A/N: Oh my gosh guys, I never thought people would actually read this story! THANK you for all of the reviews and subscribers! I feel so bad that I've taken so long to update, so here ya go!

Shoutouts: Juliet Kavanagh, I Just Need You, azuresilver, SARAHBABE215, Cheekymonkey97, chillinwithRAYintheuk, wisegirl2772, and aaroniteXkryptonite! Thank you so much for your reviews! Also the anonymous ones!
Special shoutout:Amanda: THANK you so much for pointing that out! Haha I totally re-read it and realized that you were right! I kept your comment in mind when I wrote this chapter, so hopefully the dialogue will seem more natural! Also, some of the dialogue with her Dad should seem a little weird because I'm trying to make their relationship seem sort of strained.
Also, sorry everyone for not really explaining why I called her "Eli"- I gave you guys a little hint, but it wasn't really obvious. Hopefully this chapter will clear up all confusion!
Thanks for reading -H

Eli quickly made her way out of the MCU, thinking about everything the hackers had tried to access. Everything seemed random and unrelated, but she refused to believe that a hacker this skilled didn't know what they were looking for. This is why, unknown to her father, she left her program running in the computer lab. It would wirelessly connect her with their network, allowing her to search for more patterns. She knew that there had to be something she missed.

"Hey, Eli! Wait up!" Blake's voice rang out from behind her.

"Oh sorry, didn't see you there! Need something?" The young police officer came running up to Eli was she waited on the steps for him.

"You, uh, just forgot your phone in the station. It's been ringing for the past minute."

"Oh god, thank you! This phone is my life. Seriously. So technically, I think you just saved my life." Eli held onto the phone tightly, thinking of how inconvenient it would have been if she had forgotten it.

John laughed as he watched the red head treasure the small phone in her hands. "Don't worry about it. You know it is just a phone."

"Ha! That's an understatement. This phone contains all of my research for my job. And now apparently it has a new voicemail from my boss." She looked down, realizing that it was Daggett who had called her when she was at the station. "Ugh, looks like I don't even get a day off anymore."

"How 'bout I give you a ride? It's getting late and I just got done with my shift."

"Oh no, Daggett Industries is only a few blocks away. But, thanks for the offer anyways." John smiled warmly and nodded.

"Anytime. See ya' around Eli."

...

Eli quickly swiped her pass key to get into her laboratory. She had no idea why Daggett would be calling her in so late in the day, but it probably had to do with her face recognizing software that was just going into the prototype phase.

"Ah Miss. Gordon. Just the person I was looking for." Her boss walked in and the atmosphere of the room changed immediately. He had an air of arrogance and superiority about him that seemed to overwhelm her every time they met.

"You called me in. Did something go wrong with the prototype feedback?" Whenever Eli talked to her boss, she felt almost drained. He acted as if he owned everyone who worked for him, and that set Eli on edge.

"Oh no, no, no. We both know your programs are flawless. Which is why I've decided to let you in on a very important assignment. This goes without saying: if you choose to finish this project, which I highly urge you to do, you will be legally bound to work in secret." Eli nodded as he handed her a manilla folder filled with censored plans and schematics that were barely comprehendible because of all of the blacked-out areas. Everything he said sounded like a veiled threat. Eli's heart started to race as she forced herself to keep eye contact with him. She didn't want to seem nervous or apprehensive.

"This is barely anything to go on. What exactly would I be doing?"

"Miss. Gordon, I'm going to be completely honest with you. Either you do this job, or you can kiss all accreditation for your work here goodbye. Your work will be enormously significant of the future of Gotham. Everything I'm allowed to tell you is in that file. Read it. Memorize it. Do it." Eli's eyes widened as her boss threatened her. This job meant everything to her, and she had worked her whole life to get it. But she didn't know if she could sacrifice her morals for Daggett.

As her boss stormed out of her office, Eli took the opportunity to analyze the file he had just forced into her hands. As she read it more in-depth, her stomach sunk even further. From the small amount of actual usable information she was give, she could tell that this project was somewhat, if not completely, illegal. He wanted her to design a program to track and control large amounts of stock acquisitions. Though it seemed relatively harmless, she knew that if this fell into the wrong hands, someone would be able to bankrupt the city's leading industrial powers. They would need other supplies as well, since this program couldn't run on its own. At this point, Eli felt like she was just trying to make herself feel better though. There were absolutely no redeeming qualities in this program, and she knew it.

...

After Daggett's not-so-veiled threat, Eli couldn't shake the constant feeling of paranoia that poisoned her senses. She shoved the folder into her bag and threw it angrily over her shoulder as she stormed out of the building. People waved goodbye to her as she left, but she kept her eyes straight and made a bee line home. She couldn't think of anything else other than what Daggett had said.

Once in the safety of her own home, she paced around the living room for what felt like hours. She replayed what had just happened over and over again in her mind, but nothing seemed to make her feel better. She tried to justify the project to herself, but a nagging feeling in her gut always told her that no matter how she thought of it, it would be wrong.

She had to tell someone about this, but she knew that she couldn't confide in her father. He would take it upon himself to walk over to Daggett Industries and arrest her boss in an instant. John Blake had been decent to her, but they had only met once. She couldn't just dump this on him. She couldn't call her mom, she would just demand that she come down to live in Cleveland. And none of the people she went to college with lived in Gotham anymore; she had never felt so alone in her life. Which was weird because she typically enjoyed being alone.

Eli could hear her father unlock the front door and put his badge on the front table, like he did every night. She immediately stopped pacing and unconsciously hid the folder under the couch.

"Hey Dad," she said automatically as he walked into the kitchen. Since her Mom took her brother to live in Cleveland, their relationship seemed strained so she made more effort to talk to him.

"Hey kid, what's wrong? You seem jumpy. At least more than usual . . ." he said quietly.

Suddenly, and idea popped into her head. "I just was wondering . . . Have you seen Batman since . . . that day?" she asked as he rummaged through the refrigerator for leftovers. Eli sat down at the small table in the kitchen and rested her head in her hands in exhaustion.

Her father paused as he thought about her question and shut the refrigerator door without grabbing anything. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "No . . . why?"

"No reason, just curious. I figured if anyone'd seen him it'd be you." Part of Eli had hoped that Batman was still out there. It gave her hope that someone was stopping injustice in Gotham. Another part of her wanted to find him and tell him about Daggett. But that was just an obscure fantasy that she knew would never happen. Her problems were probably much less serious than the other people of Gotham, even with the crack down on organized crime.

"You were there the last time I saw him," he said as he fiddled with his hands. Eli knew that he was still haunted by the events of that night.

"You did the right thing. Look at Gotham now, I haven't had to fend off muggers in ages," she said sarcastically. This merited a small smile from her Dad, but she could tell he was still conflicted.

"That's not something I want to think about," he said as he ran his hand through his greying hair. The image of people attacking his only daughter made him cringe.

Eli rolled her eyes, "You did make me take self defense classes since I could walk, so I don't see what the problem is."

"That was preemptive and you know it," he said smiling.

Eli stood up and rested her hand on her Dad's shoulder, "Just keep telling yourself that."

"Where's the fire? Got somewhere to be?"

"Yeah Daggett's got me working on something important. 'Night old man," she quickly kissed him on the cheek and rushed off to the living room. She grabbed her bag with the folder and hurried to her room and locked the door.

Eli couldn't bring herself to open that folder. Instead, she stared at it for a few seconds before throwing it on the ground and sitting in front of her own computer. She had work to do.

...

Eli sat in front of her computer for hours, sifting through the information she had acquired at the police station earlier that day. She didn't get up until the sun started to break through her cracked blinds. Even if she was tired, which she wasn't, Eli wouldn't be able to go to sleep. Whenever her mind wandered away from what was on her computer screen, she could hear Daggett's voice clearly in her head, threatening her over and over again. But she had hope once she cracked her case wide open. It turns out she had missed a lot back at the station.

Gotcha' asshole, she growled to herself as she looked at the screen in front of her. She had done the almost impossible task of tying Daggett to the hacker from the police station. Someone under his control had stolen that information, and she was going to use it to save her job. Eli was conflicted with the idea of blackmail, but she had spent the last few hours convincing herself that it wasn't blackmail if she was trying to do the right thing. If this works, everything will be set right. At least that's what she told herself as she shut down the computer and got ready for work.

...

After the impossibly cold shower and three shots of expresso, Eli finally felt awake enough to leave for work. If she was going to stand up to Daggett herself, she needed to be completely vigilant. Before she left, she made sure that she copied the important pages of the file she was given, and hid them in her room.

Throughout her life, Eli had lived up to the stereotype of red-heads. She was extremely hot-headed and quick to act. She always thought they were both her strongest and weakest attributes, and they often got her into trouble. Now she wasn't quite sure where it would land her. She wasn't going to let Daggett walk all over her, but she feared that she may be taking it too far. She was so angry that she didn't think she was going to be able to forget about it without fighting back either.

She quickly scanned her security clearance card to get into her lab and set her things down. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest as she pulled the folder out and gingerly put it in the center of her work table. She couldn't look at it without feeling disgusted, and she had come to realize that this job was not worth sacrificing her morals.

To distract herself from the inevitable confrontation between her and Daggett, she analyzed the progress of her other- legal- projects. They were all looking and preforming well.

After about an hour, the door to her lab opened. She didn't have to turn around to know it was her boss. She could smell his disgusting, expensive cologne from a mile away. All of the anger from the past day rose and made her blood boil with every step he took to get closer to her.

Eli took a deep breath and turned around quickly. She knew that this had to be like taking off a bandaid; it was better to get it over with quickly. There was no need to prolong the anxiety that was now spreading through her body.

"Miss. Gordon, how has our project been progressing? I know I won't be disappointed." Daggett's slicked back hair and professionally pressed suit reminded her of someone who was trying too hard to seem more powerful than he actually was. As he spoke, he raised his voice as if he was trying to seem more domineering.

Eli took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I'm going to tell you what I know, Mr. Daggett," her voice dripped with anger and annoyance. "For one, I know that I'm not going to be writing this program for you," she made sure her voice stayed strong as she shoved the folder back at her boss. Any sign of weakness would undermine her whole purpose.

"Excuse me? Do you want to keep your-" Eli held up her hand to interrupt him. It's now or never, she thought to herself. His eyes bulged with disbelief. He wasn't particularly used to being interrupted.

"I wasn't done, Mr. Daggett. What I also know is that your company can be tied to a cyber attack on the Gotham City Police Station earlier this week. Now . . . I don't like being threatened, but I will respond to violence with violence . . . Am I making myself clear?" Somehow during their conversation, it seemed Eli had taken a few threatening steps toward her boss to emphasize her point. She could tell that he was fuming behind his seemingly unaffected facade; his eyes were boiling with rage. "I will not sacrifice the integrity of my work for this job," she continued before he could say anything else.

Daggett crossed his arms and clenched his fists until his knuckles were almost completely white. "You'll regret this. I assure you of that." A scowl crossed his face as he pivoted on the heels of his expensive shoes and stormed out of the laboratory.

Once he was out of the room, she let out a sigh. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath. As soon as he was out of sight, a proud smile flashed across her lips. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she ran her hand through her hair in triumph. She congratulated herself, but something about his departing statement made her re-think her win. What did he mean when he said I'd regret it?

...

Damn her! Daggett yelled as he slammed the door to his office on the top floor of his building. He threw the folder on his desk forcefully, scattering other papers across the floor. He started to pace the length of his executive office, trying to think about what to do next. Bane's going to be furious.

The only thing to break his concentration was the shrill sound of his cell phone. He looked at the caller ID and his heart sank. It was one of Bane's men. Great.

Before he could say anything, the man on the other side of the phone addressed him. "When will the program be done? He's losing his patience." Daggett knew immediately that he was talking about Bane.

He paused before answering, " . . . There's been a minor setback."

"How minor are we talking?" The man's voice seemed to grow more frantic as if he didn't want to disappoint Bane.

"She won't do it," he breathed.

"But you said-" Before the man on the other side of the phone could continue in his accusation, Daggett interrupted him.

"I know what I said," he hissed bitterly. "She's more righteous than I thought," he spat with distain for the stubborn red head.

"Leave it to us then." Daggett smiled, imagining the untold horrors that Bane would do to her. The idea of revenge intrigued him. The only thing he hated more than righteous people was getting outsmarted. And she had combined them both.

...

The high from standing up for herself quickly wore off throughout the work day. Daggett's promise for revenge repeated over and over in her head. It got to the point that she couldn't even focus on her work. The minutes until it was reasonable to go home dragged by torturously. What made it even worse was that today was Harvey Dent Day and Eli had forgotten to call her Dad to wish him good luck with his speech. She would have gone to the fundraiser at Wayne Manor in person, but she learned long ago that it was too hard to watch people praise the person who tried to murder her own brother; let alone her own father. This was the first year that she decided to skip it, and she still managed to feel guilty.

Finally, five o' clock rolled around and Eli made her last rounds checking her work. Everything seemed to be running smoothly so she practically ran out of the building. If it weren't for the projects she was already working on, she would have quit her job. If her boss was willing to threaten her to do illegal work, then Daggett Industries would have to find another mindless drone to do their dirty work. Once her programs were functional, she planned on resigning. With her skills there were always more options.

Eli checked her watch one more time and realized that her Dad might still be at the station. If she hurried, she might be able to catch him before he left to wish him good luck. She quickly fished out her phone from her overflowing bag and dialed his extension.

Someone answered promptly on the third ring, "Commissioner Gordon's office, this is John Blake."

Eli's eye brows scrunched in confusion before she answered. "Oh, uh hey John is my Dad there?" She hadn't expected anyone else to answer the phone. Usually her Dad answered or it went straight to voicemail.

"Nah' he just left for the fundraiser. Figured you'd be going too," he said with his vague Boston accent.

"Ugh no," she groaned. "That's not really my thing."

"Yeah me neither . . . Anyway, is there something I can do for you?" Eli thought for a second before answering.

"No, I just wanted to make sure my Dad didn't forget his speech. Again." She laughed as she remembered the fundraiser a few years ago when he forgot his notecards and had to wing it. Blake seemed to find that funny and let out a couple sincere snickers.

"I don't see them, so I think he's in the clear" Eli could hear him smile from behind the phone.

"Okay 'phew," she said in exaggerated relief. "He would be so dead if he did forgot them . . . Speaking of," she laughed nervously, "if you guys find me dead tomorrow, it was my boss. Just saying," Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but secretly she was being partially serious.

"Thanks for the warning. Bad day?" Blake didn't know whether or not to take her seriously. He figured she was just joking around so he laughed it off.

"The worst. Luckily I get to leave now."

"Well since I have to be concerned that your boss is going to murder you in cold blood, let me escort you home. I'm in the neighborhood," he voice rung with with sarcasm and excitement.

"Will you take no for an answer?"

"Hell no."

...

When John said he was in the neighborhood, he wasn't kidding. Eli barely had to wait a minute before she saw his police cruiser pull up. He spotted her bright hair immediately and leaned over the seat to open the door for her.

Riding in the police car reminded her of her childhood when her Dad used to take her on rides around the city. The thought immediately put her in a good mood.

John immediately greeted her as he took off in the busy city street. "So should I be on the look out for tails?"

She laughed at the thought of her boss sending people to follow her. "Nah I think we're good. But I do think this means you saved my life again! That's got to be a record."

"Jeez, how many guys have saved your life?" he chuckled as he tore his eyes from the road in front of him to steal a glance at her.

"Let me think . . ." she said, looking up at the ceiling as if she was counting. "Nope, just you." She smirked mischievously at John as he turned to face the city again. She studied his face as his lips turned up into a smug smile.

"So why's your boss want to kill you?" He said, playing along with their little joke. Only Eli knew that it was partially serious.

"Oh I didn't do what he wanted me to. He's used to getting his way I guess," she added.

Suddenly the mood of the car seemed to become more tense. John's knuckles tightened on the wheel ever so slightly. His head tilted to the side in confusion and his eyes narrowed.

"He didn't try to do something did he?" He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

Eli's eyes widened as she realized how ambiguous her story was. "Oh, god no! No, no, nothing like that." Relief flooded John's face as the idea of her boss trying to take advantage of her was squashed. His hands loosened from the wheel and the muscles in his face relaxed.

Wanting to change the subject, Eli quickly asked him something different. "So . . ." she began awkwardly. "What's with the name change? I like your real name!"

"John is my real name. It's just not my first one," he said explaining. "Plus I thought 'Robin' was kinda' girly. You should understand! Why don't you go by 'Barbara'?"

"Ugh that's my mom's name. And it's a old woman's name. I don't know what my parents were thinking when they named me 'Barbara Elise'. It's like they wanted another reason for kids to make fun of in school. 'Eli' was the only thing that seemed to fit."

"What do you mean another reason?" John asked, seeming actually confused to why she would have gotten made fun of growing up.

"A lot of reasons. I was a cop's daughter with a genius IQ. My childhood wasn't exactly easy."

"I know how you feel . . ." he said with a lowered voice.

"Oh god I'm so sorry John, I was being inconsiderate. Again." Eli knew that he was an orphan, and she was just complaining about her childhood. She didn't even think about how much better her childhood probably was compared to his.

"Don't apologize," he said knowingly. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'd say we both turned out pretty well," he said smiling, but she could see the pain behind his eyes. Eli couldn't imagine what losing a parent would feel like.

"At least you did! I just seem to cause trouble wherever I am."

"Eh, that just makes everything more exciting," he said, laughing. His laughter seemed to put Eli at ease. Even his voice seemed to comfort her after such a stressful day at work.

"Thanks John," she said as she smiled out the window. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to look at him directly. Something about his eyes seemed to make her heart beat faster. "Oh, here's my house!" She said, pointing to the small colonial residence on the right.

"Here, before you go, why don't I give you my number. You know . . . just in case your boss decides to make a house call." He said laughing off his embarrassment. He was worried that he was going to scare her off, but the grinning expression on her face put him at ease.

"My hero," she said sarcastically as she traded phones with him. She rolled her eyes and smiled genuinely.

Once they exchanged numbers, Eli gathered her things and stepped out of the cruiser. John rolled down the window and leaned out after her and called out, "See ya' later Barbara!"

She turned around and gave him a curt look to show her annoyance with that name.

"Bye Robin," she hissed after him.

John shook his head and smiled as he watched her unlock her front door and step into her living room. Touche, he whispered to himself in amusement as he drove off.

A/N: So what did you guys think? Sorry not a lot happened in this chapter. I just needed to prepare everything for what happens next! Don't worry, the action will pick up next chapter ;) I've got a lot planned for John and Eli!