PAGE ONE
Full page splash
Over the shoulder bird's eye view.
The Batman sits perched atop an East End apartment building.
Between the washing lines strewn between the buildings, Batman
spies on the adjacent building. One window in particular holds
his interest. Though well lit by a table lamp, little more
than the table the lamp's sitting on is visible through the window.

CAPTION: [Batman]
Rumor of an alliance between two of Gotham's newest players, and
an outsider, has brought me to the East End.

PAGE TWO
Panel 1
Side-on close up of the Batman, watching the window through
infra-red goggles.

CAPTION: [Batman]
Three nights ago Joker escaped from Arkham Asylum.
I'm reluctant to deviate from my pursuit, but the importance of
knowing the city takes precedence.

Panel 2
Close up on Batman's eyes, the goggles resting just above the bridge
of his nose. His eyes glance to his right.

CAPTION: [Batman]
Of course, the Narrows present their own potential for distraction.

Girl (Off-panel)
"Aaaaaaaah!!! The ghost! It's back!"

Panel 3
The window being watched produces a figure. Fatman, looking out the
window, as he draws a drape.

CAPTION: [Batman]
Fatman and Little Boy.
Their sense of parody isn't lost on me.

For the past six months I've been waiting for them to make a move,
but they seem content operating in their own circle. Gotham has
barely noticed their presence. Their operations have been
clandestine, at best.

Small time hits. Minor trafficking.

Panel 4
Establishing shot of the rooftop where Batman was perched.
The right of panel shows the tail of his cape, as he disappears.

CAPTION: [Batman]
They can wait.

PAGE TWO (tight eight panel grid)
Panel 1
Close up on a young girl, with blond curly hair and dark eye liner.
She's fourteen, but is trying to look older. She's wearing a t-shirt
with a cutesy black and white Felix-esque cartoon character on it,
with baggy pyjama pants. She's kneeling on her bed, gripped by panic.
It's reflected by her face.

Girl
It's here!!! It's still here!!!
IT'S NOT GONE!!!

Panel 2
Close up on a young man, in his mid-twenties.
He has short cropped hair that trickles down the sides of his face
into scraggily sideburns. His eyes are slightly slanted, giving him
a look of cynicism rather than ethnicity. He's wearing a t-shirt with
a neck hole that's been stretched into a wrinkly shape over time, and
faded denim jeans. Ingenuine urgency grips him.
He barely tries to reflect it in his face.

Guy
Okay... it's okay. Just don't panic.

Panel 3
The girl scrambles into the corner of the room, digging her nails into
the wallpaper behind her. Paper of pale green, with dark stripes, both
of which have been stained by time, and the scum of Gotham's East End.
Below the wallpaper, dark wood framing the room.
Tears stream down her face.

Girl
It's here!!! It's here!!!

Panel 4
The young man squats down infront of her, and puts his hands on her
shoulders. He speaks calmly, trying to find eye contact.

Guy
Ssssh... it's alright.
The priest told us what to do. Remember?

Panel 5
The girl stands up, shaking her hands frantically as she screams.

Girl
IT DIDN'T WORK!!! IT DIDN'T FUCKING WORK!!!

Panel 6
The guy picks the girl up by the waist, and places her on the edge
of her bed. Their heads are cut off by the top of the panel,
showing only shoulders down.

Guy
Sssshh... it's okay.
We just need to keep doing it until they're gone.
It'll be alright.

Panel 7
Close up of the guy's mid-section, and he stands and begins to
unzip his denim jeans. A pale, almost white, green smoke wafts
around his thighs, moving up from the ground.

Panel 8
Close up of the guy's face (nose to forehead), as wrinkles form
at the corners of his eyes, suggesting smiling.
Thin linear shadows from the large window criss cross over his
cheek.

PAGE THREE
Panel 1 (occupying two thirds of the page)
Fly's eye view from the top corner of the room, looking down.
With his jeans around his knees, the guy climbs across from the
foot of the bed on his knees. The girl cowers at the top, with
the sheets pulled up to her neck, leaning against the grand old
wooden bedhead. The sheets are pale blue, with dark blue stripes.
Either side of the bed are cabinets with matching lamps, a
hairbrush, a photograph frame with a puppy in it, and various
other bits and pieces.

The large window casts a criss cross of shadows over the bed,
with two long and point, but almost unnoticable, shadows cast
from the bottom of the window.

The pale green smoke slowly creeps up over the bed, circling
around the guy, hiding his arse (from the reader).

Panel 2
The remainder of the page.
A giant black shadow crashes through the large window.
Shards of glass explode everywhere, mixed in amongst the
tendrils of the shadow that leap and dance around the edges.

PAGE FOUR
Panel 1
The guy jumps off the left side of the bed, as the little girl
screams hysterically. The Batman's large dark silhouette looms
at the bottom of the bed.
Shards of glass litter the bottom of the bed, and the wooden
floorboards infront of it.

Guy
Oh shit!!!

Girl
IT DIDN'T WORK!!!! IT DIDN'T WOOORRRRK!!!!

Panel 2
Close up of the guy in the opposite corner of the room to what
the girl retreated to. He pushes himself back first against the
walls, as tiny tears begin to steam down HIS face. He doesn't
show it as much as the girl, but he's afraid. He's moving a lot.
He mutters quietly.

Guy
Oh God... no... I'm sorry... no... don't... no... no...

Panel 3
Close up of the Batman's face, completely hidden in shadow by
the moonlight flooding in through the broken window.

Batman
RUN!

Panel 4
The guy jumps out of the corner with his jeans still around his
ankles, but his boxer shorts pulled up. He crashes through the
old, almost rotten door of the bedroom.

Panel 5
The guy runs toward the right foreground of the panel, but
through the door behind him, the Batman's silhouette spits out
another dark, jagged shape.

PAGE FIVE
Panel 1
A batarang buries itself deep in the guy's back, as he trips
over his jeans, still around his ankles.

Panel 2
Close up of the guy's face as he hits the deck.
His jaw twists and his nose crunches as he hits the solid old
floorboards.

Panel 3
Similar panel, but now a dark boot sandwhiches the guy's head
between the floor and the thick tred.

Batman (off panel)
Who's selling the fear gas?

Panel 4
The Batman lets the guy squirm out from under his heel.
He shuffles over to a nearby rug and coffee table. Blood
trickles from his nose, and his legs stay straight. Numb.
His face is frozen in pure panic.

Panel 5
The guy looks up at the dark shadow before him.
A wet patch forms over his boxer shorts, but his face
remains frozen on the Batman. He doesn't react.

Panel 6
Close up of the Batman's eyes, burning down at the criminal.

Batman
Pathetic.

PAGE SIX
Panel 1
Batman stands in the doorway of the bedroom. The light catches
more of him, revealing the man beneath the shadow. He allows
glimpses of grey to break free of the black of his cape. In the
moonlight, the grey is almost white.

Sitting on the bed, cradling the child, is the Catwoman.

Catwoman
What's pathetic, is your people skills.

Panel 2
Side-on.
Batman stands infront of the broken window, gazing up at the
moon in the perpetually dark, grey sky of Gotham City.

Batman
She's been infected with Scarecrow's fear toxin.

Panel 3
Catwoman, still cradling the child, angrily bites at the Batman.
Her goggles and mask are now pulled back, to reveal her face in
an effort to calm the child.

Catwoman
I'm sure jumping through her window helped.

I saw you before.
I never figured you for a peeping Tom.

Panel 4
Batman turns to face Catwoman, putting the window behind him,
and again bathing himself in darkness. Only his eyes can be
seen.

Batman
What do you know about Fatman and Little Boy?

Panel 5
Catwoman looks away from Batman, and rests her chin on the girl's
head as she furrows her brow in disgust.

Catwoman
Jesus, Batman. This can wait.

Panel 6
Batman turns to the window, looking back at Catwoman over his
shoulder.

Batman
For now...

PAGE SEVEN
Panel 1
Close up on Batman's face, as he glides between buildings,
dragged along by his pneumatic grappling line.

CAPTION: [Batman]
No matter how much I care, I cannot care FOR them.
No matter how innocent they are, I cannot forgive them.

Dick, Jason, Tim...

Panel 2
Looking up through it, Batman sits perched atop a glass roof.
The roof to the private quarters of the Iceberg Lounge.

CAPTION: [Batman]
... I love... loved them all. But I couldn't offer them love.
All I could offer was training. Preperation.

All I could do was prepare them for the fight of their life.

Panel 3
Batman's dark silhouette drops through an open panel, his cape
extending behind him. The tinted glass gives the sky a peculiar
orange hue, like fire behind him.

Panel 4
The black outline of the Batman looms over the squat figure of
the Penguin. The white of his eyes, and grit teeth is all that's
visible of the Batman. Smoke drifts from the Penguin's cigarette
as he sits at an oak desk, hunched over a computer keyboard.

Batman
WHERE'S CRANE?

PAGE EIGHT
Panel 1
The Penguin remains unfettered, typing away at his console.

Penguin
Hmmm. I hear Jervis Tetch is making progress.
I hope those Arkham DOCTORs can help him.

Waugh. Always liked Tetch.

Panel 2
The Batman brings his hulking black fist down on Penguin's table
like a club. The computer brings up a blue screen error.

Batman
CRANE!

Panel 3
Penguin hobbles out of his seat, with the Batman lurking around
his desk.

Penguin
Waugh... Alright, alright.

I heard he was hiding out in an abandoned theatre on the edge of
the East End... Monarch Theatre, on Park Row, or something. Eh.

Panel 4
The stunted Penguin stands before the dark knight, who hunches
over the squat little man. A contrast of physiques, but somehow
meeting face to face in the middle.

Batman
Crime Alley.

Panel 5
The Penguin forages around in one of the deep draws of his oak desk.

Penguin
Waugh, yeah, that's right.

Panel 6
Penguin spins around, brandishing an umbrella gun, but the Batman's
silhouette is already flying toward the glass cieling.
The Penguin mutters to himself.

Penguin
Bastard...

PAGE NINE
Panel 1
Establishing interior shot of oen of the screens in the Monarch
theatre. Glamorous and distinctly retro, but decayed. somewhat like
Gotham itself. The maron plush seats faded, and torn, with tufts of
yellow sponge sticking out here and there. The carpeted floor is
dark, and unrecognisable. A blanket of dust sits over everything.

On the screen, a black and white film plays: Nosferatu.
The pale, bald figure of the original screen vampire lurches across
the screen.

The Scarecrow, in full costume, sits in one of the middle seats in
the middle row. His posture is impeccable, as he watches with a
trance-like fixation.

CAPTION: [Batman]
Johnathan Crane.
A man so close to the source, he no longer FEELS it.

Sometimes he indulges in petty crime, or criminal servitude, KNOWING
he'll be caught. This makes him a dangerous, and unpredictable man.

He tortures others for pleasure.
A consolation for his own inability feel fear.

Panel 2
A giant, bat-like shadow is cast over the center of the screen.
From within the darkness of his mask, Crane's eyes can be seen
looking back and to the right.

CAPTION: [Batman]
The Scarecrow fears ME.

Panel 3
The Batman's dive from above sees him crash landing into Scarecrow,
driving his wirey body through the seats infront.

PAGE TEN
Panel 1
Batman hoists Scarecrow up from the rubble by the shirt, and bares
down over him.

Batman
WHO ARE YOU SELLING THE TOXIN TO?

Panel 2 [2x3 panel grid]
Close up: The Scarecrow's cold eyes glow from within the depths of
his mask. They're blankly transfixed on the Batman.

Panel 3
Close up: The Batman's eyes glare back, furiously.
His bottom lip features prominently on his scowling face.

Batman
Stolen, and you don't know who took them. Do you, Crane?

Panel 4
Close up: The Scarecrow's eyes look to his right.

Panel 5
Close up: The Batman squints his eyes at the Scarecrow, and furrows
his brow. The slightest hint of disappointment tips a corner of his
lips down.

Batman
Where was the toxin hidden?

Panel 6
Close up: Scarecrow's eyes look down.

Panel 7
Close up: The Batman grits his teeth, in a menacing smile.

Batman
You're not afraid of me anymore. The danger isn't real.
You know I'll only go so far.

I'll give you what you want. Then we'll see if you're more indulging.

PAGE ELEVEN
Panel 1
Establishing shot of a manhole cover.

Panel 2
The walls of the sewer are completely black, as is the water and muck
that flows through it. The light at the end of the tunnel is a pure
white, it contrasts the Scarecrow's silhouette as it falls toward the
darkness from the manhole above. A slither of light from the closing
manhole illuminates the Scarecrow's mask. His eyes are alight with
fear, and through the mouth hole, his teeth can be seen screaming.

Panel 3
Close up on the Scarecrow on his hands and knees.
His mask is faintly lit by reflections of the light in the distance,
bouncing off the water he's emersed in.

Panel 4
Close up of Crane's mouth hole, in which, his teeth can be seen smiling
from within the darkness.

Panel 5
The silhouette of Solomon Grundy lumbers it's way out of the light.

Solomon Grundy
... born on a Monday...

PAGE TWELVE
Panel 1
Side on: Batman pulls the cowl hood from his face, pushing it over the
top of his head toward his back. It's a scene of contrasting blacks,
greys and whites.

CAPTION: [Batman]
There are times when the mask feels amazing.

The pull of the leather on the tip of my nose.
The squeeze of the vacuform against my brow.

It's warm. Safe.

Panel 2
From off panel, Selina Kyle's shadow moves in, and the two share a
passionate kiss.

CAPTION: [Batman]
And there are times when taking it off, feels right.

When the burn comes to rest between the muscles.
When I'm tired enough to admit I'm just a man.

It feels good to be Bruce Wayne.

Panel 3
Batman approaches the cabinet by the side of his bed, and removes
his gloves. They are in Bruce Wayne's bedroom, similar in it's
arrangment to the little girl's, but on a much grander scale, and
with more of everything.

Bruce Wayne
Selina, I'm sorry. The child...

Panel 4
Close up: cutting their faces from the nose up, out of frame.
Selina Kyle, wearing a black strapless dress, slinks into Bruce
Wayne's arms. She places her finger on his lips, and presses her
chest against his. She whispers.

Selina Kyle
Ssshhh... we're not at the office now.

Panel 5
Thin panel occupying the very bottom of the page.
Only enough is visible to see Bruce Wayne's hands on Selina's hips.
Ripples in the dress fabric make it noticable that he's pulling down.

PAGE THIRTEEN
Panel 1
Naked, Selina uses her arms to slide onto the bed, stomach first.
Her back arches slightly, but the musculature doesn't over exagerate.
Her rear is smooth, and round.

Selina Kyle
Hmmmmreow

Panel 2
Bruce lifts the top of the Batman costume off, revealing a small
bruise over his lower ribs. The belt was taken off, off-panel, so it
is not there.

Panel 3
A naked Bruce Wayne slides over Selina's body. Her eyes half close,
and she smiles. Bruce slides his hands between the bed and Selina,
and cups her breasts.

Panel 4
Selina Kyle's eyes close, as Wayne's hands wander down.

Selina Kyle
Mmmm.

Panel 5
Selina grips the sheets, as Wayne leans in and kisses her neck.

PAGE FOURTEEN
Panel 1
With the glow of the sun rising over the sky scraper horizon in
the distance, a scrawny, twisted silhouette staggers off of the
sidewalk, casting a long shadow across the road.
A Gotham PD patrol car cruises into the bottom of frame. In the
background, a manhole cover can be seen not quite over the hole.

Panel 2
The twisted figure raises his arm to the side, and sticks his
thumb up, motioning like a hitchiker to the police vehicle.
The thumb is twisted and thin like the rest of his body.

Panel 3
The broken body of the Scarecrow slumps over the bonnet of the
patrol car. One of the cops speaks into the radio.

Panel 4
Bruce Wayne, in costume with the exception of the cape and cowl, sits
solemnly in the batcave, working at a computer.

CAPTION: [Batman]
Joker has escaped many times before.

Like Crane, his unpredictable patterns make him difficult to track,
and extremely volatile.
Someone will die before I find him.

Panel 5
Alfred strolls in behind Wayne, with an eyebrow slightly cocked,
and a newspaper under his arm.

Alfred
I trust Ms. Kyle enjoyed her stay last night.

Panel 6
Wayne leans to one side, resting his face against his hand.
His face indicates a state of concentration.

Bruce Wayne
I'm running through Joker's previous locations.

A service room beneath the Aparo expressway.
One of the few I haven't already checked out.

PAGE FIFTEEN
Panel 1
Alfred maintains a general look of disinterest.

Alfred
Very good, sir.
No doubt you realise the sun is setting.

Panel 2
Wayne stands up, and starts pulling his thick, black leather
gloves on.

Bruce Wayne
I'll be leaving momentarily.

Panel 3
Before you leave, you'll probably like to know there was a
riot at the Asylum. I happened to hear some rather cagey
reports over the police radio.

Panel 4
The Batman now in full costume approaches the Batmobile.

Batman
Right.

Panel 5
Large panel, showing Gotham City in all it's glory, as the sun's
light disappears behind the looming buildings. A dirigible flys
high in the sky, baring the symbol of the Bat Signal.

Batman's dark shadow glides in the direction of the signal's
source, by way of his grappling line.

CAPTION: [Batman]
Arkham riots are common. They do not require my presence, but
if reports weren't forthcoming, it could mean another escape.

Joker has been at large for four nights.
He has given me no clues, as yet.

For now, he too will have to wait.

PAGE SIXTEEN
Panel 1
Detective Driver stands atop the GPD building, with one foot on
the edge of the roof, looking out over the city. Behind him,
creating a dramatic light over his back -- the Signal.
We look over his shoulder, sharing his view of Gotham City, as
he mutters

Det. Driver
No wonder we produce so many nuts.
The buildings in this city are like refugees crammed together
in a cargo hold. Invading each other's personal space...

Panel 2
Behind Detective Driver looms the black shadow of the Batman.

Batman
Detective.

Panel 3
Driver spins around, doing his best to hide his shock by walking
from the left of panel, to the right. Batman remains stone faced.
The tips of his cape flap in the wind.

Det. Driver
Early this morning we picked up Jonathan Crane, "The Scarecrow",
on the street. He's temporarily being held in Arkham Asylum while
we investigate a rape/assault, and robbery on the East End.

Panel 4
Driver turns the signal off.

Det. Driver
It looks pretty open and shut, but he's refusing to answer any of
our questions. He said he wants to speak to you...

Panel 5
Batman stares right through the Detective.

Batman
Drop the charges. He's innocent.
The other men you have in custody acted of their own accord.

Panel 6
Batman leaps from the roof top, his cape bellowing in the wind.
Driver grumbles to himself.

Det. Driver
Bastard...

PAGE SEVENTEEN
Panel 1
Arkham Interior - one of the dark, dank corridors of the stoney,
gothic aslyum. A security guard leads Batman past the heavy
metal doors, dwarfed by Batman's living shadow.
The guard looks up at the Batman nervously, who acknowledges him
out the corner of his eye.

Guard
Uh, Dr. Arkham's sorry he couldn't meet with you personally.
He's reviewing a patient's parole...

Panel 2
Close up of Batman, as he strides through the corridor with an
air of square jawed confidence. He doesn't look at the guard
when he speaks.

Batman
There was an escape. Who?

Panel 3
The guard nervously defies the Batman, as he leads him around
a corner.

Guard
Um, I'm not able to disclose that information to non-personel.

Panel 4
The two pass through a large, steel door toward the reader,
leaving the rustic cells behind, in favour of high security
cells. Each cell has three walls, with a fourth glass wall with
a door. The cells are shades of pale grey and white, and
relatively empty of contents. Each cell is spaced a distance
apart from it's neighbours. Quite a few are empty.

Guard
Um, Scarecrow's in his usual cell.
I'll be outside if you need anything.

Panel 5
In one of the cells the lights are out. Batman approaches the
glass, seeing his reflection.

PAGE EIGHTEEN
Panel 1
From the darkness, emerges Dr. Jonathan Crane close to the
glass. Face to face with the Batman, Crane holds a peculiar
dignity in his disinterest. His scraggly hair is parted, and
combed back, and his posture is straight, despite wearing a
straight jacket. Eye glasses sit on the end of his nose.
Crane's face is held slight upright by a neckbrace, and his
eye is bruised.

Jonathan Crane
Batman.

Panel 2 [2x3 panel grid]
Close up: Batman's face, as cold as the stone from which Arkham
was built. He glares at Crane through the glass.

Panel 3
Close up: Crane looks down his nose.

Jonathan Crane
My equipment was stolen from a storage facility within the sewer
exits beneath the viaduct leading to Black Isle.

Only two vials were taken. One of the cruder powders;
effective when burned to produce a gas, or more potent when
ingested. The other was an inoculation antigen.

Panel 4
Close up: Batman glares at Crane.

Panel 5
Close up: Crane paces to the right of the panel, doing his best
to look down slightly, over the neckbrace.

Jonathan Crane
... My findings suggested those with a biological
predisposition to anxiety related disorders, such as OCD,
experienced longer lasting effects.

I believe I used it in one of our earlier encounters.

Panel 6
Close up: Batman is unchanged.

Panel 7
Close up: Crane paces to the left of panel, doing his best to
face the Batman while doing so. The neckbrace forces him to
look out of the corner of his eye, for the most part.

Jonathan Crane
It might also interest you to know Dent would like to speak
with you, and Julian Day, for that matter.

PAGE NINETEEN
Panel 1
Batman turns away from the glass cell, his cape flapping around
on the ground, slapping the glass. Dr. Crane leans toward the
glass, with a sinister expression.

Jonathan Crane
Batman, before you leave, do you suppose you could see to the
removal of the straight jacket?
It's not like I'm going to escape.

Panel 2
Security camera style view, looking down at the Batman as he
glides down the corridor of cells, moving deeper into the
building. His cape flaps and crawls over the ground, around
him.

Panel 3
Sitting on a wall-attached bed, with thin grey sheets, Two-Face
is flipping a coin. The scarred side of his face is to the side
of the glass.

Two-Face [bad]
I knew you'd come, Bats.
You're pathetic like that.

Panel 4
Batman looms over the glass.

Batman
What do you want, Two-Face?

Panel 5
Two-Face flips his coin high into the air.

Panel 6
He snatches it out of the air with his "bad" hand.

Panel 7
He slaps it on his "good" hand.
The unmarred side turns up.

Panel 8
Two-Face turns to face Batman at the glass.

Two-Face [bad]
Got some intel for you from a couple of the pukeholes in the
mess hall.

PAGE TWENTY
Panel 1
Two-Face stands up.

Two-Face [good]
Apparently some of Scarecrow's fear toxin was sold to a
dealer who plans to sell it as part of a new recreational
drug. It's going to go on the market tonight, at a nightclub
rave.

Panel 2
Batman presses his finger tips against the glass, and barks
out of his underbite.

Batman
Where?

Panel 3
Two-Face flips his coin again, and snarls.

Two-Face [bad]
Fuck you, detective.

Panel 4
Batman slams the glass with his palm.
Two-Face jumps, and fumbles his coin.

Panel 5
Batman slinks away from the prison cell, leaving Dent to
scramble around on the ground.

Batman
Behave yourselves, Harvey.

Panel 6
Side-on close up: Batman moves back toward the security
door. Empty cells in the background.

PAGE TWENTY-ONE
Panel 1
Batman stops at the gate, and glances to his left.

Panel 2
Inside one of the cells, slumped over and leaning against a
wall is the security guard he came in with.

Panel 3
The building shakes. A little bit of dust trickles from the
stone ceiling.

Panel 4
The security door explodes into the corridor in a cloud of
dust, knocking Batman to the ground.

PAGE TWENTY-TWO
Full page splash
With Batman flat on his back, Killer Croc stands before the
destroyed security door, with the guard that escorted Batman
in, in one hand, held by the throat.

TO BE CONTINUED...