Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 05:41:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Judgments of a Real Dark Knight 33

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.

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.

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Other stories in this universe written by other authors:
"Tales of a Superhero Band"
"Tales of the New Phoenix"
"Tales of a Young Mutant"

Chapter 33 Weights and Measures

	"I was thinking," Lance said as he and I cleared the dinner table.
"I've wanted to start working out.  I sit around here and get bored,
although it has been anything but boring for the last ten days."
	I smiled at him.  "Do you have a place in mind?"
	"Yeah, actually.  There is this gym that I had looked into a while
ago but never got a membership to.  They have personal trainers and
everything."
	"Sounds real nice.  Personal trainers can keep you on target with
your goals and push you to go beyond."
	"Yeah.  I was also thinking that you and I could go together."
	"That sounds like fun.  When did you want to check it out?"
	"They are open really late.  We could go tonight if you want."
	"I'd love to, but I just got back to school and I have a ton of
work to catch up on.  I was hoping to use tonight to dig in a bit.  How
about tomorrow night?"
	"Sounds good to me," Lance replied as he handed me the last dish.
	I took it from him and put it in the dishwasher.  Then I handed him
the dishrag to wipe off the table.

	The next day at school was grueling, but I was in my glory.  I took
notes, participated in class, and talked with a few students, though not
many.  Usually someone else had to make the first move. I'm a very shy and
quiet person, very backwards when it comes to social situations.  When my
classes were over, I headed home to find Lance making dinner.  It was a
very light dinner, which he intended purposely as we were going to the gym.
	After we ate, we headed upstairs to change.  That took us a little
over an hour as we got to playing around and had sex.  The sixty-nine
position was always a fun position.  Then, after showering and getting
ready, we headed off to the gym.
	The guy who greeted us was very enthusiastic, very built, and very
heterosexual.  The girl at the counter kept looking at Lance and, when he
noticed, would look away.  She obviously recognized him and was very
nervous.
	The guy, whose name was Jeff, showed us the locker rooms and
showers, which was distracting.  Think about it.  A gay man showering with
a bunch of muscle men.  That just opens the door to the imagination!  Then
we headed up to the machines.
	"Your personal trainer will work with you to help you reach your
goals.  We have lots of machines here all specifically designed to target
specific muscle groups.  Some people have stronger upper-body strength and
are weaker in the legs, and vice versa.  Your personal trainer will help
you determine where your strengths and weaknesses are and will design a
program to suit your specific needs."
	The trainer walked with us around the track showing where the
classes were held, the cardio machines, and the free weights.  "Any
questions?" he asked.
	Lance and I both said no.
	"Let's head down to my office where I can go over the plans we
have."
	We headed down and I had to stop to go to the bathroom.  The only
bathrooms available were the ones in the locker room.  I told Lance where I
was going and said I would catch up.  He followed the personal trainer down
the hall and I entered.
	The locker room smelled like an indoor pool, chlorine.  It made
sense, though, as the pool was adjacent to the locker room.  Plus with the
showers running, it made for a very humid environment.  I used the bathroom
and, as I washed my hands, noticed a group of personal trainers standing
around chatting.  They looked nervous.
	I dried my hands off and curiosity got the better of me.  I headed
over to them quietly and listened to their conversation.
	"That's the fourth one this month," one was saying.  "This can't
keep up."
	"But what can we do about it?  No one would believe us.  And you
know what Nick would do if he found out we said anything."
	"God, this is insane.  Don't preachers normally deal with stuff
like this?"
	"I highly doubt any preachers could deal with this thing."
	I slipped past them back out into the corridor and met up with
Lance and Jeff.  They were in the process of going over plans and
paperwork.
	"I can set up joint workout sessions if you both want, where you
both work with a personal trainer.  Does that sound like something you
would want to do?"
	Lance looked over and me, and I smiled nodding.
	"Sure," Lance answered.
	"Okay.  Let me arrange your payment plan."  Jeff typed up on the
computer.  "Okay.  Now, if I could just have your credit card or debit
card, I will place your down payment for you."
	Lance handed him his credit card and Jeff left the office leaving
us alone.
	"There is a problem," I said.
	"With the club plan?"
	"Not the plan.  While I was in the locker room I heard two trainers
talking about someone disappearing.  They said it was the fourth one this
month and that another trainer is responsible for it."
	"I know where this is going," Lance said.  "What are you going to
do?"
	"I was thinking of coming back after we left to..."
	Jeff came back in and sat down.  "Am I interrupting something?"
	"No, nothing at all," Lance replied.
	Jeff smiled.  "Here is the contract.  If you could just sign there
and there," Jeff marked two spaces on two separate sheets of paper.  "And
initial there, we'll be all set."
	Once Lance signed and initialed, Jeff took us out front to get our
membership cards.  They were printed, Lance set up a time to start our
personal training sessions, and we left.
	"Do you want me to take you to the Center?"
	"Yeah, it's closer."
	Lance nodded and we headed toward the Center.  Once there, we
entered and went down to the cave.
	"Good evening, Eric," Oracle greeted.
	"Hello, Oracle.  Access the blueprints for the following club."  I
gave Oracle the name and address of the club and, within seconds, the
screen displayed all three floors of the club layout.  "Display in the
'mobile."
	I changed into my suit and came out.  Lance was sitting at the
computer looking through the layout.  A small section had several newspaper
clippings as well as a database of the club's members.
	"What's this?" I asked.
	"While you were changing, I thought it might be a good idea to find
out who was missing and what the connection might be.  Turns out all of the
guys who went missing were trained by the same personal trainer."
	"Let me guess.  His name is Nick."
	"Yep.  Nicholas Falcon."
	"Sounds like the name of a porn star."
	Lance chuckled.  "He looks like a porn star, too."
	My husband clicked something and a picture came up.  He was right.
This guy did look like a porn star.  He had a dark Italian complexion, very
nice skin, and dark hair.  His face was chiseled and his muscles were
enormous and defined.
	"I'm getting neurotic just looking at him," I stated.
	Lance laughed.  "But I love you.  You look fantastic."
	I smiled and rubbed my hand through his hair.
	"What are Nick's hours?"
	Lance typed it in and up came Nick's schedule.
	"So he should be there tonight?  Excellent.  He's going to be paid
a visit."
	"Be careful.  He looks very strong."
	"That he does," I replied as I went to the 'mobile.
	I climbed in and started up the engine.  Within minutes I was on my
way to the gym.  "Lance," I said through the two-way radio.  "See if Oracle
can find this guy's past."
	"Sure thing."
	After a moment, Lance read off the guy's history.  "He was picked
on in school for being skinny and scrawny.  Now we know why he has the
muscles.  He went on to college where he studied in physical training of
all kinds.  He excelled and received a degree in health and weight
training.  Since then he's been working at fitness centers."
	"Check on his past centers and see if there are any similarities."
	Lance was quiet and then he replied.  "There sure have.  He's
worked at two places previous, all of which experienced disappearances of
club members."
	"I wonder why no one has caught on to this."
	"Could it be that they don't think about it?  Most jocks I've known
tended to be a bit slow when it came to common sense, or thinking for that
matter."
	"We can't be too judgmental, Love."
	"I know."
	"I'm there.  I'll be in touch if anything comes up."
	"Don't get hurt."
	I smiled at Lance's concern and turned off the engine.  Climbing
out I made my way to the back of the building.  From there, I used my
powers to lift myself up to the roof, which was very strenuous at first.
As I neared the top, however, I couldn't stop myself and shot several feet
above.  I landed on my hands and knees on the concrete and shook the impact
off.
	'What the hell was that all about?' I thought to myself.
	After my head cleared, I stood and went to a door in the roof,
attempting to open it.  When it didn't work, I put my hand where the lock
was and tried to use my powers to unlock it.  It didn't work, so I tried to
melt the lock.  That didn't work either.  It seemed that my powers were not
working after that big jolt.  I resigned myself to go the gadget way and
found a small welding device in a pouch.  I used it to cut through the lock
and, after replacing it, descended into the fitness center.
	I landed in a small room and walked to the door.  Through the
window, I saw a few people still working out.  None was Nick.  I slowly
opened the door and snuck around the room.  Surprisingly no one noticed me.
I turned the corner and ran into two personal trainers.  Their eyes widened
in surprise.
	"What are you doing here?" one said laughing when my image sunk in.
	"I'm looking for Nick Falcon.  Is he here?"
	The two looked through the corner of their eyes at a guy working
with another guy.
	"Thanks," I said as I attempted to walk passed them.
	"You're not going anywhere," they said grabbing my arms.
	They escorted me down the stairs to the lobby.  "We're going to
lock you in here until the police arrive."
	'Nice,' I thought.  'Then I can crack the missing persons cases
wide open.'
	I was thrown into a small office that had no windows and was locked
in.
	A half hour went by and no one arrived.  'I don't think they are
calling the police.'
	I went to the door and kicked as hard as I could.  My mutation
kicked back in and the door flew across the corridor into the other office.
I stepped out to be met by the two personal trainers, including Nick.
	"What were you doing messing around our offices?" Nick said
stepping forward.
	"Looking for you, actually.  You see, I know about the missing
persons.  I'm not about to let them go uninvestigated.  From what I've seen
and heard, you are the guy responsible for it."
	"Who did you hear it from?"  Nick glared at the two guys knowing
that only they had knowledge of his activities.
	"A little bird told me," I replied with a smile.
	"Take him," Nick said.  "We're going for a little walk."
	Two guys grabbed my arms again and all of them dragged me into the
locker rooms.  I heard water running in the shower but couldn't figure out
why anyone was in the shower when the center closed.  Then my answer was
given to me.
	The group took me into the showers were the young man Nick was
working with earlier was tied underneath a shower.  The hot water poured
out onto his skin and I could see the redness of the blisters.  They were
showering straight hot water on the young man.
	"What the hell?" I said.
	"The Carnyss demon likes sweat and muscle," Nick replied.  "I
supply it with food.  It takes care of my problems."
	"And what would those be?  The kids that picked on you in high
school?"
	"What?" Nick said in shock.
	"That's right.  I know all about you, Nick, probably better than
you know yourself.  You don't have to do this."
	Nick punched me in the stomach.
	"I guess it's true.  Muscle men tend not to have brains to match
their brawn."
	"Smart ass!" he said as he tossed me into the shower.
	I fell on the guy and slid down his wet, sweaty body until my face
rubbed up against his flaccid cock.
	'Evidently he isn't very intelligent,' I thought as I stood up.
	The young man had tears coming from his eyes but he didn't cry out.
The pain had evidently overwhelmed him.
	"I'll get you out of here," I said to him as I reached for the
ropes tying his hands to the shower head.
	"Useless," he muttered.  "It's all useless."
	"It's never useless," I replied.
	The water and steam made the rope difficult to untie.  I reached
into my pouch and pulled out the welding device and cut through the
showerhead.  The metal popped off and the young man slumped to the wet
floor.
	"It's okay.  You're free.  We're getting out of here."
	The room shook with a thump.
	"It's coming," he said.
	"Don't worry.  It won't get you.  I'll make sure of it."  I grabbed
the young man's arm and lifted it up around my neck.  "Let's get out of
here."
	We made our way out of the showers to the door and found it locked.
	"Oh no," he said.  "We can't get out."
	"Sure we can."
	I heard the splash of water in the showers.  The Carnyss demon was
in the showers.  The locker room led to the pool and, that's where we were
going.  I pulled the young man passed the rows of lockers and out into the
pool area.  It was cool yet humid.
	"Do you know how to swim?" I asked.
	"Yes," he replied.
	"Get in!" I said as I pushed him into the water.
	The Carnyss demon grabbed me by the back of the neck and lifted me.
I felt its breath on my head as he smelled the sweat from the young man.  I
swung my foot back and connected with its kneecap.  It dropped me as its
hands grasped its legs.  I dropped to the floor and dove into the water.
Thankfully it wasn't very deep.  I wasn't a good swimmer.
	I got to the other side where I found the young man looking back
wide-eyed and terrified.
	"I'll get you out of this.  But you have to trust me."  He nodded
in agreement.  "I need you to get out, get a chair and throw it through the
window.  If they've set the alarm, it will alert the police."
	"What are you going to do?" he asked me.
	"I'm going to kill that demon."
	The young man climbed out of the pool and I followed.  He went down
the poolside and grabbed a chair.  With all his might, he threw it at the
window.  To the owner's credit, it was a reinforced shatterproof material.
Unfortunately for us, it wasn't going to break.
	"Now what do I do?" he asked.
	"Stay back!" was all I could say as the demon came around the
corner of the pool.
	I was finally able to size up this demon and all I could describe
it in one word: BIG!

To Be Continued...