Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 16:13:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Adventures of a Real Dark Knight 41 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 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 41 Touring Canton I awoke the next morning feeling rather tired still. When I sleep in a strange place I have a hard time getting to sleep. And when I do finally sleep, it's not restful. I showered and dressed. Lance got up and did the same. "What's on the agenda for today?" he asked. "Breakfast at Athens Restaurant. It's a local restaurant that has the most amazing breakfasts." We headed out, ate breakfast and then took off for McKinley monument. We walked through the parks. "Over there is McKinley High School, right by the Football Hall of Fame. I graduated from McKinley in 1994," I told him. We walked under the highway overpass to the Football Hall of Fame. "They have added on quite a bit while I was growing up." "I'll bet you came here often." "Knowing the sports fan that I am, that is hardly the case. The only time I ever came here was when my sister worked here and we brought her lunch close to Christmas time. That's about it." Lance chuckled. "What's there to see now?" "Not much else," I replied. "We could go to Canton Center Mall." "You want to take me to a mall?" "When I was younger it was a big deal to go to the mall. Since then, it's gone down hill by the way of businesses. It's nice inside and everything, but most people are going to Belden Village mall." "Look at me, Eric. Who am I?" "Lance." "Lance what?" "Lance Bass." "And you want to take me, Lance Bass, to a mall? Do you realize how many girls hang out at malls? I'm bound to be recognized. I want this to be a vacation not a suicide mission." We laughed. "Fair enough. I have an idea." I drove him all over Canton. I showed him the Hoover factory and museum in North Canton. I took him passed Borders bookstore where I used to hang out. We drove past the airport, down through Massillon and Perry. I even took him to the Classic Car Museum and First Ladies National Library in downtown Canton. "I'll have to take you to Stan Hywett Hall in Akron. You might like that place." I drove Lance over to Jackson Park. The sun was setting and the park had beautiful scenery that looked even better in the setting sun. I pulled into the parking lot and we got out. "Let's walk first," I suggested. Lance went along with it and we started on their long walking path. It was nice walking beside the man I loved. He reached over and took my hand. We walked around twice and the lights finally went out at ten o'clock but it was still pretty bright out with the moon shining down and reflecting off the snow. "Is the park closed?" "Officially, but some people still hang around a bit afterwards. Come over to the gazebo." We walked over to the gazebo and stood watching the lit up fountain. The full moon shown brightly down from the clear, starry sky. Lance's arms went around me and I leaned back onto his chest. We stood in the peaceful atmosphere losing all track of time. Suddenly I heard a growling behind us. We turned around to see a rather large wolf snarling at us from the steps that lead to the boardwalk from the walking track. It's face, however, looked like a human face. "What in God's name is that?" Lance asked. "What kind of animals do you have in Canton?" "I've never seen that before," I replied. "What are we going to do?" "Relax. Perhaps we should try to inch out of here." I went first making our way to the gazebo entrance. Slowly we made it out and turned down the boardwalk. The wolf growled at me and moved toward me. "RUN!" I shouted. Lance took off running with me on his heels. The wolf was closing in, though. It had four legs compared to my two. It pounced on me, knocking me to the ground. It snarled and its saliva dripped out of its mouth on me. "Get away from him," Lance shouted. I looked up to see him swing a branch at the wolf, hitting it in its face. The wolf rolled off me, quickly recovered from the blow and turned on Lance. He started to run. The wolf reacted to Lance's intentions and ignored me, chasing after Lance. I stood up and used my powers to pick the wolf up and throw it into the pond. "Let's get out of here," I said to Lance and we headed toward the car. Getting in and starting it up, I tore out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell. I did not want to risk the wolf getting to Lance. As we turned on to Fulton road and headed toward downtown Canton, Lance asked, "Are you going to investigate this thing?" "I don't know. I wish I knew how to contact the Watcher's Council. They would probably know what that thing is." We pulled into the covered garage and got out of the car. I headed over to a set of stairs. "Where are you going?" Lance asked. "I'm going to the top. Let's look at the sky." Lance smiled and we went up to the garage roof. From there we looked at the pretty skyline and the starry night sky. The vampire, perched atop one of the church steeples in downtown Canton, looked out and saw the two lovers standing on the multi-leveled car garage. "Aw, isn't that sweet," he mutters. "Two lovers staring at the sky. How pathetic. Perhaps I should teach them a lesson." A mysterious figure came out of nowhere and kicked the vampire. "It's over, James," the mysterious female figure said. "Hello, Slayer. I was beginning to think you would never show." "And miss the chance to slay you? Hardly." "Then let's have at it." The Slayer pulled out a wooden stake. The vampire James readied himself. The Slayer kicked at him and thrust a stake at him. James blocked the kick and dodged the wooden stake. With a quick backhand he knocked the stake from her hand. "You really are pathetic," he muttered. "What is it with you, James? You seem to have a death wish. Most vampires keep a low profile. But not you. It's almost as if you want to get caught. It's like you want to be slain." The Slayer did not notice a slight change in James's facial expression: one of recognition of her words. One of longing, perhaps for the very thing she spoke of. "If that's the case, who is the pathetic one here?" the Slayer added. Immediately whatever James was feeling disappeared, he reached out and grabbed the Slayer by her neck. Lifting her off her feet, he pulled her close to his face. "You cannot even begin to imagine the darkness I live in, the power I hold. You are the pathetic one, Slayer. You long to do good. You long to right the wrongs in this world. There are some wrongs in this world that even you cannot correct." James bit her and drank a little, and then he turned his body and held her over the edge. He looks over at the two lovers as they disappear down the garage stairwell. He looks over at the Slayer and snarls. Releasing his grip the Slayer plunges down to the pavement. Hitting the concrete, her back breaks and the last bit of life leaves her body. "No one can understand," James says. "No one." Wiping a tear from his eye, he leaps off the church steeple into the night. Lance and I entered our hotel room. Taking off our coats and hanging them up, we sat down, took off our shoes, and then collapsed onto the bed. "When is our plane leaving for Canada?" I asked. "Tomorrow afternoon." "We'll have to pack first thing in the morning." "Yeah. Until then, we could always..." Lance leaned in and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him on top of me. I enjoyed feeling the warmth of his body on mine. We lay there kissing and cuddling until we fell asleep. I awoke in the middle of the night to ambulance sirens. I got up and looked out the window to see the ambulance pull up in front of the church down the street. Several police cars sat and officers were taking notes and examining what had happened. There was someone lying on the sidewalk. From the damage done to the sidewalk I would say that whoever it was, they committed suicide. "Such a waste of life," I replied. My heart went out to whoever it was. "Is everything okay?" Lance asked groggily. "Yeah, sort of." "Sort of?" "Yeah. I heard the ambulance pull up down the street." "What happened?" "It looks like someone committed suicide." "Oh no," Lance said. "That always saddens me. Even more so after what happened to Hunter." "Hunter?" "Yeah, my friend from Los Angeles. He killed himself because of a twisted psychologist, Dr. Israel." "I'm sorry you went through that." "That's okay," I said forcing a smile. I went over to Lance and hugged him. "I'll be okay." "Come here," Lance invited, pulling the blankets away from him. I walked over and lay down close to him. He covered me and put his arm around my waist. My mind went back to Hunter and his suicide. Tears filled my eyes and I began to cry. I cried quietly for several minutes and then my body shuddered. "Hey," he said. "Are you crying?" I nodded my head. Lance turned me over and held me close. "I'm so sorry this is affecting you like this." "I'm just too sensitive...I guess," I managed to mutter between sobs. "I miss Hunter." "I know. I know you miss your friend. I wish I could do something for you." "There's nothing anyone can do. In a way, I wish I had been the one to kill Dr. Israel. He was so hateful in his ideas. He deserved to die." "Eric. I can't believe I'm hearing you say this." "I'm just so mad and hurt. I can't believe he caused Hunter to die." My mind flooded back to when I found Hunter hanging at the college. And the song by Backstreet Boys was playing "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely". Hunter had been so lonely. I wish I could have been something more for him. His suicide is what brought out the desire to do the teen center. Perhaps it was God's way of reminding me of why the desire to help people was in me: people dying when they didn't have to; people dying because of hatred, bigotry, loneliness, feeling lost, and being in despair. It was for the young that I wanted to be a psychologist. It was for the young that I wanted to build the teen center. I had to find the right place. I had to get the center built. I was determined to. Nothing was going to stop me. All the vampires and demons and psychopaths on this world could not stop me. My hurt and sadness turned to intense rage. "Is it me or is it getting warm in here?" Lance said. "It's getting very warm." I stood up to check the thermostat. When I turned around Lance looked at me with great shock. "What is it, Lance?" "Your eyes are glowing red!" "What?" I went over to the mirror and looked at it. My eyes were glowing an intense red. My mutation was activated by my anger. Like before when I would be in great emotional distress my mutation would be triggered. I thought I had gotten it under control. The emotional turmoil I went through with the suicide down the street caused it to go into action. I felt my body charge up. I never felt it like that before. I walked past the light and it flickered on. "What the..." I wondered. I turned to Lance. "Eric, your eyes are all white and it looks like flashes or streaks of lightning coming from them. What's going on?" "I'm worked up emotionally. I'm going out for a while." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" "I need to find a way to burn off some steam or this could get dangerous." "How will you leave? The people downstairs will see you." "I'll leave out the window. Go ahead and close it after I leave. I should be able to get back in through the lobby." I pulled on some clothes rather quickly, my windbreaker and matching pants and gym shoes. I opened up the window and stepped out onto the balcony. "I'll be back, love," I replied to Lance. He nodded and I stepped up to the railing. Electricity arced out of my fingertips and hit the balcony railing. I relaxed my mind and slowly I lifted off the railing floating in the air. Shooting off into the night sky I soared above Canton feeling the wind blow by me. I felt a freedom at the moment that was helping me relax a bit. It was helping to fly around. My mind wandered to where I could go to use my powers without hurting anyone. I decided on going to Jackson Park. There was more than likely no one there and I had a large amount of room to exercise my powers. I was able to manipulate my molecules and direct them to fly over to the park. I was there in a matter of moments. I landed in the parking lot and looked up into the sky. Focusing the heat I was feeling, a large amount of fire, concentrated almost to a laser beam shot from my entire body up into the sky. When I felt it subside a bit I turned and fired a beam at a picnic table. It shattered to a thousand pieces. I did not care at the moment about anyone finding it. Feeling the electricity flowing I pointed a finger at one of the dormant parking lot lights. A bolt of lightning shot out and hit the light. The light turned on. I kept a steady stream of electricity shooting out. The light charged up and another bolt shot from the light to another one. A bolt shot from that one to another, then another, then another. Electricity flowing from me kept going from light to light until every dormant light was turned on. I turned it off at a whim and the lights slowly faded. With this emotional outburst I had acquired the ability to control the molecules of electricity. Some may think that I could change atoms and molecules but in all actuality, all I can do is use whatever molecules are available to me, whether it be in a solid object, a liquid or a gas. I could not reconfigure something into another material, like turn a trashcan lid into a gun. I looked over at the picnic table I destroyed and used my power to recreate it. "I hope it's as sturdy as new. If not, whoever sits on it may end up on their butts." I walked over to the gazebo and looked at the pond. My mind relaxed and I seemed to stretch out. My mind was reaching out. I began to feel thoughts and emotions of others nearby. Was I developing a new mutation? Then, instantly, reasoning hit me. This is how I felt another's emotions. This is how I found the Penguin when he tried to assail Lance and myself. I sent my mind's molecules out and I could mingle with other minds and feel their emotions. Was that what happened with the suicide victim? But she must have been dead for a while. Or was she? Maybe I had picked up on the feelings of the paramedics and the police officers. That might have been the reason I was so overwhelmed. My mind began to stretch out at will and picked them up. My eyes became tired with the activities of the day. I flew high up into the air and went back to the hotel. Using my abilities I was able to unlock the balcony door and step inside. I closed the door, locked it, undressed and climbed into bed. "Are you okay?" Lance muttered. "I'm fine, Love. I discovered something new about my mutation." "Really? I'd love to hear about it." "Tomorrow. For now, let's sleep." I put my arms around the love of my life and drifted off to sleep. To Be Continued... Eric visits his family. And he gains more control and understanding of his mutation. More to come.