Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2003 05:03:43 -0800 (PST) From: Author James Subject: Judgments of a Real Dark Knight 48 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 48 On the Trail of a Killer As the sunset, I headed down to the basement where I donned my suit and mounted my motorcycle. Lance had followed me down and watched as I readied to hunt for Christine and the killer taking out the people that wronged her in some way. I believed them to be two people, although I could not dismiss the possibility that Christine was doing the killing herself. I recently discovered that she turned to a life of prostitution to provide for her and her children. I did not know how far she would be willing to go to right any perceived wrong done to her and her children. Murder was very much a possibility, no matter how much I didn't want to believe it. Just before I pulled my mask on, Lance came up to me and kissed me. "Be careful." "Always," I replied as I pulled on my mask. "I'm serious. If Christine's a vampire, you might have to slay her." "God, I hope not. The thought of her children being orphaned..." my voice trailed off, saddened by the thought of her children being left all alone. As far as I knew, she had no relatives in the area. I revved up the motorcycle and headed down the tunnels and out into the night. I pressed the communications button on the motorcycle. The machine had a stronger transmission than the communications device in my mask. "Batgirl, this is Batman. Come in." No response. I tried again. "Batgirl. This is Batman. I need to talk to you." "This is Batgirl. Go ahead." "Are you on patrol?" "Yes." "I need to see you ASAP." "Where do you want to meet?" I gave her a location and hit the accelerator. Within moments, I was pulling into a dark alley in downtown Orlando. I dismounted, covered the motorcycle with the cloaking device the Council installed, and shot a line to the top of the building. Climbing over the edge, I found Batgirl sitting on the opposite side, silhouetted in the moon's light. Her head turned toward me. "What was so urgent that you need to see me?" she asked. "I've been tracking someone linked to the recent vampire killings." "What?" she said as she got up and moved toward me. "All the victims are connected to this girl." I pulled out a photo of Christine and handed it to Batgirl. "I don't think she's a vampire, although it is possible. I've been trying to track her down, but nothing happened so far. I wanted to ask you to be on the lookout for her." Batgirl nodded. "If she is a vampire, I want to be the one to slay her." "Why?" "She has two children, and is pregnant with her third. Maybe it's possible to reason with her." Batgirl nodded. "Depending on what type of vampire she is." "If she is even a vampire. She may not be. "Still, it's better to be prepared for all eventualities." It was my turn to nod. We turned and went our separate ways looking for Christine. A short while later, I stumbled across some thieves robbing a small store. 'God, it's nice to have someone normal to deal with.' I dropped down into the shadows and listened for the crooks. The sounds of their vandalism drifted out of the door in which they broke in. "Be careful, Bob," one whispered loudly. "We don't want to wake anyone up." "Sssh," Bob said. "You need to be quiet, Steve." The two came to the doorway carrying a television and VCR and a stereo. They looked up and their eyes widened when they saw me. "Going somewhere?" I asked. "Aw, shit," Bob said. He threw the TV and VCR at me and ran down the alley. I pulled out a bat and hurled it down the alley hitting him in the back of the leg causing him to fall. Turning to Steve, he looked at me wide-eyed. Then he dropped the stereo and put his hand sup. "I give up." "Smart move," I replied. As I finished tying the two up, Batgirl's voice came over the comm. Link. "Batman, I need some help here." "Is it Christine?" I asked, but there was no reply. After getting to the cycle, I used Oracle to ascertain Batgirl's location and drove off. Batgirl blocked a swing by Catman. He followed through with another swing and Batgirl blocked that, as well. He spun around and kicked her, knocking her to the side. "I'm very intrigued by Vampire Slayers," he said as his claws extended. "I'd like to know more about you." "Like how much we can kick your ass?" Batgirl asked as she pushed off the roof, flipped in the air, and landed on her feet ready to attack again. "Among other things," Catman replied as he spun into her attempting to backhand her. Batgirl blocked. Catman spun around and attacked low. Batgirl swung her left fist down and blocked. Catman swung the same fist up. Batgirl was quick enough to swing her fist up and block for a third time. Using her other hand, she pushed Catman's fist down and backhanded him in the face. His head jerked and he stumbled backwards. Batgirl turned and thrust her foot sideways connecting with Catman's stomach and knocked him backwards. "Excellent," Catman said as he recovered. "You are quite strong. Tell me; are all Slayers as strong as you?" "Yes," Batgirl answered. "Really? Then it should be challenging to go kill them as challenging as it has been in trying to kill you." Batgirl's lips curled into a smile. "You can try." "Oh, I will do more than try," the masked vampire said. "I'll succeed." Batgirl became serious as Catman went into his attack. He swung at her, faked, and swung up hitting her in the face. The Slayer stumbled backward. Then he swung again, connecting with her face. He spun around and kicked her in the stomach knocking her to the roof. "Told you," he replied. Suddenly an object flew through the air. Catman turned and caught it. "Hmm, Batman. Nice of you to join us." I jumped over the edge of the roof and readied myself for a fight. "Your reign of terror ends tonight, Catman." "Do you honestly think you can beat me? Look what I did to the Slayer." I looked over and Batgirl flipped to her feet. "I'm not out yet, Catman." "Good. I was hoping I would fight two at a time. I wonder if you two can challenge me." Batgirl and I moved to either side of the vampire. Batgirl swung at him and he caught her fist. Then his leg swung up at me and I caught his leg. Bringing my arm down, I connected with his leg. The force would have broken the average man's leg, but it didn't do much to him. Catman kicked off the ground. His other leg connected with my face and knocked me away. His other hand swung around and connected with Batgirl's face. However, it didn't cause her to let go. As the vampire landed on his feet, her leg came up and hit his torso. He hunched a little with the impact. Batgirl swung her leg up again and he doubled over. Then, she brought her leg up for a third time, only this time, she hit the vampire in the face. His head flung backwards and he fell back to the roof. Batgirl pulled out a stake and jammed it into his chest. Blood gushed forth from the wound. Catman was obviously hurt as well, but he did not turn to dust. "You retained your soul," she stated. "You are still human, for the most part." "Damn, that fucking hurts!" He swung his fist up and connected with her stomach knocking her into the air and across the roof. She landed next to me as the vampire pulled the wooden stake out and got to his feet. I watched as the wound healed up underneath the tear in his suit. I was still groggy from the kick Catman gave me. I looked over at Batgirl who was just as hurt as I. The vampire then moved swiftly and Batgirl and I found ourselves tied to an antenna. The cloudy sky opened up and rain poured forth. Several bolts of lightning flashed throughout the sky and Catman stood looking at us through the green lenses covering his eyes. "I told you I'd win," he said smiling underneath his mask. "Tell me, what do you know about Christine?" "Excuse me," I asked. "I overheard your voice over the Slayer's communication device. You asked if it was Christine. Are you hunting her?" "There have been several murders of people connected with her. I was looking for her to find out what was going on." "Did you think she was responsible for the murders?" "If she were turned into a vampire, yes. I was hoping to find her as a human." "She's quite human. And quite alive, although I'm not sure how much longer that will last. Maybe tonight, after I dispose of you two, I can get rid of her." "What do you want with her?" Batgirl asked. "I know her. She knows me. We go way back." "Were you protecting her from those who did wrong to her?" "Maybe. Maybe I was getting revenge for her. Or, maybe I was trying to get her in trouble with the law. Perhaps I was trying to psyche her out by killing people around her. Make her think she was next. There are many motives as to why I could be doing it. You never really know, though, do you? "Any way, we are here to talk about Slayers, remember, Batgirl? What are your weaknesses? Obviously you are very much human. You move about in daylight, so you aren't connected to vampires in any way. Would a stake through the heart kill you? It would have killed me. Granted I didn't turn to dust like you were expecting, but if I lose a large amount of blood, I could die. Sunlight and fire harm me as well. Will you burn if I catch you on fire? You see, all those weaknesses vampires have, you have, with the exception of sunlight." Lightning flashed across the sky and all three of us looked up. I had an idea and concentrated on my hand, relaxing my mind, attempting to have total control. "That gives me an idea," Catman said as he got up and moved toward us. "Electricity." "It was already discovered, ass," Batgirl replied. "I'm not talking discovery, I'm talking a way to kill you. Notice you are tied to a rather nondescript lightning rod. Metal conducts electricity. And right now, you two are strapped to a nice conductor. Will electricity kill you?" "Possibly," Batgirl said. "Catman, tell me something." He looked at me. I could feel my hand charged with the necessary molecules to attract the lightning. But, unlike lightning rods, I could decide where it went. "Will electricity kill you?" Twenty or thirty, if not more, lightning bolts shot down from the clouds and hit my hand. Instead of shooting into me, however, they shot at Catman. The electricity hit him and his body shook with the charge he was getting. "Oh, shiiiiiiittttt," he said as his body was launched into the air and he flew several buildings away. The electricity also loosened our bonds enough for Batgirl to get her arm through. She untied us and I fell to the ground. "Are you okay?" she asked. I nodded. Several vampires jumped over the sides of the roof and surrounded us. Their bumpy foreheads and yellow eyes indicated they could be dusted. They moved around us and closed in. "I've got to get to Christine," I said. "If I don't, Catman could kill her." "Can you move?" the Slayer asked me. "Yes." "Then I'll take care of these guys. You look for Christine." I nodded and ran in the direction Catman was launched. Nearing the vampires, I crouched down and launched myself into the air. I jumped over the vampires, rolled on the roof into a standing position, and continued running. I had to find Christine. To Be Continued...