'I saw what you did.'
You leave me no choice, Alfred.
You're fired.
Oh!
Chirp chirp
Alfred! Check it out.
All your work on the Upcoming Charity's made you famous.
Thank goodness it isn't a mug shot, Master Bruce.
Uh, say again?
Merely a frightful dream I've been having all night long.
Well, these aren't my pajamas!
That isn't my mud.
Tell me more about this dream.
♪ The Batman ♪
Uh, well, Master Bruce, as silly as it may seem
in the dream I was a... thief.
My father's heirloom.
I do fear the butler did it.
Let's go to instant replay.
Beep.
Remind me not to leave out any loose change.
I, I cannot remember where I went from there!
Sleepwalking, kleptomania and amnesia?
I surely require professional help!
There has to be an explanation, Alfred.
I doubt we'll be seeing
your mug shot in the paper anytime soon.
The Duncan, McCue and Wayne foundations
are only hosting the blind children's charity auction.
The real star of the event is a brilliant man
I had the honor of knowing during my travels abroad
the high priest of Sarkana.
'He's traveled all this way'
'to make a special donation to our cause'
'the famous Eye of Sarkana.'
And following the auction
my pad will be host to a rousing reception
in the holy man's honor.
Say cheese.
'Pardon the pun, McCue, but I heard'
'you were robbed blind last night.'
And the thief made off with a real painting.
Funny thing. There was no sign of a break-in.
The police seem to think it was some sort of..
'...inside job!'
It's my butler!
'Charles, where are you going?'
screech.
Uh, I'd better check on my butler.
That blasted vase must be here somewhere.
Bring the valuables to me.
Screech.
Alfred?
Now it's time for professional help.
'Sometimes, planting a homing device pays off.'
'Pull over!'
Okay, time to hitch a ride.
Thud.
Alfred, snap out of it.
Hypnosis.
Alfred, I command you to obey me.
Sorry.
Like clockwork.
'Actually..'
there was one hitch.
Now, you're a sight.
Get a grip. They're hallucinations.
Really vivid hallucinations.
Fool.
Attack!
Growl.
Finish him!
Dreams must end upon waking
but know you've disrupted nothing but a rehearsal.
The Batwave!
After stealing from you twice
and having a punch-up with The Batman
I should hope you'd have my head examined.
Everything appears normal, Alfred.
Then you and I were simply victims of hypnosis?
Not we.
When The Batwave sounded it jarred you
and the other butlers from your trance
but my hallucinations continued
hallucinations so powerful
they could only be the work of a spellbinder.
A spellbinder, sir?
During my studies in the Far East
I learned of a remote temple
whose monks performed a particularly intense
form of meditation believed to lead to that
which only few could achieve
the mystic power of the third eye
a state of awareness so pure or potent
one could project one's visions into reality.
So our three-eyed scoundrel
possesses an enlightened mind
and a corrupted soul?
If last night was only a rehearsal
I believe he's after a fourth eye.
The Sarkana gemstone?
And since Spellbinder somehow managed to implant
you and the butlers with hypnotic suggestions
he'll no doubt trigger you three to steal it for him.
Me? Steal from charity?
'You must lock me up at once!'
Well, it's no Arkham Asylum, but it should hold you.
I shall be quite comfortable here, sir.
Perhaps just some reading.
And a spot of tea.
Oh, and a telly..
To view live auction coverage of The Batman
trouncing thieving butlers, of course.
Right away then, sir.
How do you intend to resist the hallucinations
upon your next encounter?
By relying on my training.
The only defense against a spellbinder
is strength of mind.
'And there's the high priest of Sarkana'
'holding the box containing'
'the fabled Eye of Sarkana gemstone'
'said to be auctioned to benefit the blind children's charity'
'just as soon as our other host, Bruce Wayne, arrives.'
No sign of any zombie butlers there..
Or here yet.
- Where's Wayne? - This is embarrassing!
Zombie billionaires?
Spellbinder got to the whole blasted lot of us.
But how?
'The photographer!'
He was spellbinder.
He used the photo shoots to implant us
with hypnotic suggestion
triggered later by the sight of any clock
at its pre-designated time!
And now, The Batman's searching for butlers
when in fact, he should be seeking himself!
No sign of marauding butlers
and the auction's set to..
Bring the Eye of Sarkana to me.
Oh, dear.
If The Batman is found hypnotized.
Spellbinder might well discover
that he and Bruce Wayne are one and the same!
Of course! The Batwave could break Master Bruce's spell.
Blast. Think, Pennyworth.
There must be a way out.
Right, then.
And to help these children to mold the power
of inner sight my temple humbly presents
'the Eye of Sarkana!'
- Where is it? - 'It's gone.'
- 'What-what happened?' - 'Missing?'
Ah, my eye candy.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Quite a sticky wicket.
You should never have put yourself
in my sights again.
Or are things not quite as they appear?
The Batman I most certainly am not.
Yes.
Hypnotized.
Could it be..
That you are..
'Master Bruce, snap out of it!'
Blindsided by a cheap trick!
It's what I do.
Well, here's lookin' at you.
Growl
clank clank clank.
Mine.
Years of meditation to become a common thief?
It seems that you're blind to the stone's true value.
The Eye of Sarkana will enhance my mystic power.
You saw what I could do before.
Now feel it!
A strong mind perceives its own reality.
Question is, how strong is your mind?
Bloop bloop bloop
thump thump thump.
No!
Thud.
A treat for all of the senses.
Wouldn't you say, Batman?
A strong mind perceives its own reality.
Its own reality!
'Spellbinder!'
What do you know? An eye for an eye.
'"Recovered gemstone fetches'
'eye-popping sum for charity."'
Well done, sir.
And this time it's Spellbinder
'whose photo made the paper.'
Well, now that the gem
and our prized heirloom are back in hand
if you don't mind, Master Bruce
I would like to make up the sleep I've lost
with an afternoon nap.
Pleasant dreams, Alfred.
Oh, no dreams, sir.
'I think we both had an eyeful.'
♪ The Batman ♪