EXT: GOTHAM AIRPORT-NIGHT
Police and SWAT teams surround the area. GCPD choppers fly over with spot lights.
Vane: “Do we have eyes inside yet?”
Bullock: “No sir, cameras are down.”
Vane frustrated: “Then what do we have?”
Bullock: “Snipers are in the tower and bomb squad cleared the perimeter. Other than that they’ve got the building sealed like a fort.”
CUT TO: POLICE CAR
Harper, with Gordon, drives up to the airport.
Gordon: “You know you’re going to jail for this.”
Harper: “Not after you save two thousand lives. So please don’t mess this up.”
CUT TO:
Batwing soaring through the night
INT: BATWING
Batman manipulates controls going into stealth mode has he approaches the airport.
EXT: AIRPORT RUNWAY
Six commercial aircraft begin moving toward the terminal gaits.
INT: AIRPORT TERMINAL GATES
The mass of hostages has been divided up and placed at different boarding gates.
Henchmen: “We’re ready to board.”
Deadshot: “Board”
The henchmen begin herding the frantic hostages through the concourse gaits to the plane.
EXT: AIRPORT POLICE PERIMETER
Officer: “Commissioner, choppers are reporting that six planes have been moved to the terminal gates.”
Vane: “What are they doing?”
INT: AIRPORT TERMINAL GAITS
Deadshot: “Is the chopper ready?”
Henchman: “Awaiting your command”
Deadshot: “Do it”
EXT: POLICE PERIMETER
The crowd of police and rescue scamper around unsure of their plan of attack. An Apache chopper emerges from the runway.
Bullock: “Is that one of ours?”
Officer: “I don’t think so.”
The Apache turns toward the GCPD choppers and shoots them out of the sky. The flaming aircraft crash in the police perimeter causing everyone to scatter.
INT: COMMUNICATION TOWER
Snipers bust out the window returning fire. Their rifles pepper the chopper but cause no damage. The Apache fires a missile blowing up the tower.
CUT TO:
Gordon and Harper, near the perimeter, take cover from the debris.
EXT: POLICE PERIMETER
The Apache begins to make another pass to finish them off. The Batwing appears on scene.
CUT TO:
Batwing radar pinpoints all police in area giving ID through face recognition. Off in the distance Jamie Harper and Jim Gordon’s IDs match. Batman takes a second glance at Gordon’s name. He then switches gears to the weapon’s radar putting the Apache’s tail rotor in its crosshairs. Batman fires off several rounds causing the chopper to spin out of control crashing to the ground. Police swarm the chopper to arrest the henchmen pilots.
Police: “Freeze!’
The pilots hold pistols to their own heads killing themselves.
CUT TO:
Gordon and Harper arrive at the devastated scene. They spot Vane, Bullock, and other officers stirring amongst the debris. Gordon helps Vane up.
Gordon: “Commissioner, are you ok?”
Vane reorients himself: “Yeah, what are you doing here?”
Gordon: “Heard you needed some help.”
Vane turns to see the extent of the damage: “We need a miracle.”
CUT TO:
Harper helps Bullock to his feet. Bullock spots Gordon with Vane.
Bullock: “Where to he come from?”
Harper: “We’ll talk about it later.”
CUT TO:
The Batwing hovers above the airport’s glass ceiling. Batman drops through the ceiling in the airport.
INT: AIRPORT
Batman quickly scans the area to find no one present except the ceiling’s broken glass.
EXT: POLICE PERIMETER
Vane walks over to an officer: “What do we have left?”
Officer (unoptimistic): “We lost the snipers in the tower and the two choppers. We’re dead in the water.”
Vane: “Any idea on the hostages?”
Officer: “None”
Vane aggravated at the losses: “This can’t be happening!”
Officer: “SWAT is still on stand by sir.”
Vane unsure of his next move looks at Gordon
Gordon: “Send them in”
INT: AIRPORT TERMINAL GAITS
Batman slowly enters to find Deadshot standing in the middle of the room.
Deadshot: “Glad to see you could make it.”
Batman: “Strange and Cobblepot are finished. It’s over Lawton.”
Deadshot laughs: “You put me in the same breath of those worthless posers. I’m insulted.”
Batman: “I put you in the same breath with every lowlife trying to bring harm to Gotham.”
Without Deadshot seeing, Batman manipulates a control on his utility belt.
CUT TO:
Gordon’s beeper goes off. He checks it and recognizes the number. He quickly grabs his radio adjusting the channel. After several moments of static it clears and Gordon hears Deadshot’s voice through Batman’s ear piece.
Gordon: “Listen up! I’ve got ears in the airport.”
Vane and Bullock rush to Gordon
Bullock: “How are you doing that?”
Gordon: “It’s a secure channel we use.”
Vane and Bullock give Gordon a suspicious look
Gordon: “It was his idea.”
INT: TERMINAL GATES
Deadshot: “I think you underestimate me. After all I’ve managed to kill two of the people you care most about. Fox and Madison never stood a chance when they walked into your life. ”
Batman tightly clinches his fist with anger: “And I’ll personally see that you pay for each one.”
Deadshot: “Before you take the final count let me update you on the situation. There are six planes full of innocent bystanders men, women, children, families a bunch of nobodies. However, there is one person you might know.”
Batman: “Alfred”
CUT TO:
Gordon’s eyes quickly cut to the radio wondering if he heard what he thinks he just heard.
INT: TERMINAL GAITS
Deadshot cracks an evil smile: “The most important person in your life. The man who raised you to be the upstanding citizen you are.”
Batman: “If you....”
Deadshot: “Before you start with the threats hear me out. Each plane is rigged with enough explosives to blow us sky high.”
Deadshot holds out two switches: “It’s quite simple. The switch here in my right hand is to five of the planes while the one in my left is to your butler’s plane. I’m only going to use one of them and I’ll let you choose. Two thousand innocent lives or Alfred?”
CUT TO:
Gordon: “Hostages are on the planes! SWAT is clear to engage!”
CUT TO:
SWAT members blow through the airport’s entrance to an empty lobby.
INT: AIRPORT LOBBY
The team spreads out clearing the area. Once member walks up on sheet covering a doorway. Using his rifle, he pushes the sheet to the side finding a bomb in the corner.
SWAT: “BOMB! MOVE!”
Before anyone can move the lobby explodes into flames killing the team.
CUT TO: POLICE PERIMETER
Everyone scampers back as flames engulf the airports entrance.
Bullock screaming into his radio: “Pettit! Pettit come in!”
He hears nothing but static. Bullock throws it down in frustration.
Bullock: “What are we doing?!”
INT: TERMINAL GAITS
The explosion shakes the entire building.
Deadshot: “Sounds like they attempted the front door. One thing Strange kept telling me is the Batman has no physical equal.”
A dozen henchmen emerge from the gaits.
Deadshot: “I’m personally not a believer that but I’d like to see it for myself.”
The dozen aggressive men surround Batman. He raises his arms into a fighting position as the first man lunges. Batman cracks his fist across the man’s skull dropping him. The other eleven all jump in at once. Batman flips over the crowd and lands a roundhouse kick to henchman 2. Henchman 3 has his punch blocked, arm twisted, and finished with a headbutt. Batman picks up henchman 4 by the throat slamming into the floor. Henchman 5 violently swings a wooden bat unable to land a hit. Batman blocks the bat breaking it and throws the fragments blinding henchmen 6 and 7. Batman finishes off henchman 5 with a punch to the ribs followed by an uppercut to the chin. Batman smashes henchman 6 and 7’s heads together dropping them. From behind, henchman 8 wraps his arms around Batman while henchmen 9 and 10 land punches. Still bound Batman lands kicks to henchmen 9 and 10 and then breaks henchman 8’s grip knocking him out. Henchmen 11 raises a gun to the Bat who uses henchmen 9 and 10 for cover. The gun goes off wounding the two henchmen. Batman takes the gun knocking out the henchman and finishes the group by roundhouse kicking henchman 12 to the ground. Batman turns his eyes toward a furious Deadshot.
Batman: “The doctor was right.”
EXT: PERIMETER
Gordon: “The planes have the hostages and bombs. The airport only has the bomb controls.”
Vane: “How do we take out both?”
Gordon hesitates for a moment: “An air strike. We blow up the airport with an air strike.”
Bullock: “We do what?”
Gordon: “We have no one else to send in. If we don’t act now it could be too late.”
Harper: “Batman is in there.”
Gordon: “I know.”
Vane: “How do we disable the bombs?”
Gordon: “We use an E-Bomb. It’s a high power microwave that fries any electrical device within a five mile radius.”
Bullock: “So we are gonna blow up the entire airport and then knockout a five mile power grid? Are you crazy?!”
Gordon: “What else can we do Harvey?! No matter what happens people will die! Someone has to make a choice....even if there’s no good one.”
INT: TERMINAL GAIT
Deadshot takes off his trench coat.
Deadshot: “Why don’t you just kill me and end this? I know the battle going on inside you. Bruce Wayne saves Alfred but with so many casualties Gotham loses its faith in Batman. Batman saves five planes but Bruce Wayne will be responsible for the death every person he ever cared for.”
Batman can hear Gordon through his earpiece: “An airstrike is going level the airport in 2 minutes. It’s gonna happen with or without you in it.”
Batman begins walking toward Deadshot: “That’s not a decision I will have to make because I’m not Gotham’s only savior. It’s full of people willing to do the right thing and make the hard decision. I’m just one of many.”
Deadshot shoots Batman with his wrist gun knocking him back. Batman holding his side gets back to his knees.
Deadshot: “If there are so many then I’m gonna be busy.”
Deadshot raises his wrist guns. Batman quickly throws a Batarang damaging both guns. Batman charges knocking Deadshot to the ground. He lands several punches. Deadshot grabs Batman’s head slamming it into the floor and kicks him off. Deadshot lands several punches to Batman’s ribs. He prepares to land a knock blow but Batman catches the punch. Batman twists his arm, puts a knee to his stomach, and grabs him by the throat slamming him against the wall. Deadshot is physically beaten. Batman turns to see more henchmen coming out of the terminal gaits toward him.
Batman: “Batman and Bruce Wayne do more than occupy the same body they occupy the same soul. This mask is not to hide an identity but a symbol of hope. Gotham cannot be torn down by evil because there will always be heroes to rise and defend it.”
As Batman finishes that sentence the airport goes up in flames as the planes fly by.
EXT: POLICE PERIMETER
Mammoth flames engulf the environment as the airport is destroyed.
Gordon: “Activate the E-Bomb!”
CUT TO:
Each airplane’s controls go dark and power down. Military personal cut through each plane’s hull rescuing hostages and taking down the henchmen. Alfred walks off a plane unharmed.
EXT: POLICE PERIMETER
Vane walks up to Gordon: “The hostages are safe and accounted for. Any sign of Batman?”
Gordon’s face expresses relief along with sadness: “No sign yet but we’re looking.”
Mayor Grange walks up: “Gentlemen that was an exceptional job.”
Grange turns to Gordon: “Commissioner Vane told me what happened and upon his request and my recommendation you are to continue your duties as Commissioner.”
Gordon: “Thank you sir.”
Grange and Vane walk away attending to other business. Harper walks up.
Gordon sarcastically: Thank you for breaking me out of jail.”
Harper smiles: “Had a hunch you could handle this. Do you think we’ll ever find Batman or know who is?”
Gordon pauses for a moment remembering what he heard on the radio: “Anything is possible.”
EXT: SKY-NIGHT
A cargo plane flies through stormy weather.
INT: CARGO AREA
A doctor along with men wearing black ninja suits stand around a table. On the table lies a body covered by a sheet. RA’S AL GHUL walks over to the body. He pulls back the sheet revealing the battered and burned body of Bruce Wayne.
Al Ghul: “Is he dead?”
Doctor: “Yes, the explosion caused severe burns to the body and lungs.”
Al Ghul examines Wayne for a moment then forms a smirk: “That won’t be a problem.”
From outside the window Lazarus Pit becomes visible.