Act III, Scene XIV
Richard White's funeral service. Jason sobs uncontrollably against his mother. Perry White is there, with the other Daily Planet staff. Clark Kent sits with Lois and Jason, his eyes red-rimmed.
After the service concludes, Lois and Clark exchange words as Jason enters Lois' car. He sits inside, staring into space. Clark extends his hand and Jason looks at him, but doesn't take his hand. Clark withdraws it after a moment. Lois gets into the driver's side and the car drives away, Clark watching it go.
A presence at his shoulder. It's Bruce.
BRUCE: Clark.
CLARK: Bruce. Thanks for coming.
BRUCE: Yeah, well. We have things to do, right? Places to go? Cold, remote places with glowing magic switcheroo boxes. Unless you…
CLARK: Wanting to hold onto them a little longer?
BRUCE: I'll miss the flying. That never gets old. (he taps his head) But I want him out, Clark. I can control him now, but...I want to be alone inside my head again.
Clark nods. Both men are walking away from the assembled mourners to a more secluded part of the cemetery. Clark glances back at the scene of Richard's funeral.
BRUCE: I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything.
CLARK: He was a good man. I was starting to think...I don't know. That humans were different from me.
BRUCE: Sounds like-
CLARK: I know. I know exactly who it sounds like. So what I'm trying to say is...I understand. And if there's one good thing to come out of all of this, it's that I know I'll never be like him. I know what it's like to be human.
Bruce simply nods. Clark's eyes are downcast now. He sighs heavily.
CLARK: Jason blames me.
BRUCE: Clark, I…kids...not exactly my strong point. Sorry.
CLARK: Maybe you should adopt.
BRUCE: Why does everyone keep thinking that?
CLARK: Oh I don't know, Bruce. The intense brooding? The excessive violence?
BRUCE: Right. And having a kid around is gonna help with that?
As they walk out of shot, still bickering, a robin sings to itself on the branch of a tree.
Act III, Scene XV
Lois and Jason arrive at Lois and Richard's old house by Metropolis harbour, with the seaplane dock empty. Lois is on the phone to Perry White, who we cut to when he speaks.
LOIS: He wants to...look for things his Dad might have left behind.
PERRY: I understand. Uh. Lois, about work...take as long as you need. Clark too.
LOIS: I still have the Morgan Edge exposé to write, Chief.
PERRY: Actually...Jimmy Olsen already submitted it.
LOIS: Jimmy?
PERRY: Yeah. The kid really came through. I passed it to the police yesterday. They've issued a warrant for Edge's immediate arrest. He's finished. Now if only I had a paper to print the damn thing in...
Jason walks inside and sits alone, still staring blankly ahead. Lois, her conversation with Perry complete, sits near him and seems about to try and start a conversation several times, but is unable to think of anything to say that won't seem trivial to the things that are racing around inside the little boy's head.
JASON: He didn't kill him.
LOIS: I know.
JASON: I should be glad. Cos if he had...everything would have changed.
Lois bites her lip. She moves so she's sitting right beside her son and she throws an arm around him, hugging him close. She kisses the top of his head.
LOIS: You don't have to be glad. It's okay not to be.
JASON: Is this what being a hero is, Mom?
LOIS: I don't-
JASON: Always being scared that the people you love are in danger? Worrying that they'll die? Not being able to be bad, even if being bad would make you feel better sometimes?
LOIS: I don't know, Jason.
EDGE: I do.
Lois spins, gathering Jason up in her arms protectively in the one motion. Morgan Edge is standing behind her. He's holding a revolver. He does not look especially sane.
EDGE: Your boy's right, Lois. Being a hero stinks. Just like destroying a man's life. I had everything.
LOIS: Leave us alone! Get the hell out of my house!
EDGE: Oh, I don't think so.
He cocks his gun and aims it directly at Lois' head.
EDGE: I'm doing you a favour. When Darkseid arrives, Superman himself will wish for as quick a death as I'm about to grant you. Goodbye, Lois.
A shot rings out. Jason screams. Lois cries out in terror.
But she's fine. The bullet didn't come from Edge's gun. He brings his free hand up to touch a wet stain on his shirt, spreading fast. It's blood. Astonishment spreads across his face.
Two more shots ring out. Morgan Edge falls to the ground in a lifeless heap.
Lois and Jason face their rescuer.
LUTHOR: Boo.
He walks forward and kicks Morgan Edge's corpse with a toe, testing it for signs of life. None are forthcoming. He grunts with satisfaction, then seems to notice that Lois and Jason are still terrified. The old traces of Luthor charm and geniality are conspicuously absent from him now as he addresses them both, but particularly Jason.
LUTHOR: You saved my life once. Saved me when you could have let me fall. And if there's one thing I despise beyond all others, beyond even ol' Red Pants, it's being in someone's debt. Consider that debt repaid. In full.
He turns and walks away, but pauses at the door.
LUTHOR: Maybe I'm not the best person to ask about heroes. But I know that sometimes...I envy them. I envied your father. Both of them.
JASON: Thank you.
LUTHOR: (rolls eyes)Don't start with that. (to Lois) Edge wasn't kidding about Darkseid. When he comes, tell Big Blue to come see me. Maybe he'll see there are worse things out there than the (and he says it with relish, glancing down at Edge's body in triumph) Greatest Criminal Mind of Our Times. Adios.
He flips them a jaunty salute and is gone. Lois and Jason stand there for another moment, over the dead body of one of the world's richest men lying sprawled over their living room in a widening pool of blood.
JASON: I want to go home, Mom. Home to Clark. To...my Dad.
Lois nods, and hugs the boy close.
Fade out.
Act III, Scene XVI
Alfred Pennyworth is running through the woods, severely out of breath. He keeps looking over his shoulder. He brings up his weapon and squeezes off a few rounds. His pursuer pops up from behind a tree trunk and returns fire.
Pellets of yellow paint explode all over the other side of the tree trunk Alfred is hiding behind. Lucius Fox advances on his position.
LUCIUS: Give it up, English man! You're outflanked and outgunned!
ALFRED: (to himself, ruefully) What part of this is meant to be bloody fun??
He launches himself from behind cover and back into the combat zone. He and Lucius exchange fire for a few seconds, finding cover where they can.
And then a new shape joins the game. It catapults itself across from one of the wooden huts, slinking from tree to tree. Alfred and Lucius both clock it at the same time. The new shape is lithe and fast and alarmingly well versed on the tactics of keeping itself behind cover.
BRUCE: (V/O) Mind if I join?
Alfred and Lucius exchange looks. We cut to Bruce, holding his own paintball rifle, jogging swiftly from tree to tree, sweeping the barrel around to cover the most likely avenues of covering fire-
And then he's caught in a crossfire, splattered repeatedly from both sides by pink and yellow paint. The balls keep coming. Bruce looks up as Lucius and Alfred close on his position.
BRUCE: I uh, I think you got me.
Another few rounds hit his chest, of both colours. Bruce winces.
BRUCE: Hey! Easy with those.
ALFRED: A mere human again? Not the Dark Avenging Angel of Death And Telling His Only Bloody Friends To Sod Off anymore, eh?
LUCIUS: Mm-hmm.
BRUCE: Look. (he throws down the gun) I'm an idiot. I'm a fool. In my defence, I did have an insane alien general criminal mastermind lodged in my cerebral cortex.
ALFRED: How hard did he try and escape?
BRUCE: (smiling ruefully)Pretty hard…
ALFRED: Well, both of us are enjoying retirement immensely. I've got tickets for Wimbledon. I'm going to Glastonbury. Our Peggy's kids are coming to stay over at weekends.
BRUCE: You? Tennis? Rock music? Kids?
ALFRED: (defensively) Yes?
BRUCE: Come back to me. Please. I need you. Both of you. What do you say?
Alfred and Lucius look at each other.
More paintballs pepper Bruce Wayne's body and legs. He yelps in pain until the bombardment stops, only because both have run out of paint bullets. Covered in paint, Bruce looks down at his body.
BRUCE: Is that a yes…?
Act III, Scene XVII
Perry White takes his place on a podium and addresses a crowd before him. Behind the stage, the huge Daily Planet globe rests on the ground in front of a modern, sparkling building.
PERRY: Ladies, gentlemen, welcome to the opening of the new Daily Planet headquarters. Made possible through our new partnership with billionaire philanthropist and all-round annoyingly good-looking guy, Bruce Wayne. Bruce?
He makes way for Bruce, who stands at the podium and looks out over the crowd. As before, his eyes alight on Lois and Clark, who watch him with interest from a few rows back. He winks at Lois. Clark shoots him a glare.
BRUCE: Thank you Perry. I watched with horror, as everyone did, when Metropolis lost one of its landmarks to the gang rampage sponsored by Morgan Edge. Thankfully the last few weeks have seen the end of Edge's empire, not to mention the end of Edge himself.
Clark makes his way out of the row of journalists. Bruce's eyes flick to watch him go and a slight ghost of a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
BRUCE: It's with pleasure that I link WayneCorp to the Daily Planet media group and donate the use of my Metropolis building to serve as the new headquarters of the world's greatest newspaper. Long may it continue to stand for truth and justice. And I look forward to the day when the globe can be raised to the roof of the building to once again take its place amongst Metropolis' landmarks. Which should be in about three months…
He pauses theatrically and right on cue, a blue and red figure swoops down from the skies and lands on the stage beside him.
BRUCE: …or, it could be right now.
The crowd go wild.
Bruce steps forward and shakes Superman's hand. There's a spark of understanding between the two men that was absent before, a mutual respect for one another. When they speak, their words are solely for each other; the crowd are making too much noise for their conversation to be overheard.
SUPERMAN: Still miss the flying?
BRUCE: Always.
Superman smiles, hops down off the stage, and grasps the Planet globe. He rises majestically into the air with it to huge applause from all, carrying it safely to the rooftop and securing it in place with a few well-timed blasts of heat vision.
As he flies off, Perry waves to him, and then looks to Lois and nods. She knows she's being thanked for seeing him through the despair in Perry's own way, and she nods back.
Act III, Scene XVIII
Commissioner Gordon, in his office in Gotham Central. The window is open and there's a sudden breeze that scatters some of the papers on the desk in front of him. Gordon doesn't look up.
SUPERMAN: Commissioner.
GORDON: (still not looking up) Do all of you do that?
SUPERMAN: Only the best of us.
Now Gordon does look up. He regards Superman with a good deal less suspicion than in their previous meeting after the first encounter with Batman.
GORDON: What can I do for you?
SUPERMAN: For me? Nothing.
Gordon sighs.
GORDON: He's innocent. Scot free. Haven't you heard? Garcia made it one of the conditions of agreeing to plead guilty on the corruption charges. (dryly)I uh, I kinda think he didn't want Batman to hold any sort of grudge against him.
SUPERMAN: Can't imagine why.
GORDON: Indeed. So the city is denying that any deals ever happened. The burn marks on the gang victims, brushed aside.
SUPERMAN: But not by you.
GORDON: How can I trust him again?
SUPERMAN: Give him a chance. And...I'll be here. Only if you need me.
GORDON: I'll consider it.
We stay on Gordon as another light breeze blows through the office, signalling Superman's departure. He looks lost in thought for a moment. His eyes are attracted to his desk, where a picture of Gordon and his former colleagues sits; amongst them the cops killed by Dent and Anna Ramirez. Next to this picture is one of Gordon and his wife and children.
Act III, Scene XIX
James Gordon is at school. The bell rings for recess and he walks into the schoolyard. We see the three bullies from the earlier scene notice his arrival and move into step behind him. James notices the shadows falling over him and turns. His eyes widen.
BULLY #1: Where's your little tough guy friend now, Gordon?
JASON: Right here.
Wearing his satchel, he walks up to James, who reacts in surprise.
JASON: (to Jason) Mom's sending me here for the term.
BULLY #1: Good...
The three lunge for Jason. His eyes widen. He goes down sprawling under the assault, no longer able to use his powers to defend himself. We see James back off, confused, fearful, as he watches his friend take a pounding.
And then his jaw sets. And James Gordon launches himself into the fray.
We cut to a little after. Both boys are dishevelled and sitting in the principal's office. She has just finished bawling both of them out by the looks of it.
JAMES: What happened to your...?
JASON: I lost them.
JAMES: So why did you help me? You knew you couldn't win the fight anymore.
JASON: (shrugs) So?
James grins. And the two boys begin to chatter to each other afresh.
Act III, Scene XX
The Batcave. Bruce walks around, looking up at ceiling and the hole blown clean through it with a rueful expression. He turns to Alfred.
BRUCE: I'm gonna bill Kent for that.
ALFRED: You might want to reconsider that, sir.
He flicks a switch and a new light source is activated, revealing what sits beside the Tumbler within the Cave. Bruce's mouth falls open.
It's a plane. But not like any plane on Earth. In fact it resembles very much the remodelled plane created from the Kryptonian crystal, except in black…and from above, its wings and fuselage create the perfect shape of a Bat in flight.
BRUCE: How…
ALFRED: No idea, sir. He delivered it before you returned from Metropolis on your little errand. Said you'd understand.
Bruce doesn't reply. He's running his hand over the plane's surface, clearly at a loss for words, and sorely tempted to jump into the cockpit and take her out for a spin now, despite being dressed in his Bruce Wayne civvies.
ALFRED: Oh, and he asked me to give you one more thing…
He hands Bruce an envelope. Bruce takes it from him with a frown, before ripping it open. Alfred, unable to stop himself, leans in to see what it is, and we see a slightly bemused look on his face. He looks at Bruce quizzically.
ALFRED: Something going on I should know about, sir?
Bruce is holding a ring. Its stone is large, and very green indeed.
BRUCE: Was there a message?
ALFRED: Something about trust, I think.
Bruce simply nods. He understands the message very well indeed. He doesn't put the ring on, merely pockets it. He looks longingly once again at the plane, all sleek and tempting and new, but with a force of will steps away from it.
BRUCE: I could use some air, Alfred.
We cut to both men walking out onto Bruce's balcony, the one with the view over Gotham Bay. Bruce looks out at the city he calls home, conflicted emotions on his face.
BRUCE: I thought it was about power, Alfred. I thought if I had more, I'd be able to stop the hurting and the suffering that goes on there.
ALFRED: Life's never that simple.
BRUCE: A wise man once told me you either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. He was talking about power. I was too dumb to realise it, and I nearly ended up sharing his fate.
ALFRED: You make the tough choices.
BRUCE: And I'm making one now. I quit, Alfred. I can't do this. You were right.
ALFRED: No. I wasn't, sir. I thought, Lucius thought, that you were alone in this fight. But I've seen that there others like you out there, human or not. You're not alone. And you owe it to them to stay at it. Who knows. You could end up leading a bloody team of them one day.
Bruce turns his back on Gotham. He's a beaten man. He shakes his head and looks at Alfred sadly.
BRUCE: No. I can't, Alfred. I'm sorry.
A smile breaks out across Alfred's face as he looks at Bruce. He walks to his old friend and very gently turns him around so he's facing Gotham once again.
ALFRED: Look.
Bruce looks. And there, shining into the Gotham skies, is the Bat-signal. Calling for help. Calling for Batman.
We cut to Commissioner Gordon, on the roof of Gotham Central, standing beside the Bat-signal. He looks up at the beam of light beside him and he smiles.
Bruce absorbs this, takes in what it means, and we realise when he stood out here before, this was what he was what he was waiting on. His shoulders straighten out. He stands taller. Determination seeps back into his body. The billionaire playboy drops away to be replaced by the Dark Knight.
Bruce turns to Alfred.
BRUCE: (Batman voice) Let's get to work.
ALFRED: Now you're talking.
As they walk back into the house-
ALFRED: We've got to talk about that stupid voice of yours.
Fade out.
THE END