In the weeks following the deaths of Billy Piper and Harley Quinn, Mayor Dick Grayson signed into law The Anti-Vigilante Act, which made it a crime for any vigilante, masked or no, to operate within Gotham. When asked why he signed the law by Vicki Vale when he appeared on her show The Scene to discuss his proposed changes, Mayor Grayson responded, "We have to show that Gotham does not need a masked vigilante like Batman to protect the city and its citizens."
Grayson also ordered the closing of Arkham Asylum, which was one of his campaign promises. He called the Asylum a "blight on Gotham" and how it was a "revolving door for criminals" on Vicki's show. On the day Arkham was closed, Commissioner Bullock along with several Gotham police officers entered the Asylum where he lined up the remaining Asylum patients, including The Penguin, The Riddler and Poison Ivy, and told them that if they ever committed crimes in Gotham again, they would be serving hard time at the Gotham maximum security prison.
Grayson also used planning and imminent domain seizures to help transform the more crime-ridden parts of Gotham, including the notorious Crime Alley where Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered by a low-level thug named Joseph Chill, from slums where crime runs rampant to more family-friendly places with the hope of attracting more business that would in turn create more jobs for the people of Gotham. When asked about his urban reconstruction by Miss Vale on her show, Grayson responded, "We can't only depend on Wayne Enterprises for creating jobs. We need to attract more businesses to Gotham, and we can't do that until we change the image of Gotham from a city of crime and corruption to a safe city where people can walk down the street at night without fear of being mugged or worse."
"How do you respond to your critics who criticize what they call the heavy-handed tactics you and Commissioner Harvey Bullock have used to fight crime?"
"I don't recall any of these critics saying anything about the heavy-handed tactics Batman would often use in fighting criminals. In fact, these same people who are criticizing me and Bullock would often cheer Batman on."
"What do you think about Batman?" Vicki asked Dick. "Why do you think he does what he does?"
"Look, I'm not going to psychoanalyze someone who decides to dress up as a bat and risk his life every night fighting other costumed freaks. I will say this: Whatever his reasons, with the deaths of Billy Piper and Harley Quinn, he's proven himself to be just as dangerous as any other criminal."
"Well, maybe you should put up on a superhero costume and show him how it's done!"
The studio audience erupted in laughter along with Vicki. Dick forced a grin on his face and nodded and said, "Yeah, maybe I should."
After the interview aired, Dick figured it was time for him to bite the bullet and go see his former mentor. He knew Bruce had been watching his interview with Vicki Vale and that he'd been keeping up with all the sweeping changes he'd been making to Gotham without him and, most of all, without Batman. And he did it all without, as Vicki Vale joked, donning a superhero costume again and risking his life every night fighting a seemingly endless battle against costumed criminals who were doing their damnedest trying to kill him.
When Dick pulled up in front of Wayne Manor, a flood of memories--both good and bad--hit him all at once. The last time he spoke to Bruce was when he returned after being gone for so long and kindly informed him how he wanted to become Batman again. So Dick told him where to stick his cape and cowl and left not only Wayne Manor but crimefighting altogether. He didn't even invite him to his wedding to Barbara Gordon who also gave up crimefighting to lead a more normal life.
Dick walked up to the front door feeling both dread and anger. He stuck his old key in the lock, wondering if it still worked. It did. He opened the door and stepped inside. He halfway expected Alfred to come and greet him. It was strange to walk around inside the Manor and not see him. He looked around for Bruce and saw a light coming from under the door to his study, which was the only light he saw inside the house. He went up to the door and wrapped his hand around the doorknob. With a heavy sigh, he slowly opened the door and saw Bruce slumped over in the chair in front of his desk with his back turned to the door. He looked around the room and saw all the empty takeout boxes and bottles of alcohol, which was why the room was filled with the stench of stale food and cheap booze. He wondered if Bruce was aware he was even there since he hadn't said anything to him yet. He remembered Bruce's senses being far sharper than that.
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BATMAN: Fall Of The Dark Knight #Wattys2016
FanfictionAn aging Batman finally crosses the line and does the one thing he swore he would never do one night during a confrontation with The Joker and his girlfriend Harley Quinn. Bruce Wayne has to deal with the repercussions of his fateful actions as not...
