He wants to take everything away from me... first Jim Gordon... now Alfred... 
- — Batman
Batman Eternal #26 is an issue of the series Batman Eternal (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 2014. It was published on October 1, 2014.
Synopsis for "Broken Mirrors"
After returning to the Batcave and receiving rudimentary medical treatment from Julia Pennyworth, Batman insists on going back out on patrol. He is stopped, however, by Red Robin, Red Hood and Batgirl. Tim states that it's time they had a talk, and eliminated the secrets between them all. First among the things to talk about is what Julia is doing there, and who she is.
After an awkward introduction, Tim reminds that Jim Gordon remains in prison despite their discovery of exonerating evidence. Riots spread in the city while an advanced nanovirus is attacking the Narrows. Alfred, meanwhile has been rendered comatose by a highly concentrated dose of Fear Toxin. All of these facts point to one thing: whoever is systematically attacking the city knows who they are, and how to hurt them - again. Solemnly, Bruce explains that it was Hush who was behind it all. Hoping to help, Tim and the others agree to try to disperse the riots by taking down the plants in the crowds who are inciting them. Worriedly, Julia wonders why Bruce seems so scared of Hush. He beckons her to follow. They have someone to meet.
Elsewhere, Commissioner Jason Bard holds a press conference to declare martial law in Gotham City, decrying costumed vigilantes as failures. The change will see cameras placed at every entry and exit from the city, and a 9pm curfew established, with Blackgate Penitentiary waiting for those who don't comply. Listening from a radio as she clings to the top of a prison vehicle headed for the Kane County correctional facility, Stephanie Brown notes that things don't even start getting fun until after midnight.
Together, Batman and Julia visit Alfred at Gotham Mercy Hospital and as they watch him lying motionless, Batman admits that Hush - Tommy Elliot - was once his best friend. Alfred had always understood how much he'd needed a best friend. When Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed, Alfred would drive Tommy to Wayne Manor while he and Tommy would play cards, and Bruce would just sit there. Tommy had never seemed to be bothered by Bruce's despondence, but when it became clear that he and Bruce couldn't relate to one another anymore, he made his life more relatable. It would be years before Bruce knew that Tommy had cut the cables to his own parents' car when they died in the accident.
From then on, Bruce's preoccupation with handling his own parents' death blinded him to the ways in which Tommy began trying to make himself more like Bruce. When he caught Tommy trying to impersonate him, though, he took it too far. Tearfully, Tommy had explained that because Bruce could have anything he wanted, it seemed a waste that he never did anything with it. As a Wayne, Bruce was perfect in the eyes of Gotham, and his obsessions were causing him to push that gift away. Angrily, Bruce reminded that he can never have everything he wants. Bruce had failed to see then why Tommy had wanted to be like him. His own family name had been disgraced, and they'd lost their fortune. Everything he wanted, Bruce had, and Bruce didn't want it in the same way. Once Tommy realized what Bruce had made himself into, he made himself into something new to match. As Hush, Tommy wants to take everything from him - and he's winning.
Julia wonders what her father would say to Bruce right now, and Bruce admits that Alfred would remind him of his past victories over Hush - and that he has friends to help him. Bruce places his hand on her shoulder, and she knows he thinks of her as one of those friends. Smirking, she responds that it's time to catch the bad guy.
Having found her way inside the County Correctional Facility, Stephanie interrupts her father as he watches television. She admits that she's been visiting everyone she saw at the gathering that night when she'd caught him planning his crimes. She's been learning their parts in Hush's plan, and she wanted to be sure she could look her father in the eye when she posted her findings onto the internet, and make a joke of the "Cluemaster." As she taps her smartphone's screen to make the post, she shows the screen to her father, who grins widely when he sees that she's been had. Somehow, someone had over-written her post by placing a hundred-million dollar bounty on her own head. Stephanie would have to start running, and never, ever stop.
Elsewhere, the Bat-Family take on the rioters and looters of the city while Jason Bard sets his police to work, and Batman searches for Hush's hiding place.
At Gotham Mercy Hospital, Alfred has gone missing, and his doctors are surprised to find that a Doctor Thomas Elliot has had him transferred to a different facility without informing them. Weakly, Alfred regains consciousness in a padded cell at Arkham Asylum, where he is to face torment by the Joker's Daughter and her masters.
Appearing in "Broken Mirrors"
Featured Characters:
- Batman (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Arthur Brown
- Hush (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
Other Characters:
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Harper Row (Cameo)
- Jim Gordon (On a TV or computer screen)
- Martha Wayne (In a photograph only)
- Thomas Wayne (In a photograph only)
- Frankenstein (Mentioned only)
- Joker (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Kane County
- Gotham City
- Arkham Asylum
- Gotham Mercy Hospital
- Wayne Manor (Flashback only)
- Blackgate Penitentiary (Mentioned only)
- Kane County Correctional Facility
- Gotham City
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Batman Eternal Vol. 2.
See Also