The next day, Bruce Wayne was on his way to see Dr. Crane again when he paused in his stroll toward the asylum at the shout of a newsboy. "Read all about it! Read all about it! Smiling Slasher strikes again, calls himself the Joker – leaves signed note for Batman!"

Bruce hurried over to the boy and paid him a penny for the paper, scanning the front page story. The body of another street woman has been found, with the same slashed smile carved onto her face as before. A ghastly note was left with these remains, written in red ink (or that is certainly what the police hope!)

Dear Batman,

There will be a lot more happy faces unless you catch me! But I'll never stop smiling until I see you again!

Love,

The Joker.

With the police seemingly powerless against this madman, Gotham can only hope that the mysterious Batman will bring the murderer to justice, and soon, before panic engulfs the city.

Bruce read the article with a heavy heart, and slowly walked the rest of the way to the asylum lost in thought.

"Good morning, Mr. Wayne," said Dr. Crane, who was also glancing over the newspaper as Bruce entered his office.

"Good morning, Dr. Crane," said Bruce, putting the paper down on the desk and taking a seat. "How was the witness?"

"Well, not mad," replied Crane. "She obviously exaggerated what she saw – no man has green hair and bright red lips and bone white skin, after all. But she probably saw a fairly pale man, maybe wearing a wig and makeup for some insane reason. I have no doubts about the murderer's state of sanity," he laughed. "This Joker is clearly a madman."

"A murderer would have to be," agreed Bruce.

"Well, not necessarily," replied Crane, closing the newspaper and placing it down on his desk. "It all depends on the motivation for the murder."

"You don't think anyone who would kill a fellow human being has to be insane?" asked Bruce, puzzled.

"Certainly not," replied Crane. "Are soldiers mad? Or if a man kills in self-defense, is he mad? Or if he kills in a fit of passion, can that be considered temporary madness? Or if he sacrifices life in the interests of science? These are not madmen, Mr. Wayne. But when a man kills solely for pleasure, for no other reason than for his own personal gratification, then yes, he is mad. Especially when he mutilates the body in such a horrid fashion. There can be no reason for such brutality."

Bruce was silent. "Do you ever…doubt your own sanity, Dr. Crane?" he asked.

"No. Should I?" he asked.

"I don't know. Only…I do sometimes," murmured Bruce.

"You're far from a raving lunatic, Mr. Wayne," said Crane. "I hate to disappoint you, but in my professional opinion, you're quite normal."

"Well, you're not entirely aware of…all the facts of my life," said Bruce, slowly. "I have done things…that many people would not consider respectable."

Crane gave a dry chuckle. "Well, so have most respectable people, Mr. Wayne," he said, smiling. "Or didn't you see the same play I did? Even the most upstanding, the most virtuous people have a darker side."

"I don't just mean…that I've done immoral things," said Bruce. "But as a direct result of my actions…many innocent people are suffering now."

Crane leaned back. "I'm not going to pry into your personal affairs, Mr. Wayne," he said. "But my advice as a doctor would be that if people are suffering as a result of your actions, then you have a duty to make amends, and take whatever action you must to undo the harm you have done."

Bruce nodded slowly. "Yes. I suppose I have a responsibility to do that."

"The person who really needs to step up to their responsibilities is this Batman," said Crane, picking up the paper again. "If this Joker is acting like this in order to get his attention, the Batman has a duty to stop him before he kills again. And unlike the police, the Batman might actually have a chance of catching this Joker."

"Why is that?" asked Bruce.

"Because only a madman can catch a madman, Mr. Wayne," replied Crane. "They know how each other think. And the Batman is most definitely mad – what sort of diseased brain would think dressing up in a bat costume and fighting crime would be a good idea? I hope he finds this Joker soon, and then this city can go back to normal without being held in the thrall of costumed freaks."

Bruce nodded again. "Dr. Crane, do you remember the name of the witness you saw yesterday?"

"Why yes, I took down her name and address just in case she should ever need to spend some time in this facility," said Crane, rifling through some notes. "Um…Miss Selina Kyle, proprietor of The Cat's Cradle, which I believe is some sort of drinking establishment in the East End…"

"I'm sure I can find it," said Bruce, standing up. "Thank you, Dr. Crane. I'm sorry I can't stay for the tour today, but I've just remembered some business I have to attend to urgently. Good day."

"Oh…good day, Mr. Wayne," said Crane, staring after him. He shook his head as the door closed, returning to the paper. "A little abrupt, perhaps, but the man's no more mad than I am," he said firmly.