Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 18:02:12 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Trials of a Real Dark Knight 13 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. 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. The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice. Star Wars and all related concepts created by or based on the universe created by George Lucas. Copyright 20th Century Fox, LucasFilms Ltd. and Lucas Books/Ballantine Books. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. This story has taken on a life of its own. From its inception a year ago, I had only thought it would last ten chapters maximum. As you can see, it has grown tremendously. Mostly due to readers emailing me and telling me they've enjoyed it or have received help due to certain issues addressed. I've enjoyed writing this story but it would not have been written without men and women reading it and telling me they've enjoyed it. I do hope that you continue to enjoy each new chapter as our hero lives and grows. 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. 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 13 Return I hadn't left Jessica on good terms even after finding out that Mystique framed me. She had issues with the way I treated Alan for being the Scarecrow. I couldn't help how I felt toward him. People who treat others wrong should pay for what they've done. Should he be forgiven? I don't know. One may think I'm a hypocrite, especially after what happened in Akron with the vampire James. But there are different variables to each scenario. James killed anyone and everyone because of what he was feeling inside. He was merely reacting to psychological harm done to him. That doesn't wipe his slate clean, not in anyone's book. But that should allow a chance for retribution. Alan, on the other hand, hurt those who loved and trusted him. He had support from friends and he turned his back on their support. He even went so far as to harm one of them with his fear toxin. Should he be given a second chance? Should he have a chance to make up for his crimes? I don't know why, but part of me had a hard time showing him compassion. In a few hours time, I arrived back in Los Angeles. The sun was just coming up so I did not have time to find a place and change. I drove right to Garrett's mansion and pulled in the back. As I climbed off, I was met by the Huntress. "So did you come back to humiliate another of your friends?" "No. I came back to tell you I caught Mystique in Sunnydale. She will be paying for her crimes." "For eternity? Did you kill her or just torture her?" "I turned her over to the police. I'm sure in a few months time she will be coming to Los Angeles to serve her sentence for killing Dr. Israel." "Why did you come back here?" "If you are wondering if I'm going to stay, the answer is no. I came to tell you Mystique has been brought to justice. Tomorrow, I'm going back to Orlando and tell Lance I'm alive." "Are you sure he wants to be with you? From what Justin tells me, Lance is building a life with a guy named Paul. Would that be fair to come back and disrupt his life?" I wasn't shocked by what Jessica said, not in the least. "I thought that myself. But I want to fight for Lance. I want to spend the rest of my life with him." "Are you sure? Look at how you have acted as Batman. You are cold and cruel. There wasn't any mercy in your actions toward Alan. Mr. Freeze was warmer than you are." The sun was blazing across the sky creating a golden glow around us. "Let's get inside and discuss this further," Jessica stated. I followed Jessica inside and down to the basement where she changed from her Huntress gear to a robe and nightgown. She tossed me a robe to change into as well. After changing, we went up to the kitchen where we continued our discussion. "How can you talk to me the way you did after all I went through?" I asked her. "I was dead for two months! Dead to my family and the rest of the world for three!" "And you think you were the only one affected by that? God, Eric, how self-centered are you?" Jessica took a deep breath. "Eric, all of us went through a lot while you were gone. Lance went through the most. His heart was ripped out when I told him you were dead. He was devastated. There was absolutely no reason for him to go on. But slowly and surely, he rebuilt his life. He gave his heart time to heal and he moved on. "Now, after his heart has healed of being broken and he has found someone to love, you want to walk back into his life and demand he give his heart back to you. Prove that you deserve his heart. Prove that you are acting on someone else's interest. Prove you are doing what is best for Lance." "How?" I whispered. "By letting Lance decide what is best for him. Show up in Orlando if you want. Build your life. Once you are established again, call Lance and let him know you are alive. Take it slow. Don't just barge in on him and Paul and mess with their lives. They deserve to be treated respectfully." I thought about what Jessica said. It hurt that she called me self-centered, but it was true. I had thought of these things before, but I was tired of being the "good guy". I wanted to be selfish and get something for me. I gave months of my life of being dead and I wanted something good to happen to me, something that I wanted. "You're right, Jessica. I am being self-centered, and I'm not thinking right now of what others are going through or what others want. But don't you think, after all I went through, that I should get something I want out of life? Why can't I do something just for me?" "What's Batman, Eric? Isn't he just for you?" "It started out that way. But after England, he's been about what the world needs. He's been about what is good for the rest of humanity. Maybe I'm becoming selfish." "I don't know how to cure that, Eric. You were the one training to become a psychologist. You figure out how to not be selfish. "As for me, I'm going to bed." Jessica turned and walked to the kitchen door. "You're welcome to sleep for a while if you want." Then she went out of the kitchen leaving me alone with my thoughts. I stood there for a while going over what Jessica said. Maybe what she said was true, as far as how to deal with Lance. Maybe I'll do that. I called the airline to see how much a ticket would cost to fly from Los Angeles to Orlando. I checked to see if I had the money, and I did, so I reserved a flight for that afternoon. Then I went to the spare bedroom I slept in before, set the alarm, and fell asleep. My plane arrived yet again to this city. It had been almost two weeks since I had first arrived after my ordeal in London. The first few moments were heart wrenching when I had found Lance with another person, a man by the name of Paul. He looked as if he could supply Lance with all that Lance could ever want or need. But just because I could no longer be with Lance did not mean that Lance and I could not be friends. Still, I did not think it prudent for me to walk up to him and say, "Hello. I'm alive." It would disrupt the life he was trying to rebuild after my so-called death. No, it would have to be done much later, at a time when Lance and Paul were closer and surer of their relationship. As I disembarked the plane, the first place I went was a motel, a rather cheap one. I had a little bit of money, enough to secure shelter until I had a steady income. I would have to start looking first thing in the morning. But for now I had to sleep. Unfortunately, I was a bit restless. I wanted my life to be normal again. After what happened in London, my life could never be normal. I was "dead" for three months, by unconsciousness for two and amnesia by one. When I returned to my homeland, my lover was with someone else, which was appropriate in some ways. But my family rejected me because I was a mutant, something I had no control over. I then had to fight hard, but eventually I won the trust of Jessica, after I proved my innocence. That is what brought me to this moment, this place, in time. No wonder I couldn't sleep. My mind had too much to ponder. What do I normally do when I can't sleep? I needed to do something to distract me. I changed into my Bat-suit and then went out on patrol. In a short amount of time, I came across a gang of vampires. They were walking down the street probably looking for a meal. I jumped off the roof and landed in the thick of them knocking them down. Several jumped up ready to fight. This was definitely going to help get my restlessness out. "Another Bat?" one vampire said. "This one isn't a Slayer, though. It's a man," another replied. The vampires grinned. "Should be easy," a third vamp replied. Two vampires swung their legs at me. I grabbed them and threw their legs up into the air. The vampires fell on their backs. I tossed my cape back over my shoulders, making my arms and legs easily accessible. I pulled out the two wooden stakes. "Let's dance," I said. A vampire swung at me. I blocked and rolled out of the way. The vampire's momentum spun him around. I took a stake and slammed it into his chest. One down, several more to go. A large, muscular vampire with a Mohawk came running at me. I turned and thrust my hands out, palms up. The impact I had on him was significant enough to knock him across the street and into the brick wall of the building. The remaining vampires looked at me in shock. Without warning, an arrow hit one in the chest and turned him to dust. The vampires looked up. "She's here!" they exclaimed. I turned and saw a girl wearing a dark blue Bat-suit standing on the roof of a building. 'She must be the new Slayer,' I thought. I watched as Batgirl leapt into the air, opening her cape. Her silhouette darkened out the center of the moon as she came down and she looked supernatural. 'That must be how I look,' I thought. 'Cool.' Batgirl wasted no time with pleasantries. Instead, she ran down the street after the vampires. I followed close behind. Several vampires went into an alley. Two stayed behind. "Can you handle these two?" Batgirl asked. "Yes. Get the other ones." Batgirl looked back at me and then turned toward the alley. The two vampires stood at the mouth of the alley creating a barricade so Batgirl could not get through. As Batgirl approached, she knelt down and jumped into the air flipping over the two demons. They watched her as she went over their heads and landed. She continued on into the alley. With the vampires distracted, I was able to make my move, too. I ran up to the two vampires and kicked one in the back of the knee. It fell to one leg and called out in pain. The other turned and was met by my fist in the mouth. It stumbled backwards into the wall. The vampire on one knee swung his fist up and caught me in the stomach. Then his fist came up and caught me in the face. I fell backwards on my back. The vampire against the wall came running at me. When it was in range, I brought my feet up and planted them firmly in the demon's stomach. Using its momentum, I flipped it over my body and into a nearby mailbox. I flipped up in time as the vampire on the ground climbed to its feet. I spun around and kicked it in the mouth. It spun and fell to the ground. The vampire that was knocked in the mailbox stood and came toward me. I flipped forward kicking my legs out. I kicked the vampire in the face and my legs continued forward over my head. As I was in the air, I pulled one of my stakes out and staked the vampire on the ground in the back. It turned to dust and I turned around shoving the stake into the heart of the vampire I just kicked. It turned to dust and I turned around to see Batgirl exit the alley. "Good work," she said. "Thanks. You must be the new Slayer." "That's me," she replied. "And either you are the original Batman the Council told me may be coming or you are a fan. Which is it?" "I'm the original." Batgirl nodded. "Nice to meet you." "You, too." "Did you just get into town?" "Yes." "Good to have you back. Sorry, I can't stay and chat, though. Have patrolling to do." "I understand," I answered. Batgirl pulled out a grapple and shot it to the roof. It pulled her up and within moments she was out of sight. I stuck to the shadows and made my way around town on ground level. After a short walk, I found myself near the club where NSYNC normally hung out. Maybe I would see one of them inside. Pulling a grapple out, I shot a line to the roof and ascended to the top. There I walked over and peered through the sky light down at the dance floor. The club was in full swing as patrons danced with one another. As I watched, I noticed Justin dancing in the midst of the dancers. Some stepped back so more could get a good look at Justin. Without warning, someone flew into Justin knocking him over. Some inaudible yelling ensued and two large men approached the patron. "There goes the pager," I muttered. Jumping into the air, I opened my cape and crashed through the skylight. "Batman!" someone yelled. The crowd went wild with my appearance. They probably all believed I was dead. To see my crashing through the skylight was as if the dead rose. One of the two guys pulled out a knife. As I came down, I threw a bat and it hit his hand causing him to drop his knife. I landed on the dance floor and swung my leg up connecting with the knife-wielder's face. He fell backwards onto the floor. The second gentleman grabbed me from behind in a bear hug. He squeezed tighter and tighter. "Let's see how well you fight without breath," he muttered. I swung my head back and broke his nose. He immediately released me to attend to his own pain. I dropped to one knee and spun around. Then, I swung my fist out connecting with his stomach. He hunched over in pain. I grabbed his head and flipped him over to the floor. Sirens faded within earshot and I heard someone yell the police were coming. 'Good, I can go.' I stood and ran toward the back door. Justin couldn't believe his eyes. Could this Batman be Eric? Impossible. Eric was dead. But still... Justin ran after the Batman. He exited to the alley and looked around. "Batman," Justin called out. "Batman!" When no answer came he yelled, "Eric!" I couldn't let it go like this. If Justin were to tell Lance, it...it wouldn't be right. Lance should know from me that I'm alive, not Justin or anyone else. I stepped out of the shadows into the light. Justin looked at me in disbelief. "Eric? Is that...you?" he asked. I walked up to him and slowly pulled off my mask. "You're alive," he said. "You're alive!" Justin grabbed in a tight embrace. I hugged him back. It felt good, almost too good. "What...how..." he began. "I wasn't dead. I was unconscious for two months. My mutation repaired my internal organs." "Lance will be so excited to see you." "He mustn't know, Justin." My words knocked the wind out of Justin's sails. "What do you mean? He will be so happy to see you." "And I will be happy to see him. But he is with Paul right now. And I just arrived. I'm not established yet. Once we are both on solid ground, then I will let him know I'm alive. I don't want to screw up what he and Paul are building. The last thing I want to do is break his heart again. This time, there would be a third heart to be broken. I don't want the responsibility of that." Justin nodded in understanding. "Where are you staying?" "A motel a few blocks from here." "Would you like to stay with me?" Justin offered. "I've got the room, sort of. I have an apartment." "I don't know," I replied. "Please," Justin said, "I insist. You can tell me all about England and I can fill you in on what has been going on here." I thought about it for a moment. It was nice having someone I knew welcome me into their home. Finally, I answered I would. "Great! Here's the address and apartment number. I'm going to head on over. You go to your motel room, get your things and come over." "Thanks, Justin," I said. "For everything." "No problem. That's what friends are for." Justin headed back into the club. I looked at the address and smiled. "It looks like I still have a friend after all." To Be Continued...