Page 1

                SIX PANELS IN A CLASSIC 9 PANEL GRID. DO NOT LEAVE ROOM AT BOTTOM FOR INDICIA.

 

                THERE ARE SIX PANELS IN THIS GRID, THREE ROWS, TWO PANELS PER ROW. THERE IS OPEN SPACE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STACKED PANELS. TYPESET COPY WILL FLOAT IN THAT AREA, INDICATED BELOW AS "PANEL 7." A THUMBNAIL LAYOUT OF THIS PAGE SHOULD BE ATTACHED TO THIS SCRIPT.

 

1              THE IMAGE: A STREET IN SUBURBIA. 

                AN ELEVATED VIEW, AS IF FROM A WINDOW OR ROOFTOP. WE SEE A STRETCH OF NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK: TREES, TELEPHONE POLES, LAMP POSTS, SOME PARKED CARS, A MAILBOX, A FIRE HYDRANT— Y'KNOW, STREET STUFF.

 

                THERE IS A STRAY DOG. DOESN'T MATTER WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, IT'S JUST SOMEBODY'S DOG. PUT A COLLAR ON HIM. THE DOG CAN BE DOING ANYTHING.

 

                THERE IS A BOTTLE OF BOOZE, HALF-COVERED BY A PAPER BAG, LYING DISCARDED SOMEWHERE NEAR THE MAILBOX. THE BOOZE CAN BE JACK DANIELS OR SOMETHING EQUALLY STINKY. THE GLASS MUST BE TINTED DARK, AND THE BAG COVERS A GOOD DEAL OF THE BOTTLE, BUT ENOUGH OF THE BOTTLE STICKS OUT THE TOP THAT WE KNOW WHAT THIS IS.

 

                MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL THESE ELEMENTS IN AND THAT YOU CLEARLY ESTABLISH THIS STREET. WE WILL BE STAT REPEATING THE HELL OUT OF THIS SHOT, SO GIMME WHAT YA GOT HERE.

 

                COLOR:  IT IS NIGHT.

— no copy in panel —

 

2-6           OK: WE'RE REPEATING THIS IMAGE. THINK OF THIS AS A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA IN A FIXED POSITION.  IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN MAKE PANELS 1 AND 2 A CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND AND/OR DO SOME OTHER CLEVER THINGS LIKE GENTLY PANNING LEFT AND RIGHT, BUT DO NOT MOVE YOUR CAMERA FROM THIS FIXED LOCATION. DO NOT CHANGE THE ANGLE AT WHICH WE ARE VIEWING THIS QUIET, RESIDENTIAL STREET.

 

                ANIMATE THE STRAY DOG.  HAVE HIM JUST KIND OF WANDERING OR DOING WHATEVER YOU WANT HIM TO DO.

— no copy in panels —

 

7              THIS IS THE OPEN SPACE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STACK OF PANELS. FLOAT TYPESET COPY IN THIS AREA. ALIGN FLUSH LEFT: SEE ISSUES OF XERØ FOR FONT AND STYLE.

 

TYPESET COPY 1:

Xerø had heard of the guy, but he'd never actually seen him before. But, suddenly, there he was. Lost in shadows made all the more intense by the over-bright Neighborhood Watch street lamps there in Queensland Park. Xerø scanned him several times and every scan came back with ever more useless data.

 

The guy had almost no heat signature, so Xerø assumed he was wearing body armor. Xerø couldn't get his definitive height or weight because the guy had some kind of cloak he kept rearranging. He kept his mouth shut so no dental records were forthcoming. And the guy maintained complete radio silence.

 

Xerø flushed this wealth of information— after all, even no information was information— through SkyTrane's onboard processors, which in turn queried the UltraNet and downloaded risk analysis, tactical with evasion routines, and a Non-Target Advisory confirming what Xerø figured out seconds before.

 

The guy in the shadows was Batman.

 

And the fact Xerø had spotted him at all meant Xerø's cover was blown.

 

TITLE 2:                         THE MARTYR

[2]CREDITS 4:                  xerø created by Christopher Priest with ChrisCross

CREDITS 5:                   BATMAN created by Bob Kane

INDICIA 6:                    Float indicia in open space below credits

 

 

 

Page 2

                [3]SAME LAYOUT AS PAGE !:  6 PANELS IN A 9-PANEL GRID, OPEN SPACE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STACKED PANELS, TYPESET COPY FLOATS IN OPEN SPACE.

 

                THE DOG:  ANIMATE THE DOG THROUGHOUT.  HE EVENTUALLY FALLS ASLEEP AND REMAINS ASLEEP ON A LAWN NEAR THE MAILBOX.

 

1              STAT PREVIOUS: THE BLOCK.

— no copy in panel —

 

2              SAME: CAN BE CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND.

— no copy in panel —

 

4              DETAIL: THE BOTTLE OF BOOZE.

— no copy in panel —

 

5              THE DOG LIES DOWN, TIRED AND YAWNING.

— no copy in panel —

 

6              THE STREET. THE DOG SLEEPS ON A LAWN SOMEWHERE NEAR THE MAILBOX.

— no copy in panel —

 

7              THIS IS THE OPEN SPACE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STACK OF PANELS. FLOAT TYPESET COPY IN THIS AREA. ALIGN FLUSH LEFT: SEE ISSUES OF XERØ FOR FONT AND STYLE.

 

TYPESET COPY 1:

Batman was hanging out his shingle.

 

He was too good a spook to let himself get spotted unless he'd somehow already made Xerø.  Since they'd both walked into each other's surveillance, Batman probably decided that was good a time as any to whip 'em out.

 

Batman moved only to shift his cloak and further frustrate Xerø's attempts to accurately scan him. Xerø was sure Batman knew Xerø would scan him the moment he moved from his perch. And Xerø knew Batman would certainly catalogue Xerø if he revealed himself. And Xerø was certain Batman knew Xerø knew that Batman knew that Xerø knew.

 

It was really stupid.

 

Both men valued secrecy above all else. Neither man moved.

 

All night long.

 

 

 

 

Page 3

                SAME LAYOUT AS PAGE !:  6 PANELS IN A 9-PANEL GRID, OPEN SPACE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STACKED PANELS, TYPESET COPY FLOATS IN OPEN SPACE.

 

                THE DOG:  HE IS ASLEEP THE WHOLE TIME.

 

1-6           STAT PREVIOUS: THE BLOCK.

 

                COLOR AND SHADOW PLACEMENT:  THE SUN IS RISING OVER THE COURSE OF THESE SIX PANELS. GO FROM NIGHT TO HIGH CONTRAST DAWN-- HEAVY SHADOWS AND ORANGEY MONOCHROMES AND SO FORTH. DAWN, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IS EVEN EERIER THAN NIGHT.

— no copy in panel —

 

7              THIS IS THE OPEN SPACE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STACK OF PANELS. FLOAT TYPESET COPY IN THIS AREA. ALIGN FLUSH LEFT: SEE ISSUES OF XERØ FOR FONT AND STYLE.

 

TYPESET COPY 1:

Xerø couldn't help but admire Batman's tactics. The infra-red laser mic in the booze bottle. The ultrasonic whistle spiked into the lawn that summoned the stray dog with the heat sensor built into its flea collar.  The impressive attempts to jam Xerø's uplink.

 

Batman was very good. Maybe the best Xerø had ever seen. Xerø thought Batman would make a great Closer.

 

Closers were trained to wait around in the dark, unmoving, for hours on end. To melt out of the shadows, strike without mercy and vanish without a trace.

 

Closers worked for a government agency with no name. They executed Target Warrants signed by both the U.S. Attorney General and a federal judge.

 

Closers closed cases at any cost, often closing anyone who got in their way. Batman seemed to have some intuition about that, because he positioned himself in a non-confrontational way.

 

Xerø assumed Batman was just curious. Having not even seen the face of this mysterious visitor, Batman nonetheless appreciated Xerø's professionalism and wisely showed the Closer the proper respect.

 

For his part, Xerø admired the work Batman did, and hoped he wouldn't have to kill him.

 

 

 

 

Page 4

                NORMAL STORYTELLING STYLE:

 

1              A PAPER BOY RIDES HIS BIKE DOWN THE STREET, FLIPPING PAPERS ONTO LAWNS. THE PAPER BOY IN BULKY SWEATS AND A BASEBALL CAP. THE STRAY DOG CAN BE STIRRING.

[4]TYPESET CAPTION 1:       Right on cue.

 

2              MEDIUM: THE PAPER BOY AS HE WORKS:  HE's WEARING A HOODED SWEATSHIRT, THE HOOD UP OVER A BASEBALL CAP, THE BRIM STICKS OUT OF THE HOOD. THE KID IS WEARING SUNGLASSES.

 

                THIS IS ROBIN BUT WE CAN'T TELL.

TYPE 2:                          Xerø assumed Batman had a fallback plan. If he didn't call in or make it home—

TYPE 3:                          —somebody would come looking for him. Xerø assumed Batman was pretty useless in broad daylight.

TYPE 4:                          Two things gave the kid away: First, he had no heat signature. That meant some kind of armor.

 

3              NEW ANGLE: THE KID RIDING, A PAPER HITTING ONE OF THE LAWNS. THE DOG CAN CHASE THE KID.

TYPE 5:                          And, hours before, Xerø posted an inquiry and knew who subscribed to the Gotham Gazette—

TYPE 6:                          — and who didn't.

 

4              THE PAPER BOY STOPS, LOOKING BACK (HE's JUST REALIZED THE GAFFE).

TYPE 7:                          Xerø also knew the property tax status, current utility bills, and what time the sprinklers came on.

TYPE 8:                          He knew when the mail arrived and what carrier was assigned the route. He knew the milk man's credit report.

 

5              THE PAPER BOY RETRIEVES THE PAPER, THE DOG PLAYFULLY BARKS WHILE WAGGING ITS TAIL.

TYPE 9:                          He knew who was expecting parcel delivery, cable service, and whose car was about to be repossessed.

TYPE 10:                        He knew the brakes on Mr. Freez-Cone's ice cream truck failed inspection three months ago.

 

6              AND THE PAPER BOY RIDES OFF.

TYPE 11:                        The only thing Xerø didn't know was what kind of sick bastard puts a teenage kid in the line of fire.

TYPE 12:                        Batman had no reason to believe Xerø wouldn't have killed his young accomplice on sight.

 

7              STAT:  THE STREET. QUIET AGAIN. SOME PAPERS ON SOME LAWNS.

TYPE 13:                        He admired Batman's apparently cold blood. And, in the eyeblink it took for Xerø to experience that emotion—

TYPE 14:                        —Batman vanished.

 

 

 

Page 5

                THREE PANELS ACROSS TOP TIER:

 

1              STAT PREVIOUS:  THE STREET.

TYPE 1:                          We called it "molecular acceleration," but that was probably the wrong term for it.

 

2              STAT: ONLY NOW XERØ's ARM EXTENDS OUT OF THE MAIL BOX.

TYPE 2:                          It was an energy wave created by the fissionable reaction between Xerø's bio-organic implants and the X-Enzyme that stemmed the fatal tissue rejection the implants caused.

 

3              STAT: ONLY NOW XERØ, DOUBLED OVER, CLIMBS OUT OF THE MAILBOX, PASSING THROUGH THE SIDE WALL OF THE MAILBOX WITHOUT DAMAGING IT (SEE ISSUES OF XERØ FOR THIS EFFECT).

TYPE 3:                          The wave allowed Xerø to affect the density of any matter he came into contact with.

 

4              (2/3 PAGE):  XERØ, IN FULL COSTUME, RACES TOWARDS US.

                NOTE: XERØ ONLY HAS ONE GUN (IN ITS HOLSTER). I KNOW HE's BEEN DRAWN WITH 2, BUT XERØ NEVER HAS 2 GUNS.

 

                MAKE THIS AS DRAMATIC AS POSSIBLE:  HEAVY SHADOWS ON XERØ, MAKING HIM OOOOH!! SCARY!! HIS DEADEYE LASER GLOWING IN SPOOKY MORAYS. HIS GUN IS HOLSTERED. TYPICAL GRIM EXPRESSION.

 

                COLOR:  FEEL FREE TO TAKE SOME LIBERTY AND MUTE HIS COSTUME COLORS AS IT IS STILL THAT TOO-BRIGHT DAWN, THE ONE THAT MELTS DRACULA.

 

                LEAVE OPEN SPACE AT RIGHT OR LEFT FOR TYPESET COPY, INDICATED BELOW AS "PANEL 5."

— no copy in panel —

 

5              TYPESET COPY. FLOAT IN OPEN SPACE NEXT TO PANEL 4. ALIGN FLUSH LEFT OR RIGHT.

TYPESET COPY 4:

Which meant Xerø could spend the night inside mail boxes.

 

Now he had two problems:  Batman was gone, and he was racing down a suburban street in broad daylight dressed like a circus performer.

 

Xerø saw the solution to both problems—

 

 

 

Page 6

1              ESTABLISH: A DRIVEWAY BETWEEN TWO HOMES.  THE DRIVEWAY IS VERY DARK, SHADOWS CAST BY THE BUILDINGS ON EITHER SIDE OF IT, AND TALL FOLIAGE LIKE SHRUBS OR TREES.

 

                THE NOSE OF TRANE WALKER's ACURA 4X4 (SEE XERØ #2 FOR REFERENCE) PEEKS  OUT OF THE BLACKNESS.

 

                XERØ RACES TOWARDS THE CAR, PARTS OF HIM BECOMING ENVELOPED IN THE BLACKNESS.

TYPE 1:                          —in the alley where Xerø left SkyTrane.

TYPE 2:                          SkyTrane's tactical analysis chose that driveway as a good spot for several reasons, not the least of which was the angle of the surrounding buildings and foliage.

 

2              MEDIUM: XERØ, IN THE DRIVEWAY, MOVING TOWARDS US, HIS DEADEYE GLOWING.

TYPE 3:                          This was the one patch of night left on the entire block.

TYPE 4:                          Xerø knew that was where Batman would be waiting for him.

 

3              OVERHEAD: DOWN ANGLE INTO THE ALLEY:  BATMAN DROPS AWAY FROM US, HEADING RIGHT DOWN ONTO XERØ. BATMAN's CLOAK FLARING DRAMATICALLY.

TYPE 5:                          And Xerø knew Batman knew Xerø knew.

 

4              FULL FIGURE: XERØ CROUCHES BY THE SIDE OF THE CAR, HUNTING FOR BATMAN, AS HE IGNORES THE CLOAKED OBJECT WHICH IMPACTS GENTLY ON THE NOSE OF THE CAR.

 

                THIS WAS A DECOY: BATMAN's CAPE ANCHORED TO A GARBAGE BAG OR SOMETHING.

TYPE 6:                          Risk analysis told Xerø to ignore the first attack.

TYPE 7:                          Sneaking up on Xerø was a complete waste of time. Xerø's eyes were closed under his mask—

SFX:                                THUNNNKK--!!

 

5              TACTICAL DISPLAY:  THIS IS WHAT XERØ SEES: A FISHEYE LENS-STYLE 360-DEGREE NEGATIVE IMAGE OF THE SCENE.

TYPE 8:                          —the expressive "eyes" that snarled at you were sophisticated prosthetics, providing Xerø with a 360 degree tactical display.

 

6              GROUND LEVEL:  DETAIL:  BATMAN's GAUNTLET GRABS HOLD OF XERØ's ANKLE.

TYPE 9:                          And Xerø knew Batman knew.

 

 

 

 

Page 7

1              (BIG PANEL) ANGLE: THE BAG THAT HIT THE CAR:  ROBIN, IN FULL COSTUME, EXPLODES OUT OF THE BAG, THE PLASTIC RIPPING TO SHREDS, ROBIN FIRING OFF A LONG SPRAY OF A MACE-LIKE SUBSTANCE FROM AN AEROSOL CONTAINER.[5]

TYPE 1:                          The decoy bag wasn't entirely a decoy.

SFX:                                SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS--!!

 

2              MEDIUM: GROUND LEVEL:  XERØ IS DRAGGED UNDER THE CAR, BATMAN's HAND NOW AROUND HIS THROAT, VICIOUSLY DRAGGING HIM. GAS CLOUD IN XERØ's FACE.

TYPE 2:                          And the caper was heading south.

 

3              (BIG PANEL) WIDE:  UNDER THE CAR:  IN CLOSE: MED C/U:  BATMAN ON TOP OF XERØ, SNARLING AT HIM, ONE OF BATMAN's HANDS LOCKED AROUND XERØ's THROAT.

 

                IMPORTANT:  THOUGH HE IS SNARLING, KEEP BATMAN's MOUTH CLOSED, HIS LIPS CURLED UNDER IN A MENACING SNARL.

 

                MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF THIS.

— no copy —

 

4              NEW ANGLE: C/U XERØ, SNARLING. BATMAN's HAND AROUND HIS THROAT.

 

                LEAVE OPEN SPACE AT RIGHT OR LEFT FOR TYPESET COPY, INDICATED BELOW AS "PANEL 5."

— no copy in panel —

 

5              TYPESET COPY. FLOAT IN OPEN SPACE NEXT TO PANEL 4. ALIGN FLUSH LEFT OR RIGHT.

TYPESET COPY 3:

The kid's mace was useless. Xerø's "eyes" were made of pliant polymers in an lacrimal suspension. Filters in the mask strained out every trace of the gas.

 

Batman's grip was crushing Xerø's windpipe and pinching a nerve designed to immobilize him. But Batman couldn't possibly know Xerø's bio-organic implants bypassed his central nervous system. Nerve pinches were useless.

 

In other words—

 

 

 

Page 8

1              DRAMATIC ANGLE: THE ACURA 4X4 JOLTS SKYWARD, ZOOMING STRAIGHT UP. ROBIN ON THE HOOD, REACTING.[6]

TYPE 1:                          —Batman's big move was turning to mud.

ROBIN 2:                       Whoops now--

TYPE 3:                          There was a reason we called Xerø's transport "SkyTrane."

 

2              UP ANGLE: OVER THE FRONT FENDER ON ROBIN, WHO IS PERCHED IN DRAMATIC CROUCH, SNARLING A LITTLE, HIS HAIR BLOWING EVERY WHICH WAY. THE CAR RISING. IT'S MOVING LIKE A HIGH-SPEED ELEVATOR.

[7]TYPE 4:                         The transport had a magnetic drive system. It was completely silent and could go from zero to mach point nine in about thirteen seconds.

ROBIN 5:                       --this is new…

 

3              TRICKY ANGLE: UNDER THE CAR: XERØ HOLDS ON TO WHATEVER UNDERNEATH THE CAR, BATMAN's HAND STILL GRIPPING HIS NECK. XERØ SNARLING.

TYPE 6:                          The sudden change in venue neutralized Batman's controlled environment.

TYPE 7:                          And it gave Xerø his first good look at the guy.

 

4              OVER XERØ's SHOULDER: FINALLY: BATMAN. IN FULL COSTUME.[8]  BATMAN SNARLING, EERIE, DETERMINED.  DOUBLE OR TRIPLE LIT BY THE EERIE SUNRISE, HEAVY SHADOWS, AND RUNNING LIGHTS UNDER SKYTRANE. ONE OF HIS HANDS EXTENDS PAST OUR VIEW (GRASPING XERØ's NECK).

— no copy —

 

5              OVERHEAD:  THE CAR ZOOMS UP TOWARDS US (RISING LIKE AN ELEVATOR) AT A FIERCE RATE OF SPEED: ROBIN STILL PERCHED ON THE HOOD, HIS CLOAK DOING ALL KINDS OF COOL STUFF FROM THE WIND AND INERTIA.  WE DO NOT SEE THE HEROES UNDER THE CAR.

 

                BELOW:  THE SUBURBS OF GOTHAM CITY.  THEY ARE LIKE 30 STORIES UP AND BULLETING HIGHER.  BATMAN AND ROBIN CLEARLY IN REAL TROUBLE.

TYPE 8:                          Xerø could not tell Batman or anyone else his mission parameters. But, by activating SkyTrane, Xerø had certainly unzipped his fly.

TYPE 9:                          And now, without giving up at least some information, he'd have Batman after him forever.

 

 

 

Page 9

1              UNDER THE CAR: ANGLE ON BATMAN: XERØ'S FREE HAND AIMING HIS GUN AT BATMAN. BATMAN SNARLING.

TYPE 1:                          Unless Xerø killed him.

 

2              REVERSE TO BATMAN POV: UP ANGLE:  XERØ, BATMAN'S HAND LOCKED AROUND HIS NECK. THAT BIG GUN RIGHT IN OUR FACE.

TYPE 2:                          Once upon a time, that's exactly what Xerø would've done. Batman and the boy— dead on sight.

TYPE 3:                          But that was a long time ago.

 

3              REVERSE: REPRISE PANEL ONE: BATMAN, XERØ's GUN AIMED RIGHT AT HIM. BATMAN IS SMILING— A SCARY, EVIL SMILE.

TYPE 4:                          That was before Kelli.

BATMAN 5:                  You're very good.

 

4              NEW ANGLE:  THE CAR:  A SMALL EXPLOSION: BATMAN'S SET OFF SOME KIND OF DEVICE: BRIGHT LIGHTS, BATMAN'S CAPE DOING SOME OF THAT TODD McFARLANE STUFF.

TYPE 6:                          Xerø assumed Batman had some instinct about Xerø's motives.

TYPE 7:                          He knew Xerø wasn't a bad guy. A bad guy would have shot him.

SFX:                                FWWWOOOOSSSSHHH--!!

 

5              ANGLE ONE ROBIN: LEAPING OFF THE NOSE OF THE CAR.

TYPE 8:                          That non-verbal message was the most information Xerø could offer at the moment.

TYPE 9:                          Batman's response— the harmless incendiary designed to blind opponents— was an acknowledgment of that fact.

TYPE 10:                        Actually, it was more like a promise—

 

 

 

Page 10

                (SPLASH)  BATMAN AND ROBIN, IN DRAMATIC POSES, LEAPING DOWN OUT OF THE SKY.

TYPE 1:                          — that this was far from over.

 

 

 

Page 11

1              (WIDE ANGLE)  AFTER IMAGES:  AS IT SWEEPS ACROSS THE SKY, SKYTRANE CONVERTS FROM JEEP INTO ITS MANGA JET FIGHTER MODE. XERØ NOW HOLDS ONTO A STRAND OF DEADLOQ (XERØ CAN BE A THUMBNAIL HERE, AND WE DON'T NEED TO EXPLAIN HIS TETHER YET).

TYPE 1:                          Xerø had come to close a case with no case file. Normally he didn't question those kinds of things.

TYPE 2:                          A Target Warrant was issued for James Henley. Xerø's job was to find him and make him stop breathing.

TYPE 3:                          It wasn't exactly the bonus round on "Jeopardy."

 

2              DRAMATIC ANGLE:  BATMAN AND ROBIN, STILL IN FREE FALL, BOTH FIRE OFF GAS-PRESSURE LAUNCHERS, LAUNCHING MINI GRAPPLING HOOKS WITH BAT LINES ATTACHED.

TYPE 4:                          But Henley had no file. It was like the A.G. got bored and picked somebody out of the phone book.

TYPE 5:                          Also, Closers had no domestic charter. Now, that wouldn't stop Xerø from popping Mr. Henley's sled—

SFX:                                FFZZZTT!!  FFZZZTTT!!

 

3              XERØ CLIMBS IN SKYTRANE's OPEN COCKPIT AS THE PLANE DRAMATICALLY BANKS OVER OUR HEADS.

TYPE 6:                          —but it did make Xerø wonder exactly who was yanking his chain this time. Xerø had no idea why Batman was staking out the same guy he was looking for—

TYPE 7:                          —but it smelled of the classic inter-agency political skippy whips common to Xerø's line of work.

 

4              CLASSIC BATMAN AND ROBIN SHOT: SWINGING ON BATLINES.

TYPE 8:                          And now he'd made a new friend. The so-called World's Greatest Detective.

TYPE 10:                        Xerø hoped he wouldn't have to kill him.

TYPE 11:                        Killing good men really bothered Xerø in those days.

 

5              DETAIL: INT/SKYTRANE: ALL THE AUTO DASH AND SO FORTH IS GONE, REPLACED BY THE MONITORS AND SO FORTH. A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING TAPED TO THE DASH (SEE XERØ #2).[9]

TYPE 12:                        Ever since Kelli.

HEADLINE 13:             (Typeset)  WAITRESS KILLED IN STICK-UP

NEWSPAPER COPY 14:      (Typeset)  Greek in body copy

 

 

 

 

Page 12

1              AERIAL: NEW YORK CITY. SKYTRANE BANKING AWAY FROM NEW YORK, HEADING ACROSS THE RIVER TO NEW JERSEY.

 

                LEAVE OPEN SPACE AT RIGHT OR LEFT FOR TYPESET COPY, INDICATED BELOW AS "PANEL 2."

— no copy in panel —

 

2              TYPESET COPY. FLOAT IN OPEN SPACE NEXT TO PANEL 1. ALIGN FLUSH LEFT OR RIGHT.

TYPESET COPY 1:

Xerø had not acquired his target. Normally, that was bad.

 

But Henley had no file, so he had no priority on Frank Decker's  shank list. And Xerø, Decker's top Closer, only took on Henley because he was going to be in the area.

 

Henley was vapor and Xerø needed fresh leads. He was certain it'd only be a matter of time before Henley turned up. Hanging around Gotham only invited Bat Men and so forth to stick their cowls in where they didn't belong. So, in the absence of more pressing duty—

 

3              INT/SKYTRANE: XERØ PULLS OFF THE MASK, REVEALING TRANE WALKER's GRIM FACE.

TYPE 2:                          —Xerø got on with the rest of his life.

 

4              (BIG PANEL)  TRANE WALKER, IN VIPERS TRAINING UNIFORM[10], IN DRAMATIC RUNNING LEAP, CHARGING THE HOOP, PLOWING THROUGH A PAIR OF FACELESS BENCH GUYS (ALSO FROM HIS TEAM) TRYING TO GUARD HIM.

 

                TRANE HAS A FOCUSED, ANIMALISTIC SNARL, HIS FACE CONTORTED, VEINS BULGING IN HIS NECK, HIS SKIN AGLEAM WITH A LAYER OF SWEAT, HIS JERSEY TWISTING WITH HIS MOTION.

 

                I WILL ATTACH REFERENCE/SUGGESTION SHOT FOR THIS. THIS BASKETBALL STUFF MUST LOOK RIGHT.  THANKS!

TYPE 3:                          Which, at the moment, was in Jersey City, where the National City Vipers had arrived to play the Palisades Park JayCees.

VOICE 4:                       (From off)  Wait-- hold on-- this can't be--

 

5              (WIDE) THE VIPERS: TWIG, TRENT, DOC AND REV.  ALL IN TRAINING UNIFORMS.

 

                TWIG IS SPEAKING: HE HAS SARCASTIC BODY LANGUAGE. TRENT, WHO IS A LITTLE SHORTER THAN TWIG AND THE SHORTEST PLAYER OVERALL, GIVES TWIG AN ANNOYED LOOK.

 

                DOC, WHO NEVER COMBS HIS HUGE AFRO AND ALWAYS WEARS SUNGLASSES, HAS A TOWEL AROUND HIS NECK AND HOLDS A BOTTLE OF GATORADE. HE's SMILING, AMUSED. REV, WHO'S A HUGE, POWERFUL MAN A LA SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, SMILES WARMLY, BUT DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE RIBBING OF THE (OFF-PANEL) TRANE WALKER.

TWIG 5:                         --Trane Walker--?!  At practice?!

TWIG 6:                         Must be my birthday.

TRENT 7:                       Yock it up, white boy.

TRENT 8:                       My brother will snap you into little Twiglets.

 

 

 

Page 13

1              ANGLE:  TRANE. ANNOYED STANCE, THE BALL CRADLED IN THE BEND OF HIS ARM. HE's NOT AMUSED.

TYPE 1:                          Xerø's loathing for intelligence agency shell games was directly offset by his love of basketball. Without his mask, he called himself Trane Walker.

TYPE 2:                          Trane Walker was the best basketball player who ever lived—

TRANE 3:                      You guys gonna play or what?

 

2              MEDIUM: TRENT WALKER, INTENSE EXPRESSION, LOOKING AT HIS (OFF-PANEL) BROTHER. TWIG IN B/G.

 

                LEAVE OPEN SPACE AT RIGHT OR LEFT FOR TYPESET COPY, INDICATED BELOW AS "PANEL 3."

DOC 4:                           (Off panel)  Wait-- wait-- check my man out--

 

3              TYPESET COPY. FLOAT IN OPEN SPACE NEXT TO PANEL 2. ALIGN FLUSH LEFT OR RIGHT.

TYPESET COPY 5:

—and his life was much too short. I was the only man alive outside of the agency who knew Trane Walker was also Xerø. Hell, it was my idea. I should have been a better brother to him. I owed him that much. But, in those days, Trent Walker was all about Trent Walker.

 

And it was exactly that selfishness that got my brother killed.

 

4              SAME:  NOW DOC HAS ASSUMED THE EXACT SAME POSE AS TRANE, MOCKING HIM. DOC IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE TALLER THAN TRANE.

DOC 7:                           "--you guys gonna play or what?"

                                        "--you guys gonna play or what?"

DOC 8:                           Hah.

DOC 9:                           The Doctor.

DOC 10:                         Somebody give the doctor love.

BENCH GUY 11:          (Off)  Hey-- you superstars mind--?!

 

5              NEW ANGLE: THE ENTIRE VIPERS TEAM, LOOKING AT THE (OFF-PANEL) BENCH GUYS WITH MOCK ANGER (KEEP THIS SUBTLE, MORE LIKE A GLARE). THIS IS TWIG, TRENT, DOC, TRANE, AND REV.

TWIG 12:                       Hark.

TWIG 13:                       'Tis a Bench Guy.

TWIG 14:                       Bench Guy bad.

TRENT 15:                     Bench Guy must die now.

DOC 16:                         C-I-L-L my Bench Guy.

 

6              WIDE:  THE TEAM CHARGES PAST OUR CAMERA (MOVING LEFT TO RIGHT).

TYPE 17:                        The scrimmage was a welcome distraction to Xerø. Something about the Henley case was gnawing at him.

TYPE 18:                        Could've been that Bat Guy.

TYPE 19:                        But, once again, two and two added up to significantly less than four. Xerø had no way of knowing how Batman was dealing with this mess—

 

 

 

Page 14

1              (BIG PANEL) DRAMATIC ANGLE: BRUCE WAYNE SKIING DOWN THE SWISS ALPS. BRIGHT DAYLIGHT. WAYNE IS WEARING A TANK TOP AND SHORTS, GOGGLES. ALL OF THIS IS FRIGHTFULLY EXPENSIVE STUFF, THOUGH, SO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD. FIERCE WIND BLOWS WAYNE's HAIR AND HIS JAW IS SET WITH DETERMINATION AS HE NEGOTIATES HAIRY TURNS.

TYPE 1:                          —but he assumed he had his own stress reduction techniques.

TRAINER 2:                  (Off) Mr. Wayne--

 

2              PULL BACK: FULL FIGURES:  WE NOW SEE WAYNE IS "SKIING" ON A ROBOTIC PLATFORM IN FRONT OF A BLUE SCREEN PROJECTION OF THE "SLOPES". THERE MAY BE SEVERAL OTHER RIGS IN NEAR B/G, ALL OF THEM IN FRONT OF THE SINGLE BLUE SCREEN. IF YOU'VE EVER RIDDEN ON THE "BACK TO THE FUTURE" RIDE AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, YOU'LL KNOW THE BASIC IDEA.

 

                A FEMALE TRAINER, WEARING A TIGHT-FITTING, SEXY LEOTARD AND WHO IS *CLEARLY* ENAMORED OF WAYNE (WHO, REMEMBER, IS PRETTY MUCH JOHN F. KENNEDY JR. IN TERMS OF DESIRABILITY LEVEL) STANDS ON THE FLOOR— WHICH IS THREE FEET BELOW WAYNE's SKIS— HANDING HIM A CORDLESS TELEPHONE HANDSET.

 

                WAYNE SMILES HIS CHARMING SMILE AT HER. WE SEE A WIND MACHINE OFF IN ONE CORNER, WHICH IS BLOWING WAYNE's HAIR.

TRAINER 3:                  Sorry to interrupt, sir.

WAYNE 4:                     Not at all, Daphne. I could actually use a little help with my form-- maybe discuss it over breakfast--?

WAYNE 5:                     It is "Daphne," right--?

TRAINER 6:                  It is now.

 

3              INT/BATCAVE. ALFRED ON THE PHONE, FUSSING WITH A COMPUTER THAT HAS WAYNE'S APPOINTMENTS ON IT. LEAVE LOTS OF ROOM FOR COPY.

BURST 7:                        Yes Alfred.

ALFRED 8:                    Always a good omen for my day to, by dawn's first glimmer--

ALFRED 9:                    --discover you once again playing god with Bruce Wayne's meticulously constructed day routines.

BURST 10:                      Couldn't be helped. Things ready on your end--?

 

4              MORE ALFRED. DROLL EXPRESSION AS HE WORKS THE COMPUTER.

ALFRED 11:                  Why, no sir, I'm far too enthralled by the morning's ration of Sally Jesse pearls of wisdom.

BURST 12:                      I'll take that as a "yes."

ALFRED 13:                  I've queried the usual sources for information on a blond gentleman with the letter "O" on his chest, and have attracted a most curious virus--

 

5              WAYNE, GRIM NOW.

WAYNE 14:                   A virus--?

BURST 15:                      The computer equivalent of termites, sir. An aggressive, proactive program. It's eaten through several security protocols.

[11]WAYNE 16:                Sounds like the military, Alfred. We've probably tripped an alarm somewhere.

BURST 17:                      I suggest we reinitialize all drives.

WAYNE 18:                   Agreed.  Keep me posted.

GORDON 19:                (Off)  --?! Wayne--?

 

 

 

Page 15

1              BACK AT THE CLUB: COMMISSIONER GORDON SETS HIMSELF IN THE SKI RIG NEXT TO WAYNE's, ABOUT TO GO VIRTUAL SKIING. GORDON IS WEARING SWEAT PANTS AND A TANK-TOP TEE SHIRT. A TERRY HEAD BAND. HE WEARS HALF-GLOVES.

GORDON 1:                  My god, man-- it's not even noon.

WAYNE 2:                     (Off)  It was a particularly rough night, Commissioner.

WAYNE 3:                     (Attach)  Twins.

GORDON 4:                  Ah. And they sent you scurrying into the gym, eh?

 

2              MED C/U: WAYNE AND GORDON: WAYNE HAS A SERIOUS EXPRESSION BUT LOOKS A LITTLE DISTRACTED. GORDON's TAPPING BUTTONS ON A SMALL CONSOLE, ACTIVATING THE SKIING PROGRAM.

WAYNE 5:                     I never scurry.  It's undignified.

WAYNE 6:                     I hire people to do my scurrying for me.

GORDON 7:                  Of course.

GORDON 8:                  You didn't happen to see any flying cars this morning, did you?

 

3              VIRTUAL REALITY: GORDON AND WAYNE SKIING WITH FEROCIOUS INTENT AND GREAT FORM.

 

                WE NO LONGER ARE EVEN AWARE OF THE CLUB AND THE MECHANISM; DRAW THIS AS THOUGH THEY WERE ACTUALLY ZOOMING DOWN A LIGHTNING-FAST SLOPE, POWDER FLYING UP FROM THEIR SKIS, ETC.

WAYNE 9:                     I plead the fifth.

GORDON 10:                I have reports on my desk of a flying S.U.V in the general area of Brick Henley's house.

WAYNE 11:                   "Brick--?"

 

4              ON GORDON AS THEY SKI.

GORDON 12:                A junkie and part-time second story man.

GORDON 13:                Seems, in a recent burglary, Mr. Henley stole more than a television.

GORDON 14:                He unwittingly stole mob records that can put Louie Vega away for life.

 

5              MORE SKIING: THEY JUMP A CLIFF, CAUGHT IN DRAMATIC STANCES AS THEY FLY THROUGH THE AIR.

WAYNE 15:                   But now he's evaded you with his flying car--?

GORDON 16:                Possibly.  Who the hell knows.

GORDON 17:                Henley's gone.

WAYNE 18:                   And mob boss Vega--?

GORDON 19:                He's about to get walked for lack of evidence--

 

"--unless we can find Henley-- fast."

 

end page 15: more t/k

 

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