Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 14:45:53 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com> Subject: Adventures of a Real Dark Knight 31 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. Scary!! People actually get a glimpse into my 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. Star Trek and all related characters created by Gene Roddenberry. Copyright Paramount Studios. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. In this story, which has been floating around in my head most of my life, you will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. This story doesn't deal so much with sex, sex, sex, but more of my feelings that I struggled with and am starting to come to terms with. Part of his background is mine. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! 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. jmsotc@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. Author's note: some of the family stuff is true, such as names. But everything else is pretty much writer's liberty. I hope you don't mind, Chapter 31 So This is Christmas I had explained to Batgirl a bit about Nightwing and Robin, and then we departed. The rest of patrol was quiet, no signs of vampire activity. I returned and found Lance asleep. I crawled into bed and cuddled with him. I couldn't wait until the night of the concert. The following day he and I were going to leave for Mississippi for the holidays. We decided to drive over. It would be fun. The night of the concert we dressed and left. Fortunately for Lance's celebrity, we were able to get in another way and get to our spot. Not too much later, I noticed, to my surprise, David Gallagher and Michael Cuccione enter where we did. Michael was having a hard time getting around. I felt so bad for him. In my month away from them, he had deteriorated noticeably. "Lance...look. There's David and Michael." "We should invite them over to join us." "Okay. I'll get them." I walked over to them. "Hi, David, Michael." "Hi, Eric," David said. "Hi," Michael replied. "You guys came to the concert, too. That's great. How've you been?" "Pretty good," Michael answered. "Yeah. Pretty good." I could detect the note of sadness in David's voice. He was really feeling the effects of Michael's sickness. "Would you guys like to join Lance and I?" "No, thanks. We need to stay close to the door in case something happens." "Okay. Lance and I will be along once in a while to check on you guys." I returned to Lance. "Michael doesn't look very good." "Poor guy." "I know. And I feel horrible for David, too. I couldn't imagine going through that. It must be terrible for both of them." "Yeah." The lights went down and Celine Dion came out on stage. We sat through several of her songs with delight. Then she came to "Happy Xmas" written by John Lennon and I looked toward Michael and David. I watched them and my eyes filled with tears as the words flowed out. This could very well be Michael's last Christmas. What would David do without Michael? "Excuse me," I said to Lance. I slipped out and went to the hallway. There I could hear Celine's voice projecting the words of such a moving song. And I cried. The tears fell hard. My body shook under the sadness and grief I was already feeling for just imagining what may happen. I went into the bathroom and washed my face off. Then when I came out, I entered over by David and Michael. Not a word was spoken between us. I reached down and took David's hand. Michael couldn't see it. He didn't need to. His mind was where it should have been, on Celine's beautiful voice. He needed to enjoy so much of what he could. As the song died, David gave my hand a squeeze. "Thanks, Eric," he whispered. "You're welcome." I went over to Michael and leaned down. "It was good to see you, Michael." I gave him a big hug. "Call me if you guys need anything." "We will." I went back to Lance and held his hand through the rest of the concert. Then we went home. I undressed and climbed into bed. Lance finished up in the bathroom and came out. I looked at him and my eyes became a bit watery. He came over and climbed into bed. "It was good to see David and Michael," Lance said. "Yes it was." "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." "No you're not. I can tell, Eric. Something is bothering you. Is it seeing David and Michael together?" "Knowing what they have and what they very well may lose because of death." "Don't think like that, Eric. We have to think good thoughts for them." "I know." Lance reached his arm around me and held me tight, and we fell asleep. The next morning we woke up and I fixed breakfast. After we ate, I washed the dishes and put everything away that needed to be put away. Then we packed up the SUV and off we went. Mapquest had given us an estimated driving time of a little over 14 hours. I wouldn't have a problem with it because of whom I was with. It actually didn't take that long. We took turns, listened to the radio and acted really silly. "You never told me about the dream you had last week." I looked at Lance questioningly. "You remember the one where you were really upset and angry? It was the morning that the guys came over. You were really angry and distant." "Oh, I remember that. As for the dream, I still only remember bits and pieces. It seemed as if everyone was against the center. I could feel the hatred many people had toward the center and me. It enraged me. I felt so alone." "Wasn't I there?" "No." "You know I would never leave you." "I know. But I felt so alone. The dream felt so real." "Hey, I'm here." Lance reached over and put his arm around me and pulled me close to him. Eventually we arrived at Clinton, Mississippi, Lance's home. We pulled into the driveway. "Come on," he said. "We'll get the bags in a minute. I want to show you off to my family." Lance opened the door and called out, "I'm home!" His mom came rushing out of the kitchen with a big grin on her face. "James Lance Bass! You're here!" "Hi, mom." Lance and his mom embraced and I just watched and smiled. "Who's this?" she asked referring to me. "Mom, this is Eric, remember?" "I know! I'm just being silly! Nice to finally meet you, Eric." I stuck my hand out to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Bass." She grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. "We don't do handshakes around here when it comes to family. I thought Lance would have told you that." She released me. "Come on in the kitchen. I'm just baking some pies for Christmas." Lance and I followed her into the kitchen and we sat down as she bustled around the kitchen. Lance shared with her how we met, although he left out some of the more fantastic aspects of it, such as vampires and me being Batman. She shared with us about Stacey, Lance's sister, and her new boyfriend Mark. She also was telling how Lance's dad Jim was doing with work and what not. Lance shared with her about the new album coming out in the summer and that the group would be on tour after the holidays. "You know, Eric, that if you want to come down here while Lance is on tour, you are more than welcome." "I appreciate that, Mrs. Bass, but I might go with them." "Are you sure you can handle all those girls screaming and yelling his name?" "I will try." We laughed a little. "Why don't you guys get your things and unpack?" she suggested. Lance and I went out and grabbed our bags and took them to his old room. It was cute to see some of his stuff still out. We unpacked our things and put them away in his dresser drawers. I lay down on the bed. "So this is where the famous Lance Bass laid his head at night as a teenager dreaming away of young hard-bodied men, eh?" "Yep," he replied lying down on top of me. "I hope I don't get jealous." "You have nothing to be jealous about." "Come on, Lance. Thousands upon thousands of teenagers, both boys and girls, adore you and would give a limb to be in here with you right now, and you are telling me not to be jealous." "I only have eyes for you, Eric." "If all you have are eyes for me, I'm wondering who your penis is for, not to mention your other body parts." Lance started tickling me and I couldn't stand it. I laughed so hard I fell off the bed trying to get away. A knock came to the door and his mom called out, "Is everything okay in there?" "Yes, mom," Lance answered. "Eric just fell off the bed." "Oh my goodness, is he okay?" "Yes. I was just tickling him." Diane started laughing and she left the door. "I'm glad she believed you," I replied. "Yeah. She knows I wouldn't lie to her." "And if you and I were having sex, you would tell her?" "Sure. I'd say, mom, Eric was giving me this awesome blowjob and I came so hard the force knocked him off the bed." "Yeah, right! You wouldn't tell her that!" "Maybe." I grabbed a pillow and bonked him in the head with it. He feigned being knocked unconscious and fell back to his bed. "Oh, no," I said. "Is he breathing? I may have to give him mouth to mouth resuscitation." "Please do," Lance replied while his eyes were still closed. I climbed on top of him and leaned down. My lips met his and we began kissing. This lasted for just a few moments as we heard the front door open and his dad yell, "Where's my boy?" We got up and went downstairs. "Hi, dad!" Lance and his dad hugged. Lance introduced me to his dad and he hugged me, too. Then Stacey came in and the introductions started over. That evening after dinner, we sat around the living room talking. I sat in a chair and Lance sat on the floor in-between my legs. I was rubbing his shoulders and we were sharing things that had happened to us and talked about the teen center. "Did you hear about the mutant phenomenon?" Jim asked. "It's scary," Diane replied. "Who are these people and how are they getting this ability? Our minister said it's an evil curse by God." "The minister over at the other church said it's the manifestation of the devil's power over these people," Stacey added. "And the persecution of them all is just terrible," Jim said. "They can't really control who they are any more than you guys can control the fact you're gay." "No, they can't," I said. The room was quiet for a moment. "Is the Christmas play still going on in Meridian this year?" Lance asked. "As far as we know," Diane answered. "Are we still going?" "I don't know, son," Jim said. "Lots to do around here. But you and Eric could always go if you wanted." "What about you, Stacey? Are you and Mark going to go?" "We might. I said something to him but he hasn't said anything." I let out a big yawn. "Someone is sleepy," Diane said. "We should all be going to bed. Unlike some people, we still have to work around here." Everyone laughed and we all went to bed. I curled up to Lance in his small bed and snuggled up close. "Your family seems real nice." I said. "They are great." "Yeah. I'm glad to be part of such a nice family." "I'm glad you are part of my family." "So what's this Christmas play going on in Meridian?" "It's 'A Christmas Carol' we go to see every year. Sort of a family tradition." "Doesn't look like anyone is going though." "Yeah. I wonder why." I put my arms around Lance and we fell asleep. To Be Continued... Now we've met Lance's family. Good stuff coming up. Does anyone remember what is so special about Meridian, Mississippi?