Sick

Chapter Two – Discovery

Sound came first, the rats scurrying around, trash moving in the breeze, someone crossing the street. The roar of a car driving by was so loud it startled Robin into waking up. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed for the first time that he could see stars in the night sky above him. That was strange, he had never see them over the city before because of the lights. He saw a spider weaving it's web from one rung of the fire escape ladder to the wall and watched the flies buzzing around the dumpster he was crumpled next to. Bringing his attention to the dumpster had also brought its odor into focus. It was so bad, he could smell the individual things in it, like rotting bananas, fish carcasses and even his own dinner he had thrown up earlier.

Holding back a gag, he rolled himself to a sitting position and tried to remember what he was doing on the dirty ground of an unlit alley in the middle of the night. He remembered waking up that morning to Beast Boy and Cyborg, and he remembered the park and the pizza that didn't taste very good. Suddenly, the recollection of his encounter with the thug in black came back to him fully. He looked down and saw blood all over his clothes, still wet. His face was also covered in the sticky, red substance but the bite mark had healed up completely. Not really feeling too bad, Robin stood, testing his balance. Everything seemed fine. He picked up his communicator and signaled the others that he was going back to the tower as he got on his cycle.

None of the other Titans argued with him, they hadn't seen anyone while they were on patrol and Robin's cold must have only deteriorated from earlier in the day. The boy wonder went straight home and into the shower, even though he was starving. Nothing in the tower refrigerator or pantry sounded good as he passed them, so he slept hungry after he scrubbed himself clean. He didn't hear the others come home, in fact, he slept like a stone through the whole night. He awoke a little surprised, he would have thought that with a cold that bad, he would have been awake half the night like the night before. Oh well. He breathed in deeply and was intrigued to find his nose clear. In fact, he could smell the tofu waffles Beast Boy was making downstairs.

After dressing, Robin opened his door and was blinded by the morning sunlight. He backed into his room, shading his eyes and shut the door. He figured the sun was just as the right place to be directly in his eyes when he stood in his doorway, so after his vision had readjusted to his dim room, he opened his door again. This time, the sunlight was not only bright, but it was hot too. So hot, in fact that it burned him! Stumbling back into his room, Robin stared at the blisters on his arm in shock. Something wasn't right, and it got even less right as he watched the injury heal in seconds. It then hit him what he had forgotten last night, that thug had bitten him, hadn't he? Robin's memory brought up the word vampire and he dashed over to the mirror above his sink.

He almost fell over when he saw what was reflected, or rather, what wasn't reflected. He touched the mirror to make sure it wasn't a hologram but it continued to show him a view of the towels hanging on the rack behind him. In disbelief, he picked up his toothbrush and waved it in front of his face. He saw his fingers holding the plastic, but in the reflection, it appeared to be floating on its own. He dropped the toothbrush and staggered backwards as it clattered in the sink. He tripped over his dirty uniform from the night before and fell, arms pinwheeling, hard on his behind. The implications of his new condition were beginning to dawn on him.

He simply could not be what he was thinking, it wasn't possible. Monsters like that don't exist in real life, they are just great movies and stories to frighten children into staying in bed. While he had seen magic, Robin certainly didn't believe in 'creatures of the night' who would die if they met sunlight and were afraid of garlic. The only creature that could subsist on blood alone was a very specific type of bat, and maybe mosquitoes. People weren't like that. Robin's hand darted up to his mouth as he felt his teeth and he was dismayed to find that his canines and incisors had elongated and sharpened. His ears weren't pointy and his fingernails weren't sharp or anything, but his skin did seem to be a lighter color than usual and, most frightening of all, he couldn't find a pulse anywhere on his body. He…he had become a…a vampire.

It took some serious discipline to hold his panic down. He jumped when he heard a knock on his door, then scrambled under the covers. "Hey Robin! You awake man? We got some waffles here for ya!" Cyborg called through the door.

"Uh…n-no thanks guys. I…I'm not feeling too good. I think I'll stay in bed today," he answered back, hoping they accepted the excuse. That was another thing, all signs of his sickness had vanished completely. He was as healthy as he'd ever been. Robin sank down further into the bed.

Starfire's melodious voice came through the wall next, "May we bring you anything to make the healing better? Perhaps some Tamarranian glorflac eel soup?" Sounds of gagging could be heard from the other Titans and Robin cracked a small smile.

"No thanks, Star, I'll be fine. I just need…some rest," he called back.

"Let us know if you need anythi-...hey, those are mine!" Beast Boy chased after Cyborg who was threatening to swallow the changeling's whole plate of tofu goodness. Raven simply stood staring at Robin's door for awhile, she knew something was wrong with him. He was exuding such a strong aura of fear, confusion and darkness that she decided she had to get to the bottom of this. The darkness worried her not because it was evil coming from Robin's room; everyone had a little badness; but because it was the same evil she had encountered the night before.

A normal day passed for the Titans, two muggers, a rapist, and a run-in with a traveling gang of Jokerz made for a good day's work. When they got home after dark, they tried to stay quiet, figuring Robin was trying to sleep his illness off. If only he could, he would have slept until Rip Van Winkle woke up. He could hear everything they were doing, even though they were making very little sound. As soon as the video game had started up after dinner, Raven had quietly drifted to Robin's room. She felt for his presence and when she sensed pain, she didn't hesitate another moment.

Wrapping herself in a black raven of energy, the part-demon dropped into the floor and rose up on the other side of the door. Before her was Robin, curled into a fetal ball on his bed and panting as he fought the pain. His eyes opened as soon as she appeared and he sat up, wincing as he moved. She could tell he was confused, but also dangerous, so she didn't step any closer. "Raven?" he asked weakly.

"Yes, Robin," was her only response, half confirming her presence and half offering comfort.

He looked at her, then dropped his eyes in shame and confusion. "What happened to me? Why am I hurting so much?"

Taking a risk, the pale magician joined him on the edge of the bed, feeling him with her power. He was filled with the evil she'd met last night, but still had his normal shining core of goodness. Her eyes must have conveyed the question, because he answered unbidden, "I think I've been turned into a vampire."

Suddenly, it all made sense. She was the only one who had seen it, but now she understood why he couldn't come out into the daylight that morning. Why he was so confused and in pain. That pain was hunger, and a hunger more intense than either one of them had ever experienced before. All her studying and reading on these creatures suddenly came to mind and she knew that if Robin didn't feed tonight, he would die. She knew he hadn't had any sustenance since he'd been turned, which must have been last night when he got roughed up, and that the first day was the most crucial for a new vampire's survival. Things did not look good.

She noticed him trembling next to her and could feel his gaze on her neck. Suddenly aware that she was the nearest source of food, she stood, facing him. He cringed slightly from the look in her eyes. "You must feed," she stated simply.

"I know, I'm starving, but nothing sounds good," he responded, looking intently at his boots, swaying a little.

"That's because you don't need food, you need - "

Before she could finish, he cut her off, "Not blood! I can't do that…I'm not a killer…I -," Robin looked like he was going to faint.

It was Raven's turn to interrupt him, "You won't kill anyone, but you will die if you don't get blood." The dark witch ran the choices for blood through her mind but found no other suitable option. Suppressing a shudder, Raven enveloped one of Robin's books in magic and threw it at the mirror in the bathroom. When the glass shattered, she caught all the pieces with magic so as not to alert the other Titans. Before she could change her mind, she sent one of the shards zipping over the top of her forearm, cutting a clean and painless line. Blood immediately bloomed from the laceration and she looked pointedly at Robin.

The boy wonder was staring at her in horror, not quite believing what she had just done. He tried to stand up to get her a towel, but couldn't even find the strength to get to his feet. She moved closer to him, kneeling on the floor at his feet. He turned his head away in revulsion, even though the warm blood was singing to him. It was all he could think about, the metallic scent was sweet and his heart beat faster at the thought of tasting it. His fangs grew even longer in his jaws, and a strange sensation overtook him. When he looked back at Raven, his eyes were glowing red. She stiffened, eyes wide, trying to hold down her instinctive need to run. He was suddenly aware that he was also smelling her fear and was ashamed that it aroused him. She swallowed and moved closer, placing her dripping arm in his hands.

Robin looked directly into Raven's violet eyes before hesitantly lowering his lips to the injury. As soon as the blood touched his tongue, he thought it might be more than he could handle. His body reverberated with the song of her blood. It was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted, its warmth filled him and fueled his dark desires. Before he knew what was happening, he had stood, pulling her with him. As he drank, he pressed himself against her, his arousal apparent, and almost caressed her wound with his tongue. Raven was overloaded by the energy he was putting out, and she closed her eyes and let her head fall back as she was taken by his hot excitement. She felt her own lust rise and could tell by the subtle shift in Robin's embrace that he could feel it too.

Carried away by the myriad of sensations, neither one of them stopped him. Robin had never felt this strong. He could somehow tell that he had become physically stronger, and all his senses had sharpened. He inhaled Raven's scent, an intoxicating combination of lavender, incense and desire. He reveled in the feel of her warm body up against his, enjoyed how her curves fit him just right. She drew in a sharp breath when he rocked his hips against her, and a wave of lust enveloped them both. He could even feel her magic. The more he had, the more he wanted. Robin now understood the bloodlust.

He drank until he heard her groan, his attention suddenly snapping back to reality. The shards of mirror she had been suspending in the bathroom fell with a crash. Raven had gone limp in a faint, the loss of blood taking away her ability to remain conscious. He pulled away panting, then stared at her to see if she was still breathing. Rather than see her chest rise and fall, he actually heard her heart beating. It was a little weak, and slower than it should have been, so Robin moved quickly. He immediately hoisted Raven onto his bed, only slightly distracted by the fact that he could lift her so easily, and yanked a towel from the bathroom to stop the bleeding. As he applied pressure, the other Titans banged on his door.

"What was that? Robin! You okay, man?" Cyborg shouted through the door. Hastily wiping the blood from his lips, Robin cinched the towel around her arm, then pulled his door open. Beast Boy came stumbling in first, blanching when he saw Raven lying still on Robin's bed.

"What happened?!" he asked as he took her hand in his.

Robin searched for a response as Cyborg squeezed through the doorway to let Starfire enter. "I…uh…she…w-well, we…"

His mouth snapped shut as Raven's voice came from the bed, "I came into Robin's room to see how he was doing and slipped in the bathroom. I broke the mirror on the way down, I must have hit my head." She sat up. "I'm fine." Raven pulled her hand gently from Beast Boy's grip. She stood and wavered imperceptibly as she undid the towel. There was a thin line of blood, but the injury was gone. Raven had unconsciously used her down time to heal herself. Robin could tell by the smell of her that she was still weak, but didn't argue. Raven had just saved him from the Titans.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Robin turned to meet Beast Boy's gaze. The animal changeling could smell the hormones in the air, and he knew something wasn't right. Raven had not slipped in the bathroom, but when Robin stayed silent, he walked out like everyone else. A low growl escaped from the green Titan, and it surprised even Beast Boy. His animal instincts were reacting to something, and Beast Boy had long ago learned to listen to his animal instincts. Even though things seemed to be normal; Robin was already battling Cyborg in Mega Smash Mayhem 3; Beast Boy had decided to keep a close watch on their leader.

Something wasn't right.