Story: "Original Gangsters" (38 Pages)

Credits:

Scott Beatty (plot, script)
Dean Zachary (pencils)
Robert Campanella & Sal Buscema (inks)
Albert De Guzman (letters)
Noelle Giddings (colors)
Darren Vincenzo (edits)

Feature Characters:

Batman (next in Day of Judgement #1)
Nightwing II
Robin III. Oracle

Villains:

Johnny Magistro
August 'Red' O'Leary
Laszlo 'No-nose' Mesklin
Richard 'Sweets' Steinbaum
Tommy-Gun Timmy (deceased gangsters, first appearance of all?)

Guest Appearance:

Katana (behind the scenes, next in Day of Judgement #1)

Other Characters:

Krissy
Ivan (two of Oracle's informants)

Comment: This story takes place during both No Man's Land and Day of Judgement.

Synopsis:

Gotham City is still a No Man's Land, cut off from the rest of the United States, but Batman is called away to deal with a demonic crisis elsewhere. He leaves things in the hands of Oracle, assisted by Robin and Nightwing, who share stories about Oracle's career as Batgirl. Meanwhile, a long-dead gangster, walks out of Gotham harbour, still wearing his concrete boots, and rounds up the rest of his gang from their final resting places. The gang together, he, Johnny Magistro, finds the body of Tommy-Gun Timmy, and kills him all over again for double-crossing the gang.

As two of Oracle's network of informants contact her about some gangsters breaking into a mausoleum, Nightwing and Robin spot gas mains exploding all over the city, erupting flame into the sky. At the mausoleum, which Oracle directs the heroes to check out, her informants are discovered by the skeletal gangsters, who try and get information from them about the best rackets in town. When Robin and Nightwing arrive at the scene, their night vision lenses only show them the two kids, as the deceased gangsters have no body heat. A battle breaks out, with the gangsters using a stash of old weaponry, including machine guns, which was hidden in the tomb.

Oracle runs the mobsters' names through her computer files, and discovers that they were active during the depression years - they've been dead a long time. The two young informants are able to escape while Robin and Nightwing distract the gangsters, but they are pursued to Oracle's clocktower by one of the walking dead, putting her in immense danger, as his arrival knocks Oracle from her wheelchair. The fight does not go well, even when the heroes arrive on the scene, but is brought to a premature end by an exploding gas main, which consumes the remaining mobster with hellfire.

As they discuss the events afterwards, Oracle, Nightwing and Robin assumes that Batman will not believe them about what they've seen. Little do they know what Batman's been going through...