Commissioner Gordon had a dream.
In it, he was sitting in a quiet coffee shop, speaking with a friend like any ordinary day. The atmosphere was normal, almost comforting, until he noticed someone standing across from him.
It was his daughter.
She stood in a dim corner of the room, silently watching him.
Black blood, thick and tar-like, slowly ran down her face. It didn't drip so much as crawl, as if it refused to let go of her skin. It spread across her body like dark syrup, staining everything it touched.
Within it were pale fragments, tissue-like shapes suspended in the mass, unsettling and wrong, like something trapped and preserved in decay.
He had seen blood like that before.
That memory made his chest tighten.
Gordon woke suddenly.
He sat upright in bed, drenched in sweat, breathing hard as if he had just run for miles. The room around him was dark and silent, but his mind refused to settle.
His heartbeat stayed loud in his ears.
After several long moments, he exhaled slowly.
Something had to change.
Something he had delayed for too long.
He got dressed without hesitation and left his home, his figure disappearing into the night.
---
Half an hour later.
"I am your father. Let me in, Oracle!"
In a narrow alley of Gotham, Gordon stood beside an abandoned parking structure, shouting toward a small surveillance camera mounted on the wall.
"I know you're in there. I know you can see me."
Inside a hidden room filled with monitors, cables, and stacked documents, Barbara Gordon froze.
She was in her wheelchair, glasses reflecting the glow of multiple screens. Her expression shifted immediately the moment she saw him.
She had not expected this.
Not like this.
"I know you're in there, Barbara. Open the door," Gordon continued. "I know you're listening."
Outside, the rain had finally stopped, leaving only a faint drizzle hanging in the air. Gotham remained dark and empty, the streets unusually lifeless.
After a long pause, Barbara sighed and triggered the door system.
It unlocked.
---
Gordon stepped inside moments later.
Water dripped heavily from his coat, leaving a trail across the floor as he moved deeper into the room. His hair was soaked, clinging to his forehead, and his glasses were fogged.
"Where is he?" he asked immediately.
Barbara blinked. "Who?"
"Don't play dumb," Gordon said sharply. "Batman. Or Dick Grayson. Where are they?"
Barbara's posture stiffened slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm just working on some systems and—"
"Stop."
His voice cracked like a whip.
The tension in him finally broke.
Veins stood out along his neck, his expression tight with years of suppressed pressure finally spilling over.
"All these years," he said, stepping forward, "I played my role. I let you and Batman operate in the shadows because I believed in what you were doing."
He shook his head.
"But I'm done pretending I don't see it."
Barbara's eyes widened slightly.
"I know you're Batgirl," he said. "And I know who Batman is. I always have. I just chose not to say it."
Her breath caught.
"Dad… how long have you known?"
Gordon looked at her directly.
"From the night you first put on that suit and left through the window with Dick Grayson."
Barbara sat still, stunned into silence.
"That's impossible," she whispered.
"How?" Gordon replied immediately. "Because I'm a detective."
He stepped closer.
"I don't understand," Barbara said, her voice more controlled now. "Why are you here? Why now?"
"Because Homelander brought his enhanced soldiers into my city," Gordon said. "And told my officers to stand down."
Barbara's expression tightened.
"I know Batman was nearly killed by him," Gordon continued. "And I know he's being treated far away from here, using methods that don't belong to our world."
He leaned in slightly.
"And I know you're going to get yourself hurt if you keep involving yourself in this."
Barbara gripped her wheelchair armrests tightly.
"I don't need your protection. I'm an adult. I'm Batgirl. I protect this city."
"No," Gordon said firmly. "I won't allow it. You need to stop. You need to stay out of this completely."
His voice grew sharper again.
"You don't understand what Homelander is capable of. People think they understand power until they stand in front of something like him."
Barbara's expression hardened.
"You're not doing this just for me," she said coldly. "You're doing it because you feel guilty."
Gordon froze.
"What?"
"My injury," she continued. "The Joker did it. And you couldn't stop it."
Her voice shook slightly, but she kept going.
"He wanted to break you. And in a way, he did. Not by making you violent, but by making you blame yourself."
Gordon's expression shifted.
Barbara's eyes turned red.
"You've been punishing yourself ever since. And now you're trying to control my life because of it."
Silence filled the room.
Gordon slowly removed his glasses.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."
He exhaled.
"I don't have much time left."
Barbara frowned. "What do you mean?"
Gordon looked at her directly.
"I have cancer."
The words landed heavily in the room.
"I'm going to die."
Barbara went still.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then she stood from her chair and hugged him tightly.
Gordon hesitated, then slowly returned the embrace.
No words followed.
Only silence, and the weight of everything unspoken between them.
---
After a while, they separated.
"I'm sorry," Gordon said again. "I just… needed to do something right before it's too late."
Barbara wiped her face slightly.
"It's okay."
Then she added, "We have a plan."
Gordon frowned. "We?"
Barbara pressed a control on her wheelchair.
A hidden door opened behind them.
Gordon's eyes widened.
From the concealed room, another figure stepped forward.
Black Canary.
"Hello, Commissioner Gordon," she said calmly.
Gordon stared.
Barbara looked at him.
"It seems," she said, "you don't know everything about me."
---
Metropolis.
At Justice Society Headquarters, Adrian stood over a briefing table while Green Lantern Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Flash Barry Allen sat nearby.
Barry suddenly spoke up.
"Adrian."
"What?" Adrian replied.
"I heard you're sending enhanced soldiers into Gotham," Barry said. "I don't think we should interfere like that. Gotham has its own system."
Adrian looked at him.
"How much do you actually know about Gotham?"
Barry paused. "Not much. I've been there once. It's… complicated. But there are still good people there."
Hal shrugged slightly.
"Yeah, and you were lucky you didn't get robbed worse."
Barry frowned.
"That's not the point."