Barnes briefly returned but was infected with the Alice Tetch Virus, which was then released all over the city by the Court of Owls, forcing the GCPD to contain the situation whilst a cure was procured and Bullock became the new Captain. However, Cobblepot collaborated with the reluctant GCPD under "Pax Penguina" as criminals were issued licenses to enable them to commit crimes, much to Gordon's chagrin. Bullock, who had the department's best interests at heart, began to take money from Cobblepot and issued releases for detained criminals with licenses. Soon after, Professor Pyg began to terrorize Gotham and abducted numerous police officers who were Cobblepot's bagmen and murdered them. The GCPD teamed up with Cobblepot to capture the Pyg, who took advantage of Bullock's reckless actions to ambush them and slaughter dozens of police officers whilst the former accidentally shot a police officer disguised as Pyg himself. Gordon rescued them and his bravery earned him praise from the department, who rejected the licenses and Gordon was promoted to Captain, causing Bullock to resign from the GCPD in disgrace. However, Sofia Falcone had intended for Gordon to become the Captain to actually control him otherwise there will be chaos instead, forcing Gordon to reluctantly take the blame and become a hero for the city.