Narrator
-A bright, sunny, unusually warm, Fall day dawns on Gotham City. A perfect day for her fair leader, Mayor Linseed, to dedicate a new construction site alongside Gotham Park.

(Cut to platform of construction site, with the trees of Gotham Park looming in the background. Mayor Linseed is at a podium, accompanied by other dignitaries, and also representatives from the construction crew in hardhats.)

Mayor Linseed
-It is a pleasure and honor for me to dedicate this site, upon which in one year’s time we will see the rise of Gotham City Plaza:     The finest example of urban construction our fair city will have ever known;    A magnificent apartment complex, comfortable and yet affordable to the middle-class;    A shopping arcade, filled with the finest in merchandising outlets for her residents;    A hospital and medical clinic, with the newest advancements in services for the sick and infirm....

(As he continues, we cut to a shot of a stunningly beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, stylishly dressed in a trenchcoat and high heels. She is standing at the edge of the site where the grass and trees of Gotham Park begin, and with a wicked smile of determination, she pulls out a vial from her pocket and pours it into the ground at the base of the tree. She walks away and then suddenly, large vines begin to sprout.)

Mayor Linseed (continuing)
-And also offices for many of Gotham City’s finest businesses, creating a community where----

(He cuts off when the sound of rumbling catches everyone’s attention. The crowd looks up and in startled horror sees a vast, swath of vines, leaves and bushes moving toward them from the periphery of Gotham Park, threatening to swallow up the entire construction site!)

Spectator
-RUN!   RUN!

(The crowd bursts into screams as they run off in all directions to escape the overwhelming massive growth of foliage and vegetation. Mayor Linseed has abandoned the platform and is among those running.)

(FX shot of the vines covering the construction site.....and causing the scaffolding of Gotham City Plaza to collapse to the ground completely in a pile of twisted wreckage that is soon covered over by the expanding jungle-like growth.)

(Two blocks away, we see the beautiful woman who perpetrated this scheme, walking away from the melee with confidence and swagger in her step, smiling proudly that the first phase of her vision has been a total success.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Cut to Commissioner Gordon and a stunned Chief O’Hara in office)

Chief O’Hara
-It’s incredible! As if all of a sudden, an instant jungle sprouted from Gotham Park and destroyed the construction site.

Commissioner Gordon
-So incredible, that it’s impossible to contemplate the idea it was the result of a natural phenomena, Chief O’Hara.
(Shakes his head.)
This can only be the work of some supercriminal who willfully sought the destruction of the Gotham City Plaza construction site . . .

(Camera shows a tight shot of the Batphone with Gordon and O’Hara in the background.)

Commissioner Gordon
-and whenever we find ourselves facing the work of a master criminal mind, there’s only one course of action for us to take.

(Walks over to the Batphone, picks it up and presses down on it, causing it to light up)

(Cut to establishing shot of Wayne Manor)

Narrator
-An instant later, the Batphone signal has reached stately Wayne Manor!

(Shot of the study, as Alfred closes the door and walks over to the Batphone to pick it up.)

Alfred
-I’m sorry, Commissioner. Batman is detained on other matters at this hour. So, too, is Master Robin.

Commissioner Gordon (as always, showing no inkling of connecting this voice to Bruce Wayne’s butler)
-It’s most imperative they get in touch with us. If you can contact them, the sooner they come to Police Headquarters, the better.

Alfred
-I will endeavor to notify them, sir, as soon as possible.

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Establishing shot of a formidable high-rise building bordering the east side of Gotham Park)

Narrator
-And what is the other matter that detains Batman, in his true identity of Bruce Wayne, at that very time when he is needed?

Bruce (impeccably dressed, sitting in chair across from desk)
-I do consider it a great honor that you feel that the Wayne Foundation would be the ideal partner for your own Foundation’s endeavors, Ms. Artemis, but.....there are some aspects of your proposal with which I have some concerns.

(The camera pans around to reveal the woman sitting behind the desk across from Bruce. Diana Artemis......the woman we have earlier seen implement the sabotage of Gotham City Plaza!)

Diana -In that case, Mr. Wayne, perhaps I can......answer those concerns of yours.

(Spinning scene signals start of opening credits)

(Opening Credits Animated Sequence)

Diana
-I am curious as to what you mean by your concerns over supporting the Artemis Foundation’s goals, Mr. Wayne. Surely, you don’t object to the idea of expanding the amount of parkland and forests?

Bruce
-Not at all, Ms. Artemis. What concerns me is......the fact your Foundation has opposed some worthwhile construction projects that presented no intrusion upon the natural environment.

Diana (leans back and brings her fingers together)
-What do you define as a ‘worthwhile construction project,’ Mr. Wayne? From our standpoint, that’s almost a contradiction in itself. The track record of land and forest preservation in Gotham City and the surrounding environs has been miserable these past forty years. More and more, the beauty of our natural lands is being replaced by a sea of concrete and industrial waste. And for what? To fill the greedy pockets of exploitative businessmen.
(She comes forward in her chair and rises, smiling winsomely at him in a way that enhances her incredible beauty.)
You may be a person of great wealth as I am, Mr. Wayne, but you also have the same ethical streak I have. The ethical streak which understands the evil impulse a person of great wealth can be driven to, and how it must be avoided at all costs. With the Wayne Foundation and the Artemis Foundation working together.....we’d be unstoppable! We’d literally make that form of the greedy businessman an extinct species, and in the process we’d leave the people of Gotham City and Gotham State a legacy to be truly proud of. A legacy of natural beauty for them to enjoy, and all their children as well.

Bruce (maintaining his politeness, but increasingly becoming less impressed by her)
-People need parks and forests, Ms. Artemis, but they also need hospitals and places to work and live. Your Foundation has opposed some worthwhile projects in those areas, such as Gotham City Plaza.

Diana (her smile fades, her tone growing somewhat cold.)
-Gotham City Plaza is a fraud. It encroaches on Gotham Park, and opens up the prospects for the wholesale development of that entire region. If anything, Gotham Park’s boundaries should have been expanded.

Bruce (rising, and now eager to end the conversation)
-Ms. Artemis, I will always be happy to lend my personal support, as well as that of the Wayne Foundation, to individual causes of your Foundation I consider to be worthwhile, but as for being a joint partner in all your endeavors......I’m afraid that’s out of the question.

Diana
-I see. Your answer is final, then?

Bruce
-As things stand now, yes.

Diana
-Very well. I appreciate your coming here to listen to my proposal. Perhaps.....in the future, we could still.....meet again in a more social setting?
(She extends her hand. For a brief instant, Bruce doesn’t know if she wants him to shake it or kiss it. He cautiously chooses the former.)

Bruce (carefully)
-I would.....consider that an honor, Ms. Artemis. You are a very intelligent and resourceful woman. You have my sincere and deepest respect.

(He turns and walks out of her office. As soon as the door closes, her expression grows cold.)

Diana
-Respect, Mr. Wayne? Now that you’ve slammed the door on the last hope for Gotham City to escape my full wrath, you and every other weakling of the so-called civilized world will learn to do more than just respect me!

(She presses a switch on her desk that locks the outer office door. Then, she presses another button that causes the bookcase on the far side of the room to slide open, revealing a darkened passageway. She walks toward it with a proud, upright bearing, radiating the aura of a mighty queen. As she enters, with the camera lingering from behind, there is the briefest glimpse of her ripping open her blouse.)

(The camera trails over discarded articles of clothing, finally coming to rest on her bare feet. The camera pans up and from behind we can see that she has stripped down to an animal skin bikini! We can also see in front of her, her private lair, obviously built at great expense, resembling a jungle! Lush rainforest and vines fill the scene as far as the eye can see, all apparently kept at the right temperature to allow the foliage to grow. The sounds of exotic birds and animals fill the vast expanse of the room as well.)
(A close-up of her face shows her smiling at being back in the surroundings she loves. She carefully massages her arms and legs and stretches herself.)

Diana
-Ahhh.....how I love to shed those suffocating rags.
(She moves further in and sees a leopard approach her. She kneels down and gives it a friendly hug.)
And how I love to be among living creatures I can appreciate.
(She gets up and walks further into the jungle, the leopard staying by her side like an obedient pet.)
The more I live in their evil environment, the more I see how it’s corrupted every facet of mankind; how it’s made them a soft, weak, passive creature, with none of the instincts needed to survive, and no appreciation for where they came.

(She settles herself at the base of a tree and stretches out. The leopard curls up to her on one side, while an equally friendly cheetah emerges from the trees and also settles next to her. She smiles and pats it on the head, and it lets out a gentle purr. All of the animals in her lair are under her complete control.)

Diana (sighing in contentment at her surroundings)
-How fortunate I was. To be orphaned in a plane crash that allowed me to grow up in the jungle and learn how to master it to my bidding. Enabling me to tame all of its dangers so I could enjoy all of its beauties to the fullest.
(Her expression darkens)
And then to be taken from all that happiness I knew, just because my meddling uncle couldn’t let the dead stay buried. Brought here against my will, and forced to assume a life in the civilized world as Diana Artemis, the heiress to the Artemis fortune. A life that has trapped me ever since......denying me the freedom I once knew as......Shandra, Queen of the Jungle. My true name. My true self.
(She looks about)
Even this lair of mine, special as it is, is too inadequate. Giving me freedom only for a limited space. A mere outlet for the pent-up frustration I feel every day over having to live in this civilized world.

(She rises and her tone grows menacingly defiant.)

Shandra (as she is to be called now whenever she is in this setting.)
-But no more of that. Now that Mr. Wayne has removed any last doubt in me that there is no way I can live in peace with the civilized world, I can proceed with my total war against civilization. To destroy all things of the civilized world.....buildings, cars, roads.....all of it! Replaced by the natural state that once existed here eons ago, and where mankind was meant to live! Where mankind can be truly free and at one with Nature! To make a Paradise of a total wasteland for all to experience! And now....now, I have the power to make that all happen! I, Shandra, Queen of the Jungle, will create a new domain to rule over for all time!

(She extends her arms wide, and lets out a mighty, savage cry of a jungle warrior. The rest of the animals she keeps in her lair immediately emerge from the trees and flock to her side in total obedience.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Establishing shot of Gotham City Public Library)

(Shot of Barbara Gordon in glasses, sitting behind reference desk going over ledgers. The phone on her desk rings.)

Barbara (picks it up, but keeps working on the ledger)
-Gotham City Public Library.
(She stops working on the ledger.)
Oh, hi Daddy!

Commissioner Gordon
-Barbara, did you hear what happened at the Gotham City Plaza site?

Barbara
-Why, yes. Myrtle told me about it. She saw a report on television during her break.

Commissioner Gordon
-Well, Batman and Robin are unavailable at the moment, so I was wondering . . .

Barbara
-I understand. I’ll take care of it, right away!

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-While back at stately Wayne Manor!

(Bruce enters living room, where Dick Grayson is waiting anxiously.)

Dick
-Bruce, Alfred said the Commissioner called an hour ago! He thinks it’s about what happened in Gotham City Plaza this morning!

Bruce
-I heard about that on the radio on my way back from downtown. Let’s see if they know more about it.

(They enter the study and Bruce picks up the Batphone and presses it.)

(Cut to scene of Commissioner Gordon’s office, as he answers the Batphone. Alternating cuts back to Bruce in study on phone will follow.)

Bruce
-Sorry I was detained, Commissioner. It concerns the incident at Gotham City Plaza this morning?

Commissioner Gordon
-Yes, Batman. So far, no one’s taking responsibility for it, but....Mayor Linseed is most concerned about the possibility of further catastrophes happening that could bring Gotham City’s economy to a virtual standstill.

Bruce
-We’re on our way.
(Lifts up the bust of Shakespeare and clicks the switch opening the sliding bookcase)
To the Batpoles.
(They move toward them.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Commissioner Gordon’s office. Batman and Robin enter. Chief O’Hara and Batgirl are standing alongside Gordon’s desk.)

Batman
-It indeed can not be coincidental that this outbreak of intense jungle growth should happen right in proximity to Gotham City’s most important construction project. Gotham City Plaza, not only provided many needed jobs for the construction workers, but upon completion, stood to benefit the city many hundreds of millions of dollars in increased revenues.

Commissioner Gordon
-And with the project utterly in ruins, the costs to the city can’t even begin to be measured!

Robin
-Can’t that be overcome? I mean, can’t all this new foliage just be cleared away and the project started over again?

Chief O’Hara
-It isn’t that simple, Robin. According to the experts at the scene, all those vines and leaves that just sprouted all over the place can’t be cleared away. They’re practically indestructible!

Commissioner Gordon
-Yes, he’s right. According to the men at the scene who were assigned to find out if there were any spectators trapped in the foliage, even when they tried to use machetes, it had no effect. Only minimal results came from using torches to partly burn their way through.

Batman
-Jungle foliage impervious to all forms of clearing. Perhaps flame throwers would work?

Commissioner Gordon
-Maybe that could work, Batman, but the owners of Gotham City Plaza don’t want to go that route just yet. They want to see if there’s any hope of salvaging the materials that were buried under this outgrowth.

Batman
-We’ll leave that decision to those authorities. In the meantime, we need to first concentrate on the matter of who could be responsible for this heinous plot against our fair city’s economic well-being.

Batgirl
-Well, Poison Ivy would be the obvious suspect, but we checked with Warden Crichton and she’s safely in her cell at Gotham State Penitentiary. I even called Minister Brownlee and she confirmed Amazonia is still in jail down under in New Zealand.

Commissioner Gordon
-There are no easy answers, Batman. I suppose Louie the Lilac is a remote possibility, but he’s believed to be retired.

Robin
-It doesn’t seem like his style to me.
(Robin pounds his right fist into his left palm, then points his right index finger into the air.)
Maybe this means we’re looking at some new master criminal with designs on Gotham City!

Batman (holds up a finger)
-Possible, Robin, and yet.....why would this new master criminal not bother to at least broadcast a message claiming responsibility? Commissioner, you haven’t received any phone calls taking credit for this, or a note setting forth a list of demands?

Commissioner Gordon (shakes his head)
-Not a thing, Batman.

Batman
-That might suggest that whoever is responsible for this, has only begun his–
(He looks at Batgirl.)
. . . . or her campaign. The destruction of Gotham City Plaza was meant only as a test for whatever else the perpetrator has planned. I suspect other major construction sites throughout the city could be at risk. Chief O’Hara, I suggest you have all of your available men stand guard around important construction sites. See to it they watch for signs of anything suspicious!

Chief O’Hara
-We’ll get on that right away, Batman.

Batman
-Robin, let’s proceed to the Gotham City Plaza site and take a sample of that instant jungle back to the Batcave for immediate study! Perhaps its abnormal properties will give us a clue as to who’s responsible for this dastardly deed.

Batgirl
-I have an avenue of investigation I want to pursue, too, Batman. I suggest we stay in touch through the Commissioner.

(Batman and Commissioner Gordon nod their assent.)

Robin
-Let’s go!

(Commercial)

Act Two

Narrator
-Back in her private lair, Shandra, Queen of the Jungle, continues her daily routine!

(The camera shows Shandra swinging from a vine in her makeshift jungle with graceful ease. She lets go, and flies through mid-air, grabbing hold of an extended tree limb with an effortless grace that a great gymnast would envy, doing one full revolution before dropping to the ground.)

Shandra (Smiles and proudly places her hands on hips, gently massaging herself)
-Ahhh.....the freedom. The sheer freedom of it all. And soon.....to know it all again on such a wide, endless scale as I did in Africa.
(Her pet leopard comes to her, and playfully curls up around her ankles. She reaches down and pats it on the head with gentleness.)
And soon, you and all your friends here will know that endless freedom of open space, too . . . and all your friends kept in those horrible cages in Gotham Park Zoo.

(She walks away at a leisurely pace, enjoying herself.....and then reaches out to a nearby low-lying tree limb with both hands where we see she has now draped a small-sized python about her shoulders. She gently pats it on the front.)

(The sound of her blissful reverie is broken when she hears a loud buzzing noise filling the room.
Her eyes dart over to a wall left exposed from any foliage growth, where a chronometer flashes “2:00 PM.” With sad resignation, she places her python down, where it slithers back into the jungle, and walks over to the wall. There she pulls out a previously concealed telephone.
When she speaks into it, her voice is that of the confidant, respectable heiress of the civilized world.)

Shandra
-Ms. Burroughs, I want you get me this number. 555-9090.
(She waits as her secretary in the outer office two floors down, who is used to her disappearing from contact for hours on end, and never asks why, establishes the connection.
As she waits, she attaches a special apparatus to the speaker of the phone.)

(Establishing scene of a public phone booth deep in the heart of downtown Gotham City. An unshaven man in a rumpled suit responds to the ringing phone and picks it up.)

Man
-Yeah?

Shandra (we see her speaking into the phone)
-This is Smith. The money you requested is in your numbered Swiss account.

(Cut back to the man in the phone booth. We can hear the rest of what Shandra is saying, but the sound of the voice filling the phone booth is gruff and masculine.)

—and as soon as you plant the package in the designated target, take the first flight to Zurich immediately . . . and stay there.

Man
-Where is the package?

Shandra (camera on her speaking, and we hear her normal voice)
-Locker 213, Gotham Central Station.

(Cut back to the man in the phone booth. The rest of the statement in the altered sounding voice)

----and make sure it is in place no later than four o’clock this afternoon! If you want to time your exit from the country just right, you need to do it by then.

Man
-You know, I’ve done plenty of jobs in my day, but I’ve never come across any kind of client, who was so generous upfront with a fee. You must really be desperate to see this job done.

(We hear the beginning of Shandra’s reply from his vantage point.)

Shandra
-My motives are my concern, as is the matter of how generous I choose to be with my money.

(Cut back to her perspective, where we hear her voice.)

—But I keep a thorough timetable, and if I find things are not in place, it will take me a lot less time to get those funds out of your Swiss account, than it would take for you to get to Zurich to access it.
(She pauses)
Remember that well.

Man
-Sure, sure. I’m on my way.
(He hangs up)

(Cut back to Shandra. After unscrewing the attachment that altered her voice and putting it back in the hidden recess in the wall, she then puts the phone there, too. With resignation, she starts walking the steps that lead out of her jungle lair and back to her office.
She grabs her stylish trenchcoat from off a hanger and wraps it about her body.)

(Cut to her office where she emerges from the open bookcase. She walks over to her desk, closes the bookcase and activates another switch that opens an elaborate walk-in closet filled with rows of elegant, chic, fashions. She stares at the outfits and shakes her head in bemused disdain)

Shandra
-The prison uniforms of the civilized world......Soon to be worn no more by me . . . but still needed for now.

(Grabs a dress from the hanger)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-While at the Gotham City Public Library . . .

(Barbara Gordon finally finishes with the ledgers. She folds her hands in contemplation, taking off her glasses.)

Barbara
-Daddy’s right to worry about other construction sites being at risk, but.....maybe whoever did it, just wanted to see Gotham City Plaza destroyed. Is there anyone who really didn’t like the idea of that project at all?
(Gets up from her desk)
Gotham City Times back issues, here I come!

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-Meanwhile, Batman and Robin have returned to the Batcave and begun analyzing the mysterious jungle vines retrieved from Gotham City Plaza.

(Beeping sounds from the Bat-Analyzer fill the Batcave. Batman leans down and studies the printed readout.)

Robin
-What does the Bat-Analyzer say, Batman?

Batman
-It is a species of vine found only in the jungles of central Africa . . . yet....its interior reveal traces of.....foreign chemical compounds.
(Looks up)
This vine, this entire burst of instant jungle, was spontaneously created by a small amount of chemical compound, perhaps small enough to be contained in a tiny vial or capsule!

Robin
-But how, Batman?

Batman
-Based upon the Bat-Analyzer’s factoring of the chemical properties, as well as the comparison with the natural soil of Gotham Park......I surmise that when the capsule’s contents were emptied onto the ground of Gotham Park, that was sufficient to cause the necessary spontaneous generation. The vines only needed to emanate from living soil and could then proceed from there.

Robin
-If Poison Ivy isn’t involved, who else would be capable of creating such a compound?

Batman
-Only someone highly intelligent, Robin. Someone who has undertaken advanced studies in plant biology and chemistry......someone who is either doing this all by himself for his own purposes, or doing the bidding of a master criminal unknown to us at this point.

Robin
-And with the likely known master criminals with which we’ve dealt in jail, I guess it has to be for his or her own purpose!

Batman
-Quite true. This will require most....careful analysis and study of all the facts, before we can proceed. We can only hope that, in the meantime, we will have found our first breakthrough before this criminal strikes next!

(Cut to scene of the Man Shandra spoke to earlier removing a medium-sized package from Locker 213 at Gotham Central Station.)

Narrator
-But even now, the criminal’s next phase of her master plan is being put into effect!

(The man reads a note attached on the package that is typed. It says:

Man
-You’re paying me a million dollars to target garbage dumpsters? Boy, whoever you are, you’re really nuts!

(He tosses the package into the one nearest him and walks away, quickly hailing a cab that he will take to Gotham Airport, and steps in.)

(Cut back to a shot of Diana Artemis, dressed stylishly once again in her business attire, seated behind her desk, calmly going over paperwork related to the Artemis Foundation. She takes a brief glance at her watch to keep track of the time. It reads 4:20. Without batting an eyelash, she picks up the phone on her desk.)

Diana
-Ms. Burroughs, get me Bruce Wayne at stately Wayne Manor.

(Down in the Batcave, Batman and Robin remain busily at work, but with no breakthroughs worth mentioning. The conventional white phone on the table next to the Batphone rings.)

Batman
-Millionaire Bruce Wayne’s private line. I had best answer it.
(Picks it up)
Hello, this is Bruce Wayne.

Diana
-Mr. Wayne? This is Diana Artemis again.

Batman (not completely surprised to hear her calling him again)
-Ms. Artemis, to what do I owe this pleasure?

Diana
-Well, Mr. Wayne
(pauses)
Bruce.....I was wondering if it wasn’t too soon to ask about that future social meeting we mentioned as a possibility? I assure you, our conversation of earlier today has nothing to do with it. I won’t even bring the subject up.

Batman
-I’m....flattered and honored by the suggestion, Ms. Artemis....

Diana (her voice grows just a trifle suggestive as she glances at her watch again)
-Diana.

Batman (finding the sound of her voice hard to ignore as he awkwardly clears his throat)
-Diana. I.....confess, my schedule is rather full this evening, but.....I would be delighted to perhaps arrange something with you.....sometime early next week.

(Diana is at this moment pulling a remote control device from out of her desk drawer. A green light flashes from it. A button lies underneath the flashing green light.)

Diana
-That would be.....perfectly fine by me. I’ll....call again this weekend, and we can finalize things?
(She presses the button. The flashing green light has now changed to a steady red.)

Batman
-I’ll look forward to your call.

Diana (She is now looking out the window)
-Goodbye, Bruce.

(She hangs up and can see from her vantage point, the effects of her carefully choreographed second stage begin to take effect. In a run-down section of lower midtown, a large burst of greenery has erupted and is rapidly covering the area.)

(Close-up of her smiling wickedly, throwing her long mane of hair back and letting out a wild, ecstatic laugh of triumph!)

(A cut to the location where the package was set off, which shows that the run-down area of garbage dumpsters has now been overrun by a massively increasing jungle with each passing second. Some spectators have run in panic......but others, strangely, find themselves drawn to the scene. For them, what had been a dreary location filled with waste has suddenly taken on the air of a peaceful, tranquil setting in which they’d like to stay. This even includes several children, who immediately find it a great place in which to run through and play.)

First Child
-Gotham Park’s got nothing on this! And right on our own block, too!

Second Child
-Neat!

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Commissioner Gordon is on the phone. His expression dubious)

Commissioner Gordon
-Where did you say it went off?
(Shakes his head)
We would never have considered that area in a million years.
(Pauses as he listens further.)
They are, are they? Well.....if they say they’re having a good time and aren’t in any danger, go ahead and leave them be. We have to be more concerned with figuring out what it all means.
(Hangs up and shakes his head disbelievingly)
This fiend struck again, but didn’t destroy an important construction site. Instead, the target was a local city dump! The local inhabitants actually like the change a sudden burst of instant jungle has brought them.

Chief O’Hara
-If I lived next to a city dump, I’d probably welcome it, too! Maybe this is just a diversion to lure us away from those other construction sites?

Commissioner Gordon
-I don’t know what to think, Chief O’Hara. This is the most bizarre campaign of terror I’ve ever seen in all my years on the force. I only hope Batman has some better ideas by this time.

(Cut to Batcave where Batman and Robin seemed more flummoxed by this latest piece of news that they have just learned.)

Robin (frustration rising in his voice)
-It doesn’t make any sense, Batman! I can imagine a motive for the destruction of Gotham City Plaza, but why release an even more powerful chemical solution in an area where Gotham City’s economy wouldn’t be affected at all?

Batman(seated in front of the Bat-Analyzer
-True, Robin, this master criminal with which we are dealing has to be both intelligent and .....highly unstable to have no clear pattern to his choice of targets.

(Next to Batman, the Batphone beeps. Batman hastens to answer it, glad it can’t be Diana Artemis again.)

Batman
-Yes. Commissioner?

(On the other end of the line, we see Barbara Gordon in her apartment, already in her Batgirl suit, but for the cowl.)

Batgirl
-Batman, this is Batgirl. The Commissioner patched me through.

(Batman rises.)

Batman
-Of course, Batgirl. Let me put you on the speaker phone here in the Batcave so Robin can join in as well.
(Clicks switch and puts down the phone)
Can you hear us, Batgirl?

Batgirl
-I hear you fine. I’ve been doing some checking of my own. I developed a possible theory about who might be responsible for what happened at Gotham City Plaza this morning.....and after what just happened in lower mid-town at that city dump, I think my hunch seems more plausible.

Batman
-We’re listening, Batgirl. Up till now, our investigation has.....not been a productive one.

Batgirl
-I thought it was important to go back and see who had been publicly opposed to the construction of Gotham City Plaza. The one name that seemed to stand out most is Diana Artemis of the Artemis Foundation.

Batman (sounding surprised)
-Ms. Artemis’s public opposition to it is well-known, but.....that hardly seems indicative of targeting her as a master criminal.

Batgirl
-Well, that’s not the only reason, Batman. It’s the modus operandi that I think is the key: destroying Gotham City Plaza through the creation of instant jungle and now, a second incident that turned a local city dump into a square mile of jungle. The more you look at Diana Artemis, the more it seems likely that’s the sort of thing she’d want to see happen!

Batman
-All very interesting, Batgirl, but.....all speculation at this point.

Batgirl (growing slightly impatient)
-Batman, it isn’t just speculation! Look at her background . . . her early life. If you don’t want to hear it from me, then have the Batcomputer tell you, but it would only be the same information.

Robin
-Batman? I think maybe we should hear her out. I mean....
(Robin holds up his hand to shield his voice from the phone and whispers.)
I know you met with Ms. Artemis earlier today, but----

Batman (Somewhat annoyed that Robin has brought it up. He speaks into the speaker phone)
-Batgirl, I . . . have had occasion to meet Ms. Artemis. She comes across as a....zealous crusader for her own brand of environmental activism.....but she strikes me more as a well-meaning, but slightly eccentric, person, not as a master criminal.

Batgirl
-I don’t know, Batman. Do you know she has an advanced degree in biology from Harvard with a chemistry minor?

Batman
-That doesn’t surprise me, but it only reveals her to be intelligent.

Batgirl
-True, but let’s get to the matter of her background. Did you know she spent the first eighteen years of her life lost in the African jungle until her uncle, the late head of the Artemis Foundation, mounted an expedition to find and rescue her?

Batman (recollection seems to come over him)
-I....vaguely recall that story, but not the details.

Batgirl
-Gotham City Times, July 18, eight years ago.

Robin (flicks a switch on the Batcomputer)
-Got it. Stand by.

(The Batcomputer rings, and the two see the newspaper article on the screen.)

Batgirl
-Put all of these facts together, Batman. The person responsible for this hated the Gotham City Plaza project and we know Diana Artemis did for environmental reasons. The person responsible also seemed determined to create an instant jungle in that location and we know that kind of setting would have some kind of natural appeal to Diana Artemis. Further, the person also has to be an expert in biology and chemistry. Diana Artemis has advanced degrees in both.

Robin (slaps gloved fist into palm)
-Holy Pattern! But....what would her motive be for doing all of this?

Batgirl
-Your guess is as good as mine, Robin. But....at the very least, shouldn’t we consider her a suspect?

Batman
-I....confess to being reluctant to do so, because.....it’s difficult to imagine her as someone who would want to engage in something destructive that could cause harm to innocent people. Yet, with no other suspects to consider, it’s probably a prudent decision to at least investigate further.....and, I hope, eliminate her from any further consideration.

Robin
-What if we can’t eliminate her, Batman?

Batman
-Then we do what we must, Robin! as all good crimefighters are expected to do.

Batgirl
-Batman, since this is my theory you’re testing, I think I should join you.

Batman
-Excellent idea, Batgirl. Meet us this evening at nine p.m. in front of the Artemis Foundation Building on the east side of Gotham Park. That will be the ideal time for us to take action and see if there’s a case to be made against her.

Batgirl
-I’ll be there!

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-But as the Terrific Trio plan their rendezvous at the Artemis Foundation Building, Diana Artemis is, at that instant, preparing to leave to implement phase three of her war against civilization!

(Diana is now dressed again in trenchcoat and high heels as she was this morning, as well as a pair of designer sunglasses. She has a large attache case open on her desk. The camera shows a shot of the interior. There are two explosive devices, one small in size, the other a much larger unit. She smiles and lovingly picks the small unit up first, admiring it.)

Diana
-Phase three, to go off tonight.
(She sets it back down and then rubs her hand over the larger unit). And here.....the final weapon in the war against civilization. The instrument of my triumph, tomorrow night!

(She closes the attache case and walks out of her office with the confidant air of a chic businesswoman. It is a role she knows how to play well, despite hating it.)

(Cut to shot of her leaving the Artemis Foundation Building and heading in the direction of Gotham Park.)

(Commercial)

Act Three
(Alternating shots of the Batmobile, making its way through Gotham City, as well as the Batgirlcycle approaching from the opposite direction)

(Tight shot of Batmobile)

Robin
-Batman, I have to admit, after what Batgirl told us, I’m surprised you didn’t think of suspecting Diana Artemis in the first place.

Batman
-Had I not met Diana Artemis earlier today and spoken with her later, I might have been inclined to instinctively believe the worst, as Batgirl does, Robin . . . but.....there is something about her that makes it hard to believe she’d actually desire to harm anyone.

Robin
-But some criminal minds work exactly that way, Batman. That’s what you always said!

Batman (nods)
-True. At any rate, we are doing the right thing. I would prefer, though, in the absence of anything definite, we not call too much attention to ourselves . . . and why we’re here.

(The Batmobile pulls up in front of the Artemis Foundation Building. The Batgirlcycle pulls up from the opposite direction seconds later. Batman and Robin get out and come up to Batgirl, who’s stepped off her cycle.)

Batgirl
-Nine o’clock sharp, Batman!

Batman
-Admirable punctuality, Batgirl! Now,
(looks up)
I suggest for this operation, involving a twentieth floor office window, the Super Batarang be utilized. It is longer and sturdier than the traditional Batarang, and perfect for the taller buildings that have come to dominate more of the Gotham City skyline.

Batgirl
-Ready whenever you are.

(Stock footage of the Batarang catching hold on the rooftop)

(Cut to shot of Batman, Robin and Batgirl all climbing the side of the building. Traditional “Batclimb” music cue is heard.)

Robin
-Boy, these newer glass skyscrapers sure can be slippery!

Batman
-At least Robin, they’re still straight and easy to negotiate! A danger we may face could come from a master criminal making his hideout in a modernist structure that cannot be ascended easily!

Robin
-Holy Frank Lloyd Wright!

Batgirl
-Actually, Robin, a Wright structure would, in all likelihood, pose far fewer difficulties! I was just reading the other day----

(Suddenly, from an open window they’ve approached, the sound of music can be heard. It is the opening fanfare to That’s Amore.)

Batman
-This could prove difficult. I had not wanted any citizen to notice our activities here, especially should Ms. Artemis prove to be innocent!

(Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of a familiar singing voice can be heard.)

Dean Martin
-When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that’s
(his head suddenly pops out of the window. He’s holding a full glass of something and he gazes cockeyed at what he sees before him, as he without missing a beat, finishes quizzically in rhythm)
a Batman?

(Tight shot of Batman, Robin and Batgirl looking tense as they hold on to the Batrope.)

Dean Martin (stares at his full glass)
-Boy, this stuff is really a hundred plus proof strong, if I’m suddenly seeing you, and
(squints down, his words are slurry in true fashion)
Robin and Batgirl!
(reacts at the sight of the curvaceous crimefighter)
all outside my window.

Batman
-Yes, strong indeed, citizen! Perhaps this should be a lesson to you not to indulge so much of something that strong. Then you won’t find yourself seeing things outside your window that aren’t really there.

Dean Martin
-Aw...c’mon Caped Crusader, you know I’ve got a reputation to protect! I mean....
(bobs forward slightly, holding glass out and hiccups)
I give up this stuff, what kind of act would I have left?

Batgirl
-How about making up with your old partner and going back to work with him?

Dean Martin
-Boy, if I’m hearing a hallucination telling me to do that, this stuff is really too strong to handle! I’ve got to pour this stuff down the drain where it belongs!

Batman
-A wise course of action, citizen. I suggest a cup of hot cocoa and a good night’s rest.

Dean Martin (puts drink down, puts fists on hips and nods)
-Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’ll do, Batman. Got to fly back to Mexico tomorrow to finish this picture I’m doing, a little western with Jimmy Stewart. My leading lady needed to take some time off here in Gotham City, and I’m just waiting for her to finish whatever it is she’s doing.

Robin
-I’ll be first in line to see the picture when it comes out!

Dean Martin
-Well, thanks a lot, Boy Wonder, thanks a lot.
(waves drunkenly at them)
You three get back to your job, and I’ll get a good night’s rest.
(disappears back inside, but we can hear him sing to the tune of Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime)
Gotham City needs a Batgirl all time......

Batman (relieved)
-We are fortunate he’ll remember this only as something in his imagination. Onward and upward!
(They resume climbing.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-At that moment, several blocks north of the Artemis Foundation Building, on the boundary line of Gotham Park, Diana Artemis has her sights on a new target!

(Establishing shot of sign, Gotham City Tower. Cut to shot of a near-completed, steel and glass tower rising thirty stories high against the night backdrop.)

(Cut to close-shot of Diana, lowering her sunglasses and staring up in disdainful hate at the structure, which is close to the tree-lined edge of Gotham Park, just as the Gotham City Plaza site had been on the west side.)

(Medium shot of her going over to a public phone next to the park bench, where she has set her attache case with the two explosive devices down. We watch her dial.)

(Cut to shot of night watchman at a desk inside Gotham City Tower, answering phone.)

Guard
-Hello?

Diana (politely. She is reasonably sure of the information she’s about to learn, based on months of research beforehand, but she needs to be absolutely certain.)
-Hello, could you do me a favor? Would you please tell me, are there any people besides you inside the Tower this evening?

Guard (laughs)
-You must be kidding. Come five PM, this place is emptier than a tomb, but for me and the cleaning crews.

Diana (with concern)
-They’re not on any of the upper floors, are they?

Guard
-Nah, they don’t get started for another hour or so. There’s some of them down here on the first floor, just having a drink or sandwich before work begins.

Diana (relieved)
-I am really glad to hear it. That means all of you can get out of there while there’s still time . . .
(her voice suddenly becomes a cold, evil whisper)
. . . because in exactly sixty seconds, Gotham City Tower will be no more.

Guard (bolts up from chair in shock)
-What!?

Diana
-You and the cleaning crew now have about fifty-five seconds to get out of there and run for your lives. I mean exactly what I say, so I suggest you get to it.

Guard
-Lady, that isn’t funny, you----
(a click indicates she’s hung-up. Feeling an edge of panic, he presses the central alarm and grabs the PA microphone so the cleaning crew details nearby will hear him)
Everyone out of the building! Out of the building, now!

(Cut back to Diana disappearing into the thicker forest regions of Gotham Park, away from the pedestrian walkways and park benches. Standing by the base of the tree, her attache case open at her feet, she deftly kicks off her high heels, tosses away her sunglasses, opens the belt of her trenchcoat and whips it off to reveal her animal skin bikini. For the first time, she feels confident to be Shandra in public.)

Narrator
-Meanwhile, as Diana Artemis transforms into Shandra, Queen of the Jungle......

(Cut back to shot of Batman, Robin and Batgirl entering Diana’s office.)

Robin
-Lucky for us, she’s not in. That gives us some time to see if she’s connected with what’s been happening!

Batman
-We must be thoroughly discreet, Robin. Should she be completely innocent, we do not want to leave behind any trace of our visit.

Batgirl
-Let’s fan out around the office and cover each section.

(They split up.)

Narrator
-Meanwhile, back in Gotham Park!

(Shandra holds the smaller charge in one hand as she crawls with catlike grace across the tree limb that extends over the soil of Gotham Park, exactly where the park ends and the roadway that leads across to the Gotham City Tower begins. On her stomach, looking down, she flicks the switch and drops the device to the soil below.)

(FX shot. There is no explosion from the activated device itself. Instead, the contents of the charge have emptied on a far wider scale possible than her small vial of this morning could have done, and even greater than her second test case of the afternoon. This concentrated burst is intended to produce instant jungle across a greater area......one that will turn the natural beauty of Gotham Park into a more fuller, lush jungle region.....and also destroy the adjacent city blocks, including Gotham City Tower.)

(Shandra’s POV, smiling as she sees vines sprout from the ground and rapidly extend in all directions. She drops to the ground and, in her skimpy jungle attire, welcomes the sight of the region transforming into the home she once knew with such happiness.)

(Cut to shot of Gotham City Tower, as the approaching foliage and vines suddenly extend across the roadway, toward the building.....covering it in a matter of seconds. Soon, the sound of windows cracking from the strain caused by ever-increasing vines and trees sprouting forth, and the groan of a metal foundation weakening fills the air, above the sounds of chaotic confusion that are also taking place.)

(Tight shot of Shandra, smiling proudly as she retrieves the case that contains her final, most potent sample of Instant Jungle and backs away several steps. She can see the tower sag......and finally crumble to the ground as the area is overtaken by the jungle growth.)

Shandra (with pride at her achievement)
-Paradise conquers civilization.....always.

(Suddenly, from behind, there is a crashing noise through the foliage. She turns around and sees that a Gotham City Park Policeman has managed to fight his way through.)

Policeman
-All right, stop right there! If you’re responsible for what’s happening out there-----

(Shandra says nothing. She leaps into the air, grabbing a tree limb, and is able to use her strength of movement to swing forward and land a swift kick into the policeman’s mid-section that sends him tumbling back into the increasing levels of jungle rainforest, where he lands unconscious. She grabs the attache case with her left hand, and seeing a newly sprouted vine nearby, grabs it with her right hand and is soon able to rapidly swing away from the area.)

(Close up of Shandra swinging from the vine, a look of confident triumph. She lets out her jungle warrior cry...... as she suspects, it also has an immediate effect on the nearby animal population housed in the Gotham Park Zoo. As her cry echoes through the increasing jungle growth of Gotham Park, the camera cuts to the empty scenes of Gotham Park Zoo, the animals in their cages......all showing signs of reacting to the distant noise.)

Narrator
-Meanwhile, back in the Artemis Foundation Building!

(Camera shows Batman, Robin and Batgirl continuing to search. Batman is at Diana’s desk, and he notices the console of numerous buttons. With a trace of reluctance, he presses one of them......which immediately activates the sliding bookcase on the far side of the office, revealing the darkened passageway inside.)

Batman
-Robin, Batgirl! Look!

(They hurry over in front of it.)

Batgirl
-A secret passage . . . but to what?

Batman
-Robin and I know from our own experience the importance of concealing secret locations to protect the most important secrets about ourselves. It would seem Ms. Artemis has a deep secret of her own, that could.....shed further light on these events.

Robin
-Do we go in?

Batman
-Yes.....but with caution.

(They proceed inside the dark corridor, the camera giving us close-ups of each of them in succession......Finally a medium shot of the three of them stopping in their tracks as they look in wide-eyed disbelief.)

Robin
-Holy Africa!

(Wide shot reveals Shandra’s jungle lair in full with the three of them off to the side)

Batgirl (amazed)
-It’s incredible. You’d almost think we were actually in Africa!

Batman
-Yes, it had to have required a great deal of expense on Ms. Artemis’s part to do this . . . to recreate the home she once knew in Africa as a child.

Robin
-and if she has this kind of determination, Batman, then wouldn’t that mean she’d have the same kind of determination to create an Instant Jungle formula – capable of causing all kinds of destruction!?

Batman (nods)
-I’m afraid you’ve been proved right, Robin.

(As Batman and Robin keep looking ahead at the vast expanse of jungle before them....Batgirl turns her head in response to a sound her ears had detected. She abruptly freezes.)

Batgirl
-Batman? Robin? (She slowly points to their right.)

(Abruptly, the growl of a leopard can be heard. Batman and Robin turn in response. Their eyes lock on the menacing face of the orange, spotted beast.)

Batman
-Stay calm. Absolutely calm.

(Just then, a hissing sound reveals itself, and across from them, they see the python slither out from the trees, moving toward them.)

Robin
-Holy......(stops as his innate sense of goodness can not let him say the obvious word.)

Batgirl
-Can it possibly get any worse?

(At that instant, the cheetah appears from the left . . . and a jaguar in the center. The leopard is drawing closer from the right, while the python continuing to move across the floor.)

Batman
-I’m afraid so, Robin. Ms. Artemis, in addition to recreating her African home, has also seen fit to import species of wildlife from that part of the world.

Batgirl (trying to make light of the situation to ease her fear)
-Well.....at least we won’t see any tigers.

(Just then, a five-foot tall gorilla emerges from the center, followed by the imposing form of a fully-grown male lion.)

Robin
-Yeah, but a gorilla and lion would have to be here, too!
(His voice is betraying more fear.)
Gosh, Batman, we’ve faced giant clams, and alligator and tiger traps, but never anything like this, all together at once!

Batman (he, too, is feeling less sure of things)
-Yes....this does indeed present a most formidable challenge.....one which may well reveal how helpless civilized man is in the face of the untamed jungle beast.

(Wide shot from above showing the conglomeration of jungle creatures drawing closer to them)

Narrator
-True in more ways than one, Caped Crusader!

(Cut back to shot of Shandra entering a deserted Gotham Park Zoo. Deserted, but for the animals in their cages. She walks up to a nearby cage with a leopard inside, kneels in front of the bars and playfully beckons it to come forward.)

Shandra
-Come here. Come here.
(The leopard comes up to the bars, and Shandra gently touches its face.)
Tonight, your captivity in the cage of civilized man ends for you, my friend. For you, and everyone else.

(She grabs hold of the bars and, with savage strength, pulls at them until they bend. An opening large enough for the leopard to escape has now been created and the beast wastes no time taking advantage. Shandra happily pets it on the backside and looks back with pride at the sight of the Instant Jungle she recently set off now encroaching its way into the environs of Gotham Park Zoo.)

Shandra
-The cover of Instant Jungle shall be enough for all of you to find your way to freedom, my friends! Your steel cages of confinement will be crushed, and you will all be able to roam freely as you were meant to. Just as man will know that freedom tomorrow, when this
(she holds up the attache case she has kept by her side all this time)
is set off and all of Gotham City will be laid to ruins beneath the onslaught of Instant Jungle! And soon, the world will learn of what has happened here and follow our example, too! The end of civilization for all time!

(Shandra throws her head back and lets out another savage warrior cry. As it fills the air surrounding the cages of Gotham Park Zoo, which grow more and more festooned with vines and foliage, the animals in their cages become more restless, and begin to pound with their full fury on their steel bars of confinement.....ready to do the bidding of the Jungle Queen!)

(Cut back to the overhead shot of Batman, Robin and Batgirl trapped in Shandra’s lair by the approaching animals.)

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