CHAPTER 19 – DOMINOES FALLING

The Boon Dock Bar & Grill. Batman did not know what significance this place held to The Joker, and quite frankly, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was get Alfred and get out of there. But even as he opened the door, Dent close behind, he got that gut feeling of dread, the kind that crawls all over you like clawed fingers trailing under your skin. Something was wrong, very wrong.

As he stepped in, the first thing he noticed was Alfred lying on the floor. The second was that The Joker was nowhere to be seen. Right away, he felt like he was going to collapse, like his legs were going to give out under him. He knew the outcome but was hoping, praying for it not to be true. Letting out an inarticulate moan of muted terror, Batman dropped down onto his knees by Alfred's side. As he turned his body over, his hopes were squashed, and he felt yet another piece of himself die.

He stared at Alfred's cold face, locked in a hideous grin. He looked down and saw the words carved into his chest, "REMEMBER WHAT DAY IT IS." He felt his body betray him, breaking out all over in violent shudders. He blinked furiously, hoping that the image would disappear and Alfred would be alright, and every time his eyes closed and opened again revealing the same God-forsaken image he felt the anger grow. He realized he was starting to sob but he didn't care. All that was left in the world was him holding his surrogate father dead in his grasp.

Is that all his life had become? A series of holding the dead bodies of the ones he loved?

Batman roared out, not only of rage, not only of grief and utter despair, but of the bitter finality in realizing what his life had become. What he had become.

He screamed and screamed and his throat started to seize and still he screamed. His world was shattering – he felt himself being ripped apart piece by piece. And finally, he was silent. Now, there was nothing left. He couldn't...feel anything. Just the despair...and the rage.

The Joker. Batman remembered him after God-knows how long. Through everything – his parents death, his blighted childhood, all the trials he had faced as Batman – Alfred had been there, with him, by his side. And now he was gone. No, not just gone. Taken. The Joker had taken Alfred away from him, hatefully snatched his life away. His final, ultimate act of cruelty. There was absolutely nothing left he could take away.

Ever since his parents were killed and he became what he was he had always felt that there were two people inside of him: Bruce Wayne and Batman. Now, when the life of Bruce Wayne was being torn apart, surprisingly, it was Batman that was disappearing. There was only Bruce Wayne, and he had had enough of the Joker.

"Bruce...?"

Batman remembered that Harvey was still with him. He had watched him in his grief. Batman wasn't sure if he was angry or grateful.

"Are you ok, Bruce?" Dent asked, putting his hand on Batman's shoulder, "'Remember what day it is.' Today's Father's Day. Jesus, Bruce, I'm…"

Batman stood up, pushing Dent's hand away. He couldn't feel the comfort in it anyway.

"What are you going to do?" Dent asked, almost in a whisper.

"I'm going to put an end to this," Batman heard himself saying, "Once and for all."

Batman walked away, not waiting for Harvey's reply. He got into the Batmobile and drove off. He was going to find out where The Joker was (The Penguin should know, there isn't a damn thing in the Gotham Underworld that he didn't know), and he was going to make him suffer.

And there was not a force in Heaven, Hell, or on Earth, that could stop him.

…

Harvey Dent stared helplessly after the Batmobile as it drove off. He had just discovered that Bruce Wayne was Batman, and now, Alfred was dead. Dent had a whole new respect for Wayne. If it had been him, he didn't think he could cope. He went back into the Boon Dock, looking down at Alfred. A man he'd never really known, but he had meant everything to Bruce Wayne, to Batman. A man that The Joker had murdered. And now, Bruce was feeling alone, more than ever. After all the wrong he'd done, Harvey had to make amends. He had to be a friend to Bruce, somebody he could trust, somebody worthy of that trust. When this was all over, Batman would need all the help he could get.

Just then, Harvey Dent heard the maniacal laughter behind him, and his heart seized in his chest.

When The Joker purchased The Boon Dock Bar & Grill, he'd added a few extras. One of those extras was a secret compartment in the wall. Deciding that there was no way he was going to miss out on the fun, he'd hid in the compartment, and had a front-row seat for Brucie's breakdown. Now, with Batman gone, The Joker emerged from his hiding place, pointing a gun at Dent.

"Harv, Harv, Harv. It looks like The Caped Coconut left you behind. Now that was silly of him, considering what I did to poor old Alfred."

The Joker approached Dent, stepping over Alfred's corpse. He casually looked down at the dead body, smiling at his own handiwork.

"I was glad to see that you got the joke. It's Father's Day! And this...old...fart was the closest thing Brucie had to a daddy ever since his real one was killed right in front of his eyes. And now, on the day where the two should be closer than ever, I've torn them apart forever. Oh, the irony! HA HA!"

The Joker moved closer to Dent, circling round behind him.

"Aren't you jealous of him, Harv? This butler was more of a father to Bruce Wayne than your real daddy was to you. I told you I did my research. He abused you, didn't he? What are you thinking now, on Father's Day? Do you still love him? More importantly, what does he think about you?"

The Joker walked round, until he was face-to-face with Dent. He lowered his gun.

"But there's someone who cares about you. With Alfred dead, you're probably the closest friend old Brucie has left. And wouldn't it be a tragedy if anything were to happen to you..."

Dent's lip curled in defiant hatred.

"I'm not afraid of dying," he spat, "I probably deserve to die after letting an abomination like you loose on the world!"

The Joker chuckled malevolently.

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you," he explained, "Though there are people who would be very happy to see you dead. No, you may not be afraid of death, but there's something you are scared of. What I have planned is worse. Much worse."

Suddenly, The Joker grabbed the trick flower on his lapel, squeezing it. Acid sprayed all over the left side of Harvey Dent's face.

Dent fell to the ground, screaming in agony. It was happening all over again, and just like in the court-room, there was nobody to save him. The pain was unbearable, oh God it burned! His face, Jesus, his face! It was a horrible sensation, being able to smell your own flesh burning. It was agonizing, like a fire you couldn't put out. He writhed, screamed, convulsed his body in violent spasms, but nothing could shake the excruciating agony! He could feel the movement of the acid, eating away the delicate, extensive reconstructive work done on his face. His skin was bubbling, melting! Harvey Dent had been plunged into Hell.

He was in so much pain he couldn't even think straight. But the one thing that was clear in his head was that he was back, back from the dead to haunt him once again. He could feel his dark, primal spirit emerging from his heart, being pumped all through his body and straight into his fragmented mind. His nightmare had returned.

"A bit of deja vu, Harv? HA! It's better this way. You're a freak, just like me. You always have been. And it's only fitting that you're as ugly on the outside as you always will be on the inside."

The Joker crouched down over the ruin of Harvey Dent.

"You freed The Joker, and now I free Two-Face. Poetic, dontcha think? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Two-Face (and now it was Two-Face) lunged upward, grabbing The Joker by the throat. He punched him as hard as he could, knocking him to the ground.

"KILL…..YOU!" Two-Face screamed in a feral rage.

"Hang on, wait a minute!" shouted The Joker, scrambling backwards, "You can't just kill me. Don't you need a little help in making that decision?"

The Joker produced the coin from his pocket. As soon as Two-Face saw it, he stopped near-dead in his tracks. The acid was still hissing on his face like a viper. The Joker cautiously stood up, flipping the coin. Two-Face snatched it away from him in mid-air. For a moment, he just looked down at it like it was a long lost friend returned to him.

"You hate me, I know that," The Joker said, "But am I really the one you should hate? Batman betrayed Harvey Dent, abandoned him, stood back and let his life be destroyed. Twice. So the question is – who do you want to kill more? Me or Batman? Justice…or vengeance? That's the choice you have to make… Two-Face."

Two-Face flipped the coin, looking down at his hand to see what side it had landed on. Deep inside, Harvey Dent wanted to scream, to put the gun to his own head. But Two-Face was back in control now, and he only did what the coin dictated. And it had spoken.

"We've got a Bat to kill…"