The Blüdhaven Police Department. It's filled to the brim with corrupt cops who are on the take, or even working deals themselves. The line of corruption starts from the top and works its way down. So much so that the good cops are the ones who have to work from the shadows and operate beneath the radar.

Whenever I walk through those doors, I always want to start hitting people.

Nightwing could get away with that. But Officer Richard Grayson... that's another story. And today, that's who I am. I joined the Blüdhaven PD to try and fight the corruption from the inside as opposed to just working from the outside. Because as much good as I have accomplished during my time in the 'haven, there's only so much Nightwing can do, and there are so many places he can't get into. Being a police officer gives me access to information I may not otherwise have.

Roll call is the first order of the day. The cops on shift for today are already assembled. A woman looked up at me and shook her head slightly.

"You're late, rookie."

"Yeah, I know," I said. "The sarge here?"

"Luckily for you, he's running late, too," she said. She pulled her long, brown hair into a bun before putting her hat on. Officer Amy Rohrbach. My partner. Someone who doesn't trust me farther than she can throw me. If I were in her position, I can't said I would, either. Always coming in late, running off on my own, and add to that the fact that cops in the 'haven are always looking over their shoulders just in case one of their fellow boys in blue has a bullet with their name on it.

That's the reality of being a cop in Blüdhaven.

"You hear about last night?" asked Amy.

"No, what happened?" I asked.

"A drug deal was busted up down by the docks," she replied. "Nightwing."

"What's so special about that?"

"Apparently, Soames isn't too happy about it," said Amy.

"Imagine he wouldn't be," I said. "Means Desmond isn't too ha—"

"Hey, watch it!" she sternly snapped. "You're new here, Grayson. But you don't bring up talk like that around here. The walls have ears."

"Okay, fall in!"

That was the order for roll call to begin. The sergeant walked through the door, or seemed more like staggered. We all lined up, shoulder to shoulder. The sergeant went through the inspection, somewhat sloppily. I could smell whiskey on his breath, which means either he drank too much last night or he started this morning. In this city, either one is a likely scenario.

"Fall out," he said, wrapping up the inspections, and we all took our seats to prepare for the briefing. The door opened again. Now this I hadn't expected.

Inspector Dudley Soames walked into the room and the sergeant took a seat as well. Soames stood in front of the room, his brown trench coat slung over his arm, a cup of coffee in his free hand. His white shirt was a bit wrinkled, with the tie loosely hanging from the unbuttoned collar. He also had a bit of stubble coming in, which meant he had been working late. I wanted to smile at the thought of my antics keeping him up, but I kept still.

"Mornin' all," he said. He took a sip from his coffee before beginning. "No doubt some of you lot heard of the trouble we had last night down at the docks. For those who haven't heard, that's why I'm here to enlighten you. A shipment of what we assume were some sort of drugs came in, and it was busted up by Blüdhaven's favorite vigilante. The drugs themselves were nowhere to be found, so we have nothing to hold against the pushers. And it's because of this Nightwing character."

Keep feeding it, Soames. We both know it would've taken Desmond's lawyers about an hour to get those pushers released. It would take even less time than that for the drugs to vanish from the evidence room, if they hadn't already vanished from the scene of the crime.

"I've spoken with Chief Redhorn on the matter and we're both in agreement," Soames continued. "Nightwing is a menace, and he's wanted for questioning. Be wary, he's to be considered armed and quite dangerous. That's all."

Soames stepped away from the podium and the sergeant stood to take his spot at the front of the room.

"Thank you, Inspector," the sergeant said. "Now, I've got your assignments here..."

I watched as Soames left the room. He really isn't happy, and I get the impression there's more than just him being pissed off at Nightwing busting up Desmond's shipments.

	A Knight in Blüdhaven... "IMPORTS"
Nightwing #2 - October, Year Two	by Dino Pollard

Barbara Gordon was not having fun.

Her recent encounter with the Batman and his new attack dog, Cassandra Cain, was far from pleasant. She wanted to put that experience behind her. And the first thing that comes up is one of the events that led directly to that.

The venom patches.

The criminal called Bane created them. He mass-produced venom, the drug he uses to augment his strength to superhuman levels. In the form of these patches, it grants the user superhuman strength, if only temporarily. It's not as potent as the drug Bane uses, but it is still very effective, very addictive, and it can be very deadly.

Nightwing found them in the drug shipment he busted up last night. He asked her to look into it, and she was trying to compile whatever information she had on it. From the way she understood it, the Batman put an end to Bane's export business. Now, the more she learns about it, the more she understands that Bane simply chose to stay away from Gotham.

Blüdhaven, on the other hand, was fair game.

She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. For several hours, she had been staring at the computer screen. It was something she had gotten used to over the years, but the effects of the strain are always present in some form.

"Why would Blockbuster be interested in venom..." she asked herself. She pressed a button on the console to open a communication line to Nightwing. No response came, which meant he was probably working the force this morning.

"Wonderful..." she muttered.

"Soames... I am not pleased."

Soames opened his metal case and produced a cigarette from it. He placed it between his lips while he reached for his lighter. He sparked it, igniting the tip of the cigarette with the small flame. He took a drag before speaking.

"I get that, Roland," he said while he removed the cigarette from his mouth. He exhaled the smoke via his nostrils and focused his eyes on the large behemoth that sat before him. Roland Desmond, who went by the name of Blockbuster. Blüdhaven's newest crime lord. A man of gargantuan proportions with a brain to match.

"Who was responsible for this shipment?" asked Desmond. "Was it Minh?"

"The guy I spoke to said he didn't know," replied Soames. "Pushers were white though, not Minh's style. He's a bit too ethnocentric for that."

"Then who is muscling in on the drug trade?" asked Desmond.

"I'm working on it," replied Soames. "It's just gonna take a bit of time, so be patient."

"My patience wears thin," said Desmond. "And how did Nightwing know about this shipment when we didn't?"

"Good question," replied Soames. In his mind, he thought, perhaps I should try asking him.

"For a man who is supposed to deal in information, you have precious little to offer me, Soames," said Desmond. "Remind me again why I continue to tolerate your presence?"

"Because you know you need me, Roland," said Soames. "I may not have anything at the moment, but that'll change. You know that, I know that. Just remain patient and something will come of it."

"For your sake, I hope so," said Desmond. "Do not disappoint me, Soames. I don't believe it's a state of mind you wish to see me in."

"Point taken, mate," said Soames. "Am I excused?"

"You try my patience, Soames," said Desmond. "Out of my sight."

"Your wish is my command," said Soames. More like pain in the arse, he thought. He turned on his heel and walked out of Desmond's office. Dudley Soames knew it would only be a matter of time before Roland Desmond's famous temper would start to become directed at him. The alliance was falling through, just as Soames had expected it to. The time for a change was quickly coming, and Soames would be around when it happened.

Once the door closed behind Soames, a man stepped out from the shadows. He was dressed in a yellow costume with weapons strapped to his body.

"Well?" asked Desmond.

"I don't trust him."

"Nor should you," said Desmond. "I want you to follow him. Soames can be a very dangerous man, and he is, first and foremost an opportunist. Keep an eye on him and report back to me with your findings."

"And if it turns out he isn't to be trusted?"

"Soames was useful in allowing me to assert my power over Blüdhaven," replied Desmond. "But now that I have Redhorn in my pocket, Soames is expendable."

"You're the boss."

"You've gotta learn to watch your mouth, Grayson."

Amy was talking to me. Schooling me on what I should and shouldn't said around the station. She drove the squad car and I sat beside her, just taking the lecture in stride. After dealing with Bruce's lectures, this is a piece of cake.

"We all know Soames is working for Roland Desmond," said Amy. "But we don't talk about that kind of thing. If people hear you talking about that kind of thing, they might start to think you're working with I.A. And then you're in deep shit."

"Didn't realize you cared, Amy," I said.

"I don't," said Amy. "I just don't wanna go through the trouble of breaking in a new partner."

"Guess you'd better put me to work then," I said. I point out the window to a guy running from a convenience store with cash in his hands. Amy turns on the siren and drives after him. I reach for the radio to call in our location and the specifics. Amy took a hard right at the corner to follow him. He turns down an alley too small for the car.

I'm out of the car in an instant, my gun drawn and chasing him down. I don't plan on actually using it, though. More for appearences where Amy is concerned than anything else. I'm hoping to get him down before she can get involved.

I followed him down the alley and he looked over his shoulder. He came to a dead end. I took aim and slowly began walking towards him.

"Alright, nice an easy," I tell him. As I got closer, he raised his arms and slowly turned around. All of a sudden, his arm whipped out and knocked my gun out of the way. His free hand wrapped around my neck and lifted me up as if I weighed nothing. Effortlessly, he tossed me against the wall.

"FREEZE!"

Amy no... get away. After last night, strength like that can only be caused by one thing -- the venom patch.

The crook turned his attention to Amy, charging at her. Before Amy can fire off a shot, I was back on my feet. I slammed into him with all my strength, forcing him against the wall. My hand grabbed my baton and I brought it on his back, hard. He fell to the ground and shot his leg out. I dodged away from it, and I heard two shots. His body fell limp and Amy approached him, her gun smoking. Still holding the gun in one hand, she knelt down and felt for his pulse. She looked up at me and shook her head.

"You okay?" she asked. She stood, sliding her gun into the holster.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. "You just killed him."

"I did what had to be done," she said. "Paperwork will be a bitch, I'm sure."

I knelt down by him and pulled the sleeve of his t-shirt up.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

I saw it on his arm. A white patch. The venom patch.

Looks like there was more than one shipment.

Later that night, I'm sitting in my apartment, my laptop on. Barbara's face stared back at me from her side of the connection and I have my headset on.

"There was more than one shipment of those venom patches, Babs," I said. "I know because I trashed the rest of the shipment I broke up."

"Why would Minh or Desmond be interested in venom patches, though?" she asked.

"Good question, they seem to have been fine with the usual rackets," I replied. "Now, all of a sudden, venom patches? I thought Batman took care of this."

"He did, but I'm starting to think that just meant Gotham was off-limits for Bane. Has nothing to do with Blüdhaven or any other cities."

"Just my luck, now I've gotta deal with superpowered druggies on the street. Bane's running this from South America, so he needs someone in the 'haven to act as a distributor. I'll look into Freddie Minh, see if I can get anything out of him."

"Watch yourself out there."

"I can handle myself, that's not the problem. Stuff like this makes me look forward to breaking up coke dea—"

I stop once my eye caught something outside the window.

"Dick?"

I stood from my chair and walk to the window. Across the sky, flashing over the clouds, was a spotlight with the shape of my domino mask in the center of it.

"Dick, what's wrong?"

"Hey Babs... I gotta go," I said. "Someone's just turned on a Nightwing signal."