CHAPTER 14 – GOTHAM BRIDGE

Batman had just arrived at Harvey Dent's home. As much as he hated to say it, he was going to have to..."talk"...to Harvey Dent, who seemed to have somehow aligned himself with The Joker. But just as he was approaching the house, he saw Dent getting in his car and driving off.

He followed him to Gotham Bridge, stopping at the far end and turning on one of the more advanced parts of the Batmobile: a camouflaging system. It was clear what was happening. Dent wasn't out here at Gotham Bridge in the middle of the night to catch a breath of fresh air. He was meeting someone. And Batman was fairly sure that it would be The Joker. So rather than striking right away, Batman waited, hoping to ambush both of them.

…

The Joker was sitting in his hideout, contemplating his next move. Dent had called him, wanting to meet at Gotham Bridge. The Joker had said he'd be there, but something wasn't right. Why was Dent calling him? And why meet at Gotham Bridge?

But what was The Joker going to do? No show? Not an option. And he wasn't about to show up with bodyguards, look weak in front of pathetic little Harvey Dent. Since Two-Face had been pushed to the sidelines, Harv was a shadow of his former self. He didn't have the balls to try anything. No, he'd be fine. And he knew just how to make sure of that.

Chuckling softly to himself, The Joker exited The Boon Dock Bar & Grill, hopping into a stolen car.

"To Gotham Bridge!" he said to himself, driving off to the location.

The city was like a ghost-town, at the time of night. The Joker gazed out of the car window with curious eyes, spotting the odd lost soul wandering through the haunted streets. If The Joker was the Devil, like some said he was, then Gotham City was surely his own personal Hell.

After a few minutes, he'd arrived at Gotham Bridge. He stepped out of his car, wearing his coat and hat. He spotted Dent, wearing a black coat, standing by the bridge. He looked like hell, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. The Joker approached him.

"Harv, nice to see you again. But I was supposed to call you, not the other way around..."

Dent's lip curled in hatred. With a clenched fist, he walked right up to The Joker, staring spitefully into his face.

"Listen Joker, you killed someone, but not just anyone. You...you killed a child! A...goddamn child, that did nothing but LIVE! What did you do? Why? Couldn't you be human just ONCE!?"

Dent had a desperate, manic look in his eyes. The Joker was beginning to feel slightly intimidated. He laughed nervously.

"Harv, you've got to learn how to take a joke! HA HA!"

There was a brief moment of tense silence. Dent was almost trembling with anger. Dent didn't know who he hated more - The Joker, or himself for setting him free. He was going to do what he should have done a long time ago.

"Okay Joker, this is my favourite joke!"

Harvey pulled the gun out, and pointed it at The Joker. The mad clown smiled as the realization of what was going to happen hit him. Harvey's hand trembled. Two-Face was a killer. But could he, Harvey Dent, bring himself to murder? In this case, yes he could. He pulled the trigger, shooting The Joker in the chest.

"Ouch!" gasped the Joker.

He stumbled backwards and toppled over the edge of the bridge. Laughing all the way down, he fell into the water. The Joker hit the water with a splash. He'd been shot again, just his luck. But at least he could see the funny side. He kept on laughing. Even though it made him hurt all over, he kept on laughing. Even when he started choking on the filthy Gotham water, he kept on laughing.

He only stopped once he'd disappeared under the murky waters...

"Yeah, I find it funny too," Dent said, walking away from the bridge.

But then he stopped. Slowly, he turned round, walking up to the edge of the bridge, where The Joker had just fallen. He took his coin out of his pocket, balancing it between two fingers.

"Why did I need this?" Dent asked himself, smiling faintly.

He flicked it away, letting the coin – and Two-Face with it – drop to the water below.

…

Things had happened too fast, even for Batman.

He knew that Two-Face and The Joker were never "pals," and that any possible team-up would end up bottom-up. But one moment they were talking, then there was something about a child murdered, and the next Harvey was putting a bullet into The Joker's chest. By the time he had prepared the weapons in the Batmobile to intercede, The Joker was already in the river and Dent was throwing his coin into the water.

When The Joker disappeared under the water, the first thought Batman had was, scarily enough, "The bastard deserved it." The next was to stop Harvey from escaping. He didn't know if it was Harvey or Two-Face pulling the strings, but nonetheless, he needed to get to him fast.

Batman sent a smoke missile off right beside Dent, causing him to start running. Switching on the infra-red in the Batmobile's windshield, Batman drove onto the bridge, intercepting Dent. Batman leapt out of the vehicle, grabbing Dent by the throat.

"Who is it now, Harvey, or Two-Face?"

"Batman, please!" Dent gasped through Batman's stranglehold, "It was my fault for letting the Joker live, and my fault for not keeping Two-Face under control."

Feebly grasping at the hand gripping onto his throat, Dent looked pleadingly at Batman.

"Please, Batman, everything I did wrong, it was all Two-Face!" he continued, "But I'm just Harvey now. Two-Face is dead along with The Joker, please believe me! The Joker was blackmailing me, I had to help him. But when he killed that little girl, I…oh God, I'm so sorry!"

Batman looked into his eyes to see if he was really telling the truth. He stared at him for what felt like hours, trying to find the lies filling up. Nothing. Batman let Dent go, and he collapsed to his knees, coughing for a moment. He picked himself back up and faced Batman.

"Alright, Harvey," he asked, "What exactly did The Joker plan to do?"

"Well, his murders were something to do with ironic deaths," explained Dent, "But he had an obsessive focus on Bruce Wayne for some reason, I don't know..."

Harvey Dent stopped. He'd realized something, a stunning truth that had been staring him in the face for years.

"Oh my God!" Harvey gasped, "Bruce, you're Batman!"

Batman winced internally. Dent had figured it out. There was no use denying it, not now. There were bigger things going on right now that had to be addressed. And Batman recalled that, before he'd been disfigured in that courtroom, he'd been about to reveal his secret identity to Dent.

"What was he planning to do with me?" he finally asked.

"He was planning to frame you," Dent replied, "But I'd say that was just part of a larger plan. The attempt to frame you, the murders, they're somehow linked, part of the same puzzle. But I just can't solve it."

"I think I know who can," said Batman, leading Dent to the Batmobile.

This felt surreal, having a former foe, a man who'd tried to kill him many times in the past, sitting next to him in the Batmobile. But he might just need his help.

…

While Batman and Harvey Dent were on Gotham Bridge, dealing with the aftermath of The Joker's death, The Joker, very much alive, washed up on the shore a good distance downstream.

The Joker crawled onto the land, coughing up filthy water. He lay on his back, laughing to himself. Sitting up, he unbuttoned his coat and threw it to the ground. Underneath he was wearing a Kevlar vest, which had caught the bullet Dent had fired into his chest.

"Heh heh. Harv, you shouldn't have thought I was going to trust you."

Pulling off the vest, The Joker discovered something caught in his collar. A small coin, scarred on one side. Dent's coin.

"I think I'll keep this. Never know when I might need it."

The Joker stood up, wincing in pain. His injured back was acting up again. Trying to ignore the pain, he began walking, heading vaguely in the direction leading back to his hideout.

It seemed like the little alliance with Dent hadn't really worked. But Harv's betrayal wasn't a total disaster. No, having Brucie think he was dead was actually a bonus. And besides, even without help from the DA, The Joker had the perfect way to ruin Bruce Wayne.

"Brucie, you're going to love this. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"