When Batman arrived at Arkham City's steel mill, he expected to find Joker. However, he hadn't expected to see Harley Quinn bound and gagged, hidden away in a corner he happened to run into.

The Dark Knight reached out and tore off the duct tape on her lip.

"I ain't tellin' you nothin'!" She immediately shouted.

"Did Joker do this to you?" Batman asked, ignoring her protest.

"No!" However, despite shouting this, she nodded a bit.

"Is he still here?"

"I'm not saying anymore!" Again, she allowed herself to nod a little. "Wait... Wait, what are y-" She was cut off when Batman put the little piece of tape back over her lips.

Batman soon found himself in the loading bay of the rundown steel mill. Jumping up, he made is way into the manager's office, where Joker was typically holed up.

"Ah, welcome back, Batman." said Joker, who sat calmly in his chair which was parallel to where Batman was currently standing.

"Why did you tie Harley up?"

"How come it's always straight down to business with you? Whatever. I tied her up because she was annoying."

There was something in Joker's tone that was striking Batman as odd - he didn't entirely sound like himself.

"What's the matter with you, Batsy?"

"I should be asking you that."

"What's the matter with me? What's the matter, with ME? Why, Batsy... You should know better than anyone what's the matter with me." Joker said as he slowly stood from his chair.

Batman said nothing, prompting Joker to continue.

"What's the matter with me is that you and I are so much alike, and yet you refuse to see it."

"We are nothing alike."

"We are, though! I act, you act."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you pretend to be that bat freak who has an obsession with beating people up, and clowns, and I pretend to be that clown freak who has an obsession with killing people, and bats."

"You're not pretending."

"Aren't I? I've become what you wanted me to be. What you wanted me to be when you let me fall, so that you could alleviate some of the guilt. Was there any guilt, Bruce? Any sleepless nights, thinking that you'd killed a man and broken your one rule?"

"It was an accident." Batman mumbled. He cringed a little inside at how pathetic he sounded, but he couldn't help it - this was a delicate subject with him, and it made him feel almost helpless. Almost like he had when he was a kid, when...

"There is no such thing as an accident, Bruce. Admit it, you made a mistake, and you regret it, because the moment our eyes locked, there was undoubtedly a connection. You can't deny that."

Batman lunged forward and tightened his fingers around the collar of Joker's grungy purple suit jacket, hoisting him up off of his feet a little.

"You're going crazy, Brucie. You see, I'm not really here. I suppose the hallucinations I mentioned earlier are finally beginning to set in with you, huh?"

"What did Riddler do to you?"

Joker seemed puzzled for a moment. His Glasgow grin was the only smile on his face for a few seconds, but then he smiled naturally, enhancing the scars. "Riddler? Why would Riddler do anything to me? He loves me - even shows it more than you do. But I know he doesn't love me as much as you do."

There was that word. Love. Batman had a hard time wrapping his mind around it, coming from Joker.

"Why? Are you jealous, Batsy? Don't be. I don't love him back, at least, not as much as I love you."

"Why w-..." Bruce cut himself off, realizing a little too late that it was more like Batman to say nothing in response to this.

"Why would I love you? Well, let me try to list the reasons... You complete me. And even if you don't show it, I can tell that I complete you, too."

For a moment, both of them were quiet, staring into each other's eyes. Looking into Joker's eyes, Batman noticed something that perhaps only he could notice - there was a look in Joker's eyes, or more specifically, a lack of said look. He looked... almost emotionless, despite the characteristic grin on his face. There was no insanity to be seen, yet at the same time, no sanity to be seen, either.

However, fear suddenly appeared in those green eyes after a coughing voice bellowed nearby, and with it, Joker tensed up, his grin turning to a violent frown.

"Harl? Harley, koff koff, Harley, you in here?"

Batman found himself petrified. Here he was, holding a mortified Joker up in front of him... and yet, he was hearing a much more Joker-sounding Joker in a different room, beckoning for Harley. Was the Joker in front of him right? Was he going crazy and just hallucinating this?

In the midst of the stunned silence, the Joker in Batman's grip suddenly kicked wildly, making Batman release him, and then bolted. When Batman ran after him, he found no one in the room, and an open window. Looking outside, he saw that Joker was nowhere to be seen.

Bruce cursed under his breath. There was still one last thing he had to check. Rushing out, he dived out of the manager's office and went back to where he had left Harley, to find her staring with uncertainty at Joker, who knelt in front of her with this confused expression on his face.

"Joker?" Batman muttered.

Joker looked up at him. "I don't suppose you saw who did this to my Harley, did you?"

"I might have."

"Really? Who?"

"I'm looking at him."

Joker paused for a moment. "... Nice try, Batsy, but I only just got here. Even ask Riddler. Even ask Harley. Right, honey? Ha ha ha!"

Harley, however, didn't move. She only blinked at Joker, whose quick smile swiftly disappeared.

"Right?"

Slowly, she shrugged.

Joker turned his attention back to Batman. "You saw me, you say?"

"Yes, but... It wasn't you."

"You don't say?" Joker laughed a little.

"We heard you, and then he took off. I tried to go after him, but he was gone."

"Why are you here, anyways, Bats?"

"I got a call from you. You called me by..." He trailed off.

"By what?"

"... By my real name." Batman said hesitantly. If Joker already knew, there was no real reason for him to hesitate, but...

Joker blinked a few times. "I don't know your real name, Bats. Riddle-face offered to tell me, but I refused. I don't want to know who you are, Batman - that would ruin the fun!" The clown prince of crime's grin returned to his face.

"Then who was it?" Batman growled.

"Oh, I know who it was. I'm just trying to figure out whether or not I should tell you. Hmm, this really does mess up a lot for me, doesn't it... Wish I could've told him not to say anything to you, but I've got no way to contact him right now. I lost my phone when you kidnapped me, see."

"He called me from that phone."

Joker appeared to go pale, though it was hard to tell with the horrible condition of his skin and how it was already pure white to begin with. "You mean he has it? ... That's not good. That's not even funny."

Batman quietly stared down upon Joker, while Harley's gaze shifted from both of them as she impatiently waited for one of them to release her from her bindings.

"Well, Bats... I need to stop him. But frankly, I don't think my men have the capability to do that, and, well, I'm dying." Joker stopped for a moment. "Hee hee... And, uh... heh, so are you. But you're doing better than me, wouldn't you say? Ha ha h-" Joker broke into another coughing fit.

"Get to the point." Batman demanded harshly.

"I suppose what I'm trying to say is... I need you to do me a favor."