I saw what you did.
You leave me no choice, Alfred.
You're fired.
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.
Say again?
Merely a frightful dream I've been having all night long.
These aren't my pajamas.
That isn't my mud.
Tell me more about this dream.
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.
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 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?
I better check on my butler.
That blasted vase must be here somewhere.
Bring the valuables to me.
Alfred?
Now it's time for professional help.
Sometimes, planting a homing device pays off.
Pull over.
Okay, time to hitch a ride.
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!
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 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...
set 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 his predesignated 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 know the power of inner sight...
my temple humbly presents the Eye of Sarkana.
- Where is it? - It's gone.
- What...? What happened? - I don't see it.
My eye candy.
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!
Blind-sided by a cheap trick.
It's what I do.
Well, here's looking at you.
Mine.
Years of meditation, to become a common thief?
It seems that you are 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?
A treat for all of the senses...
wouldn't you say, Batman?
A strong mind perceives its own reality.
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.