Part Three

Selina Kyle stared longingly at the golden statue of a cat goddess, tucked away in a quiet corner of the art museum. The fact that Selina had decided to spend her time alone, perplexed many men at the party. After all, from her short black hair to her athletic physique she could have her pick of suitors. And that was for the better in Selina's opinion he began to reach out towards, it, and imagined the possibilities.

"Careful." A familiar voice said from several feet behind her, "I believe the museum has a 'you break it, you brought it' policy."

"Bruce!" Selina exclaimed with a smile forming across her face, "I'm so glad you decided to show up."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Wayne replied turning his attention to the statue, "You like it?"

Selina shrugged casually, "I guess it holds certain attractive qualities to me."

Bruce raised an eye, "Really? And those qualities are?"

"Independence." She stepped forward until she and the famous tycoon stood nose-to-nose, "Unpredictability." Selina wrapped her left arm around Bruce's shoulder, "And a good memory!" She exclaimed before slapping Wayne right across the face.

"I guess I deserved that." Bruce replied rubbing his cheek gently.

Selina shook her head backing away from him coldly, "Not so much as a phone call? After all of what happened between us in Europe, a month you called heaven, and you didn't find the time to ever call me back? What; was I a prolonged one-night stand to you?"

Bruce grimaced, "No, never, Selina, I would never do that to you. You're special to me."

"Then why did you just forget about me?" Selina inquired assertively.

"I had hit a bump in the road, my life was in shambles and it's taken me a long time to get out of that. I wasn't ready for a real relationship and if I had undertaken one at the time you would have only ended up hating me." Bruce replied, "But, I'd like to pick up where we left off."

Selina sighed, "Pick up where we left off? Is everything that easy for you? I waited you know when you said you had to go East, you didn't want to tell me what it was for or how long you'd be gone, but I waited."

"I did. Selina, I love you."

She shook her head gravely, "I know you do. That's not the problem; the problem's the fact that I was never part of your plans."

Bruce frowned watching her vanish behind the mass of socialites and slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

"Hey, you made it!" Matt Hagen exclaimed, "I though you weren't going to be able to show up." He said with two women in his arms.

"I was just leaving." Bruce declared coldly, "Have a good time, Hagen."

A knocking had come to Harvey's door. "Hello?" The man who wanted to become senator asked anxiously. When an answer failed to come, Dent quickly reached over to the bottle full of anti-psychotic pills and downed one.

The knocking returned, louder than before, almost if somebody where smashing their shoulder against it. "Is somebody there?" Harvey said rising up from the couch, "Hello?"

"I'm here with the pizza you ordered." The knocker said, "One pie with extra-cheese."

"What?" Harvey grimaced and approached the door, "I didn't ask for a pizza."

The person on the other side seemed to be checking their papers for a minute before they confidently answered, "You're Harvey Dent?"

"Yes." He gazed through the peephole; he could see a large fat man, with the logo of a local shop on his t-shirt with an odd blank stare. Harvey closed the peephole and leaned wearily against the door.

"That means this pizza is yours." The deliveryman replied.

Harvey sighed, irritated that this was quickly turning into a convoluted mess, "Listen to me, for the last time I didn't buy a pizza." He unlocked the door and angrily swung it open, "So get the f-."

Staring closely now, he saw the awful reality of it all. The Joker emerged from behind the fat man pulling his hand out from inside his back like a twisted ventriloquist ending his act for the night. The deliveryman dropped to the floor in a puddle of his own blood while Dent's tormentor pulled out a gun from his left coat pocket.

"If you thought that was good, wait until you see my next trick." The Joker exclaimed firing a bullet into Dent's gut.

The politician crumpled to the floor of his apartment while Joker loomed over him menacingly. "Please!" He pleaded in between coughing. "Don't kill me."

"Killing you is certainly in my power, but that would be a waste and I never waste good material." The Joker grabbed his trusty blade, "Don't worry, Harvey, I'll cauterize your face when I'm done." He dragged Harvey and the deliveryman into the apartment, "And then it'll be Bats' turn."

In the museum long after the party had wrapped up and the building locked down. A figure shrouded in darkness managed to crack through the security locks. Navigated the complex maze of laser wires,

The police kicked open the door to Dent's apartment, Bullock quickly entered just behind the officer who had taken point. The pizza shop reported that they had received a call from Harvey Dent but the deliveryman that had been sent had failed to return, and with good reason it appeared.

The gurgling noises coming from Dent upon their arrival forced Bullock to take immediate action, "Call a paramedic!" He screamed staring at the sight. He left the room, feeling his stomach beginning to turn in disgust.

Gordon came marching down the hall, purpose guiding every one of his steps, "What happened to Dent?" He asked.

"Dent…" Bullock took a moment to regain his composure, his skin still pale from the sight before him, "His face."

"What about it?" Gordon waited for a moment for a response that didn't seem to be coming, "Damn it, Bullock, what happened, what happened to Dent, what's wrong with his face?"

"The right side of his face…it's gone."

Gordon grimaced, "What? You mean burnt or lacerated?"

"No. I mean it's gone."