Captain Stingaree's Jewel Haul
Author's Note: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Episode 13 of my Batman '66 continuation! As you can tell, this one includes Captain Stingaree, and I had so much fun writing him! I used the Pirate Monkeyness Translator for help with his "piratey" dialogue, which was a total blast! Now, without further ado, let's begin the story!
On the S.S. Gotham, a cruise line complete with sun and fun where passengers go to distance themselves from the doom and gloom in their lives, Bruce Wayne and his faithful ward, Dick Grayson, relaxed next to a clear pool. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the laughter of children jumping in the pool echoed around them as they lounged on two pool chairs.
"Gosh, Bruce," Dick remarked. "It's not often that we get a break from…Wayne Foundation business."
"Let's enjoy it while it lasts, old chum," Bruce replied.
Dick leaned in close to Bruce's ear. "You think that Gotham will be safe while Batman and Robin are gone?" he whispered.
"You have nothing to fear, Dick," Bruce whispered back. "Remember, Batgirl also calls Gotham her home."
"Gee, I guess you're right," Dick admitted.
"Let's allow ourselves to relax," Bruce told him. "Youth especially need downtime, especially ones as busy as you."
Bruce and Dick went back to relaxing on their chairs when a sudden boom permeated in the air near the cruise ship. Concerned passengers looked out in the distance and covered their foreheads with their hands like visors to look for the source of the noise.
"Mommy, look!" one boy cried, pointing. "A pirate ship!"
"A pirate ship?" Dick whispered to Bruce. "In this day and age?"
"Something…diabolical appears to at play, Dick," Bruce remarked.
Bruce and Dick went over to the edge of the deck with the rest of the crowd. Far off in the horizon, they could see an old-fashioned pirate ship with a Jolly Roger flag waving in the wind. With every passing minute, it was getting closer to the S.S. Gotham, and they could see a short man standing in the crow's nest of the ship. This man was bald and had a black beard, and was wearing a purple and orange pirate-themed outfit. As it got closer and they could see it in more detail, they could also see that he had an eyepatch on one eye, and he was holding a cutlass.
"Avast, ye seafarin' landlubbers!" shouted the man as the pirate ship floated next to the S.S. Gotham. He grabbed a rope and swung himself onto the cruise liner, then swung his cutlass in the air while his three henchpirates stood staring at the crowd back in his ship. "Dis ship be under the control 'o Cap'n Stingaree!"
"Holy high seas!" Dick exclaimed.
Bruce looked down at his watch and pressed a tiny button on it while the rest of the crowd was distracted by Captain Stingaree. "Alfred?"
In the Batcave, Alfred was busy cleaning when the Bat-Communicator went off. He walked over by it.
"Yes, sir?" he spoke into the Bat-Communicator.
"Trouble on the high seas, Alfred," Bruce told him. "We'll need you to send over the Bat-Boat by remote control."
"Very good, sir," Alfred replied obediently, walking over to a screen which contained a host of buttons and controls beneath it. Pressing one that said, "BAT-BOAT ACTIVATION," he answered to Bruce. "Bat-Boat activated." Alfred saw the Bat-Boat start up via the screen and began controlling it. "The Bat-Boat is on the way, Master Bruce."
"Excellent, Alfred," Bruce replied. Looking at his faithful ward, he walked over to his poolside seat and took a suitcase from underneath it. "I know that we are on vacation…but it never hurts to be prepared, old chum."
"Crew, grab the booty before we get sent to Davy Jones's Locker!" Captain Stingaree exclaimed as Bruce and Dick snuck back to their cabin.
At his command, Captain Stingaree's crew swung over to the S.S. Gotham on ropes and began stealing jewelry from cruise goers. The crowd was thrown into a panic, and Captain Stingaree broke out into a hearty pirate laugh. In the middle of the robbery, however, Bruce and Dick reemerged-as Batman and Robin!
"Argh!" Captain Stingaree cried out. "It's the Caped Codfish!"
"Your adventure on the seven seas ends now, Captain Stingaree," Batman remarked.
"It's Batman and Robin!" one of Captain Stingaree's henchmen pointed. "Shall we retreat, Cap'n?"
"Retreat we shall, mateys!" Captain Stingaree told him. "Batten down the hatches! We 'ave bats and birds 'n the galley!"
Captain Stingaree jumped back onto his own ship with the stolen jewelry, and it began to sail away. That was, however, when something else began to sail towards them. The blue, red, and white Bat-Boat rose over the horizon, causing excited murmuring among the crowd.
"Mommy, look!" cried the kid who had first noticed Captain Stingaree's ship. "First a pirate ship, now the Bat-Boat!"
Batman and Robin looked towards where the crowd was watching, and they too saw the Bat-Boat riding upon the waves of the sea. They ran towards the edge of the S.S. Gotham as the Bat-Boat neared closer.
"Citizens!" Batman raised his voice as they stepped into the Bat-Boat. "I promise you that we will recover all of your stolen valuables!"
"Go, Batman!" the crowd chanted as Batman controlled the Bat-Boat to follow Captain Stingaree.
"Sail ho!" one member of Captain Stingaree's crew exclaimed as he looked through a telescope. "It's the Bat-Boat, Cap'n!"
Captain Stingaree took the telescope from his henchmen. "Fire in the hole, me hearties!" he scowled.
Obediently, two other henchmen ran over to several cannons on his ship, then placed cannonballs in them. With a flick of their wrists, they lit matches and fired off the cannons before covering their ears.
BOOM!
The cannonballs flew directly towards the Bat-Boat, and they just barely missed it as Batman swerved the Bat-Boat out of the way.
"Holy cannonballs!" Robin exclaimed. "They're firing off cannonballs!"
"That they are, old chum," Batman said. "Brace yourself."
As more and more cannonballs landed in the water around them, the Bat-Boat slowly but surely came closer to Captain Stingaree's pirate ship.
"Increase the ammo, ye lubbers!" Captain Stingaree yelled. "They be gainin' on us!"
"Aye aye, Cap'n," the henchmen sweated as they kept firing off cannonballs.
"I be tired o' playin' games!" Captain Stingaree commanded as the Bat-Boat crept closer to his ship and he walked over to its helm. "We shall head t' Skull Island!"
"Skull Island ahoy!" his henchmen chanted as Captain Stingaree's ship gained speed through the rough waters.
The Bat-Boat trailed behind Captain Stingaree's ship, and soon an island appeared over the horizon. His pirate ship quickly parked next to the island, and Captain Stingaree and his crew exited it and ran off, holding the stolen jewelry in a potato sack. Right behind them was the Bat-Boat, which parked next to the pirate ship.
"Here we are, Robin," Batman remarked as they saw a wooden sign hammered into the ground which read, "ABANDON HOPE, YE WHO ENTER SKULL ISLAND."
"Holy skull and crossbones," Robin gulped.
"Indeed, Robin," Batman said. "But we must be brave-there are citizens who are depending on us!"
Batman and Robin chased Captain Stingaree and his crew through thick growth filled with rocks and overgrown plants. Captain Stingaree led his crew into a swamp filled with logs and rope bridges with a wide river, and the Dynamic Duo followed closely behind. When they looked down, they could see alligators chomping below.
"Careful," Batman cautioned as they continued running after Captain Stingaree. "There's no knowing what's up this swashbuckler's sleeve."
As Captain Stingaree reached the end of the bridge, he let out a hearty laugh.
"Those alligators sure look starvin'," he chuckled. "Let's feed 'em, shall we?"
With one more hearty laugh, Captain Stingaree swung his cutlass and cut the ropes that kept the rope bridge up in the air.
"Holy free falls!" Robin exclaimed as the bridge began to collapse.
Before they knew what was happening, Batman and Robin gripped onto the ropes on the side of the bridge as it continued collapsing.
"Yar har har!" chuckled Captain Stingaree. "Ye two shall feed those gators nicely!"
Captain Stingaree and his crew ran further and further from the bridge, leaving Batman and Robin hanging for their lives on the broken rope bridge. Robin gulped and looked behind him as he saw a plank fall down into the water below.
Oh no! What will happen to the Caped Crusaders now? Find out tomorrow-same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!
Author's Note: That's Episode 13! What did you think of it? Did you like it? Feel free to review, favorite, follow, etc., if you would like. By the way-I'm currently opening applications for those who'd wish to collaborate with me on these 1966 stories (just how the 1966 series was written by multiple script writers), so feel free to DM me with your own work if you'd wish to collab. Stay tuned tomorrow for the cliffhanger!
Until then,
Gabe S. :)