INT. ARKHAM STATE HOSPITAL HALLWAY – NIGHT
Two figures walk down the hallway, only visible from behind. The FIRST MAN wears an orderly’s scrubs and has a hand on the SECOND MAN, who wears a patient’s uniform and shuffles along in a drugged stupor.
The men are roughly the same height and body type, similar skin tones, though their hair colors are different. The first man’s hair is a natural color (perhaps brown or ginger), while the second man’s hair is green.
The two approach a doorway and the first man opens it and pulls the second man inside.
INT. SUPPLY CLOSET – NIGHT
The room is small, cramped, and dark. The two men’s faces still cannot be clearly seen in the shadowy gloom.
The first man grabs a bag from a shelf, tucked behind some cleaning supplies, and zips it open. It contains a pair of wigs and a couple palettes of makeup. He takes out a makeup remover wipe and hands it to the second man.
FIRST MAN
Here.
He takes off his glasses and puts them on a shelf, then starts stripping off his scrubs. He moves with quick efficiency, no trace of sensuality.
SECOND MAN
(laughs)
Ohhh, aren’t you at least going to buy me dinner first?
FIRST MAN
Shh.
The first man throws his scrubs at the second man and grabs a makeup palette from the bag. The second man begrudgingly strips his own patient uniform and drops it on the floor in front of the first man.
The two get dressed in each other’s clothing and apply or strip off makeup, then don the wigs, the first man making sure that the second man’s looks straight and even.
The first man zips the bag up and stuffs it back behind the cleaning supplies, grabs the door handle, then pauses.
FIRST MAN (cont’d)
Oh…
He snatches the glasses from the shelf and puts them on the second man.
SECOND MAN
How do I look?
The first man ignores him, poking his head out into the hallway to check the coast is clear.
FIRST MAN
Let’s go.
INT. ARKHAM STATE HOSPITAL HALLWAY – NIGHT
The two exit into the hallway, the first man now wearing the patient’s uniform and a green wig, shuffling along in a feigned stupor. Their faces still cannot be seen.
The second man has just a little bit too much spring in his step, and the first man tugs at his scrubs to pull him down.
They pass by the rooms of other patient/inmates, whose wild faces watch the two men eagerly.
They stop at a patient room and the second man unlocks the door for the first, gallantly holding it open.
The first man shuffles in and crosses to the bed. As he turns and sits down, his face can be seen for the first time for a brief moment before the door closes. He stares off into space blankly, his face bearing the white clown makeup of the Joker.
The second man continues down the hallway, the spring in his step returning. A bit of his green hair can be seen poking out underneath the natural-colored wig and there are streaks of white makeup on his neck and under his ears.
He hums tunelessly as he turns down another hallway, ducking his head in a sort of deferential nod when he passes a DOCTOR talking to a NURSE. The two do not seem to notice him.
He makes a few more turns, then pushes open an exterior door and emerges to–
EXT. ARKHAM LOADING DOCK – NIGHT
Security footage. There is an van idling in the loading zone, a logo marking it as the Gotham Uniform Company.
The second man emerges from the hospital, pulls off the wig, and takes a deep breath, spreading his arms wide. The image is grainy, but his face can be clearly seen. He is the real JOKER, sans clown makeup.
The door to the van slides open and a pair of MEN IN SKI MASKS leap out, somewhat roughly escorting the Joker into the van. The three figures are clearly talking to each other, but their voices cannot be heard.
The door to the van slams closed and it pulls away. Suddenly the scene pauses.
LAPTOP SCREEN
A cursor glides across the screen and selects a field around the license plate, then zooms in. It’s grainy, but the cursor moves around and runs a filter and it sharpens just enough to be readable.
Off screen, a woman’s voice absentmindedly hums the old Batman theme as the license plate window closes and the scene starts playing again, depicting the van pulling all the way out of the loading dock.
The scene exits full screen, revealing a full sized bat symbol wallpaper behind the footage. Other icons dot the landscape of the screen and off to one side there’s an app running — a sort of police scanner that shows text transcriptions of the various calls the Gotham PD are making. They’re nearly all about the Joker’s escape from Arkham.
The cursor pulls up a second terminal and types in the license plate number, then lets a program run as the cursor pulls up a third window.
The woman’s voice continues humming as she works. She is–
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – NIGHT
BARBARA GORDON, a millennial with fiery red hair and computer glasses, working at a more or less homemade laptop at a desk. She has a focused intensity, but also a brightness to her spirit.
Her room is not precisely a cheerful one, but clean and orderly (with the door firmly shut). It is the kind of room that feels bigger than it is thanks to meticulous organization, the sort of place that a keen and structured mind can feel comfortable in.
On her screen, Barbara uses the latest terminal she opened to try to pick up the van on other traffic cams after it left the loading dock, but it disappears down an un-monitored street.
She growls at her computer and pulls up another program, one she designed. It scans through all kinds of security footage from different feeds around the city. She inputs a photo of the Joker and tries to get the scanner to search for a match. The computer slows down noticeably as it searches.
She looks at the computer in confusion, then looks around it and realizes that the connection between the laptop and her external hard drive is loose.
BARBARA
Oh.
She wiggles the wire, plugging it in more firmly.
The computer starts running a little faster, but not as fast as she would like.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Come on, come on, come on…
(scowling)
I really need more equipment.
The search finishes and shows “no matches.”
BARBARA (cont’d)
Seriously?
The terminal that she typed the license plate number into pings and she reopens it. Her brow furrows as she reads, then relaxes in satisfaction.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Ah ha!
She grabs her cell phone and places a call.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM/BATMOBILE – NIGHT
The dark and broody BATMAN answers the phone while racing down the streets of Gotham in his entirely-too-technologically advanced vehicle.
BATMAN
Yes.
BARBARA
How’s it looking out there? Any leads?
BATMAN
Nothing promising.
BARBARA
I’m seeing three properties leased to a Joe Kerr in various locations in and around town; think I might be on the right track?
BATMAN
What are they?
BARBARA
Aww, don’t you want to hear how I found them?
BATMAN
I’d rather catch the Joker.
BARBARA
(quietly)
Fine then, grumpy pants.
(louder)
Okay, looks like one is an old joke shop that was condemned after a fire, one is a factory that used to make talking dolls
(little shudder)
and the last one is that weird amusement park carnival thing that went bankrupt years ago. Well that all seems very on brand.
Batman grunts.
BARBARA (cont’d)
(typing)
I’m plugging the addresses into your GPS and rerouting you. You should arrive at the joke shop in about fifteen minutes. Just let me get suited up and I’ll meet you there.
Batman changes the direction of the Batmobile, following the newly programmed GPS.
BATMAN
I thought you were giving up the cape and cowl.
BARBARA
I am. I just thought you might like a hand with…
Beat.
BARBARA (cont’d)
(gentle but firm)
I don’t think you should–
BATMAN
If I need you, I’ll call.
Batman hangs up.
BARBARA
(so done with his shit)
You’re welcome.
She hears the sound of a key in the front door and shuts her laptop before getting up.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
The sort of shabby-but-neat and love filled space of a close-knit family living off a limited income.
Family portraits at various ages are scattered throughout the room — some are vacation photos, some are awkward mall portraits, at least one or two are in front of a big clock tower. At first they show a young couple with a bright-eyed, red-haired baby girl. Then the two parents, the girl, and a bespectacled boy. Then the father and the two kids. Then just Barbara and her dad.
Some of Barbara’s accomplishments are honored on the walls as well — tae kwon do trophies, photos from ballet recitals, certificates from school achievements. Nothing celebrating the boy from the family photos, though.
A large clock stands in a place of prominence against one wall — the kind of old-fashioned grandfather clock that must have been a gift or a family heirloom.
Barbara emerges from her bedroom just as an exhausted looking Police Commissioner JIM GORDON enters through the front door. He is solidly into retirement age but a very good cop — the sort of man who still pursues justice with more dogged determination than most of the cops who work for him.
BARBARA
Daddy! Rough day?
GORDON
Oh, hey, sweetie. Ah, I’m just tired. I am too old for this shit.
BARBARA
(overlapping)
Too old for this shit.
GORDON
Right.
He starts to tear up out of nowhere and Barbara gives him a hug.
GORDON (cont’d)
Thanks.
BARBARA
Want to talk?
GORDON
Not really.
BARBARA
Want to cook?
GORDON
Yes. Yes, I do.
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
The two enter the homey kitchen and begin cooking together, moving in perfect harmony. They’ve clearly done this many times.
GORDON
Where’s the–
Barbara hands him a clove of garlic.
GORDON (cont’d)
Thank you.
He peels and smashes it.
GORDON (cont’d)
So, how did your day go? Did you get in contact with professor what’s-her-name?
BARBARA
(nods)
Mmhmm; called her over my lunch break. She actually really likes my work; practically begged to be my advisor.
(wiping her hands)
Oh! I almost forgot the most important ingredient!
GORDON
What?
BARBARA
Music!
Barbara pulls out her phone and puts on Rosemary Clooney’s Sway, dancing through the kitchen.
BARBARA (cont’d)
(singing)
When Jim Gordon comes home from his work,
he always says, he’s gonna retire.
But he’s never really gonna do it,
he doesn’t mean it,
he’s such a liar.
Gordon laughs and pulls her into his arms and the two dance together for a moment.
There’s a knock at the door.
They both move towards the door at the same time, but Gordon bumps into the package of meat and gets chicken juice on his hands.
BARBARA (cont’d)
I’ll get it.
Gordon grunts his thanks and crosses to the sink to wash his hands as Barbara heads out of the kitchen.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Barbara crosses to the door, looking over her shoulder as her father yells.
GORDON (O.S.)
We don’t want any!
Barbara laughs, opening the door to reveal the Joker standing in the doorway, now in all his psychotic, makeup-ed glory. He is flanked by two HENCHMEN, but all Barbara can look at is his smile and the tiny bubble of saliva in his teeth.
He has a camera around his neck and a gun in his hand and he shoots Barbara in the stomach before she can react.
Barbara falls back into the living room, hitting the grandfather clock and sending it crashing down with her, shards of broken glass flying.
Gordon runs in from the kitchen, his hands still covered in soap.
Barbara’s vision fades in and out, but sound grows so loud as to become overwhelming. She hears the Joker laughing, a camera clicking, Gordon screaming, and Rosemary Clooney singing.
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
Jim Gordon slowly comes to. He is disoriented and disheveled, suffering some minor injuries inflicted by the Joker’s goons.
He looks around. He is fastened into a car perched at the beginning of an indoor roller coaster ride. The doors directly in front of him once featured an image of a normal clown, but it has recently been modified into an image of the Joker’s face. The paint was too thickly applied and it pulled into long drips, distorting the already disturbing picture even more.
GORDON
Wh– What’s happening? Where–
JOKER (O.S.)
Oh, dear Commissioner, don’t you recognize it?
The doors swing open.
JOKER (O.S.) (cont’d)
You’re on the crazy train!
INT. EMERGENCY ROOM – NIGHT
A view of the ceiling, tense faces of doctors and nurses looming overhead as ceiling tiles pass by, fluorescent lights, emergency sprinkler nozzles, and one of those domed security mirrors.
As the mirror passes by, a reflection of the scene below is visible. Barbara lies on a gurney, covered in blood and strapped to a backboard, only semi-conscious. The doctors and nurses run through the ER, pushing her gurney towards the OR.
The same pattern again, ceiling tiles, fluorescent lights, emergency sprinkler nozzles, domed security mirror reflecting the medical team and the bloody, upside down Barbara.
Rather than the normal sounds of an emergency room, though, the noises are that of Gordon’s car moving along the roller coaster track. The thunks of the rails come in time with the passing ceiling tiles overhead as the gurney flies down the hall.
JOKER (V.O.)
The world is insane, Jim Gordon. Ridiculous. Absurd. Topsy turvy. Cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Crazy town banana pants. After all…
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
The ride slows down, Gordon’s car recovering in preparation for the final drop.
The screens flood with photographs of Barbara lying in her own blood on the living room floor, agony written across her features.
JOKER (O.S.)
Would this happen in a sane world?
Gordon screams as the car plunges forward, flying through corkscrews and spinning him around the images of his daughter.
EXT. BONUS BROTHERS CARNIVAL AND AMUSEMENT PARK – NIGHT
It’s cold, derelict, eerie. Built on a dock, some of the rides are half collapsed into the lapping water. There are lights set up throughout the space, but they mostly just create more weird shadows, rather than providing illumination.
Gordon’s car pushes through the exit doors of the roller coaster ride, emerging to where the Joker awaits, flanked by a couple of henchmen. Gordon shivers, staring blankly into space.
JOKER
Well, Commissioner, what’d you think of our little ride?
GORDON
Barbara…
JOKER
Hello? Commissioner?
(waves a hand in front of his face)
Anybody home?
GORDON
Barbara…
JOKER
Ugh, a broken record. How boring. Take him to the cage, boys!
The henchmen unstrap Gordon and carry him away. Joker smiles as he watches them depart.
The henchmen throw Gordon into an otherwise empty lion cage where he sits, shivering and staring blankly into space.
The Joker paces outside the cage, smiling.
He is surrounded not only by the two henchmen, but by “circus freaks” who have been intentionally been made up to look more grotesque. They stare in at Gordon as the Joker holds forth.
JOKER (cont’d)
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the greatest travesty that nature has ever created…
(grand gesture)
JOKER (cont’d)
The Average Man!
The gathered crowd gasps and squeals.
The Joker continues his demonstration in front of Gordon’s cage.
JOKER (cont’d)
Weighted down by the burden of social conscience and dogged do-good-ery, what else can he do, I ask you?
He grabs the bars of the cage and presses his face in towards Gordon’s.
JOKER (cont’d)
What possible response is there for a man like you, Jim Gordon, but to go a little mad yours– Oof!
He is tackled by Batman.
Batman punches Joker, but the Joker squirts acid from the flower on his lapel onto Batman’s jaw and runs toward the roller coaster.
Batman wipes at the acid on his jaw and gets up.
He growls at the gathered minions, who scatter, and starts towards Gordon’s cage.
GORDON
Batman!
Gordon is pressed up against the edge of his cage, reaching through the bars.
Batman closes the distance to Gordon’s cage and breaks open the lock with a growly grunt as Gordon speaks.
GORDON (cont’d)
Barbara. He shot my daughter.
There is a flash of pure pain and shock on Batman’s face, which he quickly tries to hide.
The sound of sirens approaches as an English accent whispers in Batman’s earpiece.
ALFRED (O.S.)
My god…
Batman has managed to get the cage door open and Gordon grips Batman’s arms.
GORDON
I couldn’t call 911; I don’t even know if she’s alive.
ALFRED (O.S.)
Searching emergency frequencies now, sir.
Gordon still grips Batman’s arms and Batman lets him. He wants to comfort the worried father, but doesn’t quite know how. The wait is sheer agony.
GORDON
Barbara, we have to get to Barbara–
BATMAN
We will. I have my people working on it now–
The flashing lights of emergency vehicles pull up to the carnival parking lot.
ALFRED (O.S.)
She’s at the hospital.
Batman’s head snaps up and away from Gordon, listening.
ALFRED (O.S.) (cont’d)
A neighbor heard the gunshot and called 911, she should be in surgery now. There’s nothing more you can do for her.
BATMAN
There’s one thing.
Batman looks back at the roller coaster where the Joker disappeared.
INT. OPERATING ROOM – NIGHT
The room is clean, clinical, brightly lit — almost a disturbing contrast to the decaying and dingy circus. Machines beep, blood squelches, scrubs rustle.
Two SURGEONS stand over an unconscious body, working away. The tone is one of quiet urgency, but also comfortable competency. The stakes are life and death, but these people are good at their jobs and assured of one another’s abilities — they save lives together on a regular basis.
There are also NURSES, TECHS, and an ANESTHESIOLOGIST, but the focus is on the surgeons. The patient’s body can barely be seen under all the scrubs and equipment.
ANESTHESIOLOGIST
BP 110/72, holding steady.
SURGEON ONE
This wasn’t a through and through, right? The bullet’s still in there?
SURGEON TWO
Right.
SURGEON ONE
No idea where?
SURGEON TWO
Nope. Go fish.
SURGEON ONE
Great.
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
The doors of the exit swing open as Batman charges inside.
It is completely dark inside, and he slows to take it in, trying to let his eyes adjust to the darkness.
He hears the sound of echoing laughter that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere.
BATMAN
Joker!
INT. OPERATING ROOM – NIGHT
SURGEON ONE
Okay, looks like it missed the liver, that’s good…
SURGEON TWO
And the mesostatic artery, that’s great. Hang on, I think I see…
SURGEON ONE
What?
SURGEON TWO
Nurse, give me some suction.
A NURSE dives in with a suction machine to clear away some blood.
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
The Joker’s voice emerges from the darkness.
JOKER (O.S.)
You’re early, Batsy. I was planning to send you an invitation, honest. I’d already had your tickets printed and everything.
INT. OPERATING ROOM – NIGHT
SURGEON ONE
What do you see?
SURGEON TWO
There, look at that; between the T-11 and T-12.
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
JOKER
We just needed a bit more rehearsal. I’m afraid our star wasn’t quite ready for opening night, yet — hadn’t learned all his lines, you see.
The images of Barbara pop up on the screens all around, illuminating a Joker shaped outline sneaking up behind Batman.
INT. OPERATING ROOM – NIGHT
SURGEON ONE
Is that…?
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
The Joker’s figure closes in on Batman’s exposed back.
JOKER
But I had such grand plans for the finale!
INT. OPERATING ROOM – NIGHT
SURGEON ONE
(quietly)
Oh, shit, you’re right.
(louder)
Get neurosurge down here, STAT. We’ve got a bullet lodged in the spine, possibly embedded in the spinal cord.
A CIRCULATING NURSE on the outskirts of the room turns and runs out.
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
Suddenly, Batman spins and reaches out to grab the Joker by the throat, but there’s no one there.
The sound of the Joker’s laughter echoes through the cavernous space, crashing over Batman.
INT. OPERATING ROOM – NIGHT
Finally, the unconscious patient’s face. It’s Barbara, of course, intubated and wearing a surgical cap.
SURGEON TWO (O.S.)
(quietly)
Jesus. She’s never gonna walk again.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – MORNING
Barbara’s eyes slowly flutter open. She is lying in a hospital bed, her neck in a brace. Her eyes flick over, barely able to see her father sitting on a chair beside her. He is now sporting some bandages, his eyes red and raw. He looks like he has just finished crying, but might start again any second.
BARBARA
(groggy)
Dad? What’s wrong, what–
(tries to move, but can’t)
Ow!
Barbara puts a hand to her stomach, looking confused that her body doesn’t move the way she expects. Gordon lets out a sob and grabs Barbara’s hand.
GORDON
I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.
BARBARA
What–
The door opens and a DOCTOR enters, a grim expression on her face. Barbara’s eyes flick
BARBARA (cont’d)
Wha–
EXT. ROOFTOP – DAY
Through the hospital window, the doctor can be seen telling Barbara something. She screams and struggles, pulling the blankets off of her legs, revealing the full spinal brace restricting her movements. The doctor rushes out of the room as Gordon grabs Barbara and tries to hold her down.
From across the street, a MAN IN GLASSES watches the scene unfolding in the hospital room through a pair of binoculars. He is young, slightly younger than Barbara. Not attractive, not unattractive — just the sort of man that could fade into a crowd.
Barbara tries to beat at her useless legs with her hands as the doctor reenters with a nurse, who injects something into her IV. Barbara sobs into her father’s hands, cupped around her face, her head still trapped into position by the brace.
The Man in Glasses smiles.
Overlaid, the sound of a phone dialing, the other line ringing, but not being answered. The beep inviting the caller to leave a message.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT – DAY
The plant is empty, old and dingy, obviously having been abandoned for some time. It hasn’t completely surrendered to graffiti and dereliction, but any current occupants are clearly squatters. Most of it is intact, but there is a section of catwalks/ladders/elevators/towers that have been warped, possibly by small explosions.
GORDON (V.O.)
Hey, it’s me. Listen, I–
The buzzing sound of a call on the other line.
The Man in Glasses ducks under a fence, then picks his way through the confusing structure with obvious familiarity.
GORDON (V.O.) (cont’d)
(quick sigh)
Just call me back when you get this.
The beep of one call ending and Gordon answering the other line.
The towers and vats loom over the Man in Glasses as he continues walking, but he seems right at home.
GORDON (V.O.) (cont’d)
Hello?
BATMAN (V.O.)
Any leads?
GORDON (V.O.)
(longer sigh)
I’m not on the case, Batman. I just announced my retirement from the GCPD.
The Man in Glasses opens a door and enters a hallway.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT HALLWAY – DAY
The Man in Glasses strolls through the passageway, again, clearly right at home. Seen from behind, his body looks familiar. Like the First Man who helped the Joker escape from Arkham.
GORDON (V.O.)
My daughter is permanently paralyzed. Please don’t make me feel guilty for wanting to take care of her.
BATMAN (V.O.)
Of course. She needs you.
GORDON (V.O.)
Just… Just promise me you’ll get the bastard. Please.
The Man in Glasses pauses for a moment when he sees a graffiti image of the Joker’s smile.
BATMAN (V.O.)
I will.
The sound of the call ending.
The Man in Glasses continues on, opening a door to another room.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT BACK ROOM – DAY
The room itself is a fairly unremarkable industrial space, something that could be a back part of any type of factory. An inspection room, perhaps, or a loading dock. Maybe even an employee break room.
The Joker sits, tied to a chair with duct tape over his mouth. The Man in Glasses enters and rips the tape from his face, drawing laughter from the Joker.
JOKER
I really must say, I am enjoying this. I expected to be back in Arkham by now with a fresh collection of bruises from the Bat, but this, this is…
(laughs)
Wonderful!
MAN IN GLASSES
Yeah, well, can’t have you giving anything away too soon.
JOKER
You really think I’ll tell Batsy anything? That’s sort of our whole schtick — I do something awful and ridiculous, he yells questions at me, I laugh at him, it makes him mad, I laugh some m–
MAN IN GLASSES
You took pictures of Barbara Gordon after you shot her. What happened to them?
JOKER
Ooh, dirty boy–
MAN IN GLASSES
Where are they?
JOKER
Didn’t I just tell you how this whole scene usually plays out with Batsy?
MAN IN GLASSES
I’m not Batman.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
Barbara lies in bed, groggy, but awake.
ALFRED PENNYWORTH enters, holding an insulated bag. He does not wear his typical butler’s outfit, but still carries himself with all the English dignity of a gentleman’s gentleman.
BARBARA
Alfred!
ALFRED
Miss Barbara. How are you this morning?
Her speech is ever-so-slightly slurred.
BARBARA
Right now? I feel pretty great. These drugs they’ve got me on?
(“OK” sign)
ALFRED
(chuckling)
I can imagine.
He sets the bag down and starts unpacking tupperware containers.
ALFRED (cont’d)
I’ve taken the liberty of preparing a few meals for you. Being confined to a hospital bed is indignity enough without having to suffer the further injustice of hospital food.
BARBARA
You’re the best, Alfred. Hey, where’s Bruce?
ALFRED
He is out hunting for the Joker. But he asked me to give you his best, and he sent this along.
(pulls out a stuffed bat plushie)
BARBARA
No, he didn’t.
ALFRED
No, he didn’t. But he’s sending his love in his own way.
BARBARA
Yeah, I know he cares about me. He just cares about Joker more.
ALFRED
No, not the Joker. Justice.
BARBARA
Would you tell him I…
ALFRED
Yes?
BARBARA
I don’t know.
ALFRED
Of course, Miss Barbara.
(he sits)
And how are you feeling about the…adjustment?
BARBARA
Honestly? I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. Probably all the painkillers. I’ve cried a little bit, but I still don’t feel like it’s completely sunken in. Pretty sure when it does I’m gonna have a nervous breakdown or something. It’s like I can feel it, just hovering somewhere on the edge of my consciousness, like a landslide or an avalanche or something on it’s way to crush me. Does that make any sense whatsoever? I feel like I’m not making a whole lot of sense right now…
ALFRED
It makes perfect sense, Miss Barbara. And…you have every right to feel whatever emotions come up throughout this process. By all means, cry and scream and rage and shake your fists at the universe. But don’t despair. You are an incredible woman, and I believe you will face this setback with the same strength and dignity you have demonstrated through your entire life up til now.
BARBARA
Shut up, Alfred; you’re gonna make me cry again.
ALFRED
Yes, Miss Barbara.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE ROOM – DAY
The Man in Glasses pulls a laptop out of a bag and sets it on a desk. The desk and chair are definitely in a more than mild state of disrepair, like the rest of the building, but they’re functional.
The laptop once had a sticker of the Joker’s face, but it’s been peeled off, leaving little streaky remnants.
The Man in Glasses opens a new terminal and begins hacking into the GCPD.
INT. BATCAVE – DAY
BRUCE WAYNE, Batman in plain clothes, sits at the bat computer brooding over the security footage of Joker’s escape from Arkham.
He is younger than Commissioner Gordon, but not all that much. Old enough that the scars and abuse of the vigilante life weigh heavily on him. But he is far too stubborn and angry to give it up.
He watches the footage of Joker being bundled into the van, then goes back and watches footage of Commissioner Gordon arriving at the hospital following the breakout.
Alfred enters carrying a tray of tea.
ALFRED
I just came from a visit to the hospital to see Miss Barbara.
Bruce grunts in an affectedly absent-minded way. He is listening intently, but trying not show how much he cares.
ALFRED (cont’d)
She’s doing quite well, considering the situation. She’s a strong woman. I think she would appreciate a visit from you, though. Much as she may enjoy my presence and my cooking, I do believe she regards you in a rather, well, filial sort of light and–
BRUCE
I’m busy.
ALFRED
Of course. But you know how much she looks up to you, admires you. One might say that gives you a certain responsibility.
The word nettles Bruce. He finally turns to look at Alfred.
BRUCE
This is my responsibility, Alfred. To hunt down the son of a bitch that hurt her and–
ALFRED
And I know she appreciates your efforts, Master Bruce, but I believe that what she needs from you more than your detective skills right now, is your presence.
Bruce growls and returns to brooding at the computer.
ALFRED (cont’d)
A witty rejoinder as always, Master Bruce.
Bruce says nothing, just sips his tea and glares at the screens.
Alfred sighs his disapproval and leaves.
Bruce minimizes the footage and pulls up a photo of Batgirl and Batman — a selfie that Batgirl took. Batman is scowling in the picture, but only to hide his own smile.
Bruce stares at the photo.
EXT. GOTHAM ROOFTOP – NIGHT
FLASHBACK. A still rather wet-behind-the-ears BATGIRL sits on a gargoyle, looking out over the city.
Batman stands behind her, lecturing in his growly way.
BATMAN
When you’re patrolling, you have to be prepared for anything. Listen to the city; let her speak to you. You never know what she might have to say.
BATGIRL
Do you two…need a moment?
Batman glares at Batgirl.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
I’m just saying, if you want to be alone with your city, I can–
A scream pierces the night.
Batgirl springs up and the two take off across the rooftops toward the source of the sound.
EXT. ALLEY – NIGHT
FLASHBACK CONT. A handful of THUGS surround a struggling WOMAN. THUG ONE holds her from behind with a hand over her mouth while a few more cut off her exit.
THUG ONE
Hey now, there’s no call for that. We were just trying to pay you a complim–
The woman bites him and tries to run away, but the two other men catch her.
WOMAN
No! Please no!
EXT. ALLEY ROOFTOP – NIGHT
FLASHBACK CONT. Batgirl and Batman are perched over the alley, watching the scene unfold.
BATGIRL
Aren’t we gonna go help her?
BATMAN
You are.
BATGIRL
You mean like…by myself?
Batman gives her The Look.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
Gah!
She jumps off the roof.
EXT. ALLEY – NIGHT
FLASHBACK CONT. The men are pulling out knives now, threatening the woman and pulling at her clothes.
THUG TWO
If you don’t shut the hell up, we’re gonna carve your pretty eyes–
He is interrupted by Batgirl’s boot driving into his face.
BATGIRL
(hero pose)
I believe the lady said “no.”
A few more thugs come at her and she dives into the fight.
Batman descends from the rooftop to the alley, staying well hidden in the shadows.
Batgirl fights beautifully, kicking and punching and flipping (mostly kicking), taking out thugs. She hits one of them, going for a knock out, but not quite achieving it.
He spins around and sees Batman lurking in the shadows. He lurches towards Batman with a smile on his face.
Batman does not move.
Batgirl sees the thug approaching him, squeaks, and grabs the thug just before he can reach Batman. She succeeds in taking the thug down this time.
Batgirl looks up at Batman with a big “did I do good?” smile on her face. His eyes flick to something just behind her.
Batgirl looks back to see one of the thugs chasing the woman. His right hand clutches a knife, his left hand is extended, just about to grab her hair.
Batgirl squeaks again, grabs a batarang from her belt, and throws it at the thug. It lands in the hand that was inches away from the woman.
The thug screams in a very unmanly way, clutching his bleeding hand. Batgirl uses the distraction to close the distance and punch him in the jaw, knocking him down.
WOMAN
Oh my god! Oh my god!
Beat. The woman pulls out her phone.
WOMAN (cont’d)
Can I get a selfie?
BATGIRL
Uh, sure!
They pose for the photo and the woman fawns over Batgirl as she puts the phone away. She doesn’t even notice Batman.
WOMAN
Thank you, oh my god, thank you.
(backing out of the alley)
That was amazing. You’re amazing. I just– uh!
The woman exits the alley, stopping to kick one of the thugs on her way out. She shoots a guilty look back at Batgirl, but Batgirl just smirks.
Batgirl turns back to look at Batman, an enormous grin pasted on her face. Before she can say anything, Batman launches into grumpy lecture mode.
BATMAN
Your kicks are sloppy. Your punches were poorly aimed. You could have knocked out this one–
(nudges a thug with a toe)
But instead you merely made him angry and he came after me. Then you were so busy showing off for me that you lost track of that one–
(gestures)
And nearly got the poor woman killed. It was messy, reckless, and foolish.
Beat.
BATGIRL
You’re proud of me.
Batman’s lips twitch.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
Oh, don’t deny it — that was a proud papa lip twitch and you know it.
Batman doesn’t quite roll his eyes, but it’s close.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
I’m going to hug you. And you’re going to like it.
She wraps her arms around him and his lips curve into a smile. His arms almost move to hug her back, but then she pulls away and looks up at him. His face is stone once more.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
Selfie time.
BATMAN
(deadpan)
Really.
BATGIRL
What? She said selfie and then it made me want a selfie…
(pulls out her phone)
Oh come on; one photo won’t kill you. I want to commemorate this moment.
She takes the photo, smiling broadly. Batman is scowling, but in that he’s-really-smiling-on-the-inside kind of way.
She looks at the picture, satisfied.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
Oh, this would totally go on the Bat Fridge if we had one.
(puts her phone away)
So what now?
BATMAN
What do you want to do?
BATGIRL
Uh, I want to go patrol some more?
Batman gives her a “well, go on then” nod.
Batgirl smiles and lets out a little squee as she pulls out her grappling gun.
Batman watches approvingly as she fires it and takes off.
Batgirl is zipping up the line, smiling and free, but there is a loud gunshot and flying becomes–
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
DREAM. Falling. Barbara is falling in slow motion, the shards of glass from the grandfather clock flying all around her, staring at the bubble of saliva in the Joker’s teeth, listening to the sounds of the Joker laughing, her father screaming, and Rosemary Clooney singing.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – MORNING
Barbara wakes up in her hospital bed, gasping and crying.
Gordon hears her stirring from the couch where he’s been sleeping and sits up.
GORDON
Are you alright?
BARBARA
(very much not alright)
Yeah. Just a dream.
A MALE NURSE enters the room. He’s nice, but his enthusiasm is clearly forced.
MALE NURSE
Oh, you’re awake. Ready to get out of here?
BARBARA
As I’ll ever be.
INT. LIVING ROOM – DAY
Gordon pushes Barbara’s wheelchair into the living room. The grandfather clock and all its glass has been cleaned up, its absence leaving a conspicuous hole in the decor. The carpet has been cleaned, but there is still a large, faint bloodstain on the floor where Barbara fell. She can’t stop staring at it.
She does not move as the action unfolds around her.
GORDON
Okay, just let me get you all settled in here. I already called Gotham U and told them you won’t be able to start your master’s this semester, so you don’t need to worry about that. Professor what’s-her-name is heartbroken, but there’s plenty of time for that when you’re a little stronger…
His voice trails off as he walks away, bustling about the space nervously.
LATER — there is a knock on the door and Gordon opens it to reveal Alfred, holding another bag with tupperware containers.
ALFRED
Commissioner Gordon, I brought–
GORDON
More food?
ALFRED
Well, yes. I thought you might not be up to cooking at the moment.
GORDON
You’re a life saver. Come in, please.
He steps out of the way and lets Alfred in.
ALFRED
Splendid, thank you. How is she doing?
GORDON
She’s hanging in there. Here, let’s get this in the fridge. She’s not talking much, not that I can blame her…
Their voices trail off as they exit to the kitchen.
The world draws in closer on Barbara.
LATER — an accessibility consultant is analyzing their house, clipboard in hand, Gordon trailing along behind.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSULTANT
…of course the carpet will all have to go, very difficult to navigate a wheelchair with that. Tile can be too bumpy, but vinyl’s not a bad idea. Handrails are helpful; does she have any mobility at all in her legs?
GORDON
No, no.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSULTANT
That’s too bad. We already talked about the ramp out front, yes? So let’s go look at the bathroom. A shower chair will be an absolute must…
Their voices fade out as they exit to the bathroom.
Barbara’s universe keeps getting smaller.
LATER — a social worker sits on the couch with Gordon, handing him pamphlets and stealing glances at the unresponsive Barbara.
SOCIAL WORKER
…there are lots of great resources out there. You should really try to get her into a support group, maybe even some activities like wheelchair sports. After we get her into outpatient physical therapy and can evaluate her limitations, of course. But this can be a great opportunity for new experiences…
Her voice fades out as Barbara continues staring at the carpet, not reacting, her world crashing in on her.
INT. LIVING ROOM – EVENING
Gordon stares at Barbara, who is still sitting in the exact same position, still staring at the carpet.
GORDON
Barbara? Is there anything I can–
BARBARA
(shocked out of her stupor)
I’m gonna go do some research.
Barbara, trying to hide her pained grimace, forces her wheelchair across the carpet.
GORDON
Do you want some h–
BARBARA
No! No, thank you. I’ve got it.
She pushes herself towards her own room.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – EVENING
Barbara laboriously pushes herself into her room, awkwardly trying to navigate the whole closing-the-door-behind-you-when-you’re-sitting-in-a-wheelchair thing. She succeeds in getting the door closed, then clutches her abdomen and gasps in pain.
She gathers herself and wheels towards the desk, still fighting against the carpet and the pain.
Barbara pauses to open a pill bottle and swallow a pill, then opens the laptop and turns it on.
The programs she had open previously in her search for the Joker are still up. The scrolling crime scanner application pops up, too. Barbara closes all of them, but then is confronted with the full screen bat symbol wallpaper.
She stares at it for a beat, then changes it to a generic landscape photo.
She opens a search engine and scrolls through lots of simplified “spinal paralysis and you” type articles to try to find some harder science.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – MORNING
QUICK FLASH. Barbara lies in her bed, still in a spinal brace, facing a couple RESIDENTS and an ATTENDING.
ATTENDING
When we went in to remove the bullet lodged in between your vertebrae we found that it had in fact severed the spinal cord–
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – EVENING
The science all seems to show that treatments for spinal paralysis can only be used if the spinal cord has not been severed.
Overlaid, the sound of a phone dialing. No answer, just a “leave a message” beep.
GORDON (V.O.)
Hey, me again. Just, uh. Just checking in. Wanted to see how you’re doing. Things have been a little crazy here.
(awkward pause, bad choice of words)
Barbara keeps running into words like “permanent” and “lifetime” and she starts to cry.
GORDON (V.O.) (cont’d)
Please, just call me back. I need to tell you something.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT BACK ROOM – EVENING
The Joker is still tied to the chair, still mad as ever, but looking distinctly more exhausted and deflated, various stains on his clothes. The Man in Glasses pulls off the duct tape and tries to feed the Joker.
JOKER
(dodging the spoon)
You know, I appreciated your novelty at first, but now this all just getting terribly boring.
MAN IN GLASSES
Are you hungry or not?
The Joker holds still long enough to swallow a few bites.
JOKER
Are you ever going to let me go, or just hold me here forever? Your own personal pet clown?
MAN IN GLASSES
Are you ever going to tell me where those photographs are?
The Joker laughs, but it doesn’t quite have his usual energy behind it.
JOKER
Points for persistence, but I’ve told you already; they’re gone. The photos, the camera — they were all at the carnival, so now they’re tucked away safe and sound with the GCPD. You were clever enough to break me out of Arkham; I’m sure you can find your way into the precinct.
(big smile)
MAN IN GLASSES
Mostly true. Except for one thing; the SIM card was missing from the camera. You hid it somewhere before the GCPD arrived on the scene.
JOKER
And how do you know that?
MAN IN GLASSES
I have my ways.
JOKER
Such a man of mystery! I’ll make a deal with you; tell me why you want the pictures and I’ll tell you where they are.
MAN IN GLASSES
No.
JOKER
Alright, then I’ll guess and you tell me when I’m getting close.
MAN IN GLASSES
No.
JOKER
You have some sort of hatred for Barbara Gordon, that much is clear. The question is, why?
MAN IN GLASSES
Where is the SIM card.
JOKER
What did she do, kill your dog? Kidnap your daughter? Beat you and leave you for dead at the altar?
(to himself)
Why can I only think of revenge movie plots?
MAN IN GLASSES
Where is the SIM card.
JOKER
No, no, this is something else. Joker’s eyes narrow and he leans toward the Man in Glasses, sniffing the air.
JOKER (cont’d)
I can smell it on you, you know. You’ve spent time in the funny farm. Not just as an orderly, not just at Arkham. You’ve been a patient.
INT. MENTAL HOSPITAL – DAY
QUICK FLASH – MAN IN GLASSES’ MEMORY. This flashback is not like Barbara’s crystal clear memories. It is somehow distorted, warped or cracked around the edges. The sick product of a twisted mind.
The Man in Glasses, in a patient uniform, clearly extremely bored and angry, sitting and staring out a window.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT BACK ROOM – EVENING
The Man in Glasses flinches very slightly and the Joker laughs.
JOKER
Yes, yes, yes! There it is! You’re like me! So that’s it, isn’t it? People like us can’t stand to see perfect, beautiful things. We have to break them.
EXT. BACKYARD – DAY
QUICK FLASH – MAN IN GLASSES’ MEMORY. A BOY IN GLASSES, hidden behind a tree, pulls the wings off a butterfly.
The boy smiles in delight as the creature struggles.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT BACK ROOM – EVENING
The Man in Glasses says nothing, but he makes eye contact with the Joker, who laughs in delight.
JOKER
Oh ho, this is perfect! I want to see where this goes! The SIM card is in the entrance to the roller coaster, taped inside the grin of the clown painting.
MAN IN GLASSES
Of course it is.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – EVENING
Barbara is on her laptop again, searching through a medical journal.
The bat plushie that Alfred gave her is perched on the desk next to her computer.
She reads article after article about various trials and experiments for spinal injuries, seeing failure after failure.
BARBARA
Damnit.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH. The Joker’s smile, the flying glass, that little bubble of saliva. The sound of the gunshot.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – EVENING
Barbara grabs a pill bottle and shakes one out, swallows it.
There is a knock on the door.
BARBARA
(turning to the door)
Yeah?
The door opens and her father pokes his head in.
GORDON
Sorry to interrupt, sweetie; you have a visitor.
DICK GRAYSON, the former Robin, enters. He is Barbara’s age, cocky-yet-charming, and damn sexy.
INT. BATCAVE – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH. ROBIN yelling at a stone-faced Batman, Batgirl sandwiched in between them, trying to calm him down. Robin takes his mask off and throws it at Batman, then storms away.
EXT. GORDON HOUSE – DAY
QUICK FLASH. Grayson slinging a bag over his shoulder and walking to his motorcycle. Barbara watches him go as tears stream down her face.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – NIGHT
Gordon throws a glare at Grayson before shutting the door.
BARBARA
Grayson!
GRAYSON
Hey, Babs.
Grayson bends down to give her a hug. It’s a little awkward, and not just because of the height difference.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
Is it just me or have you gotten shorter?
BARBARA
Careful, I’m at the perfect height to punch you in the dick, Dick.
Grayson laughs as he sits on the bed.
Barbara re-positions her wheelchair to face him, rolling more easily across the newly installed vinyl flooring.
BARBARA (cont’d)
What are you doing here?
GRAYSON
Alfred told me about what happened. I thought you could use a good surprise.
BARBARA
(deadpan)
Well, it’s definitely a surprise.
(apologetic)
Sorry, that was cold.
GRAYSON
S’okay. I deserve a lot worse.
Barbara gives a “yeah, pretty much” shrug.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
So. How are you holding up?
BARBARA
You know, I’ve been better.
GRAYSON
Yeah. Has Bruce been any help? Offered resources or–
Barbara snorts.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
Let me guess. He’s totally preoccupied with his hunt for the Joker and hasn’t even called you since it happened.
BARBARA
Ding ding ding.
GRAYSON
Yeah, that sounds about right.
BARBARA
I mean, I get it. And I appreciate it, I think. If anyone can catch that bastard, it’s Bruce.
(frustrated sigh)
But sometimes it feels like this whole damn city revolves around Batman and Joker. The rest of us are just collateral damage.
GRAYSON
Wow. Never thought I’d hear that from you.
BARBARA
Yeah, well. Things have been a little…difficult since you left.
EXT. GOTHAM – NIGHT
QUICK FLASHES. Batman leaping off of buildings and Batgirl clenching her jaw in irritation before following him. Batman growling. Batman punching, blood spraying onto his face.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – EVENING
GRAYSON
I’m sorry.
BARBARA
You did what you had to do.
GRAYSON
I shouldn’t have done it like that, though. Barbara–
BARBARA
I was planning on doing the same thing, you know. Retiring Batgirl.
GRAYSON
Seriously?
BARBARA
Well. I said I was. I just couldn’t be responsible for him anymore. I needed to at least attempt to have a life of my own.
GRAYSON
Yeah, I get that. But. You are a hero through and through, Babs. Sooner or later you would’ve made yourself a different costume and gone out under another name.
BARBARA
I thought that was your move, Nightwing.
Grayson lets out a bark of laughter.
BARBARA (cont’d)
But it doesn’t really matter now, does it? That choice has been taken away from me. All those choices have been taken away from me.
Grayson takes her hand.
BARBARA (cont’d)
(tearing up)
I want to walk again, Grayson. I want to run across rooftops and kick bad guys in the face — hell, I want to kick Bruce in the face. I want to dance again.
A beat. Grayson gets up and kisses her on the head.
GRAYSON
Who says you have to have working legs to dance?
Grayson wraps his arms around Barbara and starts trying to pull her up from the wheelchair.
BARBARA
What the hell are you doing?
GRAYSON
Oh, god, this is so much more awkward than I was picturing in my head.
BARBARA
You’re such an idiot sometimes, Grayson.
GRAYSON
Eh, you know you missed me.
He succeeds in getting her up and starts shuffling around in a very awkward attempt at a dance. It’s just weird and uncomfortable at first, but soon becomes strangely romantic.
Grayson’s head starts to edge back, he might be positioning himself for a kiss, but Barbara is not sure how she feels about that, so–
BARBARA
This would probably be a lot less awkward with some music.
Grayson smiles and starts humming Rosemary Clooney’s Sway.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH. Barbara lying in a pool of blood and broken glass as the Joker laughs and her father screams. And Rosemary Clooney sings Sway.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – EVENING
Grayson is still navigating his face towards Barbara’s, but she is hyperventilating and pushes him away.
BARBARA
Stop, stop, stop–
(she falls)
GRAYSON
Whoa, whoa, whoa, what happened? Are you okay?
(he tries to help her back into the chair)
BARBARA
(pushing him away)
No, stop, stop it! Don’t you dare pity me, Dick Grayson. I cannot handle one more ounce of pity from anyone, but especially not from you.
She crawls back to her chair and tries to get back into it.
It doesn’t go well.
GRAYSON
Please let me help you.
BARBARA
I got it.
GRAYSON
Barbara. This isn’t pity. You would do the same thing for me and you know it.
Barbara sighs.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
It’s okay to let people help. It doesn’t make you weak.
Beat. Barbara reaches out an arm and Grayson takes it, using it to pull her up and back into the wheelchair.
BARBARA
Thank you.
GRAYSON
You’re welcome.
(goes to kiss her on the head again)
BARBARA
(dodging)
Okay, seriously, the head kisses are more than a little patronizing.
Grayson just goes for it, kissing her on the mouth, long and deep. Barbara lets him.
When he pulls back there’s a mischievous glint in his eye, but something deeply unresolved on Barbara’s face.
GRAYSON
I’ll be in town another three days or so. I’m staying at the Gotham Grand Hotel, room 1201.
(starts to leave, then pauses)
See, no pity. Just good old fashioned horniness.
(winks and leaves)
Barbara laughs a little and shakes her head, then turns back to her laptop. Her smile falters a bit as she sees the sea of disappointing research. Her gaze travels to the pill bottle, but she does not reach for it.
EXT. GOTHAM – NIGHT
FLASHBACK. The middle of a fight. Batgirl and Robin, both looking very young and innocent, are battling FIREFLY.
Batman handles KILLER MOTH by himself. The Moth’s high tech wings allow him to fly around and fire his spiffy ray gun, but Batman dodges and throws an exploding batarang, taking out the wings and bringing him to the ground.
The Firefly uses his flamethrower to shoot a massive spurt of fire at Batgirl and Robin. Robin flips out of the way with time to spare, but Batgirl doesn’t quite make it. Her costume is fire proof and she gets her face out of the way, but the force of the blast throws her back and into a wall.
BATGIRL
Oof!
ROBIN
You okay?
Batman has already secured Killer Moth and Robin and Batman both start towards her. Firefly uses this opportunity to try to escape.
BATGIRL
I’m fine! Go get him!
Robin and Batman both take off running after Firefly.
Batgirl collapses into a sitting position, letting her head fall back into the wall.
INT. BATCAVE – NIGHT
FLASHBACK CONT. Batman, Batgirl, and Robin traipse in, all a bit worse for wear after the long night.
Batman walks ahead and Batgirl and Robin trail along behind, taking off their masks/cowls or gloves or whatever pieces of their costumes are most cumbersome.
Batgirl walks even slower, examining the unevenly singed ends of her hair.
BATGIRL
(to herself)
Well, I’m gonna need a new haircut.
Robin notices her delay.
ROBIN
(a little nervous)
Hey, nice work out there tonight.
BATGIRL
(gives him a “really?” look)
I’m still too slow. I don’t know what it is; I’m plenty fast when I’m training, but when I get out there it’s like I–
ROBIN
You’re not too slow. It’s– Here, let me show you.
INT. TRAINING ROOM – NIGHT
FLASHBACK CONT. Robin leads Batgirl into the training room, to the sparring mat.
ROBIN
You have lots of dance training and lots of martial arts training and you do a lot of running, but you’re not putting them all together.
BATGIRL
Fighting is not a dance.
ROBIN
Sure it is. Or it can be, for you. Just like it’s acrobatics for me. And so.
He grabs four flags and hands her two.
BATGIRL
Oh, come on, really?
ROBIN
Humor me.
He puts on some music. Rosemary Clooney’s Sway (or maybe a faster-paced EDM-type remix).
The two tuck the flags into their belts and begin a game of tag-sparring. The objective is to grab the flags from the other person’s belt without letting their own be captured.
Not only are they both skilled, but they obviously have a lot of practice together. They’ve done this before. Lots of times. They know all each other’s moves. They chase each other around the room, weaving around and over equipment, darting in for grabs that turn into spurts of hand-to-hand combat.
Batgirl is keeping up pretty well, but Robin still manages to get one of her flags.
ROBIN (cont’d)
You’re not listening to the music! Sway with me!
Batgirl takes a deep breath. She goes to attack, but this time moving differently. More fluidly. Gracefully. Leaping over obstacles like jetés, spinning like pirouettes. Their fighting exchanges begin to look more like a dance, as well.
Pretty soon she’s cornered Robin and grabbed one of his flags.
ROBIN (cont’d)
There we go! Now you’re getting it!
They look at each other for a long moment, laughing and breathing heavily.
Batgirl grabs Robin and kisses him, long and deep.
When she pulls away, he just stands there for a beat, stunned in a very good way.
She takes advantage of his distraction to grab his second flag and take off running.
Robin recovers after a beat and chases after her.
ROBIN (cont’d)
Hey! That’s cheating!
Batgirl laughs, jumping up to grab onto a trapeze, swinging and smiling, but there is the sound of a gunshot and suddenly flying is–
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
DREAM. Falling, falling and staring at the bubble of saliva with the flying glass and the sound of laughter and screaming and singing.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – NIGHT
Barbara wakes up, shaking and sobbing. She collects herself and looks at the old fashioned clock on her bedside table. 11:47 p.m.
She sighs and reaches for the newly installed pull handle above her bed and hauls herself up to a sitting position.
She reaches over to her nightstand for her pill bottle, shakes one out, swallows it, then grabs her laptop. She pulls up a search engine and starts looking into neural implants. The field is promising, but the technology just isn’t quite advanced enough yet. Maybe in five to ten years.
Barbara keeps searching.
INT. BATCAVE – NIGHT
Bruce is viewing police body cam footage on his computer when a figure enters behind him.
BRUCE
I don’t want anymore tea, Alfred.
GRAYSON
Good, because I make terrible tea.
Bruce looks away from his console.
BRUCE
Dick! What are you doing here?
GRAYSON
Most people call me Grayson these days. And I came to pay Babs a visit. Which you should have done weeks ago.
BRUCE
(turns back to the computer)
Something’s wrong with this case.
GRAYSON
You mean the fact that Barbara’s paralyzed? Yes, Bruce, there’s something very wrong about that.
Bruce flinches very slightly at the word “paralyzed,” but slips right back into detective mode.
BRUCE
Joker’s been free for weeks and we haven’t heard a thing from him.
GRAYSON
That is weird.
BRUCE
I’m beginning to think he didn’t get away after I chased him into the roller coaster. I think he was taken.
GRAYSON
Why would someone do that?
BRUCE
I don’t know. It’s just a hunch, really. But look at these time stamps.
He indicates the footage on his screen.
BRUCE (cont’d)
These cops were on the scene just after Joker and I went in. They should have seen him come out.
GRAYSON
Maybe he hid there and waited until everyone left?
BRUCE
Maybe. Or maybe there’s another way out.
(sighs)
Nothing makes sense about this, Grayson. I keep chasing red herrings; running into dead ends.
GRAYSON
You know who would be a big help with this? Barbara.
Bruce clenches his jaw.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
It’s not like the injury paralyzed her brain, Bruce. She’s as sharp as ever. And bored. She’s going crazy cooped up in that chair; give her something to do.
BRUCE
She needs to rest.
GRAYSON
Bullshit. You’re treating her like a naughty kid you put in time out. It’s not her fault this happened to her.
BRUCE
No. It’s mine.
GRAYSON
How? How is this your fault?
BRUCE
I’ve had so many opportunities to kill the Joker, but every time I pull back. And every time he makes me pay for it.
GRAYSON
Oh my god, of course you would find a way to make this all about you.
Bruce glares.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to Barbara and you can’t even be bothered to pick up the phone.
Bruce’s jaw tenses.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
God, you’re still the same selfish bastard you’ve always been. I’m leaving. Good luck catching the Joker.
(walks away, yells over his shoulder)
Visit Barbara!
Bruce broods for a moment, then pulls up an album on the computer labeled “Family Photos.” He opens a picture of himself with Grayson and Barbara, all three wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and grinning at the camera. Even Bruce.
INT. ROLLER COASTER – NIGHT
The Man in Glasses stands in front of the clown painting in the entrance hallway, a flashlight in one hand while the other one searches under the lip created by the top teeth of the clown’s grin.
MAN IN GLASSES
Gotcha.
He pulls the small box out. It’s purple plastic with the Joker face logo. He pops it open and sees a SIM card inside. He smiles, then hears the door to the attraction open.
He turns off the flashlight and flattens himself against the wall. When he hears a quiet rustling sound approaching, he slides a panel aside and slips into a hidden employee passage.
Batman passes by the spot where the Man in Glasses just stood. Slowly, he proceeds into the roller coaster itself, taking in his surroundings, looking at every detail. It’s somehow even more eerie with the screens blank.
From the employee passage, the Man in Glasses follows along. He presses against the other side of the blank screens, watching as Batman crouches on one of the rails before a big drop. There is a long, tense moment as the Man in Glasses stares at Batman’s vulnerable, exposed back.
Batman spots a black trap door underneath the track. He drops down from his perch, opens the hatch, and finds himself in the basement level employee passages.
The Man in Glasses slips down the hallway to a set of stairs that take him to the same level as Batman, carefully navigating the corners to stay out of Batman’s line of sight.
The Man in Glasses watches eagerly as Batman discovers a drainage tunnel/manhole cover.
BATMAN
So that’s how you got him out.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – MORNING
Barbara is asleep in bed, the laptop still open on her lap. There is a soft knock on the door before Gordon gingerly pushes it open.
GORDON
Barbara?
Barbara starts awake with a grunt.
GORDON (cont’d)
Were you up all night?
BARBARA
No, no, I just–
GORDON
Did you take your meds?
BARBARA
(still sleepy)
Yes. No, I don’t know.
GORDON
(grabs the pill bottle and opens it)
These were supposed to last you for another month; how often have you been taking them?
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH. Joker’s smile. Saliva bubble. Flying glass. Gunshot.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – MORNING
Barbara flinches.
GORDON
Alright, that’s it. I was going to ask if you wanted to go to that support group today, but now I’m telling you. You’re going.
BARBARA
(awake now)
Dad, I don’t need a support group for cripples; I’m gonna fix this. There’s gotta be a surgery or a clinical trial or some kind of treatment out there–
GORDON
And I hope you find it, I really do, but if you don’t–
BARBARA
I will!
GORDON
If anyone can find it, it’s you, I know that; I believe in you, but Babs. They said even the most advanced treatments can’t reattach a severed spinal cord. There might be some good doctors out there, but are they miracle workers?
Barbara’s jaw clenches.
Gordon sits on the bed next to her, puts a hand on her leg.
GORDON (cont’d)
I don’t know how to help you, Barbara.
Barbara stares at the hand on her leg.
GORDON (cont’d)
Tell me how to–
Gordon realizes what he’s just done. His hand jumps away from her leg, flutters around.
Awful pause.
Gordon stands back up, his hands don’t know what to do. Different emotions war for control of his face. Frustration? Grief? Guilt?
GORDON (cont’d)
God damnit, god damnit! I’m sorry, Babs, Jesus, I’m so sorry. I wish that I could make it all better, make this all go away, but I just… I’m lost here. I…
BARBARA
(thawing)
Well if you’re gonna fight dirty…
Gordon tries not to look too excited.
BARBARA (cont’d)
But for the record, I am not doing this because I want it or need it, but because I love you.
GORDON
Noted. And thank you.
He gets up, kisses her on the head, then turns to leave.
BARBARA
Thank you. For taking care of me and everything.
GORDON
Eh, it was time for me to retire anyway. I was too old for that shit.
BARBARA
(overlapping)
Too old for that shit.
GORDON
(smiling)
Yeah.
He leaves.
Barbara grabs the pill bottle and takes one out, then sees how few there are left. She puts it back in and closes the bottle.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE ROOM – MORNING
The Man in Glasses plugs the SIM card into his laptop.
From another room, the Joker can be heard attempting to sing through the duct tape still on his mouth.
The Man in Glasses rolls his eyes, gets up and shuts the door, then returns to his laptop.
His phone rings and he answers.
MAN IN GLASSES
Dr. Thompkins–
LESLIE THOMPKINS (O.S.)
Oh, thank god you answered — listen, I know you’re not on the schedule to volunteer today, but is there any chance you could come by the clinic? We’re–
The sounds of a baby screaming and someone else talking can faintly be heard through the phone.
The images have downloaded and the Man in Glasses leans over the laptop to click on one.
LESLIE THOMPKINS (O.S.) (cont’d)
(to someone else)
Yes, yes, I know, I’ll be right there.
(into the phone) Listen, I’m sorry about this, it’s just that Alice has the flu and we don’t have anyone to–
MAN IN GLASSES
I’ll be there.
The image of Barbara lying in her own blood is loading.
LESLIE THOMPKINS (O.S.)
Oh, thank you, you’re a life save–
The Man in Glasses hangs up the phone and drops it. He sits back down to gaze at the image filling his screen. He just stares at it, taking it in. Not aroused. Satisfied.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT HALLWAY – DAY
The Man in Glasses emerges from the office room, pulling on a hoodie over a t-shirt marked “volunteer.”
The Joker has managed to get the tape halfway off his mouth and yells at him.
JOKER
Could you pick up some donuts at the store, baby? Oh, and we’re almost out of milk!
The Man in Glasses pauses, aggravation written across his features. He goes back to where the Joker sits, peeling off a fresh strip of duct tape.
JOKER (cont’d)
Oh come on, you must have a better punch line than th–
But the new line of duct tape is already on.
The Man in Glasses continues out the door, just a trace of a smile on his features.
EXT. COMMUNITY CENTER – DAY
It’s definitely not the worst part of town, but it’s not a particularly good part, either. Just a cheap, ugly looking building with far too few resources doing its best to help people.
Gordon unloads Barbara’s wheelchair and helps her transfer.
GORDON
Do you want me to push you inside?
BARBARA
No, thank you, I got it.
The Man in Glasses drives up to the community center. He spots the Gordons’ car and makes a hard right turn, pulling around to a different entrance.
GORDON
Okay. I’ll be right out here, call me if you need–
BARBARA
Thanks.
Barbara pushes herself towards the community center as her father gets back in the car. She goes up to the front entrance but then realizes there are stairs to get in.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Really?
She sighs and heads around to the back.
The Man in Glasses parks in the back and sees Barbara push herself in through the clinic entrance. He pulls up his hood and gets out of the car.
INT. CLINIC – DAY
Barbara wheels in through the clinic door. It’s still chaos, people rushing around.
A stunningly incompetent VOLUNTEER nearly trips over her.
VOLUNTEER
Can I help you?
BARBARA
Sorry, just trying to get to the disability support group.
VOLUNTEER
It’s in the community room in front.
The Man in Glasses slips in through a side door, listens to their conversation.
BARBARA
I realize that. There’s no ramp.
VOLUNTEER
Ramp?
BARBARA
Ramp. You know. For people in wheelchairs? People with…disabilities?
VOLUNTEER
What?
LESLIE THOMPKINS sees the Man in Glasses and comes over to him. She is around Jim Gordon’s age, a very focused but kind-hearted and generous doctor.
LESLIE THOMPKINS
There’s my hero. Alright, first thing we need is a nutrition run…
She turns to leave and the Man in Glasses follows her.
INT. CLINIC STORAGE ROOM – DAY
Leslie Thompkins opens the door to the storage room and goes to a stack of infant formula. She starts piling boxes into the Man in Glasses’ arms.
LESLIE THOMPKINS
We’re low on formula, so start in the Narrows; they need it most. Oh, and please check on LaToya Johnston’s baby and make sure she’s giving him those antibiotics–
They back out of the storage room and she shuts the door.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
One of those ugly multi-purpose rooms that could be a gymnasium or a cafeteria or an auditorium but doesn’t really serve any of those functions particularly well. It’s blocked into a smaller section with one of those horrible room dividers and the sounds of a meeting on the other side of the divider can be heard periodically.
Barbara sits in a circle of other women with various types of disabilities. Many of them are in wheelchairs, a few are amputees. A couple sit in metal folding chairs with assistive devices like walkers or canes. Maybe there’s even a service dog next to someone.
LINDA, the group’s quadriplegic leader speaks up. She radiates kindness and warmth — the kind of woman who could be an annoying Pollyanna if she weren’t so damn genuine.
LINDA
So, how are we all feeling today?
SHANNON replies, a (non-binary?) woman in a wheelchair who throws off heavy punk rock vibes.
SHANNON
I’m feeling pretty pissed off, Linda.
LINDA
And why is that, Shannon?
SHANNON
Anyone else watch that show Grace Falls?
A few eye rolls.
MARY, a tragically disaffected woman mutters to herself.
MARY
Not again.
BARBARA
The shitty soap opera?
SHANNON
Daytime dramas are a valid form of entertainment, too, Red.
BARBARA
Sorry.
INT. COMMUNITY CENTER HALLWAY – DAY
The Man in Glasses pads silently down the hallway, arms still loaded with baby formula. He pauses outside of the community room to eavesdrop.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
SHANNON
So in this one episode, the main character, Grace Anne, was driving to try to stop a wedding — her fiancé was about to marry her evil twin sister, but of course he didn’t know it wasn’t Grace Anne–
MARY
Anytime you want to get to the point, there, Shannon…
LINDA
Let’s try to give Shannon room to share, Mary.
SHANNON
Anyway, so she’s speeding and it’s raining, so she gets in a car accident and wakes up in the hospital. The doctor tells her she’s paralyzed and she’s gonna be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
QUICK FLASH. No sound. The doctor facing Barbara, telling her she’ll never walk again. Barbara screaming as her father hugs her.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
A few of the other women in the group react, too, remembering their own stories.
SHANNON
So at first I’m like, oh god, really? Gonna have another able-bodied actor pretending to putz around in a wheelchair? Whining about how her life isn’t worth living if she can’t dance anymore?
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – EVENING
QUICK FLASH. No sound. Barbara telling Grayson she wants to dance again, to run across rooftops and kick bad guys in the face again.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
Barbara shifts uncomfortably.
SHANNON
And they did do that at first, but then she decided to take her own power back. She went back to school, was gonna become a social worker and try to do some good in the world.
Some general murmurs of “nice” or “wow.”
SHANNON (cont’d)
Yeah, it was awesome. Until they decided that it was time for her to have some kind of miraculous surgery, because her dancing was the only way to win her fiancé back from her evil twin’s clutches.
Some hisses and “ouches” and head shakes.
BARBARA
I’m sorry, am I missing something?
INT. COMMUNITY CENTER HALLWAY – DAY
The Man in Glasses leans in closer, listening intently.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
BARBARA
Why don’t you want your favorite character to be able to walk or dance or pole vault or whatever the hell she wants? Do you hate normal people or something?
SHANNON
How long you been in that chair, Red?
LINDA
Shannon, let’s try to steer clear of personal–
SHANNON
I’m just asking. How long?
BARBARA
Couple months.
SHANNON
Yeah. And you’re still hoping you’ll get out of it?
BARBARA
I know I will.
SHANNON
Right. Good luck with that. This isn’t about whether or not Grace Anne can walk. This is about erasure of disability.
MARY
Here we go.
SHANNON
When the media takes a character with a disability and then “cures” them, they’re sending us a message. They’re telling us that we have no value to them unless we’re able-bodied.
BARBARA
Oh come on, are you honestly saying that if you had the chance to get out of that chair, you wouldn’t take it?
SHANNON
Absolutely not. This is who I am.
BARBARA
Well, it’s not who I am.
(pushing away from the group)
INT. COMMUNITY CENTER HALLWAY – DAY
The Man in Glasses grimaces and retreats.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
LINDA
Wait, please. All are welcome here, truly. Why don’t you share next, miss…?
BARBARA
(turning back)
Gordon. Barbara Gordon.
LINDA
And what’s your story, Gordon, Barbara Gordon?
INT./EXT. GORDON’S CAR – DAY
Gordon is still parked outside the community center where he dropped off Barbara when his phone rings. There is no name or number listed, just a little bat symbol. He sighs and answers it.
GORDON
Hello.
BATMAN
Gordon.
GORDON
No. No, no, no. I’m retired.
BATMAN
Someone is covering something up.
GORDON
What part of “I’m retired” don’t you understand?
BATMAN
There’s a file missing from the GCPD’s record of the Arkham security footage the night of Joker’s escape. It’s not on Arkham’s servers, either.
Gordon is silent for a long moment.
BATMAN (cont’d)
I need your help, Jim.
GORDON
My daughter needs my help.
Gordon hangs up, then pulls up another contact listed as “J.J.” and calls it, but no one answers.
GORDON (cont’d)
Call me back, now. I need to talk to you.
He hangs up and glares at the church.
The Man in Glasses emerges from the back and loads the infant formula into his car. Gordon does not notice him.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
The support group disperses and Linda navigates her way over to Barbara.
LINDA
Listen, I’m sorry about Shannon. She can be a little…passionate.
Barbara snorts.
LINDA (cont’d)
Her approach can be a bit intense at times, but she makes some good points. Anyway, I’d really like to get to know you better. Let me give you my number; maybe we can grab a coffee.
BARBARA
Thanks, that’s kind of you.
LINDA
I mean it. I really do hope you’ll call me sometime, anytime.
Barbara nods in a “yeah, sure” kind of way.
LINDA (cont’d)
This isn’t just a bullshit, this-is-what-I’m-supposed-to-say-as-the-leader-of-a-support-group-for-disabled-women thing. I’m here to help. It’s kinda my thing.
BARBARA
Yeah. Me too.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT BACK ROOM – LATER
The Man in Glasses returns, actually carrying some groceries.
He removes the tape from the Joker’s mouth to feed him.
JOKER
I believe I requested milk and donuts.
The Man in Glasses looks at him.
JOKER (cont’d)
Oh come on, baby, don’t be like that.
The Man in Glasses offers him a spoon full of food. Joker takes a bite.
JOKER (cont’d)
You know, you could untie me. I’m so invested in this whole thing, there’s now way I’d run off at this point. It’s better than cable.
More silence from the Man in Glasses. Just feeding.
JOKER (cont’d)
What is it you have against me, anyway? We had some fun times in Arkham, you and me. I thought we had a real connection. Then you kidnap me and tie me up? What happened to us?
Another spoonful.
JOKER (cont’d)
Is it because of what I said about you spending time in a nuthouse? You liking to hurt pretty things? You don’t like it when people see the truth about you, do you? You don’t–
MAN IN GLASSES
It’s because you’re sloppy.
JOKER
(laughing)
Really?
MAN IN GLASSES
I used to admire you so much. You were my childhood hero. I dressed up as you for Halloween for four years in a row, I was so in awe of you.
The Joker is flattered.
MAN IN GLASSES (cont’d)
You could hold an entire city in thrall, it was amazing. But then I started looking closer at your history, and… You’re not actually that invested in your crimes, are you?
Shocked and offended face from the Joker, an intake of breath.
MAN IN GLASSES (cont’d)
You don’t really care about hurting people or causing mayhem and chaos the way you say you do. You want to get caught. Because you want to get Batman’s attention. That’s what it’s really about for you. That’s all it’s about.
Now it’s the Joker’s turn to flinch.
MAN IN GLASSES (cont’d)
That’s why I had to kidnap you. You can’t be trusted when it comes to Batman.
Beat.
The Joker leans forward as far as his restraints will allow, lowering his voice.
JOKER
I’m willing to admit that my…feelings…for the Bat may be a distraction or even a weakness at times. But what does that say about your obsession with Barbara Gordon?
The Man in Glasses puts the food and spoon down a little more forcefully than necessary and tears off a fresh strip of duct tape.
JOKER (cont’d)
Truth hurts, don’t it?
The Man in Glasses puts the duct tape on the Joker’s mouth and storms off.
The Joker laughs underneath the tape.
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE ROOM – EVENING
The Man in Glasses enters and slams the door, then sits down at his computer and opens a terminal and starts coding, building a RAT to embed in a post on 4chan’s /b/ board. He attaches it to a video of a little girl doing a cartwheel.
TEXT POST
dudes, have u heard about this doc in south africa. total mrcl wrkr. my kid sis went to him with a completely severed spinal cord, now I’m watching her do summer saults in the backyard. name’s dr friedkin, only takes bitcoin. 4 sur worth the flight.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT TOWER – NIGHT
FLASHBACK. It’s the same chemical plant where the Man in Glasses has been holding the Joker, only back when it was still operational.
Batgirl and Batman, shrouded in shadows, perch near the top of the tower, looking down.
On a platform below them, the Joker and a collection of his HENCHMEN argue.
JOKER
Who had the vial last? Was it you?
HENCHMAN
Not me, boss, honest.
Up on the tower, Batgirl and Batman settle into position.
BATGIRL
Why a chemical plant?
ALFRED (V.O.)
Ace Chemical Company is the single biggest supplier of beauty and hygiene products in all of Gotham. A bit of Joker toxin in the right vat–
BATGIRL
And thousands of people die smiling. Grizzly.
Batman grunts as he takes in the situation.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
So how do you want to handle this?
Below, the Joker and his goons are still arguing.
JOKER
Well, if it wasn’t you, then who was it?
Batman’s eyes are stormy.
BATMAN
I’ll handle Joker. Batgirl, you take the southeast corner and cut off their exit. Rob–
Awkward beat.
BATGIRL
(gently)
It’s just us.
Below them, the Joker suddenly remembers.
JOKER
Oh, that’s right, it was me!
He pulls out a bright green vial from his jacket pocket.
Batman growls and leaps down from the tower towards the catwalk.
Batgirl rolls her eyes and follows.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT CATWALK – NIGHT
Batgirl lands on the catwalk just behind Batman, who is fighting several henchmen at once.
He throws a couple of exploding batarangs behind him towards the ladder and elevator that serve as escape routes from the level, as well as the catwalk connecting to another platform.
He doesn’t see the goon who has almost reached the ladder.
Batgirl changes course and grabs the goon, spinning him around to protect him with her own cape just before the charge detonates.
There is a series of small explosions. The ladder breaks apart and part of the elevator breaks open. A few girders twist and deform, but the main structure stays intact.
The goon that Batgirl just saved throws an elbow at her. Batgirl fights back, punching him in between her words.
BATGIRL
Why– Must– Boys– Always– Blow– Things– Up!
She knocks him out and then quickly ties him up.
ALFRED (O.S.)
I’m happy to report I have never blown up a chemical factory.
Batgirl snorts and rushes down the catwalk to help Batman, but he has already finished dispatching the rest of the goons.
He grabs the Joker, who accidentally-on-purpose drops the vial.
JOKER
Oops!
Batgirl leaps off the catwalk, firing her grappling gun as she makes a dive for the vial. She catches it just in time, then swings back up onto the catwalk on the other side of the Joker. She double checks to make sure that none of the contents of the vial have spilled, then secures it in her belt.
She looks up to see Batman beating the crap out of the Joker, who is no longer moving. Blood sprays on Batman’s face as Batgirl runs toward him to try to pull him off the Joker’s still form.
BATGIRL
Whoa, Batman, stop! Stop, stop!
Batman is still punching, though his arm is slowing.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
We did it, Batman; we got him, you can stop.
Batgirl finally manages to wrestle Batman off of Joker and back a couple of paces, causing them both to fall backward. She holds him in an awkward sitting hug-that-is-also-a-restraint-position.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
(sotto voce)
It’s okay. It’s done.
Batman says nothing, just hangs his head.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
I’ve decided to retire Batgirl. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Oh god, this is the worst timing ever. I just need to–
But Batman has already gotten up to his feet and is stalking away down the catwalk.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
I’ll just. Stay here and wait for the cops then.
Batman fires his grappling gun and swings away into the shadows.
BATGIRL (cont’d)
Oooooookay.
ALFRED (O.S.)
I’ll serve him some tea and a thorough scolding when he returns home.
Batgirl smirks as she ties up the Joker.
ALFRED (O.S.) (cont’d)
The police should arrive at your location momentarily. I’m afraid some reporters are coming as well, though.
BATGIRL
(exhausted sigh)
Great.
Batgirl looks around, realizing there’s no way to get Joker and all the henchmen down to the ground level when the police arrive. Thanks, Batman.
She puzzles over the situation for a moment, then begins tying up goons, humming the old Batman theme to herself as she moves.
JOKER
It’s always painful, isn’t it? Watching him walk away.
BATGIRL
Oh, god! I thought you were unconscious.
She starts pushing a few tied up goons together, grunting at their weight.
The Joker smiles, and his mouth is full of blood.
JOKER
Not quite.
(shifts position)
The man has a talent for making you feel like you never mattered to him at all.
BATGIRL
Shut up.
She grabs a line from her belt and ties it around the henchmen, secures it the catwalk, then kicks them off.
They yell, but the line catches them before they hit the ground and they dangle there, waiting for the police.
JOKER
He’s still upset about Robin leaving, isn’t he? I’ll bet he blames me for that one. Do you blame me, too?
(innocent pose)
Batgirl stops and takes a breath, looking up to see flashing lights approaching and hear sirens grow louder as the cops draw nearer. She continues working, tying together a few more henchmen, kicking them off the catwalk.
JOKER (cont’d)
I’m sure you’re upset about Robin’s departure, too, but it hit him harder, didn’t it? Some unresolved abandonment issues, perhaps? Maybe some childhood trauma?
BATGIRL
Please stop talking.
She kicks off the last batch of henchmen, then goes back to the Joker and stands him up. Distaste written across her features, she grips him against her body, then pulls out her grappling gun.
JOKER
(whispers)
Don’t worry. I’ll tell them all that you were the one that saved the city while Batsy was having a temper tantrum.
BATGIRL
What I wouldn’t give for some duct tape right now.
Batgirl fires her grappling gun and swings off with the Joker, but there is a gunshot and suddenly flying becomes–
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
DREAM. Falling again, the flying glass again, staring at that bubble of saliva again, hearing the sounds of laughter and screaming and singing again.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – MORNING
Barbara wakes up, breathing heavily. She runs her fingers through her hair. Shaking, she reaches for her phone.
BARBARA
Hey, I’m sorry, I know it’s stupid early, but…did you mean what you said yesterday?
INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE ROOM – MORNING
The Man in Glasses gets on his computer and checks his earlier post about the miracle surgery. Plenty of responses, but no hits from Barbara.
MAN IN GLASSES
Come on, where are you?
He pulls up the photos the Joker took, savoring Barbara’s pain.
EXT. COFFEE SHOP – MORNING
Not one of those brand new hipster deals full of pretension, but an old school mom-and-pop type shop that’s clearly a deeply entrenched part of its community.
Barbara and Linda sit at a table outside. Barbara has a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin, which she picks at, but doesn’t actually eat.
Linda lets her break the silence first.
BARBARA
I really appreciate you meeting me. Sorry for calling so early.
LINDA
Don’t worry about it. I’m actually a morning person, anyway.
Beat.
BARBARA
I’m…not.
LINDA
(smile, chuckle)
So. What’s on your mind, Gordon, Barbara Gordon?
BARBARA
(deep breath)
My great aunt was a clock maker.
INT. CLOCK MAKER’S WORKSHOP – DAY
QUICK FLASH. A woman’s face. She has fiery red hair, freckles, and deep smile lines. She is AUNT MILDRED, and she grins at a YOUNG BARBARA.
EXT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
BARBARA
She was actually the primary designer for the clock in the old abandoned tower on 7th.
She points behind her at a clock tower just visible a few blocks away.
INT. CLOCK MAKER’S WORKSHOP – DAY
FLASHBACK. Aunt Mildred and Young Barbara are bent over a clock, working fastidiously.
BARBARA (V.O.)
When I was a kid, she used to let me help her in her workshop. Okay, “help” is probably a generous word. But I loved being in there with her, seeing how everything worked.
Aunt Mildred holds up a cog and explains something to Young Barbara.
INT. GARAGE – DAY
FLASHBACK. TEEN BARBARA solders a circuit board.
BARBARA (V.O.)
It’s what got me into building computers, actually. Which got me into programming, which got me into… Well. Anyway.
INT. CLOCK MAKER’S WORKSHOP – DAY
FLASHBACK. Aunt Mildred and Young Barbara put the clock back together. It’s the same clock that sits on Barbara’s bedside table in the present day. Something’s wrong with it, though; the hands aren’t moving.
BARBARA (V.O.)
Aunt Mildred always used to say, “There’s a solution to every problem.”
Aunt Mildred holds the clock up to her ear and listens to it, then holds it up to Young Barbara’s ear so she can hear it. She puts it back on the table and takes it apart.
BARBARA (V.O.) (cont’d)
“Think it through, Barbara. Slow down, take a breath. Use your brain, girl. You can find the answer.”
EXT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
BARBARA
But there just doesn’t seem to be a solution to this problem. I keep trying, but I can’t find it.
LINDA
At the risk of stating the obvious: not every piece of advice is applicable to every situation.
BARBARA
I just mean, the world used to make sense. When there was a problem, I could fix it. When someone was in trouble, I could help them — it was what I did, who I was, what I was meant to do. But now…I don’t know who I am or why I’m here anymore.
Linda takes a deep breath before speaking.
LINDA
People who’ve never been through this kind of thing love to tell stories about people who “fight” their disability or “overcome” what’s happened to them. That’s bullshit.
Barbara’s eyebrows shoot up.
LINDA (cont’d)
They don’t understand. Fighting is exhausting. And it makes you focus on the wrong thing.
BARBARA
Oh, god, please don’t try to tell me that this injury is some kind of blessing in disguise or something.
LINDA
It can be. Without my accident, I never would’ve started that support group, never would’ve gotten the chance to help all those people, to meet you. There are plenty of ways to help the world from a sitting position, Barbara.
BARBARA
Look, I respect you. I really do. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say that I’m grateful for what happened to me.
LINDA
And you don’t have to. But you do have to find a way to make your peace with this if you don’t want to lose your mind.
Barbara starts to say something, but Linda interrupts.
LINDA (cont’d)
I’m just saying: what if you’re not a problem to be fixed?
Barbara sips her coffee thoughtfully.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – LATER
Barbara pulls up her search engine and hopelessly, randomly types in some spinal-injury-cure-type keywords.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
QUICK FLASH. Barbara sits in her bed, facing a couple RESIDENTS and an ATTENDING.
ATTENDING
Your paralysis will be permanent.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM/INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE – AFTERNOON
The word “permanent” echoes in Barbara’s ears as she pulls up a deep web search engine. She types in different phrases, like “spinal surgery,” “paraplegia treatment,” “spinal paralysis miracle cure.”
She finds the post the Man in Glasses planted. She watches the video of the little girl doing cartwheels, an oddly wistful jealousy on her face.
Back in the chemical plant, the Man in Glasses smiles.
MAN IN GLASSES
There it is.
He starts hacking.
Barbara looks at the text post a little more carefully.
TEXT POST
dudes, have u heard about this doc in south africa. total mrcl wrkr. my kid sis went to him with a totes severed spinal cord, now I’m watching her do summer saults in the backyard. name’s dr friedkin, only takes bitcoin. 4 shur worth the flight.
Her eyebrows furrow.
INT. COMMUNITY ROOM – DAY
SHANNON
–they decided that it was time for her to have some kind of miraculous surgery–
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM/INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE – AFTERNOON
Barbara pulls up another tab on the Tor browser and looks up the name “Dr Friedkin.” The results almost all have to do with the Grace Falls soap opera.
BARBARA
(pinches the bridge of her nose)
God damnit.
She grabs her pills, but discovers the bottle is empty.
BARBARA (cont’d)
God damnit!
Barbara throws the bottle and it hits the bat plushie, knocking it over.
GORDON (O.S.)
You okay, honey?
BARBARA
Yeah, Dad, I’m fine!
The Man in Glasses finally cracks into Barbara’s computer and mirrors her screen onto his own.
MAN IN GLASSES
Gotcha.
Barbara broods at the computer screen.
LINDA (V.O.)
What if you’re not a problem to be fixed?
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM/INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE – AFTERNOON
Barbara closes the browser and instead accesses the security footage from the Arkham breakout. She views the same footage of the van pulling up that she watched at the very beginning of the film, but then goes back and looks closer at when the switch is made with the volunteer.
Back in the chemical plant, the Man in Glasses leans in closer to his computer, watching the mirror image of Barbara’s screen intently.
Barbara zooms in on the volunteer’s face, squinting at it, but the footage is grainy and she can’t get a good angle. She clicks through different files, finding some footage of her father rushing down a hallway with DR. ARKHAM immediately after the breakout.
ARKHAM
–left a decoy in his place.
GORDON
(frustrated sigh)
Right. Who’s the person that’s been playing Joker?
DIRECTOR
A young orderly named J.J. The nurses say he’s a hard worker, a little naive–
GORDON
J.J.?
DIRECTOR
Yes.
GORDON
Let me talk to him.
BARBARA
J.J.?
Barbara furiously searches through footage, but can’t find the video of Gordon talking to the volunteer.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Where is it, where is it?
Barbara pulls up a terminal and hacks and hacks some more.
She gets error messages saying the file has been deleted.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Come on, you son of a bitch, where are you?
The Man in Glasses smiles.
She finally finds the footage and recovers it. It takes a long time to load, and Barbara taps her fingers on the desk while she waits.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Come on, come on, come on.
At last the video from the Arkham security footage loads and Barbara plays it.
It shows the interior of a room at Arkham. A young man sits on a bed, restrained, wearing a patient uniform and the last remnants of smeared clown makeup.
It is the Man in Glasses who has been stalking Barbara, the First Man from the very beginning scene who switched places with the Joker.
BARBARA (cont’d)
(touching the face on the screen)
James?
INT. PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO – DAY
QUICK FLASH. TODDLER BARBARA and squirming BABY JAMES JR., all dressed up as a photographer tries to get a decent picture of the siblings.
TODDLER BARBARA
J.J. stop!
EXT. SCHOOLYARD – DAY
QUICK FLASH. YOUNG JAMES JR., the Boy in Glasses, getting bullied and Young Barbara intervening, defending him with her tae kwon do skills.
YOUNG BARBARA
Hey! Leave my brother alone!
INT. GORDON HOUSE – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH. TEEN JAMES JR. and TEEN BARBARA watching a cheesy old horror movie together. A woman on screen who looks kind of like Barbara is tied to a chair, screaming.
HORROR MOVIE CHICK
Oh god, help! Somebody help me!
Teen James Jr. is just a little too engrossed at the sounds of the woman’s pain and fear as the knife descends.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM/INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE – AFTERNOON
Barbara stares at the computer screen in disbelief.
On the security footage, Gordon enters the patient room.
J.J.
(startled)
Dad!
GORDON
Why’d you do it, James? Why’d you help the Joker escape?
J.J.
I didn’t mean to, honest. I thought it was just a game, to see how long–
GORDON
Bullshit. Did someone offer to pay you to get him out?
J.J.
No! I really wasn’t trying to get him out! Please, dad, you have to believe me!
GORDON
You were doing so well, James. What happened? Did you go off your medication?
J.J.
No, dad, I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to do. Taking my pills, going to therapy, volunteering–
GORDON
Then why would you want to let a psychopath like that back on the streets?
J.J.
You mean a psychopath like me?
The video on Barbara’s screen is interrupted by a text page.
MR. J. (TEXT)
Enjoying the show, Babs?
BARBARA
Oh, god.
MR. J. (TEXT)
Or would you prefer to be the star?
Her screen is suddenly flooded with those photographs of herself that Joker took when he shot her.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH. It’s happening again. The gunshot, the saliva bubble, the flying glass, the laughing and screaming and singing.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM/INT. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICE – AFTERNOON
BARBARA
Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god
MR. J. (TEXT)
I’m still out here, Babsy. Single and ready to mingle. Want to play?
BARBARA
Oh god oh god oh god oh god
Barbara mashes buttons on her keyboard, but she has no control.
Now the screen is being filled up with dripping red “HA HA HA HA” characters.
She slams the laptop shut.
In the empty building, J.J. sits back in his chair, that satisfied smile on his face.
INT. LIVING ROOM – AFTERNOON
Barbara pushes herself into the living room, vibrating with emotion.
Gordon sits on the couch with a beer in his hand, watching TV or maybe just staring into space.
BARBARA
When were you going to tell me?
GORDON
Oh, hey, sweetie. Tell you what?
BARBARA
That J.J. isn’t missing. He didn’t run away to California; he’s right here in Gotham.
GORDON
He’s n–
BARBARA
Don’t lie to me! I’ve seen the footage of him at Arkham.
Gordon looks away.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Tell me you weren’t the one who deleted that file.
GORDON
How could you even think that?
BARBARA
You don’t actually believe his bullshit, do you? That the Joker fooled him into thinking it was some kind of game?
GORDON
Barbara, he really has been trying to get himself together–
BARBARA
We’re not kids anymore, dad. You can’t explain this away with a “boys will be boys” or try to tell me I’m overreacting–
GORDON
That’s not fair–
BARBARA
He let the Joker escape and I got shot so are you happy now? Is this enough evidence that he’s not just some harmless kid?
GORDON
Barbara, he’s still my son.
BARBARA
And I’m your daughter!
There is a long, tense silence.
BARBARA (cont’d)
I can’t do this. I can’t.
Barbara pushes her wheelchair back into her room.
INT. BARBARA’S ROOM – AFTERNOON
Barbara throws her laptop and charger cord into a bag, which she puts on her lap. The bat plushie falls to the floor, but she ignores it.
GORDON
Barbara, stop, just calm down.
BARBARA
Don’t tell me to calm down.
GORDON
Barbara, I’m sorry, just let me explain–
BARBARA
I can’t even look at you right now.
She wheels herself back out into the living room.
INT. LIVING ROOM – AFTERNOON
Barbara pushes herself towards the front door and Gordon jumps in front of her.
GORDON
Where are you going?
BARBARA
Out.
GORDON
Please, slow down, let’s talk about this.
Barbara tries to move around him.
BARBARA
Get out of my way.
GORDON
Barbara, stop!
Gordon gets behind her wheelchair and grabs one of the handles.
BARBARA
DON’T! TOUCH! MY WHEELCHAIR!
Gordon lets go and Barbara pushes herself out of the front door.
INT. EMPTY BUILDING – EVENING
J.J. tears the duct tape off of Joker’s mouth. His face is red and raw around where the tape has been removed and reattached so many times.
JOKER
You know, that is really starting to get old.
J.J. starts unfastening the restraints.
JOKER (cont’d)
Does this mean we’re over? Just like that? But we were really getting somewh–
J.J.
Just get out. Go play with Batman. I’m done with you.
JOKER
Well, if you’re gonna be like that…
By this time the Joker’s restraints have all been removed and he tries to get up. He is shaky and weak.
J.J. dismisses the Joker and heads towards the office, turning his back on Joker. Furious, Joker tries to lunge towards him, but his legs give out and he falls.
JOKER (cont’d)
It’s crazy how we let them hurt us, isn’t it? Crazy…
He starts laughing and drags himself out of the building.
EXT. EMPTY BUILDING – EVENING
The Joker pauses and takes a deep breath.
JOKER
Oh, Batsy! Here I come!
INT. GOTHAM GRAND HOTEL – EVENING
A building so old as to be deeply entrenched in the city’s history, maintained with a lot of affection, but funds far insufficient to the owner’s pretensions.
Barbara knocks on the door marked 1201. Grayson opens it and smiles when he sees her.
BARBARA
I need you.
GRAYSON
(stepping out of the way)
Oh, yes, please.
Barbara pushes herself in.
INT. GRAYSON’S HOTEL ROOM – EVENING
A small room with decor too old to be “retro” but not yet circled around to “classic.” It has unfortunately fallen victim to Grayson’s messiness.
Barbara enters and heads for the small desk that has delusions of grandness as Grayson follows, hanky panky clearly on his mind.
BARBARA
Not you you, Nightwing you.
GRAYSON
I think I’m a little insulted.
BARBARA
Shut up and suit up. We’re gonna catch the Joker.
GRAYSON
Yes, ma’am.
Grayson pulls out his Nightwing suit from the hidden safe and starts changing while Barbara pulls up to the desk. She sets her laptop on the desk and opens it up.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
You know, Bruce thinks that Joker’s being held somewhere against his will.
BARBARA
(typing)
Obviously. The Joker’s not known for his patience; if he had been at liberty this whole time, we would’ve heard from him already. So, we’re going after the people who’ve got him.
GRAYSON
And who do you think–hey, what is that?
He has noticed the computer screen, which is still the same Joker hack. It’s frozen with all of the “HA HA HA”s.
BARBARA
(typing)
Present someone sent me when I was trying to figure out how Joker escaped Arkham.
GRAYSON
Charming.
BARBARA
Yeah. But obviously the Joker didn’t do this himself. Hacking’s not his style.
GRAYSON
Devil’s advocate? He could’ve hired someone.
BARBARA
No, Grayson. It’s…
She stops typing and takes a deep breath.
BARBARA (cont’d)
It’s my brother.
GRAYSON
Wait, what? What does James Jr. have to do with this?
BARBARA
I don’t know for sure. I just know he’s here, in Gotham. He was at Arkham that day.
GRAYSON
You sure it’s him, though? I mean, he was a weird kid, but do you really think he could be caught up with the Joker?
EXT. GORDON HOUSE – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH. YOUNG BARBARA shows off her ballerina Halloween costume for her pleased parents.
YOUNG JAMES JR. emerges from the house in his Halloween costume. It’s a Joker costume.
INT. GRAYSON’S HOTEL ROOM – EVENING
BARBARA
(typing again)
One way to know for sure.
GRAYSON
(looking at the photographs under the “HA HA HA”s)
Are those…?
Barbara nods and Grayson puts a hand on Barbara’s shoulder. She pauses for a moment, savoring the touch.
Suddenly the screen clears.
BARBARA
Okay, we’re in business.
Barbara pulls up a couple of different terminals and types furiously while Grayson finishes changing.
The computer’s processing speed slows noticeably and Barbara’s typing turns to frustrated pounding.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Damn it!
GRAYSON
What?
BARBARA
I need more power.
GRAYSON
I thought your laptop was some ridiculously souped up super computer that you basically made yourself?
BARBARA
She is! But I’m asking a lot out of her right now. What I really need is a full bank of computers with multiple servers.
GRAYSON
For a backtrace?
BARBARA
I’m not just doing a backtrace, I’m also running this–
She pulls up the application she designed that scans security feeds.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Before the…yeah, I was playing around with a sort of DIY CCTV program comprised of different passive monitoring feeds around the city — ATMs, traffic cams, security tapes, that kind of thing. It has a facial recognition feature so I can just plug in the Joker’s picture and set it to run in the background and notify me if he pops up anywhere. Just in case whoever is behind this sees us coming and decides to set him loose on the city to distract us while they move. I want to be able to know where he is before he hurts anyone.
GRAYSON
You’re terrifying sometimes, you know that?
Barbara flips him off, but she’s smirking just a bit.
BARBARA
But it means my computer is processing literally terabytes of data every second, which is exhausting for even my baby, so show her some damn respect; she’s doing the best she can.
They’re definitely not talking about the computer anymore.
GRAYSON
Oh, I do respect her.
BARBARA
(sighs, rubs her forehead)
I left my SSD at home and the RAM’s just not enough.
(Scottish accent)
She’s breakin’ up, cap’n.
GRAYSON
We could–
BARBARA
No, we are not going to call Bruce and ask to use the Bat computer!
GRAYSON
(hands up)
I wasn’t gonna say that.
(he was totally gonna say that)
Barbara shoots him a look.
GRAYSON (cont’d)
(pulls out his laptop)
Here, will this help? Maybe you can plug your laptop in and, I don’t know, siphon some processing power or whatever it is you do…
BARBARA
(already pulling out cables)
Better than nothing.
She plugs various things in, types a bit more, then lets the program run. The computer is still pretty slow, but a bit faster. On the screen, characters write themselves in the terminal, line after line, before writing one final line and stopping.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Gotcha.
Barbara pulls up a map program and types in the coordinates. It’s an address in Gotham.
GRAYSON
That’s it? That’s where the hack came from?
BARBARA
Yup.
GRAYSON
So what now?
BARBARA
Now you go catch a bad guy.
GRAYSON
And you…stay here?
BARBARA
Yeah, I guess so.
Beat.
GRAYSON
I’ve still got a couple ear pieces from my Robin days if you want to–
BARBARA
God yes.
INT. GRAYSON’S HOTEL ROOM/EXT. GOTHAM ROOFTOPS – NIGHT
Nightwing swings across the city with Barbara’s voice in his ear.
BARBARA
Okay, you’re close. Just one more rooftop and you should see it across the river.
Nightwing jumps onto the last rooftop and looks across a bridge at the huge abandoned chemical plant.
An alert pops up on Barbara’s laptop and she enlarges it.
Nightwing is just planning out his route into the factory when Barbara stops him.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Wait, hold up.
NIGHTWING
What is it?
On her screen, the Joker can be seen on some security footage, maybe from a traffic cam or ATM.
BARBARA
Joker, he’s out. Whatever that location is, he’s not there anymore.
NIGHTWING
But the IP address–
BARBARA
It’s Joker! We can’t let him stay out one second longer.
NIGHTWING
Okay, I’m just saying, maybe we call for backup–
BARBARA
Grayson, the man who shot me is two blocks north of your current location. Stop arguing with me and get moving.
NIGHTWING
(changing course)
Yes, ma’am.
Barbara practically vibrates in tense anticipation.
EXT. GOTHAM – NIGHT
Joker wanders down the street, veering slightly drunkenly, his atrophied legs unable to support his full weight effectively. He cackles madly at his own weakness.
INT. GRAYSON’S HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
On part of her screen, Barbara monitors his progress on her DIY CCTV program, switching from camera to camera as he moves along. She accesses the GCPD website and logs an anonymous tip that the Joker has been spotted, including the location.
BARBARA
(to Nightwing)
I’m letting the GCPD know where he is. It’ll probably be at least ten minutes before they can get there, though.
EXT. GOTHAM – NIGHT
Nightwing leaps over the rooftops.
NIGHTWING
Roger that. Almost there.
He closes in, just catching a glimpse of the Joker at the apex of a swing, then losing sight of him again as he descends.
INT. GORDON HOUSE/INT. GOTHAM GRAND HOTEL – NIGHT
Gordon stares at his phone. He pulls up Barbara’s number, then changes his mind and calls J.J. instead.
J.J. sees his father’s number pop up on the caller ID on his phone and contemplates it for a beat before answering.
J.J.
Hi, dad.
GORDON
James! Finally! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you: your sister–
J.J.
Is paralyzed. I know.
Beat.
GORDON
James. What have you done?
J.J.
I’ve been true to my nature, dad.
J.J. looks at room numbers, finding the door marked 1201.
EXT. GOTHAM – NIGHT
Nightwing swings over to the last rooftop, then runs over to crouch on the edge, the Joker visible just below him. He tenses to jump down onto the street below and–
INT. GRAYSON’S HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Barbara looks at her computer. On the screen, the security footage shows Nightwing tying up the Joker as police cars arrive.
BARBARA
Well. That was…anticlimactic.
A hand reaches around from behind her, gripping her face with a chloroform-soaked rag. Her eyes go wide and she struggles for a beat, but her body soon sags. The hand catches her before she falls too far, then rights her in her chair.
It is J.J. He smiles.
EXT. GORDON YARD – DAY
FLASHBACK. J.J.’S MEMORY. Those warped, cracked, dark memories that feel twisted, sick, dirty.
Teen Barbara and BESS KELLER are sitting on the porch whispering and giggling. Bess is blonde and perfect, the kind of girl any teenage boy would have a crush on.
TEEN JAMES JR. approaches them, awkward and weird, with enormous glasses. He is holding something behind his back. He clears his throat, but they don’t acknowledge him.
TEEN JAMES JR.
Hello, Bess.
The girls stop their whispering to look at him.
TEEN JAMES JR. (cont’d)
I found something I thought you might find interesting. He moves his hands around to the front to reveal a dead kitten, mutilated beyond immediate recognition. Bess screams and covers her mouth, tears coming to her eyes.
TEEN JAMES JR. (cont’d)
(backpedaling)
You were just saying the other day how you wanted to know what happened to your cat. It must have gotten out and been run ov–
BESS
God, what is wrong with you, you sick freak?
TEEN BARBARA
Bess, I don’t think he meant it like–
But Bess is already running off to her own house, next door.
Teen Barbara looks at Teen James Jr.
TEEN BARBARA (cont’d)
Nice going, four eyes.
Teen Barbara goes back into the house and Teen James Jr. looks over at Bess’s house.
INT. GORDON HOUSE – NIGHT
FLASHBACK — J.J.’S MEMORY. Teen Barbara and Teen James Jr. are watching an old horror movie on TV when a news report comes on.
NEWS ANCHOR
We interrupt this program to bring you this breaking news–
A school picture of Bess Keller appears on the screen, with a caption reading “Missing Child, Suspected Kidnapping”
NEWS ANCHOR (cont’d)
Seventeen year old Bess Keller has disappeared from her home…
Teen Barbara sobs and covers her mouth, maybe reaches out a hand to grab Teen James Jr.’s.
Teen James Jr. has the barest trace of a smile on his lips.
INT. JAMES JR.’S BEDROOM – DAY
FLASHBACK – J.J.’S MEMORY. Teen James Jr. enters his bedroom, taking off his backpack, only to find his father sitting on his bed.
TEEN JAMES JR.
Dad?
GORDON
Why’d you do it, James?
TEEN JAMES JR.
Do what, Dad?
Gordon drops a newspaper onto the bed next to him. The headline reads “Child Snatcher Strikes Again” over a picture of Bess Keller.
A long, tense moment.
TEEN JAMES JR. (cont’d)
You can’t prove anything.
GORDON
No, I can’t. And that’s why I’m giving you one chance and one chance only.
Gordon stands. He is still taller than Teen James Jr. and looms over him.
GORDON (cont’d)
There’s a place in Texas for…people like you. If you go and you let them help you and you never hurt anyone again, then I can keep you out of Arkham.
Gordon leans in close and drops his voice low.
GORDON (cont’d)
But if you ever kill again, I will make it my personal mission to put you away for life.
Gordon exits, leaving Teen James Jr. to stare at the newspaper on the bed.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT – NIGHT
J.J. watches Barbara’s eyelids flutter open.
She is tied to her wheelchair, parked on a platform high above the ground. It’s the exact spot where Batgirl stopped Batman from beating the Joker to death.
BARBARA
You did not just kidnap me and tie me up in an eerie abandoned factory. I mean, come on, James. I would expect more creativity from you, if not class.
(looks around)
And how the hell did you get me up here, anyway?
She spots a couple of plywood boards laid over a partially destroyed catwalk that connects to another platform.
J.J.
(smirk)
You know, I almost missed your sense of humor. Almost. And please, call me J.J. Trying to reinvent myself here.
BARBARA
You know “J.J.” is what I used to call you before I could pronounce the letter “S,” right? So, as reinventions go, maybe not the most original.
J.J.’s nostrils flare.
Barbara moves her hands just slightly, testing out her restraints, trying to find their weak points.
J.J.
I just wanted to distance myself from our father.
Beat.
BARBARA
Then why come back to Gotham?
J.J.
Would you believe me if I said I got a little homesick?
BARBARA
No.
Barbara is making progress with her restraints, one hand more than the other, sliding it out just a little bit at a time.
J.J.
(smiles)
You always were a smart one.
Her arm is getting closer to freedom now, but he’s focusing too intently on her. If she can just distract him, keep him talking a little while longer…
BARBARA
I just don’t get it. Getting the job at Arkham, setting the Joker free, sending him after Dad, after me? What did we ever do to you?
Beat.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Why do you hate me so much?
INT. GORDON HOUSE – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. Young James Jr. eavesdrops outside his parents’ bedroom door as they discuss him.
MRS. GORDON (O.S.)
…said he’s failing math.
GORDON (O.S.)
Why, though? He’s too smart to be flunking any of his classes.
MRS. GORDON (O.S.)
There’s one other thing.
Beat.
GORDON (O.S.)
You found another one.
Another beat.
GORDON (O.S.) (cont’d)
What was it this time?
MRS. GORDON (O.S.)
A squirrel. Turned practically inside out, its guts nailed to a tree.
GORDON (O.S.)
Good God.
(sigh)
Sometimes I just wish he could be more like Barbara.
INT. DANCE AUDITORIUM – DAY
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. Young James Jr. watches Young Barbara dance, pretending to be bored, but actually boiling with rage.
INT. SORORITY HOUSE – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. J.J. slits the throat of a young co-ed with bright red hair.
GORDON (V.O.)
…more like Barbara.
INT. DOJO – DAY
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. Young James Jr. watches Young Barbara bow, accepting her new belt. His mask of boredom is slipping.
EXT. PARK – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. J.J. repeatedly stabs a jogger with red hair.
GORDON (V.O.)
…like Barbara.
INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM – DAY
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. Young James Jr. watches Young Barbara win a spelling bee. The mask is almost gone.
INT. GAS STATION BATHROOM – NIGHT
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. J.J. smothers a red-headed prostitute.
GORDON (V.O.)
…Barbara.
INT. GORDON HOUSE – DAY
QUICK FLASH — J.J.’S MEMORY. Gordon and MRS. GORDON put up a certificate on the wall in the living room in the Barbara hall of fame, right along with all her other trophies and awards. They give Young Barbara a hug, big smiles on their faces.
Young James Jr. watches from a distance. There is no more mask left. Only hatred.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
FLASHBACK — J.J.’S MEMORY. J.J. stands over the corpse of a girl he has just shot in the head, her slick red blood practically glowing where it splattered across the room. He is putting the gun in her hand and curving her fingers around it when something on the television catches his interest.
A video of Batgirl shaking the MAYOR’s hand as cameras flash and reporters shout questions.
JOURNALIST
…Batgirl accepted a commendation from the mayor in recognition of her work protecting the city…
The TV scene shifts to footage of Barbara handing Joker over to the police just outside of Ace Chemicals.
JOURNALIST (cont’d)
This came after she apprehended the Joker, preventing him from contaminating a key ingredient in…
J.J. stares at the screen, and there is that furious rage.
J.J.
Barbara.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT – NIGHT
J.J. reaches towards Barbara, who flinches away from him, unsure what he’s going to do.
He pets her hair, her face. His movements are gentle even as his fingers tense with loathing.
J.J.
Perfect Barbara, precious Barbara. Barbara the shining star; Mommy’s favorite, Daddy’s little girl.
Barbara takes advantage of the close quarters; she has very nearly gotten the one hand out.
J.J. (cont’d)
Always helping people, always doing good. Everyone was so distracted watching you that they could never see what I was.
J.J. pulls out a small knife and leans over her wheelchair, gripping the back of it and pushing her up against the wholly inadequate railing.
He leans in to whisper in her ear, pressing the knife against her neck.
J.J. (cont’d)
I am the monster from your nightmares.
J.J. pulls back so that he can look Barbara in the eye as he slits her throat, but Barbara has managed to get that one hand all the way free now, and J.J. is off balance.
She swats the knife away, elbows him the face. He recovers, pushing the knife at her with both hands, but her upper arm strength is BOSS.
She pushes him off and he comes right back at her. She has so much training, but she’s only got one hand free and her mobility is so limited by the chair and she was always a kicker and damn she really needs to learn some new fighting techniques–
And J.J. fights dirty. He manages to get Barbara’s free hand out of the way long enough to bury the knife in her thigh.
Barbara punches him hard enough to send him sprawling.
She pulls the knife out of her leg and starts sawing at the restraints on her other arm, but there’s just not enough time.
J.J. shakes off his fall and gets back up, charging her with a bellow of rage.
She brings her free hand up to block him, but it’s the one that still has the knife in it and–
J.J. just hangs there in shock for a moment, suspended from the knife embedded in his left eye. They both grunt, taking in the situation.
BARBARA
You’re not a monster, little brother, you’re just a sad, pathetic man. You’ve tried to destroy me, but I’m still here, Junior. I’m. Still. Here.
J.J.
(grunts)
Not for long.
J.J. hauls up on the arms of the wheelchair, tipping Barbara over the edge of the railing.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
VISION. A gunshot. Barbara is falling through the flying glass again. Everything is in slow motion.
She hits the ground and lies struggling in a pool of her own blood.
She sees the Joker’s face coming towards her.
BARBARA (V.O.)
Oh god, please don’t let this be the last face I see.
The Joker’s face transforms into a different face. Not a face, a mask.
It looks like it’s carved out of some sort of green stone — jade, maybe. It has the features of a human face with classical influence, smooth geometric lines. Its mouth doesn’t move, but it speaks.
ORACLE
You’re not dead yet.
Barbara is still staring at the mask, but the living room scene dissolves and reshapes itself into–
INT. ANCIENT GREEK TEMPLE
VISION. Delphi. The mask is now worn by a robed woman on a stool, the Oracle herself.
Barbara stands before her in her old Batgirl costume. She looks down, taking in the fact that she is standing on her own two feet, then back up to the Oracle.
BARBARA
Who are you? A guide to the afterlife? Some subconscious part of my own mind here to take me on a journey of self discovery? If so, can we skip to the part where you take off the mask and I discover that it was me under there all along, cause I’d like to–
ORACLE
Of course I’m you. Your future. Your destiny.
The temple transforms itself again–
INT. CLOCK TOWER
VISION. Barbara is back in her wheelchair in front of a massive bank of computers. On each screen is a graphic of the green Oracle mask.
The mask dissolves to reveal Barbara’s own face staring back at her.
ORACLE
Everything that has happened has led us here.
Different images begin playing on the screens. At first it’s memories. Quick flashes from her childhood–
ORACLE (V.O.)
James…
Going out as Batgirl–
ORACLE (V.O.) (cont’d)
Batman…
Getting shot–
ORACLE (V.O.) (cont’d)
Joker. It all needed to happen for us to become who we were meant to be.
The screens change into images of the future.
Barbara guiding vigilantes in the field, hacking satellite feeds and building plans and the like so she can guide them. Coordinating entire teams of heroes to work in concert, an outside eye that can help them work better. Finding problems in the world that no one else sees and exposing them, fixing them.
Global reach. All from her wheelchair.
BARBARA
I… I don’t understand.
ORACLE (V.O.)
Yes, you do.
Beat.
BARBARA
What am I supposed to do now?
ORACLE (V.O.)
Stop living in the past. Batgirl is dead. It’s time for the Oracle to rise.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT – NIGHT
Barbara is still falling, a lower catwalk fast approaching.
She manages to angle her body so she won’t land head on, and she reaches out her free arm to catch the railing.
BARBARA
Oof!
Nightwing has been crouched on a nearby tower with a video camera, recording the whole scene.
NIGHTWING
Barbara!
He leaps off the tower, turning a neat somersault mid-air.
Thanks to J.J.’s restraints, Barbara is still attached to the wheelchair by one arm. She is strong, but the weight still pulls her down.
Nightwing lands on the catwalk and reaches down to grab Barbara’s mid-section. He sees the chair and pulls out a batarang.
NIGHTWING
Give me–
But Barbara is already swinging the encumbered arm up. Nightwing grabs at the chair, slices the restraint, and lets the chair fall.
It crashes to the hard concrete ground below, breaking into pieces.
On the platform above, J.J. looks down at them in frustration, gripping his bleeding face. He stumbles away towards a connecting catwalk.
Barbara grabs onto the railing with her newly freed arm and pulls herself up, Nightwing helping her swing her lifeless legs over the railing and onto the catwalk.
NIGHTWING
Babs, are you okay?
He tries to examine her leg, putting pressure on the bleeding wound.
She punches him. Hard.
BARBARA
What took you so long?
NIGHTWING
Ow, you have been working out–
BARBARA
(suddenly intent)
We have to get back up there. J.J., he’s–
She tries to sit up, but Nightwing stops her.
NIGHTWING
Relax, he’s not getting away. I called for backup.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT – NIGHT
J.J. stumbles across the plywood boards he had laid down to get Barbara up there, finding his way to a platform connected to a tower.
The sound of sirens is very faint, but getting louder. He clutches his bleeding eye, the knife still sticking out of it.
He makes his way over to a ladder, leaving bloody hand prints on the tower as he uses it to support himself.
He stops when he hears the sound of a gun being cocked behind him.
He turns around slowly, deliberately.
Gordon stands a few feet away, pistol pointed at his own son.
GORDON
I told you you had one chance and one chance only.
J.J.
You’ll give me another one, Dad. It’s what you do.
J.J. turns back to the ladder, but Gordon shoots him in the leg. He falls off the edge of the catwalk.
Gordon approaches the spot where J.J. fell and looks down to see his son on a catwalk just below the platform, groaning in pain, but alive.
GORDON
You wasted it.
The sound of the sirens gets closer and flashing lights appear in the distance.
EXT. CHEMICAL PLANT – NIGHT
No sound. Just little moments.
The wounded J.J. is loaded into an ambulance, his face bandaged, his wrists handcuffed to the gurney and his body tied down with as many restraints as the paramedics can manage.
Gordon watches, his face alternately painted red and blue with the pulsing of the emergency lights.
A detective take Barbara’s statement as she lies on the catwalk, uncomfortably propped up against a railing with a paramedic bandaging her leg.
Someone scrounges up a loaner wheelchair for Barbara and Nightwing helps her transfer into it.
Gordon gives his statement, stealing glances at Barbara on the catwalk above him, but not approaching her.
INT. GRAYSON’S HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Barbara and Grayson sip beers, mostly-empty pizza boxes scattered around them. Grayson lounges on the bed, Barbara is still in her borrowed wheelchair. She has a bandage around her leg, but it’s not serious.
GRAYSON
So, you think you’re gonna keep doing this kind of thing — hacking, guiding vigilantes, being the All Seeing Eye?
BARBARA
Oracle. I’m gonna call myself Oracle. And yeah.
GRAYSON
Oracle. I like it. Do you…have any specific people in mind that you’d like to work with?
BARBARA
A few. I think I’d like to build up a roster. Have people I work with in several different locations, cover as much ground as possible. Do more.
GRAYSON
Ever think about moving? Blüdhaven’s not bad.
Barbara nearly chokes on her beer.
BARBARA
Blüdhaven is a cesspool of corruption that makes Gotham look like a paragon of law and order.
GRAYSON
(big smile)
Well, yeah, but that’s why we could use another hero.
BARBARA
You’re really selling it here.
GRAYSON
(serious)
I want you around, Barbara. I’m sorry for the way things ended. The way I treated you, I…
(can’t resist the joke)
I was such a dick.
He gives a wry smile, which Barbara shares for a beat, then her face grows serious.
BARBARA
You broke my heart, Grayson. I loved you and you broke my heart and you left and now I can’t trust you.
GRAYSON
Barbara–
BARBARA
There’s no point in going back.
Grayson’s face falls. Barbara gives it a beat.
BARBARA (cont’d)
So if you’re really serious about giving us another shot, things are going to be different.
GRAYSON
(big smile)
Okay.
Another beat.
BARBARA
I’m not moving to Blüdhaven, though. Deal with it.
INT. LIVING ROOM – EARLY MORNING
Gordon, lightly dozing, starts up from the couch upon hearing the key in the lock.
Barbara slowly wheels herself inside.
There is a tense moment while the two look at each other. Gordon breaks the silence first.
GORDON
I’m so sorry, honey, for everything. I should’ve told you about James, I should’ve–
BARBARA
Stop. Just stop.
(deep breath)
I love you. Very much. And I do think we can get past this, eventually. But right now, I need some space.
GORDON
Honey–
BARBARA
I still can’t look at you without feeling sick.
Gordon looks like he’s been punched in the gut. Long pause.
GORDON
Who’s gonna take care of you?
BARBARA
Me. I will. I have a disability, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself, dad. I’ll move into Aunt Mildred’s clock tower, go back to work at the library, talk to Gotham U about starting my masters next year. If I need help, I’ll ask for it.
Gordon nods, then approaches her and gently kisses her on the head.
GORDON
I don’t like it, but I can respect it.
BARBARA
Thank you.
Beat.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Want to help me pack?
GORDON
(smiles)
No. Yeah.
They start towards her room.
GORDON (cont’d)
Should we put some music on?
BARBARA
As long as it’s not Rosemary Clooney.
INT. CLOCK TOWER – DAY
It’s an old building in disrepair, but very cool. Some panes of glass in the clock are broken, covered over with plywood.
There’s plenty of dust, some water damage and cobwebs, and a few pieces of old furniture covered in sheets. Unopened or half unpacked moving boxes are strewn about the room. There are a few renovation materials as well, but not many.
The only part of the space that looks like it has been given full attention is the huge bank of computers. There are some top of the line pieces along with some random stuff possibly pulled out of a dumpster — an assemblage of parts that have been cobbled together into a homemade super computer.
Alfred’s bat plushie gift sits in a place of prominence on the desk.
Barbara is parked in front of the desk, bent over a panel with a soldering gun. She finishes, blows on the circuit board, then puts it into the computer and closes and hooks everything back up. Then she bends over underneath the desk to plug things in and turn on the power button.
As she sits up, she bangs the back of her head on the bottom of the desk, knocking the bat plushie over.
BARBARA
(rubbing her head)
Ow!
She rights the bat plushie as the computers flicker to life.
She spreads her arms in an “oh yeah” gesture.
BARBARA (cont’d)
God bless Lucius Fox for letting me scavenge from Wayne Enterprises’ leftovers.
She does a little setting up, then pulls up her DIY CCTV. The computer does not slow down at all.
BARBARA (cont’d)
Oh, look at you go.
Satisfied, she pushes her wheelchair back from the desk and towards the kitchen. It’s a different wheelchair, a sportier one. It doesn’t have handles on the back.
The doorbell rings and she looks back to see the security footage from the front door. Bruce Wayne stands on her doorstep, a bouquet of flowers in hand. He looks sheepishly up at the camera.
Barbara takes a deep breath and buzzes him in.
INT. CLOCK TOWER – A FEW MOMENTS LATER
Bruce enters the living area and finds Barbara staring at him levelly.
BRUCE
Hi.
Awkward silence.
Bruce tries to hand Barbara the flowers, but she doesn’t take them, so he sets them on the desk next to her. She glances at them and sees the card.
BARBARA
“Get well soon”? Little late for that.
BRUCE
I know, I should’ve come earlier, I just…
He waits for her to finish his sentence. She doesn’t.
BRUCE (cont’d)
(quietly)
I wanted to catch him. For you.
BARBARA
(not ungrateful)
I know.
Beat.
BRUCE
There’s a doctor in South Africa. He does surgeries, cases like yours. It’s not cheap, but I would pay for everything, of course. I owe you that, far more than that. Let me help fix you, Barbara.
Barbara makes him wait.
BARBARA
Fuck you, Bruce Wayne. You and your savior-complex aren’t-I-noble bullshit.
BRUCE
That’s no–
BARBARA
I. Am not. Broken. Just because I can’t go swinging across rooftops and drop kicking bad guys anymore doesn’t mean I can’t do good.
BRUCE
Of course y–
BARBARA
You know, I’ve always had all these skills, Bruce. Not just the fighting and the dancing, but the programming, the eidetic memory, the intelligence — I am just as smart as you are, but I always let my own brain take a backseat to yours.
BRUCE
Barbara–
BARBARA
Not! Done! Talking! I spent so long in Batman’s shadow, trying to belong with you and Robin, to fit in. I was limiting myself, only using half my skill set at best, constantly pushing myself to keep up with you two in the physicality department and completely ignoring my intellectual abilities because I just didn’t see the value in them. But with this…
(gestures to her legs)
I’m more limited in some ways, of course, but now I’m seeing myself in a completely new light and I’ve finally realized something. I don’t need you, Bruce. I never needed you. I just thought I did. I can help so many more people now than I ever did as Batgirl.
BRUCE
You did a lot of good as Batgirl.
BARBARA
I was redundant, Bruce. There was nothing I did that you or Robin couldn’t do just as well. Better, even. The world didn’t need another Bat. But as Oracle…I can be irreplaceable.
BRUCE
(a breath, a nod)
You were always irreplaceable, Barbara. I’m glad you know that now.
He kisses Barbara on the top of her head, then leaves.
BARBARA
Why must everyone keep kissing me on the head?
INT. GCPD MEETING ROOM – DAY
FLASHBACK. The room is in disarray; the door blocked with tables as an alarm blares.
The teenage Barbara and James Jr. sit on the floor with Officer DWIGHT MORGAN. He is a jaded cop — not an old man, but old for his years. He has his sidearm drawn and is alert, but the three of them have obviously been there for some time.
Morgan’s walkie talkie squawks to life.
WALKIE TALKIE VOICE ONE
Somebody turn on the Bat signal–
WALKIE TALKIE VOICE TWO
We need backup on two — keep him away from the civilians upstairs!
There is a rattle of gunfire on the radio and Morgan switches it off.
TEEN BARBARA
Do you need to go help them?
MORGAN
The chief orders me to keep his kids safe until the situation is under control, I keep the kids safe.
(to Teen James Jr.)
Hey, don’t touch that, it’s tear gas!
Teen James Jr. has been poking through a box. He scuttles away as Morgan comes over, but now Teen Barbara wants to look through it.
TEEN BARBARA
What is this stuff?
MORGAN
They were briefing us on the Batman before all this
(the flashing lights)
started. They think the stuff he can do is all tech:
(gestures to various items in the box)
body armor, night vision goggles, rebreather. Nothing supernatural about it.
Teen Barbara stares at it in fascination, her hands reaching for the Batman logo on the mock-up suit.
TEEN JAMES JR.
I’m hungry.
Morgan spins on him.
MORGAN
Listen, kid, I know you were supposed to get dinner with your dad, but I think he’s got more important stuff on his mind right now, four eyes.
TEEN BARBARA
Hey, you do not get to talk to my brother like that!
The door explodes open to reveal HARRY X standing in the doorway, a hulking slab of muscle and meanness holding a shotgun.
Morgan starts firing at Harry X. Most of his shots go wide, but even the ones that do connect don’t seem to phase the man.
MORGAN
Run!
HARRY X
No, don’t, I came up here just so I could meet the chief’s kids! I got a look at the boy when they brought me in…
Tear gas suddenly fills the room, throwing Harry X’s aim off as he tries to cover his eyes.
TEEN BARBARA
James!
She’s coughing, blinded, hands fumbling. Suddenly her fingers hit the box that she was looking through earlier.
Morgan is out of bullets, but Harry X is out of shells, too.
Morgan drops his gun and launches himself at the much larger man. He’s not a bad fighter and he desperately wants to protect those kids, but Harry X is big and mean and motivated and more than a little crazy.
HARRY X
(coughing)
I saw something in the kid’s eyes!
More fighting. Morgan is flagging. He won’t last much longer.
HARRY X (cont’d)
(still coughing)
Something I recognized.
Harry X knocks Morgan out, then hits him again after dropping him, just because he can.
Harry X is coughing, eyes streaming, but searching, calling for James.
HARRY X (cont’d)
You’re like me, aren’t you, kid. You like to hurt things.
He finds James, curled up behind a desk.
HARRY X (cont’d)
There you are.
He reaches for the boy, but a nightstick smashes down on his hand and he yelps and pulls his hand back.
The tear gas parts to reveal the silhouette of the bat costume. It doesn’t fit her well, but YOUNG BATGIRL wears it with courage, re-breather clamped in her mouth.
HARRY X (cont’d)
(quietly)
What the hell?
He tries to charge her. Harry X is incredibly strong, but Young Batgirl is faster and smarter. She may not be familiar with the bat gear, but she is familiar with arm bars, joint locks — techniques for taking down a much larger opponent. Harry X swings hard for her, but his hits never manage to connect. She wears him out, then brings all her weight down on him with one hard, decisive strike.
He hits the ground.
Young Batgirl takes the re-breather out of her mouth and breathes in the now-clearing air, laughing with a slightly maniacal joy.
She sees a Batman-shaped shadow and spins around, coming face to face with the dark knight himself.
YOUNG BATGIRL
Uh, how long you been standing there?
BATMAN
Long enough. That was…impressive.
Batman turns to walk away and Young Batgirl calls after him.
YOUNG BATGIRL
Th-thanks!
A grin spreads across her face.
Then a thought occurs to her and she pulls off the cowl and turns around.
TEEN BARBARA
James? You okay?
Teen James Jr. peaks out from behind the table where he was hiding.
TEEN BARBARA (cont’d)
There you are. Come on out, James, it’s okay. We’re safe now, I got y–
His hand emerges. There’s a gun in it.
He shoots Teen Barbara.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Dream. The falling. The broken glass. The laughing and screaming and singing. But the goddamn bubble of saliva in between the Joker’s teeth finally pops.
INT. CLOCK TOWER – NIGHT
Barbara starts awake. She’s a little shaky, but it’s not as bad. She’s able to gather herself a lot faster than she has been before.
She pulls herself out of bed and transfers to her wheelchair.
On her nightstand, the pill bottle sits, untouched.
Barbara wheels herself to her bank of computers and turns them on. The computers flare to life, all of them displaying the symbol of the Oracle mask.
–
–
–
–
The End.
–
–
–
–
And there you are. The whole of Rise of Oracle, in its entirety. What a journey it has been. Thanks for sharing it with me. ❤
Oh, and in case you think I’ve forgotten the most important bit of dream casting…
–
Barbara Gordon: Me. Obvi. (It’s my fantasy world and I can do what I want!)
The Albatross's Nest 