Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 08:14:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Tales of a Real Dark Knight Chapter 42 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!!! Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter you are commenting on. Thanks. jmsotc@yahoo.com Chapter 42 What Does The Future Hold? I went home and went to bed. After telling Matt, my best friend, that I was gay and seeing his response compounded with my friend Hunter committing suicide, I didn't want to face the world. It was too much to deal with. My brain could only hold so much at one time. I know the last time I decided to continue my exploits after a traumatic event I nearly killed someone. I had become dangerous, unstable. I will not do that again to myself or anyone else. I ran a hot bath and settled into the warm water. The moisture helped sooth my muscles and my mind. I lay there and considered all that had happened in the past few months. I had taken on the image of an icon. I befriended a vampire slayer. I had slain a very strong vampire. I had discovered and came to terms with the fact I'm a mutant. I had a boyfriend who was a very popular singer, and lost him. I had begun counseling a popular actor. I befriended several popular singers. I was raped and nearly let it destroy who I was. Wow, what an amazing first few months! And I only moved across the country. I can image what it would have been had I moved to another country. After about a half hour of soaking and soul searching, I let the water out and dried off. I climbed into bed and lay down to sleep. As I drifted off to sleep, my mind wandered to the future and what it might hold for me. The prospects were terrifying. The sun came up the next morning and woke me. The world seemed like such a cold place at that moment, even though the sun shined down upon it. I dressed and went to work rather down and out of it. When I got to the office, Dr. Allison came in. "Hello, Eric." "Hello, Dr. Allison. How are you?" "I'm well. I came to see how you were doing." "I'm okay." "I don't think you are." "What do you mean?" "I mean I've talked with Kate. She told me what happened at the college last night. She is quite concerned about you, as am I." "I'm okay, Doctor. Really." "Eric, listen to me. I want my staff to be able to counsel those who are going through difficult times. That is our purpose. If my staff will not deal with a tragedy in the appropriate ways, how can I trust them to tell our patients the right way to cope? "I'm not firing you, Eric. There is so much you can do. But if you are not dealing with things properly, I cannot allow you to continue counseling until you do. Please, take the day off. Talk with your friends. I'm sure they need you as much as you need them." "Okay." "If you need anything, let me know." "I appreciate that, Dr. Allison." He smiled at me and left. I looked out at the city through the large window and again my mind wandered to the future. It seemed bleak at the moment. And why not? Hunter's future ended...all because of a psychologist who refused to face the truth. I can't say his heart wasn't good. I'm sure he had good intentions. But his mind was not in the best frame of mind. He was misguided by wrong information. Maybe I could talk to him. Who am I kidding? The first time I see him I know I'm going to have a hard time controlling my powers. I'm better off going to my friends. I grabbed my jacket and left the office building wondering where I would find Alan and Hailey and George. My God! Brian! What is he going to do when he finds out what happened? All I could picture was Brian suiting up and going after Dr. Israel one more time. With his friend dying because of Dr. Israel, I'm not sure he will be so gentle on his freezing process. I ran home and grabbed my suit. I put it on, but covered it with my normal clothes. The mask and gloves I placed in my bag and then I ran off to the college. Here I go, putting my feelings on hold for the sake of humanity. We all know what happens, though, when I put my feelings first. I arrived at the college to find the gang sitting at one of the benches under a tree. I walked over to them. "Hi," I said. "Eric," Hailey replied getting up and rushing over to embrace me. "It's good to see you." "It's good to see you, too." I released Hailey and looked at George and Alan. "How are you two holding up?" "Okay, I guess," George said. "I'm okay," replied Alan. "How are you doing?" "I'm dealing." "It must have been so rough to see Hunter..." Hailey began. She started to cry and covered her face. George put his hand on her shoulder. "It was very rough." "What happened?" Alan asked. "Why did he do it? Everyone is saying it was suicide, but I don't believe them." I nodded. "It's true, Alan. Hunter did take his own life." "Why?" George said angrily. "Why did he take his own life? He had so much going for him!" "Yes, he did. But it was the treatments Dr. Israel gave him. They hurt him physically. Added with the emotional torment of being gay and told he was evil drove him over the edge." "But didn't the treatments help?" Hailey asked. "No. There is no cure for homosexuality because homosexuality is not a disease or sickness. It's biological." "I can't believe we trusted Dr. Israel. I can't believe we supported him." "We were stupid," Alan said. "No. You were what you thought was best for your friend. You took the information you had and tried to support him. Had you known that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, you would have supported Hunter differently. I'm sure he understands where you are coming from, that you were trying to help him the only way you knew how." "But he's gone!" Hailey replied. "And there is nothing we can do now!" Hailey cried and cried with George and Alan comforting her. "Does anyone know what happened to Dr. Israel?" "No. He's disappeared. Kate was asking if anyone knew where he treated his patients but no one knows." Most of the afternoon we hung out, cried and supported each other. Life was changing again for us. This time, I didn't have to go through it alone. When night fell, I went out as Batman. I had to help the authorities catch Dr. Israel. It was the least I could do for Hunter. And the first place I looked was the building where I rescued two of his patients. Unfortunately it was empty. The equipment was still in place, but that was it. No one else was there. "Hey." I turned. "Huntress." I went over to her and hugged her. "How are you holding up?" "I'm holding. That's about it." "What are you up to?" "This is one of Dr. Israel's treatment centers. I'm looking for Dr. Israel." The Huntress looked at me and I knew what she was thinking. "No, I'm not out for revenge. The police have been looking for him but cannot find him. I'm going to help." "I've seen your brand of help before." She had a smile on her face, but I knew she was serious. "When I catch him, I'm going to turn him over to the police." "I hope so." "It looks like no one has been here in a while." "What do you plan on doing next?" "He may have more than one treatment center. The trouble is, who would know? His clients are not very forthcoming with being under his care." "Can you blame them?" The Huntress said. "But do you know who any of his patients are besides the one who ended his life?" I thought for a minute. Who did I know? "Nick!" I jumped down off the building with the Huntress in close pursuit. "Who?" "Nick Carter! I stumbled upon him and Hunter meeting! Remember when he was kidnapped?" "Yeah?" "It's because he is one of Dr. Israel's patients." Twenty minutes later, the Huntress and I arrived at Nick's California home. "Should we knock at the door?" she said with sarcasm. "I have a better idea. Stay here." I shot a line and swung across to Nick's building. I climbed to one of the balconies and tried to open the door. It wouldn't budge. I jumped to the next one and tried. It didn't budge. I decided to go to the roof and, once there, picked the lock with the nice lock picking kit Huntress gave me in one of my suit pouches and descended into the building. From there I was able to move throughout the inside. However, I had no idea of knowing which room was Nick's. If my gaydar actually worked, I would just have to follow clues to the one room that picked up as belonging to a gay person. But, I was born with a defective one, so I had to rely on other skills. I went from door to door and listened. I heard a TV show on in one room. In another was music. Then, at the end of the hall, I saw Nick's boyfriend come out and walk towards the stairs. I hid as best I could until he passed and went downstairs. I opened the door to Nick's room and entered. The lights were out. "Derrick, is that you?" "No," I said in the roughest voice I could. "Who's there?" I saw movement through a double doorway and Nick came out wearing a robe. "My God." "No. I'm Batman," I said trying to show I had a little bit of a sense of humor. "I know. W-w-what are you doing here?" "I need your help. I need to know Dr. Israel's other treatment center locations." "Sure. I can give you the ones I know." Nick walked over to a table and turned a lamp on. He sat down and began writing on a piece of paper. Knowing he just came from the bed, he either had underwear on or nothing on. I couldn't help but wonder. He certainly was gorgeous. And he had kind of cute feet, too. "Why are you looking for Dr. Israel? Is it because of what he did to me?" "That and a whole lot more." Nick turned and looked up at me. "What happened?" "One of his patients killed himself yesterday. In his suicide note he clearly implicated Dr. Israel's treatment as causing much of his duress. The police want to find him but have yet to have any luck." "Do you know who it was who did it?" I nodded. "Who?" "Hunter." His face went white and tears welled up. "No. God, no." Nick stood up and walked over to the balcony doors. He unlatched them and opened them up, looking up at the night sky. "How did it...how did it happen?" "He hanged himself." Nick covered his eyes with his hands. "Why? Why did he do it?" I walked up to Nick and put a gloved hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." Nick turned and grabbed me, pulling me close. "I'm glad you're looking for him. He can be so...scary." Nick seemed to squeeze me tighter, as if squeezing me would make his pain go away. He pulled his head back and looked into my eyes. I noticed his eyes move to my mask-covered mouth. Was he contemplating taking my mask off? Without warning, I got my answer. He pulled me into a kiss even though a piece of cloth separated our lips. He pressed hard with his touch. As much as I enjoyed this closeness with someone that I knew cared about me, I couldn't take advantage of him. I pushed him away gently. "Find Dr. Israel. Make him pay for what he's done." He slipped the paper into my hand. "I'll find him." I ran to the edge of the balcony and leapt off. I used my cape, and, strangely, my mutant powers and controlled my landing. I must have been getting some kind of control over my power. I ran across the street and met the Huntress on the ground level. "How did it go?" "Nick gave me information." I opened the paper and read the address. The Huntress looked over my shoulder. "I know where that is. Let's go." The Huntress and I went up to the roof and went from building to building. In no time we arrived at the address and saw to my horror that someone else arrived first. The windows were all frozen up, as were the doors. "Freeze is here," I stated. "What do we do?" "I've got an idea. Stand back." The Huntress stood back and I moved to the edge of the building. I relaxed my body and emptied my mind of everything but Hunter. My anger over what happened welled up inside me and what I wanted to happen happened. I felt heat build around my hands. I looked down and saw two fireballs forming. I lifted my hands and allowed my anger to flow. The fireballs grew larger and larger. I turned my hands palms out and thrust my arms forward as if pushing against the wind. The fireballs flew across the street and smashed into two windows. The intense heat busted the ice and melted most of the ice around the windows. The Huntress walked up to me. "Pretty impressive. Do you cook, too?" I looked over at her and saw her smiling. "Shall we?" We shot lines across the street and swung. As we swung, tiny motors, pulling us up to the windows, drew in the lines. "Be careful. I know who Freeze is. Try to let me deal with him, okay?" She nodded and we entered the building. With all the windows encased in ice, the building was much cooler than normal. We walked around the room we had entered and listened, taking our time so our eyes could adjust to the surroundings. As we walked, we heard some clanging and banging. I went into action and hurried toward the source of the noise. It took me to an inner room. I slowly opened the door to find Freeze throwing equipment around. "Stay here," I whispered to the Huntress. She nodded and I went in. "Hold it," I said in a stern voice. Freeze turned to me. "What do you want here?" "I'm here for Dr. Israel." "Good. So am I. Take a number. I was here first." "What do you plan on doing to him?" "What he's done to others, torture." "You are not a judge," I said. "For all you know I could be." "I won't let you hurt him." "Now you've become a protector of criminals. Since you ally yourself with the likes of Israel, you will share his fate." Freeze pointed a hand at me and a freeze beam shot out. I rolled to the side and crouched behind a desk as the beam hit the door freezing it shut. Just before it sealed, I saw Bullwhip engage the Huntress. As much as I would have enjoyed seeing him get his butt kicked by her, I had more pressing issues to deal with. I stood up and Freeze shot another beam at me. I jumped over the desk toward Freeze. I timed it just right as the beam went over my head. I landed on the floor in mid roll and rolled up to stand on my feet. "Freeze. I know you are hurting over this man. I know how you feel. I feel it, too. But killing him won't remove the pain. Your pain has to be dealt with and worked through." "How in the hell do you know what I'm going through?!" Freeze said with intense rage. "He is the cause of one of my closest friends ending his life! He destroyed my friend! How can you know what I'm feeling?!" "Because I lost someone, too, by the hands of Israel. I know the anger that wells up inside. I feel the hatred. But seeing him punished by Law for what he did will bring greater results. His reasoning and philosophy will be on trial. Perhaps this could help those like your friend, those who are gay, get some justice in their lives." "What do you know about gay people?" "I'm gay." I could tell my statement shocked Freeze. He remained silent for quite some time. Then he turned toward the door he froze. He walked over and, with a single punch, shattered the ice. He stepped out into the hall and I followed. The Huntress kicked Bullwhip in the head. He stumbled into the wall. She readied herself for an attack. He moved into a fighting stance and swung an arm at her, a whip flying out of his tubing. I popped out a bat and threw at the whip, cutting the end off. "You!" he exclaimed looking at me. "Where is Israel?" I asked. "No chance on me giving him away. You'll have to kill me first." Without warning, Freeze shot a beam at Bullwhip's legs and froze him in place. "You were saying?" Freeze said. "I can freeze more of you body, if you wish. But I suggest you don't. I'm not in the coolest of moods, right now." Bullwhip lashed out a whip and grabbed me around my throat and pulled me toward him. Slowly he tightened the grip of the whip. "Looks like the tables are turned, doesn't it?" Bullwhip said. He lashed out another whip and broke the ice. Keeping the rope tight around my neck he dragged me into a room, the one Huntress and I entered when we broke through the windows. He took me to an open window. "Let's see how strong you really are." He unlatched the whip that was tied around my neck from his arm and fastened it to a wall fixture. He pushed me out the window and all of the sudden my access to air was denied. I couldn't breathe. I was being hanged. To Be Continued...