Disclaimer: This story is fiction. There are two celebrities who will appear from time-to-time. The other characters are fictitious. Any similarities to persons living or dead are completely coincidental.
In this story, I have continued the adventures of Batman, my Batman, which his story first began in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight" in the Boy Band section of this archive. It spanned 250 chapters. You will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this.
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.
I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered.
I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. I do hope that you enjoy it!!!
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Chapter 37 Revolution
The following morning, I got up early and went downstairs. After brewing a pot of coffee, I went outside and stood looking at the sky. Everything was changing. My children discovered they had an older brother. I felt horrible about not knowing of him and thus, allowing a vampire to raise him. My marriage was in the dumps and a lot of hard work was ahead of both Lance and I. Randy's boyfriend broke up with him because Randy obsessed about Batman. Being Batman has caused me to get more involved with teenagers at the Center than should be. I was spending time training these individuals to fight in a world that most of them didn't know existed. People would describe me as being driven by the mask.
The door opened behind me and Lance stepped out as I placed my cup of coffee on the table. He walked up to me and stood beside me.
"Good morning," he greeted.
I turned to him. "Good morning, Lance. How did you sleep?"
"For being a guest room, the bed is very comfortable."
I smiled.
"I'm going to prove to you that I love you," he began. "I know what I did was wrong. I can't believe I even did it. But I want to fix this. I know I have to fix this. I can talk about what happened, and I can tell you when things are bothering me, when I feel as if I have no place in your life."
"Lance, you've always had a place in my life. My life has changed for the better when I opened my heart to you. I want us to work. Before the mental journey with J'onn, I didn't think I could forgive you for what you did. I still hurt over it. But after seeing us again, the way we were as we raised our children, I couldn't abandon the love we had, the love I hope we still have. I know I still love you. The road ahead is going to be hard, possibly the hardest thing we've ever been through."
"That's saying a lot," he replied.
"It is. But if we are both determined, we just might make it out okay. There are no guarantees, though."
"As long as we try," Lance said. "That's all I could ask for."
Hesitantly, I took him into my arms. I felt his love for me and my love for him. It felt nice to have him in my arms, but it also felt scary. I didn't know if I could ever fully trust him. Only time and patience would tell. He had to earn my trust again.
The doorbell rang and we released our embrace.
Lance went in and opened the door. Justin, Jessica, and Randy stood on the other side. Randy's appearance was perplexing. He looked angry and disappointed.
"Hi," Lance said. "Come in." The three entered and he closed the door. "What's going on?"
"Where is he?" Randy said as his voice cracked.
"Who?"
"Eric."
Lance's heart stopped for a split second. That was the first time Randy referred to either of us by our first names only. Lance looked to Jessica and Justin for an explanation.
"He knows," Jessica said.
That was all the answer Lance needed to explain Randy's behavior. "He's...uh...he's out on the patio."
Randy marched into the kitchen and slid open the patio door.
I turned as I heard the door open and saw Randy come out. "Hi," I greeted before Randy's look registered in my mind. "What's wrong?"
Randy walked up to me and, with tears in his eyes, he hit me in the jaw. Then the dam broke and the tears fell. "Why didn't you tell me? Why? Why, why, why, why, why?"
I dropped my cup on the ground and grabbed his shoulders. "What are you talking about?"
"I made such a fool of myself! I talked about how much I loved you...loved him! How much...I...wanted to...spend the rest...of my life...and you didn't...you didn't...you didn't tell me! You could have...told me...you were....you were him!"
"Oh, god," I whispered. "I'm so sorry, Randy." I knew what he was referring to. He, somehow, found out that I was Batman, his life-long crush. I can only imagine the embarrassment he felt now after having paraded around so much talking about his crush. "Someone should have told you."
I pulled him close and held him as his body shuddered with the grief. Looking up at the patio doors, I saw Jessica framed in the doorway looking out at us.
A short while later, Jessica and I stood in the den. Lance, Justin, and Randy were outside.
"How did he find out?" I asked.
"He saw my costume. I don't know why he was snooping around, but he was. He found my costume and recognized it. He came storming out of our room and asked if I knew who Batman was. He asked if it was his father. Obviously, I told him 'no'. I told him that Batman has been active in Orlando, Florida and that there have been sightings of him during the same time Justin was with us."
"What happened after that?"
"At first he thought I didn't know the identity of Batman. But after remembering all the stories of the Huntress and her work in L.A. and Orlando, he traced it to when you and Lance were in L.A. and then out here. At first he thought it was Lance. I told him it wasn't and he knew. He dropped the costume on the floor and the tears came. He became so angry and so embarrassed at his feelings. He wanted to come over here and tell you off."
I turned and walked to the window, looking out at the three men on the patio. "He's taken so much."
"Who?"
"Batman has. He's stolen the time Lance and I had together. He's taken me from the children. He allowed Joseph to be raised by a vampire. And now he's ruined Randy's life."
"I wouldn't call it ruined," Jessica replied. "He's had his heart broken. How many of us can honestly say ours wasn't? Lance broke mine when he came out to me. Justin broke yours after the spell wore off. Lance broke yours recently. We've all had pain and heartache. Thankfully his was a crush over someone unattainable. How many people do you know ever get the unattainable?"
I looked over at her and smiled. "I did, twice."
It registered with her that I meant Justin and Lance. She smiled at me and walked over to the window to join me.
"So, how goes things between you and Lance?"
"We're going to work on things. There is no guarantee, but we are going to try. I don't think I'm ready to give up on us just yet. Besides, the kids are going through a lot. We both want to be there for them."
"Speaking of the kids, what's going on with Catman?"
"We had some interesting happenings last night. J'onn Jonnz, the person I rescued the other night, merged our minds. It seems Catman, at least the first Catman, is the father of Preston, Sarah, and Joseph."
"Joseph? Who's that?"
"Sarah and Preston's older brother. When Christine told me she had three children, I assumed it was Preston, Sarah, and the baby she carried. Evidently, it was an older child, Joseph, who was one of the three."
"Is Joseph a vampire?"
"No, at least, not yet. Who knows what the original Catman may be planning? Joseph knows the truth, though. The mind merge showed the events of Christine's death from his perspective and my own."
"I don't know if he will change sides. His whole life has been turned upside down yet again with all this information."
"We're hoping his love for his mother, Preston, and Sarah will come through for him. I'd hate for him to become the next victim of his father."
"When is he planning on stopping by?"
"I don't know. He said he needed to think about things."
"It looks like we are all thinking about things. The world has changed, Eric. It isn't what it used to be. For better or for worse, I don't know, but it has changed. Slayers are becoming obsolete with the vampires now being globally recognized as citizens. The Council has to constantly battle European governments over their existence. And it isn't just in Europe. Asia and the United States are doing the same thing. South America and Africa haven't changed much. Spiritual traditions still have a strong influence. Most people think vampires are demonic, evil."
"When I was in Columbus, Blade mentioned the possibility of a vampire conspiracy. An agent of a group called S.H.I.E.L.D. spoke of a tactical team set up to thwart any incursions on America soil before they actually happen. He believes that a conspiracy exists and he is working with a few other groups to address the issue. I believe the Council is working with him. He was working with a Slayer."
"Hmm," Jessica said as she thought. "It is possible the Council is involved. They are known for investigating conspiracies as well."
"Oh really?" I replied, my curiosity piqued. "What conspiracies?"
Jessica looked at me and smiled. "Ever the detective, always wanting to know the 'truth'. By now you should know that truth is subjective."
"Not all truth."
"At any rate, that might be something to prepare for. If there is a vampire conspiracy to take over the world, we've got a hell of a fight ahead of us. If you thought the Vampire War was horrible, you haven't seen anything yet."
"We were fighting with Apocalypse, remember?"
"Yeah, well, you will want to face off with him before battling vampires who have been around since the time of Caesar. We're talking generals who have fought in major conflict through the centuries. Our current strategists don't have shit on these guys."
"Maybe I should retire before this happens," I replied with a chuckle. "Lance and I can retire to some tropical island with the kids. You guys are welcome to come too."
Jessica couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, before I forget," I continued. "I have a bone to pick with you."
"What's that?"
"When you came looking for me after you found out what happened with Lance, were you prepared to fight?"
"I plead the fifth."
"Seriously, do you guys think I am so unstable that any negative emotion I feel will result in me turning evil?"
"Hell hath no fury..." Jessica quoted.
"Damn, where is the faith," I replied as I smiled, stood up, and left the den.
"Right next to my stake," Jessica answered as she followed close behind. "What are your plans now?"
"I've got teenagers with super powers to train, a marriage to fix, a sibling of my children to save, a nephew who hates, loathes, and despises me, and the killer of an old friend to hunt down. Thank God it's summer vacation."
"You don't have your teaching schedule at the university to contend with."
"Thank God!"
The patio door slid open and Justin came in.
"How is he doing?" Jessica asked.
"He's doing better. He's coping with everything. He understands why he wasn't told about everything, but he thinks it was wrong. Since he knows, he's already in the same danger he would have been in had he been told much earlier. The only difference is now he can't defend himself. If he had known before, he would have had the proper training to fight if necessary."
"I'll train him," Jessica said. "I want you with me, Justin. He's our son, and our job is to prepare him for what lies ahead of him."
Justin nodded and put his hand on the back of Jessica's neck, massaging it. "We can do this."
I smiled at them: the perfect couple. Both good-looking, both successful, both willing to do whatever it takes to protect their child.
The patio door opened and Lance and Randy came in. Randy gave a quick look toward me then turned away. "I'm ready to go now," he said to Justin and Jessica.
"Okay," Jessica said. "We'll talk to you guys later."
Lance walked the Timberlakes to the door.
"Good morning, Aunt Jess, Uncle Justin, Rand," Preston said as he came down the stairs in pajama bottoms. He came into the kitchen with his hair muffled and gave me a kiss on the cheek as he got some juice out of the refrigerator. "Good morning, dad."
"Good morning," I said. "I see you slept well."
"Yeah, I did sleep pretty well. I had the most amazing dreams about my mom, Christine. I don't know if J'onn's mind thing triggered memories of if my subconscious created them based on the memories he brought to light last night, but it was really cool. It was like I got to know her, who she was, what she was like and all that." Preston moved over to the table and sat down.
"Very cool," I said.
Lance came into the kitchen and kissed Preston on the back of the head, and then came over to me. "What are your plans for the day?"
"I think I'm going over to the Center today. I need to speak with the teens about what is going on with Catman so they are aware."
"I bring Sarah and Preston by later in case they want to do training."
"Okay," I answered. I grabbed my keys and left.
Preston watched as his father left and turned to his other dad. "I know something is going on. Sarah and I both do. What happened between you two?"
"It isn't something for you to worry about right now. Drink your juice and get ready. We have to head over to the Center. I'll go upstairs to see if Sarah is awake yet."
Lance left the kitchen and headed up the stairs wondering, 'How are we going to explain this to Sarah and Preston?'
To Be Continued...
Only 13 chapters left in this storyline. What do you think of the events which occurred already? How do you think it will end? I'd love to hear from you.