Disclaimer: Nope. Do not own the Dark Knight Trilogy. Just my OC.

Chapter 4.

Applied Sciences. Applied Sciences. Gotta start somewhere. Anything was better than the restaurant dump I just quit. It felt really good to call them and say I wasn't coming in to work today, like ever. I wasn't going back there. They can deal without me, and I don't even feel bad about it. This was my life, and I was going to take control of it, and not let anyone else control it but me.

But I did wonder though, as I stood in the elevator, watching the lights go down to the very bottom of Wayne Enterprises to the R&D floors as to what position I'd signed up for this morning. Jessica had mentioned something about archives. I was intrigued. The pay was pretty decent, about thirteen an hour, plus health benefits if I worked here longer than the usual 90-day period. Dental. Vision. Pretty standard. Much more than what I got at the restaurant. I didn't get any benefits. Here, I got benefits, and a chance to really make a difference and commit to something that my heart truly believed in.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. I walked down the long hallway that lead to a small table and computer where I saw a man hunched over at his computer. I felt a comfortable presence around him. Nothing stiff like Earl had been. Nothing ridged like Jessica's was. And nothing nervous like mine had been. I smiled.

"Mr. Fox?" I asked curiously as I stepped forward.

"Who's asking?" he asked, not turning around.

"Melanie Blake. Mr. Earle hired me for some archives position?" I pulled out a piece of paper from my tote bag and handed it towards him. He turned around and I smiled even more at his demeanor. Yup. I liked him better already than Mr. Earle.

"Wasn't aware we were hiring on any new blood, Miss Blake."

"You can call me Melanie, or Mel. Most people call me Mel," I said, offering my hand for him to shake.

At first he was hesitant but then he got up, and shook my hand. I gave him the piece of paper that Mr. Earl had Jessica drum up for him.

"Lucius," he let out a sigh. "Well, I suppose I could stretch my legs for a little bit. Follow me; I'll give you the grand tour. Archives is next door. Archives is a bit of a mess, hope you're prepared for it."

I wrinkled my nose. "I'm prepared for anything, Mr. Fox. Um, Lucius. My last job was quite a learning experience, and I hope I never have to go through that again, so I'm ready to take on something new," I shuttered. "Five years at that place. Never again."

He chuckled. "Something new is always good. Must've been a hell of a five years."

"Yup. Working for Judge Fadden's favorite restaurant was oh-so-much fun," I said, hearing my sarcasm drip out of my voice. I felt really comfortable with Mr. Fox, and started my mental brain to relax a little bit more as it'd been so anxious and tight with my last job. I was always on edge, ready to put my guard up, ready to defend. I was in knots. I couldn't live like that anymore, knowing who those bad people truly were. It made me realize not to get in trouble, and made me just stay out of everyone's business as best as I could. I wasn't looking for any trouble.

"Oh, that place, huh?" he asked.

"You've heard of it?" I asked we started walking through the files.

"Everyone's heard of it. Usually good people stay away from it," he said, glancing at me, and I cringed at that too.

"It was the only job I could find during the recession," I admitted softly. "Kept falling down only to pick up myself again no matter how many times I wanted to quit."

"Strong lass," he commented wisely.

I shrugged. "I try to be. I know I look fragile. I guess that's why Earle sent me down here, uh..., I mean no offense. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"None taken. Not quite sure if Mr. Earle has the best judge of character?"

I shook my head. I liked that we were on the same page. I think. I hoped. I got the feeling he was more understanding than Earle was. He did not want to hire me. But something I did must have shook him out of his apathy.

He let out another chuckle. "I won't tell if you won't."

I held up my Scout's Honor fingers. "Scout's Honor."

He smiled at me. "All right, follow me. This entire floor is applied sciences, and then adjacent to that is the archives, where every file on every prototype, and any financial information is kept. You can get anything you want within Wayne Enterprises in archives. It's supposed to be filed and well kept, but maintenance has been slacking over the years."

"Well, Mr. Earle said there was no more maintenance. He told me when I signed up this morning that I would be cleaning and filing and putting things away, just making sure the archives would be all ready to go if someone needed to find something of that nature."

"Did he now?"

"Yup," I nodded. "He also said there was room for advancement, but he didn't seem keen on answering that when I asked."

He chuckled. "He didn't seem keen on it when I asked, Miss Blake."

"How long ago was that?"

"Too long," he replied. I bit my lower lip and felt bad. Great. What did I just sign up for exactly? Was Wayne Enterprises bad too? If it was that bad, had I just traded my toxic job for another?

He pushed open the door that led to the archives room, and I looked at the stacks of files that looked a lot like a library. It was very messy, and I only saw one small desk in the middle of the room. There was a fallen broom on the floor with papers strewn everywhere. Suddenly I felt overdressed for the job.

I sighed. Gotta start somewhere.

"Well, get started, and I'll see you at lunch hour. Good luck," he said, leaving me to it.

Right. Now where to begin?