AGGRESSIVE REPORTER

    Mr. Cobblepot！ You'll never get a

    chance to settle up with 'em， huh？

    Around him， the crowd gasps in shock at such nerve.

    But Penguin doesn't look shocked， merely surprised. As

    the flashbulbs flash （Penguin doesn't cringe —— he's

    already used to this media mishegas） he pensively twirls

    his umbrella and， in a reasonable facsimile of a soft，

    sweet squawk：

    PENGUIN

    True. I was their number one son，

    and they treated me like number

    two. But it's human nature， to

    fear the unusual …… even with all

    their education and privilege ……

    My dad， a district attorney， mother

    active in the DAR …… Perhaps when

    I held my Tiffany baby rattle with

    a shiny flipper， and not five

    chubby digits， they freaked.

    （perfect beat）

    But I forgive them.

    Another ripple through the crowd， of pure love and

    devotion.

    42M EXT. GOTHAM PLAZA——THAT EVENING 42M

    The Paperboy doesn't have enough tabloids to sell ——

    they're flying out of his hands. He quotes the banner

    headline：

    PAPERBOY

    Penguin Forgives Parents …… "I'm

    Fully At Peace With Myself and the

    World ……"

    All around him， charmed Gothamites read each other their

    fave quotes from the cover story.

    GOTHAMITE 1

    "…… You don't need hands， as long

    as you've got heart ……"

    GOTHAMITE 2

    "…… My heart is filled with love.

    I feel five feet tall ……"

    GOTHAMITE 3 *

    He's like a frog， that became a *

    prince…… *

    GOTHAMITE 4 *

    No， he's more like a penguin…… *

    We pick up the excahnge of a COUPLE， as they pass：

    MAN

    Abandoned penguins from the old

    Arctic World RAISED him……

    The WOMAN wipes a tear， squeezes his hand， and gushes：

    WOMAN

    Makes you remember the true

    meaning of the holiday. The love，

    the giving ……

    Forget Christmas shopping …… It's a virtual sea of the

    late-city edition. Hot-off-the-presses newspapers

    everywhere ……

    42N INT. BATCAVE LABORATORY——SAME TIME 42N

    Bruce Wayne is also reading a newspaper. But he's not

    holding it and it's not today's issue ……

    The newspaper is on microfiche， and it's projected on a

    large screen before him. It's old， faded， yellowed ……

    Bruce scans the articles and MURMURS， as he scrolls from

    one to the next：

    BRUCE

    " …… Red Triangle Circus put on a

    swell show last night， with fierce

    lions ……"

    He punches in a command， that appears on top of the

    screen： CONTINUE SEARCH FOR： Red Triangle. A blur as

    back issues whiz by， then another old article appears.

    BRUCE

    " …… Triangle Circus has returned

    for a two-week …… Kids will love ……"

    As he searches for the next reference （blurry screen

    again）， Alfred enters with supper， on a tray.

    BRUCE

    Thanks， Alfred.

    He sips the soup.

    BRUCE

    It's cold.

    ALFRED

    It's vichyssoise， sir.

    BRUCE

    Vichyssoise.

    （then）

    Supposed to be cold， right？

    He returns to his search through the file.

    ALFRED

    Mr. Wayne. Does the phrase

    "Christmas holiday" hold any *

    resonance for you？

    Bruce laughs. Then grabs an interactive CD on his table-

    top and lobs it at Alfred like a frisbee.

    BRUCE

    Listen to yourself， Alfred. Hassling

    me， yesterday， in my car.

    Alfred dutifully pops the CD in a player， and hears his

    own voice， recorded last night in the Batmobile.

    ALFRED'S VOICE

    What about eating？ Sleeping？ You

    won't be much good to anyone else —— *

    Bruce snaps it off.

    BRUCE

    I learned to live without a mother

    a long time ago， thanks.

    Tense， he turns back to the next article， onscreen.

    BRUCE

    " …… Circus is back， with a freak

    show that may not be suitable for

    your kids. Featuring a bearded

    lady， the world's fattest man， and

    an aquatic bird-boy."

    He turns to Alfred： what do you make of that？ Alfred

    shrugs.

    ALFRED

    Why are you now determined to prove

    that this Penguin —— er， Mr. Cobblepot

    —— is not what he seems？ Must you be

    the only lonely "man-beast" in town？

    But Bruce is already engrossed in the next article

    onscreen.

    BRUCE

    "…… Circus folded its tents

    yesterday， perhaps forever. After

    numerous reports of missing

    children in several towns， police

    have closed down the Red Triangle's

    fairgrounds. However， at least

    one freak show performer vanished

    before he could be questioned."

    Bruce turns back to Alfred， a strange "smoking-gun" smile

    on his face.

    ALFRED

    I suppose you feel better now， sir.

    BRUCE

    No， actually I feel worse.

    The two men， regard each other —— wordless， worried.

    Finally：

    ALFRED

    Eat up your vichyssoise. *

    42-O EXT. SHRECK BUILDING——THAT NIGHT 42-O

    As we BOOM UP to the Executive Suite， we see Selina Kyle

    at her desk in the outer office， slaving away.

    43 INT. OUTER OFFICE——NIGHT 43

    Selina makes notes. Now her pen nervously jerks as Max

    oozes in， surprising her with a smarmy palm on her

    shoulder.

    MAX

    Working late？ I'm touched.

    SELINA

    （under her breath）

    No， I am.

    （then， officious）

    Yes， I'm boning up for your Bruce

    Wayne meeting in the morning. I

    pulled all the files on the

    proposed power plant， and Mr.

    Wayne's hoped-for investment……

    I've studied up on all of it ……

    I even opened the protected files

    and ——

    Max looks surprised.

    MAX

    Why， how industrious. And how did

    you open protected files， may I

    ask？

    SELINA

    Well I figured that your password

    was "Finster." Your Pomeranian.

    And it was. And it's all very

    interesting， though a bit on the

    technical side， I mean about how the

    power plant is a power plant in

    name only since in fact it's

    gonna be one big giant……

    Max encourangingly nods： go on. She consults her notes.

    SELINA

    Big giant CAPACITOR. And that，

    instead of generating power it'll

    sort of be ——

    （checks notes again）

    —— SUCKING power， from Gotham City，

    and storing it …… stockpiling it，

    sort of？ Which， unless I'm being

    dense， is a novel approach， I'd say.

    MAX

    And who …… would you say this TO？

    Selina is suddenly a tad less certain of her position， as

    Max lights a match， and sets her notepad afire. She

    swallows.

    SELINA

    Well …… um …… nobody ——？

    Max drops the charred notepad and moves toward her.

    MAX

    …… Where did curiosity get the cat？

    SELINA

    I'm no cat. I'm just an assistant.

    A SECRETARY ——

    MAX

    And a very， very good one.

    SELINA

    （a guess）

    Too good？

    Max nods： You got it， babycakes. Selina backs away.

    SELINA

    It's our secret. Honest. How can

    you be so mean to someone so

    meaningless？

    MAX

    I must protect my interests， Ms.

    Kyle. And Interest Number One， is

    moi.

    Selina is up against the window now， her back to the

    pane.

    SELINA

    （burst of bravado）

    Okay， go ahead. Intimidate me， bully

    me if it makes you feel big. I mean，

    it's not like you can just kill me.

    MAX

    （almost pitying）

    Actually， it's a lot like that.

    Tense silence. Then Max smiles. Selina wipes away a

    tear.

    SELINA

    For a second， you really frightened ——

    Max savagely pushes Selina through the window.

    44 EXT. SHRECK ALLEY——NIGHT 44 *

    Selina swirls downward through shattering glass and snow-

    flakes with tragic beauty.

    Her fall is （luckily） slowed by a protruding flagpole

    with the smiling Shreck cat logo on its flapping flag.

    Then she （luckily） lands in a deep snowdrift.

    Her eyes creak open， fuzzily focusing on the happy cat above.

    SELINA

    （faintly）

    Help me …… someone …… Miss Kitty ……