Immune… She heard him… Right?

He said he was immune to the vampires' venom or as people commonly mistaken, the vampires bite. She froze… Not literally but her body felt heavy and stiff as if the air was pressing against every inch, every curve of her body. It felt so heavy. She struggled, her throat tightened, her skin flushed becoming warmer. Immune… He said.

Mikoto Misaka stood like a statue with her mouth hanging open, the tips of her fangs glistening, "Ho... howw..." across her mind an ear piercing scream rose to the surface of her confusion becoming colored in anger, "how is he? … Who is he? why is he? …." she screamed over and over glaring at him. The moment burned into her brain. She wanted to close her eyes and make it all go away but her eyelids refused with one word he'd stopped her world, leaving only the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.

"Immune…"

It was Emilia who felt her mistress's building anxiety. When she heard him speak the word stopping her like a stone wall. She let her breath flow over Mikoto's cheeks until her lungs felt empty, pressed her slender military grade ceramic covered body tightly against the back of Mikoto's armor. Two inches of military grade ceramics encasing ballistic gel separated the two of them. Despite the small distance between them, she felt Mikoto Misaka's body trembling. She slipped her right arm around her waist, putting her hand on her belly. The other, across Mikoto's chest, standing, listened to the conversation and felt the surge of emotions, felt the space around them crackle with electricity. Mikoto went cold, her stomach fell. Like a punch in the gut, Mikoto flinched.

With her chin balancing on Mikoto's shoulder, head tilted just, watching her Mistress from the corner of her warm dark eye. She saw the change of color sweep across Mikoto's soft cheeks, the lines of her neck darkened. A slow hiss of breath like air seeping from a hose as she tried to breathe. her eyes slowly becoming wet, her lip trembled. Emelia raised her head, took her arm from across her chest and gently tapping the point of her fang with the pad of her index finger, a drop of blood rose on the surface as she whispered in her ear, "Mikoto Misaka…"

Mikoto blinked, her rust colored eyes, hazel and vampire red, thinned as if bright light burst through the darkness. She gasped, closed her mouth, brushing the tip of Emelia's finger, smearing the blood over her lips. Emelia gently smiled letting her hand drift from Mikoto's mouth and settle on her breast.

"What do you mean?" Mikoto said, no she demanded, the words forced from her slightly open the mouth. Ronan laughed.

It was an odd, maybe surreal was a better description for this churning emotion in her chest, looking at a person directly across from her, talking like it was nothing more than trivial even normal everyday conversation to be holding in the middle of washing his hair. But even so… His casual demeanor and voice told her it was true. Mikoto sighed, letting the world disappear as she closed her eyes. She felt irritated… Bewildered… Angry.

She'd accepted becoming a vampire, but still, she asked herself had she been so weak that she missed the possibility of still being human. It felt odd saying it. Human…still human….no longer human. It had been a little while…not including the four hundred years in the other realm. She swallowed the spit filling her mouth, why couldn't she be…what was the word again. She silently nodded her head.

Immune.

Maybe, she had done something wrong in a past life. She joked silently to herself, her face stilled in deep thought.

No…

She heard him calling her out of the haze of self pity.

The world came back as she opened her eyes, "what…?" She said a little apprehensively. Drawing him in as she focused, her cheeks blushed, seeing him without his shirt, soapy water drifting down his neck, snaking along the lines of his shoulders, between his chest. "It wouldn't have mattered…" He said, as if he knew what she was thinking, that… he knew what she had been through.

Once he took another breath, he was straightforward and direct. "The rogue… The one that bit you." He said, Mikoto's eyebrows flinched, how did you know?

"Normal bites… Yes… You would've had three days to get the antivenom. It would've worked. But his had been altered." He said, "intentionally…" He added remorsefully.

She remembered, the back of her jaws clenched, slowly tightening her lips.

Academy City students were being attacked by an unknown assailant. Mikoto Misaka, Kuroko, Uiharu and Ruiko joined with Anastasia, who had revealed that she was a queen vampire, planned to draw out and deal with Edward, the manmade vampire. the plan worked except for one small detail. The hostage taken by Edward. During Anastasia's battle with Edward. Mikoto tried to save the hostage and was attacked by Edward. Infected with his venom, Anastasia bit Mikoto, replacing it with her venom.

Mikoto relaxed her jaw as she relived the scenario. "So, with Anastasia being a queen. Her venom is top tiered in purity. So, it routed the manipulated venom and you lived. But being a Queens venom…" He shrugged his shoulders, turning around, showing his back covered in the brightly colored tattoo. The ornate design of the wolves and Dragon seem to glare at her as if she were being challenged.

He chuckled, "I'm immune… I can take the bite of a vampire.… And believe me I've taken a lot…" The tone of his voice revealed a smile, "nothing more appetizing than the taste of human blood, mixed with the smells and warmth of the human body. I'm a smorgasbord," taking his hands from his hair and rinsed them off in the water.

Mikoto let out a hard click of her tongue, turned her head slightly downward, her eyes raised in a glare, "are you bragging!" She harshly spoke.

"No… I just don't want you to think that it's man-made. The few vampires that know always say the same thing, why me, why couldn't I be immune but…. I'm born this way. And that is it." He said, looked over his shoulder, "and believe me it hasn't been fun. When I was little I was pricked and prodded by some of the best scientists in the world.… Especially after…" He said, stopping in mid story and looked at Anastasia, "if you do anything…" He said, thinning his eyes.

"But what would I do?" Anastasia leaning against the sink, push forward, turn squared and cocked her head and glared, "what would I do? Huh?" raising her chin. "I'm going to rinse my hair, which means I'm going to dunk my head into the water… And I don't want you to hold my head under the water. Do you understand?" He said, looking at the queen standing next to him. Anastasia looking at him with no concern, twisted her lips and thought, with a light wet smack, she sighed, "maybe…" Her voice started out in a musical note, "I was thinking more of grabbing you by your ankles and holding your legs up while you splash around like a seal being attacked by a shark." She slowly grinned.

"I can handle a shark…" he said, arching his right eyebrow, "Stephanie! Haruko! … Can you…" They quickly interrupted. "We hear you!" They said laughing, water splashed, the high-pitched sounds of chirping of a little vampire enjoying her first bath, "but it's your fight." They said with a big splash of water. "Great…" He said with little enthusiasm, Anastasia smiled turned dark. "Soooo…" She said, lifting her right eyebrow.

But a tall dark shadow swallowed the light as she entered the room, her footsteps light nearly silent as her tall form crossed the doorway, her ear scraped across the ceiling. "Ronan…" She said with little concern to their conversation. She locked him in her gaze as if she were looking at pray, her serious expression silencing the room. The room became warmer.

Mikoto looked over to the creature beautiful in design and form that screamed predator. She was in her human form, walking on the pads of her feet, her heels rising close to eight inches off the floor, Her long thick messy hair mixing with her thick tail as it slipped like a large snake behind her. "You have your phone," she asked, "now…" She said, tilted her head, looking at his utility belt. "So…" lifting her hand, she stood close to him. "I require proof of your claims. Granted I will not leave you in a lurch." She said, "and it's been a while since a battle like this has developed and the others are very excited. So, I will make sure you're safe." She said in warning, "but…" She took a deep breath, her soft dark eyes darkened, "if the proof is not there. I will be the first to cause you pain." She added, "granted, "she shrugged her shoulders, "I'll leave you alive for the others to administer…" She puckered her mouth, "justice… And after that you may well wish for death."

Even Mikoto listening to the big wolf knew that, that was a warning. But with conditions allowed. The corners of her mouth twitched, trying to hold her smile. Mikoto, the young Queen understood. Sure, go on beat him up but you're not allowed to kill him. He has some value.

"Alusia…" He said, still bent over the sink, rolled his head to look at her, "I'd like to introduce you to Anastasia von Alucard, Queen of the four kingdoms." She slowly closed her eyes, "the phone…" She said in a tired tone. "Anastasia von Alucard. This is Alusia of Eastern Mountain pack, an Abyssinian wolf and lead counsel of her pack."

"Pleasure." they said, still glaring at him as he reached for his belt. It was like if they were to blink he would disappear like some trickster in a fable.

Mikoto watched it play out, a little envious. For some reason she just wanted to smack him. she didn't know why but he had that aura about him. a smart ass little brother or a certain annoying roommate or that one certain boy she couldn't defeat. But she stayed away feeling the heavy aura of the two apex predators rolling together filling the room in a thick hazy humidity.

"Anastasia…" Ronan said, "Alusia is around 2000 years old." He said, as if it were a warning, "three…" Alusia corrected him, "I have earned those years so do not short change me." She said with her fingers laid flat, waiting for the phone.

And in a way, that was a warning. Her age was proof of her strength and wisdom as a wolf living through the centuries. The scars barely covered by her long shaggy hair, along her arms and across her chest were reminders of a dark violent past. A wolf of her rank and heritage put her at the top of the list of predators. Even in her human form, the tips of her canines' peek from the edge of her mouth.

Ronan popped open a compartment, dug out a smart phone and set it in her hand. Her darkened eyes slowly brightened as she curled her fingers around the phone. "Password…" She said, looking serious. "By the gods." He said.

She smiled as she nodded her head and tap the screen. "Nice to meet you Anastasia von Alucard." She said as she started to turn, "I think right now you should quell that anger inside your belly…" She said as she started to leave, "and that little one…" She raised her chin to Mikoto as she passed, "she needs you." She said.

Mikoto quickly scrunched her brow, "me?" she whispered, the big shewolf nodded as she passed by. "it is not weak to ask for help…" the big wolf said softly.

Alusia stopped at the doorway and laughed. "Why do you have naked pictures?" She asked as she shook her head, "of course you would… Why didn't I know that."?

"Hey! Don't look at those. It's the other file please. And…. It's not my fault. It's not like I asked for them." He said with his voice hiding his laughter as he readied himself to slip beneath the water, "I hate shewolves" he said. "Then why are these pictures of naked she wolves." She asked mischievously, thumbing through the numerous photos. "Because I really love she wolves." He laughed, ducking his head into the water. "Don't we all…" She said as she stepped out on the doorway.