Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 06:32:05 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Return of a Real Dark Knight 21 Disclaimer: This story is fiction. There are two celebrities who will appear from time-to-time. The other characters are fictitious. Any similarities to persons living or dead are completely coincidental. In this story, I have continued the adventures of Batman, my Batman, which his story first began in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight" in the Boy Band section of this archive. It spanned 250 chapters. You will find many universes merging, as the below copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. 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. Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. Copyright DC Comics. X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. The Vampire Chronicles 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. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks. authorjames2002@yahoo.com I also have several online messenger services. If you want to chat with me in real time, email me and tell me the services you use and I will tell you my screen name. Chapter 21 Sudden Power I awoke feeling refreshed after the previous night's excursion. The members of the team seemed to be taking on their new identities and abilities well and were able to keep their two lives separate from one another. It would take practice, but I was sure they could do it. I rolled over and looked at Lance as he slept peacefully next to me. Even though we had noticeably aged and were now in our late 30's, he still looked good. He looked as gorgeous to me now as he did years ago. I moved over and kissed his chest and then lay my head down listening to the smooth rhythm of his heartbeat. His hand reached over and held me close. I knew that he was still sleeping, though. His action was a simple reaction to my presence, just as I've had those same reactions to his presence. When I've felt him near, I could sense it and my heart delighted in it. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to rest some more. When I awoke again, I found myself in the bed alone. Lance was just climbing out of the shower and I looked in to see him standing there wearing nothing but a smile. "Good morning, sleepyhead," he said as he dried himself off. I smiled and replied, "Good morning, sexy," as I sat up. "Don't go anywhere," he said, "unless it's to the bathroom. I made breakfast for you." "You did?" "Yep," he said as he finished drying off and hung the towel up. Then he entered and went over to the dresser. I hadn't noticed the tray of food sitting on the dresser, which he picked up and carried over to me. "God, this is a treat. Lance Bass giving me breakfast in bed naked. Am I still dreaming?" "Nope, this is for real." He sat the tray over my legs, sat down next to me and planted a kiss right on my lips. "What's the occasion?" "You are," he replied. "You are a wonderful husband, an awesome father, and you care about people. You complete me, Eric. And I wanted to show you that I appreciate you so much." I kissed on the lips and smiled at him. "You are wonderful, Lance. Who knows what my life would be like without you? I'd probably be bitter and alone. You bring sunshine into my life and make every day better than they could ever be. I'm glad you are in my life." Lance smiled in return, reached over, and took a piece of bacon off my plate. "What are your plans for today?" he asked. "I'm staying home. I plan on doing a little bit of work here, but, other than that, I'm staying in. Last night tired me out. Maybe I'm getting too old for this." "Hardly," Lance replied. We sat there and ate breakfast talking about stuff that has been going on. We discussed Preston and Sarah, Randy, and the new kids. We talked about what we were thinking of doing for our anniversary, which was coming up in a few weeks. And we talked about his family. Mine still didn't talk to me, although my niece came to visit and my nephews called and wrote letters. My sisters, brother-in-law, and parents still rejected me for being a mutant. My mom had said one time that being a mutant would be the death of me. All I could do was laugh at her and shrug it off. She didn't want to hear about it. Why should I try to explain things to her if she didn't want to hear it? It would be a waste. When I finished, Lance and I got up. He dressed and took the tray downstairs while I showered and dressed. When I went downstairs, I saw Preston in the den reading books. Sarah was outside swimming in the pool. Lance stood at the door watching her. "She's so full of life and energy," he said. "Even before we found out she was to be a Slayer. I often wonder what their futures will hold." "Me, too. I hope they have bright, happy futures with a spouse and children. That is, if they want children." "They've seen all the fun you and I have had in raising them, I'm sure they would want children." I smiled and went over to the den to see Preston still reading. "What do you have there?" "This book about vampires," he answered. "There are more important things in this world than vampires," I said. "At the moment, that's the only thing that interests me." "Did you get your report card yet?" "I think Pop brought it in. I should be sitting in the living room." I left the den and went to the living room where I saw the mail sitting on the table. I picked it up and went through it. Both Sarah and Preston's report cards were there. I opened Preston's and saw that he got straight A's again. Sometimes I wondered if that kid had a photographic memory. Sarah did very well, too. She didn't get straight A's, but she got mostly A's and a few B's. They were very smart children and I was sure they would go far in life. I took the mail back to Lance and showed him their report cards. He was proud of both of them. They seemed to work very hard in their studies. I went back to see Preston and congratulated him on his grades. "How do you do it?" I asked him. "I studied a lot but never did this well. You must have amazing study skills." "I read the chapters and read the notes." "How many times?" "Just once." His response made me curious. "You've read the texts only once?" "Yeah." "How do you do on tests?" "I get all the questions right. Even the bonus questions. I'm surprised everyone else doesn't. They must not read the chapters. My teachers say that reading the books is vital to doing well on the tests." It's true. Most of the teachers I had in school have told me the same thing. "Keep up the good work," I said and went outside with Sarah and Lance. "Hey, Sarah, excellent job on the grades." "Thanks, Dad," she answered. "How much studying do you do?" "Oh, gosh, tons. I usually have to read over the chapters two or three times, and even then I don't remember everything." I turned to Lance and the look on my face clued him in that something wasn't quite right. "What is it?" he mouthed to me. I shook my head in answer, letting him know I had no idea. Then I went back into the den and walked over to Preston. "Can I see that book for a minute?" "Sure," he replied and handed me the book. "Who is the author of this book?" "Genevieve Boudreau." "What is the first chapter about?" "Boudreau opens with a discussion of the mythology of vampires. She talks about their origins and powers." "What does page twenty-three discuss?" "Page twenty-three is part of the section on known vampire sightings. Dr. Erickson is the eye witness on that page and he talks about the night he saw a victim of a vampire. He believed he saw the vampire later that night near his house." I closed the book and looked at my son. "You have an amazing ability to remember information. You can recall anything." "Doesn't everybody?" "No, not everyone does. What else can you remember randomly?" "Anything you want to know. I remember what you and Pop wore on my thirteenth birthday party, what you guys said to me just before I made my wish. I remember that Sarah and her friend Marissa were arguing over by the swimming pool. Randy was inside with Aunt Jessica. The sky was a beautiful blue that day, and the birds were singing. You could smell the flowers blooming next door. They were growing hyacinths at the time." "Preston, is there anything you can't remember?" "Stuff before my thirteenth birthday is a little fuzzy. I don't remember that stuff very well. I mean, there are moments I remember, like when Sarah and I first went to Kindergarten. I remember the teacher's name. But not as much detail and not nearly as much as what I can remember after that day." "I'm going to ask you a personal question, Preston. And I don't mean to embarrass you at all. Okay?" "Sure," he said, though he looked a little apprehensive. "Did you hit puberty around that day?" "You mean, like, did hairs start showing up down there?" I nodded. "Actually, yeah. Why do you want to know?" I looked over my shoulder to Lance, who had followed me into the house when I came in to talk with Preston. "Because, son, I think you might be a mutant." "What?" "You have the ability to take in information, to assimilate it, without effort. And you can recall it without having any triggers. No one can really do that. Except for Sage, and she's a mutant." "Are you serious? You mean this isn't because of my great ability to study?" "Preston, son, you only read the chapters once. Your sister has to read those two or three times and can't remember everything. None of us can do what you do." "Is there any way to tell?" my son asked. "Come with me," I said as I stood. Preston got up and followed me down to the basement. We went into the secret room that I used for my costume, Oracle, and the cycle. "We need a sample of your DNA. Let me lance your finger." I took a small lancet and poked his finger. Squeezing the blood onto a slide, I put it underneath a scanner and asked Oracle to scan for the X-gene. She complied and the machine went to life. Seconds later, a readout appeared on the screen and it did indicate the X-gene existed in Preston's DNA, specifically on the connections from his senses to his brain, hence why he could assimilate any stimulus and recall it at will. He was like a walking computer. "You are a mutant," I said to him. "Oracle has determined exactly what makes you a mutant." I showed him the information and the diagram. He stood dumbfounded. "I always thought everyone learned like that. I assumed that the reason my friends didn't do that well was because they didn't read the books. They told me they didn't read everything so I just assumed... "Does this mean I can be a crime fighter like you?" "It means you can help. You don't have the strength to fight demons and monsters like Sarah or me, but there are things you can do." "I want to be a Watcher," he stated. Lance and I looked at one another. "That would be a great help," Lance said. "Having a Watcher that could assimilate all that knowledge would be amazingly helpful." "I'll contact the Council and see if we can train you here. We might be able to get Grandpa Garrett to teach you. He was Aunt Jessica's Watcher." "That would be awesome!" Preston said. "Go on upstairs. I'll contact the Council and see what can be done." Lance put his hand on Preston's shoulder and the two went upstairs. I sat down at the computer and cleared my throat. "Oracle, contact the Watchers' Council." "Contacting," Oracle replied. A few moments later, the screen revealed a young woman. "Can I help you, Dr. McCoy?" she asked. "I hope so. Is Jayce or Miranda around?" "One moment, please." The screen blipped off to the Seal of the Watchers' Council. Then, a few moments later, it blinked back on to reveal Miranda. "Hello, Eric. Long time no see." "It has been a while, Miranda. How have you been?" "I've been well. Busy, but well. What can I do for you?" "Recently, Lance and I found out that our son is a mutant. He has the abilities to assimilate and recall information." "Okay," she said waiting for me to continue. "He wants to be a Watcher. Is there any way that we could train him here?" Miranda sat back for a moment in thought. I sat there in silence and waited, listening to the sounds coming from upstairs. I heard the doorbell ring and someone go over to answer it. After several moments, Miranda took a deep breath. "It might be possible to send someone out there to work with him and train him. Do you have any requests?" "I was thinking of Garrett. He was Jessica's Watcher a long time ago." "He does have the skills and knowledge. Would you like us to contact him or would you like to contact him?" "We'll contact him. Preston knows Garrett very well." "I'll run everything by the Council and get their recommendation. Then we'll get back to you. Until then, don't say anything to Garrett." "Understood." The screen blipped out and I sat back in the chair. Footfalls on the stairs caught my attention and I turned as Preston opened the door. "Dad, there's someone here to see you." "Who?" I asked as I stood up. "Some young girl. Her name is Ella Singh." "I don't know anyone by that name. Did she say what she wanted?" "Just to talk to you." We made our way upstairs. I entered the living room and saw her sitting on the couch with Lance. Sarah was coming in from the pool. I noticed the clouds outside were gathering as if it were going to rain. "Dr. Eric McCoy?" the young girl asked. "That's me," I replied. "My name is Ella Singh." "What can I do for you, Ella?" "I've been sent here to assist you." "What do you mean 'assist me'?" She stuck her hand out to shake my hand. I noticed on her hand a green ring that I've only seen one other time. "I'm with the Green Lantern Corps." To Be Continued... Wow! Preston is revealed as being a mutant. What do you think of his abilities? And now there is a Green Lantern joining the mix.