Two-Face follows Dick back to the safehouse where he has Carol stashed at and after incapacitating Dick with some of Scarecrow's fear toxin, puts a bullet in Carol's chest. With Carol dead, Two-Face shows up to claim the bounty from the mobsters who had wanted her dead but Harvey Dent takes over and executes the mob men. Angry over Carol's death, Harvey concocts a plan to douse New York City in the same acid that once scarred his face. Out on the town with Deborah at the time of Harvey's attack, Dick gets his love to safety but not before she is slightly injured in the process. After Nightwing takes down Harvey/Two-Face, Dick returns to check on Deb but she tells him that this latest attack has convinced her to move out of the city and the two end their relationship.

With Two-Face back behind bars, Dick pays a visit to Carol, who is actually still alive and well living in witness protection. Following his visit with Carol he proceeds to check in on Two-Face which brings the question to mind as to whether or not Dick could ever really fill Bruce's boots. A confrontation with Bruce's nemesis Ra's al Ghul furthers the debate in Dick's mind but it isn't until the anniversary of Thomas and Martha Wayne's death that he makes his decision. Dick resigns from his job at the Cloisters and moves back to Gotham City. There, he Alfred and Tim set about repairing the Bat-Cave and readying themselves for whatever the future may hold.