"A staff member? That's absurd!" Dr. Lang scoffed as Jim confronted him about his theory. But of course, the director was too prideful to admit that Jim might be right and kept insisting that an inmate was responsible for what happened to Frogman and Royston. "I don't think it was an inmate," Jim held firm. "Your job is to oversee inmate security. You're not authorized to conduct an investigation of the staff!" Dr. Lang squinted as they walked down the darkening corridor. Suddenly, Dr. Lang stopped and turned back to Jim, having his own theory.

"I know what you're doing, Gordon. You're trying to force my hand. You want me to call the police!" Dr. Lang smirked, having no doubt that was Jim's plan all along. "No," Jim answered as he continued walking down the hall. "I already called them," Almost an hour after Jim phoned back to the precinct, someone had to pull up to the front gates of the Asylum. Harvey walked into the medical wing, not at all expecting to find this when he got the call something was going on. He walked over to where Frogman was sitting, following his gaze to the wall. Harvey watched him for about a minute or two, but as soon as Harvey was about to turn around, he nearly collided with the other mentally scarred inmate.

"Hey, pal," Harvey said, making Royston flinch and look up at him. "In a cow slip's bell I lie, there I crouch when owls do cry," Royston recited. "All right, I can dig that," Harvey nodded, very weirded out. As Dr. Lang and Jim walked back into the medical wing, the director was about to greet Harvey when he saw Jim standing right behind. "Jim! Partner!" Harvey gleefully shouted as he hugged him and placed a big kiss on Jim's head. "Let me take a good look at you," Harvey stepped back to see Jim in his new Arkham uniform, and inhaled sharply. "Lord have mercy, you're screwed," Harvey commented.

Dr. Lang tried to get Harvey's attention, but the detective continued to talk to his former partner, saying Jim wasn't exaggerating when he called. "Freaky as advertised," Harvey agreed. "Nobody of authority called on you, sir! This is not a police matter," The director protested. "You must be Director Dr. Lang. See, I beg to differ. This is third-degree assault, at the very least," Harvey contradicted. "A friend of yours, is it?" Dr. Lang glared at Jim. "Egregious insubordination. Your job here was already hanging on a thread. This is the end of your career in law enforcement. You can count on it!"

"Whoa! Take it easy, hot shot. Officer Gordon did the right thing. Why wouldn't he call the police? Anyone would think you'd want to keep this business quiet," Harvey defended. "Gerry... it is Gerry, isn't it? Now, did you do this terrible thing, Gerry?" "That doesn't even merit a reply. No, I did not do this terrible thing!" Dr. Lang looked stunned. "But you have the skill, though, as a doctor. I mean, you could do it, lickety-split!" Harvey pointed out. Dr. Lang continued to protest, saying he had nothing to do with this and he wouldn't have any reason to. "Why would I do this?" He asked.

"Why would anyone?" Jim asked. "Exactly, Officer Gordon. Gerry, I think we're gonna have to take you down to the precinct. You're raising a lot of questions that need clearing up in a more formal setting," "You can't do this-" But Harvey shushed the director, informing him this was now an official GCPD investigation. "You sir, will cooperate or face arrest. Officer Gordon? Would you mind going through the staff records while I take Gerry here, downtown for a chat?" Harvey requested.

"Will do, Detective," Jim saluted him, and Harvey saluted right back to him.

~~~~~~~~~

The comforting ambience from her speaker filled Holly's bedroom as she returned to work on her paintings. While she had numerous paintings to finish, this was probably one of the most important ones for her to get done. While she was at school, Mrs. Scherer approached her during art class and handed her a pink slip. Next weekend, Anders Prep was hosting its 20th annual art competition, and Mrs. Scherer highly recommended Holly participate. "In all my years as an art teacher, I've never seen someone pay such close attention to detail. You have so much potential, Ms. Gordon. The world deserves to see it," Holly recalled those words.

She wet one of her smaller brushes and dipped it into the light pink paint before adding another layer of texture. Though Holly couldn't see it in front of her, the image she was hoping to bring to life in her paintings was clear in her mind. She remembered the window in her old bedroom that looked out into the beautiful garden of her elderly neighbor Mrs. Constantine. It wasn't your typical front lawn garden you could see as you drove past or walked up to the front door. Mrs. Constantine's garden was full of dazzling and bright flowers that all bloomed at the same time every spring. 

Blood-red rose bushes dotted the entrance of the garden. Daffodils, lilies, and irises popped out of the ground like children poking their heads out during a game of hide and seek. Peonies and countless other flowers lured you in to take a closer look and practically begged you to stay in the flowered paradise, but the most enchanting part of the garden was the ivy-covered gazebo. Holly didn't know why, but every time she thought about that garden, the first thing that came to mind was the gazebo. "Boo!" Selina grabbed Holly by the shoulders, making her jump.

"Selina!" Holly warned. "Whatcha working on?" Selina rested her head on Holly's shoulder as she stared at the painting, about a quarter of the way done. "Just working on my painting for the art competition," Holly answered, gesturing to the pink slip on her bed. Selina picked it up and quickly scanned past the 'boring stuff,' She glanced around Holly's room, just now noticing the paintings hanging on the walls and the unfinished ones peeking out her closet. "So, you're an art geek?" Selina asked. "In a way, yeah. It's kind of in my blood," Holly responded, not taking her gaze off the painting as she added some black to the outline.

"So, you're painting what exactly?" Selina squinted. "It's a point-of-view painting, like the person is looking out from the gazebo and into the garden," Holly explained. "I don't see it," Selina shrugged. Holly chuckled as she set down her palette and took off her painting apron. "Of course you can't. It's not finished yet," Holly reasoned. "You're a really weird, kid," Selina commented, but Holly just shrugged in reply. If people found her weird, then so be it. It wasn't going to stop her.

"What's this one?" Ivy spoke up, making the two turn towards the now-opened closet, and they saw Ivy look at one of Holly's older paintings. Ivy turned it around for them to see, and Holly's heart nearly dropped when she saw it was the family portrait she made one year for Mother's Day. Holly stumbled over her words, trying to explain, but Ivy squinted and continued looking at it, like she was looking for a familiar face. "Wait..." She slowly turned her head. "Your real name's not Emma, is it?" Ivy asked. "What makes you think that?" Holly tried to keep up with the fake name.

Ivy tossed the painting onto the bed, luckily landing on Holly's pillows. "You're Detective Gordon's kid, he killed my dad!" Ivy shouted. "Ivy, I-I" Holly stammered. "I should've known something was off about you the second you walked into The Flea!" the redhead growled. Ivy turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, and Holly was scared of what she could do now that she discovered the truth. She and Selina followed Ivy into the hallway as she grabbed some snacks and started walking towards the door. Before Ivy could even lay a finger on the knob, Selina blocked the door and grabbed Ivy by the shoulders.

"Ivy, listen to me!" Selina pleaded. "You need to go lay back down, you're still sick!" "No! I'm not going to live in the same apartment as someone who killed my dad!" Ivy protested. The redhead continued to reach for the door, trying to open it and dash out of there, but Selina held firm against it, and the two street kids' arguments overlapped one another. "ENOUGH!" Holly raised her voice, silencing both of them. "Ivy, I know you won't believe a word I'm saying. And maybe you have every right to, but my dad wasn't the one who killed your father," Holly calmly explained.

"Then who did it then? I know there was someone else with him that day! Did the other guy do it?" Ivy snarled. "Look, I know no amount of apologies can bring your father or your mother back, but I just want to say I'm sorry for what happened. You've been through too much, far more than anybody your age should have to go through. And I'm sorry for lying too,"

"She's not a bad person, Ivy. Weird? Absolutely yes. A scumbag? No," Selina spoke up. Ivy could feel the tears form in her eyes as she remembered that day so clearly. The way her mother had crumpled onto the floor like a piece of paper and the pain that soon followed. But through her teary gaze, she met Holly's kind and caring eyes, her face etched with a plea for forgiveness. "Fine, I'll stay. But no more lies, okay?" Ivy asked. "No more lies," Holly agreed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

"All right, Doctor, pretend I'm an ignoramus. Shouldn't be too hard, hmm? Explain to me this whole crazy electric needle business. When a real doctor like you does it, what's it supposed to do?" Harvey sat on a desk as he questioned the unusually silent Dr. Lang. Throughout the ride back into the city, Dr. Lang was visibly uncomfortable and muttering under his breath. While it wasn't clear to Harvey what he was saying, he knew Dr. Lang was still not happy with the GCPD's interference.

"Electroshock therapy is a common procedure for mood and behavior alteration," Dr. Lang explained. "Like mind control?" Harvey inquired. "Of a sort. Blue sky experimentation on humans is considered unethical, so we know very little of the hard science. But skilled surgeons can elicit very specific responses," The director continued. "But those inmates weren't treated by a skilled surgeon," "You sure about that?" Harvey questioned. "There are no skilled surgeons amongst the inmates. Or the staff," Dr. Lang assured.

"You're a skilled surgeon," the detective pointed out. Dr. Lang rolled his eyes, "What we've been over this. I haven't opened a body since med school!" Harvey chuckled after seeing the frustrated look on his face and claimed he was messing with him before getting back on topic. "I don't think you're the man behind this. No, you're not the type to break the rules. Too scared of authority. But you're hiding something. What is it?" Harvey asked.

Dr. Lang shrugged, saying everybody had something to hide, but Harvey warned him not to go there. "You're right, detective. I am afraid of authority. And the things I'm hiding, I'll never tell you," the director admitted. "Sounds heavy," Harvey remarked. "Heavy? Yes. And if you know what's good for you, you won't dig any deeper," Dr. Lang warned. "All right. I don't want to hit any power lines. Don't have to tell me twice, no digging. Unless, of course, it has something to do with the case at hand," Harvey reasoned. "Nothing," Dr. Lang swore.

"Suppose you had to pick out one member of your staff as the culprit. Who would it be?" Harvey asked. "It wasn't a staff member," Dr. Lang insisted, still keeping his prideful demeanor, and as Harvey suspected, the director was too afraid to admit that a staff member was capable of doing this. "Fine, just the first face that pops up in your mind," the detective suggested. "Nobody. They're good people. I know them well. They've all been with me for more than five years. We all came to Arkham together. Th..." Dr. Lang suddenly trailed off as a wave of realization and worry crashed over him. 

"Wait, hold that. You just saw someone. Who was it?" Harvey caught on. Dr. Lang mumbled to himself, saying 'she' couldn't do something like this. "Who's she?" Harvey inquired.

~~~~~~~~~~

On Harvey's orders, Jim once again flipped through the stacks of boxes surrounding his desk, but just like all the other times he did his research, he started losing hope. But as he was placing a file back into its rightful spot, he saw a dark blue pamphlet at the corner of his desk. Jim returned to his desk, adjusting the lamp as he unfolded it. It was a blueprint from when the Asylum was first built. While it seemed normal enough, something caught Jim's eye at the bottom of the blueprints. As he was about to investigate it further, Dorothy walked into the room with a blue cup of fresh coffee.

"Great, thank you," Jim looked up with a smile, taking the coffee from her. "You poor thing, you look so pale. Any joy?" Dorothy asked. "Not so far, the files seem to be incomplete," Jim explained. "I'm wondering if there's more in the basement. Blueprint says there's a records office down there," "Oh, the basement's closed off. Unsafe chemicals. Nobody's been down there for ten years," Dorothy said. Jim stood up, still holding the blueprints with one hand. "Do you know the way down there?" he questioned.

With a slight smile, Dorothy gestured for him to follow her, and she led him down the hall to the closed-off entrance leading into the basement. Dorothy and Jim snuck past the barricade and descended into the basement. Before they got too far, they heard that caused them to stop in their tracks. "What's that? Everybody's in their cells!" Dorothy shivered. But as they heard heels clicking down the hall, they were relieved to know it was just Lee.

"Dorothy!" She smiled. "Jim, hi. What's up?" Dorothy walked back up the steps, telling Lee they were going on an adventure to the basement. "Well, that sounds fun. Can I come?" Lee asked. "No," Jim was quick to interrupt before she could even get a word in. "Dr. Thompkins, what did I tell you earlier? You should go home," Jim reminded her. "Why? What's wrong?" Lee raised a brow in confusion. "Nothing's wrong," Jim responded, again telling her she needed to go home. Suddenly, Lee was pushed forward, and Jim caught her in his arms as Dorothy ran back down the hallway. 

After Jim checked to make sure she was okay, he instructed Lee to find the main entry guard and tell him to hit lockdown and get out of the building quickly. "Okay, hit lockdown, get out, will do," Lee nodded before they rushed off in different directions. As Jim ran down the hall after Dorothy, his phone rang. "Jim, listen, Dorothy Duncan isn't staff. She's an inmate!" Harvey warned. "I know. Get over here now!" Jim told him.

Suddenly, a blare echoed across the hallway as Jim walked past the cells, and he saw they were all open, and the inmates were nowhere to be found. But off in the distance, he heard the sounds of yelling and followed the sounds as he walked down the lit hallway. He soon found Dorothy lying on the ground bleeding and appeared to have been trampled to death by this mob of crazed inmates. He ran back up the stairs just in time to find Lee banging on the locked fence, calling for the guard. But they fled right as the alarm started blaring.

"Dr. Thompkins," Jim said as he looked to his left to see the inmates running towards her down the opposite staircase. "Jim, behind you!" She warned as she searched her keys to find the right one to unlock the door. "Men! Men! What the hell do you think you're playing at?!" Jim shouted, stopping the inmates in their tracks. "Go back in your cells right now! You hear me? That's an order!" But as some of the men caught a glimpse of Lee trying to unlock the door with every key she had, they started charging towards the both of them. Fortunately, Lee found the right key in the nick of time, pulled Jim onto the other side, and quickly slammed the gate shut before they continued running out of the Asylum and back into the daylight.

~~~~~~~~~~

After their earlier dispute, Holly tried to get the three of them on the best of terms again, but it took a while for Ivy to act like herself again. They all sat on the couch watching TV while Holly finished up the last of her homework. As she finished answering the second to last question, Holly felt her stomach grumble, and not too long after, Ivy and Selina's stomachs did the same. "Who wants something to eat?" Holly asked, standing up. "I'll take a sandwich, doesn't matter what kind," Selina responded, still focused on the current show.

"What about you, Ivy?" Holly asked, looking at the redhead. "Doesn't matter, but remember I'm a vegan, so nothing with butter," Ivy answered. Holly nodded and walked across the penthouse to prepare their lunches. While Selina and Ivy went back to watching the show, the penthouse landline started ringing, and Ivy picked it up and answered. Holly couldn't hear it as the television was a bit too loud and overlapped the sounds of the phone's ringing. "Hello?" The redhead asked. "Hi. Is Jim Gordon there?" Barbara's voice asked. Ivy glanced over to Selina, who silently questioned who it was. But the redhead put a finger to her lips as she thought of a hilarious prank.

"Yes, he is. But I'm sorry, Jim is busy right now. Can I take a message?" Ivy smirked. "No, that's okay. I... Who is this?" Barbara asked, confusion evident in her tone. "I'm a friend of Jim's," Ivy answered. "Who's that?" Barbara quivered with rage at the thought Jim had moved on without her. "Go to hell!" She shouted; a loud bang came from the receiving end before Ivy hung up. As Holly returned with their food, she asked the girls if somebody called but Selina lied, saying it was a wrong number call.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"M.E.'s got her in the morgue," Jim said to his former Captain as she returned to her office. "When Dorothy Duncan was a 16-year-old nursing student, she killed five kids with poison candy for homework, she said," Harvey explained. "She's spent over half her life at Arkham," "When the Asylum closed, there was chaos. She must have just hunkered down in the basement until it reopened," Jim added. "Forensics is sweeping the basement level looking for her lair,"

Essen shook her head, wondering what Dorothy was trying to accomplish by causing other inmates so much grief. "Maybe she was just trying to find a cure for her own madness," Jim suggested. "She was crazy. Enough said," Harvey replied. Essen's face turned into one of happiness as she told Jim it was nice to see him again. "And you got a win, huh? Still fighting, nice work," She commented. "Yeah, I don't think my boss is gonna see it that way," Jim reasoned, but he couldn't stop the small smile that was forming. It was nice to be back and in contact with Harvey and Essen after nearly a month.

"He's working for the king of all cheese grinders. It's a crying shame, Cap. We need to get him back on the job," Harvey said. "You know I'd bring you back here in a second if I could," Essen assured. Jim nodded understandingly, saying everything was all good. "You do look spiffy in the uniform," Essen complimented as she walked to the corner of her office. "Yeah, if spiffy means dorky," Harvey whispered in Jim's ear. "Thank you very much," Jim said sarcastically. "How about a drink, for old time's sake?" Essen asked the men, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and three shot glasses. 

The men accepted the drink, and they started exchanging stories and sharing updates to what was going on in their lives. Essen and Harvey spoke about a few of their investigations they solved rather quickly, while Jim talked about his life working as an underpaid security guard. When Essen and Harvey asked Jim how Holly was doing, Jim was ashamed to admit that because of the long hours, they hadn't had much time to talk with one another. "I just hope when I come back here things will get better for the both of us. Right now, I feel like a terrible father not being around her as much,"

"Jim, that little girl adores you. And she knows you're doing everything you can to keep your lives afloat," Essen comforted. "I hope she does," Jim muttered before pouring himself another shot. The medical examiner then walked into the office, carrying a few papers as well as an autopsy photo of Dorothy Duncan. "Captain, you should see this. Look here," He gestured to the photo. "Dorothy Duncan had electrode wounds on both sides. Same gauge as the other victims. About a month old. They were hidden by her hair," He pointed out.

"This is crazy. How could she have done this to herself?" Essen looked stunned. "She couldn't. Not humanly possible," The medical examiner answered. "Which means she was just another victim," Jim's eyes widened with realization. Their suspect was still on the loose. As Jim ran out of the room and into the car, Harvey followed close behind, downing the last of his shot.

~~~~~~~~~~

Driving his car as fast as he could back to the Asylum, Harvey and Jim rushed into the building, remembering that the inmates were still out of their cells and trying to find a way out. But the further they walked into the building, they didn't hear a single shriek or scream. What's going on? Jim wondered as he and Harvey continued running down one of the halls. Right near one of the gates, Jim found Dr. Lang lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

"Th-They're gone..." Dr. Lang coughed as Jim and Harvey reached him. "Get an ambulance, go!" Jim turned to Harvey and he immediately ran back the way they came. "Not... staff," the director sputtered. "Don't speak, just breathe," Jim instructed. "G-Gruber," Blood poured out of the side of his mouth as the last of his energy left him and his eyes slowly closed. Tucked inside Dr. Lang's jacket, Jim noticed a blood-soaked note and reached in, opening it.

Dear Officer Gordon,

Sorry I had to run. I very much wanted to enjoy a proper chat with you before I left. But that's show business. I've been practicing my skills on these sad creatures for a while now. Electricity is an amazing thing. It can work wonders. Nurse Dorothy was an early success. This last time, I think I finally got one just right. Bravo to me, but time to go. It was nice to meet you, Jim, and I hope to see you around.

All the best, 

Jack Gruber.