Alfred found Barbara in the batcave, ramming her fist into the punching bag again, and again. It had been like this almost every night for the past three years. She hardly slept, spending most of her nights going out and beating up on petty criminals that would be better left to the police. After beating them into submission she would come back to the batcave and let loose on the punching bags. She wasn't the same after the Joker, and although Barbara never admitted it Alfred noticed it. Barbara was angrier, less forgiving, Alfred had to often time order Barbara to stop in order to not risk her beating the criminals to death.

"You could have killed that guy earlier," Alfred told Barbara when he walked down the stairs to the cave.

Barbara stopped and turned to Alfred, grabbing a towel off one of the tables to wipe the sweat that had built on her face. "I had it under control."

"No you didn't," Alfred protested. "If I hadn't ordered you to stop when you did you could have caused that guy permanent brain damage or worse. I have seen Batman go through this stage many of times in his years as a vigilante and by god I will not witness you going down the same road also."

"Well maybe it's the only way? If the criminals fear what I will do to them then maybe they will think twice before hurting my city?"

"Or maybe you will end up becoming just like them? Ever since Sarah's death and Harley's arrest you have changed, and not for the better. You are more dangerous then you ever were before."

"Sarah and Harley were my best friends..."

"And no matter what things will never go back the way they were before." Alfred interrupted. "I know how much they meant to you Barbara, but eventually you need to learn to let it go. It's been three years and you have never taken the time to heal, instead roaming the streets every night trying to find some purse snatcher to beat to a bloody pulp. This is not healthy, this anger. I've seen what it can do to people. When Bruce lost Robin at the hands of Joker it took everything in my power to stop him from crossing the line. I see the exact anger in your eyes every night that I saw in his. I'm begging you Barbara, seek help, heal. If not for yourself, for Sarah's memory."

"I'm doing this for Sarah."

"And do you think this is how she would want you honoring her? By coming closer and closer each night to becoming the very thing you hate? She would want you to move on, she would want you to find peace. If you are going to honor Sarah's memory as Batgirl then so be, it but do it the right way. This rage you are holding onto, it's not the right way. And eventually you're going to cross the line. I just prey you realize that before it's to late."

Barbara didn't respond, instead she just headed towards the stairs that headed towards Wayne Manor. "I going to work."

"Not smelling like you just got done running a marathon your not."

"Your not my dad."

"You better be bloody glad I'm not otherwise I would lock you in your room for that attitude of yours."

"Like it would stop me."

Alfred sighed and shook his head. Rather Barbara realized it or not she needed help, otherwise there was only two ways this path of hers ended. With her dead or becoming a murderer herself. He just preyed it never came to that.

Batgirl watched as Harley took out the bazooka out of the helicopter and pointed it towards a gargoyle above her. Sarah pushed her out of way as Harley fired the bazooka, but was unable to escape the blast herself as the debris crashed on top of her, burying her underneath the rubble.

"No!" Batgirl cried rushing over to the rubble and started digging her friend out. By the time she reached her she was coated in blood and a sharp piece of stone was stuck in her abdomen. Seeing her friend dying Batgirl took off her mask, showing her identity to her dying friend.

"Barbara," Sarah whispered.

"Barbara!" Barbara opened her eyes and shot up in her chair as she heard Lucius calling for her. She turned to see her boss staring at her with his arms crossed. A look of disappointment etched on his face.

"Sorry Mr. Fox." Barbara yawned "I've not been sleeping lately."

"I can tell." Lucius responded. This is the third time this month I've caught you asleep at your desk. What's wrong?"

Barbara sighed, she couldn't tell him she was spending all night giving hell to the criminals in Gotham, that would almost certainly put a damper on her job.

"Every time I try to sleep, I see her."

"Who?"

"Sarah, I see her lying in my arms, bleeding out, helpless to do anything as she dies in my arms. It's the same thing every night. As much as I try I can't stop seeing it."

It wasn't a total lie. The times Barbara did sleep she relived the night her friend died. She left off the part where she was Batgirl when it happened.

"I understand Barbara, I understand that you have been through a horrifying ordeal. Losing someone you care deeply about especially at such a young age and the way it happened, nobody should have to deal with that. But it's been three years, and it's affecting your work ethic."

"I know Lucius I'm sorry."

"It's been three years Barbara, when are you going to let it go?"

"I don't know if I ever can."

"Go see a therapist, I can't have you continuing falling asleep at your desk. You use to be such a hard worker but you have been slacking greatly as of late. If it was anybody else under any other situation they would be out the door now. But I like you Barbara, you have done such great things for this company. That is why I am begging you to get help in order to get over this. If this continues I'm going to have no choice but to let you go. Please don't force me to make that decision."

Barbara buried her head in her hands and sighed as Lucius walked off. He didn't understand. Nobody understood why she couldn't get over this. She had her mission, her duty. She made a promise to herself to make sure nobody did to anybody what Joker did to Harley. In order to keep her promise she had to continue to be rough on crime. She had to continue to put Batgirl before anything else. Wasn't that why Bruce left Gotham after all, to put Batman before his normal life. If he could do it why couldn't she?

She just wish it didn't take as much of a tole mentally as it was on her.

"Get your act together Barbara!" She scolded to herself as she continued to bury her head in her hands. "Get it together."

After work Barbara visited Harley in Arkham, the same as she did every Friday. This day was different however, as it marked the three day anniversary of Sarah's death, the day that both Barbara and Harley's life changed forever.

"How you holding up?" Barbara asked when she put the phone to her ear and talked to Harley on the other side of the glass.

"It's funny, despite being here three years I still feel like this is some wild dream, that I'm going to wake up and find myself back home, Sarah's still alive and making all of us pancakes before work."

"With powdered sugar because that was your favorite."

"Yep," Harley chuckled "Wouldn't eat the pancakes without them."

Harley sighed "I almost forget what Powdered sugar Pancakes taste like, I don't get that type of special treatment here."

"Stay strong Harley, you will get out of here I promise."

"Why do you still come here Babs?"

Barbara was a little shocked by that question. "Because I'm your friend. And I'm promised Sarah that I wouldn't give up on you."

"Sarah also would want you to move on with your life and stop fighting for her."

"What are you saying?"

"I've heard reports in here, from fellow prisoners as well as guards." Harley said softly, her voice becoming a whisper so nobody else could hear her. "I've even seen it in the TV's in the rec room. They're saying your getting out of hand, they say you are going farther than Batman ever did, dragging them to Arkham half dead. Some of these people will have permanent injuries. One guy you brought in six months ago still can't even hold a fork right. Barbara, if there is one thing I know it's not to let your personal emotions cloud your better judgement. I did that with the Joker and it destroyed me. Don't make the same mistake I did, move on Babs. If forgetting about me means you don't become me then run away, run far away from me. I'm not worth destroying your life over."

Barbara was about to respond when she heard a beep on her phone. Glimpsing at her phone she saw police had been called to a crime scene, at a local gas stations about twelve miles away.

"I got to go Harley, sorry."

"Remember what I told you Babs." Was the last thing Harley said before Barbara left. At much as it pained Harley, she wish it was the last time Barbara came to see her.

Police was already setting up the yellow tape when Batgirl Batgirl crossed the line a knew female officer that Barbara had never seen before stopped her.

"What the hell do you think your doing? This is a police crime scene, your not allowed to cross.

"I'm sorry who are you?"

"Officer Talia Tate. Now are you going to get out of here so we can do are job or am I going to have to arrest you for hindering a investigation.

"It's okay Officer Tate, she's with us." Jim spoke up, allowing Batgirl to cross the tape. "Sorry about that, Officer Tate doesn't really think to fondly of vigilante's."

"They have no business interfering with police work."

"Batgirl doesn't interfere." Jim protested "She works with us."

"Then let her take off that mask and put on a badge."

"Obviously you don't have a good opinion about us vigilante's but hopefully we can still work together."

Talia sighed "I'll tolerate you but only because your Commissioner friend is making me. But if you interfere in a way that can hinder this investigation, I will have you arrested. Do you understand?"

"Looking forward to working with you. So tell me what we are looking at."

"They were found a little over a hour ago, the victims are Danny and Erin Hall." Talia replied. "Police have been after them for about a year now for a string of robberies all throughout Gotham."

"I remember these two. I have been trying to pursue them myself for months to little success. The facts they didn't leave witnesses made them hard to track."

"We believe they were stopping by here for another robbery but as you can tell," Talia pointed to Danny's decapitated body laying on the ground coated in blood. Despite her toughness Barbara nearly gagged at the amount of blood and the condition of the corpse. "It didn't turn out well."

"Where is the head?"

"We are searching for the rest of his remains as we speak."

A officer ran outside the gas station and vomited, his face pale as a ghost.

"Something tells me we just found it."

Batgirl, Talia and Jim walked inside the gas station where the bodies of the clerk and manager laid.

"Looks like this was a slaughter," Batgirl replied, "But who could have done something of this magnitude?"

"That's what we would like to know," Jim replied "At first we thought it might have been Bane but we checked with Arkham and he's still accounted for."

"So if it's not Bane, then who is it?"

Following a trail of blood Batgirl, Jim and Talia to the woman's restroom where they saw Erin's body laying on the ground, her head twisted backwards, as well as Danny's decapitated head.

"Oh God!" Talia gasped

"Looks like you found the rest of the body," Batgirl replied.

"If Bane didn't do this, then who are we dealing with?" Jim asked

Batgirl stared at the bodies "I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

Later that night the bodies of Erin and Danny were laying in the morgue. Their autopsies had been completed and now the bodies were being waited to be picked up for cremation. As the bodies waited in the morgue however there came a twisting at the door. A masked figure sneaked in, he wore a black mask and a dark red shirt and dark pants. His cape was also black as well as his gloves and shoes. What He also had a yellow R engraved at the top left end of his shirt. Walking up to the bodies the masked figure took photos of the bodies as well as the death certificates and anything else he could use to help his investigation.

"I'm onto you Strange," The masked figure replied "I guarantee you, these are the last people you murder."

Getting all he needed he quickly sneaked out before anybody noticed him.