Wow! Thanks guys for understanding the huge break and liking it nonetheless. Thank you sooo much. Beware: Joker gruesomeness; you've seen the movie so you know what it is. Thought I'd put that out. Maybe, just maybe, we'll have the fundraiser scene. ;)

Sabre— It shall be interesting. I'm very glad that you're better. It has been a month so if you weren't by now, I'd be worried. Here's more.

Lady Slone-- *hugs back* I am very sorry that it took so long to update. Glad you like the Dent/Alex relationship. It's entertaining to write, and trust me there will be more. Mwahahaha! Don't ask about the evil laugh.

ILuvOdie—Thanks for understanding. Glad that it's still awesome.

Johanna—While you haven't been reviewing, I haven't been writing, so it's all good. Don't go insane. I need you around! Glad that you liked the chapters. The party will be very interesting. I have something major up my sleeve that makes me smile just thinking about. Hehehe

Hannah—Good to hear from you! Yeah, you should probably update too. Here's more, and glad that you liked the chapter.

Blpaul—Yes, formal event which included Al in a dress! Shall be interesting. Thanks for the encouragement. Yeah, Darth Real Life bugs the crap out of me!

Bmangaka—Sorry it's short, but I'm glad that you like it.

Okay, I'm not promising the fundraiser scene yet. Either I'll have it in this chapter or the next, promise.

Dad knocked on my office door causing me to jump and ex out of the window. I was looking through online archives of the department store dresses. I was honestly a little nervous for this. It would probably be pretty stupid, but still, Bruce Wayne was going to be there, and he invited me because he wanted to see me again. I blushed as Dad looked over my shoulder.

"What were you looking at, Al?" he questioned.

"Nothing," I said as innocently as the kid caught with the cookie from the cookie jar.

He snatched the invitation off the computer before I could hide it. He read it over quickly and looked down at me. I knew that I was blushing, but smiled anyway. "You're special, Alex."

I glared at him.

"Nah really," he insisted. He stared at me. "You don't wanna go, do you?"

I thought about it. He was right, but wrong at the same time. "I wanna… I wanna see him again, but not like this. I just don't feel like I'm really that included."

He nodded and sat on the edge of my desk with the invitation in his hand. "You like him, don't you?" he asked quietly. It had been a while since I had heard him that quiet, genuine, and somber; since the night I spent at his place, actually.

I met his eyes. They wanted an honest answer, not something that I could make up. I nodded with the most sincerity I could muster. "Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

He shook his head violently. "No, no! Of course not!" He sighed. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

I nodded and decided to change the subject. "So why did you come here, Dad? I know that it wasn't just to spy on me! You've matured out of that," I joked and laughed.

He rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. "How do you know?"

We laughed harder.

"No," he said seriously. "We gotta go find Maroni and his pals. Dent found something on all of them."

I pulled my fist down over my face in victory. "Where are they?"

"Some Italian diner," he informed. "Lunch."

I nodded and grabbed my coat off the rack. "Let's go."

We pulled up to the diner with about twenty patrol cars. I guess there were going to be a lot of guys. We all walked in; Stevens, Ramirez, and Wilson were the other detectives with us. The rest were patrolmen. I smirked to Wilson as we walked in.

"They're never gonna see it coming, are they, Wilson?"

He looked at me and shook his head. His short black hair was ruffled by the sudden movement. "It will be entertaining to say the least."

"Oh yeah!"

Dad pushed open the door and held it for me. Then I held it for Wilson, who held it for Stevens, who held it for Ramirez and it went on.

Dad and I made it into the main part after showing our badges to the unsuspecting waitress. I smirked at the servers' faces. Dad pulled out his handcuffs and it caused a chain reaction of cops pulling out handcuffs. I held mine tightly in my hand.

Dad stared up at the TV, where Dent was answering questions for the press about Lau. He looked over at me. "Our boy sure looks good on the tube, huh, Al?"

I glared at him but played along. "Oh yeah."

Sal Maroni looked at us with narrowed eyes. "You sure you wanna embarrass me in front of my friends, Lieutenant, Sergeant?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Don't worry, they're coming too." This was just going to be too much fun.

Dad pulled Maroni up and cuffed him and led him outside as all of our men came in arresting parts of the mob. Wilson had managed to get two, which he was quite proud of.

I heard Stevens tell one of them, "Have a nice trip, see you next fall," as he shoved him into the cop car.

One of them grabbed my ponytail and yanked hard. "Hey, pretty girl, I think that handcuffs are kinky." The guy was seriously hitting on me.

"Try that again," I dared.

The guy grabbed my butt.

I grabbed his arm and strongly spun him around and slammed the cuffs on him. "See if you think they're kinky now," I said as I squeezed them as I tight as I could around his wrists.

"Owww!" he yelped as I led him out side.

A couple days later, all of them had been convicted on various accounts of things. It was entertaining to listen to I have to admit. Everyone was pleading innocent or guilty and then there was the roar of defense attorneys. I was just glad that it was over and it was time for me to go pick up gown for the fundraiser tonight. I blushed just thinking about it.

I headed to the department store where I was going to be spending more than half my weekly salary. There was no way I was going to be getting jewelry, but oh well; there was nothing I could do. Besides the dress was pretty enough that I didn't need jewelry. I walked through the maze of clothing as I thought about that night. I finally found the lady in the dress department. She was holding my dress in one of those bags. She smiled at me as I walked up to the counter.

"Miss Gordon?" she asked politely. Her dyed red hair was pulled back so tightly I swore that she would never get wrinkles.

"Yeah," I nodded.

She laid the dress on the counter and rang it up on the cash register. "Two hundred and thirty dollars."

I let out a whistle at the price, but I still pulled out my wallet and laid the cash on the counter. I figured I was going to regret this, but the dress was nice. I thanked her and took the dress out to my car and began to drive back to my apartment to get ready. I was fighting the traffic when my phone rang. I cursed as I reached over and grabbed the phone connected to the charger and answered.

"Gordon."

"Hey, Al," Dad answered with worry in his voice.

"What's up Dad?"

"Can you meet me at the mayor's office?"

"Aww, you're not gonna tell about the meeting?" I whined.

"It was fine," he groaned. "Just get here." There was a click of finality on the line.

"Yeah, sure, Dad. I don't have any other plans for the day," I mumbled as I threw the phone onto the passenger seat. I saw patrol cars heading to the mayor's office and figured that's why Dad called. I continued to battle traffic to get there and stepped out of my car to be greeted by a bunch of press people, but luckily they ignored me and were more focused on where Dad was.

I walked up to the yellow crime scene tape to be blocked by a patrol officer. "Sorry, Ma'am. Police officers only." Must be a new guy.

I sighed and pulled my coat away so that he could see my badge. "Sergeant Gordon, Sir. Lemme pass."

The guy nodded and stepped out of my way as I ducked underneath the yellow tape. I walked up to Dad avoiding the people that got in my way. This must be some pretty big thing for there to be this many people. I stood next to Dad and followed his eyes: up. There was a black body being lowered down the ground by a crane. My hand covered my mouth: it looked like Batman. It couldn't be. It wasn't. When he was lowered to the ground, I lowered myself down to my knees to get a better look at him. His face was painted white with the telltale red smile of the Joker. A joker card was pinned to his chest. Will the real Batman please stand up? was written on the card. I looked at the forensic investigator kneeling beside me.

"Run that for prints, DNA, anything," I ordered.

He looked into my eyes and nodded and slowly took it off.

"Run the rope too," I added.

He again nodded.

I walked back to Dad. "Thank God it's the not the real Batman," I whispered to him.

Dad nodded. "What are we gonna do about this?" He gestured to the slightly overweight man in black hockey pads and knee/elbow gear.

I matched my father and set my hands upon my hands on my hips. "Knowing the Joker he's not going to stop at this." I looked at Dad and saw his unbelieving look. "Trust me, Dad, I've memorized all the cases. I know his style."

"Did you predict this?'

I shook my head, seeing his point. "This is different than what he normally does, but he's not gonna stop at one. I know that much."

Dad nodded and watched them wheel the faux Batman into the ambulance for him to be taken to the morgue. "Poor guy," he mumbled.

I nodded. "Dad, I'm gonna swing by apartment to grab some stuff since I have a feeling that I'm not going to be able to get ready there."

He looked at me in surprised, and then nodded. "Right. You got that party tonight."

I nodded.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed. "Bring your stuff back to MCU and you can get ready there because, as you said, this case isn't gonna give ya much time to change at home." He smiled at me in a fatherly way.

I shook my head and let out a small laugh as I walked back to the unit's car. I drove peacefully back to my apartment with the radio blasting. I was totally zoned out, and it was a nice change. I got to my apartment building and rode the elevator up to my level and began rummaging through the bathroom for my straightener, make up, and anything else I needed. I slammed all of it into a bag and was about out the door when I remembered my shoes and bag. I cursed and ran back to my pathetically small closet. I looked through my shoes and found a strappy pair of black heels that had sparkles on them. I bobbed my head deciding and clenched them in my hand as I grabbed a silver clutch and rushed back out the Chevy SUV. I drove back to MCU, not even bothering about the rush hour traffic because there was nothing I could do about it.

I finally reached MCU and walked into the building with the keys to the car and my apartment stuffed in my pocket and the dress, shoes, clutch and makeup in my hands. I realized I couldn't open the door with my hands full. I smiled as I slammed my hip up against the handicap opener. Thank God for automatic door openers. I hopped in the elevator with Ramirez as she headed up to our level.

She stared at me. "Going somewhere interesting tonight, Sergeant?"

I looked at her with a glint in my eye. "I'm going to one of Wayne's stupid fundraisers." I shook my head, still not seeing the point of going.

She raised an eyebrow. "Bruce Wayne?"

"Yup."

"His fundraiser for Harvey Dent?"

Again, "Yup."

"I thought you hated him?"

"I do," I confirmed. "He said I could go as security."

She laughed. "That's good."

I nodded and the doors opened.

Dad stared at me with this look of "Where have you been?"

I shrugged as he grabbed my arm and dragged me to one of the computers. "Look at this," he said harshly.

Crap, I thought, what did I do this time? I stared at the screen.

"We found this on the body," Dad explained and pressed play.

It showed the faux Batman sitting in a chair with his head hung.

"Tell them you're name," I heard the Joker say coyly.

"Brian Douglas," the faux Batman responded quietly.

"Are you the real Batman?" the Joker prodded.

"No," Brian said sadly.

"So, then, why do you dress like him?" the Joker asked childishly.

"He's a symbol," Brian explained. "That we don't have to be afraid of scum like you!" His courage had come back.

The Joker cackled and I felt my mind reeling and stomach clenching. I would forever hate that laugh. "But you do, Brian. You really do." He cackled some more. "You think Batman's helped Gotham?"

Brian had lowered his head again but nodded nonetheless.

"Look at me," the Joker ordered quietely.

Brian didn't move.

The Joker roared, "LOOK AT ME!"

I jumped in spite of myself. I would never forget what he did, and it sent shivers down my spine listening to him. I felt warmth on my back and noticed that Dad had in fact seen me jump and was comforting me. I smiled.

The camera had been violently swiveled around to show the Joker's face. That chalk white face with the contrasting red smile.

I closed my eyes and turned away.

"This is how crazy Batman's made Gotham." I wasn't going to disagree that he was crazy. "You want order in Gotham? Batman has to go." He leaned in. "So…Batman must take off his mask, and turn himself in. Everyday he doesn't…" His tongue flicked out, and I felt shivers creep down my spine covering me in a chill. "People will die, starting tonight. I'm a man of my word." It cut to static.

I closed my eyes again. "He's not lying, Dad. We need to take extra precautions."

"I know," he nodded and handed me a small, girly revolver. "You're taking this tonight. Wayne, Dent, Rachel and a bunch of other influential people will be there tonight."

I smiled. "You know, it doesn't really go with my dress."

He shook his head. "Go get ready."

I nodded and headed to my office. I looked over my shoulder, "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Release that to the press. People need to know what we're dealing with."

He nodded and I closed the door to my office.

I closed the blinds on the window in my door as I stripped of my slacks and Oxford shirt. I pulled off my tank top and bra as I pulled out my dress. It was floor length, strapless, and satiny. It started out at the top with royal blue and slowly faded to black at the bottom with sparkles randomly placed. I smiled as I stepped into it. Now, I reached my problem; I couldn't tie the back. I held the dress in place and called for my dad. He came in and pulled tightly on the laces in the back.

"Ow! Dad, that's a little too tight!" I complained.

He loosened it a little bit. "Sorry, but I don't want it falling down."

I smiled. "Thanks, Dad," I said as he finished tying the bow.

"Turn around," he ordered softly.

I complied and let the fabric spin around the floor at my ankles.

"Gaw, you look absolutely gorgeous!" he awed.

I blushed as I shooed him out. "I still need to do my hair and make up." I plugged in the straightener and began applying foundation. In about half an hour, the sun had begun to set and I was just doing my hair.

Dad knocked on my door. "Al, it's 6:15. Hurry up."

I rolled my eyes as I pulled the curling iron out. Yeah, I know I had just straightened it, but I needed to make sure it would look good. I let half of my hair hang down my back in curls and somehow managed to get the top half to stay in this curly sort of bun thing. I looked myself on the powered down monitor of my computer and smiled. I looked hot! I pulled on my shoes and grabbed the bag that had my badge, phone and revolver in it as I walked out the door.

Dad smiled. "You look beautiful, Alex."

I blushed. "Thanks, Dad."

He led me to the door. "Flass is gonna escort you there."

"Dad," I pleaded, "you know I think he's a bad cop."

He raised his hand. "That may be, but he's the only option tonight. I'll call you if anything happens; you do the same." He leaned in and kissed my forehead.

I pushed him away. "You'll mess up the make up."

He laughed. "Good luck." As I walked out the door to Flass, I heard him say, "My little girl really has grown up."

I smiled and got in the car.

Okay, next chapter will have Bruce/Alex. I promise you that. Yeah, I know that there's father/daughter fluff in there, but I can't help it. =D All right here's the link to her hair: http://www. Sorry, I don't have the dress, but I made it up since I couldn't find anything that looked like that. I hope I described it enough for you. This was my normal length so please don't say it was too short; it was actually a little long. Okay, review people! Bye!