Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 09:40:41 -0800 (PST) From: Author James Subject: Judgments of a Real Dark Knight 39 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. 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. Other stories in this universe written by other authors: "Tales of a Superhero Band" "Tales of the New Phoenix" "Tales of a Young Mutant" Chapter 39 Arrest The following evening after Nightwing left, I went out on patrol as usual. The city was bustling as always with celebrities and the upper crust youth hitting expensive clubs, while those who were less wealthy, less popular, hit the less expensive clubs, bars and dives. 'It always amazes me how society perpetuates separation though we pride ourselves on being so accepting of differences. This world doesn't honestly feel that way about differences. How often do you find a group with both gay and straight people having a good time together? Not very often. I'm not stupid, though. I know it does happen. But are the groups ever balanced? Hardly. Do I believe it is right or wrong? I don't think so. I would hope though, that if a group of gay people wanted to hang out with a group of straight people, that they would, and vice versa. I know that like people hang together. It's my hope that in the heart of everyone that all are accepted and welcome.' A scream rang out interrupting my thoughts. I ran across the roof top and leapt to the next building. I arrived at a street where a group of guys were running from an old lady. I jumped down and checked her, though she screamed when she saw me. "I'm not going to hurt you," I tried to console her, but she wouldn't have it. "You're a demon!" she called out. "Stay away from me! Help me, God, please!" Realizing I wouldn't be able to calm her, I ran after the muggers. The last one was near the corner and I couldn't let him escape, especially if the others did. I pulled out a bat with a cable attached and hurled it at his legs. The cable wrapped around his legs and, with a tug, he tripped and fell forward. I neared him and grabbed him by his collar as he was attempting to remove the cable. "What the hell were you doing?" I asked slamming him against the wall. "Do you like stealing from old ladies?" One of his friends came running around the corner and ran into me knocking me over and causing me to drop the thug. The running man fell as well, though he scrambled to get to his feet and keep moving. "They all try to run," a gruff voice came around the corner. I looked up to see a masked man carrying a police officer's nightstick. He had a mask over his face, much like the one I used to wear where there was only one hole for the eyes to peer through. It was black. His black pants had a belt around the waist and two pouches, one on each thigh. His shirt was dark blue and two bands of spikes went up over his shoulders. "Stay away from me!" the mugger exclaimed as he scrambled away. "You think you can run from Lock-Up?" the masked figure asked as he hurled his nightstick at the mugger. The nightstick hit him between the shoulder blades and he fell to the ground. Lock-Up walked over and placed handcuffs on the guy's wrist. Then he turned and saw me lying on the ground. The mugger beside me quivered in fear at this guy. "No one gets away from me, Marty. You, above all, should know that." Lock-Up approached the two of us. "P-p-please, Lock-Up. I...I didn't know what they were going to do." "You were told, Marty. Keep out of this neighborhood. But you didn't listen. Scum like you never listen." Lock-Up reached down and grabbed Marty by the collar. He picked him up and jacked him against the wall. "Oh, God, please," Marty cried out. "Don't...d-don't hurt me!" "Don't hurt you? You were the one who broke the law. What makes you think you deserve to be shown mercy? You mugged that poor old woman." I noticed a wet spot form in Marty's pants. He wet himself in fear of this guy. 'This Lock-Up guy knows how to make people fear him. I guess he isn't that bad of a guy. Maybe Batgirl and I can include him on our patrolling. I'm sure Robin would like someone to pal around with.' Then things changed. "I'm sorry!" Marty yelled. "Yes, I mugged the old lady! We were desperate for cash!" "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Lock-Up said. "You know what that means." Lock-Up punched Marty in the face once, twice, three times. I stood up and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from making the fourth punch. "That's enough." Marty looked at me wide-eyed and Lock-Up slowly turned and looked at me. I could see through his mask that the corner of his mouth was curling into a slight smile. Quickly, he grabbed my wrist, spun around and tossed me across the street. I rolled across the asphalt and got to my feet quickly. Lock-Up turned back to his victim believing I wouldn't come back after him. This guy was clearly bigger than me, and he felt as if I wasn't a threat. Like hell I wasn't. I ran toward him, jumped into the air and kicked him in the back. He fell forward and released his grip on Marty. He fell face first into the building, then slowly turned back to face me. "You fucker," he muttered under his breath. "Don't you know it's a felony to strike an officer of the law?" "Funny, I didn't see an officer of the law." Lock-Up swung a fist at me and I ducked. Then, I flipped backwards, kicking him in the face as I went. He came at me swinging. I blocked several punches, but one caught me. He had a lot of power behind his punch and I fell backwards. "You're not so tough," he muttered as he grabbed me and lifted me off the ground. "You're just a boogey man waiting to be knocked down by the cold hard truth of the law." I swung my leg out and connected with his genitals. I felt before I heard the "ping" of hitting metal. Lock-Up was definitely prepared. He chuckled underneath his mask. "Thought you could get me," he muttered. "Surprise!" "Surprise yourself," a voice said from behind. Lock-Up turned to see Batgirl. I smiled to myself. She was much stronger than me. This guy didn't stand a chance. "What do we have here?" Lock-Up said. "A little missus. You've come to free your boyfriend? Or is he your husband?" "Neither," she replied. "He's my friend and equal." "Oh really," Lock-Up replied. Then he turned back to me, twisted around and threw me into Batgirl. "Sorry to disappoint you, but there are some serious threats I need to deal with, not two freaks in fright masks trying to scare good into people." Lock-Up ran around the corner. "Sorry about that," I said as I got to my feet. "Not a problem. What were you doing tangling with him?" "It happened by accident, really. I caught a group of guys mugging an older lady. They ran. I followed. Lock-Up showed up and scared them. How come we didn't know about this guy? It seems everyone in this area did." "Nightwing patrolled this area on a nightly basis. He never spoke about what was going on here." "And now he's gone with no way of contacting him. Perfect." "I have Oracle searching for him. I got a digital image before I interrupted your play time. Oracle should have several leads by tomorrow night." "The question is do I want to tangle with this guy again?" Batgirl smiled. I returned home and changed. When I entered the kitchen, I heard Lance talking on the phone. I entered the living room and patted his gorgeous butt as I walked passed. "He just came in," Lance said. "Hold on a second." He pulled the receiver away from his face and said to me, "Its mom. She wants to talk to you." I was taken back by the fact his mother wanted to speak to me, but I took the receiver. "Hi," I greeted warmly. "How are your classes, Eric?" she asked right away. "Fine. How have you been?" "It's funny you should ask that. Frankly, Jim and I have been missing you two. How would you like to come visit us this weekend?" "Sounds like a good idea to me." "That's wonderful!" Diane exclaimed. I looked over at Lance who was grinning from ear to ear. "I just got in and need a shower. I'll let you and Lance hash out the details." "See you this weekend!" she replied happily. I handed the phone to my grinning husband and went upstairs. I pulled my robe off and laid it on the bed. Then I went into the bathroom and turned the water on. Once it was warm, I climbed in. As the water cascaded over my body, I allowed my muscles to relax and enjoy the soothing flow. Then a knock came and in walked Lance. "Are you decent?" "As decent as I can be for standing in the shower with water pouring over my body." Lance chuckled as he came in and closed the door. "Mom is really excited. She says that now we are married and settled, we should visit more often." "I'm all for that!" I replied. "Your family is great! Plus, it's nice to just get away for a while." "How was patrol?" "It was delightful. I met a maniac trying to help Batman." "Trying to help? What do you mean?" "He was dealing with the same muggers I was dealing with. Of course his idea of dealing was being much rougher than I normally am. He got away, though. Batgirl showed up and helped out." "It's good you two are working well together." "Yeah, we do. I wish I knew her better. Not that it's a trust issue. I trust her. I just don't want our lives to be all business and no..." "Pleasure?" I smiled. "I wasn't going in that direction. I was thinking more of a 'knowing each other' thing. With Jessica, we know her personal life. We don't really know this Slayer's personal life. There's a bond that I share with Jessica." "But not with Batgirl." "Right." "Does it feel like you take each other for granted?" "I don't know. I'm worried that she might be keeping me at bay on purpose. I don't want her to think I don't care about her." "Maybe she doesn't want to get to know people. The previous Batgirl died doing this work. Maybe this Batgirl doesn't want to see anyone hurt if she happens to die." "Or vice versa," I added. Lance nodded. After a moment, he asked if I needed some help. I smiled and answered, "From you, always." He undressed and joined me in the shower. His hands caressed my skin as he helped wash me. Every inch of my body was touched by him, from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. He even spent extra time and took extra care on my erogenous zones stimulating me and pleasuring me. When the shower was finished, we dried each other and went to bed, where we made love to each other, pleasing each other in many ways. Then we drifted off to sleep. To Be Continued...