Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 19:30:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Trials of a Real Dark Knight 10 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. This story has taken on a life of its own. From its inception a year ago, I had only thought it would last ten chapters maximum. As you can see, it has grown tremendously. Mostly due to readers emailing me and telling me they've enjoyed it or have received help due to certain issues addressed. I've enjoyed writing this story but it would not have been written without men and women reading it and telling me they've enjoyed it. I do hope that you continue to enjoy each new chapter as our hero lives and grows. 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. Please note, my email address has changed. At the end of July, my previous email address will no longer be active. 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. Chapter 10 Facing the Past Alan's countenance changed. "You were never my friend, none of you were! I had so much pressure on me, so much fear of failing everyone's expectations! I was so afraid of the future! And none of you did anything to ease that fear! So I made those of you who should have helped me face your innermost fears! "At first I just wanted you to come to me or ask me about my fears! But after I saw the first affects of the chemical, I became intoxicated by the power I had to induce fear in others! I was like a god!" "I hope it was enough for you," Hailey said now crying freely. "I hope that it is strong enough to substitute me. You have lost a friend tonight." Hailey turned and marched away. George didn't say a word. But the look of contempt in his eyes was enough to communicate his sentiments. Brian stood in the back, a single tear running down his cheek. "Alan, you knew what my mom did to me," Brian said. "You know the damage it did to me. Why did you go down the same path?" "You can never understand," Alan threw back at him. "Oh no? What happened to me? I was believed to be evil. It was Eric who helped me, who reasoned with me that I could be redeemed. I took that step and look at me. I'm still going to college on my way to getting my degree. "You were brilliant, Alan. You were on your way to a successful life. The fear you had was an unreasonable fear." The Huntress got up and came over between Brian and I. "Where is Eric now?" Alan asked. "He wasn't a good enough friend to check up on me or anyone else. He seemed nice at the time. But he is nothing but a self-centered brat." I sensed the tension fill up in the area. The Huntress and Brian knew who was behind the mask holding Alan by the shirt. Had Alan known who I was, he probably wouldn't have said what he did. However, I would not have known what he truly thought. "You are pathetic," I said to Alan. "You threw away the friends in your life just because of fear. You never used them to deal with your feelings. That's what friends are for. But you don't deserve friends. You have alienated yourself from those who loved you. You hurt them. You thought living with fear was horrible. You are going to find out what it is like to be truly alone." I pulled some rope out and tied up his hands. Then I threw the end over the branch of the tree I had propped him up against. I jumped up into the tree and tied the rope around the branch, then I dropped down in front of him. "Hang here in your shame, Scarecrow. Hang here for all to see your works, the fear you cause in others. In your nakedness in others knowing you, may you experience true terror and fear: the looks of disdain from those who cared about you and you returned their love by spitting in their faces." I turned and walked away. I knew he wouldn't hang there long since police sirens could be heard in the distance. I marched past the Huntress and Brian toward the center of campus. When I got to the fountain, the Huntress caught up with me. "What the hell is wrong with you?" "What do you mean?" I asked. "What you just did to Alan! You've humiliated him!" "He did that himself when he put on the mask of the Scarecrow and attacked his friends." "But you took that humiliation a step further. Didn't he deserve understanding and respect?" I turned to face the Huntress. "You have no room to judge me. Not after your actions with Dr. Israel." The Huntress looked in my eyes and I in hers. "That's right. You accused me of something that I didn't do. Yes there was video footage that incriminated me but anyone could have made the costume. A perceived guilt had convicted me in your mind. You never gave me the benefit of the doubt. What do you think I experienced in that time of turmoil?" "I had to do my duty." "And I just did mine. You don't know me. You don't know what I've been through. So don't judge me." I marched away from the Huntress but that wasn't the last word spoken. "You're right, Batman. I don't know you and I don't know what you've been through. You are no longer the man I trusted a year ago. You've found the person who framed you and I thought we could build our friendship again. But after what you did tonight..." I stopped in my tracks. And the Huntress continued. "Whatever it was you've been through, whatever thing has poisoned your soul, I suggest you find the cure. If you are going to continue acting like this, you will be just like Alan, lost and alone. And friendless." I paused for just a moment and then went on my way. I stood on the highest building of Los Angeles, the wind whipping my cape. I had pulled off my mask but still remained in costume. What Jessica said was right. I had gone through a transformation. My trip to England had poisoned me. Sure, things seemed fine on the other side of the world. I got along with everyone. But why was that? The answer is too difficult to even accept. I was okay with them because I didn't know them and they didn't know me. I couldn't be vulnerable to them and, ultimately, couldn't be hurt by them. I was able to keep them at a distance, not let them completely into my heart. I could show them parts of my heart, give them glimpses into what makes me who I am, but I couldn't become emotionally attached to them. Here, however, I had many emotional attachments. Jessica, for one, Brian, George and Hailey. And Alan. I had lost those who mattered most to me. Lance, my family, and my best friend Matt. Being here, I tried to get back to Jessica, but after what I just did... Maybe I didn't deserve happiness. Maybe, just maybe, I was to embrace all that made Batman a terror to evil and become the dark avenger, the Dark Knight this costume represented. Maybe the darkness was my destiny. After all, it did help me defeat Macai. Tapping into the darkness gave me the anger and strength to bring him down. Was it too strong? Ever since I regained my memory in England, I've felt different. I have been more and more depressed, more irritable and short-tempered. Was the darkness becoming part of me? Was I becoming dark? Early the next morning, I gathered all the money I had available to me and purchased a motorcycle. I did not have enough for a car and I did not have anything to take with me except a handful of clothing, which I carried in my duffel bag along with my costume. I drove to the nearest gas station and looked for a map to Sunnydale, California. It was decent motorcycle ride away. That was my next stop. Mystique was there somewhere. I had to confront her. Maybe that was a key to dealing with the darkness growing within me. Maybe that was how I would overcome. In any case, that was where I needed to be next. Starting up the motorcycle, I drove north toward Sunnydale and my date with the mutant known as Mystique. "I've never seen him like that," Brian said to Jessica back at Garrett's mansion. "Why would he be like that?" "I saw him like that once before. It was after he was raped. He went on a spree of hunting down criminals. But he treated them coldly, violently. Something dark is in him, Garrett. I want to know what. Contact the Council and ask for all the information they have on his battle with Macai. And see if they know the details following the explosion." Garrett nodded and left the room. "If Eric continues like this, he should see Lance. And Lance definitely shouldn't see him." Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles and Dawn carried box after box of Willow and Tara's things into the Summers' home. Since Buffy's death a few days ago, things have not been the same. Dawn had distanced herself from the others. She didn't want to be feeling what she was feeling. Her mother died a few months ago and now her sister. She was the last of the Summers women. What would she do? Everyone could sense Dawn's feelings. They understood what she felt because they felt it, too, to a certain degree. They had known Buffy for five years, fought along side Buffy in her battles with the forces of evil. They were with her in facing the Master, in fighting Angel when he turned evil, in fighting the mayor. They had joined her nearly completely in her battle with the human-demon-cyborg hybrid Adam. Just a few weeks ago, they had helped Buffy fight Glory, the god from another dimension. It resulted in Buffy being killed, but she saved the world...again. Willow had taken it upon herself to become Dawn's new caregiver. But she couldn't replace Joyce or Buffy. She knew that. Part of her wanted to try. But she knew she would fall on her face or offend Dawn for trying. The best she could do was to take care of Dawn and be a shoulder for Dawn to cry on. And she had Tara to support and help her in caring for Dawn. "What are we doing about tonight?" Xander asked Willow as he put the last of the boxes on the floor. "What do you mean?" "We should patrol. If the vampire population keeps growing with a Slayer to stop them, they will tear Sunnydale apart." "I know. We can patrol tonight." "What about Dawn?" "Maybe Tara will sit with her tonight. Remember, Buffy didn't want Dawn exposed to this stuff if she could help it. We should respect Buffy's wishes and keep Dawn as far away from this as possible." Xander nodded in agreement. Then he picked up a box and took it to the kitchen where it belonged. Willow watched her friend go and heaved a big sigh. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was next in line to be the "Slayer". She had the most supernatural power now with her increasing abilities as a Wicca, or witch as many refer to it. At least, next in line before the new Vampire Slayer was chosen. It could be any amount of time between now and then. The last two Slayers took several months before getting here. Faith was the one to arrive quickest, but it took her nearly four months before she arrived. And who was to say the next Slayer would be sent to Sunnydale? After all Buffy quit the Council nearly two years ago. The Council surely wasn't marking Sunnydale on their map for a place in need of a Vampire Slayer. That night, the Scooby gang mounted up in search for vampires to slay. Dawn and Tara stayed in while Willow, Xander, Anya, Spike and Giles went out in search of vampires needing to be dealt with. At the beginning of their patrol, nothing came up. It was Spikes decision that they split up and patrol in smaller groups. Giles and Spike went one way while Willow, Xander and Anya went another. They would cover more ground and were bound to deal with more demons thus ending the patrol early. Spike and Giles made their way through a cemetery on the south side of town both keenly aware of their surroundings, neither speaking a word. "You miss her," Spike said suddenly. "What?" Giles asked. "You miss Buffy." "Of course," Giles replied though he wondered why Spike brought this up now of all times. "I understand. I miss her, too." "Spike..." "I know. I'm a vampire. And Buffy never loved me. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, but she made me feel alive some times. She would talk to me some times like I was a real person. I miss that." Giles realized for the first time what Spike had meant all those months ago when everyone knew Spike was "in love" with Buffy. Buffy made him feel something that no one else ever made him feel. Granted he could not act human until his demonic tendencies were reined in by technology. But once that happened, he had become someone entirely different. The evil was contained. Did that allow a spark of humanity flare up? Before Giles could reason any more, a vampire tackled him to the ground. Spike had come up and grabbed the vampire off Giles and threw it against a nearby mausoleum. Then Spike reached down and pulled Giles up. Giles got to his feet in time for three more vampires to come charging in. Giles pulled out his ax and swung it at the vampire. It stepped sideways as the blade came down. Then it swung its hand and punched Giles in the face. Giles spun in the air and landed on his stomach. Two vampires tackled Spike and knocked him to the ground. Holding him down the third vampire approached with a stake in its hand and a frown on its face. "Spike, you have hunted us for two years now. You have joined the Slayer and her companions in battling the creatures of darkness. You do not even have a soul to make you do such things. You let technology control you. You have become a slave to mankind. There is only one solution to that. There is only one judgment fitting to your crime." The vampire brought the stake up over his head readying it to stake Spike. To Spike's surprise, however, a wooden stake flew completely through the vampire's chest and it screamed turning to dust. The two vampires holding Spike down were in shock as well. They turned to see a figure in the shadows. Slowly it emerged revealing a bald man with scars and a goatee decorating his face. "My aim gets better and better," I said as I stepped out of the shadows to face the two vampires left. They had pinned down a blonde man and one had punched the older man knocking him unconscious. "Who are you?" one snarled at me. "I'm Eric McCoy. And you are?" A vampire tackled me from out of the blue knocking me to the ground. I elbowed it in the face and rolled away. As I climbed to my feet it flipped over and landed on its feet. Then it swung a leg at me. I blocked it and brought my backhand at the face of the creature. It impacted its face but it quickly recovered grabbing my wrist. Its other hand grabbed under my arm and it picked me up flipping me into the air and down onto the ground. I didn't have time to lick my wounds. I swung my leg up and kicked it in the face. It released its grip on me and I flipped up turning to face it. I noticed the older man regaining consciousness. If he got back in the game, it would be even, three-on-three. Those were much fairer odds than two-on-four or three-on-four. The vampire swung its leg around at my head. I ducked and it zoomed overhead missing me by inches. I stood and punched the creature in the back then pushed it forward into a tombstone. The older man got back into the game. He picked up his ax and decapitated one of the vampires holding down the younger, blonde man. The vampire screamed and turned to dust. The blonde man brought up his free hand and punched the vampire in the face. Then he pulled the vampire over and body and rolled it onto its back. He then pulled out a stake and jabbed it in the creature's heart. "Here!" the older man said to me. I turned and he tossed the ax my way. I caught it and in quick fluid motion swung it around and decapitated the vampire. It turned to dust leaving us three alone. I walked over to the older man and handed him his ax. "Thank you," I said. "Thank you," he replied with an English accent. "Who knows what could have happened if you had not shown up." "Who are you?" the blonde asked in an English accent as well. I almost felt like I was back in England. "Eric McCoy," I answered sticking my hand out and shaking theirs. "I'm Rupert Giles," the older Englishman introduced. "Spike," the blonde replied. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Giles asked. "Those were very good moves." "Thank you. It paid to have a Watcher train me, I guess." The two Englishmen looked at each other and then turned to me. "Watcher?" Giles repeated. To Be Continued... Eric meets the gang from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although, he won't be meeting Buffy since she had died.