Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or its characters.
Tim Burton's Batman Triumphant (1995)
Dramatis Personae
Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton)
Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough)
Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer)
Harvey Dent (Billy Dee Williams)
Rupert Thorne (Jon Polito)
Jonathan Crane (Jeff Goldblum)
Helena Thorne (Jennifer Jason Leigh)
Martha Wayne Foundation Building
Bruce Wayne had broken his promise to his parents twice in the last six years. He promised to rid Gotham of the evil that claimed their lives and twice he ended up a part of that evil. He broke his promise the first time when he let Jack Napier, his parents' murderer, fall to his death from the Gotham Cathedral. He then broke his promise a second time when he tricked Oswald Cobblepot into bombing his hideout with his own missiles.
While he did not actually kill them, he showed fragrant disregard for their lives that led to their deaths. A hero, especially a superhero, should live up to a higher standard. Questioning the morality of his mission made him vulnerable. It weakened his resolve while strengthening the confidence of even the lowliest street-level criminal.
Rupert Thorne had made a power grab for control of Gotham after Max Shreck's mysterious death three years ago. It failed but Batman had not managed to put him behind bars and Rupert didn't give up that easily. He reorganized. His tendrils spread out through the city, choking Gotham's newfound sense of hope. Three years later and Rupert had enough muscle and political power to put Carl Grissom's empire to shame.
Next week marked the third anniversary of the disappearance of Selina Kyle, last seen as Catwoman killing Max Shreck with an open mouth kiss from a taser gun. He had only a black cat, a few shapely shadows and her nine lives to suggest that she might have survive that horrific ordeal. Even in a life as strange as Bruce's, the odds did not look good for Selina Kyle, despite what rumors out of Rome might suggest to the contrary.
As a long-awaited treat for the good people of Gotham, Bruce Wayne appeared at the opening of the Martha Wayne Foundation, a luxury halfway house for the homeless and the victims of violent crimes. Tonight on this chilly December evening, Bruce would cut the ribbon on the dream of his mother decades in the making. If she had lived, she would have stood here today with her son to open the doors of recovery to the downtrodden.
"My parents died on these streets from the very disease my mother hoped to cure in this city. Tonight, I intend to fulfill her dying wish. I give you the Martha Wayne Foundation." A roaring applause arose from the crowd as a bad feeling came over Bruce. He remembered a time when a Christmas tree lighting ceremony ended in chaos.
The fact that Rupert Thorne attended the ribbon cutting to keep up appearances did not help Bruce's uneasy feeling about the next few minutes. "Yes, Bruce, I speak for all the Gothamites here when I hope what happened to you will never happen in this city again." That insincere bit of sentimentality won a thunderous applause from the audience. If only a two-faced gangster like Rupert Thorne knew the real cost of keeping such a promise.
District Attorney Harvey Dent, a black man with a passing resemblance to Billy Dee Williams, shook hands with Rupert Thorne, his teeth forever clinched behind his smile. Like the majority of Gotham's movers and shakers, Harvey knew the real business of philanthropist Rupert Thorne. He had spent the last six years of his career trying to build a case against him. Rupert had no record but commanded the underworld's heavy hitters.
Bruce admired his courage and determination but in Gotham only a detective seeped in shadows could bring such a dark and dangerous character to justice. Like Harvey, his own private investigation had yielded little into the way of hard evidence. The revolving doors still haunted the Gotham Police Department when it came to men like Rupert Thorne. Inspiring fear and silence defined the nature of the Thorne in everyone's side.
From the speakers came a grainy cackling voice. "Yes, Mr. Thorne, but who needs to inspire hope when I can inspire fear?" A bitter violent laughter echoed as a spray of brown gas escaped into the air. Bruce reached into his pocket. Beside security risks, he had brought his utility belt to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He donned the mask as the vapors rose into the lungs of the audience. A moment of agonizing tension hung in the air.
Then all hell broke loose. The younger members of the audience screamed about monsters. The older members felt their hearts failing from fright. The rest screamed from imagined threats about them. "Gun!" a cop yelled as he prepared to fire on an infant son cradled in his mother's arms. A whip shot out and snapped the gun into the air. Bruce stood with an almost tangible fear clenching his throat and lungs as he watched Selina cough from the gas.
As she wobbled about on her two legs, Bruce rushed down to aid her. Harvey Dent stopped him with a .22 pistol. "Let's see if you live or die." Harvey spoke with a craggy uneven voice. He pulled out a silver two-headed coin and flipped it once. A bullet smashed into him. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Despite security risks, he had worn his Batsuit under his tuxedo, a decision that saved his life. Harvey had aimed for the heart, dead center.
The gas began to clear. Crawling hand over fist into the safety of the shadows, Bruce donned his mask and looked at his wrist computer. It would take too long for the Batmobile to drive here on its own. Wading into the crowd, Batman tripped a captain of industry as he prepared to beat his wife to death. He punched an older man in the gut as he threatened to grind his boot into his son's head. Whoever did this would pay dearly for it.
Batman looked up at the stage to see Harvey Dent pointing a gun at Rupert Thorne. Batman flung a Batarang at the gun. It struck on target, deflecting his aim slightly. The bullet still hit Rupert Thorne in the head. Rupert Thorne fell to the ground. Bruce Wayne wanted to help him but innocent people took precedence over crime lords. As much as it pained Bruce, he left Rupert to bleed to death as he waded further into the crowd.
From the night sky came a volley of arrows. Looking up for a sniper, Bruce caught only a glimpse of purple rushing about on the rooftops. Those struck grasped their hands in agony. Bruce would have to look into this new sharp shooter in Gotham but right now he needed to finish this task before someone actually managed to put a bullet in an unarmored portion of his body. Batman would not survive long in this murderously frightened crowd.
As he averted a number of near tragedies, he arrived at his target, Selina Kyle, lying face down among the panicked mob. The crowd had swallowed her and beat her within an inch of her life despite her training. She didn't have long to live. Selina looked up at him with terror in her eyes like she did not know the man behind the mask. Wasting no words, he grabbed her and piled her into the passenger seat of the Batmobile. Times like these reminded him how often the Batmobile saved lives.
"Home." The Batmobile sped off, expertly maneuvering around the people and their fear-stricken orgy of mayhem. Batman removed his mask. "Please, Selina, speak to me." Without mincing words, Selina raked Bruce across the face with her claws. Superficial wounds to say the least, they would nonetheless leave a mark for a couple days. Bruce held her back. She screamed. She lost consciousness from the sheer exertion of her screaming.
Not a moment too soon, he arrived in the Batcave, a place with medical facilities easily the rival of Gotham General Hospital. It also had a registered nurse and a man who easily qualify for an honorary degree in medicine, Alfred Pennyworth. "I saw the news. I had the table set." He looked that their patient. "Oh, my." Alfred had a gift for understatement. Alfred would have to keep her resuscitated long enough for Bruce to run an examination.
Alfred brought up the possibility of taking her to a real doctor. "They couldn't help her. Besides, after her performance three years ago, they'd have her arrested. Then the man would have her killed." Alfred said why he would do that. "Because, her blood at this stage might hold the key to stopping whatever chemical caused this." Bruce had dreamt of seeing Selina Kyle again someday but not like this. "Please, Selina, don't die."