Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor do I own Batman. I just noticed that Kaiba is a lot like Bruce Wayne, and decided to run with this story. So sue me (on second thought please don't)!

I'm only posting the first chapter to see what kind of response this is gonna get. In this story Yami and Yugi don't even know each other. Oh, and there's slight SetoxYugi in later chapters.

Tell me what you think. 3

Night.

The sound of rapid footsteps on pavement.

A man runs down a dark and twisting city street. His breathing is labored and his eyes are wide with panic.

There is something very wrong about this street.

At first, its two sides are mirror images of each other, building for building, lamp post for lamp post, a yawning doorway on one side matched by an open door on the other. But one side is a distorted image, a glimpse in a fun house mirror. Everything that is clean and normal on the right side is twisted and damaged on the left. Windows are cracked, streetlights shattered, refuse litters the sidewalks. Gleaming metal and freshly painted wood on the right are tarnished and peeling on the left.

The man with the frightened eyes reaches the end of the divided street and stops, his breath coming in deep gasps. He looks around, his eyes searching the shadows. Then a voice comes, deep and rasping, from the darkness.

"Ryoooou. Ryou Bakura…"

"No!" the man cries. He bolts around a corner and starts running again. "Keep away - leave me alone!" The two halves of the street are beginning to shift and melt as he pounds down the pavement between them. He rubs his knuckles against his eyes, staggering now rather than running as the distorted images merge into one another. The whole scene grows murky, receding into a swirling limbo just outside of his reach. He staggers on.

"Where ya goin', Ryou?" asks the voice from the darkness. Ryou looks behind him in terror. Nothing. He turns back just in time to skid to a halt at the edge of a vast abyss yawning suddenly at his feet. Faint orange light flickers from somewhere far below. "You can't get away from me," the voice rasps.

Ryou turns his head from left to right, chooses the right, and heads off along the chasm. Something steps from the darkness in front of him and he flails his arms, digging in his heels to avoid crashing into the tall, shadowy figure. "See what I mean?" the rough voice intones.

Ryou gulps and takes a step back. His body is trembling uncontrollably. "S-stay away!" he cries. "I want no part of you!"

"That's very funny, Ryou." The figure extends a huge hand out of the dark mist. Something is shining in the center of its palm: a silver coin. The hand moves and the coin flips into the air with a high-pitched singing sound. "No!" Ryou cries, covering his ears. With a leering laugh, the figure takes a step closer and flips the coin again. The singing sound is louder this time. It seems to pierce Ryou's skull and vibrate inside his brain. "Stop it, I said!" Ryou cringes back from the sound, falling to his knees. "Stop it," he pleads.

The figure approaches, a looming shape of shadows and menace. The silver coin sparkles in the orange dimness. "It's time…"

"No!"

Gotham City district attorney Ryou Bakura snapped suddenly awake, his arms raised to cross protectively in front of his sweat-drenched face. He looked around in bewilderment. He was lying on his office couch, his body curled into a tight ball on the worn leather.

"It's time, Ryou," repeated Marik Ishtar. The young, slender man was bending over the couch with a look of concern on his tan features.

"Marik… it's you." Ryou swung his feet to the floor and straightened into a sitting position. He struggled to control his rapid breathing, his eyes darting around the dimly lit office. A flicker of orange light came through the window from the marquee of the theatre across the street.

His aide put a hand on the shoulder of Ryou's rumpled suit jacket. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, must have fallen asleep." Ryou rubbed his neck and straightened his tie. He managed a weak smile. "Whew - had a bad dream…"

"Well," Marik advised, "you better start waking up. Ishizu has been buzzing you for two minutes. She just heard from Yami Mason at the commissioner's office. They've started the raid."

Ryou's face lit up, the weird dream dissolving into the past. "Why didn't you say so?" He sprang to his feet with a fluid motion and grabbed his overcoat from the brass hook by the door. "Let's go!"

The night was overcast, high clouds just beginning to break up in the aftermath of the rain that had been falling for most of the day. The air was cool, the tangy smells of mid-autumn mixing with the acrid city odors. Puddles dotted the sidewalks and turned the potholes in the street into miniature lakes.

Red and blue lights flashed rhythmically as a half dozen slick black police cars formed a gleaming ring around an abandoned warehouse.

"Everything set?" Commissioner Mahado Gordon accepted the bullhorn from the hand of a uniformed officer. The woman nodded and slipped back to her position behind the barricade of vehicles. Halfway around the circle of cars, a young man with spiky tri-colored hair raised his hand, thumb and forefinger joined in an okay sign.

"All right, then." Mahado raised his bullhorn to his lips. "This is Police Commissioner Mahado." The words rang out above the background crackle of police radios. "We have you surrounded. Come out with your hands up and no one will get hurt." He lowered the bullhorn and squinted at the dilapidated structure.

"Stuff it, Mahado!" a hoarse voice shouted from the broken pane of a third floor window.

The commissioner turned as a slight commotion at his back signaled the arrival of the district attorney. Ryou Bakura had a look of pleased anticipation on his handsome face as he came to stand next to Mahado. "Nice speech," he said with a grin. He tipped his head toward the building. "So, how's it going?"

There was a small sound of breaking glass. Both men looked up as the metal snout of a weapon poked through the upstairs window. A second later a barrage of machine-gun fire from the warehouse sent everyone diving for cover. Mahado lifted his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he crouched next to Ryou. "Could be better," he observed.

"Sir." A young lieutenant hunkered down at their side. "Deputy Commissioner Mutou says the SWAT team's in place."

Mahado nodded. "All right. But wait for my order. It would be nice if we could manage this without anybody getting hurt."

Inside the abandoned building, two men worked feverishly to unload an unwieldy object from a large crate marked U.S. ARMY/DOMINO ARMORY.

"This oughtta blow a nice big hole in their little barricade," one of the hoodlums said as they freed the king-sized bazooka from its packing material.

"Yeah," his partner grunted, straining under the weight of the massive weapon. "Help me haul it up to the window."

"Hey, some of 'em are startin' to move around," said a third hood stationed by the broken window. "I think they're gettin' ready to rush the place."

Behind them, unnoticed in the shadows, a slender rope uncoiled from the high ceiling. A caped silhouette lowered itself silently to the floor.

"Ha - let 'em try," the second hook crowed. "There ain't nobody can get in here alive!"

The first thug hoisted the bazooka once his partner's shoulder, glancing behind him as the two began to carry it across the room. He froze.

"Uh… Valon…" He tapped the other man's arm.

Mwhahaha! Cliffhanger, if you want more tell me. I've got most of the chapters already typed up so all you have to do is comment and I'll post them.

Cazuuki