Forgotten Past
By Hopelessly Devoted666
This was inspired by the movie, "Vampire in Brooklyn."
M for language and mature themes.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or its characters, which I'm sure all of you already know.
'italics' Means thoughts
"…." Means speaking
Chapter 1
The victim ran breathlessly down the dark alley. Her eyes wandering desperately trying to find some sort of assistance, a refuge from her dark enemy, the very enemy who could take the life from her body in one fluent motion.
Time was ticking and yet nothing had happened since their first encounter. The twinkle in his eye, how it danced with admiration and some other feeling that she couldn't recognize. She didn't want to notice or decipher it; his smile wiped away all cautions, all fears…
How could she be so stupid? She scolded herself for the lack of responsibility and promised to never speak to strangers if she could only get out this situation.
Soon she realized she couldn't hear any other footsteps but hers. She stopped to search behind her; the street was empty, which was rare in the city. It was abnormally quiet, but being in the state she was in, she was too relieved to even catch the shadow that lingered along the walls of the building.
He stared at her, his violet eyes flashing hunger and lust. Stepping out of his hiding place, he looked at her dishevelled state. He really worked a number on her. The silk dress that hugged her figure before was now shredded cloth that hung from her body, barely covering her sexuality. The purse she carried before was long gone, abandoned on one of the many streets that formed the maze of the city; along with the only technology of the century that could help… Her cell phone.
Her back was facing him. This was yet another advantage to him, not like he needed it; it was obvious who was going to win this fight.
He smirked, "Looking for something?"
She spun around and came face to face with her attacker,
"…or is it someone?"
Her eyes widened as she witnessed his face disfigure and change, his eyes no longer light blue, were now a glowing hazel red with a set of sharp fangs as an addition to his perfect white teeth.
She screamed but the sound didn't go far from her lips as his hand enveloped her mouth. He threw her trembling body to the cold concrete. She thrashed at him and pleaded, but her actions just made him more amused.
"I love this city. No one can hear you scream."
He grabbed her hand and brought a finger to his lips. He kissed it and teased it with his tongue. It wasn't until every finger was sucked when he decided to move to her wrist.
"You sick pervert! No one will give themselves to you, so you settle for rape!" she cried.
His fangs punctured her skin making her shout out in pain or was it shock? She couldn't register which one she felt at the moment.
"It is not your body I want my sweet. What I desire is the blood in which flows through it."
With a smile he attacked her neck, draining her completely of blood.
Another solitary figure stepped out from the shadows.
"Was it her?" the figure stood up from the corpse that was his dinner.
Taking a white cloth from his pocket, he began to blot his mouth free from the excess plasma from his kill.
"Do you think she would be dead if it was, idiot?" he commented.
Sascha bowed his head in embarrassment,
"When I do find her, I will not kill her. No..." he whispered hoarsely, "...she becomes one of us."
When his partner said no more he turned to him, "Do you want the remainder of what's left?" he asked gesturing to the girl.
"No, I've already eaten."
Malchior extended a fingernail to pick out whatever residue that got between his teeth.
"Who knew such a petite woman could have so much zest," he said nonchalantly as he and his follower left the scene to return to their lair, the sun would be rising soon and they couldn't be there to see it.
&&&&&&&&&&
"Taxi!" She screamed, waving her arms frantically to the yellow cab that was coming toward her, she stopped once she realized her coffee was spilling.
"Damn," she muttered as she tried to shake the coffee from her hands and wipe the cup that had the hot liquid running down its sides.
The driver of the taxi saw this shook his head and pushed on the accelerator, refusing her obvious attempt to get a ride. He wasn't in any mood whatsoever to clean up after his customers.
"That's the fifth one….I give up!" she said, throwing her purse over her shoulder in annoyance almost hitting the dark haired person standing behind her.
"Maybe you should show a little leg," he whispered in her ear. Flipping her violet hair over her shoulder, she turned and gave him a glare.
The two stood on the corner of 57th street trying to get a taxi. The two constantly ran into each other on a regular basis so today wasn't any different from the others. Holding their hot coffees, they walked out of Starbucks and onto the street, which is where they were at that moment still trying to get a taxi.
"Well I don't see you doing anything to help, so unless you strip to show off the fat that you gained in the past month, shut up!"
"Hey! Have you seen me naked? Because in a scale from one to ten, I'm an eleven..." He said with a grin playing on his lips as he picked nonexistent lint off his shirt. "...Besides the majority of the drivers are male, in case you haven't noticed."
An amused brow lifted as she turned to him,
"Well, the majority of the city's population is homosexual, in case you haven't noticed."
To prove her point he followed her gaze to two men who were engrossed in a heated kiss, and it didn't look like they were separating anytime soon. He turned his attention back to his lavender-eyed partner to see her staring at him,
"What? I'm not the one kissing him."
She took a deep breath waving down another passing taxicab, having the same result as it sped passed and turned the corner.
"Stupid, worthless piece of biased PRICK!" she shouted after it waving a clenched fist.
Many people stared at her outburst, wondering who she was screaming at. The rest ignored her and continued to their intended destinations some of the women's gazes landing on the admirable raven-haired male standing next to the violet-haired woman. They gaped at him curiously with lust.
He, of course, noticed this...it wouldn't be the first time.
When one of the women started to gesture to him he cursed his handsome features and wished a runaway bus would run him over. Fortunately his companion noticed and scowled at the brown-eyed beauty, who was licking her lips seductively. He shrugged at her response feigning indifference.
"Women just can't resist my magnetic charm."
She frowned, "that's not the only thing magnetic right now." She said indicating the slight bulge in his pants. He turned away from her to hide the blush that was slowly creeping onto his face. He thanked the Man above that she didn't know for who the arousal was for.
"Here, hold this." She said giving him her cup of coffee. He didn't think much of it until screeching tires filled the Manhattan air.
"Raven!"
The dark woman stood in the street with her hands stretched out in front of her demanding the offending cab driver to stop.
"Hey lady! Get out of the street!" he yelled, sticking his head through the window.
"Why thank you for stopping." she said sweetly ignoring his scowl.
Grabbing the handle of the door, she turns back to her agape friend.
"Richard? Are you coming? Or are you going to just stand there all day?" he snapped out of his state of shock in time to grab the door before it closed.
"Are you crazy!" he yelled.
She waved her hand absently, "Yes, from standing on the sidewalk trying to get a damn cab!...It stopped right?"
Once the cab began moving, Raven voiced the directions to the driver. "The Daily Globe on Park Avenue." she said dryly. "And don't try to be slick and take shortcuts! I know this city like the back of my hand, trust me there aren't any," she hissed to the already irritated driver as he cursed under his breath, but luckily wasn't heard by the cab's occupants.
Richard looked at the annoyed woman with an amused frown, "So I see you're not a morning person."
She made a disgusted face at the raven-haired man beside her and took a long sip from the cup that held the bitter tasting liquid inside.
"I guess not," he said, turning his attention to the busy people walking the sidewalks trying to get to their destinations on time.
"I didn't get a chance to have a cup before I left my apartment, so I'm a little grouchier than usual. Ok?"
He looked at her dumbfounded, "wait you have coffee at home? So why do you always buy a cup at Starbucks every morning?" he asked.
"Because I know someone who works there and he gives me discounts." She answered with a smile, boasting the information in his face.
'God, this girl is beautiful' he thought to himself.
She saw him turn away quickly, but before she could ask him what was the matter the cab pulled to a stop in front of the building that read 'The Daily Globe' in big white letters. They split the fare and made their way into the building that would lead them to their jobs.
They stepped out of the elevator and walked to their desks, which faced one another, with a Computer screen on top of both amongst scattered pens and papers. They immediately took their seats when a tall, bald African-American man came into view
"Hey guys! No need to pretend you're working because I saw you two just walk in not too long ago if I'm not mistaken."
Raven looked up at him with her innocent, amethyst eyes, "Why what ever do you mean Victor?"
Richard turned to his old friend with a grin playing at his lips "We've been here for about an hour now."
Victor raised a dubious eyebrow, "Yeah ok! You guys better be glad you are my best reporters or I'd give you desk duty for a month."
Raven scrunched her face at the words desk duty she hated being at her desk when there was action going on the city, which was everyday.
Raven Roth and Richard Grayson have been partners for almost a year. They got along now, but before they couldn't stand each other, that was when Raven had transferred from The Inquirer.
Richard felt that the magazine was sleazy and made false presumptions, but Raven assured him (using colorful words that made everyone on the room blush) that her columns were the truth.
The sexual attraction between the two was obvious, but they constantly denied it. Basically Richard felt that he didn't need a partner and Raven didn't want to work with an egotistical, pompous ass were her exact words.
Of course they had their moments, but it was mainly teasing.
"Well I just came by to give you these tickets to that ball that's going on over in the Empire State building, I want you two to give me details because it's going out in Monday's issue..." he said sliding the tickets over to them, "... Now I want you guys to go over on 44th and I need you two to cover a homicide, get as much details as you possibly can."
"Get moving before someone else gets a hold of this story!" he snapped when they didn't move.
Raven took in a deep breath, "But I didn't even finish my coffee," she said.
"You can finish it when you get back." Richard jumped out of his seat
"Oh no! She is going to bring it with her." Victor gave him questioning look, "Have you been with this woman when caffeine is not in her system? A nightmare." Raven slapped him playfully on his arm.
"Shutup! Let's go before I hurt you." As the elevator doors closed, Victor gave a little chuckle,
"One of these days those two are going to step into an elevator and not going to come out. Good thing we have cameras in there, I wouldn't want to miss any action."
They advanced outside to begin the same routine they did just that morning.
"Taxi!" Raven waved to an approaching cab, but like before, the driver pushed the accelerator, passing by her without any hesitation.
"Not again." she slumped
Snickering gained her attention as her partner came into view, before he could say one word, she lifted her hand to silence him.
"Don't even say it."
"But….,"
She interrupted him once again, "You better not say it."
A smile formed on his face, "You should show a little leg."
She frowned, "It would be so much easier! When the guys see these legs..." with his he tried to lift up her long skirt. She slapped his hand away.
"Grayson! You're dead!"
All anyone could hear was the sound of laughter and running feet as the dark woman chased him down the street.
&&&&&&&&&&&
Police officers surrounded the yellow tape that enclosed the space where the victim once laid. In the victim's place was a white outline of what was there before she was removed. Curiosity grew as the citizens stood at bay gawking at the scene, many of course, asked questions, hoping that the officers would answer, but they just shook there heads and asked them politely to leave the scene.
This was how Raven and Richard found the location, it wasn't hard to miss five police cars and a crowd that continued to grow throughout the hour. They spotted a cop writing something in a pad just out of bounds from the yellow tape, "Go see if you can get any information from him," Richard softly ordered.
"Why? Because I'm a woman?"
He nodded, "The thought has crossed my mind."
She rolled her eyes and advanced over to him while putting every emphasis in her walk as her hips swayed seductively from side to side. Richard couldn't help but feel hypnotized by her movement
'Snap out of it Grayson, this is Raven for God sakes' he berated himself on his lack of concentration and watched the scene with Raven and the officer.
"Hello officer," she said to him. She watched him turn and saw how his eyes wandered over her body appreciatively
"Hello. Why is a pretty young thing like yourself in this area of such dire circumstances?" she almost frowned at his reaction, but this was her job and she needed the information.
"I just wanted to know what happened." She said with a smile.
"A young woman was murdered, last night I presume, nothing serious." He answered with a wave of his hand, obviously not interested in the topic brought up.
'Just great, not only is this cop a pig, but he's insincere'
"Well if it's nothing major then why are there so many cops?" she asked.
"Well we don't want this to get out to those annoying reporters." She wanted to laugh in his face and show him her ID
'I'm definitely going to enjoy this'
"Could you tell me her name? I might have known her." He shrugged,
"I don't know her name yet. Her purse was found about a block from here, but I haven't been through it personally, but she was 5'7" with auburn hair and brown eyes."
She pretended to make a look that seemed like she was concentrating on the person's identity, "I'm afraid I don't know anyone by that description."
Raven knew that the information that he gave her was basically all he had of his knowledge and decided that it was time for her to go.
"Well thank you for your time, but I must be going."
She turned to walk away from the scene, "Wait! Can I call you sometime?" he asked with a wink.
She frowned openly at his request, "Sorry, but I'm already seeing someone."
She pointed to the ebony haired male across the street. The officer looked disappointed as she made her journey over to her lover.
When Raven reached him, Richard asked the question that was irking him, "Why did you point to me?"
She smiled, "Well to him, you're my boyfriend." His eyebrows furrowed,
"He hits on you and so you point to the most irresistible male on the street? Very good." She rolled her eyes at his antics, but she realized that the cop was still watching her. With a mischievous smile, she took a hold of Richard's hand.
"Come now sweetie, this is neither the time nor the place to be flirting." She said and pulled him down to her and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Richard could only stare at her with wide eyes,
"What the…," before he could finish, Raven began dragging him in the opposite direction from the crime scene.
"Come on, they probably took her down for observation. The place is just three blocks away, we can walk."
&&&&&&&&&&&
The two reporters stood outside the centre arguing about who was going to go in. "I flirted with that officer last time! It's your turn buddy!"
He did not want to flirt inside a morgue, the idea just gave him the creeps, "The doctor is female and there is no way in hell I'm flirting with someone of the same sex. Now go! You don't have to flirt…just pretend you're another doctor…be creative."
As he made his way inside, he couldn't help but think how she always got him into situations similar to this one. He never was this sneaky before she became his partner; he always got his stories by good old-fashioned research. Albeit he had to admit, his work was more exciting with her around, she was stubborn and always determined to get what she wanted… the truth.
Together they solved more cases than the NYPD in one, in his eyes they should have gotten awards for their handy work, but they were branded as reporters and because of that, they weren't treated with respect.
Richard walked up to the desk where a brown haired woman sat, typing on the computer. As soon as her green eyes met his cerulean, she smiled, batting her eyelashes, hoping for some attention from the mysterious man.
'Oh here we go' his mind sighed.
"What can I do to help you today, sir?" He looked past her shoulder and caught a glimpse of a white coat; he needed to get her away from the desk to get to it.
"Is your name perhaps, Stephanie?" she nodded with a smile, not even realizing that her name was on the nametag attached to her shirt.
"A doctor down the hall asked me to get you, he needs your help."
'Please buy it'
She gasped softly and quickly ran down one of the halls to see the imaginary doctor who called for her help. Richard grabbed the coat and headed in the direction of the morgue. Passing through the twin doors, he stepped into the room that held the dead body on the table in front of him.
"Um excuse me, but no one is allowed down here," a voice suddenly said.
Richard turned to meet a blonde.
He took a quick glance at her nametag then he put his skills to work.
"Dr. Makov, I presume." She nodded.
"I'm Dr. Grayson, I just wanted to know some information about the victim." She wasn't really in the mood today to interrogate anyone, he seemed nice, so putting on her glasses; she walked over to the victim and pulled back the sheet.
"Well the person who did this, must be some sick psycho."
He walked over to her, "Why do you say that, doctor?" She smiled,
"Tara, if you don't mind." He nodded approvingly.
"You see, these punctures in her wrist are identical to the markings on her neck, two holes; same distance between each." He examined her wrist and neck to find the markings she referred to,
"It looks as if she was killed with one of those long forks."
Tara took off her glasses and turned her complete attention back to the 'doctor.' "It seems that way, but it's not." He looked at her with a confused expression,
"I don't understand." She walked back to her desk and picked up a chart "Her body was completely drained of blood."
He grabbed the chart from her hands, "How is that possible? What did the murderer do? Use a vacuum of some kind?" he asked no longer in character.
"I honestly don't know. If it was possible, then she should have been dead days before anyone found her, but her death was calculated to be just yesterday." She said rubbing her temples. She couldn't take anymore weird and unexplainable deaths; this was the third victim that same month.
Richard saw the look on her face and figured that she knew more then she was telling.
"Tell me doctor have there been anymore victims with these same markings?"
"Actually, there has. Two others like this one, same punctures in the neck and again, both found completely drained of blood."
He furrowed his brows trying to comprehend the new found information, "Why hasn't this ended up in the 10 o'clock news or any of the newspapers?" she shrugged,
"I was told that whatever is discovered in this room remains in this room, no questions asked."
She turned around to answer the ringing phone, "Dr. Makov." She answered.
Silence filled the air, as she listened to the woman on the other end explain about the trespasser walking the halls posing as a doctor. Tara immediately knew whom Stephanie was talking about. Hanging up the phone, she was prepared to face the false doctor but found the room empty; besides herself, there wasn't anyone else there.
"Great! I hope that information doesn't get out or else my ass is in trouble."