[Fic] Blood Knights: Turnings [4/?]
Title: Blood Knights [chapter 4/?]
Author/Artist: magusronin
Characters/Pairings: Dracula (Drake), Wendy Harris (Proxy), Stephanie Brown (Batgirl), Charlie Gage-Radcliffe (Misfit), Dracula/Steph,
Continuity: Comicsverse (DC Modern), Blade movieverse, AU Crossovers
Genre: AU, Superhero, Horror.
Rating: MA (Language, Sex, and adult themes)
Chapter summary: Dracula pops in for a visit with young Stephanie, leaving Charlie and Wendy to try and pick up the pieces.
Warnings: Character transformation, descriptions of sex, some vampire violence.
Spoilers: There will be references to major events in the recent DC Batman comic continuity, and spoilers from the Blade movies and series.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the major characters in this story, they are the property of DC and Marvel and their respective creators. No infringement of copy or creative rights is intended by this work. It is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit.
Word Count: 3300
Author’s Notes: I'm starting to take some creative liberties with Drake's character, but as this is predominantly a bat fic I doubt anyone will mind.
As always feedback is appreciated.
Special thanks to zolac_no_miko for her assistance Betaing this piece.
Chapter I: The Awakening
Chapter II: Recovering
Chapter III: Dark Horizon
Chapter IV: Turnings
I know the others don't want to admit to themselves what's actually going on, particularly with their friend. I'll do whatever's necessary, even if they can't bring themselves to.
To do:
1. Swing by the hardware store and collect wooden stakes
2. Go through the pantry to collect garlic cloves
3. Start digging around the Manor for silver crosses
The others will thank me for being prepared.
- Excerpt from the case files of Damien Wayne, Robin.
The dreams came again that night. They’d come every night since the attack, each more intense, more sensual than the last; each so real. Steph felt the hot wash of blood over her tongue as her teeth sank into the man's neck. The rush of euphoria as she drank his blood was electrifying, better than sex, and it went on and on. Finally the flow of blood trickled to a stop as the man's heart gave out, finally starved of oxygen. She let him fall limply to the ground as she turned to face her knight, her Lord. He'd been watching her feed, a faint, pleased smile playing across his lips. In each dream his face was slightly different, but it was ever the same man: dark, powerful, and simultaneously both young and ancient. His long legs carried him to her, and leaning down he licked the last traces of blood from her lips before kissing her passionately. As their tongues sparred their armor and clothing vanished, and the scene shifted around them in the way of dreams; now they stood pressed against each other in a large room with a roaring fire on the hearth. She felt him enter her as their bodies pressed tightly together, then his hand wrapped in her hair and he tilted her head roughly to the side, exposing her neck to his lips. Her whole body shook as his shaft lay buried in her depths and his lips caressed and massaged down her neck. Steph's back arched in ecstasy and her fingers dug into his shoulders as his fangs pierced her throat. The sensations seemed to go on and on forever before she finally sank into darkness.
Stephanie gasped as she sat up in bed, her hair tousled and her sweat-soaked nightshirt plastered against her chest. Her mouth was dry, and she was achingly thirsty. Reaching out for the glass of water on her nightstand she was surprised to realize that her ribs no longer ached at all. As her hand closed around the glass, a slight movement at the foot of her bed caught her eye. Startled, she spun with surprising speed and found herself standing on her bed facing a well-dressed man by her window. A window that was now open. She didn't know how she knew, but she was absolutely certain this was the same man from her dream. His height, his build, his dark features all matched the man from the dream that night, and more than that, it was almost as though she could feel him. She felt as though blindfolded and then spun in circles she could have still pointed directly at him.
“Hello my dear, welcome to your new world.” His voice was deep and powerful, hinting at his eons of wisdom and knowledge long lost to the world.
“Who are you? What… What have you done to me?” It was only as he spoke that Steph realized just how strange she felt. She could see perfectly in the dark room and there seemed to be an incessant rattle of all kinds of noises, but most of all she felt stronger and more alive then she’d ever felt. The lingering arousal from her dream focused on this gorgeous man wasn’t helping her thought process either. She was also thirsty, terribly thirsty. Taking what she knew was a foolish risk, she took a long gulp of water from the glass.
“That won't help,” he said, his lips curving into a gorgeous smile as he stepped further into her room, looking at the assorted photos on her nightstand.
“What do you mean? Help what?” Stephanie demanded after she finished gulping down the water. “Who the hell are you?”
“The water won’t quench your thirst,” he said, turning back to face Stephanie, his smile revealing a pair of long, razor-sharp incisors.
“So what are you supposed to be, Count Dracula or something? I suppose it is Halloween after all,” Stephanie mocked as she took a good look at the man. He was tall and built, at least as large as Bruce or Clark, and gorgeously handsome, though there was a darker cast his features. His hair was long, dark brown or black, and worn tied back in a ponytail.
He laughed deeply at her quip. “Well perhaps I am,” he said as his laughter quieted, and his lips curled once more into a sardonic smile.
“Okay Mr. Count, what the hell are you doing in my room? You pervert!” she yelled, still standing on her bed with the now empty glass in one hand as she considered how to best deal with the intruder.
“Let's just say, I was curious to learn just who I was mysteriously forming a bond with.” Drake had suspected, of course; Batgirls seemed to be only likely candidate. However, it was rather strange; in all his eons-long existence he couldn't remember turning anyone in quite that manner. Her scent and voice confirmed her identity without a doubt, and she was now a fully turned vampire. He wondered just how much of his abilities she'd inherited.
“What the hell are you talking about? What the fuck did you do to me?” She dropped into a more defensive stance on the bed as she shouted at him. She was glad her mother was out; she was raising enough of a racket, and she didn't want to get her involved in whatever this was about. If it came to a fight, this Dracula was standing between her and her suit and weapons. All she had at the moment was an empty glass, her hands and feet, and a thin cotton nightshirt-not the best tactical situation.
“You my dear girl-are now flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood: a vampire. I know you can feel it-the thirst. It must be building inside you; I'm surprised you've managed to be as composed as you are.” His tone was mocking as he continued to smile.
Stephanie couldn't conceal the shock, surprise, and confusion that played through her at the man's pronouncement. She had to admit she was unbelievably thirsty, but that didn't mean she would believe him. “Yeah right! Get out of my room right now!” she yelled as she hurled her glass at Dracula. The glass shot at him with far more speed and power than Stephanie had expected.
Drake easily caught the glass out of the air. “As you wish; I've satisfied my curiosity, Batgirl. I simply wished to offer my wisdom and guidance. It can be so psychologically traumatic if a young fledgling should find themselves feeding on those dear to them,” he said, motioning offhandedly with the glass to the pictures of Stephanie's friends and family on her dresser. “I'll leave momentarily, but first let me offer you something to tide you over.” To Stephanie's shock he sliced open the wrist of his free hand with his thumbnail, then allowed his blood to freely fill the glass he held in his other hand.
Stephanie's eyes had opened wide when he referred to her as Batgirl, but that and the flash of anger that came as he referred to her mother and friends were washed away as the scent of fresh blood filled the air. It was as though the most exquisite delicacy in the world had just been placed in front of her. Her mouth watered and she felt her teeth shift. Probing gingerly with her tongue she felt the sharp tips of fangs. It was all she could do to hold herself back as her attention was fixed on the red blood filling the glass.
“Huh. Impressive. You show remarkable restraint. I'm really quite impressed,” Drake said as he sat the glass of blood on her dresser. The wound to his wrist closed and healed without a mark as he licked the last drops of blood clean. “Think on what I said. When you come to terms with what you are now, I’ll seek you out again. You seem like an intelligent young woman. I'm sure you'll quickly figure everything out.”
Drake moved to the window as Stephanie's attention remained fixed on the glass. Giving her one last look he leaped out into the night. He could've been more heavy-handed with her. The strength of the blood bond he had with her would have allowed as much, but it would be interesting to see how she dealt with her awakening, and for someone of his age, keeping things interesting was critically important. Besides, in his experience fledglings adapted much better if they were allowed to come to terms with their new lives at their own pace.
Stephanie slumped down on her bed as the strange man left through her window. Her mind was awhirl with thoughts and questions, and the scent of his blood on the dresser was almost overwhelming.
Stephanie tried to make sense of what had just happened, of who the strange man was, and of what was happening to her, but she wasn't able to focus. Her attention kept drifting back to the gnawing thirst and the glass of warm blood sitting on her dresser. In a flash she was across the room, the glass of blood pressed to her lips. It happened before she was even consciously aware, the heady aroma filling her nose as her throat reflexively gulped down the blood. As she finished the blood her conscious mind reasserted itself. Overwhelmed with disgust and horror at what she'd just done she hurled the empty glass across the room to shatter against the wall.
Breathing hard, her heart still racing, she panted, “All right girl… get ahold of yourself… that was valuable evidence you just tossed across the room. You need to figure out what's going on.”
She could feel the fangs in her mouth, and she turned to the mirror on her dresser, opening wide with trepidation to see them reflected in it, red-stained and gruesome. “Okay. Vampires don't have reflections; I plainly have a reflection. Therefore, I am not a vampire. Q.E.D.,” she said aloud triumphantly. “Yes, Ms. Brown, your logic professor would be so proud. Back to the problem at hand.” Gingerly she poked one of her fangs with a thumb. She hissed as the fang cut deep into her thumb with barely any pressure. “Ouch, that's pretty real. Okay, there goes hallucination,” she said before sticking her thumb in her mouth. A moment later, she pulled it out as it had stopped hurting, and was shocked to see that the wound was now completely gone without a trace. “Okay, that's weird…. Like drinking a glass full of blood wasn't?” It was only then that it really sank in that she had been moving around freely and actively, and her ribs hadn't been hurting at all. Gingerly, she poked at her side; not even the barest twinge of pain.
She sighed as her eyes drifted over the pictures on her dresser, mostly pictures of her and her mother on vacation or her and Tim pretending to be normal teenagers, during the times when Tim had let them try and be a normal teenage couple. She'd asked him for space and honestly she’d needed it. Looking over the pictures, a knife of fear twisted in her gut as she remembered the Count’s words. …She refused to think of him as Dracula. There was no way he was Dracula, or that she was a vampire. But, she had to get this figured out, and she had to make sure she wouldn't hurt her friends in the process.
“All right girl, shower, then it's time to get some fresh air. Time to clear your head,” she said as she moved towards the bathroom, stripping out of her nightshirt and tossing it to the floor.
In the shower she'd unwrapped her bandages and confirmed that she was no longer injured. More than that, it was as though she had never been injured; there were no bruising or scars, no indication whatsoever that she'd had a thrashing a few nights earlier. Even some of her older scars were starting to fade.
The pieces were starting to fit together; of course, that didn't mean she liked the picture they were forming. The beast she'd fought the other night and the man who'd invaded her dreams and bedroom were the same person. It was the only thing that made sense; he had to be some sort of shape shifter, maybe like a werewolf. When he'd wounded her some of his tissue must have gotten embedded in her wounds, infecting her and changing her. Into what, she wasn't quite sure yet. Vampire still seemed likely, but she'd withhold judgment for now. The cultural obsession with vampires made that seem entirely too cliché for her taste.
The dreams were another matter, and they seemed to put another nail in the coffin of her case. She was remembering them more clearly now, a thousand cultures and times stretching from pre-civilized nomads through nineteenth century England, and all manner of nations and cultures in between. As her memories of the details returned, there was no question that he'd been a vampire in the dreams, or that she'd been one when she was at his side.
And then there was the matter of this psychic bond he’d mentioned. If she closed her eyes she could still feel him out there in the city and could have followed the bond straight to him; a part of her wanted to. She had no doubt that he could find her the same way. Hell, he'd already demonstrated he could. She'd have to assume that he could track her wherever she went, and there was no way of telling what else he could use the bond for. She couldn't go anywhere near the others; she couldn’t risk revealing them. She was already compromised, but fortunately Stephanie Brown had no connection to the Wayne family. She knew they would want to help her, but she couldn't let them, at least not yet. She needed to figure out what was happening on her own her first. Keep them at arm's length to keep them safe until she'd gotten a handle on things.
As she finished slipping on her batsuit Wendy's voice came over her com. “Just what do you think you're doing, Steph? Your biometrics just came online; you're still running a high fever, and do I really need to remind you that you broke four ribs less than seventy-two hours ago?”
“Yeah, I know,” she said, trying to wave off Wendy's concern. “I'm not going out on patrol, or anything,” she said, crossing her fingers. “I’m just going out for some fresh air; the extra structural support of the suit should help protect my ribs. I promise I'll check in in a bit. Don't worry.”
Of course Wendy was very worried; she hadn't known Stephanie for very long, but she'd started to be able to tell when Stephanie was trying to dodge around something. This was just the sort of thing Tim and Barbara had warned her to watch out for when they’d asked her to keep close tabs on Stephanie tonight. She'd been left to keep an eye on things tonight, with most of the bats busy at some Gotham masquerade fundraiser. “All right, Steph, I'll keep you on my monitors. Just don't do anything stup…” Wendy trailed off as the link to Stephanie's batsuit went dead. The signal reading across her monitors read, ‘radio silent mode engaged.’ “Shit,” Wendy cursed. “Why the hell would she go radio silent?” She immediately called Steph's cell phone. “Come on Steph, pick up.”
Stephanie had switched her suit into radio silent mode when Wendy mentioned tracking her. She couldn't afford to let them track her just yet, for the same reason she couldn't afford to let him track her to them. She needed to get a handle on things first, and she was feeling the thirst building inside her again. She ignored her ringing cell phone as she made her final adjustments to the suit.
Of course, Wendy made the phone pick up anyway. “Steph, what the hell are you doing? Don't be stupid. We're worried about you.”
“Sorry Wendy, I just need some time. I'll be in touch,” Steph said as she leapt out of her bedroom window.
“Wait, Steph, we need to talk. It's important,” Wendy called over the phone link. When Stephanie failed to respond, Wendy cursed, “Frak!” and ended the call. Opening another line she immediately called up Misfit. “Misfit it’s Proxy, Oracles’ assistant.” She absolutely refused to think of herself as Barbara's sidekick. “I need you to go pop in on Stephanie for me. If you're quick we can catch her before she's actually gone.”
“What?” Charlie asked with surprise. “I thought Steph was supposed to be lying sick in bed with some broken ribs. What’s she thinking, running off?”
“That's exactly what I'd like to know,” Wendy answered.
“I'm there,” Misfit said as she bounced into Stephanie's bedroom. “Hmmm, she's not here,” she said as she looked around the room. Walking over to the window and peering out, she said, “I don't see her outside. Not that spotting a bat is ever that easy.”
“Damn,” Wendy cursed again; this was not a good night for her. “Anything jump out at you in the bedroom? I'll send one of the detectives by later, but you might as well take a look around.”
“Hey, I can be all detectivy too,” she said with a clear pout in her voice. “…Well, she's definitely been here recently: a damp towel, sleeping clothes on the floor, and mussed bedsheets. …Huh, that's weird, it looks like she was standing on her bed. Hmmm.” Misfit peered more closely at the ground by the window, she could just make out the faint, damp impressions of a large man's shoe prints leading from the window to the dresser and then more faintly back. “Looks like she had a recent visitor. Did Batman come by?”
“No, I don't think so,” Wendy answered, a look of growing concern on her face. “He’s still busy elsewhere. What sort of visitor?”
“A man, big feet,” Charlie responded as she pulled out her camera. “I'll snap some high-res photos for you. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a match to some rare shoe.”
“Yeah, we can hope,” Wendy said. The fact that Stephanie had been visited by some man just before she took off was very troubling. “All right, noticed anything else, detective?”
“Actually, yeah,” Charlie said as she moved across the room for a closer look at what she spotted. “Looks like someone threw a glass against the wall and it shattered. It looks like it was mostly empty when it shattered, but there's a slight stain were it impacted. I'll try and collect a couple samples of the broken glass.” Misfit broke out tools from her utility belt and went to work carefully collecting glass fragments. “…Hopefully we'll be able to find her before anything happens to her.”
“Yeah, hopefully.” Wendy was now more worried than ever about her friend. She really did hope they’d be able to find Stephanie before anything terrible happened to her, but a sense that this was just the beginning was starting to creep over her.
And chapter 4
X-posted to:batfic justkeepstrying
Author/Artist: magusronin
Characters/Pairings: Dracula (Drake), Wendy Harris (Proxy), Stephanie Brown (Batgirl), Charlie Gage-Radcliffe (Misfit), Dracula/Steph,
Continuity: Comicsverse (DC Modern), Blade movieverse, AU Crossovers
Genre: AU, Superhero, Horror.
Rating: MA (Language, Sex, and adult themes)
Chapter summary: Dracula pops in for a visit with young Stephanie, leaving Charlie and Wendy to try and pick up the pieces.
Warnings: Character transformation, descriptions of sex, some vampire violence.
Spoilers: There will be references to major events in the recent DC Batman comic continuity, and spoilers from the Blade movies and series.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the major characters in this story, they are the property of DC and Marvel and their respective creators. No infringement of copy or creative rights is intended by this work. It is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit.
Word Count: 3300
Author’s Notes: I'm starting to take some creative liberties with Drake's character, but as this is predominantly a bat fic I doubt anyone will mind.
As always feedback is appreciated.
Special thanks to zolac_no_miko for her assistance Betaing this piece.
Chapter I: The Awakening
Chapter II: Recovering
Chapter III: Dark Horizon
Chapter IV: Turnings
I know the others don't want to admit to themselves what's actually going on, particularly with their friend. I'll do whatever's necessary, even if they can't bring themselves to.
To do:
1. Swing by the hardware store and collect wooden stakes
2. Go through the pantry to collect garlic cloves
3. Start digging around the Manor for silver crosses
The others will thank me for being prepared.
- Excerpt from the case files of Damien Wayne, Robin.
The dreams came again that night. They’d come every night since the attack, each more intense, more sensual than the last; each so real. Steph felt the hot wash of blood over her tongue as her teeth sank into the man's neck. The rush of euphoria as she drank his blood was electrifying, better than sex, and it went on and on. Finally the flow of blood trickled to a stop as the man's heart gave out, finally starved of oxygen. She let him fall limply to the ground as she turned to face her knight, her Lord. He'd been watching her feed, a faint, pleased smile playing across his lips. In each dream his face was slightly different, but it was ever the same man: dark, powerful, and simultaneously both young and ancient. His long legs carried him to her, and leaning down he licked the last traces of blood from her lips before kissing her passionately. As their tongues sparred their armor and clothing vanished, and the scene shifted around them in the way of dreams; now they stood pressed against each other in a large room with a roaring fire on the hearth. She felt him enter her as their bodies pressed tightly together, then his hand wrapped in her hair and he tilted her head roughly to the side, exposing her neck to his lips. Her whole body shook as his shaft lay buried in her depths and his lips caressed and massaged down her neck. Steph's back arched in ecstasy and her fingers dug into his shoulders as his fangs pierced her throat. The sensations seemed to go on and on forever before she finally sank into darkness.
Stephanie gasped as she sat up in bed, her hair tousled and her sweat-soaked nightshirt plastered against her chest. Her mouth was dry, and she was achingly thirsty. Reaching out for the glass of water on her nightstand she was surprised to realize that her ribs no longer ached at all. As her hand closed around the glass, a slight movement at the foot of her bed caught her eye. Startled, she spun with surprising speed and found herself standing on her bed facing a well-dressed man by her window. A window that was now open. She didn't know how she knew, but she was absolutely certain this was the same man from her dream. His height, his build, his dark features all matched the man from the dream that night, and more than that, it was almost as though she could feel him. She felt as though blindfolded and then spun in circles she could have still pointed directly at him.
“Hello my dear, welcome to your new world.” His voice was deep and powerful, hinting at his eons of wisdom and knowledge long lost to the world.
“Who are you? What… What have you done to me?” It was only as he spoke that Steph realized just how strange she felt. She could see perfectly in the dark room and there seemed to be an incessant rattle of all kinds of noises, but most of all she felt stronger and more alive then she’d ever felt. The lingering arousal from her dream focused on this gorgeous man wasn’t helping her thought process either. She was also thirsty, terribly thirsty. Taking what she knew was a foolish risk, she took a long gulp of water from the glass.
“That won't help,” he said, his lips curving into a gorgeous smile as he stepped further into her room, looking at the assorted photos on her nightstand.
“What do you mean? Help what?” Stephanie demanded after she finished gulping down the water. “Who the hell are you?”
“The water won’t quench your thirst,” he said, turning back to face Stephanie, his smile revealing a pair of long, razor-sharp incisors.
“So what are you supposed to be, Count Dracula or something? I suppose it is Halloween after all,” Stephanie mocked as she took a good look at the man. He was tall and built, at least as large as Bruce or Clark, and gorgeously handsome, though there was a darker cast his features. His hair was long, dark brown or black, and worn tied back in a ponytail.
He laughed deeply at her quip. “Well perhaps I am,” he said as his laughter quieted, and his lips curled once more into a sardonic smile.
“Okay Mr. Count, what the hell are you doing in my room? You pervert!” she yelled, still standing on her bed with the now empty glass in one hand as she considered how to best deal with the intruder.
“Let's just say, I was curious to learn just who I was mysteriously forming a bond with.” Drake had suspected, of course; Batgirls seemed to be only likely candidate. However, it was rather strange; in all his eons-long existence he couldn't remember turning anyone in quite that manner. Her scent and voice confirmed her identity without a doubt, and she was now a fully turned vampire. He wondered just how much of his abilities she'd inherited.
“What the hell are you talking about? What the fuck did you do to me?” She dropped into a more defensive stance on the bed as she shouted at him. She was glad her mother was out; she was raising enough of a racket, and she didn't want to get her involved in whatever this was about. If it came to a fight, this Dracula was standing between her and her suit and weapons. All she had at the moment was an empty glass, her hands and feet, and a thin cotton nightshirt-not the best tactical situation.
“You my dear girl-are now flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood: a vampire. I know you can feel it-the thirst. It must be building inside you; I'm surprised you've managed to be as composed as you are.” His tone was mocking as he continued to smile.
Stephanie couldn't conceal the shock, surprise, and confusion that played through her at the man's pronouncement. She had to admit she was unbelievably thirsty, but that didn't mean she would believe him. “Yeah right! Get out of my room right now!” she yelled as she hurled her glass at Dracula. The glass shot at him with far more speed and power than Stephanie had expected.
Drake easily caught the glass out of the air. “As you wish; I've satisfied my curiosity, Batgirl. I simply wished to offer my wisdom and guidance. It can be so psychologically traumatic if a young fledgling should find themselves feeding on those dear to them,” he said, motioning offhandedly with the glass to the pictures of Stephanie's friends and family on her dresser. “I'll leave momentarily, but first let me offer you something to tide you over.” To Stephanie's shock he sliced open the wrist of his free hand with his thumbnail, then allowed his blood to freely fill the glass he held in his other hand.
Stephanie's eyes had opened wide when he referred to her as Batgirl, but that and the flash of anger that came as he referred to her mother and friends were washed away as the scent of fresh blood filled the air. It was as though the most exquisite delicacy in the world had just been placed in front of her. Her mouth watered and she felt her teeth shift. Probing gingerly with her tongue she felt the sharp tips of fangs. It was all she could do to hold herself back as her attention was fixed on the red blood filling the glass.
“Huh. Impressive. You show remarkable restraint. I'm really quite impressed,” Drake said as he sat the glass of blood on her dresser. The wound to his wrist closed and healed without a mark as he licked the last drops of blood clean. “Think on what I said. When you come to terms with what you are now, I’ll seek you out again. You seem like an intelligent young woman. I'm sure you'll quickly figure everything out.”
Drake moved to the window as Stephanie's attention remained fixed on the glass. Giving her one last look he leaped out into the night. He could've been more heavy-handed with her. The strength of the blood bond he had with her would have allowed as much, but it would be interesting to see how she dealt with her awakening, and for someone of his age, keeping things interesting was critically important. Besides, in his experience fledglings adapted much better if they were allowed to come to terms with their new lives at their own pace.
Stephanie slumped down on her bed as the strange man left through her window. Her mind was awhirl with thoughts and questions, and the scent of his blood on the dresser was almost overwhelming.
Stephanie tried to make sense of what had just happened, of who the strange man was, and of what was happening to her, but she wasn't able to focus. Her attention kept drifting back to the gnawing thirst and the glass of warm blood sitting on her dresser. In a flash she was across the room, the glass of blood pressed to her lips. It happened before she was even consciously aware, the heady aroma filling her nose as her throat reflexively gulped down the blood. As she finished the blood her conscious mind reasserted itself. Overwhelmed with disgust and horror at what she'd just done she hurled the empty glass across the room to shatter against the wall.
Breathing hard, her heart still racing, she panted, “All right girl… get ahold of yourself… that was valuable evidence you just tossed across the room. You need to figure out what's going on.”
She could feel the fangs in her mouth, and she turned to the mirror on her dresser, opening wide with trepidation to see them reflected in it, red-stained and gruesome. “Okay. Vampires don't have reflections; I plainly have a reflection. Therefore, I am not a vampire. Q.E.D.,” she said aloud triumphantly. “Yes, Ms. Brown, your logic professor would be so proud. Back to the problem at hand.” Gingerly she poked one of her fangs with a thumb. She hissed as the fang cut deep into her thumb with barely any pressure. “Ouch, that's pretty real. Okay, there goes hallucination,” she said before sticking her thumb in her mouth. A moment later, she pulled it out as it had stopped hurting, and was shocked to see that the wound was now completely gone without a trace. “Okay, that's weird…. Like drinking a glass full of blood wasn't?” It was only then that it really sank in that she had been moving around freely and actively, and her ribs hadn't been hurting at all. Gingerly, she poked at her side; not even the barest twinge of pain.
She sighed as her eyes drifted over the pictures on her dresser, mostly pictures of her and her mother on vacation or her and Tim pretending to be normal teenagers, during the times when Tim had let them try and be a normal teenage couple. She'd asked him for space and honestly she’d needed it. Looking over the pictures, a knife of fear twisted in her gut as she remembered the Count’s words. …She refused to think of him as Dracula. There was no way he was Dracula, or that she was a vampire. But, she had to get this figured out, and she had to make sure she wouldn't hurt her friends in the process.
“All right girl, shower, then it's time to get some fresh air. Time to clear your head,” she said as she moved towards the bathroom, stripping out of her nightshirt and tossing it to the floor.
In the shower she'd unwrapped her bandages and confirmed that she was no longer injured. More than that, it was as though she had never been injured; there were no bruising or scars, no indication whatsoever that she'd had a thrashing a few nights earlier. Even some of her older scars were starting to fade.
The pieces were starting to fit together; of course, that didn't mean she liked the picture they were forming. The beast she'd fought the other night and the man who'd invaded her dreams and bedroom were the same person. It was the only thing that made sense; he had to be some sort of shape shifter, maybe like a werewolf. When he'd wounded her some of his tissue must have gotten embedded in her wounds, infecting her and changing her. Into what, she wasn't quite sure yet. Vampire still seemed likely, but she'd withhold judgment for now. The cultural obsession with vampires made that seem entirely too cliché for her taste.
The dreams were another matter, and they seemed to put another nail in the coffin of her case. She was remembering them more clearly now, a thousand cultures and times stretching from pre-civilized nomads through nineteenth century England, and all manner of nations and cultures in between. As her memories of the details returned, there was no question that he'd been a vampire in the dreams, or that she'd been one when she was at his side.
And then there was the matter of this psychic bond he’d mentioned. If she closed her eyes she could still feel him out there in the city and could have followed the bond straight to him; a part of her wanted to. She had no doubt that he could find her the same way. Hell, he'd already demonstrated he could. She'd have to assume that he could track her wherever she went, and there was no way of telling what else he could use the bond for. She couldn't go anywhere near the others; she couldn’t risk revealing them. She was already compromised, but fortunately Stephanie Brown had no connection to the Wayne family. She knew they would want to help her, but she couldn't let them, at least not yet. She needed to figure out what was happening on her own her first. Keep them at arm's length to keep them safe until she'd gotten a handle on things.
As she finished slipping on her batsuit Wendy's voice came over her com. “Just what do you think you're doing, Steph? Your biometrics just came online; you're still running a high fever, and do I really need to remind you that you broke four ribs less than seventy-two hours ago?”
“Yeah, I know,” she said, trying to wave off Wendy's concern. “I'm not going out on patrol, or anything,” she said, crossing her fingers. “I’m just going out for some fresh air; the extra structural support of the suit should help protect my ribs. I promise I'll check in in a bit. Don't worry.”
Of course Wendy was very worried; she hadn't known Stephanie for very long, but she'd started to be able to tell when Stephanie was trying to dodge around something. This was just the sort of thing Tim and Barbara had warned her to watch out for when they’d asked her to keep close tabs on Stephanie tonight. She'd been left to keep an eye on things tonight, with most of the bats busy at some Gotham masquerade fundraiser. “All right, Steph, I'll keep you on my monitors. Just don't do anything stup…” Wendy trailed off as the link to Stephanie's batsuit went dead. The signal reading across her monitors read, ‘radio silent mode engaged.’ “Shit,” Wendy cursed. “Why the hell would she go radio silent?” She immediately called Steph's cell phone. “Come on Steph, pick up.”
Stephanie had switched her suit into radio silent mode when Wendy mentioned tracking her. She couldn't afford to let them track her just yet, for the same reason she couldn't afford to let him track her to them. She needed to get a handle on things first, and she was feeling the thirst building inside her again. She ignored her ringing cell phone as she made her final adjustments to the suit.
Of course, Wendy made the phone pick up anyway. “Steph, what the hell are you doing? Don't be stupid. We're worried about you.”
“Sorry Wendy, I just need some time. I'll be in touch,” Steph said as she leapt out of her bedroom window.
“Wait, Steph, we need to talk. It's important,” Wendy called over the phone link. When Stephanie failed to respond, Wendy cursed, “Frak!” and ended the call. Opening another line she immediately called up Misfit. “Misfit it’s Proxy, Oracles’ assistant.” She absolutely refused to think of herself as Barbara's sidekick. “I need you to go pop in on Stephanie for me. If you're quick we can catch her before she's actually gone.”
“What?” Charlie asked with surprise. “I thought Steph was supposed to be lying sick in bed with some broken ribs. What’s she thinking, running off?”
“That's exactly what I'd like to know,” Wendy answered.
“I'm there,” Misfit said as she bounced into Stephanie's bedroom. “Hmmm, she's not here,” she said as she looked around the room. Walking over to the window and peering out, she said, “I don't see her outside. Not that spotting a bat is ever that easy.”
“Damn,” Wendy cursed again; this was not a good night for her. “Anything jump out at you in the bedroom? I'll send one of the detectives by later, but you might as well take a look around.”
“Hey, I can be all detectivy too,” she said with a clear pout in her voice. “…Well, she's definitely been here recently: a damp towel, sleeping clothes on the floor, and mussed bedsheets. …Huh, that's weird, it looks like she was standing on her bed. Hmmm.” Misfit peered more closely at the ground by the window, she could just make out the faint, damp impressions of a large man's shoe prints leading from the window to the dresser and then more faintly back. “Looks like she had a recent visitor. Did Batman come by?”
“No, I don't think so,” Wendy answered, a look of growing concern on her face. “He’s still busy elsewhere. What sort of visitor?”
“A man, big feet,” Charlie responded as she pulled out her camera. “I'll snap some high-res photos for you. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a match to some rare shoe.”
“Yeah, we can hope,” Wendy said. The fact that Stephanie had been visited by some man just before she took off was very troubling. “All right, noticed anything else, detective?”
“Actually, yeah,” Charlie said as she moved across the room for a closer look at what she spotted. “Looks like someone threw a glass against the wall and it shattered. It looks like it was mostly empty when it shattered, but there's a slight stain were it impacted. I'll try and collect a couple samples of the broken glass.” Misfit broke out tools from her utility belt and went to work carefully collecting glass fragments. “…Hopefully we'll be able to find her before anything happens to her.”
“Yeah, hopefully.” Wendy was now more worried than ever about her friend. She really did hope they’d be able to find Stephanie before anything terrible happened to her, but a sense that this was just the beginning was starting to creep over her.
And chapter 4
X-posted to:batfic justkeepstrying