Alternate Scene: "Wayne Enterprises/ Derek Powers"
(This scene was originally located in Chapter 10 and was the one and only scene featuring the character of Derek Powers in the original edition. I felt that this scene was pointless in the original version as it really didn't further the plot at all.
In the Revised and Final Edition, I created a subplot using Derek Powers character that featured the return of Jack Nicholson's The Joker which really helped make this scene work for me. In Chapter 9, I added a brief conversation between Harvey Dent, Jr and Bruce Wayne that made his returning to Wayne Enterprises in order to fire Derek Powers make more sense.)
WAYNE ENTERPRISES
Bruce Wayne walked into the large building for the first time in a very long time.
His father had started the company back in 1963 and it had struggled in the beginning. Thomas Wayne had descended down from a long line of wealthy relatives that dated back all the way to the formation of Gotham City. He had been a renowned doctor and conceived the idea for Wayne Enterprises as a philanthropic corporation to help the needy within Gotham and over time to expand throughout the world.
The death of his parents in 1968 was when the company really soared to new heights. Their tragedy was the catalyst that made the company really take off and expand throughout the world. Thomas Wayne's best friend Lucius Fox had taken over after his friends murder and kept the company going strong until Bruce took the reins back in 1988 when he had returned from his travels abroad. Just before he began his crusade as Batman.
Now the company was being run by an ambitious man named Derek Powers. He had been a prodigy of sorts to Bruce once upon a time. He had great potential and was a genius in the business world. He'd stepped up in a huge way when Bruce secluded himself in his mansion for all those years.
Now after several years, Bruce was back out in the world and a big part of being back out in the world was visiting his father's company and setting a few things right. Mostly those things consisted of shady dealings that were incorporated by his acting CEO, Derek Powers.
"Mr. Wayne," Derek Powers greeted him in the hallway of the lobby and shook his hand. "Its so good to see you after all these years."
Bruce nodded. "I can't say the same, Derek. I wish this visit were under better circumstances though."
"What do you mean?" Derek asked confused.
"Perhaps we should go to my office for a little more privacy."
Derek hesitated. "Um, I actually took over your office. I've had it for several years now, in fact."
"Oh," Bruce said and then he grinned. "Didn't count on old Bruce Wayne to step foot back through these doors, huh?"
Derek chuckled sheepishly, "Not really."
Bruce nodded, "Well, let's head up to your office then."
They took the elevator to the top floor of the building and were soon in what was once Bruce's office.
"Would you like some coffee?" Derek offered as he walked to an expensive espresso machine.
"Yes, thank you." Bruce said as he walked to the large window and stared out at the bustling city beyond. He always loved the view of Gotham City from that office. Everything seemed so peaceful from such a high perspective.
Derek handed him his coffee. "So, what brings you around here with such ill tidings?"
Bruce sipped his coffee and then answered matter of factly. "You do, Derek."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you've taken this company and started turning it into something it's not. Wayne Enterprises is a foundation built on peace and charity so you can imagine my dismay when I learn that my company has begun manufacturing weapons and chemical warfare. How does that promote peace and charity, Derek?"
Derek shrugged, "These aren't peaceful times, Bruce. Sometimes to promote peace and charity you have to mold it by force."
Bruce sighed, "You disappoint me, Derek. I thought you were the future of my company. I felt that when I retired you'd be the one to keep my father's legacy alive. Clearly I was wrong."
"No, You were right to believe in me," Derek argued. "I am the future of Wayne Enterprises. Your philanthropic views of the world are a thing of the past. Eventually this world will be at war again and we will be on the receiving end of a substantial sum of money when the military comes to us for assistance in arming their soldiers."
Bruce shook his head sadly, "You're fired, Derek."
Derek threw his cup of coffee across the office angrily. "You haven't set foot through these doors in years and now you think you can just barge back in here and fire me on the spot?"
Bruce nodded, "Yeah. I just did."
Derek's face turned bright red and he then swung his fist toward Bruce's face. The elderly man easily evaded the assault and used the younger man's momentum to trip him and make him fall on his face.
"You have till the end of the day to clear out my office."
Bruce then left without saying another word, leaving the former acting CEO on the floor to seethe in anger.
(That was it. That's all we see of the Derek Powers character and when I went back through the completed story, I thought to myself, What the hell does this scene have to do with anything? I hope that most would agree with me that the additional subplot that I added definitely enriched what I originally wrote.)
Deleted Scene: "Bruce and Vicki Date"
(In the original version, Bruce and Vicki actually have their date at his place. I really suck at romance writing and I felt this scene didn't flow well at all. It was located at the end of Chapter 10, the same chapter that originally featured Derek Powers in his one and only scene. I really botched this chapter up when I first wrote Legacy of Batman. The Final Edition deletes the date scene entirely since I added Bruce having hallucinations of the original Joker happen just before Vicki arrives for their date.)
WAYNE MANOR
Bruce Wayne was pleased to see Vicki arrive at 6:00 on the dot.
She was wearing an elegant black dress that came down to just above her knees. Her beauty still stunned him every time he saw her. Even after all the years that had gone by, she was still just so beautiful.
In anticipation of having dinner with her he actually had decided to clean up the place. The exterior and lawn were still out of sorts but he'd look into hiring some people to get it back to looking right again. He could tell by her expression that she had noticed he'd tidied up the place.
He met her at the front door, holding two glasses of champagne. "Good evening, Ms. Vale."
She smiled widely and took one of the proffered glasses of champagne. "So formal and elegant this evening, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce chuckled sheepishly. "Well, I'm afraid this is where the formality ends." He led her toward the dining area. "So, it turns out that after all these years I still can't cook worth a damn."
Once in the dining room, sitting on the dining table were several pizza boxes from Gotham Pizzaria.
"So, I ordered pizza."
Vicki laughed. "Well, you can never go wrong with pizza."
They ate supper in the same room where they'd eaten together so many years ago when Alfred Pennyworth had entertained them with tales of Bruce's childhood.
"This just isn't the same without Alfred," Vicki observed.
Bruce nodded. "He always brought a certain light to my dark world."
Vicki nodded and was silent for several moments before speaking again. "So are you going to bring it up or am I going to have to bring it up?"
Bruce stared at her confused.
Vicki rolled her eyes. "The Batman, dummy."
Bruce chuckled, "Oh. What about it?"
"How was it? How do you feel?"
Bruce thought a moment. "It was great and I feel sore as hell. Killer Croc just about got the best of me."
Vicki nodded. "Well, you're no spring chicken anymore, Bruce."
Bruce chuckled. "Thanks for that, Vicki."
"Well, it's true," Vicki laughed. "I mean what's your long term plan here. You can't go out prowling the streets as Batman every night like you used to."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll get yourself killed. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing you like this. You have that same spark I fell in love with so long ago but I don't want to lose you."
Bruce placed his hand over hers. "I'm not going anywhere, Vicki."
They both stared into each other's eyes intently and gradually started leaning in toward one another. Then Vicki's cellphone started going off.
The moment passed and she cleared her throat as she answered her phone. "Vale."
Bruce continued staring at her as the speaker on the other end spoke. Her eyes gradually got wider with each passing word from the person on the phone.
She stammered, "I'll be right there." She then hung up the phone. She gave him a haunted expression, "I have to go, Bruce."
"What's wrong?"
"Harvey, Jr.'s car was blown up. He's in intensive care."
Bruce stood up. "I'll go with you."
(I hope most would agree with me that this scene was best left removed.)
*Notes on the flashback sequence of Bruce Wayne as a child in 1968*
(In the original version when Bruce has an early memory of his childhood after nearly dying due to the shock therapy he received at the hands of Hugo Strange, I only had the 1968 flashback in the story which revealed Carmine Falcone had Thomas and Martha Wayne murdered. It remained the same for the Revised Edition, as well.
When I went back through it for the Final Edition, I ended Chapter 17 with Bruce Wayne dying and began a whole new Chapter 18 that fully dealt with the flashback sequence. The 1968 segment remained the same but I added several new segments of flashbacks that focused on key points of his past that were revealed as time went backwards. I am very much happy with this chapter that chronicled through his years all the way back to the year 1968.)
Alternate Ending aka Alternate Epilogue:
(The original ending that I wrote remained the same throughout the original and Revised Editions, but when I went through it again during this last edition, I realized that I really wasn't all that pleased with it. It didn't flow well at all and I felt that the only purpose of it was to flow from point A to point B and that it was just a lazy cop out.
Read it and make your own assessment as to whether or not I should have just left it alone. Regardless, I'm much happier with the new ending so this original ending will no longer matter. Also, I left Jason Todd aka The Joker alive at the end in the original story but decided against it for the Final Edition as I really didn't want to leave any lingering loose threads.
This is the Final story of what I consider to be the BurtonVerse trilogy and I felt that leaving The Joker around to be able to stir stuff up in the future just wasn't tidy enough. I was conflicted about changing the story to make him die, but ultimately I stand by that decision.
This segment will include the original end of Chapter 18 which is now Chapter 19 in the Final Edition and also include the entire original Epilogue.)
ARKHAM ASYLUM
Hugo Strange awoke with a start. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious.
He tried to get up but then realized he was strapped down. He saw that he was restrained to the same table that he'd previously had Batman tied down to. He then realized that the headband to his machine was fastened to his head.
"Rise and shine, Dr. Frankenstein!"
He glanced over and saw that The Joker was standing there in the corner with a hideous grin planted on his face.
"What are you doing?" Hugo asked nervously.
"I thought you might like a taste of your own medicine." The Joker answered.
Hugo nervously watched as The Joker walked behind him and to the machine. The Joker started pressing buttons. "Your machine was somewhat damaged but I managed to get it operational again."
Hugo stammered. "Listen to me, Jason. I cured you. Remember? Now release me this instance."
"Jason?" The Joker looked confused. "Whose that? I'm The Joker. Don't you remember?"
"No, you're Jason Todd." Hugo said frantically. "You were once a good person and ward of Batman himself."
The Joker laughed as he placed his face only inches from Hugo's face. "You killed Jason or don't you remember. With this machine right here you created your very own monster. Jason Todd went away and in his place was The Joker."
Hugo started to tear up. "What do you want from me?"
"I want to tell you a joke."
"Okay," Hugo sniffled. "Tell me your joke."
"Why did The Joker electrocute the crazy doctor with his own machine?" The Joker asked.
Hugo began crying at that point. "I don't know. Why?"
The Joker went back over to the machine. "Because the crazy doctor failed and let Batman escape. Because the crazy doctor tortured the poor lost boy once known as Jason Todd for all those years with this very same machine. And most importantly, simply because The Joker can."
He then pulled the lever down and the machine shot to life, thus electrocuting Hugo Strange.
The doctor screamed in pain for a long time and The Joker laughed sadistically as he stood their and watched. The damaged machine caught fire before long and the fire spread across the room and soon engulfed Hugo Strange, who had already died by that point.
The Joker, being satisfied with the results, exited the burning room and started walking down the hallway, whistling a tune.
EPILOGUE
WAYNE MANOR
Bruce Wayne was sitting on the couch in the living room watching the news on his 75 inch television screen.
His face was pretty battered from the previous night's excursions and his arm was in a sling. He was very much feeling his age right then. He had taken several pain pills and still the pain had not completely subsided. Even with all the aches he felt, he still couldn't help but feel accomplished. The night had ended with a resounding win for the good guys.
Some things had of course been left unresolved. When the police had been apprised of Hugo Strange's dealings at Arkham Asylum, they went there to arrest him only to find the facility on fire and Hugo murdered by his own shock therapy machine. The Joker had no doubt been involved and was still out there somewhere. Bruce was confident that in time he would be dealt with though.
Vicki Vale soon came onto the television screen, dressed immaculately in a white dress, looking as beautiful as ever. She was on location at the Falcone Estate and several body bags could be seen getting loaded on vans behind her.
Vicki Vale held the microphone to her mouth as she spoke:
"Last night several revelations were revealed here at the Falcone Estate. Mayor Carmine Falcone was arrested after The Batman aided in giving irrefutable evidence of many crimes that Mayor Falcone had committed recently and of crimes that had been committed many years back.
"He has been implicated in the murders of Harvey Dent and his wife Grace Dent as well as the murder of a Gotham City citizen named Selina Kyle who it turns out was Mayor Falcone's long lost daughter. He was also involved in the attempted murder of their son Harvey Dent, Jr. as well.
"Most shocking of all was the admission of a murder he had committed more than fifty years ago. Carmine Falcone had the beloved Gotham City couple Thomas and Martha Wayne murdered on his command. All these years it was believed that they had been the victims of a simple mugging gone wrong. With all these charges lined up I'd say that Carmine Falcone will be looking at the remainder of his life behind a set of prison bars.
"Last night Harvey Dent, Jr. had tried enacting revenge against Falcone and in doing so had taken the lives of several of Falcone's bodyguards. He was safely apprehended by Batman and admitted to Arkham Asylum for further treatment.
"Commissioner Ellen Yindel was revealed last night to be the daughter of Carmine Falcone and proof has been given that has implicated her in several of his criminal dealings, including the murder of her sister, Selina Kyle. She has been indefinitely suspended from the Police Force and she is currently locked up at GCPD where she will be awaiting trial."
"Thats a lot of shocking facts to be unloaded on Gothamites all at one time."
Bruce turned around to see his son, Damian Kyle, standing behind him, holding a file.
"They can handle it," Bruce said as he switched the television off.
Damian walked around the couch and sat beside his father. He seemed to be contemplative for a moment and then handed Bruce the file.
"What's this?" Bruce asked.
"Request for a name change?" Damian answered.
Bruce opened the file and saw that it was indeed a request for a name change. He looked up and smiled at his son fondly. "Damian Wayne, huh? Are you sure you want all the responsibilities that come along with that name?"
Damian shrugged. "I'm not sure what to think of it, just yet. What I do know is that if I don't step up then you'll keep going out there as Batman and end up getting yourself killed. I can't have that happen when I'm just now getting to know my father."
Bruce stood up and extended his hand. "Welcome to the family, Mr. Wayne."
Damian took the proffered hand and stood to his feet as well. "What's next?"
"Well, I'm not going to be your butler if that's what you're thinking," Bruce joked.
Just then they both saw something out of the window that hadn't been seen in a very long time.
The Batsignal had lit up in the night sky.
Both father and son stared out at the signal as it's light illuminated onto both of their faces.
Bruce said in a serious tone. "It's time to get to work."
ROOF OF THE GCPD
Commissioner Barbara Gordon stood atop the roof of the GCPD, waiting and hoping that Batman would see the signal and come to meet with her.
A lot of fast moving events had happened to her that day. When she woke up that morning she had been the police captain of the Metropolis Police Department. With all the scandals that had unraveled so quickly in Gotham, she had been offered the position of Commissioner and she just as quickly had accepted it. She considered it a great honor to be Commissioner in the same city that her father had served as Commissioner for so long.
As her first act as Commissioner she intended on resuming a relationship with the Dark Knight just as her father had done. Batman had done a lot of good for the city in just a few short days of resurfacing after being absent for so long and she intended to let him know that he'd have the full support of the GCPD.
She heard a rustling behind her and turned to see that Batman had arrived. What she saw wasn't what she had expected.
It was definitely Batman standing their but he had a completely different suit. It was all black with a large red bat emblem across the chest. The mask completely covered his head and face. The only thing visible was the eyes which were hidden behind a solid white visor that looked to be possibly mechanically connected to a computer.
"Looks like you upgraded." Was all Barbara could think to say.
Batman nodded. "Looks like you downgraded, Commissioner Gordon. You sure you want to leave the bright sunny streets of Metropolis for the Dark streets of Gotham?"
Barbara could tell by the voice that the Batman before her was somebody new. The voice was too young to be that of the original Batman that had worked with her father in the past.
"Gotham City has always been my home," Barbara said. "My father and Batman worked hard to make Gotham a place worth living once upon a time. I know that you're not the same Batman underneath that mask, but perhaps together we can work to achieve the same great things that they had done years ago."
Batman extended his hand toward her. "To a brighter future beyond what Gotham once was."
Commissioner Barbara Gordon took the proffered hand and shook it. "Well, as a good starting point we have an issue that needs to be handled sooner rather than later."
"What's the issue?" Batman asked.
"A new nut claiming to be The Joker has threatened to poison the Gotham City Reservoir. Think you can handle it?"
Batman nodded. "I'm on it."
THE END
(Well, that pretty much wraps up all of the significant changes that I've made from the original story I had written. Their are still several tweaks and additional scenes of dialogue that I've added but these were the most altered of those scenes.)