Hear me well. This is a story within a story, with a little superhero action and a little romance wrapped in a warm blanket of dreams. Nothing really deep. Nothing to trip the tongue or mind. Just a story to file away in your heart. Something to think about during one of those rare idle moments that pop up in this far too busy modern era.

I'd like to thank Puddin' for her editing. Once again, she helped me make this a much better story.

NOTE: Comments have been blocked but kudos and private messages are welcome.

The Illusion of Being

by Terry Volkirch

Perry stood on the fire escape leaning back against the brick wall of a five story apartment building, watching the sunset. The building was old, but he felt older. He was older -- though he only looked to be in his late thirties -- and tired, with just enough energy for one last, great performance. He hoped so anyway. The magic continued to flow through his veins, though it hurt to use it. It never used to hurt. Still, he had self-imposed obligations to consider, one more project to finish. The teenage boy standing before him, partner in his impromptu plays, had one more role to play after this evening's performance, the role of a lifetime.

Young Galen lived to entertain. The short, slender boy laughed off his friends' teasing with the strength of a giant, no matter what character he played. Stage fright never occurred to him. His need was too great. On stage, he came alive, and with his talent, he made the play come alive.

"Can we start now?" the boy asked, his eyes full of hope, but his voice barely heard over the street sounds below.

The old man wasn't fooled, not any more, not after Galen volunteered dozens of time. The boy's timid nature both perplexed and annoyed him at first, until he looked deeper. He wanted more volunteers, always looking for a certain special someone. Then he saw. After a condensed, one act version of Taming of the Shrew, he saw that Galen made the perfect partner. It just took the right kind of character and the boy truly blossomed. Galen was good before, very good. But after that performance, he rose to a whole new level.

Perry shuddered and shook his head. The time to reminisce was long passed. He needed to get started.

That night, not long after sunset, the old man and his protégé put on a special private show for a small group of Galen's friends. The two actors started on the fire escape on the back of an old brick building where most of the audience lived. The weather cooperated, being a little cool but dry, and the man's magic formed the illusion of their costumes.

Galen crouched on the metal stairs with feline grace sporting a skin-tight catsuit that included gloves with wicked looking claws, cat ears and a long, animated tail. Tinted goggles covered his eyes to protect his identity and distinctly feminine curves completed his look.

His friends tittered from the nearest window.

"Dude. You're hot!" one said.

"I think I'm in love!" another declared.

Galen pawed the air in the direction of his friends and uttered a very feminine sounding, "Meow."

The audience ate it up.

Perry stifled his own laugh, then began working his magic on himself. Tonight he was going all out. He'd be exhausted after the performance but it would be worth it. Galen was worth it.

With his hands on his hips, a black and gray costume slowly formed around a young, muscular male body, and everyone gasped at the impressive sight, even Galen.

The boy never knew what the play was about before they started. He didn't have to. Perry controlled nearly everything. The lines just popped into the boy's head and he spoke them. The only thing left up to Galen was how he delivered those lines. He had to lose himself in the character and put feeling into the words, something that he did extremely well.

In less than a minute, Perry's costume was complete, including a long cape that flapped in an imaginary breeze. But the silence continued long afterwards until one of Galen's friends broke the spell with a quietly spoken word.

"Cool."

The actor flexed his gloved hands and gave himself a quick look. From his boots to his bat-eared cowl that covered the top half of his face, everything appeared to be in order. All that remained was a voice check.

"I'm Batman!" he declared in a rough voice.

The audience cheered but Galen had a different reaction. He read enough comic books to know his character, and he suspected that he'd soon be involved in a potentially embarrassing rooftop scene. He almost felt nervous about it. Almost. Then he smiled.

Neither actor hesitated to play female roles. It was all part of the art of theater, and it helped them stretch themselves, both as actors and human beings. Galen didn't need much stretching however. And he didn't need any warmup or practice. Perry's words magically appeared in his mind and the show began.

"You'll never catch me, Batman," the new Catwoman said in a husky contralto. "But even if you could, you wouldn't know what to do with me. So sad. Meow!"

With that, she ran up the fire escape with Batman in hot pursuit.

The chase took Galen's friends by surprise but it didn't take them long to follow. They looked at each other and struggled to be first through the window and up the metal stairs. They made it to the roof just in time to see Catwoman perched on the far edge with Batman slowly moving in on her.

"Don't come any closer or I'll jump," the villainess said. She gave a quick, nervous look over her shoulder to confirm that there was nothing to keep her from falling several stories to a certain death if she jumped. The "real" Catwoman probably wouldn't have trouble with it, but Galen wasn't real. He couldn't perform the super human stunts from the comic books and movies.

He almost regretted running to the edge, but he forced down his fear and slipped back into character. He was a she, and she was Catwoman. The Catwoman!

Action was yet another thing that Perry sort of controlled since his magic allowed a mental connection to whomever wore his costume illusions. He mentally sent images that he wanted performed, like stage directions in a screen play. He mentally asked Galen to run to the edge of the roof so the boy did as he was asked. There was always some trust involved in their performances and Galen trusted Perry completely.

"Your cat burgling days are over, Catwoman. At least for a decade or so they are, until the bleeding hearts let you out of prison for good behavior." Batman spat on the ground to emphasize his disgust with the justice system.

Spitting was out of character for Batman and it struck Galen as funny. He thought maybe a little improvisation was called for on both sides so he ignored his lines for the moment and spoke for himself.

"Spitting on the rooftop? Isn't that... illegal?" Catwoman let out an exaggerated gasp and pressed the back of her right hand to her forehead. "Has Batman finally gone... batty?"

Batman glared at her, not realizing that what he did was out of character, and sent her a mental warning to stay in character.

Catwoman just smirked and answered his warning with more of her own words. "Maybe I should call you Badman from now on. But only if you change your costume. That goes for your underwear too."

Batman lunged forward and grabbed her forearm, pulling her to him. He glared down at her with her head tipped back and her lips slightly parted. She looked almost like she expected a kiss. No. Make that demanded a kiss. His eyes smoldered and she continued to look back at him with undisguised lust.

'What the hell, Galen?' Perry suddenly sent through his magic mental connection.

"Well?" Catwoman said, sounding almost bored. "Didn't I say you wouldn't know what to do with me if you caught me?"

"You... you're... this isn't right," Batman whispered, though the audience heard him anyway, having crept up on the pair to stand about twenty feet away.

Catwoman raised a single eyebrow, reminding her partner to stay in character.

"That's it," Batman said, once more in control. "You're going to prison. But first, hand over the jewels you stole."

Catwoman smirked again and reached down to grab a certain sensitive area between Batman's legs. "You mean these jewels?" she purred.

Batman looked a little sick and let out a squeak, but he didn't say anything.

"It might be a bit messy," she continued. "Why don't I leave them where they are? Maybe we could both put them to good use."

"Oh. You are bad," Batman broke character with a smirk. "Bad to the bone. Naughty as all hell. I think the little kitty needs some vigilante justice."

"Oh, yes, Batman. Hurt me. Hurt me with your big... bad... tongue. Hurt me now!" She reached around the back of his head, sucked in a big breath of air and pulled him down for a long, deep kiss.

Perry nearly lost it. He didn't know whether to laugh, scream or run away. Acting out a truly romantic scene with Galen never occurred to him, at least not consciously. But somehow, it felt... right, and he lost himself in the kiss, just after he noted that he too sucked in a big breath of air just in time.

'It was just a reflex,' he told himself. 'Just a reflex.'

The audience cheered but the actors didn't notice. The magic took control and Perry and Galen wouldn't see or hear anything for a little while.

Fade to black.

~o~O~o~

Before the kiss ended, Galen's friends made their way back down the fire escape, each privately vowing never to speak of the little show they witnessed. They weren't really homophobes but something seemed off once they stopped to think about it, and the kiss lasted much longer than it should have for a tasteful performance, giving them all plenty of time to think. They couldn't help imagining Perry and Galen kissing as themselves. It was the age difference that bothered them more than anything else. They'd probably be okay though. Eventually.

The kiss was awkward to say the least, but Batman and Catwoman couldn't stop, not even if they wanted to. Magic was afoot as Perry's power slowly left him. He wouldn't normally transfer his power through a kiss, not with an eighteen-year-old boy anyway, though once the kiss started, the transfer began on its own and he couldn't stop it. He had to ride it out, no matter how awkward.

Another distraction didn't help matters. Perry's long, lonely life flashed before his eyes the whole time. It didn't bother him much until he got towards the end. That's when he saw how much Galen really meant to him. But it was too late to do anything. Such a waste.

~o~O~o~

Twenty minutes later and Perry's life had finished playing out. Two more minutes after that, he managed to break the kiss.

"That's enough of that... young man." Perry emphasized the last two words. "You really surprised me there. I planned a little sexual innuendo but not... that kiss!" He let out a brief, loud whistle.

"Oh?" Catwoman ever so slowly came back to the real world, pleased to see that she still maintained the illusion of being a woman wearing a sexy costume. "Was it good for you?"

"Very funny," Perry said, having dropped his own illusion, his power all but gone. "Are you ready to come back to the real world, Little Kitty?"

"Oh, poo. You're no fun at all." She pouted.

That look did it. The old man's groin stirred and he quickly used the last traces of his power to end the illusion and break her hold on him.

"You're good, kid. Really good."

Galen looked down at himself and sighed. It was good while it lasted.

"Thanks," the boy said. "I learned from the best."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"No more kisses then?" Galen pouted again and Perry had to turn away, fearful of getting aroused again.

"I'm too old for you, kid. Try to control yourself."

"Wait a minute...," the boy's widened. "You didn't know Batman and Catwoman had a history, did you?" It was more an accusation than a question. Galen knew the answer. "But... I thought you wanted that kiss!" he blurted out and then turned away, quickly turning beet red.

Perry shrugged. "I keep telling you, Galen. I'm too old for you. Sorry."

"So why did you kiss me so long if you didn't want it?" The boy kept his voice down but his heart felt like it would burst from his chest.

"It just... happened. I don't... I can't really explain it."

"Fine. Don't tell me then." He wanted to shake the truth out of the old man but decided to change the subject instead. He had to distract himself from his breaking heart. "I bet you never read any of the comics."

"I don't have time for comics, kid. And yeah, I admit I only saw a couple of Batman movies, and one disappointing Catwoman movie."

"That's not like you. You usually do a pretty thorough character study."

"Yeah yeah. I thought I knew Batman well enough. He seemed simple enough. And I thought it would be interesting to throw Batman together with Catwoman. I should've realized it'd already been done."

"Right." Galen frowned, then turned thoughtful. "So when's the next show?"

"There's not going to be another show. Not for me. I'm through."

"What are you talking about? You can't quit now. I can't do this by myself."

Perry hated this. He hated the secrets... the lies... never telling anyone about who and what he was. He did it out of self-preservation, to protect himself from those who would exploit his talents, but that no longer seemed to matter. All he could see now was a teenager full of hurt, a boy who deserved some answers.

"I'm too old for this. I'm spent. I gave you my gift. It's all up to you now, kid."

"You gave me.... What? How?"

"You'll figure it out someday... with practice. It won't take long."

"But you're not that old. Let me do your costume and lines. We can keep going... together."

Perry made a sad, tired sound that almost sounded like a laugh. "I told you, kid. I'm too old for this. I'm a lot older than... than your dad."

Galen gasped. He told Perry that his father died several years ago in a car accident. It wasn't death by old age but the message was clear.

"No! You can't die. Please."

"Just let me go and die in dignity please. I've had a good life, with a good ending, thanks to you, kid."

"But...."

Perry reached out and gently placed a finger on Galen's lips, silencing the boy.

"I should tell you this much, though I think you probably already figured it out. I just want to be sure."

Galen slowly nodded.

"It's not real, and it takes a lot out of you. You can't keep it up. You can't be who you want to be twenty four seven. So use it wisely. Have fun. Grow into it. Try some single acts until you get the hang of things. Then start asking for volunteers to join you. Look for a partner. Hopefully, you'll find that special someone a lot sooner than I did."

Perry paused and looked like he wanted to say more, but instead, he just shrugged and turned to walk away.

"That's it? That's all you've got to say? After all the time we spent together?"

Galen chased after the slow moving man and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. He pulled Perry around to face him and gasped as he noticed the signs of rapid aging in the man's face.

"You're a good kid," Perry said. "Keep your nose clean and you'll go far."

"I love you too, old man!" Galen shouted.

Perry chuckled and thought to himself, 'Once more with feeling, kid. If only I was a couple hundred years younger. Ah, fuck it. I can at least say it.'

"I love you, Galen," he whispered, and then crumbled to dust.

*** The End ***

 © 2011 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this story are fictional and belong to me except for Batman and Catwoman, who belong to DC. Any resemblance of any other character to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.