The minute the transporter let them go in HQ Arra snapped to attention. It would be dawn in three hours and they had a lot of work to do.
"Alright people lets get started. Were running on a tight schedule so lets stick to it. I think the five of us should split up and investigate the victims. We have to find out what connects them besides the basic information I found out. Superman you take the nurse, Batman you take the lawyer, and Wonder Women you get the teenager and Static talk to our butcher." Arra ordered everyone.
"Say what? Why do I get stuck with the messy jobs?" Static complained. He yelped in surprise as Arra grabbed him and held him two feet in the air.
"Do you have a problem with your assignment? No then do as I ask. I'm going to check out the place were the vampanzee attacked us. Maybe I can find something that'll lead us to Richie. Meet in the park in two hours. I want to take a look at the crime scene. Any questions? No then lets do it!"
"For someone who holds life sacred you sure seem awfully close to wanting the vampanzees blood." Batman commented coldly before disappearing into the night.
Everyone went their separate ways. They had a job to do. Superman arrived at the apartment of murder victim one, Aimee Hoffer, first. He changed into Clark Kent and rang up the landlady. He told her he was covering the story of Aimee's murder for the Dailey Planet. The landlady let him inside Aimee's apartment the two of them began to talk.
"I can't understand why anyone would want to harm Aimee. She was such a sweet girl. Paid her rent on time, was always kind to everyone, stayed in touch with her family. They haven't arrived yet to claim her body you know. The police still have it. They are simply baffled by this. Nothing like this has happened in my entire memory of living in Dakota." Mrs. Laura Allison told him sadly. She handed him a photo of Aimee. She had short brown hair with blond highlights and blue eyes. She was wearing a nursing uniform. "This photo was taken her first day at work. She told me she was very proud. It was her dream to be a nurse."
"You were very close to her. Can you think of anyone at all that would have wanted to hurt her? Maybe a disgruntle patient or an ex-boyfriend?" Clark questioned her.
"Oh Aimee was my best friend. She was an angle Mr. Kent. I can't think of anyone that would want to hurt her. She always treated her patients with such care. She wasn't seeing anyone but I know something at work was bothering her. I just don't know what exactly." Mrs. Allison told him.
"Well I thank you for your time Mrs. Allison. You have my sincerest apologizes for your best friends death. Rest assure I'll find out who did this to her." Clark told her getting up to leave.
"Thank you Mr. Kent. Some how I know that you will."
Halfway across town a security guard was making his rounds at Sarah & Rachel's Law Firm Hold. They specialized in divorce cases and lawsuits. Most of their work was probono. The guard didn't notice as a shadow detached from the wall and glided into victim number two, Robin Manning's, office.
Clicking on a penlight Batman took stock of the room. It was very plain. Very few painting or diplomas were on the wall. A single bookcase stood behind a desk by a small window. On the desk was a photo of the deceased. A tall man with dark hair and eyes with an attractive red head. Both of them were smiling.
He began to rifle through his filing cabinet that was by the door. He couldn't find anything. His day planner didn't reveal anything at all. Turning on his computer he broke the password and read about his last case. It was some kind of lawsuit with Dakota Memorial Hospital. He copied the information and left just as the guard returned.
Wonder Women had changed into her street clothes and was using her Diana persona at the moment. She was at the Cook' residents and wasn't having much luck with Irma's mother. The women kept blaming herself for her daughter's death. "If only I picked her up instead of letting her walk home she still be alive!" Mrs. Cook wailed hysterically.
"You can't blame yourself. You had no idea that this would happen. I know it's hard for you right now Mrs. Cook, but I need your help in capturing your daughter's killer. We have reason to belief your daughter was targeted. Can you think of anyone who might have tried to harm her in the last few days? Maybe someone was bothering her." Diana implored.
"No Irma told me everything. Everything in her life was perfect. She was a good girl. She never got into trouble. She volunteered all the time at the hospital and homeless shelter, gave to charity, hung with her friends and made good grades. Please when you find the monster responsible for this you'll make him pay for all of this won't you?" Mrs. Cook asked Diana desperately. Diana nodded and left with new inspiration. This was her problem. No mother should have to suffer like that.
Static was exhausted and ticked off. After spending nearly an hour and half trying to get through all the proper channels he was finally allowed access to Gerald Lassline the only victim to survive his attack. The police were monitoring him twenty four seven. "I want to thank you Static for saving my life. I still can't believe that someone would want me dead."
"Maybe you prepared some bad beef," Static joked weakly. Sighing he got down to business. "Listen the thing is that the creature that attacked you captured my partner. I need your help to track him down. Is there anything prior to your encounter with the creature that might help me find him before its to late?"
"I really wish I could help you Static honestly I do. But the truth is I have no knowledge that might help you. The only thing I can think of that has remote interest to this that when I picked up my ulcer medications from the hospital I felt like I was being watched. But being a hospital that's normal." Gerald told him. Sighing Static thanked him for his information and left.
Arra was feeling frustrated. She hit the street with her hand leaving a deep impression. She had to calm down but it was so hard. She had gone over the entire area where they had fought the vampanzee only a few hours ago with her newly restored powers and nothing. Nothing at all had turned up. "I can't give up. If only I could find some small clue or indication of who this guy really is I could stop him." She muttered to herself.
She clasped the Bloodstone in her hand and let its soothing energy fill her. "Please grant me your vast powers. Help me." She thought hard. The Bloodstone suddenly lit up creating a rose red search light and began to scan the area. Finally it stopped and she bent down and retrieved a single strand of hair from the street. "Hmm. Maybe we can see if there's a human gene code. Maybe that will help us solve this mystery. Hm I better head to the park." She said out loud.
She took off at flirting speeds and arrived in the park ahead of everyone else. She took a glance at the stars remembering the night that she and Richie had become mates. It was the happiest night of her life. She hoped he was okay.
Richie was just regaining conciseness. His hands were chained tightly above him to the top of a titanium steel cage. No way for him to bust out. In the dim light he could make out the outline of catwalks, containers, and all sorts of odds and ends. He didn't know where he was exactly but he was in some sort of warehouse. "Great and I hoped it was all a really bad dream." He groaned.
"I can assure you my guest this is no dream. This is your worst nightmare come to life. You are my prisoner and I can do anything I see fit to you." The vampanzee cackled evilly. Blood dripped from his fangs as he disposed of the body of a homeless man right in front of him. Richie could see where his heart had been torn out! "AB- the rarest blood around. What a delicacy to eat."
"I think I'm going to hurl. Why have you brought me here and what do you plan to do with me?" Richie demanded. He may have been scared out of his wits but he was going to be brave. He tried to summon his new powers but he was too tired.
"All in good time my young vampire. You and your mate will assist me in an important matter before I end your pitiful existence. Now I gave my word I wouldn't kill you until Saturday at midnight. I never said anything about torture." The vampanzee told him slyly. Snapping his fingers someone in shadows brought him a flaming torch. Grinning wickedly he thrust it onto Gears bare arms. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Arra began to cry out at the exact same moment. She was glowing a deep scarlet her eyes pulsating in sequence with the stone. The others had just arrived in time to see her rolling around in the grass in pain. Static shocked her again and again to snap her out of it. He ran over to her and began to shake her hard.
"Arra snap out of it! Its okay everything okay. Tell me what's wrong." Static ordered her gently. Arra began to calm down. The glow subsided and her eyes returned too normal. She was crying softly. She looked absolutely terrified by what she had just experienced.
"Virgil I saw through Richie's eyes! He was being tortured and there was nothing I could do to stop it! That madman was burning him!" Arra told him grabbing his coat and continued to cry.
"Calm down Arra. How did this happen? I thought that the vampanzee was blocking your telepathy and other attempts to contact Gear." Wonder Women asked the girl confused. She gently pulled her off Static and started to clean her up.
"I don't understand it myself. The Bloodstone has great powers. Some how it must have overcome the barrier for a moment and connected me with Richie." Arra said timidly.
"Can you located him through this experience?" Superman asked. She shook her head no. Sighing he indicated they should start checking out the crime scene for missed clues.
Forty-five minutes later everyone except Batman was annoyed. This seemed to be a waste of time. "Whoever this vampanzee is he sure isn't clean. He left drops of Irma's blood everywhere but the police already found that." Wonder Women commented.
"My X-ray vision doesn't reveal anything out of the ordinary." Superman stated. Static shook his head from his position. Nothing.
"Found something. Looks like a torn piece of cloth. Maybe a lab coat I'm not sure. I'll have to analyze it to be sure." Batman said bagging the evidence.
Arra was using all her knowledge and full vampire senses to analyze the situation to determine what exactly happened. She was trying very hard to make sense of the situation but something was bothering her. The tree grove they were in offered cover from only three directions not four. A vampanzee usually liked all his bases covered.
"I want to check out the meadow. I've got a hunch will find something there." She told the group zooming across the park to the meadow. "Eureka! I found something. Come take a look at this will you."
The rest of the group arrived a minute later. They looked down in the dirt noticing a lot of animal tracks. Huge ones. Static spoke up first, "They look like huge dog tracks. Maybe a husky's or wolfhound."
"Right family wrong species. By the looks of these we got a pair of wolves loose in Dakota." Wonder Women said. Batman was already taking photos, collecting hairs, and making cast of the prints.
"But wolves aren't native to Dakota and there were no notices about escaped ones from the zoo." Superman added.
"Besides these look a little big for wolves. Plus they're a few days old. Probably made around the same time of the murder. That puzzles me. Why leave fresh meat behind?" Arra asked the group. She looked around to see if she could spot any more tracks. They shrugged confused as she was.
"We should head back to Vampire Manor and start comparing notes. We have a lab where we can run test on the evidence we found. I can call Henry to shut down business for a few days so were not disturbed." Arra began. She didn't notice Static franticly indicating for her to hide. By the time she did it was to late. "Virgil what's up with you? Why are you acting like that? AHHHHHHHHHHH!" she began screaming. She had turn to face the approaching dawn and now was burning up fast.
The League and Static gasped in horror and repulsion as the dawn's rays hit Arra. Instantly her face, chest, and hands started burn. She covered her eyes trying to stop from going blind. Superman and Batman threw their capes over her and Wonder Women used her lasso to tie them around her. Static kept up a force field bubble until they were on their way to her home.
Static directed the group of heroes to Vampire Manor as fast as he could. He was extremely worried about Arra. He'd seen Cassandra's reaction to getting exposed to partial sunlight. How much worse would a full dose of it be?
Glancing to his left he saw that Superman was still securely holding the whimpering Arra. On his right Wonder Women was keeping pace while towing Batman. "Almost there folks. I just hop Arra's security system doesn't try to fry us." Static informed them tensely.
"How in the world would it do that? Were like half a mile in the air!" Wonder Women asked the teenager. Just then they reached the edge of the property and a huge spear came flying up at them. Using one of her bracelets she deflected it. "Never mind. I think I get the picture. Batman can you knock the system out for a few minutes so we can land?"
Batman nodded and flicked out an electric scrambler from his utility belt. He tossed it straight at the keypad by the front gate disabling the system. "Done. We better hurry though. It will only last a few minutes then the system will reboot." He said matter of factly. Quickly they all landed and entered the house.
Bursting free from the wrappings that covered her Arra spoke out loud to the security system. "Emergency over ride Omega 335. Program Lights Out initiate now!" Instantly the entire house was blacked out. No sunlight was getting inside. Arra winced in pain.
"That's one nasty sunburn Arra. Do you have any medicine?" Static asked.
She nodded her head. "Yeah some salve made from my plants. Combined with my healing spit I should be fine by nightfall. Dang I can't believe I forgot that sunlight was deadly to me. I guess I'm use to being human now."
"We all make mistakes Arra. It's very natural. So this is your home? Its so big." Wonder Women commented.
"Very expensive looking wouldn't you agree Bruce." Superman whispered. Batman ignored him. He frowned at Arra. For someone with a photographic memory she just made a huge error.
"So I guess we should get down to business. The entire house is at your disposal. Virgil can show you were to go after he calls Henry on speed dial. He's the head of our staff. He'll make sure everything closed down so we won't be bothered. While he's doing that let me show you where the lab is. Come on." Arra told them. Static went into the kitchen to make the call and the adults followed her to the second floor.
Arra opened the door to the lab. The place had been redone to fit their mortuary needs. But by flicking a hidden switch it turned into crime central. It pays to be rich. Superman instructed her to get some rest after she got some salve from the storage room and bandaged her hands. She pouted but complied. She went to her room to sleep, Static took the guest room, and Superman and Wonder Women went up to the Media Room to work. Moonlight and Midnight stayed in the lab to keep an eye on Bats. They didn't like him one bit.
"Can you believe all this stuff? I wonder what its all for." Wonder Women asked Superman as she picked up a statue of the Goddess of Life.
"I have no idea, but it must contain some meaning to her. She's a lot like me. Keeping the culture of her people alive even though their all long gone." Superman replied as he traced one of the tapestries.
"Can you believe all of what she's done? I mean you've worked with Static before would he trust someone like her normally?" Wonder Women inquired.
"Static is a good kid. He's just trying to help a friend same as she is. Its just more personal to her than it is to him. Man I still have a hard time grasping what she told us. I can't understand it. All my life I've tried to represent man kinds best hope and now there afraid of what my legacy might be, a brunette haired brown eye girl that I name after my cousin, so they're going to make sure it never ever happens." Superman told her sadly.
"Mother always said men were the worst evil, but I have to disagree. I think its fear of the unknown that's the worst evil. Seeing that picture of a black haired green eyed girl who will one day be mine makes me want to fight to survive. To protect everyone little girl." Wonder Women confided in him.
"Then lets get cracking. I'll compare everyone's notes and you read those archives. See if there's anything that might help us locate this particular vampanzee. We'll take a break at lunch and wake the two teens. By dinnertime Bruce should be done with his tests so we should have all the answers we need. I can only hope we locate Gear and stop this killer before it's to late." Superman told her gravely.
For hours they poured over everything they had. Trying to find a common link and comparing the ancient texts with all the information available to them. Occasionally they call the Watchtower to check in and see if Jonn or the others had found anything useful. They hadn't nor had they had any luck locating the other clan mates or Richie.
Half an hour past noon Diana took an early break. Excusing herself she left the room to go check on Bruce. She found him deeply engrossed with his tests. He didn't seem to care or notice the two kittens tearing up his cape. "I hope I'm not disturbing you. I was going downstairs to get some lunch and wake our friends. Do you want anything?"
"No." he replied simply. He pressed some keys on the computer and zoomed in the electronic scanning microscope.
"Find out anything useful yet? Like who our mysterious killer is?" Diana prodded.
"If I did you would be the first to know. So far all I've found is a lot of vampire DNA. I'm getting very suspicious of our host. There's something she's not telling us. I don't like it."
"Bruce your paranoia is going to get you killed one day. Both of us saw the blood test results early. Compared to her vampire DNA they are similar but not identical. I think what's got you all weirded out is that this one mystery your have to really on a warrior to help solve."
"She killed people Diana. How can you trust her?"
"Because she was at war. Even I could tell her heart wasn't into it. I'm from a warrior race remember? You know I think you just trying to avoid the fact that Arra reminds you of yourself. She's confident, serious, and doesn't show her fear. That's what's bugging you. Give her a chance Bruce. You might be surprised to find you actually like her. She might even become your friend." Diana told the stubborn man before leaving the room so he could get back to work.
Static had got up from his nap and ran into Wonder Women in the hall. Raising a finger to his lips he indicated they should let Arra sleep a bit longer. They both headed quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen to make a lunch. Wonder Women laughed at his use of his powers to make lunch. Smiling sadly he could only thing of how Richie liked seeing him use his powers to make a super sandwich too.
Richie at the moment was trying for the umpteenths time to free his hands. His wrists were raw from his struggles. He was tired, thirsty, and hungry. His arms were still sore from the burns they received. Blood trickled from his nose where the vampanzee had hit him last night after he cursed at him. Right now his captor was sleeping and his guards weren't paying any attention to him.
"Come on come on concentrate. You can do this ahh! I can't concentrate. I've got to try something else. Maybe I can contact Arra via her email. Its worth a try." Richie said quietly. He closed his eyes and imagined himself typing Arra an email. He put all his will power behind this one thought.
Static and Wonder Women had just entered Arra's room to wake her up when the Bloodstone began to glow a fire truck red. A soft humming could be heard coming from the stone. Her hand began to move like she was attempting to write something.
"Automatic writing! I've heard about this. Quick we need a pen and paper. Thanks now place the pen in her hand firmly. Steady it. Okay. Let's see what we've got here. H..p A…! 'm be'ng t……. The va.p….. h.s. …… eq…….. and el. He's g….. … k… Ahhhhhhh!" Arra screamed waking up panting. Her sheets were drenched in sweat. "What are you guys staring at?"
"You were writing this in your sleep. I think it was a message from Richie. Can you make sense of it at all?" Static asked handing her the note. She read and read the message but couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"While I was asleep I dreamt I was with Richie. I couldn't see anything but I heard a lot of noise and smelled dust and mildew. I only woke up because someone hit me on the head hard." She explained.
"It seems you have a more powerful link with Richie when you're in a state of unconsciousness or when he's feeling particularly emotional. Maybe the vampanzee can't block those states of being for some reason. Well whatever it is we need your help right now. Superman and I need your help if were going to solve this." Wonder Women said to the two teenagers.
"Alright coming Wonder Women." Arra said. "Please you can call me Diana." That said they went upstairs where they found Superman as Clark Kent. It seemed the League was showing their trust.
They sat down and tried tackling this puzzle from every angle but they just couldn't find that one piece of the puzzle that would solve this case even though it seemed to be staring them straight in the face. "This should be an easy problem to solve but I'm coming up blank." Clark muttered.
"I thought ace reports always knew what was going on." Virgil joked.
"Lets forget this for now. Look we have a lot of clues that don't add up. Right now we have to figure out how they all fit together. Lets be logical for a moment. What does any bad villain in the universe want?" Diana asked logically.
Virgil used the part of his brain that belonged to Cassandra to think of the answer. "They want world domination and power. What else is there for a bad guy?"
Arra went pale. She started to tremble badly. "I can think of one thing that any vampanzee would want. Follow me its up in the attic." Arra said getting up from the table and leading the trio of confused superheroes up to the attic. "Watch your head there and don't break anything."
"What is all this stuff? Most of it looks ancient. Like from the 60's or something." Virgil said as he tripped over a box of old clothes.
"Most of this stuff is we collected from over the centuries. It's how we maintain our wealth. You wouldn't believe how many museums will pay for this stuff." Arra called over her shoulder.
"And I thought Bruce had a collection." Diana said.
Finally they reached a corner of the attic draped in darkness. A large rectangleular object was covered by a tarp. She pulled the tarp off to reveal a huge black coffin with red gemstones all over it. Wrapped around the lid was a gold flame inlay. It gave off an aura of darkness. Virgil was the first to speak. "What is that?"
"This Virgil is one of the vampanzees most important relics. It's called the Coffin of Flames. You see during the final siege of the vampanzee stronghold a select few and me were part of a special mission. We had gotten word that the vampanzee had returned to the place where the meteorite that had brought the Bloodstone to us had crashed. It lay hidden under the ground but they had used some of the material to fashion this coffin. I barely managed to defeat the Sentinels of Fate who guarded this coffin." Arra informed them stroking the coffin.
"I don't get it why is the Coffin so important to the vampanzee. I mean why would anyone want it the Bloodstone seems more valuable." Diana asked.
Arra picked up a dead rat that Moonlight had brought to her. Whispering an apology to the dead creature she flung open the coffin and tossed the rat in. "You might want to cover you eyes." She warned flinging the lid down and scampering away just as the coffin filled with intense flames.
"As you can tell this is no ordinary coffin. Legend states that any vampanzee who is destined to rule their race will survive the flames. He alone will be able to use the Bloodstone and bring destruction to the vampire race. I'm worried that if our vampanzee gets a hold of the Bloodstone he'll use it to track this down and use it to further his claim as the reincarnated Vampanzee Lord." Arra told them. She recovered the coffin and left the attic. The League and Static followed her in stun silence.
"There you are. I've been looking for you. Come to the lab I've finally finished analyzing everything and I have some things I want to go over with you." Batman stated simply. A few minutes later everyone was settled in.
"I wasn't able to get enough human DNA to run a full comparison on however I was able to make a partial reconstruction and narrow down the list of people the Blood could have come from. It had to come from someone who works in the medical field." Batman stated
"How can you be so certain?" Superman asked.
"Because the scrap of cloth I got back comes from a lab coat that doctors at Dakota Union Hospital wear and only the vampanzee DNA was on it."
"Dakota Union Hospital? That's where victim number one worked and if I remember correctly didn't all the other victims have some connection to the hospital." Superman said. The others nodded.
"So that's where he found his victims. He then marked them at home before stalking them and killing them. But why the hospital?" Wonder Women wondered.
"Because that's where his comfort zone is and where he came to existence if I had to bet on it. Arra when you became a vampire again you used the Bloodstone, why not the blood at the Gas Station?" Static inquired.
"Because that blood had been experimented on. I needed a pure source. I think I know what you're getting at. I was a fool not to see it before. Two and half months ago when you and Sharon turned my clan human again we were taken to Dakota Union Hospital. My blood was taken three times during my stay. Once when I was completely vampire, then when I was half vampire and half human, finally when I was completely human. Doctor Harris assured me the vampire samples were destroyed. He promised you." Arra stated.
"But if he didn't and someone used gene splicing equipment to combine the DNA's together like an Awakening wouldn't that help them turn into a vampanzee?" Static said urgently.
"Yes if it was exposed to chemotherapy that would mutate the blood. It wouldn't be the same as they mystical energy given off by the Bloodstone but it would be similar." Arra replied.
"And sense knowledge could be obtained by blood anything you know about vampanzees and everything you'd been exposed to would have been transferred to him. Creating a monster that unleashed its brutality on humanity." Superman said quietly.
"I say it's high time we paid this doctor a visit." Batman stated leaving quickly. The other's followed suit. Arra snagged her shades and sun block just incase. She didn't want to be got off her guard again.
Dr. Harris was working on some papers in his office. It was a little after nine o'clock and he was anxious to finish up so he could go home to his wife. He finished reviewing one last medical chart, which just so happen to be Arra's and set it down on the desk. He stretched and yawned. "I got to stop working the late shift. I'm so tired. I wish I was home in bed napping."
"Believe me when I say I'm glad your not." A voice whispered from the dark. The lights flickered off for a moment and when they turned themselves back on Arra was standing by his window leaning against the heater. She removed her shades and said quietly "Hello Dr. Harris. Surprised to see me?"
"Arra what in the world are you doing?" Dr. Harris questioned frantically.
"Actually Doc I think you should be more concerned about us." Static said from the doorway. From the walls and behind him the League emerged surrounding the doctor and scaring him silly.
Batman forced him to sit down. "We like to have a chat with you doctor if that's all right with you." He said in a low tone of voice. He began to usual his usual scare tactics for questioning but to no avail.
"That's not how you interrogate someone." Arra told the Dark Knight. She walked over to the Harris and pressed her dagger to his throat. He started to bleed. "Tell me what I want to know doctor or I unleash my full fury on you."
The doctor stared at her hands noticing the scars on the fingertips. "Arra what have you done to yourself! You're a vampire again. Arra please I beg of you stop this isn't you."
"Arra I know you want to find Gear but this isn't the way to go about it." Static told her gently. He used his power to gently remove dagger. Arra relaxed a bit. She gasped in horror. What had she done? Suddenly it clicked in the doctor's head what was going on.
"Arra I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on." Dr. Harris told her. Sighing Arra gestured for Superman to bring the doctor up to speed. Arra backed away to collect herself. She was falling back to her oldest habits, interrogating prisoners for information to quickly. She was a monster. Wonder Women tried to comfort her but it wasn't helping much.
"I understand. I was shocked by the news and I've had my suspicions about what's going on but now I know why you attacked me so viciously. It's because he took Richie isn't it? And don't pretend that Gear isn't Richie. I know because of when he was brought in his brainwaves were off the chart. I asked him about it and he confided in me. That was one of the reasons I made sure to destroy the vampire blood." Dr. Harris told them.
"But it wasn't destroyed. Some how it survived. That was the only way that the vampanzee could have come to be. Can you think of anyone who might have stolen the blood before it was destroyed?" Wonder Women questioned
"Maybe. If you can give me some idea of who your looking for I might be able to narrow down the field." Dr. Harris replied shortly.
"Were looking for a male in his mid twenties early thirties. I wasn't able to reconstruct the entire human gene sequence but I believe he had brown hair and dark eyes originally." Batman informed him.
"Add that to the fact he had to have worked closely with the vampires when they first came in and probably hasn't shown up for work in two and half weeks. Three weeks top." Superman added.
Dr. Harris snapped his fingers and went over to a filing cabinet. "I think I've got your man. Hypocrites."
"Hypocrites? The Father of modern medicine?" Static asked confused.
"No Static I mean one Dr. Jordan Hypocrites. He's the hospital's leading expert in blood disorders. Not to mention he's a fine researcher but I consider him to be eccentric. He worked on your case Arra until we had to kick him off of it for getting to personal." Dr. Harris explained extracting a personal file.
Arra nodded her head. "I remember him. He creeped me out the way he was always staring at my clan and me. Not to mention he asked a lot of sensitive questions."
"That's why we had to kick him off your case. That and we suspect him for something else. You were in the hospital for a week and it took two days to get the results of all your test. Your vampire blood had been stored in a special unit. He was supposed to bring it to my nurse Aimee Hoffer so I could supervise its incineration. My guess is he switched the blood with some from the blood bank. Here take a look at his file." Dr. Harris said handing her the file.
She took and opened it up. "Look while I'm reading this we should investigate this man. Did he have a locker, an officer, maybe a lab?" she asked. Harris nodded yes to all three. "Static search his locker, Batman tear apart his office, Superman, and Wonder Women see what his private lab reveals."
Reading his file revealed her worst nightmare. Besides being the top of his class at Harvard and having a medical degree in blood research, he was also an expert when it came to gene manipulation and splicing. Not mention he had a Masters in electronics meaning he could build a jamming device. His file also had a psych report stating that he was on the edge but not insane. Glancing up she asked Dr. Harris if anything had been stolen from the hospital and how long Hypocrites had been missing.
"Several chemotherapy and steroids are missing not to mention some of our gene splicing equipment. They disappeared around three weeks ago. Also he had access to your victims. The hospital was suing him for malpractice. Illegal use of medical equipment. The lawyer handling the case was Robin Manning. He could spotted the other two any time during his rounds." Dr. Harris answered.
"So we know how he target his victims. What makes this man tick?" Arra wondered out loud handing back the folder. She turned towards the door as her friends entered. They all had grim expressions on their faces. "What? What did you discover?"
"His locker was locked Arra, but seeing as how we had probable cause I used my powers to open it. I found this in it Arra. It's a journal all about your family complete with pictures. He was stalking you take a look." Static said using his powers to float the items to her.
Arra flipped through the photos horrified. Most of these had been taken while she was at school but some were of her in her bed at home. Flipping open his journal she read a passage about Cassandra. It stated that since she was a chess master why was she competing in silly high school tournaments? "I don't believe this? How could I not know about this?"
"I have worse news I'm afraid. I was able to access some of his computer files. Originally he wanted to use your blood to find the universal anti body but when that failed he wanted to try combining your blood with humans to create an elite class of genetically engineered humans." Batman told her gravely showing her his findings.
"I'm afraid to ask what you found in the lab."
"We found video files of him doing experiments with your blood. Exposing it to all kinds of radiation and other harmful diseases. He was determined to unlock its secrets." Superman informed her, his fist clenched.
"We also found a security tape of him injecting himself with a mutate strand of your clans DNA all combined together. The results aren't pretty. All your knowledge and experience with the vampanzee was entered into his brain. He turned himself into this murdering monster." Wonder Women told her angrily.
"Then its true. The entire city of Dakota is at risk because of me and my clan." Arra whispered. "Don't you see? Even if we catch him and some how reverse the effect and turn him human his lawyers are going to say that he only murdered people because of what my blood did to him. There going to lock me up!" she wailed.
"That's not true! Hypocrites knew what he was doing was wrong but he did it anyways. He made his choice and now he has to deal with the consequences. Whatever he does its not your fault." Superman told her patiently.
She looked up at him with determination in her eyes. She twirled her dagger around. "No but its my responsibility to take of this Hypocrites. I'm the reason he's like this and so help me by the Gods of the vampires I'm going to take action and do something about. Lets go."
"Arra what about turning back into a human? The longer you stay a vampire the more your tendencies will reflect that. What are you going to do when you meet Hypocrites? Kill him? This isn't six hundred years ago. The system doesn't work like that." Dr. Harris informed his patient.
"He's right you know. You can't be his judge, jury and executioner. Justice has to prevail. The murder victim's families need to see him brought to justice and he needs help. So can you promise me you won't kill him?" Static asked her.
She took her dagger and gave herself a small cut on her palm. Before Static could protest she did the same to him. She clasped their blood soaked hands together and looked at him. "I give you my blood oath and word that I won't kill him unless I'm left with no choice. Will that suffice?" Static nodded and she spat on the wounds to heal them. The superhero's left Dr. Harris in his office. He could only hope that Arra would be okay.
Across town Hypocrites was laughing manically at Gears efforts to escape his prison. He had already been beat up for his little stunt earlier. "Why do you struggle when you know it is in vain? My jamming equipment makes it impossible for you to be tracked or to make communication and the reverse is quite true. Why not give up and your pain will end. I might even consider feeding you." He said in his silky evil coated voice.
"Stuff it you crazed loon! I'll never give in to you. Static and Arra will find me and when they do you'll be sorry!" Gear shouted in defiance.
"Oh I hope they do find me. But not just yet my vampire boy. I don't have everything I need for my master plan. Soon though I will and the entire Earth will tremble at my feet!" Hypocrites laughed and laughed sending chills down Gears spine. He had to get out of here and fast before it was to late.