Gordon, Bullock and a dozen officers stand atop the roof of Police Headquarters.
A loud sound of electrical power being cut fills the air. The bat-symbol fades out.
Gordon looks over at the switch and squints, "Who shut that off? Batman, is that you?"
"You didn't even give me time to eat," says Batman as he slips out of a shadow.
"Probably doesn't even eat; just sucks the souls of evil doers," Bullock says and dances his fingers in the air to symbolize creepiness.
"What's up?"
"I'll be damned if this isn't a first, but look what showed up at our doorstep," Gordon waves to the guards. They bring a figure out from the shadows.
Batman assumes a defensive posture, "Clayface!"
"Hold on a second! He calls himself Clayman. Says he split from the other one," says Jim.
Clayman steps forward and speaks, "I mean no harm. Three months ago Clayface finished a high-frequency radio wave chamber. He had hoped he could kill the genetic structure of the Renu-U compound. Unfortunately he didn't account for the fact the compound had seeped into our genetic structure. It even split our memory engrams."
"A gruesome two-some," comments Bullock.
"So, one of you is Dr. Jekyll and the other Dr. Hyde?" asks Gordon.
"Yes," replies Clayman.
Batman speaks, "So, what are the components for?"
"To reassemble the chamber. The splitting was violent and we lost our ability to control our shape; it was shattered."
"If only the Joker made it this easy," Gordon says offhand.
"You know, "says Clayman, "I actually played Dr. Jekyll once in one of my earlier films."
"What's to stop you both from splitting again?" asks Batman.
"He's created a chemical compound that causes the Renu-U atoms to attract each other."
"Your bodies yes, but your minds … it may not be possible to reintegrate them. Matt could be left with bouts of insanity," cautions Batman.
"I thought of that. But without my angry side, I can never truly feel injustice, nor can I fight with heart; and without good, Clayface is just as good as insane. We need each other."
"What about Daggett?"
"He plans to put him in the chamber and set the frequency until the point he cocks," replies Clayman.
Bullock exclaims, "Geez! Whatever happened to the days of good ol' wackin'?"
Batman looks briefly at Bullock, thinking something similar, then back of Clayman, "Why are you telling us this?"
"I want to help," he looks down.
"There'll be other movies," comes a voice.
The view fades to a blond lady; the color is dull and the soft light shun on her hair as she stood in front of a window. She walked away and he followed passed it; Gotham City high rises in the background.
"But none of them will have me as the star!"
"Matt, not every film needs to have you as the center of focus."
"Patricia, honey, all my life I was nothing when I wanted so badly to be otherwise. Now I am, and they're ripping the shirt off my back," he clenches a fist and it shakes with his rage, "and tossing me aside. When a studio like them drops me, I'll be lucky to get some two-bit part in a low-budget serial!"
"Matt … I'm leaving you."
"Why?" he tries to put his hands on her arms. She pulls away and folds them.
"Five years ago you were different. These films have made you ill tempered, tired, and I rarely see you. I look into your eyes and I see someone else. More importantly, that someone doesn't seem to see me."
"I'll do fewer films a year. But can you blame me? I've lost my last three roles to young punks who couldn't act their way out of a cardboard prop. And my co-stars keep getting younger. So I'm a little on edge – but I have a good reason to be."
"I'm won't be here when you get back; Delilah is letting me stay over. When you've found yourself again," she puts her right palm on his face and looks into his eyes, "let me know," and she walks off into the bedroom to pack.
Clayface's eyes water; he puts down a screw driver. Aside him the nearly complete radio wave chamber. His face quickly morphs into the back of his head after hearing a noise. Clayman emerges.
"You're late."
"They chased me; I couldn't find a safe place to morph."
"Do you have it!!!" with a tone of impatience boarding on insanity.
The hardware ripples out of Clayman's body. He takes hold of it and places it on the table next to the screw driver.
"All we need is some shielding and another unit and the chamber will be active again. So close!" he makes a fist and it grows bigger; little flares of clay shot off it, like flares on the sun.
"If we kill him, she'll never forgive us," warns Clayman.
"Then someone had better keep his mouth shut," and Clayface starts unscrewing nails out of the new unit.
…
Bats fly by with echoing squeaking. Down below Robin stands by Batman.
"I still don't understand why you're helping him. He did try to kill you a few times," the view is now on robin's face, "or did that only bother you a little bit?" with sarcasm.
Batman replies as the sparks reflect in the safety shield he is wearing; the shimmering light creates shadows on parts of robin's face, "Because, he's not so different from you or I."
"Well, I haven't tried to kill you. Yet," folds his arms and waits for a smile or laugh or some facial expression of amusement from Bruce that never comes.
"If Catwoman can take you, so can I," he lifts the shield and inspects a long tube that looks like a weapon, "the Joker is insane. Poison Ivy is psychotic, but Clayface is misguided and fell into the wrong crowd. He was wronged and tried to avenge that. Not so far off from what you almost came to doing to Zucco. For some there is always a chance for redemption; can you honestly say you would deny him it?"
"That may be, but what if he doesn't want it?"
Batman snaps on a compartment cover and holds the tube up; he presses a button and some bars glow blue, illuminating his face, "Time will wait."