Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 08:35:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Return of a Real Dark Knight 16

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 below 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.  Superman created
by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.  Wonder Woman created by William Moulton
Marston. Copyright DC Comics.

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 16 Flashback

	Huntress flipped over the edge of the roof and her feet connected
firmly with the chest of the vampire nearest her.  It flew backwards and
she turned to backhand the nearest vampire.  Spinning around its arm as it
tried to punch her, she slammed the stake into its chest.  It turned to
dust and she readied to strike again.
	I brought my legs up and grabbed the vampire standing over me
around the neck.  Twisting with all my might I managed to snap the demon's
neck.  It didn't kill the demon, but it sure gave it a hell of a lot of
pain.  I swung my legs around spinning around.  Flipping out a stake, I
shoved it into the creature's chest, and then I got to my feet as the dust
settled around me.
	"Where are the other vampires?" I asked Huntress.
	"How many were there?"
	"About seven or eight."
	"I got one on the ground and two over here.  How many did you get?"
	"Just the one, which leaves four."
	Someone screamed from inside the club.
	"The children!" Huntress and I both exclaimed and immediately we
dropped down to the ground to get inside.
	We burst through the doors to find everyone dancing and singing.
Those nearest the door turned and saw Huntress and I.  Huntress held her
finger up to her lips to keep them quiet.  We slipped around to the back
without anyone noticing.
	"Any ideas on what we should do?" I asked.
	"We could always bless the sprinkler system and cause holy water to
rain down on everyone.  If the vampires are in the crowd, they will be
exposed."
	"What about casualties?  Won't the vampires take hostages?"
	"It's possible.  Maybe if I perched myself high enough, I could use
my crossbow to get them before they take any hostages."
	"Then let's do it," I said.
	The two of us split up and headed our separate ways.  It wasn't
long before I found the water tank.  I pulled a glove off and held it up to
the tank.  Just before I could begin, though, a vampire appeared and
grabbed me and jerked me away.
	"What are you doing?"
	I put my glove back on and readied for a fight.  "Preparing to
expose you and your friends."
	"Not going to happen."
	"Want to bet?"
	I threw a punch at the vampire.  He side-stepped and responded by
throwing his own punch hitting my in the face.  I stumbled backwards.  He
swung again but I blocked.  I retaliated by swinging my free fist, but he
blocked.  I struggled, trying to overpower him but it wasn't going to
happen.  He swung his leg up and kicked me.  I flew down the hallway and
landed against the wall.
	Another vampire came up to me and grabbed at my mask lifting it up
to expose my neck.  It went up far enough to expose my mouth, as well.
Then I felt the teeth hit.  Trying to stay conscious and not get drawn into
the thrall of the demon, I reached around and grabbed a stake from it's
sheath.  The vampire didn't notice, nor did he notice the stake going into
his heart from behind before it was too late.  He turned to dust and I
relaxed a bit.  Having blood sucked out of you can be quite draining, no
pun intended.
	I heard footsteps and, before I could react, in front of me was
Randy.  He squatted in front of me and kissed me full on the lips.  He even
tried getting his tongue down my throat before the first vampire grabbed
him and pulled him off me.  I stood as quickly as I could and pulled my
mask down.
	"Leave him alone," I said.
	Randy looked terrified.  He had no idea what he was dealing with.
	"Let me go, freak!" the boy exclaimed.
	"Not until I've fed."
	The vampire went to bite Randy and jerked his head up suddenly.
Then I watched as his grip went slack and he turned into dust.  Randy
clutched at his neck and fell forward.  I ran up and caught him before he
could fall down completely.  I looked up and saw that the Huntress had
saved her son's life.  She looked at me narrowly and I knew that she was
upset her son was exposed to this.
	A scream rang out and the Huntress took off leaving Randy and I
alone.
	"Thank God you were here," he said to me.
	"I didn't save you.  A friend of mine did.  Are you here with
friends?"
	"Yeah," Randy nodded.
	"Find them."
	He nodded again and I watched as he joined the crowd in the main
room.  I turned and ran in the direction Huntress went.
	I arrived to find her tied up and hanging from a hook.  She tried
to warn me of something but couldn't due to the duct tape on her mouth.
When I entered, a lead pipe swung around and hit me in the stomach.  I fell
to my knees in pain.  Then the pipe came down on my back and I fell further
down.
	"Come to save your friend?" the vampire asked.
	The pipe came up as if it were a golf club and hit me, throwing me
against the wall.  I slumped down into the corner clutching at the bones I
felt broken beneath my suit.
	"We don't have time for you," the vampire said.  "We have a job to
do."
	"And what might that be?" a voice said behind him.
	All eyes turned to see a man dressed in dark red valor.  Gold
lightning bolts surrounded his gloves and boots and eyes around the top.
He also had a lighting bolt around his waist and a lightning bolt on his
chest.
	"And you are?"
	"About two seconds from kicking your vampire ass," the voice
declared.  "Give or take a millisecond."
	Before our eyes, the man in red ran to the vampire and let loose a
milieu of punches so quick he was barely visible.  When he stopped the
vampire slumped against the wall with bruises forming.  He turned to the
other vampire to find he had run out the door.
	"Excuse me," the red man said and he ran out the door.
	Not a second later, he returned with the vampire, whom he tossed
against the wall.  "That took me a little longer than I thought.  He got
outside."
	I pulled myself up and got the Huntress down.  She pulled off the
tape and pulled out a stake.
	"What are you doing here?" she asked as she grabbed a vampire and
slammed him against the wall.
	"It is not your concern, Slayer."
	"Bullshit.  You usually stay away from crowds of people.  First the
Bass-McCoy home and now a club.  This doesn't happen unless there is some
motive behind it.  What is it?"
	"Our job was to get someone.  But we had to cover our tracks."
	"How were you going to do that?  Kill everyone in some kind of
accident?"
	The vampire smiled.
	Huntress turned to look at me.  "We have to get the kids out!"
	"I'll do that."
	The man in red disappeared and a few seconds later, he was back.
"They are out."
	Huntress and I looked at him in shock, though it was harder to tell
with me because of my mask.
	"Hey, I can run fast."
	Huntress and I looked at one another and turned back to the
vampire.  "Who do you work for?"
	The vampires started laughing.
	"Times up," one muttered.
	The guy in red grabbed the Huntress and me and ran out of the
building as it erupted in flames.  The concussion of the explosion tossed
the three of us several feet.
	When we got to our feet, Huntress said, "Damn!  We didn't get to
find out who they were working for."
	"No sweat.  I'm sure we'll get more of them later."
	"Not likely.  They don't normally attack crowds."
	"They've been attacking here for the past several weeks, usually on
a weekend."
	"What are they after?" Huntress asked the man in red.
	"Young girls.  It wasn't until recently that I got involved."
	"Do you know what they want with these young girls?"
	"I have no idea."
	I turned to the man in red.  "Do you mind me asking..."
	"How I got my powers?  I've often wondered that myself.  I'm not
sure."
	"I might be able to help you," I replied.  "That is, if you want to
find out."
	The man in red looked at me narrowly.  "What do you want in
return?"
	"Nothing.  All I want to do is help you."
	"I find that hard to believe.  Most people don't give without
expecting something in return."
	"How about your friendship then?"
	"From what I've heard about you, you're a badass.  What the fuck is
this 'Let's be friends' shit?  That doesn't sound like a badass to me."
	"If you really must know, I care about people.  I want to help
people.  I..."
	"Hey," someone yelled from a distance.
	The three of us turned and looked and saw Randy looking our way.
	"It's Batman!  Oh my God!"
	"We have to go," I replied as I pressed a control in one of the
pouches of my belt.  "Think about it."
	The man in red nodded as the car came out of the shadows.  Huntress
and I climbed in and took off down the street passing the fire engines,
paramedics and police.
	"That was an interesting fight," I stated.
	"You don't know the half of it," the Huntress replied.  "Catman
isn't a vampire."
	"What?!"  I couldn't believe her words.  "Of course he's a vampire.
I fought him twelve years ago.  You know this story."
	"But I saw him battling with a vampire.  He had no strength
whatsoever."
	"Then who or what do you think it is?  A copycat?  Someone who
knows about my battles with Catman and is imitating him?"
	"I don't know.  It's too early to tell.  The main thing we should
focus on is identifying who he is and getting him out of this supernatural
world.  He's going to get himself or someone else killed."
	"I wonder if he knows Sarah."
	"Why do you say that?"
	"Because of the club when I first saw him again.  He stopped
something from hitting Sarah.  It's like he knows her somehow."
	"Then Sarah may be the one to talk to."
	I nodded and we left the scene as the paramedics and fire engines
arrived.

	I sat in the dark when Sarah and Preston returned home.  They
clicked on the lights to see me sitting in the chair looking at them.
	"I something wrong?" Preston asked.
	"We need to talk.  Where's Randy?"
	"We dropped him off at the hotel."
	I nodded.  "Good.  Something serious is going on."
	"Do you mean Randy's crush on...well...you?" Sarah asked.
	"No.  About someone whom I fought a long time ago, someone who has
returned, or so I thought, but who knows you, Sarah."
	"Who?"
	"I never told you the story of how your dad and I got you.
Tonight, I think it's time we told you."
	Lance came in from the kitchen with a tray of coffee and tea.  "Do
you two want anything?"
	Preston grabbed a cup of tea, Sarah declined, and Lance got us both
cups of coffee.  I cleared my throat and sat back as Lance sat on the arm
of the chair.  Sarah and Preston sat on the couch in front of the front
window and listened to us as we recounted the events leading up to
Christine, their mother's, death.  I told them about the vampire who called
himself Catman who murdered their mother and how he disappeared until a few
nights ago when I fought him in the club.
	Sarah and Preston were flabbergasted at what happened.  "I can't
believe he saved my life," she replied.  "That son of a ..." she stopped
herself when she remembered she was sitting in front of her parents.
"Sorry."
	"Its okay," Lance said.  "We understand your anger."
	"Why haven't you killed him yet?" Preston asked.
	"That's the problem we've run into.  The current Catman isn't a
vampire.  Aunt Jessica watched him fight against several vampires and he's
only as strong as normal human being."
	"Remember when he protected you?" I asked Sarah.
	She nodded.
	"I was wondering if you know anyone who might have any knowledge of
Batman's exploits.  Do you know of anyone obsessed with Batman?"
	"Aside from Randy, nobody.  And I don't see Randy being the fighter
type."
	"Neither do I," Lance added.  "There is no reason for him to be
doing anything this current Catman is doing."
	I nodded in agreement.  "Then we'll have to do our own looking.
Until then, I think we all need some sleep."
	Lance stood up as did I, and the twins followed suit.  We placed
our cups on the tray and the kids came over to us.
	"I know it must have been hard to tell us that story," Preston
said.  "It must not have been easy to watch our moth...Christine...die.  We
couldn't have asked for better parents."
	Preston embraced me tightly.  Sarah grabbed Lance and held him.
	"Thank you for being our dads," she said.
	Then they switched.  Preston hugged Lance and Sarah hugged me.
	"We'll look into what's going on," I said.  "I promise we'll get to
the bottom of who Catman is.  Until then, we have to focus on training."
	Sarah nodded.  Then she and Preston went upstairs.
	Lance picked up the tray and took it into the kitchen where he
cleaned out the pots, rinsed the cups, and loaded the dishwasher.
	"I was nervous about that," I said as I sat down on the bar stool.
	"I know.  So was I.  I wasn't sure how they would handle hearing
that their mother was killed.  They took it well."
	"And they don't blame me for anything.  I thought they might."
	"How could they blame you?  You're only human."
	"But I'm also Batman, protector of human beings.  I should have
been able to protect her from Catman.  She was just a random victim of his.
Most random victims I can save.  It is those who aren't random, those who
are picked out because of some connection that make it tricky."
	"Maybe she wasn't random," Lance thought.  "Maybe Catman picked her
out for some reason."
	"But why?  It doesn't make sense."
	"She was pregnant, right?  Maybe the father of the baby was someone
Catman hated.  Maybe killing her would have given him some kind of
revenge."
	"No.  Christine didn't have anyone in her life.  I think she said
the baby's father was dead."
	Lance looked at me with widened eyes and it struck me what he was
thinking.  "The baby was Catman's before he was turned into a vampire."
	"Then that could mean that Catman is also the father of Sarah and
Preston."
	"Oh my God," I whispered.  "But what about protecting Sarah at the
club?  If he killed their mother and wanted to kill their unborn child, why
protect Sarah now?"
	"Jessica figured out that this Catman isn't human.  Maybe he's just
a human being who is connected to Sarah, Preston, Christine, and Catman.
How many children did Christine have?"
	"She told me three, but that included her unborn child."
	"Are you sure?"

To Be Continued...