A/N: This is such a poor excuse of a chapter but for some reason my brain keeps telling me the story is going absolutely nowhere. And here I am, writing an somewhat "unnecessary" chapter.

C.E.R.E.B.R.A.L LABS

Somewhere between Central City and Gotham

One month ago.

CEREBRAL Labs was a large building far from any civilization, ensuring the safety of the people, and keeping the labs secrets as quiet as possible. Most of the floors were simply sterile rooms, illuminated by bright fluorescent lights that cast a cold, white glow on everything within.

At the top floor, the walls were lined with shelves filled with beakers, test tubes, and various chemicals, while the center of the room was dominated by a large, stainless steel table. The table was covered with various instruments, including a Bunsen burner, pipettes, and a centrifuge.

In the corner of the room, a lone scientist was hunched over a microscope, peering intently through the eyepiece. He wore a white lab coat stained with old chemicals and protective goggles, his fingers delicately manipulating the small vials of liquid on his workspace.

As he worked, he muttered to himself about the complexities of the human brain. "The mind is a fragile thing," He said, his voice low and contemplative. "But with the right tools, it can be manipulated, controlled, even reprogrammed."

He paused for a moment, lost in thought, before turning back to his work. He carefully added a small amount of a clear, viscous liquid to one of the vials and began to mix it with a small glass rod.

"With this serum, I can finally complete my life's work of taking over the mind. Eliminating emotion, and forcing a soul into doing the unexplainable." He turned around slowly, smiling as he held up the tube, staring at the horrified eyes of Jackson Pilar, his eyes wide with fear as the scientist stepped forward. The boy was strapped down to a chair, sleeve's rolled up tightly. Jackson watched as the scientist walked over, taking the serum into a needle.

"How are you with pain, Mr Pilar?" The man's voice was harsh and raspy, his smile lines accentuating as he grinned down at the boy, who said nothing. "You won't feel much after this."

"Please... Mr—" The scientist silenced Jackson quickly by grabbing his face. Jackson whimpered in fear as the needle got closer. A tear trickled down the boy's cheek.

"I told you, Mr Pilar. I'm your Operator." The doctor corrected, pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away Jackson's tear. "These tears will mean nothing soon enough."

Jackson whispered "No's" as The Operator gripped his arm, slowly injecting the needle into a vein. Jackson hollered as the golden liquid disappeared underneath his skin, a soft glow slowly moving up his veins and towards his neck. He continued to cry out as The Operator backed away, smiling wickedly.

"I haven't had success like this in a long time. A shame that you're simply my test subject." Jackson's head dropped as he fell unconscious. The Operator tilted his head, slowly lowering the hand that held the needle to watch Jackson.

After a moment, he raised his head, staring at nothing. He didn't bear a single expression, and The Operator smile.

"How are we feeling, Mr Pilar?"

"Everything is fine, Operator." He answered numbly, and The Operator set the needle down, unstrapping Jackson from the chair. Jackson slowly stood up, and The Operator grinned.

"We have work to do."

•••

present day

The Operator stared out the window of his new lab, overlooking Gotham from a far distance. His hands were held tightly behind his back, a desolate expression on his face. He turned to his computer, which displayed several different surveillance cameras.

"Operator." The scientist turned to the front door, where a hooded figure stood, staring at the ground. He was gripping a duffel bag, slowly walking towards the Operator.

"How much?" He asked quietly. The two walked over to a large desk, where the hooded man dropped the duffel bag, unzipping it. There were several large stacks of cash, a few of them covered in dried blood. The Operator sighed heavily.

"Is something wrong, Operator?" The hooded figure asked, looking up.

"Yes. You're messy. Just like my last subject." The two sat in silence for a moment before The Operator reached over and quickly ripped the hood off of the man. "What did I say?!"

"Don't get caught." The man spoke, his voice unwavering as he stared at his leader with a cold gaze. The Operator smiled, nodding.

"Yes. Why is that?"

"Your daughter is smart. She can find me quickly."

"Yes. And if she finds you.. She finds me." The Operator gripped the back of the man's neck, shaking him with a serious look. "And my plans aren't finished yet!"

"I'm sorry, Operator. I'll be careful next time." The Operator backed away from the man, huffing as he fixed his lab coat.

"I would say I expect better from you. But you can't even fathom happiness anymore." The man crossed his arms as The Operator walked over to his computer, sitting down.

"What are your next plans, Operator?" The scientist slowly looked up at his servant, then back to the computer.

"The money you stole last night will help me get what I need. Then I can finally destroy the life my daughter has rebuilt." The man gave the Operator a confused look. "Jackson was so much smarter than you. Pity he wasn't careful with the cameras."

"What do you plan on doing with your daughter?" The Operator turned to the man and frowned, scoffing.

"That bitch destroyed everything I worked hard for. Ruined my career! The moment I finally have everything I need... I will kill her."

•••

Melanie rested her head in her hand, using the other to passively scroll through her emails, sighing quietly. She glanced to another computer on a different desk, which read that a DNA sample was at 87 percent from searching through the Gotham Police database.

Melanie's hand dropped from underneath her chin and slapped her desk in annoyance. She leaned back in her chair, ignoring the loud squeak it let out as she thought for a long, painfully boring time.

Thankfully, she had been given free time to catch up on all her paperwork, so now she was simply sitting in her lab with nothing to do. Melanie glanced to her coffee pot, grumbling in annoyance that it was empty. She threw open her top drawer of her desk, mumbling a profanity that her coffee box was empty.

"Great. Unbelievable." She stood up quickly, her chair flying back as she walked out of her lab and down to the break room. Harvey was leaning against one of the counters drinking from a mug, Sterling rambling about a story involving his daughter.

The two turned to Melanie as she paused awkwardly in the doorway, walking over to a different part of the room and opened a top cabinet. "Mel."

Melanie turned to face the two as she slowly grabbed a box of coffee and Keurig cups. "I got this guy at a bank robbery, do you think you could do a background check on him?" Sterling asked as Melanie glanced to the break room exit.

"Uh... Yeah, I guess I could. I have nothing better to do." She said, holding the coffee boxes as if they were a baby. Harvey chuckled at Melanie's appearance, sipping his coffee.

"Great. I'll send you what I got on him so far." Melanie nodded as she quickly started walking towards the door, heading back to her lab.

Melanie opened the door to her lab, pausing to see the back of Dick, who was staring at her computer. "Can I help you with something, Gray?"

Dick spun around, eyes landing on the boxes of coffee as Melanie started walking towards her desk. She immediately started working in making herself a cup as Dick gestured to her computer.

"I wanted to see how the blood sample was coming along. Since we still don't have any suspects for the butcher shop murders." Melanie sighed and sat down in her chair, shrugging.

"I don't even know how it's possible. All of those people had solid alibi's and not one person saw anything the night those men got murdered." Melanie leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. It won't be the first time you don't find a suspect around here." Melanie hummed, looking up at Dick.

"That's very reassuring." Melanie's computer chimed as an email notification from Sterling popped up on the corner of her screen. Dick glanced down at it, raising a brow.

"What's that?"

"Sterling wants me to do a background check on some guy that was near a bank when it was robbed." Melanie was quick to start looking up what she could in Gotham's police database, raising her brows. "Jesus."

"I know that guy..." Dick walked around the desk, looking at the mugshot of the man Sterling had sent Melanie. "He was arrested a few years ago with a few other members of the Black Mask organization."

"Black Mask? What are they, Batman wannabe's..." Melanie mumbled, Dick letting out a quiet hum of amusement before shaking his head.

"They were a pretty powerful crime organization a few years ago led by this guy everyone only knew as Black Mask. Batman and Robin took them down, but they used to do a lot of heavy shit."

"I can see that... Human trafficking, arms dealing, drug trafficking..." Melanie read quietly from the man's list of crimes on the screen. "Well... I guess I should let Sterling know who is first suspect might be."

"I'll let you get to that then." Melanie nodded to Dick and started going back to her work, Dick walking towards her door. "Let me know when that sample is ready, Annie."

Melanie paused, turning to Dick with a frown. "Annie?"

He looked back to her and shrugged, smirking. "You gave me a nickname. Might as well give you one."

"I gave it to you because your parents named you Dick."

"Well, I don't like Gray. Clearly you don't like Annie. So I'll stick to it." Melanie shot Dick a glare as he walked out of her lab, and she turned back ti her computer.

"Annie. Is it because I have red hair and I'm basically an orphan?" Melanie's mouth dropped open at the realization and she turned back to her door. "What a dick."

a/n: I have no explanation but i hate this chapter other than Dick giving Melanie a cute lil nickname.