Narrator
-When last we left our Crusading Caped Crimefighters, they had discovered a secret jungle lair in the office of wealthy environmental activist Diana Artemis, linking her to the destruction of numerous sites in Gotham City through the creation of Instant Jungle . . .
(Close shots of the cheetah, jaguar, gorilla, lion, leopard and python)
. . . but in discovering her secret lair, they also discovered how well-guarded it was with every known beast of the African jungle, all of which now have them trapped with seemingly no way out.

(Cut to shot of Shandra, standing proudly in Gotham Park Zoo, the animals surrounding her.)

-Meanwhile, in her preferred altar ego of Shandra, Queen of the Jungle, the instigator of this plot had just succeeded in destroying a prominent Gotham City skyscraper and in freeing the animals of Gotham Park Zoo to do her bidding. This, in preparation for her final endgame of activating a mass concentration of Instant Jungle – that will result in the total destruction of Gotham City as part of her determined war against civilization and her desire to transform all cities into jungles!

(Cut back to Batman, Robin and Batgirl, the signs of nervous tension on their faces growing.)

-Can Batman, Robin and Batgirl escape from a trap in Shandra’s lair into which they accidentally stumbled? Will they have time to discover the Jungle Queen’s ultimate plot and save Gotham City? The answers in just one minute!

(Spinning scene signals start of opening credits)

(Opening Credits Animated Sequence)

Robin (gritting his teeth)
-Batman, we’ve got probably just seconds at most! What do we do?

Batman (his voice a low whisper)
-Stay calm, Robin. Stay calm, Batgirl. This is something that requires absolutely no signs of panic whatsoever. These beasts of the jungle consider fear to be the greatest sign of weakness.

Batgirl (also gritting her teeth)
-Staying calm against one wild beast is one thing, but six? . . . and who knows how many more are there back in the foliage waiting to join them?

Batman
-First things, first, Batgirl.
(Slowly reaches to his utility belt)
I want both of you to detach your Batarangs.....slowly.....no impulsive, jerking movements.

(Camera shows them detaching the devices affixed to their belts.)

Batman
-Now......each of you pivot.....gently, a quarter turn in opposite directions, so you’re facing different trees.......I’ll continue to face straight ahead.

(The python has reached Batgirl’s boot and rears its head back in slow contemplation.)

Batgirl (the urgency rising)
-Batman, hurry!

(The cheetah is a mere foot from Robin, who is almost petrified.)

Batman
-Now.....slowly, bring your right arms up, swing the Batarang gently before.....unleashing it as hard as you can so it catches as high up on the tree you face as possible......once it catches, then with all your strength, jump and swing.....and hope it’s enough to reach the top where you’ll be above all of them!

Robin (nervously, as he can feel the cheetah just inches away)
-When, Batman?

Batman (staring straight at the gorilla)
-On my signal........NOW!

(The three of them hurl their Batarangs and, in an instant, they all on cue leap and use the momentum of the Batarangs to swing forward toward the trees. Below them, the animals turn as if caught off-guard and let out a cacophonous roar as they jump up at them. The lion leaps up and brushes against Batman’s trailing cape, but his claws doesn’t catch and soon the three of them have all managed to secure themselves on the extended limbs ten feet up. Quick shots of each of the three of them landing safely and getting to a standing position. Cut back to a shot of the animals, now looking up with menacing expressions)

Batman
-Quickly! The Bat-Gas! Now!

(The three of them reach for their containers of Bat-Gas and hurl them to the floor below. A cloud of smoke erupts and soon the animals are scattering away in all directions.)

Batman
-Drop to the ground and run out the way we came!

(All of them do so and through the rising cloud of smoke, they dash down the passageway that leads back out into Diana Artemis’s office. Cut to a wide shot of the office and showing them emerge from the passageway with the smoke cloud behind them, lingering. Batgirl and Robin stop to catch their breaths, while Batman hurriedly runs back to the desk where he had found the button that opened the passageway. The sudden roar of several of the animals causes Batgirl and Robin to look back with alarm.)

Batgirl
-Hurry, Batman, they’re headed this way!

(Batman glances down at the console and presses the button. The sliding bookcase goes back into place. Robin leans back against it and heaves a sigh of relief.)

Robin
-Holy Nick of Time!

Batman
-Yes, Robin. That was....a close escape.

(Batgirl is walking back toward the open window from where they entered.)

Robin
-What do we do now, Batman?

Batgirl (points out the window)
-Batman, the Bat Signal!

(Batman and Robin come over and see the famous Bat Signal shining high in the night sky.)

Batman
-Obviously, we need to get in touch with Commissioner Gordon as soon as possible . . . but.....not from here. We’ll return to the Batmobile and the Batgirlcycle and rendezvous at Police Headquarters.

Robin
-Let’s go!

(The three of them dash out the front door of the office.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Commissioner Gordon’s Office. Gordon is seated at his desk, Chief O’Hara to one side, with Batman, Robin and Batgirl in the center of the room)

Commissioner Gordon (incredulous)
-Diana Artemis. Was there ever a more unlikely person to be responsible for this dastardly rein of terror that’s come to our fair city?

Chief O’Hara
-And for what reason? What’s she ultimately after, when she’s the wealthiest person in Gotham City, apart, perhaps, from Bruce Wayne and Katherine Kane?

Batman
-Diana Artemis is not interested in holding Gotham City for ransom, Chief O’Hara. It’s now clear to all of us, I think, that what she wants to see is the total transformation of Gotham City into the jungle home of her youth in Africa. The random nature of her targets – the Gotham Plaza construction site, an insignificant midtown city dump, and the Gotham City Tower – would seemingly attest to that fact.

Commissioner Gordon
-She must be completely mad.

Batman
-It’s a madness caused by an overzealous devotion to what, at its root, may seem like a very noble cause, Commissioner. In a strange way, that kind of madness can be even more dangerous a foe than the kind we’re accustomed to from the likes of typical super criminals.

(The phone rings and Gordon answers it.)

Commissioner Gordon
-Yes?
(Eyes widen)
Who?

(Cut to shot of Shandra, standing in the jungle-infested sanctuary of Gotham Park Zoo, a leopard and panther curled at her feet, as she talks on a still-functioning public telephone)

Shandra
-My name is Shandra, Queen of the Jungle . . . but I suppose, for the sake of simplicity, I should admit to having once been forced to go by the name of Diana Artemis.

Commissioner Gordon (urgently lowers the phone)
-Batman, it’s her!

Batman (comes over and takes the phone from him)
-Let me handle this, Commissioner.
(Speaks into it)
Ms. Artemis, this is Batman.

Shandra (reacts with mild amusement)
-Ah, Batman. I expected to cross paths with you eventually. I am a great admirer of your noble pursuits in the cause of justice, but you would be well-advised to not do anything to interfere with my plans.....which stem from the same noble instincts as yours.

Batman
-Ms. Artemis.....

Shandra
-As I said to Commissioner Gordon, Batman, I have renounced that name forever. You will address me by my true name, Shandra, Queen of the Jungle.

Batman (knowing he should go along with her on that)
-Very well.....Shandra. Have you called to make certain.....demands?

(Shandra stretches herself comfortably on a bed of vines as she continues to talk, reaching down to pet her leopard and panther.)

Shandra
-You may call them ‘demands,’ Batman, but I see them only as mere courtesies to be granted to me. You will have a television camera placed here in my sanctuary at Gotham Park Zoo and you will then instruct all radio and television stations in Gotham City to carry my broadcast, which will begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
(Playfully strokes the back of her leopard which purrs gratefully and rubs its head against her).
My broadcast will help the citizens of Gotham City prepare themselves for what is to come.......and when they hear what I have to say, they will welcome it, and realize that all I have done.....has been entirely for their benefit.

Batman
-You have caused tremendous destruction to private property and disrupted the economic well-being of our fair city.

Shandra (laughs)
-Oh, Batman, you are such a slave to the god of wealth if you think something like that matters. I’m one person who knows how little meaning wealth and material possessions ultimately have. That will be but one of the many lessons of my little talk with the people tomorrow.

Batman
-You have also endangered the lives of many innocent people.

Shandra (comes upright, and brushes back a lock of her wild mane of hair. Her tone is serious.)
-Have I really, Batman? How many people have actually been injured as a result of these three demonstrations of mine? None at Gotham City Plaza . . . and in lower-midtown, I merely transformed a stinking dump into a place of lush beauty I know all the children in the neighborhood find to be a welcome change . . . and I’m sure by now you’ve also learned of how the men working in Gotham City Tower received ample warning of what was to come. Who do you think gave them that warning?

(Batman is silent. The sincerity in her voice is all too evident.)

Shandra
-I have no desire to harm anyone, Batman. Everything I have done, and will do, is because I dearly wish to see mankind be given the greatest chance to enjoy life, as it should be enjoyed. Living in the so-called civilized world has given me that chance, and I intend to justify these years I’ve been forced to spend in the civilized world, by acting on it!

Batman
-Shandra.....you must listen to reason.

Shandra (interrupts as her voice grows cold)

-No, Caped Crusader, it’s you who will do all the listening. Now will you grant me the courtesies I have requested?

Batman (slowly nods)
-Arrangements will be made, Shandra. Do we have your word, you will do nothing in the meantime?

Shandra
-Of course. I am a person of the highest integrity, Batman . . . and, I hope, by tomorrow, even you will come to realize it.

(She hangs up and leans down to pet her leopard once again. Her other hand reaches over to pat the attache case containing her endgame weapon.)

(In the Commissioner’s office, Batman holds the phone for a second, his mind trying to comprehend the obsessed determination of the woman to whom he’s just spoken.....and reconciling it to the same charming woman he’d spoken with twice earlier in the day.)

Robin
-Well, Batman?

Batman
-Commissioner, we must, for now, do as she says. She wants to make a television broadcast to explain her goals.......We’ll perhaps gain a greater insight into how we can ultimately move against her, if we let her do so.

Commissioner Gordon
-Do you have any ideas of how we can move against her?

Batman
-Not right now, Commissioner . . . but....when the time comes, it may well represent our greatest challenge against a criminal mind ever.

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Tight shot of Batman and Robin in Batmobile as it returns to the Batcave)

Robin
-If this....Shandra is holed up in Gotham Park Zoo, why can’t we just go in and nab her?

Batman
-That would be most unwise, Robin. If we assume her mastery of – or at least a preternatural influence over – wild animals, which we must in light of what we saw in her lair in the Artemis Foundation Building, then her sanctuary, as she calls it, deep in the heart of Gotham Park Zoo and surrounded by the intense Instant Jungle she created this evening......will be quite impregnable. That’s why she knew she could demand a television camera.

Robin
-She actually thinks she’s a jungle queen – straight out of the comic books! She’s totally nuts!

Batman (mildly admonishing)
-Not really, Robin. You saw that newspaper article about her. For all of her life, until she was eighteen, she really was one. She obviously....misses that life a great deal.

Robin
-I know, but still----

Batman
-She is unique among all of the foes we’ve come up against. There is.....singularly much to admire about her, despite her misguided proclivities.

(Robin glances strangely at Batman, wondering if he’s not thinking clearly about the subject.)

Robin
-Well, what do we do now?

Batman
-Chief O’Hara’s men will handle the logistics of getting the TV camera to her and the Commissioner is arranging the broadcast with the TV and radio stations. For now....our best course of action is to go upstairs, enjoy a late-night snack from Alfred – utilizing one of Aunt Harriet’s recipes – and get some sleep to prepare ourselves for the day ahead.

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-Soon thereafter, in Gotham Park Zoo, Chief O’Hara’s men are barely visible in the dark, transporting a 1970's-style TV camera to Shandra’s lair.

Officer Pelzman (struggling to push TV camera through the dense jungle foliage)
-Uhhh! Sarge, this is like trying to push-start a rocket ship!

Sergeant O’Rourke (on other end, pulling)
-You’ve got no right to complain. At least you get to push instead of pull!

Chief O’Hara (impatiently)
-All right men, that’s enough. Just keep moving!
(He uses his nightstick to push away the vines while holding a flashlight in his other hand.)
Even though moving is next to impossible in this stuff!

(Close shot of Shandra, seated on top of rock formation overlooking the entrance to Gotham Park Zoo. She can hear the men approach and smiles as she sees them emerge.)

Shandra
-My compliments on doing your job well, gentlemen.

(The two policemen who have been moving the TV camera stand slack-jawed at the sight of her, standing proudly, hands on hips, her long wild mane of hair flowing down her back, her beauty overwhelming, dressed in her jungle bikini. Even Chief O’Hara is visibly impressed.)

Chief O’Hara (under his breath to himself)
-Saints preserve us. She goes on TV looking like that and she’ll probably get who knows how many impressionable young men to instantly join her side.

Shandra (motioning)
-Just move it into position over here. Now!

(The two policemen are staring goofy-eyed at her as they move it into place, slowly.)

Shandra (smiles with the faintest trace of coldness)
-Not fast enough, gentlemen. Maybe you need a little incentive.

(She motions to her right and the leopard emerges from the brush, coming alongside her, and poised as if ready to pounce. She motions to her left, and the panther emerges, taking up the same position.)

Officer Pelzman
-Oh boy.
(He abruptly starts pushing the camera with greater vigor, while O’Rourke is likewise picking up the tempo. Watching, the cold edge fades from Shandra’s smile, replaced by one of total playfulness.)

Shandra
-That’s being good boys. I didn’t think you were in the mood to play with the nice kitties now, were you? Oh, but don’t worry. After a while, when it’s all over, you’ll learn how gentle they really can be.

(Chief O’Hara shakes his head in disbelief at what he sees, but figures he shouldn’t say anything.)

Shandra
-Oh, and by the way, Chief O’Hara, just in case you and the Commissioner and Batman were thinking about possibly sending in the troops to take me out......you might as well know my two friends here aren’t alone.
(She throw her head back and lets out one of her savage warrior cries. In an instant, she is surrounded on all sides by more than two dozen animals.)

(Chief O’Hara and the policemen don’t need to see anything else as they turn and run back through the jungle overgrowth and out of Gotham Park Zoo as fast as they can go. After they depart, the only sound above the grunting of the animals is Shandra’s wicked laugh.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Establishing morning scene over Gotham City)

Narrator
-Morning dawns over Gotham City – an anxious city, increasingly overrun by Instant Jungle, now awaiting Shandra’s message.

(Scene of Commissioner Gordon and Chief O’Hara pacing in the Commissioner’s office.)
(Scene of Barbara Gordon in front of TV in her office at the Gotham City Public Library.)
(Scene of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in front of fifty inch, flat-screen, plasma TV at Wayne Manor.)

(Cut to close-up of TV. Shandra’s face appears, smiling warmly.)

Shandra
-To all the people of Gotham City watching and listening, I bid you good morning. I am Shandra, Queen of the Jungle, and I am responsible for all the events of yesterday . . . all of them a mere prelude to what will come this night, when all traces of what is commonly called the civilized world will disappear forever from the face of the Gotham City landscape . . . but this is not an act of wanton destruction, derived from some mad desire to achieve personal wealth and glory. Instead......this is my gift to all of you. A gift that will let you know the true joy of casting aside forever the bonds of slavery each one of you experience in your daily existence as part of the so-called “civilized world.”

(Cut to reaction shots of our heroes watching.....interspersed with a few shots of ordinary people watching at various locations.)

-It is now just past nine in the morning, a time that often marks the beginning of the “work day,” when so many of you, men and women alike, must begin your regimen in what some insightful people term the “rat race” – scurrying about to your jobs through the crowds and congestion; dressed in uncomfortable clothes you’re forced to wear; and then spending the next eight hours toiling at some labor you wish would come to an end as soon as possible . . .

. . . and for what, ultimately? You put in all that work at jobs you hate; dressed in clothes you despise; and run back and forth through noise and traffic while being forced to take breaths of air sullied by pollution and waste – and what do you get out of it? A hope that maybe, somehow, you’ll make enough money to find time to do more pleasurable things when you’re older? but in the meantime, you’re worried about having to pay bills for creature comforts you think will make your life easier and you’re crushed by the weight of debt and responsibility.....and all the while you feel your health deteriorate – because these daily pressures of job and financial obligations are raising your blood pressure; driving you to smoke and drink; and leave you spending next to no time with the people you love most?

(Cut to shot of professional-looking men and women in office listening intently, as well as blue- collar workers on the job.)

-Well, if you think maybe you’ll get lucky through years of hard work and strike it rich and then you’ll be happy.....forget about it! I know that having unlimited wealth and all the material possessions you could ever want doesn’t bring you any happiness at all . . . because I have that kind of wealth. In the identity some of you may know me by, that of Diana Artemis, head of the Artemis Foundation, I have everything. I’m sure I would be the envy of most of you......but I assure you that if you got everything I have, you’d find it wouldn’t make you any happier. You’d have much the same woes you’re experiencing as a struggling member of the rat race – worries about paying taxes, protecting your assets, making more money . . . then there would be petty obligations and you’d still have deteriorating health.

(A wide shot of her standing in her sanctuary, surrounded by the animals)

-There is, though, a better way of life possible . . . where one can know true freedom and happiness . . . and I know what that way of life is, because I have lived it. For the first eighteen years of my life, I knew that happiness in the jungles of Africa, where, left orphaned by the death of my parents, I grew up in a place of endless beauty, untouched by the civilized world. I never had to worry about money or meeting a timetable for a meaningless job. I never had to breathe air tainted by waste and pollution. I only knew.....perfect freedom and harmony.

(Cut to shot of Bruce Wayne watching her on TV, his hand on chin. Then a close-up of TV screen again)

-Unfortunately, I was taken from that way of life when my uncle, the late Reginald Artemis, saw fit to mount an expedition to try and find out what happened to his late brother’s family. I was taken against my will from my home and brought to Gotham City, where I was forced to become part of this “civilized world;” where I was assured I would see all the benefits it would bring me. I was forced to give up my name; forced to wear uncomfortable clothing; and forced to be responsible for great trappings of wealth that held no meaning for me.

Bruce (to Dick)
-She has a very.....powerful way with words.

(We see more shots of people around Gotham City leaning forward, looking at her and listening.)

Shandra
-I tried to find an outlet for myself by transforming part of my penthouse office space into a private lair resembling the home from which I had been taken, but it was.....insufficient. It only offered a temporary refuge from an existence of which I was still forced to be part. That temporary refuge gave my empathy . . . and sympathy . . . for you. You feel the constant pressure of your responsibility. You may think all you need now and then is a little respite, perhaps in the form of a vacation to some exotic place......but vacations always must end, and you then go back to the drudgery and those same obligations all over again.....and, before long, the same problems you needed a vacation from are driving you to desire to getaway anew.

(Close-up of her on TV)

-So, I decided I would use what knowledge I had gained in this civilized world, through advanced degrees in biology and chemistry.....to see if it were possible to bring the life I knew in Africa.....here to Gotham City. To let it be something – not just for me to enjoy – but all of you, too. That is what led to my creation of Instant Jungle, the results of which you have seen implemented in small dosages yesterday.

(She picks up the attache case.)

-In here, I have the most heavily-concentrated form of Instant Jungle I have created . . . so powerful that, when activated, it will complete my task of transforming all of Gotham City into an endless jungle of wondrous beauty . . . and activate it, I shall, this evening. There is nothing that can be done to dissuade me from this course of action. I can not be dissuaded with wealth I do not need or want; or by promises of power in the civilized world I do not desire; or with appeals to how what I do would be ethically wrong . . . because after what I have said, I think most of you would agree the only ethical wrong we face is the continued existence of mankind in a place that destroys him utterly. Gotham City is such a place, a place that destroys each and every one of you.

(She sets the attache case down and leans forward, giving the impression of speaking from the heart.)

-I offer you a way out of the madness . . . a chance to cast aside the worthless, meaningless, daily grind you – whether rich, middle-class or poor – go through and a chance to find total freedom in a place where you can run; breathe; be at one with Nature; and spend the time with those you love you never thought possible . . . a place free of industrial pollution, free of crime, free of greed, free of poverty, and, yes, even free of hunger . . . because if any of you “in the know” have bothered to analyze the samples of Instant Jungle I’ve created, you’ll find it has one key difference from the foliage of Africa it duplicates. For that, I will give so-called “civilized” knowledge one piece of due credit. I was able to make Instant Jungle entirely edible!

(Bruce rises from his chair, not having expected to hear that.)

Shandra
-Yes, it’s edible, too! Think of how, in this perfect realm of calm and tranquility, you also never have to worry about what to eat......and, of course, with such an endless bounty of food from a natural resource, you can also, at long last, abandon that barbaric practice of consuming the flesh of living creatures, which I can say with pride, I have never been guilty of doing.

(She leans down and affectionately pets first her leopard and then, on the other side, the panther and, finally, a lion before looking back into the camera.)

-All of these beasts, as the civilized world calls them, are really quite friendly and tame, when you treat them with dignity and respect. Growing up in Africa, I learned at a very young age how to do so and that is why I can now literally control the animals to do my bidding, whenever I please. That power I possess.....can be yours as well, once you learn to give yourself over to the pleasures of mastering jungle life. For you see, I have no ambition to rule over any of you as a dictator. The jungle that shall spring forth this night will be vast enough to allow all of you to live freely in Paradise......and, in time, allow you all to learn to be a king or queen of your particular domain.

(Cut to more reaction shots of ordinary Gothamites, some of whom are nodding vigorously)

-Also, in case you are wondering, my Instant Jungle is not only resistant to the cold, but will, during late Fall and Winter, raise the ambient temperature significantly. I estimate that even on most chilly of days, the low should remain in the mid- to high sixties. I think you'll find the change from the harshness of Winter so comfortable, that none of you will ever miss the idea of a White Christmas.
(Pauses)
So, in conclusion......even though nothing can be done to prevent the end of Gotham City tonight.......should that matter to you? I’ve told you the absolute truth about what you go through now, and what you will be able to experience later. With that knowledge, you can eagerly count down the hours to when you new life becomes a reality this night.....and not think once of suggesting this should somehow be stopped.

(Final close-up shot of her on TV)

-I bid you all goodbye, for now.....and I look forward to seeing all of your happy faces tomorrow when you wake up in a better world.

(Screen goes black. Bruce turns off set with remote control.)

Dick
-She’s crazy!

Bruce
-No question, Dick. She is a very.....troubled soul, and also naive in so many ways. She talks of there being enough land in an endless jungle for everyone to be the king and queen of their own domain, but......inevitably greed would rear its ugly head for control of plots of jungle as it does in our world for plots of land. The vision she describes......it’s a beautiful sounding dream, but one that can’t ever become a reality even under imposed conditions . . . especially not under the conditions she wants to impose.

Dick
-That’s barely scratching the surface! I don’t want to live in a world without modern conveniences! No electrical power, no rock and roll concerts, no hot dogs and burgers? Talk about boring!

Bruce (smiling)
-With that Dick, you prove how, in her world, the problem of rebellious youth would only be greater than ever. We must indeed stop her, by any means necessary, and put an end to her monstrous scheme. To the Batcave!

(They rush out to the study)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Batman and Robin are hunched over the Bat-Analyzer, studying another sample of the Instant Jungle vine from Gotham City Plaza.)

Robin
-What does the Bat-Analyzer say?

Batman
-What I began to suspect the instant she said her Instant Jungle was safe to eat. It is....to a point. If you were to find yourself lost in the jungle, cut off from normal food supplies and dying of starvation without immediate sustenance, then, yes.....eating this would give you some much needed relief . . . but, if one were to eat this on a sustained basis for an indefinite period......there are clear indications side-effects of major consequences would ensue. Projecting the Bat-Analyzer’s computations further, we find that to eat this supposedly pure, natural food for as long as say.....three weeks, would in fact raise concentrations of chemicals in the body that would result in dangerously high blood pressure. Stroke or heart failure would soon follow!

Robin
-So in other words, you eat enough of that stuff and you’re worse off than if you breathed city air and smoked heavily!

Batman
-Precisely, Robin. In trying to do the right thing, Shandra only succeeds in offering a trade-off of one problem for another. That is the tragic flaw common to so many Utopian schemes.

Robin
-Would telling her all this be enough to convince her to abandon her scheme?

Batman
-It’s a possibility to consider, Robin, but not one upon which we should pin our hopes. We must first find a way to infiltrate her sanctuary in Gotham Park Zoo and get that attache case she carries with her mega-dose solution away from her. Once it’s secure.....perhaps then, an appeal to her good side can achieve results.

Robin
-You really think she has a good side, Batman?

Batman
-Yes, Robin, I really do. A good side corrupted by mad, unrealistic dreams, but.....one that does exist in a way it does not within any other foe we’ve battled. That can perhaps be the key to our defeating her ultimately. Now hurry, to the Batmobile and Gotham Park Zoo!

(They run to the Batmobile and climb in. Stock footage of the, “Atomic batteries to power....turbines to speed,” dialogue follows as the Batmobile exits and goes past the “GOTHAM CITY 14 MILES” sign.)

(Commercial)

Act Two

(Establishing shot of Batmobile approaching Gotham City, followed by shot of Batman on phone)

Batman
-I see, Commissioner. Thank you, we’ll take that into consideration.
(hangs up)
Shandra’s broadcast made considerable impact. There are reports of Gothamites all over the city, men and women, leaving their jobs and of children leaving school, all throwing off their clothing and converging on Gotham Park.

Robin
-Holy Nudist Colony!

Batman
-Not....quite, Robin. They actually seem content to show up in their swimming attire or something equally.....suitable. Shandra appears to feel minimal standards of modesty remain appropriate, even in the world she hopes to create.

(Close-up of Robin smiling goofily)

Robin
-I’ve got to be honest, Batman. That’s maybe the one part of her vision with which I wouldn’t have.....too much of a problem.

(Batman glances over with a wry smile.)

Batman
-Spoken like the honest, red-blooded, American youth you are, old chum . . . but.....never forget the image you are supposed to always project for those who look up to you.

Robin (nods)
-Gosh, Batman, you’re right! I’ll always make sure I never slip up when it comes to that!

Narrator
-And as Batman and Robin approach Gotham Park Zoo, so, too, from the opposite direction, is Batgirl on the Batgirlcycle!

(Close shot of Batgirl riding Batgirlcycle through Gotham City streets)

(Cut to Gotham Park Zoo, the jungle more intense than ever. Now, there are more than two dozen visible people wearing cut-off shorts, swimsuits or underwear, standing before the rock mounds atop which Shandra stands proudly.)

Narrator
-But right now, Shandra is fast assembling a new army of her own to meet any potential challenge from the Caped Crusaders!

Shandra
-I welcome you all, who heard my broadcast and heeded the wisdom of my words! All of you, who have chosen to cast aside the shackles of slavery the civilized world has bound to you, and to wait with me for the arrival of a new vision . . . a new way of life!

Crowd (in unison)
-Yes! Yes!

Brad (a man absolutely smitten with Shandra)
-What do we want?

Crowd
-Freedom!

Brad
-When do we want it?

Crowd
-Now! NOW!

(Shandra smiles and holds out her hand to indicate silence.)

Shandra
-It will come soon. In a matter of mere hours . . . but.....these final hours will see the last desperate stand of the forces of civilization against us. In these final hours, you must defend your right to the new world with all your strength. Are you willing?

Crowd
-YES!! YES!!! YES!!!!

Shandra
-Then stand by this plateau, and let no one who has not come in willful submission to the ways of the jungle be allowed to pass!!

Brad
-We’ll defend you, Shandra!

First Woman
-I won’t let my chance to live and be free be ruined by the police!

Second Man
-Or by Batman!!

Second Woman(in her mid-30s, looking like she’s just let her hair down for the first time)
-Or by that Batgirl, either!!

Crowd
-YES! YES!!

(Shandra laughs triumphantly as she sees this willful obedience. It fills her with a great sense of pride that her vision and dreams appeal to the minds and hearts of so many.)

Shandra
-I must attend to an important matter that will allow the final triumph to be complete. For now....enjoy the bountiful results that surround you, and welcome all new arrivals in peace and harmony . . . but be on your guard against the enemy.

(The people start to happily frolic, enjoying each other’s company and the things to do in the jungle, as Shandra slips back further into the Gotham Park Zoo complex. It is time for her to begin preparations for implementing her endgame......the total destruction of Gotham City.)

(Camera follows Shandra into a small, metallic structure overgrown with vines and foliage, but still intact. When she enters, we see it’s a public locker room for the zoo. She takes a key off the top and opens a locker in which she’s kept the attache case hidden the last few hours.....and she also takes out a hanger containing a set of clothes from her penthouse office she had brought down days before in preparation for this moment.)

Shandra (eyeing the garment bag with disdain)
-Appropriate that the last time I’ll ever wear the clothes of civilization, will be the moment I destroy it!

(She unzips the bag and takes out a stylish “mod” outfit she thinks will work better for her purpose than the typical high-class, elegant outfits Diana Artemis usually wore.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(In front of overgrown sign that still reads, “GOTHAM PARK ZOO ENTRANCE,” Batman and Robin are joined by Batgirl, who emerges from the left.)

Batman
-It’s good you could join us, Batgirl. Your help should prove invaluable, as always.

Batgirl
-Thank you, Batman. I could see just how much of an effect Shandra’s message is having on the people. Five people told me they looked forward to it happening and another said he was quitting and burning all his clothes because he always hated his job!
(Shakes her head)
We have to stop her!

Batman
-Indeed. We must.....proceed with caution, and above all, get to Shandra herself. She has the case that contains the means of Gotham City’s destruction. It stands to reason she will try to slip out of Gotham Park undetected to set it off.

Robin
-How do you figure that, Batman?

Batman
-Quite simple, Robin. She’s had that attache case with her all this time. It would have been all too easy for her to just activate it from her position of safety inside the Park Zoo, but....she’s already gone to the trouble of transforming this region with a smaller amount of solution. As a result, even her most heavy concentration of Instant Jungle may not achieve her desired result of destroying all of Gotham City – if it is used in these environs. Instead....she’ll be more apt to slip out and set it someplace within the city itself, which has yet to be affected by her mad ecological transformations!

Robin
-If she appears in the city “dressed” the way she is now, she’ll be spotted in an instant!

Batgirl (nods)
-Yes.....suppose, though, she doesn’t try to slip out as Shandra?

Robin
-Holy Role Reversal! You mean, she’ll try to leave the park dressed like Diana Artemis, for whom the police aren’t looking!?

Batman
-Excellent! Excellent! Precisely where my own train of thought was leading. We must get through her line of defense and corner her where she’d be apt to make her change in appearance!

Batgirl
-There’s a public locker room in Gotham Park Zoo. That would seem to be the ideal place.

Batman
-Then, let’s proceed!

(They begin to thrash their way through the jungle. The camera follows them making their way through, brushing the foliage way.....and at one point, Robin has to brush away an exotic jungle bird that lands on his shoulder, while Batman must toss aside a small, non-lethal, snake that crawls over his boot.)

(When they emerge on the other side, they see a crowd of now some thirty people, about twenty men and ten women of different races and ethnic groups, in cut-off shorts, swimsuits and underwear. Fortunately for our viewers, this group is made up of shapely, well-built people. The revelers immediately stop playing and having fun when the three costumed crimefighters are noticed.)

Brad
-Well, well, if it isn’t the Caped Crusaders! Gonna join the fun?

First Woman (smiling)
-I used to think you three had it made, running around in public in those tights, but now, all of a sudden, you look so conservative. Strip down and let yourselves go!

Batman (extends arms to get everyone’s attention)
-Citizens, listen! You’ve let yourselves be seduced by Shandra’s totally unrealistic vision of how to live your lives. For the sake of Gotham City, and for the sake of all that is noble, you must let us through so we can stop her!

(The crowd lets out derisive hoots and hollers.)

Second Man
-Awww.....you hear that? Batman says we should stop her and let things stay the way they are. I guess that means you think I should go back to that crummy job I had pumping gas? Not me!

Third Man (slightly older and balding)
-And I wouldn’t even think of going back to public relations!

Second Woman
-You think I enjoy teaching a boatload of bratty school kids and going home to a run-down apartment on the lower east side the landlord charges an arm and a leg for?

Batman
-Citizens, I understand how the lives you’ve led can, at times, seem dreary and unfulfilling.....but think of all the benefits you take for granted that will be lost forever to you, if you let Shandra get away with her scheme!

Robin (whispers)
-Batman, this isn’t going to work!

(Batman ignores him and proceeds, but he’s also motioning his left hand toward Batgirl, who nods, and slowly slips back into the foliage, out of sight from the crowd. She veers off to her left toward what she is reasonably sure will allow her to bypass the crowd and get on the other side of Gotham Park Zoo, in close proximity to the public locker area.)

Batman
-Citizens! For the last time, I appeal to you!

Brad
-Ah, shaddup!
(Looks at the rest of the crowd)
Think we should teach them a lesson?

Crowd
-YES!

Second Man
-Let’s get ‘em!

(As the mob charges toward the Dynamic Duo, Batman leans over and manages to get in one last word to Robin.)

Batman
-Try not to be too rough on these misguided souls, Robin.

Robin
-I won’t!

(They meet the onslaught by immediately shoving the lead three men back. The Nelson Riddle fight music of Season One and Two breaks out as the fight begins in earnest.)

(For the next two minutes, Batman and Robin fight off the men who charge at them, and requisite POW, K’POW, OOOF! and BAM symbols fill the screen as most of the uncoordinated amateurs of Shandra’s colony can barely stand up to one punch from Batman or Robin. For the most part, they end up tripping back over the rocks and vines, knocking themselves out after receiving a single blow. The ten women mostly cower away at first, but soon are themselves charging at Batman and Robin from both directions. To defuse the threat they pose, and to also maintain his sense of propriety, Batman grabs a loose vine, and uses it lariat style to ensnare the five women charging him, effectively immobilizing them. Robin does likewise to the rest.)

Robin
-That takes care of them! Now we’ve got to find Shandra!

Batman (raises arm to stop him where he is)
-That will be more risky. Shandra has her animal friends that we must consider. I’d prefer you get back to the Batmobile and radio Commissioner Gordon for reinforcements to keep any new volunteers for Shandra’s army from getting here, and to also get some animal trainers to see if they can round up any of the beasts that might have made their way out of Gotham Park! I’ll proceed and see if Batgirl’s been able to locate Shandra.

Robin
-Good luck, Batman!

(Cut to Batgirl, making her way through ever-thickening foliage she knows she must get through in order to reach the locker room area. As a branch cracks, she then hears the unmistakable sound of a lion roaring. Looking around, she sees it darting through the trees. Fortunately for her, it seems to take no notice of the masked woman and moves on. Feeling relieved, she takes another step, but then hears the unmistakable hiss of a snake at her feet. Reacting quickly, she grabs it by the tail and slams it hard against the base of a thick tree, causing a BAM graphic to flash on the screen.)

Batgirl
-I really, really hate snakes!

(She finally comes to a small clearing, where she sees the rear side of the public locker room building, more encrusted by the growth of vines than the last time we saw it. She makes her way toward the structure.)

(Cut to the inside of the locker room, where Shandra has finished donning the mod outfit, which she tugs at slightly as she makes sure it’s all in place. Her distaste at having to wear it, though, is obvious.)

Shandra
-Prison uniform

Batgirl
-That comes later for you, Shandra!

(She looks up and sees Batgirl standing in the entrance of the building.)

Shandra (smiles with sarcasm)
-Well, well. So, you made your way through.

Batgirl (hands on hips, growing more confidant)
-You present a number of formidable obstacles.....but like those of all master criminals, they can be overcome by the force of justice!

Shandra (rolls her eyes)
-You are one deluded person if you think you’re going to beat me in a fight, Batgirl. You may have gotten a good physical training program from the local Gotham City chapter of the YWCA, but I, on the other hand,
(she steps in front of Batgirl, poised at the ready like a warrior about to commence battle)
developed my physical prowess in the jungle of Africa, where I learned to conquer and tame the most powerful of wild beasts that lurk within it. How else do you think I came to master such control over them?

Batgirl (steps toward Shandra)
-Your tone reeks of the overconfidence for which master criminals are also noted!

Shandra
-Oh, I’m not being overconfident just because I’m not letting out a yell for all my animal friends to come to my rescue, Batgirl. I’d only do that if I ever felt genuinely threatened, and believe me, you are not a genuine threat at all.

Batgirl (takes another step toward her)
-We’ll see about that!

(Shandra lets out a disdainful sigh of boredom as she moves toward Batgirl. When they are inches apart, they grab hold of each other’s arms, and struggle for the next thirty seconds. Each of them grunts with rising intensity as they remain locked in the struggle.......a mixture of close-ups of their faces shows determination to be the one that prevails.
Shandra has about two inches on Batgirl, as the heels of her shoes are about as high as those of Batgirl’s boots. Using her slight height advantage, she is able to push Batgirl backwards just a bit.
Close up of a vine on the locker room floor
Batgirl’s left heel steps on the vine, causing her to loose her balance. Shandra takes advantage and hurls Batgirl against the lockers, causing her to crash to the ground, dazed, struggling to avoid collapsing into total unconsciousness.)

Shandra (breathing heavily as she retrieves her attache case)
-Not bad.....not bad, Batgirl.....for a total amateur. You’re the kind of person who could really benefit from a new life in the jungle. You’d probably only need a year or so and then you’d be able to take me . . .
(Shakes her head)
. . . but for now, you’re too tainted with contamination of civilization to stop me.

(With a flourish, she walks out.)

(Batgirl finally can’t hold on any longer and collapses to the ground, unconscious.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote passage of time)~

(Batman bursts into the locker room, sees Batgirl lying on the floor and rushes over to her.)

Batman
-Batgirl? Batgirl, are you all right? (Leans down and helps her to a sitting position, lightly slapping her on the cheek.)

Batgirl (dazed)
-Oh.....oh, Batman! I’m sorry, she....she was too much to handle. Her strength is.....greater than that of any woman I’ve ever seen.

Batman
-Quite understandable, Batgirl. She may have even proved too much for Robin or me, so there is no need to reproach yourself.
(He helps her to her feet.)

Batgirl
-How....how long did it take you to get here?

Batman
-It was not easy, getting through the obstacles posed by Shandra’s animal friends. Suffice it to say, I had to take my steps carefully and very slowly to avoid contact with the more dangerous animals lurking within this instant jungle. It’s been more than an hour since you left us.

Batgirl (concern rising)
-That means we’re running out of time! and we don’t have any way of knowing where she’s going to set off her final charge of Instant Jungle!

Batman
-True. I do.....have a theory, though, that may be worth putting to the test . . . but....it is a theory I need to test by myself, as you and Robin, as well as the police, cannot be spared from the general manhunt detail of trying to find her, which requires covering all of Gotham City.
(Pauses)
How is she dressed?

Batgirl
-Oh! Well, not entirely the way Diana Artemis normally did. She was wearing something more trendy, more.....mod.

Batman (nods)
-I’ll remember that. Make your way back the way you came, since it’s clearly less infiltrated by untamed wildlife! Then rendezvous with Robin back at the Batmobile. I must investigate on my own!
(Dashes out)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

(Through the streets of Gotham City, Shandra walks with a nonplused confident swagger in her steps. She finally stops and from her POV we see the Artemis Foundation Building. She walks toward it and enters. The lobby is totally empty as she makes her way over to the elevator.

When it opens, she steps back in surprise as she sees her secretary, Ms. Burroughs, standing inside. It is at this point the audience sees that the part is played by Irish McCalla, who was “Sheena” in the 1950s TV series.)

Shandra
-Ms. Burroughs!

Ms. Burroughs (bows slightly)
-Ms. Artemis. I was just....leaving for the last time, since I now understand what it is you have planned.

Shandra
-You’ve.....been a very valued employee, Ms. Burroughs. I thank you for your years of service.

Ms. Burroughs
-I....always suspected your heart was never in the work of the Foundation.

Shandra (smiles and shrugs)
-Well....you can take the girl out of the jungle, but you can never take the jungle out of the girl.

Ms. Burroughs
-I understand. For some reason......I can relate to that myself. I’ve always felt like......I belonged in the kind of place you grew up.
(Smiles)
Maybe after tonight, I’ll get to see if my feeling was right.

Shandra (smile now a bit bigger) -Maybe. I think you’ll.....feel right at home.

(Ms. Burroughs walks away and Shandra steps into the elevator, taking a deep breath as she waits for it to rise to the top and her penthouse office.
When the elevator doors open, she steps out into her office, proceeds to the desk and activates the switch that opens the door to her lair. She walks down the passageway, sets her attache case down, and lets out a softer version of her jungle cry. Slowly, several of the animals she keeps inside her lair emerge: first the leopard, then the python. She kneels down to pet the furry animal, and then lovingly drapes the reptile about her shoulders as she’s done so many times.)

Batman
-My hunch was correct.

(Shandra turns around with a start and sees Batman standing in the entryway leading back to her office.)

Batman
-The Artemis Foundation Building was the obvious place for you to set off your final weapon, given your hatred for what it represents . . . but before you did, you had to make arrangements for the safety of your pets inside your private lair. If they remained here on the penthouse floor, they would all have been killed by the building collapsing once
(he gestures at the attache case)
you set that off.

(Shandra hurriedly picks up the case and glares at him.)

Shandra
-Well done, Batman. I now understand why you’ve always said in the press that you consider yourself a detective, rather than a superhero. That was a brilliant bit of deduction.

Batman
-Thank you.
(Pauses)
Your scheme is over, Shandra.

Shandra (coldly)
-No, it isn’t. I can still set this off and have plenty of time to escape before the building is destroyed.

Batman
-Perhaps, but you would fail to save these friends of yours for which you feel such affinity.

Shandra
-My conscience can live with that. I’m not averse to seeing animals die if they must and I’ve even had to kill my share of them. Never for food, but if survival dictates it, it becomes a necessity.
(Shakes her head)
My plan for mankind outweighs any lesser personal considerations, even for those in this sanctuary of mine.

Batman
-Your plan for mankind, cannot work, Shandra. It is flawed, like all visions of providing a quick and easy fix to man’s problems usually are . . . and because of those flaws....you threaten the lives of the very people you wish to save.

Shandra (shakes her head more vigorously as she opens the left side lock of the attache case)
-Oh no. Not this plan. For five years, ever since my uncle died, it’s been meticulously plotted out to the last detail, all by myself. Samples of Instant Jungle, developed by me in total secrecy, without the input of a single scientist or staff worker, were all carefully tested and used only when I knew the formula would achieve maximum results with no side-effects whatsoever. The foliage has no poisonous growth, no harmful thorns.....it’s totally beneficial to human life – in addition to being beautiful!

Batman
-When you decided to make it edible, though.....that’s where you failed. I have subjected your Instant Jungle to the Bat-Analyzer in the Batcave. While the vine can be eaten in limited quantities, to make it a primary food source raises the blood pressure to such a point it causes more harmful effects than produced by the elements of the civilized world you hate so much.

Shandra
-You’re lying!

Batman
-It isn’t my nature to lie, Shandra . . . especially to someone whose intelligence I respect immensely.

(For the first time, there is the tiniest crack in her proud facade.)

Shandra
-If there is a flaw, it can be overcome! It will be easier to overcome while living in Paradise than in Civilization!

Batman (takes a cautious step toward her)
-That brings us back to the other, more serious problem with your masterplan, Shandra. The fact you seek to compel this way of life upon all the people of Gotham City, whether they want it or not. While it’s true your eloquent way with words has attracted some supporters to your sanctuary in Gotham Park Zoo......there are many others who want no part of it.

Shandra
-They’ll learn to appreciate it! They must! No other way of life is better than mine!

Batman
-To you, it’s a better way of life, because you’ve come to that conclusion of your own free will.....the very free will you seek to deny others, which in the end is as harmful to them as threatening their lives.
(Pauses)
Some of us do indeed yearn for the simpler, primitive life as a means of escape from today’s pressures......but many of us also prefer to appreciate what civilization has to offer, in spite of its flaws, and to concentrate instead on fixing those flaws, without destroying all of civilization.

Shandra
-I tried to play that game! That’s why I tried to use the Artemis Foundation to promote causes that would increase the natural landscapes of Gotham City and Gotham State, but it didn’t work! I saw every opportunity thwarted by greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, or indifferent lackeys to civilization . . . like Bruce Wayne! Only when I saw how beyond hope the civilized world was, did it finally become necessary to implement this final solution!

Batman
-You had other options available to you, Shandra. You resented the fact your uncle took you away from your home in Africa, so upon his death, you could have exercised your free will and returned.

(She rolls her eyes in disgust.)

Shandra
-Don’t you think I considered that? I used to believe I could do that, once he was dead and couldn’t control my life any longer, but I soon discovered I couldn’t! Once I was the sole power of the Artemis Foundation and all its vast wealth I never wanted, I found I’d inherited all the responsibilities of managing that power . . . answering to stockholders and a Board of Directors with so much of their own money tied up in this Foundation, and who needed me to exercise a constant controlling hand on it. If I’d packed up and gone back to Africa, then some member of the Foundation would have sponsored the next expedition to track me down and find me and bring me back again against my will. They wouldn’t have stopped doing it until they succeeded.
(Shakes her head)
That’s when I knew I was permanently trapped in this pollution-infested, crime-ridden, godforsaken rat race of an existence for the rest of my life. I tried to accept it. God knows, I tried. I played the part of Diana Artemis, the educated chic sophisticate of Gotham City society, and tried to develop some kind of appreciation for certain things in this world, but after every day, I only wanted to escape to my lair in this room for as long as I could . . . but those respites were never enough. They never could be enough.
(Her eyes wander.)
When you’ve grown up in a place where the jungle before you is endless, how could a space the size of one floor of a modern skyscraper ever be enough?

(Batman is silent, feeling she needs to unburden herself, which she clearly has never done to another human being before.)

Shandra
-I knew the civilized world would never permit me to go home to where I belonged. So that’s when I knew I had to develop my plan to destroy the prison I was permanently trapped in and let the world I knew come back to me – to let everyone else see for themselves why it’s better . . . and I won’t be stopped!

(She unlocks the other part of the attache case, and pulls out the large-sized container that holds the Instant Jungle solution.)

Shandra
-I drop this, and my dream is at last reality.

Batman
-An empty, hollow dream that will produce more disappointment than you could ever imagine. In time, those who object to your vision will rise up against those who embrace it. There will be conflict, battle and, ultimately, destruction. You would be the cause of it all.
(Pauses)
You’re an ethical woman, Shandra. You proved it by making sure the activation of Instant Jungle could harm no one . . . and by warning those in Gotham Tower they needed to escape. You’ve always been concerned with insuring no innocent life be harmed......and right now, you have the power to see to it innocent life is not harmed . . . but only if you put that away and give it to me. Set it off.....and the values you hold so dear you learned in that jungle become meaningless.

(Seconds go by, the tension increasing in the air......Finally, with a single tear streaming down her cheek, she places the device back in the attache case and snaps it shut. She slowly drops to the floor and pushes the closed case toward Batman, who picks it up.)

Batman
-Of the many opponents I’ve faced in my years of crimefighting, Shandra, you are truly unique.

(She avoids looking at him. Instead, she idly pets the python still draped about her shoulders.)

Shandra (a tone of sullen defeat)
-But like all your opponents, I suppose I'll end up in Gotham State Penitentiary.
(She looks up at him)
Do you consider that ethical, Batman? Do you really think I belong in the same place with the Joker, Catwoman, Riddler and all the other mad criminals you've put away? Or maybe I'm the more disturbed type who should go to Mount Ararat Hospital?

Batman
-That isn’t for me to decide, Shandra. You have broken the law, and must–

Shandra (rises to her feet and interrupts angrily)
-The law, the law, the law. What law? The law of a society I never wanted to be part of? Do you think I’m someone who’ll be a risk to do the same thing again one day, when I know I’ll never have the privacy or resources to make an improved Instant Jungle, or to change all the minds of men who don’t want my vision? I’m already dead, emotionally, Batman. Civilization has broken my spirit completely. I’m no longer a threat to it.
(She pauses)
But if I find I have to spend any length of time in a ten foot cage in the penitentiary.....I swear this, Batman. I will kill myself. I can barely survive in what’s already been a prison to me, but an actual jail cell......never. Someday, somehow, I’d find the means to end my life.

(Batman stares at her for a long minute of contemplation. He can tell she means it.)

Batman
-Suppose I were to make you an offer, Shandra . . . an offer that has but two preconditions?

(She looks at him with clear interest.)

Batman
-First, you will tell me how to remove the Instant Jungle from the infested regions of Gotham City.

(She sighs in disgust and waves her hand in defeat on this point.)

Shandra
-Oh, it’s.....impervious to all forms of cutting devices, but not to fire. Use concentrated bursts of torches and flamethrowers, and it will all turn to ash.

Batman
-Thank you. The second precondition......do you, as a person of obvious moral integrity and principle, promise never to cause any threat to the well-being of any community of the civilized world, regardless of location? and to recognize that all people of the civilized world are free to choose their own destiny?

Shandra
-It’s an easy promise to keep because
(she sighs)
I no longer have the courage to do anything about the civilized world. It’s beaten me.
(Looks him in the eye)
What are you offering me?

Batman
-A chance to go back where you belong, the place from which you never should have been taken, Shandra.

(Her beaten expression instantly transforms to one of incredible disbelief.)

Shandra
-You mean.....let me go back? Back to Africa? But–

Batman
-You’ll be quite safe, because I will tell the authorities that when I confronted you here, and you saw you were beaten, you took your own life. The world will consider Diana Artemis dead. That will be the end of the matter, because they will believe me.
(He pauses)
You let the people of the civilized world live as they wish to live.....and I’ll let you live as you wish to live. A fair trade, would you not agree?

Shandra (trying to come to terms with the idea)
-Yes, yes. YES! Oh, if only I could be home again, that would mean everything to me!
(Stops her emotional outburst from going further)
But....how would you do it?

Batman
-I will smuggle you in the back of the Batmobile to the downtown airport where I keep the Batjet. When we are over your home in Africa, you can parachute. We can do all of this – tonight.
(He pauses)
I mean, though, what I said, Shandra. If ever I receive word from the sources I have that you’re attempting to cause mischief in the communities bordering your jungle home in Africa......I won’t hesitate to come get you.

Shandra (smiling for the first time)
-Batman, once I’m home, civilization will no longer exist for me. The jungle I live in is so vast, and so free of any trace of development, it’s more than enough to make one person think the outside world doesn’t exist.
(She sets her python down and then uneasily looks back.)
What about my.....friends here?

Batman
-Taking them back with you is out of the question, Shandra. I will see to it they are placed in the care of humane organizations that will treat them well.

Shandra (nods in understanding)
-I can....accept that.
(Comes up to him)
Thank you, Batman. I....have never in my life, felt any need of love for any man, but.....were it possible, I wish I could have someone like you to share my life with in the jungle.

Batman (maintaining an even keel)
-I am....flattered by that, Shandra . . . but I belong to my world, as you belong to yours.

Shandra (nods and knows she shouldn’t even bother giving him a mere friendly kiss)
-Of course.

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-Later that night, the Batjet leaves Gotham City, carrying Batman and Shandra. By the next morning, they are to a point high above the vast jungles of Central Africa!

Batman (at the control of the Batjet)
-According to my calculations, we will be over the precise spot of your former home in another three minutes, Shandra.

(Shandra emerges from the back of the jet, dressed in a silver parachute suit, helmet and goggles, her parachute attached to her back, She leans forward to stare out the cockpit window.)

Shandra (the anticipation is rising in her voice)
-Yes! Yes, I can recognize it even from this high up!
(Looks at Batman)
The Commissioner and Chief O’Hara believed you when you said I was dead?

Batman
-Yes, and on the matter of why your body could not be recovered, I said your suicide involved letting one of your....pets attack you and it left a most.....unpleasant result.

Shandra (laughs)
-The Commissioner and the Chief always struck me as overly trusting.

Batman
-You’d best get ready – two minutes to drop site.

(Shandra rises and goes back to her position in front of the door. She adjusts her helmet and goggles and makes sure her parachute pack is securely fastened. Then she opens the door she will jump out of, which causes the wind to rush in)

Batman
-One minute!

Shandra
-Batman! There’s just one last thing I wanted to tell you!

Batman (above the roar of the rushing wind)
-Yes?

Shandra
-I know who you really are!

Batman (not sure he heard her right)
-What?

Shandra (louder)
-I know who you really are! You’re Bruce Wayne!

(Abruptly he turns around and looks back at her. She is smiling winsomely at him, just like in the lunch meeting they had a mere two days ago.)

Shandra (holding her hand up so she can shout above the deafening din)
-I knew it was you the instant I talked to you on the phone when I called the Commissioner! You see.....I know how to tell the difference between the growl of a leopard from that of a cheetah when I’m walking through the jungle......and when I can do that, it was very easy to recognize the voice I was talking to on the phone as the same voice I heard at lunch just a few hours before!

(Batman is speechless)

Shandra
-But don’t worry, it’ll always be our secret!
(She steps into the open hatchway, grabbing the frame.)
Goodbye, Batman, and thanks for everything!

(She jumps out. Batman watches her free-fall a considerable length, until finally he sees her parachute open and begin its gentle drift toward the lush green expanse of the African jungle rainforest below. He can only shake his head in great admiration for her intellect and integrity.....since, if what she said was true, that meant she even possessed the integrity to not expose his identity at a time when they were still enemies.)

Batman
-Goodbye, Shandra.
(He banks the jet and sets it back on a heading for Gotham City.)

(The camera follows Shandra’s parachute down. As she sees the ground come closer into view, her heart begins to pound with exhilaration. The jungle is just as she remembered it. She can also see the species of animal she hasn’t seen in many years, that she was unable to keep in her inadequate lair. Giraffes roaming the adjacent land to the rainforest. Elephants. Hippopotamuses. All of them, creatures she had long ago come to love and appreciate like all the others.)

(Her parachute lands at the very point where the rainforest borders the open ranges. She wastes no time unhitching her harness, and then, with a rising level of excitement, she tosses away her helmet and goggles and is soon unzipping her jumpsuit as fast as she can.)

(It only takes her seconds to be free and stripped down to her comfortable jungle bikini as she enters the rainforest. This time, though, she feels the inner peace of knowing she has truly shed the “prison uniforms,” as she calls them, for the last time.)

Shandra (closing her eyes and smiling in rapturous delight as she grabs hold of a vine)
-Ahhhhhhhhh.....! Home again! Forever!

(Before she begins to swing, she stops and takes one last glance skyward, where she can see the contrails of the Batjet receding in the distance. She gives Batman one last silent farewell of thanks, before she takes to the trees and moves on with the rest of her life, her years in the civilized world to be remembered only as a bad nightmare from which she's now awakened. The final shot shows Shandra swinging through the trees, as she lets out her jungle cry in a loud signal of homecoming.)

Epilogue

(Establishing shot of Wayne Manor. Bruce and Dick are watching TV, as Alfred serves them a tray of tea and cakes.)

Newscaster
-Final cleanup of the Instant Jungles around Gotham City was completed today by elite units of the Gotham City Police, using blowtorches and flamethrowers. Mayor Linseed took the occasion to announce that full restoration of the destroyed sites would take place.

Mayor Linseed
-On those sites, a new Gotham City Plaza and a new Gotham City Tower will emerge as proud symbols of the resiliency of our fair city from the evil plans of criminal masterminds!

Newscaster
-In a related story, the death of Diana Artemis, the person behind the scheme to turn Gotham City into a jungle, left the organization she headed, the Artemis Foundation, in a precarious financial state bordering on total collapse . . . but today, the Artemis Foundation gained an unexpected savior in the form of millionaire Bruce Wayne of the Wayne Foundation.

Bruce (on TV)
-The Artemis Foundation, notwithstanding the madness and recklessness of its late head, is a noble group that has bankrolled numerous worthy causes devoted to the expansion of natural landscapes and parks throughout Gotham City and Gotham State. I believe with the Wayne Foundation’s backing, the Artemis Foundation’s goals of reasonable ecological preservation, which benefit our community as a whole, can be achieved, as we also continue to meet our obligations to build new communities of homes, business and vital services through the reasonable development of land that doesn't need to be set aside.

(Bruce is now seen in close-up)

-The tragedy of Diana Artemis is that her years in Africa sadly blinded her to the benefits modern civilization has brought to mankind, and thus compelled her to adopt an approach to ecological preservation that represented a throwing out of the baby with the bathwater, so to speak. She is, ultimately, someone to be more pitied as a tragic figure - trapped in a world she couldn't understand - then to be remembered as a master criminal, bent on destruction for personal glory.

(Dick turns off the TV.)

Dick
-Do you really think you did the right thing, Bruce?

Bruce
-Taking on the Artemis Foundation as an asset in the Wayne Foundation’s holdings was a relatively easy decision to make, Dick.

Dick
-That’s not what I meant and you know it.

(Bruce looks about the room with a wry smile, sipping his tea.)

Bruce
-What are you trying to ask, then?

Dick (folds his arms)
-Oh come on, Bruce, you know what I mean! There’s too much of what happened after you thwarted Shandra’s scheme that doesn’t add up – not to mention all those hours you were gone before you reported she was dead.

(Bruce continues to smile wryly as he finishes his tea.)

Bruce
-Alfred, do you find it interesting how.....untrusting the younger generation is?

Alfred
-Oh yes, Master Bruce. Why I can even remember when you were but a small tyke.....

(Bruce waggishly holds up a finger to indicate that he not go any further. Alfred smiles and clears away the tea tray.)

(Cut to reaction of Dick smiling with mild frustration as he realizes what he suspects can only be something he keeps to himself.)

~(Spinning Bat symbol to denote scene change)~

Narrator
-Meanwhile, in an out-of-business garden nursery on the outskirts of Gotham City, a beautiful brunette woman is speaking to two companions – a blonde and a young white-haired woman – as they busy themselves re-planting samples of Instant Jungle from temporary pots into large planters inside the greenhouse.)

Veronica Vassar
-Hurry up, girls! We’ve got to get these vines transplanted quickly if they’re going to survive!

Nancy Radcliffe (the blonde)
-Don’t worry, Veronica. They’ll be fine.
(Looks down at the vine in her hand)
Won’t Pamela be surprised when she gets out of prison?

Betsy Barnard (the white-haired girl)
-I’m sure she’ll find these samples most interesting.

(Closing music and fade-out)

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