Batman Page #33

KNOX:

(ecstatic)

Holy sh*t. Holy --

He GURGLES. AN ENORMOUS GOUT OF BLOOD bubbles up between

his lips -- and BURSTS.

VICKI:

ALLIE!!

His hand goes to his stomach -- and comes away bloody. He

looks down in genuine bewilderment.

KNOX:

Jesus, Vicki.

That quickly, he's dead. VICKI lets out an awful wail and

slams on the brakes. She sits there in the middle of the

street, POUNDING THE WHEEL, TEARS pouring down her face.

EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR - NIGHT

In the sky, CARTOON CHARACTERS drift lazily out to sea.

EXT. BROAD AVENUE - NIGHT

THE JOKER and his boys running like hell down the avenue,

past the parade. They reach the last of the floats -- the

one bringing up the rear -- then CLIMB ABOARD and disappear

through a CONCEALED HATCH.

WOOD SPLINTERS as the top of the float begins to ROTATE

mysteriously. The muzzle of a CANNON breaks through the

parade decorations. And one moment later...

A ROSE-COVERED TANK is rumbling up Broad Avenue!

INT. BATWING - THAT MOMENT

BATMAN sweeps past overhead. He sees the tank, unleashes a

burst of LASER FIRE. It bounces harmlessly off the tank,

leaves a trail of SMOKING ASPHALT on the street. He swoops

low overhead, hits a button on his control panel as he

streaks OVER THE TANK and into firing range.

INT. TANK - THAT MOMENT

THE JOKER and his MEN clap hands to their ears as an EAR-

SPLITTING ULTRASONIC SHRIEK reverberates in the tank. The

JOKER screams out commands, to no avail. No one can hear

him. He falls on the controls, begins hitting buttons.

EXT. STREET - THAT MOMENT

The TANK TURRET swings wildly. A HEAT-SEEKING MISSILE rips

through the night, narrowly missing the BATWING... and

BLOWING A HOLE in the side of a skyscraper.

INT. BATWING - THAT MOMENT

THE BLAST all but knocks the BATWING out of the sky. BATMAN

stabilizes the plane, climbs for the clouds. When he's

clear of the buildings, he grits his teeth and rolls out.

He's coming back for more!

INT. TANK - THAT MOMENT

The JOKER stares at a tiny BLIP on his radar screen.

JOKER:

He'll be back... he'll be back!!

EXT. BROAD AVENUE - ON BATWING

The black ultralight hurtles down Broad Avenue at full

speed, on a suicide mission. MISSILES streak past on either

side. MACHINE GUN FIRE peppers the dome of the cockpit. The

REAR STABILIZER WING takes a direct hit... and BURSTS INTO

FLAME!

The BATWING, trailing thick black smoke, bears down on the

tank like a kamikaze plane. BOMB BAYS OPEN as BATMAN dumps

the last of his high explosives DIRECTLY INTO THE PATH OF

THE TANK. The BATWING takes a hard bounce off the top of

the tank and CRASHES TO THE STREET.

And suddenly a GAPING CHASM opens underneath the tank as

the bombs go off -- and BROAD AVENUE BEGINS TO SPLIT WIDE

OPEN!

INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL - THAT MOMENT

BROKEN CONCRETE SLABS rain down on a SUBWAY CAR stalled in

the tunnel DIRECTLY BENEATH BROAD AVENUE. SUPPORT GIRDERS

groan and GIVE WAY as the STREET ITSELF COLLAPSES -- and

the front end of the TANK drops through, CRUSHING THE

SUBWAY TRAIN BENEATH IT!

EXT. BROAD AVENUE - THAT MOMENT - NIGHT

The rear end of the TANK projects out through the rubble. A

hatch pops open. The JOKER crawls out through the smoke and

pulls himself up to the street.

He's down to his last three GOONS. He points to the

BATWING:
bent, broken, WEDGED ON ITS SIDE in the asphalt

SEAM running up Broad Avenue -- half in, half out of the

tunnel.

JOKER:

You do him. I'm outta here.

The GOONS look on in dismay as the JOKER scurries off. They

sidestep blackened debris and move up cautiously on the

Batwing. Through the cockpit dome they can see BATMAN...

inert in his harness, beaten to a pulp, all but dead.

A JET OF FLAME drives them back momentarily. They reach for

their guns, move in warily...

VOICE:

Yo.

The frightened GOONS turn in unison. An abrupt flurry of

motion -- feet and fists flying -- quick flashes of red and

green --

-- and THREE GOONS lie paralyzed on the street. The only

one left standing is a fifteen-year-old boy garbed in a

red-and-green aerialist's uniform... DICK GRAYSON.

INT. BATWING - THAT MOMENT

BATMAN slumps at the controls. Beneath him, asphalt SHIFTS

and BUCKLES. The Batwing lurches to the right, drops a foot

or two into the tunnel. Metal braces collapse and the

plexiglass dome of the cockpit SHATTERS LIKE AN EGGSHELL.

TONGUES OF FIRE lick at his face. He's helpless, pinned in

place. He manages to look up -- and SEES, through a dream-

like haze, A HAND extended toward him:

DICK:

HEY! COME ON!

And suddenly DICK is clambering down into the flaming

wreckage. He gets an arm around BATMAN's chest and with an

extraordinary effort HAULS HIM OUT OF THE BATWING.

EXT. STREET - A MOMENT LATER - NIGHT

They stagger across the ruptured street. BATMAN grimaces in

agony. His right leg -- shattered -- is like rubber beneath

him. His ribs are crushed. He's barely conscious.

DICK:

Now we're even, huh? Even up.

BATMAN:

How did you...

DICK:

I hitched. MOVE IT!

DICK drags BATMAN to safety as the Batwing ERUPTS INTO

FLAME behind them.

BATMAN:

The Joker. Is he --?

DICK:

Forget it. Relax.

(beat)

... He's mine now.

DICK snatches an abandoned .38 off the pavement.

BATMAN:

DICK!

THE BATMAN tries to pull himself erect. The pain is

unendurable. His body has finally failed him.

He collapses on the pavement, powerless to intervene, as

DICK races off with murder in his eyes.

EXT. GOTHAM CATHEDRAL - NIGHT

A BELLTOWER's jagged spire, jutting up into the night sky,

piercing the moon. Down at street level, the JOKER is

scrambling up the marble steps at the entrance to the old

abandoned cathedral. He pulls a WALKIE-TALKIE off his belt.

JOKER:

Gotham cathedral. Come and get me.

HEAVY PANELED DOORS groan on tired hinges as THE JOKER

forces his way inside. A beat. Then DICK GRAYSON appears,

hot on his trail, sprinting up the steps two at a time.

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