The story picks up where Batman #494 left off, with Joker and Scarecrow having broken into the home of Armand Krol, Gotham's current mayor. The two, knowing the amount of power that Krol holds, intending to force him into making phone calls that would add more chaos the already out-of-control city. After a few not-so-serious suggestions, Joker comes up with a truly cruel idea - he demands that Krol call the president of the firefighters' union and tell him that he was considering docking the firefighters' payroll. Krol vehemently refuses, stating that doing so would more than likely cause the firefighters to strike, but Scarecrow threatens to spray him with fear gas again. Krol reluctantly obeys, not wanting to be put through his fear of snakes again.