Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:06:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Return of a Real Dark Knight 43

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!!!

Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are
commenting on.  Thanks.

authorjames2002@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.

Chapter 43 The Best Is Yet To Come

	Joseph emerged from the shadows.  I looked up at him wondering
where he had gone.  "You've been gone a while," I stated.  "Where were
you?"
	"You don't have to worry about the children.  They've been
rescued."
	"You?"
	"Yep."
	"Won't Catman, the vampire have an issue when he hears about Catman
saving the children?"
	"He won't suspect anything.  Catman never did anything."
	"You went as yourself, then?"
	"No.  I went as you."
	This puzzled me.  Joseph must have noticed as he continued.
	"The costume was different, but I kept to the shadows.  By the way,
your trainees were looking for me.  You've got a good crew.  The speedster
was very fast.  If I hadn't been trained by a vampire to notice the tiniest
of details, he would have caught me.  And your flying friends, the woman
with the black hair, wears red, white, and blue, and the guy who wears red,
blue, and yellow, they've got good heads on their shoulders.  They could
easily tear apart this city, but they don't.  They have respect for life.
I admire that."
	`Maybe he could be the next Batman,' I thought.  `If he was able to
investigate the porn ring and cause it to crumble, he just might be a
viable candidate.  He has things to work through, obviously.  But if he's
taking my identity to rescue others, it might be deep within him to
succeed.'
	"Why did you take my appearance?"
	"Did I offend you?  Do you think I'm not good enough to be you?"
	"Not at all.  I'm curious as to why you would take the appearance
of someone whom you believed killed your mother."
	"I'm not so sure about that any more.  With what you experienced
compared to what I saw...I can't guarantee that you did kill my mother.  I
never heard what was said.  And from what I could see, I couldn't make out
everything that happened.  When I arrived, she was already dying."
	I decided to let Joseph do all the talking.  He was opening up and
considering possibilities, something his mind wouldn't let him consider
before.
	"I didn't know when she was killed.  And what the alien did,
exposing your thoughts and memories to me like that...they can't be
fabricated, can they?"
	"All he has ever shown me was truth."
	"But all that I've known since her death...Catman has trained me to
fight and to track people.  I have so many abilities I owe to him."
	"Abilities he hoped you would use to draw your siblings to him.  If
he is a vampire without a soul, he cares nothing for you or your family.
All he cares about are his own goals.  He's your father.  He hates
everything about you and your brother and sister because you each remind
him of your mother."
	Joseph looked away.  The torment on his face was visible.
	"I know what you've struggled with, Joseph.  I know that at this
moment, you are so torn between what you've been told, what you've lived,
and what you've recently experienced that you don't know what to do.
You're scared about what you are feeling.  You're scared that Catman might
kill you if he finds out your internal struggle.  You're afraid that your
brother and sister may end up hating you because of what you are doing.
They don't hate you, though.  They want to get to know you.  You've seen
the truth.  You can find away above all of this.  You've experienced what
it is like to be a hero, to be a protector of someone else.  You know what
it is like to act for someone else and not your own selfish motives."
	His eyes locked with mine.  I was getting through to him.  The
revenge, the anger, the hatred, it was stripping away because of the new
information he received.  He could change.  He wanted to.  He wanted to let
go of the hate and anger and live, truly live.  I had to give him that
hope.  It was available to him.  He just needed the opportunity.
	"Joseph, you can be reunited with your brother and sister.  If you
want, you can come and live with us, become part of our family.  You can
rejoin your brother and sister, the ones you've been protecting all this
time.  Let Lance and I help you.  Let us be in your family.  We can help
you overcome all this.
	"You see yourself being so small, running into every brick wall.
It's not as far as you can go.  The road is twisting turning.  A life is
living, learning.  There's so much more for you to know.  If you could lock
the past away, step back through the doorway.  This ride has just begun.
If I could change your point of view, is there some way I can show you the
best is yet to come?
	"Not every problem can be solved so easily. Not every answer is the
one.  Above the flood of emotion, it's all about forward motion; define
your place in the sun.  If you could lock the past away, step back through
the doorway.  This ride has just begun.  If I could change your point of
view, is there some way I can show you the best is yet to come?
	"Try to hide, it's all inside.  You can find a place where the pain
and guilt can fall away.  If you're spitting truth, bulletproof, crashing
through the walls that separate me and you.  Now you'll find with
everything you lose, your path clears with everything you choose.  If you
could lock the past away, step back through the doorway, this ride has just
begun.  Change your point of view, is there some way I can show you the
best is yet to come?
	"All you need to do is let the pain melt away.  Search for the
truth.  You know it in your heart."
	"Joseph," a voice called out from above somewhere.
	The youth turned and headed toward the door.
	"You remind me of your mother," I stated.  "She was so determined."
	He paused as I said this and then left me in the room.

	"For now the cartel is broken up," Superman stated.  "We should
keep a watch, though.  Who knows where it will spring up again?"
	"The world of men is so polar," Diana stated.  "We've heard stories
from where I come how men kill one another instead of live in harmony.  Yet
I've worked with you and seen your kindness and camaraderie.  It is
difficult to answer if man is good or not."
	"Man is good," Lance said.  "We just make bad choices sometimes.
Sometimes we aren't empathetic.  Sometimes we make selfish choices.
Sometimes greed overrides humanity.  But we aren't bad.  Not all of us."
	"Then how do we change things?  How does a man change from bad to
good?  How can they learn to make the right choices?"
	"We need reminded every now and then.  We need prodding,
understanding, and sometimes, a swift kick in the ass."
	Some of the men chuckled.
	"He needs help," Preston said as he walked into the cave.  "Joseph
is my brother, Sarah's brother.  Regardless of what he's done, he hasn't
been taught any different.  Clark, your powers could easily make you a
monster that humanity would fear.  Many would even believe you to be a god.
How many men in the world's past would take that power and use it to
conquer?  A lot of them would.  But what keeps you from taking over the
world is how you were raised.  Your parents raised you with good moral
values, values of love and compassion.  Without those, you would be a
monster, a conqueror.
	"Diana, you've been raised to question the abilities and motives of
men.  Thank goodness for the questioning part because, had you not learned
that, you may very well have believed that all men were evil.  With your
abilities, you could easily wipe out civilization as we know it.
	"Ella, your ring responds to your will.  If you ever had a day
where you couldn't stand anyone, you could easily use it to kill.  But you
don't.  Whatever your past, whatever is within you, you aren't capable of
such an atrocity.
	"All of you make choices in what you do based upon your past.  Our
brother is no different.  All he has ever known in the world is the care of
a vampire and the death of his mother.  The vampire has fed him lies and
deceit.  He is only responding to what he's known.  He does know that what
he's believed isn't true.  But changing one's life after having one belief
reinforced isn't easy.  It takes time to deconstruct your belief system,
your knowledge system.  He needs to do that.  If it was him you saw in the
Batman costume, he might be attempting to change what he has believed and
what he has discovered to be true.
	"I hope he can overcome his past.  I want to get to know him as my
brother.  I want him to be part of our family."
	The cave became quiet as the severity of the situation impacted
them.  Everyone saw a new way to look at who they considered "villains"
from Preston.  Maybe not all villains are "bad" as society likes to label.
It never excuses actions.  But it helps explain them.  It helps us find a
way to fix the problem so that the "bad guys" can be helped.  We all
deserve chances to be helped.  Shouldn't the "bad guys" as well?

	Later on, Arthur and Diana walked through the back courtyard.  The
sky was slowly lighting as the sun neared the horizon for the break of day.
	"I always enjoy sunrise," Diana stated.  "I used to walk along the
beaches of Themyscira and feel the coolness of the water as it caressed my
feet.  I would watch as the first rays of the sun would reach out and kiss
the day good morning.  It is very peaceful."
	"The ocean is so much different than the surface.  We are in a
state of perpetual night, although our eyes are very good at adapting to
changes in lighting.  We can sense the daylight by the warmth emanating
from the top of the water.  Sometimes it is the only way to know.  We can
usually see a spot of light through the water, the sun shining down.  But
when there is a storm, the heat is the only means we have."
	"We come from two different worlds, Arthur.  Yet there is still
another world on this planet that neither of us are familiar with.  I'm
glad we have found friends who are kind to us despite our differences.
They can show us how to live among the rest of the world."
	"Are we bothering you?" Arthur asked Barry when he noticed the
speedster sitting on a bench.
	"Not at all," Barry answered.  "I like the sunrise, too.  It lets
me know I made it through another night safe and sound."
	"Why does it seem as if you have so much terror in your life?"
Diana asked as the two royalty walked over to Barry.  "I hope you do not
find my question offensive.  But I am curious."
	"It's okay.  Life in the U.S., at least inner-city U.S.A., can be
really tough.  I grew up without knowing who my father was.  My mother
worked two jobs just to keep food on the table.  I had to learn at a young
age to fend for myself.  I ran with a wrong crowd for a long time.  That's
where I met Dinah.  We became great friends and we helped each other work
to better our lives.  She had a rough childhood, too.
	"Any way, living in the inner-city, survival becomes part of you.
You worry about being in the wrong place at the wrong time not knowing if
there is going to be a drive-by.  You wonder if your neighbor who is
dealing coke is going to have his apartment raided by the cops.  You worry
whether or not you are part of the toughest gang or not because gangs mean
power in the inner-city."
	"It sounds like you've had a horrible life.  How do you get
comfortable with change?"
	"It isn't easy.  There are times I wonder if it is all a dream that
I'm going to wake up from.  I don't know if anyone ever gets completely
comfortable when their environment changes."
	"When did your powers manifest and how did you get comfortable with
them?"
	"I was in high school in the chemistry lab during a storm.  As I
was rolling a shelf of chemicals through the halls to the forensics lab,
lightning came through the window and hit the cart.  The electricity went
through me and knocked me out.
	"When I came to a few hours later, I was in the hospital.  The
doctors were surprised at how fast my body healed up.  They were also
surprised at how hungry I seemed to be, too.  I got the pleasure of having
a rapid metabolism.  It burns off calories quickly.
	"I became comfortable with my powers real quick.  It was awesome to
be able to run across town in less than a second."
	"You're that fast?" Arthur asked.
	"Yeah.  It's cool, isn't it?"
	"Have you ever thought about racing Clark?" Diana asked.  "I heard
he was really fast, too."
	"Maybe he and I will have to do that some day."
	"Hey, everyone," a voice called out from the gate.  The three teens
turned to see Dinah framed by the wrought iron.  "What are you guys doing
here?"
	"Just talking," Arthur said.  "Would you like to join us?"
	"Sure."  Dinah closed the gate and walked over to the three heroes.
"What are you guys talking about?"
	"They asked how I got my powers and how I dealt with them."
	"Cool, cool," the Slayer replied.
	"They think Clark and I should race some time."
	"That might be an interesting race," Dinah answered.  Turning to
Diana, she asked, "How did you get your powers?  You seem to have similar
powers as Clark."
	"I was blessed by the goddesses."
	"What goddesses?" Barry asked.  "There are tons of religions with
lots of different gods."
	"Oh, I sometimes forget that.  The goddesses of Olympus granted me
my abilities."
	"No shit.  You've got to be kidding me.  Those gods exist?"
	"Yes, they do."
	"I was waiting to hear of a god or goddess from some belief no one
has ever heard of.  You're serious?  The Greek gods exist?"
	"Yes they do."
	"Amazing!"
	J'onn J'onnz, in human appearance, and Clark emerged from the
Center talking and laughing.  "Oh, hi, everyone," Clark said as the two
approached.  "Come out to enjoy the sunrise?"
	"Sure did," Barry answered.
	"J'onn was going to compare the sunrise on Mars to that of Earth's.
He hasn't seen one from this world before."
	"I would imagine not since he's been imprisoned underground for his
entire visit on this world."
	"My people had a saying," J'onn stated.  "With each sunrise,
something begins a new.  It could be a relationship, it could be a hope,
and it could be a celebration.  New opportunities come with each new day;
opportunities to make things better than they were the day before."
	"I can see this as a new beginning," Arthur said.  "We've been
working together training under Dr. McCoy.  I think we should continue once
we come of age."
	"Working together as a team?" Barry asked.
	"Why not?  Each of us brings something unique to the group."
	After a few moments of thought, everyone liked the idea.  It could
be shown on their faces.  "We need a name."
	"We all have super abilities. And we are friends," Clark said.
"Why not Super Friends?"
	"Damn, that sounds cheesy!"  Barry curled up his nose at the name.
	"How about Super Powers?"
	"Then we should make it a requirement to have super abilities?
Preston doesn't have any super powers, per se," Diana said.  "But he would
be welcome."
	"Maybe we should focus on our ideals," Arthur suggested.  "We fight
for the under dog.  We fight for those who need protection.  We fight for
justice, regardless of whether or not it is legal.  Look at what Eric and
Lance had to go through in the early 2000s.  Rights that should have been
given them had to be fought for.  Justice was giving them those rights.
But the laws didn't allow it."
	"The Justice Gang?" Barry questioned.
	"I don't like the word gang," Dinah said.  "The word `gang' has
certain connotations I'm not comfortable with."
	"Do we limit our numbers?" Clark asked.
	"I don't think so.  There are legion of us out there.  We should be
open to any one of them who would want to join."
	"Then it's settled," Barry said.  "I say we go with the name
`Justice League'."
	The group members looked from one to another and smiles crept
across their faces.  They nodded to one another in agreement and the pact
was sealed as the first rays of sunlight broke across the dark sky.

To Be Continued...

Seven chapters left to this storyline.  How do you like the way they
decided on creating the league and on the name of the league?