Commissioner Gordon had a dream.
He dreamed he was chatting with a friend in a coffee shop when he suddenly saw someone standing opposite him.
It was his daughter.
She stood in a shadowy corner, quietly watching him.
Black blood, thick, viscous, and clotted, slid down her face.
It flowed down her body like dark red syrup.
Mixed in the blood were some white tissues, like maggots trapped in resin.
He had seen such a sight before, seen such blood.
Waking up from the dream, he sat up, drenched in sweat.
Gasping for breath, he stared at the night outside, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.
After a while, he let out a heavy sigh.
He decided he had to do something.
Something he had always wanted to do but hadn't.
He picked up his clothes and walked out, his figure quickly disappearing into the night.
Half an hour later.
"I am your father! Let me in, Oracle!"
In a deserted alley in Gotham, Commissioner Gordon stood near a parking garage, shouting at a camera on the wall: "Let me in! I know you're in there, and you can see me too."
Inside the room, filled with computers and documents, a young girl in a wheelchair, wearing glasses, looked at Commissioner Gordon on the display screen and was instantly flustered.
She never imagined he would come looking for her.
"I know you're in there, Barbara, open the door, I know you can see me."
The heavy rain in Gotham had stopped, but a light drizzle still lingered in the air.
In the dark night, there was no trace of any pedestrians.
The entire street exuded a desolate and chilling atmosphere.
Commissioner Gordon, wearing a raincoat, stood outside and said to the camera: "I know you're listening, Barbara, let me in, I have something to say to you."
Barbara, who was inside, seeing that her father had said so, had no choice but to open the door for Commissioner Gordon.
Commissioner Gordon, not wearing a raincoat, was completely soaked by the rain, and his hair was drenched.
After he entered the room, raindrops from his grey trench coat dripped "drip, drip, drop" onto the floor, making a wet patch in the room.
"Where is he?"
"Who?"
"Haven't you been directing your teammates? Batman, or Dick Grayson, where are they now?!"
Commissioner Gordon asked his daughter with a blank expression.
"I don't know what you're talking about?"
Facing her father's question, she immediately feigned ignorance.
"I'm just doing some…"
"Shut up!"
Commissioner Gordon's long-suppressed anger finally erupted.
Veins bulged on his neck, and his eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged lion.
"All these years I have played my role well, allowing you and Batman to do what you should do, but now!"
He took a step closer to Barbara, shaking his head, "I won't be confused anymore. I know your identity as Batgirl, and I even know Batman's identity. It's just that I didn't want to expose the truth."
"Dad, how long have you known?!"
Looking at Commissioner Gordon, who was furious at her, Barbara's face showed a surprised expression.
She had thought that her role in front of her father was flawless, never expecting that her father had always known her identity.
"When? From the first night you put on your costume and jumped out of the window with Dick Grayson, I knew it then."
Barbara sat in her wheelchair, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"How is that possible?"
She looked at her father, who was raging like a lion, and murmured in a low voice.
"How is that possible? Because I am a detective!"
Commissioner Gordon walked towards his daughter.
"I don't understand, Dad."
Barbara said to Commissioner Gordon: "Why are you here? And why only now?"
She couldn't understand why her father would expose the truth today.
"Because Homelander drove his enhanced soldiers into my city and told my officers not to get in the way. Because I know the information you know, I know Batman was beaten to the brink of Death by Homelander, and is now receiving magical treatment in the Tower of Time and Space, far from reality."
Commissioner Gordon leaned in and said to his daughter: "I'm even more afraid that you'll get hurt by getting involved in things related to Homelander. You need to know what you're doing. His shadow has already fallen upon this city, and I can no longer protect your safety."
"Dad!"
Barbara gripped the armrests of her wheelchair tightly with both hands.
She said to Commissioner Gordon with some anger in her voice: "I don't need your protection. I am an adult. I am Batgirl. I am protecting this city and its citizens in my own way. I don't need anyone to protect my safety."
"No! I won't allow you to do this! You have to quit and ensure you have no connection to these matters."
Commissioner Gordon did not back down, still speaking to Barbara with bloodshot eyes.
His glasses were wet with rain and fogged up, but Barbara could still see Commissioner Gordon's anger behind them.
"You don't know how terrifying that man is. I must ensure you are no longer harmed! You think what you're doing is seamless, that no one knows everything you do in this city. No, Barbara, you're wrong. There are many people in this world smarter than you, and with fewer bottom lines."
"You're doing this for my own good, Dad, I know, but you're also doing it for your unforgiving heart. You're just guilty! Dad."
Barbara's tone grew cold.
"What?"
Hearing this, Commissioner Gordon froze.
"My spine was hit by Joker, and you couldn't stop it. I know, Dad, I know what happened then. Joker wanted to drive you crazy, he wanted to break you, but you didn't let him have his way."
Barbara spoke of the past incident that led to her being in a wheelchair.
"But I know a truth that Joker didn't see: in some ways, Joker did get his way. Because I couldn't stand up, your heart was filled with anger and self-blame. You didn't go crazy as Joker intended, crazy enough to hurt others. You just went crazy at yourself, tormenting yourself over and over again in a hell of the soul, leaving yourself bruised and battered, and these wounds can never heal."
The more Barbara spoke, the sadder she became, finally looking at Commissioner Gordon with red eyes and saying: "But, Dad, I have never blamed you, and you don't need to be afraid of me getting hurt all the time. I have my own life, and I will be responsible for myself. That nightmare is over, and I can have my own new life."
Hearing his daughter's heartfelt words, Commissioner Gordon froze.
The anger and pain on his face vanished in an instant.
Taking off his glasses, he said to Barbara in a slow voice: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that just now, Barbara. I'm running out of time, I just want to do something more."
"Why are you running out of time?"
"Because I have cancer."
Commissioner Gordon looked into his daughter's eyes, and in a voice that seemed to have aged years in an instant, said: "I… I'm going to die!"
Barbara's expression froze.
She sat motionless in her wheelchair, staring at her father, as if she had seen the most unacceptable existence to her.
The next second, she hugged her father's stooping body tightly.
The two embraced each other tightly.
Barbara said nothing, just hugged her father with all her might.
Countless emotions surged from her heart, and feelings of guilt and regret consumed her.
She wanted to say something, but in the end, found she couldn't say anything.
"Dad"
Barbara's voice was choked with emotion.
After a long while, the father and daughter separated.
Commissioner Gordon apologized to his daughter, "I'm so sorry, Barbara, my emotions were out of control just now. Homelander is about to become a monster, I can predict it, and I'm trying to protect this city, to protect you!"
"It's okay."
Barbara said to Commissioner Gordon: "Dad, I have a plan, we think we can stop them!"
"We?"
Commissioner Gordon was somewhat confused by his daughter's words.
"Yes."
Barbara pressed a button on the armrest of her wheelchair to her left.
As the button was pressed, a door behind them slowly opened.
What Commissioner Gordon hadn't expected was that this room also contained another secret room!
Footsteps echoed from the secret room.
To Commissioner Gordon's shocked gaze, Black Canary walked out from inside.
"Hello, Commissioner Gordon."
Black Canary greeted Commissioner Gordon, "I'm sorry to meet you this way."
Seeing her father's shocked expression, Barbara said to him:
"Dad, it seems you don't know everything about me."
Metropolis.
Eric was at Justice Society Headquarters, dealing with matters concerning the Green Lantern Corps.
Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Flash Barry sat around him.
"Eric."
Barry suddenly interrupted Eric.
"What?"
"I heard you're sending enhanced soldiers to Gotham. Why is that? I mean, we shouldn't interfere too much, especially in a big city like Gotham. The citizens there have their own way of life, and we shouldn't force them to accept our ways."
Barry expressed his opinion.
"How much do you know about Gotham?"
Eric asked Barry.
"I… I'm not too sure. I haven't lived in that city, but I know it used to be the city with the highest crime rate in America. My friend and I went there once, and although the impression wasn't great—my wallet was stolen after I got out of the car—I later met a good police officer who helped me get my wallet back. I think there are still many good people there."
Barry thought for a moment and told Eric a story about his past trip to Gotham.
"Uh huh, then you were lucky."
Hal shrugged and said to Barry: "According to the normal script, the police should have extorted more money from you."
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