature work of the D.E.O. – the Department of Extra-Normal Operations.

Batgirl wouldn't put it past them. I mean, this had to be a big job, right? Someone had to be bankrolling it. She reasoned. An eyewitness put D.E.O. Troopers at the scene. Talk about luck. But, the evidence before her struck her as flimsy and circumstantial. She wouldn't know for certain once she re-canvas the area. Video cams, parking tickets, the whole shebang. She had forty-eight hours before the trail went cold.

Batgirl held out her glove, did something to her gauntlet – her fingers danced across a digital control of some sort. Moments later, an ominous black vehicle rumbled into view, pulling into a rolling stop in front of her. The Batmobile, right on schedule. The hatch slid open.

Striding forward, Batgirl climbed in. The hatch slid closed and she gunned the engine. The Batmobile shot forward, roaring down the narrow and twisting roads of the night into a winding path that would lead into National City.