BIRDS OF PREY 1X07: SPLIT PRODUCTION #175456 ORIGINAL AIR DATE ON WB: 11/20/2002 TRANSCRIBED FROM WB Teleplay by: ADAM ARMUS & KAY FOSTER Story by: EDWARD KITTIS & ADAM HOROWITZ Directed by: JAMES MARSHALL Transcript by Intrepid Courtesy of http://www.webphilia.com/~anthology/wnp.html Please do not archive without permission. RATING: TV-14-LV ========================== DISCLAIMER: ========================== "BIRDS OF PREY" and its characters are copyright (c) 2002 Warner Bros., Tollin- Robbins Productions & DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. This transcript was made without their permission, approval, authorization or endorsement. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited. It is absolutely forbidden to use it for commercial gain. Leave the headers/disclaimers in tact because it lists all those who have painstakingly made this transcript possible for your enjoyment and provide a link back to the site where this file originated http://www.webphilia.com/~anthology/wnp.html Contact the Transcriptionist at (intrepidly002@yahoo.com) ========================== SUMMARY: Gotham has a new serial killer on the loose and he appears to be metahuman. Helena and Reese hit a rough patch in their meta-relationship and find themselves working temporarily with others. ========================== BIRDS OF PREY 1X07: SPLIT ========================== FULL INTRODUCTION (VOICE-OVER ONLY): ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Legend tells of a caped crusader --Batman, guardian of New Gotham, and his one true love -- Catwoman, the queen of the criminal underworld. Their passion left behind something extraordinary -- a daughter -- huntress. Half meta-human, she has taken up her father's mantle, and under cover of the night, fights to protect the innocent and helpless. Joining her in this struggle, oracle, who was once Batman's protégée Batgirl. She was caught in the crossfire of the war between Batman and joker. Now she fights crime a different way -- a master of the cyber-realms and mentor and trainer to heroes. Together, they have taken in a young runaway -- Dinah, a meta-human herself with powers to open hidden doors to the mind, powers that she is only beginning to explore. Together, these three are the protectors of new Gotham -- The Birds of Prey. My name is Alfred Pennyworth, and this is their story. COLD OPEN: FULL DESCRIPTIVE INTRODUCTION [EXT. FULL MOON -- NIGHT] (The image of a bat flies by the light of the moon, turns and heads directly to the camera.) SMASH CUT TO INTRODUCTION: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) (Dissolve to: BATMAN lands on a rooftop, his cape billowing behind him.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) Legend tells of a caped crusader ... DISSOLVE INTO: [CLOSE UP: BATMAN] ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... Batman, guardian of New Gotham, ... (Dissolve to: Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) DISSOVE TO: [EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT] ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... and his one true love ... (CATWOMAN lands feet first on the ground and tilts her head to look quizzically in front of her.) (Dissolve to: Close up of Catwoman's mask.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... Catwoman - (Cut to: BATMAN pushes his cape aside as CATWOMAN leaps in front of him. She swings and he grabs her wrist, pulling her close to him.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... The Queen of the criminal underworld. DISSOLVE TO: (Dissolve to: Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) DISSOLVE TO: [CLOSE UP: HELENA KYLE] ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Their passion left behind something extraordinary ... (Dissolve to: HUNTRESS pushes aside the curtain and walks inside the room.) (Camera zooms in for an extreme close up of The HUNTRESS' left eye. THE HUNTRESS' pupils contract and change into convexo-convex shaped disks like those of a cat's. Her eyes change from brown to blue.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: ... a daughter -- Huntress. [Scene from 1X01: Pilot.] [EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT] (The HUNTRESS fights JERRY. She does a couple of flips forward toward JERRY who is against the wall.) (Dissolve to: The HUNTRESS crouches down low ready to pounce. She lifts her head and looks directly at her prey.) DISSOLVE TO: [INT. APARTMENT - BALCONY -- NIGHT] (The HUNTRESS turns and spreads her arms. She jumps off the balcony in a beautiful swan dive. She falls to the building rooftops far below ... ) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) Half meta-human ... She has taken up her father's mantle ... (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) DISSOLVE TO: [EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT] ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... and under cover of the night, fights to protect the innocent and helpless. [Scene from 1X02: Slick] (HELENA and another MAN fight in the warehouse, the back doors of the van he was unloading wide open.) (HELENA crouches down low and looks up at the MAN.) DISSOLVE TO: [INT. GIBSON'S BAR - NIGHT] [Scene from 1X03: Prey for the Huntress] (The door slides open and BARBARA is sitting in her wheelchair.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Joining her in this struggle ... DISSOLVE TO: [INT. THE CLOCKTOWER - DAY] (Camera close up of BARBARA GORDON.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) Oracle - [Scene from 1X01: Pilot] (Dissolve to: THE CLOCKTOWER. The camera pulls back and twists completely over where we find BARBARA GORDON sitting in front of the computer monitors working.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... who was once Batman's protégée, Batgirl. [CLOSE UP: BATGIRL] [Scene from 1X01: Pilot] (Inside the Dockyard's Warehouse, BATGIRL fights the thugs in the hallway.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) She was caught in the crossfire of the war between Batman and Joker. [INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT] (BARBARA GORDON opens her apartment door and looks up in surprise.) (Cut to: The JOKER raises his gun, aims and fires.) (Cut to: The top of BARBARA GORDON'S head.) (Cut to: BARBARA'S surprised look.) (Dissolve to: The bullet hits BARBARA and she flies backward.) (Dissolve to: Camera close up of the empty shell casing.) DISSOLVE TO: [INT. THE CLOCKTOWER - NIGHT] ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Now she fights crime a different way -- master of the cyber realms ... [Scene from 1X01: Pilot] (BARBARA sits in her wheelchair in the center of her computer center. A circle of green light rises from the floor and surrounds BARBARA in what appears to be a 360 degree 3-D grid that places her at the center of what DINAH sees in front of her.) CUT TO: [Scene from 1X01: Pilot] [INT. KETTERLY'S RESIDENCE - LIBRARY -- NIGHT] (Sitting in her wheelchair, BARBARA appears in the doorway and throws the circular birdarang with ease and skill at Ketterly.) [Scene from 1X02: Slick] (The birdarang flies across the clocktower.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... a mentor and trainer to heroes. (Cut to: [Scene from 1X02: Slick] BARBARA smiles, a circular birdarang in her hand.) (Cut to: [Scene from 1X01: Pilot] BARBARA and HELENA talk. They both turn to look at the camera.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Together, they have taken in a young runaway ... [INT. GIBSON'S BAR - NIGHT] (Cut to: [Scene from 1X03: Prey for the Huntress] DINAH is at the pool table holding a cue stick. She stands up and turns around to look at the camera.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... Dinah -- a meta-human herself, ... (Cut to: [Scenes from 1X01: Pilot] DINAH reaches out and grabs HELENA'S wrist. She has a vision.) (Cut to: The CLOCKTOWER. The man dying grabbing her own hand. Flash to another vision. DINAH in front of the Bus Terminal. Flashes of the vision of the man on the bench.) (Cut to: A hand presses against a wall. It glows and opens a secret door. DINAH finishes her vision with HELENA.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... with powers to open hidden doors to the mind, powers that she is only beginning to explore. (Dissolve to: DINAH.) (Dissolve to DINAH opening the cob-webbed warehouse door at the dockyards while wearing the goggles.) (Dissolve to: DINAH in the machine getting her brain scanned.) (Dissolve to: DINAH and BARBARA dressed as BATGIRL in HELENA'S mind. BARBARA stands up and moves toward DINAH. They grasp each other's wrists.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) Together, these three are the protectors of New Gotham ... (HELENA walks up to them and puts her hand over theirs.) (The three stand together.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) ... the "Birds of Prey." WHITE FLASH TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] DISSOLVE IN TITLE LOGO with flying bird [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera pulls back from the Clocktower.) (Dissolve to: The camera moves forward weaving in and out of buildings, then in one continuous movement, it turns and rushes straight downward to the street below.) ALFRED PENNYWORTH: (v.o.) My name is Alfred Pennyworth, and this is their story. END OF INTRODUCTION CONTINUE TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them. In one continuous movement, it turns and rushes straight downward to the street below.) CUT TO: [EXT. ALLEYWAY] (The THUG runs up to the bars at the end of the alleyway. REESE pushes him face first into the bars and grabs his hands from behind.) THUG: Hey! REESE: You have the right to remain silent. (He grabs the THUG'S arm and twists it to his back so he can cuff him, but the THUG resists and throws REESE off of him and up against the wall. REESE releases him and falls back. The THUG tuns and punches REESE in the face, then takes off running out of the alley.) (REESE takes off after him.) (The THUG runs down the street looking back to keep an eye on REESE. He passes by a parked car when a high heeled booted foot kicks out and hits the THUG in the face, sending him down to the ground.) (REESE reaches the THUG and rolls him over to put the hand cuffs on him. HELENA looks up at REESE.) REESE: Let's go. HELENA: Hey. (HELENA jumps down from the car hood.) REESE: (to the THUG) Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, (to HELENA) and can I just ask you, do you have to do that? HELENA: What? REESE: Beat the perps until they bleed. There's a name for that. It's called excessive force. Let's go. (REESE picks the THUG up from the ground.) HELENA: (stands and nods) Mm, I like the sound of that. REESE: Yeah, I noticed. There's only one problem --it's illegal. (They all make their way toward his car.) HELENA: I like to look at the law as sort of a guideline, kind of a helpful suggestion. REESE: Yeah, well, I was thinking of it more as the line between civilization and lawless anarchy. (REESE slams the THUG face down into the car hood as he gets his keys out. The THUG groans.) HELENA: Really? Is that why I had to talk you out of shooting a suspect last week? (The THUG stands up and turns to look from HELENA to REESE. REESE catches the worried look and reassures him.) REESE: Don't worry. I didn't actually shoot him. I just thought about it. Now get in the car. (The THUG gets in to the car. REESE stands outside talking with HELENA. He checks his jaw.) HELEN: What? Don't look at me. I thought he had it coming. If it wasn't for the paperwork I thought you'd have to do, I wouldn't have said anything. REESE: Were you looking for me for any particular reason? HELENA: No. Actually, I was tracking him. Saw him hold up a store at Miller and Varley. REESE: Really? Well, I'm going to need you to come down to the station and make a statement. You're a witness. (REESE opens the car door to get inside.) HELENA: You know I can't do that. REESE: (frustrated) Why can't working with you ever be simple? HELENA: There's nothing simple ... about whatever it is we're doing. (REESE doesn't get into the car. He closes the door.) REESE: You know, it's only complicated because you make it that way. I mean, if you followed the rules like everyone else -- (HELENA steps forward, a bit closer to REESE.) HELENA: Then bad guys would get away, crimes would happen that could have been prevented, and innocent people would get hurt. Is that what you want? REESE: What I want ... (REESE stares down at HELENA, almost loosing his thoughts for a moment. HELENA glances down at the THUG in the car, before looking back at REESE. He gets ahold of himself.) REESE: ... it isn't the point. (REESE opens the car door and gets inside.) HELENA: (mumbles) You're welcome. REESE: Come on, you know what I mean. (REESE closes the car door for which he takes his eyes off of HELENA for a moment. We hear a whoosh-ing shound.) REESE: It's just not the kind of help I - (When he looks back up, she's gone. REESE sighs.) REESE: ... need. CUT TO: [EXT. ROOFTOPS - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS] (HELENA runs from rooftop to rooftop while conversing with BARBARA on the comm.) HELENA: Why can't things ever be easy with Reese? I mean, we're both fighting crime. INTERCUT WITH: [INT. CLOCKTOWER - NIGHT] BARBARA: Look, he's a cop. You're a vigilante. What do you want me to say? HELENA: Good point. How about you just find me something to hit? (The Computer beeps. BARBARA checks it. The computer monitor message box reads: DELPHI / HAS INFORMATION DOWNLOAD?) (BARBARA clicks "YES" and the DATA DOWNLOADS.) BARBARA: Delphi's reporting a jewelry store robbery on Kane. Looks like four, maybe five bad guys. HELENA: Good. SHORT TIME CUT TO: [INT. JEWELRY STORE -- NIGHT] (HELENA grabs the thief's head and smashes it into the display case. He falls to the ground.) HELENA: Men ... (She steps aside and starts fighting with the remaining three thieves. One by one, she gets in her punches to their faces. The number on the door behind them reads backwards 826.) (Using her amazing control, she falls back to the ground, then comes back up to continue fighting. They punch her, she punches back. She knocks both men down for a moment.) HELENA: ... can't live with 'em ... (The first thief gets back up and starts fighting with HELENA again. She jumps up and kicks him in the chest and takes a leap back.) HELENA: ... you might as well beat the crap out of them. INTERCUT WITH: [INT. CLOCKTOWER - NIGHT] (BARBARA is sitting at her computer console typing. Over the comm, we can hear HELENA fighting with the jewel thieves.) BARBARA: Are you sure we're talking about work here? HELENA: Of course we are. What else is there? BARBARA: (clears her throat) And I'm not going near that one. (The first thief swings; HELENA ducks. She sweeps her leg under him and knocks him off of his feet.) HELENA: It's not like I need some man to work with. (HELENA jumps up the wall and hangs up in the corner of the ceiling while the two thieves down below look up at her in awe.) HELENA: I'm perfectly fine all by myself. (Through the window, a man in black crashes through the glass behind the two thieves fighting with HELENA. He knocks them out.) (HELENA jumps down and looks at him.) HELENA: What the hell? (The thief behind the glass case stands and grabs HELENA from behind. DARKSTRIKE steps forward and grabs one of the thief's arms with HELENA grabbing the other.) DARKSTRIKE: Hey. (They both pull the thief over the glass display case and throw him to the ground. Then, as if in an unspoken alliance, DARKSTRIKE and HELENA stand back- to-back and keep their eyes on the thieves in front of them.) HELENA: Look, I don't know who you are or what you're doing here, but I'm guessing by the outfit and the moves you're in the life. DARKSTRIKE: Well, actually ... (They both take a step forward and hit the last thief in the chest and he falls backward through the broken window onto the sidewalk. He gets up and runs along with the others. HELENA and DARKSTRIKE jump through the broken window onto the sidewalk where HELENA continues her complaint at being rudely assisted when none was asked for.) HELENA: Okay, let's get something straight. This is my city. I do the fighting. I don't need to be saved. I do the saving, okay? (He looks at her and smiles.) DARKSTRIKE: You're welcome. (In the background, sirens herald the approaching police cars. HELENA turns to look.) (When she glances back, he's gone.) HELENA: (smiles and shakes her head) I guess I should have seen this one coming. CUT TO: [EXT. LOVERS' LANE ON MILL ROAD -- CAR (PARKED) -- NIGHT] (Inside the car, AMY HARRIS and her BOYFRIEND make out in the back seat of the car. She's leaning against the door and he's leaning over her. He slowly slides his hand up her thigh. She grabs his hand with hers. They continue to kiss. He moves down to her neck when she hears something.) AMY HARRIS: Did you just hear something? (He turns around and rubs some of the steam off of the window. He peers outside in both directions, then turns back to her.) BOYFRIEND: I don't see anything. (She smiles, then reaches for him.) AMY HARRIS: Hmm. Guess it's just my imagination. (They start kissing. Then the noise is definitely louder and closer. And this time, there is someone standing just outside their car door.) (The man in black, THE CRAWLER, rips the back seat door off of the car and tosses it aside. AMY screams.) (THE CRAWLER reaches in and punches the boy in the face, knocking him out.) AMY HARRIS: Please! Don't! (The AMY HARRIS turns and tries to get the car door open, but she's too frightened to think clearly.) AMY HARRIS: Go away! (The CRAWLER reaches in, grabs the boy and tosses him aside with the door. AMY HARRIS hasn't gotten the car door open.) AMY HARRIS: Please leave me alone! (With a clear path to the girl, The CRAWLER climbs into the back seat of the car, reaching for her.) (She screams.) FADE TO BLACK END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS (COMMERCIAL SET) FADE IN [EXT. LOVERS' LANE ON MILL ROAD -- NIGHT] (At the park, officer cars surround the area along with an Ambulance in the background.) OFFICER: Boyfriend's saying she was grabbed by some sort of monster -- butt ugly, strong as a gorilla. Of course, if somebody snatches my girlfriend, I'd be saying the perp was King Kong, too. (REESE and the OFFICER walk toward the ripped back seat car door, evidence marker #6. REESE kneels down next to the door.) REESE: Well, he may be right. I mean, how else do you explain this? I mean, something ripped this door right off its hinges. No normal person could manage it. OFFICER: So what are you thinking? You put an APB out for Sasquatch? REESE: (sighs) I don't suppose you have an actual suggestion that fits the facts, do you? (REESE lifts up the car door to look under it.) OFFICER: I don't know - PCP, meth-heads, a really big can opener. (The OFFICER laughs at his own joke. REESE stops and looks up at the OFFICER. He stands up.) REESE: Sorry, but, uh, the really big can opener theory of the crime's not doing it for me. OFFICER: Look, Detective, if you need me, I'll be on planet earth. (The OFFICER leaves.) CUT TO: [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- NIGHT] (The elevator doors open and HELENA walks out. She heads toward BARBARA who sits in front of her computers.) BARBARA: Oh, good, you're back. Listen, I was going to call you. (HELENA walks up to BARBARA and starts in on her rant.) HELENA: I know what you're going to say. I was too harsh on mystery superhero boy, right? You didn't see this guy. He swooped in out of nowhere, dropped into my fight. Who does this guy think he is? (BARBARA takes her glasses off and silently points to something behind HELENA.) (She turns around to see DARKSTRIKE leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed and looking highly amused.) DARKSTRIKE: A-hem. HELENA: (shrugs) I don't suppose you, uh, missed any of that. (HELENA doesn't appear to care one way or another. DARKSTRIKE steps toward them.) BARBARA: Huntress, this is Darkstrike. He's an old friend. He's here on a case. Looks like we'll be working together. (He holds out his hand. HELENA doesn't take it. Her smile is plastered to her face.) HELENA: Great. Great. (She turns to look at BARBARA.) HELENA: Oracle, a word? BARBARA: Yeah. Um, would you excuse us? (DARKSTRIKE steps away to give them some privacy. BARBARA and HELENA move to the side.) HELENA: What's this guy got? BARBARA: Uh, what's he got where? HELENA: Powers. What kind of meta-human abilities are we talking about here? BARBARA: Speed, strength, agility, enhanced hearing and sight. (They both turn to look at DARKSTRIKE who is looking at some stuff in the other room.) BARBARA: Actually, a lot like you. HELENA: How advanced is his hearing, exactly? BARBARA: Oh, don't worry. He won't listen in. It's not really polite. HELENA: Oh, a polite crime-fighter. Of course. Yeah. (DINAH walks into the room and joins them. She smiles and crosses her arms.) DINAH: So, uh, who's the gorgeous guy? HELENA: Don't get used to him. He's not sticking around. (BARBARA sighs and doesn't say anything. After a moment, DINAH heads toward DARKSTRIKE. HELENA stops her.) HELENA: Where are you going? (DINAH turns around and smiles.) DINAH: I am just being friendly. (... and continues toward DARKSTRIKE. As she nears him, she turns around to look back at the others and smiles at how hot the "gorgeous" guy is.) (DINAH leans against the desk. DARKSTRIKE looks at DINAH.) DINAH: Hi. (HELENA watches them, then turns back to BARBARA.) BARBARA: Look, Helena, I know you're a little frustrated with Reese these days -- well, actually, men in general. HELENA: All of them, as a species. BARBARA: Okay, well, Darkstrike is definitely a guy, but he's also a really great fighter. And this case that he's on, it's a bad one. There's this guy who abducts women and then kills them. Goes by the name of The Crawler. You might want to team up. (HELENA turns to look over at DINAH and DARKSTRIKE. She sighs in frustration.) (Meanwhile, across the room, DINAH and DARKSTRIKE talk.) DARKSTRIKE: Wow, you have her eyes. DINAH: (pleasantly surprised) Oh, you worked with my mother? DARKSTRIKE: Yeah, I was barely a kid, it was years ago, but, yeah, I fought alongside Black Canary. We all mourned when we heard the news. (DINAH looks down, still feeling the loss of her mother.) DINAH: Yeah. (Behind them, BARBARA and HELENA interrupt.) BARBARA: So, Darkstrike, will you be needing a place to stay? (DINAH turns around and makes the offer.) DINAH: Oh, you should stay here -- definitely. HELENA: No, he shouldn't. (There's an awkward pause. DINAH glares at HELENA. She clarifies.) HELENA: He might feel uncomfortable with all the girl talk. DARKSTRIKE: Um, it's okay. Don't worry about me. I'm at a hotel. (The computer beeps. HELENA jumps up to check the source of the alarm.) HELENA: Reese triggered the bat ring. DARKSTRIKE: Who triggered the what? DINAH: (rambles) Uh, it's this cop he works with. They sort of act like there might be something going on, but they never do anything about it. It's really complicated. HELENA: (interrupts) Dinah ... (she glares at DINAH) ... thank you. (She turns back to the monitor.) What do you think he wants? BARBARA: He's out at Lovers' Lane on Mill Road, (The computer monitor reads: "BAT-RING ALERT / LOCATING ... " A map appears beside it as it tracks both the incoming report and REESE' location.) BARBARA: ... and Delphi's flagged an incoming police report from that same location. A girl's been abducted. DARKSTRIKE: So, you got plans for the evening? (Without answering, HELENA moves to leave knowing that she really doesn't have a choice.) CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) CUT TO: [EXT. LOVERS' LANE ON MILL ROAD - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS] (OFFICERS still mill about the scene. A tall blonde woman in a suit approaches REESE.) LYNNE: Jesse, hi. (REESE turns around.) REESE: Lynne. What are you doing down here? LYNNE: The joys of being Assistant D.A. You're the one who gets the page in the middle of the night. (He walks toward her.) REESE: How have you been? LYNNE: Good. I'm good. I'm going to be overseeing this case. Mind if I take a look? (Cut to: Out in the woods near the scene, HELENA approaches an opening in the foliage and sees REESE talking with LYNNE.) (She also hears DARKSTRIKE walking up to her. She rolls her eyes and tries to be patient.) DARKSTRIKE: I've checked the entire outside perimeter for footprints and tire tracks. There's nothing. (He notices who HELENA's looking at across the way.) DARKSTRIKE: You want to know what he's saying? HELENA: Can you really? (She turns to look at DARKSTRIKE who is nodding her head. Although it's really, really, really tempting, HELENA closes her eyes and resists the temptation. She shakes her head.) HELENA: No, of course not. (She turns to look at DARKSTRIKE.) HELENA: Look, I don't need your help, okay? With Reese or anything. DARKSTRIKE: I'm sorry. It's my mistake. I thought that you and he were, you know ... HELENA: No, please. Strictly business. So what can you tell me about this Crawler guy? DARKSTRIKE: Everything. I've been tracking him for years. I've got files on disk back at the hotel that we should take to Oracle --details of other cases. Maybe she'll be able to spot something that I've missed. HELENA: Okay, so we'll pick it up after we talk to Reese. (HELENA starts to walk; DARKSTRIKE follows.) DARKSTRIKE: Actually, I'm not so good with the cops. They always want to know my name, and they tell me to stop beating on the bad guys. HELENA: Yeah, I know what you mean. DARKSTRIKE: Um, why don't you talk to the cop? I'll do one more sweep of the area. Then we'll meet back at the hotel. HELENA: (agrees) Sounds good. (They split up.) CUT TO: [EXT. LOVERS' LANE ON MILL ROAD -- NIGHT] (Meanwhile, across the other end of the lane, REESE and LYNNE talk.) LYNNE: Well, keep me posted. There's going to be a lot of pressure coming down on this one. Pretty girl, midnight abduction -- it's going to be ugly. REESE: (nods) I'll call you if we hear anything more. LYNNE: Good. And, Jesse, you can call me even if you don't find anything. (She smiles, then turns and leaves. REESE sighs and turns away.) SHORT CUT TO: (REESE walks around, exploring the place. He jumps when he turns around and sees HELENA standing silently in front of him.) REESE: Why do you always have to do that? HELENA: (looks around) Sorry, nowhere to knock. (DARKSTRIKE approaches them and walks up the hill, the light behind him casting him in a darkened shadow. REESE steps in front of HELENA, his gun trained on the shadow walking toward them.) REESE: Get down. (HELENA turns around.) HELENA: What? REESE: There's somebody up there, right there in the trees. HELENA: Oh, relax, he's with me. REESE: (surprised) He is? HELENA: He's a coworker. He was just leaving anyway. (Turns around.) REESE: I thought you worked alone. HELENA: (under her breath) I keep trying. (HELENA turns around. REESE looks back at DARKSTRIKE.) HELENA: So, you called? (He finally walks with HELENA back toward the scene as he fills her in on what they're working on.) REESE: Yeah. Abduction. Amy Harris,17 years old, kidnapped a few hours ago. I put an APB out on her and the possible perp, but other than what you see around here, we don't have a whole lot to go on. HELENA: Could be this guy from Central City. They call him The Crawler. I'll get a description to you. See what you can dig up. REESE: Yeah. Well, it's pretty obvious he's a meta-human, huh? HELENA: Either that, or they don't make American like they used to. (She smiles.) REESE: Well, listen, I'd appreciate a hand with this one. HELENA: That's why I'm here, although it seems like you have all the extra hands you need. (She turns to look into the clearing, in the direction where the other officers are.) REESE: What was that? HELENA: (lets it go) Nothing, nothing. How's McNally? REESE: He's all right, he's all right. He's going to get out of the hospital next week. HELENA: Good. Seems like you and your new partner have everything under control. (Again, HELENA turns to look into the clearing. REESE is a little confused and looks from HELENA to the site she's looking at.) REESE: My partner? Oh, did you mean Lynne? Oh, no, no, she's not --she's from the D.A.'s office. She's tried some cases I've brought in. HELENA: So you two must work well together. REESE: I mean, we got a lot in common. I mean, this whole thing about upholding the law kind of works for her, too. HELENA: (nods slightly) Too bad criminals don't always play by the rules. REESE: (o.s.) Yeah, well, I'll talk to a police psychologist and get a profile. CUT TO: [INT. OLD GOTHAM ARBORETUM - CARETAKER'S HOUSE -- NIGHT] (THE CRAWLER sits at a table and pours himself a glass of wine. The table is sit with flickering lit candles and dinner set out in front of him. He sets down the wine bottle and picks up his glass.) CRAWLER: Isn't this romantic? (Someone on the other end of the table gives a muffled groan. He takes a sip from his glass.) (The camera pulls back and we see AMY HARRIS sitting at the opposite end of the table. She breathes heavily.) CRAWLER: You're so young ... so beautiful. (He sets his glass on the table.) CRAWLER: I want you to know why I brought you here. I watched you therein the car with your boyfriend. (He cuts into the meat on his place.) CRAWLER: You're in love ... (The camera finally comes to settle over his shoulder and we get a good look at AMY HARRIS, mouth taped and tied to her seat.) CRAWLER: ... and love must die. (Camera holds on AMY as The CRAWLER eats.) FADE TO BLACK (COMMERCIAL SET) FADE IN [EXT. HOTEL (STOCK) -- NIGHT] (As a helicopter sounds overhead, lights hit the side of the brick hotel building.) [INT. HOTEL - DARKSTRIKE'S ROOM -- NIGHT] (HELENA pushes the balcony doors open and walks into the room.) HELENA: Darkstrike? Hello. I would have knocked --well, I never knock. (She closes the door behind her and gets a good look around the room. Something's wrong.) (Camera close-up of her eyes as they change shape and color.) HELENA: Oracle, are you there? BARBARA: I'm here. What's up? HELENA: I'm in Darkstrike's hotel room. Something's wrong. BARBARA: What is it? HELENA: Someone's trashed this place. (She gasps as she sees something in the bed covered by the sheet. She heads for it.) HELENA: Is that a body? (Before she actually gets there, she hears footsteps just outside the door.) HELENA: Hang on. Someone's coming. (DARKSTRIKE opens the door and walks into his hotel room. He closes the door and suddenly HELENA is standing there.) DARKSTRIKE: (unsurprised) Huntress. What's going on. What? What is it? HELENA: I think the Crawler's been here. (DARKSTRIKE looks around the room.) DARKSTRIKE: The Crawler. (He turns and finally sees the lump in his bed under the sheets. He heads for the bed and notices the blonde pony-tail on the pillowcase coming out from under the bedsheet.) (He reaches out and pulls the sheet away revealing instead of a body, there's a naked mannequin with words written on the body and neck in what appears to be red lipstick or red ink of sorts.) DARKSTRIKE: He's got the girl and he's going to kill her like all the others. HELENA: He kidnaps a girl and then leaves all the evidence in your hotel room? DARKSTRIKE: Yes. It's a game to him. All of this, even the killing. HELENA: I don't understand. DARKSTRIKE: He does the same thing every time. It's his way of connecting to me. All of this --it's a taunt, it's a challenge. He dares me to find him, and when I do, he makes me watch her die. HELENA: Why? DARKSTRIKE: I tracked The Crawler in Central City for a couple of years. You know ... profiling, getting inside his head, and I was so close to nailing him. And then one night, I'm out, and he abducted my fiancée. It took me three days to find her, and when I arrived, he was waiting for me, and he killed her in front of me. (He walks back to the bed and picks up the hair.) DARKSTRIKE: And every time he kidnaps a girl, he leaves evidence, and he dares me to find him, and every time, I am moments too late. I've never been able to stop him. (HELENA nods and steps toward DARKSTRIKE.) HELENA: We'll stop him. CUT TO: [EXT. POLICE DEPARTMENT -- NIGHT] (REESE walks out of the building, his nose buried in a file he's looking through. Suddenly HELENA is there leaning against the wall and holding out a plastic bag with some of the hair inside.) (REESE starts with surprise and stops walking. He sighs. He takes the bag she holds out to him.) REESE: What's this? HELENA: Part of the missing girl's ponytail. Looks like our boy is trying to play a little game of cat and mouse. I thought you could use it for forensics. REESE: Part of it? Where's the rest of it? HELENA: Kept it for analysis. This way, if one of us misses something ... REESE: The other might actually catch it. HELENA: Yeah. REESE: Well, I think that might be a huge mistake. We have state-of-the-art equipment here. Are you using a private lab? HELENA: Very private. REESE: Okay, well, what if it's not up to the task? (HELENA looks at him disbelieving.) Look, I understand that you can hold your own in a fight just fine, but don't you think this is a little out of your area of expertise? HELENA: (teases) I have a lot of areas of expertise. REESE: Look, this isn't exactly standard police procedure to work with half the evidence. I'm sorry, I got to doubt your facilities if you're not going to tell me where or what they are. HELENA: I don't think it's my "facilities" you're doubting. REESE: That's not fair. HELENA: I -- let's not have this conversation again. We got to work together. REESE: Yeah, you're right. Okay, well, speaking of working together, um, that guy I saw you with at the crime scene the other night -- is he ... (REESE trails of the question by shaking his head left to right.) (HELENA mimics his head motion and shakes her head from left to right, too.) HELENA: (amused) Is he, uh, what? REESE: Is he working with you on this case? 'Cause I got to tell you the truth, I really didn't like the looks of him. HELENA: (laughs) Reese, you don't have to worry about Darkstrike. REESE: Darkstrike? (scoffs) Who comes up with these names? HELENA: He strikes after dark. It's descriptive. The point is, he's a professional, like me. REESE: Yeah. He seems to be just like you, from what I can see. Even the clothes. I mean, what, is there some kind of vigilante dress code? HELENA: All Darkstrike cares about is seeing justice done ... (She takes a couple steps past REESE, and when she levels off with him, she shifts slightly to tell him ... ) HELENA: ... just like me. (HELENA walks past him. REESE pauses a moment, then turns around. And even though we don't see it or need to see it, we know that she is gone.) (REESE sighs, unsurprised.) CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM (STOCK) - DAY] (Camera is high about the city buildings and pushes inward toward the Clocktower.) [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- DAY] (DINAH pours a cup of tea and puts the kettle down. She walks out into the room where DARKSTRIKE paces the floor with nervous energy.) DINAH: Don't worry. If the girl can be found, Oracle will find her. DARKSTRIKE: I know, I know. It's just I can't stand the waiting. I got to do something. (DINAH holds out the mug for DARKSTRIKE.) DINAH: I'm not too good with the patience thing myself, no matter how hard Oracle tries to teach me. DARKSTRIKE: Well, it seems as if you've learned a lot from her. DINAH: I have. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to fill my mom's shoes - - that is, if I ever fill her shoes. Barbara keeps telling me my mental powers are getting stronger, but - DARKSTRIKE: but you're afraid that you're not going to be the same kind of fighter that your mother was? (DINAH looks at DARKSTRIKE, surprised that he knows.) DARKSTRIKE: Is that it? DINAH: Yeah. You knew her, you fought with her. She was amazing, and it's like no matter how hard I train, even if I get a handle on this telekinesis thing -- DARKSTRIKE: Dinah, being a crime-fighter is not about how fast or how strong you are. It's about the choices that you make -- protecting the innocent every day even though it means risking yourself ... body and soul. (DARKSTRIKE looks away. DINAH stares at DARKSTRIKE, sensing the passion and belief behind his words.) CUT TO: [EXT. DR. QUINZEL'S OFFICE -- NIGHT] (Camera focuses on the door of "DR. HARLEEN QUINZEL" / "DOCTOR OF PSYCHIATRY" and pushes inward.) CUT TO: [INT. DR. QUINZEL'S OFFICE - NIGHT] (Inside the office, REESE sits in front of HARLEEN QUINZEL'S desk as she explains the psychology behind the criminal mind that they're pursuing. In a change, she has a thin red ribbon tied around her neck in a bow with little bell on the end, much like that found on a Harlequin.) HARLEEN QUINZEL: Profiling is all about the origin moment, Detective -- digging down through the layers till you hit bedrock. That's where you need to be to start your reconstruction of the killer's mind -- the origin moment. REESE: So this guy, The Crawler -- you're saying you need to know when he first killed? HARLEEN QUINZEL: Not at all. I need to know --to understand -- what happened to him that turned him from a normal person into what he is today. That single defining moment when everything changed. REESE: You mean when he turned into a vicious, sadistic killer? HARLEEN QUINZEL: It's all in the eye of the beholder, Detective. I suspect this Crawler, as you call him, sees himself very differently, possibly even heroically. REESE: He kills helpless young women. HARLEEN QUINZEL: He seeks out target she thinks need to be punished. The question is, punished for what? He chooses victims in relationships. I suspect that's the key. REESE: You know, you make him sound almost rational. HARLEEN QUINZEL: He's just trying to do what we all try and do, Detective -- find what we've lost. Youth, happiness, love. Look for a trigger. A suspect with a badly broken relationship in his past -- someone sometime has been very cruel to your killer. You find that, and you'll find him. REESE: You know, your insight into the criminal mind is, uh ... it's very impressive, Dr. Quinzel. HARLEEN QUINZEL: It's a fascinating study, Detective. Evil's so much more interesting than good, don't you think? (She smiles.) CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) CUT TO: [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- NIGHT] (BARBARA sits in front of the computers speaking with HELENA over the comm.) BARBARA: The police have taken the car to the impound. Darkstrike's on his way. You should meet him there and see if you can find anything the police might have missed. HELENA: On my way. CUT TO: [EXT. IMPOUND -- NIGHT] (The tow truck leaves the lot. DARKSTRIKE and HELENA examine the car.) DARKSTRIKE: (frustrated) Yeah, I cannot find anything. HELENA: (calmly) Don't worry. We'll find her. (DARKSTRIKE stands up.) HELENA: Are you all right? (He leans against the car.) DARKSTRIKE: There was nothing I could do. (HELENA stands up, too.) HELENA: I understand. When I was sixteen, my mom was stabbed right in front of me. The guy got away. There was nothing I could do. DARKSTRIKE: It changes you, huh? It changes the way you look at life, it changes the way you love people -- if you love people. HELENA: Makes you hide from things that might hurt you. There's not a lot of people that could understand that. DARKSTRIKE: Do you ever wonder how it's so easy that we can call each other by code names, get all dressed up in black, and take our aggressions out by kicking ass? It's like we become someone else. (HELENA looks up at DARKSTRIKE as if to say something, but doesn't.) CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - DAY] (Camera pushes rapidly in toward the Clocktower.) CUT TO: [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- DAY] (Inside, BARBARA analyzes the hair while HELENA watches. The elevator doors open and DINAH walks in with DARKSTRIKE close behind her.) DARKSTRIKE: Anything from the victim's hair yet? BARBARA: No, not yet. I've got a lot of samples. Some distinctive pollen signatures. It's just a question of figuring out what they all mean. Don't worry, I'll --I'll figure it out soon. DARKSTRIKE: All right, well, this waiting is driving me crazy. I-I-I'm going to go. BARBARA: Stay reachable on comms. DARKSTRIKE: Will do. (DARKSTRIKE leaves.) (Once he's gone, DINAH takes the opportunity to tell HELENA what she thinks.) DINAH: Well, I think Darkstrike's great. You should really forget about Reese and go for him. HELENA: Excuse me? DINAH: I just meant that you two would be great crime-fighting partners. HELENA: Oh. DINAH: Look, you're always talking about how hard it is with Reese. With Darkstrike, you two have so much in common. You work the same way, you think the same way. HELENA: It is kind of nice, not having to hide anything, just being myself, knowing he isn't hiding anything from me. Maybe that's the way it should be. (beat) Easy. CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them. In one continuous movement, it turns and rushes straight downward to the street below.) BARBARA: (v.o.) Huntress, do you copy? CUT TO: [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- NIGHT] (BARBARA is behind her computers finishing up the pollen analysis.) HELENA: (from radio) Right here. BARBARA: I've got something. The amalgamation of spores and pollens suggests a specific combination of plants. There's only one place in New Gotham you can find them. (BARBARA hits the keys on the keyboard and the computer monitor shows a map. It zeroes in on the area BARBARA'S talking about where it then shows a camera photograph of the building.) BARBARA: There's an abandoned caretaker's house at the old Gotham Arboretum. That's where the girl is. CUT TO: [EXT. OLD GOTHAM ARBORETUM - CARETAKER'S HOUSE - NIGHT] (Camera cuts to establish the exterior of the Caretaker's House.) BARBARA: (v.o.) Dinah's on her way. CUT TO: [INT. OLD GOTHAM ARBOREUM - CARETAKER'S HOUSE - NIGHT] (HELENA breaks the door in and looks around. She sees AMY sitting tied to a chair in the middle of the room. HELENA rushes over to her.) HELENA: Amy. (HELENA removes the tape from AMY'S mouth.) HELENA: Are you okay? (The camera moves back where we see The CRAWLER standing right behind HELENA.) (Sensing him behind her, HELENA turns around to face The CRAWLER who smiles at her and holds up a wooden stick. HELENA stands in front of him, ready to fight.) FADE TO BLACK. (COMMERCIAL SET) FADE IN. [INT. OLD GOTHAM ARBOREUM - CARETAKER'S HOUSE - NIGHT] (We continue where we left off.) (HELENA stands in front of The CRAWLER. He grabs the wooden stick with both hands and brings it down on HELENA. She moves away easily. HELENA: (mocking) Oh, come on, I know you can do better than that. (The CRAWLER looks up and charges again. The camera zooms in to AMY HARRIS who appears to be completely out of it.) (HELENA kicks the CRAWLER and he tosses the plank aside. He swings, she ducks. She swings a couple of times, turns and back kicks him. He grabs her leg, she pulls out of his grip. The two resume fighting.) (HELENA tries to get past the CRAWLER, but he grabs her and tosses her to the ground where she's on her back facing him and slowly inching away. He lingers above her, slowly advancing on her.) CRAWLER: So you're Darkflight's little bitch. HELENA: We're just friends ... (She uses her legs and kicks him several times, the last finding his face and knocking him back a few steps. It's enough for HELENA to get back on her hands and knees. She looks up at him.) HELENA: (scathingly) And I'm nobody's bitch. (She pounces straight up and kicks him in the chest sending him out through the glass window.) (HELENA rushes over to look outside, but he's gone.) (She rushes back toward AMY HARRIS to release her hands.) (In the back there are some sounds, then DINAH enters the room followed closely by DARKSTRIKE.) DINAH: Huntress, are you all right? HELENA: Yeah, I'm fine. What happened to you? DARKSTRIKE: He hit me on the head. One minute I'm right behind you, the next, I'm flat on my back. HELENA: (to comm) Oracle, we're going to need an ambulance. BARBARA: (from comm) On its way. HELENA: (to comm) He got away, but we stopped him. DARKSTRIKE: Yeah, this time. HELENA: There won't be a next time. DARKSTRIKE: How is she? HELENA: She's in shock. She's not going to be able to tell us anything tonight. We're going to have to get her to the hospital. DINAH: I could find out what she knows ... my way. HELENA: I don't --I don't think so. DINAH: Yeah, but I could get us information. We could find out where he lives, what kind of car he drives. Helena, we could stop this from happening again. (HELENA agrees.) HELENA: Do it. (DINAH puts her hand over AMY'S. Immediately, DINAH gasps and is transported into AMY'S mind.) (Quick vision of: [LOVERS' LANE AT MILL ROAD] The parked car. White flash to: The CRAWLER ripping the back seat car door off of its hinges. White flash to: AMY screaming. The CRAWLER reaches in to the car and grabs AMY.) (Back to DINAH.) (White flash to: [CARETAKER'S HOUSE] Lit candles on the table and the CRAWLER drinking wine.) (Back to DINAH.) (White flash to: DARKSTRIKE drinking wine.) (Back to DINAH.) (White flash to: The CRAWLER eating his meal. Several flashes of DINAH.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) (DINAH falls back onto the floor, unconscious.) HELENA: Dinah? Dinah? BARBARA: Dinah! Is she all right? HELENA: I don't know. She just passed out. BARBARA: Get her back here now. DARKSTRIKE: I'm going to stay with the girl until the ambulance comes. You take Dinah back to the clock tower. DISSOLVE TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera pans slowly down from the starry sky onto the city skyline.) CUT TO: [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- NIGHT] (DINAH sits on the couch, while BARBARA and HELENA sit close by.) BARBARA: I don't think there's any permanent damage. I think you were just overloaded by the power of the girl's trauma. DINAH: Yeah, but nothing like this has ever happened to me before. BARBARA: Well, your powers are getting stronger. You're getting more from a hit. That's why it's affecting you the way it is. HELENA: What'd you see? DINAH: It's hard to describe exactly. (sighs) I saw the Crawler's face. It was so empty and hopeless. And I saw the girl. She was terrified, but she knew something -- something about The Crawler, something important. I can feel it. I just don't know what it is. BARBARA: I got a decent DNA sample from the blood on the window. I'll analyze it, see if he's got any weaknesses we can use against him. HELENA: He's still out there. BARBARA: Yeah, but the girl's safe, and we'll get him. DINAH: He's evil. HELENA: Tell me about it. Look what he did to my favorite shirt. (She looks down and shows them the tear in the material. DINAH smiles.) I'm going to go home and get changed. BARBARA: Try to get some sleep. You're going to need it. HELENA: Okay. (HELENA gets up and leaves.) BARBARA: This isn't over yet. CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them coming to a halt in front of the NEW GOTHAM POLICE building.) CUT TO: [INT. NEW GOTHAM POLICE DEPARTMENT -- NIGHT] (REESE is sitting at his desk and is on the phone.) REESE: Okay, you're sure it was the same M.O.? Young woman, romantic relationship, abducted, and then killed? (pauses and sighs) No, no, no, it's just --just something's weird. All right, well, listen, thanks, man. I owe you big on this. Yeah. (He hangs up.) CUT TO: [INT. HOTEL - NIGHT] (DARKSTRIKE opens the hotel room door and walks into the room where he gasps at what he sees. Written over and over in red ink on the wall is the message: YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS NEXT.) DARKSTRIKE: Helena. CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) CUT TO: [INT. DARK HORSE BAR -- NIGHT] (HELENA opens the door and walks into the empty bar. She walks in and stops as she senses something. She turns around and sees no one there.) (DARKSTRIKE puts a hand on her shoulder. Out of reflex, HELENA turns around and pulls back a fist. DARKSTRIKE catches it before she hits him.) DARKSTRIKE: Thank god you're all right. HELENA: Darkstrike, what's going on? DARKSTRIKE: The Crawler --he wants to kill you. HELENA: Okay, so another bad guy wants me dead. Take a number. DARKSTRIKE: No, no, no. No, you don't understand. He knows where you live, and he is coming to get you. HELENA: (seriously) Okay. Okay. We'll face him together. CUT TO: [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- NIGHT] (The big screen computer monitor above shows the DNA strands that BARBARA is looking at through the scope. DINAH watches was the strands on the monitor move and shift and split into two. She turns around curiously to BARBARA and asks.) DINAH: Is DNA supposed to do that? BARBARA: This doesn't make any sense. [SCOPE VIEW of the active cells] BARBARA: I mean, it --it's so unstable, like it can't decide what it wants to be. (The computer beeps. DINAH looks at it, then turns to look at BARBARA.) BARBARA: Reese. He's trying to contact Helena. CUT TO: [INT. STREET -- NIGHT] (Camera close up of the ring as REESE squeezes it. He's looking up at the sky, looking for HELENA.) (The telephone next to him rings.) (REESE looks at it curiously, then looks back up and around.) (The telephone continues to ring.) (He picks it up cautiously.) REESE: Hello? BARBARA: (from phone) Detective Reese? REESE: Who's this? BARBARA: I'm an Associate of the Huntress. I got your message. REESE: Wait a minute. You're The Voice, aren't you? The invisible friend, whoever it is that she's talking to all the time. Huh. That's funny, I always figured you for a guy. BARBARA: You contacted us, Detective. REESE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Um, listen, I was talking to a friend of mine over at Central City P.D. Now, he was telling me about a series of killings that matched the M.O. of the guy Huntress is calling the Crawler. BARBARA: You found something new on the killings? REESE: Well, actually, I found something strange. About a year ago, a girl was killed. Now, it's matching the Crawler's M.O. in every way except for the fact that there were two bodies -- the girl, and then a white male in his 20s, but never identified. BARBARA: What? REESE: Well, see, the killing was never filed with the others because it didn't match its profile. Two bodies, not one, one of them male. BARBARA: So who was the male victim? REESE: Well, see, that's the really bizarre part. From the evidence at the crime scene, it looked like he was the one who killed the girl. BARBARA: But that would mean The Crawler's dead. (realizes) Thank you, Detective. I'll let Huntress know. REESE: Yeah. (He hangs up the phone.) BARBARA: Dinah, when you got your hit off the girl, did you get any images of Darkstrike? DINAH: I saw a flash of his face. I mean, it was jumbled with everything else. BARBARA: That's impossible. DINAH: What? What's impossible? BARBARA: She was kidnapped by the Crawler. Helena rescued her. When did she see Darkstrike's face? CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera rapidly cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them. In one continuous movement, it turns and rushes straight downward to the street below.) CUT TO: [INT. DARK HORSE BAR -- NIGHT] (HELENA and DARKSTRIKE walk around the bar.) DARKSTRIKE: You know, we really should be going. HELENA: Don't worry. You're safe here. DARKSTRIKE: Wait, wait, this is where you live? HELENA: Yeah, an apartment over the bar. That's the great thing about working where you live -- it's a really short commute. (She smiles at him, takes a bottle off of the shelf and puts it on the counter.) HELENA: Can I buy you a drink? (She turns to get some glasses; DARKSTRIKE smiles, then starts to twist and turn as something happens to him. His face scrunches in pain as he physically morphs into the CRAWLER.) CRAWLER: I'd love one. (The CRALWER grabs the bottle off of the counter and smashes it into the back of HELENA'S head. She falls to the floor unconscious.) INTERCUT WITH: (From the Clocktower, BARBARA tries to get HELENA on the comm.) BARBARA: Huntress, do you copy? (HELENA blacks out as the comm continues to blare out BARBARA's voice.) BARBARA: If you're with Darkstrike, get away from him. Do you hear me? Get away! (Camera pulls back from HELENA to show that she's definitely out, her body is dragged out of camera frame.) FADE TO BLACK (COMMERCIAL SET) FADE IN [INT. DARK HORSE BAR -- NIGHT] (The wall telephone rings.) (HELENA slowly comes to. She looks up and immediately notices her communication necklace and earrings on the table in front of her.) (The telephone continues to ring.) (HELENA looks down at her hands tied in front of her and starts testing them when someone catches her eye.) (Standing off to the side looking into the wall mirror is DARKSTRIKE.) DARKSTRIKE: (to the mirror) No! No. I won't let you kill her. (He's looking into the mirror where he's looking and talking to The CRAWLER.) DARKSTRIKE: (to the mirror) Do you hear me? I won't let you. You're going to have to kill me first. CRAWLER: (from the mirror) No, that would be too easy for you. DARKSTRIKE: (to the mirror) You sick bastard. CRAWLER: (from the mirror) You're the one that let your fiancée die. You left her there, sleeping, helpless, alone. You don't deserve to love again, not for a moment, and you never will. HELENA: Darkstrike, listen to me. DARKSTRIKE: Helena ... I'm so sorry. HELENA: This isn't you. You can fight this, fight him. You're stronger than he is. You can beat him. (DARKSTRIKE starts gasping and shakes his head as the transformation starts. He turns to look at HELENA and grunts in pain as he morphs into The CRAWLER.) CRAWLER: He can't help you. He's a fraud. He's nothing. HELENA: No, he's not. He's a good man. I know him. CRAWLER: You don't know anything about him. He's got blood on his hands -- hers and mine. (HELENA looks at the CRAWLER, confused by what he's saying.) CUT TO: [EXT. ROADWAY - NIGHT] (The SUV speeds down the street, tires screeching. A black cat sitting on the curb watches it pass by.) DINAH: (v.o.) Is she answering yet? BARBARA: (v.o.) He knows the earrings are her comms. [INT. SUV (MOVING) - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS] (DINAH drives to the bar.) BARBARA: He must have taken them off. DINAH: Darkstrike or Crawler? BARBARA: They're the same person, Dinah. DINAH: I know what I saw. I don't understand. BARBARA: Look, I-I can't be sure, but I think Darkstrike really did see The Crawler murder his fiancée, and then, in a blind rage, he killed the crawler himself. DINAH: And he tortures himself for his failure by killing again and again. BARBARA: And now he has Helena. CUT TO: [INT. DARK HORSE BAR -- NIGHT] (HELENA struggles to release herself from the chains binding her to the chair. The CRAWLER walks around the bar behind her.) HELENA: Let me talk to Darkstrike. CRAWLER: He's buried deep. You'll never find him. If you want to say something, say it to me. HELENA: There is no you. You're just some parasites scamming Darkstrike's body. CRAWLER: Then I'll guess it will be his hands that tear you apart. HELENA: He won't let that happen. He's stronger than you. CRAWLER: (spats) He's a pathetic, weak coward, and he's going to watch you suffer. (He turns to look at her.) CRAWLER: I ... do you want to know why you have to die? HELENA: (mocking) Is this the part when you reveal your diabolical plan to kill me? 'Cause I could care a little less if I put some effort into it. CRAWLER: You have to die because you've tasted the beginnings of love, and the irony is that it's not with Darkstrike. (HELENA stiffens up.) HELENA: You don't know anything about me. CRAWLER: I can smell it on you like fear -- the longing, the passion, the desire ... (beat) ... the need. Admit it. HELENA: I don't know what you're talking about. CRAWLER: I think you do. (He leans in close to her.) (Swiftly, HELENA moves. She head butts The CRAWLER sending him a couple of steps back away from her in surprise with a push of her freed foot. HELENA stands up and wraps the chains around her hands.) (She uses them to hit The CRAWLER in the face. He turns and tries to punch HELENA. She easily side steps him and comes up behind him, wrapping the chain around his neck. She starts pulling on the chain. He struggles. They both fall down to their knees as she continues to pull on the chain.) (DINAH bursts into the bar and watches as The CRAWLER falls to the floor.) (HELENA kneels down over The CRAWLER and watches as he changes into DARKSTRIKE.) (His eyes flutter open and he sees HELENA above him.) DARKSTRIKE: He didn't get you. HELENA: I'm safe. DARKSTRIKE: He's -- he's me, isn't he? I'm The Crawler. I'm so sorry. HELENA: (shakes her head) You don't have anything to be sorry for. It was him, not you. DARKSTRIKE: It was me. I'll never forgive myself. (Sirens wail in the background.) HELENA: Then I'll forgive you, John. I'll forgive you. CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - DAY] (Camera slowly cruises up high above the city skyline as it pushes in toward the Clocktower.) CUT TO: [INT. CLOCKTOWER -- NIGHT] (They sit at the breakfast table discussing the recent case.) DINAH: So what do they do with him now? BARBARA: The police have decided to lock him up in Arkham Asylum, where they put everything they can't understand. HELENA: Isn't there some way we can help him? BARBARA: Not that I know of. They put him in complete isolation -- no visitors. Sorry, Helena. DINAH: He said being a crime-fighter meant risking body and soul. But he gave up everything, even himself. HELENA: Our jobs are supposed to be so easy -- find the bad guys, kick the crap out of them, feel good, and go home. BARBARA: Just because something looks simple doesn't mean it is, and nothing worth having in this life is easy. CUT TO: [EXT. ARKAM ASYLUM (STOCK) - NIGHT] [INT. ARKAM ASYLUM - CRAWLER'S CELL -- NIGHT] (The CRAWLER senses HARLEEN QUINZEL in the room. She lingers near the door.) HARLEEN QUINZEL: So tell me about yourself. CRAWLER: I'm into abductions, mostly -- torture, murder. It's all about the pain. HARLEEN QUINZEL: Well, aren't you interesting? (She steps forward and around the cell.) HARLEEN QUINZEL: So tell me ... why lovers? You have something against love? CRAWLER: No. I just don't think everyone deserves it. (The CRAWLER finally turns his head and smiles at HARLEEN QUINZEL. He has her pegged.) CRAWLER: You're The Joker's girlfriend. What's that like? (She looks surprised that he knows.) HARLEEN QUINZEL: Don't be psychotic. I'm a doctor. CRAWLER: Please. I know some things about split identities, Dr. Quinzel ... or should I call you Harley Quinn? (She doesn't say anything.) CRAWLER: Get me out of here. I'll give you what you want. HARLEEN QUINZEL: And what could you possibly have that would interest me? CRAWLER: That useless meta bitch --I almost had her. He called her Huntress. HARLEEN QUINZEL: This woman --do you know who she is? (cc) CRAWLER: I know what she looks like. I know where she lives. (cc) HARLEEN QUINZEL: Where? (He looks up at her and smiles.) CUT TO: [EXT. NEW GOTHAM CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] (Camera rapidly cruises up high above the buildings, weaving in and out between them.) CUT TO: [EXT. STREET -- NIGHT] (REESE slams the recently caught hood against the car as he cuffs him. He grabs him and moves him a bit to open the car door.) (HELENA drops in. REESE looks up and sees her, not surprised at all.) REESE: Hey. (He glances at the hood.) REESE: As you can see, I've already handcuffed this gent, but you know what? You can go ahead and take a swing at him if it'll make you feel better. (She steps forward and shakes her head.) HELENA: No thanks. I'm good. REESE: (to the hood) Aw, that's too bad .. you heard the lady. (He pulls him back and opens the car door. He puts the hood inside and slams the door shut.) (REESE turns to look at HELENA.) REESE: Listen, uh, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. HELENA: Yeah, me too. REESE: You two were, uh ... I mean, you worked together a long time? HELENA: No, just the once. It seemed like we had everything in common. That should have been my first clue. If something seems too easy, it probably is. REESE: So what, you're saying complicated's good? HELENA: I'm saying it's not necessarily bad. So, you and the D.A. working a new case together yet? REESE: No, no, not for a while. But it's just as well, really. Um, there were issues. HELENA: Mmm. Reese, is she something to you? (He looks at her for a moment.) REESE: Yeah, yeah. (HELENA nods and looks away, disappointed.) She was a really bad blind date. (She looks back at REESE, pleased.) HELENA: Oh. (They look at each other. HELENA smiles.) FADE TO BLACK. ========================== THE END ========================== Courtesy of http://www.webphilia.com/~anthology/wnp.html Contact the Transcriptionist at (intrepidly002@yahoo.com) Please do not archive this transcript without permission from the Transcriptionist. ========================== TITLE/OPENING CREDITS ========================== BIRD OF PREY 1X07: SPLIT PROD #175456 ORIGINAL AIR DATE ON WB: 11/20/2002 TRANSCRIBED FROM WB Starring: ASHLEY SCOTT as Helena Kyle (The Huntress) DINA MEYER as Barbara Gordon (Oracle) RACHEL SKARSTEN as Dinah Lance SHEMAR MOORE as Detective Jesse Reese IAN ABERCROMBIE as Alfred Pennyworth and MIA SARA as Dr. Harleen Quinzel Developed for Television by: LAETA KALOGRIDIS Guest Starring KRISTOFFER POLAHA as Darkstrike BRIAN THOMPSON as The Crawler Consulting Producer: MELISSA ROSENBERG Producer: EDWARD KITSIS Producer: ADAM HOROWITZ Co-Executive Producer: LAETA KALOGRIDIS Co-Executive Producer: HANS TOBEASON Co-Executive Producer: MICHAEL KATLEMAN Produced by: PETER GIULIANO Executive Producer: RON KOSLOW Teleplay by: ADAM ARMUS & KAY FOSTER Story by: EDWARD KITTIS & ADAM HOROWITZ Directed by: JAMES MARSHALL ========================== END CREDITS ========================== Executive Producer: MIKE TOLLIN Executive Producer: BRIAN ROBBINS Executive Producer: JOE DAVOLA Music in this episode: * "The Used", the used. Promotional Consideration furnished by Reprise Records. * details, frou frou. Promotional consideration furnished by MCA Records TRP Tollin / Robbins Productions Warner Bros. Television - An AOL Time Warner Company (www.warnerbros.com) Co-Producers: ADAM ARMUS Co-Producers: KAY FOSTER Associate Producer: HAYLI HALPER Director of Photography: CHRIS FALOONA Production Designer: MICHAEL HELMY Editor: KEVIN KRASNY Music by MARK SNOW Unit Production Manager: BOB WILSON First Assistant Director: JEFF KAY Second Assistant Director: ROBERT SCHROER Casting by DEEDEE BRADLEY, C.S.A. Co-Starring ANNIE WERSCHING as Lynne Syracuse SAMANTHA STREETS as Ponytail Girl (Amy Harris) ADAM BUSSELL as Boyfriend JONATHAN FRASER as Uniformed Patrolman Visual Effects Supervisor: DAVID TAKEMURA Stunts and fights by: HIRO KODA Costumes by: SARA MARKOWITZ SAMUELS Set Decorator: CYNTHIA LEWIS Property Master: RICHARD HOBAICA Make-up: MICHELLE VITTONE-McNEIL Hairstylist: KELLY KLINE Best Boy Grip: TONY VANIMEETEREN Assistant Editor: JIMMY SANDOVAL Music Supervisors: MADONNA WADE-REED and JENNIFER PYKEN Sound Mixer: TIM COONEY, C.A.S. Re-Recording Mixers: TODD GRACE / LIZ SROKA Music Editor: CHRIS McGEARY Supervising Sound Editor: BOB REDPATH "Revolution" Performed by AIMEE ALLEN Visual Effects by: MODERN VIDEOFILM Wheelchairs Provided by: PRIDE MOBILITY PRODUCTS CORP. Based on DC COMICS CHARACTERS Color by IMAGELAB This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries, and its unauthorized duplications, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution. The characters and events depicted in this motion picture are fictional. Any similarity to any actual person, living or dead, or to any actual events, firms and institutions or other entities is coincidental and unintentional. AOL Keyword: The WB TheWB.com Copyright (c) 2002 Warner Bros. Television. All Rights Reserved. #175456 Country of First Publication United States of America. Warner Bros. Television is the Author of this film/motion picture for the purpose of the article 15(2) of the Berne Convention and all National Laws giving effect thereto. Dated: 10/16/03, 07/21/2003~lky http://www.webphilia.com/~anthology/wnp.html