Chapter Two: The Transformation

Lincoln gasped as he woke up, groaning in pain. Where was he? He looked at his watch. Broken. He'd been walking home from their graduation party when he'd… Nearra… That bitch! She'd raped him. She'd covered him with horrible wounds. He got out of the dumpster, gagging at the smell as he realized he was naked. Shit. Well, maybe he could scrounge together something to cover himself with. He looked around for his phone. Nowhere to be found.

"Hey there… A well-dressed young man dropped you in that dumpster…" A grouchy, homeless man said. Lincoln nodded.

"Hey…" He said, finding his wallet in the trash. No license or other ID. That had all been taken. But he had 600 dollars in the wallet. Clearly the man hadn't taken that.

"Hey, I… Have… 600 dollars here. Do you have any clothes that I can wear?" Lincoln asked. The man gasped. 600 dollars for some scraggly clothes.

"You can have whatever you want for 600 dollars." The man said, pulling out some relatively fresh clothes. They were stained with gas and other crap. But they were less than two weeks old. He'd gotten them from a donation place.

"Thanks." Lincoln said, groaning and struggling into the sweat pants and sweat shirt and shoes, heading back to his house. He left the money for the man, who immediately went to get some food. Lincoln headed towards his house, recognizing this area much better than he had recognized it at night when he was quite tired. The sun was painful. They burned his eyes and his skin felt like it was on fire as he walked home. He felt like his skin must be bubbling, burning off. He knew that was ridiculous though.

He finally got to his house, sighing in relief as he saw the building. It had been renovated many times over the years, and now that most of the children were out, only Lola, Lana, Lisa and Lily still lived there, they'd started to truly make the house presentable as they weren't able to before. He moaned in pain, his skin still on fire as he got into the house. Rita was on the phone, screaming at the police.

"HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND A KID WITH CHALK WHITE HAIR! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING YET! HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU! I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry… Please, just… Just find my baby!" Rita sobbed.

"Mom?" Lincoln asked. Rita squealed in shock, looking at Lincoln like she'd just seen a ghost. Frankly, after seven days, she'd expected that she'd have to come down to the station and identify his body.

"I gotta go. Sorry I yelled at you." Rita said, running to Lincoln, hugging him tightly. He smelled horrible, like he'd been swimming in trash. But he was her baby.

"HEY! LINCOLN IS HOME!" Rita shouted. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound and all ten girls ran downstairs, crowding around Lincoln.

"Whoa, you smell pretty ripe, dude! You been swimming in dumpsters?" Lana asked.

"Well… Sort of. I woke up in one. I'd been dumped there. I dunno… I was picked up by a woman who offered to let me crash on her couch. I was a bit lost. It was late, I was tired, not thinking right. I got inside and she started going off on some… Well, I'm here not. I'm okay, Leni." Lincoln said. Lucy's ears perked up. A woman who charmed Lincoln into her home. Had overpowered him. Not many people could do that. Lincoln was hardly Olympic level. But he was strong and good at martial arts.

He'd achieved a Black Belt level of competence in Lynn Style and was approaching Master Belt level. He was truly accomplished. But he still stayed true to himself, preferring comics and video games to fighting.

"Let me take a shower. I need to get myself cleaned off before I do anything else." Lincoln said. Lisa nodded.

"Indeed. After you finish your shower, please come to my laboratory. I would like the opportunity to inject you with further nanomachines to prevent any diseases, look you over and so on.

"And I also have a treatment that I believe will help you in the future. After seven days of you being missing, I must say that we all assumed you were dead." Lisa said. Lincoln felt strange. The sun had burned his skin. He was thirsty, though that made sense, given that he had been under for seven days apparently. That was a full week. It just made sense that he was thirsty.

"Excuse me a moment." Lincoln said, going to the kitchen and getting out some juice. He drank quickly, sighing as he gulped it down.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to last long. He gagged as it hit his stomach, his stomach spasming as he threw up violently in the kitchen. The girls ran in to see the mess he'd made. He'd known somehow that juice wouldn't satisfy him. He had to hope that it wasn't true. He sighed and went up to take a shower. If nothing else, he would be clean and starving.

-0-

He sighed as the hot water hit him, looking down at his still bruised and scarred body. Nearra had really done a number on him. And it was bright, even in the bathroom. He'd closed the curtains, still seeing burn marks all over his body. He sighed as he just let the water wash away the filth and smell. He scrubbed lavender shampoo into his hair and scrubbed his whole body. He was healing already from the sunburn and he was cleaning himself as much as possible, putting in more shampoo into the loofah, sighing as he started to feel a bit better. He'd been raped. Violently raped by Nearra.

And he wasn't sure exactly what else may have happened. He knew there was a big fight. His body was still sore, partially from sleeping in a dumpster, partially from the fight itself. He sighed as he got out of the shower and put on a bathrobe, going to Lisa's room. She'd said she wanted to do something with him. He knocked on Lisa's door and was immediately invited in.

"Please, come to my laboratory." Lisa said calmly, bringing him to a different room and lying him down on the bed, lying his robe across his waist and examining his chest, arms and legs.

"Hmmm… Whoever you fought, this… Nearra… really left some serious wounds on you. Even with the nanomachines though, you shouldn't have healed this fast. They're almost completely gone. Just scars now. But the way the scars look, they were quite deep and wouldn't have healed this cleanly or this quickly. It's possible your own natural healing has been enhanced by the nanomachines. But I have little data on the long-term salubrious effects of nanomachines on the body save for accelerated healing. Are you experiencing nausea, other than the throwing up at drinking the juice?" Lisa asked.

"No." Lincoln said.

"Bodily pain?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, just really sore." Lincoln said.

"I see. Ummm… Burning?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah. My skin feels like it's on fire when I go out into the sunlight. It was bright red when I got into the shower. It's better now, but it was bright red and was starting to flake." Lincoln said.

"Huh, curious. Well… Let's see… It's possible that you have a disease that's making you photosensitive. Though I know of few that would appear this late in life." Lisa said.
"Still, I have a treatment that may aid you in mitigating the damage that extreme photosensitivity will cause." Lisa said. Lincoln raised an eyebrow.

"Well… You're familiar with the bionic organs that I've been producing. Before I implanted them in a so-called normal patient, I wanted to make sure that they were safe. Thus, I provided them for primates who had need of them. Over 2,000 primates of varying species have benefitted from the organs with few to no drawbacks. In fact, their lives have been enhanced as a result. I believe that the organs will assist you similarly. The heart and lungs will enhance your cardio, the stomach will allow you to have a far more efficient digestion and so on." Lisa said bluntly.

"And I have an organ that will hold, release and recycle nanomachines. It will increase your healing, enhance your ability to work out, letting you work longer and harder and many other potential uses. You would not be the first human to have these bionic organs. I've provided them for various individuals and organizations around the world since I made the prototypes. But you would be the first to have my fully completed and upgraded versions." Lisa said.

"And these… Will make me stronger?" Lincoln asked.

"They… Will allow you abilities enhanced somewhat beyond human potential. Nothing like Superman or even Wolverine or Deadpool. But your physical potential will be enhanced. You'll need to reach that level on your own though. I can aid you in the activities necessary to reach that level. But you'll still need to work for it." Lisa said. Lincoln nodded.

"Do it." Lincoln said. He was going to make Nearra pay for what she did to him. He didn't know if he was a Vampire now. But whatever he was, his body was reacting to the sunlight like a Vampire. Maybe Lucy's belief in Vampires wasn't so crazy. Lisa nodded.

"Very well. I will put you under. It's good that you just took a shower, since I'll be cutting you open." Lisa said. She injected him with a nanomachine based sedative that would put him under for over an hour under ideal circumstances.

She pulled out the organs and sliced him open with a laser cutter, preparing him for the surgery. She sighed as she pulled out his heart and put it into a regenerative serum bath that would prevent it from losing value as a donation. She did the same for all his other organs, including his eyes. She invested him with her highest level of technology that she had, even giving him bionic eyes, inner ears, nasal implants and tongue implants. He would truly be her greatest scientific triumph if this all worked as she'd seen it work in the past.

-0-

He groaned as he woke up, looking down and seeing a long scar across and down his chest and stomach. Lisa had finished the surgery and she was cleaning up and putting the organs in donation containers with the regenerative serum still in it.

"Hm, awake already? It's barely been 40 minutes." Lisa said, a bit surprised. He should have been asleep for at least 50 more minutes. But maybe the nanomachines worked even better than she thought they would. Maybe his natural healing had been enhanced further than she expected.

Either way, she'd examine his abilities as he grew in them.

"There's no need to stand just yet. You'll likely be dizzy and unstable on your feet for a while due to a combination of the sedative and the surgery you just underwent. Either way, I recommend you make yourself comfortable for another half hour at… Where are you going?" Lisa asked.
"To train. I'm going to find Nearra and I'm going to find out who and what she is and I'm going to beat the answers out of her if I have to." Lincoln said vengefully. Lisa raised an eyebrow.

"Nearra? Some woman you hooked up with?" Lisa asked.

"No. She tricked me into her house and then savagely raped and I guess killed me. I… She drank my blood. She had sharp teeth and she drank my blood." Lincoln said.

"Hmmm… Well… Some people do have a delusion of being dead. Perhaps hers manifested in believing herself to be a Vampire." Lisa said calmly.

"She could have carved her teeth to be quite sharp, though drinking an amount of blood that would kill you isn't healthy. The iron in the blood can do severe damage to the drinker's organs. Still, maybe she's built up a tolerance for it over the years. Maybe the injuries she did to you caused you to have less blood than you should have had when she finally drank from you.

"There are plenty of ways it could have gone down."
"No. She was superhumanly strong. She shoved me and I flew across the room!" Lincoln exclaimed.

"Well, now you're just being silly. Even a human with peak physical abilities wouldn't be able to do that. It's possible that she's extremely athletic and the trauma you've suffered as a result of being beaten, seemingly tortured and raped has caused you to misremember the exact circumstances of said beating. Of course I believe that it happened, there's significant indicia of you being physically mauled.

"But I seriously doubt that she 'shoved you so hard you flew across the roo… Ah! Damnit!" Lisa exclaimed, cutting her hand badly on a sharp laboratory instrument. Lincoln gasped as the ripe, wonderful, warm scent of blood filled his nose. He walked towards Lisa, grabbing her arm. She tried to pull away, but Lincoln's arm was like steel. She looked up into his eyes, seeing them clouded over with hunger as he leaned down and sniffed her hand, licking it.

"Elder brother, if you really are a Vampire, I'll provide you with donation blood. I get plenty of it as a result of my studies. But please refrain from drinking from me." Lisa said, grabbing a Taser and jabbing Lincoln in the chest.

"And put some pants on, or at least a bathrobe." She said as Lincoln hissed, staggering back.

"W-wha? What happened?" He breathed.

"You were about to drink my blood." Lisa said. There was little way that she could deny that something was wrong. Either he had become very mentally ill, or he genuinely was a Vampire now.
"Open your mouth." Lisa ordered. Lincoln opened wide.

"Hmmm… Elongated canines… Sharpened… They seem to be retracting… For the time." Lisa said. She tapped on them.

"Cavities on your teeth seem to be being repaired." Lisa said.

"Mmmm… Yes…" Lisa pressed on his tongue and gathered some saliva in test tubes, labeling them. She then drew some of Lincoln's blood.

"I'll run some tests on these." Lisa said, going to her closet, which she'd converted into a refrigeration unit. This had once been Lori's and Leni's room. It was now a laboratory. She pulled out a bag of blood.

"Here, drink this. Come to me if you need blood. Do not. I repeat, do not target our siblings or citizens of Royal Woods.

"The current population of Royal Woods is around 70,000 to 85,000. Royal Woods had grown significantly since 2016. It was hardly a major city still, but it was starting to urbanize further, becoming quite a city. While it could theoretically sustain two Vampires, unless you target the homeless, whose blood is frequently tainted by pathogens, you'd likely be noticed quite quickly. Nearra was quite reckless to target you, especially since it's obvious the clothes you wear are high end." Lisa said. Leni was truly good to them. She sent them all clothing from her newest fashion lines whenever they came out.

So Lincoln had men's clothes that could have easily cost in the hundreds of dollars to buy. He could afford clothes that expensive, but he usually wouldn't bother with anything that expensive. She handed him the pouch, shaking it to suggest that he should take it.

"Drink." She said. He nodded, puncturing the hole where the IV tube would go and starting to drink it like it was from a juice pouch. He sighed in relief, feeling warmth spreading through him. It wasn't good exactly… Well, it was good. It just felt… Cold. He didn't want chilled blood. He wanted fresh blood.

But he couldn't afford to let himself drink from a person. He could take the risk of losing control. He drank the pouch dry, sighing in relief and handing it to Lisa, who disposed of it neatly.

"Good. Now, go to Leni. I think she has some clothes that will fit you." Lisa said. Lincoln nodded, going to Leni, who immediately started fussing over him, looking at the scars all over his chest and stomach.

"Oh, Linky… What happened to you?" She asked, touching the scars.

"I'm okay, Leni. Actually, let's get into a room without so much direct sunlight." Lincoln said. Leni didn't really think much of it, nodding and taking Lincoln to the attic, where she helped him find a set of clothes that would fit him. They were dusty and musty, but they fit and they were comfortable. Leni went to her room and got some sunblock.

"Let me help you get that on." The innocent 27-year-old said, trying to pull Lincoln's bathrobe off so she could put the sunblock on him.

"Leni! Stop! I can do it myself." He protested. Leni left, feeling a little bit hurt, but respecting his wishes. She called Scott, her now husband whom she had met in Scotland to tell him that Lincoln was okay. He had just come home earlier and he was doing okay.

"That's great. I'm glad he's doin' well. Did he say what happened to him?" Scott asked.

"Hold on a mo'." He said.

"C'mon, Liena, Logan… I'm talkin' to yer mother. Quiet down. Sorry bout that. Did he say what happened to him?" Scott asked.

"Oh, he says a mean woman took him and tried to kill him. He woke up in a dumpster and came home." Leni said innocently.

"But he doesn't like the sun now. I offered to put some suntan lotion on him, but he said he could do it himself. I don't see how though. He can't get his back." Leni said.

Scott nodded.

"I see. Well, he's home and safe now. And whatever happens, I'm sure you guys will take good care of him." Scott said.

"Yes! We will!" Leni said happily.

-0-

Lincoln sighed as he went downstairs and was brought into his own old room by Lucy, who had heard Lisa telling Lincoln about the chilled blood. She'd been listening in. She'd had a crush on Lincoln for as long as she could remember, and hearing that he had become a Vampire… Well, she was sorry that he'd been through this trauma. But she was excited that now her greatest dream was now within her reach.

"I heard about your… Condition." Lucy breathed eagerly.

"I want you to turn me." Lucy said.

Lincoln had long kept their parents in the dark about his relationship with Lucy. He'd kept them in the dark through careful planning of the times when they'd rendezvous, caution in when and where they went on dates and caution in what they did on their dates. He'd been dating both Jordan for almost eight years and wanted to propose to her soon. He'd been dating Lucy for six years and while he knew that legally, there was no place in America or indeed most countries where he could get married to her, he wanted to be with her for the rest of their lives. And yes, that included if he lived forever.

However, he simply wasn't comfortable turning her into a Vampire without fully knowing what that entailed. He closed the door, kissing Lucy gently on the lips, stroking her hair.
"I want to be your dark queen, your mistress of the night." Lucy whispered, kissing him again. Lucy had become much more confident over the years. She was a smart and witty young woman who was at the top of her class at Northwestern University. She didn't like being so far away from her family, from Lincoln. But she was reserving herself for him. Once she graduated, the three of them would be together.

Lucy hoped to move to Salem, Massachusetts with her brother and his wife and they could make a life there where nobody knew about their relationship or who they really were. Lincoln could pass Lucy and Jordan off as his two girlfriends. In a place as liberal as Massachusetts, they could easily live a poly lifestyle and not be questioned on it. And Lucy would be in the very cradle of witchcraft of the United States. If she wanted to have his child though, they would need to continue to correspond with Lisa, who claimed that she was close to discovering a way to allow them to have healthy children together.

"Lucy… I want you to do something for me… We need to continue to downplay our relationship while we're at our parents' house… I know you're tired of pretending. I am too. I don't want to have to lie about what we are to each other. But… I'm also not ready to have our parents not be part of our life… Actually, I don't think I'd ever be ready for that. But my point remains. Take a night time walk tonight and go to my home. You know mine and Jordan's address, right?" Lincoln asked. Lucy nodded, hoping beyond hope that he would turn her into a Vampire that night.

Lincoln squeezed her hand lovingly, kissing her on the lips. He knew that he could rely on his sisters to help keep their secret. If their parents were coming upstairs when Lincoln and Lucy were alone together in the room, Lisa went into her closet and banged on the wall four times to let them know. As far as Lynn or Rita knew, Lucy and Lincoln were just close as siblings.

Actually, there'd been an occasion when Lincoln was about to graduate from high school where he'd been caught with Lucy. It had been a close one. Lisa had to modify their memories with a pair of goggles that she'd invented. They were actually not memory modification goggles, but hypnosis goggles. They released a series of flashes that isolated certain sections of the user's brain, making them highly susceptible to post-hypnotic suggestion. Lisa had used that, turned up the power and modified the function to modify their memories.

She was only able to erase about ten hours of memory at most. But Lisa managed within that time and made it so that they didn't remember Lucy's and Lincoln's true relationship. But the two siblings had to be much, much more careful after that. Any reminder could potentially awaken those memories and they would be much harder to get rid of the second time, especially since they would also remember Lisa using the goggles to modify their memories and thus would be much less likely to trust her with her inventions.

Lincoln went downstairs, having loaded on the sunblock and called everyone down.

"Alright, everyone… I'm going to head home. Jordan is probably already thinking I'm dead, so I want to dissuade her of that notion." Lincoln said. He usually didn't speak so fancily, especially around Leni. Lisa nodded, slipping a note in his pocket, telling him to come back the next day to test his new abilities with his bionic organs. There was a chance that the organs and regeneration would cancel out his Vampirism. There was also every chance though that his Vampirism couldn't be removed.

She didn't know much about the condition. But she knew a lot about horror movies thanks to Lucy. And she knew that in most cases, there was no cure for Vampirism because it wasn't a disease. It was a curse. And like most curses, if it could be removed, it required a mystical approach, not a scientific one. Lincoln hugged each of his siblings and headed towards home on the other side of town. They didn't have a big home. But it was nice. A modern style home that was more than big enough for him and Jordan and if Lucy came to live with them, for her as well.