Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 04:58:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Adventures Of A Real Dark Knight 2 Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind. Scary!! People actually get a glimpse into my mind!!! Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox. Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros. X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. Star Trek and all related characters created by Gene Roddenberry. Copyright Paramount Studios. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. In this story, which has been floating around in my head most of my life, you will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. This story doesn't deal so much with sex, sex, sex, but more of my feelings that I struggled with and am starting to come to terms with. Part of his background is mine. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! This section of chapters is a continuation of my first story "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". I have received many emails from people who have enjoyed it and some from those who do not. I would enjoy hearing from you. Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks. jmsotc@yahoo.com Chapter 2 Mutant Training Begins After school I headed over to the Xavier institute. I was to begin my mutant training with some new recruits. I was a bit nervous. I had never trained with others, except the Huntress. But she didn't count because...I knew her, I guess. When I arrived Ororo met me. "Hello, Eric. Glad you could make it." "Glad I could, too." "Come in." I walked in and she closed the door. "Did you want to get something to eat first?" "No. I'm fine. So, where are these new recruits?" "They are settling in to their rooms. Perhaps we should go on down to the Danger Room. You will need to change, first." I followed Ororo to a locker room and she gave me a jumpsuit to change into. "I'll be back in a few moments with the others." And she left. I changed into the jumpsuit and headed into the Danger Room to practice. I went in and the computer began speaking to me. They must have been working on an upgrade. "Greetings. Please name program to be run." "Uh, I'm here to train. Pick one at random." "Affirmative." The computer beeped a few times and suddenly the devices in the room came to life. A laser gun sprouted out of the wall and fired at me. It hit me and knocked me several feet back and onto my butt. As quickly as it appeared, the gun folded back into the wall. Behind me the wall opened and it swung down to smash me. I rolled forward as quickly as I could but not quick enough. My leg was pinned underneath. A saw popped up out of the floor and began spinning as it moved toward me. I tried to pull my leg out but I couldn't. I was going to die. A blue demon appeared beside me. Without a word, he grabbed me and...I ended up on the other side of the room. "What are you doing in here?" he asked in a German accent. "Training." "Looks like you need more training." "I do. But I can handle this." "It looks like it," he replied with a grin. I wanted to wipe that smile off his face. "Watch." I turned to the room and waited for something to happen. Nothing happened. "What's going on?" "I turned off the program," Ororo's voice came from a speaker. I looked up and saw her in the round room above the arena. "It would have been kind of you to wait for the rest of your training class." A door opened and several people came out: a purple-haired Asian girl, a man who looked like he was from the Middle East, a young oriental girl, a brown-haired Caucasian, and a tall black-haired man. Beside myself, there were six new people in the room. Then Ororo came down and made eight of us. "Fall in line," Ororo replied. "I would like to introduce you to your classmates. "Peter Rasputin, step forward." The tall black-haired man stepped up. "Peter is from Russia. His codename will be Colossus. Show your classmates your mutant ability." In the blink of an eye, a metal appeared in the place of Colossus' skin! It was amazing to behold! "Thank you." "You're welcome." He reverted back to his "normal" state, if the word normal could be used with anyone born different. "Next is Elizabeth Braddock." The purple-haired girl stepped up. "Her mutant ability is the ability to create a telekinetic sword, levitate objects and herself, and to move objects. Her nickname is Psylocke." "I'm still rusty on that," she said to Ororo and the rest of the group. "And please call me Betsy." "Which is why you are here." Ororo smiled at her. "That's why we are all here, to learn control. "We also have Jubilation Lee, also called Jubilee." The young Oriental girl stepped up. "She can create fireworks, explosions of energy, and absorb the energy back into her. "Neal Sharra is next. He can generate and manipulate plasma. He is also called Thunderbird." "Hello, everyone," he said kindly. "Bobby Drake is next. His ability is that he can lower his internal and external body temperature, earning him the nickname Iceman." Bobby turned and waved to everyone. A practical joker to be sure. "Kurt Wagner can teleport himself at will over a short distance, as well as anything or anyone he is touching. He is very agile and can blend into shadows, hence the name Nightcrawler." "What about him?" Bobby thumbed toward me. "This is Eric McCoy. His mutant ability is that he can manipulate and control atoms at will, making it appear as if he is telekinetic. He can also manipulate atoms that make heat, so far. He is just beginning to explore his abilities." "What's his codename?" Betsy asked. Ororo turned to me. "Would you like to tell them?" "I don't know." "Oh, come on," Nightcrawler said. "You know our names." "I'm Batman." All got quiet. I'm sure they were mulling over whether to congratulate me or kill me. My behavior in the past was not always forthright. The time I was raped enraged me. I became very violent and vengeful. Then being exposed to so much hatred, I took it upon myself to avenge those who have been wronged. Thankfully the Huntress helped me come out of myself. No one said a word. I didn't know what to expect, but nothing was not what I expected. "Let's continue," Ororo said. "From here, we will get to know each other, becoming friends and allies. As many of you know the outside world rejects us, and our kind. It is up to us to show them we are good and have good intentions. We must show them, aside from our mutations, we are normal citizens just like them." "It's difficult when you cannot change how you look," Kurt replied. "True." "Do you have a solution for that?" "No, I don't. Perhaps Professor Xavier will eventually come up with an answer. For now, we will do what we already can." No one said a word. "What I would like you to do first is to talk and get acquainted with each other. In a half hour, Remy, Kitty and I will return to begin your training." Ororo turned and left the new group to mix and mingle. It seemed they didn't want to talk with me all that much. It didn't bother me all that much. I've become used to being alone, not having many friends. Without warning the Room became active. Several gun ports popped out and began firing upon us. Everyone scattered attempting to find a hiding place from the barrage of bullets. I rolled behind a piece of equipment and looked over the top trying to gauge what was happening. Colossus was standing between two flamethrowers unscathed. I noticed his metal skin intact. I didn't have to worry about him. Several metal cables had wrapped around Psylocke. She was struggling to break free. Then a sword appeared in her hand and she began cutting the cable. Unfortunately, a saw was coming after her from behind. With all the noise in the room, she couldn't hear it. I jumped up on top of the equipment I hid behind and held out my hand. I felt my consciousness stretch out and grab the saw. I held it back until she could cut herself free. Unfortunately, I didn't see the laser gun pop up behind me and fire on me. It hit me in the back and I fell to the ground. I rolled over in time to see it rising up higher. The barrel turned toward me and I could hear it heating up to fire. Just before it fired, a beam of ice hit it freezing it. I looked over at Bobby and he smiled at me. Then a blast of fireworks hit the gun and it blew up. Thunderbird shot a beam of plasma and melted one of the flamethrowers while Colossus squeezed the barrel of the flamethrower and smashed it closed. It exploded as the heat built up beyond tolerance. As quickly as everything started, everything stopped. Ororo, Remy and Kitty came in one of the doors. "Excellent," Ororo replied. "You passed." "Passed what?" Thunderbird asked. "Your first test," Remy answered. "We were finding out if you naturally can work with others or not. That cuts away some of the training we would normally have to do with those who don't work well with others." "Like me," I thought to myself. I work well with the Huntress, but she's more experienced in fighting. She watches my back and I can watch hers. I don't have to worry about watching more than two backs. That's why Gambit and I worked so well. I only had to keep my eye on his back and mine. There wasn't anyone else for me to concern myself with. "Let us practice some more." An hour later, we were all exhausted. Some food had been prepared and we all sat at a dining room table and ate. Afterwards I left and headed for home. I was tired, but I had to go out, even if it was for an hour or two. The phone rang as I was suiting up. "Hello?" "Eric." "Hi, Lance," I said with a big smile. I wondered if he could hear the smile in my voice. "How are you?" "Good. How are you?" "Tired." "Busy day?" "Very busy." "Then I won't keep you. I'm sure you want to get some sleep. I was wondering if you wanted to go out with us guys tomorrow night. We were going to dinner at the new Iceberg Lounge and then over to the club." "Sounds fun. What time?" "You get done with school around 5:30, right?" "Yeah." "Why don't you bring a change of clothes and come over to the hotel afterwards? You could shower here and then we could go from there." I was getting very excited about this prospect, in more ways than one. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow between 5:30 and 6:00." "See you then." Lance hung up and suddenly I wasn't as tired as I was before. I finished suiting up and headed out. Somewhere in downtown I happened upon a young man walking down the street. An older lady was walking down the street ahead of him. They were the only ones on the street and I had an uneasy feeling. The young man walked a little faster then ran. As he passed the lady, he grabbed her purse. She screamed. I went into action. I shot a line and swung down to street level. Shooting another line, it wrapped around his legs. I pulled hard and tightened the line, pulling him down. The lady just stared at me as I walked past her and grabbed her purse. I turned and handed it to her then went back to the young man on the ground. Taking the rope, I tied him up. "Call the police from that pay phone. I'll be close until they come." She went and did what I had requested. I retreated to a nearby alley until the police showed up. They carted him off and I left, ascending to the rooftops to continue my patrol. Not too much longer I came across a group of ladies robbing a store. "Hurry," one said. "In and out, quick! We don't want to get caught." "Bad news," I replied. She looked up. "You've already been caught." "Batman!" I jumped down to street level. "I'm sorry, young lady. But you and your friends are under..." I was kicked from behind and fell into the wall. When I turned I saw Catwoman standing ready to attack. "Catwoman." "Batman. Why are you bothering my girls?" "They are breaking the law." "And what are you doing in that mask if not breaking the law?" "It's not illegal to wear a mask. However, breaking and entering is. Did you order 'your girls' to do this?" "Of course. They need to get their training somewhere." "You are just teaching them the fast way into jail." Catwoman looked over at the girl who spoke earlier. "Get the merchandise and go." The girl nodded and ordered whomever was inside to get a move on. "Don't do this to them, Catwoman." "Why shouldn't I?" "Because it's wrong." Catwoman's mouth moved into a sultry smile. "You wouldn't turn us in, would you?" A girl jumped out the broken window with a bag of goods. She looked from me to Catwoman then turned to run down the street. I flicked my wrist and a metal bat popped out. It's wings opened and I threw it. It hit the running girl and dropped her. She lay on the ground, unconscious. Catwoman hissed at me and swung her claws at me. I stepped aside and grabbed her wrist. Then swung my leg up and kicked her in the stomach. She fell clutching her abdomen. "I can't believe you did that," she spit out. "It's a new millennium. Men and women are considered equal." A girl jumped on my back. I swung my head back and hit her face. She immediately let go and slid off my back, clutching her nose. I turned to face her and she went to take a punch. I blocked and punched her, knocking her to the ground. Then, I pulled out some rope and tied her up. I grabbed the metal mesh that normally covers the windows when the store is closed and pulled it down. Using some of the rope I had, I tied it down on the rest of the ladies. Then I twisted the wires together on the security alarm and immediately the bell began ringing. "You bastard!" Catwoman said. I turned to her. "I'm not the one who asked these girls to become felons. You did. This is all your fault." She jumped up and began swinging at me with her claws. "I'm going to clip your wings!" "You can try, Miss Kitty." Catwoman swung her claw at me. I grabbed it and swung my hand out, backhanding her. She kicked me in the stomach then swung her foot up and caught me in the face. She snap-kicked at me and I caught her leg. With my other hand, I swung open-palmed and hit her chest. She fell to the ground. "Looks like you got me," she replied. "Looks like." Then Catwoman swung her free leg up and kicked me in the face, knocking me away from her. She flipped up and did a spin kick and kicked me, spinning me around and into the wall. As I turned back I saw her run down the alley. Hearing sirens approaching I knew that none of the other thieves would get away so I followed. Down the alley I went. Not too far away, I saw her ascending to the rooftops. I ran and grabbed the fire escape and pulled myself up. Up the ladder I went in pursuit. When I got to the top I looked around. She got away. I didn't know how, but she did. To Be Continued...