As everyone knew, Batman and Joker were in dynamic balance in every respect. If Batman grew stronger, Joker grew stronger; if Batman weakened, Joker weakened. If Batman had business and left Gotham, Joker would vanish without a trace. If Batman let down his guard, Joker would definitely seize the opening.
In short, it all came down to one rule: the sicker Batman became, the crazier Joker became.
But no matter what, Joker's ultimate goal had only ever been to make Batman laugh.
Now, Batman had not only laughed, but killed people. He had gone further and killed his own teacher, further still and manipulated others into killing, and further beyond that, manipulated an eleven-year-old little girl into killing.
It was hard to say whether he had recovered or simply gone mad beyond Joker's capacity to judge.
When Bruce was driving a Lamborghini tractor on a Kansas farm, Thomas had only just arrived. At the time, Jack had come to collect on a debt with an IOU in hand, and when Bruce returned, Thomas gave him a thorough scolding.
Then Bruce went to see Jack and told him that Wayne Enterprises was short on cash due to excessive early investments and needed some time to recover. He asked whether Jack could grant him an extension.
Bruce was a businessman who had weathered the ups and downs of the commercial world, so he naturally knew that when negotiating debts, even if you could not repay the big money, you still had to spend a little. So he and Jack found a barbecue stall near Jack's truck parking lot, and Bruce treated Jack to a meal.
That barbecue had been unexpectedly delicious.
That day, Bruce had gone to inspect a construction site and encountered Killer Croc, Waylon, who was doing odd jobs. Waylon