Disclaimer for "The Tales of Sol 88D"
Author: Joe (at3unit3@yahoo.com)
This is a fictional story. It is not intended to imply that any members of the Backstreet Boys, Nsync, or 98 Degrees are gay, or that any other celebrities mentioned are homosexual. If you are not old enough to read these stories, please refrain from doing so. The same applies to those in countries where such content is illegal. For everyone else, enjoy!
Copyright Notices:
Captain Planet and related characters were created by R.E. Turner and are copyrighted by AOL Time Warner Company and trademarked by TBS Productions.
Babylon 5 and all related characters and props were created by Michael Straczynski and are copyrighted by Warner Bros.
Star Trek and all related characters were created by Gene Roddenberry and are copyrighted by Paramount.
Transformers and all related characters and props are trademarked by Hasbro Inc. and copyrighted by Rhino Home Videos and AOL Time Warner Entertainment Co.
He-Man, She-Ra, and related characters and props are trademarked by Filmation (1980s).
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and all related characters were created by Joss Whedon and are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox.
Batman and all related characters were created by Bob Kane and are copyrighted by DC Comics and Warner Bros.
X-Men and all related characters were created by Stan Lee and are copyrighted by Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox.
Author's Note: To those who've been reading "Tales of Sol," I want you to know that there is sex in this story. However, that is not its sole purpose. I hope the sex scenes are enjoyable, but the story is meant to express hope and show how music can impact our lives. My favorite bands, 98 Degrees, Backstreet Boys, and Nsync, have seen me through some of the hardest moments of my life and offered hope. To them, I say thank you.
I dedicate "The Tales of Sol" to all my brothers and sisters of the US Armed Services, past, present, and future. I also want to thank my friends who helped with editing and inspiration: John Rivera, Albert-Russ Alan Rivera-Odum, Derbe D. Hunte, Yvette Ortiz, and Samuel Diaz Jr.
Special thanks to:
James, author of "Tales of a Real Dark Knight"
Blake, author of "Tales of a New Phoenix"
Jeremi, author of "Tales of Young Mutants"
AI Use Disclosure: I have entered the 21st century of AI editing, using various AI programs to help with grammar checks, clarity, and improvements to my story. This story was edited with the help of GPT Workspace, Grammarly, Microsoft Copilot, and Quillbot AI software.
References:
• GPT Workspace. (2024, January 9). Version 1.0. [AI tool]. GPT Workspace Inc. https://gptworkspace.com/
• Grammarly. (2024, January 9). Version 5.6. [AI tool]. Grammarly Inc. https://www.grammarly.com/
• Microsoft Copilot. (2024, January 9). Version 2.3. [AI tool]. Microsoft Corporation. https://copilot.github.com/
• Quillbot. (2024, January 9). Version 4.2. [AI tool]. QuillBot Inc. https://quillbot.com
The Tales of Sol 88D
It took BEATTI some time to transfer all of the files on the children the Pie Piper kidnapped into his make-believe world over to the Watcher's Council; the sooner they received, the sooner we could try and find these kids' families if they still had family.
Once that was done I told her, "Good, and keep monitoring the probes. I want to know if Elizar ever resurfaces."
My computer next stated as BEATTI was going down the list of reports, this one on the toxic waste that took out the George Washington Bridge, "I do have a report on those toxins from the barge that was impounded. It is reported that the waste is a byproduct from a manufacturer in New York."
The report puzzled me as I demanded, "How the devil did it get to the Hudson River's bottom?"
BEATTI responded, "The authorities are still trying to figure that out."
BEATTI was interrupted by a call from Tony Blake; the tour manager was informing me that the Backstreet Boys were on their way. He re-emphasized that they would be ready to leave when he came to get them. I reassured Tony that I would make sure they were ready.
"Sir Jake is coming home," BEATTI declared before she could provide me with another update.
"That is fantastic," I said, grinning, taking the turkey out to stuff and bast.
Upon hearing footsteps coming from the basement, I greeted them with "Welcome home."
"I apologize, Mike, but Galen granted Dana and me some additional time to ourselves," Jake winked at me.
I looked at him knowingly and said, "I am glad."
To defend himself, Jake said, "Hey, she is quite a woman."
"Brian and the others ought to arrive at any moment." I put the last of the dishes away and said, "Tony told me that they left the meeting a half hour ago."
In an instant, Brian and the others entered through the door.
"Welcome home, Backstreet Boys," I said, waving my hand over to Jake, "I would like you to meet my good friend and shipmate Jake Morow.'"
When they had introduced themselves, Jake laughed, "I know who you all are, Mike drove me nuts always blasting your music." Jake shook hands with each of them. "It is nice to finally meet the man who managed to win Mike's heart," he said, holding Brian's hand tightly.
Brian shook it after accepting it. "Anyone who is a friend of Mike's is a friend of mine," Brian stated.
"You are definitely hotter than the last celebrity Mike brought home," Jake exclaimed,
I flushed, "Jake!"
Brian laughed, "I am just grateful that Jeff Timmons isn't ugly."
"I never said he was, but my shipmate always had the hots for you. He drove me crazy, gushing over you every spare moment in the Carol Vinson berthing area," Jake joked with a laugh.
The man was out to embarrass me. I winked, "Jake, before you go on, should I tell them all about your little misadventures?"
Jake paled when I brought up, "There was that little incident at that bar in Thailand, I seem to recall."
Jake quickly responded, "That was nothing!"
"I love to hear all about both of your exploits while you served aboard that aircraft carrier," Nick stepped forward.
Jake gulped and asked, "What was dinner then?" preferring not to be the target of everyone's butt jokes.
Not to let my smartass shipmate off the hook, I joked, "For us turkey, and for you, mister big mouth, there are MREs you can enjoy."
Jake pretended to be irritated and said, "Next time, I will just stay with Dana."
The turkey still needed a few more minutes to finish cooking so we all gathered in the living room. Howie and Kevin took one loveseat, and Brian and I sat on one couch, our hands and hips joined.
Making everyone give us catcalls and such, not that I was concerned; these guys were my family.
"So Jake, tell us about yourself," AJ asked as he and Nick sat on the couch by the main stairs with Jake. My shipmate shifted his gaze to AJ.
Jake began telling them about his upbringing and our time in the Navy. Jake told them about how I saved his ass from several embarrassing situations. And saving it from far more dangerous situations would solidify our friendship.
I eventually had to return to the kitchen and told Brian, to stay in the living room with Jake and his band. I had to put the finishing touches on the turkey.
Jake told them how I saved him from a vampire. "I decided to surprise Mike, only to end up on some altar table to be sacrificed to raise an army of the living dead."
"I thought I was a goner until the epic battle where Guardian and Razeel appeared outnumbered, like 20-2."
Howie pondered, "How the hell did he even manage?"
"The only way they were able to use me to raise the dead in the first place was they needed a place of honorless warriors and that abandoned train station was chock-full of them," Jake said solemnly. "Mike was able to get those ghosts to remember their honor."
Kevin spoke softly "So, how did Mike do that?"
Jake answered, "They needed my warrior's blood as part of the spell; Mike used his, then spoke to the ghost and pleaded with the ghost to help; that act of saving me was all those spirits needed to free them, they stopped Elizar from raising an army of vampires was also a damn good reason. with their honor being restored."
Howie said, "I am pretty sure it was a mix of the two; saving you prevented that bastard from raising the army in the first place."
Hearing them say that reminded me of the one thing I failed to do, which was avenge the Planeteers.
"I think it was fortunate that you did arrive," AJ said, "because I remember Mike telling us about that experience, he needed a way to save those guys and your presence gave him that ability."
That made my shipmate pause "I guess that is one way of looking at it."
Nick said, "I just think it is great we have met so many selfish, self-center fans and here we are in a home with some of the most selfless people in the world,"
"Yes, but there was one part of this that still chills me to the bone. For all of this to happen, Mike had to become a conduit to those spirits; it frightens me to think what could have happened if one of them took control of Mike, who could have done untold damage even though his powers were still in their infancy," Jake continued.
I spoke from the kitchen, "There was no other way; it took my powers to bring forth the fire needed to set those trapped soldiers were freed from their hellish prison."
After a few moments, Brian and Nick entered the kitchen to offer their assistance.
As the conversation moved into the dining room, Jake and Howie began to set the table. Kevin and AJ began bringing food to the table.
When I was done with something, like the mashed potatoes, Nick would take them and place them on the dining room table. While Howie looked for a place for them, Jake set the plates and silverware down.
Brian was in charge of the drinks and snacks. The turkey was the last to be served.
Kevin asked to carve it, so I gave him the carving knife, remembering his skill with the chicken I cooked for them.
Brian offered to pray over the meal as we sat around the table, and he included a special prayer for their upcoming performances.
Brian held my hand the entire time, wanting to make sure I never missed a second without it. Although it was sweet, it made eating challenging for both of us. However, I was not going to stop him. I needed it as well.
It was going to be difficult without my lover, and it was going to be even more difficult without my beloved friends.
They all appeared to be equally dissatisfied with this. It moved me just as much.
"Guys, if you don't start eating, I am going to be offended," I remarked at their sour expression
"Mike, this is delicious as always. It just sucks when we can't even spend time enjoying it," AJ said, taking a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
"Remember, guys, you are bringing joy to this world, as well as hope and wonder to those who desperately need it," I reminded them.
"It is just so hard, Mike, we are used to just moving on, we have never had anyone who genuinely cared about our well-being," Kevin lamented.
"Yes, and we do not get home-cooked meals like yours in those overpriced hotels," Nick said, picking at his stuffing.
"I will make sure you have enough for the trip, Nick," I promised.
AJ stabbed his turkey with a fork. "I am sure it will be cold leftovers,"
Knowing Nick, I made a cheeky comment, "Knowing Nick it will be gone before it all gets cold."
They laughed, which was the intended outcome. I adore the Backstreet Boys; they quickly grew to feel like a big family.
I politely said, "I know, but at least you are taking a little piece of my love with you all."
"We have spent so much time worrying about being loved by others that we had to keep our distance," Howie said, seeming unhappy. "And after going this far, all we want to do is spend time with the one person who provided us with safety."
"And I do not want to sleep in an empty bed," Brian said, glancing at me."
I looked at them. I felt incredibly moved. I cherished each of them dearly. I had no idea that I was affecting them in this way.
My doubts were something I detested. "Guys, the happiness you bring to the world is equally important; someone out there needs your music to give them hope." I reminded my friends
Not that I was finding much solace in their departure.
However, I also had a responsibility to be their friend, so I said, "I will have a hot dinner ready for you all when you get back."
Brian gave me a tight squeeze. "I love you,"
I lifted Brian's hand and pressed it to my mouth. "I love you too Brian,"
This time no one even bulked at us when Brian leaned in and kissed me with such passion. They needed to see the love in this room to get them through the next several weeks.
Jake merely sat and observed. He did not want to disturb us, but after a short while, we were all chatting to make the most of our time together.
It was a good and relaxing dinner and everyone we chatted about our time in Hawaii. They kept telling Jake about how I saved them from Mount Kilauea and me taking on Mauna Loa. I began to gather the dishes and take them into the kitchen. I asked BEATTI to report on anything she found from the Probe Network or other sources to relieve some of my anxiety.
According to BEATTI, "I have completed complying with the information on FOH activities over the last several months."
"What have you discovered?" I asked
BEATTI told me, "You were right when you said that FOH was unquestionably involved in the attack on the Mutant Awareness Charity."
I snarled, "I knew it."
Speaking of a much lighter note, BEATTI declared, "This might interest you, sir."
"What?" I asked
BEATTI said, "The planets are moving into alignment according to NASA."
I was intrigued and said, "Really, I will have to grab my telescope." One of my many interests was astronomy, so seeing this show was undoubtedly high on my list of things to do.
Howie was just coming to drop off his dishes when he heard BEATTI report on the planetary alignment he cringed as he knew Hades would want to know that Mike knew when it was going to happen.
"Howie, are you ok?" AJ asked as he took his dishes to Mike
"Yeah I think I ate too fast," Howie reassured his bandmate
"Ok you might want to get that to Mike before he finishes you know how he is," AJ pointed to the plate in Howie's hand
"Can you bring it to him I need to go to the bathroom," Howie asked
"Sure," AJ took to the plate while Howie went to the bathroom
When no one was looking Howie made a detour to Mike's backyard "Hades," He called out the Greek God appeared before him with his dark helmet on his rich voice resonated inside the helmet, "Yes Howie my sweet,"
"Don't call me that," he growled
His voice still echoed inside his helmet, "Oh Howie babe you know I have a special place for you in my heart," Hades gave Howie a nasty look
"Whatever, I just thought you should know, Mike knows what going to be happening with the planets soon," Howie said he hated himself for betraying his friend but he knew what would happen if he didn't
"Yes I have been observing him but his interests are not in what will happen when those planets align, just that they are," Hades stated
"Not that I blame his interest, it will be a marvelous event," Hades laughed when he stopped.
"In any event, we need to keep that fool from finding out the significance of that cosmic display," Hades said as he looked directly at Howie.
"I can't continue to betray him Hades," Howie spoke up.
"And I wouldn't ask you to because I need him to be able to trust you," Hades snickered.
When the Greek God disappeared Howie sighed in disgust for allowing himself to get into this predicament.
"Sir Tony is coming to get the Backstreet Boys," BEATTI yelled as I was washing a few pots at the sink.
It required a moment to process. Even though I should have been ready, it still struck. "All right, how much time?"
"It will be half an hour, sir," BEATTI said.
To gather as much food as possible as well as several care packages I had specially prepared for each member for their trip to Baltimore, I stopped doing the dishes.
Tony was at the door by the time I had packed up leftovers for my sweetie and my friends.
Jake went to the door and opened it for Tony Blake to enter my house.
Tony saw the Backstreet Boys' sour faces and reluctantly said, "I am sorry guys, but we have to get to the bus and leave for Baltimore."
Kevin and AJ at the same gently remarked, "We understand," as they gathered the food I had set aside for them.
As they each gave me a hug I gave them their care package and the looks on their faces were worth it. They knew they were loved and that I was proud of the work they were doing.
"I am so proud of you, Brian, and I love you very much," I pulled Brian into an embrace. This was unbelievably painful; imagine how it must feel for all the wives who have watched as their husbands depart for a six-month sea tour. This is the idea behind my care packages: they needed something besides the home-cooked meal to accompany them.
Brian sobbed into my shoulder, "I will be back; I am just so proud of you, Mike, for keeping this city safe." We said our goodbyes with kisses.
Reluctantly, Tony had to intervene and lead the band out the door. As they all went, I hugged them all one last time.
Tony turned to face me before heading out, promising to make sure they returned as soon as possible.
With Jake trailing closely behind and putting his arm around my shoulders for support, I followed them out the door and we watched the limo carrying my friends, my cousin, and my love drive away.
I sent up a prayer, "Please Mother, please watch over them."
To be continued
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I also recommend the following stories. It was because of them I got into writing in the first place.
"Tales of a Real Dark Knight" by authorjames
"Marvel Knights" also by authorjames
"Tales of the New Phoenix" by Blake
"Tales of a Superhero Band" by Leo
"Tales of a Young Mutant" by Jeremi
"Tales of a Thunder God" by Tony Justiss