Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 15:10:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com> Subject: Adventures of a Real Dark Knight 26 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 Chapter 26 Convention Time The rest of the week went by uneventful. Robby got out of the hospital recovering very well. And we were very close to getting the teen center up and running. We had contacted several businesses that would be willing to support its operation. All we needed was money to help get it repaired and fixed up. That was the hard part. The week of Christmas came around and the Save The Children convention along with it. Lance and I were going to attend the conference seminars and then head to Mississippi to be with his family for Christmas. I was looking forward to Christmas with his family. I had bought gifts for my family and mailed them along home. They would have part of me with them, even though physically I could not be there. Lance had already gone shopping for his family before and I helped him wrap his gifts. I love wrapping gifts. And Lance and I both love Christmas. The first night of the convention came and I had to dress in a tuxedo. Lance had the pleasure of being able to dress for performance, which meant his clothing was much more comfortable than mine. I stepped out of the bathroom and dressed. I had a hard time tying my tie, but Lance was nice enough to help me. "I can't really tie bow-ties," I said. "That's okay. I can." Lance grinned at me and fixed my tie. Then he stepped back. "You look great!" "Thanks. So do you." I gave Lance a kiss and Lance pulled on his socks and shoes. "Ready?" "As ready as I'll ever be." Lance and I stopped a block away when I told him to pull over. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes, I'm fine," I said getting out of the car. "What are you doing, then?" "I'm going to walk to the convention. We don't want people to know you are gay. It will ruin your career." I closed the door and walked the rest of the way up the block. Lance had hesitated until I got close to the door and he pulled up. He got out and the valet took his keys. I looked at him quickly and headed in. He followed me in and then turned down a side hallway to where the performers were gathering. I showed my invitation to one of the seaters and he took me to my table that was full of child and adolescent psychologists. "Hello, everyone," I said quietly as I took my seat. "Hi!" this chipper woman said. "What's your name? I'm Candy!" "Eric McCoy." "What firm are you with?" "The Family Counseling Center in Los Angeles." "I've heard of them. They do some good work." "Yes, they do. I'm proud to be part of the group." The lights dimmed and the emcee came out on stage. She thanked everyone for coming and that they hoped to raise money for several worthy children's causes. Then she announced the first song of the evening. It was Randy Stonehill and his group singing "Save The Children". Cry for all the innocent ones Born into a world that's lost its heart For those who never learn to dream Because their hope is crushed before it can start And we shake our fists at the air And say if God is love how can this be fair But we are his hands We are his voice We are the ones Who must make the choice And if it isn't now Tell me when If it isn't you Then tell me who Will save the children Who will save the children We count our blessings one-by-one And yet we have forgotten how to give It seems that we don't want to face All the hungry and homeless who struggle to live But heaven is watching tonight Tugging at our hearts to do what's right But we are his hands We are his voice We are the ones Who must make the choice And if it isn't now Tell me when If it isn't you Then tell me who Will save the children Who will save the children Save the children As we observe them through our TV screens They seem so distant and unreal But they bleed like we bleed And they feel what we feel Save the children Now we decide that nothing can change And throw up our hands in numb despair And we lose a piece of our souls By teaching ourselves just how not to care But Christ would have gone to the cross Just to save one child from being lost And we are his hands We are his voice We are the ones Who must make the choice And it must be now There's no time to waste And it must be you No one can take your place Can't you see That only we can save the children Save the children Save the children Save the children I applauded the song. I admit many in the room may not have been fans of the Christian religion. But the song had a powerful message. We must do what we can to save the children. That's what I wanted to do with my life. The ceremonies went on and then the song that NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Aaron Carter and the rest of the musicians were practicing the week before. The room went wild with the song. I didn't blame them! It was awesome! Then, to my surprise, awards were given away for the work done by the psychologists. I didn't think they were doing such a thing. Besides, how could you pick out one person from all of these people who did an outstanding job? In my mind, every one of them deserved a reward for their dedication. An hour later, the convention was coming to a close. The emcee took center stage. "I would like to thank all of the participants here tonight, from the honored guests to the performers to the workers behind the scenes. The work we do here will last children for the coming year...and hopefully for future generations. We love children. We see them as our hope and our future. How could we not do what we can now to protect that? "And that brings us to our final award for the evening. Tonight, someone will receive the award for 'Building the Future' for children. We had some last minute entries. The nominees for this award are those who have great visions of what they want to do and have started to build their vision." I knew I was ruled out of that, even though I didn't enter. I was nowhere nearing the beginning of the teen center reconstruction. "And giving the award away tonight is none other than NSYNC!" The crowd erupted with applause. I looked around and saw that much more than psychologists were present. In the loft above us were many teens. I looked back to the stage and saw the group come out. "Thank you," JC said. "Every year we come down to Florida to help bring in funds to assist with the future of humanity. But we only do this once a day. It's you who uses every day to benefit our fellow man. It's you who dedicate your life to helping others. It's you we honor tonight." The crowd erupted again with applause. Lance moved up to the podium. "Tonight, it is my happy privilege to present this award to someone who just got started in life with their plans. But their plans have already begun. And they have lots of support, according to the people I've talked to. Without further adieu, the award goes to..." Lance opened the envelope and read the name. "Eric McCoy." I fell out of my chair, literally. The people at my table thought I had some kind of attack or something. "Oh my God!" Candy called out. "Are you okay?" I shook my head several times. "Who did he say?" "He said 'Eric McCoy'! That's you! I'm so happy for you!" "What in the hell?" I said softly. "How in the hell did I get nominated for this? Shouldn't I have known about it?" I got to my feet and made my way down to the stage. When I got up to the podium, I received several pats on the back by the members of NSYNC. The applause died down. "Wow!" I said into the microphone. "I had no idea I was nominated for anything. I just got into the field of psychology. But I did it for selfish reasons." The crowd got really quiet now. "I'm a very selfish person. I don't want anyone in this world to be hurt. I don't want to hear of any teens committing suicide because they have nowhere to go. I don't want to hear of teens being shot in drive-by shootings. I don't want to hear of teens being left out of life because they have no support from anyone. I'm selfish. "And how in the world did I get nominated for this? What I want to do hasn't even been started yet!" "Actually, Eric," Lance said, "we started it for you." "What do you mean?" "What it means is that all of us have decided to work together and restore the teen center. Things will get underway after the New Year to remodel the center to exactly what you want. We all believe your goal is worthwhile, so we are going to do it together." I looked at Lance, tears in my eyes, and mouthed the words "thank you" followed by "I love you". He reached out and took my hand. With his other hand he wiped away my tears. Then, in front of the whole auditorium, he pulled me to him and kissed me on the lips. I was shocked that he was being so open with me in public, risking his career on no one special but me. Then he turned and held up his hand, our hands, for the throngs of people to see. To my surprise, everyone reacted with cheers upon cheers. No one was offended by our act of love toward one another. If a group of people in Florida could accept us for who and what we were to each other, then perhaps the rest of the world could, too, eventually. I followed the group back behind stage as the emcee closed out of the ceremonies. The convention itself was going to go on all week, but the opening ceremonies were complete. The opening was always the "black tie" affair. The rest of the week would be fun. "I can't believe you did that," I said to the group, but kept my eyes on Lance's eyes. "You have a great cause. We want to help you," Joey said. "And that means everybody. All the groups included. This isn't just an NSYNC affair, but a Backstreet Boys affair, a Savage Garden affair, an Aaron Carter affair, and a BBMak affair. We all believe in your cause and want to help wherever we can," Chris said. "You guys are amazing," I replied. "Oh, we know." Everyone laughed. "Let's leave Eric and Lance alone," Justin said with a smile. I watched the guys walk off, and then I turned to Lance. "How did my name get entered?" "Your boss back in Los Angeles entered it for the other awards. I contacted him and told him what you wanted to do so he nominated you for this. The groups discussed helping get the teen center off the ground for you. We all truly believe in the center, and in you and your goals, that we want to be part of it." "I hope you will be more part of it than the others. I am going to need your love, trust and support in this." "You have it, Love. You always will." Lance took me into his arms and we embraced tightly. I kissed him and then pulled him close again. I couldn't believe what was happening. These various music talents were going to help me get my goal started. They were going to support me in my endeavors. How could I be so lucky? As I held him close, I heard a faint noise out of place, one that didn't belong. I held Lance tight and jerked to the side as bullets came raining down on me. I looked up and found the Penguin on the catwalk gun in his hand. "Damn," he said. "I missed." "What's going on?" Lance called out. "He knows who I am." "What?" "That's why he was at the house the other night. He was expecting to catch me at home. Damn him! He's willing to kill you to get to me! He....no...I risked you!" I turned to Lance. "What are you talking about?" "I'm sorry, Love. I'm so sorry." I kissed Lance on the lips as security and the rest of NSYNC came running in. I stood up and worked my way through the crowd. I was going to get answers from the Penguin, even if I had to kill him to get them. The Huntress believed me to be a killer. If I was pushed far enough, I'm sure I could. And I think with Lance's life being put on the line, I was pushed passed the point. The Penguin would pay for what he did. He nearly killed the love of my life. It was going to stop...tonight. To Be Continued... What do you think? Lots happening in this chapter. Let me know!