Sick
Chapter Five – Bequeathal
Robin walked down a long, dark tunnel, his loud footsteps echoing off the bare walls. At the end of the tunnel was a light that beckoned him with its warmth, so he picked up his pace. The light didn't seem to get any closer, but he could see a sunny park with his teammates laughing around a drenched and drooping Beast Boy. He broke into a run, but the light stayed the same distance away. He desperately wanted to join them in their fun, it felt like he hadn't hung out with them in years. A smile spread across his face when Beast Boy morphed into a dog and shook off, spraying everyone with the water.
Then something subtle changed, as if the innocence of the scene abruptly melted away, no longer protecting his merry teammates. Helpless to do anything but continue running, he watched a shadow pass over his friends and started when lightening struck. Each of them began to take cover while still giggling. A drop fell from the sky, then another and another, soon it was raining. But it wasn't water, it was blood, boiling, searing blood. His friends' laughter turned into terrified screams as the blood began to burn their skin.
Robin sprinted as fast as he could but got no closer. Directly beside him, the tunnel wall exploded inward in a shower of bricks and dust. He stumbled and rolled, only to stand up right in the face of the vampire in red who had tortured him the night before. An irrational fear gripped him and he locked up, falling backwards. He was too frightened to reach for a birdarang or shout for help or even raise his arm to protect his face, so Robin knew it wasn't natural. He could feel the vampire imposing the fear on him, the oily coils of the master's mind settling on Robin's emotions and forcing terror on him. The one in red moved with superhuman speed and jammed his fangs into the side of Robin's neck, eliciting a surprised yelp from the teenager. The vampire drank until Robin was sure death was standing over him, then stood up, leaving the crime fighter on the ground.
The master threw back his head and laughed, Robin's blood still spilling down his chin. As unnaturally terrified of the larger man Robin was, he couldn't keep his dimming sight from drifting back to his friends at the end of the tunnel. It had stopped raining, but each of them was writhing on the steaming, blood soaked grass in agony. He tried to reach for them but only a weak whimper came out with the effort to move his arm. At this, the master looked down and seized the teenager by the throat. Robin was far too weak to do anything but dangle in his grasp, gasping for air, slowly strangling. The master vampire pulled him close and hissed, "Do you want to die?"
The boy wonder couldn't even draw a breath past the clawed hand to answer. His change into a vampire had turned his life completely topsy-turvy and for the first time, Robin was having some doubts as to whether he could handle it. He had actually taken blood from each of his friends, had apparently marked each one of them as his and was eventually going to be the cause of the end of the world. He was completely powerless to stop the events around him or even defend against the maniac crushing him, so the idea occurred that it might be okay to call the vampire on his bluff. If he were gone, he wouldn't be able to hurt his dearest friends anymore, and the world could go on living in the sunlight as it always had. Rather than answer, Robin only closed his eyes in resignation.
The master hissed in disappointment, "Oh come now, little bird, I thought you'd be tougher than that," he tightened his grip and brought his grotesque face within in an inch of the strangling teenager. Whether it was through mind reading powers or simply knowing his opponent's personality, the vampire said exactly what it took to make Robin fight. "You want to leave your friends in my care?"
Although white spots were dancing before his eyes and the blood was rushing in his ears, Robin managed to pull a blast disk from his belt. He charged it and weakly tossed it at their feet. The two of them blew apart, but somehow, the vampire wasn't even phased. Robin lay panting on the ground from loss of blood, wanting to recoil when the master approached but completely unable to move. The master cut himself the same way the thug in the alley had and forced his thick, bitter blood down Robin's throat. It burned like lava going down but he swallowed it against his will.
Immediately, his mind was filled with strange images flashing by as if he was sitting on a train and observing them at high speeds. An old vampire was laying on the ground and sadly reaching for the moon as he was staked to death; a young maiden vampire was feeding on a young man; that same young man changed into a vampire and screamed as he burned at the stake; a burned and blackened carcass crawled toward a cradle with a cooing infant; the young vampire aged and became an elder; the elder read from a giant tome; the Chosen One was found and turned; the Chosen One was sacrificed in an elaborate magic ceremony; a horrible black creature emerged from the magic circle and covered the earth; and the last image was of all Robin's friends bleeding to death.
Although he had never even read about anything like this before, Robin understood what was happening. He had just witnessed the abbreviated history of the master vampire, not only receiving his memories and powers, but also his knowledge of the coming rite. He knew what had been done in preparation and how he had been chosen and also knew what was coming. Every intimate detail of bringing forth the hand of Krimjehf planted itself into his brain, filling him with dread and disgust. Robin screamed as the images burned themselves into his head and rolled to his side to vomit.
By the time he felt better, Robin could have sworn he had taken over the master's body. He could hear and smell things a million times more sharply, but most importantly, he could see his friends still drowning in blood. He was a little surprised to find himself alone in the hallway again, but he shrugged it off and ran with supernatural speed toward the other Titans. Again to his surprise, he finally made it and stepped out of the black tunnel into a bloody puddle. The sky had been blackened by the unnatural storm clouds and a nice red mist hung in the air. He felt the bloodsong surge and knew his new fangs had grown longer.
With red eyes glowing, he looked down to see Starfire crawling toward him, hand reaching out and lips moving as if she was saying something. He strained to hear what she said but he couldn't understand the Tamerranian. As soon as she got within arm's reach, he yanked her into his arms and succumbed to the bloodlust, tearing into her side, reveling as her hot yellow blood sprayed all over his face. While he couldn't understand what she had been saying only a moment ago, her screams were quite clear. The more he tore at her, the more aroused he became. Before he knew what he had done, he had pulled her still beating heart from her hip.
After the alien had gone limp in his arms, he turned to Cyborg who, like the others, had been trying to crawl away. Robin couldn't help but laugh at their pathetic attempts to save themselves. With a strength he didn't know he had, Robin yanked the robotic limbs from the man one by one, and when he was just a torso, drank. He somehow understood that the pain Cyborg was feeling made his blood a delicious tart flavor, and Robin drank until the black man stopped moving. Rather than let his heart stop beating in his chest, the masked vampire punched through the metal plating and ripped his heart out, one of the few organs that had not been replaced with bionics.
Beast Boy was a bit more of a challenge, he had mustered the last of his strength to turn into a cockroach and scurry under one of Cyborg's severed legs. Robin closed his eyes and concentrated all his power on forcing Beast Boy to reveal himself. It was only a few moments later that the animorph involuntarily popped back into his human form, screaming for mercy. Robin cackled as he held the green Titan down and drained him, this time taking a delicate bite from the extracted changeling's heart. The meat was delectable and while he could eat it all day, but he decided to save his grisly collection for later.
He had saved the best for last, and he felt a surge of pleasure when he saw Raven. She was not crawling away or pleading, but simply laying in the burning blood, a blank expression on her face. He could tell she had already tried her magic and found it inept, so had decided to accept her death and face it with dignity. He couldn't wait to get his teeth in her. Instead of picking her up and rending her in his own arms, he knelt down over the witch and took his time. He breathed in her scent and was delighted to find it was strong with fear. It was one of the most stimulating things he'd ever smelled. He turned her head and gently brushed his fangs along her neck, intoxicated by the sudden change from fear to terror in her scent.
He broke her skin almost tenderly, but then drank like a lion, fiercely drawing the blood out. She whimpered under his grip and he moaned in pleasure. Raven knew she was close to death, so she whispered the last plea she could think of, "Robin, please…"
At her soft words, spoken in her darkest moments of desperation, he went crazy with pleasure. As her heart stopped, he orgasmed, still holding her in his fangs and pressing himself up against her. He groaned into her hair and then pulled his head back, overcome by pleasure. As he pulled it from her broken chest, he held her heart as the most prized of all.
Licking his lips and readjusting his tight pants, Robin sat on Cyborg's broken metal chest, laying all the hearts out in a row. He had not just enjoyed killing his friends, he had loved it. As he looked at his collection, he was overcome with the giggles. The giggles soon turned into cackles and then into gales of maniacal laughter. He was stronger than all of them and had shown them who was dominant. He had taken their sweet life essences and was incredibly powerful, more powerful than he had ever been before. He laughed until he thought he might die.
Robin awoke screaming, sweat pouring off his body, just like each other Titan. He calmed himself a little and sat panting, staring at the empty intravenous blood bags on his nightstand, stunned at the vividness of the dream. He felt wetness between his legs and couldn't keep his cheeks from burning in shame. He leapt up in a sudden fit of energy and tore the sheets from his bed, barely pausing long enough to throw a robe on before he practically bolted from his room, heading for the laundry. As soon as he emerged, he nearly fell over in shock.
The other Titans stood, gathered in a group, holding their hands to their chests, as if protecting their hearts. Each one of them had the wide-eyed panic look about them, and Beast Boy even cowered a little when Robin made eye contact with him. Cyborg was trembling and Starfire kept her eyes on the floor. All that wasn't the shocking part though.
It was the fact that they were covered in blood from head to toe.