It was a warm sunny Sunday afternoon. Virgil was with Sharon and Adam at his place ordering all the food that would be served at the big event at the end of the week. Using his powers Adam could call five different suppliers at once. "Alright so I can count of Sam's Goods to donate all the soda, water, and lemonade for the big event? Thank you," He said into one phone. He stretched his neck and started talking into another phone, "Fifty cartons of ice cream from Twisty Scoop? Thanks that will do just fine. Have a nice day Ma'me," He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Whoa that's enough work for me today. How's it going for you two downstairs?"

"Slowly but surly Adam. Doing inventory on all these orders is very time consuming. Virgil get off your lazy butt and help me will you? We have about twenty order forms still to go through." Sharon yelled at him. When he still didn't respond she sent some sparklers at him.

"Ouch! What was that for pain for brains?" Virgil demanded rubbing his sore bottom. Sharon started tapping her foot at him impatiently. Pointing at the clipboard at his feet she indicated for him to get back to work. Sighing Virgil went back to checking things off his list. But ten minutes later he was back to just sitting down doing nothing.

"I've had it with you Virgil! What's wrong with you? I know you're lazy but can't you concentrate on a simple task?" Sharon demanded angrily.

"Lay off Sharon. He's depressed is all. His best friend is still missing and he doesn't have a clue of what he should do," Adam informed her as he bounced down the stairs. He uncurled next to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Listen I have to go run some errands and then I'll be right back. You think you two can hold of killing one another till I get back?" Sharon nodded her head. Adam grabbed his keys and left the two siblings alone.

"He's gone now. So spill it Static what's wrong?" Sharon demanded electricity shooting from her body. When she got emotional she lost control and right now she was very emotional.

"Cool the fireworks sis. Do you want the whole block to know about us? I'm just really worried about Richie is all. Last night patrol turned up nothing and everyone we questioned has no idea where these vampires are even holed up. I'm just so frustrated! Here I am the hottest superhero in Dakota and when it comes to finding my partner, my best friend in the whole world, I'm completely useless! Look at me I'm totally utter less powerless!" Virgil said angrily slamming his fist into the wall. He jerked it back in pain.

"Getting worked up like this isn't going to help find Gear. We have no idea how these vampires operate and what they've done to him. For all we know Richie could be staying with them on his on free will." Sharon replied calmly.

Virgil let out a laugh of disbelief. "Oh I'm sure that's what they did. Come on Sharon be serious for once! These aren't some textbook cases from your Psych book! Their blood sucking demons got it? Right now we have to find out what they're planning and stop them no matter what the cost." Virgil told her definitely.

"Don't you think your going a little overboard? Look granted you've been at this longer than me but I still think we should give them the benefit of the doubt. I just have this feeling that's there's more to all this than meets the eye. Promise me that when we catch them that you won't do anything drastic without consulting with me first okay? You promise?" Sharon demanded. She held out her hand for him to shake.

Smiling sheepishly he to her hand and shook it. "Yeah I promise not to do anything without you. You're my partner in all this. But more importantly you're my big sister and I love you."

That night everything seemed to be fine. A chilly evening wind blew across the city. The stars were bright and the moon shone with all its glory. Four teenagers in four different parts of town had no idea they were being hunted.

At Alva Industries all seemed quiet. The security force was ready for any signs of trouble. After the recent break in by Tarmack security had been stepped up to the highest degree. No one was getting in or out without their knowledge.

Alva and his son Edwin (Omnifarious) were in one of the labs checking out the production of a new computer program codenamed OMNIE. Alva was getting ready to pull the plug but he wanted to see if he should continue with the project. He had brought Edwin along to assist him. Ever since Static had helped to get him unstuck from his stone prison, Alva had been paying a lot more attention to him. He didn't want to lose him again.

"Thanks for bringing me along Dad. It was great that you thought I could help." Edwin told him happily.

"Its not a problem. You might be able to help me with this. Now where is that Dr. Karen Roberts? She should be here by now." Alva told him. Suddenly the lights went out and screaming could be heard.

"What's going on Dad? Is this part of some drill?" Edwin asked nervously.

"Not to my knowledge. Dammit I can't contact my security force. Where are they? Whoa!" He yelled as the doors to the lab blew in sending him and his son flying twenty feet. When the smoke cleared Alva saw his security force knocked out just beyond the doorframe. Standing calmly in the door way was a teenage boy with red hair dressed in black and gray. "Sorry for intruding but I did knock."

"Who are you and what do you want from me." Alva growled getting to his feet. He started to reach for his emergency call button for backup units when the boy shot his nails at him. They struck the device destroying it in an instant.

He wagged his finger at Alva. "Naughty naughty Mr. Alva. I try to be polite and you're being rude. How uncivilized. Now as for what I want with you is simple. I want nothing from you. You have nothing I want." Vanez told him as he drew his knife.

"Then what do you want?" Alva demanded. Vanez smiled revealing his fangs. Alva and Edwin took an involuntary step back. "What on Earth are you?" he whispered.

"I'm a creature of the night. I have been called many names of the centuries. I am Vanez Blaze, a vampire and what I want is your son. Or to be more precise his blood." Vanez told the two frightened men.

"Over my dead body! I won't let you lay a hand on him! If you so as much lay a finger on him I'll kill you!" Alva threatened.

"Then you leave me no choice." Vanez said. He threw down a smoke grenade that released vampire knock out breath. The two Alva's coughed chocking on the air. Alva fell to ground unconcuess. Edwin was still awake, but only partially when Vanez walked over to him. "Don't worry you won't remember any of this." With that he knocked the boy out and began to drink from him. After a minute he used a syringe and took three tubes of Edwin's blood. Wiping off his lip he sent a message telepathically, "Mission accomplished. Meet you back at the roundaview point."

"Got you. I have my target insight. This shouldn't take long. Now that she's an ordinary girl Nina can't escape from by time traveling." Siba replied. He was on a roof watching Nina (Timezone) ride her bike home. She seemed happy. "She doesn't deserve this, but I need her blood." He jumped off the roof falling silently to the ground. He landed smoothly and began to stalk his prey. She soon became aware of him.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Nina called out scared. She screamed as boy dressed all in orange appeared out of nowhere. He smiled revealing his fangs. She screamed and tried to get away but the boy merely grabbed her by the arm. "Let me go! I don't want any trouble!"

"You're not in any danger Nina or do you prefer Timezone?" Siba told her as he forced her to look at him. "Your getting very sleepy Nina. Why don't you go take a nap?"

Nina struggled valiantly against her attacker, but he was too strong. She pounded on his chest to make her let go. When that did no good she looked him straight in the eyes. Instantly she felt sleepy. Her body went limp in his arms. She was out like a light.

Siba gently laid the girl down on the street. Glancing around hurriedly he made sure no one was watching. Then he bit her neck sucking up blood. He felt the rush as the stuff filled his body. Next he took a syringe and used it to take three tubes of blood. He picked her up slinging her over his shoulders. He then mounted her bike and took her home where he lay her down on her front steps. Hopefully she be all right. Time to get out of there.

Swimming in her own backyard pool Maria was having a relaxing time. Ever since she had become normal again she was enjoying the simple things in life. Maria had even become a better swimmer. Getting out of the pool she toweled off and got into one of her lounge chairs to relax. "Ah its great to be normal."

"I'm glad you think so my dear. Let me say I've never seen such a graceful swimmer. You must be part mermaid." A voice said from the shadows.

Maria shot up out of her chair and glanced around. Her eyes darted from one corner of the yard to the other. She couldn't see anyone. "Whose there? Come out right now!" she ordered. She was scared. She never thought she actually miss her powers.

Her eyes widened as a teenage boy seem to materlize right out of the shadows. He wore nothing but black and his blue eyes had a haunting look to them. "Don't be frightened Aquamaria or is it just plain Maria now? I guess it doesn't really matter. Either way I got you right were I want you."

"What do you want?" Maria whispered fearfully. She had a very bad feeling about this.

The boy didn't answer. He just disappeared and suddenly reappeared by her side. He was superfast! He twisted her arms around pinning her to the ground. "I don't really want to hurt you. This will go a lot faster if you don't fight me. Now go to sleep." Merton told her gently as he breathed on her. Maria became limp in his arms. Merton sampled her blood then gathered the three tubes he needed. Placing her back on her deck chair he covered her with a blanket and left. "Three down one to go," he mumbled.

Across town Shebang was jumping across rooftops and performing stunning acrobatically stunts. She loved not having to hide anymore. It was great being a hero. Suddenly she heard someone screaming for help. She headed off towards the sounds of distress.

When she arrived on the scene she found a blond hair girl who looked about a year younger than her clutching her arm. She was bleeding intensely. "Help me please! A gangster just stole my bag and injured me. I need assistance." The girl pleaded as her eyes watered with pain.

"Here let me have a look at that. Maybe I can help." Shebang said. She walked over to her and started to exam the arm. The cut seemed to have been made by a knife.

"Thank you so much. I was hoping you would be the one to respond to my calls for help. I'm your biggest fan Shebang." Kathren told her.

Shebang blushed a deep shade of red. "Don't be so modest. I'm glad I was able to help."

"You don't know how helpful you've been." Said a voice from behind.

Shebang whirled around coming face to face with Cassandra who was levitating five feet of the ground. Before she could do anything Kathren grabbed her arms and held her tight. She broke free from her grip and tried to attack Cassandra and Kathren by using her super strength.

Kathren withstood her grip and swiped her nails at her. She tore Shebang cape in half. From above Cassandra shot her nails at her cutting her up in several different places. Before she could counter attack both vampires were on top of her. With a simple hypnotic command she was out. They got their blood, fixed her up, and left.

At Vampire Manor Richie was pacing back and forth in the lab. Selena and Arra were running several test over the remaining human blood they had and setting up for Richie's experiments. Backpack came in with food and they all ate their fill. "They should have been back by now. We can't continue with the plan unless we're sure of all the possible side effects." Richie growled.

"Patience Rich. You know what they say. Rome wasn't built in a day. Hunting for food is a practiced art. Why don't you and Backpack do something useful like make more gas grenades or go play with the kittens?" Selena suggested from her station.

"Very funny. I thought you were a scientist not a comedian." Richie snapped.

"What's with your temper tonight? I've never seen you act like this." Arra asked. Her mate was definitely on the edge tonight. He had been up all day inventing a way to contain vampire breath. The effort seemed to have exhausted him.

"I'm sorry Arra your right. I just want to make sure everything went according to plan. I am a member of this clan and I want to be able to contribute to it." Richie told her as he drew her close to him. He nibbled on her neck with his teeth to try ridding himself of some anxiety.

"Well you don't have to worry anymore were back. I still don't understand why you wanted us to take three samples of blood from each target." Vanez told him as he gave Richie the container of blood. The others entered the lab with Kathren bringing the kittens. The family was back together.

"It will all make sense soon I'm sure. I'm pleased to report that none of the victims have any permanent damage done to them. They're all fine and healthy. I doubt they'll even remember the attack." Merton reported.

"I haven't had this much fun in three hundred years. Tackling that Shebang was fun. I just wish I hadn't had to deliberately cut myself in order to draw her in." Kathren complained.

"At least none of us ran into Static or Sparkles. They would have put a dent in our plans." Siba added cautiously.

"Well enough chatter everyone. Lets talk business. I mean that Shebang's blood made me feel like I was only 325 instead of 717. Still I like to know your thoughts Selena. Have you and Richie finished yet with your experiments?" Cassandra asked.

"You know I could get a lot more work done if I wasn't being interrupted every five minutes by my clan mates! Just leave us alone for awhile." Selena told them. With that everyone was unceremonysly.

Two hours later they met in the Conference Room. Everyone was anxious to hear what they discovered. Merton opened up the meeting. "Tonight we have attacked four humans, three who use to be Bang Babies and one scientifically designed human. Now we like to know why and what the results of all those test were. So please share."

Selena smiled reviling her fangs. After squeezing her mate's hand for support she stood up and cleared her throat. "In order to understand how Bang Baby blood will affect us we had to understand how it effects humans. I also wanted to see how "special" people like Shebang would affect us so I had her blood taken as well. We took three blood samples for these reasons. One is for our Royals, the second is for us, and the third is for experimentations. Now after careful testing and computer simulations I have excellent news. Bang Baby blood will enhance our own powers without giving us any of theirs. That way we don't have to adjust to any new powers. It last twice as long as human blood so we don't have to restock as often. It rejuvenates us faster than human blood but lacks the essential nutrients to make it a permant food source. Shebang's blood shows us that we can take on people who are alien and still get some food out of it as long as it contains some iron." Selena informed them.

"So if we wanted to we could go after the Justice League or other super teams and use their blood. We won't harm them will we?" Siba asked

"No I don't think so. It wouldn't be any different from what we've been doing for the past six hundred years." Selena responded.

"If what your saying is true we could really rebuild our society. Now that the vampanzees are gone and vampire hunters our almost extinct we will have no resistance. We can finally live in security and peace." Arra whispered in awe. It was a dream come true.

"The supernatural community wouldn't have a problem with us. The only danger would be from those who don't understand us. But I think we can solve that." Vanez spoke up.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves people. There still is the matter of awakening our sleeping King and Queen. To do that we need 8qts of blood each, one for Demetra and the other for Victor, then we need to add a drop of ours and have the Bloodstone ready. All in all we have a long road ahead of us." Cassandra said realistically.

"Way to ruin the party sis. Come on cheer up! For the first time in a long while things are going our way!" Kathren shouted.

"Ahem. I believe our newest member has something to add to this little meeting." Merton said coughing into his fist. He spun around in his chair to face his newest friend. "Well what do you have for us?"

"I have a list of every known Bang Baby in the city of Dakota. I also can come up with a thousand different ways for us to defeat them with my very big brain. I have only one thing to say. We have to follow my schedule and I want to be part of the hunt." Richie informed them. The clan nodded in agreement. It seemed fair to them. Richie needed to hone his hunting skills anyways. The meeting broke up after that and the mates went off together for some quality time.

Monday morning came and still no word on Richie's whereabouts. By now the police had been called in and a hotline was setup. Richie parents were so devastated. There was even a press conference scheduled for tomorrow if nothing new turned up. Virgil and Sharon felt so guilty because they hadn't found Richie yet.

"I don't know what to do Sharon. I wish I could tell them something, but the truth is I don't have a clue of what I should say." Virgil told her in defeat.

Sharon hugged him. "Don't worry baby bro. Will go on patrol early tonight and see what we can find out. Someone has to have seen him. Maybe were not questioning the right people is all. I have a good feeling that tonight will be interesting."

That night was interesting indeed. While Static patrolled the north side Sparkles patrolled the south. Sparkles was investigating the same area where Richie disappeared when she spotted Ragtag. She flew down powers ready to have a chat with him but was cautious. She knew what his powers were. "Yo Ragtag is it? I have a bone to pick with you. My God what happen to you?"

Ragtag had a broken arm and was limping more profoundly then ever. Scratch marks covered his face and he had a crescent shape scar on his neck. He seemed very tired and exhausted. "I'm not going to hurt you so you can put out your powers. Truth be told I'm not sure if my powers even work anymore."

"You didn't answer my question. Now talk fast before I get angry." Sparkles demanded. She raised her fist which was charged full of electricity.

"If you must know deary I was attacked. A lovely dark haired girl with sky blue eyes came around her asking for directions. I had all intentions of getting her energy when she whipped around and attacked me! The strangest thing she did was drink my blood. But if I had to say she didn't look like she wanted to do it. It seemed more for show anyways she got pretty sick afterwards. Before I lost conciseness I heard her talking to Gear. It seemed she was just using me to get to him." Ragtag informed her shakily.

"Was Gear the one who bandaged you up?" Sparkles asked curiously.

Ragtag shook his head. "No the girl did. I think she said her name was Selena. She fixed me up pretty good before she had Gear chase her. That was the last I saw of her."

"When was this?" Sparkles demanded. She had a sinking feeling she knew when.

"Last Thursday. I remember because that's the night of the week I patrol the slums of Dakota for losers." Ragtag told her.

Sparkles thanked him and hopped onboard her starboard leaving him alone. She was shaken by what she learned. Richie had definitely engaged one of the vampires, but the outcome of that battle was still unclear. Static and her needed more information if they were going to find him.

Her Shock Box beeped signaling she had a call. She hoped it was Gear. It wasn't it was baby brother. "What is it Static? I just talked to Ragtag and he had something interesting to say."

"Tell me later. Can you get to Savvy Electronics fast? Something big just went down." Static informed. Sparkles acknowledged him and zoomed off towards his location. When she got there she found Static on the roof watching an ambulance loading the members of the Rough Pack into it.

"What did you do to them? I thought you never seriously injured someone!" Sparkles exclaimed.

"Relax Sparks it wasn't me. I was patrolling this side of town looking for clues to Gear's disappearance when I spotted those three trying to break in. Before I had a chance to use my funky moves on them two boys popped out of thin air! I'm not kidding one minute they weren't there the next they were. Ferret didn't even smell them coming. I saw them spraying stuff so I think they used perfume to elude him. The most surprising thing was when they went after Kangor and Hyde they use a device similar to a zap cap to stop them. Then they took some blood and left. I called nine one one then you."

"What did they boys look like?" Sparkles asked him.

"I didn't get a real good look. All I know one was bald and wore orange while the other was a redhead-wearing gray. I listened in on the ambulance radio. This wasn't the only gang attacked. The Snake Pit was also attacked only they were found in the emergency room of the hospital." Static told her confused. It didn't make sense to him.

"Sounds like someone is making sure the victims of the attack are taken care of. Listen to this." Sparkles told him relating what Ragtag had told her. It sounded like instead of two vampires there were now five. Who knew how many more there were?

"Attacking people for their blood isn't harmless. These creatures are down right evil and they must be stopped! I won't rest till they're stopped once and for all!" Static declared.

"Cool it will you. I think your going overboard. Now come on we have to get home." Sparkles told him. The two electro hero's left the roof and headed home.

The next day Virgil decided to check on Permafrost, Mirage, and Dwayne to make sure they were okay. Being children and Bang Babies made them vulnerable. "I'm going to check on Permafrost and Mirage. Their in the same foster home together. You check on Dwayne. Make sure no one has attacked him. I just heard that three people who use to be Bang Babies were attack and so was Shebang. We need to make sure these kids aren't the next targets."

"Dido I'll just say I'm checking on Dwayne progress. How are you going to check on the girls?" Sharon asked

"Static checks on them from time to time. They're about to be adopted by a couple. Well I'm off. See you later." Virgil waved and left.

A little while later Static was standing on the doorstep to the Taylor's. He rang the doorbell and a tall blond haired white women with green eyes opened the door. "Static! How nice to see you come in. The girls are upstairs in their bedroom playing. Jordan is out back fixing the swing set."

"Thanks Mrs. T. Its great to see you." Static told her entering the house.

"Please call me Rachel. You're here to see how Maureen and Dedria are doing. Well their doing fine. I'm signing their adoption papers next week." Rachel informed him happily as she got some drinks.

"So no problems at all?" Static inquired.

"How could there be any problems with are little girls. Maureen doing great since she went on her meds and Dedria is doing great with her counseling." Jordan said as he entered the room. He was a black man with short hair and brown eyes. He kissed his wife and smiled at Static. "Glad you here. The girls wanted to see you."

Five minutes later Static was in the girl's bedroom. Maureen really looked much better. She was wearing a red and white dress similar to the one she had worn in that picture. Dedria was wearing the same clothes but she was smiling. "Static its nice to see you," she said to him.

"Glad to see you to. Maureen you're doing much better." Static commented.

"Now that I'm on the meds I don't hear the voices anymore. Thank you for helping us find such a great home. Rachel and Jordan are nice. I wouldn't mind being adopted by them. I finally have a home." Maureen said slowly and carefully.

"I'm happy for both of you. Now I have a question. Has anyone approached you two? You know attacked you at all?" Static asked. The girls shook their heads. After saying good-bye to everyone he headed home.

Sharon met him in his bedroom. "Dwayne hasn't been attacked. From what you told me neither have the girls. So I went over research and discovered something. Vampires can't feed on little children or old folks. Think about it they only used Ragtag to lure Richie they didn't feed on him."

"Granted. So they don't go after little kids but they do go after Bang Babies. Lets be logical about this shall we. We know they need human blood to survive and they're probably low on that so they've been drinking animal blood. (You know the book said they do that,) So now they're after Bang Baby blood. The question is why?" Virgil pondered. Sharon shook her head in confusion. She didn't know the answer.

That night the Bang Babies in the jail had blood taken from them. Also that night there was a rash of killings among the wild animal population. Witness claim to have seen a brunette haired girl twisting the necks of rabbits, birds, and rats.

"Arra how did the hunting go?" Selena asked. She was labeling the blood they had collected. She was also making sure there was no disease in them.

"Hunting was great. I hate killing the poor creatures, but like I tried to explain to Richie its nessacery. He didn't do so well. It took him five tries to kill one fox. I don't know if he'll ever get it right. He knows we can't drink blood from cats, monkeys, snakes, toads, and fish. I just hope he does better when it's his turn to help with the tracking and hunting down of Metahumans."

Wednesday night came and Static and Sparkles patrolled the city diligently. They were determined to catch the vampires in the act of taking blood. If they could only get their hands on one of them they might get the answers to where Richie was.

The vampires were also out and about. All the girls were to attack one time Bang Babies while the boys went after Rubberband Man. Richie would be helping out with the attack on Adam. Merton forced him to wear a cloak. "We can't have him identifying you with the attack. If he tells your friends that you're with us now all could be lost."

"Merton you don't have to be concerned. I know what's at stake. Please this is my first real hunt. Don't make me wear this stupid cloak. It will interfere with my hunting!" Richie whined.

"Your hunting abilities aren't as refine as ours are. That's why you have to wear this cloak. Its part of tradition seeing how this is your first real hunt. Now no more complaining its time to go." Merton told him politely. Setting the security system on automatic they left.

The boys watched the music studio waiting patiently for Adam to exit. They had to do this just right or they would miss their chance to strike. "Lets go in there now and get him." Vanez pleaded anxiously.

"No listen you idiot! Way to many people are in there right now. It be best if we attacked Adam when he's in the open." Siba whispered.

"Stop arguing you two. We know what were going to do. Just stick to the plan and nothing can go wrong. Shu here he comes now. Siba tail him." Merton ordered in a hushed voice. Siba jumped off the rooftop and glided to the street were he started trailing Adam.

Adam was walking to his car, which was parked two blocks down from the music studio. It had been a sweet session. His new hit would really rock once people heard it. Glancing at his watch he knew had to hurry if he wanted to get home on time to prepare for his date with Sharon. Suddenly he felt the back of his neck tingle. He stretched in all directions, but didn't see anyone. Shrugging it off he started to open his car door when he heard someone kick a can. "Alright who ever you are come on out right now! You don't want to mess with me."

Siba separated from the shadows. Adam's eyes widened in surprise. This guy just seem to appear from the shadows like his brother Ebon. "Relax Mr. Evans. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Why you stalking me? If you want an autograph your out of luck. I don't have time right now." Adam said cautiously.

"Oh I don't want your autograph Mr. Evans or do you prefer Rubberband Man? I want something far more valuable. I want your precious red mercury." Siba told him honestly.

"Red mercury? Dude I don't know what your smoking but I'm not carrying any chemicals." Adam said confused.

"He doesn't mean chemicals young hero. Red mercury is a another name we use for blood." Merton told him as he sped onto the scene from behind Adam.

"And right now we want yours." Vanez said appearing on his right. Adam glanced to his left as a possible escape route, but a boy wearing a brown cloak blocked it. "Give up with out a struggle and we promise to make this painless."

"You've picked the wrong person to mess with. One instant superhero coming at you. Hope you like bouncy balls because that's what you're going to get!" Adam yelled at them as he changed to Rubberband Man. He curled up into a ball and bounced at Merton. Merton stuck out his nails puncturing him. He then chucked Rubberband Man at Siba.

"Your not so tough against a bunch of vampires are you? Let me tell you something music man stick to your day job. It's a lot less hazarded." Siba whispered squeezing him till he gasped for air.

"Vampires? You got to be kidding me." Adam whispered in awe.

"He's not Mr. Elastic Cord. My turn to have some fun." Vanez said smiling. He slashed at him with his nails and bit down on him weakening him. "Three down one to go."

Rubberband Man didn't understand what was happening at first. Each vampire grabbed one of his limbs and they stretched them as far apart as they could. Then they wrapped each limb around a stone pillar tying them in knots. No way could he escape. As the four creatures of the night drew in for their feast he made one last desperate attempt to take them out. He grabbed the hem of the cloaked one and pulled it right off. The vampire shied away but in the light of the streetlamps he saw who it was.

"Richie? What are you doing with these creatures?" Adam asked incredibly.

"I'm running with a new crew now Adam. Now sleep tight. When you wake up you won't remember a thing." Richie told him as he breathed knock out breath on him. He was out like a light.

"I told you not to lose your cloak!" Merton hissed. Richie glared at him. He sent a telepathic message to him telling him it wasn't his fault. Adam had grabbed his cloak. Besides he wouldn't remember a thing. Merton sighed a got down to business of collecting the blood. After they were done they dropped Adam off at his house right before Sharon arrived. They had barely made it out when they heard Sharon asking with concern in her voice if Adam was okay. At the manor all that's night work was sent to the lab for labeling and testing. It had been a good night.

Virgil was frustrated beyond belief. No matter how many times he and Sharon patrolled the city they couldn't find a trace of the elusive creatures. They seem to appear and disappear with the wind. Richie was still missing and now his parent's feared their son was dead. Virgil didn't have the heart to tell them what he suspected. "We have to make sure no more Bang Babies are attacked. I printed up a list off all the bang babies that are left. There are four of my classmates, the Nightbreed, and the Metabreed. I want you to keep an eye on the first four. I'll go talk with the Nightbreed. If these vampires are anything like them maybe they can help us fight them."

"What about the Metabreed? I know there evil and all but shouldn't we warn them of the trouble their facing." Sharon pondered.

"Nah trouble finds them easily. They'll be ready for anything. If worse comes to worse will track them down tomorrow." Virgil said to her. The two of them headed downstairs where Mr. Hawkins stopped them.

"Where are you two going? I thought you were going to stay home and help me council the Foleys. They're really worried about Richie. It's not like him to just disappear like this." Mr. Hawkins told them. He shook his head concern etched across his face.

"That's why were going out Daddy. Were going to comb the streets to see if anyone's heard anything. Where concerned about Richie too. He's like a little brother to me. I swear that Virgil and him were joined at the hip the way those two are never apart." Sharon explained quickly.

"Yeah Pops. Let us go out and look. Its been driving me crazy all week not knowing were Richie is. I have to find him." Virgil pleaded with his dad. Sighing Mr. Hawkins let them pass. He watched as his two kids left. Truth is he was proud how they were handling themselves in this crisis situation. They seemed to have gotten closer to each other.

As Static and Sparkles zoomed off to check on their assignments Richie was in the Ceremony Room praying to the Gods. He was troubled. He had been a vampire for a week now and he still hadn't decided what he was going to do about his parental situation. On the one hand he was happy to be away from home. On the other he missed his family terribly and hanging out with his friends. "Callista, wise and benevolent Goddess. I need your advice. Please help me make this difficult decision. I can't chose between my past and my future. What am I to do?"

"Richie my love what is wrong? I thought you would be upstairs inventing. I found Backpack running the Security system all by himself. What's troubling you my young warrior?" Arra asked concerned. She kneeled next to him and took his hands in hers.

"I thought you were with the rest of the girls going after the Nightbreed." Richie alleged

"Only three were needed for the mission and with the boys going after you classmates I volunteered to stay behind. Besides someone had to stay behind and play with the kittens. I didn't know you were religious." Arra replied.

"Not really. You told me once that you came here to find answers to questions. I had thought that the Gods would speak to me. But they have remained silent. I have no answer to my dilemma. I love you more than anything Arra never forget that." Richie told her.

"But?" Arra asked knowing their was a but coming.

"I've been in the Media Center. I've seen the reports and read the newspapers. My folks are bugging big time. I didn't think they would miss me that much." Riche confided in her.

"Then you are a fool. Didn't you think your parents loved you? I knew my parent's loved me but their was nothing left for me in my village. That's why I went with Demetra. To have a chance at a life even if its one like this. Richie I would love you as much as I do even if you were a ordinary human with out an exstroudaniry brain." Arra informed him.

"And I would love you the same even if your weren't some suave vampire chick. The question still remains what do I do about my friends and family?" Richie asked her as he got up.

"Only you know the answer to that one. If you listen to your heart it will tell you what to do. Now if you excuse me I have to go tend to my plants. Good evening," she said as she left Richie alone with his thoughts.

The next day in school Virgil was having trouble staying awake. He had been out on patrol till one in the morning after he discovered the Nightbreed had been attacked. The worst part is Nightingale had told him that the three girls who ambushed the group had used technology similar to Gears. Could the vampires be forcing Gear to work for them? Added to the news that Derek, Madelyn, Thomas, and Tamera, had a small amount of blood taken from them meant that the Metabreed were the only Bang Babies beside Sharon and him who hadn't been attacked.

"Psst. Virgil stay awake." Freda whispered during Chemistry.

"Huh? What is going on?" Virgil asked bemused.

"What's going on is your sleeping in class again. If Mr. Brooks catches you doing that your in for a whole weeks worth of detention. So still no word on Richie?" Daisy whispered hurriedly

Virgil shook his head figuresly. "None. Pops wanted to call off the blood drive/charity dance to help search for him but Sharon and I convinced him it's for the best if we go ahead with. After all there are a lot of people counting on that event to take place." Virgil told her quickly before the teacher silenced him.

The members of the Metabreed were hiding in fear in their new hideout. It was an abandon house in the slums of the city. Three of the members were very anxious and nervous about what had been happening lately. The leader of the group, Ebon, wasn't scared at all. "Will you people relax for a minute? Nothing is going to happen."

"How can you be so sure boss? Strange things have been happening all week. Bang Babies turning up in hospitals with small blood loss isn't funny at all." Shiv complained.

"We should be extra cautious Ebon. They people responsible could come after us next." Talon screeched.

"Shut your traps and stop worrying your pretty little head off. No one is going to find us and harm us. Besides they have to be crazy to mess with me." Ebon stated.

"Yeah then why don't I feel any better?" Hotstreak asked angrily.

Suddenly the door to the house blew in. The Metabreed coughed as smoke filled the room. When it finally cleared standing in the doorway was Merton, Cassandra, and Arra. "Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" Merton asked cocky like.

"Destroy them!" Ebon roared. The gang didn't need to be told twice. They went after the intruders as if they were shot out of a cannon. Arra went after Talon, Merton went after Shiv, and last but not least Cassandra went after Hotstreak.

"Get ready for a concert performance like you've never heard. SCREEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCHHHHHHHHH!" Talon let loose a loud sonic scream. Arra rolled out of the way and took to the air. "Your not the only one who can fly!"

The two girls wrestled each other in the air neither one letting up. Arra had the superior strength, but Talon had the stamina. She forced Arra to the ground and dive-bombed her. As quick as a flash Arra was gone. "Huh? Where did she go?" Talon asked confused as she scanned the room. Suddenly from behind someone launched a zap cap tying her up and a muzzle silencing her scream. Then she was kicked unconscious.

Shiv and Hotstreak weren't doing to well either. Merton and Cassandra had them boxed into a corner. There was no escape. "Ready to give up?" Cassandra demanded.

"In your dreams Goth Girl. Your dead meat take this!" Hotstreak yelled sending fireballs her way. Shiv threw throwing stars at Merton. The vampires looked at each other smiling. Merton drew his sword and whirled it around sending the stars back as Shiv while Cassandra, (Who was wearing fireproof clothes.) walked through the flames and scratched Hotstreak with her nails.

"You two bumbling fools don't stand a chance against us! So give up before you get hurt." Merton informed them.

"No way! We never give up!" Shiv declared. Merton sighed in frustration. What was their problem? Couldn't they see they had lost? Apparently not or they would have surrendered. Time to show them who was the boss. "Ready to go for it Cass?" he thought to her.

"Ready. Activating Bang Baby capture methods now!" Cassandra thought back. She threw three foam capsules at Hotstreak, which incased him in foam so he was unable to ignite. Merton activated a square box, which in actuality was a self-contained battery. It drained Shiv of his power. Soon both idiots were out like a light. The three vampires turned their attentions to Ebon was trying to escape now that his crew was incapacitated.

Ebon made half way crossed the room before a bright light stopped him. "AHHG! The pain!" he screamed in agony. The light turned off and he was shocked by who was standing if front of him. The kid may have been wearing different clothes and had some type of robot on him, but it was definitely Richie Foley. This was the kid he snatched once in order to trap Static. "What? What are you doing here?" he whispered in confusion.

"Nice to see you to Ebon. I'm here to have my revenge on you for kidnapping me that one time. And with the help of my new friends you're going to assist us in a very important task." Richie informed him.

"What are you talking about you punk? Ebon helps no one but himself. I don't know what you and your freak show think they're up to, but I want no part in it." Ebon snapped at him.

Richie smirked at him arrgonently. "To bad then. I had hoped we could do things the easy way, but regrettably you've decided to do them the hard way. Backpack launch light probes!" Instantly Backpack let loose four small silver ball shape probes that had little turrets on them. They flew around ebon and form a triangle base with one probe hovering above the living shadow. A yellow beam shot out of the turrets and formed a cage around him.

"You think this pathetic little cage is going to hold me? I can phase right through this!" Ebon declared. He started to phase, but that's when Richie unleashed the full power of his cage.

"Activate light belts," Richie ordered clicking a button on his belt. A shimmer of white light washed over him and the other vampires. Smiling evilly Richie then completed his order, "Light cage attack pattern Omega Light 1 engage!" Instantly the beams of light intensified until they were brilliant rays of pure sunlight. Ebon screamed in agony as the light ripped him apart but the light belts shielded the vampires from the light.

After five minutes the cage stopped and the probes returned to Backpack. Fast as lighting Richie and his clan mates flung the knives at a different limb of Ebon pinning him to the ground. The knives had been treated with an ultraviolet fluid, which was no seeping into his body preventing him from using his powers. Ebon had been stopped dead in his tracks.

Richie approached the shadowy villain who stared at him. He was clearly frightened for his life. What was this sick kid going to do know. "Its all over for you Ebon. Feasting on your blood will be most pleasurable." Richie told him as he used his knock out breath on him. Once he was out Richie parted his lips revealing his fangs and bit down to drink.

Almost immediately he began to choke. He disengaged his fangs and started throwing up. Arra ran to her mate while Merton and Cassandra collected the blood from the rest of the gang. "Richie my love what's wrong? Are you having problems with drinking his blood?"

"He's totally evil Arra. It's like trying to drink rat poison or something. Either way he's not useable for us. Dang I thought since he had some feelings for his brother we could use him, but I was wrong. All that planning for nothing." Richie said angrily.

"It wasn't all for nothing Richie. We got to test out the light cage and the light belts. Granted they only work for five minutes but with time and patience I know you can make them last longer." Cassandra told him optimistically.

"She's right you know. Besides even if we can't drink his blood we can still use it for experiments. So use a syringe and collect some blood. We can drop this guys off at prison while were on our way home." Merton told him. Richie nodded and did just that.

Back at Vampire Manor the entire clan was in an upheaval. They were still one quart short of blood for reawakening their king and queen. Ebon was the strongest of the Bang Babies. If they couldn't use his blood whose could they use?

"I don't know what were going to do. Tomorrow night is the best chance will have in six hundred years to wake Demetra and Victor. We can't stop now were so close!" Siba wailed.

"Think people think! Were vampires not roaches. There has to be some way we can salvage this operation." Kathren told them.

"There has to be at least one Metahuman in Dakota we haven't taken blood from." Vanez said softly.

"Well there are at least two. Richie I hate to ask, but what about Static and Sparkles?" Selena asked timidly.

"What about them? Selena you can't be thinking that we take blood from them. I made a vow swearing they were off limits! Besides Sparkles should run out of power sometime tomorrow night. She wouldn't be any use to us at all." Richie exclaimed.

"Richie I understand your reason for hesitant but this is a desperate time. Static is one of the strongest Bang Babies. Maybe even the strongest one of them all. Without his blood were doomed. You have to think about the clan." Merton told him.

"Don't you think I know that!" Richie snapped, "But I just can't betray him. He's my partner, my best friend."

"No ones ordering you to betray him. You haven't even told us his identity. You could explain the situation to him and then ask him for his blood. If he's a reasonable person I'm sure that he'll understand." Cassandra pointed out.

"Please Richie. We really need Demetra and Victor back. This is our one chance. We can't blow it." Arra pleaded.

Richie sighed in defeat. He had made a promise to the clan and he wasn't backing out of it now. He was a vampire not a human. The needs of the clan came before friendship. "We'll have to device a plan."