Enter the infamous legal disclaimer... NOW:
I do not own any of the following. I wish I did. OH how I wish I did. Do you know how much money some of these bring in? But alas, I am but a meager college student working towards a teaching degree. That's right; I am in college, and going to be a teacher. Going from no money at all (college student) to no money at all (teacher). Please don't sue. You'll get a crappy pen set that I got from my brother many moons ago. Now, onto everything I do not own. Repeat. Don't own. I don't know sexual orientations or personalities either. DON'T OWN, DON'T KNOW!
Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Pink, Christina Aguilera, The Wallflowers, and any other celebrities. I also know nothing of their sexual orientations. Wish I did though.
Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and all related characters.
The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
The Dresden Files and all items therein by Jim Butcher.
The Vampire Chronicles, Tales Of The New Vampires, The Mayfair Witches, all series and characters written by Anne Rice.
Harry Potter and all characters, abilities, and creatures there within. (I have been forgetting to put this in. A fan pointed it out. So, a special thank you to Frithjof for telling me.)
Buffy & Angel television series.
Birds Of Prey television series.
Star Wars
Star Trek, Star Trek TNG, Star Trek DS9, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek The New Frontier, Enterprise television series, movies, and novels.
Ok, now that that is taken care of, a little publicity for my co-authors. Go read these four stories in the Boy Bands, and Celebrity sections:
Tales Of A Real Dark Night (The series that started it all.) celebrity/boy-bands/tales-of-a-real-dark-knight/
Marvel Knights celebrity/marvel-knights/
Tales Of A Super Hero Band celebrity/boy-bands/tales-of-a-superhero-band/
Tales Of A Young Mutant celebrity/tales-of-a-young-mutant/
Tales of a Human Spider celebrity/boy-bands/tales-of-a-human-spider/
There may also be a new writer up and coming. Good luck! I love the storyline I've seen so far dude! Keep writing!
The Story of the Birds Of Prey Chapter 14: Remembrance
Everyone was just standing around.
Professor Xavier had sent the X-Jet down for Eric, Lance, and myself. There were people who participated in the war against Apocalypse and the Vampires all around. But they were just... talking, laughing, living.
But he was dead.
I stood up from where I was sitting in the field. I walked away from the group towards the tree line. No one followed. They were too caught up really to notice. Caught up in life. And mine was crumbling around me.
I had built up this dream. A life where Blake and I would be happy until our end days. One where we could travel the world, where he could open his line of clubs all over the country, and some across the oceans. Where I could record my solo album and make a go of it alone.
A life together.
But that was all gone.
Like him.
And it hurt so bad.
"Hey." I jumped and turned. It was Jean.
"Hey." I said. I was thankful I wasn't crying again.
"How are you holding up?" she asked. It was becoming a common question.
"As well as can be expected." It was becoming a common answer.
"I think I know why you are here. And it doesn't take being a mutant to see it." She put her hand on my shoulder. "They are all over there acting as if nothing happened. They don't know your hurt, your pain. They don't realize the sun isn't supposed to come up anymore. But it does."
"They don't see that everything in the entire world is going on and there is nothing I can do to make them all realize that it's supposed to stop." I said with a tear. "God I hate them all. And I hate myself for hating them. And I hate myself because I'm still alive and he's not."
I started to cry again. That was also becoming a common reaction to the common question and answer. It was also becoming the common reaction to waking up and to breathing.
"I love Blake so much. And I hate him for dying." I said. I had never said it before. It just came out. I put my hand to my mouth and gasped. "I didn't mean that." I started to cry harder. "God Blake, I didn't mean that!" I fell to my knees and felt the dampness soaking through the material in my slacks.
"It's ok. I know you didn't and he knows too." The knelt right there with me and just held me.
That's how Justin found us. He walked over and picked me up off the ground and I just hugged him.
"I hurt Jus." I said.
"I know you do Jayce. I know."
Justin took me over to the guys. Joey was there with Chris and Lance. Eric was over talking to Professor Xavier and a young man named Joshua. Small world I guess. That or not enough names. Chris was telling a forced joke to which everyone laughed. Except me. Joey was mentioning the possibility of going into acting. To which Lance said their movie had gone to his head. They laughed. I didn't. I just... was.
But it hurt a little less. I was with my Brothers.
The Professor was giving a wonderful speech but all I could think of was the song I was about to sing. The pain was unbearable, and his voice still whispered in my head, and every time that I closed my eyes I could see our beech as clear as if I were there.
It was when he was finishing up that I realized it was time for me to go sing. I just stood up, walked over, and nodded to the person who had the tape. I had gone in after talking with Lance about the possibility of singing at the memorial and borrowed a studio at Jive.
The music started and I locked eyes with Andrea. She had brought her parents and they were in the front row with Devin, none of them had a dry eye.
Just before I started singing I closed my eyes and pictured him.
I'm so tired of being here Suppressed by all of my childish fears And if you have to leave I wish that you would just leave Because your presence still lingers here And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal This pain is just too real There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears And I held your hand through all of these years But you still have all of me
Suddenly I found my self standing on the beach, but knew I was still with the people at the memorial. I could here Andrea and her mother crying softly and the music was still surrounding me with its haunting melody. I looked out over the water and kept singing.
You used to captivate me By your resonating light But now I'm bound by the life you left behind Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
These wounds won't seem to heal This pain is just too real There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears And I held your hand through all of these years But you still have all of me
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone But though you're still with me I've been alone all along
Suddenly I could see him. Standing before me in his phoenix suit; but not really there. He stood just above the waves, his eyes blazing like trapped suns. I could see through him, and I could see the tears falling from his eyes, but I couldn't sense him. I don't know how to explain it, but there was a link between us. I could always sense him before I saw him. I met those painfully bright eyes, and sang the last verse.
You cried I'd wipe away all of your tears When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears And I held your hand through all of these years But you still have all of me All of me All of me
[*]
The music faded and I opened my eyes. Everyone was silent except for a couple sobs, mainly from those who knew Blake.
I looked at the X-Men that had helped in San Francisco, they were all utterly still. Boomer, Jubilee, and Dazzler were planning to go back to San Francisco with Andrea and her Parents to search for their place.
The reception had long since ended. My friends had gone inside at my request. I walked to the edge of the estate, then walked farther. I just lost myself in the woods, I let my mind wander over my life with Blake, and what it would be now that he was gone.
"You mustn't loose yourself in this pain."
I spun and saw a woman, ghostly white with skin smooth as polished ivory.
"You dwell on things beyond your control. The Phoenix would not wish you to do this." She said.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I am Maharet. This is my sister Meker." I spun when I heard a twig snap and saw a exact twin of Maharet, except for the eyes. They were a different shade. Both were breathtakingly beautiful though.
"What are you doing here... wait, you're the Maharet and Meker that David Talbot spoke of, aren't you?" I had a sudden sense of fear. I was standing with two women older than recorded time.
"Yes we are. We felt it only fitting to come and meet you. You are the beloved of the man who may well have saved all of our kinds." She stepped closer to me. I hadn't been able to make her dress out that well because she was in the shadows, but she stepped into a shaft of moonlight and I could see it. It was a close cut skirt that ran to her ankles. Her blouse was covered half way by a jacket. The blouse was obviously silk, skirt and jacket velvet, and all her clothes were burgundy right down to her high heels. How she managed heels in the forest was beyond me.
"I am honored by your presence." I said. It was only fitting. They were the queens of the most powerful of the vampires.
"We are not queens. We simply are." She said. "It is true that Meker is the Fount of our people, but we do not rule."
"Doesn't Meker speak for herself?" I asked. She had stayed in the shadows, and not said a word.
"Her tongue was taken just before she was turned. She can not speak." Maharet said. Maharet stepped closer to me. "We have come to offer you a reward, a token for what you have lost so that the world may survive. We know it will not ease your pain, but it is the least we can do."
I was slightly taken aback, but realized they were sincere. I sighed and thought. These women have been alive longer than any country in the world has truly existed. They did have one thing I could use.
"During the war with Dasro the San Francisco Slayers base was destroyed. Blake, Andrea, and Devin's base." I stepped towards her. "Blake gave his life trying to protect the people of San Francisco from the things that go bump in the night. More than anyone else on this Earth you know how to face the Demons, the rogue Vampires, and the Lycanthropes." I took her hand. "Please, help Devin and the Watchers in rebuilding the Hole."
She looked at me and smiled. "I can offer you riches vaster than you could imagine."
"I have more money than I will be able to spend in this life. And believe me, a lot of it is going to go to development at the Hole. As well as to repairing Serenity and keeping it a success for Blake." I could feel myself crying, but I was smiling. I was actually smiling. "His dreams, his legacy must go on. The Birds of Prey will continue to fly, even without their leader. And I know you would be able to help in that fight."
She turned to her sister, and her sister simply nodded. "We would have given you anything, and yet you ask for that which will aid your people. And even mine. You are open minded Joshua Chasez, you said Rogue Vampires, not simply Vampires. I sense that your time with David Talbot has allowed you to see that we are not all inherently evil and for that I do thank you." She closed her eyes, and I heard a whoosh to my far right. "It shall be done."
"Thank you." I said.
"Also, I have put out a decree to the forces of the night. If any attempt to harm you they will be met with a fate worse than death." She stepped towards her sister, who finally stepped into the light and was wearing a matching out fit but in forest green. "We will meet again Joshua Scott Chasez, you have proven yourself to be a worthy man."
"I look forward to seeing you again Maharet, Meker. I have many questions about you and your people. And please, I did not get a chance to speak with David before he left. Please, thank him for his help, and tell him he is welcome to come to my home whenever he is in San Francisco."
"I will give him your message." She said. "Now we must go. If we are going to gather the things needed to make the Hole a place of great power we must begin now. Tell Devin we will contact him in one week."
And without warning they were gone. I looked up in time to see a streak across the moon. I just looked at the moon for a moment and felt a sense I hadn't felt in a while.
I was happy.
I was ensuring that Blake's legacy would live on.
One Month Later
"Ok people, are we ready to kick this off?"
"YEAH!"
"Well, here is the person we have all been waiting for! JC Chasez!"
I walked out onto the stage towards Andrea, and she looked good. She worked so hard to get Blake's club up and running again. Her dad was contracted to rebuild and expand. There was now a whole new level to the place. A level that seemed to be suspended in the air, but that was actually suspended by a intricate net of Adamantium bars. Professor Xavier helped us acquire those. It was above the ring that made up the second level and connected by stair cases at the four corners. It had reinforced heavy duty clear plastic so people could se the level below.
I stepped up to her and she handed me the microphone.
"Come on people, let's hear it for our club manager, and half owner, Andrea!" She took a bow and stepped to the side and I looked out among the crowd.
Jubilee, Tabitha, and Alison, also known as Boomer and Dazzler, were up front with Devin, Andy's Parents, and my sister and Parents. I still hadn't heard from my brother. Lance and Eric were at a table to the side with Justin and Jessica. Chris and Joey were back at the bar. There was a whole bunch of celebrities also. Britney was back away from Justin giving looks every once and a while, Christina Aguilera was over talking with Pink. And the list just went on and on.
I just looked at everyone and waited for the clapping to die down.
"It's not been long since I lost the love of my life. The pain is fresh, and the hurt won't go away anytime soon. But looking at his club, Serenity is a tribute to him. My it last and flourish.
"We are living in trying times. America was attacked and we won't soon forget it. Hundreds of thousands have died all across our lands, and in foreign countries as well. The Vampires have come out into the public along with Lycanthropes and many Demonic creatures. But we must remember that not all of them are evil, just like not all humans are good. But that doesn't mean we should let down our guard.
"I hope that we do not forget what happened in San Francisco. I'm not speaking of the attack exactly, we will not forget that any time soon. I'm talking about the fact that Humans, Mutants, and people with powers found in Magic all banding together in a force of righteousness. And this isn't known by many but there was at least one Vampire standing with us.
"Club Serenity was almost destroyed in that battle. One of the buildings to be struck down first, it is one of the first to be reopened. So let us remember what happened.
"Now, I have a special treat for y'all. I'm sure you've heard of this guy, he helped out on Nsync's Album Celebrity, and is a great guy. Let's hear it for BT!" Everyone started clapping as the DJ spot was lit by a blue spot light and BT Broke into "Never Gonna Come Back Down". I walked off stage and towards the office. Andrea, Devin, Jubilee, Tabitha, and Alison followed me.
"Is it done?" I asked turning towards Devin.
"Yes it is." He led me to a spot in the back of the Executive Office, the one that Andrea and I shared alone. There was an arch built into the brickwork that made up the wall. "The password is this."
He handed me a paper, I read it and gave a small laugh. "Out of the ashes." I spoke aloud and the arch shimmered, then I could see nothing but a solid black surface.
"Just step through." I looked at the others and stepped though. It was a cool feeling to go through and when we got to the other side I let out a whistle.
"Hank McCoy, The Vampire Armand and Devin Charles, a heard of people from The Watchers Council, myself, wizards from The Ministry of Magic and from America's White Council came and assisted. We have the most powerful base of operations against the dark forces on the West Coast of the united states." I looked around and Devin clapped his hands. "Want the grand tour?"
I was dumbfounded. The entire place was a gigantic sphere of steel. There was a computer screen with a horse shoe of computer consoles to one side of the room. The screen had to be thirty feet in diameter. To the left was a heard of training equipment. There were doorways built on the far side of the room. "Where do those go?" I asked.
"Well, since you decided to give the Condo to the girls for use I had the condo outfitted with a portal to here. There is also one from my place, and one from your loft." He said pointing to the arches next to the portal we had come from. "Over there is weapons storage, emergency quarters, and also the grand finale, if you will come with me." As we walked I got a better sense of our surroundings. We walked up to the door and Devin hit a few keys.
It opened and my jaw dropped. "Oh my god!" Tabitha gasped.
"She is called the Night Hawk. A perfect blending of Magic and Technology." It was a jet. Built with smooth lines and seamless chrome colored metal. "She can fly at a tenth the speed of light, and has alien wormhole technology." Devin said.
"Alien what?" I gasped spinning on him.
"That's what I said. Maharet said that she has made many friends in her lifetime when she brought the ship. Her niece Jessie spent a week teaching me its basic features. She also gave me all its technical details and uploaded it into Sage; Sage is the new Computer AI. There is a portal that opens below the Golden Gate Bridge for the Night Hawk to fly through. As you can see it has plenty of space here for a landing strip." I looked down a shaft that seemed to go on forever.
"My god." I said. It was more than I ever imagined.
"It's a just in case type of thing, but we will all be getting training on flying it in the Danger Room." Devin said.
"We have a Danger Room?" Jubilee said.
"Yup, a gift from Professor Xavier. That's what Hank was up to. It's all controlled through Sage though. She is also in the Night Hawk." Devin explained. "We have all been working on this for about 2 or three months." Devin said.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, forgot to mention that. We put a stasis spell around the Hole while we worked. It slowed down time outside while we built this. Very advanced Magic's. It took five wizards and witches from the White Council to put up." We left that room and headed back to Oracle. "Ok, Sage, you up and running?"
Suddenly a woman came walking out of the hall that was the Living Quarters.
"Of course I am." She said. "All systems are at peak efficiency. Are these them?" She asked.
"Is that? Is that Sage? I thought she was a computer program." I said.
"I am, this is my body. My main program is in the central processing unit, but I am also in this body, the Night Hawk, and your homes. Remember the refits Devin did?" she said. "Don't worry though, I don't invade your privacy. I know when to turn the cameras on and off." She walked over to an alcove next to the computer and placed her hand inside a recess. Suddenly her face appeared on the screen, the background dancing blue lines of code.
"Sage, please scan these people, they all have level one access to the Base." Devin said.
"Please state your full names and code names for official records and authorization." Sage said.
"Go ahead everyone." Devin said.
"Joshua Scott Chasez, code name C."
"Tabitha Smith, code name Boomer."
"Jubilation Lee, code name Jubilee."
"Allison Blake, code name Dazzler."
"Andrea Williams, code name Green Falcon."
"Names have been recorded in memory, genetic make up has been scanned and stored." Sages face turned to the right then back. "Team name request."
I stepped forward. "The Birds of Prey."
"Team name recorded. Welcome to the Hole, Birds of Prey."
And so Blake's legacy was ensured.
Dear Readers,
This is the end of the second story line I've written in the Tales Universe, and the fourteenth chapter. And every bit of it has been fun. The Story of the Birds of Prey has come to an end, but that does not mean that their adventure has ended. As it is common with any of the stories in the Tales Universe, I have a new storyline planned out. It is set in current times, meaning September 2003. I will not be posting it until I am finished with at least 5 chapters. When I am done with those first 5 chapters, you can expect a posting every two weeks. I'm sorry, but school comes first.
I would like to thank all my fans, and beg forgiveness for taking away your favorite character. It was hard to write Blake's death, and to write JC's reaction. When I write a char., I am the char. I feel everything that they do, and see everything they see. Let me say, I was depressed after writing that.
Well I have gone on and on, but this isn't getting sent out any faster. So, until we meet again, Adieu.
Sincerely, Blake J. Alexander September 23, 2003
[*] My Immortal by the band Evanescence. They rock.