New Rules

Cut to: LEXCORP
Mercy Graves, the Asian woman seen at the congressional hearing, approaches a basketball court at the LexCorp lobby. Behind her are two senators of that committee, Finch and Barrows – and in the court in front of them is Lex Luthor, the young, long-haired CEO of the company, playing some B-ball.

PLAYER
John, get D!

Lex hits a three pointer, and turns around to find Mercy and the senators.

LEX LUTHOR
Ah! A hoi hoi. I didn't know you were here.

He approaches Barrows, who extends his hand.

SENATOR BARROWS
Man on the marquee.

LEX LUTHOR
[shaking Barrows’ hand] Stop, don't believe it. My father named the company after himself. He was the Lex in front of the Corp. [extending his hand to June] Hi, how are you doing?

Senator Finch shakes Luthor’s hand.

SENATOR FINCH
Oh, really great.

LEX LUTHOR
Really great? Good. Good. Uh. Follow me.

A security door opens, and Luthor, now wearing a labcoat over his t-shirt, guides his visitors into the corridor.

LEX LUTHOR
You know, Dad was born in east Germany. He grew up eating uh... stale crackers. And every other Saturday, he had to march in a parade and waved flowers at tyrants. So, I think it was providence that his son, me, would end up with this.

They are now in a laboratory. The camera focuses on a glovebox, from which emerges a metallic claw holding a small green rock.

LEX LUTHOR (OS)
One of my rebuild Metropolis crews found it. A little souvenir from the Kryptonian World Engine.

Senator Finch is staring at the Kryptonite, while Lex leans over the glovebox.

SENATOR FINCH
What's a rock have to do with Homeland Security?

LEX LUTHOR
Homeland Security? Mmm. No, no, no... ma'am. Planetary Security.

One scientist, Emmet, is heard explaining.

EMMET
The fragment is of a radioactive xenomineral. We suspected it might have bio interactions, so, we took the sample to AMRIID…

He presses a nearby keyboard, the monitor changes to a video of General Zod’s corpse being removed from its plastic cover.

EMMET
Where they keep the remains of the Kryptonian decedent.

Footage of a dentist drill-like device with the Kryptonite being used to slice Zod’s torso.

EMMET
And, when we exposed general Zod to the mineral, this happened.

June is forced to turn her back to see the monitor behind her – footage of black cells splitting up, getting a green glow and dissolving.

EMMET
Profound biodegradation, decaying Kryptonian cells.

Lex starts walking away from the glovebox.

LEX LUTHOR
We concluded the mineral could be weaponized, if a large enough sample was found. And then, among the fishes, a whale!

He points to Emmet, he presses a key, the monitor now shows the Kryptonite featured in a previous scene.

LEX LUTHOR
Ah! Lying at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Emerald City. Beautiful. Now, Rocky is radioactive, but, what he needs from you is an import license.

SENATOR FINCH
And why would we want to weaponize this material?

LEX LUTHOR
As a deterrent. A silver bullet to keep in reserve to use against the Kryptonians. So, the day doesn't come, Madame. When your children are waving daisies at a reviewing stand.

SENATOR BARROWS
Last I looked, the only one of those flying around up here was Superman.

LEX LUTHOR
Ha. Yes, Superman. Yeah, but, there are... there are more of them.

SENATOR FINCH
The meta-human thesis.

LEX LUTHOR
Yes, the meta-human thesis. More likely than not. These exceptional beings live among us. The bases of our myths. Gods among men upon our... our little blue planet here. [he hits a small blue ball on the glovebox] You don't have to use the silver bullet, but, if you forge one... Well, then... We don't have to depend upon the kindness of monsters.

CUT TO: APARTMENT

In front of a wall-wide clipping of Superman and Bruce Wayne-related headlines and news, a man cuts a wire and duct tape and puts them in a pulley. He then pulls from the wall a picture of a family – of which the father is Wallace Keefe, the Wayne Enterprises employee saved by Bruce in Metropolis.

CUT TO: HEROES PARK

Match cut to the wheelchair bound Wallace putting the photograph of his family below a wall listing all the casualties of the Battle of Metropolis. His sad look becomes a scowl as he turns his head – and as the camera pans up, we see that the walls surround a giant statue of Superman. Wallace approaches the extended hand of the monument, takes off his jacket and grabs the thumb and pointer finger to traverse the statue with his hands. A guard notices him…

GUARD
Sir. Get down.

Wallace is now at the stone Superman’s chest.

GUARD
Sir, I said, get down, now!

Wallace throws something at the guard, hitting a person behind him. Another security officer talks on his radio.

COP 2
Can we get some backup here?

Wallace is now shaking a spray paint can…

GUARD
Hey. Hey.

…and starts covering the statue with red graffiti.

GUARD
Don't do it! HEY!

Cut to: DAILY PLANET

Offices of the Daily Planet, Jenny is on the phone.

JENNY
Lois. Crime Lab, on 3.

Lois picks up the phone

LOIS LANE
This is Lane.

Elsewhere on the room, in front of a wall of televisions, two of whom show college football news and one covering the Heroes Park events, head editor Perry White talks to Clark, who is seating nearby.

PERRY WHITE
Kent, you're sports today. I want you to follow up on the football. "Underdog dreams dashed 10 yards between Gotham and glory."

JENNY
Hey. Are you guys watching this?

She presses the remote, unmuting the TV showing the Heroes Park coverage.

REPORTER
Emergency responders quickly created a precautionary perimeter around Heroes Park…

Footage of Wallace being carried away by the cops and put inside a police car.

REPORTER (VO)
…while they brought the man down from this beloved monument. The suspect has been identified as Wallace Vernon Keefe.

WALLACE
I work for Bruce Wayne! I work for Bruce Wayne!

As everyone turns to see the report…

REPORTER (VO)
There'll be arraign on charges of vandalism, resisting arrest - and a felony charge of making terrorist threats that carries up to 40 years in prison.

…now we see clearly that the Superman statue has “FALSE GOD” graffiti in its chest.

PERRY WHITE
Poor son of a bitch.

REPORTER (VO)
Metropolis News 8.

PERRY WHITE
Jenny.

JENNY
Mm?

PERRY WHITE
Headline. "End of love affair with man in the sky, question mark".

JENNY
Okay.

Clark and Lois just stare silently.

Cut to LEXCORP

Senator Barrows and Lex Luthor stand in the LexCorp lobby.

SENATOR BARROWS
There're ways we can help each other.

LEX LUTHOR
Ah. Could you step into my office here?

They seat in a nearby table.

LEX LUTHOR
Yes!

SENATOR BARROWS
What's your wish list?

Lex takes a bowl of Jolly Ranchers.

LEX LUTHOR
Uh. Access to the wreck of the crashed Kryptonian ship.

SENATOR BARROWS
Done.

Cut to: METROPOLIS, EXTERIOR
Aerial shot of the “sarcophagus” covering where the Fortress of Solitude fell. A car approaches it, we see that the military are heavily guarding the facility. The driver of the car, Lex, gives a permit to a sentry. We then see Lex, dressed in a blue suit and carrying a metal briefcase, going through decontamination corridors to approach the Fortress of Solitude, which is surrounded by lights and a scaffolding from which scientists observe it.

Cut to: LEXCORP

Lex taking a Jolly Rancher.

LEX LUTHOR
The complete remains of the dead alien for testing.

SENATOR BARROWS
You want Zod's body?

LEX LUTHOR
Okay.

Cut to CORRIDOR
Two soldiers push a metal security box branded “USAMRIID” behind Mercy Graves. They approach Lex, who stands in front of a security door. Inside the lab, Lex has put Zod’s body in an autopsy table, and is using the Kryptonite shard to cut off one of the general’s fingerprints.

Cut to LEXCORP
Lex is shoving the Jolly Rancher on the senator’s mouth.

LEX LUTHOR
It's cherry.

Cut to UNDERGROUND RING
An underground fight between a White tattooed contestant and a Black one, surrounded by spectators – including Bruce Wayne, who ends up catching the African American as he falls towards the audience after a strong punch.

WOMAN
Show him what you got!

SPECTATOR
Dude, let's go!

Bruce pushes the fighter back, he positions to resume the fight.

CROWD
Make sure to hit his left.
Come on.
Throw a punch, will you?

Close-up on Bruce, and then on who he‘s staring at – another spectator, Anatoli.

CROWD
Let's go! Come on!

The Black guy delivers strong punches to put his opponent to his knees, and then kicks him to knock him out. Boos are heard as the winner nods towards Bruce Wayne, who nods back.

After the fight, Anatoli puts his cellphone on the table as a glass of vodka is filled for him.

ANATOLI
Thank you.

After he drinks, Bruce puts his phone on the table as well before delivering a paper to the bartender, who gives him an angry stare before leaving.

BRUCE WAYNE
The house treats luck like an insult.

ANATOLI
Good luck for one has always gives others misfortune.

Bruce then talks in subtitled Russian.

BRUCE WAYNE
But, eventually, all accounts will be settled.

A surprised Anatoli turns to him.

BRUCE WAYNE
3 nights with a Bolshoi ballerina, the line was all she taught me.

ANATOLI
Not all I'm sure.Good evening.

Anatoli grabs his phone and leaves. Bruce flips his own phone, and its display reads “DEVICE CLONING SUCCESSFUL”.

Cut to DAILY PLANET
Staff meeting, Perry drinks his coffee, and Clark talks.

CLARK KENT
It's like a one man reign of terror. This bat vigilante has been consistently targeting the port and the adjacent projects and tenements. And as far as I can tell the cops are actually helping him.

PERRY WHITE
"Crime wave in Gotham." Other breaking news. "Water, wet." Did you file the football yet?

CLARK KENT
Why aren't we covering this? Poor people don't buy papers?

PERRY WHITE
People don't buy papers, period, Kent.

CLARK KENT
Perry, when you assign a story, you're making a choice about who matters and who's worth it.

PERRY WHITE
Good morning, Smallville. The America conscious died with Robert, Martin and John.

LOIS LANE (OS)
Sorry. Sorry.

Lois enters the room carrying the bullet she took from her notebook inside a plastic bag.

LOIS LANE
No match. My guys in the crime lab, never seen one before.

Perry grabs the plastic bag, looks, and returns it.

PERRY WHITE
It's called a bullet. You shoot people with it.

LOIS LANE
Recovered from the scene of the fire fight in the desert. Not sold anywhere commercially in the world, even black market.

PERRY WHITE
So?

LOIS LANE
So, who gave prototype military rounds to tribe fighters in the Sahara.

PERRY WHITE
The Ask, Lois.

LOIS LANE
Flight to DC tonight, a couple of days there.

PERRY WHITE
Go. Coach. No extra leg room.

LOIS LANE
Economy plus.

PERRY WHITE
Coach!

CUT to LUTHOR MANSION
Senator Finch is led by Mercy Graves inside Lex Luthor’s living room.

LEX LUTHOR
Senator. My dad always said that, Kentucky mash was the secret to health. This was his room. I left it just the way it was. It's silly. The magical thinking of orphan boys.

SENATOR FINCH
I'm blocking the import license for your mineral.

Lex stares silently for a while before approaching the senator.

LEX LUTHOR
The Red Capes are coming! The Red Capes are coming! You and your hearings... [taps fingers on a table] galloping through the streets to warn us. One, if by land. Two, if by air.

Senator Finch grabs his hand, stopping the drumming.

LEX LUTHOR
Mmm.Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? Can I call you June?

SENATOR FINCH
You can call me whatever you like. Take a bucket of piss and call it Granny's Peach Tea. Take a weapon of assassination and call it deterrence. You won't fool a fly or me. I'm not going to drink it.

LEX LUTHOR
Hey, you don't think dad would mind, do you? If I change just... just one thing in this room.

He turns around, shows a painting featuring demons.

LEX LUTHOR
Because, that should be upside down. Now, we know better now, don't we? The devils don't come from hell beneath us. No. No, they come from the sky.

Cut to: WAYNE MANOR

Bruce walks away from a destroyed Wayne Manor and puts flowers in his parents’ mausoleum. A closeup of MARTHA WAYNE 1946 – 1981 is seen. Blood drips from the grave, Bruce presses it with his finger… and a torrent of bats fly out of it, along with a huge bat monster who bites Bruce. A startled Bruce wakes up in his bed.

Cut to BATHROOM
Swanwick is washing his hands, a woman approaches.

SWANWICK
Wrong room, miss.

LOIS LANE
Secretary Swanwick, you haven't been returning my phone calls.

SWANWICK
Miss Lane, if you like an interview, Major Farris is just outside that door.

LOIS LANE
You're treating me like a stranger?

SWANWICK
I'm treating you like a reporter.

LOIS LANE
Alright. Is the US providing experimental military arms to rebels in Africa?

SWANWICK
You know with balls like yours, you belong in here. Who's your source on this? A tin foil hat?

He starts leaving the bathroom...
LOIS LANE
No, not tin, but it's metal.

...only to turn as Lois gives him the bullet

LOIS LANE
Fired in the Superman incident. Experts at the Pentagon can't ID it. We haven't been told the truth.

SWANWICK
Here's the truth. A reporter got greedy for a scoop and went where she shouldn't have. Superman acted like some... rogue combatant to rescue her and people died. Don't invent a conspiracy theory to put back his halo. Or yours.

He walks away, greeting Major Graves on his way out.

Cut to: WAYNE MANOR

Alfred holds a wine bottle.

ALFRED
Oh. I hope the next generation of Waynes won't inherit an empty wine cellar. Not that there's likely to be a next generation...

Bruce approaches, puts a cup in the table.

ALFRED
Thank you, sir.

Alfred then starts taking papers from a sheaf, as Bruce fiddles with a laptop.

BRUCE WAYNE
This is every call made from the Russian's phone. Two mentions of business with the "White Portuguese" and it's continuing transmitting black out data to the personal residence of Alexander Luthor.

ALFRED
You think Lex Luthor is the "White Portuguese"?

BRUCE WAYNE
I can't see that he needs the income from imported arms. Regardless, I'll need to put a 'leech' in his house, and I'm going to need the suit.

ALFRED
The Bat interrogated 6 people and came away with nothing. It was Bruce Wayne that got the information.

BRUCE WAYNE
Well, Bruce Wayne can't break into Lex Luthor's house.

ALFRED
Bruce Wayne won't have to. [hands over an envelope to Bruce] He's been invited.

Bruce sees an invitation for a cocktail at Lex Luthor’s mansion.

At the Batcave, Bruce stares at the Batsuit – and then passes by the Robin suit behind a glass cage, covered in graffiti reading “HA HA HA Joke's on you BATMAN”. He then climbs the stairs back to his house. Outside, Bruce takes an Aston Martin and drives away, passing by the destroyed Wayne Manor along the way.