(A/N: Wrote while eating a Lunchable. I don't own Batman Beyond. Dana-lovers, do not read. You will hate me. Firefly out!)
Prologue
The streets were too quiet to belong to Metropolis and the teen girl hugged her arms. It was raining, but she didn't mind. She liked the rain.
A sound caught her ears and she stopped. Through the sounds of drops hitting pavement, laughter echoed. It was creepy. Almost like a predator. The teen shivered and continued to walk, albeit faster than before.
Just go home, she thought. Go home; walk past Donald and up to your room. Maybe Sarah's out with that guy from the store again.
She heard that laugh again and took off running. If she found someone, maybe they could help her. She turned the corner and stopped. Dead end ally. Just her luck.
"What's the matter, my dear?" a sickly sweet man's voice asked. She whipped around and gasped. He toward over her small frame. White hair hung in wet clumps about his angular face and made him look all the more menacing. Red eyes glowed in the soft light coming from the street.
"Could it be that you were running from me?" he quizzed. He tisked before slamming his hand on her throat, pushing her against the wall. Before she could scream, the man sank his, fangs?, into her jugular.
A vampire? she thought. I thought they were just stories. Her world started to go dark. They say your life flashes before your eyes as you die. And she saw her sad, pathetic life fly by; life as an orphan, being bounced around from one foster home to another, hoping and praying for someone to love her.
Just as she started to go cold, the man dropped her.
"You were quite marvelous, my dear," he cooed. His voice was merely a whisper in her ears. "But I'm afraid that, as this is not my territory to hunt, I must leave. Ciao."
And he was gone, three quarters of her blood in his stomach. She stayed there staring but seeing nothing. Her heart refused to stop beating. There were still things she wanted to do; fly over the rooftops like Superman, find her family, maybe even love along the way.
"Jones was here," a voice said. It was male, but maybe a teenager. "He drained her." Someone's here! her mind screamed. Make a noise, dammit! A soft grunt left her throat. But even it was barely audible to her ears. No way the other guy could hear it.
"What the…" he said again and he got closer. "Holy Hell, she's still alive!" Two hands held her head up to look at him. All she could make out about him was that he was black. "What do I do? What do I do?" he mumbled. "No, I can't do that… I know she'll die, but…"
Her hearing started to falter then. Do it! she screamed in her head. Whatever it is, just do it! Something pressed up against her lips and a liquid slid down her throat. It was warm and tasted coppery. Blood? the girl thought.
Slowly, her sight and hearing started to come back. "Drink," the teenaged guy whispered. "It will give you new life. Ohh, Mother is not going to be happy about this."
Warmth started to engulf her insides. Steadily, it grew hotter and hotter. It was starting to become uncomfortable. "It will hurt for a bit," he said. "But you strike me as a human who is stronger than most."
He picked her up bridal style and walked at a slow pace back home. He hoped she would be past the Point of No Return when they got there.