Unable to keep pace with the Speed Boys, Batman teams with the Flash, the one hero who should be able to outrun the sneaker-wearing gang of thieves plaguing Gotham. But this could be the last race for the Scarlet Speedster, as he learns that he’s running himself to death with his super-speed.
Summary
A rare medieval illuminated manuscript is stolen, at a Gotham City auction, by a thief capable of running at super-human speed. Responding to the police bulletin, Batman pursues the thief, in the batmobile. Astonishingly the thief is able to outrace the batmobile. The thief takes a turn down an alleyway. The passage quickly becomes too narrow for the batmobile to get through. Too late to brake, Batman crashes the batmobile, while the thief makes his escape. Another day, and another robbery, this time the proceeds from a charity gambling tournament. Once more Batman gives chase to a high speed thief, this time in the Whirly-Bat. Once again the thief begins to pull away from Batman. Unable to match the thief's greater maneuverability, Batman side swipes the corner of a building, and crashes the Whirly-Bat. Soon thereafter, the key to Gotham City is boosted by yet another high velocity thief. This time Batman pursues via jet-pack. The thief races down into the subway, with Batman closing in behind him. So quickly does the thief run, that the friction from his sneakers, on the wooden rail planks, generates an obscuring smoke, that thwarts the Batman's pursuit. Returning to the street, Batman finds Commissioner Gordon waiting for him. Having failed three times in a row, to bring these thieves to justice, the police commissioner begins to doubt Batman's effectiveness as a crime-fighter. In the weeks that follow, the high velocity thieves embark on a massive crime wave across Gotham City. One that Batman is helpless to stop. Meanwhile, in Central City, the Flash is having problems of his own. While in the midst of taking down a gang of robbers, the Flash suffers a bout of vertigo. This attack is followed up by even more severe physical ailments. Consulting a physician, the Flash discovers that the wear and tear his body endures, moving at extreme velocity, is killing him. He's literally running himself to death. The doctor advises the Flash against ever running at superhuman speed again, lest the exertion kill him.
Batman reaches out to the Flash, requesting his aid in taking down the ring of super-speed thieves. Reluctantly, the Flash, traveling by train, makes his way to Gotham City. Moments after arriving in Gotham City, the Flash bears witness to a the high velocity thieves stealing Gotham City's commuters blind. The Flash gives pursuit, and is amazed that, despite his incredible velocity, he can't gain an inch on the thief. With a final burst of phenomenal speed, the Flash tackles the thief, landing in a gravel barge. The thief's sneakers begin to smoke, then quickly disintegrate. Batman arrives to take the man into custody, and learns that the thieves call themselves "The Speed Boys". Later that night, at the Accelerated Gentlemen's Club, the masked members of the Speed Boys discuss their future plans, as well as how best to deal with Batman and The Flash. At police Headquarters, Batman and the Flash confer with Commissioner Gordon on the next likely target of the Speed Boys. The visiting Queen of Buldavia will be traveling along a parade route, in Gotham City, with the world's most valuable emerald necklace around her throat. Batman is certain the Speed Boys will make a grab for it. Sure enough, a member of the gang snags the necklace, with the Flash in hot pursuit. The Flash herds the Speed Boy into a deserted side alley, where Batman is able to knock the man out with a well thrown batarang. The necklace, however, turns out to be a fake. Batman has no time to investigate the matter further, as the Flash suddenly collapses. At the Accelerated Gentlemen's Club, the leader of the Speed Boys takes possession of the real emerald necklace. It had been switched with a fake necklace, when the Speed Boy who grabbed it, passed it off to his girlfriend, in the crowd, faster than the eye could see. Batman gets the Flash to a hospital, where the Caped Crusader learns the truth about the Scarlet Speedster's dire condition. Unbeknownst to the two heroes, the Speed Boys also learn of the Flash's plight, through some clever eavesdropping using a simple child's kite, and a radio transmitter. The Speed Boys set a plan in motion to take the Flash out of the game, once and for all.
The next day, while Batman and the Flash patrol the streets of Gotham City in the Batmobile, a Speed Boy robs a local bank. The Flash takes off in pursuit of the high speed thief, only to run across another Speed Boy, in the midst of robbing a jewelry store. The Flash breaks off his pursuit, to chase after the second Speed Boy. HIs pursuit of the second man is interrupted by a third Speed Boy, stealing antique vases. The three Speed Boys begin a fantastic relay race with the Flash switching targets, depending on which man is carrying the group's ill-gotten gains. The Speed Boys' leader, from a high vantage point, watches as the Flash first stumbles, then collapses. Soon thereafter, the Speed Boys' leader contacts police headquarters, to inform Batman and Commissioner Gordon of the Flash's demise. Batman is, at first, devastated by the news. Despite the grief, the world's greatest detective intensifies his investigation into the Speed Boys. Batman discovers that the Speed Boys' ability to run at high velocity is achieved through a radioactive isotope embedded in their sneakers. Studying a recording made of the Speed Boys' broadcast to police headquarters, Batman determines that their hideout is in an old brownstone, one he is able to find using a geiger counter set to track the emissions from their radioactive sneakers. Entering through the chimney, Batman gets the drop on the Speed Boys, and quickly coats the floor in oil. As the Speed Boys slip, slide and fall, Batman gets the bat-rope around their ankles and trusses them up like rodeo steers. Only the leader is able to make his escape, putting a bullet in Batman, as he leaps through the window. On the street below, the Speed Boys' leader finds himself being pursued by... the Flash. The Scarlet Speedster easily outpaces his adversary, and kicks the man into a nearby fountain. Back at the Accelerated Gentlemen's Club, Batman and Commissioner Gordon are rounding up all the other Speed Boys. As it turns out, the radioactive isotopes in the Speed Boys' sneakers had a curative effect on the Flash, and thus, that which gave the Speed Boys their power is, ultimately, what lead to their downfall.
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