Chapter 11: Death of the family: Nightwing
Since Haly's Circus was set to open in Amusement Mile, there have been numerous posters put up to advertise it, many of which feature Jimmy the Clown as their poster-boy, though he is not eager to be the focus of attention. Unfortunately for Jimmy, the posters have caught the eye of the Joker, who is apparently annoyed by the resemblance between Jimmy's character and himself. One night, as Jimmy separates from his friends to get a drink, Joker attacks him in an alley, infecting him with Joker Venom.
Nightwing, meanwhile, is convinced that the Joker knows the identities of Batman and all of his allies, despite Bruce's claims that it would be impossible. As such, he has decided it would be best to pull Haly's Circus out of Gotham City, to protect those he cares about, and then look into the fact that the Joker just broke Raya Vestri out of Blackgate Penitentiary. Not long after leaving the Batcave in frustration, he receives a call from Sonia Branch urging him to come to the circus. Jimmy is dead.
Rushing to Amusement Mile, Dick is stopped at the edge of a police cordon, where a small crowd has assembled to see that Jimmy's grotesquely grinning corpse has been tied to the sign over the gates. A note is attached to him reading "Nobody Likes a Knockoff." In tears, Dick pushes past the crowd to find the other circus folk. Sadly, they explain how the Joker killed Jimmy just because he looked like him. Desperately, Dick urges them to pack and prepare to leave Gotham, turning to Sonia and begging her to leave town or stay with acquaintances. The little voice of Christina Sorrano catches Dick's attention, wondering what the Joker might want with Raya, if he was willing to kill Jimmy just for being a "knockoff."
By sunrise the next day, the circus has been shipped out of the city on their train, and Jimmy's body has been taken care of by the police, giving Dick the chance to investigate at Blackgate. Unfortunately, nobody in her cell block can tell him anything. The last angle of investigation open to him is to go to the morgue and have a look at Jimmy's body. Sneaking in, he begins taking a blood sample from the corpse when Sonia calls him. She requires him to put his name to some papers that will put the construction on Amusement Mile on hold for the time being. Though it will only take a short while, Dick is eager to get Sonia out of the city, and get the Joker under control. Before the morgue technicians return, Dick manages to discover that Jimmy's blood contains traces of kerosene jet fuel.
After changing out of his costume, and doubling back to shake any tails, Dick arrives at Sonia's place, and begins filling out the paperwork she gives him. Meanwhile, Sonia insists that what happened to Jimmy was not Dick's fault, and he shouldn't blame himself. Dick admits that because Jimmy and the others were - are - his friends, because he asked them to stay in Gotham, he feels like he let them down. Sympathetically, Sonia promises that things will be okay, kissing his cheek. The two are drawn to each other, and lock lips in a kiss. Despite his interest in her, Dick's mind is filled with memories and associations. The fact that Sonia's father, Tony Zucco, killed his parents preoccupies him, and he has to break it off.
Fortunately, he is spared having to explain himself by an alert on his phone. Kline Industries used to be a rising power in the aerospace field until allegations of corporate espionage drove them to bankruptcy. Their fuel formula was proven to be stolen from Wayne Enterprises - a knockoff.
Upon arriving at the Kline Industries building Nightwing hears the Joker's taunting voice welcoming him and mocking his attempts to live up to the Batman's name, calling him "Bat-fake" and "Bat-lite." Meanwhile, Dick is attacked by someone who seems at first to be the joker, but soon turns out to be Raya, infected with Joker toxin. The Joker is bored by Nightwing's attempts to be like the Batman, and tonight he will attempt to wake him up. Joker points out that Raya is dressed in an imitation - a knock-off - of Nightwing's uniform, and then leaves them alone to fight it out.
Though Nightwing manages to dodge most of Raya's attacks, he soon realizes that her insane laughter is not so much laughter as the only way that she is capable of expressing her pain while infected with a toxin that her body is rejecting. It is killing her. She collapses, and Nightwing fumbles to inject her with an anti-toxin, unsure of its likely effectiveness. Though it returns her to her normal self, the damage is done. At least Raya manages to apologize for all she did before dying in her former friend's arms.
After ten minutes of sitting there with Raya's body, Nightwing notices something written on the skin peeking through a tear in her uniform. The message written across her chest suggests that the Joker is about to target Haly's Circus.
Nightwing is convinced that the Joker knows who he and the Bat-Family really are, such that he murdered Jimmy Clark and Raya Vestri in an effort to torture him - Dick Grayson. Though Dick managed to get the rest of Haly's Circus out of Gotham City, the Joker left him a message carved into Raya's stomach, inviting him to a party at the circus; at Amusement Mile. What's worse, Sonia Branch has called twice since he ran out of her apartment after being flooded with memories of his parents' murder when she kissed him.
Upon arriving at Amusement Mile, Nightwing hears the Joker's voice over the speaker system, admiring what has been done with the place since he was last there. He admits that it isn't the circus folk he's after, and directs Nightwing deeper into the amusement park. As Nightwing follows signs painted around the park, Joker explains through the PA system how he cannot understand why Nightwing would try to set up shop in Gotham again after having given up the role of Robin years ago; after he had been given everything by Batman, and rejected it. It is uncharacteristic of him, the Joker says, to be building a nest in Gotham. Nightwing should be flying free.
After following the signs into a football field, Nightwing is disturbed to see numerous corpses - all former members of Haly's Circus - propped up in the grass. The Joker laughs that that was a bit theatrical, even for him. Nightwing spots him leaning against one of the corpses and angrily throws his [[|Batarang|batarangs]] at him, worrying that no matter how hard he tries, the Joker will find those he loves and torture them. In response, the Joker detonates a bomb that fills the stadium with Joker Gas. Though Nightwing manages to attach his rebreather, he is soon sent hurtling out the doors by another explosive blast, followed by yet another. Soon, it becomes clear that the Joker is actually trying to destroy Amusement Mile, not kill him - at least, not yet.
Battered and affected by the toxin, Nightwing is plagued by hallucinations of both Raya and Jimmy, who mock him for failing to save their lives. Unwilling to hear any more of their jibes, he leaps up and throttles the Joker, knocking him to the ground and landing several heavy punches into the madman's grinning face. Through his bloody teeth, the Joker laughs that he hasn't even finished his joke, yet. After all, it is a surprise party. Grabbing a screwdriver from his tool belt, he thrusts the metal point into Nightwing's thigh, and kicks him away, arguing that Nightwing is the Bat-Fake that makes Batman the weakest. Having put all of his faith into his relationships with people, he has set himself up for a let down. For example, the entire population of Haly's Circus, who are now affected by Joker Venom - even little Christina Sorrano.
Under Joker's control, the circus folk attack Nightwing, and he falls unconscious. He wakes eventually, being dragged by the ankles by the Joker. He loses consciousness again, and wakes some time later to see the Joker bearing a blood-stained dinner platter.