You Either Die A Hero Or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain (The Dark Knight)

[Harvey Dent and Rachel are having a quiet date a very expensive upscale restaurant]
Harvey: It took me three weeks to get a reservation. And I had to tell them I work for the government.
Rachel: Really?
Harvey: The City health inspector isn't afraid to pull strings.
Bruce: [appearing seemingly out of nowhere and acting surprised] Rachel! Fancy that.
Rachel: Yeah, Bruce. [skeptically] Fancy that.
Bruce: [introducing the blonde trailing him] Rachel, Natasha. Natasha, Rachel.
Rachel: Natasha? Are you the…
Bruce: Prima ballerina for the Moscow ballet.
Rachel: Wow, Harvey's taking me next week.
Bruce: [thinly veiling a slight insult] Really…so you're into…ballet?
Rachel: Bruce, this is Harvey Dent.
[Harvey and Bruce shake hands]
Harvey: The famous Bruce Wayne. Rachel's told me everything about you.
Bruce: I certainly hope not. So let's put a couple of tables together.
Harvey: [looks around] I don't think they'll let us.
Bruce: Well, they should. I own the place. [motions with his hand for someone to move a table]
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Natasha: How could you want to raise children in a city like this?
Bruce: [jokingly defensive] Well, I grew up in Gotham and I turned out all right.
Harvey: Is Wayne Manor in the city limits?
Bruce: [laughs] The Palisades? Sure. You know, as our new DA, you should probably check out where your jurisdiction ends.
Natasha: I'm talking about the kind of city that idolizes a masked vigilante running around at night.
Harvey: Well, Gotham's just proud of an ordinary citizen standing up for what's right.
Natasha: Gotham needs heroes like you, Mr. Dent. Not a man who thinks that he is above the law.
Bruce: Exactly. Who elected the Batman?
Harvey: We did. All of us who let scum like Maroni take over our city.
Natasha: But, this is a democracy.
Harvey: When their enemies were at the gates, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city. And it wasn’t considered an honor, it was considered a public service.
Rachel: Harvey, the last person the Romans elected to protect the city was named Caesar, and he never gave up his power.
Harvey: Okay, fine. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Look, whoever the Batman is, he doesn't want to be doing this for the rest of his life.
Category:Fan Fiction