The Doctors All Say I'm Perfectly Normal

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"Lunatic. I thought you had a hostage." Roland dropped the Mad Hatter's body on the ground. "Threatening me with your own life? You're something else."

"What happened to him...?" Once the people blocking his way were free of the Mad Hatter's control, Batman quickly broke through and hurried over. He froze at the sight of the body. "...You killed him?"

"No. He killed himself out of guilt." Roland lied without blinking. "He saw me coming, knew he couldn't escape, and killed himself."

Batman crouched and examined the Mad Hatter. "You're saying he twisted his own head all the way around?"

"Yes," Roland said firmly.

"...Let's hope the Gotham City police believe you."

"What if I tell them you killed the Mad Hatter? Would they believe that?"

"Maybe." Batman didn't seem to mind. His No-Kill Rule was a restriction he placed on himself. He didn't care whether others believed he followed it.

Strictly speaking, the Mad Hatter's death was partly his responsibility. He had sent Roland to deal with him. How could he not have considered that Roland might simply kill him? But weighed against the people under the Mad Hatter's control, it had seemed the lesser of two evils.

That thought gave Batman pause. Had he already taken a step down that path?

"What's with you?" Roland sensed something was off about Batman. "Don't tell me you think you used this as a loophole to get around your No-Kill Rule?"

"You think so too?"

"No. I'd planned to capture the Mad Hatter alive. Killing him was a spur-of-the-moment decision. How could you have known?" Roland was a little worried about Batman's state of mind. If this pushed him over the edge, all of Gotham would be in serious trouble.

"All right," Batman said flatly.

The Gotham City police finally arrived some time later. Roland pinned the Mad Hatter's death on Batman, and the police commissioner who arrived was instantly outraged. He solemnly told reporters that the murderer would pay for his crime.

"Tetch had a heart of gold. He cared for his family and always put their needs first, tending to every part of their home with care. He was a good son! He was also exceptionally kind to people in his community, always eager to help and active in community events. He brought warmth and joy to everyone. I don't believe he deserved this!"

"Yes, this is a disgrace to Gotham City and to our Police Department! We cannot let a murderer continue to roam free! It's time we took action!"

"Is he talking about the Mad Hatter? You'd think Batman had killed Jesus." Watching Commissioner Gilliam B. Loeb's speech on television, Roland clicked his tongue. "Damn, he almost had me believing it."

"Is it really okay to throw Batman under the bus like that?" Jason asked. He had been stunned to learn Roland had killed the Mad Hatter, but on reflection, he didn't see much wrong with it. The Mad Hatter had caused plenty of deaths and had deserved to die long ago.

Gotham City was simply exceptionally good at protecting dangerous psychiatric patients. That was why the Mad Hatter kept getting sent to Arkham Asylum instead of being executed.

Batman, though, had been set up this time. Commissioner Gilliam had seized on the incident and publicized it, and nearly every major Gotham City media outlet now portrayed Batman as public enemy number one.

"Tch. Who knew Commissioner Gilliam could be so shameless, lying through his teeth?" Roland said, displeased. "I need to rein him in."

"What are you planning?" Jason stared at him. "You're not going after the police commissioner, are you?"

"Not me. Us," Roland said. "Gotham City's in chaos, and as police commissioner, he has to take responsibility. If we don't replace him, the city will only get worse! For the sake of the citizens, we have to deal with Gilliam!"

"...Did you come up with that speech yourself?" Jason rolled his eyes at Roland's righteous expression. "It's me. Drop the act and tell me the truth."

"...Once Gilliam's out, Commissioner Gordon can take his place. Then we'll have the police commissioner looking out for us."

"Great idea!" Jason said. "But how do we get rid of Gilliam?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll dig up some dirt on him," Roland said. With Kamaitachi, eavesdropping on private conversations would be easy. Then he could team up with Commissioner Gordon to catch Gilliam red-handed and have Harvey get him convicted. After that, wouldn't Gotham City be theirs to run?

Of course, Batman and the other two all agreed that they would never break the rules or become as bad as the evil they fought.

Roland gave it some thought and kept an eye on the Maroni Family, in case Sal Maroni threw acid in Harvey Dent's face one day and turned him into Two-Face.

But Harvey's mental state seemed pretty good right now. He worked at the district attorney's office and was home by eight at the latest every day. He rarely smoked and drank only in moderation. He went to bed at eleven and made sure he got eight hours of sleep. Before bed, he drank a glass of warm milk, then did twenty minutes of gentle exercise before turning in. He usually slept soundly until morning. Like a baby, he never carried fatigue or stress into the next day. Even Gilda, his psychologist, said he was perfectly normal.

In a therapy office.

Harvey sat on the sofa, his face cold, his bearing proud and commanding. He kept tossing a coin with one hand and catching it.

"From a very young age, you've feared negative emotions. That fear isn't just about your father's violence. It's also about the anger, extremism, and violence inside you. Suppressing them has caused an evil personality to emerge."

"You need to relax more and find a healthy way to let those feelings out. Otherwise..."

"I understand." Harvey's expression shifted. He clenched his fist, then relaxed it. "Thank you, doctor."

"You should put more trust in the people close to you," the doctor said. "Gilda is a better psychologist than I am. I think you should..."

"No, doctor!" Harvey cut him off. He stood and walked to the door, turning so the doctor could see only one side of his face.

His face twisted. "I... don't want her to see me like this."

"All right..." The psychologist sighed. "In that case, come see me more often when you have time."

"Okay." Harvey left.

Just then, a red-haired woman opened the door and came in. She paused when she saw Harvey, then lowered her head.

Harvey had too much on his mind to pay attention to a stranger and walked straight past her.

The red-haired woman entered the therapy office and said to the psychologist, "Um, I have a friend..."