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!!!
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Chapter 27 Mind-free
"Thanatos," Orin replied as he looked to the two villains standing across the pool of water. "It will not be my end, but yours."
"I highly doubt that," Slizzath said as he moved forward. "You see, you don't have any hope of getting out of this. Even as we speak, Charybdis and Scylla are making their way to this cavern where we are going to have them slowly but surely eat you alive. Then we can kill this surface dweller, blame it on those who walk on the surface, and lead Atlantis into a war."
"My father would never lead Atlantis into a war unless he had enough solid proof."
"Your father's hesitation will be seen as cowardice. They will beg for someone to reclaim the throne and Thanatos will be in the perfect spot to do so. We will rule Atlantis and the surface dwellers will be annihilated."
"I'd rather die than allow you to kill Orin or start a war," Dinah stated.
Slizzath waved his hand and several eyes appeared in the shadows. Slowly figures moved forward and Dinah saw a familiar look in their eyes.
"What are these creatures?" Orin asked. "They appear to be dead."
"They are undead," Canary answered. "Vampires, as we like to say. They are tough but can be dispatched easily. Wooden objects to the heart, decapitation, and sunlight. Too bad we don't have holy water."
"I could control the water. That is one of the many things I can do with my hands."
Canary pulled out a stake. "If I find a priest or someone to pray over your hands, then we're in business. However, I highly doubt a man or woman of the cloth will be showing up any time soon."
The vampires leapt and Canary staked while Orin decapitated. The numbers of the vampires, like the numbers of the skeletons, seemed to grow.
"How can they keep coming?" Orin asked.
"Slizzath is a necromancer, right?"
"Yes."
"He has the ability to control the dead. Vampires are, in a sense, dead. They are dead humans with demons inhabiting their bodies. At least, this species of vampire is like that."
Orin nodded as he ducked under a vampire's attack. He swung the harpoon end of his weapon around and sliced the head off the vampire. One grabbed him from behind and tried biting him. However, the toughness of his skin caused the vampire's teeth to break. He swung his hand back and backhanded the creature. It stumbled backward into Canary's stake and it turned to dust. She smiled at him and turned to face several other vampires.
The water began to churn and soon Charybdis and Scylla emerged with tentacles flailing. Canary and Orin jumped and ducked.
"I can't speak with them," Orin said. "The amulet is keeping me from doing so. No matter how hard I try, I cannot succeed."
"We sure could use some help," Canary replied.
An object flew out from the shadows and cut the rope holding the amulet around Thantos's neck. Orin smiled and closed his eyes. Soon the sea creatures stopped their onslaught and gently lowered Orin and Dinah down.
"That's impossible!" Thanatos said. "Who?"
"That would be me," I replied as I emerged from the shadows with Namor.
Namor and I immediately went after the vampires, whose numbers neared a hundred.
Thanatos and Slizzath dove into the water and disappeared underneath.
"We must get to them!" Namor replied.
"Scylla and Charybdis are willing to help!" Orin answered. "But the vampires are attacking them as well as us. There's not much we could do."
"Namor!" Dinah called out. "You wouldn't happen to be a priest, would you?"
"No," Namor replied.
"Damn!"
"Why do you need a priest?" I asked as I staked a vampire.
"Orin here can control water. Something about his hands."
I smiled. "I might be able to help with that."
I fought off a few vampires and moved toward him. "Give me your hands," I stated.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Trust me."
Orin placed his hands in mine. I sensed something from them, though, something that prompted me to not pray over them. They were mystical in origin and already had the blessing of a divine being. He didn't need my help.
"Cause the water to flow at the vampires," I said.
"What?"
"Stick your hands in the water and cause the water to go toward the vampires."
Reluctantly, Orin obeyed my instruction and stuck his hands in the water. I could sense the divine power flowing from his hands into the water. Suddenly the vampires nearest us turned to dust without any stakes penetrating their hearts or anything. The water then shot out of the pool and hit the vampires on the shores, which immediately turned to dust.
In a short amount of time, all the vampires were gone and the four of us remained...well, six if you counted Scylla and Charybdis.
"Now, after Thanatos and Slizzath."
Namor and Orin each grabbed a hold onto one of the sea creatures. I grabbed onto Namor's waist.
"Dinah, get back to the others," I ordered. She nodded and within seconds, I was immersed into the water holding on as the creatures navigated the underwater tunnels.
Dinah watched the three disappear into the water. She turned and headed back into the tunnel to where the Flash and Green Lantern were waiting, holding off the skeletal soldiers.
"Where's the Bat?" Flash asked.
"He went with Orin and Namor after Slizzath and Thanatos. They were able to break the medallion. Now Orin can communicate with the sea creatures. And he's pissed."
"If he's pissed like Namor seems to be, those two don't stand a chance," Flash stated.
I looked up to see the bubbles of the creatures zooming past me. I could sense the exhilaration the two Atlanteans felt at this activity. Feeling the rush of the water over you as you sped through the waters was quite refreshing. It was almost like flying, except you couldn't fall to your death in the water.
My hands started to slip so I tried to get a better grip on Namor's waist. I was able to move forward a bit and grabbed something very long and hard. Namor squirmed a bit and I realized what I had in my hand was his dick.
'Oops,' I thought to myself. 'For a teen, though, he has quite a cock.'
I moved my hand away and continued on as we entered into the open sea. The sea creatures moved toward the surface and emerged. I took a deep breath of fresh air and looked at my surroundings. We were someplace I never had seen before in my life. The trees were green and lush as if civilization had never touched this part of the world.
"They are going ashore!" Namor pointed.
"They won't stand a chance," Orin stated.
"Why? Where is this place?"
"This is the island of women. They are protected by the gods. No man shall ever lay foot on it."
Several women appeared out of the trees with bow and arrow at the ready. Thanatos and Slizzath stopped in their tracks before completely emerging from the water. I watched in amazement as one of the figures stepping out looked exactly as I had remembered her, Hyppolyta, Queen of the Amazons, Diana's mother. She looked out way and smiled.
"The gods informed us of what was happening. Menalippe saw them arriving in her visions so we prepared."
"Thank you for your help, your majesty."
"Atlantis has been notified and guards are on their way."
"We can stay out here and watch them as well," Namor stated.
"Um, guys, what about me?" I asked. "How am I to get back home?"
"I will take you," Orin answered. "I would also like to stay with you to understand surface dwellers more."
"Orin!" Namor exclaimed.
"The one called Dinah offered to die in order to keep a war from happening. We've been told that surface dwellers are savage. But these have proven they are not. I want to understand how to tell the difference."
"But your father will be angry. How can you turn your back on your people?"
"Is it turning my back to understand someone different? My father has always taught me to understand one another. If I am to one day be the ruler of Atlantis, I want to have a better understanding of the people of the surface. Perhaps I can build friendships and we can get our problems solved without resorting to war."
"Fine, take him."
Namor grabbed my wrist and tossed me across to Orin as if I were nothing but a rag doll. The water definitely makes the Atlanteans stronger than normal. They could even be stronger than Slayers, maybe even as strong as Clark and Diana.
Orin pulled me up behind him. "Tell my father I will contact him soon."
With that, the creature we were on turned and dove back into the water. It was as short trip to the cavern. We emerged and he sent the creature away. We entered the tunnel and came out to find Green Lantern, Black Canary, and the Flash waiting for us.
"What happened?" I asked.
"The skeletons are gone," Canary answered. "Once Slizzath ran, they returned to their burial ground."
"Thank goodness for small favors," the Flash stated. "That was getting monotonous as hell."
"Let's head back."
We returned to the park to find those who guarded the water standing around waiting. Superman was looking around, squinting his eyes a little.
"What's going on with him?" I asked.
"He's got the ability to see through things," Jessica answered. "He noticed it while we were fighting a boat load of vampires. He saw more from several blocks away as well as through the buildings."
"Telescopic and X-ray vision," I said. "Interesting. I wonder if there are any limits to it, like how far he can see and if there are any materials he can't see through."
"We'll have to run him through some tests just to find out his limit. If he truly gets his powers from the sun, there could be no limit to his abilities. He could almost be a god among men."
"We should be grateful his parents taught him about equality and respect. Otherwise, he could be dangerous."
I turned to see Orin speaking with the others. He and Diana should have much in common. Both were children of royalty. The others seemed to be getting along well, too, though the Flash was a little distant. I was curious if it was due to his difference in skin color. Most of us present were Caucasian. Black Canary, though, was Hispanic, and the Green Lantern was Asian.
"Excuse me for a moment," I said to Jessica and walked over to the Flash. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," he replied abruptly.
"It's amazing, isn't it?"
"What?"
"The diversity in our group. It is amazing that so many of us from different backgrounds are working together as a team."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Even though we are different in our backgrounds, we all have something in common. We are working together for the betterment of mankind. We're all equals and we're all important."
"I guess."
I turned back to the Flash. "I'm getting the vibe that you aren't comfortable in this group. Why is that?"
"Look at everyone. Most everyone here is white. All I've ever known is how most white people are against black people."
"That isn't true, though. Skin color doesn't make someone automatically good or bad. What makes someone good or bad is how they treat other people.
"Take Superman for an example. He isn't from this world. He comes from a planet long dead. He was raised by people from earth and they raised him to treat others with respect, but he isn't from here. What makes him good isn't the fact he has white skin. What makes him a good person is how he treats others. It doesn't matter that he comes from another planet.
"Wonder Woman is similar in that she comes from an island of nothing but women. They have been taught that men are evil due to their past interactions with men. Their religion is what we call Greek Mythology. Does her religion or skin color or fact that she was raised by women only make her good or bad? No. What makes her good is what is in her heart.
"Diana and Clark are no different from you or me. We're a family, not because we have extraordinary abilities. We're a family because we have a common goal, and we accept those who are different from us."
"I think I see what you're saying," he replied after listening to my little speech.
"Good. You looked like something was bothering you. I hope my little spiel helped."
"Yeah, it did."
I smiled underneath my mask. He smiled back. At that moment, I realized how similar our costumes were. I put my hand on his shoulder and massaged it, knowing that touch is a great way to bridge distances.
To Be Continued...