The elevator glided to the top level of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce tucked his notebook underneath his arm. "Nervous, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, looking down at the young man. "No, not at all," Bruce said stoically. The determination to finally get the answers he had been longing for was now stronger than ever. And now, with the information he had meticulously gathered for months, the board would be caught like a deer in headlights.

The metal box opened, and as Alfred and Bruce approached the conference room, the butler opened the door, and all the executives turned in their seats, watching as he sat at the head of the table. "Good morning, everyone," Bruce looked down the table at every board member. They all smiled at him, returning the greeting. "Welcome to Wayne Enterprises. So happy to see you," A woman smiled, wearing a black dress and her hair pulled back into a tight bun. "Thank you for meeting with me," Bruce straightened his spine.

"I have some questions regarding Wayne Enterprises business affairs," Bruce stated, opening his notebook. "Of course, it's your company after all," the man closest to him nodded. "Fire away, young man," While the other board members stayed silent, it was clear that the man and woman closest to Bruce were in charge of the board. And if any of the fourteen members were to take note of his investigations, it would surely be them. "I have two main areas of concern," Bruce stated. "Underworld involvement in the Arkham Project. And chemical weapons manufacture at our WellZyn affiliate,"

Silence filled the room, and Bruce kept a watchful eye as he scanned the table. The majority of the board remained stone-faced and still as statues, the man to his left, however, started to look nervous, his Adam's apple dipping down in a quiet gulp. And the more Bruce presented the evidence against them, the more tense the room became. Alfred, who had been standing by Bruce's side during the whole meeting, grew a tad nervous as well. Not for the board, but more so for his and Bruce's safety. "I can only conclude, that high-level individuals or groups within Wayne Enterprises have colluded in corruption, bribery, racketeering, and unethical medical research," Bruce finished.

"Thank you for that input, Bruce. I'm so sorry if you've been alarmed or upset by these shocking stories and rumors you've been exposed to," The leading man spoke, with a touch of condescension. "These are much more than rumors. These are serious accusations against the company," Bruce insisted. "We'll look into them thoroughly and carefully, of course, but Bruce, let's be fair. You've told us nothing with any substantive proof behind it," 

"I haven't told you all I know," Bruce clarified. "No? What else is there?" The leading man questioned. But rather than presenting more proof, Bruce decided to wrap up this meeting, keeping them all on their toes. "I hope you do look closely into these issues. Because I'll be raising them at the next shareholders' meeting with a view to possible legal action," Bruce stood up, grabbing his notebook. "Dear me. Legal action? These are all very deep waters for such a young man," The leading woman blinked. "My youth is not relevant. Except that if I were a man," Bruce stated. "I would be chairing this board. And I would be sure that Wayne Enterprises was run honestly. Thank you for your time,"

Even though the board hadn't answered his questions, Bruce knew one thing was for sure. His company was definitely involved in the corruption, and he'd do everything in his power to put an end to it.

~~~~~~~~~~

How could he replace me? I thought I was the only one he loved! Barbara's body quivered in rage as she paced back and forth through the penthouse while Holly sat on the couch, watching her mother sadly. Of course she'd be heartbroken. She and Jim had history, nearly a decade and a half. How could he toss her away like she was garbage? "I take it the reunion didn't go well?" Selina plopped down on the couch, with Ivy sitting at the other end. "Nope," Holly whispered. Barbara swiftly walked towards the kitchen, opened one of the cabinets, and grabbed a glass.

Barbara had been trying to hold back her tears for the past twelve hours now, and the lump in her throat desperately tried to get unstuck, but Barbara kept swallowing it back down, trying to keep it together for Holly. Barbara picked up the nearest wine bottle and started pouring herself a glass. She needed to numb the pain somehow. She took a big gulp from the glass and slammed it back on the counter, nearly shattering it. "Uh, how about we just go to my room?" Holly suggested to Ivy and Selina. "Yeah, let's go," Ivy nodded. As Holly shut her bedroom door, the sounds of her mother's muffled cries and screams broke her heart.

"What's got her all upset?" Selina asked, laying back on the bed. "She saw Dad and his new girlfriend kissing," Holly answered, leaning against the wall. "Oh..." Selina's eyes widened. "I mean, she was going to find out eventually. But I can't help but feel bad, you know?" Holly admitted. "Feel bad about what? That your dad got tired of waiting and moved on?" Ivy asked. "Cause if that was me, I would've moved on too," Selina shrugged. "I'm not waiting for someone to decide if they want to be with me or not,"

Fair point. Now, there was the unspoken question. Since the split was official, what was going to happen? Who was she going to live with? They were questions that never should've been asked, questions she never even thought about asking up until that moment. Nobody should have to deal with their parent's separation at a young age. She may have been almost thirteen, but that cloud of stress and anger was not only going to consume her parents, but it would also consume her too.

Holly buried her face into her knees, wanting nothing more than to sink into a deep hole and never come out. Ivy and Selina sat up and looked at each other, feeling a pang of pity for their friend. Holly's situation may not have been as severe as theirs, but she was still their friend. She was the one who took them in when no one else would. At this point, she was pretty much family. "Hey," Selina slid off the bed, placing a hand on Holly's knee. "Don't cry. It's gonna be okay," "How do you know that?" Holly lifted her head, her cheeks now puffy and red.

"Because the Holly I know doesn't let anything take her down," Selina answered. "You didn't let those assassins kill you and Bruce. And you dang sure didn't let some snobby rich kid rumors keep you out of the contest. Don't let this beat you," As Selina's reassuring statement slowly sank in, Holly could feel her tears stop flowing. Right now, it hurt like hell, but as the old saying goes, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. "Thanks, girls," Holly stood up and embraced them both.

"Alright, you big old softie," Selina chuckled. Suddenly, Holly could feel her phone vibrating in her back pocket, and as she pulled it out, she could see the five or six messages from her Dad, flooding in all at once. 'Hols, where are you?' 'Call me!' 'Holly, I'm not kidding, call me right now,' "Wow, he worries way too much," Selina peered over Holly's shoulder, reading the texts. "Well, he has good reason to," Holly commented before picking up the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jim had just arrived on the scene of his and Harvey's newest case. People had scattered all over the street, bumping and crashing into each other as they reached down to grab the money strewn all over the road. It all seemed like your typical bank robbery. But as they looked through the CCTV footage and spoke to witnesses, it wasn't just a simple robbery. A group of five men had entered the bank carrying rifles, their faces covered with black masks as they yelled at the tellers and unfortunate customers to get on the ground. One of the men stood up on the counter, aiming his gun into the air. But something was different about him. Instead of the matching masks, his stood out: a red hood.

"Well, we'll never know how much cash was lost, but I just saw a bum eating oysters at Madeline's," Harvey commented as he walked into the back room, Jim's eyes still locked on the screen. Harvey also took notice of the red-hooded robber, and a scoff broke past his lips. "Another freak in a mask. Awesome. Is that guard blind or wasted?" Harvey turned to the manager and his assistant. "Clyde refused to wear his glasses. Said they made him look old," The assistant answered. "Missing a man standing 20 feet in front of you with six shots makes you look old," Harvey commented. "Who tripped the alarm?" Jim asked.

"I did," The manager replied. "Why aren't you out there, Detective? This brazen audacity cannot be tolerated," "They didn't go for the vault," Jim said. "Just the cash in the registers. And the crew was in and out in under two minutes," "The red-hooded man seemed nice," The assistant stated, her admission taking Jim and Harvey by surprise. "Nice?" Harvey repeated. "He wasn't stealing our money, just the bank's. Then he gave a lot of it back to people in the street. Like Robin Hood," The assistant justified. "Oh, great. This bank hires Communists," Harvey rolled his eyes.

"Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor," Jim clarified. "These armed thieves only threw cash away to guarantee their escape. It's very different, ma'am," The assistant adjusted her glasses before looking back at the ground. "The thief... in the back here, was he always checking his watch?" Jim asked, turning his focus to the manager. "Yes, he was counting down," The manager confirmed. "They knew what our response time was," Jim realized. "They've done their homework," Harvey agreed. "Has the alarm been triggered for any other reason recently?" Jim asked.

"No," The manager insisted. But the assistant had another answer for the detectives. "Well, there was that time with the smoke bomb. A week or so ago, a small flare or firework, or something, was set off by the Mortgages desk. It tripped the alarm. We thought it was just a kid's prank," She explained. "We're gonna need you to find the surveillance footage from that incident," Jim requested.

With a nod of her head, Jim and Harvey walked out of the bank and back into the car, driving back to the precinct. Jim's phone started ringing, and as he saw the Caller ID, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Where are you, Hols?" He asked the second he heard Holly's voice. "I'm fine. Mom took me back to the penthouse," Holly whispered into the other end. Barbara's back? Jim swore he could feel his heart skip a beat. "She came back last night," Holly answered. "Did she... by any chance see what happened with Lee?" Jim paused. He knew the answer already, but his daughter's prolonged silence was all the confirmation he needed.

Shit... "Are you doing okay?" Jim finally spoke. "She started drinking, so I left the room. But I'm okay," Holly exhaled shakily. "I don't think she'll do anything, but... I've never seen her act like this," While Harvey didn't hear much of the conversation, just hearing the quiver in the young girl's voice made him concerned. "Is she okay?" Harvey whispered. But Jim shook his head before returning to the call, telling Holly he was on his way.

"Dad, you have work. Don't let me get in the way of it. I can handle this," Holly insisted. "No, I'm picking you up. I'll be there in five," Jim replied before hanging up. It was rare that Barbara drank herself into oblivion, but whenever it happened, he had been there. He always hoped Holly wouldn't be around to see it, but with Barbara acting the way she was, there was no way he was going to let Holly suffer through the same trauma his own father put him through. "I'll wait here," Harvey said as they pulled to the curb outside Barbara's apartment. "Thanks," Jim nodded, shutting the car door.

~~~~~~~~~~

Every step grew heavier and heavier the closer he got to the apartment. When he knocked, he was greeted by a messy-haired Barbara, her face tear-stained and mascara smudged under her eyes. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" Barbara spoke coldly. "We need to talk," Jim said, noticing the bottle of wine in one hand, her half-full glass in the other. "About what exactly? You moving on with another woman?" Barbara squinted. "That's not what I want to talk about. Holly just called me, saying you've been drinking," Jim answered.

"So what? It's not a crime to drink in my own home," Barbara scoffed. "Well, I have a problem with it when Holly's under the same roof as you. She's worried about you," Jim took a step closer to the apartment, and through her drunken state of mind, Barbara let him in, shutting the door behind him. "You know, if you hadn't moved on so quickly, Holly wouldn't have to worry about me," Barbara blamed. "I'm not the one who went MIA for months, Barbara. You left without saying a word to either of us,"

Barbara just shrugged as she took another sip from her glass. "I just needed some time away. Is that so bad?" Jim closed his eyes, shaking his head at Barbara's selfishness. "It's one thing to need some time to yourself, but it's completely different when you abandoned her!" he clenched his teeth. "You're not in the right frame of mind, Barb. I'm taking Holly with me," As Jim was about to walk down the hall toward Holly's room, Barbara slipped past him and blocked his path with a drunken scowl. "You're not taking her anywhere!" she growled.

"She's my daughter, and I have every right to protect her," Jim persisted. "And you've made it very clear that you've moved on from our family. So why don't you leave and go fuck that new girlfriend of yours? I'm sure she makes you happier anyway!" Barbara spat. "I haven't moved on from Holly. I've been trying to be there for her every step of the way. Unlike you. Do you even know she won her school art contest? No, you don't. Because you weren't there!" With a small smirk, Barbara slowly clapped her hands in his face. "Oh bravo, you're really the father of the year, aren't you?" she spoke sarcastically.

Jim sighed. Despite Barbara pushing his buttons, he didn't want to argue with her. Jim slipped past her, reaching Holly's closed bedroom door and knocked on it. "I'm not doing this with you, Barbara. When you sober up, we can talk about this, but not right now," Jim whispered as if that would do any good now. "You don't get to lecture me on being sober, Jim. Not anymore, not after what you did," Barbara shook her head. The bedroom door slowly opened, and Holly poked her head out, her face twinged with sadness. "It's okay, Hols. I'm here now," Jim patted her back as she tightly hugged him, her salty tears soaking his suit.

"Let's just go," She muffled. As the father-daughter duo walked out of the apartment, Holly could still hear her mother yelling and spewing insults as they walked into the elevator. "Did she hurt you?" Jim bent down, wiping away her tears. "No. But I don't want to be around her if she keeps acting like this," Holly sniffed. "Then you don't have to, Hols. I'll be right there with you," Jim whispered.