Batman watched as Andrea Beaumont the love of his life and now avenging angel of death known as the Phantasm had hold of his nemesis by the scruff of his neck. Joker was on his knees and his suit was torn in several places where his wounds bled freely. He was laughing hysterically as several explosions continued to rock the theme park around them.

"Andrea!" Batman shouted as he stumbled forward. He was still injured from the explosion earlier and every movement was agony for him. Andrea looked up at him and for a moment she began to reconsider her choice. Then she looked Batman in the eye and he thought he saw tears falling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, goodbye my love." Green mist came out of her gloves and quickly surrounded her and Joker. Batman started to rush forward but suddenly the ground fell out from underneath him. Suddenly, he found himself standing before a coffin that was resting on a table.

"Brucie…Oh, Brucie…I can hear you…" Joker's voice came from within the coffin followed by his familiar cackling laughter. Bruce was surprised to find that his mask was missing as he stepped closer to the coffin. "You let her kill me because you weren't man enough to do it yourself and yet you call me a monster." The laughter became louder with every step Batman took. He reached for the coffin with unsteady hands and suddenly the lid to the coffin flew open and Batman was stunned to see a younger version of himself inside the coffin.

"This can't be real." Batman said as he backed away quickly while he watched the younger version of himself rise up and he slowly stepped out of the coffin. He grabbed Batman by the scruff of his neck.

"I had a life, a woman that wanted to be my wife, I had a chance to live dammit and you took it all away from me." Suddenly Bruce's face was replaced by Joker's. "But it was one hell of a ride wasn't it Brucie? It's you and me Bruce…Forever!" Joker began to laugh hysterically again. "Don't believe me just ask her." Batman turned and saw the Phantasm standing there. Before he could speak she took off the mask and glared at Batman.

"You took my love from me." Andrea said before she stabbed Batman through the heart with her bladed gauntlet. Instead of dying images flashed through his mind. Images of an elegant wedding followed by a lifetime of images with his wife Andrea and the three children that they had together. "This is what we were destined to have together but instead this is the path you walked. The images of what he could have had were replaced by images of all the villains he had ever fought and all the pain he had endured. He started to back away when Andrea pulled the blade from his chest. "Goodbye, my love." Andrea said and the last thing Batman saw was her blade swinging for his neck.

…

"Andrea, wait." Bruce called out as he sat bolt upright in bed and looked around confused by his surroundings for a moment. He wiped the sweat from his brow as Alfred, his faithful butler opened the door and brought breakfast in to him.

"I take it that the nightmare has returned." Alfred said with concern in his voice as he sat the tray down next to Bruce. Bruce nodded and began to salt and pepper his eggs. He looked at the paper but nothing kept his attention for long.

"Master Bruce if I may be so bold I really think we should discuss you seeing a therapist about what happened." Bruce gave his butler a dirty look but remained silent. It was then he noticed the sun was about to set behind the buildings in the distance.

"Have you heard from Barbara?" Bruce asked as he left the rest of his breakfast and walked quickly to the grandfather clock in the study. He changed the hour to the precise time his parents died and the Batman was born. The clock moved away from the wall and revealed a set of stairs that led down into the bat cave.

"Miss Gordon said she would patrol for a few hours tonight and keep an eye out for the ship you were looking for last night." Alfred replied. Bruce nodded and quickly changed into the Batman costume. He walked to the computer and input some commands.

"Tell her not to make a move until I arrive." Batman said in his husky tone. The bat-mobile rose up from the car port in the center of the cave and he ran over and climbed into it.

"I believe that miss Gordon is already aware of your rules." Alfred began.

"Just tell her." Batman snapped irritably as the opening to the car closed and the engine roared to life as he drove out of the cave. Alfred looked up at one of the glass cases and shook his head sadly. Inside the case was a Robin outfit with the words 'This joke is on you' written on it.

"He'll never stop blaming himself for what happened, and as long as he blames himself he will never learn to trust anyone again." Alfred stopped when he noticed a small pendant hanging next to the bat-computer. He picked it up and saw inside it was a picture of a young Andrea and Bruce. "I should throw this in the incinerator. This has brought him nothing but pain. He set it back down and pulled up the communicator program. "Miss Gordon, I have a message from master Bruce. It took a moment but then he heard a ship's horn.

"What's up Alfred?" Batgirl asked as she watched several men move crates back and forth from a large truck and the ship.

"Master Bruce asked me to tell you to wait until he arrives before taking any action." Alfred replied.

"That may not be an option if we want to catch these guys." Batgirl informed him. The guys had just finished loading the last of the crates and were about to leave.

"Miss Gordon, I strongly suggest that…" Alfred began. Batgirl switched off the communicator and fired her grapple that connected with a building closer to the boat and she swung forward to attack. Alfred used the communicator then to contact the bat-mobile. "I'm sorry sir, I believe she said there isn't time to wait." Batman growled and stomped on the accelerator as he sped to the docks.