Virgil stepped out onto the front porch and stretched. "Good morning Dakota. What a beautiful sunny day it is. Let's see that paper. Maybe there's some mention of me in it. What!" On the front cover was huge picture of Sparkles battling Carmendillo. The Caption read Female Static Saves Dakota From Obnoxious Supervillians. Shaking his head in disbelief he went inside.

"Morning family how's everyone this fine day?" Virgil asked.

"Everything is okay. Adam called to check up on me last night. He is such a sweetheart. What you got there?" Sharon asked as she put breakfast on the table. Virgil slid her the paper and she made a face. They hadn't even put her name in the title.

"Its good to see you two so active. Virgil I got a note from Dr. Harris to excuse you from Gym Class for the rest of this week and all of next week. Sharon take it easy today at collage your still a little unsteady on your feet. Now I'll see you both at the Community Center today right after school is that clear?" Robert asked his kids glaring at each of them.

"Yes sir."

"Come on baby brother we better hurry. You don't want miss your bus and Adam is giving me a lift to school." Sharon informed him. They left the house and Virgil started walking to the corner. Sharon grabbed him on the shoulder and made him face her. "Is it always like this for you in the paper?"

Shaking his head no Virgil told her, "It will get better just you wait and see. Remember try to keep that electricity under control. Where's your costume anyways? Mine's in my backpack." She indicated the gym bag she was carrying. Waving good-bye he ran for the bus and took a seat next to Richie.

"So V how's things going with Sharon?" Richie whispered.

"Not bad. She's a fast learner. This morning she used her powers to make an edible breakfast. What are you doing with Backpack? You almost never bring him to school." Virgil exclaimed as they got off the bus.

"I thought that during science class today I fool around with him. I want to try and make him able to pick up vampire DNA the same way he does with Metahuman DNA. I'm just having some minor difficulties." Richie explained, "Well I'll see you at the center after school."

The entire school day was a blur in both Richie and Virgil's mind. They were too preoccupied with other things to be concerned with schoolwork. Virgil was trying to think off a way to destroy the evil bloodsuckers and Richie was online most of the time talking to Doctors trying get some medical knowledge on this. On Dr. a Dr. Selena Knight seemed to have a lot of knowledge on this stuff. All in all both boys were very much relieved when they got out of school and arrived at the center.

"Virgil! Richie! Over here!" Sharon yelled from across the court where she was talking to Adam. Adam stretched an arm and scooted them over to the two.

"Hey Virgil. Hi Richie. Mr. Hawkins has agreed to let me be in charge of the music for the big event. I've decided to play not only my own music, but others as well. Want to help me go through the selection?" Adam asked.

"They love to help. I'll be right back with some refreshments." Sharon told them.

"Hurricane Sharon a hundred different places at a hundred different times." Virgil joked, "Seriously its great that you want help with this."

"Yeah a big time superhero like you is sure to draw in a lot of dancers and donators. Not donating because you're a Bang Baby right?" Richie asked. Adam nodded his head.

"Here you boys go. I hope you like lemonade." Sharon said shaking head. They started going through the music choices, but kept getting distracted by Sharon shaking her head. Finally Adam asked, "What's wrong Sharon? You keep shaking your head like you're in pain. Do you need to lie down?"

"No I'm fine it's just this persistent ringing in my ear. I can't make it stop." Sharon explained. Virgil perked up when she said that and tuned his powers to listen in on police banners. Sure enough there was an alert!

"Uh Sharon you and Richie want to help me get some things from the car please?" Virgil said suddenly.

"But you don't have a car," Adam told him puzzled.

"He means my dads car. We'll be back as fast we can. You just take care on getting the music selected," Sharon said kissing him on the cheek before the three of them hurried out of there as fast they could. Adam just shook his head and got back to work.

Five minutes later all three of them where in the sky heading to the crime scene. "So what I was hearing in my ear was actually a police bulletin?" Sparkles asked.

Static nodded his head. "Yeah we can pick up radio waves at anytime. You learn to basically ignore it unless it's really important. Gear whom are we dealing with anyways? The police signal only indicated two Metahumans wreaking the fashion show and stealing thousands in designer clothes."

Gear checked with Backpack. A new feature he installed in him could instantly hook them up with his database and scan for any known Bang Baby. "I got you two. Its Puff and Onyx. Lets stay on our toes. We don't want to mess with these two."

"Are you kidding? I still have to make them pay for trying to catch Adam and use me as a hostage. Their going down big time." Sparkles shot back at him as the arrived at Dakota Civic Center.

"I love shopping for clothes don't you Onyx?" Puff said as she tried on a variety of clothes. The ones she liked she threw at Onyx who was being used as a human coat rack.

"I don't know Puff. Shopping is really more of a girls thing." He replied sagging under the weight.

"Talk, talk, talk. That's all you do. I wonder why I still hang out with you. Tell me something am I more of a summer or spring?" Puff asked. Suddenly the clothes were zapped out of her hands and stuck back on the hangers.

"Personally I think your more of winter, but then again no one asked me." Static told her.

"You! I thought you would have wised up by now and learned not to mess with me. But if you insist to do things the hard way then so be it. Onyx! Get rid of his little brainy buddy and I'll take care of Mr. Personality here." Puff said turning into smoke and flying at him.

Onyx cracked his knuckles and started walking menacingly at Gear. "Now lets not be hasty. Whoa!" Gear ducked just in time to avoid having his face splattered across the stage. Gear raced across the stage making Backpack grab belts and ties as he ran. He hid behind two rows of designer dresses.

"Hold still you little gnat. I'm not going hurt you much." Onyx said as he started looking between the rows of clothes. When Onyx was about to reach him Gear pulled on one end of his cord and Backpack the other. Onyx fell flat on the stage and Gear wasted no time using three zap caps to tie him up firmly. "Now I glad I learn to tie a tie."

Static was racing across the ceiling with Puff in hot pursuit. Every so often she sent one of her acid breath his way. "I have one word for you. Breath mints. Man girl instead of thinking about your image you should be thinking about that."

"Joke all you want Static this time I got you." Puff declared lining up the young hero in her sight. She took a deep breath and aimed. That's when a whole load of clothes ended up on top her sending her crashing to the floor. She wiggled out of the bottom and stared at her attacker.

"How can you be a model when the clothes don't even fit you? I got something for you. I call it my sparkler!" Sparkles declared blinding Puff with a shower of lights. Using her powers knocked her out. "Not bad huh little brother?" The police came in and took the two criminals away.

"Man its to late to go back to the community center. One of should call Pops and tell him we went home early." Static insisted. Sparkles nodded and called their father. He was mad that they left with out telling anyone, but was glad that they were okay. The three hero's head for the Abandon Gas Station of Solitude.

"This is your Head Quarters? What's the matter couldn't find a tree house? Please tell me this place isn't rat infested!" Sparkles complained when they arrived.

"Nag nag nag. Is that all you can do?" Static asked.

"Look I'm just saying you could do better Virgil." Sparkles snarled at him.

"Ah people can we all settle down. We have a lot of work to get done and I think more could be accomplished if we weren't arguing."

"So what are we supposed to be researching anyways?" Sharon asked taking off her mask and sunglasses. She picked up one of the books and stared, "Vampires, why in heavens name would you be researching something that doesn't exist?" Sharon wondered out loud.

Snatching the book from her and handing her a video Virgil answered, "Because according to Richie they do exist. The girls who attacked you were a bunch of vampires. There's a lot of lore about vampires. What we need to do is isolate what's real and what's fact. Richie only managed to get some of their powers down as well as how you id one."

"I still say you've gone batty. Alright I watch these flicks and see what I can determine, but only to humor you." Sharon said heading to the back room.

"Your sister can accept alien being, being transformed into a human battery, having a boyfriend who can stretch like rubber, but she can't accept vampires? Honestly where's the respect?" Richie asked.

"Oh shut up and get to work. We have three hours till sunset and my Pops starts wondering where I am so lets get cracking."

For the next three hours they poured over all the material available to them. Richie kept running test on the saliva sample trying to determine how strong a light source had to be to affect it. Virgil discovered that most vampires' myths were pure fantasy, but there was a grain of truth to them. All Sharon could determine from the movies is that all vampires seemed to be evil. "Well we've learned all we can. Come on Sharon we better head home. Want to come with us Richie?" Virgil asked stretching his aching limbs.

"Nah you two go on. I'll head home soon. Just a few more experiments to do." Richie told them. The Hawkins said their good byes and left. Richie went back to work more determine then ever to find out the truth.

Darkness fell over the city quickly. Everywhere you looked you could tell that people were in a hurry to get going. Selena walked down the streets of Dakota calmly trying not to attract attention. She pushed her sunglasses up to cover her eyes. No point in giving her prey an advantage. She walked purposely through a condemned section of Dakota listening to the night air. Finally she pinpointed who she was looking for. In an alley way scrounging for food was an old homeless man with a cane. His name was Ragtag and he was her prey.

"I am so going to regret doing this," Selena thought before taking a deep breath and saying "Hello their sir. Can you please help me I'm lost?"

Ragtag turned towards the voice thinking he could sucker another fool into doing his dirty work when he gasped. A dark angel stood in front of him. She was so beautiful. What girl who looks like that would be in this part of time. "Must be a hooker," He thought. Out loud he said, "Yes, what is it my dear?"

"My name is Selena and I'm late for a engagement with someone at the Dakota Towers. Would you be a dear and lead me there?" Selena asked coyly. She removed her shades just a bit to make sure that he would do as asked

"Of course my dear. Please follow me right this way." Ragtag said indicating the way with his cane. The lovely young lady followed him. This was going be such a treat.

"If he so much as lays a hand on my butt, I'm going to break his hand in two and throw him into the nearest dumpster. I just hope that Gear is in the area and he's as smart as everyone says." Selena thought as she followed the filthy man.

Richie was playing around with the computer model of the vampire DNA. He had made some progress with deciphering it, but much of the code still was an enigma. There where so many questions he wanted to ask, but who could he ask for the answers. Not the vampires that much was certain. Everything he read about them said they were nothing, but bloodthirsty monsters. And yet when he looked at the painting of the vampires he couldn't help, but respect them. They looked so noble and honorable. His eyes kept getting drawn to one female in particular. A brunette haired girl with violet eyes who was wearing a fancy dress. Why was he drawn to her?

"Its nothing Richie. You're just lonely that's all. One quick patrol then I'll head home to do my homework. Better call Static so he doesn't worry. Gear to Static come in please." Gear called over into his Shock Box.

"Sharon here Richie. Virgil's is talking with Dad right now. Can I take a message?"

"Yeah just tell him I went on a quick patrol and I'll see him at school tomorrow. Gear out." Turning off his communicator he locked up the headquarters and flew off to the slums of the city first.

Selena had had just about enough. Ragtag had led her to a secluded alley and was planning on using his powers on her to drain her before he raped her. She wasn't about to let that happen. Swiftly she unsheathed her knife and readied it. Calling out to the others she told them to get ready.

"So my dear as you can see Dakota Towers is just over that wall and twenty blocks. You can take a bus there." Ragtag explained turning to face the girl. A malicious smile lit his face.

"Thank you kind sir. You've been most helpful. Now I'll be going." Selena told him. Like lighting Ragtag reached out and grabbed her left arm. She glared at him. "I'm warning you. If you don't want trouble let me go NOW!"

"You're the one who's in trouble my dear. Very big trouble." Ragtag told her. His eyes started to glow along with his cane as he started to drain her of her energy and powers. That was a big mistake.

Faster than the eye could see Selena cut his cane into with her knife. In the same instant she twisted her arm around reversing positions with Ragtag. She held him tight while he screeched in pain as his arm broke in two. After hearing the crunch she picked him up and threw him into the wall were he collapsed in a heap. "Never mess with a creature of the night." She whispered as she deliberately walked over to him. Cupping her fist she knocked him unconscious. Parting her lips she let her fangs glisten in the moonlight as she began to feast.

Not to far away in the air Gear was making a final check. "Hmm. Nothing happening down below. Pretty quiet so I guess I can head to downtown. Whoa what in the world?" Richie asked as Backpack began blaring his alarm. On Gear's visor the readouts for the location of a vampire popped up. "Yes! I got the alarm to work. I guess I should call Static. Nah I can handle this myself."

Selena was just finishing throwing up when Gear appeared at the entrance to the alley. "Finally." She thought. She watched how he evaluated the situation and approached with extreme caution. "Hello there. I've been expecting you. Gear right? My name is Selena and let me tell you what an honor it is to meet you. Don't worry about Ragtag over there. I've already fixed him up good. I would have feasted on him, but his blood was like arsenic." Selena informed him.

Gear glared at the girl. He had Backpack do a quick medical scan and found out that she was right. He'd wake up batter and bruise, but with his broken arm in a sling and more importantly his blood in his body. "What do you want? I mean you said you were expecting me so you must have drawn me here for a reason."

"You are a smart one. Tell you what Gear. I know that you want to catch me and learn all my secrets and I want a decent battle. So if you can catch me I'll tell you everything. But if I catch you, you have to do what I want. Deal?" Gear nodded. "Good then start chasing me. Because you can't catch what you can't get!" Spinning around she jumped on the building wall and by digging her nails in deep began to climb.

Gear didn't hesitate for a moment. He lobed a light bomb at her that just fell short of his mark. She reached the top of the building and began to run with Gear in hot pursuit. Occasionally she would shoot her nails at him, but he just avoided them. "He's as determined as me." She thought gleefully.

Selena came to sudden halt surprising Gear who over shot her. By the time he got turned around she was in the air levitating. Her knife flashed in the moonlight. "Come on fight me or are you a coward?" she taunted him.

"No one calls me a coward!" Gear shouted throwing two zap caps at her. The first one missed, but second one tied up her hands. "Got you!" he crowed, "Those coils are made up of one hundred pure titatanium. No where you can break those."

Selena brought the coils up to her mouth and chewed right through them. She spat them to the ground and smiled at Gears disbelief. "Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

"I got these! Backpack go for it!" Richie shouted holding up a crucifix and garlic. Backpack squirted holy water at her. None of it affect her because she charged him and they started to fight hand to hand.

"You fight like a true vampire! With honor, courage, and bravery!" Selena informed her opponent as the aerial battle continued. Neither opponent was giving up.

"Well, at least you don't fight dirty like a vampanzee!" Gear grunted. He kneed her in the chest and she went down hard on the roof. He landed beside her ready to take her in when she slashed him with both her nails and knife. "This hunt is not over yet!" She hissed. She leapt across some buildings and ducked into an alley where Gear caught up with her. The alley was completely black and one-way in and out. Gear switched on his night vision and got a zap cap out. He was prepared for anything.

"Looks like a dead end for you." Gear told her. Something wasn't right. Selena wasn't cowering in fear nor was she trying to escape. In fact she seemed very calm and she was smirking.

"You might want rethink that Gear." Selena said. Clicking her nails the rest of the Clan save Merton appeared. Vanez and Siba blocked his exit from behind while Cassandra, Kathren, and Arra came from all angles. "A good huntress always sets a trap for her prey. I baited you with Ragtag and wore you down with our battle. Now you're ours. Take him!" Selena ordered.

Siba and Vanez pounced on him from behind and ripped Backpack off him. Gear tried tossing his zap caps but Kathren crushed them in her hand. Cassandra found his shock box and disconnected it. Arra delivered the knock out breath. It was over in less than two minuets.

"We got him and with little injury. Good work Selena I'm proud of you." Cassandra told her friend.

"Your welcome. I'm just sorry I didn't hurt the guy more. He's pure evil. Well lets get going. We haven't got all night." Selena joked as they picked up Gear and his stuff and flitted home.

Merton was passing anxiously on the porch waiting for his clan to return home. They had voted that he should stay and guard the house since he was the leader and also to prepare a few things in case they did turn Gear.

"Where could they be? I'll pull my fangs out if they don't get back soon." He muttered under his breath. Glancing once more across the graveyard he saw the distant forms of six no seven forms coming closer to the house. A few minuets later they had all arrived. Cassandra was the one carrying Gear and she looked tired.

"Here, take him. He's a lot heavier than he looks. My arms are killing me. I knew we should have taken the Hearse." Cassandra said while trying to catch her breath.

"Hey you were the one who said we needed to keep a low profile sis. Don't blame us if your arms are sore. Where you taking him anyways?" Kathren asked annoyed.

The answer was obvious in a few minutes. They arrived in the parlor. The entire room looked like something from the Victorian Era. They used this room to simply sit and have conversation. Merton set Gear down gently in one of the chairs before using the restraints on him.

"So now that we have him we better find out who he really is so we can determine the best strategy on convincing him to join us. I mean it's not like in the olden days were we turned people into vampires to survive from plagues and evil lords," Siba commented on. He wrung his hands nervously. The kid could wake up at anytime.

"How are we going to do that? We mostly trashed his gear and he wasn't carrying a id on him." Vanez asked impatiently.

"I have a suggestion. Vanez could you check to see if that robot has a camera on it?" Selena asked. Vanez check Backpack out. The little robot was damaged big time, but he thought it could be repaired. He found a tiny camera and gave to Selena. "Thanks. Okay I simply remove his helmet and take a picture. Then I run it through the Dakota High Schools records system and bingo! We have one Richard Foley. Straight A student with a 4.0 grade point average. Not a lot else here mostly just the basics. Hmm you guys might want to see if you can find some glasses he needs them."

Cassandra retrieved the glasses and put them on. He looked very handsome. If there were ever a time to test him no would be it. He could wake up at any moment. She bent over him and gently bit down. A tiny amount of blood rushed into her mouth. She swirled around her mouth a few times before swallowing. She spit on the wound closing it. Wiping her fangs off on her sleeve she rejoined the group.

"Well how is it? Is he pure or not?" Merton demanded angrily. He didn't want another disaster like Kurda.

"He descends from a sire who is partially evil. Not in a way that does bad things to people more along the lines of racism. He has been tempted by evil before and beat it. Evil also took control of him once and a lot of bad things have happen to him. Yet through it all he has remained strong and true. I can taste in his blood purity, goodness, and all the qualities of a true hero in him. We couldn't find a person who was the complete opposite of Kurda. He's no danger to us." Cassandra said calmly.

"Excellent we can proceed then with phase two." Merton stated. He took a glance over his mate shoulder and saw that their guest was starting to wake up. He signaled for the clan to take their places. Now the real fun would begin.

Richie moaned in pain as he regained consciousness. He had a headache the size of Montana. His eyes fluttered open and took a minute to focus. When they did he wish he stayed asleep. An entire clan of vampires surrounded him! He tried to get up but found himself strapped down to the chair. He struggled to break the bonds that held him, but it was no good.

"Don't even bother. Those restraints are designed to hold down a vampanzee. They can very well hold you in place," Cassandra told him waving her hand dismissively.

"Well yeah. I'm going to be the first to break loose from them, so just watch me." Richie yelled at them.

"Fine continue to struggle. You're the only one who will get hurt Richie." Merton told him. He watched in amusement as Richie's eyes widened in horror at being called by his real name. For the first time he realized that he wasn't wearing his helmet.

"I have no idea who you're talking about. My name is Gear," Richie insisted.

"Please don't lie we know the truth. You are Richie Foley, a sixteen year old with an IQ of 460 if your tests don't lie. Now where are my manners? I'm being a very poor host. Allow me to introduce my clan and I. I am Merton, Merton Dingles. You've already met my mate Cassandra and her sister Kathren Masters. The one who lured you is Selena Knight." Merton began before Richie interrupted him.

"Selena Knight? As in Dr. Selena Knight the famous doctor who does research on blood disorders and has never been seen?" Selena nodded her head. She was very pleased he heard of her.

Merton cleared his throat to get Richie's attention before continuing with the introductions. "As I was saying, the boy to your left is Siba Niles and on your right is Vanez Blaze. Lastly I like to introduce Arra Sails. We are the last of the vampire race at your service."

"We like to welcome you into are home, Vampire Manor, as our humble guest," Siba said bowing.

"So is this how you treat guest? You kidnapped them then restrain them to a chair. If it is you need to work on your people skills." Richie joked weakly. Inside he was trying not to panic. Why had they brought him here?

"Please don't judge us harshly. We only hunted you down and brought you here because we didn't know how else to get you to listen to us." Selena informed him.

"We have an offer for you. We know you've been studying us, and we've been studying you. Were impressed by what we discovered." Vanez said.

"Get to the point please. I have to get home for dinner."

"We wish for you to join us. We believe you make a fine vampire. Your role in the clan would be simple. You could be an inventor. Think about all the powers and benefits you would get if you became one us, a creature of the night." Merton told him.

"You want me to become a vampire? Are you out of your freaking mind? No way in hell would I ever join you. You're nothing, but monsters that prey on innocent people. You kill for pleasure and are evil. I never become evil." Richie spat at them.

"Is that what you think we are? Monsters from some old black and white horror movie? Then you have mistaken us for our most hated enemies the vampanzee's." Kathren replied. She was horribly offended by what he called her kind.

"You are one to talk. You say you're a hero, but who gave you the right to use your powers to determine one's innocent and one's guilt? Your not everyone's judge and jury. You have no right to tell us where monsters without judging us for who we are." Siba exclaimed.

"Perhaps we caught you at a bad time. This is an important decision and one not to be taking lightly. You're free to leave at any time. Selena shall gather your things." Cassandra told him.

"Wait! Please don't go. This is a rare opportunity. Stay and observe us. Judge us for who we really are. If by the end of the night we are still blood sucking monsters then we'll let you go. You may inform the police of where we are and we will not attempt to leave." Arra informed him.

Richie sighed. He was running out of options and didn't have the strength to fight them. Maybe if he stayed he could learn how to defeat them. He nodded his head and Arra released him and put some salve on his sore wrist while the others went off to do their own things.

"I hope your feel better. We didn't mean to injure so badly." Arra said.

"Sure just as your friends weren't trying to hurt that girl two nights ago," Richie said sarcastically

"That was an accident! Kathren was in agony! She didn't know what she was doing she only was reacting! Are you telling me you haven't done the same thing before?" Arra questioned him angrily.

"Yeah, but I didn't put anyone in the hospital and not check to see if they were okay!"

"We did! Selena and Vanez went there and informed us all was well. Sharon Hawkins brother donated blood for her, which saved her life! We always make sure the people we fed on are okay. We don't want them to die!"

Richie looked at her in astonishment. "You mean you look after your victims? I I didn't know."

"Well now you do. Come on there's lot more to see in this manor and we have all night. You don't want to stay in the parlor all evening do you?" Arra asked him.

"No, its just this place has everything from a real Victorian age parlor room. Don't tell me you actually have guest in here for tea and crumpets." Richie said glancing around the room.

"Mostly we just relax and take a breather in here. Also the kittens we adopted sleep here. There they are now. Come here Moonlight, come her Midnight," Arra called. The two kittens raced towards her and she scooped them up. "We save their lives from a hungry raccoon. We can't feed on them since their blood is poisonous to us, but they do make good pets. Victor will be pleased when he meets them. Go on and play. Coming?" She called over her shoulder as she exited the room.

"Wait who's Victor?" Richie asked. She shook her head indicating she tell him later.

Arra showed him the lounge, study, the living room, and the library. Richie gasped in sheer amazement as he looked around the huge library. There were hundreds of shelves containing every sort of book there was. Some were very old and others were new. An entire section of the library had been totally dedicated to mystical creatures. He ran his fingers over the cover of one them and gently picked up. It was all about werewolves.

"This is amazing. You must love to read if you have these books. Have you read them all?" Richie asked

"Yes. Although I was born in a time when not many people could read I taught myself to read. I thought the skill could come in handy one day and it did. I can read, write, and speak over a dozen languages. Helps me a lot with my job as public relations." Arra told him selecting a book for herself and began to read it.

"What exactly does one do in public relations?" Richie asked curiously. He was starting to lose his fear of her. She was a very fascinating person.

"Lots of stuff. I handle our finances, buy property, and keep the police away that kind of thing." She said with a shrug.

"Finances? Just how much money do you have?" Richie asked setting his book down on a table.

Arra ran a quick estimate in her head. "I say about 3.7 trillion dollars in a variety of bank, checking, and credit accounts. Plus all our safety deposit boxes and stocks. Were pretty well of I would say." She laughed gaily as Richie's mouth fell wide open.

"Come on you must be hungry. Its nearly nine a clock. We can get something to eat in the kitchen." Arra informed him.

"Please tell me you have something besides blood." Richie said. The thought of drinking blood made him all queasy inside.

"No, we have plenty of normal food. Why don't you freshen up in the bathroom over there?" She said pointing at it as they crossed the lobby. Nodding his head he entered the bathroom and gasped in total amazement.

He came out of the bathroom a few minuets later. He never expected vampires to have a billion dollar bathroom. Nor did he expect to find Siba in the kitchen making sub sandwiches. He handed them each one and they dug in.

So Siba right? What exactly do you do?" Richie asked between bites.

"I'm the Keeper. I make sure we have enough supplies and that no one disturbs the house while we rest. The position is a good one, but it's kind of made me wimpy. That's why one time when my mate Kathren took me to a nightclub, I got my bat tattoo. Don't you think it's awesome?" Siba asked tracing the design.

"Honestly, Siba you were lucky to find someone who gave fifteen year olds tats without parental permission. Look I've shown our guest here all of the first floor except the dinning room, which he doesn't need to see. You think I can show him the basement?" Arra asked cautiously.

Siba eyes went wide and suddenly his voice was inside her head, "NO WAY! Merton would have your fangs if you let him downstairs. Show him the rest of the house, but unless Merton or Cassandra gives you their permission you can forget the Throne and Ceremony Room!"

Richie had a feeling that the two of them were communicating between each other mentally. He decided to make it easy for them. He got up from the table and said, "You have a great downstairs, but I would like to see the rest of the house if that's alright."

Arra seemed to come out of her trance. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and led Richie up the grand staircase. The mix amazed him of old and new. They came to a halt outside her door. "Enter with your own free will," She told him bowing in mock amusement.

"I always thought it was you who needed my permission to enter a dwelling and not the other way around. Wow! Did you make all of these?" Richie asked, as he looked around at all the origami.

"Yes I did. I learned the art centuries ago. I find that it helps me relax and focus. The hardest ones to do for me are the cranes. Here I want you to have this." She told him handing him a paper flower.

Richie was astonished to learn that she practiced yoga and botany. He loved her crossbred plants. When he saw the portrait of Larten he wanted to ask more, but after seeing Arra face he thought better of it.

Through out the rest of the night he saw the rest of the house and learned more about the clan. He watched Kathren perform "Breakaway", Vanez wrestled him in the gym, and Selena showed him the lab. Cassandra and Merton showed him the conference room. There was a bit of a scene in the Media Room when he saw his file, but he calmed down after watching the stars in the observatory.

Arra and Richie were laughing as they strolled through the gardens behind the house later. They both were talking about all sorts of things. Richie had to admit to himself that he and Arra had a lot in common.

"I still can't believe that you chose to live in an abandoned mortuary."

"It wasn't my first choice, but it was the only place that I felt we'd be safe during the day. Would you care to join me on the roof?" Arra asked. Without waiting for a response she levitated upward to the roof. Richie laughed and activated his rocket skates landing right next to her.

She laid down on the roof and gazed up at the stars. She breathed in the night air deeply before sitting down and drew her knees to her chest. "I've always enjoyed the night sky. No matter where I am in the world the stars make me feeling like I'm back in the village of my birth."

"I've learned a lot about your vampire culture and your friends. Yet I haven't heard a word about how you became a vampire. If and this is a big if I join you I would like to know about your past. Please tell me. We still have plenty of night left and I'm not going anywhere." Richie told her as he settled down next to her.

Arra bit her lip with her fangs and sighed. It had been so long since she told anyone about her past. Where was she to begin? The start would be the best place. "This will be a long story so please try not to interrupt. I will try to explain everything to the best of my abilities. I was born in a French village that no longer exist in the year 1289. I was the fifth child out of seven and one of three children to survive childhood. My life was never easy and things were difficult for my parents. They sold cloth and I helped watch my younger siblings. I was never satisfied by my position in life. I wanted more than to marry and raise kids. I guess you could say I was ahead of my time. When I was growing up I heard stories about monsters that prayed on peoples blood. Demons from hell who used their supernatural power to kill and attack human in their quest to take over the world. I dismissed the stories as nothing more than childhood fantasy and concentrated on more important things, such as learning to read. I had taken a Bible from the local church and would spend hours reading it. Then when I was sixteen something awful happened. A plague of some sort hit my village and everyone except my friends and I caught it. I will never understand why we were spared, but I can tell you watching my little brother, sister, and father die in front of me was very painful. I can still hear their voices in my mind sometimes pleading for me to help them," Arra said. A single tear ran down her cheek and she shivered in the night's air.

"So what happen next? How did you survive and become a vampire?" Richie whispered. He was shaken by what she had told him.

Arra wiped her face and resumed her tale. "Almost the entire village was dead within a month. My mother was dying on my house floor when they came. Two strangers dressed in fine clothes. The gentleman, Victor, went to speak with the boys. Demetra, his wife, came and spoke with each of us separately. I was the last one she spoke too."

Flashback

"Good evening sweet child. Do I have permission to enter? I would like to speak with you about a matter of great importance." Demetra called out from the doorway.

"You shouldn't be here Madame. There's a terrible sickness going around and my mother is in here dying of it. I would not wish for you to catch it too." Arra said politely

"I can assure you I won't catch anything. I just would like to speak with you Arra Sails. Please open the door."

Arra got up from the floor and opened the door. A well dressed woman entered the room and took a seat next to her mother. She glanced down at her with a look of pity in her eyes. "It is always sad to lose a loved one. She is far to gone for me to help, but I can help you. I can make sure that you never get sick ever and that you're never alone. I'm Demetra by the way. Demetra Stone."

"You already know my name as well as many other things about me. What powers do you posses that will make me immune to such things and grant me this life you speak of?"

"A life of eternal night. You would have great power and would live forever. I am a vampire dear child. I was made a half vampire at age fourteen and for twelve years I have been learning the ways of my people. I'm now twenty six and fully blood one. You have nothing left here in this place and your friends have already said they will join me and my mate on our journey home. Please come with us." Demetra told the young girl. She stood up and headed for the door. Arra looked at her mother and then at Demetra. Grabbing her few meager belongings she left the house never to return. End Flashback

"One week later I was at Vampire Mountain and mated to Larten, the boy you saw in the painting in my room. He loved making illusions and playing with spiders. He was killed in fire by another vampire Kurda two hundred years ago. Kurda was our biggest mistake. But now were ready to try again. That's were you come in. I know you want to hear more about what happened after I was made a vampire, but maybe later. Now lets focus on you." Arra told him as she turned to face him.

"Wait before you continue there's something I have to say. The past several hours we've spent together have been the best of my life. I feel like I've known you for more than a few hours. You remind me of a dream I've been having since I was little. It started when I found an old comic book that had a painting in it of your clan. It told me about the marks on your fingers. Do you understand this feeling?" Richie asked holding her hand in his.

"Yes, yes I do. I also have dreamt about you and found out all there is to know about you. You're like my mate. The term mate has many meanings among my people. It can mean husband, boyfriend, lover, or soul mate. Richie please join us. I don't ever want to be apart. You have to know that if you leave we would have to erase your memory of this incident for security reasons and drain you of a little blood." Arra pleaded with him.

"Maybe I don't have to become a vampire and I can still help you guys. I could invent something that would rid you of your weakness to the sun or dependency on blood. I mean you're what 716 years old? Why not have a child instead of blooding me." Richie told her.

Arra looked at him sadly. "Don't you know? I'm barren Richie. I can never have children. "No vampire may sire a child and no vampriss may bear one," It's so written in our book, The Code Of The Vampire. I know this is a lot to absorb in such a short time, but you need to make a choice."

Richie let his mind think. It processed all the pros and cons about this and brought in any relative data. In the end it was his heart that made the choice. He couldn't leave and never remember Arra or worse have to fight her and kill her. That would be the most awful thing in the world. "Tell your friends I'm staying."

Arra squalled in joy and hugged him tightly. She called out telepathically to her clan mates to ready everything in the Ceremony Room. Grabbing his hand she led him back inside to one of the empty bedrooms. "Siba will be here in a minute to dress you for the ceremony. I have to go prepare myself. See you in a few."

Ten minutes later everyone had gathered in the Ceremony Room. The candles and fire burned brightly and flowers had been strewn everywhere. The clan had put on their finest clothes and Siba entered the room with Richie who now wore a green suit with white trim. He took his place at the alter and turned to face the clan.

Merton cleared his throat and began. " Seven hundred years ago we were blooded and conducted into the vampire society. Tonight I have the honor of blooding our newest member in over two hundred years. Richard Foley also known as Gear has by his own free will gracelessly decided to join our clan. Tonight we make him one of us forever. Place your left hand on the book and raise your right hand in the vampire salute. Do you Richie swear your allegiance to your clan, to never kill an innocent human, to protect your King and Queen with your life and above all else live an honorable and loyal life?"

"I do Merton. I give you my word as a superhero of the city of Dakota that I will never betray you or any of my friends." Richie answered.

Merton handed the book to Cassandra and took a deep breath. He dug his nails into the fleshy tip allowing them to bleed. Richie raised his hands and allowed Merton to dig his nails into him. He felt Merton's blood pump through his right side pass through his heart and out his left side back into Merton. After a few minutes he broke the connection and spat on both their fingers to stop the bleeding. "You must know be recognized by the Bloodstone. It is the source of our power and our greatest protector."

Cassandra removed the huge red stone from the safe and brought it over to the alter and set it down. The stone sparkles in the flames showing off its bright pointy edges. "Simply place both hands on the stone and allow it to take a bit of blood. Think the name you wished to be known as for the rest of your life and we shall be done." Richie did as he was asked. He turned to the door waiting for it to open.

The door opened letting in Arra dressed in a black wedding dress carrying origami flowers. She smiled at him as she joined him at the alter. A cord tied their hands together and Kathren stood ready to perform the ceremony. "We are the creatures of the night. In our lives we select one person to be bond to for the rest of our nights. That person is our mate who is linked to us forever. By tasting the blood of our loved one mixed with wine we celebrate the union between the end of our old lives and the start of brand new ones. Arra, Richie please drink this as it contains your blood in it," Kathren said telling the newly mated couple as she handed them a wine goblet.

Both of them drank from it and after words kissed each other patiently. Selena and Vanez then presented their gifts. From Selena a new book and a repaired Backpack, from Vanez two new knives. After a great feast and celebration party everyone retired for the day.

Arra and Richie went to the same room because the law decreed that mates could only sleep together their first day and have as much sex as they wanted. After that separate rooms and controlled sex. But neither of them felt like having sex. Instead they enjoyed kissing and being in each other's company. A new life had begun for Richie and what would it mean for the rest of the people in his life?