Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 13:47:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Adventures of a Real Dark Knight Chapter 19 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!!! 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. jmsotc@yahoo.com Chapter 19 Return to the Night I quietly crept out of the house and into the night. After about twenty minutes, I was in downtown Orlando. My eyes wandered to the bright lights of the clubs. Part of me wanted to go to them. But that was not my reason for being out tonight, especially in my attire. However, I'm sure some people would be extremely turned on by my appearance. I began patrol and soon familiarized myself with the city's layout. It was going to be fun and promising. The first item on my agenda was to catch the vampires killing these people. Thinking back I remembered the areas the bodies were found so I decided to watch that area closely. For the first hour nothing happened. People moved about their lives without fear or suspicion. But that soon changed. I heard a scream come from a dark alley and I headed toward it. When I arrived, I noticed several men and a young red-haired girl. It was either a rape gang or a group of vampires...or both. I watched for a moment just to assess the situation. "Where do you think you're going, little girl?" a vampire said. "Away from the public," she replied. "What?" The girl reached in her jacket and pulled out a wooden stake. "A vampire slayer?" I whispered. The girl jumped into action and did a somersault, kicking the nearest vampire. She thrust the stake into the heart of the nearest vampire and I watched as he turned to dust. She didn't take any time to enjoy the thrill of victory. She spun kick and knocked a vampire to the ground. I noticed the first vampire she kicked stand to his feet. It didn't look like she saw him so I jumped into action. I came down upon the vampire's back knocking him to the ground. The Slayer turned and looked at me, then turned back to her work. I reached down into one of my pockets and pulled out a wooden stake. I jumped to her side. "Who are you?" she asked. "Batman." "What are you doing here?" "Helping you," I replied as a vampire swung at me. I ducked and jabbed the wooden stake in his heart. The Slayer did a flip forward and kicked two vampires in mid-air. She staked them both, one right after the other. Then she turned to me. "Thanks for your help," she said walking passed me. She knelt down as she got to the one I knocked down. Before he could get up, she rammed the stake into his back and pierced his heart. The Slayer tucked her stake away and put it in her belt. "You handled yourself well." "Thank you." "No," she said, "thank you. How did you get into this gig?" "I fought alongside the Slayer in Los Angeles. Only she wore a disguise and called herself the Huntress." "You know the Huntress?" "Yes." "She is a great Slayer." "Yes she is. "I would like to ask you. Why do you not wear a mask? The Huntress wears one. Isn't it standard to wear a mask when you are slaying?" "Many believe it is not, including the Watcher's Council. However, when they see their Slayers building and living lives outside of slaying, masks come in as a protective device of those they love. "Now, if you will excuse me. I have things to attend to." I watched the redhead walk the rest of the day down the alley and disappear around the corner. My new life in Orlando was going to be interesting. I continued patrol and ended up near the teen center. I decided to check it out so I went down to street level. I looked through the window and saw flashlight beams inside. No one should have been in there. I investigated. Quietly and quickly I lifted up on a window. It didn't budge. I tried another window and then the door. I looked around the side of the building and saw the window slightly ajar at the fire escape. I ascended the ladder quickly, slowly opened the window, and climbed in. The building was quiet at first. Then I heard some rustling and some noise. I entered the hall ready for whatever may come at me. What I heard surprised me. Someone had started a fight below. I ran down the stairs and the young man I had met earlier that day, Robby Lakewind, was fighting with the intruders...and he was doing a pretty good job. I jumped down and decided to help. Everyone stopped and looked at me. "What the hell are you?" one asked. "I'm Batman," I answered. One pulled out a gun. I was quicker. I popped out a bat and threw it at his hand. It hit his wrist and he dropped the gun. Before I could give him a chance to recover from the blow, I leapt into action. I punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. I turned to see Bobby kick another guy in the stomach. The guy hunched over and Bobby did an uppercut to the guy's face, knocking him backwards and to the ground. We turned to each other. "Call the police," I responded. "I'll tie these men up." Bobby nodded and left. I grabbed the nearest guy and picked him up. "What the hell were you doing here?" The man spit in my face. I spun around and threw him into the wall. Then I walked over and grabbed him again. "I won't ask twice." "We were sent here to destroy this place." "Why?" "Someone doesn't want the center open." "Explain." "They have their own plans of helping the children. And it doesn't concern this center." "Who is this person?" The man did not respond. "WHO?" "I don't know. We were hired by someone who works for the guy." "Who hired you?" "Some woman. She has black hair and an accent." My mind went to the woman I fought the other night, the one surrounded by the children. She was working for someone and it involved the children. But what was their plan? I tied up the two guys and met Bobby on the stairs. "Did you call the police?" "Yeah. They are on their way." "Good." "Did any of them talk for you?" I just looked at him and turned to go up the stairs. "Aren't you going to answer me?" I kept walking and heard his steps as he followed. "Batman, please. Tell me. I want to help." "It's too dangerous." "You saw that I could fight. Let me help you." I put my leg through the open window. "From the sounds of things, it must be something major going on. You are going to need all the help you can get." "Maybe," I said and climbed the rest of the way out the window. I heard the sirens approaching and climbed the rest of the way up the fire escape to the roof. Then, I jumped over to the neighboring building and, within moments, was down the block by rooftop. Across the street the robed woman watched Batman move down the block by way of rooftop. She had seen the altercation between the hired thugs and Batman. "He must be stopped," she whispered to herself. "And I know who to contact to do so." With that the woman turns and disappears into the shadows. I found my way in another part of downtown. Sirens went off and I looked around. Three men came running out of one of the banks with bags in their hands. Obviously, the bags contained money. There's nothing like good old-fashioned bank robbers that get you back to the basics of crime fighting. I shot a line across the street and swung down to street level. I landed right in front of the group. For dramatic affect, I opened my cape up letting it cast a shadow on them. To my joy, I watched them freak out. They turned and ran back the other way. I shot out another line and it wrapped around the nearest one's legs. I pulled hard and he tripped to the ground. I pulled out two of my Bats and threw them at the other two. The Bats cut through the bags and the money came spilling out onto the ground. "Oh shit!" one of them called out. He bent down and tried to pick up the money. I walked up to him and swung my leg up connecting with his face, knocking him out. The third thief kept looking back as he ran down the street. He turned and headed into a dark alley. I ran to catch up to him. To my surprise, I found him tied up. It looked as if I had some help. That's always a plus. Just so long as someone doesn't frame me in Orlando, I won't have a problem making friends. I headed back to the house. When I arrived, I found Lance still sleeping. I stripped down and put my suit back in the suitcase and returned it to its place in the shadows in the back of the closet. Feeling all sweaty and dirty, I got a nice shower and headed back to bed. I crawled in and put my arms around Lance. He turned over and put his hand on my side and began caressing me. "I heard the shower running. Is everything okay?" he asked. "Yeah. I just couldn't sleep. I took a long walk." I felt bad about telling him that. Technically, I did take a long walk. I just left out the parts about me being Batman and fighting criminals. "You couldn't sleep? After what we did you couldn't relax?" Lance grinned at me. "It's not that. I just have my mind on other things." "Like what?" "The teen center for one thing. I want it to be successful. But my plans are going to take time to carry out." "We can start tomorrow. I have to work, but I can get you in touch with some of the people in Orlando who should have some information about it. It's not much but it's a start." "You don't know how happy it makes me to see you so involved with this. I know this is my idea. But you are taking such an interest in this." "It's because it's what you want to do. You have a wonderful dream. I want to help you make it a reality." I leaned in and kissed the man I love. He responded in like manner. Then we cuddled and went to sleep. Across town the robed woman returns to her penthouse apartment. She pulls off the robe revealing her coal black hair. She walks over to her desk and presses a switch hidden underneath the top. The top of the desk slides away to reveal a keyboard. The picture on the wall flashes and the image turns into a computer screen. The black-haired lady types in a password, then several keys, and a man appears on the screen, his face obscured by shadows. "Hello, daughter." "Hello, father," she says with a thick European accent. "How did things go?" "There was interference by the same man. Only he was in disguise." "Disguise?" "Yes. It appears he has taken on the form of a bat. He fights well. He may have been trained by a Watcher." "The Council. They have no reason to get involved." "There is no evidence he has a Watcher. He was with Lance Bass, one of the singers of the group NSYNC." "If he fights well, we must hire someone to get rid of him, someone who can fight just as well." "Of course, father. Do you have anyone in mind?" "Yes. Contact our main operative in your area. He does a thorough job." "Yes, father." "Talia, be careful. People trained by the Council can be very dangerous and single-minded." "I will, father." The screen flashes and Talia opens a search program. She types in Batman's description, without the mask, and searches through the database. The computer automatically links to every computer in the world and searches for his description. It comes up with several thousand potentials. Talia narrows her search by typing in more physical characteristics and the former location of Batman. The people are narrowed down to one. "Eric McCoy. So you are Batman. And you are in my father's way. Not for long. I will see to that." Talia prints out the picture and information and shuts off her computer. In yet another part of town, a woman pulls up her green tights, which conform well to her toned figure. She puts on some lipstick and perfume. Lastly, she pulls on her green knee-high boots. She stands, walks over to her bureau and picks up her gloves. One has several throwing stars attached to it. The other has a small grapple on it with a compartment containing strong cable. She adjusts her breasts in her tight bathing suit and steps out into the night. "Time for some seduction." Moment's later, she walks into a bar and looks around at the men drinking and playing pool and darts. "So big and brawny. So rugged and handsome." She breathes in deeply. "Ah, I love the smell of testosterone. Time to work my magic." The woman walks up to the bar and her first prey. "Hello, handsome." The bearded bear of a man turns to her. "Hello, pretty little thing. What can I do for you?" "Oh, I have lots in mind." She smiles at him seductively. To Be Continued... I know this is a little shorter than I normally write. But I wanted to set up some characters, whom I'm sure you can guess who they are. There will be some elements of heterosexuality in here, though none sexual. I am going to set up this woman in green, who I'm sure you know who she is. And if you know who she is, then you know why I'm setting her up. And just imagine her with Batman and you will see where I'm going with this. It's going to be quite comical, I assure you. Any questions or comments please email me! I love to hear from you who are reading my story, even if you don't like it. Let me know what you would do differently. Also, am I going too over the top with being a bit more descriptive of Eric and Lance being intimate? I don't want to lose the love and romance they feel. It does seem like they are very horny all the time, but that's how new couples are. Just so long as the relationship isn't based on sex alone. I could get very preachy here, but I will stop. I don't want this to turn into a lecture. Please keep reading! More great stuff to come!