Dead Man's Hand
At mid noon on a yacht
Some of the rich and powerful were insulting someone on a much smaller boat, their yacht having gotten him soaking wet. "Hey! You overfed miserable money bags! Why don't you watch where you're going!"
"Hear that? He needs some manners." A rich woman said obnoxiously.
"What he really needs is a bigger boat." A rich man said before they all began laughing.
But suddenly, 5 people dressed like playing cards flying on cards appeared above them, with the one dressed as a king saying to the others. "Flank right and charge!" He said before they did just that, landing soon after as they began dealing with the security on the yacht.
The rich man then picked up a harpoon spear and turned to the King, who had a sword. "Mine's bigger than yours." He said smugly.
"All the money in the world and not an ounce of refinement." King said with annoyance at the rich man's lack of refinement before throwing a card that exploded into knock out gas that knocked him out. King then looked at the rest of the passengers and said. "Your jewels and watches. Please be so kind as to hand them over to us, and no cheap heroics." He warned before the youngest member, a female girl named Ten collected the passengers' jewels and watches in a bag.
But unknown to them, Batgirl was watching from a distance while informing Bruce. "Something weird's going on over there." She said before zooming in and seeing the gang. "People are dressed up like playing cards."
"Did you say playing cards?" Bruce asked with recognition in his voice.
"Were they part of your old rogues gallery?" Batgirl asked, recognizing her mentor's tone.
"Afraid so."
"Well, guess I should go introduce myself." Batgirl said before flying up to the yacht.
Back on the yacht
The rich woman was backing up as Ten and her brother Jack were walking up to her for her necklace. "No, please."
"Come on, you'll have another one soon enough. And you won't have to steal for it." Ten said with regret, showing that she didn't want to do this.
"Yeah. She earns hers the old fashioned way." Jack said before getting his dagger knocked out his hand by a flying batarang. "Hey!" He said before looking right and seeing Batgirl.
The new Dark Knight then flew into Jack, knocking him down before she flew up and was grabbed by Ace, the android muscle of the gang, and thrown into a wall before Batgirl kicked him down to the bottom level in front of King and his wife Queen.
"Time to go, I'd say." Queen said before Batgirl landed in front of them.
"Sorry, love. This is why I came back to Gotham. Although I wasn't expecting Batgirl, only Batman." King said to his wife while revealing that he'd been in Gotham before.
When Batgirl rushed to attack, King threw a card that turned into a tight red material that wrapped around the new Dark Knight and restrained her. King then tried to slash the Dark Knight with his sword 3 times but she easily dodged and got out her own sword before blocking his sword, kneeing him in the ribs and spin kicking him back before holding her sword to his neck.
The queen saw this and used her staff to short out the generators to blow it, causing the yacht to shake. "Who's it going to be? My husband or all these passengers?" She asked the new Dark Knight.
When the rich woman fell over the yacht, Batgirl quickly saved her before seeing the playing card people flying away with all the jewelry, with King grinning at her.
The rich man then pulled the lever to lower the lifeboat and called out to the others. "Quick! Everyone into the lifeboat!"
While everyone was getting on the lifeboat, Bruce asked his protege. "Everything alright there?"
"Fine. Perfect, except they got away." Max said sarcastically.
"We'd better reconvene. You should know who you're dealing with." Bruce told her, knowing that Max would need to know about the playing card people since they were his enemies in his time.
"Be there when I can. I'm late for an appointment." Batgirl said before flying off the yacht.
"But I need to talk to you." Bruce said.
Later at night at the Juice Bar
As teenagers were dancing in a multiple colors room, including Terry and Dana, Max was walking up to a girl Dana had set her up with to finally get her pink haired friend to connect with someone other than just one night stands. And while it was going well at first, Max knew Dana's friend had only been going out with her mainly out of sympathy for her and knew that she was close to ending things with her.
Max saw Dana's friend Lizzie and walked up to her as she was dancing. "Lizzie, I need to talk to you!"
But Lizzie just turned around and said. "And I think I know just what you want to say, Max. Though, since being 2 moves ahead of everyone, you already know what I'm going to say, right?"
"Yeah." Max said. But while they were talking, someone outside was watching them. "I think we both know what we need to do to have what we both want, right?"
"Yeah. But...it was fun while it lasted, Max. Thanks."
"You're welcome, Lizzie." Max said before walking away without looking back.
When Max was outside, someone asked her, making her look to her right, seeing a beautiful blonde girl with a black long sleeve shirt and a pink skirt. "Mutual break up? I was watching."
A bit later
Max and the other girl were taking a walk while talking. "I got this after school job that takes up a lot of my time. Too much, in fact." Max started.
"Maybe you should ask your boss for more time off." The girl said.
"Not this guy. Him you don't ask for time off. Though sometimes I wish that he was working with me while I work." Max told her. "But unfortunately, he can't because he's too old now."
"That'd probably help...if he were still young. So what kind of after school job is it anyway?"
"I do errands. It's kinda hard to describe." Max answered. "But what about you? How come you didn't go in?"
"Didn't know anyone."
"New in town?"
"Yeah. My parents move around a lot 'cause of work." The girl answered with a bit of sadness.
"At least you get to see the world."
"Yeah. See the world and lose all your friends. You know what it's like being uprooted every few weeks? Never quite knowing what's gonna be happening next?" The girl asked with a tiresome tone, as she was sick of moving around every few weeks and losing all her friends in the process.
"I'm beginning to get an idea of what that's like." Max said with almost the same tone.
"Yeah. What about you? What's your family like?" The girl asked with curiosity.
Max looked surprised before her face turned sad, almost to the point of tears. "I...lost my family...a couple months back. They were all... murdered."
This got a reaction out of the blonde girl as she gasped and said with regret. "Oh I'm...so sorry. I... shouldn't have brought your family up."
"No. It's ok. I understand. I'm... actually living close to my friend whose father was killed with my family the same night. But he's been doing alright, too. Still...not a day goes by where I don't miss them and that I should have done something different."
"I feel the same way." The girl said while getting close to Max. "2 of a kind, that's what we are. I'm Melanie, Melanie Walker."
Max smiled before introducing herself. "Max, Maxine Gibson."
That was when the girl named Melanie smiled with a seductive look... before embracing Max and pulling her in for a kiss, surprising the link haired girl before she kissed her back, making them both moan as they deepened the kiss, letting their tongues dance in each other's mouths before Max gently broke the kiss, with saliva connecting them.
"Damn. You're such a great kisser." Melanie said with a seductive smile before she tried to kiss Max again but she put a hand on her lips before Melanie took it in hers. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just...kinda a little quick, that's all. But then again, I've only 1 night stands, so I guess this is a surprise for me." Max answered.
"Anything too serious?"
"No. I tried to connect with that girl you saw me with but she only went out with me out of sympathy for my tragedy. And that's...not how I wanna find love." Max answered.
"Then... maybe I can change that for you. Maybe I could be the one you've been looking for." Melanie said with a seductive smile.
"Maybe. But...ever consider later?" Max asked with a smirk.
Melanie chuckled at that. "How much later, beautiful?"
"Maybe tomorrow night. Tell me where you're staying and I'll pick you up?"
"I'd rather you not. How about we meet right here at midnight...under the big clock?" Melanie asked while looking at the clock
"I'll be here. I'm a night owl and barely sleep anyway, so if I get her before you, I'll wait. And I promise to give you the best date of your life." Max said with a smile.
"I look forward to it, Max. See you then. And by the way, love your trench coat." Melanie said seductively before kissing Max again and running off.
Later in the Batcave
Max walked up to Bruce and Ace, who were at the Batcomputer before her mentor spoke. "You're late. Dana's friend Lizzie?"
"That's all over now. Mutual break up, though. She only went out with me cause Dana asked her to and it was mainly just out of sympathy." Max answered as Ace cane up to her, allowing her to let his head.
"I see. But don't worry. You'll find someone who will love you 1 day. But in the meantime, we've gotta figure out a way to stop this gang." Bruce told his protege.
"Who are they? You said you knew them from your time." Max asked with a serious tone.
"You're right. We've got history, they and I. The Royal Flush Gang's been around a long time. They're a family. They bring in new members: sons, daughters, husbands, wifes as the older ones retire or go to prison. They think they're better than everyone else. The Aristocrats of Crime." Bruce answered while revealing who the gang was and how they operated.
Meanwhile
As Jack, who was out of costume with the rest of his family, was fencing with their android Ace, with him winning, the King, Walker spoke. "You're acting like children. If you'd been pros, Batgirl would be dead now."
"We got away with the jewels. What difference does it make?" Jack asked, not seeing the point of why his father wanted that bat freak dead when they got away with the jewels anyway.
"I'll tell you the difference: years ago when I was your age, Batgirl's partner Batman broke up this gang for a while. He outsmarted us, humiliated us. And I've been waiting years to pay him back. And since Batman is either long retired due to being too old and we never found out who he was or dead now, for all I know, I'll have to settle for this new Batgirl. Killing her will have to be satisfying enough to hurt the original Batman, if he's even still alive."
"Ah, the old revenge game." Jack said with amusement. "But tell me something, Sire: how's that gonna make us any richer?"
But that only got him backhanded as he fell to the floor with blood on his left lower lip that he wiped off. "All right. We've got to start planning the next one. Where's Ten?" Walker asked.
But that was when a voice answered. "Right here." Before they turned around and saw that it was Melanie, revealing that she was a member of the Royal Flush Gang.
Later the next night
The Royal Flush Gang was on the roof of a museum, looking at a sword that resembled one from a king playing card. King walked up to Ten, who was working on disabling the security alarms. "How are you doing?"
"Just a few more wires." Ten answered.
"Be thorough, Ten. We've got all the time in the world." King said before walking to the others.
Ten checked the clock on her suit's left forearm, which said 11:09, meaning that if she didn't hurry, she'd miss her meeting with Max. "Yeah right." She whispered.
Meanwhile
Batgirl was patrolling the city in the Batmobile while keeping an eye on the installed clock, which was 11:10, meaning she didn't have a lot of time left before her meeting with Melanie. "You're sure about this?" She asked her mentor.
"Everything they steal is tied to playing card suits. And the earliest european cards had swords, not spades."
"How'd the yacht fit into european cards?" Batgirl asked, having not seen anything related to playing card suits on that yacht.
"It was part of a yacht club."
"Ouch." Batgirl said with a raised eye under her mask.
Back with the gang
Ten stood up and told her mother and father. "Ok, alarm's off."
"You're sure?" King asked.
"I'm sure. Now can we get this over with?" Ten asked with an inpatient tone, wanting to see Max again.
After Ace used his strength to get the dome opened, the gang hovered down to the sword and when King went to grab it, security came while pointing their weapons at them. "Gold it right there!" One of them said.
The gang put their hands up while King looked at Ten, who obviously wasn't successful in completely shutting off the alarm that alerted the guards. "All the time in the world." He said with a glare at his daughter.
That was when Ace dropped down on 2 guards, allowing Queen to use her staff to blind the others before the gang began moving through the museum, with Ace knocking down the other guards along the way before they got to the next lower floor and we're suddenly pulled off their cards by a grappling hook from Batgirl, who glided to the floor as the gang got to their feet.
"Time for round 2." Batgirl said with a glare.
Ace tried to rush to attack the new Dark Knight but this time, she was ready and jumped up and kicked him into a pillar before firing a restraining line, trapping him before Queen used her staff to electrocute Batgirl, sending her back before the Queen and Jack advanced on the new Dark Knight.
Batgirl quickly got to her feet while quickly a nearby shield to block another blast from Queen, sending it to hit Jack before she used the shield like a frisbee to hit the Queen sending her on her back to the floor.
King looked at Ten, who didn't want to fight but knew she had no choice. So she advanced on the new Dark Knight while seeing that her clock said 11:32. Ten then tried to attack but Batgirl's skills were greater than hers as she blocked her attacks until she tried to punch her...but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to do it. But that didn't stop her from blocking another punch from Ten before she got a grip on her.
But that was when a guard appeared and held his gun up. "All of you, put your hands up." He said, making the gang look at him before Jack came in from behind him, knocked his gun out of his hand and held him hostage.
"It appears we've been dealt a wild card, Dark Knight. If you value his welfare I suggest you not follow." King warned Batgirl while showing her the guard, making Batgirl let Ten go.
As the Gang flew out the museum with the guard, Jack thought they'd gotten away. "Looks like a clean getaway."
But King knew different. "Think so?" He asked before seeing Batgirl chasing them. "Drop him."
"What?" Jack asked with a bit of surprise.
But Ten didn't like that and got in front of King. "You can't do that."
"Of course I can." King said before looking at Jack. "You heard what I said. Drop him!" He said, much to Ten's fear and concern.
"Sorry, gramps." Jack said before dropping him.
As the guard screamed as he fell, the new Dark Knight quickly chased after him to grab him before he hit the ground. Fortunately, Batgirl managed to get the guard before they fell into another building.
As Ten looked at where they fell, her father held his sword at her neck before threatening her. "Don't ever argue with me again." He warned before they all flew away.
Batgirl got up and helped the guard up. "Are you alright?"
"M-my leg."
"Come on, I'll get you to a hospital." Batgirl said before walking with the guard while looking at the nearby clock that said 12:32, much to her worry. But unknown to her, she wasn't the only one who was worried.
Later on
Max ran as fast as she could through the pouring rain. When she finally arrived at the place where she was supposed to meet Melanie, it was already 12:45. She looked around, hoping that Melanie was there. But after seeing that she wasn't, Max punched her fist into a pole. "Damn it!" She cursed in anger and disappointment before she started to walk away.
But then, she heard someone running towards her, calling her name. "Max!"
When Max turned around and saw Melanie, her hopes had been restored. Both embraced for some time, until Max apologized to her potential girlfriend. "Sorry that I'm late. I was held up at work and-"
"Shhhh." Melanie interrupted her by placing her finger on her mouth and gave an ensuring smile. "You were not the only one who got held up."
Max formed a small smile, still holding Melanie close. "I think I still owe you a date?"
"That you do." Melanie said in a flirty way.
A little later
Max and Melanie went inside the Juice Bar where she had screwed up her last date the night before while also mutually ending things with her, mainly because of sympathy for Max's tragedy. But Max was now with a girl that made her feel things she'd never felt before and neither did Melanie. The two girls had a lot of fun together, either taking a few alcoholic drinks, talking or dancing to techno-trance music that the DJ played.
Not too far from where Max and Melanie danced, Terry and Dana were dancing too. Dana noticed Max being with a girl she had never seen before, but felt glad that she at least found someone to hang out with after her failed attempt to connect with another classmate. Terry noticed them too and felt happy for Max, but then returned his focus on his girlfriend.
Following the beat of the music, Melanie moved her hips closer to Max, what she gladly received. Max moved her hands down from Melanie's back to her butt, softly stroking it as Melanie closed her eyes for a second while moaning before she then placed her arms around Max's neck.
Both smiled at each other, still dancing their hips close to another. Max moved her face closer to Melanie's... both closed their eyes... and softly kissed. Being so into the kiss, Max grabbed Melanie's butt tightly. They broke the kiss for a moment, and then kissed again, slowly deepening it as Melanie's tongue made contact with Max's who received it gladly and both their tongues danced like a tango in their mouths, fighting for dominance.
Max and Melanie felt so horny as both slowly broke the kiss before Melanie bit her lip while Max took her into the girl's bathroom. After seeing that nobody was inside, Max immediately embraced Melanie in another wild passionate kiss while Melanie quickly closed the door. Both then went inside one of the restrooms and Max pushed Melanie to a wall without stopping kissing her and slowly went down, kissing her neck as her left hand grabbed Melanie's right breast, making her to moan more. Melanie returned the same pleasure by softly stroking both Max's breasts.
As both their hands snaked over their bodies, Melanie tried to keep up, but Max was clearly the more experienced due to pleasuring other girls but never giving herself to any of them, wanting to save herself for the right girl. Her right hand then snaked up Melanie's shirt, under her bra, twisting her left nipple as both girls broke their kiss to catch their breath.
Melanie was so into Max taking her, she allowed her new girlfriend to do whatever she wanted to do with her.
While still twisting her right nipple, Max used her other hand to raise Melanie's shirt and bra, revealing her C-cup breasts and pink nipples before Max sucked on her girlfriend's breasts one by one, making Melanie even more turned on. "Oooh! Yes! Oh... yeah, Max! This feels... so good."
Max smiled without stopping pleasuring Melanie's breasts and even gave her some tongue kisses. Then, she moved her left hand down into Melanie's panty, touching her wet pussy. "Aaahh! Max... Yes, right there! Yes! Aaaaah!"
Max clearly found Melanie's G-spot and increased the pleasure while fingering her faster. "Hmmm! Yes! Yes! Yes! Fuck me, Max! Fuck me faster!" Melanie begged, making Max happily accept and increase the fingering even faster, making the blond moan even more. "Ah! Yes yes yes yes! I-i'm gonna..." Before Melanie then pulled Max into a passionate kiss and a few seconds later climaxed. Melanie shook her hips, as drips of her juices went down her legs.
Max slowly moved her hand away from his girlfriend's pussy, licking her fingers. To her, Melanie's juices tasted delicious.
Melanie looked into Max's eyes, trying to beg. "Max... please..."
"Please what?" Max asked while giving a flirty grin.
Breathing heavily, Melanie stroked her cheeks, whispering softly in her ear. "Please... take me to your place... I want you, Max... I want you so badly."
Nearly a half hour later, Max arrived at her place with Melanie. Eagerly, Max opened the door without having to worry about being quiet as she lived alone and her walls were soundproof. Both then ran into the living room, giggling seductively as they were going upstairs and entering Max's room.
Once the door was closed, they couldn't hold themselves any longer and embraced into a wild passionate kiss. Not stopping their make out session, they disposed of their clothes quickly until both were now naked, embracing each other as their hands touched nearly every corner of their new girlfriend's body.
Melanie was now on top of Max. She admired Max's body for a moment, glancing over her beautiful breasts before looking back into her eyes. She bit her lip and slowly moved down, looking closely at Max's wet pussy. And started licking the clitoris, making Max moan. "Hmmm... ahhh! Yes! Yes Melanie! Ooooh that feels so good. Yes!"
Melanie continued eating out Max's pussy for a long time, till she climaxed, sending her juices into Melanie's mouth. She was able to swallow most of it, but not all as drips of Max's juices flowed down from Melanie's mouth before the beautiful blonde used her tongue to clean her lips. "Wow... That was... amazing."
While Max breathed heavily, she smirked. "There's more where that came from, babe." And quickly sat straight, kissing Melanie widely. She was surprised first, but then returned the kiss.
Max then put Melanie on her back before getting on top of her in the 69 position before looking at her lover. "Hope you're ready for this, baby. Cause this is going to make you feel so great." Max said seductively before beginning to eat out Melanie's pussy.
Melanie felt so good from this that she grabbed onto Max's thighs and began eating out her pussy too. They then spent the next 10 minutes eating each other out, moaning as they felt great pleasure from this before they both climaxed in each other's mouths, drinking up each other's juices before Max got off her lover.
Max then positioned herself to where her pussy and Melanie's were touching before she rubbed them together, causing Melanie to moan loudly. "OH MAX, BABY! THIS FEELS...SO FUCKING GOOD! OH YEAH I LOVE IT! OH FUCK ME, BABY!"
"UH, UH, OH YEAH! MELANIE, BABY! OH YES! YOUR PUSSY...FEELS SO GOOD AGAINST MINE! OH YEAH! FUCK ME! FUCK ME!" Max moaned out while rubbing her pussy against Melanie's a bit harder, making them both moan in pleasure before Max got an idea of how to give them both the best orgasm of the night as she gently pushed Melanie down and got on top of her.
With Max on top and Melanie lying down, Max positioned herself to scissor her girlfriend and slowly opened her legs. Melanie had heard about this position and always imagined what it must feel like.
As Max moved her pussy to Melanie's, the blonde girl's eyes went wide at how amazingly this felt. "Aaaah, Max...! This is... THIS IS AMAZING! Fuck me! Yes baby, FUCK ME HARD!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Yes! FUCK YES! Aaaah!"
They continued this for a half hour, never stopping scissoring each other as the pleasure was overwhelming until both felt that they were about to reach their climaxes.
"AH! AH! AH! Max... oh shit, I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum really hard!"
"Oh! Ah ah ah! Me too, baby! Let's... OH FUCK YEAH! LET'S FUCKING CUM TOGHETHER!"
Melanie nodded and out of her own movement increased the speed and held Max tightly to her. "YES! YES! FUCK ME,BABY! FUCK ME!
"AHHH! OH SHIT! YES! FUCK ME...Nggh...UGH...OHHH...AAAAAAH!" Max moaned before they both climaxed their greatest orgasm ever at the same time.
Max and Melanie panted as they slowly began embracing in each other's arms, trying to catch her breath before Max said. "Ahhh... wow. That was... amazing."
Melanie nodded, while tears formed in her eyes as she started to sob. Max didn't know why Melanie was sad all of the sudden and asked worriedly. "Hey. What's wrong?" As she wiped away a tear.
Melanie smiled while she shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. This is just... you and me... together... This is the... best moment of my life... and I wouldn't trade it for all the riches in the world. Max... I love you."
Max formed a smile on her face and placed another kiss on Melanie's lips. "I love you too, Melanie. You are now mine... and I am yours... forever."
Another tear felt from Melanie's eye. Not from sadness, but from joy and both embraced into another sweet, soft kiss. Both then kept looking into each other's eyes and smiled, not saying a word. After some time... both fell asleep in each other's arms.
After some hours of sleep, which was more sleep than Max had in a long time, Melanie woke up. She was feeling a bit thirsty. Slowly, she moved Max's arms from her and stood up from the bed, putting back on her panties and shirt. Slowly, she walked down the stairs, taking a small drink from the fridge and slowly walked back up the stairs while taking a sip. As she just entered back into Max's room, Melanie nearly tripped over something at her feet, making Max groan in her sleep while turning over.
Melanie sighed in relief. But as she checked down at where she nearly tripped over, she noticed a bag on the floor... and something sticking out of it... something black. "Hmmm...what could be in that bag? Obviously not her trench coat."
Curiously, Melanie placed her drink down and took a look at the thing in Max's bag. She took it in her hands and saw that it was Batgirl's mask! Melanie gasped as she dropped the mask before looking at a still sleeping Max and then back at her mask as she whispered. "Max... you're... Batgirl?"
Melanie didn't know what to make of all of this. The girl that she was in love with... was Batgirl... one of her family's archnemesis, the one that reminded her father of the one man that had nearly broken what he and their family had built. Melanie shook her head while tears formed in her eyes. But then she remembered herself having always felt different than her family, feeling deep down what they were doing was wrong.
Melanie took the Batgirl mask in her hands and thought deep about these forgotten memories of her childhood, when she imagined herself a different life. A life without crime. She then glanced at a sleeping Max while wiping away her tears. Melanie took one last look at the mask and began to smile. If she could finally escape the life she deep down never wanted, then maybe... Max could give that to her. Melanie put the mask back in the bag and placed it back where it was.
While the first lights of the morning sun were showing, Max started to wake up, seeing Melanie dressing back into her clothes. "Hey. You're leaving?"
Melanie looked at Max and nodded. "Yeah. I need to go home. And..." She answered before she then began to feel sad while looking down.
Max stood up from her bed and walked up to her girlfriend, holding her in her arms. "What is it?"
Melanie sighed sadly. "It's my family. I... I think we're gonna be moving again."
"How soon?"
"Real soon." Melanie sadly answered while taking her coat.
As Melanie wanted to walk out of the room, Max held her girlfriend to her body and asked her. "A month? A week?"
"I don't want to think that far ahead." Melanie tried to shake it off, but then placed her hand on Max's cheek. "Live for the moment, you know?" Before both smiled at each other and then kissed.
Max then broke the kiss and asked. "Can I see you again tomorrow night, love?"
"Sure. But, don't you mean tonight?" She asked before both looked out the window, seeing the sun rising over Neo-Gotham.
Max nodded at her girlfriend. "Tonight then. Same place, same time?"
"I'll be there." Melanie then pulled her naked girlfriend to her and embraced in another short passionate kiss.
"See you then, baby." Max said while picking up her trench coat and handing it to her girlfriend. "Here, take my coat... to remind you that you'll see me again tonight."
Melanie smiled while putting on the trench coat before she walked out of the house, entering a taxi and drove off. She looked back at Max's place while holding the coat warmly around her, whispering to herself while smiling. "See you then... Batgirl."
Later at the Batcave
As Max entered the cave and walked up to Bruce, he spoke in his usual tone. "Late again."
"Or early, depending on how night people like us look at it." Max said in her usual tone.
"How we look at it is the gang's going to hit again, and we've only got a few hours to figure out where." Bruce replied.
"You're sure it'll be tonight?" Max asked, not wanting to miss a moment with Melanie.
"You've got something better to do?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, I do."
"This is getting tiresome." Bruce said with annoyance as he touched his temples.
"Look. If you had any proof they were gonna try something tonight, it would be different. But I'm not gonna change my plans because of a hunch." Max told her mentor, beginning to get frustrated.
"Batman or Batgirl would." Bruce said while turning to her.
"Hey! I put my life on the line almost every second of the day and night. 1 night's not gonna make any difference!" Max said, her anger beginning to show.
But Bruce stood up and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt before looking her in the eye. "1 night always makes the difference."
But at this point, Max had let her anger and frustration take control of her. "I know what it is: you can't stand to see anyone going out and having a life! You want me to end up like you: alone! Well guess what, old man: I may have a lot of things in common with you, but I'm not going to be just like you and just forsake the people I love for your mission!" She told him before getting Bruce off her before running out of the cave to leave.
Later
"How many times do I have to tell you there's no room for mistakes in this business!?" Melanie's father yelled at her. She had only come home this morning, before being sent to her room by their family's hulking robot. Melanie knew she was already into trouble for not disarming the alarm the night before and arguing with her father for nearly dropping that museum guard to his death. Melanie looked away while her father kept yelling at her. "You've got to keep focused!"
All the emotional abuse she had to endure from her family since childhood all came back to her. And now... Melanie snapped as she looked fiercely at her father. "You haven't!"
"What?" Walker looked surprised, not being disrespected like that by his own daughter in years.
"This thing you've got for Batman, you're making us take stupid risks!"
Walker was not taking this disrespect from his daughter. "No one disrespects me or this family! You might as well explain to me why you left all of the sudden, without even saying where you were going and didn't come home till this morning!"
Melanie's anger grew as she then raised herself, facing her father. "I was meeting someone! A girl!"
"What? A girl?!" Her father asked in surprise
"That's right, dad, I was meeting a girl! I'm a lesbian!" Now her family was even more shocked. "And honestly, I don't want to do this anymore! I'M DONE WITH THIS!" Melanie added.
Melanie's mother Donna looked in shock, not believing what she had heard. Her own daughter was in love with a girl. Her brother was also shocked at this, as in all their family history, not one of them as gay.
Walker however remained his daughter seriously. "No! I will not accept this, young lady! You're a part of this family, whether you like it or not and it is your destiny to continue our family line and our business! You're not going to see this girl, not for long anyway! After our next job we're leaving Gotham after killing Batgirl."
Melanie shook her head, as she was not going to leave Max or let her get killed by her 'family' or anyone else. "Like hell I am!"
Walker raised his finger at her. "Don't you dare argue with me, Melanie. I forbid you to see this girl!" Then Walker became calm and said in his still serious tone. "If you can't get behind where our family stands, you might as well leave."
"Amen to that!" Melanie said before storming out, planning on leaving the gang and her crime filled life, all for Max, as she could be the one to give her a better life than a life filled with crime and hurting innocent people.
When Melanie was heading for the elevator, her mother glared at her husband before following her daughter to convince her to stay, as she was still a member of the gang. "Ten! Melanie." She called out as she got to her daughter as the elevator opened. "This family's taken good care of us and it's always going to be there. Why would you want to throw that away?"
"For... Max. I...love her." Melanie answered, her anger having died down.
"Love? For that girl?" Donna said sarcastically.
"Yes. It is love. We told each other so last night." Melanie said, knowing that after the night she and Max shared, she was in love with her, more than all the jewelry or riches in the entire world.
"Melanie, this whole thing you think you have for them girl, it's just a phase that girls like you eventually outgrow. This girl isn't worth the sacrifice you're about to make."
"You don't even know her!" Melanie said, defending Max.
"Trust me, dear, you'll outgrow this ridiculous phase. And when you do, someday the right man will come along. He'll be your king. You'll have all the money you want, all the freedom. The very finest life can offer. But only if you stay with this family. Well?" Donna asked, making her daughter look at the elevator in regret before it closed.
Later on
Max was waiting at the same meeting spot, sitting at a bench. She looked at the clock, seeing it was 12:50am. Max sighed, thinking that Melanie wouldn't come. "Where is she?" She asked before she then looked at her phone, reading the text messages that she and her girlfriend shared since morning. Some of the more 'passionate' messages made her blush, as she had never felt like this before, not for any girl that she dated in the past or had one night stands with. Melanie was different from all of them, as Max felt that she'd truly found her soulmate at last.
Just then, she was being called, seeing that it was Melanie. Max picked it quickly with a big smile. "Melanie?!"
However, Melanie's voice sounded more... disappointed. "Max. I... I can't see you tonight."
"Something came up? School work?" Max asked.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
That was when Melanie started to sob. "Max, I... I-I can't see again... ever."
Max was shocked when Melanie said those words before she asked. "But... I don't understand. Why?"
"I just... didn't work out... I know, last night was wonderful, but…" Melanie tried not to burst into tears. "I gotta go now."
Max wasn't an idiot, as how her girlfriend sobbed she knew that there was something wrong. "Melanie, it's your family, isn't it? They don't accept you for being with me so they forced you to break up with me, right?"
Melanie didn't say a word. She was at the point of not being able to hold herself anymore as tears fell from her eyes. "I... I'm so sorry, Max... Goodbye, baby."
"Melanie, wait!" But it was no use. Melanie had already hung up the phone.
Right after she hung up, Melanie fell on her knees and burst into tears. She was forced to break up with the one girl that made her feel free, the one that could grant her a different life... and now... she threw it all away... because of her family, who she knew only wanted her with them because they were afraid she'd leave the gang. It was then that she knew all she was to them was an accomplice and not a daughter. For if they did love her, they'd have accepted who she really was as a lesbian and let her make her own choices and be with Max.
Meanwhile
Max knew something was up and quickly went to a nearby GCPD phone tracer. She then used her card, which was specially designed by Bruce and was given to her by her mentor some time ago, to trace Melanie's call. "Computer, cross reference address." Max said before the computer did just that, getting the location of the address at the Hotel Robb Suite. "Floor plan." She said before the computer showed her the floor plan of the hotel floor.
A while after that, Batgirl arrived at the Hotel Robb Suite through the window and began looking around before seeing a case. When she opened it, she was shocked to find gold and jewels and an Ace card in it, meaning that Melanie, the one girl she actually loved more than just another one night stand, was a member of the Royal Flush gang.
"No." Batgirl said with disbelief as she picked up the card. But as she thought about hers and Melanie's conversation on the phone earlier, she heard the sadness in her voice, like she didn't want to break up with her and from the way she said it, she really meant it. So maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance that Melanie could be saved from this life if she got her alone and her family out of the way just long enough to talk to her.
But before she could do anything, the card was about to explode. But she quickly dropped it and jumped out of the way before seeing the gang returning and quickly hiding.
When the gang entered through the window, Jack said with excitement as he threw cash cards into the air while Ten looked sad but happy at the same time as Batgirl, Max wasn't there to stop them. "We did it! Cash cards, plastic gold!"
"Now I can actually buy some diamonds." Queen said while looking at a cash card before seeing the look on her husband's face. "What's wrong? You look almost disappointed."
"No Batgirl. I had a special card just for her." King answered while pulling out a card with a skull on it from his wrist gauntlet.
"Hey! We've had a visitor!" Jack told the others while seeing the burns on the floor and the case open.
"Spread out." King told them before telling Ten. "You stay here."
Queen searched the bedrooms until she discovered a device that she picked up, releasing gas that knocked her unconscious. But Batgirl caught her placed her on the bed and turned herself invisible. Soon after, she knocked Jack unconscious by hitting him with a door.
Unfortunately, Ace appeared and they began to fight. Since Ace was an android, Batgirl didn't have to worry about killing him, so she got out her sword and found an opening before slicing his arms and head off before cutting up the pieces just to make sure he wouldn't give her more trouble later.
When Batgirl walked into the living room and heard something, she prepared her sword but saw Ten, who she now just discovered was Melanie. As Ten desperately wanted to warn Batgirl, and was very close to doing it, King, who was close to her, jumped and punched her out of the way before throwing the card he'd saved for Batgirl at the new Dark Knight, who jumped out of the window as the card blew up, destroying the room with a big blast.
As Batgirl was falling, she quickly brought out her wings before seeing King flying to her. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me." He said before Batgirl avoided a swipe from his sword and flew up to him before tackling him to a rooftop before he got free and tried to slash the new Dark Knight again but she got out her sword and blocked before they got into a sword lock. But Max used her full strength to disarm him by swiping his sword out of his hands before kicking him down to the floor before he saw Ten flying over them but wasn't moving any further. "Ten, come help me! What are you waiting for?! Get down here immediately!"
"Don't do it. Just go, please." Batgirl whispered pleadingly.
Ten, seeing what Batgirl was saying while holding her cheek where her father had punched her, along with thinking of Max and how she truly did love her and wanting a life with her, glared at her 'father' with hate. "HELP YOURSELF, DAD, YOU AND THIS SO-CALLED FAMILY!" She yelled before turning around and flying as far away from the area as she could, much to Batgirl's great relief.
"TEN! COME BACK! I ORDER YOU! COME BACK!" King yelled out in anger before he was punched down on his back before he was restrained by Batgirl.
"Looks like your daughter's wised up, King. And now you and the rest of your family are on your own from now on. Get used to it!" The new Dark Knight said seriously before she kicked King in the face, knocking him out.
Later the next morning
As Max was watching the Royal Flush gang being loaded into a police transport vehicle from an alley, Bruce appeared from behind her as she turned around, having heard him coming thanks to her trained hearing. She walked up to him and said with a bit of regret. "Mr. Wayne, those things I said to you, I'm sorry." Before she smirked. "But at least 1 of them managed to see that a life of crime is wrong. She's through with her so-called family and it's because of me."
Bruce looked at her for a few seconds before speaking. "I know. You...were right about not wanting to end up like me... because I don't want you to."
Max smiled at that before asking. "Tell me: this kinda thing ever happen to you?"
Bruce smiled before putting an arm around her shoulder before they walked together down the alley. "Let me tell you about a woman named Selina Kyle."
Later at night
After patrolling the city for a couple of hours, Batgirl began to search for Melanie. After 30 minutes of searching, found her on a rooftop while the blonde girl was signaling her with an old Bat-Signal flashlight that she'd bought from a store that sold old things from the time of the old Gotham.
After landing the Batmobile on the roof and getting out, Batgirl walked up to Melanie and said with a small smile. "You made the right decision, Melanie. Without them, you can finally have a better life."
Melanie smiled before saying. "I know. And the girl who can help me get that better life...is right here in front of me... Max." She said, making Batgirl's eyes widen before Melanie slowly took off her mask and kissed her.
When they broke apart, Max asked. "How... did you-"
"Last night...after we had sex. I woke up and went to grab something to drink and when I came back to your room, I nearly tripped over your backpack and saw your mask sticking out of it and when I picked it up, I saw what it was. And while I was very shocked at first, I thought about my life and have always thought that what my family was doing was wrong and how I began falling in love with you. And the more I thought about it, I realized that you could be the one to give me a better life where I didn't have to hurt innocent people." She explained, but before Max could ask anything, Melanie put a finger on her lips while embracing her. "Don't worry, baby. I didn't tell any of them who you are. I couldn't because I realized that I didn't wanna lose you, so your secret is safe with me. Promise." She said before pulling Max in for a deep passionate kiss.
When they separated, Max gasped and smiled. "Well, baby, where are you going to live now? With you not with your so-called family anymore, you obviously need a place to crash and since you have no money now, you can't afford any hotels or apartments."
Melanie smiled before she answered. "Well, since you've stated the obvious, baby, and you love me as much as I love you, I was hoping that...I could live with you at your place. How's that sound to you?"
"That sounds great, baby. I get my payment from my boss tomorrow, so we can go out and buy you some clothes and bathing supplies that you like. And we can also get you enrolled in my high school, if you want." Max said while holding Melanie close to her.
"I'd really like that, Max. As long as I can stay close to you. And I'm so sorry for breaking up with you. I never should have listened to my 'mother'." Melanie said before taking off Max's trench coat. "I think you'll want this back?"
"Keep it on you, Melanie. At least until I get home. And I understand and I'm not mad at you for that. We have each other now and that is all that matters to me now. I've got the rest of the night off, so I'm gonna return my car to my boss's cave and then I'll come home. Then...we can celebrate the beginning of your new life in Gotham... and with me, love." Max said before kissing her girlfriend passionately. "See you then, baby." She said before putting her mask back on and getting back into the Batmobile to return it to the Batcave, leaving a smiling Melanie behind before she walked off the roof to head to Max's apartment, holding her new girlfriend's trench coat close to her.
There you go, my dear friends, Dead Man's Hand is complete. Melanie and Max are officially girlfriends and she knows that Max is Gotham's new Dark Knight, but she won't know the rest until the next chapter. And trust me, it's gonna be a big surprise. Rate and review and I'll see you all next time, my dear friends.