Jack Napier was, at that moment, cheerfully whistling as he looked through a scope on his sniper rifle, aiming it at the head of a security guard through the window of the bank on the opposite side of the street. He checked his silencer, and then pulled the trigger, and then calmly moved on to the next guard. "Like shooting fish in a barrel," he murmured, aiming and squeezing the trigger again. After a few more shots, he raised the walkie talkie to his lips. "Five for five, boss. Bank is clear."

"Great. Join us when you can to help with the haul," replied Valestra on the other end. Jack dismantled the sniper rifle, put the pieces into a case, and then headed down the stairs and across the street, where Valestra and the rest of the gang were already inside the bank. Some of the gangsters were covering the patrons with guns, while the remainder were following Valestra to the vault.

Valestra had his gun on the bank manager, who pressed a code which made the door to the vault slide open. "All right, boys, let's have at 'em," said Valestra, gesturing inside. The men entered, crowbarring open the individual safety deposit boxes and dumping the valuables in sacks.

"I still think a bank robbery in broad daylight is a crazy idea," said Jack. "But I guess it's just crazy enough to work."

"Who's gonna stop us?" demanded Valestra. "You took out the guards, and we'll be long gone before the cops show up, if they ever do. It's like taking candy from a baby."

"I guess so," agreed Jack. "Speaking of which, you got any lollipops for when the kiddies come in to open their bank accounts?" he asked, turning to the manager. "My sweet tooth has got a craving."

Valestra rolled his eyes. "Go empty the cash registers, Jack," he ordered. "We got the vault covered."

Jack shrugged, heading back out into the front of the bank. "This is probably where any candy will be anyway," he said, prying open the drawers of the cash registers and collecting the money, while keeping an eye out for lollipops. "Although if it were really good candy, I guess I'd keep it in a vault."

He looked up when he heard a shout from the doorway, and then a dark object suddenly crashed through the window into the bank. It landed in the middle of the room and straightened up, gathering its cape about its dark form and glaring at the robbers.

"It isn't!" gasped Jack, beaming. "I don't believe it! Batman!"

The gangsters who had been covering the bank hostages instantly began firing at Batman, who grappled up into the rafters. They kept firing up into the ceiling, while Jack just calmly watched the action, leaning back and lighting a cigarette.

One of the men cried out as Batman suddenly dropped down on him from above, knocking him unconscious. He threw out a few Batarangs, which knocked the guns from the hands of the other gangsters. He then seized one by the collar and grappled up into the rafters with him. The man screamed, and then screamed louder as he was suddenly dropped from the ceiling, caught by a grappling hook before he hit the ground. He swung upside down from the rafters, screaming and shouting, which alerted the men in the vault. They came running, and were immediately blinded and disorientated as Batman threw a smoke bomb to the ground. He seized two men in the chaos and knocked their heads together, while the remaining men began firing blindly in the smoke, coughing and panicked.

Valestra watched open-mouthed as the Batman took out the rest of his men, and then shouted at the hostages to get out. They began to flee the building, but one of the gangsters regained consciousness, reaching for his gun and firing at the fleeing hostages. Batman leapt in front of them, taking the bullet full in the chest, which barely seemed to faze him. The gangster stared at him in disbelief as Batman approached him, and then slammed his fist into his face, knocking him out again.

Batman turned to face Valestra, who was in total shock. He reached for his gun, but Batman shot a Batarang at it, knocking it to the ground. Batman came toward him slowly, but they were both suddenly distracted by slow applause and delighted laughter, which focused both their attention on Jack Napier.

"Bravo!" exclaimed Jack, beaming at Batman as he continued to slow clap. "What a stunning performance! I've never seen you in action before, and truly it is not a sight to be missed!"

"Jack, what the hell are you doing?" hissed Valestra. "Shoot him!"

"Sorry, boss, I can't do that," said Jack, smiling at him. "Your orders were to leave the Bat alone, remember? To preserve this little truce we got going. And you know what an obedient guy I am."

Batman studied him as Jack just continued to smoke. "Little early for you to be up, ain't it, pal?" asked Jack. "Don't bats sleep in the daylight?"

Batman said nothing. "Strong, silent type, huh?" asked Jack. "Not the type to make casual small talk – oh, I knew I'd like you!" he exclaimed, beaming. "Before I met you, I wanted to kill you, but your kinda talent is so rare, it'd be a shame to deprive the world of it too soon. You're different from the regular law enforcement, ain't you? Just like I'm different from the regular criminals. We're better than them, special, two of a kind. Don't you think, Bats?"

Batman approached him, and Jack smiled. "Well, it's been fun, but I gotta be on my way. So if I were you, I'd stay back and let us go, unless you want this guy getting a bullet in his skull," he said, aiming his gun suddenly at the bank manager, who had emerged from the vault behind Valestra. Batman froze, and Jack grinned at him. "I was watching you work closely – I know you have a weakness for civilian casualties," he murmured. "And I don't miss, pal, but you're welcome to pit your reflexes against mine. Personally, I wouldn't risk it though. Do you feel lucky, Bats?"

Batman still didn't respond, but stepped back, and Jack and Valestra headed for the door to the bank, Jack keeping his gun trained on the bank manager until they were out of the building. Then he blew Batman a kiss. "See you real soon, buddy!" he chuckled.

He and Valestra leapt into the getaway car and sped off. Valestra sat in the passenger seat, still frozen in shock. "He…he took out the gang," he stammered. "How…how can I run my operations without them?"

"Relax, boss, you still got me," said Jack, smiling at him. "And I got you outta there, didn't I? Still feel the same way about the Bat as you did before?"

Valestra glared at him. "Is this the part where you say, 'I told you so'?"

"Now, I ain't the kinda guy who gloats," said Jack, shaking his head. "As long as you've learned from your mistake, that's good enough for me. But you'll let me set a trap for him now, won't you?"

Valestra shook his head slowly. "If you kill the Bat, then we're back to open war with the Families, and most of my guys are going to jail," he snapped. "We'd be crushed in no time. We need to get the guys outta there, and after that's done, then you can kill the Bat."

Jack sighed. "Fine. I suppose a pleasure delayed is a pleasure heightened. Seeing him in the flesh certainly was. What a guy!" he chuckled. "You know what, Sal? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!"