Elizabeth tapped her foot frowning she didn't like this one either. Why couldn't she find any good dresses? After she had checked Victoria into the hotel her sister told her that she wanted some alone time. Elizabeth assumed she was going to call Antonio and left her to go shopping for a dress for Monday. So far though none of the dresses she had tried on looked any good, well they looked good, but they didn't feel right.

"This must be a very special man." The sales clerk said through the door as Elizabeth began to strip so she could try on the next dress.

"You could say that."

"And this must be a very special night, you know, we also have a fine selection of white dresses if you'll be needed one in the future."

"What? Oh! No!" Elizabeth blushed deeply. "It's nothing like—we're not—just…" Elizabeth trailed off she wasn't quite sure what to call her and Edward the situation between them was complicated.

"I'm sorry Miss I didn't mean to presume."

"No, that's fine," Elizabeth slid into the next dress. This one, a royal blue, was a simple design with no beading or lace and it covered her shoulders and back nicely, there was a bit of cleavage and it clung tightly to her bottom and thighs but that was nothing she couldn't handle. She opened the door for the clerk to see.

"Oh that's very nice Miss…and with a gray handbag and shoes?"

"Exactly what I was thinking." The clerk rushed off as Elizabeth admired herself in the triple mirrors, oh this did look good. From the changing room she heard her cellphone ring. Elizabeth stopped her preening and dug through her purse to find it. When she did she looked down at the caller ID. A blocked number. 'If this is Edward…' Elizabeth flipped the phone open.

"Yes?" She said sharper than she meant to.

"Tone, child tone."

"Jonathan," Elizabeth said in half relief.

"The one and only, now then Elizabeth about my wrist device…"

"Yes, I was going to finish that today after I finished up where I am now."
"You mean shopping for dresses?"

"No, just one dress."

"Whatever…I'll see you later then." Jonathan hung up. Elizabeth didn't want to know how he knew she was dress shopping, then again she didn't want to know how Edward and Jonathan found out a lot of their information.

"Miss?" The clerk said finally returned from the shoe and bag sections. Elizabeth turned around smiling.

"Yes, sorry just a friend. Let's try on those shoes." Elizabeth only spent ten minutes or so trying on shoes, the store didn't have much in terms of grey shoes but what they did have worked for Elizabeth. When she had finished shopping the bill was nearly three hundred dollars without tax. Edward better appreciate the trouble she'd gone through to get a good dress for their date. Elizabeth blinked. No, it wasn't a date, just a meeting. Simply a meeting.

With a wave of her hand she flagged down a taxi. She didn't feel like taking the bus today, even if it was cheaper. Elizabeth told the driver an address close to Jonathan's warehouse and sat back enjoying the ride. Her relaxation was interrupted by her phone going off again.

"Hello?" She said not looking at the caller ID.

"Elizabeth, its Victoria, so I called Antonio and we're having dinner tonight."

"That's good."

"Yeah, he said he wanted to meet you too, not tonight but Monday there's this restaurant, it's supposed to be super fancy and he said he'd treat us." In Elizabeth's head the tune of 'it's a small world' began playing. 'More like it's an impossibly coincidental world…'

"No sorry, I can't do that, I have work and I can't take any more days off. Sorry, maybe Tuesday or something? And somewhere less classy?"

"Of course, I'll talk to him tonight. I better start getting ready! Bye!" Victoria and Elizabeth hung up just as the taxi arrived at Elizabeth's destination.

"'Ere we go, that'll be 37 bucks." Elizabeth pulled out two twenties and told him to keep the change. He tipped his hat, and as soon as she was out of the cab he sped off. She walked the few more blocks to Jonathan's warehouse without any trouble and she entered through the side door like she did last time. Making her way through the maze of boxes, that seemed to have increased in number, she tried to find a sign of Jonathan's where-a-bouts but his scent was all over the place and the noise outside prevented her from hearing him.

"Jonathan?" She called out not liking being unaware of where the psychopath was.

"Jonathan?" She called out again louder this time but there was no response, maybe he wasn't here. Cautiously Elizabeth weaved her way around the boxes to the work area she had used before. The table was just how she left it, Jonathan hadn't touched anything. She pulled the prototype from her purse along with the plans the set her purse and shopping bags inside a crate so they wouldn't get full of metal shavings.

Then Elizabeth set about working. Elizabeth had always enjoyed the physical side of bringing her creations to life. The cutting, bending, shaving of metal and the attention to fine details that would just seem like work to most people always brought her a sense of calm. Now was no different and as she worked on crafting the device that would be used to terrorize Gothamites Elizabeth felt calm and in control for the first time since her sister arrived. It may have only been a few days but Edward had been right yesterday when he said her world was shattering around her ears.

The hours passed quickly and before she realized it was nearing seven and her stomach was eating itself up from hunger. Elizabeth set down her tools and the nearly finished device and went to grab a one of the snacks she kept in her purse. That was before a delicious aroma reached her nose. A slight moan escaped her lips as she followed the scent of the food. Poking her head around a set of crates and nearly ran into Jonathan. She had been paying so much attention to her nose that she had drowned everything else out.

"Well hello, child, care for dinner?" Elizabeth looked up at him suspiciously and Jonathan rolled his eyes. "It's not poisoned or anything. I just thought I'd grab enough for two since you've missed dinner."

"Okay, I'm hungry enough that I'll accept that." Jonathan smirked and moved leading her towards their dinner. It was in one of the old second floor offices where he had seemed to made camp as well. A thick mat lay in one corner and pushed against one wall was a makeshift chemistry lab. Against the other wall were two chairs and small table on which the heavenly scent of hamburgers and French fries arose.

"McDonalds?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. She didn't mind but Jonathan never seemed like a fast foods type guy.

"Don't judge," he said sitting down and unwrapping a burger.

"I'm not, I love fast food just never took you for the type."

"Guilty pleasures, much like buying a three-hundred dollar outfit." He took a bite staring at her, his gaze calculating. Elizabeth unwrapped her own burger and took a large bite chewing slowly trying to pull his interest away from the implied question. She swallowed and realized he wasn't letting it go.

"That wasn't a pleasure it was a necessity."

"You work as a waitress and for me, why do you need a hundred and fifty dollar dress?"

"Personal reasons." Elizabeth took another bite usually she would have enjoyed the juicy meat but Jonathan's cold eyes drove the taste from her mouth. "Fine. I'm going to dinner with a friend to Rosa Luna."

"Really? You know that's one of Edward's favorite restaurants."

"That's nice."

"It's rather expensive; does this happen to be gentleman friend?"

"Well I wouldn't exactly call him a gentleman."

"But this is a date?"

"What!? No, it is just a little get together, a meeting, well I don't know his precise reason for inviting me but it is definitely not a date." Jonathan gave a "yeah, right" smirk but didn't say anything. They both finished their burger in silence and Elizabeth had started on her fries before Jonathan spoke again.

"Aren't you going to ask how I knew you were out shopping?"

"I honestly don't care; I want to know how you knew it was a three-hundred dollar purchase."

"I happened to be in the store opposite, I required new shoes and saw you hand over the money."

"Isn't rather dangerous to be out in public like that?"

"Oh no, you'd be surprised at how well a fake mustache and wig will disguise a person. Besides the citizens of Gotham are as ignorant as they come, a herd of mindless sheep going about their daily business not noticing the wolves in their flock." Elizabeth stopped herself from raising an eyebrow, she was unsure if Jonathan had used the wolf analogy on purpose or if it was just a coincidence.

"I suppose, but if the people of Gotham were to notice that would make them responsible and what was it you said in class "what society fears most is responsibility"?"

Jonathan chuckled. "Yes, I did, it's true they fear responsibility but what about you are you a sheep or a Wolf?"

Elizabeth nearly choked on her fries. "What?"

"Such a volatile reaction. I heard about your little escapade. Wolf. Not very inventive but it does serve the purpose."

"Better than the first name I chose: Lupus. Made me sound like a disease. Besides I have Jervis to thank for the name he gave it to me in Arkham."

"Ah yes, Dormouse is in love with Wolf. I remember that one. Have you've seen our dear Riddler lately? You were so keen on hiding from him the other day one would think you didn't like him back."

"He's a narcissistic sociopath that breaks into my apartment to read my journal."

"That's not an answer." She bit back a snarl. Elizabeth didn't like how Jonathan was interrogating her. What did he really want?

"Yes, I saw him yesterday, accidently I might add, and I'll be seeing him Monday as well." Jonathan's eyes sparkled but not with maniacal intent but with a type of victory. He stood and exited the office going into the one next door. Elizabeth heard him rummaging around and a soft exclamation of "ah-ha". He then returned holding something small in his hand.

"This was from one of the participants in my experiments before my last trip to Arkham. Couldn't have her injure herself with it so I removed it, I was going to throw it away but never got around to it. It will match with your outfit quite well I believe." Elizabeth's eyebrows felt like they were going to fly off her face as Jonathan held out a necklace. It was dark grey metal that would go perfectly with her shoes and purse. Originally, Elizabeth wasn't going to wear any jewelry because she didn't want to spend the money and time; but if Jonathan was offering who was she to refuse? She reached out to take the necklace then stopped in midair.

"Why?" She asked staring up at him. Elizabeth didn't trust this sudden niceness, buying dinner for both was one thing but giving her a necklace was quite another (even if it was off a dead woman).

"Because I have 600 dollars resting on your dinner with Edward and this is payment for helping me get it."

"Who says my dinner is with Edward?"
"Please, child, I'm no fool." He dropped the necklace and Elizabeth caught it. "Now I need to get back to work perhaps you should as well?"

"Yes," Elizabeth stood clutching the necklace, "I'll be done within an hour." She hurried out of the office and down the stairs back to her work area. Placing the necklace in her bag she set about to work quickly. It took her only a half hour or so to finish the device so she decided to sand the prototype she had made to make it usable. When she finished Elizabeth stood back to admire her handiwork. Even under the dim light the metal of the two devices gave off a menacing glint as though it knew they would be used to terrorize.

"Finished?" Jonathan said from behind her but his voice seemed muffled and slightly mechanical. Elizabeth turned around and nearly let lose a gasp of shock. Jonathan was wearing his mask, his eyes were hooded but Elizabeth could feel the malicious intent in them. Unconsciously she took a step back, her breathing had increased and the blood was pounding in her ears. She didn't know if was gut instinct or something else but Elizabeth knew this was no longer Jonathan, the professor and doctor, the man who made bets on the affairs of the heart of his fellow inmates and had an obsession with fear. No. This was Scarecrow, God of Fear and Master of Terror, the creature that had attacked her at Arkham and was fear incarnate.

"Scared?" He approached the table chuckling and Elizabeth took another step back. Slowly he picked up the device turning it in his hand. It slid on to his wrist smoothly then in one fluid movement he popped a gas canister into place. "Marvelous work. Marvelous…"

He reached into his pocket for something and Elizabeth tensed her legs preparing to run. All it was, however, was her payment. Scarecrow tossed the wad of cash at her and she caught it. Slowly she turned and walked over to the create containing her purse and bag all-the-while keeping her senses trained on the sadist behind her.

Elizabeth had heard tell of the split in Jonathan's personality before. It was a situation similar to Jervis and the Mad Hatter, unlike Two-Face who had two distinct personalities, it was more of state of mind that he entered when conducting his experiments or wearing his mask. To Elizabeth though this split seemed more distinct, Jonathan's usual scent had changed. Elizabeth didn't know how (and she still didn't trust her nose fully) but Jonathan's usual fresh pumpkin-like smell had turned rotten and sour.

There was a rustling behind her and Elizabeth turned around sharply. Scarecrow had disappeared. Okay time to get out of here. She rushed through the maze of boxes paying close attention to everything around her just waiting for Scarecrow to jump out at her. Finally, she reached the door and pushed it open. Just as she stepped outside she heard a gagged scream from somewhere inside the building and dark laughter accompanying it. It appeared as though Scarecrow was trying out his new toy. Repressing a shudder Elizabeth slipped out into the night.

It was nearing nine o'clock when Elizabeth finally made it back to her apartment. Wearily she opened her door and stepped inside. Locking the door she made to just go to her room and go to bed but as she went she stepped on something crunchy. Looking down Elizabeth saw a small white envelope. Picking it up curiously she realized it had the Wayne Industries logo stamped onto the back. 'Great. What now?'

Opening it gently she pulled out the card from within.

Elizabeth,

I came by to give you your file but it appears you aren't home. I'll come by on Monday to give it to you, around 4. Hopefully this isn't inconvenient if you aren't home please come by Wayne Industries at your earliest convenience to pick it up.

Bruce Wayne

P.S. I heard from Veronica that you used to be friends and that you're coming to her Mid-Summer Ball. I hope to see you there.

Elizabeth scoffed. She had nearly forgotten about the invite Veronica had given her, in fact, she wanted to forget the whole incident.

"Fuck Veronica's party, I'll rip her head off," Elizabeth mumbled.

"Is that a threat?" Elizabeth jumped and quickly pulled her gun from her purse, pointing it in the direction of the gruff voice in the corner. Batman stepped from the darkest shadows. "Put the gun down Miss Howard."

Elizabeth complied, though the gun wasn't a real threat to Batman, it wasn't loaded and even if it was Elizabeth was sure he'd be able to disarm her in seconds. "Is there a reason you broke into my apartment?"

"I came to warn you, bodies have been found in the Narrows covered in bite marks with the serum used against you in their blood streams. Cuvier is trying to re-create your results and failing, he may come after you soon."

"Thanks, I'll keep an eye out." Elizabeth set down her bags and locked her door but Batman was still there.

"How's your arm?"

"Fine, thanks, it wasn't too deep."

"You should let Bruce Wayne help you so it doesn't happen again. Just think about what could have happened."

"You don't think I do? I think about it every night right before I fall asleep but do you know what Batman even if Wayne could find something to reverse my mutations there's nothing that says it's going to reverse my all my problems. I could still lose it under stress." Batman didn't respond he stood there his face and body language neutral. "Look, don't get me wrong, I don't want to lose it, no one would, but if I change back to normal then if Cuvier or the mob does come after me I won't stand a chance."

"What makes you think the mob is after you?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow surprised at his surprise.

"Didn't you know? Cuvier isn't working for the Maroni mob anymore after you rescued me from him they fired him for nearly being caught and not delivering his results. They have his formula and everything and are trying to recreate the results as well they'd need me more than him to get it right." Batman frowned Elizabeth could tell he was trying to deduce where she had gotten her information. She stared at him silently wishing he'd do something, even if it was accusing her of doing something illegal.

"There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium. And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium. And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium. And iron, americium," Elizabeth jumped as her phone went of playing its silly song she had set during college. She looked down at the ID and swore internally. Mr. Ee. Just for a few hours could she not be bothered by any of the inmates of Arkham? She glanced at Batman who was looking at her expectantly then flipped open the phone.

"Evan! Hey! I'm a little busy right now can I call you back in a few?" There was a few seconds pause on the other end as Edward realized she couldn't speak openly.

"Sure that's fine, is everything alright?" Edward asked in a disguised voice.

"Yeah, just trying to chase a bat out of my apartment, I accidently left the window open."

"Okay talk to you in a few." Elizabeth hung up.

"A friend?" Batman asked his face suspiciously neutral.

"No, my naked mole rat, yes it was a friend. Used to live across the hall from me. Is there anything else you want? Aren't you supposed to be out protecting Gotham or something?"

"I'll be going," Batman's headed towards the window but stopped before he left, "and Elizabeth don—"

"I know don't do anything stupid."

"No, don't forget yourself." Elizabeth stood stunned as Batman slipped out the window then a scowl crossed her face and she stormed over to the window slamming it shut. Stupid Batman, what did he know about her? "Don't forget yourself." What was that supposed to mean, she was Elizabeth Howard she knew herself better than anyone.

Tiredly she sat on the couch looking at the cellphone in her hand. She supposed she actually had to call Edward back. Elizabeth was about to call when a soft consistent whine caught her attention. Standing she followed it back to the source. A small round device was stuck on the underside of her coffee table, on it was scratched a little bat. It appeared as though Batman didn't trust her. She was tempted to destroy the device but thought better of it. If Batman knew she had found and destroyed the bug it would look like she really was hiding something; and the electronic whine wasn't as bad as from the bug Dr. Gullenrow had planted it just sounded like the TV she could live with it.

Still she didn't want Batman to hear her talking to Edward. Sighing she headed into the bathroom, she couldn't hear the whine from in here, hopefully that meant it couldn't hear her. For added protection though she turned on the shower head to create extra noise. Elizabeth hit the call button on her phone and held it up to her ear. It rang twice before Edward answered.

"Hey diddle, diddle."

"What do you want Edward?"

"No reason to sound so grumpy, I was just calling to tell you that the reservations for Monday are under Rӓstel Mensch."

"Okay thanks, is that all?"

"Touchy, touchy, yes that is all. See you Monday Elizabeth." Edward hung up. Elizabeth slammed the phone shut. She didn't know why she felt so angry. Everything the past few days just seemed to have her bent out of shape. Elizabeth looked in the mirror that was beginning to fog up from the shower. She just needed to relax. Quickly she stripped and stepped under the hot jets of water.

Elizabeth tried to wash away everything stressful from the past couple of days: Victoria, the fight, Edward, Falcone, Edward, Victoria, Edward, Scarecrow, Batman, Cuvier, Edward…Edward. He was right when he said her world was crashing around her head. Everything she thought she stood for; everything she wanted in her life was unattainable. A secure job, a chance to help others, giving Gotham a chance to make itself right, and, most importantly, a chance to pursue justice. Everything was gone. She worked a dead-end job where she was assaulted by patrons nightly and she had sold her services to Scarecrow. No one would ever let her help them—they didn't trust her—she was a murderer. Gotham she'd come to realize was rotten to the core it was too stepped in corruption, from the police to the lawyers to the politicians—she had seen them there with Falcone. And justice? Cuvier would never be brought to justice. The mob would never be brought to justice. There was no justice in Gotham.

Elizabeth beat her fist against the shower wall. 'Nothing would ever change.'

Water was streaming down Elizabeth's face mixing with her tears. 'Nothing could ever change.'

Her chest was shaking the scars littered across her body felt like they were burning. 'But something had changed.'

Elizabeth had changed. She could do something. She would do something.