Bruce rushed to the curb outside Town Hall. He disappeared into a Rolls Royce that promptly rolled around the corner. The escape was welcome, he couldn't keep himself from feeling uneasy as Harvey's portrait stared down at him.

"Back to the apartment, Sir?" His driver inquired.

He could never help blaming himself for what had happened to Harvey. But no, Harvey's predicament was caused by the Joker. It was all Bruce could tell himself to continue on with his life. After the night when Gordon was forced to call the dogs after him, it was almost impossible to be outside dressed as Batman. He had to find some other way of occupying himself. For now, at least.

The Rolls paused in front of Mammoth Apartments. The day was overcast, but just as warm as the night several days ago. As Bruce got out and passed through the revolving door, the man standing in uniform at the front chirped,"Good morning, Mr. Wayne!" Bruce gave him a slight nod and continued into the lobby, where the elevator to his suite was about to close. He rushed towards the door, and found that it was suddenly being held open by someone from the inside.

"I've got it, Mr. Wayne." she said as he entered and caught his breath.

"Thank you, it's always such a hassle to catch an elevator now that the other one's out of order, Miss...?"

"Kyle," she said with a friendly smile,"Selina Kyle."

Bruce nodded and looked forward, but he had trouble keeping his eyes off of her.

Between glances he observed that she had dark hair that reached her shoulders, and bright green eyes with a slight slant to them.

"So, have you been staying here long, Miss Kyle?"

"I've actually just moved here this month, but I don't really know if I'll be staying long considering all of the stuff that's been going on."

"Oh, I don't know about that. We've certainly been shaken up, but it's hardly a reason to relocate once you've settled in."

"I move around a lot, really. But-," the elevator shuddered to a stop, andthe doors slid open," Um, this is my floor..."

Bruce nodded and stepped to the side as Selina walked out into the hallway,"Maybe I'll see you around, Mr. Wayne?"

"Bruce." he said with a smile as the elevator closed and continued upward.

A long, flowing curtain was drawn away from the wall to wall window at the top of Mammoth Apartments. Alfred Pennyworth frowned at the newly illuminated mess that was Bruce Wayne's penthouse. He'd begun gathering dirty clothes and dishes when he heard the front door slam shut. Bruce strode into the room and tossed his jacket onto the bed.

"Ah, Master Wayne. I was just about to prepare lunch, though i wasn't sure how long you were going to be at Town Hall. You weren't gone very long."

"They're not giving him the death penalty, Alfred. He's not even going to prison." Alfred allowed himself a momentary sigh while Bruce wasn't looking. It's going to be one of those days...

'Well then, what are they doing with him?"

"He's gone to Arkham. I can't accept this... it's just like the days when Crane and Falcone were running the town."

"I highly doubt Doctor Crane or Carmine Falcone had anything to do with this man's sentence, Master Wayne. Sometimes Death can be too simple a punishment. For example, the former dictator of Cambodia was responsible for the deaths of of over a million people. As a punishment, he was put under house arrest, nothing more. At least they knew where he was at, I suppose." Alfred offered a small smile, but Bruce failed to see the humor.

"He escaped the interrogation cell at Gordon's office. I can't help but feel a bit skeptical."

"Understandable. But I for one know that you have a knack for dealing with tradgedy, Sir. Perhaps you should try to keep your mind off all this for a while. Speaking of which, Miss Natasha called. she'd heard about your loss and would like to take you out to the performing arts theatre. A famous acrobatics troupe is in town and she says she's very good friends with one of the performers."

"I'll call her back tonight. Right now we need to go to the cave. I need to find out what Gordon told the police about Dent's death."

"...Very well, Sir. I'll have the car around the front shortly."

Once the two reached the hideout beneath the reconstruction of Wayne Manor, Alfred began his work hacking into the GPD files. Bruce took another look at his suit, assesing the damage it had undergone during its last outing.

"They're still carrying on the manhunt. Agents go out on the streets from six o'clock PM to six AM. Any officer who spots the Batman will first report his location to all other units, then begin pursuit."

"Let me guess," Bruce muttered, fingering the shallow punctures in the armor where the Joker's pets had assaulted him,"They'll be bringing dogs."

"K-9 units are reported to have minimal effectiveness, but still yield higher effectiveness than human officers."

"That's because the officers were holding back. They most likely won't now that I've killed Harvey."

"Master Wayne..."

"look at the file, Alfred. Tell me I'm wrong."

Alfred turned back to the screen and worked at the keyboard for another few minutes.

"It says that Dent did not die in the Joker's explosion, but that is the story that they're supposed to tell everyone else. The official story is that Dent and Commissioner Gordon's family were kidnapped by the Batman and held hostage," Alfred's voice never changed but his grip onthe mouse grew tighter as he read along," It also says Dent lost his life to Batman in an attempt to save Gordon's family."

"I told Gordon to handle it, and he did. Access the Arkham files next. I want to decide for myself whether or not the Joker is able to escape."

"And what will you do when that happens?,"Alfre said, standing up,"Go after him and risk being taken into custody? Or avoid capture and risk digging yourself into a bigger hole than the one you're in?"

"Batman has always been viewed as an enemy of the police. If that's what I really have to be, then so be it."

After an uneasy silence, Bruce continued,"And I'm going to talk to Lucius about a better way to repel the dogs. There's gotta be some sort of technology out there that will work."

Hello again! Sorry the story has been focusing a lot on Bruce so far, but not for long. I also snuck an Eddie Izzard reference in there. Gold star to whoever caught it!