Disclaimers: This story, though probably not in all chapters, will definitely have celebrities in it. I don't know what they're sexualities are, and this is not meant to imply them, either. If you are not of legal age in your area, or are not interested in this type of literature, then GO AWAY!!

The X-Men, Spiderman, Blade, the Fantastic Four, Mutant X, and all associated characters are the property of Marvel Comics.

Batman and all related characters are the property of Dc Comics.

Charmed is owned by Warner Brothers.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox.

The characters of Final Fantasy are the property of Squaresoft.

Hercules and Xena are owned by Renaissance Pictures, I think.

Street Fighter and Final Fight are owned by Capcom. Fatal Fury and King of Fighters are owned by SNK. Tekken is owned by Namco.

I will use a lot of extra things which I will announce upon use. I don't know if I'll use all the elements listed, but I have them just in case.

This story follows the life of a young mutant I made up, Joshua Monroe. Before you read this story, be sure you have read Adventures of a Real Dark Night in the boy-bands section of this archive, about chapter 7-13. The character was introduced in that story. Also, I encourage reading the stories listed below in the Tales universe, as they crossover from time to time.

For those of you who have read my other story, The Birds and the Bat, this is not a `sex scene in every chapter' type story like the other one was. If you like this story or don't like it, I would like feedback.

Also, email all comments to me at redrealityranger03@yahoo.com or at redrealityranger02@hotmail.com.

Be sure to check out, if you haven't already:

Tales of a Real Dark Knight

Tales of a Superhero Band

Tales of the New Phoenix

Tales of a Human Spider

Marvel Knights

All are in the Gay Male Celebrity Boy Bands section of the archive, save Marvel Knights, which in the Gay Male Celebrity section.

I apologize for the jumps that are being made in these few chapters, but I'm trying to include only the parts that really have Josh's involvement. If you need any reminders of the events, the next four chapters correspond with events taking place in the "Judgments" storyline of Dark Knight, the "Birds of Prey" storyline of New Phoenix, and the "Apocalypse" thru "Legacy" storylines of Marvel Knights.

Thanks, and on with the story.

Tales of a Young Mutant

Chapter 38: Dust to Dust

 

"Mom? Dad?" I was barely able to speak above a whisper. It felt like someone's hand was closing around my throat, only from the inside. My mother and father had been converted into vampires.

"Joshie! It's so good to see you." `Dad' said as he approached me. I stepped away.

"You're. . .you're. . ."

"Vampires, yes we know." Dad said. "It's not that bad."

"We get to live forever." Mom said.

"The food choice is kinda messy, but then again I always did like my meat rare." Dad added.

"And we have an endless number of buddies in the same situation. We get to hunt together. And I've got to tell you. . .your father is a very sensual man when he's feeding."

"Aww, honey stop, that's too much information for the boy." Dad said with a chuckle. Then he looked toward me. "So, you ready, son?"

"Ready?" I repeated.

"Yes, ready. To join us, silly!" Mom replied.

My stomach turned and I swore I could have thrown up then. Not only were my parents, the leaders of a vampire gang, talking about being vampires like it was the most normal thing in the world, but they were also trying to prompt me into becoming one of them.

But that wasn't the only thing that sickened me. The pain and nausea in my stomach was from an additional source—I was the Fabled One. It was my job, my duty, to destroy the two of them.

"I've had about enough of this." Angel stepped forward, drawing a stake and walking forward. The rest of their gang closed in around me.

"NO!" I shouted, grabbing Angel's arm.

Angel looked at me angrily. "Josh, they're vampires without souls. They must—"

"Be slain, yes, I know. So that they're souls can be at rest. But they're my parents. Which makes them my responsibility." I said, taking the stake from him.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

 

"Yes, are you sure about this? You'd kill your own parents?" Dad said.

"Yes, I'm sure about this." I said, looking to them. "You may not have been told, but I'm the Fabled One. My duty is to destroy soulless, rogue demons. Including you." I said, strength slowly returning to my voice.

"So be it. Boys! Attack!" Dad shouted. The vamps around us snarled as they approached.

The sound of shattering glass caught the vamps' attention as Wesley and Gunn smashed through the glass windows with axes. Fred entered immediately after them, firing a crossbow bolt into the heart of one of the vamps.

Before they could react, I jumped and did a spinning kick that connected with the face of both my vampiric parents, knocking them to the floor. A vamp came at me from either side to try and stop me, but Angel pulled out a spare stake and slew one, then spun and kicked the other. A third, tall, muscular vampire attempted to hold Angel so that the one he kicked could have his way, but a crossbow bolt from Fred killed him as he approached. Angel squatted and stood really fast, ramming his head into Muscle Vamp's chin. As muscle vamp released him, Angel spun and staked him.

As Fred tried to reload her crossbow, a female vamp leapt at her, kicking her in the chest, knocking her across the room.

"Hey!" the female vamp turned to the voice and was met with a stake to the heart from Cordelia. "Mess with my friends, you mess with me."

A vamp tried to surprise her from behind, but Cordelia spun out of the way, sensing his presence. She then hopped and kicked the demon in his back, causing him to fall to his hands and knees.

Gunn plunged the stake he was using into the same demon's back, using him for leverage to flip over him. When he landed on his feet, he lifted his stake from the dust left by the vamp's death and threw it into the heart of another vampire which was about to feast on Fred's unconscious body.

Wesley ran over to Fred, and was intercepted by a vampire. The vampire tried to grab him, but he ducked under his arms, and as he rose he swung the handle of the ax he was carrying into the vamps stomach, then up to break his nose. Then Wesley swung the blade of the ax to try and decapitate the vamp, but the vampire caught the end of the ax, then punched him backhandedly. Wes released the ax as he fell to the ground. The vamp raised the ax. Wesley looked to his left and saw next to Fred the stake that Gunn had thrown. At the last second, Wesley rolled out the way of the vampire's ax swing, which was swung so hard that the ax was stuck in the ground. While the vamp struggled, Wesley picked up the stake and as the demon rose, pulling the ax free of the ground, Wes threw the stake, which hit its mark in the demon's heart.

 

A female vampire grabbed Cordelia from behind and attempted to bite her. Seeing this, Gru quickly dusted the vampire he was fighting, then flipped over to Cordelia, punching the vampire holding her in the face. The vamp quickly recovered from the blow and cartwheeled, then flipped away to where a stray chain lay on one of the crates in the warehouse. She then cracked it like a whip, then whipped it at Gru, wrapping it around his neck. Gru caught hold of the chain, however, and jerked it toward him. The female vamp flew toward Gru, who held the stake out for it to connect with the vamp's heart.

Dad had been the first to rise, and he spun and tried to kick me in the face with his left foot. Dad and Mom had both kept themselves fit by vigorous workouts in the gym, and this only made them stronger in their demonic vampire forms. I ducked under his kick, then tried to sweep kick him, but he hopped off his right foot. This gave him the opening to reach down and grab me by the throat and lift me off the ground.

"Didn't want it to go this way, son. Looks like now I'm gonna have to give you a spanking." He said.

"Spank this." I retorted, kicking him in the face, causing him to release me. I then used him as a staircase, climbing up him to do a backflip/kick to his face. He staggered, but gained his composure as I landed the flip in time to spin and kick me in the chest. He then jumped and kicked me in the chest with both feet, grabbing my shoulders so that when I fell to the ground he landed on top of me. The impact caused me to drop the stake. Dad grabbed my neck, and leaned over, preparing to bite.

"At last, we can all be together as a family again." He said.

"I looked to my right and saw the stake I had from Angel. "No Dad, we can't." I replied as I brought the stake to me with my powers and bringing it to me, staking him through his back. Dad's face looked confused and hurt as his body turned to dust.

I brought myself to my feet, my stomach hurting again at what I had just done, my throat tight. But I had little time to wallow in my self-pity. Mom, who had been fighting against Angel while I fought Dad, noticed that I had staked him. With a loud shriek, she tossed Angel aside into a stake of crates, then crouched and leapt at me, the ax she was using in hand. I backed away from the downward swipe she made, but she then spun around, swing the ax wildly, cutting through the shirt I wore and making a gash in my stomach. She then watched as the gash in my stomach healed itself. Enraged even more, her scowl turned into a demonic grin as she took up swinging wildly with the ax again.

"So, you can. . .heal. . .yourself. . .boy?" she growled while swinging. "Well, in that case, I won't turn you. You can. . .do. . .like. . .most sons. . .and take care of . . .your mother." she said while I kept dodging her ax. I finally got an opening and jumped and kicked her in the face.

"Really, how's that?" I asked as she staggered backward."

"You can feed your mother for an eternity." she replied as she lifted the ax again. I dodged and knocked her backward with my telekinesis. I ran toward the corner I knocked her into, but one of her flunkies spun around and clothes-lined me, making me flip backwards as I fell to the ground. The vampire then grabbed my head. I grabbed his hands, trying to pry them off so he wouldn't snap my neck.

Then suddenly, the vampire growled in pain and turned into dust. I turned around to see that Fred was alright and that she had staked the vamp.

"Josh, we've got the rest of them. You go after your mother before she escapes."

"She's not my mother anymore." I replied as I ran off to find her. She was no longer in the room of the warehouse her were in, which meant she had slipped off into the darker areas. I walked along in the eerie darkness, looking for her, sensing mentally, but coming up with nothing. Then I heard a sound from above me. I turned around to try and prepare myself, but I was too late. Mom dropped from the crates above me and slammed me to the ground, my head hitting hard. I tried to shake it off, and she took advantage, planting one foot on my chest, raising her ax in the air.

"If I can't Sire you and I can't feed on you, then I guess I'll just have to kill you." she said as she stood above me.

"You can't do that either." I replied, grabbing her foot with one hand and her leg with the other. I then twisted as hard as I could, snapping the bones, causing her to howl out in pain. It was all I could do not to cry right then. But she had to be stopped. She dropped the ax, which I levitated to my hand. I then stood over her, ax at the ready. She looked up at me and I faltered. She had morphed her face back to human form.

"Please. You wouldn't kill your mother, would you?" she asked, in a pleading tone.

I could feel the tear already falling from my face. My stomach hurt, my throated tightened, I almost couldn't breathe. And when I could get control of my voice again, I barely spoke above a whisper.

"You're not my mother. Not anymore." I said. She looked into my eyes with horror as the ax fell, severing her head from her body. I watched as my mother's body turned into ashes. I stood there unable to move, just staring in the spot where my adoptive mother's dust settled on the floor.

"Josh!" I heard Angel call. But I didn't answer. I couldn't speak. "Josh!" I dropped the ax in my hand, which clanged as it hit the ground. Shortly thereafter, Angel arrived next to me.

"Josh." he said. "You do realize that you did what had to be done."

I only nodded in reply.

"She wasn't your mother anymore. And he wasn't your father anymore."

I nodded again, sadness and anger mounting.

"I'm sorry."

Nod.

"Josh, are you sure you're okay---?"

"YES, I'M ALRIGHT ANGEL!" I replied, turning to him, the tears nonstop now. I knew that my anger was dangerous now, because a thunderstorm had started inside and outside the warehouse. "I'M FUCKING GREAT! I JUST SAW THAT MY MOM AND DAD, WHO I THOUGHT WERE DEAD FOR THE PAST YEAR, WERE VAMPIRES! AND I KILLED THEM! TO ENSURE THAT I KNEW THAT THEY'RE SOULS WERE AT PEACE, I KILLED THEM! I KILLED THEM! I KI.—." It was at that point that I couldn't speak anymore and my tears flowed like rivers, and the ran poured down like a waterfall as I collapsed forward. Angel rushed forward and caught me before I fell, pulling me to him as I cried. I held to him for dear life, sobbing uncontrollably.

The ride back to the Hyperion was a silent one. I couldn't really talk at all if I wanted to, and the others couldn't find anything comforting to say at all.

Finally, Angel spoke up. "I don't think it safe for you to fly back home, Josh. I think we should call Xavier's and get you home by plane."

"T-storms." Reminded Gunn.

"Hey! Not nice!" Cordelia said.

"No, he's right." I said, barely talking. "I need to get to Xavier's as soon as possible without causing any wild weather from emotional outbursts.

"We can call the Charmed Ones. I'm sure their white-lighter, Michael, can give you a lift."

"Okay." I agreed. After that it was silent for a while, then I voice my thoughts aloud. "I'm going to kill them."

"Huh?" said Wes.

"What?" I replied.

"You just said `I'm going to kill them.'" Gunn replied.

"Who is this `them'?" asked Wesley.

"Sinister and Apocalypse." I replied. "I'm going to kill them both."

"Are you sure you're ready to go against them in this emotional state?" Cordelia asked.

"He's ready." Angel said, causing all eyes to turn to him.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Fred.

Angel looked at me in the rear view mirror (of course I couldn't see him in it, but I saw him look into it). "Because if there's anything I know from experience, it's that anger with purpose makes a warrior strong. Apocalypse and Sinister have no idea the pain they're in for."

"You can say that again." I replied .

The time had finally arrived. After much training, I was finally ready. The only way that we figured we'd be able to assemble so many heroes within one place would be to put everyone in the cafeteria, with many tables pushed together.

Professor Xavier sat at one end of the table. Following the large gathering had to be told in one direction, so I'll say it to his right. Next over was myself, and the other X-men, Storm, Bishop, Jean (who retook the codename Phoenix in memory of Josh), Cyclops, Iceman, Emma Frost, Pyro, Spyke, Archangel, Gambit, Rogue, Beast, Northstar, Taran (who took the name Eros rather than Cupid), Cole (who now went by Charge), and Quicksilver. Next to them sat the Hollingsworth brothers, Perry, Patrick, and Pierce. Next were members of Angel Enterprises, along with a blonde young woman and a male with bleached blond hair, who were Buffy and Spike. With them they also brought a red-haired witch named Willow. Then were the X-men-related members of Excalibur, Shadowcat, Psylocke, Colossus, and Nightcrawler. Next to them were the Marvel Knights, Blade, Cloak, and Dagger, as well as Ghost Rider. Next to Dagger sat Jessica, the Huntress, her watcher Garrett, and her boyfriend, Justin Timberlake. On the other side of Justin sat the Birds of Prey, Green Falcon, (J) C, Dazzler, Jubilee, and Boomer, who was of course seated next to Professor Xavier. Logan stood at the door of the room, with a box containing something very necessary to this meeting.

"Good evening everyone. I'm very pleased that all of you turned out for the meeting today.

"As you all know, the efforts of Blade, Cyclops, and the others who fought against Apocalypse and Sinister were very successful. However, their inability to completely stop them was not helpful. The two escaped."

"Yeah, but we spanked their asses from here to Timbuktu." blurted out Ghost Rider. "They should think twice before they come at us again."

"Unfortunately, the attempt they tried the first time was only a primary attempt. They have a backup plan which is already set in motion."

"So? What is it?" asked C. I could feel stemming from him anger towards Blake's death. He was ready to seek revenge. I could relate.

"Well. . ." Xavier said, pausing to take a look at me. "Perhaps it is time that I turned this meeting over to the person who it actually was called by. Many of you already know him, but some of you may not. It is now time that I introduce you to Joshua Monroe."

As Xavier took his seat, I rose, standing at an angle that I could turn and look at everyone. As I looked over everyone, I noticed that most of the people I had indeed worked with before. I noticed that Dagger and Huntress were talking about me. Likewise, I saw comments passing between Angel and Buffy.

"Good evening everyone. As Xavier has already told you all, the threat of Apocalypse is at hand yet again. He and Sinister have made life a living hell, for all of us lately.

"However, if we don't bond together, all as one, and do something, they're going to make it a living hell for everyone on the planet earth."

"How does he plan on doing that?" asked Ghost Rider, disbelievingly. "We trashed his stash of viral weapons already!"

"What he's got planned this time is of mystical origin." It was then that I pulled out the scroll and explained its origin, then read it in English. All the slayers in the room and their watchers looked on in awe.

"Extraordinary." Giles said as he hurriedly cleaned his glasses with a handkerchief and leaned forward to get a closer look. "How did you translate it?"

"An evolution of my powers." I replied. "I simply was able to read it, even in the Sumerian that it's written in, as well as translate it to English."

"So what you guys want is for us to do is to go into battle against Apocalypse. Okay, enough said. Got a score to settle anyway." replied Ghost Rider.

<Clarify.> Xavier advised.

"Actually, I'm going to be the one combating Apocalypse and Sinister. I'll need you guys to fight against their army."

Everyone seemed to be in thought. Ghost Rider stood up. "Personally, I'm all for gettin' rid of Apocalypse. However, I don't think some child should lead us! Look what happened to Davey! Kids shouldn't wear masks! Kids shouldn't be put on the front lines of this war!"

Jessica turned to him and politely replied, "Slayers are chosen as teenagers. We are trained at a young age to fight. We are skilled beyond anything you might ever know. From what I've seen and heard, Joshua is just as capable of leading us as Cyclops. The fact that he was given the translation to the texts speaks volumes as to what the Powers that Be feel about his abilities."

"He's shown without a shadow of a doubt that he will do what needs to be done in order for the world of humans to be saved." added Angel.

"He's proven himself time and time again. Always coming to the aid of others." said Pierce.

"Ghost Rider," the dark half-vampire Blade said, "I think this young man is capable of it. I can feel the power emanating from him."

Ghost Rider looked at me again. "Are you sure that you can pull this off?"

The thoughts of my adoptive family and Phillip entered my mind.

Logan walked over to me, opening the long box containing the pieces of the Phoenix Blade. I used my powers of telekinesis, feeling my eyes glow the orange color everyone said they were as I upped it with Phoenix energy. "Oh, I'm more than sure." I said as I easily repaired the parts of the sword back together, to everyone's astonishment.

"In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's get that son of a bitch, boss man." he replied.

"Any objections?" I asked. None were given. "Good. There's enough room in the mansion for everyone to rest. In the morning, we train. The others will show the visitors to their rooms." With that, I left the cafeteria.

 

I went up to the roof of the mansion, looking out at the night sky. I heard a sound and turned to see Blade.

"Tandy suggested that I came to talk to you." he said in a gruff voice.

"About what?" I asked.

"Well, Angel told Buffy, who told Jessica, who told Tandy, who told me that you had to do the ultimate slaying." Blade said.

"Please." I said as I turned away from him. "It was vampires."

"I know. And it takes great courage to fight them. Especially when they look like your parents. And even more so to slay them. I know. It's how I became part vampire in the first place."

I turned back to look at him. "Your mother?"

"She was bit by a different species of vampire than the one you usually face while she was pregnant with me. The bite turned her, and caused me to be half vamp. I faced an archrival a few years back, before I met the others, who used my mother as bait for me. I'd had no choice but to kill her. That's why I know how you're feeling."

"How did you handle it?"

"I chose to think of it as freeing her." He replied. "Sure, I thought of it at first as I was destroying my mother's body. But the way I see it, her soul left her body, and was waiting in torment for her demonic form to be destroyed. It separated her from peace. At first I thought it was silly, until I met Angel. Now I think it's possible. Someday, when. . .if we pass away, we'll find out. Think on it." Blade said as he left me alone to my thoughts.

The time of the full moon was finally on us. Everyone knew their place in the plan. The time had come. The time for the death of Sinister and Apocalypse.

 

So how did you guys like it? Send all of your comments to me at either of my email addresses, redrealityranger02@hotmail.com or jercolap@hotmail.com. redrealityranger03@yahoo.com, the other email address I have, has had too much junk email flow through it, so I'm sticking to the first two I listed above. I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I've finally gotten rid of my stupid, outdated computer and have gotten a new one, so the story should be getting out faster. Send me an email, tell me if you like it. Until next time!