A/N: This is for Darkfire359 who was reviewer number 1.000 for the Peace Contract and the 500'th reviewer for Christmas Drabbles 2010! She told me about this or I wouldn't have noticed, I have to say… ;) I don't normally write prize drabbles unless I have proclaimed an actual competition, but since both were big numbers and she got TWO of them, I just thought she had earned it… ;)
There WILL be a prize drabble or pic for the 3000 reviewer of Delightful drabbles, though… (the winner must be logged in, or the next one gets the prize. And no cheating! Slade is watching!).
The b-day wishes are still closed and probably will remain so, as I have to start writing on the X-mas story soon… My facebook ducklings know what that will be… ;)
This drabble has also had the shit kicked out of it by a Beta, this time Amirrel! Thank you so much! Don't worry, though, dear readers, the next drabble will most likely be just as you are used to: full of my little quirky and weird errors to entertain you… ;)
Freestanding. Should be safe to read dark-wise...;)
You're My Type
There was something… inhuman about Slade. Robin knew the man was a meta-human, he had to be. No one moved that fast or was that strong without a little genetic or magical help. But still… there was something… more.
"Are you going to stare at me, boy, or are you going to at least try to survive?"
The man's cold and taunting words pulled Robin back to reality again, which happened to consist of him and Slade, alone on a sundrenched roof in the middle of Jump City while his team were busy fighting a small army of Slade bots far below.
"I was just wishing I could see your face… for the expression on it when I kick your ass," Robin snapped back and attacked.
The fight was feral, as always. Both knew each other's strengths and weaknesses by now; Slade had too few of the latter for the teen's taste. He had them, though. His body armor and the thick Kevlar mesh suit he wore weighed a ton, and that brought down his agility just a tiny bit… but it was that one tenth of a percent which allowed the hero to survive… at least up until now.
Robin was fighting with his bo staff, which gave him the opportunity to get hits in without having to get too close, but when it was suddenly snatched away and thrown over the edge of the building that choice went with it. The teen growled and drew his bird-a-rangs, holding one in each hand. These weapons were sharp and had been designed to be held as well as thrown, and with the blades flashing red in the sunlight, he attacked again.
Fighting someone using lethal weapons like this usually made him feel uneasy, unless the thing he fought wasn't sentient. Or Slade. Robin had practically buried the steel tip of his boot in the man's ribs at one time, actually leaving a dent, and the villain had not even seemed sore only minutes later. The Titan had a feeling that a blade in his ribs wouldn't slow him down much either.
When the edge of a bird-a-rang finally touched the man, however, sliding down his arm, sharp enough to slice through the Kevlar if not much deeper, Slade hissed and clutched the tear.
"Oh, poor you, that was almost as bad as a paper cut, wasn't it?" Robin snorted. "Are you gonna fight or do you want your mommy?"
Slade made a sound between a snort and a growl but then took a few steps and jumped off the building.
"Robin! You okay?" Cyborg's voice called to the teen, and his team appeared on the roof as well, having conquered the bots.
"Was that Slade leaving?" Beast Boy gaped.
"Yup… seems he wanted his mommy after all…" Robin said slowly and stared down into the shadowed alley where the man must have landed. It was too dark and too far down for him to see where he had gone, however, and there was little use following him… although something inside the hero almost begged him to take up the hunt.
The movie had been great, just the perfect mix of crazy adventure and romance that made sure each of the Titans had enjoyed it. They were walking to their car, which was hidden a few blocks away, when a scream echoed through the night.
"Titans go!" Robin yelled and they were off, three of them taking to the air to try to locate the source quicker. It had come from quite distance away and the buildings made the sound echo so it seemed like it came from all directions at once.
The back alleys of Jump City created a dark maze. Old buildings mixed with new ones could have you on a street one moment and, after the next corner, the walls brushed your shoulders on both sides. There were remains of fences and gates trying to keep people out, but those had been either torn or cut down as there were always those who would rather face the dark than the police, and cars couldn't follow you in here.
The Titans had spread out. A couple of trash cans toppling over had Robin change directions, and as he heard a sob, he ran faster.
"Titans! With me!" he ordered over his communicator, knowing the signal would lead them to him. There weren't any streetlights in here, and as Robin ran he turned on the flashlight on his belt. The beam caught a woman, huddled against the wall, crying and bleeding.
"Miss? Are you alright?" the teen asked, as he skidded to a halt. "I'm Robin from the Teen Titans. Was it you who screamed just now?"
"P-please… please… don't…. don't…" the woman blubbered.
Robin's gaze traveled over her and quickly had her pegged as a street walker. Those were usually tough as nails, though; they had to be, so he wondered what might have happened to upset her like this.
"You're safe now, Miss, no one's going to hurt you," he said, kneeling down next to her as the rest of his team caught up.
"What happened?" Raven asked.
"Don't know, she's in shock," Robin told her. "Miss? Was there more than one attacker? Man? Woman?"
"He… he…"
"A man then? Just one?"
"Ye-yes… he… he… he wasn't… he wasn't…"
"There, there, that's alright. We'll look for him. Raven, Starfire, could you take her to the hospital, please? Beast Boy, sniff around. Cyborg, can you scan the area for any life forms close by? Do you think your scanners will be able to reach?"
"Yeah, they should," the metal teen nodded and got to work while the changeling tried to pick up any clues as a blood hound. After only a few moments, however, he changed back.
"Dude, this place stinks! There are so many scents my head's spinning… but I can't really pick anything up, sorry."
"Same here, man," Cyborg let them know. "No one is anywhere nearby, except for some rats. Big rats, though… yuck."
"Hey, rats are cool! They are really smart!" Beast Boy objected.
"Beady eyes and pink tails…" Cyborg shuddered.
"Okay, thank you, maybe she ran here on her own," Robin nodded and turned to the victim again. Raven had produced some gauze which she was pressing to the woman's collarbone to stop the bleeding. "You'll be alright now. Don't worry."
"He…. he wasn't… He wasn't…."
"It's okay, just rest, we'll take your statement in the morning, alright?" the Titan leader said comfortingly.
"Human…" the woman mumbled.
"Yes, as I said you can describe him in the morning," Robin said lightly. "Rae, Star, go. BB, can you fly Cy to the car? And Cy, can you drive her, or as close as you can get? I'm going to look for some clues and I'd rather not waste any more time."
"Sure, dude. Don't bother the rats," Beast Boy grinned.
"I won't!" Robin grinned back and then waved his team off before focusing on the crime scene. If the woman had run, he figured, there would be drops of blood. Hard to see on the filthy ground, yes, but maybe… He was about to walk further down the alley, figuring the victim had to come from there as none of them had seen anyone on the way here. Suddenly a shadow blocked his path.
"You interrupted my dinner."
Robin jumped back, his bo staff immediately in his hand.
"Who- Slade?"
Yes, the man in the light from the flashlight was undoubtedly Slade; the man was wearing his armor as usual, but not his mask. Robin could see what he instinctively knew was the woman's blood around the man's lips, dripping down to taint dark pink streaks in his white, short beard. The man had white hair as well, an eye patch and a very sharp smile.
"I'm torn…." the villain growled, stalking closer. "I want you to run… I want to chase you down… but I'm so very, very hungry…"
"You'll have to settle for prison food, Slade!" the teen snorted and, as he knew it would come to a fight anyway, attacked first.
Slade blocked the first strike and Robin saw a punch coming, aimed for his stomach, He tried to move to the side, but wasn't quick enough, and the fist crashed into the flashlight, destroying it. Grabbing onto the teen's belt, the man used his brutal strength and yanked at it, making it snap clear off.
Robin was thrown into a wall and slumped to the ground for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He opened his eyes, only to see darkness. He should be able to see a little as soon as his eyes had adapted, but, for now he was blind.
"I hope you're not afraid of the dark, little bird," the man, or monster, taunted him.
"It's dark for you too!" Robin pointed out.
"Ah, but you're wrong… I can hear you… and I can smell you… and my eyes work very well at night as well," the man told him, closer, this time.
Robin switched on the heat filter in his mask, but saw nothing at all. He stumbled back and switched to night vision, hoping that the faint light was enough to make it work. It did, but what he saw was a hand an instant before it collided with his face, ripping his mask off.
"No cheating, Robin," Slade tutted.
"You're the one who's cheating!" the teen snarled and kicked out at the sound of the voice, hitting only air. He needed backup, badly, but his communicator was with his belt somewhere, and his bo staff was lost as well. All he had were his hands and feet for weapons, and even though his eyes had gotten more used to the dark now, all he could see were faint shades of grey and, too far away, the alley opening up to a wider street.
Slade attacked again. Robin suddenly realized that the Slade he was normally fighting was… tame. It had been clear to the teen since he saw the blood on his face that the man was, though it seemed impossible, a vampire, and he now realized why that gash in Slade's clothing had appeared to hurt him more than it should: sunlight. Now, however, he was in his element, the monster was free to play, and he was out for blood.
Robin grunted as he was pinned against a wall, the man's breath in his face. His wrists were held over his head in a steel grip, he couldn't even budge them, and Slade was only using one of his hands to do it.
"Hungry…" the monster growled.
"I think I have an energy bar in my belt…?" Robin offered.
"So witty… and so scared. Your heart is beating so fast… I don't think I have ever made it sound like this before…" the man seemed almost fascinated and the teen felt a hand pressing against his chest. "And you smell… delicious."
"I hope I give you diarrhea," Robin growled.
The man chuckled, his breath against the teen's neck now. His fingers grabbed the high neck of his top, baring his whole throat and shoulder with a harsh tug, ripping the fabric as if it was paper.
Robin felt the man's lips against his bare neck and shivered.
"Just a little snack, Robin… you smell too good to drain… just a little snack and I'll go off and feed on someone else later."
"No! Don't you dare hurt anyone el- AHrrgh!"
The pain was crushing, tearing. Those teeth Robin had seen were far from needles; they did some damage going in. At the same time, he was unable to move, like the bite had paralyzed him. And something else… he expected, for some reason, to feel colder, but the longer Slade fed, the hotter Robin's skin got. His heart was rushing, only aiding the man in draining him, but the heat… it seemed to consume him, to surge through him, pulsing, egging, almost making the pain go away, or fade into something else… The teen opened his mouth as his head limply fell to the side. He was panting for breath, gasping, clinging to life, when a car horn sounded very close by. A beam of light cut through the darkness.
"Rob! Are you still snooping back here? Did you find- Holy HELL! Beast Boy, come on!"
"Another time, my little snack," Slade mumbled in his ear. "You're mine now." With that the man was gone; he just seemed to disappear into the closest shadow.
"Robin! Robin!" Beast Boy yelled, catching his leader who was slowly sliding down the wall where he had been held. "Robin, can you hear me?"
But the Titan was too tired to hear anything. All he wanted to do was sleep.
He woke up slowly, surrounded by his friends in the sickbay. Funnily enough, the first thing he noticed was that his mask was back in place, simply because it was pulling a bit on his skin. He had to adjust it later.
"Robin! You have finally awakened!" Starfire exclaimed.
"Slade's a vampire!" Beast Boy told him, as if his leader hadn't realized. "We saw it!"
"How are you feeling?" Raven asked.
"Little… dizzy," Robin mumbled. His torn top had been removed and he had sensors stuck to his chest which Cyborg was now disconnecting.
"You lost a bit of blood, bro," Cyborg told him, clasping his shoulder. "But we chased the freak away."
"Wasn't like he lost it, we know where it is," Beast Boy pointed out and got a collective weird look from the rest of the team. "Just sayin'…" he mumbled.
"Slade… told me something…" Robin groaned as he sat up and cradled his head. Then his eyes widened. "You need to lock me up! Now!"
"Wait… what?"
"Slade! He told me I was his now! Who knows what that means? Maybe I'm a vampire, maybe he can control me, who knows?"
"Yeah, vamps use mind control all the time," Beast Boy, who had to be considered the team's expert on the subject, said.
"But, Robin, surely you will not harm us?" Starfire asked sadly.
"I have no idea, Star, but we have to make sure I can't, okay?"
"I'll get a holding cell ready," Raven nodded.
"Can I take a blood sample? I know you're already weak, but just a small one, to test?" Cyborg asked.
"Of course, and use any scans you can think of as well," Robin told him.
"Um… guys, soooo… what are we looking for in these tests?" Beast Boy asked.
"I have no idea…" his leader muttered.
"I can't see any changes in your blood," Cyborg told him from the screen on the wall in the cell, a cell which quickly had been made a lot more homey, but was still, hopefully, secure. "The scans are normal as well."
"And I haven't been able to pick up any mental link," Raven told him.
"Good," Robin nodded, "but that doesn't mean I'm harmless."
"Dude, if we're waiting for that, we can never let you out!" Beast Boy grinned, making Robin chuckle a little.
"Thanks. Anyway, he might be able to… I don't know… activate the mind control, or whatever, right?"
"Maybe," Raven said thoughtfully, "but if there's no link… I mean, you need two receptors to make a connection."
"Robin, do you feel sickly?" Starfire asked.
"No, I feel perfectly normal. Of course, you are not allowed to trust a single word I say."
"That makes things more complicated," Cyborg muttered.
"Oh! This is just like the Doctor of the House!" Starfire exclaimed and clapped her hands.
"Great, are we supposed to search his room?" Beast Boy asked.
"No, my friends, but we do know one thing!" the alien told them happily.
"And what is that, Star?" Robin asked.
"It is not the lupus!"
The rest of the team looked at each other and shrugged. She had a point.
"I think we should wait a few days," Robin said. "Just to make sure that there's nothing spreading inside me… like a virus, I suppose. But… err… it's up to you…" It was hard giving orders when he had just told his team not to listen to them.
"I think you're right," Cyborg nodded.
"Good… Just… one more thing…" the teen said. "It's daylight out there now, right?"
"Yes, it is indeed," Starfire nodded.
"Good. Open the shutters."
"Um… about not listening to you…" Beast Boy said, eyeing the metal shutters blocking the window in the room for optimal safety. The window itself was bullet proof and couldn't be opened, but the thick metal offered that little extra protection.
"I know, but just a crack. Slade reacts to sunlight, I have to check!" Robin told them.
"But what if you get hurt?" Starfire said.
"If I do," Robin told them seriously, "that means I'm like him… and then I want you to open the whole window."
"Robin, no!" Raven exclaimed.
"Yeah, man, maybe all vampires aren't monsters!" Beast Boy said. "I mean… there's that glittery one…?"
"We can't take that risk! You could never trust me, I could never trust me!" Robin growled. "And it's unnecessary to argue before we even know if the sun does anything to me, so open the damn shutter!"
"So much for not obeying him…" Cyborg muttered and pushed a button. The steel slowly slid to the side, just enough for a small beam of sunlight to shine through and hit the floor in front of Robin's feet.
The teen took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Nothing. Apart from the normal warmth of the sun, there was nothing that hurt or felt strange. He pulled up the sleeve of his uniform to let the light touch his bare skin, and again, nothing.
"Yaaay! You're not a vamp!" Beast Boy hollered.
"Not yet, at least," Robin nodded, "But it would be for the best to leave that open."
"I'll close it, and we'll repeat the test later," Cyborg said and did so.
Robin blinked but then grinned. "Good call, Cy."
"Well, when it comes down to not listening to your scrawny ass, you can count on me," his friend grinned back.
The Titans left the com link open so Robin wouldn't feel so lonely, but the day passed slowly anyway. He caught up on some reading, but he hadn't been allowed a computer, as he could use it to access the Titan's security system, so the amount of research he could do was pretty limited.
"So we talked with the woman, and it was definitely Slade," Cyborg said. "We checked the police reports as well, and, since we first met the guy, dead or wounded people have popped up a bit more than usual… not so much as anyone would have noticed it or made the connection, though…"
"Either he hides them well or he doesn't have to feed that often," Robin said, "And wounded? He lets some live?"
"Seems so… or he's interrupted. According to the witness statements, none of them saw much, though… a few of them mentioned the eye patch or the white hair, but most didn't see a thing."
"At least that confirms it… Wait! None of them have had any symptoms?"
"No… do you think that means you're in the clear?" Cyborg asked.
"Maybe."
"Ah," Beast Boy spoke up, "But usually vampires can choose if they want to just eat someone or turn them!"
"Good point," his leader nodded. "I'd better stay in isolation."
"Speaking about eating, how about black pudding for dinner?" Beast Boy said innocently.
"Yuck, no," Robin snorted, "And that was a very transparent test by the way…"
"Wait, so did you say no because you thought it was a test, or because you don't like black pudding?" the green teen asked suspiciously.
"Can't eat the stuff, call Batman for confirmation if you have to…" Robin grinned. "Although… please don't call him? It's bad enough that he scolds me when we lose a fight; I don't want him to know that I went and got bitten as well…"
"Does that mean we should call…?" Beast Boy asked, looking confused.
"Well, I've never seen Robin order black pudding, and seriously, who likes that crap anyway?" Cyborg said. "Besides, we're having pizza."
It was the next evening, and Robin still had not shown any inclination to bite anyone. He also had no trouble eating garlic chips. They were running out of test ideas.
"So we know nothing about me yet, but what do we know about Slade?" Robin asked his team before continuing. "He's fast and strong, but we knew that before. Sensitive to sunlight… My heat vision didn't pick him up, and neither did your scanner, Cy… And BB, you couldn't smell him."
"Well, those things are easy; vampires are the living dead, right? So, no heat, no heartbeat!" Beast Boy said.
"But he breathes!" Robin suddenly realized.
"Are you sure?" his green friend asked, "Because vampires don't…"
"Pft…" Raven snorted and all eyes were on her. "All those films and shows we've seen… in them they all go 'my heart doesn't beat and I don't breathe' and the next second they are panting…"
"OOOhhh…. panting, huh?" Cyborg grinned. "Which movie did you see?"
"Besides, actors kinda need to breathe…" Robin shrugged. "And furthermore, if they weren't breathing, they couldn't speak. Anyway, we're not nitpicking at Hollywood stuff here, we're dealing with the real thing, and Slade definitely breathed. Trust me. Or not. Damn. I could be feeding you the wrong info and not even know about it!"
"Nah, he breathes, I'm sure I heard him in fights," Beast Boy shrugged. "Because I remember one time, when it was the robot, and I realized I wasn't hearing any breaths…"
"Good… Good…" Robin nodded. "So what else do we-"
Suddenly the screen image split in two and the teens gasped as Slade's masked face appeared.
"I demand to speak to Robin," he said. "Alone."
"We're not quite that stupid, Slade!" Robin growled. "What are you going to do? Say a trigger word? Hypnotize me? What have you done to me?"
"It's not what I have done to you, boy, quite the opposite. The exact opposite to be precise."
"What… Robin did something to you?" Beast Boy asked, looking dumbfounded. "But that's not how it works…?"
"Please tell me I really gave you the runs?" the acrobat grinned.
"No."
"Then what?"
"I will tell you in private."
"No! As I said, my friends will stay online as well, or I'm going to hang up."
"You misunderstand. I'm going to tell you face to face."
"Even more no to that!" Starfire told him firmly.
"I second that," Raven muttered.
"You heard them. I'm not going to become your chewing toy again, go bite someone else," Robin snorted and then snapped his mouth shut as he realized what he had just said.
"Exactly," the creature on the screen purred. "If you don't come and meet me, alone, I will be start leaving 'food containers' around the city by the dozens… and I might change my diet from streetwalkers and homeless people to say… orphans. Breaking into a children's home would be like going to an all-you-can-eat snack bar, after all… can't believe I never thought of that before…"
"Don't you dare!"
"Try me."
None of them wanted to do that.
"We will not let Robin be harmed!" the princess snarled, her eyes glowing.
The man on the screen seemed to focus on her for a moment and then shrugged, turning back to her leader. "Robin, come and see me on top of the Wayne building in one hour. Your friends, as they are so worried about you, may watch, just watch, from the Jump City Bank building four blocks away."
"And all you want to do is talk?" Robin asked.
"Yes. I swear."
"We can't trust him!" Cyborg snapped. "Hell, Robin, we can't trust you!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Slade asked and then seemed to connect the dots. He barked out a laugh. "You think I turned you into a vampire? I'm not contagious, boy."
"How do we know that? What the hell are you?" Robin asked.
"I guess you can't… and I will tell you who, or what, I am when we meet. Closer to fifty nine minutes now. Be there, or corpses will begin to show up on your doorstep."
The debate was heated, but in the end they didn't have a choice.
Robin stood waiting, alone but armed, under the big 'W', bathing in its blue light. He knew his friends were just a few rooftops away, much too far to hear anything, but hopefully close enough to help.
"Hello, little snack."
"Stop calling me that!"
"So on edge?" The man smirked as he stepped out from the shadows. He wasn't wearing his mask.
"What do you want?"
"A trade… but first… didn't you have questions?"
"A million," Robin snorted. "Are you an alien? If not, were you born a vampire or did you become one? How? How many have you killed?"
"Enough." Slade held up a hand. "I will answer these ones first. I'm human. Not fully, however. I joined the army young, rose in the ranks and volunteered for an experiment regarding creating stronger, better soldiers. They gave me my meta powers, but they also made me into this."
"But… the military created… the U.S. military?"
"Why, are you surprised?" The man smirked again. "What did you expect? The Canadians?"
"But… why? Didn't they know what they were doing?"
"I don't think they did. They mixed my DNA with that of animals, lots of animals, but all predators. It made me a better hunter, but also bloodthirsty."
"Then eat a rare steak!" Robin told him.
"My genes are programmed to go after humans," the man shrugged, "A soldier wouldn't be much use if he was driven to attack cattle, after all. I think I'm the only killer who can truthfully state that 'it's in my blood'."
"So you need blood?"
"Crave it, yes. And physically need it too. I could have human meat, but just drinking the blood works just as well and is much easier."
Robin turned a bit green at that. "So you just… mindlessly eat people?"
"Not mindlessly!" the man snarled. "I can hold back, I can choose my victims, and I feed only when I'm really hungry."
"Out of compassion?"
"No, because it's more convenient. I could drain one a night, but I usually stick to one a week… raises less questions. Between feeds I eat normal food, mostly meat, though."
"Isn't… isn't there a cure?" Robin asked. He didn't know whether he should feel pity for the man or not. He had done what he had done for his county in the beginning, and it was hardly his fault.
"Perhaps. But who says I want to be cured?" the man leered. "Granted, the blood lust is inconvenient, but I wouldn't want to give up my other powers."
"What are those… more than strength and speed?"
"My secret."
"You have a healing factor."
"Yes. You must be what they call 'smart food'."
Robin narrowed his eyes, but didn't keep guessing. "So… you're a genetically engineered vampire… wait, are you dead?"
"Why, do I smell?" the man smirked.
"We couldn't pick up any heat, scent or heartbeat... but you still breathe."
"My heart beats as well, and I bleed, should you ever get the chance to test that. I'm fully alive, believe me."
"But… how?"
"When a mommy and a daddy-"
"Shut up! How come we didn't pick your readings up?"
"Ah… another little secret… but I'll play nice and tell you this one; I can go into camouflage mode."
"What?"
"Very practical in the army. I can withdraw the heat from the outer layers of my body until it's merely the temperature of the surrounding environment, and I can even stop my heart for a few minutes. When I heard your friend was about to scan the area, I did this, and I knew you would try the heat filter. About the scent; it too is engineered. I do smell, of course, but to confuse dogs, the trail I leave behind appears to be a mix of many different animals instead of human."
"Do you happen to like garlic?"
"Very subtle. I'm not a fairytale creature, Robin, my teeth don't retract and I can't turn into a bat or mist."
"Good to know… well… if I could trust you."
"There's a lot of trust issues going around, isn't there?" the man smirked, making Robin give him a glare as he wanted to smirk back.
"You're still sensitive to sunlight, though," the young detective pointed out. "That's very fairytale-esque."
"Agreed. The scientist at the military research centre couldn't explain it. They thought it had to do with my mixed DNA creating a hypersensitivity to light, or light mixed with heat, as electric light doesn't hurt me."
"And does it hurt? Will you burst into fire?"
"Hardly. Exposure for more than a few seconds creates severe sunburns, but my healing factor deals with those fairly quickly… Still, I don't like to take any chances."
"I wouldn't mind doing a bit of research…" Robin smirked.
"How charming of you."
"So what did you want? What did I 'do' to you?" the teen asked, cutting to the chase.
"Let me ask you a question… If you could order me to do one thing, and one thing only, apart from killing myself, what would that be? Leave Jump, perhaps?"
"No. Stop killing," Robin answered quickly.
"Done."
"Huh?"
"I will stop killing, even feeding, on other people, if you agree to a deal."
"Which is?"
"That I can feed from you."
"Yeah, right, so I let you kill me and then all deals are off, right? Seriously Slade, you have been taking me for an idiot so many times today-"
"I won't kill you, I'll only snack on you, and that's all. Nothing else."
"So you mean you won't hurt me besides the bite?"
"If you want to put it like that… yes."
"How much? How often?" Robin asked, gathering all the facts. He could say no, after all, and still have an option: to fight the man. He had seen what Slade could do, however, and wasn't keen on exposing his team to the danger… because fighting him alone? He wasn't that confident.
"Just short of what I drank from you before, and once a week."
"That's less than you normally drink, though, isn't it?" the teen pointed out.
"Yes."
"So how will that be enough? How can I be sure you're not… getting a little something on the side?"
The man chuckled. "I'll be faithful to you."
"Fine, say I think you are telling the truth, you still haven't told me why? What's so special about my blood?"
"The truth is… I don't know."
"Bullshit! You have to be straight with me here, Slade, or you can forget the whole thing!"
"You have no idea what you are asking of me…" the man leered.
Robin just met the leer blankly. "Spill."
"You tasted good."
"Right."
"More than good. Amazing. You were… fulfilling. I still feel like I just fed."
"Who says you haven't?"
"Whether you believe me or not, the time to choose has come. You either agree, or, I suppose, we fight... as I don't think you will just let me go, will you?"
"Not a chance. Well…" Robin thought things through for a while. "If I use a blood bag-"
"No. It has to be you, and it has to be through me biting you."
"I get that it has to be fresh, warm, but there must be a more sanitary way-" Robin began.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I want to snack on you little bird, not from a bag through a straw."
"So biting is not necessary, you just want to do it?"
"Guilty."
"Sadist."
"Guilty." The smirk was back. Robin didn't like it; it made him feel like a deer caught in the headlights… or prey, anyway.
"My friends-"
The man made a sound like an actual growl, and, just for a second, Robin thought he saw the man's pupil narrow to a slit, like a cat's. When the man blinked it was gone, though, and the hero couldn't swear it hadn't just been the florescent lights playing a trick on him.
"Your friends will not be involved in this!"
"Again, do I have 'stupid' written on my forehead?" Robin snorted.
"Feeding is… personal," the man claimed. "It's intimate. You know. You were there. Would you really like them… watching?" The way Slade said it made it sound incredibly dirty, but something deep inside Robin agreed. Would he have liked his friends to come earlier and rescued him? Yes. Would he have wanted them to stand by and just observe? No. And not because someone was hurting him, but… because… Robin suddenly felt a rush of that heat again, and gasped, stepping away from Slade.
"I… I…"
"You will come back here in five days at the same time. Alone. Is that understood?"
"I'm still going to tell them!"
"Only as long as you keep them away. You are mine."
"You said that before, what does that even mean?" Robin snorted.
Slade looked almost confused for a moment. "That you are," he then said firmly. "I am in tune with my instincts and they all tell me the same thing." The man came right up to him now and stroked Robin's face with two fingers, following his jawbone from ear to chin. "Mine." Without another word he turned and disappeared and within seconds the Titans were there.
"Dude, Starfire almost 'bolted' him right then!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"What did he say?" Raven asked.
"I'll tell you in a moment," Robin said, having just decided to actually let the team know. He was sure they would give him hell, but as Slade had pointed out; there were a lot of trust issues going around. If he would be caught sneaking away to meet Slade every week… who knew what would happen. "Raven, you healed my bite, right… was it difficult?"
"It was fairly straightforward," the woman shrugged.
"Good… do you think you can come up with a way to magically replenish blood as well?"
"I'm not liking this," the empath muttered, "but, yes."
"Good… I think I might need it."
After he had told the Titans of the trade they all decided that he was nuts for about an hour, but then, they too, began to realize that their options were limited.
"We're not committing to anything," Robin pointed out. "If he's not keeping up his part of the bargain or my health declines… then we'll…"
"Do battle?" Starfire asked.
"We might not have a choice," Robin nodded.
"We can donate as well," Cyborg offered. "Say that you get injured or sick… or has to leave… he can't expect you to show up then."
"I'm sure we can work something out if that should happen," Robin nodded. "He didn't seem completely unreasonable."
"And you're sure you talked to Slade, huh?" Beast Boy wanted to know.
When Robin headed out to their first 'appointment' he was carrying a panic button and the Titans were on full alert. It was raining, making it just that little bit extra dark, but this time Slade was waiting for him in the open.
"Come, I'm hungry," the man said, and grabbed his arm, half dragging him away.
"Wait, where are we going? The deal was to meet here!" Robin objected.
"Meet, yes. It's raining and I'd rather do this in private. Come." The teen could hear that the man's voice was almost strained, like he was teetering on the edge of something. Robin didn't know what that was, but it had to be bad. A dark chasm he didn't want to look down into. So he followed the beast into, not a cave, but an apartment. It was a strange one, with both shutters and curtains across the windows, making sure no light got in. There was only one large room, and as soon as he entered it, Slade spun around.
"Undress!"
"What? No!" Robin refused and fingered the panic button.
"You want me to rip your uniform again? Take your top off!"
Ah. The teen hadn't thought this through, he realized. He was wearing his usual outfit, with its high collared neck, which didn't stretch close to far enough for Slade to feed. A growl from the man made him hurry to unclasp his cape, but he blushed as he came to his shirt.
"No time for modesty, boy, I've seen most of it before," the man barked and his eye was doing that weird pupil-thing again.
Robin pulled the top over his head and was immediately grabbed and pushed against the wall.
"Hey! Careful!" he snapped.
"Instinct. Would you prefer the bed?" the man mumbled as he practically nuzzled the crook of Robin's neck, sniffing the skin.
The teen snorted, scandalized, but the man didn't seem to hear him at all. Robin took a deep breath and waited for the inevitable.
When the teeth broke through the skin it hurt, but maybe not as much as the last time. Perhaps it was because he was less afraid, but the bite was also less tearing. Slade was being careful, the teen realized. The same paralysis overcame him, but now, when he thought himself at least somewhat safer, he noted that it was more of a relaxing feeling. Maybe Slade's teeth were slightly toxic; to make sure his prey didn't fight back?
Robin rolled his eyes at himself. Not the best time to speculate, but it helped him focus on something besides that strange heat flowing through him again. He was so very much aware of the other man, the way his hands were curled around his hips, holding him against the wall, how his body was almost plastered against his, far too close than could have been necessary or even convenient. It didn't feel exactly wrong, though.
Spots began dancing in front of his eyes and he pushed weakly at the man.
"Slade… Slade… enough."
It took a second, but then the man, with a last swipe of his tongue over the wound, reluctantly stepped away.
"You can rest here. I'll stand guard," he growled out and went to the door.
"Wait… what? Guard?" Robin asked, and the man halted.
"I… don't know why I said that…" he admitted, looking back at the hero with a perplexed look on his face that would have been funny if not for the implication that the killer might have a screw loose. "My… instincts told me you needed protection."
"Yeah, well, your instincts can go to hell, I can take care of myself," Robin muttered a bit and then the walls seemed to move funnily.
Slade was immediately at his side and helped him sit down on the bed.
"We ended up here anyway," the man smirked. Robin just gave him a glare. "Call your team, they will help you home," the man ordered. "And there will be no use coming back here to look for me; I only secured this place for our meetings."
"Afraid I'd go all vampire hunter on you?" the teen chuckled and sent an 'all clear' to his friends. That was their signal to trace his communicator and pick him up.
"If I were you, I would have tried it. But a warning; if you do, I will keep you alive."
"Um… not much of a threat there," the teen pointed out.
"Only you."
"Ah."
"Maybe the witch as well, so I can feed from you more often. Not the rest."
"You sound like you're planning to kill my friends!" Robin objected.
"Not planning, no. I'm planning to stick to our deal. I'm just trying to make sure you will as well."
"I will."
"Goo-"
At that moment the team more or less burst through the door, and found themselves facing a snarling Slade who was clearly ready to attack. The man composed himself again after a moment, though, but glared at the team.
"Next time, knock."
"Sure, cranky pants…" Beast Boy muttered, making Robin grin.
"Are you alright?" Raven asked, reaching out to begin to heal the bite wound.
"A little lightheaded, nothing major," Robin said and then turned to say a few well-chosen words to Slade, but the man was gone.
The night was quiet so Robin could rest, but early the next morning there was trouble at the docks. A shipment of electronics was in the process of being stolen and the Titans came to the rescue.
Feeling fine, Robin threw himself into battle with the H.I.V.E members, but half way through, a dizzy spell helped Mammoth to get a really good hit in. Robin landed on the asphalt away from the fight and rolled several times before coming to a stop. The teen thought it was embarrassing that the brute had managed to knock him over. He was about to jump to his feet to return the favor when he was pushed out of the way and a snarling Slade attacked the hairy H.I.V.E member instead. The fight got undeniably bloodier after that, but it finished quickly with the young villains running for their lives. Slade didn't follow, but turned on the Titans instead.
Robin got on his feet in time to see the man holding up Raven and Cyborg by their necks.
"Put them down! Now! Or the deal is off!" Robin yelled.
"You, witch, didn't heal him properly, did you?" the man snarled through his mask at a choking Raven. "And you, why didn't you cover your leader?" Cyborg was asked.
Robin drew his bo staff and slammed it into the small of the man's back with all his might. Slade didn't as much as budge, but he turned around.
"Let them go!" Robin repeated.
"They are useless!" the man growled. "Did you even eat this morning?"
"There wasn't time!"
"They knew what you had been through; they should have left you behind. They should have protected you!"
"I felt fine! For the last time, let them go! Now!"
After taking a deep breath it seemed that the man came to his senses and released the heroes, who coughed and clutched their necks. Starfire and Beast Boy, who had been too stunned to really do anything, afraid they would only make it worse, came to their aid.
"You stumbled," the man told Robin as the teen approached him.
"Not again, Slade! If I as much as see you outside of our meetings, I'll call the deal off, and I'll find a way to put you away for good, is that understood?" The hero was nose-to-chest with the man, who glared down at him. For a moment Robin thought Slade would strike out at him, but he simply gave a short nod.
"Get some rest."
Robin was somewhat used to the man's weirdness by now, but the other Titans were left gaping.
"Um… did he say what I think he did?" Beast Boy asked and poked around with a finger in his ear, in case it had clogged up with something.
"He… is a bit protective…" Robin said, looking embarrassed.
"But... ummm… what for? Why?" the changeling wanted to know.
"Well… to put it to you in words you'd understand…" Robin began. "To Slade... I'm the last slice of pizza."
Over the following week Robin changed his diet to include more fluids, iron, proteins and vitamin B to further help his body replenish the blood loss naturally. Raven's magic made it possible for him to 'donate' as often as Slade demanded, but it wasn't a miracle cure. The empath spent hours searching for more options, however, and Robin was grateful that she could at least heal his wound. The slight dizziness might be something he had to get used to.
Robin and the others were busy checking every police report coming in as well. If Slade had been feeding on anyone else, the teens hoped that they would find out.
When it came time to leave for the second meeting Robin chose a button-down shirt instead, for convenience. After he happened to walk by his bedroom mirror, he changed to jeans as well. It had looked like he was about to go to a rehearsal of Swan Lake. His belt, however, wasn't left behind, nor his boots. The gloves looked a bit weird as well, so he ditched them. He took a final look in the mirror and ran his hands through his hair, trying to make it look right. He had a bad hair day. It was too humid, and his black spikes all wanted to be soft and curly instead. Should he use more gel?
Robin's eyes widened when he realized what he was doing. He was preening! To go see Slade! To go be bitten by Slade, to be precise! What in the world was wrong with him? He stomped out of his room and told his team that he was leaving. He wanted to get it over with.
They were in the apartment again, and the man was feeding. He had only taken a small bite this time, and seemed to be coaxing the blood out with his tongue, somehow. The heat surrounded Robin again, no, surrounded them, the teen realized. It seemed more familiar this time, however, their bodies pressing together, the man's arms around him. Robin moaned and ran his hands up the man's sides, clinging to his body as they began to move together. Against each other. Grinding.
They both seemed to become aware of what was happening at the same time, because they flew apart, their eyes wide.
"What… what was that?" Robin gasped.
"I think you'd better leave," Slade growled, looking like he was almost shaking.
"But… it was…" Robin was trying to say that it hadn't been so bad, that he wasn't angry, that it had felt good, but he didn't know how, or even if, he should let the man know that.
"Out! Now!"
The teen flew down the stairs and sent the 'all clear' message from outside, where his friends picked him up only moments later.
"You look… weird," Cyborg pointed out.
"I… it's… nothing…" Robin mumbled.
That night, in his dreams, it wasn't 'nothing' however, far from it, and he woke up panting with his sheets needing to be changed. And it repeated itself the next night. And the next. By the time of their third meeting, Robin wasn't even sure he could look the man in the eye again. The things Slade had done to him in his dreams. The things he had let, nay, encouraged, ORDERED, the man to do…and the things he'd done to the man in return… Robin hadn't even been aware that his subconscious could be that imaginative.
This time he had to wait for Slade, and he was close to giving up when the man appeared.
"Come."
Robin was led to the apartment. Once again they had met on top of the Wayne Enterprises building, which was fine. Less personal. Less… images from his dreams flashed before his eyes and he blushed as he tried to repress them.
As he got inside, Robin began to unbutton his shirt, looking at the floor. As usual Slade was on him immediately and the teen bit his lip as he rode out the initial pain. The bite was always the worst, but after that… Again he felt himself turning to putty in the man's arms, again that warmth. But this time the teen recognized it from his dreams, and knew would it would –could- lead to. Slade seemed to feel it too. His hands were moving more, not just holding the hero, but caressing him, parting the shirt even more, pulling it off the teen's shoulders.
Just before the familiar dizzy feeling came, the man stopped feeding, but his lips didn't leave the skin. Robin didn't even notice that until they were halfway up his jaw, and then he turned his head to meet them. The taste of his own blood should have been revolting, as should the thought of kissing Slade, but, right at that moment… it wasn't. Quite the opposite. Robin pulled the man closer as the kiss deepened, and then the vampire's hands were working on his belt.
That was the teen's wakeup call and he broke apart from the kiss.
"Slade, don't…" the man's hands tightened over the complicated clasp for a second, but then he let go and stepped back. Robin immediately missed his body warmth and instinctively tried to follow. He was stopped by a raised hand.
"No. You're right. Don't come any closer. It's getting harder…"
"For me, too," Robin admitted honestly.
"I mean it's getting more difficult," Slade smirked.
"Yeah, me to, what did you- oh," Robin coughed and looked away.
"You should go… before something happens."
"Yeah," Robin nodded, and desperately wanted to stay to let 'something happen' but he knew that was against his better judgment. "Why are we…? I mean… do you always get…?"
"No."
"So… this was why my blood was special to you?"
"A small part of it. Gets worse the more I drink… Like I'm… addicted."
"Then maybe… Should we stop?"
"No!" the man snarled and grabbed him again. "Don't you dare break the deal!"
"I… I won't, I just… if it's bad for you, then maybe some of the Titans could-"
"No."
"Alright… just… don't go out hunting. You're full, right? You won't get hungry?"
"I'm full. Don't worry."
"Good." Robin stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment before he left, getting his clothes in order as he went. Something inside him begged him to turn back, but he didn't listen.
The next time played out very similarly, but now Robin found it impossible to tell the man to stop. He didn't want to. He refused to. Instead he clawed the man's top off, which hit the floor just seconds after his own did. Slade led them to the bed and then they were suddenly on top of it, kissing, groping and ripping clothes off as fast as they could.
The man paused for a moment and looked like he was about to say something, but then he appeared to change his mind and began to kiss Robin's throat.
"Still hungry?" the teen whispered huskily.
"Mmm… but not for blood," the man answered in a low, rumbling voice.
Robin yelped as his nipple was bit, afraid the man's sharp canines would pierce it, but it was just a nibble. Those little 'love bites' continued downwards to the waistline of the only piece of clothing Robin was left with; his boxer briefs.
Again, Slade hesitated. "This is your last chance to… no, never mind. It's gone," the man shot him a leer and pulled down Robin's underwear in one go.
The teen chuckled nervously as Slade buried his face in his groin, much like a dog sniffing a human stranger. "No biting down there!" he warned him.
Slade didn't seem inclined to bite, but licking, on the other hand… the man had Robin moaning and squirming within seconds. He flipped the teen over on his stomach and explored the area between his cheeks as well. Robin thought he might come the moment the tip of the man's tongue touched his entrance, and it only got better as it pushed in. It felt so heavenly good and so incredibly dirty all at once, Robin's mind didn't know quite what to think.
As Robin bucked against the sheets, Slade continued the assault, opening him up and getting him wet and ready.
"Please…. please…" the teen begged, trying to tell the man what he wanted. Slade seemed to grasp it quite well, as he got in position and slowly pushed inside. The saliva and the precum eased the way, but the flared head was still a lot for the virgin to take. However, the hero had gotten used to pain lately, and had learned what, sometimes, came with it: pleasure.
Slade growled as he snapped his hips forward, burying the last inch of his shaft inside the teen. Robin breathed in shallow gasps for a moment, while Slade just rested there, kissing and nipping his neck and shoulder blades in a way that was oddly soothing. It didn't take the hero long to grind his ass back against the man, urging him to move. Slade was happy to oblige.
They didn't do all those weird and wonderful things from Robin's dreams that night, but quite a few boxes were ticked. After two hours, however, the Titan's communicator rang. The teen groaned and crawled to the edge of the bed, reaching so far out that most of his upper body was off the mattress, before he caught the edge of his belt.
"Robin here."
"Man, are you alright? Should we come get you? Why haven't you called?" Cyborg almost roared at him from the other end.
"I'm fine, we're… talking," the teen lied.
"Ew," Cyborg said for some reason, "Anyway, we've come up with something! We think we know why Slade is obsessing over you!"
"W-what?" the teen stuttered, wondering what his team had figured out.
"Yeah, but we need to test it, preferably at the Tower. Can I come and pick you two up?"
Robin looked down at himself and then over at Slade. They were both pretty much smeared in saliva, cum and blood.
"Umm… give us half an hour?" he said.
Slade looked a bit uncomfortable in the Titan's living room, but that might be because the sun had just come up, and although the team had drawn the blinds, the man obviously didn't trust them. He had his mask in his hands, however, in case a hero would decide to do something stupid.
"So, what did you want to show us?" he grumbled.
"Before we tell you, could you taste, or at least smell, the blood in this vial?" Raven said and held out a glass container half filled with red liquid.
"Rae…?" Robin asked worriedly, wanting to make sure it wouldn't be dangerous.
"It's just blood. Well, it's from the hospital and it's been treated and frozen for blood transfusions, so that particular one is only red blood cells, but unless that's not a problem…?" Cyborg explained.
"Just tell us what you think about it," Raven asked the man.
Slade sniffed the contents suspiciously, and then drew a deeper breath. After that, he lapped at it and a moment later he had drained the whole thing.
"So? Good, then?" Cyborg grinned.
"It doesn't smell of Robin, but it has very similar… qualities," the man admitted. "Who is this from?"
"It's not the person who's important here. We discovered that Robin is AB negative," Raven told them.
"Yeah, sure, so what?" their leader shrugged. "I know it's a rare blood group, but…?"
"It's the rarest. Only zero point six percent of the population in the U.S. has it. That's one in every one hundred and sixty seven people… so we figured that what if Slade had never had any AB negative blood before yours…?"
Robin blinked. "Could that… could that be true?" he asked the man.
"Yes. I have noticed that some people taste better than others, but I thought that was due to health or diet… those kinds of things…" the man nodded. "Maybe it was their blood type."
"Wonderful! It does resolve our worries!" Starfire smiled. "Robin does not have to be bitten now!"
"Yeah, we can just find other donors, and Slade will have to do the bag-in-box thing…" Beast Boy said.
Robin, however, didn't feel as happy as he thought he would. He expected the man to repeat what he had said before; that it had to be Robin, that the feeding had to be through biting him. Slade, however, only looked contemplating and a little bit aggravated. As Robin was following the vampire to the door, just before Slade donned his mask, the teen looked up at him.
"So…. it was just my blood type, then?"
"Appears so," the man said and left.
Over the next week and a half Robin didn't see Slade at all. The hero had left it to his friends to arrange for the vampire to get a small amount of AB negative blood every week, and had decided to donate some himself regularly, as it was very rare. He hadn't done so yet, however, because he felt… he didn't know. What they had done, what Slade had made him feel, had just been because the man had been… drunk, in a way. He hadn't been himself. Clearly, he hadn't been himself. Still the Titan had felt it too, but maybe that had just been an effect of the blood loss and the… thrill? He hated to admit it, but he had always gotten a kick out of danger, and what could be more dangerous than letting a hungry vampire feed from you?
Robin was up on the roof of Titans Tower late one evening, putting things away after an impromptu game of volley ball in the pool, when one of the shadows suddenly stepped forward.
"Slade?" the teen just stood still, wondering what to do or say. "Are you here about the deal? I know it was about me, but that's when you thought I was…special…"
"I've fed. On the donations, to clarify."
"Oh… good."
"It's a relief not to be dependent on just one person."
"I guess, yeah," Robin muttered.
"The AB negative works just fine."
"Yes, I got that impression," the teen said, a bit more tightly now.
"But they were wrong."
"Huh?" Robin gasped as he was suddenly in the man's arms, being kissed hard. Before he knew it he was half naked on a sun bed with the man covering him, still kissing every part of his skin.
"Does…. does this mean…?" Robin wanted to know.
"It's not the blood. Not only. That's why I stayed away. I had to be sure that you were literally out of my system and only then could I know for certain. And I know now. I crave more. Of you."
"Well…" Robin said with a smile. "You got it… but I don't think there's a box for this on my donor card…"
The End
A/N: Hope it was worth the wait, Darkfire? And sorry about that again, by the way… ;)
… and wasn't this a clever title? Or did it give the ending away? Let me know!