Truth, Justice, and a… Vampire?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or other settings etc. in this story besides Selene, her father, and anyone else that is not owned by DC, even though I wish I did.
Chapter 2
I stirred from my blackened state to find my hands bound above my head in some sort of chain. I tried to wiggle them free, but they were too tight. Now, I know, I could snap these things in an instant, but I like to make people think they caught me, and then jump them at the last second. Quite nice aren't I? So I just sat there, slumped against the wall with my hands above my head like I was about to dive into an Olympic swimming pool. Only in my mind, it was an Olympic-sized swimming pool… full of blood. Yum.
My head jerked up at the sound of a door sliding open then closed in the vicinity of my cell. I dropped my head again, pretending to be asleep, as I heard keys being lifted off a hook on the wall. I listened intently as near silent footsteps came closer and closer, the key way inserted into the lock, all the gears inside turning as the key did, the sliding of the opening door, and the slamming of it. Something knocked at my left foot. I looked up to see the one known as Flash nudging my foot with his. A snarl ripped from my throat and he took a step back with his hands up before him.
"Whoa now, easy there." He said. It frustrated me that I couldn't see his face. I relied on that sometimes to tell what people are really feeling if I can't get a hand on them. Obviously I couldn't do that now.
I wiggled my hands, making the chains jingle.
"Why are you keeping me chained up?" My voice was flooded with loathing and malice. I wondered how obvious it was to him that I was pissed off.
"Umm… I guess it's a priority. Kind of like a quarantine. I just followed the rules. And don't think you can break out of those so easily. Even Superman can't do that." He rubbed the back of his head as he spoke. He didn't seem to know what to say.
"Superman..."I mumbled under my breath. Whoever the Hell that was. " No one follows the rules these days, Motor Mouth." I said as I pulled my knees up before me, staring him in the face.
I frowned at him. Normally my whole telepathic mind control business would have worked, but I couldn't see his eyes. This frustrated me. He just stood there with his arms folded across his chest, leaning to one side, completely relaxed.
I'd show him.
I jiggled my restraints again. "Don't just stand there!" I yelled. "Get these God damned pieces of crap off me!" I pulled against them weakly, making it seem as though I really was stuck.
Boy. I guess I could I put on an act, because he actually listened.
"I don't see why not. It's probably not your fault that you're stuck up here." His words made me freeze for a split second as he squatted next to me, trying to look into my eyes for a moment, then stuck the key into the lock. After a few seconds of fidgeting with it, I felt the cuffs begin to give and my thoughts of what he could have possibly meant halted. My hands flew apart, sending metal parts flying. My first instinct took over. I jumped at him, pinning him to the ground. I felt my mouth open, upper lip draw back, and my fangs were fully extended.
I wish I could have seen his face. He struggled against me, but that was pointless. All it did was strengthen my instinct; the instinct of chase. The prey runs and predator gives way to chase. I didn't know how long it had been since I had my last meal, so I lifted my hands and he was gone in a flash. A deep growl arose in my chest as I took off after him.
The hunt had begun.
I could feel his pulse beating in my head which only made me more enthused. I didn't even blink as the world of gray metal rushed past me. My feet felt as if they weren't touching the floor at all. I loved this feeling. Always have, always will.
I sped along at an easy pace. Well, easy for me. Most couldn't even run half, OK, not even a fourth or an eighth the speed at which I was now traveling. I guessed I was practically invisible considering others didn't so much as flinch as I dashed past them. I was like a cat. A large, lethal, two-legged, fur-less cat. Like… a panther… no… a tiger! A cheetah! That was what I was.
My blood red eyes strained, focused on my target. Despite the blurred world around me, everything was in front of me was perfectly clear. Anything that I should have crashed into came into focus with enough time fore me to dodge out of its way. I think it should have moved out of my way.
My pointed ears perked as the sound of ragged breathing crossed them. I was gaining on my prey. How thrilling. I haven't hunted for… I have no idea. I didn't even know what year this was. Oh well. That didn't matter at the moment. I made a mental note to ask later. It's kind of funny how I have time to think about all of these things. The adrenaline seems to slow time, seriously. Not like time mattered to me anymore. I guess you could say time doesn't exist with me. I still like to celebrate my birthday, however.
Next thing I knew there was a flash of red and yellow before me. I thought it was my own reflection at first considering I was wearing one of his outfits. I could feel my legs curl automatically as the tiger would curl upon his haunch to pounce his prey. I pushed off hard and my arms wrapped around his waist in a NFL-worthy tackle. He was sent tumbling to the floor and somehow, when we stopped moving, I was flat out on top of him.
Talk about awkward.
I sprung up, my hands pinning his wrists down above him, and my knee hovering just above his… well you know what I'm talking about.
We looked up as we heard someone clearing their throat in front of me.
"Flash..." That was all Bat Boy said. His voice indicated that he clearly wasn't happy. I love how all the blame went on the red man. The fact made me laugh slightly.
"She… but… I… Batman..." Flash stuttered. "She actually caught up to me."
"About time someone came to teach you a lesson. But that won't get you out of punishment for letting her go." He said, and then turned to me. "Let him up." He demanded. I snarled at him, my lip automatically pulling back.
"You will just lock me up again. And I will get out again. You can't restrain me."
He pondered my anger-filled words for a moment.
"Alright." He finally said after what seemed like forever. Not like they really know what that is. "You may remain free on three conditions."
I nodded once.
"One, you must control yourself. Two, you have to listen to us, or at least me. And three, don't eat Flash. Or anyone else for that matter." I nodded, agreeing to each. He nodded as well. "Now let him up. You are free to roam as you please. And Flash, I will be having a word with you later." I released his wrists and he wiggled out from underneath me.
We both stood and he dusted himself off. For the first time, I realized I, or we, had attracted a decent sized crowd. I definitely wasn't used to that. With a huff I shrank into the shadows. He would probably regret that last "free to roam as you please" part.
I watched as Flash told all who asked about his recent squabble and as the crowd slowly disappeared.
I felt the smirk spread across my face as the crowd completely vanished and Flash was left alone. I followed him as he left the room. Walking just a silent step behind him, I matched my step to his; from the swing of his arms, to the bob of his head, to the length of his stride. I couldn't help but smile as the others that so happened to see giggled as we passed them.
I slipped behind Flash's back as he swiftly turned around. I was quicker than he, so he wouldn't see me. That was until we walked down a hall that was lined on one side with windows. He glanced at his reflection and jumped away from me.
"What are you- Stop following me!" He yelled, pressing himself against the wall.
"No need to yell. I can hear you perfectly fine."
"And you don't need to go around stalking people."
"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings."
"Well I'm sorry. I was just tackled to the ground by a vampire. Something like that doesn't exactly happen every day around here."
"Maybe you should-"
"I don't want to hear it!" He put his hands over his ears and began walking down the hall again. I put my hands over my ears and copied his exact moves.
"Stop that!" He turned around and made a shooing motion with his hands.
I took a step back.
"Further! As in the other side of the universe!"
"That was just flat out rude."
"You tackling me was flat out rude!"
"You were the one that made me hunt you down."
"How was I the-" He cut himself off. "Oh never mind. I don't want to hear it."
"So what year is this?" The mental note just flashed before me.
"2012." I must have looked pretty shocked because he waved a hand in my face. I snapped at it, seeing the blood pulsing under his skin. He yanked his hand back just before I latched onto it. Maybe I wasn't as fast as I thought. "Watch it!"
"Sorry. I just… I can't believe it."
"What?"
"It's really 2012?" He nodded.
"So? What of it?"
"That would make me…" I paused to count. "That would make me 591 years. About. I was born in the middle of 1421."
Now it was his turn to look shocked. "How long were you in that box?"
"Box? Uhm, well... It was the year 1917 when they caught me. They must have stuffed me into whatever box you are talking about then. Just don't ask." I said that last part because I could see the question beginning to form on his lips. He nodded once, looking like he wanted to ask anyways, but instead turned to continue his walk down the hall. I walked beside him this time.
"So… where are we going?" I said nonchalantly
"I am going to my room." He obviously didn't want me to follow. But still…
"Oh goodie! I can grab my clothes then. And you can have your goon suit back."
He frowned at the goon part, probably wondering how I got into his room in the first place, but otherwise kept silent. We kept walking for a while. I knew we could have ran, but oh well. I didn't know where we were going. Then he stopped before a door. It looked exactly like all the others. I didn't understand how he could tell this was his room until I noticed the shiny strip screwed onto the wall that read Flash. Now I understood.
He typed in the code on the keypad. His fingers were a blur, but I still caught the digits and drilled them into my brain. A light on the pad flashed green and I heard a faint clicking noise. Then the door slid open to allow us both to enter. I looked down at my clothes that littered the floor as the door slid shut behind us.
"Hey what are you doing?" He said as I peeled off the mask then began to pull the suit down. I paused with it over my shoulders, one arm already out of the sleeve.
"What does it look like? I'm changing."
"You can't just…" He snorted as he flopped onto his bed, folded his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling. I continued my task of stripping the tight fabric off.
I could feel his gaze turn to me as I undressed in the corner, but I didn't care. His pulse quickened slightly as his suit slid to the floor. I could feel it as if it was my own.
I stood there, facing the corner, in my silk panties. That was it. You don't wear a bra with a corset. I bent down to pull up my breeches, then fastened them in place. Slowly, I bent down to pick up my black corset. I knew this must be agonizing for him. Most normal guys just about fainted when I walked in front of them. I was dressing in front of this one. Then again, he wasn't exactly normal. It seemed that no one in this hunk of metal was. Straightening, I slid the corset into place and stood straight. I began to attempt to put the laces back into their grommets when I felt a sudden hot wave of air brush over my cold skin.
"I've got it." His voice seemed so calm for how fast his pulse was racing. I glanced back with a slight smile on my face. I turned back, pulling my waist length blue-black hair out of the way of his working fingers. Despite the speed that he possessed, he worked extremely slowly. I guessed he was enjoying this. Actually, so was I.
Next thing I knew, my hair was being pulled back behind me. I stood patiently as he braided my hair and then tied it off with a crimson ribbon that I had tucked into the waistband of my leather pants. I noticed how his pulse had slowed back to normal as well. He mind wasn't racing either for that matter. I was slightly shocked.
He grabbed my hand and turned me around. I barely had to glance up to meet his masked eyes. He must have been about six foot two. I was five foot nine. We remained silent as we stared. Luckily he was wearing his mask of I could have taken over. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable when he tugged me toward his bed. I slid onto it, folding my legs Indian style.
"Stay here." He told me. I pouted. "I'll be right back." I'm not sure if I believed him, but then again, he did sleep here. I knew for a fact that he would have to sleep. Unlike me.
I pulled myself against the wall and stared at the closet across from his bed. He had hung the suit up as well. I bet he would have stood there smelling it if I wasn't in the room. I thought I smelled pretty good. Like something that had bathed in a cherry tree. I shifted my gaze over to the glowing box on the small table next to his bed. The numbers read 3:47am. Oh yeah, he'll come back. The letters below the numbers focused into June 16th. That would mean my birthday is just around the corner! OK, now I was excited.
I would have been jumping on his bed if he hadn't of came back.
I heard the faint click and my head swung dramatically toward the door. The one known as Batman strode in and I felt my face crease into a very unhappy scowl, then to a furious snarl. I softened a bit when Flash walked in behind him.
"Look at her Flash! She can't stay in your room, even if it is your job to watch her now!" OK I figured out what he had left for. It must have been a quick conversation.
"She's not going to eat me Batman. I found this." He held up my black bag. I held out my hands with a squeak and he placed it into them. They watched as I unzipped the bag and pulled out a single pouch about the size of a CapriSun, maybe a bit larger. I stabbed a straw into the top and sucked away. I watched there faces contort as they watched me, the thick red liquid being sucked up the clear straw, into my mouth, and down my throat. I glanced at the empty pouch before I placed it back into my bag. This one read O+. My personal favorite, if I had to choose.
"You see."
"And what will happen when she runs out?"
"I… I'm not-"
"I eat raw meat too." I chimed in. They turned to me, disgusted. I shrugged.
"There, Batman. She won't be eating people." Batman stayed silent for a long moment. Seriously, five minutes passed. I watched the clock.
I saw Flash relax nearly completely as the Bat sighed.
"Alright. She can stay. But if anything happens to you-"
"Yeah, yeah, don't come to you because you warned me." Batman nodded, glanced at me, then left the room with a toss of his black cape.
"A bit over-reactive isn't he."
"You're telling me. I have to live with that bucket of sunshine." I stifled a laugh.
"And now you just want to get some sleep. I can feel it." I pointed to the bed with a stiff arm. "It's bed time, now." I commanded and he obeyed. Just the way I like it. He shut the light off and I held up the blanket as he climbed underneath after kicking his boots off.
"You're not going to change? That looks pretty uncomfortable." He shook his head as he lay down on his back, hands folded behind his head.
"Selene, correct?"
"Selene Miran Clandestine Pierce. Yes."
"Alright, Selene. How did you get in that box?" He seemed a little awkward while asking his question. Maybe he wasn't sure if it would upset me. It did, but I answered anyways. And I didn't know why.
"It was World War One. My father, Captain Quincy Harker Pierce, had recently been appointed Captain of the some of the German lines. I knew the soldiers thought well of him. I could read their minds as well as hear them whispering amongst each other at night as I walked the trenches. None of them could understand why I was there, but Father had a plan. He planned to use me against enemy lines." I felt him shift as is he couldn't believe what I was saying. I kept talking anyways, my voice at a low hum.
"I had fallen… asleep if you will… in Father's quarters to hide from the sun. Though I could still hear my surroundings, I couldn't respond. I guess you could say I was in a temporary coma, like a cat nap. Happens sometimes. Anyways, outside I could hear shots blasting away, things exploding, men crying out, the screams of the dying. I heard more shouting, but this seemed closer. And it kept getting closer. I would have hid if I could. I would have hid in the darkness, waiting for them. I would have pounced as they rushed in, held them against the cool dirt wall as I sank my-" I stopped short as he made a grunt of discomfort. I guess some people aren't used to this sort of talk. "I would have, but I couldn't. I felt my arm singe as they threw back the tarp." I held up my arm though he couldn't see. There was a long, shiny white scar that trailed up my right forearm. "You can see the scar in the morning if you want to."
I stayed silent for another moment. I wasn't too fond of this next part. I didn't know how to place the words so I just said it.
"They raped me, Flash. I was in a fucking coma, and they raped me, all three of them. Like they couldn't resist. I hoped they had their fun because once Father got a hold of them… if he ever did..." I took a deep breath of unnecessary oxygen. Some people were startled by the fact that I didn't have to breathe. I felt him stiffen with anger. I would have been angry too if I could have done anything about it. "I couldn't do anything to stop them. I used to hate myself for it. They wrapped me in tarp and carried me out like I was a corpse. Well, I am, but they didn't know that. It must have been so easy to just take me away after our lines had been breached. I could feel them handing me off until I finally stopped in what I figured what was the enemy's trenches. But this was different. It was warmer, harder, and there was no sound of the battle going on around me. I felt the tarp be removed, then hands lifting me and folding me into what must have been that box. But then every sense I had of the world around me disappeared. Some maybe they did something else besides shove me in that box." I looked down at him. "Does that answer your question?"
I felt him nod. He seemed to want to say something, but we just sat in silence. I slightly jumped as his warm hand wound around my cold one.
"I would never do anything like that. You're so cold." I guess he didn't want to leave that first part hanging out there.
"I'm supposed to be like that. I have no blood to keep my temperature."
"I see." He yawned that out.
"You are tired. Go to sleep." He nodded and turned onto his side, still clutching my hand. He could have let go, but he didn't. Oh well. So I just turned to stare out the window at the stars as he slept. I felt I could trust this one.
