. . "Batman has trained himself to understand the language of eyes. Every subtle movement, every dilation or contraction of the pupil means something. Tonight, as he looks into the Joker's eyes, he sees nothing but hatred. It's difficult for Batman to assure himself that this is just a man, and that this man does not know who he and his loved ones really are under their masks. There, at on the bridge overlooking the Gotham City Reservoir, Joker announces over a radio that he does know their identities, and that in less than three days, they will all be dead by Batman's hand. Joker's attention is caught by the voice of Harvey Bullock, who has brought the GCPD to bring the madman in. But the Joker calls back to Bullock, wondering where the lieutenant was when he made his initial attack on Gotham City Police Headquarters. Knowing that the Joker's interest is dangerous, Batman urges him to leave the police alone, at which point the Joker calls his men on his cellphone and has them fire rockets at the assembled police cars. Angrily, Batman breaks free of his restraints and attacks, demanding to know where Alfred Pennyworth is. His face in need of realignment due to Batman's punch, Joker claims that Alfred is busy preparing a special dinner for he and the Batman family, before realizing that the punch Batman landed on him with his bare fist also infected him with Joker Venom. This realization stops Batman in his tracks, and the Joker takes the opportunity to kick his opponent off of the bridge and into the Gotham River. Bruce wakes in his bed in Wayne Manor to see his son Damian, Barbara Gordon and his three adoptive sons - Dick, Jason and Tim - waiting for him. They explain that the Joker was caught by Jason, and that Alfred was found alive and well at a storage unit in the Narrows. When Bruce looks up to see him, he sees that Alfred has been replaced by the Joker, who produces an axe with which he attacks them all. Bruce wakes from his nightmare in the Batcave, with his costumed family waiting for him. Sternly, Nightwing states that they need to talk about the Joker's claims that he knows their identities. Batman is insistent that he does not know, and is merely manipulating them and playing them against each other. They have trouble believing him, given that he neglected to tell them about the attack against Alfred, which certainly seems to indicate that Joker knows who Bruce Wayne is, at least. Not to mention the hints that Joker dropped to some past event that clued him in. Reluctantly, Bruce tells of how his second encounter with the Joker occurred. He had been trying to use a blimp to gas the city. Their ensuing fight knocked the Joker into the bay, but Batman's priority had to be the blimp, which he dragged out into the water before it could infect anyone. When he returned to look for the Joker, he was gone. The failure to catch him made Batman angrier than he could have expected, and he returned to the Batcave through an indirect entrance which has since been closed off. Later, Bruce attempted to revisit the case, and found a single playing card next to the Batboat. The card had nothing unusual about it. He always assumed it was just one of the Joker's mind-games. Despite this apparent breach of security, Bruce insists that there was no possible way for the Joker to get into the cave. Doing so would have required travelling nearly five miles underwater at fifty miles an hour. The sensors would have picked him up - there would have been evidence. Apart from that card, though, there was nothing. Though Bruce is confident of these facts, his companions are still displeased that they weren't told of the card until now. Though they all want to help Bruce fight the Joker, he wants to protect them, to have them hide in the cave - whose security they doubt. In the meantime, Bruce has a lead to follow. Joker used a cellular signal to contact his allies at the reservoir. Naturally, the phone it was attached to is untraceable, but the camera across the street from the store it was bought at identifies a man named Dylan McDyre. Batman crashes into McDyre's home during a dinner with his family, and announces that they need to talk. Fearfully, McDyre explains that Joker had actually been holding the families of the entire Arkham Asylum guard staff hostage in order to maintain the appearance of normalcy at the asylum while he made changes. For weeks, Joker has been operating from within the asylum, renovating. All of his efforts for Batman's sake; for whatever mad thing he has planned. As Batman walks up the steps to the front door of the asylum, he tries again to remember that Joker is just a man; that if he stares hard enough into those cold eyes, the Joker will become more human. What makes him very uncomfortable, though, is how when he looks into the Joker's eyes now, the narrow pupils dilate, denoting love."@en . . . "Batman (Volume 2) Issue 15"@en . . . . "15"^^ . . . . . "Batman has trained himself to understand the language of eyes. Every subtle movement, every dilation or contraction of the pupil means something. Tonight, as he looks into the Joker's eyes, he sees nothing but hatred. It's difficult for Batman to assure himself that this is just a man, and that this man does not know who he and his loved ones really are under their masks. There, at on the bridge overlooking the Gotham City Reservoir, Joker announces over a radio that he does know their identities, and that in less than three days, they will all be dead by Batman's hand. Joker's attention is caught by the voice of Harvey Bullock, who has brought the GCPD to bring the madman in. But the Joker calls back to Bullock, wondering where the lieutenant was when he made his initial attack on Gotham "@en . "\"But Here's the Kicker\""@en . . "2012-12-12"^^ .