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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authorjames2002@yahoo.com
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Chapter 40 Secrets
Joseph returned to the secret lair of Catman after ensuring nobody was following him. He went straight to his room and sat down on his cot. Opening the trunk across from his sleeping place, he rifled through the contents finding old pictures of his life. He felt nostalgic and reminisced about his past and all he went through. He found old pictures of his brother, sister, and mother. There were pictures of him and his mother when she was pregnant with his siblings. And there were pictures of when he traveled with Catman around the world learning the fighting abilities required of him. To say that he was an accomplished fighter would not nearly touch the surface of all he acquired in his short life. Catman took him to many people across the globe to learn ancient fighting styles. He learned to handle many types of weapons. And he learned how to track from the best. Not to mention all the escape artists he ran across. Yes, Joseph was definitely well-learned. But he would gladly give it all up to be with his family again, to see and hold and talk to his mother once more.
A knock came at his door and he jumped.
"Joseph, are you in there? I can hear your heartbeat."
"One minute," Joseph called back. He tossed the memorabilia into the trunk and closed it as he got up. He opened the door and saw Catman without his costume on standing outside the door.
"Is everything okay?" Catman asked.
"Yeah, everything is fine."
"Excellent," the vampire stated. "Come with me."
Joseph exited the room and followed Catman down the hallway.
"We are going to get the murderer of your mother and bring him here."
"What?" Joseph said.
"We're going to get Batman and bring him here. It is time for him to face you and be faced by you. It is time he be brought to trial." When Catman noticed the look of bewilderment on Joseph's face, he asked, "Is everything okay? Isn't this what you wanted?"
"Yeah...yes, I do. But, I wasn't sure it was time yet. It seemed so far off. I never thought this day will come."
"It has, my son," Catman said as he put his hand on the back of Joseph's head. "The time has come."
Oracle beeped a alert and I turned my attention to the screen. "Have you found the location of 'Mirage'?"
"Negative. Receiving an amber alert from the police."
"Display."
An amber alert was developed in my home state that rapidly flooded the nation. Simply put, it was an alert put out by the police when a child was abducted. Everyone would receive this alert, thereby making it much more difficult for a kidnapper to escape. The face of the child would be all over the state.
"Location."
The image popped up on the screen.
"Print all the information available in standard template."
I turned to Lance who was still sitting at the desk, only now he was looking up at me. I walked to the closet, pulled my suit out, and began to change.
"Its times like this that I'm so proud of you," he stated.
I smiled at him as I pulled the mask on. Walking over to the mobile, it turned and faced the exit to the cave. I climbed in, started the engine, and within seconds was out onto the roads.
Ryan looked over at Preston with a panicked look on his face.
"Ryan, are you okay? You look like you are about to throw up."
Ryan shook his head 'no'. Suddenly, his head flew backwards and this light pulsed knocking Preston, who was standing close, back against the wall. When his eyes adjusted again after the light, he found himself standing face to face with someone he had never seen before. It was a full-grown man in a blue suit, cape, and fedora which shadowed his eyes. A medallion hung around his neck.
"Are you okay?" the man asked.
Preston nodded. "Are you Ryan?"
The man smiled and put his finger up to his lips. "I'll tell you all about it later. I promise. Right now, you must keep it a secret."
"But...but I don't understand."
"When I return, you will understand."
The mysterious stranger flipped his cape in front of him and vanished without a trace.
A knock came at the door and then it opened.
"Hey, Ryan, are you..." a voice called. Clark stepped in and looked around. "Hi, Preston, is Ryan here?"
"He just stepped out."
"Did he tell you where he went?"
"No," Preston said, still shocked by what happened.
"When you see him again, would you tell him to look for us? Diana and Arthur had an idea as to how to find Joseph."
"Uh, sure," Preston said. As Clark began to pull the door closed, Preston asked, "What's your plan?"
"Evidently, Ryan does magic. The real kind, not what magicians at birthday parties do. Diana and Arthur believe that he might be able to do a spell which would locate Joseph. We would be able to follow him that way."
"I'll let him know," Preston said.
"Thanks," Clark replied and he closed the door.
'That's what happened,' Preston thought to himself. 'Ryan can do magic. This person is him, like a wizard or sorcerer of himself.'
Preston left and went to his dad's office. Sitting down, he typed in the command to connect with Oracle down in the cave. Once the connection was made, he began a search for the image on the medallion worn by Ryan's alter ego. Maybe he would be able to figure out exactly what was going on.
Joseph returned to his room and closed the door. He sat back down on the cot and pulled the trunk closer. 'I can't believe that he's ready to do this. I never thought this day would come, and now I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it to happen.'
Opening the trunk, he continued where he left off with the pictures. The next batch of images were of him in a club in England dancing with a short, blonde guy. 'Austin,' he thought to himself. 'He was a great lay. His ass was so fucking tight, I would almost cum at every first penetration.'
The next images were of the two at other clubs. They had a past, but it was one Joseph would not allow himself to relive. That was the past. That was his public persona. Now, all that mattered was the mission, his mission to avenge the death of his mother. And that time was nearly at hand.
I drove down the street as Oracle listed the names of potential kidnappers of the little girl. These were men and women who either knew the child or were registered sex offenders living in any area Amanda, the little girl, would have passed through. The first on my list was a young man by the name of Trevor. He had been accused of kidnapping and murder, but nobody could find the bodies. There were plenty of ways he could have done that so he wasn't ruled out.
I pulled into the alley and parked the car. This was one of my pre-planned parking places where I could activate the cloak and nobody would notice any difference. Climbing to the roof, I turned in the direction of his apartment, approximately two blocks from my current location. The sun was setting and I wanted to hurry so as not to worry the girl's parents any more.
When I got to the apartment building, I climbed down the fire escape to his apartment floor, the third floor. Slowly, I opened the window and climbed in. The building was run down and shadowy, as only a few of the light fixtures even worked. The smell of urine and feces reached my nose despite the fact it was covered with my mask. I could only imagine the smell if my nose were exposed.
Looking from room to room, I found his apartment. I tried turning the knob but it was locked. 'You can bust this lock,' I told myself. 'Just concentrate.'
Laying my hand over the lock, I reached out and manipulated the metal to unlock the door. With a final click, the doorknob was unlocked. Turning it, I pushed slightly and found the chain lock firmly in place. The apartment was filled with noise as the television was turned on.
"Ow, it hurts!" a girl screamed.
No time for subtleties. I pushed the door and the chain lock snapped off the frame. I looked to assess the layout and found the bathroom and bedroom lay to my right passed the kitchen. I ran through noticing on my way three plates of food.
'The bastard probably has another child in here, or an accomplice.'
I came to the bedroom door and flung it open to see the most horrible sight I could. The man lay on the bed with his dick inside the pre-pubescent girl's vagina. Blood dripped out of her. Sitting on the headboard was a little boy, whose penis was in the kidnapper's mouth. The girl I immediately recognized as Amanda.
"Oh, fuck," the guy said as he pulled off the boy and out of the girl in a hurry.
"Ow!" the girl called out as the unnaturally large penis tore her.
"You motherfucker," I said as he ran to his dresser and fumbled with the drawer. "How the hell could you do something so sick?"
"I can't control it," he said as he successfully opened the drawer and his hand went in.
Knowing he was reaching for a gun, I ran up to him and slammed the drawer on his hand. "Aw, fuck!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, you're going to get fucked," I said as I grabbed him and threw him against the wall. My powers, as before, kicked in beyond my control and he flew through the wall into the hallway.
The boy climbed down with the girl and they wrapped themselves up in the smelly blanket.
"Don't move," I said. I climbed through the fresh hole in the wall and watched him run down the hallway. Pulling out a metal bat, I prepared to throw it when a hand tapped my shoulder. I threw off and the bat hit the wall as the guy climbed out onto the fire escape. "Look what you did!" I said as I turned around and saw the mysterious man. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help," he said.
"You can start by getting the children out."
"There is more going on than you think."
"Let me catch this asshole and then you can tell me what this is all about."
"Very well."
I took off down the hall and dove out the window. Flipping in the air, I positioned myself upright. Using my cape to catch and slow my fall, I descended into the darkened alley. I saw the kidnapper running down the alley. Pulling another bat, I flung it down the alley. It connected with his head and knocked him unconscious. I walked up to him and handcuffed him. "Sick son of a bitch," I mumbled.
Forty minutes later, the mysterious stranger and I stood on a roof after having witnessed the children being taken care of as well as the kidnapper.
"What's this about something more going on?" I asked.
"Come close," he said taking a step toward me. I stepped back unsure of his intentions. "Relax, I won't bite you...unless you want me to."
Realizing he was being goofy, I stepped close. He waved his hand and the two of us were instantly in the apartment of Trevor. I tensed at being back at this place. To think someone would be so cruel, so horrible to children...he's lucky the police came when they did.
"Follow me," Stranger said and walked to the back of the apartment. He entered the bedroom and we looked around. "Do you see anything out of the ordinary?"
After looking a bit, I realized that the room had no pictures on the walls. There was a large mirror at the foot of the bed and at the headboard.
"Oh my God," I realized. "The fucker was recording everything."
"This is part of a child pornography ring in the area. It is up to the bat to crack it. Otherwise, more children will be the victims."
"Up to the bat? What is that supposed to mean?"
"I give messages and help out when I can. That is the message I was to deliver."
"Who do you work for?"
"Beings higher than us."
I reached into my belt and pulled out my radio. "Batman to Oracle. Patch me through to the other heroes." A second later, I heard a beep letting me know they were receiving my message. As I walked, I told them what was going on. "I came across a child pornography ring. I need as many of you that are available at my location. Get the directions from Oracle. And hurry."
I got outside and suddenly everything went dark.
To Be Continued...
Only 10 more chapters to go and this storyline is finished. I know much has happened and there is still some to go. I'd love to hear what you think of all that has occurred.