Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 17:26:34 -0800 (PST) From: Author James Subject: Chronicles of a Real Dark Knight 2 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. Talamasca, Lestat, Louis, and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice. 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 2 New People in Life Hank unloaded the equipment quickly from the van. I helped a little as Jean checked out the size of the house to figure in for the size of protection the security device should be. Once the van was unloaded and Jean finished her readings, we began setting up the equipment in the basement and running outlets throughout the house that would scramble any mutant signatures within the walls. It was not difficult work, just long and tedious. Hank and I were almost finished connecting the cables on the equipment when the phone rang. "I'll be right back," I said. And up the stairs I went. "Hello?" "Hi, dearest." "Hi, love of my life. How was your Meet and Greet?" "It went okay. We met the band we are touring with. They seem really nice." "Great!" "They invited us to dinner at the B-Street Club. Want to come with us?" "I don't know how long things are going to be here hooking up the equipment. Jean and Hank are over here now." "How is it going?" "It's going okay, Lance. Not sure how much more is involved. Neither Hank nor Jean specified." "Oh. Are you hungry? I can pick up something for you for lunch." "I would love an oriental chicken salad from Applebee's. Could you pick me up one of them?" "Sure." "Better grab one for Hank and Jean as well." "Okay. Four oriental chicken salads coming up. See you soon. I love you." "I love you, too, Lance." We hung up and I went back downstairs to help finish the equipment hook up. Lance arrived with lunch not too much later. Us four sat around the kitchen table. "What do you want to drink?" I asked. "Ice water, please," Hank answered. "Soda," Lance replied. "Ice water is fine," Jean said. I got the drinks and we sat down to eat. "So, how was your Meet and Greet?" I asked Lance. "It went well. The opening band was there." "What's their name?" Jean asked. "Ocean Whispers." "I will be sure to listen for them. Some of the teens at the school will probably be buying their CD." We chuckled. "They invited us out to dinner," Lance added. "Really? That sounds like fun." I was feeling a bit nervous about it. I didn't know if any was gay. And if so, would any be putting the moves on Lance? After all, they would have more in common with him than I do. They could understand things better. I felt something in the back of my mind and I looked over at Jean who was looking at me. She gave me a quick wink and went on eating. She obviously knew what I was thinking. What am I saying? Of course she knew what I was thinking. She was telepathic! "We didn't get a chance to talk too much. We both had things to do. One of their band members...Dylan I think...ended up fainting. Poor Justin felt bad, too, because Dylan was sitting next to him. I think Dylan is gay and has a thing for Justin." Lance saying that Dylan had a thing for Justin helped qualm my fears. That evening, Lance got ready for the dinner meeting as Jean, Hank and I made the final connections to the transmitters which emitted a field to keep mutant detection out of the house. As much as I didn't want to have to use it, I knew I didn't want Lance put in any danger by me. "That should do it," Hank replied. "It doesn't take much power to run it. Most of their mutant detection equipment is rudimentary. I have had ample time to develop a blocking device of our mutant genes. Things should be safe and sound here now." "Thanks, Hank," I answered. I reached out and took his hand, shaking it. "It was a pleasure to meet you as well." "As were you, Mr. McCoy." "Are you ready, Hank?" Jean asked. "Yes." "Keep in touch, Eric. If you need anything, please let us know." "I appreciate it, Jean. I appreciate everything." "Glad we could help." Jean and Hank left the house and drove away. I turned as Lance came down the stairs. I whistled at him. He smiled. "Quit flirting," he said. "Man, you look sexy in that! Too bad you have to go out! I'd love to undress you right now!" Lance laughed. He came down the rest of the way and we kissed. I was a bit dirty and didn't want it to get on his clothes. "Are you going to come to the dinner?" "Look at me," I said stepping back and holding my arms out. "I don't look good enough to come to dinner." "I'll wait." "But I don't think your new friends will. Go on. Have a good time. Besides, I think I will do some patrolling tonight. I didn't do any last night and I think Batgirl, Nightwing and Robin would like the help." "Okay. Since you're not coming I guess I can leave and be on time." "You would let me make you late?" "With you on my arm, no one would care. They would be too in awe of your cuteness." "Now who's doing the flirting?" I smiled. I kissed him goodbye and off he went. I went upstairs and showered. Afterwards I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, as I would be changing a little later on for patrol. As I stepped off the steps into the living room, the doorbell rang. I opened it to see Joshua on the other side, tears running down his face. "Joshua, what's wrong?" I invited Joshua in and we sat on the couch. "I know you are upset about Logan being gone. That's understandable. It's hard when the person you care about is no where to be found." "It's not just that anymore, Eric. There's more." "What is it? I'm here if you want to talk." "It's...my dad." "Your dad? Did you find your dad?" "Yeah. His name is Bishop and he's a mutant." "That's good you found your father, finally." "It would be good if he hadn't disowned me." "Disowned you? What do you mean?" "I told him...that I'm gay and he disowned me." "Oh, no," I whispered. I leaned in and took him into my arms. "I'm so sorry that happened." "He showed up earlier today. Mom and he were talking. She told him that they made me. He wanted to see me, which is why Marie came and got me. I shared with him all of me, who I was and stuff, and he...disowned me." Joshua broke down in tears. It was all I could do to not start crying with him. I know the fear of not knowing if your parents would disown you when you come out to them. But to have it actually happen... I felt so bad for Joshua. I stretched out my molecules to give him some comfort, some love from me. It seemed to work as he calmed down a bit. "You've had a lot on your mind, haven't you?" I said. "Yeah," he answered wiping away a tear. "I have an idea. Did you bring your X-Men suit?" "Yeah." "Do you have it with you?" "It's on underneath my regular clothes. We never know when we will need to wear them with the Friends Of Humanity after us." "Let's suit up and go on patrol. That will help you get rid of some of this stress and tension." "Okay." I went up to the spare bedroom where I kept my Bat-suit and changed. Joshua went into the main bathroom and took off his outer, regular clothes. He came out and knocked on the door. "Come in," I called knowing it was either Joshua or Lance, although I highly doubted it would be Lance. Joshua came in wearing a black spandex uniform. A large sky blue "X" covered the front and went down his arms. Blue boots covered his feet. "Looks good," I replied as I pulled on my gloves. "We almost match." "Yeah," he answered. I pulled my mask over my face and we went downstairs. "Did I ever tell you about Robin and Nightwing?" "I think so, in one of your letters." "They are pretty cool. Robin is about your age. We may come across them tonight." "Cool." "Ready?" I asked. "Definitely." "Come on." Over the wall we went. In no time we were jumping from rooftop to rooftop in downtown Orlando. "So how are things at the school?" I asked. "You mentioned in your letter about you and Logan. Hard to believe. He seems so macho, so...heterosexual." "He can be a bit rough around the edges, but I think it's just a defense because he's been hurt so much in his past." "Understandable. I almost did that in Los Angeles after I lost Justin. From there, things kind of spiraled downwards. I was raped, treated like an object, and gays were being bashed left and right. I couldn't take anymore and decided to do something about it. I turned hard and lashed out at anyone who disagreed with me or threatened me in any way." "That's not a good way to live," Joshua replied. "You're right, it's not. With support from friends, I was able to let go of the pain and deal with life." There was the sound of breaking glass and immediately Joshua and I became alert. "What's your X-Men name, again?" I asked. "Psyche." "That's what I thought it was. Let's get to work, Psyche." I pulled out a grappling gun and shot a line. I grabbed Psyche and we swung down to the street level. Down the street we ran toward the sound of the broken glass. We arrived at a magic shop, the front window busted. "Burglars?" Psyche asked. "Possibly. But don't count on it." "Why?" "I'll tell you in a minute." Cautiously I climbed up onto the ledge of the broken window. Without warning something tackles me and we fall out of the window. "Batman!" Psyche exclaims. I kick whatever it is off of me. "Vampire!" Psyche yells. I noticed claws appear on his hand like Wolverine's; only these appear to be made of energy, psychic energy, psionic energy. With a quick slash, Psyche decapitated the vampire. He came over and reached out his hand. "Thanks," I said as he pulled me up. "No problem. I wonder what he was looking for?" "Looks like we have more here to ask." Several more vampires climbed out the window. A man wearing purple robes floated out of the window and hovered in mid-air. "Ah, costumed freaks." "Look who's talking, Merlin?" Psyche said rather cocky-like. "Merlin?" "Yeah, from King Arthur's day." "I'll show you Merlin, boy!" The wizard's hand glowed and he threw a fireball at us. We jumped away from each other and the ball hit the street. "Missed me!" Psyche yelled. The wizard threw another one. Psyche ducked. "No matter." The wizard turned to his minion vampires. "Kill them." The vampires surrounded us. Slowly the wizard hovered into the air, up to the roof of the magic shop. "We've got to find out what he stole," I replied pulling out two wooden stakes. "How do you propose we do that?" "Fight off some of these first. Then I'll go after him." "Sounds like a plan." Psyche extended his psionic claws. Two vampires lunged at me. I flipped over them and rammed the stakes into their hearts from behind. Two vampires ran at Psyche. He sliced one's head off rather quickly. The other vampire swung a fist at him. Psyche dodged and kicked the vampire in the mid-section. With a quick slice down, Psyche severed the vampire's head off. I turned. A vampire swung a fist at me and caught me in the jaw. I spun and fell. Vampires are awfully strong! The vampire climbed on my back and grabbed the back of my head, lifting it off the ground. "I finally get to taste the Bat," he said. I saw Psyche's boots and after a quick movement, the vampire turned to dust. Psyche helped me up. "Thanks, again." "That's what I'm hear for." "Think you can handle the rest?" There were about four more vampires. "Yeah. Where are you going?" "After the wizard." I floated up to the rooftop and saw the wizard three buildings away. I ran for all I was worth and jumped from building to building. When the wizard was on the other side of a rooftop that I had landed on, I pulled out a bat and threw it at him. The bat hit him in the head and he fell to the rooftop. Within moments I was on top of him. "Who are you working for?" I asked. "Someone more powerful than you could possibly imagine." "Would this someone have a name?" The wizard smiled at me. His hand came up and a flash of light hit me. I flew off of him and hit the rooftop hard. When the flashing lights in my eyes subsided, I looked around. The wizard was gone. I pulled myself up and saw Psyche coming over the rooftop. "Where is the wizard?" he asked. "Got away." "What next?" "We investigate. Try to figure out what he stole from the magic shop." The two of us headed back to the magic shop and went inside. The place was a little ransacked, just in one area. We looked through some of the labels on the floor. "This is crazy," Psyche said. "How are we supposed to know what is missing?" "You're right. I don't have much knowledge in the way of magic. If I could get a hold of a Watcher or the local Slayer..." Sirens were heard in the distance. "We better get out of here...police are coming." Psyche and I jumped out the window and climbed to the roof. Once we were over the edge, the police cars pulled up. "How will we find out what the wizard took?" Psyche asked. "Police report in the newspapers. I may be able to come down here tomorrow and ask him. Let's get going." The rest of the night was uneventful. Psyche and I returned to the house and changed. As we walked downstairs, Lance came in. It looked rather suspicious as Joshua and I were pulling our shirts on walking down from upstairs. Lance looked at us rather concerned, with his brow crinkled. "We just got back from patrol," I said right away. I didn't think Lance would think I could have sex with a minor. But again, I could have been jumping to conclusions. "How was your evening?" "Rather interesting. The band "Ocean Whispers" has some kind of powers." "What?" I asked concerned. "Yeah. We were attacked by vampires." "Oh my goodness. Was anyone hurt?" "No. Well, yeah the vampires." "I wonder why they attacked you?" I said out loud. "I mean, besides the fact you're gorgeous and they were probably jealous." "Maybe they just wanted to feed," Joshua suggested. "Maybe. There were an awful lot of them, though." "Hmmm..." I said. "What?" Joshua asked. "I didn't tell you guys this but...I've been running into vampires lately who have been telling me of a growing evil. It doesn't sound very good. I wonder if Batgirl had contacted the Watchers' Council yet." To Be Continued... Psyche and Batman teaming up. How did you like it? The actual events of NSYNC and Ocean Whispers can be read in Tales of a Superhero Band dylan@celticwarrior.com And don't forget to read: Tales of a Young Mutant jas931@hotmail.com Tales of the Protectors aj_williamson@yahoo.com