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#batman #dccomics #raven #zatanna
Published: 2017-01-09 11:45:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 1018; Favourites: 0; Downloads: 0
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Description
A dark hallway of Wayne Manor. A warm light is carelessly thrown out of a faraway room.Dialogue boxes indicate a conversation off panel. We only hear one side.
Bruce dialogue box
“No, I know.. Yeah. It's.. I don't know anyone else. It was different for me and Alfred. Right..”
We move to the kitchen where Alfred and Rachel are sitting at the island eating sandwiches and veggies and watching The Grey Ghost on a small TV. Rachel's backpack draped on the back of her stool. First week of school.
Bruce dialogue box
“I’m not asking you to be a mother. I need help, Zee. Can you talk to her? No, I know you're busy with the tour. Your father hasn't materialized yet? I'm sorry. Listen, he'll turn up, he always does.”
We now see Bruce leaning against the wall at the back of the kitchen with a phone in his hand. Alfred is glancing over. Bruce is out of range but Alfred knows the look of relief in Bruce's face.
Bruce
“One day. You know me, I can have you here and back before anyone can miss you. Sunday? Zee, you're the greatest. I can't wait to see you again.”
Close up of Bruce's head, eyes closed. Close up of Rachel's eyes. Her golden eyes.
Pan out. Girls room. A caption reads “EARLIER THAT DAY”. She's in a stall. Sitting on the toilet with her knees up, crying all four of her eyes out, pressing her special emergency super hero watch that her super hero daddy gave her if she was ever in danger. Bruce's voice comes through
Bruce
“Rachel? Rachel, what's wrong!”
Rachel
“Dad! I don't know.. sob Come get me at school. I'm in the bathroom. I'm at school!”
Bruce is in a fancy car in a fancy suit.
Bruce
“I know, honey, daddy's on his way, okay? Stay there.”
Quick panels of Bruce getting out of his poorly parked sports car, the school gate checker is asking for identification. Bruce throws his hands out and exclaims “I'M BRUCE WAYNE.” like the guy's an idiot. Bruce runs towards the school. Cut to Bruce running down the hall yelling “where's the bathroom?” and a kid with a hall pass points dutifully.
Bruce enters the bathroom and calls out for his daughter and gets a tiny response from the stalls. “Dad..”
Rachel opens the stall. She's beet red and her head is crested with a elegant crown of horns. She's starts transitioning from deep pink to a more normal little girl color. They hug.
Bruce
“Baby, I'm sorry. You're okay. I'm sorry.”
Rachel
“What- wha-” sob
Later..
Rachel is lying belly down on a sofa, with her arm draped over the edge. She's balancing a book on its corner on the floor below.
KNOCK KNOCK
Bruce comes in and sits.
Bruce
“I know you have so many questions. I'm sorry I haven't told you anything about your mother or how you came into my life. And I'm even more sorry that I still can't tell you. All you need to know is we love you. So much, Rachel.”
Rachel
“Will it ever go away?”
Bruce
“No. I won't lie to you. But you will get strong enough to make it easier.. Hey, I have a friend that I think you would really like to meet. She can do some of the things you can do.”
Rachel perks up.
Bruce
“She'll be coming over tomorrow for lunch.”
Rachel
“What if it happens again? What if she gets scared?”
Bruce
“Oh, she's definitely not the scaring type. You'll be fine.”
Exterior shot of the manor at midday? Caption says “Sunday”.
Close up of a manicured lady's finger pushing a doorbell. “Ding dong!”
Alfred opens up.
Alfred
“Miss Zatanna, enchanted to see you.”
Z
“Not yet.”
Alfred raises an eyebrow.
They hug.
Cut to Sunday brunch and tea in the garden. Rachel is doing hand stands and cartwheels for the company.
Bruce is wearing sunglasses? Fun young cool guy?
Bruce
“It started with small things a few years ago.. Things moving around the manor, drapes and furniture changing color. One day all the hedge ways and shrubbery had been expertly shaved into animals and fairytale creatures.”
Z
“Right. Small things. Bruce, it took me years to work out basic matter manipulation. This is just.. Wow.”
Rachel is FLYING around the garden and laughing.
Bruce
“She was born with the red skin, but it hasn't come back until recently. I noticed a change once when she was having a nightmare, but the other day was the first time she has seen it for herself..”
Z
“So, what, you hoped a little girl power would boost her confidence and keep her ivory complexion rouge free?”
Bruce
“I can only give her so much. She needs someone like you to show her that magic isn't a terrible thing. I think that if she can better understand her connection to the supernatural, she will subconsciously keep her humanity in the foreground. I believe her emotional temperature toward her nature is becoming more unbalanced with the time she spends at school with non-magical children.”
Z
“She feels like a weirdo and she hasn't even gotten to junior high. What a brave new world.”
Later in..
Rachel's bedroom. Not overly little girly. Some stuffed animals, but they are arranged on a bench. Instead of kid things, there are PILES of books everywhere.
Rachel and Zatanna are sitting on the floor.
Rachel
“I.. like to read.”
Z
“Most kids your age are still just looking at the pictures.”
Rachel casually floats a foot off the floor, still in a sitting position.
Z
“Right.”
Rachel
“I don't know who you are. Like, why did my dad tell you to come here?”
Z
“Well.. The things you can do.. I can do things like that, too. Not as good as you- but that's not the point. I taught Bruce- your dad.. huh.. I taught him everything I could about magic.”
Rachel
“So you want me to teach you how to do what I do?”
Z
“What. No- Could you? No. Do you know how you do it?”
Rachel
“I just.. I dunno, I just feel like I want something to happen. To change. And it just happens. Sometimes I have dreams about doing things, but.. like, I'm not sleeping. Is that part of doing magic?”
Z
“Not in my experience.. What kinds of things do you do dream about doing?”
Rachel
“I think I'm going to the movies. It feels like when me and dad go to the movies, anyway. Everything is red. I hate red. It's like, so mad or something. All of the other colors can be talked to at least!”
Single panel of Zatanna staring blankly.
Rachel
“There's a guy that I see sometimes.. He's red and mad, too.”
Z
“What is he mad at?”
Rachel
“Me.”
Rachel is crying.
Rachel
“I DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING! Why do I have to be red, too?!”
Zatanna wraps around Rachel as she sobs into her chest.
Z
“Rachel, I'm so sorry..”
Rachel
“He's just there all the time, even when I don't have my eyes closed. Why is he so mad at me?”
Zatanna holds her at arms length so she can look Rachel in the eyes.
Z
“You know your dad would never let anyone hurt you? Your dad is strong..”
Rachel rubs tears away with her sleeve.
Rachel
“I know how strong he is.. Don't tell him. Promise! I read all the books in Alfred's library during the day, but.. I read books from the other library when dad's at work.”
Z
“Other library? Like the one in the city?”
Rachel
“No. The one in the basement. Dad locks it with really big locks that make the floors rumble, but, ya know.. I can do magic, so..”
Z
“What kinds of books are they, Rachel?”
Rachel
“It's weird. Alfred writes them! I remember the way he writes my notes for teacher. I thought they were ideas for movies at first. Do you know he used to be in movies? They're really old. We got him to play one, but he got shy and turned it off, but I know he was really happy.”
Z
“And the books, Rachel?”
Rachel
“Oh yeah. I think they're diaries. They're about dad, but he's like The Grey Ghost. He runs around and beats up bad guys. Alfred even drew pictures of dad in a superhero costume.”
Outside Rachel's room. Alfred is pressed up against the door frame, light illuminating the thin center of his body. His hand across his mouth. Eyes wide.
Bruce
“Really?”
Alfred is startled, then haughty.
Alfred
“I had suspected she had been sneaking about during the night, but had I known..”
Bruce
“No. No, Alfred, she would've caught on eventually. We aren't exactly the average family.”
Alfred
“I certainly could never have expected when your parents hired me.”
Rachel's bedroom door opens and light spills into the hallway leaving Bruce and Alfred looking like canaries stuffed with feathers.
Rachel
“Dad?”
Bruce
“Let's go to the gym!”
Pommel horse, salmon ladder, weight sets, a big tire and a sledgehammer. Anything you want to draw that would make up a Wayne home gym.
I'll probably color it with seventies blues and maroons.
We see Alfred and Bruce sitting on the side, while Z and Rachel train in a panel montage. Rachel lifts weights with her t.k., shoots an arrow from a bow with black smokey ghost hands as well as her own, practices backwards magic with Z by making objects appear and disappear. Bruce even joins in.
Rachel
“Why did Zatanna teach you how to do magic, dad? How come you never use it?”
Bruce
“Remember when I told you about my mom and dad and how they aren't here anymore? Well, I felt really lonely and sad. I went around the world looking for new and exciting things to fill my time until I could be happy again. I learned a lot of new skills before I came back home.”
He looks to Alfred when he says this and they share a warm smile.
“I don't use magic all the time, because I like to work harder towards my successes.”
Zatanna smirks and rolls her eyes.
Rachel
“Do you think I should stop using magic?”
Bruce
“Magic is a natural part of who you are. You get to choose who you want to be, honey.”
Rachel
“Good. 'Cause I really like to fly.”
Splash page! Rachel is flying high in the gym and everyone is looking up. She is beaming.
Close up panel of her eyes swirling into yellow on the following page.
[Thundering disembodied voice]
YOUR LIFE IS MINE
Rachel seizes in the air and surrenders to her demon form.
She falls into a menacing pose in front of the humans with force to break the ground around her. There can be a dbz style aura field if you'd like.
We'll probably have to hand write this demon stuff because it should be in that classic rumbly lettering. Like old Darksied dialogue.
Mysterious voice
“Having fun with your doll, cattle?”
Bruce strikes a hero pose, preparing to advance toward an unseen threat.
Mysterious voice
“I can play, too.”
Rachel launches into the air, creating a bat like black energy field around her.
Z
“DERFLA TCETORP!!”
Alfred is encased in a bubble and is blasted through the roof.
Z
“EDOM ELTTAB”
Go hot bonkers with the design. Make all of your Final Fantasy dreams come true and put Z into a crazy suit of armor. We can come up with a weapon, too.
Bruce
“THAT'S MY DAUGHTER, ZEE.”
Bruce steps in front of Z and the demon strikes and slashes his back with an inky tendril and laughs.
With Bruce on the ground, Z lunges ahead and
Z
“REH DNIB”
Ribbons appear from Z’s hands and wrap around the demon's arm. Z races a circle and ties the demon up and it falls to the floor and writhes.
Bruce gets up. The bundle wriggles at their feet and starts to smoke. The smoke forms into a little girl shape with glowing yellow eyes and smiles and evaporates.
Rachel cuts herself from the bundle of ribbons with a blade if black energy.
Bruce
“Rachel..”
Bruce and Rachel hug tightly, and Zatanna keeps her guard up.
Exterior shot of the mansion.
We see Alfred in the yard, up in a tree, still encased in Zatanna's protection spell.