Batman Beyond: The New Dynamic Duo

Dead Man's Hand

It was a beautiful day out at sea with many boats sailing in the water. A man out on his little boat was relaxing in the sun's heat but was rudely interrupted by a yacht sailing quickly passed. The waves from the yacht splashed the man and overfilled his boat, much to his displeasure. On the yacht were many fancy dressed people enjoying a party. But came to a pause when five figures dressed as playing cards flew above them on playing cards.

The card people swooped down, causing fear in many passengers. A figure dressed as an Ace slammed into a guard before they could fire. Similar to the Ace, a Queen and Jack figure used their cane to blast the rest of the guards overboard. A passenger grabbed a harpoon and aimed it at the King dressed figure. "Mine's bigger than yours," he gestured to the sword the King was holding. The King shrugged, "All the money in the world and not an ounce of refinement."

The king pulled out a playing card and threw it at the man's feet; the card blew up and knocked the man out. Continuing with business, the King addressed the crowd, "Your jewels, your watches, please be so kind as to turn them over to us. And no cheap heroics."

Observing from a distance, Batman and Nightwing watch the yacht uneasily. "Definitely something weird going on over there," Batman commented, using his mask lenses to focus on the yacht's deck. "There's a group of robbers dressed like playing cards," Nightwing added, seeing the figures more clearly.

The vigilantes didn't know the group, but a certain old man did.

"Did you say playing cards?" Bruce asked, clearly knowing who they were. "Uh huh, they travel in your circles?" Batman asked. "Afraid so," Bruce commented quickly.

As much as Nightwing wanted to question more details, they had more pressing matters to deal with. "Well, guess we better go and introduce ourselves," Nightwing said before the duo flew off.

Back on the yacht, a woman held onto her necklace and backed away as a figure dressed card number 10 approached her. "Come on, you'll have another one soon enough. You won't have to settle for it," Ten said as she ripped the necklace off the quivering woman. "Yes, she earns her the more fashion way," a Jack figure said happily.

He was cut off by a batarang slicing his staff in half. Nightwing flew down and right into the Jack figure.

Meanwhile, he passed by and flew up but was stopped by an Ace figure grabbing his throat. The Ace threw Batman into a wall and tried to slam its fists down on the hero, but was kicked by Batman. Ace crashed down to the deck floor, making the rest of the card figures know it was time to leave.

"Time to go, I'd say," the Queen told the King. The King, however, did not agree as he watched the duo land in front of him. "Sorry darling, this is why I came back to Gotham," King said and threw 2 cards at the heroes.

Batman and Nightwing couldn't move fast enough and were encased in a red wrap. The King charged at them sword drawn, making attempts to strike them down. Fortunately, it gave them enough time to rip out of their wraps and punch the king back.

During the confrontation, the Queen made her way to the electrical control panel and used her staff to blast it. "Who's it going to be? My husband or all these passengers?" Queen asked as the ship began to jostle from explosions.

The choice was obvious to the heroes as they rushed to help some passengers that were about to fall overboard. Batman and Nightwing watched as the card gang flew away with their victory. The duo clenched their teeth as they noticed the king giving them a triumphant smile.

"Everything okay down there?" Bruce questioned. Nightwing scoffed angrily, "Fine perfect, other than the fact they got away," she said pissed off. "We need to reconvene. It's time you both know who you're dealing with," Bruce stated. Both Nightwing and Batman sighed at the request, "Be there when we can, we have an appointment to get to," Batman said. The duo turned off their coms before Bruce could protest.