Batman #694 - DC

I have to say, while I enjoyed this book, it actually had me more than a little befuddled. Not that there's anything wrong with the book, or the story, but . . Tony Daniel just has so much stuff going on here . . I don't know that I absorbed or comprehended it all. So, I'm just going to try to hit all the important points and see if that helps me, or you sort it all out. We start out with the Penguin, in Devil's Square. Batman comes after him because he want to know where the girl is . . the one that created the explosion. But Penguin isn't that scared of Batman right now because the Black Mask is making it apparent that he's also gunning for him. He's got people following him everywhere that he goes, and they can see the sniper perched outside of his apartment. Meanwhile, we see the Black Mask . . the new one . . talking to himself and his associate, Fright. It appears that whomever is currently the Black Mask has a split personality. Which is how he must have blended in with Gotham's elite at the recent fund-raiser. Anyways, he finds out that the girl that he's looking for, as well as Batman, is none other than Katrina Falcone. Niece of the Mario Falcone, the crime-boss that has recently returned to Gotham. But she doesn't appear to be working for him. Instead, her actions seem to be in direct conflict with her family's business. So, either she's out to hurt her uncle on purpose, or . . she just doesn't care. Later we see that Fright also appears to be in league with Hugo Strange. So I'm wondering what the connection is there. I don't really know what Hugo is up to, but . . he does seem able to control the Reaper who has also returned to Gotham. He's giving him some kind of drug that enhances his powers, but it has a time limit. That way he can still keep him on a leash. In the middle of all this . . it seems that Arkham, and more specifically Gene-Core . . a pharmaceutical company that's trying to help Dr Arkham with new experimental treatments for his patients . . is somehow connected to both sides of this. While all this other stuff is going on, Bruce Wayne/Hush is at Arkham and witness' an elevator accident that kills all of Gene-Core's founders except one Dr Singh. Mario gets fed up with Katrina's actions and dumps her into the river. And the boy that Batman tried to talk to in Devil's Square, and was shot for his cooperation . . has died in the hospital. Oh yeah, and in the end, Black Mask decides that he's had enough of the Penguin and is no longer satisfied to watch him from the distance. He launches a full frontal assault on his car and his person. Between all the bullets and the rocket-launcher, I'm not sure that the Penguin is going to be able to survive this one. I really thought that it was an amazing book. Between Tony's story and his incredible art, this was the perfect Batman book. I'm just not sure that I can see how all of this stuff is connected . . yet. I'm sure we'll get more of the pieces over the next couple of issues, and things will begin to focus. But . . like I said, right now . . I'm a little befuddled. But it's a good kind of confusion because I'm left wanting more . . I want to see more of the puzzle . . I want to figure out what the over-all picture is supposed to be. And I want to know . . who is the Black Mask?