A tiny group of Jokerz were leaving Gotham City on their way to induct Lee, a new gang member. Suddenly, they get buzzed by a technologically advanced flying aircraft that races overhead. The Jokerz kept going despite being startled. Meanwhile, the vehicle's pilots giggled at their antics.

"Haha, the first thing they're gonna do when they get back to Gotham is tell all their friends that the martians are coming," one pilot told his friend. His friend held up 2 fingers, "Second thing: they got to get their pants cleaned," he joked.

They continued laughing until they were contacted by the vehicle's inventor: Dr. Price. "Having fun with the new toy," she teased. "You built us a winner doc, wish I had one of these in the last war," a pilot commented. "I'm sure there'll be another one soon enough, now how about some numbers."

They reported the numbers on the various gauges, but when they read the fuel temp, which was 280 Dr. Price stopped them. "280?" She asked for confirmation. The pilots were put off, "Yeah 280, 2-8-0... that a problem?"

Dr. Price didn't answer right away, "Get out, get out right now!" She ordered. The pilots were confused, "You're saying you want us to just leave it?"Yes, my team will be along for it in 5 minutes," she explained. 

"But -" "Land right now and get as far away from it as you can!"

Meanwhile, the group of Jokerz had taken Lee to an abandoned mineshaft for his initiation. They dressed him in clown makeup and a false nose. Since he was a newcomer to Jokerz, Lee was a little worried about what they'll do with him.

"I'm telling you, Scab, it was a UFO,"
Coe said. "Who cares, we have more important things to do," Scab smiled at Lee. "You know why the Jokerz come out here to our initiations?" Scab asked Lee. Lee shook his head. "So no one can hear you scream," Scab sadistically laughed. 

They shone a flashlight into the mineshaft. At the bottom was a skeleton that was wearing a boutonnière on a purple cloth. But before they could start the initiation, a loud noise was heard. They looked above their heads to see a flying aircraft speeding by. They ran to the cliff's edge and watched how the vehicle landed.

"Oh, it's the UFO," Coe announced. Scab frowned, "Probably Fat-T's crew spying on us, all the other gangs want to know how we do our initiations," he informed. Scab smirked as an idea came to his head. 

As the pilots emerge, Jokerz easily take them out and jump into the vehicle. "Scab..this is a UFO, isn't it?" Coe asked, amazed at the vehicle's insides. Scab flicked Coe's forehead, "The writing's in english, you idiot!"You can read?" Coe asked stupidly. He backed off when Scab sent him a glare. "I-if this isn't a UFO..then what is it?" Coe questioned. Scab fiddled with the joysticks, "I don't know."

He had no clue what the heck this machine was, but it was pretty cool to him. Coe played around pressing random buttons when one button fired off an energy blast. The Jokerz stared in amazement, and they knew they couldn't give up something as powerful as this. "I know what this thing is?" Scab chuckled. "What?" Coe asked, tilting his head. 

"Ours." They took off, unaware of the dangers of doing so.

They flew recklessly in the air, doing loops and spins. "Whoo! You guys are enjoying the ride!" Scab shouted excitedly. Coe and Lee swayed in their positions, their complexions pale. "Hey, could ya tone it down a bit," Coe gagged. He couldn't hold it in anymore and ran to the back of the vehicle to empty his guts.

Scab just laughed but didn't stop his flying ways.

"I'm addressing whoever stole this experimental vehicle," Dr. Price's voice interrupted. Scab leaned into the microphone, "That'd be me," he replied smoothly. "Who are you?" She asked with a touch of anger . "Who are you? You sound hot, are you hot," Scab inquired flirtatiously. Dr. Price was not in the mood for games, "Listen to me, that vehicle's government property, you have to return it now!"

Scab rolled his eyes at the demands, "Typical babes, ain't even met ya, and you're already giving me orders."There's another reason you need to return it." But just before she could tell him why, Scab cut her off. "Blah, blah, blah, blah," Scab mocked, switching the radio frequency to music. 

Scab flew recklessly back to the city, to his Jokerz gang hideout, to be exact. The rest of his crew could only gape seeing the massive vehicle land in front of them. "Party time!" Scab called out. The Jokerz all cheered and climbed into the vehicle.

"Nice ride Scab, where'd ya get it?" The head leader, J-Man questioned aprirctively. "My grades were good, so my folks bought me a car," Scab teased. They both laughed and high-fived. "Let's take it out for a spin!" J-Man announced.

"You got it, who's hungry!"

~8~

"Thank you for the wonderful treat," Eliana smiled at her boyfriend. She held onto his arm as they exited Bee Fee Burgers. "Always, although I wish I could've brought you somewhere fancier," Terry responded sheepishly.  She gripped his arm tighter, "You know I don't care about those things. All I need is you." Eliana was never the type to care about the price tag. She was raised to appreciate everything in life. Her father taught her that.

Then the wind blew fiercely, and Eliana had to practically hang onto Terry, or she'd fly away. The two looked up to see a group of Jokerz flying in a unique vehicle. Knowing they were bound to cause some mischief, probably already doing it, Terry and Eliana had to pursue them. Hitting a special feature on his belt, Terry sent a signal to the batplane. Suiting up, they waited for the plane to come to their location. 

They quickly caught up to Jokerz and got close to their vehicle. "Hey heroes, wanna race!" Scab taunted. And so the chase began, but Batman and Nightwing noticed how the vehicle was way faster than the batplane, which was uncommon.

They got in touch with Bruce, "I think it's some sort of military vehicle, real fast and maneuverable," Terry told him. "So stop them," Bruce responded, uninterested. "Easy for you to say," Eliana scoffed. They tailed the Jokerz all around Gotham, but Jokerz flew so wildly it was hard to keep up. 

Then, at one point, they lost them. The duo scanned their surroundings but couldn't get a read on where the vehicle was. Nightwing distantly heard the sound of something coming. She looked behind to see a bunch of missiles. Before she could warn her partner, the missiles hit the batplane.

They jolted from the impacts and braced themselves as the batplan started going down. Thankfully, Terry managed to make a crash landing on a building. The duo jumped out of the batplane as it went up in flames.

Batman and Nightwing stood strong as Jokerz landed and disembarked, no doubt thinking they could take them down. Nightwing threw a smoke bomb in front of Jokerz and used the cover to start taking them down. The Jokerz were clearly no match for Batman and Nightwing, and they realised that fairly quickly.

Raging with fury, Scab ran back into the vehicle. "It'd be "easy, " huh?" Lee commented. "Shut up!" Scab growled. He flew up and began aiming another weapon at Batman and Nightwing. 

Meanwhile, the vigilantes finished off the Jokerz only to see the vehicle hovering over them. They flew up only to get shot at. They tried to dodge the beams, but a few hit Batman's wings. He crashed into Nightwing, and they both wiped out. With the heroes distracted, the rest of Jokerz climbed into the vehicle.

The heroes recovered but were immediately met with rounds of bullets. Jokerz sent out a missle that exploded right behind Batman and Nightwing. They flew from the impact and struggled to get up.

Just as Jokerz were about to take the final shot, their vehicle was hit by an unidentified missile. Batman and Nightwing watched as Jokerz fled while a new vehicle landed in front of them. When the vehicle's hatch opened, a dark-haired woman dressed in a blue flight suit was shown. "You both alright?" She asked.

"Nothing a few transplants won't cure," Nightwing replied. She was exaggerating, of course, but they did take a nasty beating from Jokerz of all baddies. "Good enough," the woman said curtly. She began to start her engines, clearly intending to leave. 

"Wait a minute, who are you? What's going on?"Batman questioned hastily. Good question, who was their saviour, and how was she tied to the Jokerz. "That's classified," she stated firmly. "Not really a chatty person, are ya?" Nightwing asked rhetorically. The woman just ignored them. "Government stuff, huh? That's what we figured," Batman stated happily, hoping the woman would slip up.

"You both don't know anything," she said tersely and started closing her hatch. "We know who jacked your ride," Nightwing revealed. Eliana smirked in victory as the woman froze her actions.

"Who?" The woman asked eagerly, for once paying attention to them. The duo jumped onto the vehicle to meet the lady head on. "Give us a lift. We want them as badly as you do," Batman negotiated. The woman narrowed her eyes, "No deals," she said stubbornly. "They're Jokerz," Nightwing revealed once more. "Mad men!" the woman hissed in disgust. 

Batman shook his head, "No, kids," he corrected. He was right. Despite being menaces to society, deep down the Jokerz were all just misguided kids. "Which means you're gonna have to think like them. Can you?" Nightwing added.

Judging by the woman's facial reactions, she understood they needed to team up in order to stop Jokerz. It was pride that stood in the way.

Worlessly, the woman pushed a button that opened the vehicle's backseat. "Can we at least know the name of our ally?" Nightwing asked as she got into her seat. "Price, Dr. Price," Dr. Price answered.

With the introductions out of the way, they were off to find some Jokerz.

~8~

The plane ride was awkward, to say the least. Dr. Price evidently wasn't one for friendly conversations. "Nice plane; not better than the Jokerz," Batman broke the silence, looking around the plane's interior. "Thanks, I built it," Price said with pride.

"Then you should've kept a better eye on it," Nightwing remarked. "I ordered the pilots to abort," Price ignored her. "Why?" Batman questioned. "Not your problem," Price shot back.

Nightwing gritted her teeth in frustration. She was tired of Price brushing off their questions. The answers she wants aren't for free. "You want us to help you or not?" Nightwing asked hotly. Whether they worked as a team or not, it was Price's choice. 

"The fuel cell has a design flaw," Price finally disclosed. "Like..." Batman pressed further. "A breach in the vehicle's reactor," Price finished. Gee, was that so hard? "Reactor? As in nuclear?!" Batman's eyes widened. "But that's been illegal for years; it could take out half the city," Nightwing stated.

What was Price thinking? Doctor or not, she shouldn't have created something so dangerous with banned parts. So not only did they have to stop the Jokerz, they had to stop a potential nuclear explosion from happening.. Great!

"Don't you think I know that, but how was I supposed to make something state of the art on the pitiful budet the government gave me! How!" Price defended, raising her voice. She then sighed, "Look, we need to find those thugs and you guys said you could help."I'd start down there," Batman commented, looking down out of the window.

Nightwing and Dr. Price followed his eyeline and froze. Just below them was a part of the city up in flames. Jokerz definitely had a target in mind for their new ride.

Landing the vehicle, Price, Batman, and Nightwing ran out to survey the wreckage. They couldn't spot any bodies, which was a good sign that whoever was attacked escaped. But then a man dressed in white with red "T" painted on his mask climbed out from under some debris before following unconscious.

Nightwing checked for a pulse; thankfully, there was one. Examining the man further, Batman and Nightwing knew why Jokerz had blown this place to bits.

"They're T's, another gang that's been fighting with the Jokerz for years," Batman explained grimly. "That doesn't mean they deserved this," Price pointed out. Nightwing herself gritted her teeth in rage. The T's had been injured with no way of defending themselves from the Jokerz. Price was right. No one deserved such a fate.

"It's all because of me, and it's only gonna get worse," Price stated hardly, blaming herself. The bad thing was that she wasn't wrong; this was just the start. Judging by the fresh fires the Jokerz would still be close by. It was a matter of catching them now.

~8~

Meanwhile, Jokerz were victoriously celebrating their accomplishment, unaware of the deadly reactor with them. "Smoked'em! Whoo hoo!" Coe cheered. "Sure did," J-Man smiled maliciously. But the Jokerz weren't done with their joyride just yet. They had some unfinished business to settle.

"There's a lot of fat butts still to kick J-Man," Scab looked to his leader. J-Man's eyes lit up, "Fat T's headquarters," he exclaimed, raising a thumbs up. Scab nodded vigorously, "He can't stop us anymore, not with this thing!" While the group all cheered, Lee stood quiet. He pushed himself forward to Scab, "All they had were chains and tasers," he said, referring to the T's.

He disliked the idea of hurting those who couldn't even fight back. It wasn't honorable. He tried talking some sense into SCab when they were planning on hurting the T's, but just like last time was dismissed. "Well, they should've been prepared. I guess they were never into boy scouts," Scab laughed.

All of a sudden, the ship jerked, sending the Jokerz tumbling. Scab narrowed his eyes as he recognized the vehicle and immediately followed it. Nightwing braced herself as Price maneuvered their vehicle to avoid the oncoming blasts and missiles. A building was just ahead, and both Batman and Nightwing prayed Price knew what she was doing as she didn't steer them away.

Just as they were about to crash into the building, Price flew their vehicle up. The Jokerz, having trailed them, had to slam on the brakes in order to stop themselves from crashing. Scab grunted as he struggled to stabilize the vehicle. He eventually did and began flying towards Dr. Price.

Meanwhile, Dr. Price was staring dead eyes at the Jokerz as she piloted straight towards them. "What are you doing?" Batman asked hastily. "Stopping them," Price answered determinedly. The game of chicken was on, but who was gonna swerve?

Back in the Jokerz vehicle, Scab wasn't letting up. "You better turn Scab, you better turn!" Coe warned panicky. But Scab wasn't so easily scared, he was going to win, "She wants to play chicken, that's a game I always win."

Seeing as the Jokerz weren't easily tempted, Nightwing became a little anxious. "If we hit them, then the reacto will blow up," she reminded Price. She couldn't understand why Price was taking such a risky move, but the doctor was already prepared.

"No, it's shielded from impact, but right after the crash, you two are gonna have to use this key to deactivate it," Price explained, handing Batman a red microchip key.

Great plan, but there was just one small problem. "Uh hello, I don't think we're gonna be in any condition to -" "Yes, you will."

Before Batman and Nightwing could even think of the implications of Price's sentence, their seats were ejected right out of the vehicle. 

"Umm, Scab, I don't think they're gonna turn." All of Coe's words were lost to Scab as he glared at the vehicle coming near them, sweat pouring down his face. He wouldn't turn. He wouldn't turn. Coe looked between Scab and Dr. Price frantically. "SCAB!!" Coe shouted as he grabbed the vehicles joystick. 

The two vehicles scraped along the other, sending Jokerz to collide with a sign before landing on a rooftop. 

When the heroes finally landed on the ground, they watched as Price's vehicle spun a couple of times before smashing into the ground. The vehicle exploded from the impact, but there was still a chance Price survived. Rushing to the wreckage, Batman spotted Price and pulled her out from the damage. Thankfully, she was conscious, a little roughed up but alive.

"Did you kill the reactor?" She asked, her breathing staggered. Nightwing couldn't help but feel a mix between sad and angry. Sad that Price had been dangerously injured, sacrificing herself, and angry they hadn't even succeeded. "No, they got away," Nightwing told the woman.

Price squeezed her eyes in pain, "You have to stop them."You sure you'll be okay?" Batman asked. "I'll be fine, but it won't matter unless we stop them. Now go!" Price swatted them. Batman slowly lowered the doctor down and made sure she was comfortable. After looking down at Price a final time, the duo both shot out their grappling hooks and made their way to Jokerz.

~8~

Coe stumbled to the vehicle's open hatch, clutching his stomach from motion sickness. But his eyes bulged out when he saw Batman and Nightwing swinging right to him. Coe opened his mouth to warn the others when the vehicle started up again. The sudden movement sent Coe flying out, and he watched his gang leave without him.

He was then hoisted up by the front of his shirt. "Where are they going?" Batman interrogated, getting in Coe's face. Coe masked his fear, "To grandma's for milk and cookies."Don't wanna rat out the Jokerz, huh?" Nightwing tilted her head. Coe scoffed, he ain't no snitch. "Of course, they're my brothers," he answered.

Batman dropped Coe, "Yeah? Well, your bros just ditched you," he informed. Coe had no answer for that. "Looks like you're an only child now," Nightwing patronized.

Coe shut his eyes in defeat, knowing deep down he had no reason to actually protect his so-called "brothers," they certainly had no care for his wellbeing.

"They're going to bust up the T's headquarters at the old subway station. I don't know when, though," Coe revealed. He opened his eyes to see that the vigilantes were gone.

Fortunately for the T's, the heroes did make it to their headquarters before the Jokerz blew it to bits. "Get out. Now," Batman ordered. Seeing as nobody was taking the hint, the duo slid down the subway's escalators. "OUT!" Nigthwing shouted, but again, no one moved.

"Freaks. No one gives orders to Fat-T, nobody!" Fat-T sneered. Picking up a pool cue, Fat-T began swatting at them. Batman grabbed the cue, splitting it, before Nightwing started clobbering Fat-T. With one swift punch, Fat-T went flying into the pool table. Seeing their leader taken down the rest of the T's rushed the duo. Fighting back to back, Batman and Nightwing took down the T's. 

"Get out of here," Batman instructed the defeated T's. "Please," Nightwing pleaded softly. She didn't want anyone else getting hurt or, worse, killed. The T's didn't know it, but the duo were trying to save their lives. Finally heeding their words, the T's fled.

Just in time, too, as barely a second later, the Jokerz crashed right into the headquarters. The Jokerz began open firing, no doubt looking for any T's. As the vehicle shot randomly, Batman tied a cable to the vehicle and anchored the other end around a support beam. Then, Nightwing tossed gas grenades into the cockpit.

The gas caused Scab to freak out and try to fly away, but the cable snapped taught causing the vehicle to crash. The Jokerz fled, knowing they'd be caught if they stayed.

Batman and Nightwing ran over to the destroyed vehicle and stormed inside. The reactor wouldn't remain stable for much longer. Batman rushed to pull out the red key. The duo were so preoccupied with shutting down the reactor that they didn't notice Scab behind them until he slammed a metal bar into their backs.

Before they could move, Scab pulled down a large block of debri that pinned them to the ground. "Better finish this now, heroes," Scab said. "The reactor's overloading. We'll all go!" Nightwing struggled. If only Scab would listen, but he was too driven with power. "Nice try," Scab brushed the warning off. 

Batman turned his attention to the reactor behind them, "Look at it! That key will stop it." The reactor was now flashing dangerously as it was about to go critical. "Can't do it," Scab refused. Nigthwing gaped in disbelief, "Are you out of your mind!?"

Scab laughed as if to prove her point, "I'm not giving this up. For once in my life, I've got some real power." "You never had any with the Jokerz?" Batman questioned. "Don't make me laugh. They were just a crutch."

As the conversation unfolded, a new figure appeared behind Scab.

"So's this ship," Nightwing inserted. "Yeah, but it's a crutch with muscle," Scab rebutted. "And we're telling you, it won't last," Batman forewarned. "Maybe, maybe not, but you both won't be around to care." Scab raised his weapon, intending to strike the fatal blows until he let out a cry and fell to the floor.

Standing behind him was Lee holding a sheet of metal. Without Scab holding them in place, the duo pushed the metal on top of them out of the way. Batman reached for the discarded red key and inserted it in the reactor, shutting it down completely.

Lee took off his fake nose and threw it to the ground in disgust. It was clear to him that he wanted nothing to do with Jokerz. As Lee, Batman, and Nightwing leave, Scab woke up and jumped back into the pilot's chair. Without power, the vehicle didn't respond to his actions, and he broke down screaming in helpless rage. 

He was powerless.

~8~

"Still alive?"

Price looked over from her hospital bed to see Batman and Nightwing. "It’s gonna take more than a little crash to kill me," Price responded back arrogantly to Nightwing. The duo smiled at her resilience, glad their comrade was okay.

"No big explosion, I assume you took care of the reactor," it was more a statement than a question. "Yep, Gotham’s not going boom anytime soon," Batman reassured. 

"It was nice working with you," Nightwing said truthfully. Yes, they did get off to a rocky start, but in the end, they worked past their differences and saved the city.

Shockingly, Price didn’t offer them a sarcastic or cocky comment. "You both as well."

Saluting the doctor one last time, the duo jumped out the window, retiring for the night.