Hippacrites was very pleased. Everything was going according to plan. His men were working round the clock to complete their task in the labs. He only needed one more thing and then tomorrow night the Ceremony would take place. He couldn't wait.
"Phase two of my plan is a success. There is only one more phase left before the entire plan comes together. There is no chance that they can discover where we will hit tonight." Hippacrites commented
"My men have been working hard to complete their tasks in time for tomorrow night my Lord. I can assure you nothing will interfere with your final plans. We will make sure that those superheroes and their mangy mutts don't bother us. But there is a problem my Lord. One of my men was carrying the list of items you gave us for tonight's attack and he lost half of it. But not to worry it was written in vamperic. No way they can decipher it." Kraven told him. Suddenly he was gasping for air as Hippacrites started chocking the life out of him.
"Fool! Arra is a vampire! She hasn't used use vamperic in centuries and will take time for her to translate, but she will. Our plan is ruined!" Hippacrites hissed angrily.
"Not to worry my Lord, we have special arsenal to take out her friends. Besides I thought we had to give her the final clue." Kraven gasped. Hippacrites dropped him and he began to breath normally once more.
"You are right of course. Perhaps I was being too hasty. They have no idea of everything were taking tonight and this could work to our advantage. Just to make sure nothing goes wrong I will personally lead the attack tonight. You and four of your most valuable vampets will accompany me. Prepare for tonight. I have business to take care of." Hippacrites told him swiftly leaving the lab and heading for his quarters. Snapping his fingers several vampets followed him carrying crates containing medical devices.
Back at the boarding house things weren't going so well. Static was pacing back and forth angrily. Superman was on the phone with the police learning more about their investigation and their vampets prisoners. Wonder Women was updating the pack while Batman worked on his portable computer trying to figure out what Hippacrites was up to. Arra had the Code of the Vampire and several ancient archives attempting to translate the list.
"Man we almost had them! If Alva hadn't got in the way we could have stopped those lousy vampets and found Gear. Now they have a ton of chemical plus two truck loads of medical drugs, and we still have no clue where they are! Some superhero and partner I turned out to be. I'm a complete failure. I let my best friend and my city down." Static said miserably.
"That's not true Virgil. What has happened has happened. You can't play what if. Like if the pack was there to back you up he might not have escaped or if you had risked Alva's life they would have been captured. It doesn't change reality." Esme told him.
"The fact of the matter is we have a clue of where our target is going to strike next. Now is the time to strategize. Don't be so hard on yourself. Everything will work out in the end." Wonder Women told him. She turned to face her friends, "Learn anything useful?"
Superman hung up the phone and rubbed his temples. It had been a long night and he hadn't gotten more than a few hours sleep in the last few days. "The police discovered the bodies of the homeless people late last night. They were cruelly disposed of in the park and this time they were naked. They have DNA of the killer so if we catch Hippacrites we have an easier time proving it's him. Our vampet friends have attempted to kill themselves six times and our now under twenty four hour security watch at Dakota Memorial Hospital. Dr. Harris is charge and making sure they don't kill themselves. They haven't been able to figure out what gang they belong to because it's not on their priority list. Diana I think you should use the Watchtowers crime database and discover where they from. That's all I got. Bats?"
"Still nothing yet. There are a hundred of possibilities each more unlikely than the last. We don't know if they're using the drugs and chemicals separately or combining them. It will take a lot of time to complete my search and come up the correct solution to the problem." Batman told him distract. He was busy concentrating on his computer screen bringing up any related data he could find.
"Can't you translate that damn list any faster!" Static demand angrily.
Arra looked up from her work and glared at him. "Virgil, cool it! Vamperic is a very difficult language to write let alone read. I only learned the basics in Vampire Mountain. I was a little busy trying to learn how to be a vampire of good standing. If I don't take my time I'm likely to mistranslate the list and that won't help us at all. So I'd appreciate greatly if you wouldn't distract me from my work!" Arra yelled at him.
"Well what am I suppose to do then? I can't just stand here and do nothing. I did that once and look what happened." Static replied.
"I need some help trying to narrow down what gang our friends the vampets belong to. Come on two people work faster." Wonder Women told him kindly.
"The pack and I will be outside practicing our fighting skills. You may need us in case of emergency. Mark and Superman can stay inside and try to narrow down where those bastards are hiding," Vivian said to them.
Everyone was concentrating deeply on their tasks. It was very important that they figure out where the vampanzee and his gang of vampets were hiding. Tomorrow was Saturday, the night the Vampanzee Lord said he would kill Richie if they didn't deliver the Bloodstone to him. They couldn't let Richie down. They had already let the citizens of Dakota down by allowing this much death.
Arra blinked several times trying to clear the sleep from her eyes. Glancing at the clock she saw that she had been trying to translate the list for the last four hours straight. She had barely gotten any of it done. A few letters and numbers here and there, but nothing that would tell them where the vampanzees where going to strike next. She stood up stretching. "I need to take a break. I'm not getting anywhere with this. I need to refresh myself then tackle this problem from a new angle."
"What? You can't quit now! We need that information now or will never be able to plan an attack." Static whined.
"Let her, she's right. We could all use a rest. Breaks are important. Everyone take a half hour break. Batman, that means you too. Come on people lets relax." Superman ordered everyone. Growling in frustration Static stormed into the kitchen for some soda. Wonder Women went outside to check on the pack, while Batman found a pack of cards and stared to play solitaire. Arra went upstairs to sketch and paint.
Arra found the sketch she had been working on for the last couple of days. Having superspeed came in handy when you wanted to work quickly. She sketched and painted with ease. Fifteen minutes later she set her work down smiling. It would be done soon. She got into a yoga position and focused her mind. "Please, Bloodstone. I need your help. I need to hear the thoughts of my beloved mate. Please connect me to his mind so that I may know that he's safe and sound." The Bloodstone glowed a dark red responding to her thoughts.
Richie gulped nervously watching the vampets assemble the genetic splicing equipment in front of his cage. What was going on? What were they going to do to him? The vampets finished their work and left the young boy with his tormentor. "So what's up? Planning to splice my cage with me?" Richie challenged.
Hippacrites chuckled at the boy's naïve. It was so precious. "No, my young vampire I have much bigger plans. You see for my plan to succeed I need the blood of a vampire and since you're the only one available I'll have to use yours."
"Hate to break it to you, but despite what you call me I'm a human." Richie told him smugly.
"Is that so? Are you human? You're a Metahuman, a Bang Baby, and you were once a vampire. You may have been changed back into a pathetic human mortal, but your genetic structure still contains vampire genes. This machine will isolate those genes and bring them to the surface. So while you will still be a human you will bleed vampire blood. The process will take several hours and the pain will be excruciating. But don't worry you will survive. Please tell me how it makes you feel." Hippacrites told him sadisistcly. He then flipped on the machine and ray of yellow light hit Richie. He began to scream in pain as he felt his entire body scream in sheer agony.
Arra woke up from her trance with someone shaking her. She whirled around ready to bite her attacker but stopped when she saw it was only Batman. "What are you doing here? I thought you were downstairs playing cards?"
"I was, but our break ended fifteen minutes ago. When you didn't return I got worried and decided to check on you. I found you in some sort of trance screaming in pain, clutching the Bloodstone for dear life. What did you see?" Batman asked her helping her to feet.
"I saw Richie with Hippacrites. In the same dark and cold room he was in before. I could feel his anguish, his fear, and despair. But I could also sense his bravery, and courage, and his strength. Hippacrites was assaulting him once more. This time harder than ever before. I don't know what he did, but I know that if we don't find Richie soon he will die. We must find him and stop Hippacrites once and for all." Arra told him gravely.
Arra headed back downstairs and acknowledged her friends. "Sorry guys I was practicing yoga and lost track of time. So how are we doing?" she asked rubbing her hands together.Static spoke first. "Diana and I have been using the police database and the Watchtowers computer files to try and idea our guys. With a little help from Backpack we think we've narrowed down who those vampets are and how they met our dear doctor."
"The police believe that they are part of some cult/gang known as the Immortals. They haven't had a chance to gather much, but they we do know they are considered arm and dangerous. Kraven seems to be the leader of the group. According to the Watchtower files Kraven was a graduate student who majored in both genetics and advance weaponry. That was as much as we got. Apparently one of the vampets must be a computer hacker because there is nothing else on any of them. The police couldn't even identify who their prisoners were. Whoever these vampets use to be there aren't anymore. They are making sure everything of their past is erased." Wonder Women stated calmly.
"Of course they would. They can't risk anyone linking them to Hippacrites. They've sworn their allegiance to him. If anyone brings danger to their cause they have to kill themselves. Keep at you two, we have to find where they're hiding now and why Hippacrites chose them to assist him. Superman what do you have for me?" Arra asked the Man of Steel.
Superman told her what he had determined. "Mark and I have been on the Internet on any website that talks about advance weaponry. The military has only designed a few hundred of those weapons they used on us. They still in their testing stage, so the prototypes were being stored in bases and warehouses till they were ready to be used by soldiers. All we had to do was figure out where they were being stored. With Mark's help our list of possible hide out locations has been narrowed to fifty."
"That's wonderful news. I'm so glad. But if we are to prevent a disaster we need more information. Where running out of time people. Tomorrow is Saturday. Batman what did your computer turn up?" Arra demanded.
"It's eliminated most of the possibilities for the items that were stolen. Mostly the impractical solutions and the ones that would take to long to process, if they were combining the chemicals and drugs. I have only about nine hundred more to go through. I'll be done in a few more hours. I suggest we get back to work. We still need that list translated." Batman told her firmly.
Arra nodded and strolled to the table. She placed one hand on the Bloodstone. "Please, grant me the ability to translate this document quickly and without mistakes." The paper glowed and suddenly it became much easier to translate the text. Her hand flew over the paper replacing symbols with letters. One hour later she was done. "I'm finished guys! Come over here."
Everyone gathered around her eager to learn what was so important on that piece of paper. "We were definitely right. It is a list of items, items that their going to steal tonight for their own evil needs. The list reads:
1 dozen black candles.
2 bags of incense.
1 blood red alter cloth.
2 crystal goblets.
3 symbols of representing vampires.
1 piece of black chalk for drawing archaic symbols.
1 jeweled athima (ritualistic dagger. Used in magical ceremonies.)
"Is that it? What is all that stuff anyways?" Static asked. He was hoping for something more expensive. What did all these things have to do with drugs, chemicals, and Richie?
Arra shook her head. "No there was more, but the paper was torn remember? I know there was room for at least two more items and they were probably the most important ones on this list."
"Why would the most important items be written last?" Wonder Women asked curiously.
"In vampire society we believe that by putting our valuables last, no one would thing to go after them first. I positive that's what Hippacrites is thinking. Anyways I believe the attack is going to be in an occult shop. It's the only place that has all the items listed."
"Why would he be interested in a magic shop?" Static demanded before receiving a death glare from Batman.
"Occult shops are very different than toy magic stores. The items sold there are for real magical ceremonies. The storeowners are very much aware of the magical items they have in stock. If only we knew where and when they were planning to attack we could get there ahead of them and set a trap." Batman said.
"I wish I could help you there, but the address and the time were damaged in the fight. I can't make them out at all. Its to water logged and choked with mud," Arra told them sadly.
"Give it me. My X-ray vision should be able to help us out. Okay got it. It's the Magical Creatures Store at 1245 West Street. They plan on attacking at eleven o'clock. That's in about six hours. Just enough time to come up with a plan of attack." Superman said to everyone.
"We need to come up with a plan. Backpack! Hack into the city halls building archives and download the blue prints for the building. Then recreate a holographic display for us." Arra ordered the little robot.
Backpack hummed and beeped for a few minutes. He then displayed the model of the building for all to see. "We have to assume that Hippacrites and his little gang of vampets would figure that Arra would translate the list. So there going to be on the alert for us." Vivian pointed out matter of fact.
"Also since this is the last big heist before their big showdown tomorrow you have to believe that Hippacrites is going to be they're supervising. He's going to make sure nothing messes up his plans like the last two times. I mean we may not have stopped them, but we have been an annoyance." Mark added.
"That being the case we have to be careful. In this stage of the operation we can't afford any mistakes. The cost would be to great." Gabriel stated.
"Okay the store consists of three main rooms and a back room. Since there's a limit amount of space to maneuver in I figure that there will be only three, four vampets top to deal with. There are three entrances to the shop. An air vent on the roof, the front door, and a fire exit on the side. Batman will cover the roof making sure that the vampets don't sneak inside through there. Vivian and Gabriel will watch the fire exit from the alley. The rest of us will watch the front door from various locations across the street. When we see a vampet about to enter the store we jump them. The store stays open to about midnight so be ready for a long wait. Remember our main goal is to capture the vampets and minimize casualties." Superman instructed.
"What about Hippacrites? If he shows up what are we suppose to do just let him go! He has to be brought to justice and we have to learn where he's keeping Richie." Arra demanded.
"I have to agree with Arra on this one. Enough is enough. I say we put an end to this hunt tonight." Static said.
"Look I know you two want to get Hippacrites. We all do, but right now our main objective is to make sure that our enemies don't carry out their mission and escape." Wonder Women told them gently.
"May I remind everyone that we should be cautious? Not only do we have the vampets and vampanzee to worry about, there's the stuff in the store that might harm us. It's an occult shop filled with very real magic items designed to kill supernatural creatures. If were not careful Arra you and your friends could end up dead." Batman informed her.
"I'm willing to take that chance just as long as we succeed. But I have to tell you. I have a very bad feeling about this." Arra said putting on her extra clothes. They still had another hour of sunlight left but their stakeout was beginning now.
They arrived at the address about an hour later and took up their posts. Diana even when inside at one point to get the layout of the store so when it came time to fight they wouldn't be caught off guard. To say she was impressed by what was in stock was an understatement. They had everything from crystal balls to zodiac wheels. All of this stuff seemed very dangerous.
Hours flew by and still no sign of the vampets. They watched several customers go inside and come out. The shop owner, a man in his sixties, seemed to have extensive knowledge of the supernatural and mystic arts. He seemed very wary like he knew something evil was going to happen tonight.
Static rubbed his hands together to get the blood flowing through them. He was cold, tired, and hungry. He had been sitting on the rooftop for hours on the lookout for any sign of trouble. Nothing was happening and it was nearly eleven. Time for the bad guys to show up and cause trouble.
Down in the alley Vivian was trying her hardest not to throw up. The entire alley smelled like week old garbage, not to mention a few other smells that were unpleasant. "How do humans live like this? They throw away perfectly useable items then let them rot in the streets for days. Not to mention they act like pups all the time. Sometimes I just want to smack a whole lot of sense into these people."
"I know they are very strange beings. Aesthetically pleasing, great friends, but they aren't us. Now hush up. It's nearly eleven and we have a job to do." Gabriel reprimand her
Eleven o'clock came and went without so much as a disgruntle customer. It was fast approaching midnight when everyone started getting concerned. They didn't understand it. Hippacrites would never order his men to abort a mission. Not when it was so important. But it didn't make sense. They had been here since five thirty. No one bundle up in a lot of clothing had entered the store. What the hell was going on?
Arra was thinking very hard about the situation. She had known their plan wasn't perfect. There had been too much margin for error. Something wasn't adding up. She remembered her past experience with vampanzees and applied it to what was going on now. She jolted and hit her forehead. "Idiot! Guys listen to me. We screwed up. They knew we decipher that list and so they moved the time of the attack. They must have already been inside the store when we got here. They've been waiting for the right time to attack. Superman does your X-ray vision reveal anyone hidden in the store?"
"Yes! We've got five people emerging from hiding places all over the store. They're locking the place up. It's them and Hippacrites is with them. Come on team its time to take action!" Superman ordered as everyone coverage onto the shop.
At the moment the vampets were securing the items on the list while Hippacrites had the storeowner by his throat. The man raised a cross at him but Hippacrites knocked from his hands. "Do you think I am some weakling vampire? I am a vampanzee you fool! Now tell me where you've hidden the book and charts I require or I will kill you."
"Go to hell you demon! I will not assist you or any of your kind in your quest. I only hope that the you get want you deserve for murdering all those people," the shop owner gasped.
Hippacrites was about to hurl the man into a wall when he was hit in the back by a double taser ball. "Put the man down freak!" Static yelled. The vampets stopped what they were doing and turned to face the threat. Standing in front of the door was Arra, Static, and the League. A quick glance to the left showed two angry werewolves approaching from the adjoining room.
Hippacrites smiled and lowered the man to the ground. He stepped forward and bowed mockingly at them. "So if it isn't the infamous Justice League and Dakota electrifying superhero Static. It's nice to meet you all. And Arra it's nice to see you again. You've changed since the last time I encountered you."
"Enough with the small talk doctor. Put the man down and surrender. Believe me we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I personally would prefer the hard way." Static said bristling with anger. This guy still didn't consider him a threat.
"Me surrender. That's a joke. My vampets and I are so close to victory I can taste it. You can't stop the what's coming. The only ones to suffer hard way will be all of you because you're the ones who will be in agony. I relish the chance to fight you and show my dominance. Vampets! Take care of them while I procure the last items on the list." Hippacrites ordered hurling the shop owner crashing into the counter.
"You handle the vampets! I'm going after Hippacrites." Superman ordered.
"But," Arra started to protest angrily.
"Do as I say!" Superman yelled at her going after the Vampanzee Lord. Arra gritted her fangs and readied herself for battle.
The vampets wasted no time with formalities. They started shooting their lasers guns at anything that moved. Wonder Women used her bracelets to deflect the beams. Unfortunately the beams hit some meditation crystals and reflected back at her sending her flying through the store windows.
Static used his powers to hurl candleholders and statues at one of the vampets. The vampet somersaulted out of the way and behind a sarcophagus. He picked up the coffin and hurled it at Static. It caught him in the chest knocking him flat.
The vampet strolled over to him cocking his arrow gun. "You don't realize how much I'm going to enjoy this. You are such a pathetic waste of space. Say bye bye," the vampet smirked aiming his gun at Static head.
That's when Static struck back. Using his powers he tossed aside the sarcophagi and throwing a zap cap at his would be executioner. The vampet stumbled to the ground. "Looks like I have the advantage now. I love to stay and chat, but I have to go help my friends so stay put. Oh and as for you gun." Static told him. Using his powers he broke the gun in half. "Guns kill people. And we don't want you hurting yourself."
Batman, Vivian, and Gabriel were working side by side against one particully nasty vampet. Batman had thrown several Batarangs at him as well as tried to tie him up with a cable, but the guy just avoided them. He grabbed a wand and pointed it at Gabriel who was leaping for his throat. He fell to the ground frozen. Vivian yelped in surprise and ran over to check on her mate. She suddenly found her paws frozen to the floor. Grinning wickedly the vampet turned to Batman. "Your next Bat freak."
Arra was dueling against Kraven with her sword. Their swords would clash again and again. Arra tried to use her mental powers to get inside Kraven head and knock him out, but his mind was to well guarded. Kraven forced her into a bookcase. "You fight well for a vampiress. You truly are a great warrior, but I'm going to win this duel. After all I'm not only a vampet, but an Immortal."
"Grow up you piece of garbage. Your nothing and siding with Hippacrites makes you less then nothing." Arra growled scratching him with nails. He screamed and shoved two bookcases on top of her.
"Who's laughing now huh? What in the world?" Kraven asked in amazement as Arra burst free of the bookcases. Her eyes burned with hatred. "Oh now you've gone and made me mad."
Hippacrites was racing towards the backroom. He was intent on getting the last two items on his list. That when Superman plowed into him. "You're not going anywhere."
Hippacrites beamed up at him. He grabbed his wrists and began to squeeze them in an attempt to break his bones. Both began to crash into displays as they started vibrating at super speed. "We have equal strength and speed. But tell me dear hero do you have my other powers?" He then kneed him in the groin forcing Superman to the ground. He breathed a light dose of gas onto his face paralyzing him slightly. Opening his mouth wide he sank his fangs deep into his neck.
Superman screamed in agony as Hippacrites dug his fangs deeper into his flesh. A small line of blood began to trickle down from his neck as the vampanzee eagerly drank his blood. He withdrew his fangs and let out a sigh of content. His blood red eyes looked down at him hungrily. "Your blood is so rich and pure. I've never tasted anything like it. And the sensations I'm getting from you. I can hear your heart pounding in wildly, smell your terror, and my eyes can even make out all the capillaries and veins pumping your blood. I already feel stronger and soon I will have more of your powers." Hippacrites told him as he leaned in for another bite.
That's when Static hit square in the chest with a double taser blast and Wonder Women slammed into him her momentum carrying through the locked door to the back room. "Leave him alone you foul demon!" She began pounding his face into the floor. Suddenly Hippacrites shot her with heat beam eyes. She barely had time to reflect the blast before she went soaring into air. Static caught her right before she landed on some potion shelves.
"As you can plainly see I've absorbed some of your friends powers. Not all of them I'm afraid just the weaker ones. If I had feasted on him a bit longer I would have obtained his memories and full powers. Unfortunately the power won't last long so I'm going to have to complete this task quickly." Hippacrites explained stepping over the fallen hero. "Come and take me, I dare you."
"Static get Superman to safety then assist Arra with her vampet. I'm going to deal with Mr. Personality over there." Wonder Women ordered.
"Will do Princess. You can count on me. Hey ugly hope you like my nova ball because that's what you're going to get!" Static yelled throwing a nova ball at Hippacrites tripping him up. Wonder Women was on him in a minute.
Static raced over to the fallen hero. The gas was still affecting him. He couldn't move. Static started dragging him to safety but it was like an ant trying to move a bus. He was just too heavy. "There's got to be a better way then this." Static grunted. He snapped his fingers and used his powers to levitate the Man of Steel out of the harms way. That's when Wonder Women's and his vampet (who had got out of the zap cap) came up from behind and restrained him with the zap cap.
"Tough luck kid. Vampets are a lot stronger than we look. No way are you breaking out of that contraption." The vampets snickered before racing over to help their master.
Wonder Women had used her golden lasso on him. She was pulling on it with all her might. "Hera give me strength to beat this evil."
"Not likely Princess. I think its time you and I became better acquainted." Hippacrites chuckled. Grapping a hold of the lasso he jerked on it hard. Suddenly she was in his hands getting her face clawed at. She lashed out with one hand, but he caught and snapped it in two. "Now I think it's time to have a bite to eat don't you?" He lunged at her neck and began to suck the life out of her.
"Diana! No!" Batman yelled as he watched in horror as that thing began to feed on her. Arra was still battling Kraven so she couldn't save her. Vivian and Gabriel weren't an option seeing as how they were frozen. Superman and Static had been disposed of. That left him to save the women he secretly loved. Taking out his vampet with a flying kick he leaped to the rescue.
Hippacrites would have continued feeding off of the Amazon Princess if a guy dressed up like a bat didn't interrupt him. Batman had thrown ultra violet capsules at him forcing him to let go of his catch. He was mad beyond belief. "Your going to wish you hadn't done that!"
"Leave my teammate alone. Surrender and no one has to get hurt. One way or another it ends now. You are not going to get what you want tonight." Batman replied calmly. He held a Batarang in one hand and in the other a smokescreen ball.
"Did I hit a nerve? Are you upset that I fed on your girlfriend? Well thanks to her powers I'm going to finish this job and your not going to stop me." Hippacrites told him taking to the air charging him. Batman met him and threw the ball and Batarang.
The Dark Knight disappeared into the smokescreen listening as Hippacrites cursed as the Batarang hit him in the head. His red eyes searched for him ready to attack. Batman circled around and jumped him from behind giving him a full nelson.
"You are quite the nuisance you know that?" Hippacrites growled angrily trying to shake the pest off him. He crashed into a rack of clothing and then bumped into a table with tapestries on it. Still Batman wouldn't let go. He produced a taser from his utility belt and began to shock him.
That's when the three vampets attacked him all at once. They shot him with their laser guns and then the one with the wand used its power to freeze Batman from the waist down. The sudden change in weight caused him to slip to the ground. Hippacrites bared his fangs and dug in.
Hippacrites thought he would finally be able to kill one of his foes, but he had forgotten about Arra. While he had been dealing with the League, she had been busy with Kraven. She sensed rather then saw Batman in distress. Using all the strength she possessed she flung one of the fallen bookcases at Kraven. It hit him and continued to flying till it knocked over all the vampets and the vampanzee. "Get away from my friend or face my wraith!" she warned.
Hippacrites was ready for battle. His blood was boiling. He was ready to kill Arra when a hand shot out and stopped him. He turned to face Kraven. "My Lord, remember our mission. We must secure the final two items and make our escape and quickly. The vampiress and the female werewolf are almost onto top of us." Kraven pointed out as Arra charged them and Vivian who had finally managed to free herself was leaping towards them.
Hippacrites telepathically shouted the order and soon the entire room was filled with smoke. Arra started to choke on the bitter air. Her senses were going wild. Vivian howled in anger. In all the confusion Hippacrites and his men made their way into the backroom. They quickly shut the door and melted it shut. "That won't hold them off for long. Start searching for the relics." Kraven ordered.
The vampets began tearing about the back room. It was filled with all sorts of rare and powerful magical items. They ranged from spell books to amulets of great power. They were intent on finding the items they needed. They quickened their pace as they heard noises of someone attempting to bust down the door.
"Blast it! Where did that foolish old man hide them!" Hippacrites asked angrily destroying an antique table. Suddenly his eyes lit up. There on the wall was a display case containing one of his two required items. He brought back his fist and smashed the glass doors. He rummaged through some papers for a second before letting out a satisfying grunt. He turned to his faithful lieutenant who was carrying a large volume under his arm. "You have it! Good, now lets make our exit."
The door to the backroom was suddenly blown off its hinges as Arra strolled in her sword in hand. Vivian wasn't far behind. "You're not going anywhere Hippacrites. This ends here and now!"
"I think not my dear Arra. This is only the beginning of things. Kraven we need an exit now!" Hippacrites ordered. Kraven and his men turned their laser guns on full power and aimed at the back wall. They fired their guns and two seconds later their was very large hall big enough for them to escape. "I love to stay and chat but I have to run." Hippacrites told her. Politely bowing he turned and ran.
"Come on Vivian we can't let him get away!" Arra said already starting to flirt. Vivian wasn't far behind seeing as how she was naturally this fast. They chased the group of vampets and their leader for five blocks. They used all their power to keep up with them. Finally Arra shot out her nails again and again causing them to halt in their tracks. She leaped over them and landed right in front of them sword held even with Vivian blocking the rear. "You're not going anywhere."
The vampets didn't even hesitate. They started shooting rounds at her and Vivian. Arra saw with her enhanced vision each individual bullet. Using her amazing reflexes she managed to twist out of the way of the first onslaught and reflect the bullets from the second with her sword. Vivian merely spun out of harms way.
Arra levitated into the air and gave a flying leap kick to the closest vampet. Vivian knocked down one and began to tear the weapons right off of him. Arra did a back flip out of the way as one of the vampets threw a net at her.
Kraven saw the look in Arra's eye and knew they needed a quick way to lose her. He kicked Vivian of his fallen comrade and threw her halfway down the street. She let loose and angry howl and charged him. She leapt straight for her throat. Kraven loaded a special arrow into his gun and fired point blank.
The air hit her straight in the chest. The impact was severe enough to transform her back to human. She landed in the middle of the sidewalk and let out a scream. She was in agony. She tried to pull the arrow out but it burned her. She collapsed to the ground a small pool of blood forming.
"VIVIAN!" Arra shouted horrified by what just happened. Not fearing for her own safety she rushed past the vampets and their Lord to her injured friends side. "Vivian talk to me! Come on girl stay strong. You're going to be just fine," Arra tried to reassure her.
"I don't think so. You see that arrow is made out of pure silver and the tip contains silver nitrate. In about oh two minutes the tip will burst releasing its deadly poison into your friend's bloodstream killing her in a matter of seconds. You have just enough time to remove the arrow safely or you could chase after us leaving your friend to die. So what's your choice going to be vampiress?" Kraven mocked her.
Every fiber in Arra body demanded that she pursue her prey and finish him off. But her conscience would never forgive her if she let Vivian die. "I swear Kraven if she dies there won't be any safe place in the world you can hide from me." Arra threatened turning her attention to her friend.
The vampets took off, but Hippacrites stayed behind for a moment. He walked over to her and smiled evilly. "You will soon regret your decision to stay behind. I want you to know this. You have all the knowledge and you where given your first clue to find me. Here's your last one. You're a very bright girl. I know you will figure out everything." He whispered to her. He dropped a small piece of fabric on the ground then turned and flirted away.
"Stay with me Viv. If you can survive being shot by a silver bullet you can survive this. I can't do this by myself. I need help." Arra told her as she tried unsuccessfully to remove the arrow. She had a minute and half left before her friend died. Using all her telepathic power she yelled "Static, Justice League, Gabriel, I need your help now! Vivian life is in grave danger!"
Two seconds later like magic the gang was all there. When Gabriel saw the predicament his mate was in he howled sadly before shifting into his skin. He took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. "Vivian! Hang on baby. It will be all right."
"What's the situation here? Why haven't you removed the arrow?" Static demanded.
"The arrow is made out of silver and the tip contains silver nitrate. It set to burst in about a minute and twenty seconds and I have no clue where it's lodged in her body. If where going to save her life we need to work together or she dies. Superman can you tell me where exactly the tip is located in her body?" Arra asked.
Superman stared intensely at Vivian body. He saw that the arrow had just barely missed her heart. The tip looked ready to explode. "Its just to left of her heart. I can direct someone in the removal of the arrow but I can't do it myself," He said
"Static can you remove the arrow with your powers?" Wonder Women asked. Static shook his head. "Silver can't be magnetized. There must be something we can do."
"There is. Diana go back to the store and retrieve the first aid kit. Static try to stop the bleeding. Gabriel keep her awake. Batman I hope you have a laser and tweezers because you're going to have to cut the shaft off and remove the tip. Superman will guide you. I can then sew her up and use my spit to heal the wound." Arra ordered.
Wonder Women hurried off and quickly returned with a first aid kit. Static stopped enough of the bleeding for Batman to work. Quickly but carefully he used his handheld laser to cut the shaft off. He handed over to Static then with Superman help he found the tip and removed it. Then Arra stitched her up and used her spit to make sure she be okay before Wonder Women bandaged her up. "Thank you for saving my life." Vivian rasped.
"Your not the only one who needs healing. All right hold still you three. This may not seem sanitary, but you guys need those wounds healed. So let me use my healing spit on you." Arra told them. They resisted, but in the end they gave in letting her use her spit to heal their neck wounds.
"That is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. Why do you use spit to heal yourself?" Static asked seriously grossed out.
"My spit contains special enzymes that speed up the healing process. Speaking of healing we all need to have Persia look us over. Wonder Women can you fly Vivian back to the boarding house so she can recuperate?" Arra asked.
Wonder Women nodded her head. She took Vivian from Gabriel and cradled her in her arms. She took off flying slowly. Arra turned to Superman. "The shop owner looked like he was in pretty bad shape. You mind taking him to the hospital and staying with him to make sure he'll live? Batman, Gabriel, Static, and I can check out the shop and see if we can figure out what Hippacrites was so interested in."
"Will do. Be careful you guys. The police will be here soon and we better have a good explanation of what happened to that place." Superman told her. With a swish of his cloak he was gone. A second later they saw him take to the skies with shop owner.
"Come on boys we better get to work. We don't want the police to come and spoil our chances at finding anything." Arra told them. She pocketed the piece of fabric Hippacrites had left behind and then led the way back to the shop.
When they reentered enter the shop they saw just how badly it was damaged. Several artifacts had been broken, displays knocked over, and glass was strewn everywhere. The front of the shop had taken the worst of the beating, but that still didn't compare to the giant hole in the back of the shop. "Man I really hope that this place has some insurance because there's no way I can afford to pay for the damages," Static told the others as they picked their way through the shop.
"Don't worry I'm sure a place like this is heavily insured. And even if it not the League will pay for all the damages," Batman said simply.
They entered what was left of the backroom and split up to begin their search. Gabriel headed for the books; Batman to the relics, Arra checked the displays while Static got stuck looking over the jewelry.
"What is all this junk anyways?" Static demanded as he used his powers to lift the jewelry into the air so he could search through it easier. "I mean the labels say its either a amulet or talisman or it's a pendent or a medallion. Then there are these wacky charms. What's the difference?"
"An amulet is suppose to bring protection while a talisman brings luck and power. A pendent is usually a necklace with a single crystal in the center. A medallion has a circle with etchings engraved on it. Charms are suppose to bring luck," Arra informed him from across the room.
"Well nothing is missing from the jewelry over here I can assure you of that. What about you Batman, find anything missing from your display?" Static asked.
Batman shook his head no. It was strange to him that they would leave the relics alone for the most part. Hardly any had been damaged. Glancing over at Static he saw that the jewelry hadn't even been touched. But Arra's and Gabriel's areas had been ransacked. Whatever the vampets had been after it was definitely in those areas.
"I think I found something. According to the records there's a book on necromancy that's suppose to be here, but it isn't." Gabriel called to the others.
"Necromancy? Isn't that the magic of resurrecting zombies or something?" Static joked. Everyone glared at him and he blushed embarrassed.
The mention of the missing volume gave Arra an uneasy feeling. Something was eating at her. At the back of her mind something was nagging at her. Like she should know what it meant.
She glanced down at the remains of the shattered display case. "I don't understand why Hippacrites would tear apart the display. All that was in here was some stone tablets, a woodcarving, and some ancient scrolls. Wait a minute these aren't scrolls there star charts," Arra said surprised.
She began to shuffle through the charts careful not to damage any. The charts were used to track the movements of the stars and planets and what effect they had on the Earth. She came to a section of charts that about the phases of the moons, their names, and what they influenced. The one for this month was missing. Arra began to get a bad feeling in her stomach. The wheels were turning in her head as she began to suspect what was going on. "Gabriel, does your pack still follow the ancient magical names for the moons or do you do it the modern way?" Arra inquired.
"We practice the ancient way. It's what makes us feel closer to Mother Moon. Why do you ask?" Gabriel wondered suspiciously. The others turned to look at Arra.
"What's the name of tomorrow's full moon?" Arra asked trembling slightly. She hoped beyond hope that she was wrong, but in her heart she knew she was right.
"Vampire Moon. Arra what's wrong? You look even paler than usual. Tell us what the matter is." Gabriel asked.
"Even in my most dreadful nightmares I would have never imagined that monster would go this far. The situation is worse than I originally feared." Arra whispered. Her head hung in shame.
"Arra what are you talking about? Look you've kept us in the dark about a lot of stuff before. But when it mattered you told us what we needed to know. Right now we need to know what is going on?" Static told her forcefully.
She lifted her head up and he could see the tears falling down her face. "There is a reason why vampires where referred to as the undead or living dead. My people have the ability to raise the dead and give them a second chance at life."
"What! Girl are you telling me that.." Static interrupted before Batman held up a hand to stop him. He gave him a look that said no interrupting her till she finished. He nodded for her to continue her story.
Arra took several deep breaths then continued with her story. "Every magical culture has a moon that is sacred to them. The Vampire Moon is sacred to us because at that time the Bloodstone reaches its full power. The Ceremony of Resurrection can take place. That's different from an Awakening because in that you're dealing with someone in hibernation. In the Resurrection Ceremony you are raising the spirit of those that are dead. It requires someone with immense power controlling the Bloodstone and the ceremony preparations must be perfect. The most important part is the sacrifice. You see in order for the resurrected soul to live again the Gods must have a sacrifice of human and vampire blood. Don't you get it? Hippacrites stole all the items he needed for the Ceremony. That's why he needed the gene splicer. He used it on Richie so that he remains human but when he's sacrificed his blood will be that of a vampire. By the Gods I just figured out what he needed the other stuff for." Arra said.
She turned quickly to face Batman. "The drugs he stole. Aren't they all used to prolong life and fight off infection? What would happen if they were combined together and if someone like me took it? I don't get sick and I'm very hard to kill."
Batman though about for a minute before replying to her inquires. "If Hippacrites gave the super drug to resurrected vampanzees it would most likely make them immortal and immune to all disease and human weaponry. They would be invincible to an ordinary human. Make that any human being."
"Hold up a second everyone. I just remembered something important. Those chemicals that were stolen last night from Alva, they're the exact same ones use to create the Bang Baby gas. If Hippacrites gassed his army no superhero in the world no make that the galaxy could stand up those super powered freaks of nature." Static said.
"This is very bad. This has been Hippacrites plan all along. Why he's killed so many people. It wasn't just to feed his hunger. It was to feed the hunger of hundreds of vampanzee and also for the sacrifice to get them to live again. He's got followers, drugs and gas, and soon the entire race of extinct vampanzee will alive once more following him. If we don't come up with a plan and he gets the Bloodstone then were doomed." Gabriel said.
"So let me see if I got this straight. A psychopathic mutated doctor, who thinks he's the reincarnated version of some ancient Vampanzee Lord and his nut case flunkies, also known as vampets, are going to resurrect a bunch of bloodthirsty extinct race of killers known as vampanzee. To top all this off they have developed some sort of ultimate super drug that makes them, get this, immortal and invurnable to human weapons while at the same time he's going to Big Bang them so they can have superpowers along with their regulars one. And this is all possible because my best friend slash partner is going to be used as a sacrifice?" Static demanded.
"Yes. Everything you said is true. If we don't do something to stop it at midnight tomorrow night Richie will die. It will be all my fault that the entire world is doomed because I couldn't stop it from happening." Arra whispered. It was too much for her system. She fainted into oblivion barely aware of the others rushing to her aid.