Batman Page #19

SERIES OF SHOTS - THE STREETS

COP CARS. GOON CARS. THE BATMOBILE streaks through an

intersection, nearly causing a pileup. THE JOKER'S VAN

makes short work of a SABRETT'S HOT DOG STAND in its path.

INT. BATMOBILE - THAT MOMENT

PEDESTRIANS GAWK as the sleek supercar RIPS UP THE

PAVEMENT.

VICKI:

What about her? What about the girl?

BATMAN:

He won't kill her.

(gritting his teeth)

GODDAMMIT!

They're moving up on an EMPTY BLOCK -- a NIGHT CONSTRUCTION

TEAM. A HUGE PIECE OF HEAVY MACHINERY backs up slowly and

inexorably, BLOCKING THE INTERSECTION.

BATMAN GUNS THE ENGINE. SWERVES LEFT. TRIES TO SLIDE PAST.

And HITS THE BRAKES -- stopping inches short of a head-on

collision with a lamppost.

He jumps out of the car. No chance to get through. THE

JOKER'S VAN is two blocks back and coming up fast.

ONLOOKERS and CONSTRUCTION WORKERS are beginning to form a

crowd around them.

VICKI:

Can't we --

BATMAN:

Too many people. Come on!

(as she scrambles out)

SHIELDS!!

The BATMOBILE's computerized VOICE replies:

COMPUTER:

Shields.

With a series or CLANGS, CHROME-STEEL PLATES slide into

place -- across the cockpit, over the tires -- leaving the

BATMOBILE an inert, impenetrable BLOCK OF BLACK METAL.

BATMAN and VICKI sprint through the CONSTRUCTION SITE,

vaulting over mounds of loose dirt and concrete rubble.

INT. VAN - MOVING - NIGHT

THREE POLICE CARS, red lights blazing, OVERTAKE THE JOKER'S

VAN and bear down on the abandoned BATMOBILE.

GOON AT WHEEL:

Are they ours?

JOKER:

... I don't know. We'd better get out

of here.

(into RADIO MIKE)

Westbound on 36th. DO YOU COPY??

The VAN does a discreet U-turn and rumbles off sedately

down the street.

EXT. SIDE STREET - THAT MOMENT - NIGHT

BATMAN and VICKI zigzag past storefronts and candy stands,

dodging astonished PEDESTRIANS.

INT. CAR - MOVING - THAT MOMENT

FOUR GOONS with GUNS. They spot BATMAN and VICKI coming off

the side street. GOON I, the driver, speaks into a radio:

GOON I:

We got 'em!

JOKER (V.O.)

(over radio)

Take 'em! I want his head!

EXT. STREET - THAT MOMENT - NIGHT

BATMAN and VICKI race down the sidewalk. The car is gaining

on them; and then, from behind --

BATMAN and VICKI are caught in a SPRAY OF BULLETS. They

dive. Drop behind a parked car. And don't come up.

They've ducked into a BLIND ALLEY.

INT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT

Hunkered on the pavement, they watch the car glide past the

mouth of the alley. VICKI sighs in relief. BATMAN -- still

alert, his muscles tensed -- puts a restraining hand on her

arm. He looks overhead, sees a catwalk spanning the width

of the alleyway five stories up.

BATMAN:

How much do you weigh?

VICKI:

... A hundred and eight?

He does some quick mental calculations. A beat. Then the

CAR reappears -- backing up -- blocking their only avenue

of escape. BATMAN unfurls a rope, HEAVES A BATARANG UPWARD,

and grabs VICKI roughly about the waist.

BATMAN:

HANG ON!

The JOKER'S THUGS pile out of the car. The BATARANG catches

on the catwalk, and BATMAN triggers the spring-action REEL

on his utility belt -- jerking him and VICKI INTO THE AIR.

BULLETS zing past as they whip upward like fish on a line.

One story; two stories; and then...

They slow. They STOP. They DANGLE IN MIDAIR as the Joker's

goons advance. BATMAN wriggles, twists. They lurch upward

another few feet -- and stop again. VICKI SCREAMS.

Her additional weight is too much for the reel mechanism. They're

stranded two stories up -- SITTING DUCKS.

BATMAN (cont.)

Whatever happens -- DON'T LET GO!!

In the wink of an eye he's detached the reel from his own

waist and hitched it around VICKI's belt. Before she has a

chance to protest, he LETS GO.

VICKI rockets upward at blinding speed, shrieking all the

way. BATMAN, his cape billowing, PLUMMETS DOWNWARD.

VICKI slams up into the catwalk and BOBS on the end of the

line as BATMAN lands with a loud crash, overturning a row

of garbage cans. The GOONS are on him in a flash -- one per

limb. Random kicking and flailing. BATMAN manages to slam

two GOONS into a wall, but before he can get to his feet --

-- GOON #3 slams a lead pipe into the back of his skull.

BATMAN is down for the count. The THUGS dust themselves off

and circle around his prostrate form, still wary.

The LEAD THUG holds his colleagues back, draws his gun, and

fires TWO SHOTS, point-blank, at the yellow-and-black

INSIGNE on BATMAN's chest. The body jerks.

They move closer. And stop.

GOON I:

... No blood.

GOON II:

Jesus.

GOON III:

Wait a minute.

GOON III screws up his courage and crouches beside the

body. He examines THE BATMAN'S TUNIC... and RIPS IT OPEN.

GOON IV:

... What is that?

GOON III:

Some kind of body armor.

GOON I:

He's human after all. -- Take that

mask off.

EXT. ROOFTOP - ON VICKI

Five stories overhead, VICKI has pulled herself up onto the

roof of the adjacent building. She watches transfixed as

the THUGS bend over to remove BATMAN's cowl. But at this

height -- and this angle -- she can't see his face. On a

sudden impulse she reaches for her CAMERA BAG.

ANGLE ON GOONS:

peering-down open-mouthed at the unconscious face of BRUCE

WAYNE. Blood seeps from BRUCE's left nostril.

GOON I:

Well?... Who is this guy?

GOON II:

I dunno. You seen him before?

GOON III:

Maybe he's got some kind of I.D.

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