Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 14:12:57 -0800 (PST) From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com> Subject: Judgments of a Real Dark Knight 8 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. 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. Other stories in this universe written by other authors: "Tales of a Superhero Band" "Tales of the New Phoenix" Chapter 8 Asian Trade The following morning, I awoke early. Lance lay sleeping quietly beside me. He looked so peaceful. After watching him for several minutes, I got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower. I finished and, to my surprise, Lance still slept. Quietly I went downstairs. The entire house was still. "Perfect time to pray," I said to no one in particular. I went outside to the patio and looked up at the sky, but I didn't fixate on the sky. I gazed past it to the eternal. "God, how have things been going for you? I know you've been busy with so many souls arriving and so many souls to comfort. You know of the terror that lies ahead of all of us. Please, be with each of us and help us to overcome the odds. It is going to be difficult. But I know that we all have the ability to overcome. We just need your guidance and wisdom in using our abilities." The door slid open and out walked Blade. "You okay?" he asked. "I'm fine, just praying." "Sorry to disturb you." Blade turned to go back inside but I stopped him. "It's okay. I just finished." Blade turned back around. "Is there something I can help you with?" "Do you know the 411 about Ghost Rider?" "Not much." "He is possessed by a spirit of vengeance. He has channels to mystical energy and dark powers." I nodded having been up close and personal with dark powers myself. "I don't know what he would be like under this Apocalypse's control. But if he can tap into the dark power, he will be very difficult to stop. The spirit that possesses him is an ancient spirit." "We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it." Blade nodded. "I'm sorry to hear what happened to your friend. It can be difficult to see someone taking to the bad side. That happened with me over the summer. An old friend of mine became the Scarecrow. He used his knowledge to harm his friends." "How did you deal with it?" "Poorly, actually. I had a struggle going on inside me with dark forces. I was not my normal self." "Are you okay now?" "Yeah, thanks to love for my husband and divine intervention." "I don't see divine intervention happening any time soon for us." "You'd be surprised how God works. It isn't always with flashing lights, trumpets and angels. God uses people by giving them wisdom and guiding them. All we have to do is listen." Blade nodded in understanding the logic, although I'm not sure he bought into all of the spirituality of it. He seemed like a very physical-based person. "Are you hungry? I'm going to go in and make breakfast." "No, thanks." I smiled at him and went inside. Blade watched as Eric went inside to prepare the morning meal. He turned around and started beating himself up. "You should have said something to him," he lectured himself. "He could have helped you figure this shit out, why you are attracted to Punisher when he kills people. He's trained for that stuff. God, you're so stupid." Soon everyone was up and getting ready for the trip. Jessica wanted Justin to come along as well. Garrett thought it a bad idea that Lance and Justin were going, but they used the argument that the Punisher was going and he was just as normal as them. "But he's been trained for battle," Garrett replied. "He was in the marines for years." "And we've been training with Eric and Jessica," Justin replied, "who were trained by you. Are you saying your training is inadequate?" Garrett was speechless for a moment. "Damn, you're good," he finally replied. "Very well. But you should have weapons." "Don't worry," Punisher said. "I've got plenty of weapons to go around." Scott and Jean-Paul arrived in a taxi and helped us load up Punisher's Suburban. As we put things away, Jack came over to me. "Hi, Eric," he said. "Hi, Jack. It's good to see you." "Where are you going?" "Lance and I have to take a trip." "How long are you going to be gone?" "I'm not sure." "Are you flying in an airplane?" "Yep." "Be careful. We don't want any more Muslims to hijack the planes and kill Americans." His words stopped me from what I was doing. I turned and knelt down in front of him. "What did you say?" "You know it was Muslims that attacked us. It's because of their religious beliefs that they attacked us." "Jack, who told you that?" "The church we go to. The minister says that Muslims are going to hell for their beliefs." Right away I thought of it being another Dr. Israel. "Listen to me, Jack. Your minister was right in one respect. They were Muslims who hijacked the airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. But not all Muslims believe that. The group who hijacked the planes is an extreme group. They don't follow what most Muslims believe. "All religions have smaller groups who believe in extreme cases of action. You will find it in Christianity, as well. There are Christian groups who are opposed to abortion but don't see a problem in bombing clinics which end up killing people, too. Do you think killing is okay if you do it in the name of God?" Jack pondered this for a moment. Then he shook his head no. "That's right. Killing is not okay. God thinks every life is precious no matter what religion the person believes, whether it is Islam, Christianity, Wiccan, or Buddhism. God doesn't care. God cares about people be safe, healthy and happy. Do you understand?" Jack nodded again. Then he asked, "Are you going to help people?" "Yes, I am." "Be careful, Eric." Jack gave me a big hug. He turned to Lance who I hadn't noticed was behind me and gave him a hug as well. Then he went off home. I stood up and Lance placed his hand on my shoulder. "That was inspiring," he said. "Thanks. I hope Jack grows up to believe that. We don't need any more religious haters. The world is full of them already." I picked up one of the bags Lance brought out and placed it in the Suburban. Once everything was packed, we piled into the Suburban and taxi and headed to a small airfield where an interesting jet sat waiting for us. As we loaded up the stuff, Justin and Lance raved about the sleek design of the jet, as did Scott and Weatherby. Jessica and I just rolled our eyes and climbed in. Weatherby pulled his Suburban into the back and, after a few moments, we took off into the sky. A few hours later we landed in a secluded area near Tokyo. We were met by an Asian man whom I recognized as Shiro Yoshida, a mutant I had met at Professor X's Institute in Los Angeles. "Sunfire," Scott said. "Glad you could meet us." "My pleasure, Scott. Let's get you settled in." Scott and Jean-Paul climbed into Shiro's car. The rest of us went with Weatherby in his Suburban. In a short amount of time, we were driving through downtown Tokyo following Shiro's car. He pulled into a garage that was underneath a building. Weatherby followed and, as the door closed behind us, a ramp appeared in the floor and we drove down. "This is amazing," Lance said. "Very," Justin replied. I looked over at Jessica and smiled at her. She smiled back. The Suburban pulled up beside the car and Weatherby cut the engine. Everyone climbed out to see a hangar similar to what the Xavier Institute had in West Chester, New York. "Welcome to the Asian campus," Shiro said with a smile. "Come this way. We've much to discuss." We followed Shiro into a comfortable room that looked much like the office Professor X had in New York. "Make yourselves comfortable," he replied. He went behind the desk and pressed a few buttons. A screen appeared behind his desk. We made ourselves comfortable on the couch, chairs and Blade stood in the back. The screen flickered on and the image of Kane appeared. "Kane," I said. "This vampire is a very old vampire, nearly as old as Akasha herself. He has run a little mob empire here in Tokyo." "Yakuza," Lance said. "That's right, Yakuza, the Asian mafia. Kane built an empire here for the past few hundred years. His followers, both human and vampire, continue to run things while he is away." "He doesn't like Americans much, does he?" Justin said. "No, he does not. He was approached by a vampire a bit older than him a short while ago. Mystique was with him. Shortly before Kane left, Mystique disappeared with her vampire friend. "That is all the information I have been able to recover." "Sounds like we need to patrol tonight," Jessica said. Shiro nodded. "I suggest we go in shifts. Blade," Shiro said referring to the Daywalker, "you and Punisher go with Batman. I will lead Huntress, Northstar, and Cyclops." "What about us?" Justin asked. "We came along to see some action." "You cannot go out. It is too dangerous." "We'll be okay," I said to Justin and Lance. "It would only worry Jessica and I if you were out with us." The two nodded and we unpacked out gear. At sunset, Blade, Punisher and I readied ourselves and climbed in Punisher's Suburban. Blade was going to call the shots since he could speak Japanese fluently. Punisher could speak it fairly well, also. It seemed I was here just for the ride. "None of these people have heard of you," Blade said to me. "You might be a big surprise for many of them." "That works for me," I replied. "It makes my job easier." Punisher drove the vehicle out of the garage and turned down the street. The city was alive with the nightlife of Tokyo. I was enthralled by the bright lights and bustling activity. It felt weird to be in a different country, especially one so alien to anything that I had been used to. England resembled a much older, more refined version of America. But Japan was completely different than anything I had ever known. It was marvelous. Had I not been in my bat-suit, I would have loved to explore the sites and people. "Are we going to patrol?" Punisher asked Blade. "It's a lot more difficult for us to do anything if we are in this all night." "We'll patrol when we get to a place we can keep the Suburban." A few more minutes of driving and Blade motioned for Punisher to pull into a lot. The lot stretched into deep shadow. When Punisher stopped the vehicle, Blade turned to both of us. "This is a strange culture to you, especially you, Batman. It will be easy for you to get lost. Stay in the shadows and stay close." I nodded in agreement. The two loaded up on weapons and pulled on their leather over coats. We climbed out of the vehicle. "Remember, stay in constant radio contact," he said, "in case we get split up." Again I nodded. The two headed toward the streets. "Guys," I said catching their attention. "I won't blend well in the crowd." They realized what I meant when they remembered my suit. "Then stick to the rooftops," Blade replied. I pulled out my grapple gun and shot a line to the roof of a nearby building. It pulled me up to the roof and I walked to the edge and waved. Blade nodded to me and the two headed into the bustling nightlife of Tokyo while I stuck to the darkness. Blade and Punisher entered the crowd. The people looked on the two giving second glances, wondering why they were wearing sunglasses at night. Punisher's determination caught Blade's attention. "You are being awful quiet," Blade remarked. "I'm focusing." "On what? Finding Johnny?" "Of course. He is all that matters. Is that a problem for you?" Blade was quiet for a moment. "Only if it means you are screwing up." "What do you mean?" Punisher asked turning to Blade. "I mean, right over there, several vampires stand and you don't even notice them." Punisher turned and looked in the direction Blade motioned. His sunglasses proved Blade's observation as the temperature of the demons' bodies registered the same temperature as outside. I made my way across the rooftops looking into windows across the way. It could be considered voyeurism...hell, it was voyeurism. But I was looking for any sign of trouble, any sign that something was out of place. "We spotted a group of vampires," Blade radioed. "You want my help?" I asked. "No. Punisher and I got them." "Radio me when they're dusted." "Understood," Blade replied. Blade nodded to Punisher and the two headed toward the group of vampires. "Too bad these glasses don't tell us if they have souls," Punisher replied. "I'd know which weapon to pull out." Punisher reached into his pocket and grasped the end of his silver cross with the pointy end. To check all bases, Punisher had this made earlier. "Excuse me," Blade said to the vampires as they approached. "We are a bit confused." The Daywalker grasped his pistol loaded with silver bullets. "What kind of vampire are you?" Punisher pulled out his silver cross and held it up to the creatures. They jumped back as the nearness of the holy icon burned them. "That answers my question," Punisher replied as he grabbed his wooden stake. Blade pulled his hand off his gun and grabbed the wooden stake. He punched the nearest vampire and knocked it into the wall. Then he swung his hand back and staked the next vampire. It turned to dust but Blade wasted no time. He brought his hand back around and grabbed the vampire he punched by the throat. Spinning around, he tossed the vampire away from the crowd. Punisher snap-kicked forward and kicked a vampire in the face. The demon's head jerked back. The human staked the vampire quickly and ducked as another vampire tried to punch him. Punisher jabbed the stake into the vampire's groin causing the demon to howl in pain. As it clutched at its wounded genitalia, Punisher staked it. It fell over and turned to dust over Punisher. He stood and brushed himself off. Blade grabbed the remaining vampire. "We have a few questions for you," he said holding a cross up to the demon's face. I looked through several windows trying to find any clues for any strange activity that would indicate vampiric or mutant activity. Then I heard the sound of crunching behind me. 'Vampire,' I whispered to myself. I turned quickly around to see something I hadn't expected. A biker with a skull instead of a head, and the skull was covered in flame. "Who are you?" I asked. "I was going to ask you the same thing," it replied in a deep, demonic voice. "You can call me Death." 'Death,' I thought. Out loud, I concluded, "One of the four horsemen of the apocalypse." "Not just any apocalypse," he replied. "THE Apocalypse." It swung a backhand at me and connected with my face. "Where can we find Ghost Rider?" Blade asked the vampire. Suddenly the sound of something hitting concrete caught their attention. Blade, Punisher and the vampire turned to see a dark figure hit the building across the way shattering the concrete wall. Then the figure slumped to the ground. "Batman," Punisher said. "Who could've..." Then another figure dropped down from the building, a very familiar figure. "Oh, God," Punisher said. "Ghost Rider," Blade answered. "Not Ghost Rider," the vampire stated. "Death." To Be Continued... They just met Ghost Rider, now Death. What could happen next?