Batman: Armistice

Chapter One

"All Rise!"

The judge's voice echoed through the Gotham City courtroom number three, which was at that moment packed to capacity. The motes of dust shimmering like flecks of drifting gold in the sunlight fell unnoticed upon the silent throng, and the ancient stone angels that hung suspended from the mighty pillars that surrounded the vaulted room seemed to watch with an eerie detachment that stood in stark contrast to the mood of the people below. There was an air of breathless expectation that no one could fail to notice, and there wasn't a doubt in a single mind as to the reason for this pervasive energy. Today was a special day, a day that would surely live on in the memories of Gotham's people forever.

Today, the infamous madman known as the joker was once again to be sentenced for his heinous crimes against the people of the city. Only this time, the rumors said that he wouldn't be heading for the Asylum. The people had finally had enough, and upon sentencing he would be heading straight for the gallows; and there was no shortage of people who wanted to see him swing.

The trial had been a shockingly short one, only dragging on for three days and all within the same week. But there had been little point in dragging out the proceedings as the evidence against him was so damning that not even Lot could have negotiated a stay of the reaper's blade.

As the audience rose obediently to it's feet, so did the powerful, bald-headed man sitting at the front right desk. That man was Attorney at law Harvey Dent, and today he was wrapping up his role as prosecutor in what he had little doubt was the most important case of his irregular career; and the tightly packed mass around him only served to drive this point home. After featuring the testimony of a few key witnesses, which had even included the billionaire Bruce Wayne and police chief Gordon's daughter, he had been forced to essentially draw lots to determine who would be called to testify against the Joker. Literally scores of people had flooded his office, and there was simply no way they could all be worked in. Still, as long as the clown hung, he doubted they cared much.

"We are gathered here today to hear a conclusion to case number G972443J, or 'The People of Gotham vs The Joker'. But before we move on to the sentencing, we have one more key witness for the jury to hear."
"Oooooh, is it the Bats again?! I wanna see him sitting in the box like a normal fruitcake again! The contrast was simply precious!"
Dent rolled his eyes in disgust and glanced over at the pale, drooling lunatic just a few feet away from him. The Joker was definitely looking a bit the worse for wear, covered in bruises and scabbed over cuts, his hair a disheveled green mop perched upon his skull-white brow. Batman had indeed testified, and even Dent had to admit that seeing The Bat of Gotham sitting in a witness box and giving testimony like a regular citizen had been strikingly odd, and a little uncomfortable. With an amused snort, it occurred to him that the man had actually testified twice, once as the vigilante Batman and again as Bruce Wayne. The perks of having an alter ego, and Harvey Dent was one of the few people who knew the connection between the two. He and Bruce Wayne had actually been good friends before...

Dent was vaguely aware of the judge's gavel pounding in a primal call to order as his left hand rose to his scarred left cheek. Scarred, but no longer the horror that had marked his decent into the dark abyss of crime and madness after that scumbag Maroni had thrown acid in his face in this very building, just two rooms over. Though his face had been repaired by Thomas Elliot and his psyche healed as well, it had been a tough road to reclaim even a semblance of his former life. He couldn't help but suspect that him being handed such an important case by the district was either Commissioner Gordon or Bruce throwing him a bone. Honestly, it could have been both.

"Sit down and shut up you damn nutter." The Joker's lawyer muttered in disgust. Dent chuckled. The guy hadn't even attempted to put up a fight for his client, and frankly no one blamed him. It would have been an utterly hopeless effort; and frankly Dent suspected that the man wanted to see the Clown dead as much as everyone else in the room. Even he wanted the Joker to hang, and he had once been a criminal mastermind like him.
'No,' Dent thought. 'No matter how bad I was, even at my absolute lowest, I was never like him. That man is an animal, a rabid dog that needs to be put down.'

"Is the prosecution ready to bring in their final witness?" The judge asked.
"We are your honor." Dent replied respectfully "The prosecution calls Dr. Harleen Quinzel to the stand!"
"Harley?!" the Joker asked incredulously, the grin wiped from his face as he turned with the rest of the crowd to the rear of the courtroom. The thick oak doors opened wide, revealing a strong-looking orderly in a white coat pushing a wheelchair. And in the wheelchair sat the frail, broken form of Harley Quinn.