Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 19:18:26 -0800 (PST) From: Author James Subject: Chronicles of a Real Dark Knight 23 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. Talamasca, Lestat, Louis, and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice. 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!!! Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks. jmsotc@yahoo.com Chapter 23 Bonds Christian walked into the mansion with a bag of groceries. He went straight to the kitchen and put them away. A shadow formed and Macai came forth. "How is our patient?" "He still doesn't remember who he is." "Keep it that way. He must not remember who he is. He must not remember his secret." "Is there some reason why not?" "Long ago he thwarted me, along with a very strong vampire, from taking over as ruler. I seek my revenge along with my rightful place as ruler of this realm. I will not allow him to remember who he is. You see to it that he doesn't remember." Macai disappeared. Christian watched in sadness. He felt something happening to him and Eric, something he had only hoped for in his dreams, something he never expected to happen for real. He was falling in love with Eric. Batgirl, Nightwing and Robin headed toward the vampire queen's building. They stopped at the building across the street to gain their bearings. Batgirl pulled out small binoculars and peered at the building. "The vampires are getting ready to head out for their evening meal. If we time it right, we should be able to get inside and get a good layout of the building. We may even find the vampire queen." "That should be fun," Robin said with a hint of sarcasm. "Let's go." The three masked heroes shot lines across the street. They climbed across the lines to the vampire building and entered via the nearest window. The room they entered was dark and damp. A refrigerator and microwave were the only appliances in the building. Large blankets covered the windows to prevent sunlight from streaming in during the daytime. "Cozy," Robin remarked. "Keep it quiet," Batgirl ordered. "There may be some still in here. Weapons ready." Robin pulled out a cross and a wooden stake. Nightwing pulled out a wooden stake and some holy water. Batgirl pulled out two wooden stakes and went to the door to listen for activity. When no sound came, she slowly opened the door and peeked her head out. All was quiet. "Come on," she said entering the hallway. Nightwing and Robin followed her out to the corridor. They followed her to the stairwell and began a descent to the basement. "Why are we going down?" Robin asked. "The safest place in the building for a vampire at any time of day is the basement. Easy access to sewers if there is trouble, too," Nightwing answered. "The lead vampire considers herself a queen. She may want to go to the roof to see the city that she believes she rules." The three continued their trek down the stairwell. Lance drifted off to sleep but no pleasant dreams came to him. Eric, his lover, kept calling to him for help. "Where are you, Eric?" Lance would call out. But he could not find his lover anywhere. "Where are you? Eric, come back to me! I need you! I can't live without you! Where are you?" Lance sat up with a start, his face covered in a cold sweat. He looked over at the clock. 2:00 am, it read. "This feels like a nightmare. One I want to wake from." Lance looked around the room and saw so many things that reminded him of Eric. But Eric wasn't anywhere to be found. His stomach churned. He jumped up and ran to the bathroom where he heaved and heaved. The thought of Eric no longer being in his life made him sick. The fact of Eric dead made him nauseous. His heaving slowed but the tears then started. He sat on the bathroom floor clutching his stomach and sobbing, tears flowing down his face. "He's gone. Eric is never coming back." Jessica stood outside the house looking up at the bedroom window, a window she remembered all too well. Her heart grieved for Lance. She still loved him, but there was nothing she could do for him. As much as she wanted to, she could not take his pain away. A tear fell from her eye, not for the friend she lost twice, once in Los Angeles and again in England, but for her previous lover. His pain was her own. Slowly, the three crimefighters descended the stairs, checking room by room for vampires. None were found. It looked as if the abandoned building was, well, abandoned. They finished checking out the ground floor and looked to the basement steps. "Once we go down, we will have to be even more alert than we are now," Batgirl said. "There will be no way out except the stairwell. On the above ground floors we could easily use the windows as exits. But in the basement, we won't have that luxury. Are you sure you guys want to go down?" "I'm ready," Robin said. "Me, too," Nightwing said. "Let's put this vampire bitch in the ground." The three moved down the stairwell heading underground. When they reached the basement, systematically they checked each room. To their surprise, the rooms were all empty. "Great. Where do we go from here?" Robin asked. "Wait a minute," Batgirl said. She walked up to the boiler room door and felt the door. "It's cold." "They wouldn't need the boiler running," Nightwing replied. "They are undead. They have no need for heat." "It's not that. The door is extra cold. Colder than a basement should be, especially for Florida." "What are you saying?" Robin asked. "Boiler rooms are normally small anyway. There is normally some amount of heat coming from the room, regardless if the machinery is running or not." "What do you suggest we do?" Batgirl tried the door. "It's locked." She stepped back, brought her leg up and thrust forward kicking the door off its hinges. "Ah, the direct approach," Robin said. Batgirl looked in then entered. Robin followed. Nightwing checked out behind them before following. Batgirl walked over to the boiler and looked around it. "There's a hole in the wall behind the boiler. That may be where the vampire queen is hiding." Batgirl pushed on the boiler and moved it to the side. "Let's go." I awoke to the sound of Christian coming in the room. "Hey," he greeted. There was a look in his eyes like something was going on. "Hi. How are you?" "Tired. I've been pretty busy." "Making new songs, right?" "I wish. No, other things have been going on." "Anything I can help with?" I offered. "No. Nothing." Christian walked over to the window. "I had an idea. I'm going to rent some videos for us to watch tonight. Have a night in. Maybe the movie will help relax you and bring back some memories." "Sounds fun." "Great. I will go rent a movie. I'll pick something historical." I smiled at Christian and he disappeared out the room. A few feet into the tunnel and the three masked heroes were met with a foul smell. "What in the hell is that smell?" Robin said. "Death," Batgirl replied. "They have been feeding down here and leaving the corpses." "That's disgusting." "That's vampires," Nightwing replied. They continued on until the tunnel widened and a light shown forth from a chamber beyond. "Stay here," Batgirl said. "Let me check it out." Slowly, she inched forward toward the opening. She crouched down to stay in the shadows. In the chamber below sat a throne and a woman with red hair the color of fire sat upon it. "I'm still hungry," the woman declared. "I need my strength. Bring me more." "We're working on it," a vampire answered her. "Please be patient majesty." Batgirl pulled a small crossbow from a pouch on her belt. She strapped it to her wrist, took aim, and fired. It hit the servant in the chest and he turned to dust. "What the hell!" exclaimed the vampire queen. Batgirl stepped out of the shadows. "Hello, highness." "Who the hell are you?" the queen asked. "Batgirl. I'm a vampire slayer." Batgirl watched as the queen's eyes enlarged in shock. "But I thought the Batgirl was killed by Macai," the queen said. "She was. I'm her replacement." The queen stood from her throne and ran. Batgirl jumped from her ledge. Opening her cape she glided down in the form of her costume, a large bat descending on a queen of darkness. In a fluid movement, Batgirl pulled out a wooden stake and readied herself. "I've made sure your minions are gone for the evening. It's just you and I." Nightwing and Robin heard a noise behind them. They moved back to the opening of the tunnel and watched for any signs of vampiric activity. "I wonder what's taking her so long," Nightwing said out loud. "There's no where for you to run, vampire bitch." "How dare you speak to me in such a tone?! I am a queen of vampires." "I was born to speak to you that way. I am a Slayer. Prepare to be slain." The vampire queen attacked Batgirl. Batgirl grabbed the queen and rolled back, placing her foot in the queen's gut. As she fell to the ground, Batgirl kicked out, flipping the queen over her. She flipped up to her feet and turned back to the queen. The queen climbed to her feet and turned to Batgirl snarling. "You are going to pay for that Slayer." "Sounds like fun." The queen swung a fist at Batgirl. Batgirl dodged to the side. The queen brought her other fist around and hit Batgirl, knocking her into the air and against a wall. "I don't hold back," the queen said, "like other vampires do." "That's reassuring," Batgirl said. Batgirl stood and cart wheeled forward. As her foot came down it contacted with the queen's face. Batgirl, landing on her feet, wasted no time. She spun around and kicked the vampire queen in the face. The queen spun around and fell into her throne. Batgirl approached the queen to grab her. Instead, the queen grabbed Batgirl and flipped her over the throne. She flew so high in the air she almost was able to grab the ledge. Batgirl fell to the ground. The queen approached her. "Stupid, ignorant mortal. None of you realize the power that comes through immortality. As each day, each night pass, vampires become stronger. I've been around for a few hundred years now and I've seen vampire hunters come and go. Some have been fortunate enough to join my ranks. Others not so fortunate and were drained of blood. My question to you, dear Slayer, is which do you want to be?" "Neither," Batgirl replied. Placing her hands on either side of her head, she brought her legs over her head and kicked out, kicking the queen and flipping up to her feet. She spun around and kicked the queen again. Snapping her leg up, Batgirl kicked the queen in the face. The queen's head jerked back hard. The Slayer looked around and saw several pointed wooden beams protruding from the wall. Most likely there were for punishment of those who disobeyed the queen. Batgirl spun around, grabbed the queen by the front of her tunic, and, placing her foot squarely in the vampire's stomach, fell backwards. As Batgirl went back, she pushed out with her foot flipping the queen over her head. The queen soared into the air and landed directly on one of the wooden stakes. It went completely through her, piercing her heart. The queen let out a wail of pain and defeat and dissolved to dust. Nightwing and Robin, hearing the unfamiliar female scream, turned and ran to the chamber. Looking over the edge they saw Batgirl stand to her feet. She walked over to the table beside the throne. "Hey!" Nightwing called out. Batgirl looked up. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Just peachy," she replied. She scrawled a quick note. "Where's the queen?" Robin asked looking all around the chamber. "She's dust." Batgirl placed the note on the throne and walked over to the ledge. Squatted down and pushed up. Opening her cape she appeared to fly up to the ledge. Looking from Nightwing to Robin she said, "Let's get out of this crypt." Jessica stood and watched Lance's house. Her mind goes back to when she and Lance were together. She loved him so much. And they enjoyed each other so much when they were together. She noticed a car drive down the street. It had passed a few times before. She memorized the license plate. "If it comes down the street again, I'm going after it." A few minutes later the car came down the street, slowing, as it did before, in front of Lance's house. Jessica wasted no time. She ran out of her hiding place and grabbed the door, ripping it open. Placing her hands on the driver, she pulled hard. "Aaaah!" a familiar voice exclaimed. "Oh my goodness! Justin! I'm so sorry!" Jessica apologized. "Are you okay?" "Besides wetting my pants, I'm fine." "What are you doing here, anyway?" "I'm worried about Lance. I can imagine his heartache. He and Eric loved each other." "Yes, they did." "You want to get in my car and watch from here?" "I guess." Jessica climbed in the passenger side as Justin climbed back in the driver's side. Justin pulled the car over to the side and parked it. "So how do you know how Lance feels?" Jessica asked. "I remember how I felt toward Eric and how he felt toward me. Over time the things that happened when I was under the spell came back to me. I remember many of the things that happened." Justin wiped a tear as it fell down his cheek. Jessica looked upon Justin in a different light. She always thought of him as a fun-loving guy never capable to be involved in a serious relationship. "I loved Eric. I realize that, even though there was a spell put on me, I truly loved Eric. And now he's gone and I can't tell him that." Justin's expression changed from sadness to anxiety. "You won't tell anyone this, will you?" "Why don't you want them to know?" "I'm involved with someone right now. He's a great guy and I don't want him to get hurt." "Do you love him?" Jessica asked. "I think so," Justin said with a smile and a nod. "I think I do." Jessica nodded and smiled at Justin. In her heart, though, she felt a little sad. She knew love once with Lance. Now she's alone. She's always thought of it as the life of a Slayer and that it was something she would just have to accept. To Be Continued... In case anyone was wondering, I have pictures available of Macai and his friends along with the new Batgirl. Questions and comments are welcome! More to come!